Wings of Fire - The LostWing Chronicles, Book 1 - The Awoken

Chapter 4

 When she awoke in the underwater cave, Anadrom felt normal again for just a moment, but all too quickly the reactions of her parents flooded back into her mind, and she again became racked with guilt and sadness. Eelgrass and Ocotillo were probably worried sick about her, especially after Eelgrass's near-death experience. Or they're worried about what I might do, she admitted, which made everything so much worse. Yet she felt that she had to trust Nocturne about her powers. Or should I?

Why had the princess waited this long to contact Anadrom, for one? A warning about her having powers before she discovered them herself would have been nice. And how exactly did Nocturne have the royal RainWing dreamvisitor? Queen Glory kept it in her personal vault, as it was one of the most treasured artifacts in Pyrrhia, now that animus dragons were (supposedly) extinct. Why had Queen Glory allowed her daughter to travel to the Kingdom of Sea without an apparent guard (for there had been no sleeping dragons in the island forests Anadrom had glimpsed behind Nocturne), and most of all, why couldn't the future-seer have told her what was threatening Pyrrhia in her dream? What could possibly make any island more secure than a conversation entirely in their own minds? What was the unspeakable threat creeping up upon their world?

She could go to the rainforest and ask Queen Glory about her daughter, but that would take far too long and lead to far too many questions. She didn't know how imminent the vague threat to the continent was - the mere thought of it sent a crawling shiver down her spine - and so meeting in person with Nocturne seemed like the best course of action. I suppose she's the only dragon I've ever really met besides for my parents and Estuary, Anadrom reflected. What do I actually know about her? I've seen firsthand how controlling some dragons can be; what if she's no different?

The third island from the Talon's hideout was somewhat of a distance from her current location, and Anadrom wondered how to get there without being noticed (especially by her parents). She considered her talons for a moment, then grabbed a loose stone nearby and added yet another function to the Informaband; this one a switch that when pressed forward would render her invisible and when pulled downwards would restore her to the sight of all dragons.

Of course, she would only use this ability to hide - and never to spy on other dragons - but she found herself feeling uncomfortable about it regardless. It seemed to fall slightly in the category of manipulative, and as it came to fruition, she wondered if her countermeasure spells had actually worked.

She flicked the switch upwards with a spike of curiosity, and felt a most eerie sensation spread throughout her. Glancing about herself and finding nothing there was very alarming, but her talons pressed onto the opposite arms automatically and the solid feeling steadied her. She'd have to be careful not to collide with anyone while in this form. That would be quite the unpleasant shock for both herself and the other dragon, as well as a dead giveaway of her abilities.

Her mind should have been racing with all of the overwhelming new information of the last two days, but she found that her worry had reached some maximum quantity and leveled out into a steadfast determination. She was wandering through the world as if in a dream, faced with bizarre and shocking events at every turn, and she could no longer formulate what exactly she knew to be real. Everything she understood and knew to be true was being flipped on end, from her birthplace, to her current predicament, and now to the fate of the very continents! She couldn't handle the influx of information at such an astonishing rate, and so she had to block it out. Her salvation would lie in being able to receive some answers from Nocturne. Her only course of action until that moment of clarity would be to remain as calm and focused as she could. It was entirely unusual for her to be feeling this way, but then again, what hadn't been unusual in the last few days?