“Why can’t we go two days without a crisis?” Tsunami demanded when they told her. “Why is this school a magnet for disaster?”

“Maybe it was a terrible idea all along,” Sunny said, sinking into a pile of leaves in the corner of the library. She buried her face in her front talons. “Just like Blaze said it would be.”

Starflight felt his way over to put one wing around her. “Blaze is literally the least intelligent royal dragon in the world,” he said. “She can’t be right, by definition. If she thinks this school is doomed, then it is definitely going to be wonderful.”

Sunny gave him a rueful look. “Not if we keep losing all our students, it’s not.”

“I mean,” Tsunami sputtered, “all we ask is that they sit in their classrooms and learn stuff. Is that so hard?”

“Well,” Clay said, “it is a bit … I mean sometimes … it was for me,” he mumbled quickly at her quelling look.

“And not go GALLIVANTING OFF on lunatic expeditions.” She pointed significantly at Qibli. “I am talking about you. To be clear. And your whole troublemaking winglet.”

“We were helping Winter!” Qibli protested. “And there’s a prophecy!”

“No!” Tsunami shouted. She stuck her claws in her ears. “No prophecies, LA LA LA FATE IS STUPID.”

“Well, at least we’re all being adults about this,” Starflight said.

“What?” Tsunami demanded, removing her claws.

“Nothing,” he said innocently.

“I don’t think Ostrich went gallivanting anywhere,” Qibli said, pacing around the central desk. “She would have told me or Sunny if she needed to leave.”

“Is there any chance Ostrich and Onyx went with Darkstalker and the others?” Starflight asked. “Maybe they were curious, like Turtle and Anemone?”

“No,” Sunny said. “It sounds like they disappeared last night, before the NightWings left.” She stood up decisively. “I’m going to try dreamvisiting them.” She touched Qibli’s shoulder with her wing and made him meet her eyes. “Don’t you dare leave this mountain until I figure out where they are.”

He nodded reluctantly.

“Until?” Tsunami cried as Sunny hurried out of the library. “What happened to ever? Never leave this mountain, that’s what the rule should be!”

“Maybe we should send a message to Darkstalker,” Clay suggested. “He could use his magic to help us find them.”

The others agreed eagerly, while Qibli stared down at his feet. It didn’t feel right to him that Darkstalker was already the first answer they were all reaching for … that Darkstalker seemed like the solution to all problems.

He reached up to touch his earring. This was his protection. This was the only thing that ensured his mind was his own. Turtle had enchanted it for him, using the words Qibli had planned out.

But Darkstalker had sensed Turtle casting this spell; that’s how they’d learned that Darkstalker would know any time an animus dragon used his or her magic. So Turtle couldn’t safely make any more protection spells, and if there was only going to be one, maybe someone else should have it. Maybe he should put the earring on Tsunami, or Sunny, or Starflight — on someone who could make a difference, if only they were seeing clearly.

Wait. There’s someone who needs it even more than they do.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, turning and hurrying out of the library. He ran down the tunnel to the sleeping caves and skidded into his room. Winter sat up on his ledge, looking irritated (but he always looked irritated).

“Must you tear about like a pack of elephant seals sliding downhill?” Winter demanded. “Some of us are trying to read. Like civilized dragons.”

“That doesn’t look like reading,” Qibli said, pointing to the square of paper Winter was clearly drawing on.

Winter hid it quickly under his blanket, but not before Qibli glimpsed an outline of a dark face, with silver scales beside her eyes.

“Keep your scruffy, sand-covered nose out of my business,” Winter said haughtily.

“Sure, but first you have to put on my earring,” Qibli said, advancing toward him.

“I BEG your pardon,” said Winter with a look of startled alarm. “No thank you! Absolutely not! Shoo!”

“Just for a minute,” Qibli wheedled. He reached up to his ear.

“I said no!” Winter snapped. “You’ll probably give me some weird SandWing disease, and besides, it would clash horribly with my scales!”

“I’m trying to help you!” Qibli said. “Stop being a beetlebrain and just put it on!”

He pounced on Winter and tried to pin him down, but Winter was a bit bigger and shockingly cold, and it was impossible to wrestle him and maneuver out his earring at the same time. Winter thwacked Qibli’s head several times hard with his wings, threw the SandWing off his ledge, and bolted into the corridor.

“I’m getting my own cave for real this time!” he shouted. “I will not be forced to cohabitate with a deranged dragon!” Winter tore off up the tunnel before Qibli could stop him.

Qibli paused in the doorway, catching his breath. Curious faces poked out of other sleeping caves, goggling at him.

