The Hybrid Prince

Spoiler Alert! This article contains information about the upcoming book, The Hybrid Prince. Read this page with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

The Hybrid Prince is the sixteenth book in the New York Times bestselling series Wings of Fire and the first book of the fourth arc. The main protagonist is Umber. It was released on March 3rd, 2026.

The cover was revealed online by Scholastic on October 23rd, 2025, at 4:30 PM EST.

The Hybrid Prince is preceded by The Flames of Hope.

Summary

Umber was never supposed to be a hero. . . .

As the youngest sibling of his MudWing hatching, Umber doesn't have the responsibilities of his bigwings, Reed, nor the heroic destiny prophesied for his brother, Clay. He's always been content with his role as the cheerful, goofy little brother. But when his sister, Sora, causes a tragedy at Jade Mountain Academy, Umber finds himself on the run and thrown into a whole new role – that of protector.

Umber and Sora fly south in search of a place where they can live far away from other dragons . . . until a kind, hybrid dragon named Mulberry saves him from a kraken attack, and Umber realizes they don't have to survive alone after all. In fact, there's an entire community living on a forgotten island, full of dragons hiding from their own dark pasts.

As the two MudWings settle into the Court of Refuge, they start to realize that nothing in this place is quite what it seems, and the protection it offers comes with a price. Even as Umber falls for Prince Mulberry, he learns he must find a way to unlock the past of this mysterious island to ensure he and Sora have a future. And when the dragons in power try to stop him, he'll have to decide what he cares about most . . . and whether he can be the hero these dragons need after all.

Quote on back of hardcover

Umber followed the clawmarks (if that's what they were), finding one every few trees until he reached what seemed to be the halfway point of the beach. To his left, the island curved away out of sight, and to his right, a stretch of craggy rocks trailed into the ocean and cut off the view beyond...

And here, at the midpoint, the clawmarks changed.

Umber felt a chill run through his scales.

There were words carved into the trees.

NOT SAFE HERE, the jagged letters read.

KEEP GOING.

Dedication

For the librarians, teachers, booksellers, authors, students, and everyone else working to protect our freedom to read — thank you.

Plot

Prologue

Three thousand years before the events of the main novels, a LeafWing named Sorrel observed the sky with Darkling, a BeetleWing, between their tribes' kingdoms. Darkling told Sorrel that two dragons would come down from the sky. Soon after, a NightWing and a SkyWing flew down into the forest. Darkling told Sorrel that they knew about Harmony, which worried Sorrel, as Queen Euphoria and Queen Magnolia were planning something. They eavesdropped on the NightWing and SkyWing, revealed to be Bloodshed and Precipice, members of the Queens' Claws. Bloodshed described Harmony, a village between the Leaf and Beetle Kingdoms, as an abomination and said that it was harboring fugitives. Precipice agreed that it was against the accords and that they should report it to the other Claws, but Bloodshed warned that they could not trust Sorrel and Darkling, as they kept the village a secret. Bloodshed pointed out that the village also had hybrid residents and was home to some IceWings who were banished from the Ice Kingdom.

After Precipice told Bloodshed that the SkyWing queen would not mind, Bloodshed warned her that they should, as the BeetleWing and LeafWing queens had something more dangerous planned. Precipice told Bloodshed that they could hold a trial and judge the tribes by the laws of the Accords, but Bloodshed told Precipice that the village needed to be burned down, regardless of what the queens think should happen. After they left, Sorrel told Darkling that they could find a new place where everyone would be safe.

Part One: Escape From Jade Mountain

Immediately after fleeing Jade Mountain Academy, Umber struggled with the fact that Sora was a murderer. He followed her as she flew toward the Mud Kingdom, believing that all of their siblings would reunite there. Umber told her that they could not go to Reed and Pheasant because they could turn them in, or if they ran away with Umber and Sora, they would lose everything. Sora thought that it was unfair that she had not killed Icicle but had to hide from her. Umber thought about all of the dragons he would possibly never see again, including Qibli. The two decided to fly south and find an island off the coast of the Rainforest Kingdom. On an island south of the continent, Umber found strange markings warning dragons that they needed to continue. Umber also noticed that Sora was behaving strangely, talking to sinister-looking monkeys and leaving him in danger.

