Sand. Heat. Shimmering air. She blinked blearily, gazing at the stark-white dunes around her. They were her element, her home. Yet now the sands looked foreign, alien. She panted, the heat oppressive. How could this be? She was a Sandwing—heat did not faze her. Yet her flesh felt like it was baking beneath her scales.
Arbitrarily she picked a direction and moved, her claws sinking into the scalding sand. Her wings were numb, limp. She looked up at the bright blue sky, its azure depths drawing her in. Vertigo twisted her mind; abruptly she shook her head, willing the spinning to stop. She kept going, one step at a time, trudging slowly across the desolate expanse.
A shape appeared on the horizon, growing larger as she headed towards it. She squinted—it was a dragon, a large one, slumped over, unmoving. Something protruded from the side of its skull. As she approached the dragon, she realized with a start that it was a spear, its tip embedded deep into the dragon's eye.
"By the moons..."
It was her mother. Queen Oasis, former matriarch of the Sandwing tribe. All the details were there—the diamondback scales, the jewelry, the spear in the eye, even the severed end of the tail. A snarl marked Oasis's features; the single remaining eye looked out, its inky blackness directed accusingly at her as she stared at her deceased mother.
"Mother? Mother, what's wrong?"
With a start she looked to her right. A small Sandwing dragonet crouched next to Oasis, prodding at the queen's body. The dragonet's scales glittered under the harsh light, the black diamonds standing out amid the tan scales.
"Wake up, mother! Wake up, please..."
No. It couldn't be. How...how could this be?
"Mama!" wailed the dragonet, throwing itself against Oasis, sobbing uncontrollably. "Please! I didn't mean it. I don't want to be queen."
Her breath hitched, heart pounding. The heat, the glare faded—she saw only the sobbing dragonet and Oasis. Blood howled through her ears. She swallowed, her mouth dry.
"Don't l-leave me. Don't you love me, mother? Mother? Say something! Mother..."
The dragonet...was her. Blister. Queen of Poison.
"No!" she shrieked. "Stop!"
The dragonet whirled around, staring at her with little black eyes, tears streaking the dirt on her scales.
"Y-you aren't me," Blister said. "You can't...no...I hated you, mother. You and your arrogant attitude. I'm glad you're dead. I wanted the throne, it was mine from the start!"
The dragonet opened its mouth. "My queen," it whispered. It stroked Oasis's body lovingly.
"Stop it. I said, stop it!" Blister tried to lunge forward, only for her claws to sink straight down. She flopped painfully onto the blistering sand.
"My queen."
"She's not your queen. I'm the queen. You hear me?" She clawed at the sand, trying to pull herself forward, yet somehow slipping back every time.
"My queen."
"I'm Blister. Queen of Poison! Queen of the moon's forsaken Sandwings! I earned my throne, squashed every foe in my way to take it.
"My queen." Suddenly Oasis's body opened its mouth and said, "My queen."
"Wha..." Blister gripped the sand, tremors shaking her body.
"My queen...my queen..."
"My queen!"
Blister gasped, her head shooting up, eyes wide. She looked around—no sand, no heat, no Oasis, no dragonet. Just the dim interior of her tent and the loose pillows she'd been resting on. The entrance flap was slightly ajar, letting in the low evening light. Before her crouched a messenger, who'd sprung back in shock upon her sudden awakening.
