But several SandWing soldiers grabbed him and pulled him back, shaking their heads and pointing to the smoke that rose clearly from Peril’s wings.
Thorn said something, and Peril gestured toward the stronghold. With a sort of grateful bow, Thorn flew past her, followed by all her Outclaws.
“Hooray!” Sunny cried, flapping her wings with excitement. “Race you to the courtyard, Camel!” She leaped off the tower and soared down toward the stones where she’d first landed in the stronghold.
Thorn had just set down and was turning to issue orders to her dragons when Sunny catapulted to a stop in front of her and threw her wings around her mother.
“By all the snakes!” her mother yelped. “Sunny!” She lifted Sunny off her talons and spun her around. “Never mind!” she shouted at the Outclaws over Sunny’s shoulder. “Found her!”
Sunny felt giddy and weightless, like a tent with its pegs pulled up, flying loose in a sandstorm. “You came to get me,” she said breathlessly.
“Of course I did, beetle,” her mother said, stepping back and looking around. “Six-Claws told me everything. I spent seven years looking for you; I wasn’t about to lose you after only ten minutes of conversation.” She grinned with all her teeth. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to invade Burn’s stronghold. I take it she’s not here.”
“Luckily,” Sunny said. “I doubt she’d have surrendered as graciously as Smolder did.”
“We should do the tour quick before she comes back, then,” Thorn said cheerfully, as if she hadn’t been scales away from death a few moments earlier. “What do you think that is?” She put one wing over Sunny’s shoulders and steered her toward the black obelisk Sunny had noticed before.
Their claws sank into the sand around the monument, which was white and clean as if it were swept every day. As they got closer, Sunny could read the words carved and painted in gold on the side of the pillar.
HERE LIES
QUEEN OASIS
MOTHER OF QUEEN BURN
HER BONES NOW BELONG TO THE SANDS OF TIME
“Yikes,” Sunny said, suddenly realizing what it meant. She scrambled sideways, off the sand, pulling Thorn along with her. “Queen Oasis is buried under there! Right below us!”
“Probably where she died,” Thorn guessed, looking up at the walls Burn had added after she took over. “This would have been right outside the original palace, where the scavengers attacked her.” She peered at the inscription again. “That’s more poetic than I would have expected from Burn. Very impressive.”
The sound of wingbeats overhead made them both look up as the SandWing soldiers came flapping back into the courtyard. With them were Peril and Smolder, who spiraled down to land beside Thorn.
“I’m going to be in so much trouble,” Smolder said to Sunny with a sigh. “Burn might actually kill me this time. Losing you and Scarlet in one fell swoop? That’s probably worse than anything my brothers ever did.”
“I’m sorry,” Sunny said.
“Sorry enough to stay our prisoner?” Smolder asked hopefully.
“Who is this hilarious dragon?” Thorn asked her.
“This is Smolder, Burn’s brother,” Sunny said. “Smolder, this is Thorn, my mother. She’s the leader of the Outclaws. And this is Peril.”
Thorn half bowed again to Peril. “Our lucky angel,” she said.
Peril nodded, looking a bit uncomfortable. Sunny guessed she wasn’t used to gratitude, and that she’d certainly never been called an angel before.
“Perhaps I should move to the Scorpion Den,” Smolder said gloomily. “Thorn, was it? Hmmm.” He gave her a thoughtful look, as if he’d heard of her somewhere before.
“I need to kill the dragon who betrayed me,” Thorn announced. “His name is Addax. Please produce him.”
“Oh, no, don’t,” Sunny blurted. “I mean, don’t kill him, please. He only — he just — he had his reasons, and look, I’m all right, aren’t I?”
Her mother tilted her head at Sunny, looking surprised and concerned. “Don’t you want to punish him? Aren’t you angry?”
Am I? Sunny glanced at the barracks of soldiers beyond Smolder. Somewhere in there, Addax had been reunited with his family. And somewhere in there, he was probably hiding right now, knowing what might happen to him next.
“Punishing him won’t make anything better,” Sunny said. “It’ll probably just make someone else angry and vengeful and lead to more awful things. I’m really all right. Let’s leave him and get out of here.”
Thorn brushed Sunny’s wing with hers and nodded. “All right, if that’s what you want. Mercy is yours to grant. I have one more question for this dragon, though.” She turned to Smolder. “You’ve lived here a long time. Can you tell me if you have any NightWing prisoners?”
Smolder shook his head. “No. I’m afraid my sister doesn’t keep most of her prisoners. Alive, I mean.”
“You had one NightWing, though,” Sunny offered. “In Burn’s collection, didn’t you? The stuffed one that Scarlet destroyed?”