Ember Hill

Ember Hill is a dragon and the main protagonist of the Talon Saga. She appears in Talon, Rogue, Soldier, Legion, and Inferno. She is the love interest of Riley (Cobalt) and Garret, and the sister of Dante Hill. The Elder Wyrm is revealed to be the mother of Ember in Soldier.

## Biography

### Early Life

Before the series, Ember was taught how to masquerade as a human and avoid being targeted by the Order of St. George. She and Dante lived alone in a desert for most of their childhood.

It's revealed in *Legion* that Dante really meant a lot to Ember when she was younger. During Ember's flashbacks, she saw that Dante used to break rules, lie, and get hurt just so she would be safe. One example of this is when Ember failed a test, Dante failed it too just so Ember wouldn't be punished. Another is when a rattlesnake jumped at Ember, Dante pushed Ember out of the way, even though he got bit. Then he told Ember that he wasn't in pain, even though he was. He also lied to their caretaker and said that it was his fault, so Ember wouldn't be yelled at. However, over time Dante ended up becoming much more loyal to Talon, fiercely following his personal motto "Sacrifice is Necessary".

### Assimilation

In Talon, Ember travelled to Crescent Beach to assimilate into human society. She befriended some of the teenagers who lived there, Lexi and Kristin. She and Dante both noticed Riley arrive, and they both realized he was a rogue dragon.

Her vacation was cut short when Lilith and another agent arrived and changed their plans, due to Dante informing Talon about Riley. Lilith trained Ember during the summer, and Ember nicknamed her "Scary Talon Lady." She gave Ember several menial tasks to make sure she would follow orders.

Ember met Garret for the first time when she was being harassed by Colin and his friends. Garret and his partner Tristan St. Anthony easily took on the boys and defeated them, while Ember kicked Colin in the groin or as Ember put it, “where the sun don’t shine.” Then, a while later in the book, she ran into Riley, who offered to tell her more about Talon.

She later snuck out of the house, to fly with Riley. When revealed his real name, Cobalt, and they flew across Lover's Bluff for the night. She met Garret while walking home, and she decided to teach him how to surf when he asked. However, Ember promised not to fly anymore when confronted by Dante.

Eventually, Lilith improved Ember's stealth and skill by sending fake St. George soldiers with paintball guns at her. She encouraged Ember to never hesitate, and that dragons are always the hunters.

Ember taught Garret about surfing, eventually watching him take on a monster wave. She slowly began to realize she was developing feelings for him, just as he did for her. But she began to wonder if he might be part of St. George.

She punched in the sequence to the basement in her home and eavesdropped on Liam and Sarah while they spoke with a Talon agent. Unfortunately, she could not do it again when the code changed.

On a trip to the mall for Kristin's birthday, she ran into Garret, and together they went to the mall's arcade, and they played several games. She got a message from Dante that Talon arrived, and returned home. Ember made a bad impression in front of Lilith and the Talon visitor.

When Garret disappeared, Ember found him at her friend's party. She ran into Riley while there, and the rogue gave her his number. She spoke to Garret to try and calm him down since they had grown closer and he believed Riley was merely another teenager. She left afterwards when Garret, Dante and Riley took on Colin and his friends, who had made another appearance. Garret found her and they reconciled.

Once Ember got back, Dante was furious at her disappearance. He refused to tell her about Talon or to accept that Ember was with a rogue, causing a rift between them. She told him to choose between her or Talon. He tried to improve their relationship, but it didn't help.

Ember spoke with Riley at the pier, but he had to leave when he got a call from Wes. Garret then took her to a carnival for their first date. She began to think she was being watched and refused to answer Dante's phone calls. Garret was going to put a bug in her phone, but he couldn't. They had a romantic moment on the Ferris Wheel.

Lilith taught Ember how to disarm someone with a gun and then revealed that she was spying on Ember at the carnival. When the young dragon finally mastered the technique, Lilith gave her a special suit which Ember referred to as a, “ninja suit” allowing her to shift with out the suit tearing. Ember also learned that she was was being trained to become a Viper, Talon's assassins. After Ember spoke with Garret, she told Dante that she was a Viper. She realized she couldn't trust him anymore and texted Riley to meet.

