Description: pale gold or white scales the color of desert sand;

                             poisonous barbed tail; forked black tongues

        Abilities: can survive a long time without water, poison enemies with

                       the tips of their tails like scorpions, bury themselves for camouflage in

                       the desert sand, breathe fire

        Queen: Since the death of Queen Oasis, the tribe is split between three

                     rivals for the throne: sisters Burn, Blister, and Blaze.

        Alliances: Burn fights alongside SkyWings and MudWings; Blister is

                      allied with the SeaWings; and Blaze has the support of most SandWings

                      as well as an alliance with the IceWings.

Description: thick, armored brown scales, sometimes with amber and

                                        gold underscales; large, flat heads with nostrils on top of the snout

                    Abilities: can breathe fire (if warm enough), hold their breath for up to

                                   an hour, blend into large mud puddles; usually very strong

                    Queen: Queen Moorhen

                    Alliances: currently allied with Burn and the SkyWings in the great war

Description: blue or green or aquamarine scales; webs between their

                    claws; gills on their necks; glow-in-the-dark stripes on their

                    tails/snouts/underbellies

Abilities: can breathe underwater, see in the dark, create huge waves

               with one splash of their powerful tails; excellent swimmers

Queen: Queen Coral

Alliances: currently allied with Blister in the great war

Description: red-gold or orange scales; enormous wings

Abilities: powerful fighters and fliers, can breathe fire

Queen: Queen Scarlet

Alliances: currently allied with Burn and the MudWings in the great war

Description: silvery scales like the moon or pale blue like ice; ridged

                    claws to grip the ice; forked blue tongues; tailsnarrow to a whip-thin end

Abilities: can withstand subzero temperatures and bright light, exhale a

               deadly freezing breath

Queen: Queen Glacier

Alliances: currently allied with Blaze and most of the SandWings in the

                great war

Description: scales constantly shift colors, usually bright like birds of

                    paradise; prehensile tails

Abilities: can camouflage their scales to blend into their surroundings,

               use their prehensile tails for climbing; no known natural weapons

Queen: Queen Dazzling

Alliances: not involved in the great war

Description: purplish-black scales and scattered silver scales on the

                    underside of their wings, like a night sky full of stars; forked black

                    tongues

Abilities: can breathe fire, disappear into dark shadows, read minds,

               foretell the future

Queen: a closely guarded secret

Alliances: too mysterious and powerful to be part of the war

When the war has lasted twenty years . . .

                                the dragonets will come.

                When the land is soaked in blood and tears . . .

                                the dragonets will come.

Find the SeaWing egg of deepest blue.

                        Wings of night shall come to you.

                        The largest egg in mountain high

                        will give to you the wings of sky.

                For wings of earth, search through the mud

                    for an egg the color of dragon blood.

                And hidden alone from the rival queens,

                    the SandWing egg awaits unseen.

Of three queens who blister and blaze and burn,

                        two shall die and one shall learn

           if she bows to a fate that is stronger and higher,

                she’ll have the power of wings of fire.

                Five eggs to hatch on brightest night,

                    five dragons born to end the fight.

                Darkness will rise to bring the light.

                          The dragonets are coming. . . .

A dragon was trying to hide in the storm.

Lightning flickered across the dark clouds. Hvitur clutched his

fragile cargo closer. If he could make it over the mountains, he’d be

safe. He’d escaped the sky dragons’ palace unseen. And the secret cave

was so close. …

But his theft had not been as stealthy as he thought, and eyes as

black as obsidian were already tracking him from below.

The enormous dragon on the mountain ledge had pale gold scales

that radiated heat like a desert horizon. Her black eyes narrowed,

watching the gleam of silver wings far up in the clouds.

She flicked her tail, and behind her two more dragons rose to the

sky and dove into the heart of the storm. A piercing shriek echoed off

the mountains as their talons seized the moon-pale ice dragon.

“Bind his mouth,” the waiting dragon ordered as her soldiers

dropped Hvitur on the slick, wet ledge in front of her. He was already

inhaling, ready to attack. “Quickly!”

