A gift? A gesture of peace — reuniting the family? That doesn’t sound like Blister. Sunny flicked her tail anxiously. Or is she really willing to stand down and let Burn be queen?
Smolder returned a few moments later, carrying the box that Sunny had seen on the top floor of the weirdling tower, when she’d been chained up there. As he set it down in front of Burn, it let out a malevolent hiss.
“Burn, be careful,” Sunny said. She had a horrible sinking feeling in her chest, and she really didn’t like the look on Blister’s face. “I — I think this might be a trick.”
“Of course it is,” Burn said. “Especially if it’s from my clever little sister. Sending me a present, thinking I’ll open it without any suspicion. As if I don’t recognize the hiss of the dragonbite viper when I hear it.”
“It’s not a trick,” Blister said coolly. “I know you’ve always wanted one for your collection.”
“Dragonbite viper?” Fatespeaker whispered to Starflight.
“Rare and deadly,” he whispered back. “The only snake in Pyrrhia that can kill a dragon with one bite.” He shifted nervously on his talons. “If that’s really what’s in there…. I hope that’s not really what’s in there.”
“Well, the trick’s on you,” Burn said. She sank her claws into the top of the box and ripped it off with a vicious tearing sound. Fast as lightning, her talons shot into the box and lifted out a writhing, hissing rope of scaly fury.
The snake’s head was pinned between Burn’s claws so it couldn’t bite her. Its whole body wriggled and lashed like the eels attacking in the SeaWing prison.
“I know your sick, twisted mind. You thought this would kill me,” Burn snarled at Blister. “So it’ll be very poetic when it kills you instead.” She took a step toward her sister and then stopped suddenly, looking down.
“Oh,” Blister said, “I got you two. Did I leave out that part?”
A second dragonbite viper lunged out of the box and sank its teeth into Burn’s ankle. Its venomous fangs slid like shards of ice right between her scales.
The screaming seemed to come from everywhere at once. Blaze was probably screaming the loudest, shrieking and flapping her wings as if she were the one who’d been bitten. All along the walls, dragons were pushing and yelling and leaning in to get a better look or taking off into the sky to get as far away from the snakes as possible.
Burn stamped one foot down on the second snake, crushing it, but it was too late. Black veins were shooting up her leg and spreading through her scales.
“What’s happening?” Starflight asked, reaching out for Sunny.
Sunny touched his wing with her own. “There was a second snake in the box — and it bit Burn.” This was Blister’s plan — the one I overheard her talking about in the mirror. Send Burn something she really wants and figure out a way for it to kill her. Clever and evil and sinister. She looked over at Blister, who was watching her sister’s death throes with an enthralled, smug smile on her face.
We can’t let her be queen. All of Pyrrhia would be in danger if Blister were queen.
But what else can we do? She’s not going to accept Blaze on the throne instead … and it looks like this is the end for Burn.
Burn let out a furious roar and collapsed to the ground with a crash that shook the earth. Her wings twitched and convulsed as if they were possessed. She clawed at the air, reaching for Blister.
“I’ll kill you,” she snarled. “I’ll claw that — I’ll — it hurts — stop it, stop the —” She roared again, howling her agony at the sky.
Her ankle was entirely black now, the claws curling in and shriveling. The venom marched up toward her heart, fast and unstoppable.
“Is there anything we can do?” Sunny asked. “Clay? Starflight?”
Starflight shook his head mutely.
Burn rolled onto her back, wheezing as the black tendrils looped together in the center of her chest. Her arm flopped to the ground, her talons opened, and the first snake slithered loose onto the stones of the courtyard.
“The viper!” Blaze shrieked. “It’s going to kill us!”
Pandemonium erupted along the walls.
“Fly!” screamed several dragons.
“Kill it!” roared others. “Or it will kill us all!”
Blister was in the air already, hovering over them and watching gleefully as the snake shot toward the dragonets. It moved like lightning, zigzagging across the stones faster than flight.
“Up! Up! Up!” Tsunami shouted, shoving at her friends.
“Starflight!” Fatespeaker screamed.
Sunny whirled and saw Starflight stumble forward, his wings unfolding but slowly, too slowly. His talons reached out, trying to orient himself. The snake was nearly at his feet already.
Sunny and Fatespeaker reached him at the same time, grabbing his forearms and trying to lift him bodily into the sky. But they were both small, and Starflight was heavy and confused and unwieldy. His tail thwacked the ground and his wings nearly overbalanced them all as they tried to struggle into the air.