Wings of Fire: Revenant

Chapter Twenty-Six

Peacemaker spent some time wandering aimlessly, unsure of where to go. The cold wind stung against his tearstained face, and his throat clenched tightly around his gasping breaths. The excitement he had felt upon his mother's arrival seemed an eternity away. All the happiness he had anticipated was gone.

All he had left now were questions. All he ever seemed to have were questions.

He needed to talk to someone. Seeker? No, she would see him crying and immediately blame herself for what had happened. Cliff? Auklet? No, they were off somewhere in the mountains and might not be back for hours.

The truth was, there was only one dragon Peacemaker wanted to talk to right now.

He found her in the early learning classroom, helping Kinkajou sort through a number of scrolls scattered messily along the floor. Both dragons looked up when he entered, surprise turning to dismay in an instant when they saw the look on his face.

"Peacemaker!" Moon exclaimed, bounding over to meet him by the doorway. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Peacemaker threw himself into Moon's arms. "Moon ..." he sobbed into her chest, "it's Mother ... she ... she ..."

Moon stroked one talon gently down his head spines. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm here now."

Kinkajou came up on his other side, sliding a wing gently across his back. "Everything's going to be all right," she said, turning her scales a soothing shade of blue.

Peacemaker opened his mouth to speak, but had trouble getting the words out. Trying to explain just made everything start to hurt all over again.

"Oh ..." Moon suddenly said, voice distant as she tried to navigate her way through the turbulent thoughts in his brain, "you and Hope had a fight."

Peacemaker nodded, pulling away just enough to look into Moon's eyes. "She ... she ..."

"Easy," Moon advised, "take a deep breath."

Peacemaker breathed in and out several times, until at last he felt the tension in his throat lessen and the pressure in his chest begin to ease.

"I ... I don't really understand what happened," he rasped. "She ... she just took one look at Seeker and decided that she didn't like her."

Something odd flickered behind Moon's eyes. "Really."

"Then ..." Peacemaker continued, all the words suddenly falling in a torrent from his mouth, "then she got mad at me for going to the Night Kingdom without telling her, even though I said I asked you first. And then she told me that ... that she couldn't trust me, and ... and she wants me to go back to the rainforest."

Moon and Kinkajou exchanged a fleeting glance, some unreadable emotion running between them.

Peacemaker shook his head. "But I told her that I wasn't going to do it! And ... and you wouldn't force me to, right?"

"Of course not," Moon said. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. I'm sure if I just talk to Hope, we can sort this all out. It might just be a simple misunderstanding."

"I don't see how," Peacemaker replied sullenly.

Moon tilted his chin up, her green gaze warm and comforting. "I know you don't think so right now, but your mother loves you very much. Sometimes when dragons are upset, they say things they don't mean ... or do things they'll regret."

Peacemaker sighed. "Maybe."

"I'll talk to Hope," Moon said. "I'll make sure that you don't have to leave the school, and I'll get her to understand that she needs to be kinder to Seeker." She spread her wings slightly, as if to make herself look bigger. "And if she's mad about you going to the Night Kingdom, then I'm the one she should be yelling at."