TBN Ending

Well...
I think Burn has to die first.
For a start.
Personally, I'd cut out the two dragonbite vipers (because what the hell, Tui)
And make it a duel between Burn and Blister with Burn delivering one of the most chilling plot twists ("Do you remember our mother? You let her die.")
Rather than have it monologued to us from Blister like a B-list supervillain.
And then have the two fight right then and there, with Blister denying her role in Oasis' death, and make it downright elemental from Burn: "You killed her. You let her die. You murdered her!"
While Burn throws large, telepgraphed, wide swings, Blister is chipping slowly at her chest and neck, small scarlet tears on Burn's neck that Burn just shrugs off because they're only claw marks and she's used to scars and healing wounds right now.
And, in the midst of the fighting, Blaze is half-frightened and half-screeching at them to stop fighting that everything will be the way it was before if they just accept her as queen and stop fighting.
And, while that happens, Burn is just venomously telling Blaze like that's going to happen after she BETRAYED her for 18 years.
Which Blaze freezes before flinging back that Burn forced her away first.
All while Blister snipes in with little statements about how Burn's the true monster and Blaze should stop trying to appeal to her "brutish, broken slab of meat inside."
(And, considering Blister's done a lot of shady stuff without remorse, this is just hypocrisy on a level to make someone choke.)
And, it only escalates when Blaze tells Burn to stop looking at the past and trying to avenge a long-dead mother "that we don't even remember anymore." (because she wasn't nearly as close to Oasis as Burn was.)
Which Burn immediately backhand whips Blaze with her tail for when Blaze makes the mistake of getting too close.
Because "you don't remember her, but I... do. And I'm about to avenge her, so stay out!"
So it's just an immensely tragic family affair where the wound of losing Oasis from Blister destroyed so much.

And then Burn keeps fighting Blister until...
She just croaks.
And starts to wheeze.
And Blister has this punchably smug look on her face.
And Sunny just sees this look of a trapped wolf in Burn's eyes. A predator in captivity.
And Burn's arms reach out for Blister's neck, her last words being dragged out "murder... her..."
And she falls right before Blister.

"Sunny could feel only horror at what she saw, her claw at her mouth. No one made a sound and the only tears came from the ones from Burn's neck, weeping red and a nauseous green across the scales. She half-expected Burn to get up, to start roaring and wanting to kill everyone.

But the princess did not rise again."

The next chapter, I think will start off with Blister calling out to Burn's soldiers, calling out that their "pathetic, brutish" queen is dead.
Inciting hatred from us, how dare Blister mock the dead like this?
But that she is "merciful and will not kill soldiers for the actions of their leaders."
... Ignoring that she killed Kestrel and tried to kill Webs for that reason.
Which Sunny internally remarks on.
Hypocrite. Liar.

And Blister goes on to speechify that she will be the better choice and that she will leave them with their heads in her new kingdom... so long as she is the last queen among the rest.
And immediately challenges Blaze.
Who was in the middle of mourning Burn with Glacier's wing against her back.
Keep the Glacier letting Blaze take personal responsibility part because I actually think that's good.

And Sunny wonders aloud where is justice, where is a "a queen who still cared"?
That Blister has not protected her dragons, only protected her army because they were a convenient spear to Burn, and even allied himself to Morrowseer to make the realm gush with blood.
And then she sees Blister smacking down Blaze, playing with her to make a show out of their duel.
As her as the "strong, righteous" queen and Blaze as the "claimant that wasn't meant to be."
And sees that Blister doesn't use her claws on Blaze. And starts to see a sickly shade of green on Blister's claws.
Poison.
She poisoned Burn with those neck/chest wounds and made it look like she won through a fair fight.
And here's where I might be controversial.