One of the soldiers grabbed a chain from the pile of smoldering

coals. He threw it around the ice dragon’s snout, clamping his jaws

together with a sizzling smell of burning scales. Hvitur let out a muffled

scream.

“Too late.” The sand dragon’s forked tongue slithered in and out of

her mouth. “You won’t be using your freezing-death breath on us, ice

dragon.”

“He was carrying this, Queen Burn,” said one of the soldiers,

handing her a dragon egg.

Burn squinted at the egg through the downpour. “This is not an

IceWing egg,” she hissed. “You stole this from the SkyWing palace.”

The IceWing stared back at her. Hissing steam circled his snout

where the hot chains met cold silver scales.

“You thought you got away unnoticed, didn’t you?” Burn said.

“My SkyWing ally is not a fool. Queen Scarlet knows everything that

happens in her kingdom. Her lookouts reported an IceWing thief

sneaking away, and I decided finding you might add some violence to

my boring visit.”

Burn held the large egg up to the light of the fire and turned it

slowly. Red and gold shimmered below the pale, smooth surface.

“Yes. This is a SkyWing egg about to hatch,” Burn mused. “Why

would my sister send you to steal a SkyWing dragonet? Blaze hates any

dragon younger and prettier than she is.” She thought for a moment as

rain drummed on the ledge around them. “Unless … the brightest night

is tomorrow. …”

Her tail flicked up like a scorpion’s, the poisonous barb inches

from Hvitur’s eyes. “You’re not in Blaze’s army, are you? You’re one

of those insipid underground peacemongers.”

“The Talons of Peace?” said one of the soldiers. “You mean they’re

real?”

Burn snorted. “A few worms crying over a little blood. Unwrap his

chains. He won’t be able to freeze us until his scales cool down.” The

enormous sand dragon leaned closer as her soldier pulled the chain

away. “Tell me, ice dragon, do you really believe in that pompous old

NightWing’s prophecy?”

“Haven’t enough dragons died for your war?” snarled Hvitur,

wincing at the pain in his jaws. “All of Pyrrhia has suffered for the last

twelve years. The prophecy says —”

“I don’t care. No prophecy decides what happens to me,” Burn

interrupted. “I’m not letting a bunch of words or baby dragons choose

when I die or what I bow to. We can have peace when my sisters are

dead and I am queen of the SandWings.” Her venomous tail dipped

closer to the silver dragon.

Rain pattered on Hvitur’s scales. He glared up at her. “The

dragonets are coming, whether you like it or not, and they’ll choose who

the next SandWing queen should be.”

“Really?” Burn stepped back and turned the egg slowly between

her talons. Her forked tongue slipped in and out of her smile. “So,

IceWing. Is this egg a part of your pathetic prophecy?”

Hvitur went still.

Burn tapped lightly on the eggshell with one long talon. “Hello?”

she called. “Is there a dragonet of destiny in there? Ready to come out

and end this big bad war?”

“Leave it alone,” Hvitur choked out.

“Tell me,” Burn said, “what becomes of your precious prophecy …

if one of the five dragonets is never hatched at all?”

“You wouldn’t,” he said. “No one would harm a dragon egg.” His

blue eyes were fixed desperately on her talons.

“No ‘wings of sky’ to help save the world,” Burn said. “What a

sad, sad story.” She began tossing the egg from one front claw to the

other. “I guess that means you should be very, very careful with this

terribly important little — oops!”

With an exaggerated lunge, Burn pretended the wet egg was

slipping through her talons … and then she let it fall over the side of the

cliff into the rocky darkness below.

“No!” Hvitur shrieked. He threw off the two soldiers and flung

himself toward the edge. Burn slammed her massive claws down on his

neck.

“So much for destiny,” she smirked. “So much for your tragic little

movement.”

“You’re a monster,” the IceWing gasped, writhing under her talons.

His voice cracked with despair. “We’ll never give up. The dragonets —

the dragonets will come and stop this war.”

Burn leaned down to hiss into his ear. “Even if they do — it’ll be

far too late for you.” Her claws ripped through the silver dragon’s

wings, shredding them as Hvitur shrieked in agony. With a swift

movement, she stabbed her poisonous tail through his skull and flung

the long, silver body over the edge of the cliff.

