‘Now! Or we’ll be no good to anyone,’ Yannic urged.

‘Come on, Joe,’ Amina urged him. ‘This way, wasn’t it?’

‘Uh-huh,’ he mumbled, still not quite ready to trust this soldier. ‘Come with us, but if you try anything, I’ll make you pay.’ He still had his dragon-head knife hidden under his jacket. To protect Ren, he was ready to use it.

Their strange procession made it to the iron gate unchal­lenged. And to their delight, just as they reached the gate, 227they heard a low thrumming sound as the older dragons and their riders took to the skies and flew to safety. Maric, Ariel, Lina and Elias made small sad aark, aark noises of farewell, and had to be quickly shushed.

Yannic stood guard while they all crawled into the tunnels. The journey back was hard. Joe only had one lan­tern, while the others didn’t know the tunnels. Yannic’s curses were new and interesting, even for Joe. He forced himself to be patient and walk slowly, even though he was seething with frustration and desperate to get back to Ren.

Finally he saw the entrance to the large cavern where he’d left Winter. ‘Er, I better go first. Wait here, just a moment.’ He left the lantern with Amina, and went forward alone into the darkness.

‘Winter? Ren? It’s me,’ he called. His fears swarmed his mind, as he stumbled forwards, arms outstretched. What if someone had found them? What if Ren had fallen ill without him? ‘Winter? Where are you?’

Then he saw it: a trembling glow ahead. She’d stuck candles around the walls, casting a golden light that glinted off the underground stream. Winter was sitting against a rocky wall. The hatchlings flanked her, heads up to sniff the air, eyes aglow, like four little golden suns.

They were safe! He was home! Ren was here!

‘Ren!’ he cried, running the last stretch to meet his dragon and hold her tightly. Their reunion felt physical to Joe: warm relief spread through his whole body, like basking in front of a hot fire on a cold day.

Ren was wriggling with delight, squeaking loudly and 228almost knocking him down. She batted his chest, press­ing her head against his cheek, telling him how much she’d missed him.

‘I’m sorry, Ren. I’m back now,’ he laughed out loud in delight, trying to catch hold of her. They were together again. Everything felt better, more possible, more bearable, when they were together. ‘Have you grown? Look at you!’

‘Two days!’ Winter snapped, interrupting their reunion. ‘You left her for two days and two nights. Have you any idea …?’

‘You must have known it was something big to keep me away.’

‘Something big, yes. Like you being dead!’ She looked at him stonily.

‘I’m sorry.’ He hadn’t guessed she might think that. Surely Ren would know if he died? It wasn’t the moment to ask. ‘Winter, my father was killed,’ he said. Ren leaned into him, making a soft crooning noise in the back of her throat.