Chapter 33:
Unexpected Visitors

One month later…

Queen Glory did not attempt another attack on the SkyWings after the total failure that was their first attack, even with the sudden influx of NightWings that, according to another letter from Queen Glacier, had sworn their allegiance to her per a deal they made with the IceWings after Queen Battlewinner's death in the Ice Kingdom. None of them could have foreseen that Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings was an animus. Prince Narwhal and Prince Winter had been the ones who, albeit reluctantly, told Moonwatcher that her mother did not make it, for Glory was too shaken up by watching her subjects die, while Vulture's family had been grieving Sirocco; Moonwatcher took the news horribly. She had run off and nobody found her for three days, which was when she finally returned covered in scars due to running through a thorn patch, but otherwise physically unharmed. Kinkajou and Tamarin hadn't left Moonwatcher's side ever since, nor had the youngest of Cobra's children, Qibli. Winter had come to the Rainforest Kingdom to by Moonwatcher's side for the past month, on his father's orders.

Glory quickly covered herself up with the softest mosses Deathbringer could find. She was very sore, and Deathbringer had just finished explaining to anyone that may have heard her screaming that she was alright, but had just simply stubbed her foot against her desk. That was a complete lie, of course, because they did not want anyone knowing what had really happened until the big reveal in a little while. Deathbringer wasn't here right now, as he was flying around the kingdom, telling everyone to meet outside Queen Glory's Royal Pavilion immediately.

She knew that Clay and the rest of her friends, including Peril and Riptide, were already outside, as were Kinkajou, Moonwatcher (who would not have come along without a lot of begging from Kinkajou, for she was still grieving her mother), Tamarin, and Jambu. Heliconia and Liana arrived moments later with all of the Ex-Queens. Much to Glory's anger, it was twenty minutes before the rest of the tribe had arrived, including a female NightWing she hadn't seen before, with diamonds wrapped around her horns and a diamond necklace, and a massive scar down her chest; this NightWing's wings also dropped as if something unseen was weighing them down. Glory wondered when this NightWing had arrived; Kinkajou hadn't said anything about there being a NightWing in the tribe other than Moonwatcher and Fatespeaker.

Glory and Deathbringer flew down to greet this new NightWing; there were still RainWings arriving, so the meeting had to wait to begin either way.

As soon as they landed down, this NightWing immediately seemed nervous of Glory, and seemed to recognize Deathbringer.

"Y-You're here?!" she screeched. "I thought I could get away from all those NightWings on the island! I want nothing to do with any one of you!"

"He is on my side," Glory said. "We are the Queen and King of the RainWings."

"D-Deathbringer? King?!"

"What is your name?" Glory asked her.

"P-Princess G-Greatness," she stammered. "D-Daughter of Queen Battlewinner of the NightWings."

"Your mother is dead. She lost a battle against the IceWings." Greatness' wings drooped further upon this news, but honestly, she wasn't severely broken up by it. Pyrrhia would be much safer with her mother dead. "So why did you come here?"

"To get away from my tribe! My mother was a tyrant, and I wanted nothing more to do with how they live. Oh, it was a living hell. We live on a volcano that has already erupted once. There is barely any food left, and we never have any sunlight. I couldn't take it anymore. My mother didn't care about me anyway. She only had me speak for the tribe, but it wasn't even my own opinions. I had enough when she made me execute my best friend, Vengeance, for supposed treason. I suspect she is finding out right about now that I've ran away, but she will never find me, seeing as how Deathbringer is here. Nobody else can track me."

Glory wasn't entirely sure if they could trust Greatness. She sounded sincere (and very nervous, as if she wasn't confident about speaking to royalty, or voicing her own opinions for once), but everyone knew the NightWings were allied with Blister in the war. What if everything Greatness had just said was a lie, and she was really here suddenly to spy on the RainWings?

I suppose I'd have to kill her if that is the case, Glory thought. Which would be a shame. Greatness seems like a nice dragon.

"I don't want Blister to win this war," Greatness suddenly continued. "If she wins, her, Morrowseer and my mother will probably keep the war going just for fun. They don't care how many dragons die."

"Morrowseer is dead," Glory said. She flicked her tail over at Peril. Greatness immediately became nervous when she recognized Peril as the firecsaled SkyWing who was Queen Scarlet's arena champion. "Peril took care of him. She almost dealt with Blister as well, but she got away."

"Morrowseer? Dead?" Greatness seemed disturbed at first, then she said, "Thank the moons! But B-Blister is still alive! She'll tear me apart if she finds out I betrayed my mother."

"She won't even know you're here," Deathbringer said.

"But Blister has s-spies everywhere! They'll report back to her, and then I'll wake up to my head being cut off! Oh, I don't w-want to d-die!"

