"Your Majesty!" Willow gasped.

Beside Clearwing, Sundew was bowing. Clearwing followed suit, remembering Lady Bloodworm's visits to the lower levels of her Hive. Tuck your wings in tighter, she thought, her own mind echoing her mother's instructions. Head lower. With luck she won't even glance at you, let alone notice your black scales. Even as the fierce LeafWing sat up with a growl at herself, Clearwing didn't move. Ignore Coal, her mother would say. He's a bad example and will be punished one day for his disobedience. Focus on yourself and your future, at least for a moment. Because you're never going to get to be with him.

Her mother had never actually said that last line. But it felt true, and it made Clearwing's heart ache.

Clearwing missed her parents. She missed her father, Oakleaf, and his cheerful attitude and kind words. And Jezebel's determination and passion for her work. Even Nebula, a dragonet she barely knew, who was the last SilkWing she saw before the world turned upside-down.

Sequoia's eyes landed on Clearwing, and the dragonet realized she'd spaced out while the royal dragon was talking to Sundew. "And I assume your friend is the one from the new tribe?" she said. Clearwing thought about how much she should tell.

"Yes," she settled on saying.

"Then I would like you to tell me about them on the way to the village."

Clearwing's mind did a little spasm. She shouldn't tell Sequoia much, but how could she avoid this? She had to tell the queen something.

But then she'll never be able to trust me... she hates Wasp, and she's also scared of her. If she thinks that I might be working with Wasp in order to get my friend free from her mind control, I don't know what she'll do to me. But if I lie, she won't have any reason to trust me, and trust is what I need right now... why do I have to be backed up against a wall like this?

"Sundew's met him, too," she blurted out. "She can tell you everything you need to know. She knows about as much as I do."

"No way. You two have been friends for years, and I see the way to look at him," Sundew hissed. It's the way I look at Willow, her mind admitted. "You know him way better than I do."

Sequoia tilted her head at Clearwing. "Is this true?"

"Yes, I've known him for most of my life," Clearwing said. "But his personality doesn't matter if Wasp is controlling him. He can't fight her, so it's only his powers you should be careful of. Sundew knows all about those." Please don't think I'd betray you please don't think I'm working with Wasp please believe me that I want to help, her mind begged.

"So I assume you're looking for a cure if he's being controlled by Wasp?" Sequoia simply asked as she began to walk in a certain direction. Clearwing jumped to keep up.

"Yes," Clearwing said. "Wasp wants to use him as a weapon."

"Do you know anything about how she does it?" Willow asked. "If we know, we can use that."

"O-of course I know how she does it." I've always known, doesn't everyone? Ever since she first came to visit Bloodworm Hive, with all of her soldiers with their white eyes in perfect unison. I thought it was terrifying, sure, but I knew that she uses a plant. "I thought everyone knew it was a plant."

Sequoia froze. She turned around to stare at Clearwing.

"Did you say a plant?"

"Yes. A vine." Best not to mention it's a talking vine, Clearwing thought wryly. Clearsight knows how she'd react to that if she gets this weird over me saying "a plant". "Mostly red with green veins through the stem, dark green leaves shot through with red, like the opposite of the stem, and clusters of white flowers with dark red seeds. They're almost black, actually."

Queen Sequoia's brow furrowed into a weird wrinkled-up shape that looked kind of like tree bark or crumpled-up leaves or both. "Can you draw me a picture of this vine?"

"Sure," Clearwing replied skeptically. "Do you want me to do it... right now?" She glanced around at the deadly plants that grew from the forest floor, the snakes that dangled from the trees, and the thick, goopy mud that made it hard to walk too fast.

"When we get back to the village. Hazel will be able to give you something to write with."

"Okay," Clearwing replied. She glanced around at the dangerous plants again, and realized she couldn't see any. Normally in the Poison Jungle (at least from what she'd seen) there was a Venus dragon trap or oversized cobra lily or massive sundew every two steps. So where had all of them gone?

