Milla frowned. ‘And if we do succeed, what then? If we find the silverblue and we hold a ceremony, the dragon might not choose you.’

‘I’ll face that if I have to. I’ll give up this dragon, if I have to. I’ll do anything. But we have to find some silverblue quickly. We have to save these eggs.’ Joe realised that he meant it: the dragons’ lives were more important than his dreams.

Milla nodded, as if that was the answer she’d been waiting for. ‘All right, we’ll keep your secret for now. I hear you – if these eggs are to hatch while the water runs warm, you’ll need to find some silverblue, fast,’ she said. ‘The volcano could stop rumbling any day.’

‘Or it could erupt,’ Thom said, earning a glare from Milla. ‘Sorry!’ he said, holding up his hands. ‘It is possible …’

‘Tell us about silverblue, Thom,’ Joe turned to him.

‘It’s a mineral, a kind of precious stone.’

‘Where can we get some?’ Winter said. ‘The book said it’s common across the region.’

‘Not any more.’ Thom’s handsome face clouded. ‘Those books you were reading must be old. It used to be found here, but it was mined too deeply. There’s none left on Arcosi.’ 126

Joe felt that like a slap. ‘None? What are we going to do?’ Panic crept into his voice.

‘There’s an archipelago south of here where I’ve seen it,’ Thom told them. ‘You’ll have to go there, near the Spice Islands.’

‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ Joe said, his mouth suddenly dry.

‘We can’t leave the eggs!’ Winter said.

‘Do you want them to hatch?’

‘Of course,’ she said.

Joe tried not to think of the alternative: his dragon, inside its egg, struggling vainly to get out. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.’

‘I’ll go for you,’ Thom offered.

‘It’s too dangerous!’ Milla sounded stern. ‘I can’t believe you’ve been going there alone; there are all kinds of wild beasts on the islands. No, if we need to find silverblue, then we all go together.’

‘Thank you,’ Joe said to his cousin.

Winter looked torn at the idea of leaving the eggs. ‘How do we find a boat?’ she asked. ‘How long will it take?’

‘Don’t worry,’ Thom said, smiling. ‘We don’t need a boat. We’ve got two dragons.’

‘You’ll really help us?’ Winter had been hiding under her hair, as usual, but now she smiled at Thom, looking like another person entirely.

Milla put a steadying hand on Thom’s arm. ‘We will. We can all go search for silverblue tomorrow. I’ll need the rest of today to prepare. But first things first – you’d better show us these eggs.’ 127

‘Now?’ Joe asked, hardly daring to believe it.

Just then, Milla looked up, tilting her face to the pale rays of the rising sun. ‘Actually, Winter can show us the eggs. Right now, you have something more important to do. Look!’

Iggie was circling overhead, with someone clinging awkwardly to his back. Someone who wasn’t used to flying on dragonback.