Summary

In Chapter 21, Cricket's group is in a cave northeast of the Jewel Hive. Cricket wakes the next morning to discover a crack in the egg. Her first thought is fear she cracked it but she realizes it is hatching. She shouts at the egg, telling the dragonet inside to stop hatching and “Stay IN THERE” (185). Cricket knows Queen Wasp was planning to visit the nest in three days, and she thought she would have at least those days to prepare. Blue suggests the dragonet is being moved around and is in different light, which is prompting it to hatch early. Sundew says she is having nothing to do with this, and she leaves the cave. The dragonet is “delighted” with the cracks, and kicks harder until the shell falls away. The dragonet is black and yellow, and begins chewing on Cricket's claws...