The Dragonet Prophecy: Prologue–Chapter 4

by Tui T. Sutherland
Five young dragons are trained to fulfill a prophecy and end the wars among the dragon tribes.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 4, Chapters 5–13, Chapters 14–20, Chapters 21–30, Chapter 31–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    One of the soldiers grabbed a chain from the pile of smoldering coals. He threw it around the ice dragon's snout, clamping his jaws together with a sizzling smell of burning scales.
  2. muse
    reflect deeply on a subject
    "Yes. This is a SkyWing egg about to hatch," Burn mused.
  3. insipid
    lacking interest or significance or impact
    "You're not in Blaze's army, are you? You're one of those insipid underground peacemongers."
  4. pompous
    puffed up with vanity
    “Tell me, ice dragon, do you really believe in that pompous old NightWing's prophecy?"
  5. writhing
    moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
    "You're a monster," the IceWing gasped, writhing under her talons.
  6. plume
    anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness
    She breathed out a plume of flame to light her way along the dark passage, deep into the mountain.
  7. stalagmite
    a cylinder of calcium carbonate projecting from a cave floor
    He threw his wings over his head, tucked his long neck in, and rolled into the maze of stalagmites that studded one corner of the cave.
  8. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    Flames blasted the rocks around him, singeing the tip of his tail.
  9. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    He seized the closest stalagmite between his claws and scrabbled up on top of it.
  10. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    With a yelp of alarm, Clay tried to leap to the next stalagmite, but his wings unfurled too slowly and he smacked into the side of it instead.
  11. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    Behind her, panting defiantly, was the SeaWing dragonet, Tsunami.
  12. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    "All right," Kestrel said dismissively. "We're finished here anyway. I'll mark another failure in your scroll, MudWing."
  13. gawky
    awkward and clumsy in movement or posture
    When he resurfaced, she was floating beside him, ducking her head and splashing water over her scales like a beautiful overgrown fish. Clay felt like a gawky brown blob next to her.
  14. exasperation
    a feeling of annoyance
    Tsunami flapped her wings at him in exasperation, showering him with cold droplets.
  15. stalactite
    a cylinder of calcium carbonate hanging from a cave roof
    Echoing space yawned overhead, dripping with stalactites, like huge teeth. The cave dome was big enough for six full-grown dragons to fit across with their wings extended.
  16. crest
    a showy growth of feathers or skin on the head of an animal
    Clay smoothed his crest and twisted around to look at her, the smallest and last-hatched of the dragonets.
  17. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    Sunny was too small and the wrong color—tawny gold instead of sand pale like most SandWings—but she gave off heat like the rest of her tribe.
  18. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    Dune, the maimed dragon who taught them survival skills, was a SandWing, and so was Sunny...more or less.
  19. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
    Not today, he thought ruefully when the boulder didn't budge. Maybe tomorrow.
  20. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    Ripples of iridescent blue shimmered across her scales, and tonight her tail was a swirl of vibrant purples.
  21. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    She eyed Clay warily.
  22. feint
    deceive by a mock action
    Sunny darted out of the way, and they circled each other, feinting and jabbing.
  23. scepter
    a ceremonial or emblematic staff
    "Among other things, he stole the Lazulite Dragon, the gold SandWing scepter, and the Eye of Onyx, which had been in the SandWing treasury for hundreds of years."
  24. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    She looked smug, as she always did when Tsunami got in trouble.
  25. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    Glory's scales were already changing to match the mottled gray-and-black rocks.
  26. barbed
    having or covered with protective points, spines, or thorns
    Clay felt a jolt run through him, like the stinging shock he sometimes got when Dune whacked him with his barbed tail for not paying attention.
  27. petrify
    cause to become stunned or immobile, as with fear or awe
    Clay could feel Sunny trembling at his side. He felt the same way, petrified in place, as if his scales were being slowly peeled off, one by one, while the giant NightWing inspected them.
  28. scornful
    expressing extreme contempt
    He'd never wanted anything so much as he wanted to protect his friends from this tall, hissing, scornful, immensely dangerous dragon.
  29. haunch
    the upper part of the leg of an animal, often used for food
    She was sitting on her haunches with her long tail curled over her talons.
  30. scathing
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    "We lost the SkyWing egg, so we had to get another one somewhere—"
    "From the RainWings?" Morrowseer interrupted scathingly.
  31. prod
    poke or thrust abruptly
    "Come on," Webs said. He prodded Kestrel and Dune toward their cave.
  32. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    "Now he has something to say," Kestrel grumbled as the three of them clambered over the broken stalagmites.
  33. sidle
    move unobtrusively or furtively
    Sunny sidled up beside Glory, brushing her violet wings with her own smaller golden ones.
  34. stoutly
    in a resolute manner
    "Well, we don't care what the prophecy says or what Morrowseer thinks," Clay said stoutly. "You're our fifth dragonet. We don't want anyone else."
  35. bulbous
    rounded and bulging
    She headed for her favorite stalagmite and started to climb it, hooking her claws in the holes that dotted the bulbous shape.
Created on Wed Apr 29 16:24:55 EDT 2020 (updated Wed May 06 09:49:08 EDT 2020)

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