already; I couldn’t expect Tristan to start trusting dragons after twenty-two years of trying to eliminate their entire race. “It’s not like I was living with robots or wild dogs,” I went on.
“You’ve said that before,” Tristan muttered.
“And I’m even more certain now.” I turned, narrowing my eyes at him. “I’ve lived with these dragons for months,” I said, holding his gaze. “I’ve fought beside them, argued with them, rescued a few from Talon and the Order and had my own ass saved a few times. I’ve spent more hours with these dragons than anyone else in the history of St. George ever has. I think I should know them, and their intentions, by now.”
“Easy, tiger.” Tristan held up his hands. “I’m not disagreeing with you. And...holy shit.”
I glanced calmly over my shoulder as two long, scaly forms prowled out of the shadows under the trees, their eyes glowing yellow and green in the darkness. They appeared without noise or warning, silent despite their relatively large size, wings and claws making no sound as they glided over the dirt. Tristan straightened, one hand dropping to his sidearm, making Cobalt curl a lip at him.
“Don’t be stupid, St. George,” the rogue growled, breaking the silence. With a snort, he stalked around the other side of the jeep, subtly putting the vehicle between himself and the soldier. “I’m already hating this enough as it is.”
My ex-partner blinked, probably from hearing the sarcastic voice and tone coming out of a dragon’s mouth. Another reminder that Riley and the dragon were the same—same creature, same personality—just wearing different forms.
Ember padded up behind me and laid her chin on my shoulder as she gazed at the tracks. Her scales were warm, not heavy or uncomfortable, and I could see the reflection of her glowing dragon eyes in the corner of my own gaze. I felt Tristan staring at us again, and wondered what he thought about having a dragon’s fire-breathing jaws and lethal fangs a breath away from your throat. I could almost hear him squirming uncomfortably against the jeep, thinking I was tempting fate. I felt nothing. Nothing but the calm stillness before a mission. If anything, the steady breathing of the dragon beside me, her dark wings casting us in even more shadow, only made me certain of our success. She knew what she had to do. This wasn’t anything new or strange. We’d been through so many crazy circumstances together that having a large crimson dragon leaning against me felt perfectly normal. Ember the dragon was no different than Ember the human. I trusted her with my life.
Now, if Tristan and Cobalt could tolerate each other long enough to get this done, and not kill each other on the way, things would be perfect.
“There it is,” Ember murmured.
My senses sharpened, and I raised my head, followed her gaze. A distant spotlight was cutting through the darkness, winking in and out through the trees. I could hear it, suddenly, the clank of metal on iron tracks, the rattle of dozens of cars, and I breathed slowly to control my heartbeat.
“All right,” Cobalt growled, and took a breath, as if he was psyching himself up to do something horribly unpleasant, like plunge his head into a bucket of spiders. “I guess it’s time. Let’s get this circus show on the road.”
I double-checked to make certain I had everything I needed as Ember stepped forward and lowered her wings, crouching slightly as she did. Careful to avoid her spines, I swung onto her back, settling in front of her wing joints. For a moment, I felt a weird sense of déjà vu. The last time I’d done this was the night Ember and Cobalt had broken me out of the Western Chapterhouse hours before my execution could’ve taken place. This was a very different scenario. So much had changed.
I glanced at Tristan, who was standing next to Cobalt with an uncertain look on his face, as if contemplating the best way to mount a dragon. Cobalt, for his part, was making it as easy as he could; his wings were lowered and the frill that went down his back and neck had been folded flat to his spine. The blue dragon stared straight ahead, unmoving, only the tip of his tail beating an irritated rhythm in the dust, as Tristan struggled with the problem. Finally, Cobalt let out an impatient hiss.
“Are you waiting for a saddle, St. George? Our ride is almost here. Let’s go.”
“Shit,” Tristan muttered, and threw himself onto the dragon’s back. He scrabbled gracelessly for a moment, trying to find the best position, before settling in front of the wings as I had done. “Ow, dammit, watch where your spines are poking,” he growled as Cobalt smirked back at him. “I’m not planning to have kids, but I’d still like the option.”
Cobalt snickered. “I’ll try not to come to any sudden stops.”
Ember raised her head and peered at me, her eyes a solemn green in the darkness. “Ready?” she asked. I nodded.
The train approached, rumbling along the track, its single light piercing the darkness before it. I felt Ember’s muscles coil, felt the ripple of power that went through the dragon as her wings unfurled to either side of me like sails. She crouched, and I braced myself as she launched herself into the air with one powerful downward flap. Wind blasted me, tearing at my hair and clothes, as we rose into the air, the ground falling swiftly away into blackness. I kept myself pressed low over Ember’s neck, gritting my teeth as we climbed, my arms wrapped tightly around her neck.
Ember leveled out, her wing beats becoming less frequent and powerful as she eased into a glide, buoyed on the wind currents. Carefully, I sat up and looked around for Tristan.
Cobalt soared alongside us a few yards to the right, wings outstretched, tail streaming behind him. It was hard to tell from the distance and the movement of the dragons, but I thought there was a smirk on his scaly face. Behind his shoulders, Tristan was still flat against the dragon’s body, arms wrapped around his neck in a death grip. His eyes weren’t closed, but his jaw was clenched, and his gaze was fixed firmly to a spot between Cobalt’s horns, as if he were refusing to look down. I bit the corner of my lip, not knowing whether to feel sympathy or amusement. Abruptly, his gaze flickered to me, a death glare shooting from his eyes. The howling wind would blow away our voices, but I didn’t have to hear him to know what he was thinking. Laugh and I will kill you.
The train snaked away below us, cutting a silent path to the north. Ember angled a wingtip down, and we glided after it.
I bent forward, pressing close to the dragon’s neck as she dropped lower, wings beating occasionally to stay aloft. Winds buffeted us, and Ember wobbled in the gusts coming off the train, but we soared over the caboose and dropped even lower, skimming just ten or so feet from the moving rail cars.
The prototype is in the sixth car from the engine, I thought, remembering Martin’s instructions to us before we left. According to my sources, the prototype and the cars immediately adjacent to it will be under guard, but the rest of the train should be empty. If you want to get the drop on them, the best way is to go through one of the roof hatches of the cars before it.
The engine and tinder car loomed ahead of us. Ember drew up, then back-flapped her wings three times and dropped from the air. Her talons hit the roof with a metallic thump, and she instantly splayed her feet to keep her balance on the moving car.
Carefully, I slid off the dragon’s back and took a moment to find my balance, as well. The train wasn’t moving very fast, but the rooftop was narrow, and the car shook and rattled as it continued down the tracks. I crouched next to Ember as Cobalt and Tristan landed behind us, the scrape of claws on the metal roof echoing over the wind.
Ember swung her head around to face me, concern shining from her green dragon eyes. “You got this, soldier boy?” she asked, her breath warm even through the shrieking wind. “I still don’t like the thought of leaving you here. What if you need backup?”
“We’ll be fine.” I glanced at Tristan as he slid down and crouched low as I had done. “This is part of the plan. We’re not here to fight the whole train. We just need to get in, get to the prototype and get out quickly. It shouldn’t be too heavily guarded—no one is expecting an attack, especially one where people drop onto the roof from dragons.” I half