Prologue
The prologue began the day after the dragonets escaped the SkyWings, with the focus centered on Webs as he emerged from a river. He was suddenly made aware that he was surrounded by seven members of the Talons of Peace, three of the dragons being Nautilus, a male SeaWing and the leader of the Talons; Cirrus, a male IceWing; and Crocodile, a female MudWing. After Webs informed them of what befell the dragonets, they conversed amongst themselves with Webs still there. He heard about The Backup Plan, although they never clarified what that really was. Then, on Nautilus' orders, Cirrus attacked Webs and said that he was going to rip Webs' heart out and feed it to the fish (which Webs found ironic, considering he had just eaten a fish). However, Crocodile knocked the two unconscious, thus letting him go unscathed. As Webs flew away, Crocodile caught up with him and encouraged him to go back to the Kingdom of the Sea. She described Queen Coral as a good queen and claimed the SeaWing queen was in a "good mood". After saying good-bye to the MudWing, Webs decided to return home and to ask Coral to forgive him.
Part 1: The Edge of the Ocean
The story started with Tsunami standing on a beach, with her friends behind her. Starflightattempted to order the others back under the trees, as he was worried they would be spotted by a SkyWing patrol, but no one listened to him. He reminded them of the dragons that were searching for them after Glory possibly killed Scarlet and they escaped from the SkyWing Palace. Clay began to complain about the tiny fish in the shallow water instead of big ones while Tsunami and Starflight started arguing. Sunny reacted by asking Clay to intervene. Glory then teases Clay about him being a "bigwings." Clay explained that they should get to the SeaWings as fast as possible, to be safe. Starflight then heard wingbeats and started to panic. Tsunami was doubtful of the sounds of wingbeats, not being able to hear them herself, and thought Starflight was overreacting. Then Sunny chimed in and said that she heard them, too, and smelled smoke.
Tsunami dove into the water upon seeing a patrol of SkyWings approaching. Sunny ran after Starflight, while Clay encountered a mud shelf and Glory camouflaged with the sand. The SkyWings bolted past, but the last one stopped and looked around. Tsunami, thinking he saw Sunny, attacked the dragon. Clay flew to Tsunami's aid soon after she attacked, and helped drag the SkyWing into the ocean. After the soldier passed out, Tsunami and Clay hauled him onto the beach. There, Clay attempted to revive him, much to Glory's displeasure. The others soon arrived and lectured Tsunami for attacking the soldier without needing to. Starflight then requested for Tsunami and Clay to go get a fallen tree, which they placed on the soldier's shoulders. They covered his eyes with leaves, and began to fly inland, "just in case." As they left, Tsunami glanced over her shoulder for a long moment at the sea. She felt regret because of the dragonets' annoyance with her and then that they started listening to Starflight.
Four days later, Tsunami woke up on an island in the Bay of a Thousand Scales. She contemplated the recent events concerning Starflight. Then, she jumped into the ocean. She fought the currents to the next island, where she spotted a SeaWing. She watched him as he interacted with another SeaWing. The second SeaWing then left and Tsunami caught up with the first one. He first seemed startled to see her. She pointed to the surface and the SeaWing swam away. Tsunami chased him and pinned him after he head-slammed into a whale. The dragon flashed his stripes at Tsunami. Tsunami responded in kind, causing the dragon to look confused. She reached the surface, and the other SeaWing followed momentarily and flashed his stripes again. Tsunami imitated him and he lunged for her. Tsunami then attacked him and flew back to her friends. The SeaWing followed her and asked what was wrong. Tsunami then told him that he attacked her, but he denied the accusation. He then informed Tsunami that she said she liked him. He claimed that Tsunami said, quote, "Hey, sparkling teeth, I love three of your claws but not the others, and I wish your nose was a herring so I could eat it, and also your wings sound like sharks snoring." Tsunami burst out laughing in response. The SeaWing told her to leave because he thought that a SeaWing that does not know Aquatic is not a SeaWing, and he attacked Clay, whom he had mistaken for an enemy. Tsunami then set him straight a few points after Sunny attempted to stop the SeaWing, by telling them that the five of them were the dragonets of destiny.
