You know what annoys me most? The fact that I figured out exactly where Bella was kept by risking my butt to listen in on a rebel meeting and no one listens to me! Not even my boyfriend!
Not even a 'Gee thanks Tempest! What would we do without you!' But nooo, the moment I told them where she is, they started a full fledged shouting match that went a bit like this:
Gale: I'll go...
Bloodhunter: Yeah right, what are you going to do? Recite the Seawing rule book?
Me: Hey!
Storm: EVERYONE SHUT UP! Bella could be dying right now, and you three are bickering like dragonets!
Gale: I mean I don't mind staying behind...
Me: Gale, shush. You're coming with me and I'm leaving right now. The other two can keep doing their whole 'she likes me more, I'm more manly!' thing for all I care!
Then I just started flying, and they eventually followed.
Now we're flying through the Mud Kingdom with a pair of moody soldiers muttering behind me.
I glance down, my eyes trailing the maze of swamps, twig huts and the occasional alligator. I frown, usually there's groups of Mudwings lounging in mud pools, but nowadays most dragons prefer to stay in their homes, well the ones that aren't already allied to The Claws Of Vengeance.
When we finally pass the Diamond Spray Delta and begin flying over open sea, I take a deep breath of the salty sea air. I haven't had time to even look at the ocean in the past two to three months, but now I allow myself to have a few seconds of peace with the sound of waves.
Then Gale clears his throat beside me and I groan to myself.
"What?!" I snap, turning around to glare at Gale for interupting my peace. "What do you want-oh," I falter when I see our destination in the distance, directly between the Sea and the Sky kingdoms.
"Oh, I just thought you might-" Gale stammers, flinching at my harsh tone. I cringe.
"It's fine Gale. I'm just a bit... jumpy."
Gale nods as if he knows what I mean and I turn back to face the small island that appears up ahead, standing tall and jagged through the slight fog.
As we get closer, I notice how steep the cliffs are, crumbling rocky walls jutting vertically out of the sea like the tallest of rainforest trees. All pale ledges and worn away boulders.
I turn around to glance at the others and notice Storm's eyes widen as he spots a small cave opening. He flies ahead of the rest of us (which is obviously not that hard for him) and we scramble to catch up, wings aching in protest. We land at the entry to the cave and the moment I look inside, my stomach turns, tossing about the salmon I had for breakfast like a beach ball.
The hard stone walls show signs of struggle, a blood smear here (both red and blue) a deep gouge in the floor and even a broken sword laying uselessly on the ground.
I watch as Storm's shoulders tense and he grips onto his spear.
But the tunnel doesn't prepare us for the actual cave chamber. The moment the tunnel ends, revealing a large cavernous 'room' of sorts I gasp.
She's been here.
Red blood is splattered all over the walls, and weapons litter the ground. In the corner, a chair attached to shackles sits broken in the ground, covered in more blood. Knives, pitchforks, arrows, used matchsticks, hammers and lots of unidentified objects that looks like differents kinds of painful torture devices.
I search blindly for Gales talon and clutch it tightly in mine. His face has lost all of its colour, ears twitching back and he's shaking. I gulp and look around, searching for clues for where she could be now. But there's nothing.
She's not here now, they must've figured out we knew where she was... and now she can only be in one other place. In the Sky Kingdom. Which has now turned into the most heavily guarded stronghold in Pyrrhia. Like Gale said, the only way in is our heads on a spike, and I'm currently quite attached to mine at the moment.
A loud thud brings me back from my scheming thoughts. I turn around, to see Storm cradling his broken talons and swearing profusely. Bloodhunter growls as Storm throws another punch at the wall. Storm's teeth are clenched and his whole body is rigid, almost robotic like. As he tries to make another move against the innocent wall, Bloodhunter grabs both of his arms, saying something that surprisingly calms Storm down.
My eyes scan the chains, the weapons, the blood and a flood of understandment crosses me. We can't win this war, everyone knows it. But I can do something to help find Bella before it's too late... I need to, I have to. Before I hurt someone else....
With a sigh, I turn to Gale. "Umm, I'm going to go-" I begin.
Gale pales, his eyes widening in fear as if to say please don't leave me alone in here! I smile softly and lean in to kiss Gale. He kisses me back and the worry melts from his expression a little but his muscles are still tense.
I then turn towards the other two dragonets. Storm has started abusing the wall again, despite Bloodhunter's best efforts.
"I'm going to the Sea Kingdom," I say "They may have taken her to another island."
"I'll go as well then," Storm says.
I shake my head. "If a Seawing patrol sees you, a Skywing general, they may attack." I try not to think about how my grandmother may have already sided with the Skywings and the rebels. "I think it's better If I just go, plus I know the way around a lot better."
Storm clenches his teeth, looking uneasy. "Well, then take Gale, he knows his way around too."
I clench my talons and turn to Gale with a pleading look. He can't come!
