Wings of Fire: The Kingdom of the Sea | ✔️

~ The Kingdom of the Sea: Chapter 7 ~

They were inside the island, surrounded by towering cliffs on all sides. Far above them, sunlight filtered through a thick green canopy - the vines and treetops she'd seen from the sky, woven so thickly it looked like a jungle from above. Like an emerald umbrella over the island, the canopy protected the Summer Palace from view and gave the light a sea-green quality that would make anyone feel like they were underwater.

Waterfalls cascaded down from several holes in the cliffs, like slender dragon tails of silver, bursting into spray as they hit the lake. The only exit in sight was the tunnel behind the group of new dragons.

Four pillars of blue-tinted white stone spiraled out of the water, winding toward one another until they formed a towering pavilion in the middle of the lake. The pavilion had twelve circular levels, each one smaller than the one below. There were few walls, most of them very low, and the whole structure was latticed with curving shapes and holes and little wading pools. It didn't look like it had been built; it looked as if it had grown that way.

SeaWings clustered along the edges of the pavilions, the ledges of the cliffs, and all across the water. Hare noticed that most eyes were either on Tsunami or her. Angry and suspicious glances shot toward Clay and Kestrel. Nobody spoke. There weren't even quiet little whispers.

Tsunami looked around nervously. "This is . . . a lot of dragons." She shook out her scales a few moments later. "But that's no problem. This is my tribe, these are my dragons, my future subjects for moons' sake."

Hare could tell she was just saying this to hide how nervous she was. Hare put her talon on Tsunami's shoulder. "Tsunami-"

Tsunami shook her off. "No, I'm fine." She suddenly raised her voice so she could be heard. "Hello, fellow SeaWings," she called, and then paused as her voice echoed off the rocks. "I'm Tsunami, and, um - I'm very happy to be home at last, and - and I look forward to meeting each of you."

She turned away in embarrassment. Hare couldn't help but share Tsunami's embarrassment. Was that really how a future queen would introduce herself to her subjects?

"I think you should take me somewhere to wait for my mother," Tsunami murmured to Riptide, who was glancing at Shark nervously.

"Up there," Riptide said, nodding to the top of the pavilion. He shot another glance at Shark. "You should bring your friends."

"Well I'm not going to leave them behind," Tsunami scoffed. She signaled for the others to follow her as she flew toward the top of the structure.

As they flew, Riptide stayed beside Tsunami, looking horribly uncomfortable.

"Tell me about the Summer Palace," Tsunami said to him.

He flicked his tail at the cliffs. "Guest rooms are in the caves. Queen Blister usually stays in the one closest to the tunnel. We brought in extra sand to line the floor for her, and it's the only cave where fire is allowed." His snout turned toward the pavilion as they flew higher. "She meets with Queen Coral on the second level from the top, which is only for visiting royalty. Each level has a different purpose - for instance, there's a floor for dragonet school visits, one for celebration spectacles, and one for war planning. When they are here instead of the Deep Palace, the Council meets on this level, halfway up."

Hare blocked out the sound of their conversation. She looked around at the surrounding dragons nervously. Each flash of scales sent a bolt of anxiety through her.

Orca! Albatross! Cowrie!

All these dragons looked so similar from a distance. Hare knew she was just being paranoid. The dragons she'd seen in the Place of Lost Souls were dead.

So why was she so scared?

Riptide landed gracefully on the top pavilion. The others followed and landed beside him. One end of the top floor was raised and carved into a magnificent dragon throne, studded with emeralds and sapphires and shot through with gold lines in the shape of waves. Beside and below the throne was another, smaller throne carved to match, with the same patterns made of tinier gemstones.

"This is really tall," Clay commented, looking over the edge of the pavilion. "It's much better than our prisons in the Sky Kingdom, though. At least up here our wings are free and we don't have to worry about falling to our death."

"Queen Scarlet must've been cruel," Riptide said, though his tone showed no pity.

"Ex-Queen Scarlet," Tsunami corrected. "She can't possibly be acting as queen anymore."

Riptide raised a brow. "And why's that?"

Tsunami quickly slammed her jaws shut. The dragonets anxiously glanced at each other. They all looked at Clay at some point. The scars scattered across his chest and underneath his eye were a reminder of what happened in the Sky Kingdom. A reminder of what Glory could do.

Glory had accidentally shot Clay with her venom while trying to save him. She'd succeeded in doing so, killing Hare's father, Fjord. But she'd almost failed and taken his life instead. Rose's guidance was what helped Hare save Clay.

"It's . . . not important," Hare said.

A large group of SeaWings was beginning to gather on the pavilion. They were talking quietly among each other.

Riptide looked at Tsunami. His gaze was a mixture of fear and suspicion. "What did you do?"

Tsunami looked at him, offended. "Me? What makes you think I did anything?" she demanded.

"Not just you," Riptide huffed. "I mean your group. What did you guys do?" He looked at Kestrel. "You really just let them do something to your queen?"

Kestrel scoffed. "She's no queen of mine. She was dead to me long before she even met the dragonets."

Riptide opened his mouth, then rolled his eyes and looked away. "I'm not even going to ask for the context behind that."

A commotion erupted from below. Tsunami leaped to the edge of the pavilion and looked down into the water. The SeaWing guards who'd led them here settled on the pavilion and gathered close to the dragonets, pushing past the crowd.

A huge SeaWing burst out of the tunnel. Her scales were a similar color to Tsunami's. She was decorated in vines of pearls that wound around her horns and neck and wings. A twisted horn with a horribly wicked point was on the end of her tail, and her claws were covered with odd black stains. A thin webbed harness led to a harness that was connected to a second dragon. She was much smaller - no older than a year old. She flapped frantically behind Queen Coral, trying desperately to keep up.

A small group of dragons followed her. One of them wore a beautiful pearl necklace and flew beside Queen Coral. Hare gasped and took a step back. She knew this dragon.

But that wasn't the most surprising part.

No.

The most surprising part was that she was alive.

Orca!