The ice dragon’s screams cut off long before the echoes of his

corpse slamming into the rocks below.

The SandWing turned her black eyes to her soldiers. “Perfect,” she

said. “That should be the last we hear about that stupid prophecy.” She

held out her talons so the rain could wash away the glistening dragon

blood. “Let’s go find something else to kill.”

The three dragons spread their wings and lifted off into the dark

clouds.

Some time later, far below, a large dragon the color of rust crawled

over the rocks to the broken body of the ice dragon. She nudged his tail

aside and lifted a shard of eggshell from underneath it, then slipped back

into the labyrinth of caves under the cliffs.

Stone walls brushed against her wings. She breathed out a plume of

flame to light her way along the dark passage, deep into the mountain.

“I stand with the Talons of Peace,” hissed a voice in the shadows.

“Kestrel? Is that you?”

“We await the wings of fire,” answered the red dragon. A bluegreen SeaWing emerged from a side cave, and she tossed the eggshell at his feet. “Not that it’ll do us much good now,” she snarled. “Hvitur is

dead.”

The SeaWing stared at the eggshell. “But — the SkyWing egg —”

“Broken,” she said. “Gone. It’s over, Webs.”

“It can’t be,” he said. “Tomorrow is the brightest night. The three

moons will all be full for the first time in a century. The dragonets of the

prophecy have to hatch tomorrow.”

“Well, one of them is already dead,” Kestrel said. Rage flickered in

her eyes. “I knew I should have stolen the SkyWing egg myself. I know

the Sky Kingdom. They wouldn’t have caught me a second time.”

Webs grimaced, scratching one claw over the gills along his neck.

“Asha is dead, too.”

“Asha?” A spurt of flame shot from Kestrel’s nose. “How?”

“Caught in a battle between Blaze’s and Blister’s forces on the way

here. She still made it with the red MudWing egg, but she died of her

wounds soon after.”

“So it’s just you, me, and Dune to raise the little worms,” Kestrel

growled. “For a prophecy that can never be fulfilled. Let’s break the

cursed eggs now and be done with it. We’ll be long gone before the

Talons of Peace return for the dragonets.”

“No!” Webs hissed. “Keeping the dragonets alive for the next eight

years is more important than anything. If you don’t want to be part of

that —”

“All right, enough,” Kestrel snapped. “I’m the strongest dragon in

the Talons of Peace. You need me. It doesn’t matter how I feel about

nasty little dragonets.” She eyed the eggshell on the floor, rubbing her

scarred palms together. “Although I thought at least one of them would

be a SkyWing.”

“I’ll find us a fifth dragonet.” Webs pushed past her, scales

scraping against rock.

“There’s no way back into the Sky Kingdom, brainless,” she said.

“They’ll be guarding the hatchery closely now.”

“Then I’ll get an egg somewhere else,” he said grimly. “The

RainWings don’t even count their eggs — I could take one from the rain

forest without anyone noticing.”

“Of all the horrible ideas,” Kestrel said with a shudder.

“RainWings are wretched creatures. Nothing like SkyWings.”

“We have to do something,” Webs said. He hissed as his tail sent

the eggshell skittering across the floor. “In eight years, the Talons of

Peace will come looking for five dragonets. The prophecy says five, and

we’re going to make it come true … whatever it takes.”

Six Years Later . . .

Clay didn’t think he was the right dragon for a Big Heroic Destiny.

Oh, he wanted to be. He wanted to be the great MudWing savior of the

dragon world, glorious and brave. He wanted to do all the wonderful things

expected of him. He wanted to look at the world, figure out what was broken,

and fix it.

But he wasn’t a natural-hatched hero. He had no legendary qualities at

all. He liked sleeping more than studying, and he kept losing chickens in the

caves during hunting practice because he was paying attention to his friends

instead of watching for feathers.

He was all right at fighting. But “all right” wasn’t going to stop the war

and save the dragon tribes. He needed to be extraordinary. He was the biggest

dragonet, so he was supposed to be the scary, tough one. The minders wanted

him to be terrifyingly dangerous.

Clay felt about as dangerous as cauliflower.

