“Sure,” Clay said. “Anyway. Hippo?”
Starflight stamped one foot. “Fine, but just listen. Tsunami is in danger. Morrowseer and the NightWings are coming after her. Will you tell her that?”
“Look!” Clay said delightedly. “My brothers and sisters!” He jumped up and hurried to the cave entrance, where a small band of MudWings were coming in. The smallest dragonet jumped up to hug Clay’s big neck, and the largest one inclined his head with a friendly smile.
Starflight hadn’t met Clay’s siblings, but he’d heard about Clay’s encounter with them in the MudWing village. They were all soldiers now in the great war, fighting under Queen Moorhen on Burn’s side, even though they weren’t full-grown yet. One of them had died in battle already.
More dragons we need to save, he thought, anxiety and fear turning his scales cold.
He wasn’t sure Clay had really listened to him. He had to keep trying.
Glory, he thought, closing his eyes.
The sound of paper rustling let him know that he was somewhere new right before he opened them again. Glory sat at a low table in one of the treetop huts in the rainforest, studying a scroll. In her own dream, she wasn’t wearing a crown, and she looked more tired than anything else. Her scales were dark green and dappled with light, matching the leaves around her. The furry shape of her sloth curled around her neck.
“Glory,” Starflight said, his voice breaking. Would she listen to him? He remembered what he’d heard Sunny say the last time he’d used the dreamvisitor. If Glory thought he was a traitor, she wouldn’t have any reason to believe anything he said.
The new queen of the RainWings slowly raised her head and met his eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment, her green eyes searching for something in his face.
“Wow,” she said. “You found a dreamvisitor.”
He exhaled, feeling relief flood through his scales. Of course she remembered learning about them. He’d always wished he could remember things as easily as she did, instead of having to study so hard all the time.
“I didn’t run off,” he said in a rush. “The NightWings took me. I swear, Glory. I would never have left you all. Morrowseer is — is testing me, to see if I’m worthy of the prophecy — he has these other dragonets that he wants to use instead, only he needs a SeaWing now so Tsunami’s in danger and I had to warn you —”
“Stop, stop,” Glory said, rolling up her scroll and leaning on the table. “Tell me everything.”
So he did, from the moment he was abducted through the terrifying encounter with the NightWing queen. At first he had that sinking sensation in his stomach again, worrying that he was betraying someone — this time his tribe — but then he thought of Orchid clamped to the wall, the SkyWings burning, and Squid flying slowly away to his death, and he squashed any guilt he felt. He was sure now who deserved his loyalty.
“So,” he finished. “I’m worried about Tsunami. Please tell her to be careful.”
Glory laughed. “Oh, sure, and you tell Clay to stop being hungry.”
Starflight felt a smile trying to struggle onto his face. “He really does dream about food, it turns out,” he said. “Like, lots and lots of food.”
“Oh, Clay,” Glory said affectionately. “Well, apparently I dream about homework, even though there aren’t any scrolls in the rainforest.” She waved her talons at the dream table in front of her, and then her face turned serious again. “I’ll talk to Tsunami and put some guards on her, but I’m more worried about you. We’re not ready to attack yet. But if you’re in danger …”
She carved a line in the table with one of her claws. “I mean, it sounds like Morrowseer might kill you at any moment.” She looked out the window, where glimmers of rainbow wings were visible in the trees around them. “But my tribe … they’re not ready. If I take them through today, they’ll be slaughtered.”
“I understand,” Starflight said. Glory was a queen now. She had to think about protecting her tribe as much as taking care of her friends. Every single bit of him wanted to yell, “Forget the RainWings! Please rescue me! Come as soon as you can!” But it was too easy for him to imagine everything Glory was thinking, all the information she had to take into account, the pros and cons and best battle strategies and unacceptable losses and collateral damage — all the things they’d studied as distant theories but never had to deal with themselves.
So instead he said, “I’m all right. I’ll take care of myself until you get here.”
Glory looked back at him, tilting her head to the side. Warm pink suffused with purple spread along the edges of her wings. “Starflight, I think that might be the bravest thing you’ve ever said.”