The Dragonet Prophecy

The crowd loves Tsunami even more after the battle ends, which disgruntles both Burn and Queen Scarlet. Queen Scarlet puts Starflight in the arena and challenges him to battle Tsunami. Impatient with Queen Scarlet’s games, Burn complains, “This is a frivolous palace” (223). The two constantly snap at each other.

Starflight and Tsunami hug each other instead of fighting. Queen Scarlet makes a pathetic attempt to instigate a fight, “Go on you’ve been stuck with each other for years. You must be ready to kill her, NightWing. Doesn’t she drive you mad?” (224). When it doesn’t work, she commands her guards to bring her in the scavengers to fight the dragonets. When Burn complains again, Queen Scarlet insists that having a NightWing in her arena is so rare and she wants “to see him fight everything” (225).

Starflight freezes in place as four scavengers run into the arena. One knocks himself unconscious while trying to escape, and Tsunami tosses another into the crowd, where a spectator eats it. Tsunami fights and Starflight avoids being blinded by a scavenger, banging his own head on the ground to throw the scavenger off. The scavengers’ behavior surprises