Book 1: THE DRAGONET PROPHECY
Clay and his friends have grown up under a mountain, secretly raised by the Talons of Peace to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The five young dragons are destined to end the war that's been raging between the tribes of Pyrrhia -- but how they'll do this, none of them knows.
But not every dragonet wants a destiny. When one of their own is threatened, Clay and his friends decide to escape. Maybe they can break free and end the war at the same time -- or maybe they'll risk everything...
Read an Excerpt:
Everything the dragonets knew about the outside world came from scrolls picked up by the Talons of Peace. Their favorite was The Missing Princess, a legend about a runaway SeaWing dragonet whose royal family tore up the whole ocean looking for her. At the end she she found her way home, and her parents welcomed her with open wings and feasting and joy.
Clay always skipped the adventures in the middle of the story. He just liked that last part—the happy mother and father. And the feasting. The feasting sounded pretty great, too.
"I wonder what my parents are like," he said.
"I wonder if any of our parents are still alive," Tsunami said.
Clay didn't like to think about that. He knew dragons were dying in the war every day—Kestrel and Webs brought back news of bloody battles, scorched land, and burning piles of dragon bodies. But he had to believe his parents were still safe. "Do you think they ever miss us?"
"Definitely." Tsunami flicked a spray of water at him with her tail. "I bet mine were frantic when Webs stole my
eggs. Just like in the story."
"And mine tore apart the marshes," Clay said. They'd all imagined scenes of their parents' desperate searches
ever since they were young dragonets. Clay liked the idea that someone out there was looking for him…that
someone missed him and wanted him back.
Tsunami flipped onto her back, gazing up at the stone roof with her translucent green eyes. "Well, the Talons of
Peace knew what they were doing," she said bitterly. "No one would ever find us down here."
They listened to the river gurgle and the torches crackle for a moment.
"We won't be underground forever," Clay said, trying to make her feel better. "I mean, if the Talons of Peace want
us to stop this war, they have to let us out sometime." He scratched behind his ear thoughtfully. "Starflight says it's
only two more years." He only had to hold on that long. "And then we can go home and eat as many cows as we
want."
"Well, first we save the world," Tsunami said. "And then we go home."
"Right," said Clay. How they were going to save the world was a little fuzzy, but everyone seemed to think
they'd figure it out when the time came.
Clay pulled himself out of the river, his waterlogged wings heavy and drooping. He spread them in one of the
torches, arching his back and trying to get them warm. Feeble waves of heat wafted against his scales.
"Unless…" Tsunami said.
Clay lowered his head to look at her. "Unless what?"
"Unless we leave sooner," she said. She flipped over and pulled herself out of the water in one graceful motion.
"Leave?" Clay echoed, startled. "How? On our own?"
"Why not?" she said. "If we can find a way out—why should we have to wait another two years? I'm ready to
save the world now, aren't you?"
Clay wasn't sure he'd ever be ready to save the world. He figured the Talons of Peace would tell them what they
had to do. Only the three guardian dragons—Kestrel, Webs, and Dune—knew where the dragonets were hidden, but
there was a whole network of Talons out there getting ready for the prophecy.
"We can't stop the war by ourselves," he said. "We wouldn't know where to start."
Tsunami flapped her wings at him in exasperation, showering him with cold droplets. "We can too stop the war on
our own," she said. "That's the whole point of the prophecy."
"Maybe in two years," Clay said. Maybe by then I'll have found my dangerous side. Maybe then I'll be the
ferocious fighter Kestrel wants me to be.
"Maybe sooner," she said stubbornly. "Just think about it, all right?"
He shifted his feet. "All right. I'll think about it." At least that way he could stop arguing with her.
Tsunami cocked her head. "I hear dinner!" The faint sound of dismayed mooing echoed up the tunnel behind
them. She poked Clay cheerfully. "Race you to the hall!" She whirled and pounded away without waiting for a
response.
The torches in the battle room seemed dimmer, and cold water was seeping under Clay's scales. He folded his
wings and swept his tail through the debris of the smashed rock column.
Tsunami was crazy. The five dragonets weren't ready to stop the war. They wouldn't even know how to survive
on their own. Maybe Tsunami was brave and tough like a hero should be, but Sunny and Glory and Starflight…Clay
thought of all the things that might hurt them and wished he could give them his own scales and claws and teeth for
extra protection.
Besides, there was no way to escape the caves. The Talons of Peace had made sure of that.
Still, part of him couldn't help wondering what it would be like to go home now instead of waiting another two
years. Back to the marshes, to the swamps, to a whole tribe of MudWings who looked like him and thought like
him…back to his parents, whoever they were…
What if they could do it?
What if the dragonets could escape, and survive, and save the world…their own way?
Want to read more? Buy the book!
But not every dragonet wants a destiny. When one of their own is threatened, Clay and his friends decide to escape. Maybe they can break free and end the war at the same time -- or maybe they'll risk everything...
Read an Excerpt:
Everything the dragonets knew about the outside world came from scrolls picked up by the Talons of Peace. Their favorite was The Missing Princess, a legend about a runaway SeaWing dragonet whose royal family tore up the whole ocean looking for her. At the end she she found her way home, and her parents welcomed her with open wings and feasting and joy.
Clay always skipped the adventures in the middle of the story. He just liked that last part—the happy mother and father. And the feasting. The feasting sounded pretty great, too.
"I wonder what my parents are like," he said.
"I wonder if any of our parents are still alive," Tsunami said.
Clay didn't like to think about that. He knew dragons were dying in the war every day—Kestrel and Webs brought back news of bloody battles, scorched land, and burning piles of dragon bodies. But he had to believe his parents were still safe. "Do you think they ever miss us?"
"Definitely." Tsunami flicked a spray of water at him with her tail. "I bet mine were frantic when Webs stole my
eggs. Just like in the story."
"And mine tore apart the marshes," Clay said. They'd all imagined scenes of their parents' desperate searches
ever since they were young dragonets. Clay liked the idea that someone out there was looking for him…that
someone missed him and wanted him back.
Tsunami flipped onto her back, gazing up at the stone roof with her translucent green eyes. "Well, the Talons of
Peace knew what they were doing," she said bitterly. "No one would ever find us down here."
They listened to the river gurgle and the torches crackle for a moment.
"We won't be underground forever," Clay said, trying to make her feel better. "I mean, if the Talons of Peace want
us to stop this war, they have to let us out sometime." He scratched behind his ear thoughtfully. "Starflight says it's
only two more years." He only had to hold on that long. "And then we can go home and eat as many cows as we
want."
"Well, first we save the world," Tsunami said. "And then we go home."
"Right," said Clay. How they were going to save the world was a little fuzzy, but everyone seemed to think
they'd figure it out when the time came.
Clay pulled himself out of the river, his waterlogged wings heavy and drooping. He spread them in one of the
torches, arching his back and trying to get them warm. Feeble waves of heat wafted against his scales.
"Unless…" Tsunami said.
Clay lowered his head to look at her. "Unless what?"
