I strap Ursa in and fasten my own seatbelt with trembling hands, glad that Serena’s plane-landing experience is more extensive than my cousin’s. I sit back as the plane picks upspeed, hurtling through the air, then nose-dives, hitting the sandy beach with an almighty bang that makes Ursa scream. The propellers stop whirring as we slow and the plane falls silent.
‘Let go of me!’ Ursa whines.
I realise I’m grasping her so tightly that my knuckles are turning white. Marquis stands at the end of the plane, grinning from ear to ear.
‘Reckon I did a good job of that,’ he jokes as Serena appears behind him, rolling her eyes.
I unbuckle myself and Ursa and she runs to Marquis.
‘Ready?’ he says.
He opens the door and kicks the steps down. Wind whips through the inside of the plane. I stare out into the bright sunlight. Waves crash against the shore, and across the water is another island, with dragons hovering above it. The air is cold and full of salt, and I breathe in deeply as my shoes sink into the sand. Dragons are landing beside us, hundreds of them alighting on the beach and making the ground shake, and people are sliding off their backs. Many of them are injured, and the dragons are all sporting deep wounds in their flanks or spots of missing scales. I turn to look inland and see more people rushing down to us from the clifftop.
So this is Eigg, the new Coalition Headquarters. Home to the cause my parents were willing to give their lives for, that Atlasdidgive his life for. Will I ever be as devoted to it as they were? Marquis appears beside me, hoisting Ursa on to his shoulders, and one glance at him tells mehe’s thinking the same thing. Our argument on the train to Bletchley feels like it happened centuries ago.
People are greeting each other, families being reunited with loved ones returned from Bletchley, and several nurses are already leading the injured away. They’re all dressed differently, but I couldn’t guess the class of any of them if I tried. Beyond the beach, up on the clifftop, are small stone houses.
‘Dr Seymour, how many people live here?’
‘Barely a hundred,’ she replies. ‘Only the rebels most wanted by Wyvernmire’s government came to Eigg.’
‘And Wyvernmire didn’t try to take it back?’ I ask.
Dr Seymour shakes her head, scanning the crowds. ‘There’s a clause in the Peace Agreement that forbids planes from flying anywhere near Rùm, so as not to disturb the eggs. It’s a sacred space, a—’
She lets out a sigh as a man runs towards her, catching her up in his arms and spinning her round. I watch as the wind stirs sand round them and the man kneels to kiss Dr Seymour’s stomach. How long have they been apart? What else have these people sacrificed for their rebellion? Behind them, two Sand Dragons are standing close together. I recognise their faces.
‘Soresten!’ I call. ‘Addax!’
The patrol dragon who guarded the glasshouse gives me an acknowledging blink as I walk towards him.
‘Are you an undercover rebel, too?’ I say.
‘I am not,’ Soresten replies. ‘But, when Rhydderch told me what Wyvernmire was planning, I decided to fight with you.’
My heart sinks at the reminder of Rhydderch’s brutal death.
‘Do you know what happened to the others? To Muirgen and … the pink dragon. The one who was fighting the General?’
‘Muirgen has gone to join Queen Ignacia,’ Addax growls. ‘She is still loyal to Her Majesty, despite her corruption.’
Soresten lifts his head to stare out over the sea. ‘We have heard rumours that the Queen’s court is feasting on the Isle of Canna. I have come to see if there is truth in it—’
‘And the Bolgorith?’ I say desperately. ‘Chumana?’
‘We saw her make a kill,’ Soresten says, ‘before we retreated. I believe she survived.’
I let out a shaky breath. Chumana is alive.
Soresten falls silent and I watch as the wound on Addax’s chest knits together. The other dragons around us are doing the same. They can heal others, but not themselves because the Koinamens is a language, and language is an exchange. I don’t know when I worked this out, but I hope Chumana isn’t flying alone. I realise with a pang of sadness that the air must be full of echolocation calls that, now the loquisonus is gone, I’ll never hear again. Addax’s eyes narrow curiously as she watches me.
‘The dragons are speaking of how you destroyed those machines. Some would probably like to kill you for using them in the first place.’ She pauses. ‘But know that your decision has not gone unappreciated.’
I bow my head as they both turn and walk across the sand, people jumping out of the way of their tails as they headto the rocky caves at the end of the beach.
‘You’re welcome,’ I say quietly. ‘It was the right thing to do.’
Dr Seymour takes us to an inn called the Dragon’s Den. We all have our own rooms, courtesy of the owner, a loud man called Jacob. I give Ursa a bath and tuck her into our big double bed in the middle of the afternoon. She’s asleep moments after her head hits the pillow.
