Free Wings of Fire Book Three: The Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland Page B

startled expression.
    “Who disappeared after Splendor?” Glory asked.
    “Two dragons who were out venom training,” said Mangrove. “One of them was having trouble aiming his venom properly, so the other took him away from the village to practice, and neither of them came back.”
    “Kinkajou was working on her venom, too,” Glory said. “Is there a particular spot where RainWings go to do that?”
    Mangrove shook his head. “Wherever the venom trainers choose.”
    “Mshish vemmy shmewy,” Clay mumbled around the fruit in his jaws.
    “Yes, those fruits are,” said Mangrove. “It’ll probably take you an hour to swallow it and then several days to pick the bits out of your teeth.”
    “Ha,” Starflight said. “Let’s take a few back for Tsunami.”
    Glory hid her smile, trying to look responsible and investigative. “What else can you tell me about the missing dragons?” she asked Mangrove. “How many females, how many dragonets, stuff like that?”
    Mangrove counted on his claws. “Seven females, five males. Four dragonets under the age of seven. Kinkajou is three, so she’d be the youngest, and Tapir is the oldest; he’s around a hundred and ten.”
    “Do any of them have any enemies in the tribe?” Glory asked. “Anyone who’d wish them harm?”
    Mangrove drew himself up, and bolts of orange flashed along the underside of his wings. “RainWings don’t ever fight each other,” he said. “There’s no such thing as enemies within the tribe. Haven’t you noticed how peaceful and harmonious everyone is?”
    “Well, sure,” Glory said. “Everyone but you.
You
seem a little grumpy. So apparently it’s at least
possible
to be a grumpy RainWing.”
    He stared at her for a moment with his mouth open.
Whoops
, Glory thought.
I hope I didn’t just lose my best source of information.
    “I mean,” she added, “there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’m
pretty grumpy most of the time.”
    “
Most
of the time?” said Starflight.
    “Mmmm-hmmph,” Clay mumble-agreed.
    “Some things just deserve being grumpy at,” Glory said, frowning at her friends.
    Mangrove let out a bark of laughter. “All right. You’re right. I guess I’ve been ne glecting my sun time since Orchid went missing,” he said. “I used to be as cheerful as everyone else, but I’m worried about her.” He rubbed one talon over his ruff and ears. “Trust me, Orchid was perfection in every scale. No one could possibly want to hurt her.”
    That’s what I was afraid of
, Glory thought. If another RainWing wasn’t behind the abductions, then it had to be something more mysterious — and more dangerous. She couldn’t help thinking of the dead MudWing soldiers.
    But what was dangerous and strong enough to kill dragons, and why didn’t anyone know it was out there?
    She glanced at Starflight, but he looked as puzzled as she was.
    “I don’t really want to talk about this anymore right now,” said Mangrove, hunching his shoulders.
    “Then do something else for us,” Glory said. “Take me to the last place you saw Orchid.”
    Mangrove bowed his head, shuffled the unsorted fruit into a lopsided pile, and spread his wings. Glory and the others followed him over the edge and rapidly down in giant loops toward the rainforest floor.
    It grew darker the farther down they went, with the sunlight caught in the treetops far above their heads. Glory watched the forest for signs they could use to follow the trail back — a toppled banana tree here, a spiderweb as large as one of her wings there. She caught glimpses of other creatures in the undergrowth. A large furry anteater had its nose buried in a hole, rummaging around. A pair of long-legged lavender-colored birds paused in their stroll through the forest to shoot suspicious looks at the dragons whisking by.
    Glory was surprised at how far they flew from the village.
    “Isn’t there fruit to gather closer to home?” she called.
    Mangrove nodded and twisted his head around