"Unless we leave sooner," she said. She flipped over and pulled herself out of the water in one graceful motion.
"Leave?" Clay echoed, startled. "How? On our own?"
"Why not?" she said. "If we can find a way out—why should we have to wait another two years? I'm ready to
save the world now, aren't you?"
Clay wasn't sure he'd ever be ready to save the world. He figured the Talons of Peace would tell them what they
had to do. Only the three guardian dragons—Kestrel, Webs, and Dune—knew where the dragonets were hidden, but
there was a whole network of Talons out there getting ready for the prophecy.
"We can't stop the war by ourselves," he said. "We wouldn't know where to start."
Tsunami flapped her wings at him in exasperation, showering him with cold droplets. "We can too stop the war on
our own," she said. "That's the whole point of the prophecy."
"Maybe in two years," Clay said. Maybe by then I'll have found my dangerous side. Maybe then I'll be the
ferocious fighter Kestrel wants me to be.
"Maybe sooner," she said stubbornly. "Just think about it, all right?"
He shifted his feet. "All right. I'll think about it." At least that way he could stop arguing with her.
Tsunami cocked her head. "I hear dinner!" The faint sound of dismayed mooing echoed up the tunnel behind
them. She poked Clay cheerfully. "Race you to the hall!" She whirled and pounded away without waiting for a
response.
The torches in the battle room seemed dimmer, and cold water was seeping under Clay's scales. He folded his
wings and swept his tail through the debris of the smashed rock column.
Tsunami was crazy. The five dragonets weren't ready to stop the war. They wouldn't even know how to survive
on their own. Maybe Tsunami was brave and tough like a hero should be, but Sunny and Glory and Starflight…Clay
thought of all the things that might hurt them and wished he could give them his own scales and claws and teeth for
extra protection.
Besides, there was no way to escape the caves. The Talons of Peace had made sure of that.
Still, part of him couldn't help wondering what it would be like to go home now instead of waiting another two
years. Back to the marshes, to the swamps, to a whole tribe of MudWings who looked like him and thought like
him…back to his parents, whoever they were…
What if they could do it?
What if the dragonets could escape, and survive, and save the world…their own way?
Want to read more? Buy the book!
Book 2: THE LOST HEIR
The WINGS OF FIRE saga continues with a thrilling underwater adventure -- and a mystery that will change everything!
The lost heir to the SeaWing throne is going home at last...
She can’t believe it’s finally happening. Tsunami and her fellow dragonets of destiny are journeying under the water to the great SeaWing Kingdom. Stolen as an egg from the royal hatchery, Tsunami is eager to meet her future subjects and reunite with her mother, Queen Coral.
But Tsunami’s triumphant return doesn’t go quite the way she’d imagined. Queen Coral welcomes her with open wings, but a mysterious assassin has been killing off the queen's heirs for years, and Tsunami may be the next target. The dragonets came to the SeaWings for protection, but this ocean hides secrets, betrayal—and perhaps even death.
Read an excerpt:
"That's true." Clay's wings drooped. "It might not be what you're hoping for, Tsunami. Like finding out my mother sold me for a cow."
"Hey," said Glory. "It was at least TWO cows."
"Hmmm. Comforting," said Clay.
It wouldn't be like that for Tsunami. She was sure of it. Maybe Clay's dreams of his family had turned out all
wrong, but hers would be perfect. Especially now that she knew her egg had been stolen from the Royal Hatchery.
She was the daughter of the SeaWing queen.
Not only that, but according to Starflight, none of the queen's other female dragonets had survived to adulthood.
One day, she would be queen of the SeaWings.
True, that meant one day she'd have to fight her own mother to the death to become queen. But that day could
be as far off as she wanted it to be. Not something she had to think about now.
She spread her wings and breathed in the salt-spray air again. Out of the corner of her eyes she kept seeing tiny
creatures pop out of the speckled sand and then vanish again.
"I could just dive in and look for the SeaWing palace," Tsunami suggested.
"Out there?" Starflight sounded alarmed. He spread his wings and shook sand off them, blinking anxiously.
"Where else do you suggest I find the SeaWings?" she asked.
"Swimming in the ocean is not like swimming in an underground cave river," Starflight lectured. "There are strong
currents and unpredictable waves and, and big things with teeth—"
"I'm a big thing with teeth." Tsunami grinned at him.
He didn't laugh. "It's not safe," he said. "What if we lose you?" Tsunami wanted to poke his wrinkled-up worried
snout with her sharpest claw.
"Starflight, cheer up," Sunny interjected. "Tsunami can do anything. And how is she supposed to get home to her
family if she can't go into the sea?"
"Oh, no!" Clay heaved himself to his feet, scattering sand and nearly dislodging Sunny, who grabbed his neck
with a yelp. Sand and seashells and tiny, astonished crabs flew through the air as he lashed his tail.
"Ow! Stop that!" Glory commanded, covering her eyes.
"What about us?" Clay's big brown wings flapped. "I didn't think of that! Tsunami, we can't go with you to the
SeaWing palace. We can't breathe down there! How can we stick together if you're underwater?" He clawed at the
water, leaving deep gouges in the wet sand. "What are we going to do?"
Tsunami kind of adored Clay when he was in a tizzy. She also adored that it had taken an entire day for it to
occur to him that the Kingdom of the Sea was underwater.
"Seriously?" Glory said to Clay. "All of those geography lessons, and not a single one sunk in?"
Clay turned in a confused circle. Crabs scurried out of the way of his giant talons. "What?"
"The SeaWings have an above-water palace, too," Starflight said in his "see, you should have studied more"
voice. "So they can receive guests, like their SandWing ally Blister. It's on an island somewhere in the Bay of a
Thousand Scales."
"Oh." Clay sat down with a whooshing sigh.
Sunny patted his shoulder. "I didn't remember that either," she offered. "So we go there, right?"
"Not easily," Starflight said. "Both SeaWing palaces—underwater and on land—are well hidden. That's how
they've lasted so long in this war, even though they don't have fire like the other tribes. Nobody can find them to
attack their homes."
"Sounds like the NightWings," Glory sniped.
"It's nothing like the NightWings!" Tsunami cried. "SeaWings aren't trying to act all mysterious and pretentious.
They're just being sensible about guarding their home."
"There are over a thousand islands to search, but it's still probably—" Starflight stopped mid sentence and
glanced at the sky again. "Does anyone else smell fire?"
"Three moons, Starflight. I'm not hiding in the trees every time some little thing spooks you," Tsunami said.
"Wait, I think he's right," Sunny said, lifting her head. "I hear wingbeats."
"I do too," Starflight said. The spiny ridge along his back stood up in alarm, and he bolted for the trees, running
as fast as he could.
"From this far away?" Tsunami said skeptically. "I don't see anything up there." But just as she said it, she
spotted a cluster of red specks like spattered blood in the sky, winging down from the mountains in the northwest.
A SkyWing patrol was coming their way.
Want to read more? Buy the book!
