Footsteps sound outside. I crane my neck to look for Sophie and Marquis, but no one emerges through the window. Instead, the steps go round the other side of the glasshouse. Dr Seymour’s eyes meet mine and we freeze. The door to the glasshouse bangs open.
‘Dolores Seymour, you are under arrest for collaborating with the enemy.’
Ralph is standing in the doorway, pointing a gun. When he sees me and Atlas, his mouth spreads into a smile.
‘Three for the price of one.’
I grab the last of the index cards and plunge them into the water as a group of Guardians storm in and seize us, snatching the hammer from Atlas’s hands and handcuffing Dr Seymour. Ralph grabs me by the hair and I scream as he pulls me to my feet.
‘Get off her!’ Atlas shouts.
‘I should have known you’d be involved in this, too,’ Ralph says in my ear. ‘What will the Prime Minister say when I tell her that her best recruit is a spy?’
‘The Prime Minister is working with Bulgaria,’ I say as a Guardian wrestles my hands behind my back. ‘She’s going to get us all killed.’
Dr Seymour is glaring at Ralph with pure hatred. ‘How did you find out?’
Ralph smiles and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out the dracovol, blood pouring from its nostrils, its eyes staring.
Oh no.
Dr Seymour closes her eyes and lets out a shaky breath.
‘We caught the blighter returning to its nest, no doubt after having completed a delivery?’ Ralph sneers. ‘Passing messages to the rebels right under our noses. Perhaps I didn’t give you enough credit, after all, Dolores.’
He stares at me and Atlas. ‘Where are the rest of the recruits?’ he barks.
Neither of us speak.
‘Are you going to tell me you have no idea where your cousin is?’ Ralph snarls.
‘I suppose he must be in bed,’ I say. ‘He’s not involved in this.’
‘Liar.’
‘Do you really think we’d go looking for the other recruits?’ Atlas says. ‘They’ve been trying to murder us!’
‘Take them to Ravensloe,’ Ralph tells the Guardians. ‘Guardian 257, stay here and guard that machine. The rest of you, find out where the hell the fucking patrol dragon’s gone.’
They take us to the seminar room, where Ravensloe is standing by the desk like on the first day we met him. But any trace of his fake friendliness is gone.
‘You dare betray your benefactors?’ he snarls as we’re lined up in front of him.
‘Benefactors?’ Atlas says. ‘Is that what you tell yourself you are?’
‘You’d be dead without Bletchley, boy,’ Ravensloe says.
‘We’ll all be dead soon, Deputy Prime Minister,’ says Dr Seymour. ‘Howcouldyou? How could you do this to Britannia? The Bulgarian dragons—’
‘Silence!’ Ravensloe roars. ‘I’ll not be lectured to by you deserter scum.’ He jerks his head towards Ralph. ‘Where are the rest of them?’
‘My team is still searching,’ Ralph says. ‘They’re—’
‘It stuns me how incapable you are of keeping track of a group of teenagers,’ Ravensloe says.
Anger flickers in Ralph’s eyes. ‘They’ve been given too much freedom,’ he says. ‘The Prime Minister put her trust in the wrong—’
‘The Prime Minister expects everyone to perform their duty, recruit and Guardian alike,’ Ravensloe says, staring at Ralph. ‘When she hears of this, she’ll—’
