The Brightest Night (book)

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The Brightest Night is the fifth and final book in the first arc of the New York Times bestselling series Wings of Fire. The book was initially released on Amazon on March 25, 2014, and elsewhere on April 1st, 2014. It features a SandWing-NightWing hybrid named Sunny, the SandWing dragonet of destiny, as the main protagonist.

The Brightest Night follows The Dark Secret and precedes Moon Rising, which is the debut of the second arc of the Wings of Fire series. The title most likely refers to the night at the end of the book when "the Orb in the Sky" shone brightly as a "full moon" along with the other two full moons. Sunny describes it as "a brightest night when there shouldn't have been one for another ninety-four years."

Summary
''One will have the power of wings of fire. . .''

Sunny has always taken the Dragonet Prophecy very seriously. If Pyrrhia's dragons need her, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Starflight to end the war, she's ready to try. She even has some good ideas on how to do it, if anyone would listen to her.

But shattering news from Morrowseer has shaken Sunny's faith in their destiny. Is it possible for anyone to end this terrible war and choose a new SandWing queen? What if everything they've been through was for nothing?

Buried secrets, deadly surprises, and an unexpected side to scavengers are all waiting for her in the shifting sands of the desert, where Sunny must decide once and for all: Is her destiny already written?

Or can five dragonets change their fate and save the world. . . the way they choose?

Quote on the back of Hardcover
It was Clay, with his wings shielding Starflight. Starflight's front talons were covering his eyes, and long burns were blistering along his scales. As soon as they reached the open air, he collapsed to the ground.

"Stay back!" Tsunami shouted ferociously at the dragons who were flapping around them.

"Starflight!" Sunny cried, feeling a stab of guilt. ''He's hurt. I never should have left my friends with Morrowseer''. She jumped forward, trying to squeeze through the crowd of frantic dragons to get to him.

But suddenly talons wrapped around Sunny's snout and shoulders, and she was yanked backward into the dark trees.

Dedication
For Adalyn — may you be fierce and brave and sunny, and may you always choose your own destiny.

Prologue: Twenty Years Ago …
The book began with a flashback to twenty years before the events of the arc, right before the war began. Queen Oasis heard a noise in the treasury and went to investigate, bumping into Blister and Blaze in the hallway. Oasis noted how Blaze was a good daughter but would be an awful queen, and how Blister had always made her feel uneasy. She realized that scavengers had stolen some of the most important treasure in her possession, including the Eye of Onyx. Oasis went out to find and attack them and told Blister to get Burn for backup. Queen Oasis went out to eliminate the thieving scavengers but realized that she had forgotten to lock up the treasury. She thought about the possibility that that Blister might take something but resolved to punish Blister badly if she did. She reflected that Blister may not be getting Burn, but she saw that there were only three scavengers and decided to deal with them herself. She approached them, and the prologue ended with the foreshadowing, "After all … what's the worst that could happen?"

Part 1: The Shifting Sands
Sunny flees from the Night Kingdom after Morrowseer tells her that the prophecy is false and that her destiny was never real. She keeps wondering what will happen to her and the other dragonets as she returns to the rainforest. She bumps into a NightWing and listens as Queen Glory begins talking to the NightWings about what is expected of them. Two RainWings then drag Mastermind forward and Glory has him bound, but before anything else happens, Fatespeaker, Tsunami, Clay, and Starflight come out of the tunnel, escaping a massive fireball. Clay puts Starflight on the ground, and before Sunny can get to him, she is dragged into the forest by three NightWings.

The three NightWings, Preyhunter, Fierceteeth, and Strongwings, reveal their plans to use Sunny as a bargaining chip to win Glory's favor. Sunny tries to derail their efforts by belittling herself but ends up feeling guilty about it. Preyhunter then reveals the Obsidian Mirror and uses it to spy on Glory. In the image, Glory tells Jambu to count all of the NightWings, but upon realizing that Jambu can't count, changes her mind and has Deathbringer do it instead. Preyhunter then calls Deathbringer a traitor. Clay appears in the image with an update on Starflight's injuries. Tsunami appears and mentions that Sunny was upset and says not to worry about her. When Glory asks why Sunny is upset and hears why, she gets mad and starts ranting at dead Morrowseer, promising to bite his head off, stuff him in a volcano, and kill him again. Clay and Tsunami belittle Sunny's faith in the prophecy, upsetting Sunny. The NightWings debate selling Sunny for a reward and decide on Burn. At that moment, Sunny bites Fierceteeth's tail and flees, being pursued by the three NightWings.

