“Mist, huh? You’re awfully young to be doing this with no backup.” I curled my lips into a sneer. “Is this your exam, hatchling, or are all the real agents off murdering defenseless kids in their sleep?”

She offered another faint smile. “Trying to anger me into letting information slip is not going to work, either, Cobalt. Besides, you know the answer to that as well as I do.”

I did know, which made the organization’s interest in me all the more insidious. Talon couldn’t send one of their real agents after me because I knew them all. If someone like Lilith or another Viper showed up in town, I’d be gone the instant I got word of it—unless I was trying to convince a stubborn, red-haired hatchling to leave with me, that is. It didn’t even have to be a Viper; any dragon from my old life, be they Viper, Basilisk, Chameleon or Gila, I was instantly wary of. Talon knew I’d never trust one of their agents. They had to send a hatchling, someone I’d never seen before and would want to help, to lower my guard.

I should’ve seen this coming. I knew Talon was getting irritated with my high jinks; losing even one or two hatchlings a year was a big thing when your numbers were small. I’d thought I could handle whatever big nasty Viper they sent to take me out. But Talon was also devious as hell, a master of manipulation, of finding your weaknesses and using them against you. They’d baited me with the one thing I couldn’t ignore: a couple hatchlings in trouble, and I’d fallen for it like a moron. I’d been overconfident and was paying for it now.

Fortunately, I had a couple tricks up my sleeve, as well.

“Pretty clever,” I admitted, looking at Ava, or Mist now, I supposed. “The soldiers of St. George were a nice touch. That ambush felt completely real.” Mist didn’t answer, and I sighed. “We can play these games all night,” I said, subtly reaching my fingers into one of my jacket sleeves, feeling around the cuff. “But I’m tired and sore and kind of cranky, so can we get on with it? What do you want from me? Or, rather, what does Talon want from me?” Mist raised her brows, and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t act so surprised. If the organization just wanted me dead, I wouldn’t be here now. They wouldn’t go through all this trouble to set me up. What does Talon want?”