The Dragonet Prophecy (24 page)

Starflight pressed himself back against the cliff. “Are you sure you don’t want to unbind our wings now?” he said, closing his eyes.

“You’ll be fine,” Peril said. “It’s easy to climb down from here. I’ve done it when my wings are tired. See? The cave’s right there.”

Clay peeked over the edge and saw a small gap in the cliff far below, like a tiny gash in the wall behind the waterfall. It was definitely a journey he’d prefer to do with functioning wings. But if they had to keep Peril happy . . .

“I see some claw holds,” he said. “And we can rest on that boulder halfway —” He stopped. Over the roaring of the waterfall, he could hear wingbeats. Someone was coming.

He spun around. “Hide,” he said, frantically pushing Peril toward the tunnel. “If they find you helping us, the queens will kill you, champion or not.”

She stopped in the mouth of the tunnel, staring at him. Clay turned and saw Tsunami and Starflight wearing matching shocked expressions.

“How did you do that?” Peril whispered.

“Do —” Clay started, and then he felt the heat in his talons. He had touched Peril’s scales without even thinking. He looked down, expecting to see dark scorch marks and claws crumbling to ash. But his talons were only glowing a warm red, and even as he looked at them, the redness and the heat faded away until his talons felt entirely normal again.

“Stop gawping,” Tsunami ordered, shoving him at the tunnel. “Everybody run.”

“I don’t think so,” said Queen Scarlet’s chilly voice behind them. Clay turned slowly and saw the SkyWing queen descending from the cliff above, her bejeweled wings spread wide.

“Thank you, Peril,” the queen said nastily. “You may be excused.”

Clay didn’t understand.
Thank you for what?
Peril gave him an agonized look and fled up the tunnel.

Queen Scarlet smiled at the dragonets as SkyWing soldiers began to rain from the sky. “Going somewhere?”

The queen was not pleased to find her wall of fire still in place when the dragonets were hauled back to their cell. She sighed disapprovingly.

“So you’ve figured out what MudWings hatched from blood-red eggs can do,” she said. “I suppose it was only a matter of time.”

Clay glanced at the others in confusion as the guards used long shovels to scrape the rocks aside. What did she think he’d done? Tsunami and Starflight looked grim, as if they understood a lot more than he did.

“Find the ten most sober guards,” Scarlet instructed Vermilion. “Post them out here. These dragonets are done ruining my party.” She glared at the three of them as they were pushed into the cave once more and the fire wall was scraped back into place. “It’s really very selfish of you,” she snapped. “My hatching day only comes once a year. I’ve been planning this for months. So stop being awful, or I will take Burn’s advice and kill you right now.”

They waited until she was gone and the spiny backs of ten very grouchy SkyWing guards filled the passageway outside. Then Tsunami pulled Clay and Starflight to the far corner, where the wind whistling through the narrow windows would cover their conversation.

“I don’t remember anything about that in the scrolls,” she whispered to Starflight.

“There was one reference to a legend from before the Scorching,” Starflight whispered back. “But I didn’t think it meant anything. The guardians never said there was anything special about a red egg. I don’t think they’re even all that rare.”

“What are we talking about?” Clay asked.

“You, you great lummox,” Tsunami said, poking him with one talon. “And your no-good, evil girlfriend.”

“I — who?” Clay said.

“Peril,” Starflight explained. “The one who betrayed us to Queen Scarlet instead of helping us escape.”

Clay was finally catching up. “You think she did that?” he said. “Why would she do that?”

“Because she wants to keep you here, obviously,” Tsunami growled. “This is what happens when you’re too nice to psychotic killer dragons.”

“I’m still confused,” Clay said. “How do red eggs come into it?”

“Don’t you remember the prophecy?” Starflight asked.

Clay winced. It was the one thing the big dragons had tried to drill into their heads over and over again. But it never seemed to stick in his.

“For wings of earth, search through the mud,”
Starflight quoted,
“for an egg the color of dragon blood.”
He stopped and looked expectantly at Clay. There was a pause.

“What, me?” Clay said.

“Tell us about the legend,” Tsunami said impatiently to Starflight.

“It was something about how MudWings hatched from dragon-blood eggs can walk through fire,” Starflight said.

“Oh, that’s all?” Tsunami said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Well, that doesn’t sound at all useful. Certainly not worth mentioning.”

“Hey, if I had my scrolls with me, I’d have all the information we could possibly want,” Starflight pointed out.

“Wait, that can’t be right,” Clay said. “Kestrel burned me plenty of times in combat training.”

“But you have no scars,” Tsunami said. “She tried to set you on fire way more than the rest of us, and you always healed in, like, a day.”

“It still
hurt
, though,” Clay said. He remembered that really clearly.

“The mud,” Starflight jumped in. “Dragons draw strength from their natural habitats. SeaWings are most powerful in the ocean. I bet you had to encounter mud before your full immunity from fire could develop.” He paused, thinking, and his expression turned hopeful. “Maybe my powers will be activated by moonlight or something.”

“If that’s true, the Talons of Peace were especially stupid to keep
you
underground,” Tsunami said.

“We’ve been on those columns at night for the last couple of days,” Clay said. “Do you feel any different?”

Starflight glanced at the stars glittering outside the window. “No,” he admitted after a moment. “But maybe I just don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like.”

They sat for a moment quietly.

“Do you really think Peril betrayed us?” Clay asked.

“She definitely did,” Tsunami answered. “She doesn’t want to lose you.”

“Oh,” Clay said. “That’s so sad. I guess she doesn’t have any other friends.”

