“But there was…a human,” I went on, as they all stared at me like I’d gone insane. “One of the people I met in Crescent Beach. He was a friend of my sister’s. Really, I only saw him once or twice. But…there was always something about him, something that I didn’t like. I saw him fight, once—he was definitely trained. And he just showed up out of nowhere one day, always hanging around my sister.”

“That is not enough reason to suspect someone, Mr. Hill,” Mist said in her calm, logical voice. “You can’t expect us to drop everything and switch to a new plan of action simply because you have a hunch.”

“The night Ember left Crescent Beach,” I continued, ignoring that last statement, “she told me she was going to meet this human, alone. She said she wanted to tell him goodbye before she went rogue.” I paused, my chest tightening with the memory. “That was the last time I saw her.

“I don’t know if that human was part of the Order,” I went on, looking back at Mist and the Talon employees. “But I suspect that he was. And both Ember and Lilith were attacked that night by St. George. Ember was close to that human. She…might’ve told him things, about us. About Talon. If you can find him, track the cell he belongs to, he might lead us to Ember.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

I narrowed my gaze. “Then you can blame it on me. But it’s worth a shot. Better than searching for places where she might show up or trying to crack this impossible-to-breach network.”

She gave me a long, appraising look. “All right, Mr. Hill,” she finally said. “It’s not like we have a choice. Mr. Roth did put you in charge, after all. We’ll do it your way.” She turned to the humans. “You heard him, then. Find that chapterhouse. Start monitoring all St. George activity in the region. If the Order so much as sneezes, I want to know.” She looked back at me, crystal-blue eyes defiant. “Did you happen to catch this special human’s name, Mr. Hill?”

I nodded. “Yes,” I said, feeling a slow burn of anger in the pit of my stomach. Anger at the rogue, and St. George, and the human, for taking my sister away. At jeopardizing all my plans with Talon. I would find her, and nothing would stop me from bringing her back. “His name was Garret Xavier Sebastian.”

Ember

Ember

Three hours on the back of a motorcycle, the sun beating down on your shoulders and the wind whipping through your hair, though exhilarating, reminds you why flying wins every time.