Inferno (Talon #5)(101)
Ember bowed her head. “I hope to change your opinion,” she said quietly. “I hope that, someday, you will come to see the Western dragons as friends, and not as a threat.”
The old dragon sniffed. “We shall see,” he said imperiously. “Let us hope you will show better judgment than those who came before you, hatchling.”
Ember didn’t answer, but Jade caught my gaze across the table and rolled her eyes, making me bite back a smile. Whatever their opinion of Talon, at least we had one ally who would defend us. I suspected we hadn’t seen the last of the wise, witty Eastern dragon who had kidnapped me, and I had no complaints about that.
“Then,” said the Archivist with the note of drawing the meeting to a close, “if we are in agreement, all that remains is for the treaty to be signed by the respective parties. Once signed, it will be effective immediately.” He flipped to the last page of the documents and slid it over to Riley, who made a show of scrutinizing the last words before scrawling his name on the first of four lines, with Mist acting as witness. It then crossed over to Jade and the Eastern dragon, who did the same. Finally, it came to me. I signed my full name on the given line and passed the treaty back to the Archivist, who placed it before Ember and handed her a pen.
“Ma’am,” he said quietly. “Yours is the final signature.”
As Ember took the pen, her gaze met mine for a brief moment, her eyes shining with triumph, and hope. We did it, they said. Everything we’d been through, all the sacrifice, losses, struggles and heartache—it all came down to this.
The daughter of the Elder Wyrm added the final signature to the document, and the treaty was complete.
Ember took a deep breath and straightened as the papers were taken away. “It’s done,” she whispered, and rose from her seat, gazing around the table. “Thank you,” she said simply. “All of you. You don’t know how happy I am that we’ve finally come to an accord.”
Riley pushed back his seat, prompting the rest of us to rise, too. “So, what now, Firebrand?” he asked. “We defeated an army, killed the Elder Wyrm and ended a war. Where do we go from here?”
“Forward,” Ember replied. “Always forward. It’s a new day, and anything is possible.”
“Well,” Riley said, gazing around at the rest of us. “I’ve got somewhere to be soon, but I’d say this calls for a celebration, drinks on me.” His gaze fell on me and Tristan, and he grinned. “What’dya say, St. George? Not opposed to throwing a few back with a bunch of lizards, are you? If anything, I’ll bet money I can drink both of you under the table.”
Tristan scoffed. “You’re on, lizard,” he began, and caught himself. “Uh, that is, if the commander is up for it.”
I grimaced. This commander thing would take some getting used to. “We have nowhere to be until tomorrow,” I said. “I’d say establishing relations with our new allies isn’t a bad idea.” I shot Tristan a sideways look. “Though I’ll leave the drinking to you, Lieutenant. I still remember the last time you convinced me to ‘loosen up.’ My stomach still hasn’t forgiven you for that.”
“Suit yourself, Commander. Guess I’ll just have to drink for the both of us.”
“A fine idea,” Jade put in, standing up in a fluttering of robes. “Mr. Lei will be returning to the hotel room, but I believe I will join this wager, as well. In the name of strengthening alliances, of course.”
I blinked in astonishment, and Riley did the same. “Wait, you’re in, too?”
“Of course,” Jade replied, and gave him a tranquil smile. “What, did you think that all I drink is tea?”
Mist chuckled, nudging Riley’s shoulder. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” she mock whispered, smiling up at him, “but my money is on her.”
I grinned at the genuine fear on Riley’s face, and looked across the table. “Ember?” I asked gently. The new CEO stood beside the Archivist, watching us all with a wistful smile on her face. “What about you? Will you be joining us?”
She shook herself. “Um, give me an hour,” she replied with a rueful look at the Archivist. “Apparently, I have some other things to sign and contracts to review that cannot wait until tomorrow. But yes, afterward, I would love to join you all. Especially since this will probably be the last time I’ll ever see the light of day.”
Riley curled a lip in sympathy. “Yeah, welcome to the corporate world, Firebrand. Now you know why I left. Well, if you ever need someone to come crashing into a board meeting to shake things up, you know my number.”
Ember smiled. “I’ll remember that. Commander Sebastian,” she went on before we could leave. “Could I have a moment? It won’t take long.” She stepped back and indicated the door on the other side of the room. “Please see me in my office when you are finished here.”
My heart jumped. I turned and nodded to Tristan, who had a knowing smirk on his face. “Go on,” I told him. “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll join you when I can.”
His grin told me he wasn’t fooled in the slightest. “As you say, Commander. I’ll ‘uphold relations’ until you return. Feel free to take your time.”
Jade offered a slight bow in my direction. “Until we meet again, Commander Sebastian,” she said solemnly, and left the room with the other Eastern dragon.