After flying over several other islands, Umber needed to rest and the two landed on an island to sleep. While sleeping, Umber had a dream that he was walking through empty, endless hallways looking for anyone he knew, hearing distant echoes of laughter but not managing to find anyone. He entered a room completely covered with live snakes that slithered against his ankles. He was awoken by a large tentacle grabbing his leg and pulling him into the ocean.

After he was dragged underwater, a dragon dove in to save Umber. He grabbed the kraken by the kraken's tentacle, causing it to let Umber go. The dragon introduced himself as Mulberry, a SkyWing-LeafWing hybrid, and told Umber that he had been watching him and Sora for a while. He told them that he can take them to a safe place, and Umber was worried that it would not be safe for Sora to be there. Mulberry used his power to sense and transfer emotion to calm Sora down. They spend several days flying to the island, playing games to get to know each other.

When they arrived at the Court of Refuge, Mulberry introduced Umber and Sora to his mother, Queen Beryl, but appeared uncertain about the MudWings entering the Court of Refuge. Beryl welcomed the MudWings and took them into the palace, telling them about the island and the palace. She told them about Waterfall, the animus who created the palace. Umber and Sora informed Beryl about Scarlet's disappearance and that there was a new SkyWing queen.

The MudWings were greeted by small, metal dragons who took their measurements and asked them for their names and category. Beryl explained that the categories were meaningless and that they could not turn the small dragons off, claiming that they had been there since the founders of the island. While Umber was fascinated by the dragons, Sora was agitated and did not like them touching her, causing them to get mad with her. Umber made up categories for himself and Sora to get them to leave them alone, category four for himself and category ten for Sora. As they entered the palace, Umber noticed that several of metal dragons were staring at Sora.

Beryl took the MudWings to the throne room to introduce them to King Snakeroot, Mulberry's father. When they entered the throne room, Umber noted that there were two thrones on the dais, but that they were not centered, as if there was meant to be a third throne. The MudWings heard muttering, which was revealed to be Snakeroot. Snakeroot appeared agitated, getting defensive and protective when Umber asked about the past of the court. Beryl assured the MudWings that Snakeroot was a wonderful king, but that he had lost his mother at a young age.

A crash came from the waiting room outside, scaring Sora, but Beryl was annoyed, claiming that it was "our ghost". The MudWings followed Beryl out to the room to find it in a mess, and messages over Beryl's and Snakeroot's faces on the doors saying "liar" and "thief". Beryl called for a dragon named Quokka, who was ordered to clean up the waiting area and help Umber and Sora settle in. Umber noted that he could not tell what tribe Quokka was from, having a mix of features from different ones or none at all. He offered to help her, but Quokka claimed the ghost was her responsibility.

Once she had finished in the waiting area, Quokka took Umber and Sora to the Gathering, one of the many dining halls in the palace, where she gave them food after sprinkling an orange powder on top. Quokka explained that she was a WildWing, a dragon descended from the original dragons on the island. Umber noticed that Mulberry was present too and surrounded by many dragons. Quokka mentioned that Mulberry is special, which was why so many dragons loved him. Three dragons came up to Umber and Sora. The leader, Taipan tried to size up Umber, making fun of his follower Dugong in the process. Taipan's other follower, a HiveWing-SilkWing hybrid named Royal, took out the Toughen Up Stick and hit Dugong with it. Trying to cause trouble with Umber, Taipan breathed fire on him, but Umber used his battle instincts to trap Taipan's head under a rug, hit Royal with the Toughen Up Stick, and hold Dugong in place.

The commotion caused Mulberry to come over, telling off Taipan and taking Umber away to find him a room. Mulberry explained to Umber that Taipan was a bully who picked fights with newcomers, but that he would not leave Umber now while guiding him down the hallways. Umber mentioned how the dragons in the court would crowd Mulberry and the hybrid explained that they thought he had a kind of magic that made him special. Once they get to the room, Umber was reminded of Jade Mountain Academy and how happy he had been to go there before he had to leave. Mulberry sensed Umber's sadness, but Umber assured him that it was not the room. Umber and Sora, who was being guided by Quokka behind Umber and Mulberry, went to sleep, Quokka telling them that she would wake them up the next morning.