Sunny soon manages to get away from them, and when they give up, Sunny decides to prove her friends wrong about her and follows the NightWings. They stop near Jade Mountain, and Sunny manages to steal the Obsidian Mirror, leaving the NightWings a cryptic, threatening message on a large flat rock. Sunny leaves to find her friends, and uses the Obsidian Mirror to spy on Blister along the way. She hears that Blister is planning to kill Burn, but is unable to figure out how. She hears commotion coming from the NightWings' part of trees and she quickly whispers "Fierceteeth" to the mirror. Sunny hears Fierceteeth yelling when she realized the Obsidian Mirror was missing. Strongwings was terrified by Sunny's message on the rock, claiming that it must be the work of The Darkstalker, but Fierceteeth dismisses this. They soon decide to keep going without the mirror and Sunny follows them through the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. While following them, Sunny finds the remains of a scavenger den. She marvels at the craftsmanship and wonders how the scavengers made the village. Sunny then continues to follow the NightWings to the desert. The three NightWings go to the Scorpion Den first, to send a message to Burn.

When Sunny arrives at the Scorpion Den, she watches the NightWings try to gain entry. She decides to bury the Obsidian Mirror, to keep it safe, and when the NightWings are admitted, Sunny follows them. She is intercepted instantly by a SandWing who introduces himself as Six-Claws. Sunny tries to deny that she was following the NightWings, but Six-Claws doesn't appear to buy it. When Sunny gives up and says, "Yes, I'm following them because they tried to kill me," he gives her a tip. "When a dragon tries to kill you, fly the other way." He explains about the Scorpion Den on the way to see Thorn, the leader of the Outclaws. When they arrive, Thorn questions the NightWings about Morrowseer and is told the NightWing prophet is dead. This angers her, and so she proceeds to kill Preyhunter, as she believes he is lying.

Thorn tries to get a more satisfying answer out of Fierceteeth and Strongwings, but they back up Preyhunter's story. To save Starflight's sister, Sunny confirms the tale. Thorn asks who she is and the two NightWings try to ask for a message to Burn, but Thorn refuses. Then Fierceteeth claims that Sunny is the SandWing dragonet of destiny. Thorn dismisses the NightWings to "someplace unpleasant" and further questions Sunny about her past. Thorn then reveals that she is Sunny's mother.

Soon afterward, a dragonbite viper was reported near an orphanage that had caught fire. Thorn leaves to confront the issue, leaving Sunny with Six-Claws. Addax and some other SandWings appear, holding Ostrich, Six-Claws' daughter, as a hostage. Addax explains that the dragonbite viper was simply a hoax to distract Thorn. He wanted Sunny so that he could give her to Burn in exchange for his return to the SandWing heir's army. Sunny tells Six-Claws to make the trade, and he is forced to allow Sunny to go with Addax to Burn's stronghold.

Part 2: Burn's Stronghold
Sunny falters while nearing the stronghold, smelling the rotting heads of decapitated dragons hanging on the walls. Sunny remembers where she had first seen Addax, at Scarlet's palace. Smolder, Burn's brother, takes Sunny out of Addax's possession and escorts her to Burn's weirdling tower, where she would be held prisoner. Smolder tells Sunny that three scavengers had killed Queen Oasis, and they encounter Scarlet and Flower, Smolder's pet scavenger. While there, she sees a white dragonet with no wings, only small buds were the wings were supposed to be, and it is conjectured that this might be a SilkWing. He apologetically chains Sunny to the upper level of the tower, promising to take her out for a walk later.

