Turtle thought of Kinkajou, of Qibli and Winter, of Peril, as he flew and swam, flew and swam without stopping. He wished he had his friends with him. Peril would be able to stop Anemone, either with her firescales or her blunt honesty. Qibli would have some brilliant plan, or Winter would be able to fight her.

Not him. He had no plan, no fighting skills, no firescales.

I could try honesty. I’ve never given Anemone the truth before.

I’m not sure she’d be very grateful for it.

The current took him north to a river, which turned out to be Winding Tail River, snaking through the mountains. Whenever it was too shallow to swim, he flew; when the night unleashed brutal gusting winds, he swam.

The windstorm was still going when he had to leave the river sometime the next day; it was hard to tell whether it was morning or afternoon, with the sun swallowed up by clouds, and only a dim gray light filling the sky from horizon to horizon. The landscape below him was equally monotonous; this was the Mud Kingdom, dreary and swampy and bog-riddled.

He let himself stop for a moment in a grove of mist-shrouded trees, so he could use his healing stone on his exhausted wings. Then he replaced it in his pouch and flew on. He was starving, but he couldn’t stop to eat. He had to catch his sister.

Another night passed in flying, and the next morning Turtle found himself over the ocean, sunlight sparkling on waves as blue as Tsunami’s scales.

Gratefully he dove into the warm water and found a current that was going in the direction of the Deep Palace. As it swept him along, he was able to catch a fish hurtling by and eat it in two snaps of his jaws.

A sense of enormous relief washed over him as he came in sight of the Deep Palace. For one thing, it was home: familiar and comforting in every twist and crevice. For another, it did not look like the site of an ongoing massacre. SeaWings swam peacefully, busily, in and out of the various entrances. Dragonets played around the fins of the soldiers in the gardens. The usual glow of Aquatic conversations danced over the coral and reflected through the palace windows.

No clouds of blood rising from the palace; no dragons fleeing in panic.

If Anemone was here, she hadn’t started killing yet.

What if she isn’t here? he thought, touching down at the main palace entrance. He’d look like kind of an idiot if he’d chased her all the way back home for no reason.

But then everyone would be safe, and he wouldn’t mind looking like an idiot to make that true.

One of his older brothers was swimming out of the palace as Turtle approached. Fin blinked in surprise when he saw Turtle.

I thought you’d gone off to fancy hugging school, he joked with flashing scales.

I did. I’m just stopping by to say hi, Turtle said. He couldn’t stop himself from adding, And what does that even mean, hugging school?

Where all the tribes of Pyrrhia will learn to hug out their problems, of course, said Fin, grinning like a comedic barracuda. Who are you here to say hi to? Nobody’s even noticed you’re gone. He laughed and thumped Turtle’s shoulder hard enough to make Turtle spin in the water.

Oh, thanks very much, Turtle responded, righting himself. Have you seen Anemone today?

HERE? Fin looked alarmed. She’s supposed to be with you! Do not tell me Pike has lost her. Mother will pop off all his scales one by one.

No, no, Turtle said. She snuck away from school and I thought she might have come here. But you haven’t seen her?

Fin shook his head.

Where’s Mother? Turtle asked. Maybe he should warn her. Although he didn’t want her to kill Anemone on sight, which would be the logical reaction. Could he explain everything that had happened? Darkstalker and everything else?

In Auklet’s favorite place, Fin said, rolling his eyes and nodding at one of the gardens beyond the palace. As usual. He spread his wings to swim away.

Fin — Turtle started. His brother turned to look at him. If you do see Anemone in the next day or two … maybe keep your distance. Just in case.

You’re freaking me out, little brother, Fin said, frowning.

I’m worried about her soul, Turtle admitted. But I hope I’m wrong.

Fin blanched, no doubt remembering all the Albatross stories as well. I’ve been meaning to do a mapping excursion to the Outer Isles, he said. Maybe now would be a good time for that.

Maybe, Turtle said, adding the sequence of glowing scales that indicated high anxiety. Maybe take our brothers with you.

