There was a roar, a sudden inrush of air, and a window above us exploded into shards of heat and flames. Glass and splinters of burning wood showered us, making me flinch and press against the wall, as a massive firestorm erupted inside the house. As Riley launched his distraction in the most dragony way possible.

Garret tapped my leg. “Now.”

Garret

Garret

I darted from the house and sprinted across the road as quickly as I could, Ember close at my heels. I knew we were exposed; even with the rogue’s distraction, there was a chance the sniper would see us. But it seemed the sudden firestorm was enough of a disruption; we reached the other side without any shots fired and ducked behind another house.

The building we’d left had quickly become an inferno, tongues of fire snapping from the windows and roof, as dragonfire burned hotter and fiercer than normal flame. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of the neighborhood, either. Cries of alarm were beginning to echo through the streets as civilians spilled from their own homes onto the pavement, gaping at the fire. A crowd formed rapidly in front of the burning house, talking to each other or speaking frantically into their phones. Some were even taking pictures. The police would arrive soon with the fire department, and they’d likely shut down the whole block. We didn’t have much time.

“This way,” I told Ember, and we crept swiftly up the street, weaving between fences and ducking behind cover when we could, moving toward the house on the corner. Ember stayed with me, never hesitating or slowing down, following my lead without fail. No more shots were fired on the house; there were far too many people out front now, watching the building burn. St. George wouldn’t risk firing into the crowd and hitting a civilian. But we didn’t want the soldiers following us, either. Or alerting the rest of their squad to where we’d gone. The threat had to be nullified before we could escape.

Which meant I would have to fight St. George face-to-face.

For a moment, crouched with Ember behind a parked car in a driveway, preparing for the next dash to cover, I felt a stab of guilt. What was I doing? These were my former brothers, men I’d fought beside just a few short weeks ago. What if the sniper was someone I knew? What if I got up there…and it was Tristan facing me on the other side? And if it was my former partner, staring at me down the sight of his gun, could he make himself pull the trigger? Could I?