Wings of Fire; Crowns of Betrayal

Prologue

      The sky was dark. Shimmering blues mixed with sparkling teals as the stars shone and twinkled, dancing within the sky that stretched from horizon to horizon like a tapestry. The three moons shone brightly, almost proudly alongside the stars, illuminating all of Pyrrhia in gleaming moonlight, turning the once golden sea of sand silver. The leaves and vegetation of the lush oasis hissed quietly in the IceWing's ears, rustled by the wind that nipped between his spines. It wasn't nearly as cold as the sharp gusts that roared across the tundra, but cold enough to make his scales prickle from the sudden drop.

   Even under the cover of the palms and thick bushes, he couldn't help the feeling of eyes that crawled up along his back. Someone was bound to have seen them traversing the desert, a pair of IceWings was odd enough out in the dunes, but in a kingdom that despised them raised even more alarm that made his spines rattle, the sound carried off by the wind. A sharp cry of a jackal split through the air, making him freeze, head snapping towards the sound and glaring through the dense verdure.

   "For a barren place, it's lively tonight."

   Blur stopped up ahead, glancing back over his shoulder with his good eye- his other nothing more than a sealed socket where his other eye used to be- brow pinched in a permanent scowl. "We're almost there," hissed the older IceWing before trekking on, the order left unspoken: be quiet.

   Shudder shot another glance into the greenery before slipping after the other, stepping lightly across the ground that felt damp beneath his serrated talons, making them itch as grains of sand stuck between his claws and wedged between the scales around his wrists. Quietly shouldering through a dense clump of leaves- the ferns shriveled back at the icy touch of his scales- he quickened his pace as much as he dared, catching up to Blur who continued to stalk up ahead, now only a tail-length separating the pair.

   His gaze shot skyward as a flurry of feathers shot off from the trunk of a nearby palm that hung overhead, a small owl snatching something else out of the air. Forcing his spines to flatten, Shudder pressed onwards through the tense air that made his spines want to click and rattle. Keeping his tail off the oasis floor, Shudder picked his way through the parted greenery moved by the older IceWings body that stalked ahead, picking his steps carefully.

   Blur came to a stop, the fronds stilling around them. Shudder froze, talons raised mid-step as his ears pricked. He could hear it now, the gentle lapping of water that made his throat feel parched. But they weren't here to stop for a drink. Shudder scowled. They'd steered clear of the Kingdom of Sand ever since they left the tundra they once called home, so why was Blur so keen on accepting this offer now? From a SandWing of all dragons.

   They were almost as untrustworthy as a NightWing, twice as likely to betray you for treasure and gold, or a pile of shiny jewels. And the last SandWing they dealt with fit that category perfectly. Ratted out for a pile of pretty stones, he scoffed.

   Shudder stole a glance at Blur's shoulder, the scales still marking a nasty bruise that lined the torn membrane of his leading-edge flap. It had been a pain to fix the desolate shoulder, and Shudder had sworn it was broken if not for the older IceWings recovery. They were lucky it was the worst of the wounds they had to nurse after the ambush, but Shudder didn't think he'd ever forget the pained snarl on his uncle's face and the deafening pop that seemed to ring in his ears.

   The pair stood between an intertwining palm tree, its bark twisted as its long shoots stretched up high above them, helping to cast them in a thick shadow where the moonlight couldn't reflect off their pearly scales. Shudder picked his way closer to the edge, sanding shoulder to shoulder with Blur who peered out through the dense greenery. The olde-eyed dragon's gaze narrowed, lips curled in a twitching snarl.