Suddenly she saw a flash of motion up above, and Clearwing realized there was a dragon up there, flying skillfully through the treetops. Sundew didn't seem to see it.

Then there were dragons everywhere; watching them from the branches above, hurrying around with prey and swapping stories about fearsome battles with plants, and Clearwing gasped.

There were expertly crafted treehouses in the branches of trees, lit by little clusters of phosphorescent moss or softly glowing mushrooms. Clearwing heard a dragonet chirping in a happy, burbling way, and she let his past unwind. The life of this baby was simple; eat, sleep, play, repeat. It was peaceful, even if the brief glimpses of his future were tainted with betrayal. Poor baby, Clearwing thought, even though those paths were faint.

She looked up to see eyes in the trees. Flutters of wings and rustles of leaves and faint chirps of nighttime animals filled her ears, and she closed her eyes to listen. She looked back up at the eyes in the dark. They were all green or brown, curious "SapWings" (as they were called by Sundew's half of the tribe) investigating the new arrivals. SilkWing, thought more than one mind.

But one pair in particular made Clearwing's eyes wider than the moons was one behind the others: a dark greenish, scarred GreyWing. Her mind was rigid and sharp, anything other than immediate thoughts covered in needles and prickly things. And even then, they mostly talked about "inferior LeafWings" or "I can make that nightmare look like a dream" or "they'll be sorry for doubting me once I succeed on this mission."

Clearwing, startled and scared, grabbed Sundew's forearm and the LeafWing hissed at her.

"What in the name of Clearsight are you latching on to me for?" she growled.

"Sorry, sorry," Clearwing pulled away. It was instinct to grab onto the nearest object for her. Falling through the webs? Scared of a bully at school? Having nightmares? Falling off the side of the Hive? (There was a lot of falling in life, from Clearwing's experience.) Grab onto something and it'll make things better.

When she looked back at the spot the GreyWing was, however, she had vanished, and the razor-sharp edges of her mind disappeared into the murmur of the LeafWings overhead.

That's worrying. I should tell someone. But she kept her jaw firmly locked as Willow and Sequoia, then Sundew, and finally herself spread their wings and leapt into the air. The four dragons touched down onto polished wood floors — which Clearwing was still not used to, even though this massive treehouse was obviously the palace, or at least the queen's home, and they were LeafWings, who have trees growing everywhere, so of course they're going to have wood.

The structure spiraled around an enormous baobab tree, with several levels, balconies, and rooms built out along the huge branches. It was hard to see all of it through the darkness, but there were more glowing plants in some of the rooms and a beautiful array of flowers snaked and climbed their way around the window boxes and walls of the palace.

They had landed on the top level, where a young LeafWing was sitting on top of a mahogany throne, sewing sheets of speckled paper together with her deft green claws. She seemed a bit older than Clearwing herself, and she looked up in delight with large brown eyes.

"Off," Sequoia said to the LeafWing. "And what have I told you about bookmaking at night, Hazel?"

"That it's..." the dragonet trailed off, "an efficient use of my time?" she offered with a grin.

"It will ruin your eyesight," the queen pulled the book out of her talons as the LeafWing dragonet protested. "And then we'll either have to steal glasses from the HiveWings or have a blind queen, and I don't like any of those plans."

Sundew glanced over at Willow, looking startled. Clearwing had barely been paying attention when Sequoia talked about the younger LeafWing becoming a queen, she'd been too busy trying to hide her giggles.

"That's the queen's great-granddaughter," Willow explained in a whisper. "Princess Hazel — next in line for the throne."

Clearwing wondered with a shiver what had happened to Queen Sequoia's children and grandchildren. She also didn't particularly want to know, and wasn't in the mood to try to look in Sequoia's past to find out, so she looked out the window instead. The view must be amazing from up here.

She quietly gasped in horror.

