Kingdoms Falling

Chapter 26

Watterlaek was just beginning to stir when the two dragons went flying past. To one, it was the dawn of a brand new morning, and a chance to start fresh and begin making amends with his realm now that they weren't all zombie-minded worker bees. To the other, it was the first breath of fresh air she'd had since being towed ruthlessly to a rotten fish-smelling dungeon.

"I still can't believe you did all that without me!" Armadillo exclaimed. "Or that I missed all of the excitement!" Her eyes shone wistfully as Meadow explained everything that had happened. She'd been unharmed, just as Gill had promised. Her scales were without blemish, and she'd been fed well. In fact, the only signs that she'd ever been imprisoned were two thin ringed imprints around her wrists and ankles that had belonged to the chains. 

Meadow chuckled, hurrying through the sky after her. "It wasn't that memorable, believe me."

"But you found your parents!" Armadillo protested. "That's amazing! I really wish I could have seen the look on your face. I bet it was awesome!"

"It was definitely something," he agreed.

"And Hillock! I can't believe it! King? A hybrid? Why am I always the last one to know these things? I should definitely be at the top of the tell-important-stuff pile!"

"King-in-training," Meadow corrected automatically. "The amulet chose him, but he doesn't know anything about ruling yet." He could still see the dazed expression on the drake's face when he realized that the locket's decision would make him the future ruler of the entire resistance.

"But he'll be an excellent king one day," she said fervently. 

"Yes, I expect he will be." Meadow spotted the smoke from the campfire near the shore where the team was waiting. "There they are," he added, tilting his wings toward the land.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Armadillo laughed. "Last one to the party is a rotten adder!" She curved and dove for the land. Laughing and calling foul, Meadow chased after her. 

"The great hero has arrived, everyone!" Fire called, rising to greet them with a grin and everyone looked up as they landed and ran alongside the gentle seaside. 

"DILLO!" Hillock cried joyously, leaping to his feet excitedly and hurrying to her. The dragoness had no time to say anything before his wings were around her and he was sweeping her up in a relieved hug.

"Okay! Okay!" Armadillo laughed, whacking him gently over the head with her wings. "It's good to see you too, you overgrown salamander!" 

Meadow squeezed past them and padded toward the fire and his waiting team. 

"Hey," Cotton said awkwardly, glancing up from her roasted kumquats as he approached.

"Hey," he replied, settling down between her and Sun and taking a flounder from the pile waiting to be cooked. "How'd it go with Nimbus?" 

"Surprisingly well," the princess said. "She was upset, naturally, but she accepted it with grace. I think sending me to talk to her really helped. There's a kind of...finesse...that drakes don't seem to have.

"I'll out "finesse" you any day," Meadow argued. "But, I do appreciate you going while I got Dillo."

"You owe me one now, Dusk," Cotton warned, waving a burnt fruit at him threateningly. "And I intend to collect."

He'd revealed his heritage to the others on the return flight. To say they'd been stunned was an understatement. Even Sun, who always had something to say, had fallen strangely quiet. Finally, Cloud had broken the silence with a whisper of, "I knew it."