The SeaWing then revealed his name to be Riptide. He asked about Webs, and Tsunami told him a few things. He then offered to go inform Queen Coral because he did not want to bring Tsunami's friends to the hidden Summer Palace. Tsunami refused, saying, "How would she feel if you told her you met her missing daughter and did not bring her to the palace?" In response, Riptide started to protest, but again, Tsunami insisted on ongoing and bringing her friends. Riptide then placed seaweed on Clay and Sunny, serving as a blindfold. The six dragons then flew over the sea and towards the Summer Palace. They met Commander Shark, who turned out to be Tsunami's uncle and Queen Coral's brother, along with being the Chief of Defense. Tsunami acted defensively towards him, not believing he was very trustworthy. Shark ordered the soldiers to kill the dragonets and bring Tsunami to the Palace. Tsunami knocked one soldier out of the air and told Shark to bring all five of them to the palace. They swam underwater for a long time, surfacing occasionally to breathe in a semi-aquatic tunnel entrance, modified for Blister's rare visits.
Part 2: Into the Deep
As Tsunami emerged from the water, she noticed all the blue and green SeaWings staring at her. She remembered the stripes on her wings that Riptide mentioned earlier and lit them up. She then tried an "I'm home!" speech but ended up embarrassing herself. Riptide led the dragonets to the top of the pavilion, a stone structure twelve stories tall. Riptide explained how each level had a different purpose. After they reached the top level, Riptide informed the dragonets that an animus SeaWing designed it by animating the stone to grow into its shape. Minutes later, Queen Coral arrived. Tsunami was thrilled to see her mother but was shocked to see another dragonet with royal stripes on her wings with the queen. Riptide told Tsunami that the dragonet was her sister, Anemone.
Tsunami growled at Starflight and asked why he did not know about Anemone. He claimed that the scroll, The Royal Lineage of the SeaWings: From the Scorching to the Present, was old and outdated. Glory noticed this and commented on the situation. Before Tsunami could even react, Queen Coral landed and embraced her, quoting the homecoming scene of The Missing Princess. Anemone complained that her claws hurt. Coral then explained to Anemone that Tsunami was the dragonet that she lost six years ago. Tsunami introduced herself, and Coral asked about Webs. Coral noticed Clay and proceeded to shout at him, saying, "WHY IS THERE A MUDWING IN MY SUMMER PALACE?" Tsunami quickly explained by saying that Clay was her friend, as a Dragonet of Destiny. Coral then ordered the guards to place the dragonets in Blister's cave with a guard, much to the dragonets' outrage. Coral told Tsunami that the other dragonets would be fine. Tsunami told Coral about how Webs never let her near the ocean or taught her Aquatic. Outraged, Coral stated that she would execute him.
Coral gave Tsunami a strand of smooth white pearls, claiming that "I have to start making up for all the gifts I missed giving you." Tsunami noticed dark stains on Coral's claws. Coral told her that they were "the perils of my job! Well, my hobby, anyway. My art, you might call it." Coral then took Tsunami to the 8th level of the pavilion, the library. Coral introduced Tsunami to Whirlpool, claiming that he would make a fine king someday. Tsunami noticed Anemone quickly hide a hopeful expression, and wondered how much the little dragonet could clear up. Coral explained that she loved to write and gave Tsunami four scrolls 'for her to read tonight.' One of them was The Missing Princess, and Tsunami excitedly informed Coral how that scroll was her favorite. "Really?" Coral asked. "I wrote it for you!"
Just then, a SeaWing bearing a resemblance to Shark appeared. Coral identified her as Moray, Tsunami's cousin. Moray kissed up to the queen for a moment before explaining that there was a dead SkyWing a few islands from the Summer Palace. Coral immediately went to see the body, with Shark, Moray, Tsunami, Anemone, and another dragon, Piranha, close behind. When they reach the island, Tsunami was exhausted from swimming. She then looked down at the dead dragon. Shock quickly subsided to disbelief. The dead SkyWing was Kestrel, one of their old guardians. Someone had murdered her.
Tsunami felt conflicted while flying back to the Summer Palace. She eventually decided to go see her friends tomorrow and tell them everything then. Coral returned from a war meeting with Anemone. The three SeaWings flew to a waterfall and swam under it, revealing an underwater bedroom. Tsunami collapsed into her bed and fell asleep. She woke up the next morning to find Anemone watching her. Startled, Tsunami feared that Anemone was trying to kill her. However, Anemone signaled for her to be quiet then tried to say something in Aquatic, forgetting that Tsunami never learned to speak the language. Anemone tried again and remembered, frustrated. Tsunami inspected the harness, which she guesses grew with her. Anemone signaled Tsunami to follow her to the surface, which Anemone was barely able to reach. She expressed her relief that Tsunami was home, claiming that, "Maybe you can make her less crazy, or maybe she'll set me free now that she has you." About Coral. Anemone claimed that she was happy she no longer had to marry Whirlpool, but Tsunami said no to the prospect of marrying that dragon. She also stated that she did not have the time to get married.
