The Lost Heir Read Online Free PDF

wings to catch up, dove over the edge of the reef, and swam around in front of him.
    The SeaWing started back in an eddy of ripples. His eyes were a blue so dark they were almost black.
    Tsunami pointed up at the surface.
Come on out of the water so we can talk,
she tried to signal. Hopefully he’d figure out what she meant.
    To her surprise, he whipped around and fled. His tail smacked a wave of water in her face.
    Well,
that’s
unfriendly,
she thought. She swam after him, swinging her tail to propel herself even faster. He glanced back over his shoulder, saw her chasing him, and put on a burst of speed.
    Why was he running away? And how was he so
fast
?
    “Stop!” she tried to yell through the water. “I just want to talk!”
    Of course that didn’t work. He didn’t even slow down.
    But then he twisted to look back at Tsunami, and so he didn’t see the whale that suddenly loomed out of the deep in front of him.
    Tsunami waved her talons and pointed. “Watch out!” she shouted in a cascade of bubbles.
    The SeaWing smacked into the whale’s side and careened backward. The whale was only slightly bigger than the dragon, with ridges all along its back and a flat, mild-mannered face. It made a weird squeaking groan and blinked at the SeaWing in confusion.
    The dragon was still shaking his head, trying to reorient himself, when Tsunami caught up, grabbed his tail, and pinned him to the sand.
    The whale blinked again and swam on. Eddies rippled around the two dragons as it powered away through the water.
    Now what do I do?
Tsunami thought.
I have to get him to the surface to talk to him, but if I let him go, he might try to escape again.
    She frowned down at the dragon and pointed at the surface again. Flashes of sunlight shimmered up above them, like pieces of broken gold-white glass floating on the water.
    The other dragon tipped his head to one side. Luminescent stripes lit up along his wings, flashing fast, then slow.
    All right,
Tsunami thought.
I can do that, too. Maybe he’s testing me.
    She lit up her own stripes, illuminating the ones on her snout, then the ones along her tail, and finally her wings.
See? My stripes flash, too. I’m a SeaWing. Now let’s go up and talk.
    Slowly she spread her wings and lifted up, prepared to grab him if he tried to bolt again. He scrambled upright but stayed with her. Encouraged, Tsunami swam a bit closer to the surface. He followed, but only for a bit before he stopped and looked around.
    His stripes flashed again, this time along his neck and tail.
    Impatiently Tsunami lit up her stripes one more time, mirroring what he’d done.
    The SeaWing’s wings flared open with a whoosh that scared fish into the reef. He lunged toward Tsunami, fast as a minnow. His front talons reached for her.
    Tsunami roared, blasting him in the eyes with bubbles, and sliced her claws across his snout. She didn’t know why he was attacking. Maybe he was a traitor SeaWing. Or maybe he was guarding his territory or trea sure. Perhaps he thought she was an intruder, although he wasn’t much of a guard if his first instinct was to run away, and his second was to attack with no reason.
    He’ll be sorry when he finds out who I am!
she thought fiercely.
    She kicked his underbelly hard with her back legs. He coughed up a stream of bubbles and fell back. Tsunami spread her wings, snarled at him one more time, and shot to the surface.
    She burst into the air and kept beating her wings to rise into the sky. In the distance, she could see the cliff-side cave and the worried faces of her friends poking out.
    An enormous splash sounded behind her. The other SeaWing surged out of the ocean. His massive tail whacked the water twice as he lifted into the air, sending giant waves rushing in all directions.
    He looked even bigger out here in the air. His hooked claws gleamed sharply in the sunlight. His dark blue eyes were fixed on her wings.
    The first true citizen of her kingdom she’d ever met, and he was