The Lost Heir

  “I have to get out of here,” Tsunami said. Before I tie your stupid tail around your stupid snout and leave you in a bundle at the bottom of the lake. She turned and swam toward the exit tunnel. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as storming out of a cave, which she hoped would be the first and last time she missed anything about life under the mountain.

  “I am not impressed with your work ethic,” Whirlpool called. “This may take us closer to seven or eight years if you —”

  Tsunami plunged her head under the water so she wouldn’t have to listen to him anymore. The exit tunnel yawned ahead of her, and she shot into it as fast as her wings could beat.

  Outside the Summer Palace, the sky was gray and overcast, which suited Tsunami’s mood perfectly. Wind whipped the sea into white-tipped peaks, knocking Tsunami around even more than usual. She tried paddling away from the palace underwater, but currents kept flinging her into the jagged boulders.

  She was sick of fighting with the ocean. Why wouldn’t it welcome her, like it was supposed to?

  Why couldn’t she start over as a normal SeaWing with normal problems, instead of having her past mistakes suckered onto her tail like overgrown leeches?

  Frustrated, she swam to the surface and flew into the sky. It didn’t make sense that flying should be easier for her than swimming. What kind of SeaWing didn’t love the sea? The kind that shouldn’t be queen, maybe, Tsunami thought.

  Looming out of the water ahead of her was the island of rocks shaped like a giant dragon skeleton. Tsunami banked toward it, studying the holes and gaps. She chose the cave where the eye should be and landed in cool semidarkness. The stone was smooth like pearls under her claws.

  She flapped her wings to dry them and turned to look out the entrance.

  A dragon head popped into her view, then vanished again.

  “Wow,” Tsunami said. “You are the worst at staying hidden. Has anyone ever told you that you should definitely never be a spy?”

  Riptide slowly poked his head around the mouth of the cave. “I think I’d make a splendid spy,” he said with dignity.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling the outer islands, where we met?” Tsunami asked.

  “Perhaps, but as you can imagine, I don’t have a very important job.” Riptide made a wry expression. “Her Majesty can’t trust me with anything vital.”

  “You do seem like a shady character,” Tsunami said, remembering that she was supposed to be mad at him, too. She could yell at him. Her first instinct was to yell at him.

  Maybe I should stop listening to all my first instincts.

  She scooted back farther into the cave. “Come on in. I’m just recovering from an Aquatic lesson with Whirlpool.”

  “Oh, Whirlpool. Queen Coral’s favorite instrument of torture,” Riptide said. He climbed into the cave beside her, shaking water droplets from his scales. The cave was only big enough for three or four dragons, so they were closer together in the dark than Tsunami had expected.

  When she was much younger, Tsunami had had fleeting crushes on Clay and Starflight — before she realized that Starflight could be massively annoying, and that sweet loyal Clay saw the other dragonets as brother and sisters. But they were the only dragonets her own age that she’d ever met. Even though they weren’t SeaWings, who else was she supposed to like?

  Now here she was, alone with a SeaWing . . . a SeaWing who looked at her as if he didn’t see a future queen, or a father killer, or anything but a dragon whom he liked very much.

  “Coral told me Webs is your father,” she said quickly, awkwardly. “Why didn’t you say something when we met?”

  “It’s not how I usually introduce myself,” he said. He coiled his tail around his talons. “It makes dragons see me a certain way. I’m sorry, I should have told you. I was hoping you might, um — I’d like to know more about him.”

  Tsunami shook her head, tempted to say, No, you wouldn’t. “Is that why you’ve been hanging around watching me?” she asked instead.

  His dark blue eyes caught the faint light from outside. “That and other reasons,” he said. “I was worried about you. There aren’t a lot of . . . outspoken dragons in the Kingdom of the Sea.”

  “I can say whatever I want,” Tsunami said boldly. “I’m the missing princess. Mother loves me so much, she’ll have a harness on me by the end of the day if I’m not careful.”

  Riptide snorted. “I’d like to see any dragon try to put a harness on you.”

