Soldier (Talon, #3)(73)

The dragon jerked, shuddering. For a second we lay there, me on my back beneath a dragon, its fangs sunk deep into my arm. Then, those jaws slowly loosened, and the dragon made a strangled sound as it collapsed, its head hitting the ground just a few inches from mine. I glanced over and saw its eyes staring at me, bright and glassy, the spark of life slowing fading. For a moment, it didn’t look angry or enraged; it looked terrified, confused. It made a faint whimpering sound in the back of its throat, as blood streamed from its nose and jaws. Then the slitted pupil rolled up, staring at the ceiling, and didn’t move again.

“Garret!”

Tristan strode up and shoved the scaly green body off me with his boot. It rolled limply into a puddle, jaws open, still gazing at nothing. My partner loomed overhead, peering down with piercing, anxious eyes. His face was bloody, and the front of his combat vest was torn to strips, but he didn’t appear seriously hurt.

“Dammit, Sebastian,” he snapped as I struggled into a sitting position, which might’ve been a mistake. My arm blazed with agony, and I gritted my teeth, cradling the injured limb to my chest. A quick glance down made my stomach turn: my wrist and forearm had been shredded, blood soaked my mangled glove and dripped to the ground. Tristan swore again and knelt beside me. Pulling his own knife, he began cutting the sleeve from my arm, peeling back the fabric to reveal the length of ravaged skin. Rows of puncture wounds and several deep gashes oozed blood everywhere, and a patch of skin near my wrist was red and shiny, indicating it had been burned as well, as the gases emanating from a dragon’s throat were scalding hot. Tristan swore again and shook his head.

“Jeezus, Garret,” he growled, pulling several bandages from a compartment on his belt. “What the hell were you thinking? Didn’t anyone tell you that hand-to-hand combat with a dragon is generally a bad idea?”

“You’re welcome,” I gritted out, clenching my jaw as he began swabbing my arm with a cloth, wiping away the blood. He snorted at that, but didn’t comment.

Footsteps announced the arrival of the others, and a moment later Talbot swept up, shining his light at my feet. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, eyeing Tristan and me. “We heard shots fired, and now Sebastian is sitting here in his own blood. I assume to you have a damn good explanation for both. Did you find the targets?”

“Yes, sir,” Tristan said coolly, not looking up from his task. “If you’ll look behind you, you should see them both. One human servant and one dragon.” Talbot’s flashlight found the lifeless body of the dragon behind me, drawing a muttered curse from the other soldier. “The lizard was waiting for us when we came in,” Tristan added, as the squad leader turned back. “It surprised me, but Sebastian managed to kill it, with a combat knife and a pistol.” As Talbot’s eyes widened, Tristan’s mouth twitched in a rueful smile. “Kid saved my life.”

“That so.” Talbot’s voice was expressionless, but the other soldier stared down at me with grudging appreciation. Normally, if a dragon got close enough to bite you, your chances of surviving that encounter were slim. I was lucky that the dragon was small and too enraged to breathe fire in my face. “Well, regardless,” Talbot went on, “the thing’s dead. I’ll radio headquarters and let them know the raid was a success and to send in the cleanup crew.” He glanced at me, frowning. “Can you walk, greenie?”

I nodded as Tristan finished wrapping gauze around my forearm, tying it off with a jerk. My arm was pretty messed up, and the meat of my thumb was in ribbons, but I wouldn’t know the real damage until a medic looked at it. Hopefully I hadn’t sustained any nerve damage. I needed my fingers to kill dragons and had no intention of stopping now. Tristan held out an arm; I grabbed his wrist with my good hand and let him pull me upright.

“All right, let’s move. And Sebastian...” Talbot nodded at me, but it was a gesture of silent approval. “Don’t think you’re off the hook if your arm falls off,” he said. “We can’t have our youngest dragonslayer hanging up the gun after his very first kill.”

I breathed out slowly. “No, sir.”

The squad began to move out. I looked at Tristan, and he held out an arm, indicating the path forward. “After you,” he said, the hint of a smirk on his face. “Partner.”





EMBER

I found Garret in the hotel’s business center a couple hours later.

I’d left Riley and Wes checking the status of their safe houses, slipping out of the room when their attention was diverted. I felt a little guilty, knowing Riley still wanted to talk, but I couldn’t face him right now. I could still see the Archivist, the ancient, unstoppable Wyrm, wrapping his fingers around Garret’s throat, and there had been nothing I could do to stop it. I could feel the utter terror, thinking I was going to lose him. He was more than a friend, I realized, more than the steady, unshakable soldier I could always count on. I was a dragon, and Cobalt was my Sallith’tahn, but I couldn’t ignore what I felt toward Garret any longer. Even if I had no idea what it was.

Peering through the door of the business center, my heart pounded as I saw him, sitting in the computer chair with his back to me. I didn’t know what I wanted to say, if I should say anything. But I slipped through the frame, walked across the room and slid into the seat beside his. His gray eyes shifted to me, wary and puzzled, and I swallowed hard.