The lost heir to the SeaWing throne is going home at last...
She can’t believe it’s finally happening. Tsunami and her fellow dragonets of destiny are journeying under the water to the great SeaWing Kingdom. Stolen as an egg from the royal hatchery, Tsunami is eager to meet her future subjects and reunite with her mother, Queen Coral.
But Tsunami’s triumphant return doesn’t go quite the way she’d imagined. Queen Coral welcomes her with open wings, but a mysterious assassin has been killing off the queen's heirs for years, and Tsunami may be the next target. The dragonets came to the SeaWings for protection, but this ocean hides secrets, betrayal—and perhaps even death.
Read an excerpt:
"That's true." Clay's wings drooped. "It might not be what you're hoping for, Tsunami. Like finding out my mother sold me for a cow."
"Hey," said Glory. "It was at least TWO cows."
"Hmmm. Comforting," said Clay.
It wouldn't be like that for Tsunami. She was sure of it. Maybe Clay's dreams of his family had turned out all
wrong, but hers would be perfect. Especially now that she knew her egg had been stolen from the Royal Hatchery.
She was the daughter of the SeaWing queen.
Not only that, but according to Starflight, none of the queen's other female dragonets had survived to adulthood.
One day, she would be queen of the SeaWings.
True, that meant one day she'd have to fight her own mother to the death to become queen. But that day could
be as far off as she wanted it to be. Not something she had to think about now.
She spread her wings and breathed in the salt-spray air again. Out of the corner of her eyes she kept seeing tiny
creatures pop out of the speckled sand and then vanish again.
"I could just dive in and look for the SeaWing palace," Tsunami suggested.
"Out there?" Starflight sounded alarmed. He spread his wings and shook sand off them, blinking anxiously.
"Where else do you suggest I find the SeaWings?" she asked.
"Swimming in the ocean is not like swimming in an underground cave river," Starflight lectured. "There are strong
currents and unpredictable waves and, and big things with teeth—"
"I'm a big thing with teeth." Tsunami grinned at him.
He didn't laugh. "It's not safe," he said. "What if we lose you?" Tsunami wanted to poke his wrinkled-up worried
snout with her sharpest claw.
"Starflight, cheer up," Sunny interjected. "Tsunami can do anything. And how is she supposed to get home to her
family if she can't go into the sea?"
"Oh, no!" Clay heaved himself to his feet, scattering sand and nearly dislodging Sunny, who grabbed his neck
with a yelp. Sand and seashells and tiny, astonished crabs flew through the air as he lashed his tail.
"Ow! Stop that!" Glory commanded, covering her eyes.
"What about us?" Clay's big brown wings flapped. "I didn't think of that! Tsunami, we can't go with you to the
SeaWing palace. We can't breathe down there! How can we stick together if you're underwater?" He clawed at the
water, leaving deep gouges in the wet sand. "What are we going to do?"
Tsunami kind of adored Clay when he was in a tizzy. She also adored that it had taken an entire day for it to
occur to him that the Kingdom of the Sea was underwater.
"Seriously?" Glory said to Clay. "All of those geography lessons, and not a single one sunk in?"
Clay turned in a confused circle. Crabs scurried out of the way of his giant talons. "What?"
"The SeaWings have an above-water palace, too," Starflight said in his "see, you should have studied more"
voice. "So they can receive guests, like their SandWing ally Blister. It's on an island somewhere in the Bay of a
Thousand Scales."
"Oh." Clay sat down with a whooshing sigh.
Sunny patted his shoulder. "I didn't remember that either," she offered. "So we go there, right?"
"Not easily," Starflight said. "Both SeaWing palaces—underwater and on land—are well hidden. That's how
they've lasted so long in this war, even though they don't have fire like the other tribes. Nobody can find them to
attack their homes."
"Sounds like the NightWings," Glory sniped.
"It's nothing like the NightWings!" Tsunami cried. "SeaWings aren't trying to act all mysterious and pretentious.
They're just being sensible about guarding their home."
"There are over a thousand islands to search, but it's still probably—" Starflight stopped mid sentence and
glanced at the sky again. "Does anyone else smell fire?"
"Three moons, Starflight. I'm not hiding in the trees every time some little thing spooks you," Tsunami said.
"Wait, I think he's right," Sunny said, lifting her head. "I hear wingbeats."
"I do too," Starflight said. The spiny ridge along his back stood up in alarm, and he bolted for the trees, running
as fast as he could.
"From this far away?" Tsunami said skeptically. "I don't see anything up there." But just as she said it, she
spotted a cluster of red specks like spattered blood in the sky, winging down from the mountains in the northwest.
A SkyWing patrol was coming their way.
Want to read more? Buy the book!
Book 3: THE HIDDEN KINGDOM
The WINGS OF FIRE saga continues!
Deep in the rainforest, danger awaits . . .
The dragonets of destiny aren't sure what to expect in the RainWing kingdom - Glory hopes to learn more about her family, and since the RainWings aren't fighting in the war, all five dragonets think they might be able to hide safely for a while.
But something deadly is stalking the peaceful kingdom, and the dragonets soon discover that RainWings have been mysteriously disappearing from the forest. When the RainWing queen won't do anything to find her missing tribe members, Glory and her friends set off on their own rescue mission - which leads them right back into enemy territory. . . .
Read an excerpt:
"No, thanks," Glory said immediately. She wasn't going anywhere near Webs, certainly not to save his life. "I'll
take Sunny." She didn't like touching other dragons, but Sunny was better than Webs.
"But—" Tsunami started, stamping her foot.
Glory ignored her. She lifted one wing and tugged the little gold dragon in close to her side. When she lowered her
wing again, Sunny was hidden by Glory's gray-brown camouflage.
"Yikes," Clay said. "That was so weird. Like Sunny just got eaten by the fog." His stomach grumbled woefully at
the word eaten, and the MudWing shuffled his big feet in embarrassment.
Starflight peered at the spot where Sunny had just been, twisting his claws in the mud.
"She's fine," Glory said. "Go follow orders like a good dragonet, or Tsunami might fling you to the eels."
Tsunami frowned in her direction, but Starflight slunk away and found a dark tree hollow where his black scales
melted into the shadows.
Now Glory could hear it, too: the tramp-squelch-tramp-squelch of enormous claws marching through the swamp
toward them. The heat from Sunny's scales was uncomfortably warm against her side.
Webs hadn't moved while they talked. He lay against the tree roots, snout resting on his tail, looking miserable.
Clay shepherded Tsumani up next to Webs and spread his mud-colored wings to hide them both. It wasn't a perfect
solution—a blue tail, stuck out one side, the edge of blue-green wings on the other. But in this fog, they looked mostly like
a blobby mound of mud, which should be good enough.
TRAMP. SQUELCH. TRAMP. SQUELCH.
"I don't like this patrol," a deep voice grumbled. Glory nearly jumped. It sounded like it was coming from two trees away.
"Too close to that creepy rainforest, if you ask me."