All of them? Three moons, Fin flashed, a shadow of a grin reappearing on his face. It’ll be more like an invasion than a scouting trip. The grin vanished again. Thanks, Turtle.

He swam off at top speed and Turtle headed for Auklet’s garden.

As he got closer, he realized why this spot was her favorite. Here, a few vents in the ocean floor sent jets of warm bubbles shooting toward the surface. When he was a little dragonet, he’d loved playing in them, too.

Queen Coral sat beside the bubble sprays, watching her littlest daughter with a smile on her face. She held a slate loosely in her talons, but she wasn’t writing on it. At the end of her harness, Auklet was somersaulting and giggling and pouncing at the bubbles as they shot by.

Mother, Turtle flashed as he sidled up beside her.

Oh, hello, she flashed back, glancing at him briefly. She didn’t seem to recognize him as the prince who was supposed to be at Jade Mountain.

Turtle sat down beside her, at a loss for words. Where should he start? Would it be wise to warn her about Anemone? What if his sister wasn’t really planning to challenge her? After all, she should have easily gotten here before he did. So where was she?

Maybe Darkstalker was right and Anemone was back at the Jade Mountain Academy right now, eating fish and bossing the other SeaWings around.

If so, he didn’t want to get her in trouble with the queen.

But if Coral and Auklet were in danger … shouldn’t he warn them? He looked up at the dark ocean overhead, wondering if a soulless Anemone was out there somewhere, circling like a shark.

Isn’t she perfect? his mother flashed. It took Turtle a moment to realize she was talking about Auklet. The queen nodded at the happy dragonet. I was convinced I was cursed. I thought I’d never get even one living daughter — and now I have three. She caught a wayward bubble in her talons and smiled. And I’m not afraid anymore. That’s the most amazing part. I know the assassin is gone, so I can just … be happy to be with Auklet, instead of being terrified every minute that I’m about to lose her.

I never told you how sorry I was, Turtle blurted. He clapped his wings shut. This was not at all what he had meant to say.

For what? the queen asked.

For the eggs that died, he said miserably. When I was looking for Snapper. When the other guard got sick, and I couldn’t find Snapper anywhere, and Dad was so upset with me.

That was you? She looked at him more closely and he flinched back. But it wasn’t anger in her eyes, or even disappointment.

Was it … pity?

Your father felt terrible about that, she said. Especially once we found out that Snapper had snuck off to the Summer Palace and wasn’t even here. Oh, I made sure her death was a little extra painful for that.

What? Turtle wasn’t sure he’d followed her Aquatic correctly. Snapper wasn’t — what?

She was supposed to stay in the Deep Palace in case she was needed, but she left, Queen Coral said. That’s why you couldn’t find her here. Didn’t you know that?

No, Turtle said. No one ever told me that.

I thought Gill was going to tell you, Coral mused. Maybe he didn’t get a chance before … She trailed off.

Turtle’s mind was spinning as if it was caught in a whirlpool. He couldn’t have found Snapper that day. Not in time to help his father, if she was all the way at the Summer Palace.

It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t his failure. And his father knew it before he died.

Maybe he forgave me, Turtle thought, the first hopeful thought he’d had about his father in years.

Sorry nobody told you, his mother said unexpectedly. You were such a little dragonet, and you tried so hard. And then, even more unexpectedly, she put one wing around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

Turtle’s heart was definitely going to explode.

What’s your name again? she asked. Which almost wrecked the moment, except that nothing could do that.

Turtle, he said. It’s Turtle.

She smiled down at him. I’ll remember it this time.

He smiled back. Holy mother of scavengers. She knows who I am. She cares about my feelings.

And I didn’t even have to be a hero. I’m just me, Turtle. Her dragonet who tried his best.

He leaned into her and thought about heroes and stories and misunderstandings. He knew he still had to go find Anemone to do something heroic and possibly impossible. He knew Darkstalker was still out there, and he hadn’t yet tried his best to stop him, but he would.

But for now, for this moment, he let himself just be Turtle, under his mother’s wing, where he’d always wanted to be.