Gale must notice my desperate expression because he hesitates. "No, I think it's better if Tempest goes by herself. She's royalty so know one would ever dare to hurt her, but I'm just a random hybrid..."
Something about the way he says that makes my heart crack a tiny bit.
Storm nods unconvincingly and I shoot Gale a small, grateful smile and launch into the sky before he can change his mind.
Two hours later...
"Three moons, finally," I gasp, the moment I spot the island up ahead.
I could probably lie on the small stretch of sand for the rest of the day, if not for Bella depending on me. As I dive down into the deep green sea, I catch a glimpse of rusty scales swooping between clouds before the currents pull me down into the sea and tugs me quickly past schools of fish and coral reefs.
I frown. Rebels? I shake my head. It doesn't matter anyway, I need to get to the island.
The cool ocean soothes my nerves a bit and I smile hesitantly at waving Seawings while a few others offer bows as I pass.
When I reach the cliffs that jut out from the sea, I dig my talons into the sharp rock to help me out of the thrashing waves, and there, just as we planned, is Anemone.
I rush forward and throw my dripping wet wings around her, making her fall backwards and onto the sand with a thud. She coughs out a laugh.
"Sorry," I smile, holding out a talon to her.
"It's okay, I'll always forgive my favourite niece." She winks. I grin and brush the sand of my scales.
"Let's find a place to sit so we can talk."
I nod and Anemone leads me to a piece of driftwood. I sit down and I pick at my claws nervously.
"So what did you want to tell me when you sent me that letter?" Anemone asks, raising a brow when I hesitate. I should've known she would ask that. I think. Well that is the whole reason I'm here... but still...
"I just need some advice."
"Sure, anything. What's up?"
"Well I just-there's this thing- I've known for a little bit but I've never told anyone-"
"Ye"
Come on Tempest, it's just three words...
"I-I'm a-"
"You're a..." Anemone prompts.
I choke on my words and end up spitting them out like a piece of rotten fish.
"I'm an animus," I blurt.
Anemone's snout drops open.
"What?"
"I'm a-"
"You never told me! Why? Does Tsunami know?" Anemone says, scowling that my mother might know something she doesn't.
"No, no, no! I found out... really, really, recently!"
"How?" She asks.
"When I was doing battle training and I..." Guilt over takes me.
If I hadn't accidentally enchanted that knife to pierce Bella's wing, then she would've been able to fly away when the rebels took her.
I didn't even try to stop her from going to Bloodhunter by herself...
I look up to see Anemone looking off into the distance, lost in thought. "Are you sure you never knew before? Not even a slight inkling?"
I frown, memories of my younger years spent playing with Gale, boring lessons and the occasional meeting. At no point in my life did I think about being an animus except when Gale and I would play pretend, which our tutors eventually forbade.
"I don't think so...Why?" I can't help but ask. Anemone pauses.
"Well... it's just that it's quite uncommon for animus magic to manifest in dragonets this late. Usually it means that..." Anemone trails off, her brow furrowed.
"Means what?" I prompt.
"It usually just means that the dragon is more...powerful."
At that I pause. Thinking back to my tutors' boring lectures about how Albatross had been one of the most powerful animus ever, and he found out his ability very late.
All of a sudden I remember how he found out he was an animus, by accidentally enchanting something to bite off his sister's claw. I wince, disliking the similarity between me and a dragon who murdered his whole family after he went insane.
Anemone seems to notice my concern, so she attempts a reassuring smile (that looks more like a grimace) and says "You don't need to worry, we have a way to protect your soul."
"How?" I frown in surprise, staring at my claws.
"Well... it's kind of complicated..." Anemone begins. "The old solution, Darkstalkers solution, was to enchant an object that, in short, would keep him sane. Obviously that didn't turn out well but lucky for you, Turtle found out a way to maybe make it work..."
I wince. "Maybe work?"
"Well it should, in theory. His idea was for an animus to preserve three quarters of their magic inside an amulet leaving only a tiny portion." As she explains this, she pulls out a small necklace with a pinkish scallop shell attached to it.
I quirk my eyebrow. "How is that supposed to help?"
"Well, it takes away most of your power to make sure you don't use too much of it."
"You really think I'll use too much power and go insane?" I frown.
"Well no, but it's more of a matter of if you were being forced or your powers were exploited."
"But what if I need to cast a spell?"
"Well you can cast simple charms, obviously still cast them sparingly, but in the case of an emergency, the dragon you choose must take it off for you."
"What do you mean dragon I choose- why can't I do it myself?" I ask.
"You can still go insane from simple enchantments, so if you weren't in your right mind, you'd obviously try and take it off,"
I roll my eyes.
"Right, but if I'm insane, I can just enchant this dragon to take it off for me."
"Which is why you cast a spell that makes it impossible to do that to the dragon you choose." She says, grinning at me.
I sigh. "Fine... that's... pretty smart."