There, right in front of the window, was the same greenish GreyWing she had seen earlier. She didn't seem to notice that Clearwing was looking at her, as she was partially hidden in a tangle of flowers and was looking out at the village below rather than at the window, so she didn't move from her spot. Clearwing, wanting to know more about this dragon, looked in her past and saw everything she needed.

She saw the GreyWing, named Snake, learning to fight and use a weapon called a "sword" at the age of one, killing any dragon who dared challenge her queen.

She saw this dragon, younger than Clearwing was now, with the other GreyWings pointing and laughing and making fun of her scales for being green instead of grey. She saw Snake breaking one of their arms, the satisfying crack and the hisses of anger from the others. The dragonet with the broken arm didn't make a sound — GreyWings weren't allowed to express pain. He instead stepped back, eyes narrowed.

She saw the dragon looking over a dragon with scales oddly similar to Coal's being sentenced to death for "revealing the tribe." The dragon growled back, orange-yellow eyes wide.

She saw Snake being assigned to spy on the LeafWings by the queen of the GreyWings, her greenish scales making her perfect for this mission. The hisses of triumph as she slithered past the dragons who used to make fun of her; the fury etched across their features.

This dragon, smiling as she stepped over the body of a strange dragon. Not another GreyWing, but something else entirely. Four wings, with too many spikes and stingers to even properly make out the shape underneath. A sickening pool of blood spilled out of gaping wounds which covered the dead dragon's corpse.

Snake growled suddenly, and Clearwing jerked out of her past. The GreyWing glared around, and Clearwing ducked back inside before she was seen.

"I think glasses are cute," Hazel said breezily, giving Clearwing something to latch her back into reality with. "And we won't have to capture them of the scouts are right about the PoisonWings having a flamesilk!"

"Hazel," the queen growled softly. "This is Sundew. Belladonna's daughter."

Hazel's jaw dropped, and she stared at Sundew for an unusually long moment.

Sundew whispered something to Willow, but Clearwing didn't catch very much of it other than "supposed to react" and "me".

Willow whispered something back in a dramatic fashion, widening her eyes theatrically. They both burst into laughter after Clearwing caught something like "who almost slew the great and terrible grasshopper-stealing frog menace of the jungle". Well, Willow burst into laughter. Sundew sort of just smiled, but it was still pretty clear what she was feeling.

"Am I allowed to say hi?" Hazel asked, looking up at Queen Sequoia.

"Yes, of course," the queen replied, impatience leaking into her tone. "Especially if it gets you off my throne, go on. Chairs are for old dragon bones, not bendly little saplings like you."

Hazel leapt off the throne and skidded to a stop in front of Sundew. "Hello! I'm Hazel — sorry, you know that. I hear about you all the time! Belladonna thinks you should be queen instead of me; do you think so, too? She's so scary! Sorry, I know she's your mom. Ack, I'm saying all the wrong things."

"Hold on," Sundew interrupted Hazel. "How do you know Belladonna?"

"Great-grandmother brings me to their meetings sometimes." Clearwing felt fury radiate off of Sundew, although her expression looked somewhat surprised. So this broken twig gets to go to the meetings and knows all about them, but I am apparently not allowed to attend?

Clearwing shook out her wings, and Hazel turned toward the rustling sound, then immediately gasped.

"Ohmygoshyourwingsaresoprettyyou'resoprettyhiI'mHazelohmygoodness," the princess said. "Um, I mean." She drew herself up, doing a rather impressive imitation of Sequoia's regal expression. Clearwing saw how many times she'd practiced to get this face just right, and how many times Sequoia had laughed at her... less accurate imitations.

"Welcome to the LeafWing village," the dragonet said. "We are delighted you could join us. Tea?"

Clearwing stifled a giggle and Willow laughed as well.

"You don't have to be queen-face Hazel for Sundew," Willow said.

"Yes, she does," Sequoia called as Hazel started to relax her wings. They snapped back into elegant arches almost immediately. "It's good practice, and none of us know Belladonna's daughter as well as you apparently do, Willow."

