Wings of Fire: Winter is Coming ((DISCONTINUED))

Chapter 4: The Secret

The attack came out of nowhere.

Envy had heard the sound of wingbeats, loud and firm, and seconds later, a wave of pain exploded in his body. Something had crashed into his body, and Envy didn't have time to have a glimpse of it-- but it was cold. So frigidly cold that Envy could barely feel any warmth in his body.

The NightWing prince released a pained groan as he immediately collapsed to the ground, dirt and dust swirling into the air as Envy coughed, only to have more dust invade his airway. A strong gust of wind forced Envy to shield his face with his wings, not wanting anymore dirt in his mouth or eyes.

"Be more vigilant!" Toarel screeched as she then sent another plume of icy vapor towards the prince. 

Envy yelped as he ducked, the vapor shooting overhead and colliding with the stony walls behind him, ice forming and crawling across the stone. He's been fighting for hours now-- dodging and casting attacks, but it was everlasting and it never seemed to stop. Moons-- this is just like Darkthought's horrid training.

Before he could even have a chance to stand, Toarel's spiked tail slammed against Envy's side, and the prince screamed in agony as he naturally shot fire into a random direction. Envy winced, but he fought back tears that threatened to leak from his eyes. He lifted his head slightly to look at the bloody punctures in his scales, in so much pain that he couldn't move.

Toarel snarled as she grabbed Envy's arm and yanked him forward, so hard that he thought she may had dislocated his arm. Toarel dropped Envy once he was a few inches away from her, and mist came out of her jaws as she spoke.

"Listen up, and listen good, dragonet," Toarel hissed, flicking her dark blue tongue. "You know me as the Chief General of this hellhole. I came out to you as nice, and soft, and friendly... but realize this. I am not your mommy. I am not  your friend. I will not tell you that I believe in you, because that is a plain lie." 

Envy's ears lowered as he continued to look up at Toarel.

"Protecting Alzeros' is a duty entrusted by the brave, strong, and the utmost loyal. You may have saved Pyrrhia once, fought an army of dragons and then killed  your father-- but don't get so cocky, dragonet. You're softer than the little treats you eat in your damned palace full of NightWings. You think you have what it takes, huh? Look at you. So young, so sweet-- full of stupid, naive hope..." Toarel scoffed a light laugh as she began to grin. "Brace yourself, sweetie. I'm going to break every bone in that little body of yours."

Envy lunged to the side as Toarel's talons slashed at him. Envy hastily got back onto his talons as he dodged another one of Toarel's attacks, pride licking at his gut, until he was suddenly tripped. Toarel's whip-thin tail had swept under Envy's legs seconds after he had successfully dodged the IceWing's attack. But, Envy was quick to counter this, by shooting flame at Toarel's legs before she was able to do anything else. 

Toarel hissed in pain, backing up slightly, but she recovered awfully fast. She took a glimpse at the blackened mark on her spiked, overlapping scales on her arm. She seemed to giggle at the sight of it, as if she took pride in getting burnt in the first place. Envy took those brief moments to recover too, coughing. 

"Good," Toarel said softly, swaying her tail.

"Really?"

"Of course not," the dragoness sneered. "But, it's a start, dragonet."

Envy laughed despite what Toarel had said. He allowed his breathing to regulate as he stretched his talons and wings, looking around for a moment or two. Toarel and Envy had went into another section of the canyon that was filled with artificial caves, said to be created by Alzeros and Toarel themselves. The spacious holes were lit with torches, and at the top of the cave's entrance was large words craved into the rock, showing what the room's purpose was. At the moment, Envy was in the "Combat Training" cave with Toarel, a large cavern that was covered in scratches, dried blood, and has a map of dragon anatomy on the wall, showing the skeletal system and nervous system of the winged serpents.