Poisonous Rage

Chapter Ten

She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, her wings wrapped around herself and her body shaking with her sobs. Suddenly, a tail curled around her and she jumped, turning to see Willow.

Willow avoided Sundew's gaze and untangled their tails. "I knew that you'd come here."

"So why did you?" Sundew growled.

"Because we need you, Sundew. Hawthorn has the seeds of the antidote, but no one trusts him enough to have him grow the plants. Not after what he did to Mandrake." Willow answered. "Something's obviously not right with him. Years of isolation must have driven him mad. He keeps muttering about something. He returned to the village with us, but only because we had no idea how to administer the antidote and he only agreed to tell us if he was allowed back. He's being watched by some of the LeafWings. Mandrake is under heavy guard in the cell the Pyrrhian dragons stayed in. Wasp's army is gathering at the edge of the jungle. Queen Sequoia, your mother, and most of the LeafWings have gone to the edge of the jungle to prepare for the battle. We brought a case of the antidote seeds to the village, but we need you in order to grow as much as possible."

So that's what this was. Manipulative and cruel. Sending the dragon Sundew would do anything for, even when Sundew felt like crawling into the lake and letting the waterwheels eat her.

"I know you won't believe me, but they didn't send me because of our relationship. Actually, they didn't send me at all. I came because... I care about you, even if we might not be together right now. So please come back, Sundew. If not for me, then for everyone else who might get hurt if we don't stop Queen Wasp."

Sundew stood up and lashed her tail. "Alright."

Willow's face crinkled with a smile, and the dull ache in Sundew's chest returned. Willow stood up as well and spread her wings. "Come on, Sequoia gave you the old gardens for growing the seeds. There might be a few dragontraps, but they're mostly cleared. We only stopped using them a few years ago."

When they arrived, Sundew looked around. A large, cleared plot of land gave a stark contrast to the wild jungle around it. Willow opened a large wooden trunk that Sundew hadn't noticed before. Inside were dozens of black seeds. When Sundew looked closer, though, she realized they were a deep red.

...a seed so dark red it's almost black. Queen Sequoia's voice echoed in her head. She shivered at the memory. "This looks just like how Sequoia described the Breath of Evil's seed," Sundew growled.

"Hawthorn explained that he bred it from the Breath of Evil, altering it so that it reversed the effects. He said that sometimes starting from the source can be helpful," Willow explained.

"What if he's lying to save himself from being imprisoned?"

"Then we kill these plants and figure out another solution. It's just a plant. It's not like it'll attack us or take control of our minds if we grow it."

Sundew hesitated but nodded. They took the seeds and planted them before she closed her eyes and reached out her mind.

Hello, little plants. We need your help.

Hmm... the plant said back.

You'll grow big and strong. Every other plant will be jealous.

Yes... the plant responded. Grow big, grow strong, yes yes. There was a pause, and then something in the plant shifted. The games have begun... the plant whispered, and then it exploded out of the ground, wrapping itself around Willow and Sundew.