When she confessed that Lilith had made her a Viper, Riley told her that Lilith was Talon's best assassin. He also revealed his past as a Basilisk, and why he went rogue. Riley took Ember to his Safe House, introducing him to his hacker and ally, Wesley Higgins, and two hatchlings, Nettle and Remy.

Before they could leave, St. George attacked their house. Ember shifted in front of Garret revealing to him that she was a dragon as she and Riley escaped, but the rogue was badly injured. She tried to get Dante to leave with her, confessing that she was going rogue, and he apparently agreed.

Garret called her to meet at Lover's Bluff and pulled his gun on her. But when he hesitated, Ember disarmed him and pinned him down, but spared his life. She left him at the Bluff and returned to Riley, telling him what had happened. But they were interrupted by Lilith, who told her that Dante informed the Viper what Ember was planning. Ember refused to return to Talon, and Lilith replied by Shifting and beginning her attack.

During the fight, Riley was knocked out by Lilith's ferocious assault, and Ember had to retreat. She gained a slight advantage by jumping on the Viper's back but was quickly pinned down. Before Lilith could finish her off, Garret opened fire on the green dragon. Lilith finally retreated when Riley recovered, and Ember stopped the blue rogue from killing Garret. They fled before the rest of his squad arrived.

She watched the soldiers take Garret into custody and convinced Riley to help her rescue her friend.

## Life as a Rogue

Three days after the fight at Crescent Beach, Ember prepared with Wes and Riley for a stealth mission on a St. George chapterhouse that Garret was kept in. Even though Garret had lied to her and nearly shot her, Ember was unwilling to let him die.

She demonstrated her Viper skills during the rescue, moving silently and knocking out a St. George soldier without thinking about it. Riley and Ember were both horrified when they saw the hide of a red hatchling tacked onto a wall. They finally found Garret after defeating his guards, but were discovered when they tried to escape. Ember was shot a few inches from her heart when flying away with Garret, and fell unconscious.

Ember was taken to Las Vegas by Riley, Wes and Garret, and woke up a few days after her escape. After a conversation with Garret she Shifted back into human form while Riley and Garret argued about her she walked in on them and said "Ember can take care of herself" But when the rogue planned to send her to a Safe House, Ember refused. They were interrupted by Wes, who warned them that St. George had just arrived.

Riley created a distraction while Ember and Garret went after a sniper pinning them down. Ember made her first kill when she shot the sniper in the head before he could kill Garret. They made their escape once again, and Riley took them to the Strip.

While the rogue was getting information, Ember asked Wes if he could send a message to Dante. When Riley got back, he flatly refused to do anything like that. He told Ember to stay in the room while he was gone. Instead, she brought Garret with her to have some fun.

After they played at the casino and avoided a security guard, Ember found a quiet place to talk. Garret told her about the Viper footage that he'd seen, and cheered her up when she recalled killing the sniper. Unfortunately, Riley returned during their kiss and attacked Garret. He soon left after telling Ember that she didn't belong with a human, and she followed him.

They took a taxi to an abandoned hotel, and Riley revealed that he'd been told that there were a couple of hatchlings residing there. After taking on some junkies, they eventually found the two dragons, Ava and Faith. But before they could leave, St. George arrived and attacked.

Riley took Ava, while Ember and Garret brought Faith with them. Eventually, they managed to escape St. George, but were separated. Her group returned to Wes, and he was very suspicious, because no one but Wes and Riley's contact knew where they were going. Ember spoke with Faith, trying to calm her down. After the girl fell asleep, Ember talked to Garret, and he confessed that he loved her.

However, Faith's phone rang before they had time to consider this, and they were informed by Ava that Riley was with her at an old rail yard. Ember went with Faith and Garret, but they walked right into an ambush by Talon when Faith was held at gunpoint. They dropped their weapons, and Ember offered to give herself up if the others were let go. Faith then began to laugh.

The young dragon revealed to Ember that she was actually a Viper, Lilith's only other student. She also told them that Riley was being held captive by Ava, whose real name was Mist. Ember decided to return to Talon if Garret was allowed to walk out freely. But the Viper was not interested, and she told Ember to prove her loyalty by shooting him herself.