Anemone hands me the amulet, draping the shell pendant around my neck.
"Uhh do I just..." I mutter trying not to act like this isn't my first time casting a spell on purpose. Anemone nods encouragingly. "Umm, I enchant this shell-umm necklace to take away most of my animus powers leaving only a small portion that I can use for basic spells. This necklace must... protect my magic until Gale of the Seawings says a uhh- a specific word.
"When he says that one word, my animus magic will be returned to me except in the case that I am already too far gone. If I am insane, I command this necklace to kill me instantly."
Once the spell is complete, Anemone is silent. "We never talked about the last part." She whispered.
I shake my head. "I can't take any chances with this. I don't want to be another Albatross."
Anemone furrows her brow determinedly and grips my shoulders firmly. "I know you won't, animus magic is a heavy burden but you are strong. I trust that you know your limits."
I smile hesitantly. "I think I should go back to the rainforest, I need to tell Gale about my powers."
"That's a good idea. I will see you soon." Anemone hugs me tightly before I turn to fly away. "Wait, Tempest!" Anemone calls before I can take off.
"Yes?"
"Be careful. The world is a dangerous place, especially now... Promise me you'll stay safe." Anemone orders.
I roll my eyes. "What, do you think I'm just going to freak out and end up enchanting a banana to destroy the entire dragon species?"
Anemone sighs and rubs her temples.
I smile cheekily and fly away, hoping Anemone doesn't notice that I didn't actually promise to stay safe. I know that's not possible for dragons like me.
By the time I near the Sky Kingdom, I have thought up an idea. I recall a royal scroll I read about an ancient underwater tunnel that runs from the outskirts of the Sea Kingdom all the way to a huge cave chamber underneath the Dragon Spine Ranges.
The water currents tug me along at a steady space and I relax, trying to create a plan. Eventually I pull away from the current and instead duck into a tiny crack in a boulder that you wouldn't be able to find unless you knew exactly where it was.
The only reason I know that the secret tunnel still exists is because Gale and I once eavesdropped on Coral talking to Tsunami about using the half collapsed in passage as a supply route.
Obviously Tsunami advised Coral against it because the darkened channel is empty save for a couple of creepy looking sea creatures.
The water is cold and grey, and the tunnel is so dark Its as if I'm swimming through a black hole. After about an hour of swimming, the passage starts to slope upwards and I see a glimpse of light up ahead.
I resist the urge to sigh in relief as I surface in a large underwater cave and instead find myself stifling a gasp. The enormous cavern sits alongside the dark water and the whole thing is filled with rusted furniture, broken statues and abandoned scrolls.
The Seawings and the Skywings must've used this place as a meeting area not long after the scorching, if the dates on the scrolls are true... I think.
Suddenly I feel a slight disturbance in the water and I quickly leap out of the lake and onto the sandy bank. I search desperately for a place to hide and finally dive behind a crumbling statue of a frowning Skywing just as a group of Seawings emerge from the water.
I try to see who the Seawings are but I don't want to risk being seen so I crouch behind the crumbling stone.
I inhale sharply as my talons scrape against the statue roughly, but the dragons that are now on the other side of the room don't seem to notice. I peek around the massive sculpture just as a familiar dragon saunters past. My jaw falls open as Queen Coral, my grandmother sits down on the chair at the head of the table.
I'm too shocked and angry to do anything but watch as Coral's closest guards stand guard behind her.
Coral seems to be waiting for someone to arrive and I grit my teeth when the dragon Coral must've organised to meet with, descends a flight of crumbling steps.
"Coral, I'm glad you could make it." Says Queen Scarlet, sounding anything but that as she takes a seat at the other end of the table.
The two queens regard each other warily and I notice that Scarlet is only accompanied by two guards, seemingly confident in the fact that she could win against Coral if need be.
Coral bares her teeth and says "Well? Is she alive? Blister?"
"Yes. As is Scarlet, Diamond and Battlewinner."
"How?" Coral asks suspiciously.
"We have an animus on our side, Swamp."
"A Mudwing? I never knew there were animuses in that tribe," She says, frowning critically.
"Yes, well, you'll meet him soon enough, along with that sandwing queen you love so much. If, of course you decide to join us-"
"Yes. I would prefer to be on the winning side of this war." Coral informs them. Scarlet grins wickedly, displaying dagger sharp teeth.
I dig my talons into the sand to stop myself from charging across the room and gutting Coral on the spot.
"Wasn't your daughter a prophecy dragonet? And so is your granddaughter, right?" One of the Skywings says, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, but they've chosen their path and I've chosen mine."
"But-"
"Is it a deal or not?" Coral asks, holding out a talon for confirmation.
Queen Scarlet eyes it sceptically before holding out her own and grasping it.
"Done."
My jaw drops open in despair, shock and horror. Not only will I be fighting hundreds of dragons, I will also have to kill dragons from my own tribe...