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"And you both just turned green at the thought of that," Lilit said

"Aye, well, you know," Dylan said "Those contraptions are a professional hazard, when you’re an airman"

Lilit crossed her arms "And you were about to tell that reporter what this ’wireless tower’ really was, to warn your Darwinist friends!" She turned to Alek "And you’re willing to spill your family secrets just to keep Dylan out of the papers! There’s sohed Lilit could be annoyingly perceptive sorandood at puzzles"

Alek turned to Dylan "We should tell her everything"

The boy threw up his hand in surrender "Aye, it hardly matters anymore We have to put a stop to the whole plan! Just tell Malone about the Tesla cannon tomorrow Once that’s in the papers, the Aderous"

"We can’t," Alek said "The revolution will fail without the Leviathan’s help!"

"But they’ll never ot its oer plant, it’s got to be barking huge"

Alek opened his ue with There was no way to fly an airship over Istanbul now, not with a giant Tesla cannon overlooking the city

Lilit let out an exasperated sigh "Well, since neither of you boys can be bothered to explain, allow ers

"One, the Leviathan is clearly on its way back to Istanbul, or you wouldn’t care about this Tesla cannon Thatever it’s up to can help the revolution, as Alek just said And three, this all has to do with your secretat Dylan "Your men were captured near the kraken nets, weren’t they?"

Alek opened his ured out the truth But Lilit silenced him with a wave of her hand

"Everyone thinks your mission failed, but they don’t know that you weren’t captured" Her eyes widened "You plan to bring a kraken down the strait!"

Dylan looked miserable, but only nodded "Not really a kraken, but close enough And a fine plan it was too But it’s all ruined now! We have to tell Malone about the cannon, or get a warning to the Admiralty some other way"

"But this is perfect!" Lilit said

"Perfect in ay, exactly?" Dylan cried "That cannon is a death trap, and the Leviathan is headed right toward it! That’sabout the liberation of my people as well," Lilit said softly, her eyes locked on his "The Committee will deal with this problem, I swear"

"But my mission was meant to be top secret" Dylan shook his head "I can’t let it go forward if a daft bunch of anarchists know about it!"

"Then on’t tell anyone else," Lilit said "Only we three have to know"

Alek frowned "The three of us can’t destroy a Tesla cannon"

"No, we can’t But " Lilit held one hand up, her eyes squeezing shut for a moment "My father plans to lead the assault on the Goeben himself, with four walkers But if the Leviathan and its sea monster can deal with the ironclads, we have those walkers to spare So on the night of the revolution, we explain everything to my father, then head to the cliffs and tear this Tesla cannon to the ground!"

"Soht find out," Dylan said

"What if we only use pilots we trust?" Alek asked "Lilit’s walker, mine, Klopp’s, and Zaven’s No one else has to knohat’s going on"

Lilit shrugged "No one else is volunteering to fight the Goeben, after all"

Dylan stared at them both, a look of terror in his eyes

"But what if we fail?" he said softly "They’ll all burn"

Lilit reached across the table and took his hands in her own

"We won’t fail," she said "Our revolution depends on your ship"

Dylan stared at her hands for a moment, then looked helplessly at Alek

"It’s the only way they can win," Alek said simply "And the only way to complete your ht?"

"Oh, you had to say that," Dylan said with a groan, pulling his hands fro anarchists had better notat the boy "You’ve saved the revolution again!"

Dylan rolled his eyes "No need to get all moony, lassie"

Alek s couple

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Deryn spread her arht, and waited

"R "

She dipped her left arht arht down

"G!" said Bovril, and ate another strawberry Then it tossed the steh the rails to watch it fall

"How do you like that?" Deryn cried "It’s learnt the whole barking alphabet!"

Lilit and Alek stared at the beastie, then at her

"You taught it this?" Lilit asked

"No! I was just practicingthe letters out loud, I suppose, and after a couple tih " Deryn pointed at Bovril "The beastie joined in, as quick as a bosun’s mate"