Keep the scavengers.
Keep them taking Sunny to the Eye of Onyx.
And have her take the Eye of Onyx back to the Blister vs Blaze duel.
And have Sunny ask scavengers simple yes/no questions about how they came about the Eye of Onyx.
And they point to Blister.
And Sunny realizes Burn did not lie. Blister had a claw in her mother's murder.
And she discusses this with the DoD while Blister is thrashing Blaze like a bully.
And what leader they should choose.
And then have Blister eye the Eye of Onyx and stop bullying Blaze to congratulate Sunny for bringing her her proof of queenship.
For it will "rest easy on my queenly neck."
She walks towards the Eye of Onyx and Sunny and rips it away from Sunny's claws.
And tries to wear it.
Only...
It burns.
The metal is hot and scorching against Blister's scales.
And Blister tries to grit her teeth through it, but then tosses it off her neck.
Calling it a fake or a joke and that Sunny should bring her the real article.
And Sunny just takes it by the necklace... and says it is the real deal.

And Blister has to quickly justify it, thinking that Blaze's survival means she can't wear it without pain.
And she quickly goes to lunge for Blaze, but before that stinger can plunge into Blaze's heart...
Sunny calls for all the dragons to listen.
She asks them, not demands, them if they deserve a queen who doesn't care.
That Blister has spent years distinctly not caring.
That she didn't help out with the Kingdom of Sea's post-bombing recovery efforts.
That her NightWings are now imprisoned and taken in by Glory, who took responsibility instead of Blister.
That Blister has done nothing to earn queenship.
And, with the other voices of the DoD supporting and giving their claims on Blister's unworthiness based on the prior books, it becomes a trial that condemns Blister.
And the crowds of dragons are a wildcard.
Because Burn is dead, Blaze is beaten like a dog and Blister's increasingly look like an unpleasant queen given the information they're now privy to.
And Blister tries to play fast with this, simply saying that "If your lies were true... there is still no other queen here to judge me."
And Sunny simply says "there is."
And walks towards Thorn.
"Let me be the first to kneel before the true SandWing successor... Queen Thorn of the Scorpion's Den. Protector of her Dragons and the Kingdom."
And places the Eye of Onyx on Thorn's neck.
Who whispers to Sunny "this necklaces rests heavy on my neck."
And Sunny responds "and that is why you're the only choice."
Because "Heavy Lies the Brow that Wears the Crown."
Which is a thematic point: Thorn understands obligation, responsibility, duty to her dragons.
Which is why she finds it heavy.
Whereas Blister doesn't understand that, not on a bone-deep level, which is why she thinks it will rest easy on her neck.
And, after that, the rest of the DoD kneel before her.
Blaze starts to kneel, and with her, Glacier dips a knee.
Moorhen is clearly done with this war and Burn is dead so she's going to be pick a queen who actually gives a dung and won't kill her post-war (as she thinks Blister might.)
So she kneels.
And soon, many dragons start kneeling because Thorn's the best choice out of three, two increasingly unpleasant ones.

And Blister starts breaking down a bit, realizing her plan is about to dump on its seat.
First trying to smoothly get Thorn to share the power with her.
Because Thorn is not a rightful queen and Blister is.
And Thorn tells her to stuff it.
And that she's had to deal with the dragons Blister's war put on the Scorpion's Den's doorstep.
And Blister snaps back at Thorn that a good queen knows that dragons must die for their designs.
Thorn then asks if Blister is guilty of the charges the DoD laid on her feet.
Blister denies and then Thorn retorts, "very fine, if you won't plead guilty, then I, as the recognized SandWing Queen, sentence you to trial by combat for your crimes."
And THERE Blister and Thorn fight it out... where Sunny watches the monster of the SandWing theater and her mother dunk it out.
And Sunny doesn't know that Thorn knows about the poisoned claws...
So there's clear tension over whether Thorn will succumb to the same poison that fell Burn.
But ultimately... Thorn slews Blister.
And, instead of a queen's death as a chapter ending, we get a queen's ascension.

"Queen Thorn!"

"Queen Thorn!"

"QUEEN THORN!"