Chapter 8

8 Fury coursed through Stella. "Let them out at once!" she demanded. "And the other stars you have in there, too!" The Fire Queen just laughed. Stella looked around at the crowd of forest creatures. They were all gazing calmly at the Fire Queen. Why weren't they reacting to what she had

just done? Weren't they shocked to see the little stars trapped in a cage? "They can't see what's happening," LuckyStar explained to Stella. "Only you and the other Night Dragons have strong enough vision to see what's truly going on. Everyone else is too dazzled by the Fire Queen." The Fire Queen called out to Stella. "If you want to rescue the stars, you'll need to get up onstage and perform for me." "She's lying!" Rosie growled. Phoebe agreed. "There's no way she is going to release the stars. She is clearly using their energy for herself." Stella knew her friends were right. "But if we get up onstage, we'll at least be closer to the stars. That might give us a chance to rescue them." Phoebe considered this. "It's a risk. But at least we'll be together. We can look out for one another."

The Fire Queen flared brighter than ever. She was already stealing energy from the little stars! Swishing away the Fire Sparks that were clustered around her, Stella called out: "Very well. We will perform for you." But the Fire Queen shook her head, her flaming hair leaving streaks in the air. "Only the Starlight Dragon may perform." Phoebe looked at Stella, her eyes wide. "We can't let you go alone!" she cried. "It's way too risky," Rosie agreed. "She will try and capture you, and steal your starlight." Stella hesitated. It was almost certainly a trap. There was no way that the Fire Queen intended to play fair. But Stella also had a strong feeling, deep inside, that getting up on the stage was the right thing to do. "Trust your feelings," murmured LuckyStar in her ear. "And don't forget that being angry can be powerful. You just need to channel it in the right way."

Stella gave each of her friends a quick wing hug. "Don't worry," she told them. "I know what I'm doing. I think!" Before she could change her mind, Stella flew up over the crowd and onto the floating stage. The forest animals clapped happily. They were all having a lovely time, with no idea of what was at stake. "It'sssss a Night Dragon!" she heard a pink snake hiss to a bright green snake. "Thissss should be sssspecial." Stella landed smoothly on the stage and turned to face the crowd. But deciding to go on the stage had been the easy part. Now that she was there, with all those eyes upon her, Stella realized she had no idea what to do! She was confident, but performing had never been her thing. She wasn't a good singer. She didn't know any impressive dance moves. What could she do? Then she heard a sound. It was a little whimper. A tinkling sort of whimper that was soon joined

by others. Stella knew what the sound was. It was those poor little stars. Stella had been trying to keep her anger contained. But this was too much! How could anyone lock up such tiny, twinkling stars? LuckyStar's words came back to her. Being angry can be powerful. You just need to channel it in the right way.

Yelling at the Fire Queen did not seem to make any difference. But maybe roaring would? This would not be a usual roar, though. This needed to be a roar that took all of Stella's outrage and turned it into something good and powerful. Stella knew she had that kind of roar inside her. She could feel it, bubbling deep in her chest. She breathed in deeply, feeling like she was drinking cool, clear water on a hot day. It reminded her of her strength. What the Fire Queen is doing is wrong, she told herself. And we Night Dragons are going to stop her. The roar began to build. It felt different somehow. It was clearly powerful, but it also felt more twinkly than usual. As she opened her mouth and roared, the air filled with tiny stars! The stars shimmered and bounced in the air. Then they began to grow bigger and brighter. "Look out," Phoebe called from out in the crowd. "Fire Sparks are attacking!"