𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐚 | 𝐐𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢 𝐗 𝐎𝐂

Chapter 20

"What? Oh no! Why? Where'd he go?" Kinkajou grilled, I placed one of my cold talons on her shoulder. So much has happened in the last few days, why would you leave right now, Winter?

His logic was mostly unhinged, yes, but I knew he had his heart in the right place.

Turtle squirmed as a droplet of water hit his talon. "I saw Winter heading toward the forest, but I thought he was just going hunting." I flipped all the possibilities of Winter wanting wild boar and cow in my head; there were none.

"I'm going to find him." I said stoically, my wings pulled back, ready to beat against the downpour.

"Oh yay! Me too!" Kinkajou squeaked.

Moon looked at her talons, her voice barely a whisper, "I'll come, too."

"In this weather?" Turtle's voice sounded depleted. Kinkajou broke off into a conversation that I hoped would help lift his spirits.

Qibli nudged my wing with his, "I'm not sure I can, 'cause, you know, SandWing and all. But I'm coming with you anyway." His warm scales felt comforting as the storm billowed outside.

"I can barely hear you but I'm going to trust you said that you're coming. Because even if you weren't I'd drag you by the tail barb out into this storm." I yelled over the raging winds. I couldn't hear his warm laugh but I could sense it. The warmness of his scales was so close it was almost tangible, as was the awkwardness of my burning face.

Kinkajou squinted her eyes in the rain, "Turtle's coming, too." She squeaked over the ever-present whoosh of the winds. I sighed as Turtle shuddered.

"C'mon, squidbrain, we'll never find Winter if you keep moping." I called out to my brother as I took to the stormy sky.

"Maybe we should go back. Maybe he's halfway to the Ice Kingdom already." Turtle said through the storm and our wingbeats. He sounded almost hopeful at the last sentence. Turtle; so like him to hope for the easy route. So easy for him to just give up.

Qibli was flying to my right; to my left, the vast expanse of the mountains. "Not with Bandit, Turtle." I said sensibally.

Moon's head shot up, "I heard him! This way!" She called, I rushed to the front were Moon was stationed, my wings were much larger than her's so it was easy to catch up, even easier to bring up the front of our multicolored search party.

"Go on, Bandit, get out of here. I know it's raining, but it's better than the Ice Kingdom. You'll either freeze there or get eaten within the first day." Winter's voice lilted as he urged his scavenger from his cage.

"Winter! That's him!" Kinkajou shrieked.

Winter turned, his face contorting as rain pelted him, "Skua? Moon? By all the snow monsters, what are you two doing here?"

"Looking for you." Moon replied in her small voice.

Kinkajou squealed, "And we found you! We're amazing!"

Winter grunted. "I'm not going back to Jade Mountain. I'm going to look for my brother."

I touched down on the muddy ground, I felt the soiled dirt squelch under my talons. "I know. That's why I'm going to help you. Why we are going to help you." 

"We are?" Turtle asked.

"Yes! I didn't know we were, but know we totally are!"  Kinkajou yipped.

"You can't come. I'm going to Queen Glacier. I need her help to find Hailstorm." Winter's face masked the hurt and worry his eyes portrayed.

I sat perched against a tree truck, my blue tail wrapped gently around my claws. "Wouldn't it make more sense to go to the Sky Kingdom? Your brother must be somewhere there, right?" Kinkajou's voice sounded hopeful.

I sighed as I watched Qibli pace around the tree trunk, "No, Kinkajou, all the IceWing prisoners were killed by the NightWings when they swooped down to save Starflight." I responded from my lone perch.

Qibli continued to pace around my tree, landing in front of Winter, "You could go after Icicle. Try to find out more about what Scarlet told her." I nodded, it was the most logical plan we had. My ears flicked to ward off the raindrops that dripped down from the canopy above.

"I don't know where she's gone."

I shook out my damp wings, "I have a guess." I trotted up to Winter, "Everyone knows what Glory did to Scarlet's face, so it'd be smartest to assume Icicle would go after the dragonet Scarlet hates the most."

"Then I'm going, too. I'm not letting her kill my awesome queen."

Moon kept looking at the trees, which puzzled me. It looked like she was making sure no one was following her; ominous. 

She looked at me, our eyes locked for a moment, before her muscles tensed and her eyes turned a pearly white. "Moon-?" She wasn't looking anywhere in particular until her mouth opened.

An eerie voice that was most definitely not her own spewed a string of spine chilling words: "Beware the darkness of dragons, beware the stalker of dreams, beware the talons of power and fire, beware the one who is not what she seems. Something is coming to shake the earth, something is coming to scorch the ground. Jade Mountain will fall beneath thunder and ice- unless the lost City of Night can be found."

Everyone's eyes shot up in surprise. Moon staggered and started to fall, "I gotcha!" I shouted before she landed in between my wings.

"By all the snakes. What was that?" Qibli demanded.

I swatted him with my wing, "Give the girl a break, she just spewed out some crazy shindig that told us the world was going to explode!"

"Sounded like a prophecy to me." Winter mumbled.

Moon clutched her head, "Turtle, please give Winter one of the rocks."

Winter turned the small ebony stone around in his talons, "What's this?"

"I have a lot to explain. I'm going to tell you everything. The whole truth."

"That sounds ominous." Winter murmured. The small stone a bright contrast to his white claws.

I laughed, "Believe me, blubber-snout, it is. But it isn't anymore ominous than 'Jade Mountain will fall beneath thunder and ice.'"

"She said we have to find the lost City of Night, then everything will be fine, right?" Kinkajou asked hopefully.

"No, she said we're all going to die. Death, death, monsters everywhere, death." Turtle yelped.

"Wow, brother, way to ruin the mood."

Qibli inched closer to me, out of what I do not know. "Is that what you saw, Moon? Jade Mountain's going to fall on everyone?"

"I-I don't know! I've had visions, but none ever came out in words before. I don't know what it means." Moon got up and shook herself out, she fell silent for a while, presumably thinking about the prophecy of impending doom she just laid upon us.

She looked up with a smile before she shifted her gaze to Winter.

"Winter, there are a few things you need to know about me."

{1180 words}

Yay! The last chapter is finished, I'm so sad yet so excited at the SAME TIME.

I'm so thankful for all of you and I couldn't have done it without you, thank you all.

I bestow upon you, my loyal readers and followers-

THE POWER OF WINGS OF FIRE!!!

With love,

Kae