Wings of Fire - The IceWing Prince (2)

Chapter Seven

Eclipse

When Eclipse and Winter caught up to the others, they were gathered at the base of a huge tree beside a waterfall, staring up at a hole in the trunk. 

Eclipse felt the familiar uncomfortable air around this place and the happiness of the playful banter her and Winter had shared moments ago was quickly washed out. 

"That's the tunnel to the NightWing island," Kinkajou said softly. Her voice was never that quiet or wobbly. Eclipse suddenly remembered Kinkajou had been one of the RainWings who'd been stolen and experimented on within the Night Kingdom. The RainWing had never talked about it, but it was there in her mind when they first met.

"You can wait here if you want," Moon said, brushing Kinkajou's tail with her own. "If it's too - too anything."

"I'm all right," Kinkajou said. She flared the ruff behind her ears and deliberately turned her scales dark blue. "I just haven't been back since the whole. . . thing."

"Woah," Qibli said, making the connection quickly. "I didn't realize you were - you're one of the RainWings they -"

"Imprisoned and experimented on," Moon finished for him. 

"It wasn't quite as horrible as it sounds," Kinkajou said. "Only mostly that horrible."  

Eclipse breathed in, letting all the anger she felt for her tribe out through a sigh. No one deserved to have something like that happen to them. Especially not Kinkajou. 

Unbeknownst to Moon, Eclipse and Kinkajou had already met before Jade Mountain Academy. Of course they had. Kinkajou was her queen's best friend. Kinkajou was always around Her Majesty and so naturally, the bubbly RainWing had said hello. Most of the time, Eclipse was training with Deathbringer, so she wasn't around to get to know Kinkajou so to speak, but she knew enough to know Kinkajou was the sweetest dragon she'd ever met. 

"But you don't seem to hate them," Qibli said. "That's fascinating." 

"Well - they're not my favorite dragons," Kinkajou admitted, squirming. "Except Moon and Eclipse, of course, and Deathbringer is usually pretty great. But, you know, their trying to change. They have to. And with Glory as their queen, they won't do any more awful things." 

"We'll see," Winter muttered. 

Moon flew up to the hole and stepped inside, then twisted to look back at them. "Winter, come look at this."

Winter flew up to the hole quickly, ducking inside to look at whatever Moon had spotted. 

"Did she go this way?" Winter asked Moon. 

"I don't know," she said. "I still can't hear her, but maybe that's why, if she's at the volcano."

Eclipse saw Winter stalk forward into the tunnel and Moon followed close behind him. Eclipse flew up to the tunnel and ducked inside it. Just inside the mouth of the tunnel was a squashed wet leaf shaped a bit like a scavenger's paw. When Eclipse crouched to sniff it, it felt colder than the tunnel around her. 

Eclipse continued down the tunnel, soon catching up to Moon and Winter while the others followed suit. 

Heat crackled along her scales as they continued down the tunnel, climbing closer to the volcano on the other side and there was something blurring her sight. Ash drifting through the air she guessed. Winter paused thoughtfully. 

He won't be able to use his frostbreath in this heat, Eclipse realized. She remembered an entry inside a scroll she and her sister had read long ago about the limits of IceWing frostbreath. Too much smoldering heat could smother their freezing death breath.