Glory sighed. "And there she goes again."

The dragonets stared at each other, merely stunned by the whole interaction. Ashley leaned back in his seat and looked around.

The Seawing and Sandwing guards were still standing around, all with deeply concerned and confused faces. Some were back to glaring at each other, but most of them were staring at the dragonets and Ashley.

On his side, Sunny still looked troubled by the revelation of Web's death, she kept cuddling the egg with her warm talons.

Glory leaned toward Ashley. "Didn't you know about Webs?" She asked him in a whisper.

"No," he replied. "I didn't, it wasn't supposed to happen."

She tilted her head sideways, wondering.

"Kestrel was meant to die at this point, not him." Ashley stared into nothing, wondering what the reason behind this event was. Of course, he knew why Kestrel didn't die, but how did it happen to Webs? It couldn't just be what he had told her, right?

Glory relaxed. "You saved her then," she said as a matter of fact. "You knew about danger, warned her, and she listened. Surprisingly." She let out this last word with a hint of sarcasm. "I don't like her, but at least this is a positive point for you."

It made sense, Kestrel might not have trusted his words at all, but if they came true to her just a few days later, she was decent enough to understand.

"Kestrel was supposed to die you say?" Starflight twisted his neck to stare at Ashley with a curious look. "How?"

Ashley leaned closer, speaking lower so only his friends could hear. "Blister and Morrowseer, they trick her into a meeting and kill her, she dies quickly, and peril loses any opportunity to see her again."

Glory narrows her eyes at him, visibly dubious.

"But most importantly, Webs was supposed to lead Burn's army to the palace accidentally." He held his hand up to his chin, thoughtful. "And I'm not sure if that prevented it or not."

"That's what you told Tsunami," Starflight observed.

"Yes, but she didn't, and now there's this." Ashley raised a hand to scratch his head, thinking. "This might save a few lives. However..." He turned his gaze to Glory and the dragonets. "It will make it harder for you."

She raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Ashley leaned closer and lowered his voice. "You guys don't wish to stay here more than me, but you're well aware of someone who disagrees."

He gave them a look and saw the calculating face of Starflight.

"Blister." The dragon whispered.

Ashley nodded at him.

"I don't like her," Sunny said on his side.

The Nightwing blinked at her a few times before catching himself back, it wasn't often that his golden friend shared discomfort over someone else.

Clay frowned. "She killed Webs. You're not safe with her around." He huffed a low sigh, looking sad. "We should catch Tsunami and leave, I know she just met her family, but it wouldn't be... Healthy, for her to stay. I don't think she's safe."

"How surprising, the hot head of the group not being safe you say?" Glory answers back sarcastically.

"Glory..." Sunny whispered. Her face lost some worry to show a hint of annoyance.

"Now is not the time," "Ashley said. "We must devise a plan of action."

"What for exactly?" Clay asked. "Can't we just get Tsunami and leave?"

Ashley cautiously looked at the dragons in the room. Most guards had now resolved to small chatter while still keeping an eye on the dragonets. There was no doubt that many unfolding discussions were about them and their strange companion. He could see side-eyes being shot at him. There were a small number of dragons silently staring at him, all Sandwings with a wrinkled snout.

It looked like they particularly disliked him, and for a moment, he kept staring at them. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if they hated him for being a scavenger or if there was a more elaborate reason for it.

"It's not as easy," Ashley muttered, he pointed a finger at Sunny. "There's the egg." The Sandwing softly wrapped her wings around it in a comforting manner at the mention. "And those guards are most likely watching us to prevent us from leaving."

"Right, that would make sense," Glory said. "We find a way to sneak our way out then."

Ashley chose not to respond, instead, he simply stood up.

If the attack doesn't happen, that means there won't be a distraction for us to escape. But also I might not be able to deal with the "magic adviser" correctly. He grumbled to himself but didn't share his thoughts.

"What are you doing?" Glory inquired.

"I want to see," he responded as he walked toward the cave exit, only to be met by a Sandwing and Seawing guard.

"Where do you think you're going?" the Seawing asked.

"Taking some fresh air," Ashley responded. "It's not like I could leave anyway. Unless you consider jumping from five stories high without wings 'leaving'."

The Seawing blinked multiple times, then snorted and frowned, seemingly pondering his options, and eventually chose to back off, leaving room for the human to pass.

Ashley reached the ledge of the cave and peered above the scene, watching the pavilion in front of him. Behind him, Clay squeezed himself between the two guards and came to sit beside him.

