Wings of Fire: Missed | The Turning Tides #1

Chapter 6

"How can any dragon trust her?" Puffin asked. Her snout raised into the air and she watched the air with hatred in her dark-blue eyes.

Gelid looked around the courtyard. There was a small group of icewing dragonets surrounding the Tree of Light. One was trying to climb up as a shadow flew past overhead, loosing his footing and fell into the flurry of small wings. Puffin couldn't have been talking about one of the dragonets, surely.

"Trust who?" Gelid asked, looking up at the older icewing.

Puffin nodded to the sky.

Above, Mist flew laps around the towers of the palace swiftly, despite her weight. Her wings seemed more than able to support her. She zoomed over them, starting another lap and she swerved around the next tower and behind the snow rooftops.

The sky was blue but slowly turning grey with the arrival of clouds. She guessed it was the beginning of snowstorm season.

"She's..." Gelid struggled to find an appropriate answer. She admitted to herself that she didn't trust Mist a week ago until that night she followed Mist to Rain's Merriment. Mist did understand the results of her actions, even if it took a few hours for her to realise it. Mist didn't seem to harbour any threats or danger to Queen Blizzard, just other icewings that stepped on all of her scales.

So Gelid wasn't quite sure how trustworthy Mist was in her mind.

"Agonising? Cruel? Has no resentment and only cares about herself?" Puffin suggested coldly. A cold stream of frosty air shot from her nose in a heavy exhale. Gelid had to agree with the middle option but the latter was, as far as Gelid was concerned, not as true as it seemed.

"Well, if Queen Blizzard trusts her then it might be a good idea for us to do the same. I mean, she is a princess," Gelid said, wondering how much of that she believed. How much would Queen Blizzard have to trust Mist for the rest of the icewings to follow up?

"A princess shouldn't attack her own - except if it was for a good reason and she doesn't have any," Puffin said boldly. Gelid had to agree with that. "Have you seen the way she looks at everyone? It's like suddenly she's queen and everyone should be bowing to her. I, for one, am never going to bow to her."

Gelid questioned Puffin's sudden agitation. Gelid initially knew Puffin as a lot more...well, kinder than her present behaviour and if she wasn't then she excused herself from the presence of other dragons and came back with cooler scales.

"Is this about Squall?" She pressed, watching Puffin's expression.

Puffin's eyes narrowed to black slits, even as she still gazed at the sky. Her snout curled down with gritting teeth.

"Yessssss," Puffin hissed slowly, the edges of her teeth glimmered through her snout. "He's a kind dragon, just following orders and doing whatever is asked of him. And now, because of her, he may never walk or fly properly again. How many icewings lives does she need to ruin before someone does something?"

"If you're threatening the life of a princess or plotting it, I'm afraid I'll have to turn you in," Gelid said. Though, some small, squashed part of her agreed with the idea.

Puffin sighed, her expression relaxing as she looked down at her talons. "Apologies. I didn't mean it that way. I'm just saying that needs some...obedience lessons. Just someone to order her around for an hour a day."

Gelid laughed. "Order Mist around? You-" Puffin glared at Gelid. "You're serious...really serious. Ahem." Gelid faked a cough to remove the laugh from her throat, resettling her pose.