  “Then they’d really find out how ‘outspoken’ I am,” Tsunami said. She opened and closed her wings, accidentally brushing against his. Oops. Say something, quick. “Webs wasn’t so bad,” she blurted. “Not as bad as the other two.”

  He tilted his head.

  “We had three guardians. The other two, Dune and Kestrel, hated every thing,” Tsunami said. “Except maybe Sunny. Nobody hates Sunny — she’s too sweet and simple and lovable.”

  “She sounds frightful,” Riptide said, and Tsunami laughed.

  “But Webs — he wasn’t just trying to keep us alive. He taught us every thing he could, except Aquatic, I guess. He taught us history and geography and all about the prophecy, and he wasn’t even that boring about it. When it was his turn to hunt, he tried to bring back prey he knew we liked. It would have been worse without him.” She fell silent, thinking. She’d never tried listing good things about Webs before. It was a lot harder than complaining about him, like she’d done her whole life.

  “It’s all right,” Riptide said. “You can tell me the truth.” The end of his tail flicked up and down. “I want to hear the bad stuff, too. It’s good for me.”

  Tsunami took a deep breath. “He should have protected us better,” she said. “If he was the only one who cared, he should have stopped Dune and Kestrel from hurting us and telling us we were worthless. He should have fought for us, and he never did, except right at the end when Scarlet and the SkyWings attacked.”

  That’s one thing I do, she thought to herself. I fight for my friends, even if I’m doing it all wrong.

  Riptide nodded, looking down at the stone under his talons. “Weak and cowardly,” he said. “That’s how he’s always been described to me.”

  Tsunami reached out and touched his wing with one claw. “That doesn’t mean you’re anything like him,” she said. “It’s not fair to punish you for what he did.”

  Something tingled in the air between them, like the sky outside, waiting for the storm. This is MOST improper for the future SeaWing queen, Tsunami thought. But maybe I’d rather have this than a throne anyway.

  “Would you like a real Aquatic lesson?” Riptide asked with a smile.

  “I demand one,” she answered.

  “It’s dark enough in here,” he said. “All right, here’s what you say to Whirlpool next time you see him.” The stripe on his tail lit up three times.

  “Uh-oh,” Tsunami said, copying him. “What did I just call him?”

  “A squid-brain,” Riptide said. “My new favorite insult, thanks to you.”

  “I’m not sure this lesson is teaching me much more than his did,” Tsunami pointed out.

  “Hey, now I’m offended,” he said. “All right, you asked for it.” He sat down and pointed to his snout. “These stripes usually indicate a question. Like this for why, and like this for how, and like this for when.”

  Tsunami mimicked him, memorizing the patterns of flashes. It was easier than she’d expected. Maybe there was one part of being a SeaWing that she wouldn’t be a total failure at.

  After she had the question patterns down, Riptide said, “Try this one: I. Will. Protect. You.” Stripes flashed along his side, and he gestured at the same time.

  “I don’t need protecting,” Tsunami said.

  “I know,” he answered, “but knowing you, you’ll probably need to say it to someone one day.”

  Tsunami liked that. I will protect you, she echoed, flashing it back at him.

  He smiled a little sadly. “I wish yo
u could,” he said.

  “Why not?” she said. “I am a princess. I can do whatever I want.”

  “Not while someone else is queen,” he pointed out. “All right, here’s how you indicate different kinds of danger.”

  Riptide showed her other stripe patterns and some of the talon gestures as well. It was all fascinating, and Tsunami wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she finally glanced out at the wind-whipped sea and realized she should be getting back.

  “Mother might be looking for me,” she explained. “But thank you. You have no idea how helpful this was.” All of this, she thought, realizing she’d managed to forget about Gill for a little while.

  “Has Blister arrived yet?” Riptide asked.

  Tsunami shook her head. He took her front talons in his.

  “Be wary of her,” he said. “She has her own plans, and I don’t think protecting SeaWings is high on her list.”

  “I will,” Tsunami said. “Oh,” she added, freeing her talons. “What does this mean?” She tried to imitate the circular gesture Shark had made yesterday.

