Ren and Fidell darted in, biting his stomach and legs.

Joe reversed his knife and used its bone handle to bash the guard’s temple, hard. The man crumpled onto the damp grass. He moaned once, filling Joe with relief that he was still alive.

He twisted round, checking for danger. In front of the furthest bunkhouse, a body slumped, sprawling out into the moonlight, with a dark patch of pooling liquid by its head. He couldn’t see who it was and prayed it wasn’t one of his friends.

‘Joe, the lock! Hurry,’ Winter urged him.

If they could just open one of the bunkhouses and free the duke’s soldiers trapped inside, the Brotherhood would be outnumbered.

Joe knelt and peered at the fastening – it was secured with two heavy iron padlocks. The Brotherhood had spared no expense. He could do this, he told himself. He bent low, fitting the tip of his knife into the first keyhole. He closed his eyes, shutting everything else out. Forcing himself to work 255methodically, he felt for each tooth of the lock, letting out a sigh when the iron bar clicked open.

He took the first padlock off and threw it down, reaching for the second. He was so focused on his task he didn’t notice the approach from behind them till it was too late.

There was the familiar leathery flap of huge dragon wings, and for a moment Joe’s heart leaped in hope. ‘Isak? Is that you?’ Then he felt the draught and heard the crunch as the dragon finished its low glide, touching down behind the bunkhouse.

But this dragon was the wrong colour: it blended with the shadows, glaring down at Joe through cruel amber eyes. And two figures jumped off its back: a boy his age and a young woman in dragonrider clothes, all black. He knew her by that scowl of disapproval – Lanys, from the last Hatching Day. So the dragon was Ravenna, the mother of Maric and Ariel and the others. Another smaller dragon landed next to him, yellow in colour.

‘Guess again, Thornsen.’

It couldn’t be! Not again. ‘Noah!’

Joe spun round, searching for shelter, but it was useless. There was nowhere to hide from a grown dragon. He felt Ren standing behind him, pressing against the small of his back. He willed her to flee.

‘No, no, no,’ Winter moaned.

‘You didn’t do your homework, did you?’ Noah taunted them. ‘The dragons knew; they always do. The wise teachings of your own grandmother, Kara. Oh, wait, you’re a waddler, you didn’t get to learn that. Only dragonriders 256had that lesson, and your stupid friends forgot to tell you. Ravenna here let us know that trouble was coming our way. Good job it’s only you, not a real threat. You can fail at being a rebel, just like you fail at everything else.’

Joe felt cold suddenly. With Noah’s mocking and Ravenna glaring murderously at him, it was like the hatch­ing ceremony all over again, but lethal this time. He’d made another terrible mistake, and once more everyone would witness it. He’d just brought all these people up here to die. He squinted out into the darkness and his heart stumbled.