𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑤𝐻𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟

Chapter 16

Eclipse tried her best to keep from growling, her throat heating up, and her hackle-spikes lifting in fury when she watched fearfully as Reed and QuietFlower got closer and closer. Eclipse and Reed had been together for about two months now, but would their love survive?

"Right," Reed said. "So with this move, you'll want to run at me with your claws out. Then you'll want to slide under me, and spin as soon as you're behind me. Then leap onto my back and attack, taking me by surprise."

QuietFlower nodded, and ran at Reed. She scooted under him, turned on her back paws a little too late, Reed turned around, and QuietFlower was pinned to the ground.

QuietFlower looked up at Reed, embarrassed. Reed stepped off her, and looked pitifully at her sorry face.

"You did good for your first try," Reed reassured the young she-Drolgon. He rested his wing on her shoulder to comfort her, and she shrugged it off. She glared at the ground beneath her paws.

"Just face it," she growled. "I'm terrible at fighting. I should just become a healer-Drolgon, so I don't waste my time."

Reed lashed his tail in frustration. "No! QuietFlower, you're not wasting your time." He softened his voice as tears sprang to QuietFlower's eyes. "QuietFlower, I believe in you. You can do this."

QuietFlower shook her head, sobbing. Reed wiped away her tears with his paw, and wrapped his wings around her in a hug.

"It's okay. Shhhh..."

Eclipse couldn't bear to watch any longer. Her tears welled up, and she fled into the forest. She wouldn't let anyone see her cry. She couldn't believe it! Reed was acting like he cared about QuietFlower more than Eclipse. And he'd promised to love Eclipse!

Seeing no one else around, and knowing she was out of earshot, she started wailing like an upset Drolgonet.

"You promised! What did I do wrong?! What makes her better than me?!"

She cried and cried, her throat swelling with sobs, and her face sticky with tears.

He doesn't deserve you, Dark One, the Darkbeasts soothed her. He has betrayed you. And with the power, you could make him pay for the pain he's caused you. You could also make Storm pay for the suffering he's caused you, and FierceTalon pay for your mother's death. The power is almost yours. The time has almost come. Just stay strong...

The Darkbeast's voice faded away, and Eclipse could once again hear the soft falling of snow.

"Eclipse?"

Eclipse turned, and saw Sapphire standing in the snowbank behind her, her beautiful dark blue-gray pelt outlined against the snow.

"I saw how he was acting with QuietFlower," Sapphire murmured. "He must've hurt you bad. He shouldn't have been so careless with your heart."

Eclipse sniffed, and nodded.

Sapphire sat down at Eclipse's side, their fur brushing. There they sat, watching the sun go down behind the trees. Eclipse's hackle-spikes flattened the longer she sat with Sapphire, as she felt calmer.

Finally, Eclipse touched her nose to Sapphire's muzzle, and got to her paws. "I'm gonna go talk to Reed."

"Okay," Sapphire said, standing up and following Eclipse back to camp.

Eclipse entered the archway, and stalked straight toward Reed, who was eating a blackbird with QuietFlower.

"I need to talk to you," Eclipse growled.

"What is it?" Reed asked, his eyes sparkling with worry.

Stupid sparkly eyes! Eclipse thought fiercely. I can't fall for those beautiful eyes again!

Eclipse beckoned with her tail, and padded over to a sheltered spot beside Reed's den. Reed arrived shortly after, and Eclipse turned on him.

"Do you really love me?" She demanded.

Reed hesitated to answer.

"You lied to me!" Eclipse hissed, lashing her tail long tail, which flicked the air like a whip.

"N-no..." he mumbled. "I just..."

Eclipse started crying all over again, her tears hot against the chilly air.

Reed shook his head in frustration. "I never loved you!"

Eclipse took a step backwards, her hackle-spikes sticking straight up again in shock.

"I just thought I loved you, but I didn't," Reed growled. "You turned out to be a different Drolgon than I expected."

"Well, sorry I didn't live up to your expectations," Eclipse retorted.

Reed glowered at her, his hackle-spikes beginning to rise, too. "Every time there's emotion in anything, you run away. You need to take responsibility for your actions, and not just flee from them. QuietFlower does just that."

"Oh, so you're comparing me to that scared little Drolgonet?!" Eclipse yowled, filled with rage, tears streaming down her face. "You're no different from my father!"

Reed flared his wings and hackle-spikes in anger. "He's a mad Drolgon! And now I'm thinking you are too!"

"I wish you'd just told the truth! I wish you'd shattered my heart into a million pieces as soon as I said I liked you! It would've been so much easier, and I wouldn't have had to waste my time with a cursed Drolgon like you!" Eclipse screeched.

"Insult me all you want," Reed growled, "but you can't deny the fact that you were the one who destroyed us!"

Eclipse gave out a low and threatening growl, her throat tightening and heating up the most it ever had and her hackle-spikes stiff with rage, not knowing what to say next.

"Just don't blame me, since you're the monster that destroyed the future we could have had," Reed growled in a low and quiet voice as he stalked back toward QuietFlower.

Eclipse shrunk down into a pile in the snow, and buried her face in her paws.

You know what to do, the Darkbeasts whispered in her head. You are capable. make him pay. He deserves no better than any of the other Drolgon's who wronged you.

Trust me... Eclipse thought. I know what to do... and I'll make him pay for breaking my heart. Mine is the last he's ever going to break.