"Don't you touch them!" Tsunami yelled as she whirled to smack a Seawing out of the sky as he reached for Clay. Starflight had already ducked below Clay's massive wings, and Glory drew her neck back and bared her fangs. Phantomtide immediately moved to block another one of Shark's Seawings from approaching Clay's other side.
"I am the queen's daughter and I order you to leave these dragonets alone!" Tsunami shouted. The guards looked from her to Shark uncertainly. He slowly raised one talon and made a circling motion with it - a sign in the Seawing language of Aquatic, one Phantomtide was familiar with. You've shown it to me before when you and I first tangled. 'Not right now, we'll finish this later.' No, Shark, you won't. Not on my watch! The Seawing guards backed away from the dragonets. "Very good," Tsunami said, trying to sound like she was in command. "Now take us to my mother."
"The queen is conducting business at the Deep Palace," Shark stated flatly. "We'll take you to the Summer Palace, where you may wait for her." He made another talon signal, and two of the guards broke away from the group, winging off across the water. Then the group flew on, islands flashing by below them. Phantomtide, however, was switching his gaze from one guard to the next, still wary of them and Shark. Shark suddenly swerved and dove toward the base of a cliff, splashing down between two spiraling rocks like dragon horns, vanishing instantly into the azure water. Then, one by one, half the guards around them dove for the same spot, and each of them disappeared the same way - gone before the bubbles of their splash had cleared.
"We swim from here, through the entrance to the Summer Palace." Phantomtide explained to the dragonets. Sunny let out a small, unhappy noise.
"How far?" She asked.
"You only have to stay underwater for short swims," Riptide answered. "It's been redesigned so Queen Blister in particular can visit."
"And she hates water," Sunny said hopefully. "since she's a Sandwing, too."
"Is she, uh - is she here now?" Starflight asked. Riptide shook his head.
"She's not fond of swimming, and even after all the changes we've made, she rarely visits."
"One less problem to deal with at the moment. Good." Phantomtide muttered.
"Stay close behind me," Riptide said. "I'll light up my stripes so you can follow, and I'll flash them to signal you to surface at the breathing spots."
"Um," Clay spoke up. "So . . . about this blindfold, uh . . . any chance -"
"Once we're in the tunnel, Clay." Phantomtide told him as Riptide dove for the dragon-horn rocks. Tsunami dove right after Riptide.
"Deep breaths, Clay." She called. Phantomtide dove right behind the Mudwing. After they located the hole in the cliff, they proceeded to swim to it. However, Clay attempted to help by beating his wings and kicking helpfully, but he kept accidentally whacking into underwater boulders, causing everyone behind him to slow down or pause entirely for a moment. When they popped out into the tunnel, Riptide guided Clay into it and proceed to unwrap the seaweed blindfold. Phantomtide moved past them, heading straight for the entrance to the Summer Palace, unable to wait any longer. He did feel great while in water, but he preferred dry land whenever he could. He lit up his own glowing scales to illuminate the twists and turns of the tunnel, ignoring the frequent stops for breathing. Finally, after swimming past at least ten stops, light appeared ahead. A moment later, he burst out of the tunnel and into an open lake, from which he immediately took into the air. Clearing his eyes, Phantomtide noticed over a hundred blue and green dragons surrounding the lake. When the dragonets and Riptide lifted their heads above the water, all of the hundred stared expectantly at Tsunami. They had reached the Summer Palace of the Seawings, in the heart of the Kingdom of the Sea.