  Riptide tilted his head at her. “If you mean this,” he said, doing it perfectly, “then it means something like Not right now, we’ll finish this later.”

  Tsunami stared at him. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure,” Riptide said. “Why, who —”

  “Yesterday, when I stopped Shark and the guards from kill ing my friends,” Tsunami said, jumping to her feet, “that’s the gesture he made to them. You’re telling me he was saying ‘we’ll just kill them later’?”

  Riptide rubbed his snout. “Maybe,” he said unhappily. “But if Queen Coral hasn’t ordered it, then I’m sure —”

  “How would I know?” Tsunami cried. “What if she has ordered it, and I didn’t understand her?” She ran to the mouth of the cave. “I have to go back. I have to check on them. I haven’t even seen them since yesterday.” She leaped into the air, catching the air currents.

  “Be careful!” Riptide called after her. “I’ll be out here if you need me. Just —” The wind yanked away his last words.

  Tsunami dove into the water, between the spiral dragon horn rocks. She powered through the kelp into the tunnel, shooting between the rock walls. She was going so fast, she didn’t see the dark shape waiting above her in one of the breathing holes.

  She thought she was alone until talons slammed into her back and sharp claws closed around her neck.

  Giant wings smashed Tsunami to the rock floor of the tunnel. She tried to twist around, but her attacker kicked her in the head and then shoved a hood that smelled of seaweed over her snout so she couldn’t see. Tsunami shouted and struggled, lashing out with her claws and tail. Her attacker was bigger than her, and heavier, so Tsunami could barely move under the weight. It seemed like he or she was wearing something to make them heavier; she felt something metallic clank against her spines.

  Fishhook claws dug into her gills, and Tsunami shrieked with pain. She felt blood swirling away from her neck into the water.

  I’m not going to die here! she thought ferociously. Killed by a coward I can’t even see! I don’t think so!

  She remembered how Sunny always managed to wriggle free during their battle training sessions. The tiny dragonet used her small size to slip out of almost every hold Tsunami could think of.

  Tsunami scrunched her legs and wings in close and ducked her head, rolling into a tight, spiky ball. Her attacker’s grip loosened around her neck and, as the dragon fumbled for Tsunami’s snout, Tsunami was able to squirm down and shove her opponent over her head. A blast of bubbles slammed into her as the dragon crashed into the wall.

  Before she could pull her hood off, the talons were back, clutching her forearms. Tsunami kicked viciously at the underbelly that had to be in front of her and felt her claws snag painfully on metal rings. Her attacker made no sound, but a moment later the dragon’s tail hit Tsunami so hard she thought she heard bones crack.

  The other dragon’s wings began to press her down toward the rock floor again. Whoever it was knew how to fight like a SeaWing; they had all the advantages of this world. So use something they haven’t seen before. Tsunami thought of how Glory used distraction whenever she fought Kestrel. Tsunami’s scales couldn’t change color, but she bet she could still be pretty distracting.

  She flared her wings open and closed, open and closed, as fast as she could, stirring up the water around them. She felt her attacker pause as if confused. On her third flare open, Tsunami suddenly lit up all the stripes all over her body in what she hoped was a blinding flash.

  Her attacker’s talons slipped, and Tsunami struck out with her claws again. Again she flared her stripes, as bright as she could make them, so she could even see the light through her hood. She reached to shove her attacker away, and suddenly whoever it was . . . was gone.

  Tsunami flailed in the water for a moment, fending off the attacks she expected from every side, before she realized there was no one around her anymore. She reached up and yanked off the hood, then felt the movement of somebody coming up the tunnel from the outside.

  She whirled around, ready to fight, and Riptide leaped back, waving his talons. Tsunami whipped her head back and forth, but there was no sign of anyone else.

  All right? Riptide signaled.

  Who? she signaled back with the stripes on her snout. Who? She didn’t have any of the other words she needed.

  He spread his webbed claws. I don’t know. Then he pointed at her. All right? He lit up all his stripes, and she guessed he’d seen the light from outside.

  She nodded impatiently. She didn’t have any way to explain that she was grateful he’d come, but she needed to chase down her attacker now.

