‘You’ve brought ruin to its front door.’ I look at the General again. ‘You thinktheycare for order, or peace, or prosperity?’
Goranov lets out a low growl.
‘You are still too young to understand,’ Wyvernmire says. ‘I gave you an opportunity, Vivien, but you failed to take it. What you have in ambition, you lack in courage.’
‘Viv doesn’t lack courage,’ Atlas says.
‘The thing I’ve been working on,’ I say. ‘In the glasshouse? I can still give it to you. It’s the only thing that will keep you – and the rest of Britannia – safe. It’s the only advantage you’ll have.’
Wyvernmire’s eyes narrow and I feel my heartbeat quicken. Does she see through my lie?
‘You made it very clear you have no intention of sharing it, and only cooperated because I had your sister, who has now conveniently disappeared.’
‘As you can see,’ I say slowly, gesturing towards the Bulgarian dragon, ‘circumstances have changed.’
Wyvernmire looks at the General. ‘Thank you for escorting me, General Goranov. I’ll handle these recruits from here.’
The General grins in my direction. ‘I will hear what your polyglot has to say.’
I try my best to ignore the stench of his breath, the way his mere breathing feels like a strong blast of wind.
‘I will remain at your side, as your personal translator,’ I tell Wyvernmire. ‘Think of it as insurance, in case things don’t go the way you planned.’
Her lips tremble the slightest bit, and I know she gets my meaning.
‘But the glasshouse is burned—’
‘I managed to salvage what is required,’ I say, stepping slightly to the side so that her eyes land on the half-hidden loquisonus. ‘But, in exchange, you must agree to the following conditions.’
Atlas’s arm tightens round me, making me feel bolder. A resounding crash and a dragon’s roar come from the manor. The rebels are still fighting.
‘You will order your Guardians and dragons – including the Bulgarian ones – to retreat.’
The General’s tail slices through the air like a whip and crushes a fallen tree trunk.
‘No one orders my troops except me.’
‘You will let everyone on the opposing side, human and dragon, leave Bletchley Park,’ I continue. ‘The remaining recruits will be pardoned and their families liberated if you are currently holding them.’
Wyvernmire’s eyes shine with amusement. ‘Go on.’
‘Dragons will be reintegrated into society, given more rights, more land and more prospects.’
The General lets out a low laugh. ‘I had forgotten how tedious negotiating dragon and human equality is.’
‘The terms you offer to the Coalition will be fair,’ I say. ‘In this new society you intend to create, Third Class citizens will have the same rights as the Second Class. And you will abolish the Examination. It will no longer determine a person’s position—’
‘No,’ Wyvernmire says.
‘No?’ I reply, hearing my voice falter. ‘So youdon’tneed me as your translator?’
‘Translator for what?’ the General snarls.
‘You will do well to remember that you have already lost this battle,’ Wyvernmire tells me quietly.
‘Andyou’lldo well to remember that, without me, your government will be nothing more than a puppet state.’
‘I will agree to your first two conditions,’ she replies. ‘But not to the others. You could be great, Vivien, but only if you stop trying to play the hero, the role of saviour to the Third Class. If only you remember that ambition requires sacrifice.’
