The Brightest Night by Tui T. Sutherland
It is nearly impossible to steal from a dragon, particularly a royal one with a palace and guards and very high walls.
At least, that’s what Queen Oasis kept telling herself as she hurried along the dark halls, breathing fire to light her way.
Nearly impossible and decidedly stupid.
And yet, she had this terrible feeling….
Something was wrong. There was something scrabbling around in her palace. With her exceptionally sharp SandWing hearing, she was sure she could hear squeaking, like faraway mice, and perhaps the clinking of coins.
But mice didn’t steal treasure.
So what was it? Was she imagining it? She’d woken from a deep sleep with a start, as if someone had stabbed her in the chest with his venomous tail. It seemed unlikely, but … she was going to check on her treasure anyway.
The SandWing queen whirled around a corner and collided with two of her daughters, Blaze and Blister.
“Ow,” Blaze complained, hopping backward with a grimace. “Mother, you stepped on my foot.”
Blister said nothing, but sidestepped into a corner to get out of the queen’s way. Her dark eyes were fixed on every move Oasis made, in that unsettling way she had. Oasis had had a feeling from the moment Blister hatched: this was the daughter who was going to kill her. Her oldest daughter, Burn, was bigger and stronger, but Oasis and Burn actually got along, in a way. They understood each other, apart from Burn’s obsession with mutilating animals. And it was easy to distract Burn: give her something creepy-looking and she’d disappear into her rooms for days.
Blister, on the other talon, always seemed to be calculating the moments until her mother’s demise, and she’d been like that ever since she was a small dragonet — ever since she’d first realized that killing her mother would make her queen.
Go ahead and challenge me, Oasis thought scornfully, glaring down at Blister. I’d squash you like a bug and you know it.
“What’s the hurry?” Blister asked smoothly, as if she couldn’t sense the malevolence in her mother’s gaze. “Is there a royal crisis? Let me guess — Smolder tried to run off with his girlfriend again.”
“No, I took care of her,” Oasis said. “I’m just going to check the treasury.”
“Ooo, sparkly things.” Blaze yawned. “Good night, Mother.”
Dizzy Blaze, Oasis thought as she hurried on. She’d be a terrible queen, but she’s an acceptable daughter. I don’t have to worry about what she’ll do to me.
She heard claws click on the stone behind her and whirled around. Blister held up her talons and flared her wings, filling the narrow passageway.
“Sorry to startle you,” she said unconvincingly. “I just wondered if I could come with you.”
Oasis hesitated, but she knew if she said no, Blister would find a way to sneak along anyway. It was always better to keep her where you could see her. “Fine. But don’t touch anything.” I know what you want to see, you conniving viper. It won’t do you any good until I’m dead, though.
They whisked down the long passage that led to the four treasure rooms.
Everything looked in order — the torches flickered peacefully, the doors were closed and locked.
But there was a strange smell, something hairy and woodsy and flowery at the same time. Something had definitely been here.
Oasis crouched to peer under the doors. There was a large gap between the doors and the floor…. Not large enough for a dragon, of course, but …
“Do you smell scavenger?” she asked Blister.
“I wouldn’t know what those smell like,” Blister said, wrinkling her nose. “They’re too bulky and squishy for my taste.”
Queen Oasis selected the right keys from around her neck and unlocked all the doors, then did a sweep through each room, leaving the doors open.
She came back out glowering with rage.
“That looks ominous,” Blister remarked.
“Scavengers,” spat the queen. “Robbed me. How dare they?” She lashed her tail, hissing. “They can’t have gone far. Wake up Burn and tell her to meet me outside.”
“Burn?” Blister echoed, glancing over her mother’s shoulder at the treasure rooms.
“Just in case there are a lot of them and we need to fight,” Oasis said. “I’ve seen what their tiny swords can do. I’m not such a fool as to go out there alone.”
“Oh, no, of course not,” Blister said. “But why Burn, when I’m here?”
Oasis gave her a withering look. “I need a real fighter,” she said. “Not someone who thinks she can use her brain to get herself out of anything, and isn’t even as smart as she thinks she is.”
“I see,” Blister said coldly. “I’ll wake her at once.” She took a step up the corridor, then turned back. “What did they take?”