"I'll have the SandWings and IceWings guard you, if you want," Glory offered. "Nobody would get very far past Vulture and Cobra. Vulture can stay up all night to guard you without any sleep, if he must. He claims he once went several days without any sleep, and it barely affected him."

"Why is everyone gathering here?" Greatness suddenly whispered. "I've never seen so many Sandwings, IceWings, and RainWings gathered together." Then she noticed Moonwatcher sobbing on Kinkajou's shoulder. "And a NightWing?! Whose daughter is she?"

"Secretkeeper's," Glory whispered. "But…don't talk to Moonwatcher about her mother. Secretkeeper was murdered by Queen Scarlet last month."

"Oh dear," Greatness whispered. She wouldn't ask anymore about the subject. "But why is everyone gathering here? Are you going to attack Scarlet?"

"No," Glory said. "She is an animus. We will need a better plan if we are going to defeat Scarlet. She could kill my entire army with a snap of her claws if she wanted to. It barely even makes a difference that the NightWings have joined us now." She paused. "I called everyone here because I have important news here that is bound to make everyone happy. Especially my friends." She flicked her tail at a mound of moss setting at the edge of her Royal Pavilion, then she and Deathbringer immediately flew back up to the ledge.

Glory raised a talon and everyone fell silent. They had been talking amongst the dragons around them about why Glory could have called them here, if it was not something to do with the war.

"I know you are all wondering why I would call you here if it is not a war-related matter," she began, "but this news is bound to make everyone here happy." She looked at Moonwatcher, then over to Vulture's family. "Or at least feel better than some of you have been. Deathbringer, will you, please?"

Without speaking, Deathbringer lifted up the moss to reveal two eggs sitting in a grass-filled basket. One was much larger than the other, for it contained twins.

A united gasp carried across the crowd of dragons.

"Y-y-you're going to be a mother, Glory?" Sunny gasped.

"Who is the father?" Tsunami asked softly.

Glory flicked her tail at Deathbringer in response.

"But what will hybrid RainWing-NightWing dragonets look like?" an IceWing asked. "I've never heard of a RainWing and a NightWing having dragonets before."

"Neither I have," said a SandWing. "We will have to wait and see."

Now, Glory noticed that all of her friends were crying tears of joy. Even Tsunami, much to her shock. She'd never seen Tsunami cry in her life. (Besides the time they thought Clay had died from hugging Peril of course, before they had known he had fire-resistant scales.)

"Congratulations, Glory," someone suddenly said. Glory couldn't believe it when she realized it was Tsunami, who was now embracing Riptide and trying to stop crying.

"What are you going to name them?" Starflight asked.

Oh, now I wish I'd paid attention to Deathbringer better when he told me he already had names for our kids, she thought.

"We agreed to name them Firefly, Anaconda, and Shadowrain," Deathbringer announced.

"But how do you know two of them will be daughters and the son will be mostly NightWing?" Cobra questioned. "You don't have future sight like Moonwatcher does."

"Call it a father's instinct."

"IceWings on the horizon!" a SandWing who'd been left on look out in the canopy suddenly cried out. "Queen Glacier is leading them! Blaze is with them too!"

"What?" Glory gasped. "Why would Queen Glacier and Blaze come here now?" She happened to look to Deathbringer, who looked guilty. "What did you do?"

"I sent Queen Glacier a letter, explaining what happened in the Sky Kingdom," he admitted. "I'm…sorry I didn't tell you. But we need animus on our side if we are to defeat Scarlet, and the IceWings have many animus."

"But there are already IceWings here!"

"Unfortunately, none of them are animus," Prince Narwhal interrupted, as he landed beside them. "Her Majesty didn't want to risk any of her animus' lives at first. But now it seems we do not have much choice but to involve them in this conflict."

"And how will we deal with Princess Blister?" Glory asked as they flew back to her Royal Pavilion.

"Blister is dead," Glacier spat. "She lead her small army and Queen Battlewinner led the NightWings right to my palace. She thought she'd win a rematch, but she was sadly mistaken. Now she's hard to tell apart from the ice clumps on the tundra. And Queen Battlewinner is dead, too. My animus dealt with her, in case Deathbringer didn't give you my letter."

"Good riddance to Blister, then," Glory muttered. "It's one less thing I have to worry about."

Queen Glacier and Blaze landed on the edge of the Royal Pavilion. They towered over Glory and Deathbringer, but they weren't intimidated.

