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Contents ( 50)
  1. CONTENTS
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  20. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  21. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  42. CHAPTER FORTY
  43. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  47. EPILOGUE
  48. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  49. Also by Liz Flanagan:
  50. COPYRIGHT

How would they react when they saw him? Would Milla be relieved, or furious? For a moment Joe was paralysed.

Then he thought of the eggs. They had shadow dragons inside. Perhaps even now they were almost ready, preparing to hatch? If they couldn’t find some silverblue, these rare creatures would die before they even had a chance to live.

He pushed the gate open and hurried through, his words spilling out like a waterfall. ‘Milla, I’m so sorry, for every­thing. For the ceremony, for disappearing. I fell, down in the tunnels. I hurt my head. This is Winter, who rescued me. And I found some eggs and we think they’re shadow dragons and they’re going to hatch: the water’s gone hot. But we have to find silverblue, or else they’ll die. And what about the volcano – is it dangerous?’ He ran out of breath and stood there gaping like a landed fish.

‘Joe?’ Milla whispered, then clapped one hand over her mouth, shocked. 122

Thom looked equally stunned. ‘Joe? Oh my stars,’ he said. Milla stood slowly, shakily. Then she collapsed back down. ‘No! We thought … we thought you were dead!’ The colour drained from her face.

‘I’m so sorry!’ He rushed to her, arms outstretched, and then Milla was hugging him so hard it squeezed all the air from his chest. ‘Thank you – for what you did. Your hands … The burns … Are they …?’ he mumbled incoherently into her hair.

‘My hands?’ Milla’s voice was tight with tears. ‘They’re fine now.’

Iggie bent over them, breathing hot gusts down Joe’s neck and making strange high-pitched squeaks that Joe had never heard before.

His cousin pulled back finally, but kept tight hold of Joe’s hand and stared at him searchingly from head to toe, appar­ently satisfied he was well and whole.

‘Joe, Joe, Joe. I can’t believe it. Oh! Wait.’ She spun on her heel and stared at Iggie. For one intense moment, they looked at each other in silence.

Something was passing between them; Joe could almost see it in the air, like a heat haze. Iggie blinked his green eyes, once, twice. Then he stepped away and launched himself into the air, stirring up dust and dried leaves in his wake.

‘I’ve sent him for Josi and Nestan. They need to see you – now. Oh, Joe, I can’t believe you didn’t tell them …’ she reproached him softly. ‘Have you any idea …?’ She saw his expression and broke off.

He looked down, his face flaming with embarrassment. 123‘I thought they were better off without me. I shamed them. Shamed everyone.’

‘Joe, you listen to me: you made a mistake. Everyone does that. That’s nothing compared to how much they love you. All this time …’ Her voice broke, but she struggled on. ‘All this time, we’ve all been blaming ourselves, your parents worst of all. That we didn’t prepare you right. That we didn’t teach you about disappointment. Or how to manage that temper.’