"You have an idea? It looks like you have one."

"There are only two exits here, the water entrance we went through, or the ceiling." Ashley pointed up where they could see roots and vines hanging from the roof. "The former option is a no-go, it's safe to bet it is guarded, and it doesn't need to be heavily guarded to be impossible to go through. But if we go through the roof, you're going to need to make room for you to go through. I can climb and squeeze through the branches, but you five are too large to pass that easily."

Clay's face showed uncertainty. "Are we so sure they won't let us leave? Are you saying we're prisoners again despite what they say?"

Ashley nodded in response, his brain swirling with ideas.

"We could make a hole in the ceiling, but without a distraction, we would be instantly caught, and if this distraction doesn't keep them busy, they will still be able to catch due to flying faster than you. So we need something good." He glanced back, making sure unwanted dragons weren't listening before getting back to his thoughts. "We could burn it, but that would compromise their palace, and they would easily guess we did that."

"So what then?"

"As much as I hate it, there is one conclusion I am ultimately drawn to." Ashley frowned, looking down to the lake at the bottom of the palace. There, he could see many Seawings going about their business, dragonets playing in the water and the usual activity he had noticed since they first entered. "The attack on the summer palace needs to happen."

"What?" Clay muttered, Ashley turned to see his puzzled exception. "Why? What about the Seawings? They will get hurt."

"Evacuation is a word."

"Still, it's not a good thing."

"Well we can't control it either way, either it happens or it doesn't. And if it doesn't, we'll need a miracle."

As he looked back toward the pavilion, Ashley saw a large breastplate fly over the edge of one of the floors and land on a Seawing's tail.

"Ow!" the seawing cried. Ashley looked at the level it had fallen from and saw Tsunami peer down before driving her attention back to what was happening inside.

"I wonder what they are doing," Clay said.

"Animus stuff," Ashley responded. "I think."

"You mean the same one you talked to?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"No, it's-" Ashley stopped in his tracks and looked at the Mudwing. "Hold up Clay, you might be a genius with that one."

"Me? A genius? What did I do?"

"We could find Turtle and ask him to help us, he's probably not going to stay far after what I said to him."

"Oh."

"As soon as Tsunami is freed from her chores, we must tell her, she'll be the one with the ability to contact her brother."

As soon as he finished a commotion made itself heard at the bottom of the pavilion. There, a Seawings rose to the surface followed by another. As soon as he got out, he flew toward a guard with a worried face.

Is that Riptide? What's he doing here?

"Where is Queen Coral?" He inquired.

The guard pointed up toward the pavilion.

"Your majesty!" The dragon called, announcing its arrival. "I come to report suspicious activity along the border.”

After a few seconds, the Seawing queen arose from the pavilion's shadow. "You," she snarled.

Riptide bowed low, submitting to his queen.

"Who allowed you to come close, vermin?" Coral asked imperiously, Ashley saw Tsunami's face decompose behind her mother.

"Burn's forces are assembling near the coast in large numbers," Riptide said, keeping his head low and looking at the ground.

"How much?" Coral inquired.

"Too many to count. Your majesty."

"And you are low enough to think they can be an actual threat?"

"Well- I thought-"

"You don't have to think of anything," Coral cut him. "That's our job. Yours is to follow orders, and you were told never even to consider coming close."

Ashley could see Riptide shrivel more and more with distress, on the side, Blister was shooting even darker glances with clear disdain on her face.

"I should throw you in the new prison," the queen spat.

"But, mother," Tsunami stepped in. "Don't hurt him, he didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh, so you think, but his deceiving eyes can't lie to me, he is with the Talons of Peace just like his father, I know it."

"What about the Skywings!? You can't disregard the threat because you hate him!"

"Sweet child," Coral huffed in a surprisingly peaceful tone. "There is nothing they can do. The emplacement of our palace is kept secret and unknown to all the tribes, it isn't the first time that they have flown above our land without ever finding it."

Tsunami anxiously glanced up toward the cave and noticed Ashley standing beside Clay at its entrance. For a moment, she looked vulnerable, just like a child wondering what to do. She seemed to ask him if it was legitimate to be worried. The human gave her a grimacing look and eventually uncomfortably nodded.

If Skywings and Mudwings are regrouping to enter Seawing territory, they might as well know. And even if they don't, they could just bomb and burn all the islands of the surroundings until they find this one, or worse, trick the Seawings into fighting in the air if Coral is careless enough.