So. That went well.

He probably should have predicted that Winter would be a stubborn donkey for no reason.

He wondered what would happen to him if he did give the earring to someone else. It was unnerving to imagine willingly giving up his mind.

If only he’d had Turtle make two earrings at the same time. If only I were smarter and less selfish. One for me, one for Winter. Double the earrings.

He froze, struck by a sizzling lightning bolt of an idea.

Could it possibly work?

He darted down the tunnel to Turtle’s nearly empty cave. Turtle’s sleeping mat was on the floor of Qibli’s room from the night before, but Umber’s was still here.

Under Umber’s mat was the satchel Turtle had left behind.

And inside that satchel were three pieces of curved wood that slotted together to make a bowl.

Qibli slid them into place, his talons trembling.

He put the bowl gently on the floor and reached up to remove his earring.

If this works, will Darkstalker sense it, like he sensed the original spell?

Qibli thought for a moment. No. He can sense a new spell being cast by an animus. This is an animus-touched object being used, pretty much the way it always is. If Darkstalker’s spell included an alert every time an animus-touched object is used, he’d be constantly barraged by dragons using dreamvisitors, Turtle’s message slates, the palace and the tree of light and all the other spells in the Ice Kingdom … it would be too much to keep track of. So if we think it’s safe to use the message slates, it should be safe to use this bowl.

If it works at all.

Do it. Quick, don’t think about it too much. Don’t think yourself out of it. Blinking rapidly, he dropped the earring with a clatter into the smooth wooden curves.

Nothing happened. The earring lay there, warm and golden.

Qibli’s wings drooped. It must only work with food.He sighed. Of course it does. Turtle’s spells are all like this. Very … specific.He reached for the earring — and then remembered something.

There was a phrase — something Turtle said you had to say to make the bowl work.

He drew back his claws, thinking furiously.

“Do your magic!” he said to the bowl. “Be magic! Do a magical magic thing!” Come on, Qibli, use that brain of yours. “Double the stuff!” he tried. “Make yourself two! Twice the thing! Oh, that’s it! Twice as much, twice as much!” He leaned forward excitedly.

Nothing happened. The bowl still contained one solitary earring.

Oh, come on! That had to work!

“Be more useful!” he shouted at the bowl.

“Are you yelling at dishware?” Peril asked, poking her head into the room.

“Just this one bowl,” Qibli said grumpily. “Because it’s the stupidest bowl in Pyrrhia.”

Peril edged a little closer and peered at it. “Huh,” she said. “Looks like a norm — nope!” she interrupted herself, seeing the look on his face. “You’re right! Stupidest bowl I’ve ever seen! Can I join in? HEY, BOWL, YOUR SHAPE IS INANE! FOOD PROBABLY FALLS OUT OF YOU ALL THE TIME! I BET YOU DON’T EVEN STACK WELL IN CABINETS! YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, YOU’RE THE WORST! Ooh, this is great. Let’s do it every day! I feel much better.”

“I don’t,” said Qibli (although honestly he did a little bit).

“Awww. Would it help if I set it on fire?” Peril offered sympathetically.

“No, no,” Qibli said. “I mean, thank you, but I’m trying to make it do something. Turtle animus-touched it, but it’s not working.”

“Oh, aha,” Peril said thoughtfully. “I know! Maybe if I set it on fire a little bit, that’ll scare it into doing what you want!”

“Peril, it’s a bowl. You can’t scare it. It doesn’t have feelings.”

“As far as you know,” she said. “I say it’s looking awfully smug right now.”

“I guess I’ll have to think of something else,” Qibli said with a sigh.

“Did you try asking it nicely?” Peril asked. “Turtle would say try asking it nicely. He’s got a whole thing about how I’m terrible at that, or something. As if setting things on fire isn’t always the most efficient way to get things done.”

Asking it nicely …

Qibli picked up the bowl and realized that his talons were trembling again. He took a deep breath, gazing down at the earring.

“Twice as much,” he whispered. “Please.”

There was a small popping sound in the air, and then, all at once, there were two identical earrings lying in the bowl.

“It worked!” Qibli yelled. “It worked! It actually worked!”

Peril peeked into the bowl, keeping her fiery scales as far away from it as she could. “Oh,” she said in her “polite” voice. “Another earring! I see. Now your ears will match. That IS important. I always thought you looked very silly with only one.”

“It’s not for me,” Qibli said. “And I do not! One earring is how all the Outclaws wear them!”

Does Moon think only one earring looks silly?

QIBLI, FOCUS.

