Inferno (Talon #5)(33)
EMBER
I should’ve seen this coming.
I mean, I’d known it could happen. Tensions were running high, and from what I could tell, there was a silent battle going on between the soldiers of the Western Chapterhouse, and the soldiers of the Eastern Chapterhouse. Nothing overt; the soldiers had been told that fighting would not be tolerated, and if nothing else, they were disciplined and followed orders well. But within the church walls, the enmity and mistrust between both dragons and soldiers was palpable. Ward’s men, the soldiers of the Eastern Chapterhouse, condemned the other soldiers for sympathizing with dragons, and their contempt was obvious. For their part, the men of the Western Chapterhouse seemed balanced on a razor’s edge. They had seen us, a few had even talked to us, but the vitriol and hatred toward dragons from their peers, and from Lieutenant Ward in particular, made them uncertain and confused. Having two lieutenants so at odds with each other was throwing everything they knew into chaos.
We dragons kept our heads down and remained mostly out of sight, not engaging the soldiers unless we absolutely had to. Personally, I didn’t like the idea of hiding from our supposed allies, especially since we could be trying to convince them that dragons weren’t evil. It seemed like a wasted opportunity. Still, I understood that it was a lot to ask of the Order—allying with their ancient enemies when their Code, their very religion, told them that dragons were soulless monsters that must be destroyed. It wasn’t a good time to convince them otherwise. Especially since some of the soldiers were more vehement in their hatred than others.
“Where ya going, dragon?”
I stared at the soldiers who were leaning against the wall in the middle of the corridor. They were big and muscular, with buzzed heads and matching smirks. The one who had spoken was none other than Peter Matthews, Garret’s old rival. His blue eyes were hard as he glared at me.
I tensed, feeling the heat start to rise in my veins. Inside the church, the stone hallways were tight and narrow, with little room to maneuver and no other ways around. If I wanted to get where I was going, I would have to pass these two. Beneath my clothes, the slick material of my new Viper suit flattened to my skin, sensing hostility, anticipating a sudden, violent change of body. I took a deep breath to cool my lungs.
“I’m just looking for someone. Excuse me.”
“For Sebastian.”
I didn’t answer. I was looking for Garret, because he had texted me a few minutes ago with instructions to meet in the command room. It had sounded important, like maybe they had finally figured out a way to get to the island. But judging by Peter Matthews’s expression, his mind had gone straight to the gutter.
At my silence, his smirk twisted, becoming a sneer as he turned to the other soldier, jerking his head in my direction. “Joseph, that’s Sebastian’s little dragon bitch,” he told him. “Watch them together sometime—she can make him dance, sing, beg and roll over. He eats right out of her hand. It’s pretty fucking hilarious.”
“Yeah?” the other soldier gruffed, staring at me. “So it’s that good, huh? Hey, dragon, how much of my soul would I have to sell to get some of that?”
Well, this conversation had gotten disgusting in a hurry. I pushed down my anger and walked forward, determined to ignore them.
Abruptly, Matthews’s hand shot out, slamming into the opposite wall, blocking my way. I froze, clamping down on the knee-jerk reaction to Shift and bite his arm off.
“Joseph asked you a question, lizard,” Peter Matthews said, his voice full of menace as he loomed over me. “Don’t you know it’s rude to ignore someone? Or is common decency as foreign to you animals as everything else?”
I bit my lip to keep the flames under control, to stifle the instinctive desire to Shift in the face of an obvious threat. My anger and disgust with these humans was reaching dangerous levels. Keep it together, Ember. You can’t start a war right now.
“Good God, you two are stupid.”
The deep, mocking voice echoed behind us. The soldiers jerked up, and I spun around to see Tristan St. Anthony’s lean, wiry form standing at the end of the corridor. His arms were crossed, and he was staring at the other soldiers, ocean-blue eyes crinkled in disgust.
“And here I thought I’d seen it all,” Tristan said, strolling up casually. He shot a disdainful look at Peter and shook his head. “Do you have a fucking death wish, Matthews? You know, there are easier ways to kill yourself than harassing a fire-breathing dragon in a very tight hallway.”
“St. Anthony.” The other soldiers straightened so they were no longer in my face, but they didn’t move back. Peter Matthews’s sneer faltered but came back quickly. “Did Sebastian send you to rescue his scaly mistress? That’s what you Western Chapterhouse pussies are all about now, right? Rescuing the enemy? Cozying up to lizards?”
The other soldier, Joseph, snickered. “Maybe she holds his leash, too.”
Tristan raised an eyebrow at the pair. It was a small motion, but the amused contempt he could project with it was impressive. “Rescue a dragon,” he said slowly. “Right. Clearly, that’s what I’m doing here. I’m certainly not saving a pair of class-A morons from being turned into steaming piles of stupidity when the dragon decides she’s had enough and fries your asses.”