Wings of Fire: The Kingdom of the Sea | ✔️

~ The Kingdom of the Sea: Chapter 8 ~

Queen Coral landed on the pavilion and ran toward Tsunami.

"My baby!" Coral cried, pulling Tsunami into a tight hug. The smaller dragon scrambled after her. As Orca landed, Hare was grateful for the crowd that blocked her from sight.

The smaller dragon was a blue that was so pale she was almost white like an IceWing. She had hints of pink along her wings, ears, and horns. Some pink spots were scattered along the tip of her tail and her glowing scales were a lighter pink color. Her eyes were large and bright blue. Tiny strands of pearls were woven around her neck and tail.

"Oh, I've searched everywhere for you," Coral said. "I can't believe I have three living daughters."

Hare and Sunny looked at each other in confusion. What did she mean by that?

Queen Coral stepped away from Tsunami and waved her wing toward her other two daughters. "These are your sisters, Princess Anemone and Princess Orca."

Orca dipped her head in respect and Anemone gave a small wave.

Tsunami waved awkwardly. "Hi, I'm Tsunami."

"Tsunami," Coral said, smiling. "That's not a bad name. I see Webs did one thing right." Her smile quickly faded and was replaced with an angry snarl. "Where is he anyway? His punishment won't exactly be a lovely one."

"Please don't hurt him," Suny squeaked. "All of our guardians were really nice to us, especially Webs."

Hvitur wasn't.

Queen Coral looked at Sunny. "And what exactly are you?" Her gaze went up to Kestrel and Clay, and her tail lashed dangerously. "Why are a MudWing and a SkyWing in my Summer Palace?"

She didn't give anyone a chance to answer. She flicked her tail. "These other dragons have no business being here. Kill them."

"Don't touch them," Hare snapped. "That's an order from Queen Blister's niece."

Hare pushed past the crowd and stepped forward to face the queen. She did her best to ignore the look Orca gave her as she came into view. Queen Coral eyed her.

"So you're the dragonet Burn put into hiding?" she said. "Queen Blister will be so happy to finally meet you. She's been talking about meeting you ever since word has spread about your existence. Welcome to my kingdom."

"I'm honored to be here," Hare said with a small bow. "I expect you'll treat me and my friends with the respect we deserve. The dragonets of destiny are not to be treated cruelly."

"Right, the famous dragonets of destiny," Queen Coral said, putting a talon to her head. She then used the same talon to make the circling motion Shark had made earlier. "Alright, they'll live. Put them in Queen Blister's cave and set a guard so they stay there."

"They're not here to be prisoners," Hare snapped. "They're here to be protected."

"And they will be," Queen Coral said. "This is for their own safety. Most of my subjects will attack MudWings, SkyWings, and unknown SandWings on sight. It's much safer for them to not wander the palace unsupervised." She turned to a plump turquoise dragon and pointed at her. "Lagoon, make sure they are fed."

The dragon bowed and dove off the ledge. Guards surrounded the dragonets and Kestrel.

"Don't tie them up," Tsunami said. "They'll go with you."

Kestrel shot her a look but didn't say anything.

"Very well," Queen Coral said, waving her talon dismissively. "Off you all go then."

The guards flew off with the dragonets. A few guards took up the rear, nudging Hare's friends when they felt they were going too slow. The pavilion began to clear as the SeaWings flew away, chattering excitedly among each other. Hare watched them go. She felt like her scales were burning under Orca's gaze as Queen Coral led her daughters away, but she continued trying to ignore it.