Wings Of Fire; The Fate Begins: The Dragonet Prophecy

Prolouge 1

A dragon was trying to hide in the storm. Lightning flickered across the dark clouds. Arizona clutched her fragile cargos closer. If she could over the mountains, she'd be safe. She'd escaped the SkyWings's palace unseen. And the secret cave was so close...

But her theft was not as stealthy as she thought, and eyes as blacks as obsidians were already tracking her from below.

The enormous dragon on the mountain ledge had pale gold scales that radiated heat like the desert horizon. Her eyes narrowed, watching the gleam of brown up in the cloud.

She flicked her, and behind her, two more dragons rose to the sky and dove into the heart of the storm. A piercing shriek echoed off in the mountains as their talons seized the purple-brown sky dragon.

"Blind her mouth," the waiting dragon ordered as her soldiers dropped Arizona on the slick, wet ledge in front of her. She was already inhaling, ready to attack. "Quickly!"

One of the soldiers grabbed a chain from the piles of smoldering coals. He threw it around the sky dragon's snout, clamping his jaws together with a sizzling smell of burning scales. Arizona let out a muffled scream.

"Too late." The sand dragon's forked tongue slithered in and out of her mouth. "You won't be using your burning-death breath on us, rare purple-brown sky dragon.

"She was carrying these, Queen Burn," said one of the soldiers, handing her the two SkyWings eggs.

"These are not regular SkyWing eggs," she hissed. "You stole these from the SkyWing Palace."

The rare SkyWing stared. Hissing steam circled her mouth where the hot chains met hot purple scales.

"You thought you got away unnoticed, didn't you?" Burn said. "My SkyWing ally is not a fool. Queen Scarlet know everything that happens in her kingdom. Her lookouts reported a rare SkyWing sneaking out of the SkyWing palace and I decided that finding you might add some violence to my boring list. I told Scarlet why she doesn't just kill the SkyWings eggs and she answered that she doesn't want to kill her own sons and daughters."

Burn held the large eggs up to the light of the fire and turned it slowly. Red and gold shimmered below the pale, smooth surface. On egg has four electric motifs on it while the other has four grass motifs on it.

"Yes. These are SkyWing eggs about to hatch," Burn mused. "Why would my sister send you to steal a SkyWing dragonet? She hates dragons younger and prettier than her?" She thought for a moment as the rain drummed on the ledge around them. "Unless the brightest night is tomorrow..."

Her tail flicked up like a scorpion's, the poisonous barb inches from Arizona's eyes. "You're not in Blaze's army at all, are you? You're one of those insipid peacemongers." Burn said.

"The Talons Of Peace?" One of the soldiers said. "Are you sure they're real?"

Born snorted. "A few worms crying over a little blood. Unwrap her chains. She won't be able to burn us until her scales cool down." The enormous sand dragon leaned closer as her soldier pulled the chain away. "Tell me, purple-brown SkyWing, do you really believe that old pompous DayWing's prophecy just like that pathetic IceWing and that pathetic NightWing?" Burn asked.

"Haven't enough dragons died for your war?" Arizona snarled, wincing at the pain in her jaws. "All of Pyrrhia has suffered for the last twelve years. The prophecy says—"

"I don't care. No prophecy decides what happens to me." Burn interrupted. "I'm not letting a bunch of words or baby dragons choose when I die or who I bow to. We can have peace when my sisters are dead and when I am queen of the SandWings." Her venomous tail dipped closer to the purple-brown dragon.