Falling for you - Qinter Fic

32.Sacrifice

Winter went down the skinny tunnel first, his wings brushing roughly against the scraping sides.As they went deeper down into the ground, it became colder and colder.Winter was fine with the cold, but he could hear the  teeth of everyone else chattering, even Qibli's.His breath came out frosty, but he felt oddly at home down here.

"A-are we a-almost there?"Qibli asked from behind him, breath warm on his tail.He sounded half frozen, and that worried Winter.Were they even sure Sundrop and the kidnapper was down here? How were they surviving in such low temperatures as this?

"I'm not sure,"Winter admitted. "It's hard to tell in this darkness when the tunnel ends.But I think we should be close, because we've stopped going down.The tunnel is flat now."

Turns out he was right.Less than a minute later, the tunnel widened into a large circle and they popped out in a big room.There was a stream running through it with fast moving frigid water.There was a door on the other side made of solid looking wood, and other than that it was empty.

"What is this place?"Glory stared around in awe, her scales a cool blue.

"I've never seen anything like it."Twiggy whispered, sticking close to Winter's side.

"I'm going through the door."Winter said bravely, wading through the cold water to get to the other side.Twiggy, since he was small, flew across, and Qibli, Deathbringer and Glory followed.

Winter placed his talon on the doorknob, which was round and shiny, not a single fleck of rust on its silver surface.It looked rather untouched.
He turned it, and pulled the door open.

And came face to face with the most hideous dragon he'd ever seen.

"ACK-"Winter leapt back, flaring his wings out to shield Twiggy.Then it dawned on him who it was.

"Jinx! Hey...."Winter muttered.

Jinx glared at him coldly through her one single eye, that was droopy and not where it should be.Her 'good' side of her face was all burned and sizzled, and she had bright pink scars all down it.
Both sides of her face looked so horrid now, that Winter was sure she could easily win 'most disgusting dragon in the whole of Pyrrhia'.

"Yeah, well this was your fault."Jinx grumbled. "Anyways, we've been expecting you.It doesn't sound half as spooky as it was supposed to.Come along, ruiners of all things evil."

Winter followed the small hybrid down a tunnel that was a bit wider than the last.Qibli stuck close to him, Twiggy between them.Glory and Deatbringer followed along behind them, faces grim and serious.They were all expecting the worst, like being shown Sundrop's body that had been impaled and ripped open, or worse, have to watch Jinx EAT Sundrop.

But she just led them to another door, this one larger and made of dark crimson wood.It had a doorknob they looked as if it was made of pure rubies.
"The Queen and her boyfriend will have to stay out, I'm afraid this is...family business."Jinx smirked as best she could with her wrecked face.

Glory turned a bright red. "Why, you little mo-"

"It's fine, Glory,"Deathbringer shrugged. "Really.Winter and Qibli can protect themselves.And Twiggy.It is their daughter, not ours."

"Fine.But just know I'm not happy about it."Glory snapped, leaning into her bodyguard.

"Good."Jinx rolled her eye then winced in pain. "Come."she turned and open the door, and they followed her in.
The door shut eerily quiet behind them.

They were in a darker room with barely any light, and at the back of the room was a huge throne of obsidian.It sparkled violently, but so did the dragon perched on top.A NightWing with an evil grin on her face welcomed them in. "Hello, hello! I've been waiting for you guys for forever."

"Shadowlurker."Winter hissed through gritted teeth, voice filled with such hate it made him tremble.

"Yes, my good pal Winter! I bet you're wondering where your child is, hmmm?"she laughed loudly, and the horrid noise echoed off the walls.

"Yes,"Winter stood up tall and tried not to look afraid. "We are.Where is she?"

Shadowlurker snapped her claws. "JINX! Bring me the prisoner."

Jinx scrambled away down a dark corridor and returned swiftly with a sack.She tossed it at Shadowlurker, who caught it easily.She tore open the sack, and out tumbled a pale dragonet.

"Sundrop!"Qibli shrieked, rushing forward, arms outstretched.
Shadowlurker flicked her tail in annoyance, and Jinx pounced on the SandWing, pinning him to the ground.

"Nobody move!"Shadowlurker snarled. "You're taking away my fun!"she yelped.

"Death,"she turned her attention to Sundrop, who was quivering and trembling on the cold floor in utter terror.Her scales were bruised and her teeth were chattering.She peered up at Shadowlurker through watery eyes.
"That's what I named her! Isn't it cute?
Death, take the lid of your torture chamber, please and THANK YA."

Death- I mean, Sundrop, scrambled to her talons and slowly made her way into the center of the room.Winter didn't dare move, and Twiggy neither.
Sundrop pulled a large circle of stone off the middle of the floor, and revealed bubbling lava in a wide circle shape.
Then she hurried to Shadowlurker's side, tears beginning to stream down her small face.

"This is what you're here for,"Shadowlurker grinned in pure joy.
"To suffer, like I have, and watch your beloved Sundrop die in a fiery, painful tub of hot molten lava."

"You can't do this!"Winter snarled, stepping forward. "You won't get away with this!"he yelped, running straight at Shadowlurker and charging up his frost breath.He wouldn't let her.

He shot it at her, but his fury made him miss, and it skimmed her left wing.
She let out an angry shriek, lunging forward and slamming Winter hard into the ground.She then grasped his front talons and threw him sideways into the stone wall with a strength he didn't know she had.He lay there, winded, and watched through teary eyes.

Shadowlurker grasped Sundrop roughly by her wrist and pulled her over to the lava. "This, my bratty prisoner, is how you die."she snarled in Sundrop's face, saliva spitting from her lips. "Any last words, Princess?"

Time seemed to slow, and Winter watched with wide eyes as Twiggy snuck up behind her.He then launched his entire body at her back with all his strength and rammed into her, hard.
She let out a surprised grunt, and Sundrop leapt away.Then the two dragons plummeted into the lava, and sank below its bubbling surface.

Winter sucked in a tight breath, leaping to his talons.Qibli and Jinx had watched the entire thing, Jinx still pinning Qibli down.

"T-Twiggy's gone..."Sundrop whispered, then dropped unconscious.