The Clankers’ escape had kept her awake all night—scrambling to the rookery to release the strafing hawks, being dragged about by a pack of excited sniffers, then two hours with the officers as they explained it all to the Ottoman authorities, who thought it a squick rude for the Leviathan’s crew to be gallivanting across their airfield without permission. When Deryn had finally found a moment to check the machine room, Dr. Barlow was already there. One of the eggs had hatched in the night, and the newborn beastie was missing! The odd thing was, the lady boffin had hardly seemed upset. She’d ordered Deryn to take a good look around the ship, but had only smiled when Deryn had come back empty-handed. That was boffins for you. By the time Deryn had stumbled to her own cabin, it had been dawn—time to go back on duty. To add insult to injury, her first orders had been to deliver breakfast to the man who’d caused the whole palaver. A guard stood in front of Count Volger’s stateroom.
