The Hidden Kingdom (Wings of Fire, #3)

by Tui T. Sutherland

“Don’t you read? Do you really not read? Not anything?” Jambu shrugged apologetically. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said. Starflight had to sit down and fold his wings over his head for a minute.

#mood

“Ooof,” Glory whispered. “A little more personal space, please.” “I don’t know what that is,” Jambu whispered back. “But I’m really freaking cold, aren’t you?”

“I’m not even in the stupid prophecy,” she said. “I know,” he said. “But I bet you’d still be remarkably good at making it come true.”

Glory’s sloth was sitting on her head, clutching Sunny’s horns with a startled expression.

“I don’t think it’s enough to just be happy,” Glory said slowly. “I think you have to care about something, too. Like other dragons who need you, for instance. And you still have to be ready to fight, just in case some creepy ‘less evolved’ dragons decide to invade your territory and kidnap a bunch of you.”

“You need this energy to win. You will sleep if we all have to sit on you to make it happen.” “I volunteer,” Clay said. “I’m a world champion at sitting on my friends.”

“Sleeping when you need to is not lazy,” said Mangrove. “That is a crazy dragon’s way of thinking. Sleeping is as important as breathing. You wouldn’t skip that because there’s no time for it.”

“But everyone took care of me,” Tamarin said. “There was always a dragon watching me, helping me and teaching me.” Glory glanced at the watching tribe. She would have guessed that no one would take responsibility for a little blind dragonet. Instead, everyone had, which gave her hope. “And now I have the village memorized, so I know all the distances and obstacles.” Tamarin’s ruff folded down and then opened again, as if she was sensing the shifting wind currents.

“There, there,” Exquisite said to the sloths, who had curled up into a sleepy pile of fur. “Auntie Maggie isn’t mad at you. She’s just in a bad temper because she has to actually do something today.” In a loud whisper that absolutely everyone could hear, she added, “Besides, she’s jealous that you all are so much prettier than her sloth.”

Making other dragons angry was one skill Glory already knew she was good at.

“I remember everything. I remember when we actually needed our camouflage, to protect ourselves from invading dragons. It wasn’t a game back then. It was what we had to do to survive.”

“Take that, prophecy. You’re not about me? Well, I’m not all about you either.”