"We heard about what happened in the Sky Kingdom," Glacier said softly. "We are sorry for your losses. I brought additional reinforcements from both our armies as soon as I read Deathbringer's letter. It is still hard to fathom that Queen Scarlet has been an animus all along, but it explains why she is such an evil dragon." She paused. "As you know, if a dragon does not use their animus dragon for good tasks, they will lose their soul. I believe that happened to Scarlet decades ago. She wasn't always as evil as she is now. But my animus can stop her, if she does not know we are coming."

"How?" Glory questioned.

"They have mastered their magic over the years. They do not fear losing their souls, as they only use it when necessary, and never for wasteful tasks. Together, they can overpower Scarlet and kill her. Our animus do not like to kill dragons, but they said they would make an exception for Scarlet." Glacier and Blaze looked down suddenly, and shocked looks came across their faces. "These are your eggs?" she asked.

"Yes…" Glory said slowly.

"Then you cannot come with us," the IceWing Queen declared. "You must stay with them to incubate them. Deathbringer can lead your army as well as you, can't he?"

"There is no need. I already have everything arranged. I intended to ask Heliconia and Tamarin to take turns incubating my eggs until I return. They proved themselves to me during The Royal RainWing Challenge, and I wouldn't trust any other RainWings to watch over my eggs whenever I'm away."

"No," said Glacier. "You cannot come with us. Even if your eggs will be taken care of, it is still too dangerous for you. Everyone knows how you nearly killed Queen Scarlet with your venom when you and your friends were her prisoners. She let you live once after your last attack on her palace. She will kill you this time, if you come along."

"Not if we kill her first!" Glory protested. "And I know how to avoid Scarlet. If we bring Peril along to act as a bodyguard for me." Deathbringer seemed hurt by this statement. He'd thought he was Glory's only bodyguard. "Scarlet would never dare get close to anyone Peril is protecting. She is the most loyal dragon I have ever met. Peril will protect me with her life, which she doesn't really have to fear. Nobody can touch her."

"Scarlet doesn't have to touch Peril to kill her, I'm afraid, since she is an animus," Glacier sighed. "She can command rocks to collapse and crush Peril if she wants, or command a spear to not burn or stop until it has skewered her."

"I know how animus work," Glory hissed. "You're not going to stop me from leading them. My decision is final."

"So be it, Your Majesty, but for your eggs' sake, you must be careful in this battle. They cannot afford to lose their mother. You must be the first dragon they bond with when they hatch next year."

Glory felt a ping of guilt in her heart. What Queen Glacier said was true. A mother dragon must always be the first thing her dragonets imprint on when they are born, and then their father. What if something did happen to her in this battle, and she would never get to see her dragonets hatch next May?

No, I cannot think that way, she thought, and forced the thought out of her mind. I must be positive that nothing bad will happen to me. Scarlet will perish this time. She may be an animus, but she will not be strong enough to overpower all of Queen Glacier's animus. She will be one animus against many. The odds are in my favor, now more than they ever have been. We will win this battle and avenge the fallen.

Glory then turned to Deathbringer and had one thing to say as she rubbed her head against his chest: "I love you."

The Sky Kingdom was much more well-guarded than Queen Glory had remembered. There were SkyWings all along the ledge of Queen Scarlet's palace. Was she really that paranoid now, that another attack would come, and her magic wouldn't be enough to stop it?

"How do you propose we get past all those guards?" Blaze whispered. "They are so many of them."

"My animus will handle that," Queen Glacier whispered back. "Nobody will know what happened. A simple sleeping spell will do the trick before an alarm can be sounded. Then we can slip in, assassinate Queen Scarlet, and get out of here."

She makes it sound so simple, Glory thought, but she doesn't know how powerful Scarlet's magic is. She could make us all still as statues again the moment any of Glacier's animus try to enchant something to kill her. I am afraid this will not be as easy as she wants it to be. I must warn her.

"Your Majesty," she whispered to Glacier. "There is something you must know. Queen Scarlet…her magic is much more powerful than you think. When we had been ready to kill her last month, she enchanted all of us to be still, like statutes, and made us watch her execute the prisoners we'd come to rescue. She could easily do that again, and kill all of your animus before they can enchant anything to kill Scarlet."

"Thankfully," said Glacier, "we suspected as much after Deathbringer told us what happened here before. My animus enchanted the armor they are wearing to make them immune to any enchantments Scarlet may try on them. She will be sorely disappointed when she learns they are immune to her tricks."

"Thank the moons," Glory whispered.

"You should really reconsider staying back here with guards," Blaze interrupted. "Queen Glacier is right to fear for your safety. If Scarlet sees you here again, she will not let you walk away this time. Please, for your future dragonets' sake, do not come with us into Scarlet's Palace."

