Wings Of Fire; The Fate Begins: The Dragonet Prophecy

Chapter 4: Duefulsage's Visit

Clay had never really believed the legends about DayWings. Secretive dragons who could read minds? A hidden kingdom that no one could find? A hidden queen, the power to see the future, the way they appeared from darkness or lightness to deliver prophecy that shaped the world... it all sounded like fairy tales, about as likely as a world rule by scavengers instead of dragons. At least the NightWings sounded more believable because of Ebony. But Ebony always tell Hvitur about her powers but she told him that she could only read minds. But what doesn't make sense is that the NightWings can't join the war because of complications. It seems like Queen Lrocier is as lazy as RainWings or the NightWings are just like DayWings.

Besides, Clay knew Brightglide, and Brightglide was many things—annoying, long-winded, smart, too serious—but he had no magical powers and he was never, ever scary.

But the next evening, when a dragon cyan as a cyan bottomless pit loomed out of the shadows of the entrance tunnel, Clay felt all the rumors about DayWing come crashing into his head like a collapsing rock wall.

Duefulsage was even bigger than Kestrel, and five times more terrifying. He spread his jagged, batlike wings and peered down at the dragonets lined up in front of him. He had gold scales like suns on the underside of the wings like Brightglide did, but on him they seemed to glitter from a great distance and cast a cold grow.

He looked like that he could easily ripped each of their heads in one bite. He also looked like that he hated the eleven dragonets. Which wasn't what Clay had expected at all. Were they such a disappointment already?

Maybe Duefulsage was reading their minds and knew how confused they were about the prophecy. Or maybe he was seeing the future and his visions were all of failure, failure, failure.

Clay could feel Sunny trembling at his side. He felt the same way, petrified in place, as if his scales were being slowly peeled off, one by one, while the giant DayWing inspected them.

On his other side, Brightglide was more still than Clay had ever seen him. Brightglide always force when he was frightened. It was as if he hoped that by not moving, he'd disappear from view and the danger would pass right by.

Clay couldn't see Glory, but he knew when Duefulsage saw her. The huge cyan dragon stared down at the RainWing dragonet for a small eternitiy. His snout twitched with ripples of disgust. His forked cyan tongue slipped over his teeth.

Clay wished his own wings were as vast as the carvers itself so he could hide his friends from Duefulsage. He wished that his talons were as huge as the stalagmites and as sharp as the rock shards. He wished that he were big enough to be brave and brave enough to be big. He'd never wanted anything so much as he wanted to protect his friends from this tall, hissing, scornful, immensely dangerous dragon.

He really hoped that Duefulsage wasn't reading his mind right then. 'Think about cows, think about cows, think about delicious cows...'

Duefulsage turned his head to Caribbean. Then Duefulsage turned his head Bubble, Ember, and saw Bubble breathing out grass breath, Ember breathing out grass breath, and Aria breathing out electric breath.

Duefulsage pivoted his head slowly to glare down at Kestrel. He lifted one claw and pointed at Bubble, Ember, Aria.

"What. Is. Wrong. With. Those. THREE?" He said, his voice loaded with enough venom to kill twenty dragons in midflight.

"They are defective—the first is a SeaWing who can breathe out grass breath, the second is a SkyWing who can breathe out grass breath, and the third is a SkyWing who can breathe out electric breath," Kestrel hissed.

"Bubble is not defective!" Ember yelled.

Ember kept quiet when Kestrel glared at her.

Bubble gave a smile to Ember in thanks.