  All right, she signaled back. Then she spun away, swimming fast down the tunnel toward the palace.

  Tsunami burst out of the water into a scene of eerie calm. Dragons were lounging peacefully on beaches and cliff edges, or playing underwater and darting through the waterfalls. She searched the water and the pavilion with her gaze, looking for anyone who might have just been in a fight. Surely she had left some kind of mark on her attacker.

  No one was acting suspicious. Tsunami glanced up and saw her mother’s tail poking off a level of the pavilion near the top — the library level. She beat her wings, rose out of the water, and flew up to her.

  “Hello, dear,” Queen Coral said as Tsunami landed. She was surrounded by scrolls, several of them half unrolled. Anemone was curled on a curved white boulder beside her, looking bored out of her mind. “I’ve been reading out loud to your sister. It’s her favorite part of the day. We’ve just finished the story of how I chose Gill to be my husband.” She sighed gustily. “He adored my writing, too.”

  “Mother —” Tsunami started.

  “He was a perfect candidate for king,” Coral said. “He came from a very noble family. Nothing to worry about in his ancestry. A lot like Whirlpool in his intelligence, too.” Coral sighed again.

  “Mother —” Tsunami said again.

  “Luckily you’ve arrived just in time for my epic poem, On the Differences Between Oysters and Clams. It’s an elegantly well-crafted metaphor about class differences and genetic superiority, as Whirlpool always says.”

  “Mother,” Tsunami interrupted firmly. “Someone just tried to kill me.”

  Queen Coral sat up, scattering drops of ink from her claws. “What? Who dared?”

  “I don’t know, but they must be here now,” Tsunami said. “Somewhere in the palace. We should gather everyone and —”

  “The eggs!” Queen Coral yelped. “The eggs must be in danger!” She started flinging scrolls back into cauldrons.

  “What?” Tsunami said, bewildered. “What eggs?”

  “Two eggs with female dragonets,” Anemone explained to Tsunami. “They’re in the Royal Hatchery, in the Deep Palace. They’re due to hatch in a couple of days.”

  “And if someone attacked you, they’ll probably go aft
er the eggs, too!” Queen Coral cried. She dashed to the edge of the pavilion. “Moray! Whirlpool! Hurry!”

  “But my attacker is here,” Tsunami said. “I’m sure of it. Not at the Deep Palace.”

  “So we have to get there first,” Queen Coral insisted.

  “But we could catch them here.” Tsunami didn’t understand why her mother couldn’t see the obvious thing to do.

  “Mother, what about Tortoise?” Anemone asked. “She’s supposed to guard them, isn’t she? That’s Mother’s Council chief of dragonet care,” she explained to Tsunami. “This week anyway.”

  “The others have all failed me,” Queen Coral said with a grimace. “Tortoise probably will as well. She didn’t even want the job. Nobody wants it! The most important duty in the Kingdom of the Sea, and all my cowardly subjects hide from it. MORAY!” she bellowed.

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Moray slithered up from the level below. Tsunami eyed her as she climbed onto the library floor. Did she look like she’d just been in a fight? Tsunami couldn’t tell. Moray wouldn’t look at her, but that wasn’t new.

  “Moray, we must get to the Deep Palace at once,” Queen Coral said. “I feel that my eggs are in danger. My scales tell me so.”

  “What about whoever attacked me?” Tsunami demanded. “We have to catch them and punish them!”

  “It’s more important to stop them from hurting my eggs,” Queen Coral said grimly. “Someone has been kill ing my daughters for years. These are the last two Gill left me, and I won’t let anything happen to them.” She turned to Moray, who was sitting close beside her and gazing worshipfully at the queen. “I wish you would guard them, dear. You never fail me.”

  “But every thing I do for your scrolls is so terribly important,” Moray said. “They’re like your other children, really. I couldn’t abandon them.”

  “That’s true,” Queen Coral said. She patted her pearls and flicked her wings open. Behind her back, Tsunami caught Moray shooting a look full of hatred at Anemone. Wow, she thought. I wonder what that’s for.

  Do you hate all of Queen Coral’s daughters?