"And none of us know me that well," Clearwing piped up, then face-palmed. What happened to my words just then?

Queen Sequoia sighed, rubbing her temples. She looked up and pointed a claw at Sundew. "I heard you say something about a flamesilk, two burned Hives, and a new tribe. The full story. Now."

Clearwing saw the internal turmoil written all over Sundew's face. She was wondering whether to tell Sequoia about what had happened or not. But finally she took a deep breath.

The LeafWing warrior told them everything — the whole story about digging underneath the savannah, running into the flamesilk caverns, rescuing Luna, finding out about the Chrysalis, getting Luna to burn down Bloodworm Hive, laying in wait in the caves, then finding Clearwing and her friends being attacked by an entire Hive, rescuing some more SilkWings, kidnapping Coal, and flying back to the Jungle. She told the queen all about Coal and Clearwing's abilities, to Clearwing's slight dismay, and finally meeting Sequoia at the pond and flying here.

"We came home," she said. "And nobody followed us and everything is fine. Mission accomplished. Vengeance on track."

The LeafWing queen looked like she recognised a few things, mostly recognition and horror when Sundew had described Coal in particular. She leaned back into her throne, her talon still planted to her forehead. Finally she took a deep breath and spoke in a thin voice.

"Wasp can control them. If she can control them then we're doomed." She took another breath, this one shuddering. "And I can't believe Belladonna did it. After all our conversations!" She threw her talons up in the air, getting up from her throne. "After everything I've said to her! Her mother was so loyal, but that viper-" She snapped her jaw shut, breathing heavily through her nostrils.

"Great-grandmother?" Hazel asked.

"DO NOT TALK TO ME I AM CALMING DOWN," Sequoia barked.

The four younger dragons looked at each other, then back at the queen. Sequoia had her eyes scrunched closed and was breathing so hard Clearwing thought she might start shooting fire everywhere.

"Are you-" Hazel started.

"NO I AM NOT," Sequoia said. "SHUSH."

Hazel sighed. "This could take a minute," she whispered.

"This happens a lot?" Clearwing asked, even though she already saw how many times Sequoia had done this — during her meetings with Belladonna, the one time Hazel spilled glue all over her throne, during another one of her meetings with Belladonna...

"Only when she's really mad," Hazel replied. "Usually she can handle it fine without this whole theatrical interlude."

"I can STILL HEAR YOU," Sequoia's tail lashed, thumping the side of her throne. "I am TRYING to COUNT until I feel less like MURDERING EVERYONE."

"Count," Sundew echoed, tipping her head at the queen. The LeafWing glanced at Willow.

"That's why all of her meetings with Belladonna take so long," Hazel joked. "Because she has to take deep breaths and count to calm herself down after everything your mom says, or else she might end up strangling her."

Clearwingwing found it hard to imagine anyone strangling Sundew's mother, least of all the peaceful queen of the "SapWings", as Sundew called them.

"I think she should try," Sundew said. "Why doesn't she yell at her? Or us? Maybe then she'll feel better."

"That's horrible," Willow said. "I don't want her to yell at us! I wouldn't feel better! I'd feel awful. And I bet she would, too. Does yelling make you feel better? It's only ever made me feel worse."

"Oh my goodness," Sundew yelped. "I must hear every story about you yelling at someone right this moment.

Willow scrunched up her nose and Clearwing stifled a giggle. "I was very young, and it was only once, and I still feel guilty about it."

"Well, I'm sure they deserved it." Sundew coiled her tail around Willow's.

"Great-grandmother tries very hard not to yell at her subjects," Hazel said in her queen-face voice. "She was a more impulsive, angry queen during the Tree Wars, and she has come to believe it got several of her subjects killed. She has made an effort to become a wiser, calmer ruler, thanks in large part to the implementation of this counting-to-ten strategy."

"Must be past ten by now," Sundew commented. "I could've counted to at least nine hundred in this time."

