The Lost Heir

Alone, Tsunami waits in the dark Royal Hatchery with the egg, reassuring it of her protection. The door is closed. Suddenly, the Orca statue moves. The statue is the murderer, and Tsunami battles it. It injures her, but she blinds it and pins it to the hatchery wall. She rushes to the door and opens it to call for guards, but Coral has sent them away. Tsunami figures out the spell: Orca was an animus and enchanted the hatchery statue, determined to remove succession rivals. It operated in secret when the hatchery door was closed and the room was left unattended. With the door open, the enchantment freezes the statue, locking it against the wall and indubitably proving the culprit’s identity. The egg hatches safely.

Back at the Summer Palace, Tsunami and the dragonets play with the new hatchling while the queens and Anemone attend a council meeting. Tsunami names the hatchling Auklet. The dragonets confront Starflight about his odd behavior regarding Blister. Tsunami is ready to leave the SeaWing kingdom; the dragonets are overjoyed.

The queens arrive. Coral confirms Tsunami’s theory about Orca and her hatchery statue, but Tsunami’s attacker remains unidentified.