“Fight!” his attacker howled, flinging him across the cavern. Clay

crashed into the rock wall and scrambled up again, trying to spread his mudcolored wings for balance. Red talons raked at his face and he ducked away.

“Come on,” the red dragon snarled. “Stop holding back. Find the killer inside

you and let it out.”

“I’m trying!” Clay said. “Maybe if we could stop and talk about it —”

She lunged for him again. “Feint to the left! Roll right! Use your fire!”

Clay tried to duck under her wing to attack her from below, but of course he

rolled the wrong way. One of her talons smashed him to the ground, and he

yelped with pain.

“WHICH LEFT WAS THAT, USELESS?” Kestrel bellowed in his ear.

“Are all MudWings this stupid? OR ARE YOU JUST DEAF?”

Well, if you keep that up, I will be soon, Clay thought. The SkyWing

lifted her claws and he wriggled free.

“I don’t know about other MudWings,” he protested, licking his sore

talons. “Obviously. But perhaps we could try fighting without all the shouting

and see —” He stopped, hearing the familiar hiss that came before one of

Kestrel’s fire attacks.

He threw his wings over his head, tucked his long neck in, and rolled

into the maze of stalagmites that studded one corner of the cave. Flames

blasted the rocks around him, singeing the tip of his tail.

“Coward!” the older dragon bellowed. She smashed one of the rock

columns into a shower of sharp black pebbles. Clay covered his eyes and

almost immediately felt her stamp down hard on his tail.

“OW!” he yelled. “You said stomping tails was cheating!” He seized the

closest stalagmite between his claws and scrabbled up on top of it. From his

perch near the roof, he glared down at his guardian.

“I’m your teacher,” Kestrel snarled. “Nothing I do is cheating. Get down

here and fight like a SkyWing.”

But I’m NOT a SkyWing, Clay thought rebelliously. I’m a MudWing! I

don’t like setting things on fire or flapping around in circles biting at dragon

necks. His teeth still ached from Kestrel’s jewel-hard scales.

“Can’t I fight one of the others?” he asked. “I’m much better at that.”

The other dragonets were his own size (nearly), and they didn’t cheat (well,

most of the time). He actually liked fighting with them.

“Oh, yes? Which opponent would you prefer, the stunted SandWing or

the lazy RainWing?” Kestrel said. “Because I’m sure you’ll get to choose out

on the battlefield.” Her tail glowed like embers as she lashed it back and

forth.

“Glory’s not lazy,” Clay said loyally. “She’s just not built for fighting,

that’s all. Webs says there’s not much to fight about in the rain forest because

the RainWings have all the food they want. He says that’s why they’ve

stayed out of the war so far, because none of the rival queens want

RainWings in their armies anyway. He says —”

“STOP YAMMERING AND GET DOWN HERE!” Kestrel roared. She

reared up on her back legs and flared her wings so she suddenly looked three

times bigger.

With a yelp of alarm, Clay tried to leap to the next stalagmite, but his

wings unfurled too slowly and he smacked into the side of it instead. Sparks

flew as his claws scraped down the jagged rock. He let out another yowl of

pain as Kestrel snaked her head between the columns, seized his tail in her

teeth, and yanked him out into the open.

Her talons closed around his neck as she hissed in his ear. “Where’s the

violent little monster I saw when you hatched? That’s the dragon we need for

the prophecy.”

“Gawp,” Clay squawked, clawing at her grip. He could feel the strange

burn scars on her palms scraping against his scales.

This was how battle training with Kestrel always ended — with him

unconscious and then sore or limping for days afterward. Fight back, he

thought. Get mad! Do something! But although he was the biggest of the

dragonets, they were still a year away from being full grown, and Kestrel

towered over him.

He tried to summon some helpful violent rage, but all he could think

was, It’ll be over soon, and then I can go have dinner.

So, not the most heroic train of thought.

Suddenly Kestrel let out a roar and dropped him. Fire blasted over

Clay’s head as he hit the floor with a thud.

The red dragon whirled around. Behind her, panting defiantly, was the

SeaWing dragonet, Tsunami. A red-gold scale was caught between her sharp

white teeth. She spat it out and glared at their teacher.