"I will be alright," Glory assured her. She turned to Queen Glacier. "If you are really worried, then why don't you have one of your animus enchant me to be safe from all harm during this battle?" Queen Glacier looked down at her talons, and said nothing. "They can do that, can't they?"

"In theory, yes, but…no animus in the history of our tribe has ever attempted it before," she lied. "It may not even work. Darkstalker succeeded in enchanting himself to be invulnerable and immortal, but he was a much more powerful animus than anyone in my tribe is. Darkstalker was born under the light of three full moons, therefore his abilities were much more powerful than any of my animus ever will be."

Glory snorted. "Well, then, I suppose I will go into this battle as I am. Nothing anyone says or does will stop me from leading this army with you, Queen Glacier. What kind of Queen would I be if I avoided my battles?"

Glacier nearly said 'But what kind of mother would you be if you died before your eggs hatched, just because you couldn't let seeking revenge go?', but she decided against it. She knew even that wouldn't change Glory's mind, and would probably only offend her. The IceWing Queen could only hope nothing happened to Glory, like what happened in Moonwatcher's vision that had been described in the letter Deathbringer wrote to her.

But surely they would be nothing to worry about. Deathbringer and Peril would put their lives on the line for her; she knew that Clay, Tsunami, Sunny, Starflight, and Riptide, all of whom had also come along, would as well. But would their loyalty to Queen Glory be enough to protect her from Scarlet's magic? Queen Glacier could only hope it was. None of them were enchanted to be safe from Scarlet's magic like her own animus had been. Most of them had refused it, and after Queen Glacier's lie that they couldn't enchant Glory to be invulnerable, she now wanted nothing to do with the idea.

I'll show them, Glory thought. All it will take is my venom and Scarlet will die. I don't need the help of animus. I only need a few guards to come with me, just to be safe.

She flicked her tail at Deathbringer, Vulture, Cobra, and another SandWing she'd have to learn the name of later, sending them a silent message to sneak off with her. Her look told them everything. They would deal with Scarlet their own way. No more waiting. They needed to sneak into the Royal Palace while the guards were being dealt with. Scarlet would be dead before the new reinforcements could do anything about it themselves. She had the best two assassins in all of Pyrrhia, Deathbringer and Cobra, following her. How could it go wrong? Scarlet would surely be dead before she even knew they were there, or could enchant something to save her life.

"Deathbringer, Cobra," Glory whispered. "You have spied on Scarlet before. Lead the way to her throne room. Kill anyone that gets in our way. No exceptions."

"Yes, Your Majesty," they answered in unison.

"The reign of Queen Scarlet ends tonight," Cobra hissed. "We will all be one step closer to defeating Burn."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you!" a raspy female voice suddenly bellowed from seemingly nowhere.

And now the small group turned to find themselves facing none other than Queen Scarlet herself.

Chaos suddenly erupted just behind the walls of Scarlet's Royal Palace.

What in the name of three moons? Queen Glacier wondered.

It sounded like several dragons were screaming in horror, and another was screaming in pure agony, a piercing scream that cut through the air like talons cutting flesh. Glacier assumed Scarlet was holding another death battle in her arena, and somebody was having a limb ripped off, based on how they were screaming.

But then, suddenly, three SandWings and a NightWing flew over the wall of the palace in complete panic and back to the small army, all their faces dripping with blood, but it was not their own. Everyone recognized these four dragons immediately.

"Deathbringer!" Glacier roared. "Cobra! Vulture! I told everyone to wait for my command to attack Scarlet! And where is Queen Glory? You had all better have a good explanation for why you disobeyed my direct orders!"

Before any of them could explain themselves, Queen Scarlet flew over the wall surrounding her palace, no longer wearing the iron mask she would usually wear to hide her melted face, flying high above them all. She had a snarl on her face and her teeth were dripping with blood—another dragon's blood!—and smoke rising from her nostrils. She was alone, it seemed. Maybe this was the perfect time to kill her; she was flying right at a crowd of dragons that all wanted her dead.

But then Queen Glacier realized that Scarlet held something in her talons, but nobody in the army could tell what it was, for Scarlet kept her distance, as if she was suddenly doubting she could handle them by herself after all. All they could tell is that it was dripping blood, and that sent uneasy feelings through most of the dragons who hadn't seen what transpired behind the palace walls.

Scarlet suddenly flew forward so the object in her talons could be seen clearly, and Deathbringer was the first of many dragons that began screaming as if Scarlet had just ripped them open.

By the time the entire army had realized what the object was in Scarlet's talons, all of Clay's friends were screaming.

Deathbringer had hoped what he witnessed behind the palace walls had just been a trick, but it wasn't. It was as real as the dragons around him.

The SkyWing Queen was holding the severed head of Queen Glory of the RainWings.