Faith increased the pressure when she told Ember that Dante had set up the whole ambush, and would die if Ember didn't do what Talon wanted. Ember finally agreed to murder Garret when the Viper gave her word that she and Dante would be fine. But just as she was about to fire, Ember dropped her weapon, Shifted into dragon form, and attacked the Talon soldiers. Faith Shifted as well, and challenged Ember to single combat in the rail yard.

Ember was outmatched against the Viper and badly wounded, until she realized what Faith's battling style was, and countered it by trapping her in close combat. She was burned when fire seeped into her open wounds, but she held Faith down until the Viper surrendered. Faith told Ember what she wanted to know, and she let the hatchling go. But Faith attacked from behind, and Garret shot her twice in the heart. Ember watched her die, and then heard her phone ring.

She spoke to Riley, and he admitted his feelings for her. Garret carried Ember after she finished the call, but she went back and called Dante. She insulted Talon's VP when he took over the call, and finally abandoned her brother.

Riley took care of her injuries when the team was reunited. Then Garret told her that he was leaving. He intended to find out out what was really going on with Talon and St. George, and he said goodbye to Ember. Afterwards, Ember informed Riley what had happened, and he didn't care much. The rogue then explained their new plan: to find the traitor responsible for the safe houses being compromised, and for letting St. George know who the rogues were.

Ember and Riley had walked into a trap set by Talon - only to be rescued by Garret and an Eastern dragon named Jade. After Garret learned about the alliance between Talon and St. George, he returned to Ember and Riley to try to save them from the set-up. The group was able to escape to one of Jade's temples. However, they were followed by St. George, and the group defended themselves and killed every single soldier.

In the mean time, Jade explained about the Sallith’Tahn to Ember*,* a term in draconic for "life mate”, which was what Ember was feeling for Cobalt. However, she had mixed feelings due to her feelings for the soldier. After avoiding Riley for some time, he finally confronts her, and she confesses her love for Garret. Riley is furious and when Garret walks into the room threatens to kill him, but is stopped by Ember, who has Shifted to dragon form.

Later, the group forms a plan to sneak into a place called "The Vault" in order to obtain physical evidence of the alliance between the Elder Wyrm and the Patriarch. They devise a scheme in order to break into the vault- hidden beneath a library in Chicago. They make it in, however are stopped by the third oldest dragon in the world called "The Archivist". The Archivist is immensely powerful and only allows the group to take evidence because he disagrees with the Elder Wyrm but could never oppose her out right.

Later, Garret contacts Tristan St. Anthony to tell him about the evidence. Tristan and Garret meet at a coffee shop while Garret informs him of his discoveries. Eventually, Tristan believes him and leaves with the evidence. He agrees to bring Garret to the Chapterhouse as a "prisoner" where the Patriarch is speaking in order for Garret to expose him. The Patriarch ends up challenging Garret - a dangerous fight that could end in death.

Garret returns to Ember and Riley and tells them of the situation, however makes it seems like it is not as bad as it really is. In the duel, Garret is wounded badly, but eventually forces the Patriarch to concede. However, the Patriarch goes against code and shoots Garret, so Tristan shoots him in the back and kills him.

Garret, suffering a fatal wound and losing blood fast, is saved by Riley who donates his blood to him. At one of Riley's safe houses, Garret is unconscious for a week. Ember watched him the entire time, refusing to leave his side. She noticed that he was burning hot and at one point even let out a dragon-like growl.

When he gained consciousness, his wounds were practically healed - a sign of Riley's dragon-blood taking effects on Garret's body. He refuses to stay behind while Ember and Riley go investigate an incident caused by Talon, so Ember, Riley, Garret, Jade, and Wes travel to the scene half-way across the country. After this, Jade leaves due to a calling from the Eastern Dragon council.

This set-up leads them to Dante - who planned the trap in order to take Ember and kill her friends. Ember discovers the horrifying truth that she is the Elder Wyrm's "vessel" - a dragon with the exact DNA as the Elder Wyrm in order to hold her memories and personality - essentially allowing the Elder Wyrm to live and rule Talon another 1000 years.

