𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄: The dragonet of two tribes | ✔️

Ch. 12

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Your pov

She was smaller than he had expected — smaller than Kestrel — but Clay knew they shouldn't underestimate the SkyWing queen. She'd held on to her power for thirty years despite fourteen brave, foolish, extremely dead-now challengers. She was one of the longest-lived and deadliest queens in Pyrrhia. One of the worst possible dragons to get her claws on the dragonets of destiny, primarily since she was allied with Burn, who hated the prophecy and had destroyed the SkyWing egg six years ago. Clay tried to remember anything else they'd learned about Scarlet. All he could think was scary. Queen Scarlet let go of your talons and slipped the medallion over her neck. She turned and ran one claw down Clay's snout."Now you, MudWing, make me curious. We're on the same side. So why didn't you recognize me?"

Like I said —" you started. Queen Scarlet silenced you with a flick of her tail."I like to hear the MudWing speak," she said. "All rumbly and deep and nervous."We, uh," Clay stammered. "We've been underground awhile ... kind of always . . ." you made a face at him behind the queen's back, which he guessed meant he shouldn't give too much away. But what was he supposed to say? He glanced up at the mountains looming overhead and realized they were outlined with a golden glow. The sun was coming up. They needed to go rescue their friends, and fast, before Kestrel took out her anger on the dragonets she could find."We're just passing through," he said to Queen Scarlet. The rows of rubies over the queen's eyes arched disbelievingly. "I mean — it was an honor to meet — a — it was very —"Terrifying was the only word he could think of. "We have to go," he exclaimed.

"Already?" said the queen. "But that's heartbreaking. I hate being abandoned mid-conversation. There's so much more I want to know about you." She brushed the tip of her claw along the bottom of Clay's chin. "I think the only place you should go is back to my place in the sky. Doesn't that sound thrilling? Don't say no; it'll hurt my feelings. You're just what I've been looking for."

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Behind Scarlet, you raised the scavenger's sharp claw. Your eyes met Clay's. He feltthe same chilling fear you must be feeling. If you attacked the SkyWing queen, you'd instantly have a new, powerful enemy who hated you .But you couldn't tell her the truth about yourselves. She'd take you captive or sell you to her ally Burn or kill you to mess with the prophecy. And you couldn't go with hereither — you had to get back to their friends.He nodded slightly. Do it. We have no choice. You stabbed the claw through Queen Scarlet's tail at the vulnerable spot, driving itstraight into the ground beneath.The queen roared with fury and pain. She whipped her head around and blasted fire in alldirections."Fly!" you yelled. You rolled under the flames and shoved Clay's tail. He spread hiswings and bolted into the sky with Queen Scarlet's fire scorching his claws. You flappedbeside him; your wingbeats were shaky but determined. 

It won't take her long to get free," you called. "Quick, we have to lose her in thepeaks." you soared up the cliff, and Clay followed.you flew past the top of the waterfall, where the river flowed out of a hole in the cliff.You passed up and up until they reached the top and whooshed out onto a rocky plateaustudded with dark green trees and bushes. Even up here, the mountains loomed over them,impossibly high and unbearably big. The peaks zigzagged to the north and south like crookeddragon teeth, a jagged row that went on and on. The bigness of everything kept overwhelming Clay. How would they ever find their friendsagain in all of this? And even if they did, what could six dragonets do to save a world thisbig?You led the way, staying low and swooping around trees, diving into chasms wherethey found them. Her wingbeats were getting stronger as you flew. Sunlight spread across themountains, dazzling Clay's eyes. He wasn't used to so much brightness — and this was onlydawn. The ferocity of the midday sun was still ahead.

"Here!" you called, jerking your head toward a dent in the side of the mountain. You spiraled down to land on the ledge outside a small cave. You could look over therocky plateau, with valleys and mountain peaks spread. Clay peered downnervously. The roar of the waterfall was a faint rumble in the distance. There was no sign ofQueen Scarlet. "I can't believe you did that," he said."I had to, didn't I?" you asked, without your usual conviction. You shook your icicle spikes,looking worried, then slipped into the cave's shadows to check that it was empty.

Clay wanted to reassure you, but he was worried, too. He closed his eyes and turned hisface toward the rising sun. The heat soaked down through his scales until even his bones feltwarm at last. "You should see yourself," you said from the cave. "You're practically glowing. I didn'tknow MudWings had so many colors in them."Clay opened his eyes and glanced down. He'd always thought of himself as just brown —plain brown scales, ordinary brown claws, the color of flat mud from horns to tail. But now, inthe full sunlight for the first time, he could see gold and amber glints between and beneathhis scales. Even the browns seemed more prosperous and more profound, like the mahogany trunk where Webskept the most delicate scrolls."Huh," he said. 

"You're so pretty," you joked, emerging into the light. Clay had to bite back a gasp.While the sun brought out his colors, it made you look bejeweled, like a dragon made ofOror gray and white snow or nacre.He thought of Glory and how beautiful she already was in the gloomy caves. None of themwould be able to look at her in full sunlight, or they'd be too dazzled to ever speak to heragain.  Glory. Clay squinted out at the mountainside. There were crags and holes and rockyoutcroppings that might lead to tunnels everywhere. He had no idea what the outside of theirhome looked like. They could see many mountains from here, but no smoke signal yet.The sun had nearly cleared the horizon, climbing slowly up the sky and chasing awaythe three moons. Clay saw several red shapes flitting around the distant mountain peaks. Atfirst, he thought they were birds until he spotted fire flickering around them like lightning and realized they were dragons.

This was SkyWing territory. Starflight was right about where their secret cavewas. But Clay had no idea how they'd escape the mountains now that the SkyWing queen wasprobably hunting them in a towering rage. You seized his shoulder. "Over there!" You cried, pointing.A thin column of smoke was starting to rise from a hole partway down the slope. Clay flunghimself into the air and swooped over the hole. It was enclosed and partly hidden by a thicketof branches so he couldn't land next to it. But it was open to the sky and looked like theshape of the sky hole to him.It had to be his friends.

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