Upon waking up Umber and Sora, Quokka told them that the king and queen would like to see them. Sora discovered a piece of paper that was shoved under their door calling Beryl and Snakeroot traitors, saying that they stole the throne. Quokka tried to get the MudWings to ignore it, but both Umber and Sora asked questions that Quokka dismissed. In the throne room, Beryl told Umber that she was in need of a skilled warrior like Umber. Snakeroot explained that there was an elite guard known as the King's Teeth that needed training, and he and Beryl wanted Umber to train them. Umber was concerned about why the guard was needed, but Beryl explained that there were dangers out there and the court needed to be ready, but neither she nor Snakeroot would explain what. Sora volunteered to help too, but Beryl told the MudWing that she could get her a position in the library instead.

Umber spent the next three days meeting the members of the King's Teeth and trying to train them. The role did not feel right for him, as he was used to taking orders from others, like his bigwings Reed, instead of giving orders to others. While relaxing in a pool, Umber noticed Mulberry flying away from the court and decided to follow him. When Mulberry noticed Umber following him, he tried to tell Umber to stop, but Umber hit with a force that slammed him backward. He tried again multiple times and felt like he had been hit by lightning. Before he blacked out, Umber heard buzzing overhead a message that no one leaves the Dungeon Isle, calling Umber a prisoner.

Part Two: The Dungeon Isle

Many days later, Umber woke up in the infirmary to Mulberry talking to another dragon. Upon realizing waking up, Umber told Mulberry he could not save him any more times, but Mulberry told Umber that Paua, a SeaWing-looking WildWing, was the one who healed him. They informed Umber that he was out for a while, and Umber remembered the message about him being a prisoner. Feeling bad, Mulberry told Umber the truth about the island, that it was a prison created three thousand years ago and no one can go outside the Barrier except for him. When Umber told Mulberry that he was just following orders, the ghost made its presence known by its anger.

Umber noticed an octopus on Paua's head, and Paua explained that he was Blob, a gift from her ancestor Fathom to Indigo who was brought to the island by Waterfall. When Umber brought up that Waterfall was an animus, Paua explained that she did not have animus magic, but wished she did so she could make the island a better place like Waterfall did. When Paua heard a dragon coming down the hall, Mulberry disappeared behind a hidden door and Snakeroot entered, looking for his son. When Paua told him that Mulberry was not there and that Umber was not in good condition to train the King's Teeth, Snakeroot left. Paua gave Umber some fruit to eat before leaving to get him more, but before he could eat it, a new dragon appeared, warning him not to.

Umber knew that the dragon was the "ghost" mentioned by everyone, and she warned Umber that the fruit he was given had sleeping powder on it. The "ghost" offered to tell Umber what Beryl and Snakeroot had done if he came with her and Umber followed her into the secret passageways of the palace. As they traveled, Umber learned that the ghost was named Platypus, and that Quokka was her sister. They ended up in a place called the Memory Room.

In the Memory Room, Umber watched the scene of Queen Falcon and Precipice talking about meeting with the NightWings. Precipice was worried about leaving the queen with no guards, since her sister, Summit, had been acting strangely, but Falcon assured her that it would be fine. Once she was alone, two dragons snuck up and ambushed the queen, the BeetleWing named Darkling, and a RainWing assassin named Lemur. When Lemur expressed doubt, Darkling mentioned that they had orders, before killing the queen with her venomous claws, and the two left to go after the NightWing queen. After leaving the Memory Room, Platypus explained that the assassins who killed the queen were sent to the Dungeon Isle, along with a majority of the BeetleWing and LeafWing tribes.

