He stopped and gave me a puzzled look. We were almost to the exit; I could see the open door to the rail yard dead ahead. Riley and Wes would be here soon, and we had to get out of here before Talon, the Order or the authorities showed up. But something still nagged at me, and if I didn’t resolve it now, I’d drive myself crazy wondering.

“I have to go back,” I told Garret, whose puzzled look deepened to a frown. “You don’t have to come. Put me down and go wait for Riley if you want. But I have to go back. There’s something important I forgot to do.”

Dante

Dante

She should have called by now.

The clock on the wall was too loud, every ticking second like a miniature drill in my brain. The senior dragons did nothing, said nothing, sitting around the table with the patience of mountains, their blank eyes on me. Occasionally, they would speak to me, or each other, their voices cool and remote, but for the most part, they waited, silent and unmoving. I mimicked their positions, trying to remain calm and patient, staring at my folded hands until the image was seared into my retinas.

The phone buzzed on the table.

I jolted in my seat like I’d been stung. Without waiting for Roth’s approval, I snatched it up and put it to my ear, my voice low and grave.

“Faith? Is it done?”

“It’s not Faith.”

I froze. The room froze. I sat rigid in my chair, the eyes of four senior dragons on me, as her voice echoed in my ear, low and unmistakable. They couldn’t hear the conversation, but from the looks I was getting, it was clear they knew something wasn’t right. Heart pounding, I closed my eyes, knowing it was useless to hide it.

“Ember,” I said, and felt the attention in the room sharpen to a razor’s edge. I swallowed hard and forced myself to speak calmly. Maybe I could salvage what was left of this assignment. “Where are you?”

“I think you already know that, Dante.” Ember’s voice was icy. She’d spoken to me that way only a couple times in her life, and I had painful memories of one, and a tiny scar from the other. “Considering you were the one who set this up.”

The weight of the combined stares was becoming unbearable, four senior dragons pinning me with hard, intense eyes. “Where is Faith?” I asked.

A heartbeat of silence. “She’s dead.”

The ground dropped out from under me. I sat there, unable to believe what I’d just heard. I’d always known Ember was rebellious, reckless and stubborn, but I’d never thought her capable of this. “She’s dead?” I choked in disbelief. “You killed her?”

“I didn’t kill her.”