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

Part 3: Chapter 27 & 28

She spun back to the prison island where Webs and Riptide were trapped. Clay was already there, fumbling with the chain on the wall.
Tsunami showed him which way to pull it.
"Can you hear me?" she called to the prisoners. "We're getting you out of there. Get ready to fly."

"Tsunami?" Riptide's voice was lost in the creaking and clanking and rumbling of things moving in the ceiling. Abruptly the water stopped flowing, and Tsunami found herself standing across from the sky-blue SeaWing.
He smiled at her.

"Hey there," she said. "The dragonets of destiny specialize in dramatic rescues, you know. Are you impressed?"
"Very," he said, hopping over the moat to land beside her. Webs staggered after him, landing unevenly on the stone. It didn't seem like a good sign that a thin line of blood was still trickling from his ear.

Another pair of fiery logs crashed past outside, and more screams echoes from below. Riptide faired his wings, looking startled and horrified.
"The palace in under attack," Tsunami explained. "It'll make escape  tricky, but-"

"Wait," Riptide said, catching one of her talons. "Tsunami. I have to tell you something. I - I do work for the Talons of Peace."
Tsunami stared at him. Her mother was right about Riptide? He was working with the dragons who'd ruined her life. She'd always hated the Talons of Peace. How could she have fallen for one of them?

"Please listen. I joined them because I wanted to find out more about my father, but they wouldn't tell me anything except that he was safe." He looked down. "I've been working with them for a few years now, passing them information about the SeaWings."

'Sounds like betrayal to me,' Tsunami thought, although she wasn't sure whether she felt more betrayed for her tribe or for herself.

"You and Stormcaller have a very bad habit," she said, "of not telling me some critically important things."
"I know. I'm sorry. I was meeting with one of their agents right before I met you." Tsunami remembered the dragon with black spirals on his scales and the burn marks that covered his back. "He told me to keep an eye out in case the dragonets of destiny showed up in the Kingdom of the Sea."

Tsunami pulled her talon out of his grasp. Riptide had acted surprised to hear the Talons ever existed. He'd pretended not to know anything about the dragonets of destiny.
Clearly he was a good actor, hiding a secret like this while hiding in the tribe all these years. So could she believe anything he'd said to her?

Blood trickled from the two gashes on his side as he moved. "I stayed close to make sure you and the other dragonets were safe." He spread his wings and held out his talons to Tsunami. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the truth. I didn't think you'd trust me if you knew."

He was right about that. But she didn't particularly trust him now either.
A enormous crash sounded outside ad something smashed into the pavilion.
"We have to go," said Glory, from behind Tsunami. For once, she didn't add anything snide, and Tsunami wondered if she'd overhead Riptide's confession.

"Um," Clay's voice said behind them. "Tsunami? Webs? Do we know this dragon?"
They all turned and saw a large MudWing looming in the mouth of the cave. Her brown wings were creased with soot and there was a burn scar along one side of her tail.

Webs flicked his tail in surprise. "I do," he said. "She's with the Talons of Peace. Crocodile! What are you doing here?"
The MudWing chuckled. "Poor Webs. So wrong in so many ways." She stepped into the cavern and gave the dragonets an appraising look. "These are the brats the Talons are so obsessed with? Scrawny." She lashed her tail. "But the SkyWings want you back anyway. For the next queen to play with, I assume."

"Queen Scarlet is dead?" Glory blurted. "For sure?"
"You can't be working with the SkyWings!" Webs cried at the same time. "Not after that, that thing attacked us,"