Wes immediately made a right turn and hit the gas pedal, presumably heading toward the highway again. I turned in my seat to peer into the back. Riley crouched at Ember’s side, fully clothed with a bloody rag in hand, pressing it to her ribs. We’d switched places not long after the van started moving, as I had no idea what to do with a wounded dragon, and Ember was bleeding all over the place. She now sprawled across the floor of the van, large wings brushing the windows like leathery curtains. Her scales gleamed metallic crimson in the sunlight through the glass and threw fragments of light over the walls. She was not, I realized with a chill, something small or subtle that we could easily hide. All anyone had to do was peek in the window to see a large red dragon curled up on the floor.

The smell of blood soaked the back of the vehicle, making my stomach turn. “How is she?” I asked, and the other dragon shot me a murderous glare.

“Not good.” His voice was clipped, as if he was speaking to me only out of necessity. “She’s lost a lot of blood, and that slug is still inside her somewhere. I’ve stopped the bleeding for now, but we have to get her somewhere safe before we can take care of the wound.” He put a hand on a scaly foreleg, his forehead creasing with worry. “Probably a good thing she’s unconscious, but she won’t be able to Shift back until we get it out. It could tear something vital if she changes back with the round still inside her.”

My stomach twisted with worry. Not only for Ember, but that we wouldn’t be able to get somewhere safe without anyone noticing the large mythological creature in the backseat. As if reading my thoughts, Riley’s gaze flickered to me and turned hard. “So you’d better hope no one sees her between then and now,” he growled, “or we’ll have the Order back on our tail faster than you can pull a trigger. And probably Talon, come to think of it.” He snorted, lip curling with disgust. “It would be just like them to show up now.”

I frowned, not sure I’d heard him correctly. “Why would Talon be after you? I thought all dragons—”

“Well, you thought wrong.” He gave me a look of contempt. “There’s a lot about us you don’t know, St. George,” he went on, an accusation and a challenge. “Maybe if you tried talking to us instead of blowing us to pieces, you’d realize that.”

“Riley,” Wes broke in before I could answer, “gas station in three miles. If we don’t fill up now, we might not get another chance. And I need to visit the loo.”