The Dark Secret

The fourth book in the Wings of Fire series is set in a world where dragon tribes wage a decades-long war over who will become the next queen of the SandWings. A prophecy foretells that five dragonets will end the conflict: Clay the MudWing, Tsunami the SeaWing, Glory the RainWing, Sunny the SandWing, and Starflight the NightWing. The previous books followed these dragonets as they escaped captivity, encountered rival queens, and discovered that the NightWing tribe has been kidnapping RainWings from the rainforest. This installment shifts to Starflight, who has been abducted by his own tribe.

A prologue introduces Reed, a MudWing soldier whose troop survives an IceWing ambush on the border. The siblings discuss their hope that Clay, Reed's brother whose egg was stolen before hatching, will fulfill the prophecy and end the war.

Starflight wakes in a dormitory inside the NightWing fortress, built on an active volcano on a remote island. He recalls being knocked out while guarding a magically created tunnel connecting the island to the rainforest. NightWing dragonets surround him, including Fierceteeth, his older half-sister, who hopes he dies so she can replace him in the prophecy. The dragonets are shockingly thin and sickly, and the dormitory has far more sleeping spots than occupants, suggesting the tribe is dwindling.

Morrowseer, the massive NightWing who delivered the original prophecy, brings Starflight before the tribal council in a cave above a lava lake. Queen Battlewinner watches unseen behind a screen of stone while her daughter, Princess Greatness, relays commands. Under pressure, Starflight confirms that the RainWings plan to attack. Deathbringer, an assassin who helped Glory and Clay escape the island, is put on trial and sent to the dungeon, while a NightWing named Vengeance is executed for endangering the tribe by capturing Glory.

In the fortress tunnels, Starflight meets Fatespeaker, a cheerful NightWing dragonet raised by the Talons of Peace, a rebel group opposing the war. She has been designated Starflight's potential replacement in the prophecy; the queen has decreed that one of them will be chosen and the other killed. Morrowseer introduces four alternate dragonets raised by the Talons: Flame the SkyWing, Ochre the MudWing, Viper the SandWing, and Squid the SeaWing. When ordered to kill Starflight as a test, they fail; he escapes by hiding in a dark chasm connecting the RainWing prison caves.

Walking through the fortress, Starflight pieces together the NightWings' secret plan. The volcano is destroying the island: Prey is scarce, the air is toxic, and freshwater is contaminated. The tribe intends to invade the rainforest and seize it as a new home, and their experiments on captive RainWings are designed to develop venom-resistant armor for the assault. Blister, one of three SandWing queens competing for the throne, has promised military support. Starflight's father, Mastermind, a fortress scientist, shows him the research firsthand. RainWing prisoners are shackled and forced to shoot venom while Mastermind tests materials and builds protective gear. Starflight finds a RainWing named Orchid pinned to a wall and whispers that her partner Mangrove is coming to rescue her.

During a nighttime exploration of the fortress's collapsed section, Starflight discovers a dreamvisitor, a sapphire enchanted by an animus (a dragon with magical powers) that allows its holder to enter sleeping dragons' dreams. He uses it to observe Kinkajou, an injured young RainWing, and glimpses Glory wearing a crown in the dream, confirming she has become queen of the RainWings. As the dream fades, Starflight sees Sunny and Tsunami arrive in the real rainforest to check on Kinkajou. He overhears Sunny insisting he did not betray them but cannot make anyone see or hear him.

Morrowseer flies the dragonets to a remote SkyWing outpost and orders them to convince the soldiers to support Blister. Starflight refuses, realizing Blister conspired with the NightWings against his friends. NightWings who had secretly followed them attack and kill every soldier. Morrowseer banishes Squid, ordering him to fly alone through hostile territory.

Back on the island, Starflight and Fatespeaker follow a hidden passage to Battlewinner's secret chamber, where they find the queen immersed in a giant cauldron of lava. Starflight deduces that an IceWing blasted frostbreath down her throat years ago; she survived only by submerging in lava, its heat counteracting the ice in a precarious balance that traps her permanently. Battlewinner dismisses their plea to restrain Morrowseer.

That night, Starflight uses the dreamvisitor to reach Glory, who recognizes the device in a lucid dream. He relays the invasion plan and the island's layout. Glory promises to guard Tsunami and asks for more intelligence. During battle training the next day, Viper's poisonous tail slashes Flame's face, destroying one eye. When Starflight intervenes to protect Fatespeaker, he collides with Viper, who falls into the lava and dies. Ochre reveals that neither he nor Flame were hatched on the brightest night as the prophecy requires, confirming the alternates are frauds.

The NightWing council votes to attack the rainforest at midnight. Starflight discovers the dreamvisitor has been stolen, so he and Fatespeaker retrieve the wounded Flame and bluff their way past the tunnel guards, claiming Battlewinner ordered them to take the injured SkyWing to the mainland for a cure.

In the rainforest, Starflight reunites with his friends and warns Glory the attack is imminent. Sunny proposes arming the RainWings with sleeping darts and blowguns, weapons every RainWing already owns, rather than expecting them to use venom. Glory embraces the plan. Before the army departs, Starflight tells Sunny he loves her. Flustered, she asks him to promise they will see each other soon.

Glory's camouflaged army enters the tunnel and silently knocks out the NightWing guards with sleeping darts before freeing the RainWing prisoners. Mangrove reunites with Orchid. Starflight and Glory enter the fortress and confront Battlewinner in her lava chamber, where Mastermind is building portable lava armor for the queen. Glory demands the NightWings abandon the invasion. When Battlewinner refuses, Starflight proposes a compromise: The NightWings can settle in the vast rainforest if they swear loyalty to Queen Glory. Greatness eagerly accepts, but Battlewinner heaves herself from the lava in fury. Without its heat, the frostbreath overtakes her; ice spreads across her body, and she freezes solid.

As the volcano erupts, Glory frees Deathbringer from the dungeon and heads to the rainforest while Starflight organizes the NightWing evacuation. On the beach, he announces Battlewinner's death and offers Glory's terms. NightWings accept one by one, streaming through the tunnel.

Morrowseer is the last dragon on the beach. He reveals a devastating truth: The Dragonet Prophecy is a fabrication. He and Battlewinner invented it after the last eruption to manipulate the war and secure a new home for their tribe. Sunny is devastated and flees in tears. The dragonets block Morrowseer from following. The volcano erupts catastrophically, and a wall of fire consumes him. The blast burns Starflight's eyes. Clay wraps his fireproof body around Starflight and carries him through the tunnel. Starflight emerges badly wounded, possibly blinded. He feels warm talons and hears someone whisper that he was brave before a sleeping dart pulls him into darkness.

An epilogue reveals the three rival SandWing queens each plotting against the dragonets. Queen Glacier will eliminate them if they support the wrong candidate. Blister, having lost her NightWing allies, vows to hunt them down. Burn hints that she holds the missing Queen Scarlet, the SkyWing queen, prisoner and intends to destroy the dragonets herself. The story continues in The Brightest Night.