Platypus took Umber through a passage that led to the outside where Platypus introduced him to several exiled dragons including a WildWing named Wollemi, a NightWing-SilkWing mindreader named Crescent, a HiveWing named Glowworm, and the elected leaders of the court known as the Triumvirate: an old WildWing named Tuatara, a SkyWing-SeaWing hybrid named Horizon, and a SilkWing named Monarch. Platypus explained that the court used to be fair, with dragons voting on the leaders before Beryl and Snakeroot overthrew the Triumvirate, and that they were the threat they wanted Umber to train the King's Teeth to fight. Platypus proposed to Umber to try to sabotage the training so that the King's Teeth would be unprepared to fight the exiles, and Umber told her that he would think about it before they returned to the palace.

A few days later, Umber went to visit Sora in the library and told her about the Memory Room scene. He asked Sora what she knew about animus magic, and she told him that animus dragons need an object to enchant, making Umber wonder if he could find the object and destroy it to free the trapped dragons. The two were interrupted by Snakeroot muttering about the hybrid prince on top of a bookshelf. Sora offered for Umber to join her at the Northern Lights concert that night, telling him that the singer, Aurora, was magic and her music made her feel better.

At the concert, Umber watched Aurora and her brother, Borealis, perform a song with a theme of rebellion, during which notes were thrown down into the audience about standing up. Umber knew the notes were dropped by Platypus and Beryl flew down to him, telling him to arrest her for this. After Taipan volunteered himself, Royal, and Dugong to catch her, Umber decided to go after Platypus to protect her. While chasing Platypus, Umber and the others ended up in a maze within the palace where Platypus took Umber into a secret passageway that led to Aurora's room. Aurora entered and was upset with Platypus for protesting at the concert, the two arguing over how to make a difference with Umber stating that he thought both of them were right. Aurora joined Platypus on her bed, telling her that she missed her.

When Umber heard a noise outside Aurora's door, Platypus snuck away and Aurora and Umber found Borealis behind the door. Umber left soon after to return to Beryl, where he told the king and queen that he was not able to catch Platypus. Beryl told Umber that he would return to training the King's Teeth, and once they were ready, they would hunt down a few dragons. In order to protect the exiles and Platypus, Umber thought that he should try to free them by finding the original animus touched object. After realizing that the metal dragons came with the original prison, he planned to search for them.

With the help of Sora, Umber planned to follow a metal dragon back to their hideout, and was joined by Quokka. The two followed a metal dragon Quokka called Clink back to the hideout for the dragon where they found a tower built of small things the small dragons had collected. Upon seeing Umber and Quokka, the metal dragons tried to jab them away. While trying to get information out of the dragons, they learned that the metal dragons call themselves the SharpWings and that they were enchanted by a SkyWing animus named Precipice. Clink explained that they were created after the prison and did not know what was enchanted to create it. Upon noticing that one of the SharpWings named Nineteen was broken, Umber used his fire to fix its wing. As Umber and Quokka were leaving, Umber noticed the category list for the prisoners, with category ten being the most dangerous, explaining why the SharpWings were so aggressive toward Sora.

The next day, Umber went with Quokka to deliver food to the exiles. They met up with Platypus and ended up in the Memory Room after Platypus remembered that Precipice was the SkyWing in the scene. After rewatching the assassination scene, Nineteen entered the Memory Room and poked Quokka, causing her blood to drip into a basin in the room and causing a new scene to happen. The Memory Room showed the throne room in the court two years prior when the Triumvirate was still in charge, with a younger Platypus, Quokka, and Wollemi together. Beryl and Snakeroot barged into the room with King's Teeth members, claiming that she was taking the throne. The room erupted into a large fight, during which the members of the Triumvirate were able to escape along with Platypus, while Quokka decided to stay so she could help them from inside the palace.

After the scene ended, Nineteen poked Platypus for her blood, causing another scene to start from even longer ago. Umber, Quokka, and Platypus watched a conversation between Queen Magnolia and Queen Euphoria, Umber noting that Euphoria looked like Platypus. The two discussed their plan of merging their tribes, considering telling the other queens, but Euphoria was unsure that they would be okay with it. The two were interrupted by Sorrel and Darkling who had just witnessed Bloodshed and Precipice at the outskirts of Harmony. They warned the queens about the NightWing's plan to destroy the village, and the queens ordered their Claws to go to Hibiscus and Dolphin to gain their alliance, Euphoria telling Darkling to not kill anyone. After the scene ended, Umber realized that the Memory Room showed dragons their past based on how much blood they give, being able to show scenes of their ancestors.

