5 Chapter 5

5 Flying was fun, but it was also hard work, especially as they were heading directly into the wind. All the same, as she got more and more

confident, Azmina couldn't resist trying out some of the midair moves she'd seen Buttercub doing. "Cool!" said Naomi, flying up beside her. "Hey, try this!" Naomi then did a series of very slick moves. She swooped to the left, then quickly flipped back to the right. Then she showed the others how to flip over and fly facing up to the sky. It wasn't as easy as it looked! Finally Naomi did a very fast, downward torpedo roll. Willa and Azmina tried to follow along. And they did pretty well … right until the final bit, when their tails nearly got tangled! "We need to work on that one!" Azmina chuckled as they flew back up to Naomi. "Fine by me!" Willa grinned. "Flying is one thing I'll never get sick of practicing."

Just then, Naomi gave a shout. "Look!" Below was a field of sunflowers, hidden between two tall mountains topped with snow that was ever so slightly purple. The sunflowers looked like ones Azmina had seen back in the normal world, except for one important difference. Their centers shone brightly, as if lit from within. Strangely, the delicious smell of fresh buttered popcorn wafted up from the field.

"Time to land!" called Azmina as Buttercub began to swoop toward the flowers. Azmina flew after him at top speed. "These flowers are so cool!" cried Willa, landing nearby. She was right. Now that they'd landed, Azmina saw that the seeds in the center of each bloom looked like little golden light bulbs! But not all of them seemed to be working properly. Some were flickering on and off. Others had lost their brightness.

Azmina's stomach did a weird loop. Were the Shadow Sprites somewhere nearby, stealing the light from these flowers? She glanced around. She couldn't see anything, but she had an eerie feeling the sprites were close by, watching. Clearly, there was no time to lose. Azmina wrapped a paw around the stem of the brightest flower she could see and gave it a gentle shake. Seeds tumbled out from the flower and scattered on the ground. As Willa and Naomi

hurried over, Azmina picked one up. It felt warm and smooth. "The Tree Queen said we need to grind them into a powder," Azmina remembered. "How, I wonder?" "Maybe we stomp on them?" suggested Willa. Azmina grinned as she jumped up and down on the seeds. To her surprise, the seeds crumbled to fine powder. She had always been pretty strong, but now she was dragon strong! She pulled the apple out from her bag and twisted the top leaf around. Magically, the apple separated into two, and Azmina carefully sprinkled the glittering sunflower seed powder inside. The powder fizzed slightly as it settled in the bottom, sending up a tiny, sweet-smelling puff of steam. The three Dragon Girls grinned at one another. "That wasn't too hard!" said Naomi. "Way easier than I expected," agreed Willa. "Do you think the next two ingredients will be as