The little creature looked up at Sunny with her thoughtful brown eyes, then patted Sunny’s side again and sat down.
Smolder tipped his head sideways and peered at her. “Flower? Come along.” He rang his bell and held out his claws.
Flower shook her head firmly and put one paw on one of Sunny’s front talons.
“She wants to stay with you,” Smolder said. “That’s funny. Flower is usually extremely cautious around any dragon who’s not me.” He narrowed his eyes at Sunny. “If I leave her with you, will you be careful with her? No knocking her off the ramp, no stepping on her, and definitely no eating her.”
“I wouldn’t eat her!” Sunny protested. “I barely even like meat, except sometimes a lizard here or there. And I think she’s being really sweet.” There was something comforting about the idea of having someone with her in this dark tower, apart from Queen Scarlet — even if it was a scavenger.
“Well,” Smolder said, fidgeting. “If you promise to be careful. Flower, are you sure?”
Flower kept her paw on Sunny and stared back at him without moving.
“All right.” He sighed. “See you soon.”
He lifted off the edge and flew in a gentle spiral down to the bottom of the tower. Sunny leaned out and saw the shaft of sunlight that spilled into the room as he opened the door — and then saw it disappear again as the door slammed behind him. The weight around her ankles felt suddenly even heavier.
She rested her head on her front talons with a sigh, curling her tail in close. Flower immediately tucked herself into the curve of Sunny’s side, reached into her bag, and pulled out a scrap of scroll paper and a lumpy stick of charcoal. In the dim light, she started to sketch, and Sunny, peering over her shoulder, saw a dragon’s face appearing in rapid strokes. Her face, in fact.
“That’s amazing,” Sunny said. How could an animal create art like that?
Flower glanced up and did something with her mouth that looked exactly like a dragon smile. Sunny found herself smiling back, despite her fear and her worry. At least she wasn’t alone.
“Little SandWing,” Queen Scarlet’s voice hissed softly from below her. “You think Burn is what you have to worry about right now. She’s not. I am. I’ll be free soon … free … and I’ll be coming for all my enemies…. Think about that while you try to fall asleep … what I’m going to do to your friends when I get my claws on them … how messy and thrilling it’s going to be….”
Sunny closed her eyes and covered her ears, but the whispers continued inside her head.
What if Burn comes tomorrow? What if she kills me right away?
What if I never get to find out the truth about my mother and my egg? Never get to spend more time with her?
What if the prophecy is fake? What if I really have no destiny — other than to end up here? What if nobody is going to end the war or save the world?
And worst of all …
What if I never see my friends again?
Somehow, eventually, Sunny slept, which she knew because she woke up to find Flower tugging gently on her tail and Smolder unlocking her chains.
She sat up slowly and stretched her wings, which still ached from all the flying she’d done in the last several days.
“What’s happening?” she asked Smolder.
“Oh, I thought we’d go for a walk,” he said wryly.
Sunny squinted at him. “Are you joking? Or is that just your voice? Can other dragons tell when you’re joking? Because I can’t figure it out.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I have heard that before,” he admitted. “There was someone who used to tease me about it. She told me she was going to assume that everything I said was a joke, since that would simplify things. You can do that, too, if you like.”
“All right,” Sunny said. Smolder wasn’t exactly the sinister prison guard she would have expected from Burn’s brother. She much preferred this oddness instead, even when it was unsettling.
The last chain clattered to the floor and Smolder held out one talon so Flower could climb up onto his back again.
“Make sure to steer clear of Scarlet,” he reminded Sunny, who didn’t need reminding. “She’s in a foul mood today.”
“I HEARD THAT,” Scarlet roared.
Smolder rolled his eyes at Sunny and dove off the edge. She followed, catching a glimpse of the smoking orange queen as they whisked past. Scarlet sent a blast of flames into the air right behind them; Sunny felt the heat crackle along the scales of her tail and saw Flower press herself closer to Smolder’s back.
Outside, it was early morning — barely sunrise, Sunny realized. Smolder didn’t leave me locked up very long; he didn’t even wait until midday to come get me. Maybe he’s secretly kinder than he wants me to think. The light slanted low across the courtyard and small brown birds hopped along the top of the walls, gossiping cheerily. The air smelled like roasting lizards and the sand was still cool under her claws as she followed Smolder to an archway on the left.