Wings of Fire Book Four: The Dark Secret by Tui T. Sutherland Page A

head.
    The tunnel twisted quickly downward, so they had to dig their claws in to avoid sliding. Fatespeaker breathed a small plume of fire, but all that did was illuminate the thick dark walls that encircled them. The air was hot and stuffy, and Starflight began to wonder if anyone had ever died exploring these tunnels.
    Suddenly the tunnel turned directly down and dumped them out into an empty space. Fatespeaker fell first, lettingout a shout of surprise, so Starflight had a minute’s warning and was able to open his wings as soon as his claws lost their grip on the floor. Still, he tumbled several feet and landed on top of her.
    “Ooof,” she said. He scrambled away, and they both lit up the air with their fire at the same time.
    The room was small but intact; the lava had crushed the upper floors but left this one preserved. Starflight could see a small hallway outside the door, with more rooms beyond that. He looked up uneasily, thinking about the weight of everything above them.
    Fatespeaker was already hurrying to the doorway as their fire faded into complete darkness. “Mightyclaws said the old treasure room is three doors down on the left. Come on!”
    “But isn’t it empty?” Starflight asked, following her with his front talons outstretched. “Are we just going to look at an empty room?”
    “A fascinating empty room,” she insisted. “It used to be full of treasure , just imagine. I’ve never even seen any treasure before.”
    “Oh, right,” Starflight said. “The Talons of Peace wouldn’t have any, I guess, unless some dragons brought it with them when they left their tribes.”
    “If anyone did, they keep it hidden,” she said. He felt her tail flick against his snout accidentally as they both felt their way along the walls. “You didn’t have treasure in your hiding-under-the-mountain place, did you?”
    “No, but I’ve been to the Sky Kingdom and the Kingdomof the Sea,” Starflight said, “and I saw enough treasure there to know that having lots of treasure doesn’t make you a good queen, or a happy tribe.”
    “I thought Queen Coral was a good queen,” Fatespeaker said, sounding surprised.
    “Well, keep in mind she wrote a lot of the scrolls you’ve probably read about her,” Starflight said. “But she’s not terrible. She’s better than Queen Scarlet, that’s for sure. Or Blister.” He shuddered, remembering the SandWing dragon who had been so disgusted with him.
    “I bet the SandWings would be happier if they could find the treasure that scavenger stole, though,” Fatespeaker said.
    “Maybe,” Starflight said. “There were some really famous pieces of treasure in there, including stuff that was rumored to be animus-touched.”
    “Animus-touched?” Fatespeaker stopped and breathed fire again. They were standing under a tall archway with two black metal doors, one of which was propped open just enough for a dragonet to slip through.
    “ Animus-touched means an object that’s been magicked by an animus dragon,” Starflight explained in the helpful-teacher voice he sometimes used with his friends. “So the object is left with some kind of power — like a necklace that can make you invisible, or a stone that can find anyone you’re looking for.” Or a statue that’ll kill any heir to the SeaWing throne it can get its claws on. “It’s sort of an archaic term because supposedly there aren’t any animus dragons anymore, but that’s clearly not true — there’s at least oneamong the SeaWings, and there must have been one not long ago among the NightWings.”
    “Really?” Fatespeaker pushed lightly on the metal door, and it groaned open another inch.
    He realized he didn’t know how much she knew about the NightWing island. “Yes — there’s a tunnel from here to the rainforest, and one from the rainforest to the Kingdom of Sand, which must have been made by an animus dragon,” he said. “I guess I can’t be sure how long ago it was, but none of the