Fire and Water → Wings of Fire [2] ✓

Chapter 17

Gem gracefully unfurled her wings, the golden veins shimmering under the warm sunlight. She had kept her encounter with the peculiar creature a secret from her friends, convinced they wouldn't find it important amidst the pressing matters they faced in the rainforest.

"Alright, let's try to locate that second tunnel," Clay suggested, his claws brushing against Gem's wing as they took off. With the SkyWing leading the way, they weaved through the dense forest, maneuvering around slumbering dragons and ducking under branches stretching like dragon tails.

A sudden eerie sensation crawled over their scales, causing Gem to shudder. "I... I think I've found it," she murmured hushedly. Clay turned his head, scanning the area in search of the hole, but found nothing. His gaze met Gem's, who pointed towards a seemingly ordinary tree, its presence concealed within the darkness. It wasn't the hole that struck them as strange, but rather the air surrounding it, reminiscent of the opening that led to the desert.

Gem soared gracefully, landing on a broad branch extending from the tree, her talons poised on edge, peering into the abyss. Yes, this had to be it. There was no way it could be a mere squirrel's den.

"So... should we wait for the others or venture in ourselves?" Clay inquired, but Gem flapped her wings at him, raising a single paw to signal for silence. The MudWing complied, and Gem tilted her head, her keen ears catching a faint sound resembling bubbling. Lava? The burnt scent of something long deceased lingered in the air.

"You go and gather the others," she instructed Clay, her eyes never leaving the ominous hole. "I'll stay here and keep watch. Hurry." Without uttering another word, Clay took off, leaving Gem behind to wait in anticipation.

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"I'm glad you waited for us," Tsunami exclaimed, patting Gem's head lightly. Gem suppressed a snort of disgust at being treated like the younger sibling when it was Sunny who held that role, not her.

"Let's proceed inside," she instructed her friends and slipped into the tunnel, with the others closely following behind. As they reached the end of the tunnel, their noses wrinkled, and they instinctively covered their faces.

Before them lay a lava-dominated landscape, with solid stones scattered across the ground. It was undoubtedly not a habitat fit for ordinary dragons.

This was it. They had discovered the hidden sanctuary of the NightWings, and there was no way they would willingly venture further into that treacherous tunnel.

At least, not unless they had no other choice...