Alone and buried in rock, Darkstalker waited, and listened.

Twenty-six dragonets remained of the thirty-five who had started at Jade Mountain Academy. And their minds were full of secrets.

In the art cave, a NightWing wondered where Moonwatcher and the rest of the Jade Winglet had gone. He dipped his brush in paint and worried about the secret letter he had just received from old friends. Is it true? Have they escaped Thorn’s prison? Are they really coming back soon with an army?

And, does Mother know?

And, will she join them? Which side of the coup would she be on?

And would I want her to … or are things maybe better the way they are, even with a RainWing for our queen?

He didn’t know. He’d have to make a choice, probably sooner than he wanted to, and he had no idea what the right decision would be.

Darkstalker knew. He knew which option would lead this dragonet to a long, safe life, and which would end in death within the year. He also knew which choice would be better for his own plans. But which path the dragonet would take … that was still uncertain.

Outside, on the sandy bank of a mountain stream, the mind-shrouded SandWing took off her necklace, hid it carefully under a rock, and waded into the frigid water. Darkstalker narrowed in on her, knowing this was a rare few minutes of exposure.

Cold, cold, cold, she was cursing as she splashed. Stupid, stupid, stupid three MOONS why is it so cold I’ve got to get back to the desert —

Abruptly, out loud, she said, “Are you listening? You’d better be.”

For a moment, Darkstalker was startled into thinking she meant him, but then she went on.

“This plan is inane. I haven’t learned anything new here and I can barely get near the daughter, especially after all the aggravation with caves exploding and other inconvenient nuisances. I thought I had an idea, but then he up and vanished from the school. You have no idea how frustrating it is. It’s like four hundred other stories are going on around me and nobody has noticed that I’m the one who’s going to shape the future of Pyrrhia.”

She brooded for a moment, thinking jumbled thoughts about castles and crowns and power. Finally she said, “There’s one more possible option if I stay a bit longer. A dragonet, as loyal to that Thorn character as anyone, and I think she’s connected to one of Thorn’s generals. She might be my in. I’ll give it a try, but if it gets too annoying, I’m coming back to the Scorpion Den.”

Onyx climbed out of the stream and shook her wings furiously. “Send me a message the usual way,” she snapped.

I will be queen within the month, whether that old dragon helps me or whether I have to kill him and do it myself.

She dropped the necklace over her head, and all Darkstalker could hear was fuzz.

Interesting.

Who was she talking to, and how?

He wished he could tell Moonwatcher. He wished he could tell anyone, but with her gone, he had no one left who could hear him.

Come back soon, little Moonwatcher. Bring me my talisman, and come back soon.

Deep in the underground lake, another dragonet was swimming, although the temperature of the water didn’t bother her.

Fathom’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter dove to the bottom and then shot up out of the lake, soaring to the ceiling and spiraling back down with a splash.

“Very impressive, Princess!” called the SeaWing named Pike, paddling in a small circle nearby. “Such speed! And grace!”

The SeaWing with the skyfire bracelet snorted from the top of a rock. “Anybody can do that,” he said.

“Not when you’re tied to your mother,” his sister said, squirting water at him with her talons. I’ve never flown as fast as I wanted or soared as high as I could go. Now I can do anything, anything I want. “Stop being such a mope, Turtle. So what if your entire winglet is gone? You’ve still got us.” She thwacked her tail into the water, sending a wave over the other three SeaWings in the lake with her.

Unless Mother comes and tries to take me home. But I won’t let her. I won’t. I might be the most powerful dragon in the world, and if she didn’t learn that from what I did to Whirlpool, I can teach her some other way.

The spell on Auklet’s harness should keep her away from me, though.

If it doesn’t, I’ll come up with something stronger.

“Tag! You’re it!” Barracuda called, tapping Anemone’s tail and racing away.

The rest of the SeaWing princess’s thoughts scattered into laughter and the game.

Darkstalker studied her possible futures thoughtfully, then tucked them away and moved on.

There. Now this was the most interesting mind in the school.

This poor dragon, pacing in an empty cave, afraid of her own scales.

Her mind was a blazing mess of flames, hot and fierce and self-destructive. Her dreams were haunted by a hissing queen with a melted face. Her heart was given, entirely and forever, to the only dragon she couldn’t hurt.

Was she “the talons of power and fire”?

Darkstalker wasn’t sure. The paths ahead of her were all confusion, like trying to follow a map into a forest fire. But on the other side, something flickered through the smoke. Something like hope.

Something shaped like a scroll.

He didn’t have to see exactly what would happen. He was already sure of one thing.

This dragon could change everything.