Wings of Fire - Cavernous Promises

Chapter 35

COBALT

Cobalt felt something was amiss. They had escaped, with the helm, just like that? They had stolen from Wasp, just like that? Something wasn't right. Sure, they freed the flamesilks, sure, they made a mess, sure, they did some pretty impossible stuff, but Wasp was going to just let them get away with it? She didn't think so.

"Uh, guys..." Admiral stated. "Where's Dragonfly?"

"That son of a moonlicking idiot," Locust hissed. "He's probably gotten himself killed."

"One of us should go back for him," Admiral pointed out.

"Yeah... but do we really want to do that? Really?"

"Mallow!"

"Ok, ok, sorry!"

"I'll go get him," Cobalt sighed.

"Not without me!" Acacia bounced back through the exit.

"Do you really think you're going to be any help out there?" Locust questioned. "I trust Cobalt more than I do you."

"Sure I will. I mean, maybe I just want to see his face when I rescue him... maybe..." Acacia's voice trailed off.

"For the love of Clearsight, be quick." Locust clenched his talons to his face.

"We will!" Acacia ran down the hallway.

"Hey! Wait up!" Cobalt called after him.

Cobalt and Acacia paddled back into the Hive, until they reached the open doorway. Acacia was prominent in walking inside, before Cobalt grabbed him, and jerked him against the wall. Before he could speak or scream, she clasped her talons over his snout.

"We can't just walk inside." She whispered quietly. "It's probably a trap."

He nodded hastily in agreement.

"I'm going to take my claws off you, but you can't just waltz in there, or speak. Whispers only."

He nodded again.

"Alright." Cobalt unclasped her talons off his snout.

"Sorry." He whispered quickly. "You know me, just pulling another stupid stunt."

"Don't worry about it, and you don't pull 'stupid stunts' or whatever."

"Thanks."

She brushed her wing with his, before Cobalt heard a voice she wasn't planning on hearing.

"Once this nuisance is removed, I will control you, and I will kill you." Wasp's voice loomed from within the hive.

That sounds close. She thought.

"No..." Cobalt heard a voice that she recognized as Dragonfly. "No... no..."

Oh moons, what's he done now!

She paused.

But on the contrary, he sounds as if he's right next to us.

Cobalt risked a glance at peeking her head outside the doorway, and sure enough, she saw Dragonfly sprayed out on the floor, a HiveWing with the palest, white eyes towering over him.

"Hm. How pathetic. However, I guess there's only one thing left for me to say." Cobalt saw Wasp reach for Dragonfly's ring he was given by the CavernWings.

"Bye bye Dragonfly..."

Oh, I'm sorry, but as much as I hate him, that ain't happening today, Queeny.

And with that, Cobalt launched out of the exit doorway, and on top of Wasp.

"What?" The HiveWing Queen hissed. "This is not meant to happen."

"Yeah, well I say otherwise!" She growled back, tightening her grip down upon her captive.

The blue SilkWing sent a jet of orange silk around the Queen, trapping her in a frantic fire that set the floor alight.

Oops. That wasn't supposed to happen. I was only meant to trap her, not set the whole Hive on fire!

"Assist me at once." The HiveWing under her silk snarled.

"Never."

"I wasn't talking to you, pest."

"Oh shoot, you just called the entire Hive, didn't you?"

"What a wonderful idea, flamesilk, I should be sure to add extra guards around you, once you're in my talons." Wasp hissed.

"Don't sound so sure, and you just revealed this HiveWing of the flamesilks. How idiotic!" Cobalt snickered, in an attempt to annoy the Queen.

"What you don't realise," Wasp growled in agony. "Is that, I will happily leave this soldier to die under your flamesilk. She already knows too much for me to keep her alive."

"No!" She cried. "A good Queen would never!"

"Yes, well I am a great Queen."

Cobalt began unwrapping her silk from the HiveWing in a frantic haste, as Wasp had released her from the hive mind, in an attempt to save her own life.

"H-help m-me..." The yellow HiveWing beneath the flamesilk coughed. "So- m-much s-smoke... burning... c-can't b-breathe..."

"I'm going to get you out of here, ok? I will, I promise you." Cobalt squinted through the smoke. "I promise you."

Clearsight, please save her.

Before Cobalt could remove all the silk from the HiveWing's body, the helpless victim before her fell limp. Her eyes stiffened to a stop, and the worried look from her face had disappeared.

Cobalt was too late.

"N-no..." Cobalt choked on the thickened air, falling to the ground, claws to floor. "I- I d-did t-t-that..." She sobbed. "I-I'm the r-r-reason she's g-g-g-gone...."

"COBALT!" She heard Acacia call. "COBALT, COME ON! I've got Dragonfly! COME ON!"

Cobalt couldn't move. She couldn't bear it. She couldn't bear the thought of killing.

"COBALT!" Acacia called again.

She didn't respond. She couldn't.

"COBALT, COME ON!"

Acacia ran up to her, tugging at her wings and tail.

"We've got to move! Come on!"

"B-but l-look what I- I've d-d-done..."

"Wasp did that, not you. You hear me? Wasp. Look at me." He tilted her head around gently, with a talon. "Wasp caused this, not you. She's the reason this all happened. The CavernWings, The Tree Wars, everything. Not you. You have done nothing wrong. Nothing. Ok?"

"B-b-but-"

"No. Nothing. Now come on!" He pulled her up from the ground, dragging her outside the hive.