Tsunami asked a few more questions, specifically about Orca, Coral's oldest and deceased daughter, which Anemone hurriedly answered so that the two sisters could return to their beds before Coral woke up. When the queen did awaken, she gave another strand of pearls to Tsunami, these purple and oddly shaped. The three of them then head to the Council meeting on the 6th floor of the pavilion. Tsunami was given the pool marked "Dragonet Care" to sit in, as its occupant, Tortoise, was absent due to guarding the royal hatchery.
After Tsunami embarrassed herself by eating before Coral's permission, Coral began to discuss rescuing Gill, the SeaWing king. Unknown by the Council or the queen, he was killed by Tsunami in the SkyWing arena. Tsunami soon learned after a confession from Coral that Gill was Tsunami's father. She felt incredibly guilty after the meeting was dismissed, wanting to be alone. However, Whirlpool insisted on giving her an Aquatic lesson. After learning nothing from it, she headed out to the island that looked like a dragon skeleton and met Riptide there. He gave her a proper lesson in which she learned basic Aquatic and she returned to the palace.
While swimming through the tunnel, a dragon attacked her, forcing a hood over her head so that she could not see. She managed to fight off her attacker but did not see who it was. Riptide showed up and asked if she was okay. In Aquatic, she said 'alright' and headed in to alert her mother. Queen Coral was reading to a bored Anemone of how she chose Gill to be her husband. Tsunami informed her that someone attacked her and Coral became concerned about her eggs. She gathered her council, and they rushed to the Deep Palace.
They headed inside to the hatchery. Tsunami saw the statue of Orca, which she knew was her dead sister. She heard Coral's roar of fury and saw the limp body of the blue hatchling. Coral exited the hatchery and Tsunami picked up the last egg, believing and swearing to protect it. Queen Coral was attacking the failed dragonet care council member Tortoise. After killing her, she spotted Tsunami with the egg. She beckoned her to hand it over, but Tsunami refused and flashed her stripes saying, "I will protect" and pointing to the egg. Coral headed to the surface with Anemone and Tsunami and they argued about the egg. Coral eventually gave in, and Tsunami got a harness for the egg, but it did not fit. Anemone touched it and it shrank to the egg and her size.
Tsunami swam back to the Summer Palace in a storm, worried about her friends. She got lost, but eventually found Riptide, who showed her the way. She met up with her friends in the caves and found that someone had chained up Clay. She convinced some guards to hand over the key to unlocking him and they flew into a dry cave. Tsunami gave Sunny the egg, to keep it warm with Sunny's warm body heat that all SandWings possess.
The dragonets awoke to find Princess Blister standing over them, and Coral yelling angrily about her egg. Tsunami and the dragonets came to breakfast after Blister convinced Coral they should come. Tsunami loudly announced that Lagoon and Shark disobeyed Coral, getting them locked in the underwater dungeon. They then talked about Kestrel, who Tsunami had forgotten to mention to her friends about. In the commotion, Blister backed Tsunami up by saying it could be shocking seeing the dead body of someone you knew. Then she said, "especially when you've wanted to slash her throat yourself once or twice in your lifetime — right, Tsunami?". Tsunami wondered how Blister knew Kestrel's throat was slashed when only a stabbing was mentioned. Starflight also caught Blister's mistake.
Blister then wanted to see their "secret weapon" and Tsunami followed them. Whirlpool took a strand of pearls and told Anemone to make it crawl across the room. On her second try, she obeyed, and Tsunami realized she was an animus. Blister and Coral went off to talk privately and Anemone made the pearls fly off the edge, causing Whirlpool to follow. Anemone explained that every time an animus used their powers, they lost a bit of themselves, and she was scared for that to happen. Blister and Coral finish conversing but they then heard a noise from the canopy.
Blister flew up to see what the noise was and grabs a dragon, Webs, out of the canopy, leaving a hole. Coral was still angry at Webs and she attacked him, throwing him off the edge. Tsunami found herself trying to save him, and Clay helped. They land on the library level and the other dragonets follow. Coral questioned why she would save him, and she lied saying they could use him for information about the Talons of Peace. Webs woke and Coral forced him to explain how he got into the hatchery. He said he drugged the guards with help from his wife. Queen Coral cruelly said she put his wife in battle, and "too bad that first battle was such a bloodbath." Coral then wanted information about the Talons of Peace. Tsunami was upset that Coral did not seem to care that a dragonet's life was ruined. Starflight then said that Webs saved her life by stealing her egg because she would have been murdered as well. Urchin then came and announced that they found a dragon outside of the palace. They brought him in, and it was Riptide.