Tsunami's eyes widened, and she turned to her mother again. "What about the safety of the Seawings? We can't be sure. What if they do find the palace? You should order an evacuation at least for the time of the threat."

A few Seawings had raised their necks to listen, now interested in the interaction if they weren't already after Riptide's arrival.

Coral narrowed her eyes. "I guess we can do that," she finally let out. "But first..." She called two guards and pointed at Riptide. "Take this worm away."

"Don't you have more questions for him?" Blister interjected, reminding everyone of her presence.

Ashley suddenly realised the situation they were in: that was when Webs was supposed to come back, and Blister would try to trick Coral into getting rid of him because he was one of the guardians. But he was dead, she didn't need to do it anymore.

Why that sudden intervention then? Did she also want Riptide dead? Because he was related to Webs maybe? Surely she couldn't frame him as the princess killer as easily now, could she?

Coral swung her head to look at the SandWing with a questioning face.

“Why they killed all of your heirs,” the Sandwing purred. “I mean, obviously it was him and that Seawing you hate, right?”

“Obviously!” Coral burst out. She glared at the horrified Riptide.

“Working together,” Blister murmured. "With Webs dead, but your lost heir finally here, his son tries to distract you away so he can deal with her and your last eggs. It’s the perfect climax to the story.”

“It is,” Coral agreed, much to Tsunami's horror.

“No!” Tsunami said. “That makes no sense!”

“Just like one of your brilliant mysteries,” Blister went on, ignoring Tsunami. “The Claws of Murder, for instance. Or A Tail of Blood. That one was genius.”

“It was,” Coral agreed even more fervently. “They’re the perfect murderers! It all fits!”

Ashley reached a hand to his face and sighed. And for a moment I thought she was a bit more decent than I knew, of course she isn't...

“No, it doesn’t!” Tsunami shouted. “Why would they do that? There’s no motive!”

“Of course there is,” Coral snarled. “Blister, explain it to her.”

“So that Tsunami could return as the only living heir, of course,” Blister said smoothly with a faint smirk. “If they killed off all the other possible heirs, she would become more and more valuable. A bargaining chip if they ever needed it. A powerful tool when they wanted to use her.”

“Nobody uses me,” Tsunami spat.

“Wait, Webs can’t be the murderer,” Clay muttered beside Ashley. “He hates killing other dragons. That’s why he ran away from Coral in the first place.”

"I don't think that theory works either." Starflight's voice said behind them. Ashley turned around and noticed that many dragons had joined them in watching the scene, and the rest of the dragonets were there. “The princess murders started two years before they stole Tsunami’s egg," he continued. "So the Talons, and especially Webs, wouldn’t have known they would steal a royal egg at that point. Webs didn’t even know he was going to be a Talon either. And he has been underground with us for the last six years. He couldn’t have flown here and back whenever he wanted to murder a dragonet.”

"No, I don't think-" Starflight was cut by one of Glory's talons that grabbed his snout shut. She then pointed to the pavilion with a claw, where the Seawing queen was standing and Blister shooting a dark look at the Nightwing.

"What he said," Tsunami said to break the silence. "You heard him."

“So his allies in the Talons of Peace did his dirty work then,” Blister said, unperturbed. “You know it makes sense, Coral. The Talons have been your enemies for so long. Of course it would turn out that they’re the ones behind the murders. It’s the ending that wraps everything together.”

Coral nodded with a frown, Ashley noticed her talons twitching toward the nearest scrolls as if she couldn't wait to write everything down.

Why? Ashley wondered. Why are you trying to kill Riptide so much? Webs is dead already, and his son doesn't know anything about what happened in the cave. He reported his attention to Riptide, trying to make out any reason why Blister would still try to frame them, only to see that the Seawing hadn't moved an inch for the past minutes, simply staring at Coral. Tsunami seemed to notice it too and hit his side with an elbow.

"You said my father is... dead?" Riptide let out.

Oh shit. Ashley realised. He didn't know yet.

"Oh yes, we found his body near the bay along with a Mudwing, his heart had already been impaled by a Sandwing's tail barb," Coral said. Riptide's face became livid. "A shame that he was dead already when we arrived, I would have preferred to finish the work myself."

"How surprising, right?" Blister said with sarcasm. "Your biggest traitor found close by working with an enemy troop."

Another Talon of Peace, Crocodile I bet.

“Why are you doing this?” Tsunami growled, stepping closer to Blister. “Why pin the murders on Webs and Riptide, unless you’re covering your own tracks?”

