“I’m not sure charm is quite the word I’d use,” he’d mused, and gotten a swat to his nose as a thank-you.
But she’d let him select five NightWings he thought were more trustworthy than the rest, so that the tribe would be represented at this gathering. Sunny thought that was probably a good idea, although she was still having trouble forgiving the black dragons for all their lies. Mangrove and Grandeur had been left in charge of everyone while they were gone.
The five dragonets climbed up to stand on the ridge, surveying the stronghold below and the clouds of dragons who were already descending on it.
“What if they start fighting?” Fatespeaker asked suddenly. “All these dragons from different tribes who’ve been at war for so long. What if something happens and they start trying to kill each other?”
Sunny curled her tail around her talons. What an awful thought. That hadn’t even occurred to her.
“It’d be a huge battle,” Deathbringer said. “That might end the war itself.”
“With hundreds more dead dragons,” Sunny said. “No, that’s not all right. We’ll stop them if we have to.”
“Right,” Tsunami said. “By asking nicely? Is that the plan?”
“You’d be surprised how effective asking nicely can be,” Sunny said. “Maybe if you ever tried it, you’d know.”
“Yowch,” Glory said with a grin, and Tsunami glared at both of them.
“Well, let’s get down there before anything happens,” Clay suggested.
“Before we go,” Sunny said, turning to her friends, “I just — I just want you guys to know that I love you. And I don’t regret anything that’s happened. I’m not mad about the fake prophecy or the Talons stealing us, because without all of that, I wouldn’t have grown up with you, and you’re more important to me than anything. You’re my brothers and sisters. You’re my real family. So it was worth it, no matter what.”
“Awwww,” Clay said, pulling her into his wings for a fierce hug.
“Uh-oh,” Glory said. “A mushy speech. We’re all going to die, aren’t we?”
“She means she loves you, too,” Tsunami translated, dragging Sunny away from Clay so she could hug her as well. “And so do I.”
“Me too,” Starflight said quietly, and they all wrapped their wings around him together. Sunny felt the sinewy curve of his shoulder pressing against her snout and smelled the herbs in the bandage on his eyes. Poor Starflight. Is that enough of an answer for him? I do love him. But … like a brother. I wish I felt more….
There wasn’t time to say anything else. It was almost midnight. They leaped into the sky, soaring down toward the stronghold with the RainWings and NightWings streaming out behind them.
From above, as they approached, Sunny could see that the courtyard looked deserted. The monument to Queen Oasis was a tower of darkness, rejecting the moonlight and casting a long shadow across the sand circle around it. The soldiers’ barracks were empty. The flat white stones stretched blankly, glowing as if they were made of the same stuff as the weird moon. Fire flickered from torches that studded the courtyard like claws.
What if they don’t come?
The dragons who had flown in to watch were gathered all along the walls, wing to wing. They’d torn out the heads on spikes and dropped the gruesome trophies onto the sands below, making room for the hundreds of spectators instead.
It was hard to tell which tribe was which in the silvery moonlight. All the dragons seemed to have scales of silver and black and gray. But Sunny was pretty sure she spotted SeaWings sitting next to MudWings; IceWings beside SkyWings; SandWings and NightWings and RainWings barely a few claws from one another.
That’s what I really want, Sunny thought. A Pyrrhia where all dragons can see that we’re basically the same, no matter what kinds of natural weapons we hatch with, or don’t hatch with, for some of us. A Pyrrhia where it doesn’t matter what tribe you’re from, because you can have friends from any tribe. Like us.
As her gaze scanned the walls, she spotted familiar SandWing scales and her heart squeezed happily. Thorn was here, along with Six-Claws and Qibli and no doubt more Outclaws. Even if everything went horribly wrong, Sunny had this strange, warm feeling that her mother would care about her and want to know her, whether or not she saved the world.
Sunny was surprised to find herself thinking, Maybe that’s better than a prophecy and a great destiny.
But I do still have to save the world. Right now, in fact.
She was on one side of Starflight with Fatespeaker on the other; they guided him down to the sand, and Sunny heard Fatespeaker describing the scene for him in a whisper. Clay thumped down next to her and sneezed as sand went up his nose.