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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

With a huge effort of will, he stepped out from behind the tapestry, hands up, calling softly, ‘I’m a friend! Conor, Amina – tell them!’ His voice only wobbled a little.

Neither of them moved.

Did they think he was one of the Brotherhood? The biggest dragons started lumbering to their feet. One of them looked like Ando, the huge orange dragon belonging to Rosa Demarco, Tarya’s second-in-command, but she wasn’t here, so it couldn’t be, could it?

Joe felt exposed and vulnerable, and there was a new absence at his side where Ren should be. The huge dragons towered over him, growling and baring their sharp teeth. He was completely outnumbered.

209

CHAPTER THIRTY

‘Joe?’ Conor sounded incredulous, pushing past the large dragons to see.

‘But … b-but …’ Amina stuttered. ‘What are you doing here? How did you get in?’

‘Secret door.’ He gestured behind him.

‘So it was true, you did survive. You know we thought you were dead?’ Her dark brown eyes were hurt and suspi­cious. ‘For a long time.’

‘You let us think that.’ Conor never lost his temper, but he did now. ‘And now you dare to walk in here, after every­thing?’ He shook his head in disbelief, one hand pushing back his unruly red hair. ‘What?’ He tried to make sense of it. ‘So you wrecked the ceremony, faked your death, ran away and hid somewhere, while people died and a dragon was killed – and they are really dead, Joe, not like you! – and that’s the action of a friend? I don’t think so.’

Amina went over to stand with him, shooting Joe a fierce 210glare. ‘It’s all right,’ she told Conor. ‘They probably told us as soon as they could.’

‘Not soon enough! I feel like a fool for mourning you, Joe!’

Joe’s heart felt like a stone in his chest. All this time, he’d missed his friends; he’d felt bad for deceiving them, but he hadn’t really considered what it had been like for them. He started backing away from them, towards the door. This was a mistake. It was too late. He couldn’t make up for what he’d done.

‘Oh, no you don’t. Don’t you dare walk away!’ Conor roared at him. ‘You stay and face us, Jowan Thornsen.’

‘You’re right,’ Joe mumbled. ‘I’m sorry. I got badly hurt, and I couldn’t come back, not for a while. Then I thought you were all better off without me. Look, I can’t explain it all now …’ He lifted his head and tried to tap into that anger and thirst for revenge once more. ‘My father’s dead,’ he said tightly. ‘The Brotherhood killed him, and they must be stopped. So I’ve come to get you out, so we can fight back together. I’m here to help.’

‘Nestan? No!’ Amina gasped.

‘Don’t.’ Joe put a hand up to stop her. He couldn’t manage any sympathy, not yet. ‘Please, don’t. You’re right to be angry, all of you. Let’s just get out of here and I’ll explain better afterwards.’ He looked at Conor, waiting to see if this would be enough.