While Ember is getting her memories extracted, she has a conversation in her head between her human and dragon selves. The two are very split apart, until they realize they are not two halves to a being but ultimately one person. They both also agree that they both love Garret - meaning they chose the soldier over their *Salith'Tahn.*

Mist, under the orders of her mysterious employer, rescues Garret and Riley from being tortured and also convince her to help rescue Ember. The four flee to the last of Riley's safe houses, one that has not yet been discovered by Talon. During their capture within the Talon facility, Wes was able to hack into the system and obtain plans of the Night of Fang and Fire, a deadly operation with the intent to kill every last St. George soldier and all of Riley's safe houses. In dragon form, Ember tells Cobalt that she loves Garret and does not want him to "wait" for her - she feels that that would be unfair to him.

Afterwards, Garret and Ember leave to warn St. George about the Night of Fang and Fire. Arranging a meeting with Tristan but encountering Lieutenant Martin instead, they tell him of Talon's impending plans. He eventually believes them, and sends a message to the rest of the Order. Ember convinces them that the Rogue dragons will join up with the Western Chapterhouse to defend themselves against Talon. Much to Riley's dismay, the rogue hatchlings volunteer to fight the order.

During the fight, Garret, alongside his former brothers, are losing to Talon. However, suddenly Riley's rogue hatchlings show up, alongside Jade and Ember, who turn the tide of the battle and eventually emerge victorious, despite both human and dragon losses.

In Inferno, the group faces many challenging tasks, including rescuing breeder females from the breeder facility. These females will eventually aid the group in their battle against the Elder Wyrm. During the battle, Lieutenant Martin was killed, and Lieutenant Ward has gained a little bit of respect for dragons, as Ember saved his life by shielding him from a blast of dragon fire. It was Tristan who fired the fatal blow against the Elder Wyrm - killing her, leading to a new era for dragon kind.

### New Era for Dragons

After the battle, it was unanimously decided that Garret should be the new leader of St. George and Ember became the new CEO of Talon, since she was the heir of the Elder Wyrm.

Garret and Ember signed a treaty stating that St. George and Talon would exist to keep each other in check, but no longer as enemies. The two organizations would look onto each other if they ever needed aid or backup.

After the meeting, Ember calls Garret into her office. The two share a moment together, but Ember also informs Garret, that the results of his blood test have come in. Apparently, there is a high percentage of dragon blood in him, which will have effects that take a toll on his body.

Although Garret was worried that the blood was killing him, that wasn't the case. Instead, the dragon blood made his human cells regenerate at a speed almost comparable to dragons. This being said, Garret probably will have a dragon-like lifespan so he will be able to spend many centuries with Ember.

## Personality

Ember is free-willed, questioning virtually anything she is told to do. She has a bad temper, and is also quite stubborn. She has absolutely no respect for authority, and sometimes mouths off to important dragons like Mr. Roth. However, she is willing to forgive some people for their mistakes, shown when she rescued Garret even though he nearly killed her (although this was likely influenced by her attraction to him). She also has a wild-child demeanor, such as when she took on massive waves while beginning to surf. Ember dislikes killing, and only does so when she has no choice. She had a very close bond with Dante, until he betrayed her and tried to bring her back to Talon. Ember is also split between her dragon side and human side, both attracted to someone different; Cobalt and Garret, until towards the second half of the series when both sides agree they love Garret.

## Trivia

* Ember doesn't like lobster.
* Her hair tangles every time she shifts to Human form.
* Ember weighs about 500 lbs in Dragon form (roughly 200-300 kilograms).
* Ember is between 20 ft long in her true form.
* She gave her brother a small scar when they were little as a result from a huge fight.
* She had never visited any, or actually known about, libraries until Soldier.
* Ember is a Vessel/Clone of the Elder Wyrm and therefore she doesn't have a father and shares identical DNA with the Elder Wyrm.
* She is torn between loving Garret, and Cobalt, her Sallith'tahn.
* Even though she chooses Garret over Riley, she still has an attraction for Riley but she chose her human side because she doesn't want her life to be decided by instinct
* She is often referred to as "Firebrand" by Cobalt.