Blister gave a hoot of laughter. “It doesn’t matter to me what happens to SeaWing princesses,” she said. “Except that I feel my poor ally’s pain, of course. I’m merely pointing out the obvious to her. Anyone committing such treacherous act should be executed for their crimes as soon as possible.”

“Brilliant, just brilliant,” Coral said, she clapped her talons together. “Take him away, and we’ll plan his execution later.”

Some Seawings flew from behind and grabbed Riptide, who was showing obvious signs of panic. Before anything could have been done, the guards dragged him away.

“You know what this means?” Coral went on with a delighted face. “We can return the egg to the Royal Hatchery. It’s safe now.”

Tsunami's face turned ashen. She shot a worried glance at Ashley, already aware that her Seawing friend could not be the danger.

"It isn't!" Sunny cried from the opening of the cave. She wrapped her talons around the egg.

“It certainly is,” said the queen. “With Webs gone and his son locked up, the egg can hatch in the Royal Hatchery, just like it’s supposed to.”

“You’re wrong,” Tsunami said. “I’m not risking a dragonet’s life because you’ve fallen for this crazy story Blister has invented.”

“It will be perfectly safe,” Coral responded, waving her claws. “Besides, every queen in Seawing history has hatched in the Royal Hatchery.”

A silence dropped for a few seconds between the two, letting the implications of said words weigh on everyone. Tsunami frowned into a fierce look of defiance. Tsunami hadn't hatched into the Royal Hatchery, so Coral could very well be implying that she doesn't deem her worthy of the throne. But it would never matter because her fate goes somewhere else. She would eventually have a job much more important than being queen, after all.

Looks like someone doesn't like Tsunami's temperament. Ashley observed while staring at Blister.

“Fine,” Tsunami lashed, squaring her shoulders. “But I’m staying with it until it hatches.”

Queen Coral tilted her head. “In the Royal Hatchery? All night?”

“I’ll make sure she hatches safely,” Tsunami said. She glanced at the egg in Sunny's arms, it was glowing blue and green below the white shell. It looked like the dragonet was close to hatching, pressed against the thin shell. Ashley could notice the egg shake slightly once in a while. It seemed like it was slowly waking up.

“But when I catch the real murderer,” Tsunami went on, “I want you to promise that you’ll let Riptide go free.”

Coral scraped her claws across the rock. "Why?” she said. “We have the assassin now.”

“So it should be an easy bargain to make.”

"All right," Coral said, waving one dismissive talon. "We'll see. If it happens."

Blister settled back, visibly upset, but she didn't speak it out.

“But Tsunami, we said we should stay together,” Clay protested from across the cliff. “We can’t protect you down there.”

"Yeah, and whichever is murdering your sisters will be just as pleased to kill you too," Ashley pointed out.

Tsunami tilted her head at him, wondering. Then her eyes widened with realisation. She shook her head and flexed her claws.

"Not if I deal with it first."

"Don't get overconfident," Ashley plainly answered. "Unless you wish to get hurt."

"I'll be careful." She responded. "You trust me right?"

"No, not really," Ashley said.

"Yeah me neither," Glory added, Tsunami rolled her eyes up.

"Enough talking," Coral said, she pointed a claw at Sunny. "Bring my daughter back to the hatchery."

With that, Tsunami took off and flew to her friends. She landed beside Sunny who detached the harness and handed the egg to her. She gave a disappointed look as the egg left her talons as if she wanted to keep it warm herself until it hatched.

"We're going back to the Deep Palace," Coral said expectantly.

"But what about the Skywings?" Anemone intervened. "You can't ignore that!"

Coral looked around and noticed the few Seawings still watching.

"Right. SHARK!" she called.

"I'm here," her brother said behind her.

"Take care of the evacuation, I want to see no one panic. Only keep the dragons who can fight and the ones you need here."

"Will do," Shark answered before turning around and leaving the scene.

Starflight took a step forward. "What about us? We can't hide in the sea, and the Sandwings too."

"We can fight." Blister snarled at him. "If you can't use your talons, I recommend you to stay out of our way."

"We'll find a safe place somewhere in the palace," Ashley said. "If anything happens, I'll take care of it."

"You?" Blister said, doubtful.

"Do I need to perform a demonstration?" Ashley countered.

The Sandwing heir didn't answer.

"That's what I thought."

"Are we done here?" Coral inquired, but it was more of an order than a question.

Tsunami settled the harness around herself. She looked at her mother, then her friends. "I'll be back soon."

"And you better do that in one damn piece," Ashley responded.