Poisonous Rage

Chapter Five

Sundew opened her eyes to see Willow pressed against her. The LeafWing was resting her head against Sundew's neck, and her cheek was smushed cutely.

Sundew took a moment to etch the image into her memory, before sliding herself carefully out of Willow's embrace. The pale green LeafWing mumbled in her sleep and reached forward, trying to pull Sundew back, but Sundew was already out of reach.

Sundew grabbed the blanket and draped it over Willow. Then, she quietly walked into the kitchen.

Oak was already there, making himself tea. He glanced at Sundew before pouring hot water into a wooden cup and dropping a few leaves in. He picked up the cup and sipped it lightly. Then he placed it on the table in the middle of the room.

"So, you're my daughter's girlfriend," Oak said bluntly. "If I'm being honest, Belladonna's daughter would be the last dragon I would think Willow would fall for. I had my bets on Hazel for a bit."

Hazel? Sundew thought. Has Willow been seeing her a lot? What if-

She shut down that train of thought. It wasn't a useful one, although she was relatively confident she would be worrying about it later.

"So? I love Willow. I would give my life for her. She feels like my other half. And I don't need anyone's approval."

Oak raised his talons in a peaceful gesture. "No need to be defensive. I'm okay with it, so long as you keep her happy and safe. But if you break her heart, I will find you. She already lost her mother. Don't let her lose you."

Sundew wouldn't have said she was scared, but the ice in Oak's tone certainly unnerved her. No breaking Willow's heart. Got it.

"Oh no, are you giving her the scary dad talk?" Willow groaned from the doorway. "Not again! You did this when I brought Hazel over too! I even told you Hazel was just a friend!"

"That's what they all say," he murmured, sipping his tea once more.

Sundew knew Willow was telling the truth, but the comment didn't help to stop the swirling thoughts about Willow falling in love with another dragon.

"Well, you two go have fun. Don't get into any trouble," Oak murmured, wandering back towards his room with his cup of tea in his talon.

"Sorry. My dad's not much of a morning dragon. Usually he makes himself a pot of tea and goes to brood in his room," Willow explained. "He's insisted he's 'meditating on the world', but him sitting in his room in the dark with a cup of tea staring at nothing is what I would describe as brooding. I just think he doesn't want me to know how broken up he still is about my mother." At the end of her sentence, Willow's voice quieted and she glanced away from Sundew.

Sundew wrapped her wings around Willow. "I'm so sorry, Willow." Willow had explained in the past that her mother had died about a year before she and Sundew had met, to a manchineel tree while she and Willow were exploring. Willow's mother had always been adventurous, but it cost her when she flew too close to the manchineel trees. Even Sundew was a bit afraid of the sinister trees. Every part of the tree was toxic, from the innocent-looking fruit to the sap that would drip onto your scales when it rained.

Willow took a shaky breath. "Dwelling in the past won't do me any good," she slid out of Sundew's wings and turned in the direction of the palace. Before Sundew could say anything, Willow leaped skywards and Sundew was forced to follow, resolving to continue the conversation later.

When Sundew caught up with Willow, she had landed in the throne room, where an interesting assortment of dragons waited.

Qibli, Tsunami, and Turtle, guarded by four guards, stood off to the side. Queen Sequoia sat on her throne, with Hazel next to her and two other LeafWings, who Sundew assumed were the queen's advisors or generals. Finally, the last group was from Sundew's village, and it consisted of Belladonna and Byblis, her mother's cunning second-in-command.

Queen Sequoia was rubbing at her forehead as though she had a headache, and Belladonna was ranting about something, obviously angry.

"-trusting these... outsiders? Letting them into our war meeting? How do we know they're not spies for Wasp!" Belladonna hissed, stabbing a claw at Qibli and the SeaWings.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "And you!" Belladonna roared. "I've only known you for twenty minutes and I know you're unfit to be queen! You're immature and weak. My daughter would make a much better leader."

Hazel bristled, but a sharp glance from Sequoia stopped her. "Well, our group is complete, so let us truly begin this war council," Sequoia growled.

Belladonna whipped around to see Sundew and Willow. Without even thinking about it, Sundew twined her tail with Willow's. It was a small act of rebellion, but she was done hiding. Yes, Mom, I'm in love with a SapWing. And I'm never going to let you get your claws into her.

Belladonna's eyes narrowed. "We'll talk about this later," she said quietly, her words dripping with venom.

"As you all know, Sundew stole the Book of Clearsight from Wasp, and in the process, was seen. That confirmed our existence to Wasp. Then, Hemlock burned down Bloodworm Hive. Wasp surely knows we still exist now, and the PoisonWings have directly attacked her. Even if the PoisonWings hadn't burned down Bloodworm Hive, she would still kill us for surviving her first attempt to exterminate us. Nor would she accept us abandoning the PoisonWings to her. Even if she were to leave us alone, I would never condone sacrificing half our tribe. Which means, despite my best efforts to keep us hidden, we are going to war.

"My scouts tell me we have only one day until Wasp's army is fully assembled and she attacks. We have many tactical advantages - this is our home, and we know our way around its dangers, while Wasp's army will be going in blind. We also are fighting a defensive war, which means they have to come to us. And with Leafspeak and the many dangerous weapons we have here in the jungle, Wasp will have a hard time destroying us.

"Nevertheless, I fear we will be overwhelmed. Our tribe is nowhere near the size it was during the Tree Wars, and the HiveWing population has grown. But Wasp's biggest advantage is the hive mind. Her army fights as one organism, devoid of fear, mercy, or self-preservation. Any information one scout receives will be known to the rest of the army instantly. That is why our only hope is to cure the mind control."

There was a moment of silence, then the room exploded with questions. Despite the noise, Sundew could still hear her mother yelling over the rest of the dragons, blaming Sequoia for not revealing she had a cure for the mind control before then.

Sequoia endured the noise a moment more with a calm face. "Quiet!" she roared, and everyone stopped talking, except for Belladonna, who continued her rant for another half minute. Finally, with a snort of annoyance, she too ceded to the queen's request.

"I know you have many questions, and I have the answers, although they are longer and less certain than you may think. Only three dragons know of our secret; me, my daughter, and one other. But before we get to that, you must know some ancient history. So, listen close, saplings, as I tell you the Legend of the Hive."