One True Queen: A Wings of Fire fanfiction

40.

content warning: Sharp-eyes is in this one, discussion of trauma and political instability

Brightmind

The third time my world ends, everything is quiet.

I blink my eyes open, waiting for the familiar silver light of the moons to snap everything into focus. It doesn't come. The torch on the wall lights up with a spurt of blue flame.

"Dad?! Comet?!" I shout. "NOVA!" Nova, nova, have to find Nova--he would know what to do.

My little brother, Comet, and Dad are fast asleep on cots mounted against the wall--like what you would find in a hospital. Nova is nowhere to be found. Where was he last night? I furrow my brow. I played tag with Comet, that's right--and then Dad told me to brush my teeth, and then... I don't think he saw us at all. That's not weird; he's always working late. Maybe he's just... really busy, and he's going to explain this all to me soon.

We're in a small, cramped room made of black-and-white marble--far fancier and cleaner than our old place, the one we lost in the hurricane. I glance out the small window.

Am I even still in the Night Kingdom? The sky is black, pitch black, made of some weird, swirling goop--and the ravine has been widened, hollowed out into one massive canyon, thousands of apartments tunnelled into the stone. All identical to this one. The palace shoots up toward the sky, brushing against the top of the barrier, sleek and ominous too now--no remnant of its old-fashioned architecture.

A projection flickers into focus on the wall. Dad and Comet jolt awake, both gasping for air.

"Brightmind!" Comet rushes toward me. "Brightmind, where are we?" His brows furrow up. "Brightmind?" He tugs at my wing, and I push him away on instinct. (How many times do I have to tell him not to do that?)

Dad glances out the window. "What is this place?" he whispers.

"Guys--look." I point at the wall, watching as a vaguely familiar face flickers into focus. He's got pitch black scales, and perfectly straight horns, eyes beady and dark, with almost no star-scales on his wings at all. Meeting his eyes feels like staring into the void.

"Hello, new citizens of Nyx," he says, voice as loud and clear as if he were right here.

Dad tucks a wing over my shoulder.

"Welcome to the dawn of a new age for our kingdom. For years, you languished under the tyranny of Allknowing and Vigilance. Then, you looked to the most powerful dragons in Pyrhhia for guidance--you asked them to be strong, but all they could give you was weak, shortsighted policy. But no more. The age of Emperor Sharp-eyes has come."

"Brightmind? I don't like him very much," Comet says, scrunching up his snout.

"Yeah, buddy," I murmur, resting a talon on his shoulder. "Me neither."

"As the first order of business, I felt it prudent to restore our kingdom to a glory above even that of the old days. And to keep us safe, and secure--by obscuring the sky from any possible invaders. Rest assured, there is no way into our beautiful new land--and no way out, either. You may notice you no longer feel tired, or hungry. This is my first generous new gift to you all, maximizing your productive hours while we remake our wonderful kingdom. You have all been assigned a task I'd like you to complete—which you will be informed of after this pre-recorded broadcast is complete. It is imperative you tell no one of the top-secret, important work you have been tasked with. Any failure to complete your assignment, or a breach of secrecy will result in an infraction. Three infractions will result in information repossession. For any dragonet under the age of seven--with a few exceptions, of course--school attendance is mandatory. Everyone has a use in the Kingdom of Nyx." The broadcast disappears--and our wall is left in its bland, pre-Sharp-eyes state.