Tsunami admitted she had been taking Aquatic lessons from Riptide, and not Whirlpool. Coral suspected he was working for the Talons of Peace and Tsunami claimed it was a lie. Blister cut in and said that Riptide and Webs were working together to kill the heirs to the throne to use Tsunami as a bargaining chip. Coral was excited by this idea and believed it. Starflight then explained that it would not work, because the murders started two years before they stole Tsunami's egg, and Webs could not have flown there and back whenever he wanted to kill a dragonet. Coral and Tsunami made a deal; she would let Riptide go if she caught the murderer. Tsunami realized that Blister wanted Webs dead, but for unknown reasons.
Part 3: Out of the Egg
While guarding the egg in the pitch-black hatchery, Tsunami heard a scraping noise and noticed Orca's statue moving. The statue attacked her and cut one of her gills, then stepped on her and broke some of her ribs. Tsunami fought back and yanked out its eyes, grabbing the narwhal spear while it looked for its eyes. As the statue walked over to the egg, Tsunami realized that it had been enchanted by an animus. The statue leaped at her and she stabbed the spear into its chest. Upon noticing that it had crumbled a bit, she came up with a plan to trap it in order to smash it. She lodged the spear into the statue's mouth and jammed the other end into a crevice. The statue attempted to escape but Tsunami grabbed the egg right as it broke open. A little green head with dark green eyes blinked at Tsunami, and she said "hello" in Aquatic. She swam over to the door and opened it. The statue froze. Tsunami theorized that it was Orca who enchanted the statue.
Later, Tsunami named the newly hatched dragonet Auklet. She questioned Starflight as to why he was suddenly favoring Blister, and he did not answer. Coral, Anemone, and Blister arrived and informed her that Orca's statue had been destroyed. Clay wondered who Tsunami's mystery attacker could have been, but Coral reassured him that they would be caught eventually. The dragonets accidentally revealed that they planned on leaving, at which point Blister proclaimed that she wanted the dragonets to choose her as the SandWing queen, nearly saying that the NightWingswanted her but correcting herself in time. In the ensuing argument, Blister almost told Coral that Tsunami killed Gill, but Starflight spoke up and revealed that Blister was the one who killed Kestrel, that she wanted Webs dead for her own reasons, and that she did not care about Coral's daughters at all. Coral, unsure of who to believe, scooped up Auklet and Anemone and flew away after ordering the guards to take the dragonets. The dragonets were then thrown in prison.
The prisons were islands with water flowing from the ceiling around them. In the water were electric eels that the prisoners were afraid of getting shocked by. Starflight, aware of this, pulled Tsunami back from the waterfall and explainrd the eels to the group. Sunny said that she heard wingbeats and Glory spotted a temporarily unharnessed Anemone. Anemone enchanted a spear to find Tsunami's attacker, who turned out to be Whirlpool. He was impressed, and admitted that he wanted Tsunami dead so he could marry Anemone, then mused that he could marry Auklet and inform Blister of this "development" of Anemone's powers. Anemone swung the spear across Whirlpool's head, and he fell into the moat. The eels gave out a full shock which killed him. Tsunami took a chance and jumped through the waterfall before opening the cage and freeing the other dragonets. She asked Anemone to come with them, but Anemone refused. Sunny heard the wingbeats again, and a firebomb was dropped through the canopy. Tsunami then freed Riptide and Webs.
Crocodile, a MudWing, claimed that she followed Webs to the palace. She brought an attack with her from Burn's alliance. Glory shot venom into her eyes, presumably killing her. Tsunami spotted her mother and Anemone, who were throwing scrolls into the water to keep them from burning. Riptide joined in the defense of the palace. The dragonets escaped the palace, but as they did, Blister stabbed Webs with her tail, missing his heart but still poisoning him. Tsunami had the idea to go to the RainWings for help. The novel ends with her thought, "So the Kingdom of the Sea wasn't my home after all. I wonder if anywhere ever will be."
Epilogue
Morrowseer and Blister discussed the future of the dragonets. Nautilus was summoned, and he told the two of them of his backup plan, a group of false dragonets of destiny made up of the offspring of his fellow Talons. When discussing this plan, Morrowseer suggested that they could combine the best options from each group. Blister demanded that Tsunami and Starflight be deposed for the new dragonets. Morrowseer agreed and added that they may be able to keep Clay, also stating that he had already hired an assassin.