"It's not really haunted," said a second voice. "You know the only things that live there are birds and lazy RainWings."
Years of learning self-control kept Glory from flinching. She'd heard "lazy RainWings" thrown around often enough by the
guardians, under the mountain. But it felt like an extra stab in the eye to hear it from a total stranger.
"If that were true," said the first voice, "then Her Majesty would let us hunt in there. But she knows it's not safe. And
you've heard the noises at night. Are you telling me it's the RainWings screaming like that?"
Screaming? Under Glory's wing, Sunny turned her head a little, as it she were trying to hear better.
"Not to mention the dead bodies," the first voice muttered.
"That's some kind of rainforest monster," said the second guard, but there was a tilt in her tone that sounded unsure.
"That's the war. Some kind of guerrilla attacks to scare us."
"All the way down here? Why would the SeaWings or the IceWings come all this way to kill one or two MudWings here
and there? There are bigger battles going on everywhere else."
"Let's go a bit faster," said the second voice uneasily. "They really should let us patrol in threes or fours instead of in
pairs."
"Tell me about it." TRAMP-SQUELCH-TRAMP-SQUELCH. "So what do you think about the SkyWing situation? Are
you for Ruby, or do you think…"
Glory strained her ears, but their voices faded into the mist as the two MudWing soldiers sploshed away. She badly
wanted to know what "the SkyWing situation" was. Maybe her friends wouldn't notice if she slipped away for a moment.
"Be right back," she whispered to Sunny, lifting her wing and stepping away.
Sunny caught her tail, wide-eyed. "Don't go!" she whispered. "It's not safe! You heard what they said."
"About rainforest monsters?" Glory rolled her eyes. "Can't say I'm terribly worried about that. I won't go far." She shook
Sunny off and slipped after the soldiers, carefully stepping only on the dry patches so her claws wouldn't splash in the
mud.
It was weirdly quiet in the swamp, especially with the fog muffling most sounds. She tried to follow the distant rumble
of voices and what she thought might be the sound of marching MudWing talons. But after a few moments, even those
became impossible to hear.
She stopped, listening. The trees dripped. Rain drizzled moodily through the branches. Small gurgles burbled out of
the mud here and there as if the swamp were hiccuping.
And then a scream tore through the air.
Glory's ruff flared in fear and pale green stripes zigzagged through her scales. She fought back her terror, focusing her
colors back to gray and brown.
"Glory!" Sunny yelled, behind her somewhere.
Shut up, Glory thought furiously. Don't draw attention. Don't let anything know we're here.
The other dragonets must have had the same thought and stopped her, because Sunny didn't call out again.
Unless it was one of them who screamed. But it couldn't have been. The scream had come from somewhere up
ahead.
Glory checked her scales again to make sure she was well hidden and then sped up, hurrying through the trees
toward the scream.
The fog was so dense, she nearly missed the two dark lumps that looked like fallen logs. But her claws came down on
something that was decidedly a dragon tail, and she leaped back.
Two brown dragons where sprawled in the mud, surrounded by pools of blood that were already being washed away
by the rain. Their throats had been ripped out so viciously that their heads were nearly severed from their bodies.
Glory stared into the rolling gray fog, but nothing moved out there except the rain.
The MudWing soldiers were dead, and there was no sign of what had killed them.
Want to read more? Buy the book!
Deep in the rainforest, danger awaits . . .
The dragonets of destiny aren't sure what to expect in the RainWing kingdom - Glory hopes to learn more about her family, and since the RainWings aren't fighting in the war, all five dragonets think they might be able to hide safely for a while.
But something deadly is stalking the peaceful kingdom, and the dragonets soon discover that RainWings have been mysteriously disappearing from the forest. When the RainWing queen won't do anything to find her missing tribe members, Glory and her friends set off on their own rescue mission - which leads them right back into enemy territory. . . .
Read an excerpt:
"No, thanks," Glory said immediately. She wasn't going anywhere near Webs, certainly not to save his life. "I'll
take Sunny." She didn't like touching other dragons, but Sunny was better than Webs.
"But—" Tsunami started, stamping her foot.
Glory ignored her. She lifted one wing and tugged the little gold dragon in close to her side. When she lowered her
wing again, Sunny was hidden by Glory's gray-brown camouflage.
"Yikes," Clay said. "That was so weird. Like Sunny just got eaten by the fog." His stomach grumbled woefully at
the word eaten, and the MudWing shuffled his big feet in embarrassment.
Starflight peered at the spot where Sunny had just been, twisting his claws in the mud.
"She's fine," Glory said. "Go follow orders like a good dragonet, or Tsunami might fling you to the eels."
Tsunami frowned in her direction, but Starflight slunk away and found a dark tree hollow where his black scales
melted into the shadows.
Now Glory could hear it, too: the tramp-squelch-tramp-squelch of enormous claws marching through the swamp
toward them. The heat from Sunny's scales was uncomfortably warm against her side.
Webs hadn't moved while they talked. He lay against the tree roots, snout resting on his tail, looking miserable.
Clay shepherded Tsumani up next to Webs and spread his mud-colored wings to hide them both. It wasn't a perfect
solution—a blue tail, stuck out one side, the edge of blue-green wings on the other. But in this fog, they looked mostly like
a blobby mound of mud, which should be good enough.
TRAMP. SQUELCH. TRAMP. SQUELCH.
"I don't like this patrol," a deep voice grumbled. Glory nearly jumped. It sounded like it was coming from two trees away.
"Too close to that creepy rainforest, if you ask me."
"It's not really haunted," said a second voice. "You know the only things that live there are birds and lazy RainWings."
Years of learning self-control kept Glory from flinching. She'd heard "lazy RainWings" thrown around often enough by the
guardians, under the mountain. But it felt like an extra stab in the eye to hear it from a total stranger.
"If that were true," said the first voice, "then Her Majesty would let us hunt in there. But she knows it's not safe. And
you've heard the noises at night. Are you telling me it's the RainWings screaming like that?"
Screaming? Under Glory's wing, Sunny turned her head a little, as it she were trying to hear better.
"Not to mention the dead bodies," the first voice muttered.
"That's some kind of rainforest monster," said the second guard, but there was a tilt in her tone that sounded unsure.
"That's the war. Some kind of guerrilla attacks to scare us."
"All the way down here? Why would the SeaWings or the IceWings come all this way to kill one or two MudWings here
and there? There are bigger battles going on everywhere else."
"Let's go a bit faster," said the second voice uneasily. "They really should let us patrol in threes or fours instead of in
pairs."
"Tell me about it." TRAMP-SQUELCH-TRAMP-SQUELCH. "So what do you think about the SkyWing situation? Are
you for Ruby, or do you think…"
Glory strained her ears, but their voices faded into the mist as the two MudWing soldiers sploshed away. She badly
wanted to know what "the SkyWing situation" was. Maybe her friends wouldn't notice if she slipped away for a moment.
"Be right back," she whispered to Sunny, lifting her wing and stepping away.