He took out one of the earrings and hooked it back into his ear. Then he clasped the bowl and said firmly, “Twice as much, please.” Another earring appeared. “Twice as much, please,” he said again, and then there were four. “Twice as much, please. Twice as much, please. Twice as much, please.” Four became eight, became sixteen, became thirty-two. Enough for all the dragons in the school. The bowl was nearly overflowing with enchanted earrings now, heavy as Thorn’s crown in his claws.

Peril tipped her head to the side, watching the multiplying jewelry curiously. “OK, I can figure this out,” she said. “Backups in case you lose your unfashionable ornament? That’s a lot of backups, though; you must have the attention span of a scavenger if you lose it that often. Maybe … a Qibli fan club and they all want one?”

Qibli was startled into a laugh. “I could never be that popular,” he said. “Now a Winter fan club, that I can imagine.”

“WHAT? WHY?” Peril said loudly. “He’s —”

“Handsome, tortured, and heroic?” Qibli supplied. “Everyone loves dragons like that.”

“I don’t,” said Peril, shaking her head. “I prefer dragons who are handsome, baffled, kind, and accidentally heroic. I mean, hypothetically, just supposing there were someone like that, I would maybe think they were pretty cool, is all I’m saying. Not that I’m thinking of anyone specific.”

“Here, put one of these on.” Qibli rolled an earring across the floor to her.

She poked at it gingerly. “This’ll melt in a heartbeat on my ear.”

“I thought so, but try it anyway?” Qibli asked.

“Actually, I have this new no-thanks policy about strange jewelry,” Peril said. “Bad run-in with a necklace. But this wouldn’t survive long enough to do anything to me anyway.” She picked up the earring, and as soon as it touched her firescales, the earring melted into a blobby lump of gold around the amber teardrop. There was no way for her to wear it.

“I’m sorry, Peril,” Qibli said. He could use the earrings to protect everyone else at Jade Mountain Academy, but not her.

“Well,” she said, in a fairly delightful pretending very hard to be sad voice, “it is disappointing, because, boy, wow, so pretty, but I will just have to survive somehow anyway.”

“It’s enchanted,” Qibli said. “Turtle put a spell on my earring to protect me from any spells Darkstalker might cast.”

Peril did not react with the wild excitement he’d hoped for. “Oh,” she said. “Darkstalker? Huh. Well, I’m sure that won’t be necessary.”

There’s nothing I can do to convince her, as long as she’s under his spell.

“I’m going to take these to Sunny,” Qibli said. “Coming?”

Peril made a complicated face. “All right,” she said.

It took Qibli a while to find the caves of the school founders; he’d never sought them out in their own rooms before. Sunny’s was part sleeping cave, part office, with a bundle of blankets neatly tied away in the back corner. Three low tables arranged in a semicircle took up most of the room, scattered with paper, ink, small slates for announcements, and maps. There were two openings in the walls where the late afternoon sunlight spilled in and across the room, and the rest of the walls were covered in blue/white/gold SandWing tapestries, drawings of Thorn, and to-do lists with half the items crossed off.

Sunny was sitting in one of the shafts of sunshine, clasping a large blue sapphire in her front talons, with her eyes closed and her tail coiled around her feet.

Qibli hesitated in the doorway.

“What’s she doing?” Peril asked in a whisper that just barely counted as a whisper.

“Looking for Ostrich and Onyx,” he murmured back.

“SandWings?” Peril said. “Like the pair who flew off west yesterday?”

“What?” Qibli cried, whirling toward her. “You saw them leave?”

“Well, sure,” Peril said. “I figured they were spooked by Darkstalker. I’m sure they’ll be back once everyone calms the heck down.”

“They were by themselves?” Qibli asked. “Just the two of them? Flying away?”

“Yup.” Peril squinted at Sunny, who still hadn’t opened her eyes.

“But then …” Qibli tried to puzzle this out. Ostrich had left willingly? Without telling anyone?

Unless it’s not what it looks like.

We thought someone must have snuck in to kidnap them — but maybe there wasn’t an outside kidnapper.

Maybe the kidnapper was right here at Jade Mountain.

Onyx could have said anything to make Ostrich go with her; Qibli could think of eight different threats off the top of his head that would have worked. The question was why. What could Onyx possibly want with a dragonet like Ostrich?

A path to her father, he guessed immediately. Thorn’s most trusted general. Whatever Onyx wants, she’s hoping to use Six-Claws to get it.

Which meant they must be on their way to Thorn’s palace — and they had a day’s lead on Qibli. He had to go after them! His queen was in danger! He had to leave right away!

He darted across the room and set the bowl at Sunny’s feet.