“Clay!” Tsunami said, exasperated. “Don’t feel sorry for her. She just betrayed us. And by the way, she clearly likes you as more than a friend.” Clay blinked in surprise, and she nudged his wing with hers. “Hey, I get it. You’re lovable or whatever. But you can’t forgive her for this. She’ll only get more possessive if she thinks she can get away with it.”

“You should stay away from her,” Starflight agreed, shaking his head. “She can’t be trusted.”

“I guess she’s not going to rescue Sunny either,” Clay said sadly.

“No,” Tsunami agreed. “We’ll have to do that ourselves.”

“Tomorrow,” Starflight added. They all looked out at the guards stationed in the tunnel. Even if Clay moved the fire rocks, the three of them were no match for that many fierce, bad-tempered warrior dragons. They were trapped for the rest of the night.

“We’ll figure out something,” Tsunami said.

Clay was exhausted. He hadn’t slept much, and then only badly, since his fight with Fjord. He curled up on the floor, and the other two flopped over him — the way they all used to sleep, in a pile of dragonets, before Kestrel insisted on the sleeping caves and rocky ledges for beds.

The warmth and weight of the other two was just what Clay needed. Despite his fears about the morning, his guilt over trusting Peril, and his sadness at her betrayal, he was asleep within moments. And he didn’t have a single nightmare.

The roaring of dragons woke them the next morning. The three dragonets barely had time to scramble to their feet before guards began pouring into their cave. The black rocks had burned down to embers, which the SkyWing soldiers swept into the pool easily with their tails. Several of them grabbed Tsunami and pushed her toward the arena; the rest herded Clay and Starflight up the tunnel.

“Wait!” Clay cried. “Where is she going? Why can’t we go with her?”

“Listen to him.
Oh, please hurry up and kill me
,” mocked one of the SkyWing guards.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be your turn soon enough,” said another, and they all cackled unpleasantly.

Clay and Starflight were shoved up a flight of long, wide, black stairs and emerged blinking into bright sunlight.

They were standing on the queen’s balcony, overlooking the arena. Queen Scarlet was already there, lounging on her throne. She smirked at them.

“I thought you’d appreciate the best view in the house for this.” She nodded at the arena, where Tsunami was snapping and clawing at the guards around her.

Fat chains were wound around their necks, and Clay and Starflight were bolted to rings on the balcony floor. Burn stood next to Scarlet, ignoring the throne provided for her. She glowered at all the dragons equally. Clay got the feeling she preferred actual fighting over watching other dragons fight.

He jerked back against his chain as Glory was rolled forward into the sunlight. She was still lying in relaxed loops around the tree, with waves of emerald green and peacock blue drifting through her scales. Her eyes were closed, but as she rolled past, Clay was sure they opened a tiny bit, just enough to see her friends chained nearby. At least, he hoped that’s what he saw.

Burn’s black eyes were fixed on Glory as well.

“Oh, that’s my new toy,” Queen Scarlet said airily. “Pretty, isn’t she? I bet I’m the only queen with my very own RainWing.”

“Waste of food,” Burn muttered, but her expression was envious.

“She doesn’t eat much,” Scarlet said. “She’s more like an exotic plant than a dragon. Water, lots of sunshine, a little fruit, and a monkey here or there. Worth it until I get bored of her anyway.”

“Hmmm,” said Burn.

The seats were filled with hundreds of dragons — all the dragons in the Sky Kingdom, it seemed to Clay. They roared and stamped their feet, demanding bloody entertainment.

Vermilion fluttered down into the center of the arena. “Fellow dragons,” he called. “Loyal SkyWings and visiting MudWings and honored SandWing guests. We have a full slate of thrilling games today, so let’s begin!” He turned to gesture to Tsunami just as she broke away from her guards and charged at him. With a yelp of terror, Vermilion shot into the sky, barely escaping her talons.

The dragons in the audience roared with laughter. Tsunami hissed at Vermilion as he looped in circles above her.

“Looks like someone’s mistaken me for her opponent today,” Vermilion announced with a nervous laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you, SeaWing, but there’s a much more dramatic fellow we’d like you to meet.” He gestured to the sky. Several guards were wrestling with a pea-green SeaWing on one of the spires.

“Down on the sands, we have one of the so-called dragonets of destiny,” Vermilion bellowed, staying up in the air. “Are they really so great and powerful? This is how we find out. I give you … Tsunami of the SeaWings!”

The sound of beating wings and hissing fire-breath filled the arena. It was louder than Clay had expected, as if the watching dragons were really rooting for her. He could pick out some of the voices in the crowd.

“It’s really them! The dragonets of destiny!”

“Well, you saw what the MudWing did to Fjord! What was
that
?”

“Did you hear the mountain singing last night?”

“Such a fabulous party . . .”

“. . . must have been an omen.”

“. . . ghosts in the peaks … the dragonets are here . . .”

“. . . wearing the same ruby medallion! It was too embarrassing.”

“. . . hope she wins . . .”

Clay glanced at Queen Scarlet, who had smoke billowing in rings around her horns. She flicked her tail at Vermilion as if to say,
Get on with it.

“AHEM,” said Vermilion. “Some of you may remember a dragon a few months back who refused to fight.”

“BOOOOOOOOO!” the crowd chanted obediently.

“Indeed,” said Vermilion. “Tried to start a regular prisoner revolution, didn’t he? Tried to get all the dragons to stop fighting. Well, clearly he had to be taught a lesson, or we’d all be lying in our caves right now, bored out of our skulls. Am I right?”