Something chirped close by, startling us both. Riley reached back and pulled out his phone, staring at the screen. His expression screwed up with disgust.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Wes. Really?” He stuck the phone in his back pocket, shaking his head. “You and your damn nervous stomach. Perfect timing as always.”

He straightened and peered out the window, scanning the surroundings just as I had a moment ago. I recognized that wariness, that caution for traps and enemies and hidden dangers. He had been a soldier, once. Or some kind of operative. We were parked at one of the farthest pumps, and no one was close by, but he still scanned the area for a good twenty seconds before glancing at me.

“I’m going inside.” His glare was hard, his face taut with suspicion. “We’ll need a few things if we’re going to be holed up for a while, and my idiot partner is out of commission. I’ll only be gone a minute, but…” His gaze flicked to the large canvas lump beside him, the tail and claws poking out from beneath. “Can I trust you with her, St. George?”

I met his glare, keeping my voice steady. “Yes.”

His lips tightened like he’d swallowed something foul, but he didn’t say anything as he made his way to the front door. Snatching the keys from the ignition, he slipped out of the van and slammed the door behind him, leaving me alone with an unconscious dragon in the backseat.

Silence descended, throbbing in my ears, broken only by Ember’s slow, labored breaths beneath the tarp. I turned in my seat to look at her fully. The canvas hid most of her body, but her feet, ending in hooked black talons, stuck out of the bottom, as did the long, spade-tipped tail. I could see the points of her horns and wings, the curve of her neck, the very tip of her muzzle peeking from the edge of the cloth. She twisted and curled a lip in her sleep, revealing a flash of very long, very sharp fangs, and a cold knot formed in my stomach.

Ember… This was the real form of the girl I’d met in Crescent Beach. I’d seen her like this before, but only in passing. When we were battling one another, soldier to dragon, each of us fighting for our lives. And later, when I was urging her to run before my team showed up to kill them all. I’d seen her real form then, but it was a fleeting awareness, buried in the urgency of the moment. I’d been too distracted to give it much thought.