“She let out a cry of relief and stumbled, half sliding down the last dune and collapsing entirely in the water.”

An example of anthropomorphism, the dragonets and dragons demonstrate distinctly human behaviors. Palm’s intense relief is one example of this literary device as is her physical response.

“Palm was only a year older, but she’d worried about the frightened dragonet. She’d shared her snacks and convinced Agave to play dragons and vipers until she calmed down.”

An early passage that establishes the motif of Kindness and Cruelty, Palm escapes from the Queen’s notice with a guard’s help. Though the guard recognizes Palm, she pretends that Prickle must be the dragon they are seeking, protecting Palm due to the kindness she showed the guard when they were dragonets in the palace. Kindness is rewarded, and cruelty is punished.

“Even though Sora was gone now, he couldn’t help thinking of the last attack and what might have happened without Moon’s prophetic warning.”

As a novel within a larger fictional universe, the story makes frequent allusions to previous events. These allusions allow the author to remind readers of important connections between novels. In this example, Qibli refers to characters that have featured in earlier novels and reiterates the importance of prophecy within the current arc and the Wings of Fire universe.