‘We’ve got to get her out!’ Joe cried.

‘Yes, we do, and we will.’ Finally, Yannic turned serious. He leaned in and spoke so quietly that only Joe could hear. ‘I’ll help you, Joe Thornsen. Do you want to know the real reason why?’

He nodded.

‘I was just married, the year before the revolution.’ His voice was soft and intense now, and Joe found that more worrying than before. ‘My wife, Nova, she was from Sartola originally. She was—’ He stopped, unable to carry on. Then he gathered himself, taking a long breath in. ‘When 225the revolution came, we were separated. I heard she’d been imprisoned. I searched. I did.’ He finished in a rush, ‘But I never saw her again. She was carrying our child.’

Joe started saying, ‘I … I’m s—’

Yannic looked up and glared so fiercely that Joe froze. ‘Those prisons, they were Asa’s idea – our so-called leader. Remember him from our first meeting? And the attack on your friend? When he was in the army, Duke Olvar listened to him, though who knows why. It’s partly why Asa was so vengeful when he lost his position, why he leads the Brotherhood now. But I hate Asa for it. I will see him brought down.’

‘You’re a good actor,’ Joe said drily. ‘No one would ever know.’

‘What can I say? Lucky for you I missed my calling on the stage. So, I’ll help you get your sister out. And the duke. And their child. Now you know why. But we don’t speak of this again. And you tell no one my story. Agreed?’

Joe looked at Yannic, seeing a grief in his pale eyes that was even bigger than the one Joe was carrying. ‘Agreed,’ he said, equally softly.

‘There’s something else. They’re staging a show trial in two days – Duke Vigo and your sister, Tarya.’

‘A trial? But she’s done nothing wrong!’

‘True enough. But if I was a betting man, I’d put all my money on a guilty verdict. And I’m afraid that’s not going to end well. Sorry.’

Joe stared at him, horrified. Exactly what did he mean? He feared the worst. ‘We’ve got to get them out.’ 226

‘That we do.’

The others were returning, signalling that the paths were clear.

Yannic’s mask snapped back into place, his swagger returned, and he was as sour and sarcastic as before. ‘Now, move. Before they find us here and decide these dragons don’t need their heads either.’

That silenced them all.

Joe watched, dazed, as Yannic bent, lifted Noah and slung him over one shoulder like a sack of flour, ignoring Della who hissed and scratched at his legs.

Yannic laid Noah on the floor inside the dragonhall, barred its door and jogged back over to them. ‘They’ve got food and water – he and his dragon’ll be fine in there. Now, tell us your plan, Thornsen.’

Joe was swamped with indecision: how could he leave with Tarya still a prisoner? He felt himself pulled in two different directions. But if the Brotherhood planned a mock trial, Tarya was safe for two more days. Right now, Ren needed him more. The invisible chord between them had tightened with every moment he spent away from her.