Silenced Voice

Chapter 33 Moon

Clouds had once again covered the sky and the moonlight filtered dimly over the figures crouching in the forest. Moon turned to look at the humans waiting farther away.

They have to go ahead so that even some can survive, she thought as uneasiness grew inside her.
She crept low closer to the small group and waved her wing at Daffodil to show that she had to talk to her.
She definitely knows at least some dragon words.

Daffodil broke away from the group and took a few steps towards her.
"Do you understand me?" Moon asked, trying to enunciate as clearly as possible despite the fact that she had to speak in a whisper.
Daffodil nodded.
"I have studied with Wren while Winter was away. I wanted to surprise him."
"That's... great. Can you get the others as far away from here as possible? To the edge of the forest", asked Moon, gesturing at the same time to clarify her message. "I'm waiting for Wren", she added.
"See you soon", Daffodil replied.

Moon turned towards the enclosure again. There were no sounds from there, nor even from Winter's apartment, from where the holler of Wadi's fellow guard had just been heard and then the sounds of an argument when he had returned there. The silence was oppressive and she hardly dared to breathe.

Where does Wren delay? What does Wadi intend? It was a mistake to trust him and now he has Winter's Sky fire furthermore. She tried to see if there was any movement around Winter's apartment. Nothing.

After a few agonizing minutes, she noticed Wren's head peeking out from the side of the fence. Moon glanced at the guard, who luckily was just walking in the other direction. She raised a wing to show Wren that the route was clear, and as she watched two figures ran crouching under the trees, Wren soon after them. When the humans got closer, Moon noticed that each of them had a large package strapped to their chest and backpacks on their backs.
They were to take only the essentials. Why do they have such burdens?

Wren appeared beside her.
"Huh, I said our number wrong. I forgot to add Rowan's week-old twins to the previous number." Wren grinned and shrugged.
"You mean they carry babies in those wraps?" Moon asked, her eyes widening. The burden of responsibility seemed to crush her. The task seemed almost as impossible as protecting fragile flowers in the middle of a storm. Especially now that Wadi disappeared. Would the soldiers be after them? How could she protect such a group of humans and two newborns?

"Where are Daffodil and the others and that SandWing?" Wren asked suddenly noticing Rowan's family crouching nearby, but no one else was visible.
"I asked Daffodil to take the others to the edge of the forest. Wadi's fellow guard shouted at him, as you probably heard, and he went back to the apartment. We should go", she replied, kept glancing worriedly at the guard walking by the fence and the building looming behind the trees, where Wadi had dissolved. Either he hadn't raised the alarm at all, or he was coordinating a stealthy siege to capture Moon and the fleeing humans.

Cold shivers ran down Moon's spine as she thought about what would happen if the SandWings surprised them. What would they do to the little babies? Could anyone hurt the newborns, or would they just see them as a delicious snack? These SandWings didn't care about the queens order. They were outlaws and only followed Vulture's orders.

They reached the edge of the forest and Moon's wildly fluttering heart calmed down a little. She noticed Sky standing next to the group, his expression brightening when he saw Wren.

"Well, you said you know where to take them. So what's next?" Wren turned to Moon and she found everyone staring at her expectantly.

"Uh-", she glanced at the sky. "Maybe we should wait a while for those thicker clouds to cover the moonlight. Otherwise, someone might see us leave. That would be a disaster."
If only Winter were here. He would know how much humans have strength... he would be able to defend them and he knew these areas better. I have only one option and by walking we won't get there in one night. How in the world can this be possible?!