“But we have to try,” Fatespeaker said. “So let’s do it.” She pressed her front talons to her head and smiled. “My vision says we shall succeed! Let’s charge the tunnel and see how far we get!”
Starflight winced. “Not to argue with your visions, but I can tell you exactly how far we’ll get: into the cell next to Deathbringer’s if we’re lucky, or tossed into the volcano if we’re not.”
She dropped her arms and looked thoughtful for a minute. “So — what if I distract the guards and you sneak through? I have a vision that says that will totally work!”
He shook his head. “That’s how Deathbringer got Clay here; I doubt they’ll fall for that again. We have to do this the smart way. Maybe there’s a way to trick them. Who would be allowed through the tunnel?” He tapped his claws on the floor. “The soldiers who tried to grab Tsunami were allowed through. Perhaps we could say the queen sent us to kidnap Sunny.”
Fatespeaker looked down at herself dubiously.
“Right, two dragonets … they won’t believe that at all.” Starflight picked up a scroll from Mindreader’s bed and turned it nervously between his talons. “So who else, or why else …”
It was like a thunderbolt hitting him.
“Oooo, you have an idea,” Fatespeaker said.
“I do,” Starflight said. “It’s worth a try — but we need one more dragon to make it work.”
In her nighttime wanderings, Fatespeaker had found the healers’ hall, and she was able to lead the way back there without hesitation.
Starflight glanced in first. As he’d hoped, the healers were still in the council chamber with the soldiers who’d fought Tsunami. The large room was mostly deserted; a few dragons slept restlessly on the narrow stone beds, most of them with lava-related injuries, from the looks of it. Two of the NightWings bore recent RainWing venom scars, and he realized those must have been the ones Glory attacked during her escape. They smelled slightly of poppies and anise, and he guessed they were in some kind of medicine-induced stupor.
A fire blazed in a rough fireplace in the center of the wall, and in the bed closest to it was Flame, fast asleep.
There was a strip of cloth tied around his head, but now Starflight could see a little more of what Viper had accidentally done to the SkyWing. A vicious slash ran from one corner of his mouth sideways and up across his face, straight through the opposite eye. It oozed blood and something darker.
“Oh, Flame,” Fatespeaker whispered, her voice breaking.
“It’s not as bad as I thought,” Starflight whispered to her, trying to be reassuring. “Viper only hit one of his eyes — that means, hopefully, he’ll still be able to see out of the other one, so he won’t be completely blind.”
“If we can save him,” Fatespeaker said.
“Right.” He took a deep breath.
“I wish we didn’t have to wake him,” she whispered.
“I’ll do it.” He touched Flame’s shoulder with one wing. “Flame. Flame, wake up. It’s important.”
The SkyWing blearily opened his good eye. He moaned at the sight of them and closed it again.
“You have to come with us,” Fatespeaker said.
“We know how to save you,” Starflight added. “But it’ll only work if we go now.”
Flame mumbled something that sounded like, “Why would you save me?”
“Because you’re my friend and it’s the right thing to do,” Fatespeaker said.
“Hrrmph,” muttered Flame.
Starflight poked him in the side. “Because we can use your tragic face to get us off this island.”
There was a pause. Flame lifted his head and squinted at Starflight. “That sounds like a real reason,” he said in a stronger voice, although it still had a blurry sound to it, and his head wobbled like his brain was wrapped in sheep’s wool.
Starflight held out his wing, and the red dragonet slowly slid off the bed, resting his weight on Starflight’s shoulder. Fatespeaker hurried ahead to the door, waved an all clear, and led the way to the nearest balcony overlooking the prison caves.
Starflight paused on the edge of the balcony, looking out. Down there was the black-sand beach; down there was the tunnel to the rainforest. Down there was the gateway back to his friends. And down there were an unknown number of NightWing soldiers who might take one look at Starflight, Flame, and Fatespeaker and send them to the dungeon for life — or until the volcano erupted and killed them anyway.
There’s no time to be afraid, Starflight told himself. This is the only thing you can do. And you must do it.
Supporting Flame between them, Starflight and Fatespeaker launched themselves into the sky and flew toward the tunnel.
It wasn’t hard to guess where the tunnel to the rainforest was. Once they reached the black-sand beach, the cluster of armed NightWings gathered in the entrance of a certain cave was a fairly strong clue.
“Be confident,” Starflight said to Fatespeaker, thinking of Tsunami bluffing the SeaWing soldiers. “Act like we’re doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.”