I froze. The human looked up at me, green eyes appraising in a round, pale face. She wore a simple yellow dress, and curls of white-blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. She seemed completely unafraid, and for a split second, we stared at one another.

Then the girl blinked her somber green eyes. “You’re not supposed to be in there,” she said softly.

Instinctively, my muscles tensed, ready to spring forward, cover the human’s mouth and yank her back into the room. I knew I couldn’t let her run away and alert the rest of the base to my presence. But as she gazed up at me, bold yet curious, I faltered. She was a kid, no more than six or seven in human years. Not a soldier, not even an adult. If I grabbed her now…I’d probably have to kill her.

The girl cocked her head as I struggled with my decision. “What are you doing?” she whispered, her voice furtive, as if she was in on the conspiracy. “Are you hiding from someone?”

“Uh…yeah.” I had no idea what the hell I would even say to her after that. If the kid screamed, my chances of survival were basically zero. But the thought of killing her, feeling her small neck snap under my fingers, made my insides curl. Even though I knew she would grow up to hate my kind and want us extinct. Because she was part of St. George, and that’s what they did. Took people as normal and innocent as this girl and turned them into dragon-hating zealots.

The little human blinked again. “Why?” she asked, still keeping her voice soft. “Who’s looking for you? Are you in trouble?”

Oh, definitely. “No,” I whispered, giving her what I hoped was a careless grin and shrug. “I’m…uh…playing hide-and-seek with some of the soldiers.” Even as I said it, I winced inside at how stupid that sounded. But I couldn’t stop now. “It’s…a…a new exercise,” I went on, as she frowned. “They have to find me before time runs out, or I win. But if I’m caught, I have to wash everyone’s dishes for a month.”

The girl’s frown deepened, bordering on outrage. “That’s not fair!” she whispered indignantly. “There’s a lot of them, and only one of you. Not fair.” She put her hands on her hips, and I shrugged again, giving her a “what can you do?” look. Her nose wrinkled, lips pursing in annoyance. “Do they have to wash dishes if you win?”

“Um…no,” I said, wondering how I had been drawn into this crazy conversation, and how I could leave it without being discovered.

“Why not?”

“Because…ah…”

“Madison?”