I push my hair behind my ears and take a deep breath.
‘What’s your name?’
The dragon lets out a deep sigh.
‘I’m Vivien,’ I offer.
‘I am Chumana.’
‘Snake Maiden?’ I say. ‘That’s what it means in English, doesn’t it?’
‘What do you want, human girl?’
I brace myself. This conversation could go either way. Chumana has tried to kill a student once before – who’s to say she won’t do it again?
‘I’ve come to offer you a deal,’ I say.
Chumana makes a noise that can only be a laugh.
‘What kind of deal could a human girl possibly offer a criminal dragon?’
I hesitate, but only for a second. ‘Escape,’ I say. ‘Freedom. Revenge.’
‘You are delusional,’ Chumana breathes, turning away.
‘I can get that detonator off you!’ I say. ‘After that, you could simply fly away. But first …’ I pause. ‘First, I need you to burn Prime Minister Wyvernmire’s office to the ground.’
The dragon turns back to look at me. ‘You require me to serve you?’
‘No!’ I scowl. ‘I told you, we’d be making a deal. Between equals.’
Chumana laughs again and I feel my face go hot.
‘You would dare make a deal with a dragon?’
I think of Marquis’s horrified face, of Ursa’s cries, of my mother left alone with those Guardians.
‘I would.’
‘Do you know what will happen if you break it?’
Chumana’s voice is as seductive as silk on bare skin.
‘You’ll kill me,’ I say simply.
The criminal dragon studies me, her amber eyes darkening.
‘Burn Wyvernmire’s office to the ground?’ she hisses. ‘It would be my pleasure.’
My heart leaps out of my chest and back in again, but I nod, trying to look calm.
‘The detonator,’ I say, jerking my head in the direction of Chumana’s wings.
Marquis has told me about dragon detonators and how they were somehow negotiated into the Peace Agreement for use on criminal dragons only. The silver box is no bigger than my hand, but packed with – if I remember correctly – mercury fulminate crystals.
‘Do you have a blade, human girl?’ says Chumana. ‘We both know we cannot count on your teeth.’
I bite back a smile. So dragons do humour as well as sarcasm? I take out Dad’s penknife and Chumana snorts through her snout.
