Back to Talon. Like a delinquent runaway, only I knew my punishment would be far worse than anything the humans could think of. What would Talon do to me? I wondered. Lock me up for the rest of my life? That seemed rather pointless, considering all the trouble they went through to find me. Would they torture me for information about Riley’s network and Garret’s knowledge of St. George? Or—and my stomach heaved at this thought—would they ship me off to the facility, where I would become a breeder like the rest of Talon’s disgraced female dragons?

Garret and Riley are free, I told myself as my stomach threatened to crawl up my throat. That’s all that matters. They’re alive, and as long as they’re out there, they’ll be fighting to get me away from Talon. I just have to endure until then, and not give Talon anything they want.

Shaking, I followed my captors single file through the room, passing dozens of metallic-gray dragons who watched me with pale, empty eyes. The guards led me into an elevator, which opened up onto the balcony overlooking the main floor. From up here, the sea of clones looked even more ominous, a glittering mass of scales, horns and wings. Dante stood with his back to me and both hands on the railing, gazing out over the clones. He glanced at me over his shoulder as I approached with the guards. “I didn’t want it to be like this, Ember,” he said as they drew me to a stop a few feet away. “I didn’t want to use force. Once we get back to Talon, you’ll see what we’re really trying to do.”

I raised my cuffed hands. “Seems pretty obvious to me.”

His face tightened, but he didn’t order them removed. “You’re a danger to yourself, Ember,” he said, turning from the railing. “I want to trust you, but you’ve been with that rogue too long, listening to his lies. Please understand, this isn’t forever. But until we return to the organization, I can’t take any chances. I’m sorry.”

He raised his hand, gesturing someone forward. A woman stepped out from the shadows, not a clone but a human in a white lab suit. The suit itself made me nervous, but the syringe glittering in one gloved hand made me even more jumpy.

“What is that?” I growled as she stepped toward me, smiling in a way that I guessed was supposed to be calming, but it just made me want to bite her.

“Dractylpromazine,” Dante answered. “A mild sedative. It won’t hurt you. It will just make it impossible to Shift for the next few hours. Hold her still.”