Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t give me that, Riley,” she growled. “That’s BS. Admit it—you don’t want me with Garret because he was part of St. George.”

I ground my teeth at her stubbornness. “I have no problem admitting that, Firebrand,” I snarled. “What I don’t understand is how you can let that murdering dragon killer anywhere near you without wanting to rip his head off!”

“Hey.” The soldier had come forward again, eyes narrowed, his body tense and ready for a fight. “Leave her alone,” he said evenly, as I gave him a dangerous look. “It’s not her fault. I started this. Take it up with me if you have a problem.”

I would love to, St. George, I thought viciously, but Ember beat me to it.

“Don’t, Garret,” she snapped, and I didn’t know if the anger in her voice was directed at me, the soldier or us both. “I’m not afraid of jealous rogue dragons, and you don’t have to step in front of him for me.” She turned from the human then, looking me right in the eye. “I can take care of myself.”

Jealous? I took a deep, cooling breath and stepped back, shaking my head at them both. “I don’t have time for this,” I said, which was true. The runaway hatchlings were still a question, and I’d wasted enough time already. “I’m supposed to be somewhere else right now,” I went on, “and I’m done talking to the pair of you. Might as well beat my head against a wall.”

“You’re leaving?” Ember narrowed her eyes. “Again? Where are you going this time?”

“Out,” I retorted, feeling mulish and immature. “Somewhere important, if you have to know.” Her expression darkened, and I knew she was on the verge of demanding to come along. I took a step back. “Come or stay,” I growled, “it makes no difference to me. I’m done here.”

I spun on a heel, then strode across the roof without looking back. I heard them start after me, and controlled the urge to spin back around and lay the soldier flat on his back. It was my dragon talking, but what troubled me wasn’t the anger, or the disgust, that Ember had forgotten everything St. George had done. She was still young. She didn’t know the Order like I did, hadn’t seen the true face of St. George, not yet.

No, what bothered me most was that, even after everything, my fiery red hatchling had still chosen the human…instead of me.

Dante

Dante

The meeting room was frigid.