‘We’ve got to find Wyvernmire,’ I say. ‘Her helicopter is still here, so she hasn’t been evacuated, but she can’t be inside.’
Half the manor has already burned down.
‘The basement,’ Atlas says suddenly. ‘It’s fireproof because of the—’
‘Dragonlings,’ I finish. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Wait,’ Atlas says. ‘We don’t even know if she’ll agree to this yet. And, if she doesn’t, she could trap you down there. You’re the one with the code in your head, not me. I’ll go.’
I hesitate but he’s right. Wyvernmire has an army of Bulgarian dragons on her side, so Atlas and his zoology knowledge are now irrelevant to her. But if he can lead her to me … I take a breath.
‘All right,’ I say, rising up on my toes to kiss him. ‘I’ll wait for you here, where the smoke keeps me hidden.’
Atlas nods, then turns and disappears through the trees.
Everything that mattered yesterday – keeping the code from Wyvernmire, joining the rebels, getting out of Bletchley – is suddenly irrelevant. A war is coming, a three-way war between Wyvernmire and the Bulgarians, Queen Ignacia and the Coalition. And our only chance of winning is to give our enemy something to fight an even bigger enemy with. Because if I’ve learned anything from my mama and her family’s fate it’s that Bulgarian dragons don’t ally with humans. But I can help make sure this war isn’t the end of us all. I can use mydragon tongues, my knowledge of echolocation, to save us. I can still give Sophie her life back. I stare at the loquisonus machine, at the remnants of the glasshouse, at the ashes of my life at Bletchley Park.
Thisis my second chance.
I CROUCH AMID THE SMOKE and listen to the fighting for what feels like an eternity. And then finally I see movement, illuminated by the light of the flaming trees. Atlas strides towards me, his hands balled by his sides, and behind him is Wyvernmire, looking triumphant. Where are her Guardians? The ground begins to shake and what I thought was a mass of black trees moves forward and out of the smoke. The only protection Wyvernmire needs. A Bulgarian Bolgorith.
Atlas comes to stand beside me as I stare at them, positioning myself in front of the hidden loquisonus machine.
‘She didn’t take much convincing,’ Atlas says quietly. ‘Half her Guardians have abandoned her and … just look at the size of that thing. Do you think she knows she’s bitten off more than she can chew?’
Wyvernmire and the dragon come to a stop a few feet in front of us. It’s the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen, with black scales encrusted with jewels. Mama has told me about this self-inflicted injury, traditionally found on Bulgarian dragonsof high rank, those with the biggest hoards.
‘Vivien,’ Wyvernmire says, ‘permit me to introduce you to General Goranov. He is our new ally in this war that Bletchley Park has failed to win.’
The dragon surveys me through a black, glassy eye.
‘Good evening, General Goranov,’ I say in Slavidraneishá.
The eye blinks once.
‘I am yet to meet a human who speaks my mother tongue,’ the General growls. ‘Since my kind’s rise to power, it has become somewhat unpopular. Did a dragon teach you?’
‘English, please!’ Wyvernmire snaps.
She gives the General a strained smile as his head swings round in her direction.
‘You’ll find that most of my troops do not know English,’ he snarls.
‘Where didyoulearn?’ I ask the General. ‘Did a human teach you?’
Atlas gives my waist a warning squeeze. I turn to Wyvernmire.
‘What will happen now?’ I ask. ‘You’ve made enemies of both the Coalition and Queen Ignacia. Britannia is in a three-way war.’ I glance at Goranov. ‘And soon it could be four.’
‘My government and the Bulgarian dragons will bring this nation back to order,’ Wyvernmire says. ‘There are more Bulgarian troops on their way.’
Atlas snorts. ‘But, in your attempt to crush one rebellion, you’ve created two.’
‘The Coalition and Queen Ignacia will be offered terms,’ Wyvernmire says. ‘A new Peace Agreement. I am not a cruel Prime Minister—’
‘No one will want you as Prime Minister when they find out what you’ve done,’ I say.
‘Oh, please,’ Wyvernmire says. ‘I am simply doing what’s necessary to ensure that our great Britannia does not fall into ruin.’