Sunny caught her tail, wide-eyed. "Don't go!" she whispered. "It's not safe! You heard what they said."
"About rainforest monsters?" Glory rolled her eyes. "Can't say I'm terribly worried about that. I won't go far." She shook
Sunny off and slipped after the soldiers, carefully stepping only on the dry patches so her claws wouldn't splash in the
mud.
It was weirdly quiet in the swamp, especially with the fog muffling most sounds. She tried to follow the distant rumble
of voices and what she thought might be the sound of marching MudWing talons. But after a few moments, even those
became impossible to hear.
She stopped, listening. The trees dripped. Rain drizzled moodily through the branches. Small gurgles burbled out of
the mud here and there as if the swamp were hiccuping.
And then a scream tore through the air.
Glory's ruff flared in fear and pale green stripes zigzagged through her scales. She fought back her terror, focusing her
colors back to gray and brown.
"Glory!" Sunny yelled, behind her somewhere.
Shut up, Glory thought furiously. Don't draw attention. Don't let anything know we're here.
The other dragonets must have had the same thought and stopped her, because Sunny didn't call out again.
Unless it was one of them who screamed. But it couldn't have been. The scream had come from somewhere up
ahead.
Glory checked her scales again to make sure she was well hidden and then sped up, hurrying through the trees
toward the scream.
The fog was so dense, she nearly missed the two dark lumps that looked like fallen logs. But her claws came down on
something that was decidedly a dragon tail, and she leaped back.
Two brown dragons where sprawled in the mud, surrounded by pools of blood that were already being washed away
by the rain. Their throats had been ripped out so viciously that their heads were nearly severed from their bodies.
Glory stared into the rolling gray fog, but nothing moved out there except the rain.
The MudWing soldiers were dead, and there was no sign of what had killed them.
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Book 4: THE DARK SECRET
The WINGS OF FIRE saga continues with a visit to the mysterious land of the NightWings, where Starflight must face a terrible choice---his home, or his friends?
Like all the dragonets of destiny, Starflight has always wanted to see his home -- but he's also been afraid of his fellow NightWings. Starflight doesn't have mindreading powers like his tribe, and he doesn't understand why they're so secretive. No one has ever even seen the NightWing queen.
But now Starflight is the dragonets' only hope -- he must find a way to negotiate with his fellow NightWings to free the RainWing dragons they've captured, and perhaps end the war in Pyrrhia altogether. Starflight is the smartest of the dragonets... but is he brave enough to speak up? Or will he falter in his mission, and accidentally betray them all?
Read an excerpt:
The three dragonets who looked younger than Starflight rolled their eyes, like they were used to hearing jokes that made no sense from that group.
Starflight rubbed his wet scales, confused.
Now that his sight was clearing, he could see that he was in a long, narrow cave lined with indentations in the rock at regular intervals, all the right size for dragonet beds. He was curled on one of these, not far from a large archway that seemed to be the only exit from the room. Next to him on the floor was a large hollow stone, which was
apparently what the dragonets has used to collect the seawater they’d just poured all over him.
It didn’t look like a prison. It looked like a dormitory.
Hot coals smoldered in alcoves in the walls, lending a red glow to the room. A skylight at each end of the cave
allowed a bit of dim gray light to filter in.
There were at least fifty sleeping spots that Starflight could see, but only about eleven of them looked slept in.
Several had rough blankets heaped on them in messy piles, while others were scattered with objects that looked like
seashells and twisted bits of rock. A few of the blanket-covered beds had a scroll lying next to them, which made
Starflight’s claws itch with longing. But most of the beds were completely bare.
Places for dragonets, but no dragonets to fill them.
Starflight remembered something Morrowseer had said offhandedly, shortly after rescuing Starflight from the
SkyWings. He’d said, “We can’t afford to lose any NightWings, even peculiar little ones.”
Maybe there is something wrong with my tribe, Starflight thought. Maybe they're losing dragonets somehow--or
not having enough of them in the first place.
Everything smelled like sulfur and decaying animals. As Fierceteeth leaned over and jabbed his stomach again,
Starflight realized that a lot of the decaying smell came from the dragonets. They all had horrendously bad breath.
Morrowseer’s breath had never been wonderful either, but this was much worse. It took all of Starflight’s willpower not
to recoil when they spoke to him.
They were also shockingly thin, everyone of them, with narrow chests, bloodshot eyes, and hacking coughs. Even
the dragonets who survive are in pretty bad shape, Starflight thought.
He stretched gingerly, eyeing the door. It didn’t seem to be barricaded in any way; as far as Starflight could tell, he
could walk right out into the caves beyond. There's probably a guard, he thought. Or LOTS of guards. Or maybe
something really creepy, like Queen Coral's electric eels. Or a lava river like the one that keeps the RainWings
trapped in their prison caves.
A shiver of fear ran down his spine.
“Why am I here?” he blurted.
The little crowd of dragonets exchanged glances.
“Because you failed,” Fierceteeth offered. “I assume.”
“We don’t know that,” Mightyclaws interjected. “A couple of the big dragons dropped you here a few hours ago and
you’ve been muttering and thrashing around ever since.”
“Yeah, lots of worrying about Sunny. Who’s Sunny?” one of the other dragonets demanded.
Starflight considered throwing himself into the volcano. “Another dragonet,” he mumbled. I hope she's safe.
“I want to hear about the mainland,” Mindreader said eagerly. “Tell us everything. We’ve heard there are trees taller
than dragons and that in some places the sky is blue. True? False? What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen? What’s the
best thing you’ve eaten?”
“You’ve never been to the mainland?” Starflight said.
“Dragonets aren’t allowed to leave the island until we’re ten years old,” Mightyclaws said. “Apparently we can’t be
trusted to keep all the NightWings secrets until then.”
Almost in unison, all the dragonets snorted impatiently.
“You’ve the only exception,” Fierceteeth said in a voice dripping with scorn.
“Him and the other one,” Mindreader said. “I heard my mom say there was another.”
“I don’t know any NightWing secrets,” Starflight said.
“Oh,” said Mightyclaws. “I guess that’s one way to make sure you keep them!”
The scrabble of claws in the hall outside heralded the appearance of a dragonet smaller than the others, perhaps
three years old. She raced into the room and gasped, “He’s coming!”
Immediately the dragonets scattered to their sleeping spots. Half of them dove into their blankets and pretended to
be asleep. A few of them grabbed their scrolls and looked studious; others fussed busily with objects around their
beds. Fierceteeth sat down on her bed, folded her wings, and glared at the doorway.
Starflight wished he was unconscious again as he heard heavy footsteps tramping toward the room. He glanced
up at the skylight, wondering if he could fit through it but knowing perfectly well he was too terrified to try.
With a scraping, hissing sound, Morrowseer slithered into the room. He frowned at Fierceteeth, then looked coldly
down his long nose at Starflight.
“Up,” he snarled. “The queen of the NightWings wants to see you.”