“Stop picking on Clay,” Tsunami growled. “Or I’ll bite you again.” Her

deep blue scales shimmered like cobalt glass in the torchlight. The gills in her

long neck were pulsing like they always did when she was angry.

Kestrel sat back and flicked her tail around to examine the bite mark.

She bared her teeth at Tsunami. “Aren’t you sweet. Protecting a dragon who

tried to kill you while you were still an egg.”

“But luckily you big dragons were there to save our lives,” Tsunami

said, “and we sure appreciate it, because now we get to hear about it all the

time.” She marched around to stand between Clay and Kestrel.

Clay winced. He hated hearing this story. He didn’t understand it. He’d

never want to hurt the other dragonets.

So why had he attacked their eggs during hatching? Did he really have a

killer monster inside him somewhere?

The other minders, Webs and Dune, said he’d been ferocious when he

hatched. They’d had to throw him in the river to protect the other eggs from

him. Kestrel wanted him to find that monster and use it when he fought.

But he was afraid if he ever did, he would hate himself, and so would

everyone else. Thinking about what he’d nearly done to his friends made him

feel like all the fire had been sucked out of him.

He didn’t particularly want to be a violent angry monster, even if Kestrel

thought that would be an improvement.

But maybe that was the only way to make the prophecy come true.

Maybe that monster was his destiny.

“All right,” Kestrel said dismissively. “We’re finished here anyway. I’ll

mark another failure in your scroll, MudWing.” She snorted a small flame

into the air and swept out of the cave.

Clay flopped down on the floor as soon as her red tail had vanished from

sight. It felt like every one of his scales was stinging from the burns. “She’s

going to be so mean to you during your training tomorrow,” he said to

Tsunami.

“Oh, no,” the SeaWing dragonet gasped. “I’ve never seen Kestrel be

mean before! That’ll be so unexpected and out of character!”

“Ow,” Clay groaned. “Don’t make me laugh. I think my ribs are

broken.”

“Your ribs are not broken,” Tsunami said, poking him in the side with

her nose. “Dragon bones are almost as hard as diamonds. You’re fine. Get up

and jump in the river.”

“No!” Clay buried his head under his wing. “Too cold!”

“Jump in the river” was Tsunami’s solution for everything. Bored?

Aching bones? Dry scales? Brain overstuffed with the history of the war?

“Jump in the river!” she’d shout whenever any of the other dragonets

complained. She certainly did not care that she was the only one who could

breathe underwater or that most other dragon tribes hated getting wet.

Clay didn’t mind being wet, but he couldn’t stand being cold, and the

underground river that flowed through their cave home was always freezing.

“Get in,” Tsunami ordered. She seized his tail between her front talons

and started dragging him toward the river. “You’ll feel better.”

“I will not!” Clay shouted, clawing at the smooth stone floor. “I’ll feel colder! Stop it! Go away! Argh!” His protests went up in a cloud of bubbles as Tsunami dumped him in the icy water.

When he resurfaced, she was floating beside him, ducking her head and

splashing water over her scales like a beautiful overgrown fish. Clay felt like

a gawky brown blob next to her.

He sploshed into the shallows and lay down on a submerged rock ledge,

with his head resting on the bank of the river. He wouldn’t admit it, but the

burns and aches did feel better in the water. The current helped wash away

the smoky rock dust caught between his dry scales.

Still too cold, though. Clay scratched at the rock below him. Why

couldn’t there be just a little mud down here?

“Kestrel will be sorry one day, when I’m queen of the SeaWings,”

Tsunami said, swimming up and down the narrow channel.

“I thought only a queen’s daughters or sisters could challenge her for her

throne,” Clay said. Tsunami swam so fast. He wished he had webs between

his talons, too, or gills, or a tail like hers, so powerful she could nearly empty

the river with one big splash.

“Well, maybe the SeaWing queen is my mother and I’m a lost princess,”

she said. “Like in the story.”

Everything the dragonets knew about the outside world came from

scrolls picked up by the Talons of Peace. Their favorite was The Missing

Princess, a legend about a runaway SeaWing dragonet whose royal family

tore up the whole ocean looking for her. At the end she found her way home,

and her parents welcomed her with open wings and feasting and joy.

