Karim passes her a plate of pie, but she doesn’t move.
‘Typical Viv,’ she says slowly. ‘Always intent on winning, no matter the cost to everyone else.’
My face burns. I can’t deny it. Instead, I pick up my fork and begin eating.
Katherine lets out a forced laugh. ‘From what I’ve heard, it’s not the first time you’ve betrayed your own.’
What’s that supposed to mean?
She glares at me. ‘Maybe Gideon was right—’
‘That’s enough!’ Marquis snaps.
I can sense Atlas staring at me, but I don’t look at him. Now he thinks I stole the loquisonus machine to get ahead of everyone else, when just this morning we were talking about what Wyvernmire will do once she has the code. The room is silent except for the sound of our cutlery scraping against the china plates. Owen is standing by the door as usual, and I see him watching us with a frown. He’s counting us. On the mantelpiece, the radio drones the news.
‘The British Army suffered yet more losses this morning in an ambush that a rebel battalion seemed ominously prepared for. Now over to John Seymour, wartime correspondent. John, howis it possible that the rebels seem to know the government’s every move?’
I take a sip of water and wonder how many spies like Dr Seymour are hidden within the military.
‘Where did you run off to earlier?’ Atlas whispers.
Both of his hands are bandaged and smell suspiciously of marigold balm.
‘I wish everyone would just stop asking me where I’ve been,’ I snap.
‘Has anyone seen Dodie?’ Karim says.
Atlas tears his eyes away from my face. ‘I saw her about an hour ago. She said she was going for a walk.’
‘She’s never late,’ Karim says. ‘Maybe we should look for—’
An ear-splitting siren fills the air. I raise my hands to my ears as a light, so bright it shines through the blackouts, begins to flash. Atlas and I both run to the window and wrench away the curtain.
‘Oi, you can’t do that!’ Owen says.
Outside, Guardians are running across the courtyard towards the entrance gates, shouting to each other. A dragon circles above, but the sky is too black to make out who. Then I see it, the thing causing the chaos – a figure scaling the tall fence. Guardians run towards it, and the figure is almost at the top when—
BANG.
The figure sways for a moment, still clinging to the fence. Then it falls backwards into the dark.
‘Fuck,’ Marquis says, standing up. ‘Was that a gunshot?’
Serena pushes Owen out of the way as we run into the entrance hall, but the front doors are barred by more Guardians. Suddenly they burst open. A Guardian strides through with someone in his arms – long red hair, a uniform and a pair of smashed glasses crooked on her nose …
The Guardian lays the broken body on the ground and Sophie lets out a scream, sinking to the floor.
‘Atlas?’ I say, my voice catching in my throat.
He takes my hand, pushes the others out of the way until we’re standing at the front. Horror erupts from the pit of my stomach.
Lying in the middle of the hallway, blood blooming at her breast, is Dodie.
THE WORLD SLOWS, THEN SPRINGS into movement.
‘You killed her!’ Atlas screams.
He charges at the Guardian who was carrying Dodie and Marquis follows, but both of them are overpowered within seconds.
