Wings of Fire #2 : The Swarming Fury

Prologue

The dragon blinked open his eyes, his surroundings were blurry and unfocused, and his head pounded. Where was he?  There was a tingling sensation rippling along his neck, and he lifted a talon to rub the spot on his throat. His talon drifted through his neck, as if he was made out of smoke. He gasped, and energy buzzed through him, and he jumped back in surprise. The room around him seemed to come back in focus, and all of his memories came flooding back to him.

Tiger glanced down at his unmoving body, it looked stiff and cold. Tiger stared in disbelief at the open gash on his body, the blood had stopped pulsing out of the open wound.  Tiger blinked down at his ghostly talon, which was propped against his neck. He set it down and gazed at the scar on his neck - which Wasp had made to kill him after he betrayed her by setting that little green SilkWing named Luna free.

He felt slightly guilty, he had never intended on betraying Wasp or anyone really. He was loyal deep down, and did he really have a choice on freeing Luna? She was practically begging to be released from this putrid flamesilk prison. He paced, wondering what he should do now. He was a ghost after all, so this meant he could roam where pleased surely? His gaze scanned the room, before settling onto the spot where Luna had escaped through. I could go through there and check on Wasp - well, Queen Wasp. She won't see me after all. 

He gave one last longing look at his body and treaded towards the opening in the wall, feeling light and forgotten. The escape opening lead to the tunnels, which he helped Wasp escape through during her time as a prisoner. He felt as if he might turn to ice. Why did Wasp have to kill him? He literally saved her and helped her rise to her power and become queen of the HiveWings once again. Had her ambitions taken the best of her and caused her to forget what he had done for her. After all, he was the whole reason why she was queen! Tiger could have just left her to rot in the Flamesilk Cavern, along with her sisters and their deceased siblings.

Was Wasp really just using me? He thought, as he blindly followed the tunnels' path. That thought clung to him as his trek seemed endless. It was hard to believe Wasp had betrayed him, she was pretty grateful in her own ferocious way. He still had a fond memory of when she had slaughtered Jewel and regained her throne, and the way she finally smiled a real smile. Perhaps she was just angry at him, and her killing him wasn't intentional at all. It was hard to believe, as he could almost feel Wasp's claws raking his neck and him taking his final breath. 

The darkness of the tunnel felt daunting, almost as if the world was also agreeing with his thoughts. The rocks felt rough beneath his claws, despite him being a ghost. Tiger wondered if these tunnels end up becoming endless, perhaps Wasp patched up all the openings. He let out a shiver, and a rush of foreboding seemed to crawl through veins. Would his spirit be trapped here forever? Would he ever find an exit? The ghostly SilkWing crawled further, his gaze flickering to any sign of an opening where he had come through to come and rescue Wasp.  

As if what seemed for an eternity, he finally spotted a light up ahead. He cantered towards it, feeling light and free. His hope seemed to swell in his chest as he found himself in an open area with moonlight reflecting his see-through dark blue scales. The grass of the savanna had turned to a pale silvery colour, as two of the three moons were full. He blinked, trying to make sense of where he was. He saw the distant lights of a Hive, far east. He couldn't tell what Hive it was, and he felt nervous. Where in Pantala was he? Tiger felt untethered and vulnerable, and he had to take a moment to remind himself that he was dead.

He sniffed the cool, crisp air. He smelled fresh rain on the way, but that was normal as he had detected it a few heartbeats earlier. Something else drifted past his nose, and he sniffed suspiciously. What is that scent? It almost smelled like burning wood and forest fires.  He furrowed his brow and crept towards the stench, wary and tense. His crouched, wings against his side and his muscles bunched as if he was going to pounce. He could see burnt trees, along with a few charred bodies of lifeless dragons. Like me. He frowned, this place looked oddly familiar.