Smolder returns to unchain her. He lets it slip that the Eye of Onyx is needed for anyone to be the next SandWing queen. During their walk, the stronghold is attacked by Thorn and the Outclaws. At the same time, Sunny discovers that Peril had come to save Queen Scarlet. Sunny convinces her to help, by making the Outclaws and Smolder's army stop fighting. Peril stops the fight and Thorn along with the Outclaws starts searching for Sunny, but Thorn quickly dismisses the search as Sunny appears in front of her. Thorn suggests touring the palace and heads to the library. Smolder then tells Thorn that she had a letter from someone that was intercepted when he took them to look at it, he locked Thorn and Sunny in the library. Thorn discovers that Smolder wasn't lying about the letter, and it is from Sunny's father, a NightWing animus named Stonemover. When they escape, Sunny leaves for Jade Mountain where Thorn says her father lives. Thorn takes care of the remaining Outclaws, while Peril frees Scarlet. When Sunny lands in Jade Mountain, she meets her father, Stonemover. He admits that he had built the tunnels between the Kingdom of Sand, the Rainforest Kingdom, and the Night Kingdom. He also confirms the prophecy is a false statement and reveals that no NightWing has had telepathy or precognition in over a century.

Part 3: The Eye of Onyx
Sunny has woken up and is now ready to leave the cave. She informs Stonemover, but he doesn't want her to leave. Sunny decides on a plan and goes toward a scavenger den. She meets two scavengers and names them Fluffy and Holler. They present her with their stolen SandWing treasure. The horde includes the dreamvisitor, but not the Eye of Onyx. Later, she reunites with the other dragonets and tells them about her plan to end the war.

First, Tsunami and Sunny, guided by Ochre, fly to the Talons of Peace camp. They are greeted by Nautilus, Riptide, Avalanche, and an unknown SandWing and IceWing. The dragons notice a small, red SkyWing flying toward them, and Avalanche calls for Flame. The dragon, who happens to be Flame, replies, and dives for his mother. They embrace, and Riptide explains that Flame was taken from her while she was stationed at the SkyWing palace. Sunny and Tsunami ask Nautilus to send a specific message to Blister, and he agrees to do so.

Jambu and Mangrove go to the IceWings to get a message to Blaze. When the message through the IceWings fails, Sunny uses the dreamvisitor to deliver the message to Blaze. Sunny hopes that Blaze listened, as she did not appear to do so.

Clay and Sunny use dreamvisitors to tell Moorhen of the MudWings to send a message to Burn. They learn of the MudWings' plan to eliminate the IceWings and beg the queen to abandon that plan. The queen agrees to tell Burn their message and hopes that she will not have to attack the IceWings.

At Burn's stronghold, the three sisters meet. Blister offers to Burn a gift, to "reunite the family." The gift happens to be a box containing two dragonbite vipers. Burn rips off the top, seizing one of the vipers, but she is unaware of the second one. The second viper leaps from the box, biting Burn's ankle. She stomps on the viper, killing it, but it is too late. The venom quickly kills the eldest and strongest of the sisters, and Burn's dead talons fall open, releasing the first viper.

The viper slithers about, reaching for Starflight and Sunny. Clay knocks them out of the way but is bitten in the process. Peril, denying Clay's imminent death, burns out the venom. She leaves a gaping hole in his thigh that would scar, leaving him limping, but this saves his life.

Blister challenges Blaze to a one-on-one fight, only mere steps away from the throne. Mid-battle, Flower leads Sunny to the grave of Queen Oasis, in which was the Eye of Onyx. Sunny hands the Eye to Thorn, declaring that Thorn should be the next SandWing queen. Out of rage, Blister reveals that she planned everything — from her mother's death to Burn's, and snatches the Eye out of Thorn's talons. The enchantment on the treasure reduces Blister to a pile of ash, leaving only Blaze left, therefore ending the war. Sunny then declares Thorn to be the queen of the SandWings.

Epilogue: One Month Later …
Clay, Sunny, Tsunami, Starflight, Fatespeaker, Glory, and Deathbringer are planning out a school for young dragonets. Sunny looks out over Jade Mountain and asks her friends to picture a school there and whether or not it was perfect. The group agrees and pitch in their ideas about what to do with the school. Deathbringer mentions Moonwatcher, a NightWing dragonet whose mother hid her egg in the rainforest. Sunny tells Starflight that she loves him as a brother and that he should be with Fatespeaker. Clay mentions that Scarlet went missing after Peril rescued her.

The dragonets call the fulfilled prophecy "The Last Prophecy," and take to the sky, ending the first series.

Second Arc Teaser
The war is over. The false prophecy has been fulfilled. But the dragonets still have enemies. A dark evil, buried for centuries, is stirring. And a young NightWing may have had the first true prophecy in generations …

Something is coming to shake the earth. Something is coming to scorch the ground. Jade Mountain will fall beneath thunder and ice, unless the lost city of night can be found.