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Like all the dragonets of destiny, Starflight has always wanted to see his home -- but he's also been afraid of his fellow NightWings. Starflight doesn't have mindreading powers like his tribe, and he doesn't understand why they're so secretive. No one has ever even seen the NightWing queen.
But now Starflight is the dragonets' only hope -- he must find a way to negotiate with his fellow NightWings to free the RainWing dragons they've captured, and perhaps end the war in Pyrrhia altogether. Starflight is the smartest of the dragonets... but is he brave enough to speak up? Or will he falter in his mission, and accidentally betray them all?
Read an excerpt:
The three dragonets who looked younger than Starflight rolled their eyes, like they were used to hearing jokes that made no sense from that group.
Starflight rubbed his wet scales, confused.
Now that his sight was clearing, he could see that he was in a long, narrow cave lined with indentations in the rock at regular intervals, all the right size for dragonet beds. He was curled on one of these, not far from a large archway that seemed to be the only exit from the room. Next to him on the floor was a large hollow stone, which was
apparently what the dragonets has used to collect the seawater they’d just poured all over him.
It didn’t look like a prison. It looked like a dormitory.
Hot coals smoldered in alcoves in the walls, lending a red glow to the room. A skylight at each end of the cave
allowed a bit of dim gray light to filter in.
There were at least fifty sleeping spots that Starflight could see, but only about eleven of them looked slept in.
Several had rough blankets heaped on them in messy piles, while others were scattered with objects that looked like
seashells and twisted bits of rock. A few of the blanket-covered beds had a scroll lying next to them, which made
Starflight’s claws itch with longing. But most of the beds were completely bare.
Places for dragonets, but no dragonets to fill them.
Starflight remembered something Morrowseer had said offhandedly, shortly after rescuing Starflight from the
SkyWings. He’d said, “We can’t afford to lose any NightWings, even peculiar little ones.”
Maybe there is something wrong with my tribe, Starflight thought. Maybe they're losing dragonets somehow--or
not having enough of them in the first place.
Everything smelled like sulfur and decaying animals. As Fierceteeth leaned over and jabbed his stomach again,
Starflight realized that a lot of the decaying smell came from the dragonets. They all had horrendously bad breath.
Morrowseer’s breath had never been wonderful either, but this was much worse. It took all of Starflight’s willpower not
to recoil when they spoke to him.
They were also shockingly thin, everyone of them, with narrow chests, bloodshot eyes, and hacking coughs. Even
the dragonets who survive are in pretty bad shape, Starflight thought.
He stretched gingerly, eyeing the door. It didn’t seem to be barricaded in any way; as far as Starflight could tell, he
could walk right out into the caves beyond. There's probably a guard, he thought. Or LOTS of guards. Or maybe
something really creepy, like Queen Coral's electric eels. Or a lava river like the one that keeps the RainWings
trapped in their prison caves.
A shiver of fear ran down his spine.
“Why am I here?” he blurted.
The little crowd of dragonets exchanged glances.
“Because you failed,” Fierceteeth offered. “I assume.”
“We don’t know that,” Mightyclaws interjected. “A couple of the big dragons dropped you here a few hours ago and
you’ve been muttering and thrashing around ever since.”
“Yeah, lots of worrying about Sunny. Who’s Sunny?” one of the other dragonets demanded.
Starflight considered throwing himself into the volcano. “Another dragonet,” he mumbled. I hope she's safe.
“I want to hear about the mainland,” Mindreader said eagerly. “Tell us everything. We’ve heard there are trees taller
than dragons and that in some places the sky is blue. True? False? What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen? What’s the
best thing you’ve eaten?”
“You’ve never been to the mainland?” Starflight said.
“Dragonets aren’t allowed to leave the island until we’re ten years old,” Mightyclaws said. “Apparently we can’t be
trusted to keep all the NightWings secrets until then.”
Almost in unison, all the dragonets snorted impatiently.
“You’ve the only exception,” Fierceteeth said in a voice dripping with scorn.
“Him and the other one,” Mindreader said. “I heard my mom say there was another.”
“I don’t know any NightWing secrets,” Starflight said.
“Oh,” said Mightyclaws. “I guess that’s one way to make sure you keep them!”
The scrabble of claws in the hall outside heralded the appearance of a dragonet smaller than the others, perhaps
three years old. She raced into the room and gasped, “He’s coming!”
Immediately the dragonets scattered to their sleeping spots. Half of them dove into their blankets and pretended to
be asleep. A few of them grabbed their scrolls and looked studious; others fussed busily with objects around their
beds. Fierceteeth sat down on her bed, folded her wings, and glared at the doorway.
Starflight wished he was unconscious again as he heard heavy footsteps tramping toward the room. He glanced
up at the skylight, wondering if he could fit through it but knowing perfectly well he was too terrified to try.
With a scraping, hissing sound, Morrowseer slithered into the room. He frowned at Fierceteeth, then looked coldly
down his long nose at Starflight.
“Up,” he snarled. “The queen of the NightWings wants to see you.”
Want to read more? Buy the book!
Book 5: THE BRIGHTEST NIGHT
Sunny has always taken the Dragonet Prophecy very seriously. If Pyrrhia's dragons need her, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Starflight to end the war, she's ready to try. She even has some good ideas how to do it, if anyone would listen to her.
But shattering news from Morrowseer has shaken Sunny's faith in their destiny. Is it possible for anyone to end this terrible war and choose a new SandWing queen? What if everything they've been through was for nothing?
Buried secrets, deadly surprises, and an unexpected side to scavengers are all waiting for her in the shifting sands of the desert, where Sunny must decide once and for all: Is her destiny already written?
Or can five dragonets change their fate and save the world... the way they choose?
Read an excerpt:
He was lying, he was lying, HE WAS LYING. She wouldn’t let these NightWings see her cry.
Glory climbed up onto a boulder and flapped her wings loudly. Even up there, and even with her queenliest face on, Glory still looked like a dragonet, smaller than almost all the NightWings surrounding her.
IF THE PROPHECY IS FAKE, THEN WHY WAS EVERYONE SO AWFUL TO GLORY ABOUT NOT being in it? Sunny thought, feeling another surge of fury at Morrowseer. Why make her feel so useless--if we're all useless?
Because it is real. It has to be.
But how can I prove it?
“NightWings,” Glory said firmly, speaking up to be heard over the shuffling dragons and the rainstorm. “Your home is gone. Your queen is dead. But this is your chance to start over. If you mess it up, you’ll lose this home, too.” She pointed to the RainWings. “You will treat these dragons with respect, and in return, because that’s the kind of dragons they are, they will be much kinder to you than you deserve.”
The RainWing across from the stream from Sunny mustered an expression that looked almost fierce.
Rain splattered across Sunny’s snout and wings. The storm was picking up strength, ripping through the treetops way over their heads.
“Tonight you’ll stay right here,” Glory went on. “I don’t want any NightWings wandering off until we can count you and write you all down. You will each be assigned two RainWings to keep an eye on you. And yes, if you’re feeling like perhaps we don’t trust you very much, it’s because we don’t. None of you are welcome in the RainWing village until you earn that trust. We will find you somewhere else to live.”