"Not with a quartet of annoying dragonets chattering like magpies in the background," Queen Sequoia said. She took another deep breath. "Okay, I'm calm now. Well, calm enough." She looked out the window.

Sundew sat up. "I just want to say that I for one am very glad you were an angry dragon during the Tree Wars, because you fought back against Wasp's army. I'm glad you didn't just roll over like Monarch did, and you fought for your tribe and protected us from her. I would hate for the LeafWings to be stuck where the SilkWing are right now, so thank you for being a mad dragon but now we need to fight again, so could we please begin preparing."

Sequoia stepped off the throne. The queen gazed down at Sundew, and after a few moments a thin flicker of a smile crossed her face.

"I think Belladonna made a mistake leaving you out of our meetings for all this time," she said. "You are considerably more persuasive than she is." Sundew sat up a little taller, trying not to grin.

"But no," the queen continued. "No, we can't, because now the burnt Hive has probably aggravated the HiveWing and the GreyWings might have allied with Wasp, and their army is unparalleled. We are not getting involved in another war we can't dream of winning."

"What's a GreyWing?" Hazel asked.

"Crazy death tribe that can breathe fire and kill us all," Clearwing replied helpfully.

"A more apt description is the dragons who could make both LeafWing armies combined look like a bunch of SilkWing dragonets," Queen Sequoia replied. She sighed, her expression grim. "I suppose I should look at the vine you've been drawing, Clearwing."

The SilkWing dragonet looked up, startled. She was surprised the queen had even noticed that she'd stolen a piece of paper and some colored ink pots. She had thought Sequoia was much busier breathing and talking and not yelling and being worried about GreyWings to see Clearwing quietly sketching in the background.

The SilkWing held out the paper, placing it into Sequoia's outstretched talons.

Something happened to the queen's face. It was fast and hard to catch in the dim phosphorescent light, but Clearwing felt the flash of recognition and — a split second later — horror flash through the queen's eyes and radiate off her scales. Clearwing flinched back. Compulsively, Sequoia's talons closed around the paper, crumpling it slightly. She released it and took a deep breath as it dropped to the floor. "I'll have more information in the morning."

"You know it," Sundew said. "You've seen the vine before!"

"She has," Clearwing echoed. New stories were unfolding — repressed memories, nightmares even stronger than those of the GreyWings, Queen Wasp-

Hawthorn.

Clearwing flinched so hard she nearly fell over.

"I'm... not sure," Sequoia said. She was lying. She was sure — she knew exactly what this vine was, and she knew exactly how Wasp got her talons on it. But she needed to be alone and calm down and tell them all later, and Clearwing respected that, so she kept her mouth clamped shut. "I need to consult my books," the queen waved a talon at them, raising abruptly to her feet. "Go away and come back after dawn. All four of you." She sent a stern look in Hazel's direction.

Clearwing could tell Sundew kind of wanted to press her harder and find out what she knew, and a brief memory of finding this plant in one of Wasp's greenhouses flashed through her mind.

She and Belladonna and Hemlock were going to steal the Book of Clearsight, Clearwing realized with a start. But then they heard the news that there was a flamesilk on their side and went to go burn down Bloodworm Hive instead, and then they completely forgot about that plan. But soon enough they'll remember...

"Can I take Sundew to meet the new dragons?" Willow asked, taking Sundew's talon in her own.

"Yes, yes, just go," Queen Sequoia said.

"They're asleep, you nuts," Hazel pointed out.

"We'll just peek at them," Willow said. "Come on, Sundew!" The LeafWings sprinted down a hallway, with Sundew trailing a little ways behind Willow. Clearwing already had an idea at what they were going to see, and exhaustion was making her eyelids feel like they weighed a million tons, so she decided to just sleep for now, and then she could check out the "new dragons" and hopefully Sequoia would have good news in the morning.

Clearwing followed Hazel to her room, and lay down in a soft bed of leaves.

And even though her dreams were troubled by nightmares and vines, she was still so, so happy to finally get some rest, and let the world fall away for just a little while.