𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄: The dragonet of two tribes | ✔️

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 24

♕ CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR ♕
I DO NOT WANT YOU TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF BUT DO AS YOU MUST

Queen Scarlet's yellow eyes were tiny slits between orange scales. "Now where," she hissed, "did you hear about that particular law?" Peril shifted on her talons. "I read about it." "I bet you did," Scarlet said. "With claws that burn right through the paper when you touch it. Someone's been telling you things too big for little dragon ears." "No!" Peril said too quickly. "Nobody —" The queen was airborne before Peril could choke out another word. Queen Scarlet snatched Osprey up in her talons and shot into the sky. "Stop!" Peril yelled. "It's not his fault!" She leaped into the air and beat her wings, chasing them. IceMoon watched the queen rise higher and higher above the arena. Osprey writhed in her claws; his tail was hanging heavily below him. Scarlet had nearly reached the height of the wire net when suddenly she opened her talons and dropped the old dragon. He plummeted like a stone. The night/icewing had never thought about how a dragon needs his tail for balance while flying. Osprey's wings were slow to extend, and when they did, he lurched horribly, dragged down by the useless weight of his tail. Peril darted at him, talons outstretched, but he twisted away from her, and she stopped, helpless. The burns would kill him just as much as the fall, perhaps even more painful if she caught him.

IceMoon saw Peril's claws reach out again anyway, but it was too late. Osprey flapped his wings in one last burst of energy, but he couldn't right himself. He hit the sand at an awkward angle. Every dragon in the area heard the ripping and snapping of bones breaking and wings tearing as he tumbled. He collapsed near the arena wall. Peril landed beside him. Queen Scarlet fluttered delicately back onto her balcony perch. "I hope this has been a lesson to any other dragons who were thinking of teaching my champion bad habits," she said, glaring around the arena. "He's not dead," Peril said, clawing at the sand. "He will be soon." Queen Scarlet waved a dismissive claw. "Now. I won't argue with the Champion's Shield. The champion has asked to stand for the prisoner. I will choose her opponent, and they will battle at the end of the games tomorrow. If she wins, Kestrel goes free. If not, I'll have a dead champion, but at least we'll get to execute Kestrel right afterward. All in all, a wonderfully bloody day for me and Queen Burn to look forward to." The cold wind whipped around IceMoon, piercing the wounds on her back and whistling through her scales. 

 Burn was coming here. Tomorrow. And when she left, she'd be taking Sunny with her. "All right," Peril said, staring at Osprey's last dying spasms. "Tomorrow, then." She reached for Osprey's talons and stopped, her claws hovering over his, agonizingly close but not touching. "Of course, we'll have to lock Kestrel back up," said Queen Scarlet. "We wouldn't want her to try escaping again. You understand." "Fine." Peril turned and looked at Kestrel. They faced each other as Vermilion dismissed the crowd, and dragons began to pour out of the arena, buzzing with excitement. Kestrel pointed to the chains around her mouth when most of the group was gone. She wanted to talk to Peril. "No," Peril said as one of the guards stepped forward. She stared into Kestrel's eyes. "You killed my brother. You left me here. And it's your fault my friend is dead. I may not want you dead, but I don't want to know you." She turned and left the arena. The guards dragged Kestrel away under queen Scarlet's triumphant smile. IceMoon's head was spinning. She tried to catch Tsunami's eye, but the SeaWing was storming around her platform, clawing angrily at the air. Across from the hybrid, Starflight was sitting up and looking at the sky.

Clay was shaking. Don't worry, Clay, IceMoon said telepathically. she then tried to think. If Peril succeeded in freeing Kestrel, undoubtedly, Kestrel would try to unblock the dragonets as well. Maybe she'd go to the Talons of Peace for help.

♕

 Peril never came. When the guard dropped off another pig at midday, IceMoon tried to ask him to take a message to Peril. But the guard snorted fire at her, scaring the pig right into IceMoon's talons, and flew away without responding. The only good news was he didn't notice the broken wire attached to the hybrid's front right talon. By the time the sun started drifting down over the western peaks, IceMoon was getting anxious. Was Peril all right? What if Queen Scarlet decided to get rid of her before she could fight for Kestrel? Heavy wingbeats in the distance distracted her from her worries. She looked up as a score of SandWings appeared from the west, outlined by the setting sun's red glow. The largest was in the lead, with the others fanned out in a V formation behind her. They swooped toward the queen's palace, staying in perfect lines, and vanished beyond a distant wall, where IceMoon guessed the landing field for visitors was. Burn was here. She was the biggest and meanest of the three rivals for the SandWingthrone. She held the SandWing palace stronghold. From what IceMoon could remember, she was the most likely to win the war — and the most likely to kill anyone who got in her way.