King of The Dragons (Wings of Fire X Monster Hunter)

Book 5: Epilogue

One month later . . .

(3rd Pov Sunny)

It was a perfect day for flying.
Trails of white clouds splashed across the bright blue sky as if they'd been painted on in long, thin brushstrokes. The wind whisked around them, fast and breathless and playful, and the mountains below looked like sharp green gemstones in the warm sunlight.

"Can't you imagine it?" Sunny said to her friends. "Wouldn't it be perfect?"
They stood on one of the peaks of Jade Mountain, with all of Pyrrhia spread out below them. From here, on a day like today, Sunny could see the white sands of the desert far off to the west and the dark green rainforest  to the east. She could see the ocean glittering blue in the south and the jagged teeth of the mountains stretching in a long line north toward the Sky Kingdom.

She opened her wings and felt the wind whoosh around her, nearly lifting her off her talons.
"I can see it," Tsunami said. "We could use the caves as classrooms but have everyone outside as much as possible."
"Lots of sunshine," Glory agreed. "Mandatory sunshine."
"And field trips," Clay suggested, limping over the rocks to them. "So every dragonet can feel the mud and sand and the ocean and the snow and also eat mangoes." he grinned at Glory. "Mandatory mangoes."
"I know a few places that could be worth visiting," Stormcaller offered.

"And scrolls, right?" Starflight said. "Lots and lots of scrolls. All the scrolls in Pyrrhia. We could have the biggest library in the world here." he paused, and even with the bandages over his eyes, they could see his face fall. Sunny twined her tail around his, knowing he felt more comfortable when he was touching another dragon.

"Don't worry about it, Starflight," Fatespeaker said from his other side, nudging him gently. "We'll figure out a way to make scrolls that blind dragons can read, too. And until them, I'll read you every single scroll we find, I promise. I'm not going anywhere."
He smiled shyly in her direction, and Sunny felt another stab of guilt.

They'd talked about it, finally, once they were all safely back in the rainforest. Sunny had found him by himself for once, lying in the sun on one of the leaf platforms, and she'd curled up beside him until he woke up.
"I'm sorry, Starflight," she'd said, and he'd known right away what she was talking about.
"I know," he'd answered, turning his head away from her.
"I just - I live you. But -"
"Like a brother."
She'd hesitated, then said instead, "Not like Fatespeaker loves you."
He'd folded his wings over his face and coughed, embarrassed.
"It's all right if you love her, too," Sunny said. "You should. She's . . . she cares about you. And she's hilarious."
He hadn't said anything for a long time. Finally Sunny had said, "I brought you something." His head lifted at the sound of the rustling scrolls. "Remember Tales of the NightWings? Want me to read it to you?"
"Ha," he'd said, actually smiling. "It'll sound a little different now that we know none of it is true. Sure, please do."

Here, now, on the mountaintop, Sunny thought . . . well, she hoped . . . that everything would be all right between them. He'd be a great teacher; he didn't need his sight to do that. And his flying was getting more confident every day.

If she ever found someone she cared about that way . . . well, then things might be awkward again for a while. But he had Fatespeaker. They'd all be all right.

"Do you think anyone will actually come?" tsunami asked, pacing back from the northern ridge. "I mean. a school for dragonets from all the tribes - no one's ever done anything like that before. The queens might not want their subjects to 'understand each other better.' What if we build a school and no one comes?"

"They'll come," Sunny said confidently. "We're not the only dragons who want to avoid any more wars. This is the best way. Dragonets who grow up together will see how alike they really are, no matter what tribe their from. Then they won't judge each other, and they'll be much less likely to kill each other."
"Like us," Clay said, grinning at her.
"Unless they're all like Tsunami," Glory joked. "And then getting to know each other will make them more likely to want to kill each other."
Tsunami smacked her over the head with her tail.