A Crown Made of Air

Part 3, Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Moonlight

Moonlight woke up at daybreak. After sending her letter to her sister, Moonlight had been able to sleep for a few hours. As Destiny had explained, hummingbirds were trained birds who delivered The Wind God's message through The Heavens. That had been how she and Sky had received Destiny's plea. Moonlight felt relieved before going to bed the night before. The sun was here, in Spindly Pinnacle. She now knew of The Wind God's plan to rule Crystal Island and Cloudiness. And she even knew how to stop him once and for all. There is only a creature who can kill an immortal. A legend. Destiny had said. Moonlight was determined to understand what it meant. But it was a start. It was always better to see the finish line, instead of running in the dark.

It was no surprise when Moonlight burst out of bed, a huge smile tugging at her lips. Sky is coming. In two days, she'll finally be here. She couldn't contain herself. She was brimming with enthusiasm. For the first time since she had arrived, she decided to open her armoire. She gasped in surprise at the number of beautiful frocks waiting for her. She didn't really want to change out of her periwinkle dress embedded with jewels. But if she was being honest, it felt necessary. It had undergone freezing blizzards, murder attempts and capture. It was due for a chance. Moonlight let her fingers brush the hem of their skirts, skimming through lace and tule. When she found a pleated turquoise dress, with silver glittering from its bodice and moon symbols emblazed on her waist, she was sure it was the right one. As she put it on, Moonlight wondered if it could have belonged to her grandmother- The Goddess- and her high spirits soared even higher. Today, she was definitely in a good mood.

She left her bedroom and wandered until she stumbled across a servant carrying a tray of food. Destiny's door was closed, and Moonlight preferred to let her rest. They could talk later. Before, there was someone else Moonlight was dying to see.

"Thank you. Sir." She grabbed a loave of bread with honey, reveling in the sweet taste. She took her time savoring it, as she tried to chat with the servant. They had met before, when he had bumped into her without apologizing. Moonlight sighed. He didn't seem to remember what had happened before. Just like a puppet, his job was merely to serve. "It's been a pleasure talking to you again. As always," She snatched the pink cookies from yesterday. They were divine and she was still hungry. "Could you take me to Akio's room?"

The man with tawny hair and amber eyes nodded once, pointing downstairs to a lone door in one of the corridors branching the great hall. She noticed that the door she had breached through had been repaired overnight. A clear warning that if she wanted to go outside, she would need permission. But she didn't allow a single grumble to escape. If she played along, The Wind God had no reason to doubt her word. And she wasn't going to throw herself from a cliff again.

Moonlight's blue eyes narrowed on the door the servant had pointed to. She felt suddenly distressed. It was in the same corridor where the room was. And she had no intention of returning there anytime soon.

"That is Akio's room?" She asked skeptically. She had expected Akio's room to be on the floor above because she had encountered this morning many servants rushing for stairs to climb. If The Wind God's room was upstairs, Akio's room had to be upstairs also.

"Mr. Akio's chambers are on the third floor alongside his brother's," Moonlight cringed at the choice of words. Brother. The Wind God would never be Akio's brother. "But he is not there now. He skirted pass me on his way downstairs well after midnight. I believe he has been there since." With a swift nod, he disappeared alongside the blue walls.

Moonlight blinked, surprised. She hadn't known if The Wind God's servants would ever speak to her. Or if they could speak. She guessed they could.