The Hidden Kingdom

The third installment in the Wings of Fire series, set in a world where seven tribes of dragons inhabit the continent of Pyrrhia, follows Glory, a young RainWing dragon, as she searches for her origins, uncovers a sinister plot against her tribe, and fights to become their queen.

In a prologue, Morrowseer, a massive NightWing, arrives at the hideout of the Talons of Peace, a rebel group working to end the war among the dragon tribes. He inspects five untrained backup dragonets meant to replace the original dragonets of a prophecy foretelling the war's end. Morrowseer declares he will take the alternates and train them himself, hinting he will discard any who prove useless.

The main narrative opens with Glory and the other four dragonets, Clay (a MudWing), Tsunami (a SeaWing), Starflight (a NightWing), and Sunny (a SandWing), traveling toward the rainforest. Their guardian Webs, the SeaWing who stole Glory's egg from the RainWings six years earlier, slows them with a worsening wound from a poisoned SandWing tail barb. Glory resents Webs: His decision to replace the prophecy's missing SkyWing egg with a RainWing left her without a clear role in the destiny the others share. While hiding from a MudWing patrol, Glory overhears soldiers discussing mysterious screams from the rainforest. She follows the soldiers and finds both dead, their throats ripped out, with no sign of the attacker.

The group enters the rainforest, where each dragonet is knocked out by tranquilizer darts. RainWings reveal themselves using camouflage scales identical to Glory's. Jambu, a cheerful RainWing, and Liana, another RainWing, explain that RainWings sedate visitors before introducing themselves. They carry the unconscious dragonets to a hidden treetop village. Liana explains "sun time," the practice of sleeping in direct sunlight to recharge RainWing scales and improve camouflage, mood, and cognition. Glory realizes this explains the naps she always craved and why being raised underground stunted her abilities.

Glory asks about her parents, but Jambu reveals RainWings do not track parentage; all eggs are kept communally, and no one noticed when hers was stolen. A venom test, in which related dragons' venom neutralizes on contact, proves Jambu is Glory's half-brother, but he shows no curiosity about where she has been. No one mourned her absence.

The RainWings rotate the throne monthly among willing females. The current queen, Magnificent, proves indifferent and forgetful. While waiting to see her, Glory meets Mangrove, a RainWing whose partner Orchid has been missing for three weeks. At least twelve dragons have vanished in the past year. Magnificent offhandedly assigns Glory to investigate.

Glory, Clay, and Starflight visit the area where Orchid disappeared. Near a waterfall, they find a dying sloth with a strange infected bite and, behind a boulder, a hole that radiates a deeply wrong feeling. That night, something large approaches, eats the dead sloth, and vanishes back through the hole. The next morning, Glory and Clay enter the tunnel and emerge into desert sunlight. They find themselves near the stronghold of Burn, one of three SandWing princesses whose rivalry for the throne has plunged the continent into civil war. When Mangrove overhears the discovery, he dashes through the tunnel and flies north before anyone can stop him.

The dragonets pursue Mangrove toward the Ice Kingdom. Glory spots a building she guesses is the fortress of Blaze, another rival SandWing princess, and a lone NightWing camped nearby. Shifting her scales to mimic an IceWing, Glory confronts him. He is young, evasive, and asks if she has seen the dragonets of the prophecy. As she flies away, he calls out his name: Deathbringer. Glory suspects the name signals his profession as an assassin.

Glory and Jambu adopt IceWing disguises and enter Blaze's fortress. The princess is beautiful but vain, relying entirely on IceWing allies rather than any military strategy of her own. She does reveal that cactus juice cures SandWing venom, information the dragonets need for Webs. Deathbringer then attacks, flinging sharp silver discs that cut Blaze's neck and Tsunami's wing. Glory tackles him and holds one of his own blades to his throat. He reveals the NightWings sent him to kill some of the dragonets and wanted the group to choose Blister, the third SandWing princess, as queen. Starflight admits Morrowseer told him the same thing. IceWing forces approach, and the dragonets escape south.

Back in the rainforest, Sunny applies cactus juice to Webs's wound. That night, Glory and Tsunami stake out the tunnel to catch the creature preying on the area, but Deathbringer emerges and it flees. They capture and tie him to a tree. Determined to catch the predator, Glory ventures into the forest alone as bait. Something strikes her on the head, and she wakes bound in a sack with a metal band sealing her snout to prevent venom use. She overhears two NightWings discussing the capture; one mentions a message from Deathbringer telling them to stop operations, confirming his connection to the kidnappers.

Glory finds herself on a volcanic island, the secret home of the NightWings. She meets Kinkajou, the missing three-year-old RainWing dragonet, who explains that the NightWings force captives to spit venom into bowls and onto objects. Glory deduces they are harvesting RainWing venom as a weapon. Three prisoners have already died. When guards remove Glory's metal band to feed her, she and Kinkajou attack with venom. Deathbringer arrives with Clay, having led him through the tunnel in exchange for his freedom. Glory climbs onto Clay's back, and they fly over the lava river with Kinkajou. After battling guards at the tunnel entrance, they escape to the rainforest. Deathbringer stays behind, unable to reveal his betrayal to his tribe.

Glory tells Magnificent that the NightWings have kidnapped fourteen RainWings, three of whom have died. Magnificent refuses to mount a rescue, dismissing the losses as insignificant. Horrified, Glory challenges her for the throne. An ancient tradition dictates that rivals compete in a contest rather than fight to the death. Magnificent recruits the four other rotating queens as teammates, requiring Glory to field her own team. Glory selects Kinkajou, Mangrove, Jambu, and Tamarin, a blind RainWing with an extraordinary sense of smell.

The contest has five parts: fruit gathering, treetop race, flower hunt, camouflage, and venom targeting. After cheating and setbacks on both sides, the competition is tied at two events each. In the final venom contest, the elderly queen Grandeur faces Kinkajou. When a sloth tumbles in front of the target board, Kinkajou leaps to push it aside, and Grandeur's venom accidentally strikes Kinkajou's wing. Glory tries her own venom against Grandeur's; it neutralizes instantly, proving they are related and that Glory descends from the original royal line of RainWing queens. Glory uses leaves dipped in her own venom to stop the acid on Kinkajou's wing. Grandeur forfeits, declaring Glory the first dragonet who both wants the throne and deserves it. The tribe celebrates, and Glory is proclaimed Queen Glory of the RainWings.

The triumph is short-lived. Clay brings urgent news: Starflight has vanished from his post guarding the NightWing tunnel, driven by conflicted loyalty to his tribe. In an epilogue, the five alternate dragonets languish in a cave on the NightWing island. Fatespeaker, the NightWing alternate who claims prophetic visions, watches as guards carry an unconscious Starflight into the fortress and senses he is important to her destiny.