his skull than escape with a pair of dragons. Isn’t that right, St. George?” The figure turned to me, mouth curled in a sneer. “Never mind that they sold you down the river without a second thought. But you know, I don’t care one way or another about your loyalty hang-ups. You have three seconds to choose before I say the hell with it and leave you here. So what’s it gonna be? Come with us, or stay here and die?”
Escape.
Leave St. George with two dragons. With the enemy. I’d been fully prepared to die a moment ago, but now freedom was staring me in the face. If I did this, if I stepped through that door, there was no turning back.
For just a moment, the Perfect Soldier recoiled at the idea of accepting the help of our greatest enemies, even now. But I knew the truth, and it cast an ominous shadow over my thoughts. There was something wrong within the Order, something I’d never seen before I met Ember. It was treason to speak against St. George doctrine, treason to consider that the Order could be mistaken. No one in St. George was willing to hear the other side of the story, that a dragon, a creature whose race they had hunted and killed for hundreds of years, could be more than just a monster. No one was willing to accept the idea that the Order of St. George had slaughtered those who did not deserve it.
Regardless, the Order was no longer home. I’d already been sentenced to die, at the hands of the very people who had raised me. I wouldn’t be any more of a traitor if I left this place in the company of two dragons who’d risked their lives to get me out. That made a pretty good argument, right there.
“I’m with you,” I said quietly, and stepped through the door. The other dragon was still watching me, gold eyes assessing, but my gaze sought Ember’s, and I saw relief spread across her face as I left the cell. I heard another disgusted snort from her companion, but I ignored it. I was a soldier of St. George no longer. I had no idea how Ember and her companion were going to get us
out
but, at least for now, I was free. If I was going to die today, I would go down fighting.
“Come on,” growled the second dragon, gesturing impatiently. “It’s almost dawn.”
We hurried from the cell block, passing through the guard station, where two soldiers lay in crumpled heaps on the floor, out cold. One of them had what looked like a broken nose and the other’s forehead was a mess of blood where, I suspected, he’d been bashed against the edge of the desk. I paused, kneeling down to grab the 9 mm from one of their side holsters, trying not to look at them as I checked the chamber for rounds. I might be with the enemy now, but they were still my former brothers, men I had trained with and fought beside. That couldn’t be forgotten in a single night, or even in a single act of betrayal. The male dragon glared at me as I rose with the gun, obviously not pleased with the idea that I was armed, but didn’t challenge me as we continued down the hall and up the stairs to the main floor.
The building was quiet as we exited the stairwell; it was still too early for most soldiers to be up and about, though I could see the sky had turned a disquieting navy blue, no longer the pitch-black of true night. Morning formations began at oh five hundred, which was less than an hour and a half away. The base would be stirring soon. Not to mention, we still had to get past security and the patrols around the perimeter fence. I didn’t know how Ember and the other dragon had managed to get this far without being seen, but I was less than optimistic that we could waltz out again without trouble. Everything was quiet. This seemed way too easy.
The other dragon—Riley, I remembered his name was—stopped us at the back door and spoke quietly into what I presumed was a wire. A moment later, he nodded and pushed open the door, confirming what I suspected; they had an outsider hacked into the security cams. He had to be
Escape.
Leave St. George with two dragons. With the enemy. I’d been fully prepared to die a moment ago, but now freedom was staring me in the face. If I did this, if I stepped through that door, there was no turning back.
For just a moment, the Perfect Soldier recoiled at the idea of accepting the help of our greatest enemies, even now. But I knew the truth, and it cast an ominous shadow over my thoughts. There was something wrong within the Order, something I’d never seen before I met Ember. It was treason to speak against St. George doctrine, treason to consider that the Order could be mistaken. No one in St. George was willing to hear the other side of the story, that a dragon, a creature whose race they had hunted and killed for hundreds of years, could be more than just a monster. No one was willing to accept the idea that the Order of St. George had slaughtered those who did not deserve it.
Regardless, the Order was no longer home. I’d already been sentenced to die, at the hands of the very people who had raised me. I wouldn’t be any more of a traitor if I left this place in the company of two dragons who’d risked their lives to get me out. That made a pretty good argument, right there.
“I’m with you,” I said quietly, and stepped through the door. The other dragon was still watching me, gold eyes assessing, but my gaze sought Ember’s, and I saw relief spread across her face as I left the cell. I heard another disgusted snort from her companion, but I ignored it. I was a soldier of St. George no longer. I had no idea how Ember and her companion were going to get us
out
but, at least for now, I was free. If I was going to die today, I would go down fighting.
“Come on,” growled the second dragon, gesturing impatiently. “It’s almost dawn.”
We hurried from the cell block, passing through the guard station, where two soldiers lay in crumpled heaps on the floor, out cold. One of them had what looked like a broken nose and the other’s forehead was a mess of blood where, I suspected, he’d been bashed against the edge of the desk. I paused, kneeling down to grab the 9 mm from one of their side holsters, trying not to look at them as I checked the chamber for rounds. I might be with the enemy now, but they were still my former brothers, men I had trained with and fought beside. That couldn’t be forgotten in a single night, or even in a single act of betrayal. The male dragon glared at me as I rose with the gun, obviously not pleased with the idea that I was armed, but didn’t challenge me as we continued down the hall and up the stairs to the main floor.
The building was quiet as we exited the stairwell; it was still too early for most soldiers to be up and about, though I could see the sky had turned a disquieting navy blue, no longer the pitch-black of true night. Morning formations began at oh five hundred, which was less than an hour and a half away. The base would be stirring soon. Not to mention, we still had to get past security and the patrols around the perimeter fence. I didn’t know how Ember and the other dragon had managed to get this far without being seen, but I was less than optimistic that we could waltz out again without trouble. Everything was quiet. This seemed way too easy.
The other dragon—Riley, I remembered his name was—stopped us at the back door and spoke quietly into what I presumed was a wire. A moment later, he nodded and pushed open the door, confirming what I suspected; they had an outsider hacked into the security cams. He had to be
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