Clay always skipped the adventures in the middle of the story. He just

liked that last part — the happy mother and father. And the feasting. The

feasting sounded pretty great, too.

“I wonder what my parents are like,” he said.

“I wonder if any of our parents are still alive,” Tsunami said.

Clay didn’t like to think about that. He knew dragons were dying in the

war every day — Kestrel and Webs brought back news of bloody battles,

scorched land, and burning piles of dragon bodies. But he had to believe his

parents were still safe. “Do you think they ever miss us?”

“Definitely.” Tsunami flicked a spray of water at him with her tail. “I

bet mine were frantic when Webs stole my egg. Just like in the story.”

“And mine tore apart the marshes,” Clay said. They’d all imagined

scenes of their parents’ desperate searches ever since they were young dragonets. Clay liked the idea that someone out there was looking for him …

that someone missed him and wanted him back.

Tsunami flipped onto her back, gazing up at the stone roof with her

translucent green eyes. “Well, the Talons of Peace knew what they were

doing,” she said bitterly. “No one would ever find us down here.”

They listened to the river gurgle and the torches crackle for a moment.

“We won’t be underground forever,” Clay said, trying to make her feel

better. “I mean, if the Talons of Peace want us to stop this war, they have to

let us out sometime.” He scratched behind his ear thoughtfully. “Starflight

says it’s only two more years.” He only had to hold on that long. “And then

we can go home and eat as many cows as we want.”

“Well, first we save the world,” Tsunami said. “And then we go home.”

“Right,” said Clay. How they were going to save the world was a little

fuzzy, but everyone seemed to think they’d figure it out when the time came.

Clay pulled himself out of the river, his waterlogged wings heavy and

drooping. He spread them in front of one of the torches, arching his neck and

trying to get warm. Feeble waves of heat wafted against his scales.

“Unless . . .” Tsunami said.

Clay lowered his head to look at her. “Unless what?”

“Unless we leave sooner,” she said. She flipped over and pulled herself

out of the water in one graceful motion.

“Leave?” Clay echoed, startled. “How? On our own?”

“Why not?” she said. “If we can find a way out — why should we have

to wait another two years? I’m ready to save the world now, aren’t you?”

Clay wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready to save the world. He figured the

Talons of Peace would tell them what they had to do. Only the three guardian

dragons — Kestrel, Webs, and Dune — knew where the dragonets were

hidden, but there was a whole network of Talons out there getting ready for

the prophecy.

“We can’t stop the war by ourselves,” he said. “We wouldn’t know

where to start.”

Tsunami flapped her wings at him in exasperation, showering him with

cold droplets. “We can too stop the war on our own,” she said. “That’s the

whole point of the prophecy.”

“Maybe in two years,” Clay said. Maybe by then I’ll have found my

dangerous side. Maybe then I’ll be the ferocious fighter Kestrel wants me to

be.

“Maybe sooner,” she said stubbornly. “Just think about it, all right?”

He shifted his feet. “All right. I’ll think about it.” At least that way he

could stop arguing with her.

Tsunami cocked her head. “I hear dinner!” The faint sound of dismayed

mooing echoed up the tunnel behind them. She poked Clay cheerfully. “Race

you to the hall!” She whirled and pounded away without waiting for a

response.

The torches in the battle room seemed dimmer, and cold water was

seeping under Clay’s scales. He folded his wings and swept his tail through

the debris of the smashed rock column.

Tsunami was crazy. The five dragonets weren’t ready to stop the war.

They wouldn’t even know how to survive on their own. Maybe Tsunami was

brave and tough like a hero should be, but Sunny and Glory and Starflight …

Clay thought of all the things that might hurt them and wished he could give

them his own scales and claws and teeth for extra protection.

Besides, there was no way to escape the caves. The Talons of Peace had

made sure of that.

Still, part of him couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to go

home now instead of waiting another two years. Back to the marshes, to the

swamps, to a whole tribe of MudWings who looked like him and thought like

him … back to his parents, whoever they were . . .

What if they could do it?

What if the dragonets could escape, and survive, and save the world …

their own way?