“Sunny!” he cried. “Come back! Put on an earring! I have to go!”

Sunny opened her eyes, blinking in confusion. “What?” She looked around, slowly registering the mountain around her. “I was talking to Glory,” she said. “She says Darkstalker has offered to become king of whichever NightWings want to follow him. I guess that’ll make Glory’s life a bit less complicated. Did you say put on an earring?”

“Glory doesn’t care?” he asked, startled by this odd detail.

“Whoa,” said Sunny, spotting the bowl in front of her. “That is … a lot of earrings just like yours.”

“It’s a long story,” he said, “but I think Onyx has kidnapped Ostrich so she can use Six-Claws to get at Queen Thorn, so I have to leave now and you need to get everyone to wear these right away especially Winter all right good-bye.”

He turned to dash out of the room, but Sunny grabbed one of his forearms in a steely grip.

“Qibli, wait,” she said. “I have an idea where Ostrich is. But please explain this first.” She waved her talons at the glowing gold-and-orange hill in the bowl.

Qibli blew out a frustrated breath. This was important, too, he knew that. Possibly the most important thing right now. But if anything happened to Ostrich or Thorn, he’d never forgive himself.

“These earrings are enchanted,” he said, “to protect you from … evil spells.” He wasn’t sure she’d put it on if he told her the danger was Darkstalker.

“Oh, how nice,” Sunny said a little dubiously. “Where did they come from?”

“One of the animus dragons left them for us,” Qibli said, which he thought was a pretty inspired answer, really. It was true but avoided giving away Turtle’s secret.

“Oh!” Sunny said. “You mean Darkstalker? Or was it Anemone? I hope Anemone didn’t waste her soul on protection for us, although it is very thoughtful — earrings for the whole school, wow. Um, interesting choice to make them all look like yours.”

“Please just put one on,” Qibli begged.

“All right,” Sunny said agreeably. To his delight, she picked up one of the earrings and slipped it right on.

He held his breath, watching her face.

“I don’t see whose evil spells this is going to pro —” Sunny started to say. She stopped midsentence, staring at Qibli.

“Sunny?” he said.

“Qibli!” she cried.

“Um … yes?” he said.

“QIBLI!” she cried again, leaping to her feet. Her wings flared open in a glittering whirl. “A gigantic all-powerful possibly evil dragon just rose out of the ground and flew away with six of my students! SIX OF MY STUDENTS!”

“I know,” he said. “Uh, don’t panic?”

“Too late,” Peril said, watching with bewildered amusement.

“Why did I let him do that?” she yelped. “I’m the worst school guardian of all time! Three moons, he took Turtle and Anemone! Queen Coral is going to have our heads!”

“What’s all this hollering about?” Tsunami asked, bustling over from her cave next door.

“Why did TSUNAMI let him do that?” Sunny shouted. “We promised we wouldn’t let Princess Anemone out of our sight! Tsunami, your sister just flew away with a total stranger!”

“Who, Darkstalker?” Tsunami said, tilting her head sideways. “He’s not a stranger. He’s your ancestor, remember? Charming, friendly, harmless? He said he’s going to teach her about being an animus. She’ll be back soon.”

“Here, put this on.” Qibli held out one of the earrings.

Tsunami snorted. “I have my own jewels, thank you.”

“You need it,” Sunny said. “Tsunami, trust me.”

“I doooooo trust you,” Tsunami said hesitantly as Qibli placed the earring in her palm. “About most things. But about fashion … I mean, it’s not like you ever wear the gifts your mother sends you …” She shot a look at a small, locked chest next to Sunny’s blankets.

“Just try it on for a minute,” Qibli said impatiently. “Why are some dragons SO DIFFICULT.”

Tsunami flicked her tongue out at him and stuck the earring on her ear. “There,” she said. “Happy? What is this —” She stopped, blinking. “Why — why do I suddenly feel terrible?”

“Darkstalker has everyone under a spell,” Qibli said in a rush. “He’s enchanted everyone around him to — I’m not sure exactly — to trust him or believe him or like him, something like that.”

“How did you know?” Sunny asked.

Because … it’s what I would do, Qibli realized with a twinge of shame. That’s why it had occurred to him so quickly. It’s one of the first spells I thought of. If I’d gotten Darkstalker’s scroll — if I had all that power — first I’d protect my soul, next I’d cast spells to protect everyone I love, and then … I’d do a spell to make everyone like me. Even Winter … even my family.

Would that be wrong? I wouldn’t abuse it the way Darkstalker has. I wouldn’t be tricking anyone into doing the things I want them to do. I just want other dragons to like me — and some of them won’t, no matter how hard I try. I wouldn’t be making their lives worse in any way.