“We’ll get wet out here,” one of the burlier NightWings complained.
Glory gave him a steely glare. “Feel free to go back and sleep on your nice dry island instead,” she snapped. “I hear it’s quite warm there.”
Sunny glanced around at the NightWings. Even in the moonlight, she could see that most of them looked badly shaken and subdued. Seeing their home buried by the volcano—even if they knew it would happen eventually, and even though the island had been a terrible place to live—it still must have been an awful shock.
SOMETHING LIKE BEING TOLD YOUR WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE, I IMAGINE.
A roar suddenly erupted from the crowd behind her. Black dragons surged toward Sunny, flapping their wings in alarm, as two deep-red RainWings dove into their midst and dragged a yowling, petrified NightWing in front of Queen Glory.
“This one!” growled one of the RainWings. “He can’t stay here! He’s the worst of all of them.”
“He’s the one who did all the venom experiments on us,” said the other. She lashed her tail and hissed at him. Sunny had never seen any RainWings look so angry before, besides Glory. She craned her neck to peer at the NightWing and realized it was Starflight’s father, Mastermind, the head scientist of the NightWing tribe. From the look on Glory’s face, the queen was probably guessing exactly who it was, too.
The NightWings had been kidnapping RainWings for the last year, imprisoning them and doing experiments to understand their venom-shooting abilities. They’d been planning to invade the rainforest to steal it from the RainWings—either by killing or enslaving all the peaceful rainforest dragons who already lived here.
Sunny had seen the lava-riddled wasteland of an island where the NightWings lived. She knew they were desperate for a new home, and at first, she’d thought Starflight was brilliant for offering to let them come through to the rainforest as long as they pledged their loyalty to Queen —along with a promise to behave peacefully. She liked the idea of dragons form different tribes learning to live together, she felt sorry for the sick and starving black dragons, and she loved the poetic justice of a RainWing of becoming the new queen of the NightWings.
But looking at the muttering dragons around her—the NightWings who didn’t look as sorry as they should, and the hissing RainWings who were only beginning to realize what their friends had been through—Sunny wondered if this had been a huge mistake. Maybe they should have let the NightWings be swallowed up by the volcano. Maybe it wasn’t possible to forgive them. MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T EVEN TRY.
If they could lie about something as huge and important as the prophecy and stopping the war, what else would they lie about? How could Glory ever trust them?
“I’m sorry,” Mastermind croaked weakly. “It was…I was just…for science…” His voice sputtered out, and he cringed away from the RainWings beside him.
Glory flared her wings and several colors rippled quickly through her scales. Tie him up. We’ll figure out what to—“
“Look out!” a dragon by the tunnel roared. “Stand clear!”
Fatespeaker shot out of the hole and a moment later, Tsumami hurtled after her. “Everyone get down!” the SeaWing yelled.
The NightWings by the tunnel all threw themselves to the ground. A blast of scorching heat crackled out of the hole, turning the raindrops around it to hissing steam. Sunny was one of the few still standing, looking at the tunnel, when two more dragons burst out of it.
It was Clay, with his wings shielding Starflight. Starflight’s front talons were covering his eyes and long burns were blistering along his scales. As soon as they reached the open air, he collapsed to the ground.
“Stay back!” Tsunami shouted ferociously at the dragons who were flapping around them.
“Starflight!” Sunny cried, feeling a stab of guilt. HE’S HURT. I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LEFT MY FRIENDS WITH MORROWSEER. She jumped forward, trying to squeeze through the crowd of frantic dragons to get to him.
But suddenly talons wrapped around her snout and shoulders, and she was yanked backward into the dark trees.
But shattering news from Morrowseer has shaken Sunny's faith in their destiny. Is it possible for anyone to end this terrible war and choose a new SandWing queen? What if everything they've been through was for nothing?
Buried secrets, deadly surprises, and an unexpected side to scavengers are all waiting for her in the shifting sands of the desert, where Sunny must decide once and for all: Is her destiny already written?
Or can five dragonets change their fate and save the world... the way they choose?
Read an excerpt:
He was lying, he was lying, HE WAS LYING. She wouldn’t let these NightWings see her cry.
Glory climbed up onto a boulder and flapped her wings loudly. Even up there, and even with her queenliest face on, Glory still looked like a dragonet, smaller than almost all the NightWings surrounding her.
IF THE PROPHECY IS FAKE, THEN WHY WAS EVERYONE SO AWFUL TO GLORY ABOUT NOT being in it? Sunny thought, feeling another surge of fury at Morrowseer. Why make her feel so useless--if we're all useless?
Because it is real. It has to be.
But how can I prove it?
“NightWings,” Glory said firmly, speaking up to be heard over the shuffling dragons and the rainstorm. “Your home is gone. Your queen is dead. But this is your chance to start over. If you mess it up, you’ll lose this home, too.” She pointed to the RainWings. “You will treat these dragons with respect, and in return, because that’s the kind of dragons they are, they will be much kinder to you than you deserve.”
The RainWing across from the stream from Sunny mustered an expression that looked almost fierce.
Rain splattered across Sunny’s snout and wings. The storm was picking up strength, ripping through the treetops way over their heads.
“Tonight you’ll stay right here,” Glory went on. “I don’t want any NightWings wandering off until we can count you and write you all down. You will each be assigned two RainWings to keep an eye on you. And yes, if you’re feeling like perhaps we don’t trust you very much, it’s because we don’t. None of you are welcome in the RainWing village until you earn that trust. We will find you somewhere else to live.”
“We’ll get wet out here,” one of the burlier NightWings complained.
Glory gave him a steely glare. “Feel free to go back and sleep on your nice dry island instead,” she snapped. “I hear it’s quite warm there.”
Sunny glanced around at the NightWings. Even in the moonlight, she could see that most of them looked badly shaken and subdued. Seeing their home buried by the volcano—even if they knew it would happen eventually, and even though the island had been a terrible place to live—it still must have been an awful shock.
SOMETHING LIKE BEING TOLD YOUR WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE, I IMAGINE.
A roar suddenly erupted from the crowd behind her. Black dragons surged toward Sunny, flapping their wings in alarm, as two deep-red RainWings dove into their midst and dragged a yowling, petrified NightWing in front of Queen Glory.
“This one!” growled one of the RainWings. “He can’t stay here! He’s the worst of all of them.”
“He’s the one who did all the venom experiments on us,” said the other. She lashed her tail and hissed at him. Sunny had never seen any RainWings look so angry before, besides Glory. She craned her neck to peer at the NightWing and realized it was Starflight’s father, Mastermind, the head scientist of the NightWing tribe. From the look on Glory’s face, the queen was probably guessing exactly who it was, too.
The NightWings had been kidnapping RainWings for the last year, imprisoning them and doing experiments to understand their venom-shooting abilities. They’d been planning to invade the rainforest to steal it from the RainWings—either by killing or enslaving all the peaceful rainforest dragons who already lived here.
