‘Viv?’ says Marquis.
‘I-I can’t tell you anything more,’ I stammer. ‘You just have to trust me.’
‘Trust you?’ Sophie says. ‘How can we trust you? You took the loquisonus machine for yourself, and I saw you coming back from Wyvernmire’s office the other day. How do we know you’re not going to take Serena and Karim straight to her?’
‘How could you think that, Soph?’ I swallow as the tension in the air grows tighter. ‘What would I gain from hurting them? They’re not even in my category—’
‘But you wouldn’t hesitate to hurtus– is that what you mean?’ Gideon says.
Katherine’s eyes narrow.
‘That’s not what I said.’ I stare round at the hostile expressions and jump as Atlas slips a warm hand into mine.
‘Everyone’s getting paranoid,’ he says. ‘Let’s all just sit down and make a rational plan.’
Karim picks up the empty decanter as we all sit back down. Sophie turns the radio off and I grip the arms of my armchair. I have to tell them. I have to tell them that if I don’t give Wyvernmire at least one of the echolocation dialects then the Bulgarian dragons will enter Britannia.
‘Gingerbread?’ Katherine says, pushing a plate of cinnamon biscuits at us. ‘Ralph had the kitchens make them for me.’
‘Ralph as in the Guardian who broke Viv’s arm?’ Sophie says blankly.
Katherine shoots her a dark look. ‘That was a misunderstanding.’
She hands me a gingerbread in the shape of a star and her eyes almost dare me to refuse. I swallow an angry retort and accept it, then take a bite. She smiles and begins to nibble on her own, also star-shaped.
‘Viv,’ Serena says with a rare tremor in her voice, ‘how many of us can this friend of yours help?’
Friend is a bit of an overstatement, I want to say. But Chumanacouldcarry several people. What if we try to get Sophie, Gideon, Katherine and Atlas out, too? Then I could give Wyvernmire the code, stop the Bulgarians and everyone would be—
Katherine lets out a strangled cry. I jump up as she falls forward on to the rug, her hands round her throat. White foam froths from her mouth.
‘Kath!’ Sophie screams.
I drop down beside her, pulling her hands away as Atlas thumps her on the back. She lets out another gurgling sound, staring at me with bloodshot eyes. Then she goes limp. Marquis lifts her, holding her upright as Atlas continue to hit between her shoulder blades.
Serena sinks to the floor, her hands covering her face.
‘She’s not choking,’ she sobs. ‘She’s been poisoned.’
MARQUIS LOWERS KATHERINE TO THE floor, his eyes wide. I peer at her grey face. She’s dead.
‘Poisoned?’ Sophie whispers. Slowly, she turns to look at Gideon.
‘I didn’t do anything, I swear!’ Gideon shouts.
Marquis grabs him by the collar of his shirt.
‘Stop!’ Serena cries. ‘It wasn’t him.’
‘Then who was it?’ Atlas bellows.
I stare at Serena, my heart thumping against my ribcage.
‘It was Katherine’s poison,’ Serena says. ‘I saw her come out of the sanatorium with a bottle of something. She said it was to help her sleep, but later I heard her and Ralph talking about essence of hemlock …’
‘You think she took too much—’ I start to say.
‘No, Viv.’ Serena looks at me through her fingers. ‘Even a drop of hemlock is deadly. I think … I think the gingerbread she ate was meant for you.’