The three left the room to give the exiles food. While handing out the food Quokka brought, Crescent asked Umber to not kill them with an army and Umber reflected on how he had followed orders during the War of SandWing Succession and whether he could say no to Beryl if she asked him to kill the Triumvirate. Umber and Quokka left to return to the palace shortly after, but Umber felt a tug in his chest pulling him away toward the mountains instead. He broke off from Quokka and followed the tug, finding Mulberry who had returned from searching the islands outside of the isle. Mulberry told Umber about how he knew his parents were wrong, but was afraid to stand up to them because they could stop letting him patrol the islands. They both leave for the palace, planning to meet during the rescheduled Northern Lights concert that night.

Before the concert, Umber found Sora and explained everything about the Memory Room and learned that the RainWing queen Hibiscus was one of the ones who signed the sentencing document despite a RainWing assassin being one of Falcon's killers. Mulberry appeared and the three dragons left for the concert, but instead of Aurora coming down to sing, Snakeroot was on the stage and delivered a prophecy, confusing the surrounding dragons. Beryl tried to play it off as Snakeroot's poetry, but Umber and Sora realized that it must have been a prophecy and Snakeroot could be part-NightWing, giving Umber a theory on how Mulberry could leave the island but no other dragons could.

Part Three: Into the Past

Umber took Mulberry to Paua's infirmary where he explained to Mulberry that he could be the descendant of the SkyWing and NightWing queens who ran the trial three thousand years ago, which could be why he can leave the Barrier. The two went to the Memory Room where Nineteen took Mulberry's blood, showing a scene from after Beryl and Snakeroot took the throne. The king and queen were throwing all dragonets against the Barrier to check if any of them could leave like Mulberry, despite Mulberry begging them to stop. To try to get the scene to stop, Mulberry dropped more of his blood into the basin, changing the scene to one in the SkyWing palace.

After Scarlet's wedding, Beryl confronted the queen about her poisoning the guests, revealing that Beryl worked for Scarlet and Canyon was her son, making Mulberry Scarlet's brother-in-law. In order to go further back, Mulberry dug into his wound more, hurting himself, but changing the scene again to the NightWing palace. Queen Retribution and Queen Summit were shown the plan for the Dungeon Isle by Precipice, along with one of her SharpWing guards. When Precipice was asked to remove a water source and the time limit on the prison, she questioned the queens, believing it to be inhumane, but the queens both wanted the prison to stay forever. When asked about the possibility of any of their relatives getting trapped on the island, Retribution told Precipice that she could add a clause that any descendents of both of the queens could leave, not believing in the possibility of a SkyWing-NightWing hybrid.

After Precipice left, Retribution and Summit discussed Precipice's knowledge of their plan, including that Summit conspired with Queen Hibiscus in order to get more land for the SkyWings and RainWings by killing her sister and having the BeetleWings and LeafWings exiled. Before the scene ended, Mulberry and Umber noticed that Precipice's map of the island fell and Umber spotted a strange oval drawn to the south. When the two exited the Memory Room, they were met by Beryl, who blamed Umber for Mulberry's injury and telling the MudWing that he would go kill the exiled dragons that night, while she locked Mulberry up in quarters.

Planning to rescue Mulberry, Umber, joined by Nineteen, used the palace's secret passageways to get around without the King's Teeth spotting him. He encountered Dugong, who took him to a pantry where Platypus appeared. Platypus agreed to help Umber free Mulberry, while Dugong went to get Sora. With the help of Aurora, Umber and Platypus put the guards around Beryl's tower to sleep and were able to sneak inside, where Nineteen produced a key that freed Mulberry from his chains. Umber, Mulberry, Platypus, Dugong, Sora, Quokka, and Nineteen all flew south together to find the place on Precipice's map. While flying, Sora regretfully told Umber that the item enchanted to create the prison was likely not inside the Barrier.

