King of The Dragons (Wings of Fire X Monster Hunter)

Part 2: Chapter 15, 16, & 17

"I'll find it," Tsunami said, but nervous shiver went through her wings. She did not want to be wandering the ocean alone during a storm - especially when her friends needed her.
'If Riptide is still out there . . . Please let Riptide be out there.'

"Wait," she said as the queen started for the entrance. "I have a question. Tortoise pointed at Shark while she was dying. Was she saying he attacked the egg?"
Coral flared her wings, looking shocked. "Certainly not!" she said. "My own brother! He wouldn't dare!"

"She wasn't saying he killed the egg," Anemone agreed. "She said he'd given her permission to leave her post. he brought her an octopus to eat,"
"The fool." Coral gnashed her teeth. "I've told Shark a million times that vigilance is the only way to protect the eggs. If it means going days without eating, then that is what my trusted councilor must do. He's too soft with them."

'Right,' Tsunami thought. '"Soft" is definitely how I'd describe Shark.'
"Well, Tortoise didn't think anything could happen," Anemone said. "Not while she was right outside the door and only away from the egg for a dew moments."

"Why didn't she stay with the egg to eat?" Tsunami asked.
"Nobody eats inside the Royal Hatchery," Anemone said primly. "It's a pristine hatching place designed for royal dragonets. And if you get blood in the water, sharks will try to find their way in. Regular sharks who eat dragonets and eggs, that is. Hatcheries other than the Royal Hatchery get attacked by them all the time."

Tsunami shook her head. She couldn't help feeling like following all there rues was only helping the assassins. And it was pretty convenient. And it was pretty convenient that Shark had set Tortoise up like that - not to mention giving himself a chance to sneak in and kill the dragonet.

She shook out her wings. "Take me to the harness," she said. Queen Coral reached toward the egg, the stopped herself. She gave Tsunami another hard look and led the way out into the storm.

This time they swam down through the murky, churning water and around to the back entrance of the palace. The queen burst into a room that seemed to be a workshop where small SeaWing crouched over sea grass weavings and marble carvings. Tsunami paused as her mother thundered to the far end of the room. She lifted one of the weavings in her claws and realized it was made of the same material as the harness - rubbery, stretchy, and waterproof - only these were woven in color, not clear like the harness.

Queen Coral flared her stripes angrily at a dragon who had frozen over a marble carving. he hurried into a back room and returned with a tiny harness flopping in his talons. Coral pointed at Tsunami, and he took it over to her.

This dragon was old, she noticed, and shaking with fear as he tried to fit straps around Tsunami's neck and shoulders. they flapped loosely; it was meant for Coral and was too big for her. And of course the smaller harness was supposed to fit a little dragonet with limbs and a tail, not a smooth round egg.

The old dragon gestured helplessly at the harness, and Queen Coral poked it, growling a stream of bubbles. The Queen yanked Anemone closer and pointed at the harness, flashing some of the royal stripes in her wings.

Anemone hesitated, then reached out unhappily and touched the harness. To Tsunami's astonishment, the straps around her shoulders suddenly shrank until they fit perfectly. The other webs snaked and wove closer until the egg was securely bound to her chest.

She grabbed Anemone's talons, He sister felt cold and weirdly hard to touch, and her eyes were out of focus. tsunami shook her, and Anemone blinked until she was looking at Tsunami.
What? Tsunami flashed the stripes on her snout.
Anemone shook her head and made a circular gesture: Not right now, we'll finish later.