‘Nonsense,’ says George. ‘The Prime Minister is in control of the Bulgarians, not the other way round.’
I swallow my champagne. This conversation is getting dangerous and the drink has gone to my head. It has me dancing along the knife-edge of the truth. It has me wanting to tell that idiot Stephen exactly who I am.
‘Have you ever met a Bulgarian dragon?’ I ask George. ‘I mean up close, in the flesh?’
He smirks. ‘Yes, actually. My father deals with them every day.’
‘Ever spoken to one?’
‘Yes.’
I hold his gaze as he fills my glass again. ‘Flown with one?’
George’s eyes soften and I know I’ve got him.
‘Of course not.’ He grins. ‘Are you about to tell meyouhave?’
‘No,’ I lie.
‘I’ve heard Wyvernmire has!’ says a girl.
George shakes his head. ‘Of all the dragons, the Bulgarian Bolgoriths would be the last to allow a human to ride them. And Wyvernmire doesn’t need to. She has them to guard her, to keep her safe somewhere in the city while she devises the battle plans that will take the rebels down.’
‘Not for long,’ Stephen interjects.
I sense everyone in the room turn to him, see the pleasure of the attention flood his face.
‘What do you mean?’ Edward says coldly.
‘General Goranov will want her out of the way, won’t he? So that the Bolgoriths can take over the capital.’
George scoffs loudly. ‘Goranov takes his orders from Wyvernmire, you skrit. He might be in charge in Bulgaria, but in Britannia the humans rule. The PM is merely using the Bulgarians to her advantage. The alliance is a carefully calculated one, and once—’
‘But that’s where you’re wrong, Beecham,’ Stephen says. ‘Wyvernmire isn’t Goranov’s Prime Minister, she’s his puppet.’ He sneers. ‘How else do you think he convinced her to make him Dragon Chief of State?’
Dragon Chief of State.
‘They’re erecting a statue of him in Hyde Park.’
‘Pen, are you all right?’
I stare at the bubbles in my glass, my vision swimming. Wyvernmire has created a title – a sovereign position – for General Goranov? Why would she give a Bulgarian dragon control over how the country is run? I feel myself sway.
‘Is she going to faint?’ someone whispers.
Do the rebels know? DoesHollingsworthknow?
‘Oh, give her some space for goodness’ sake!’
Hyacinth’s breath is sweet on my face. ‘Darling, are you all right?’ Her cheeks are flushed with heat or alcohol and her hair is curling at her ear.
She has no idea what this means.
‘I’ll take her outside for some air,’ George says.
But Hyacinth is shaking her head. ‘No,’ she says firmly. ‘Edward will.’
Edward appears in front of me and holds out his arm. I take it and let him lead me out into the hallway. As the door closes behind us and the maid hands me my coat, someone turns up the music. Outside, streetlights have been extinguished for the post-curfew blackout, to make it harder for the rebels to attack. My head spins with the fresh air. Edward lights a cigarette.
