Wings of Fire: The Hidden Kingdom | ✔️

~ The Hidden Kingdom: Chapter Nine ~

Screams filled Hare's ears. She snapped her eyes open. She was surrounded by flames. Dragons were screaming and reaching for her. Thousands of burning claws reached toward her. Hare yelped and tried to back away, but they were reaching from behind, too. They were everywhere.

Hare recognized some of the faces in the flames; Copper, Catfish, Starflight, Alder, and others. She felt dizzy when her eyes landed on one. Fire.

The flames suddenly cleared, melting away and displaying a dark rainforest. The Place of Lost Souls.

It was just a nightmare.

And this place isn't?

Hare made her way through the undergrowth and hanging vines. She nearly walked right into a large clearing, a clearing she recognized. She hid in the dead plants. This was where meetings were held, and there was one being held right now. Hare recognized Albatross and Arctic, along with Storm and Orca. There were a lot of other dragons, too. Each dragon sent shivers down Hare's spine.

This is an important meeting. I advise paying very close attention, only a few trainees were allowed to attend. See that small group around the edges? That's them.

Hare saw what Oasis was talking about. A few young dragons were gathered around the edges of the clearing. Most looked determined and fearless, but there were two or three who were crouched down in fear. Hare stared in shock as she recognized one of them. She was sitting still with her wings over her head. She looked so small and horribly scared. It was Anemone.

What is she doing here? I thought it was only Orca who trained here.

No, Anemone does too.

So Anemone is betraying her tribe, too. Hare dug her claws into the ground. The SeaWing tribe was filled with nothing but traitors.

And horribly handsome dragons who made Hare's heart skip a beat, and also made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But that wasn't important right now.

Anemone is here because of Albatross and Orca. Pay attention, Hare. Please.

Hare pricked her ears and listened to the meeting.

"We're going to strike, and soon," Albatross announced. "We're going to tear the kingdoms apart and take back what belongs to us."

"We'll make them pay for getting us sent here!" a SandWing cried. This was met with uproars of agreement. Albatross nodded approvingly. "We will start with the SeaWings. Our plans will be easier to put into play if we begin there."

Orca nodded. Albatross gave her a slight jerk of his head, and she began to speak. "I'm going to challenge my mother for the throne. I will win, there's no doubt about that. All this training hasn't been for nothing." She nodded toward her little sister. "Anemone will be my second-in-command, and she will take my place if anything is to go wrong. With me as queen and Anemone as a second leader, it'll be easier for us to make the other tribes vulnerable and easy to attack."

"After we have that all into place, we'll attack the Kingdom of Sea," Albatross picked up. "Then we'll move to the rainforest. We'll have a good advantage there, since this is where the training hollows are."

"We should attack the MudWings after," a MudWing said. "They're right next to the rainforest, and who would expect an attack from there?"

Hare noticed a couple RainWings among the group, but they surprisingly didn't argue.

"We'll turn the kingdoms into something worth living in." Albatross's voice boomed around the clearing. "The Pyrrhia these dragons know will be no longer. The days of the pitiful and weak are over."

"This is all very cute, truly, but you're missing some key details."

A black dragon emerged from the darkness. Hare blinked in shock. She hadn't noticed Black Widow in the shadows.

"We have a few dragons we need to defeat first," Black Widow said. "Imagine how much easier things will be with groups like the Talons of Peace gone." She grinned, displaying her teeth. "Imagine how much easier it'll be with Hare gone."

Hare backed up a little. She didn't know what she'd expected. She was a prime target for the Place of Lost Souls, of course they'd be coming for her first.

"There's another thing to think about, too," Black Widow went on. "Clearly none of you have thought about it. The Place of the Found is going to try to warn the tribes, and they'll possibly get themselves involved."

"Would they be able to defeat us?" someone asked.

"Of course not," Storm snorted.

"It's always a possibility," Black Widow said, ignoring the SkyWing. "The Place of the Found has more power than we do. That's why I've been thinking ahead."

"What is your grand plan, then?" Albatross demanded.

"The Place of the Found has their best connection to the living through that waterfall by Jade Mountain," Black Widow told him. "Some kind of holy thing. If we can break off their connection through that, we'll be better off."

"That is a good idea," one of the trainees said. "But how are we going to do it?"

"We'll need to get someone from the Place of the Found on our side." Black Widow said thoughtfully.

"It'd be easier to get allies from the Place of the Unknown," Arctic pointed out. "They're somewhere between what they consider good and evil. If we get someone there to ally with us, they can connect to the Place of the Found and get them to help us, most likely unknowingly."

Black Widow made a small hm noise. "You are smart. That'll work."

Albatross let out a wicked, spine-chilling cackle. "The tribes will die! May only the strongest live."