Scarab the Fierce

Chapter Ten

"It's true." Queen Glory continued. "Me, Tsunami, Clay, Starflight, and Viper are the Dragonets of Destiny."

Scarab's mind whirled. "How...?" She said in shock. How we're they in the Rainforest? How did they find them so quickly? How was this happening?

"Not that difficult really." Tsunami mused. "Just a healthy dose of abusive guardians and complete isolation for about seven years. With that kind of environment, anyone could be destined to save the world."

Scarab stared at her. Viper is the SandWing? Hidden alone from rival queens, the SandWing egg awaits unseen? I thought that was me... No, I know that is me. Unless Thorn got something wrong...

Qibli was watching her with a concerned expression, clearly thinking along the same lines as Scarab. "Can we, uh, talk to you all?" Scarab asked numbly. "Privately?"

The Dragonets looked at eachother in ways only they could understand. "I'll get Viper." Starflight volunteered, and he swished through the vine curtain.

"What do you need to talk to us about?" Clay asked. Scarab wasn't sure how to answer for a moment.

Qibli rescued her. "Wasn't there supposed to be a SkyWing in the prophecy? I don't remember anything about a RainWing."

Queen Glory stiffened and a dangerous shade of red fluttered at the edges of her ruff. "Yes," she said coldly. "But they lost it. I was backup."

"You're better than a backup, Glory." Clay said kindly, and Scarab got the feeling that they had had conversations about this topic before.

"Is Viper really the SandWing?" Scarab blurted. Maybe if Glory was a replacement, Viper was too. She felt bad that she wanted this so badly. What had Viper done to her? Besides being rude in our first interaction?

The three Dragonets of Destiny looked at each other with tightened jaws. "Why do you care?" Tsunami said defensively. "It's none of your business."

Scarab took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she had to say. She felt a tail wind gingerly around hers and she tightened her grip around it gratefully. She didn't know whether if was Arid or Qibli, but it helped.

"Because I was hatched on the Brightest Night." Scarab said as calmly as she could. "My mother couldn't raise me herself, so she hid me in the desert as an egg. But the Talons of Power found me and stole me before I hatched. I was raised among them and only met my real mother a few days ago and learned about the prohecy even later. Me and my friends came to find you to see what else I could learn. I don't know how to end a war, but I know that I can't stay with the Talons anymore because they we're trying to use me to end the war in their favour." She took a deep breath. "I thought I was the prophesied SandWing."

The three Dragonets stared at Scarab with wide eyes. "Hidden alone from rival queens, the SandWing egg awaits unseen." Tsunami whispered to herself. No one said anything for a few minutes.

A rustle came from behind them and Starflight and Viper pushed themselves into the crowded hut. Starflight glanced between the others, taking in the thick tension in the room. "What did we miss?"

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It didn't take long for Scarab, Qibli, and Arid to explain everything that had happened with the Talons, the Outclaws, and the prophecy. Everyone looked amazed, or shocked, or impressed, or stunned.

Scarab watched Viper anxiously, waiting for some angry accusation that it was all a lie, and that she was the only prophecy SandWing. But that didn't happen.

Instead, she met Viper's ebony gaze, and it looked like she might cry. "I..." She started, fumbling the words. "We had known for ages that I was a replacement. Kinda like Glory. After awhile we learned it was because I hadn't hatched on the Brightest Night, but close enough to be convincing. We heard the guardians mutter about missing eggs in the desert and unreliable sources. We didn't know what it meant than."