Once the group reached the southern mountains, they found a cave where Umber and Mulberry slipped inside. They were greeted by two eggs and a hologram of Precipice. Precipice explained that the eggs were from Harmony, and she hid them on the island so the dragons could have a way to escape. If the dragonets hatched from the eggs were loved for three years, they would return and the Barrier would go away. The group took the eggs, Umber planning to give them to the exiles so they could escape the island to raise them and stay safe from the King's Teeth. When the group met with the exiles and explained the plan, none of them wanted to leave, instead wanting to stand up to Beryl. Umber noticed that a dragon was spying on them and realized that it was Borealis.

Borealis explained that there was a group of dragons in the court who wanted the Triumvirate back, and that tonight was the night to take back the throne since Aurora had been imprisoned, causing many of the dragons to lose their minds. Umber gave Sora the eggs and had her stay, while everyone else returned to the palace to overthrow Beryl and Snakeroot. Using Platypus's secret passageways, they got inside the palace and Mulberry confronted his parents, revealing that they were the ones who imprisoned him while Aurora was innocent. The Triumvirate entered, revealing that they were still alive to several dragons of the court. Beryl ordered members of the King's Teeth to kill them, but several refused, having fond memories of their old leaders.

Realizing that it was easier to listen to dragons they knew, Umber spoke to several of the King's Teeth directly, showing them that he understood them. He got several of them to listen to him and turn against the king and queen. Glowworm used his paralyzing toxin to stop Snakeroot from attacking, while Platypus held Beryl in place with threat of her venom. While several dragons cheered for Mulberry, Taipan jumped onto the dais and held a knife to his throat.

While the Triumvirate tried to reason with Taipan, Umber spotted Royal in the crowd and tried to convince him to stand up to Taipan, initially in vain. When Dugong said that he would stand up to Taipan, Royal joined him, believing that he would have to clean up Dugong's mess. Royal scrutinized Taipan for not being royalty while he and Dugong were. With his back turned, Platypus shot venom at Taipan, causing him to drop Mulberry, while Royal kept Taipan down with the Toughen Up Stick.

Beryl, Snakeroot, and Taipan were led to the dungeons after Quokka healed Taipan's venom wound, while Platypus and several other dragons raced to free Aurora from the dungeons. The third council seat was already returned to the dais and the Triumvirate happily greeted the dragons of the court and several dragons started singing Northern Lights songs.

Six months later, one of the eggs Precipice had left hatched. While they were alone, Umber told Mulberry that he had thought of the name Harmony for the dragonet. Mulberry told Umber that many dragons in the court thought that the dragonets should be raised outside of the Isle's Barrier, but told Umber that he would stay with him. They decided to wait one more month before leaving in case the other egg hatched. After a month, Umber, Mulberry, Quokka, Wollemi, Harmony, and Nineteen left the island and were able to pass through the Barrier and flew south of the Dungeon Isle.

Epilogue

In the Ice Kingdom, Lynx asked Mink where Snowfall was, but Mink did not know, claiming Snowfall had left her after promising to come back with a scroll to read, but did not return. Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Sand, Smolder was presenting Thorn with his new candy. He briefly left to make tea, only to return and find her missing. In the Sky Kingdom, Jasper found Cliff sobbing in the hallway, claiming Ruby vanished into thin air while he was singing for her. Jasper ordered his guards to search the palace.

Similarly, Cricket and Sundew were waiting for Sequoia to show up for a meeting when a HiveWing messenger arrived, claiming Wasp had escaped. In the RainWing village, Pineapple tried to comfort Jambu over the disappearance of Glory, remarking that Deathbringer had not managed to find her. The two of them were worried, but had hope that Glory might not have been kidnapped, since they believed she had taken Kinkajou with her.

On the Dungeon Isle, one month after Umber's departure, Sora checked on the gray egg, only to find it still cold. She left for a few hours, only for a shadowy figure to sneak into the nest in the hatchery that night and steal the egg.

Trivia

• After Moon Rising, Tui already knew where Sora and Umber were going and wanted to share it with fans.
• Tui hopes that those who read The Hybrid Prince end up learning what quokkas are.

Gallery

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