Sunny had seen the lava-riddled wasteland of an island where the NightWings lived. She knew they were desperate for a new home, and at first, she’d thought Starflight was brilliant for offering to let them come through to the rainforest as long as they pledged their loyalty to Queen —along with a promise to behave peacefully. She liked the idea of dragons form different tribes learning to live together, she felt sorry for the sick and starving black dragons, and she loved the poetic justice of a RainWing of becoming the new queen of the NightWings.
But looking at the muttering dragons around her—the NightWings who didn’t look as sorry as they should, and the hissing RainWings who were only beginning to realize what their friends had been through—Sunny wondered if this had been a huge mistake. Maybe they should have let the NightWings be swallowed up by the volcano. Maybe it wasn’t possible to forgive them. MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T EVEN TRY.
If they could lie about something as huge and important as the prophecy and stopping the war, what else would they lie about? How could Glory ever trust them?
“I’m sorry,” Mastermind croaked weakly. “It was…I was just…for science…” His voice sputtered out, and he cringed away from the RainWings beside him.
Glory flared her wings and several colors rippled quickly through her scales. Tie him up. We’ll figure out what to—“
“Look out!” a dragon by the tunnel roared. “Stand clear!”
Fatespeaker shot out of the hole and a moment later, Tsumami hurtled after her. “Everyone get down!” the SeaWing yelled.
The NightWings by the tunnel all threw themselves to the ground. A blast of scorching heat crackled out of the hole, turning the raindrops around it to hissing steam. Sunny was one of the few still standing, looking at the tunnel, when two more dragons burst out of it.
It was Clay, with his wings shielding Starflight. Starflight’s front talons were covering his eyes and long burns were blistering along his scales. As soon as they reached the open air, he collapsed to the ground.
“Stay back!” Tsunami shouted ferociously at the dragons who were flapping around them.
“Starflight!” Sunny cried, feeling a stab of guilt. HE’S HURT. I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LEFT MY FRIENDS WITH MORROWSEER. She jumped forward, trying to squeeze through the crowd of frantic dragons to get to him.
But suddenly talons wrapped around her snout and shoulders, and she was yanked backward into the dark trees.
Book 6: Moon Rising
Coming soon December 30, 2014!
Peace has come to Pyrrhia . . . for now. The war between the tribes is finally over, and now the dragonets of the prophecy have a plan for lasting peace: Jade Mountain Academy, a school that will gather dragonets from all the tribes and teach them to live together, perhaps even as friends. Moonwatcher isn’t sure how she feels about school, however. Hidden in the rainforest for most of her life, the young NightWing has an awful secret. She can read minds, and even see the future. Living in a cave with dozens of other dragons is noisy, exhausting--and dangerous. In just a few days, Moon finds herself overwhelmed by her secret powers and bombarded by strange thoughts, including those of a mysterious dragon who might be a terrible enemy. And when someone starts attacking dragons within the academy, Moon has a choice to make: Stay hidden and safe? Or risk everything to save her new friends? ALTERNATE DESCRIPTION Welcome to Jade Mountain Peace has come to Pyrrhia . . . for now. The war between the tribes is finally over, and now the dragonets of the prophecy have a plan for lasting peace: Jade Mountain Academy, a school that will gather young dragons from all the tribes and teach them to live together, perhaps even as friends. But one young NightWing is afraid of what school might mean for her. Hidden in the rainforest for most of her life, Moonwatcher has an awful secret. She is the first dragon in generations with the legendary NightWing powers: she can read minds and even sometimes see the future. Living in a cave with dozens of other dragons is noisy, exhausting–and dangerous. In just a few days, Moon finds herself overwhelmed by her secret powers and bombarded by strange thoughts, including those of a mysterious dragon who might be a terrible enemy . . . or her only hope for sanity. And when someone starts attacking dragons within the academy, Moon has a choice to make: Stay hidden and safe? Or risk everything to protect her new friends? MOON RISING Excerpt: Moon heard him say the words “quiet” and “peace” and “calm” as if from a long way away. Through the raucous noise of the dragon minds around her, she could sense something running toward the cave — something like a small thread of pure terror, so tiny it could be blown away in a breeze, but so intense she couldn’t miss it, even in the howling gale of emotions in the prey center. Who is that, and why is their mind so strange? There were no words to go along with the emotions, and there was something fuzzy about it. Could it be a really young dragonet? She lifted her head and turned to watch for it — but as she did, a vast icicle of cold fury stabbed through her brain and she staggered back, crushing the mangoes in her talons with an involuntary convulsion. Bright yellow-orange pulp splattered all over Kinkajou and Coconut and the rocks around them. Kinkajou let out a startled yelp, but before Moon could apologize or even get speech back under her control, a louder commotion erupted near one of the tunnels. “Catch it!” “Mine! I claim it! Mine!” “It went that way!” All the MudWings and SkyWings abandoned the chickens at once and bolted over to that side of the cave. Moon felt the thread of fear twist higher and brighter, as if it had been set on fire. And then a small shape shot between the dragons and came pelting across the cave, dodging sheep and chickens, and Moon saw what everyone was chasing. A scavenger! She’d read about them and seen drawings, but she’d never encountered a real scavenger before. She’d never given them much thought — apart from stealing the SandWing treasure and killing Queen Oasis twenty years ago, they were just creatures who happened to live on the same planet as the dragons. But suddenly this one was right here and blazing in her mind as brightly as any dragon. She saw it spot the sheep and chickens, including the ones that had been caught and half eaten already, and she saw it stumble as a bolt of despair went through it. Why can I feel the scavenger’s fear, but nothing from the sheep or the chickens? she wondered. Aren’t they the same? The icy anger she’d felt before swept into the cave like an avenging blizzard: an IceWing, pale blue as a frozen ocean, with glittering scales like overlapping chips of ice. He stormed through the yelling crowd of dragonets who were still trying to find the scavenger underfoot, and Moon realized he was chasing the little animal as well. The scavenger didn’t stand a chance. He’d fled into the worst possible place. Someone in the prey center was definitely going to catch him and eat him, and Moon would have to feel his awful terror as it happened. She couldn’t watch it die — she couldn’t let that happen to something so scared, so helpless and alive and alone and clearly aware of what was about to happen to it. Moon bolted over to the scavenger, cut it off as it tried to dodge around her, darted left to block its retreat, and deftly snatched it up in her claws. “It’s all right,” she whispered to it. “I’m not going to hurt you.” It did no good. The scavenger’s heartbreaking fear buzzed even more clearly in her mind now that she was holding it. It put its little paws over its head and curled into a ball between her talons. Silence slowly spread across the cave. Moon looked up and found the IceWing only inches away, glaring at her with dark blue eyes. NightWing, he thought with a flash of vicious hatred that made her wince. He hissed slowly, exhaling a hint of deadly frostbreath into the air between them. “You have ten seconds to give me back my scavenger,” he snarled, “before I slice your face off.” |