But I know it’s wrong when Darkstalker does it.

And yet I still wish I could do the same spell myself.

Rrrrrrrrgh. He closed his eyes, trying to shut down the rushing tornado of thoughts going around in his head. Sunny was waiting for an answer.

“Because everyone was acting so odd,” he said. “Especially Winter, but not just him. Everyone accepted Darkstalker as exactly what he says he is. And I thought, well, maybe we should give him a chance … but I wanted to be sure our minds were free to think it through for ourselves.”

“Wow,” Sunny said. She touched the dangling amber teardrop in her earring. “I can’t believe I completely missed it.”

“You want to believe the best in every dragon anyway,” Qibli said. “He probably didn’t need to enchant you for you to give him a chance.”

“A chance, maybe,” Sunny said. “But six of my students? I’m horrified at myself.”

“You got Anemone to make these for you?” Tsunami asked. “So she’s wearing one, too? She’s not under his spell?”

Qibli squirmed. “No,” he said, wondering how to dance around the truth here. “I only had one, for myself … but today I figured out how to make more.”

Tsunami and Sunny both looked puzzled.

“I’d rather not say any more than that,” he admitted. “In case it puts someone else in danger.”

“How do I know this earring isn’t enchanted to mess with my head?” Tsunami demanded. “What if it’s got a spell on it to make us more suspicious of Darkstalker than we should be? Or something else.” She twitched her ear grumpily. “I don’t like wearing animus-touched things. I don’t trust them.”

“Smart,” Peril offered unexpectedly. “You shouldn’t. They can have other spells hidden inside them.”

“I’m sure this one doesn’t,” Qibli said. “I can tell you the exact words of the spell: Enchant this earring to make the wearer immune to any spell Darkstalker has cast or will cast, whether past, present, or future. That’s all there is to it, I promise.”

“Hmmph,” Tsunami said, twitching her ear again.

“It sounds all right to me,” Sunny said.

“Then Anemone needs one of those earrings,” said Tsunami. “She’s in more danger than anyone.”

“Her and Father,” said Sunny, then stopped with a stricken expression. “But I can’t give one to Stonemover — Darkstalker saved his life with his magic. If I make him immune to all of Darkstalker’s spells, it’ll erase that one … and then Father will die.”

“I’m not sure Flame will accept one either, even if it shows he’s innocent,” Qibli said. Sunny blinked at him. “I mean, I think Darkstalker might have enchanted Flame to kill Stonemover. It would make sense to get rid of any other animus dragons, considering what Fathom did to him.”

Sunny covered her mouth with a small gasp. “But … he saved him,” she said. “He didn’t let Stonemover die.”

“Maybe he changed his mind,” said Qibli. “Or maybe it was a performance to make you trust him even more. Or maybe he needed an excuse to cast a spell on Stonemover — a control spell hidden inside a healing spell. Maybe all of those things.”

“You have a very complicated brain,” said Peril thoughtfully.

Darkstalker said something like that, too, Qibli remembered.

“He just doesn’t seem that sinister to me,” Peril added with a shrug.

“Because I can’t take the spell off you,” he pointed out. “Not yet, anyway. I’ll figure out a way.”

“We have to get one of these earrings to Glory, too,” Sunny said, touching the bowl lightly with one of her wings. “If only we could convince all the NightWings to wear them.”

“They won’t, not if they know what it is,” Qibli said. “It would mean giving up all the powers he’s given them. None of them will agree to that.” But Moon … Moon should have one.

“I could fly to the rainforest,” he said. “Right now. I can take earrings to Glory and Moon …” He trailed off, remembering Ostrich.

“Someone else can go to the rainforest,” Sunny said, putting one of her talons over his. “You have to go after Ostrich.”

“I know,” he said.

“I found her with the dreamvisitor, although she was too shaken to hear me. But I could see that there were dragons in black hoods all around her, and she kept dreaming about their leader — a really tall SandWing with a hooked snout and tattoos of dragon skulls all down his neck.”

“Tattoos of dragon skulls,” Qibli said slowly. “Like … lots of them?”

“Too many to count,” Sunny answered. “The whole place gave me this dark, crowded, trapped feeling, and it had a smell I remember. I think she might be in the Scorpion Den.”

Qibli rubbed his neck as though he could feel the stab of the tattoo needle on himself. “She is,” he said. “And I know who has her.”

They all turned to stare at him. “Who?” Tsunami asked.

He took a deep breath, trying to speak past the claws that were closing around his throat.

“My grandfather.”