“Blame my dad,” I said, turning around as the door closed. “He’s a retired sergeant. I had white-glove room inspections for—”

My words were stifled as Ember spun, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me.

My mind instantly shut off. Heat shot through me, starting from where her lips pressed against mine, all the way down to the pit of my stomach. I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifting her up on her toes, as my mouth responded furiously to hers. Her fingers dug into my hair, raking over my scalp and setting every nerve aflame. I groaned, clutching her tighter, feeling her tongue tease my lips, making my head swim. I was losing control, drowning in emotion, and I didn’t want this to stop.

“Ember,” I panted, “wait.” With a monumental effort, I pulled back, breathing as though I’d just run several miles with a murderous dragon on my tail. She leaned against my chest, looking up at me, green eyes bright with passion. A part of me, a huge part, wanted to keep going, to forget everything and lose myself to the girl in my arms. But logic had ruled my life for so long, and instinct had kept me alive when I would’ve been killed otherwise; it told me now that something wasn’t right.

Ember her lips were just a few inches from mine, tempting me to lean down and kiss her again. I controlled myself, running a thumb over her cheek. “Why did you come here?” I asked softly, and her eyes darkened. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Pushing herself away, she turned and made a frustrated gesture, not looking at me. “Just…it’s been a rough day.”

“What happened?”

“I…” She paused. I could sense her struggling with herself, trying to find the right words. “I can’t talk about it,” she finally whispered.

Suspicion flared, and I narrowed my eyes. “Did something happen with your brother?”

“Garret, please.” Her shoulders hunched in misery. “I can’t. I wish I could but…” She raked both hands across her eyes, bowing her head. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bothered you. I don’t even know why I came here.”

I should’ve pressed her. I should’ve tried to keep her talking, forced her to reveal things about her family, and herself. But at that moment, I found that I didn’t care. Ember was upset and had come to me. Not her brother, and not her friends. If I pushed, it might shatter the trust that was slowly beginning to build, but more important, I didn’t want her to leave. I might be new to this whole dating/relationship thing, but I was learning, very slowly, to ignore logic and strategy and let instinct guide the way.

Moving behind her, I slipped my arms around her waist and leaned close, holding her tight. “I’m here,” I told her quietly, feeling her shiver. “You don’t have to say anything, but if you need to talk, I’m here.”

She relaxed against me, laying her hands over mine and resting her head on my chest. “It’s not fair,” she whispered, so soft I barely caught it. “Everything is happening so fast. My life feels totally out of control, out of my control. I don’t want the summer to end, and…”

She paused, the skin of her cheeks warming slightly. “I don’t want to give you up.”

My breath caught. I didn’t say anything but held her tighter, feeling the truth steal over me. I didn’t want to let her go, either. When did that happen? When had I become so attached? Closing my eyes, I pressed my face to Ember’s neck, feeling us both shiver. It didn’t matter. None of this mattered. I was a soldier, my life was not my own, and at the end, no matter the outcome, I would have to return to the war.

Ember reached up, slipping cool fingers into my hair, her voice wistful. “Garret?”

“Mm,” I grunted, not opening my eyes.

“If you could be anywhere in the world right now,” she murmured, running her nails very lightly over my scalp, making it hard to concentrate, “where would you be?”

I frowned. Wishing to be somewhere else was useless. It wouldn’t do either of us any good. “Why?” I asked, pulling back to look at her.

“Garret.” She huffed and peered back at me. “I’m just curious.

Humor me, will you?” She shook her head and leaned into me again, closing her eyes, and gestured vaguely at the ceiling. “Let’s say you could fly anywhere you wanted, anywhere at all, regardless of price, time, or impossibility. Where would you go?”

I thought about it. I’d been a lot of places. All over the world, from huge cities to tiny villages to lonely corners of wilderness, wherever the war took us. After so long, they all ran together in my mind. Missions, battle, blood, death, repeat. Nothing really stood out.

Except for one.

I looked down at her, seeing my reflection in her eyes as she gazed back, our lips a few inches away. “If I could be anywhere I wanted,” I murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her face, “I would choose to be right here. Nowhere else.”

Her eyes gleamed. Turning in my arms, she slid her hands up my back and closed her eyes as I kissed her.

Her lips were gentle this time, searching. I felt the lightest flick of her tongue against my bottom lip and shivered, parting them slightly to let her in. She explored my mouth, and I clenched my fists against her back, feeling like I was drowning once more. The end of summer, and the mission, loomed overhead, dark and ominous, but I shoved it away. One more night, I told myself, hesitantly meeting Ember’s tongue, feeling like my knees might give out at any moment. just one more night, to make believe I was normal. To pretend that the beautiful, fiery, unpredictable girl in my arms, was mine.

A hollow bang caused me to jerk back, disengaging from Ember just as Tristan threw open the door. His dark eyes swept over us, taking in the scene, and narrowed suspiciously. I gave him a cold look, annoyed but knowing he wouldn’t have come in if it wasn’t important.

“Something’s come up,” he announced briskly, confirming my suspicion. “Garret, your dad is on the phone and wants to talk to you. Now.”

I straightened, my blood going cold. My “dad” was code for the Order, and any communications from them took top priority. “I’ll be right there,” I said, and Tristan ducked out without shutting the door behind him. I turned to Ember.

“I have to go,” I said, already thinking about what the Order might want. Maybe they had found the sleeper dragon and were calling us back to the front lines. The thought filled me with both dread and relief. If they had discovered the sleeper, that meant our target wasn’t Ember. But that also meant this was the last time I’d see her before I left Crescent Beach, vanished from her life, and returned to the war.