Winterwatcher! - Light in the Dark

Interlude: Tsunami

A/N: The Queen of Cliffhangers is back again my Wonderful Wattpadders!

The next few chapters are going to get rough and unexpected. If you want to be notified when I update please add this story to your library if you haven't already.

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"We have no choice." Tsunami said, placing her head in her talons. "After all these attacks... and the Jade Winglet going missing... we cannot keep the school open."

"Please Tsunami! This isn't what they'd want." Umber cried, standing beside his brother Clay.

"Look Umber, we just can't afford to get into any more trouble. We're in enough as it is." Sunny said, her usually cheery face drooping into a frown.

"I'm sure they had a reason!" Umber said, pressing his case. He was determined not to let the school close. He had made so many friends and it felt like home with the other tribes. Sure, he was worried about his Winglet (especially Qibli), but Jade Mountain had been the one place he felt he belonged.

"A reason for getting abducted, killed, injured, or missing?" Fatespeaker raised an eyebrow.

"Just like Glory's NightWings?" Starflight jumped in, waving around the letter from the RainWing Queen. "They've been going missing for weeks now and... not returning." Glory had no approximate number of disappearances yet, because only a few of her RainWing officials could count.

Tears welled up in Sunny's eyes. "This is all too much." She whispered. "How could five of our students get mixed up in this? What in the moons is going on?"

"And how are we going to tell Queen Glacier that two of her royal students have disappeared too? It's bad enough the five have gone missing, and what are we going to do about Carnelian?" Clay asked.

"I sent a letter to Queen Ruby this morning," Tsunami explained, rubbing her temples. "As soon as Mother finds out about these disappearances, she'll send Anemone and I home immediately. Once word gets out, we'll have to close the school."

"There has to be another way!" Umber pleaded.

Clay faced his little brother, his big brown eyes shining with doubt and sympathy. "I wish there was too but we cannot take that risk. We can't let anyone else get hurt."

"So there's absolutely nothing we can do?" Sunny collapsed into a seat beside Tsunami. "I actually thought this year was going to be different. I thought perhaps Pyrhia would be in peace for at least a little while..."

"Well at least we'll know for next time that you can never underestimate the quiet ones." Tsunami said.

"And the loud ones."

"And Royal IceWings and SeaWings."

"And nosy SandWings."

Umber and the others chuckled. Oh, he missed his trouble-making friends.

But their short good mood was soon interrupted by commotion from the tunnels.

"What's going on?" Tsunami's voice echoed throughout the halls. Umber squeezed through the door to see what all the noise was about.

Multiple students rushed past without a glance at the frustrated SeaWing Princess. "What the-"

"GHOSTS!" A SkyWing shrieked running straight into Clay. "GHOSTS IN THE SCHOOL."

Clay's face crinkled in confusion.

"What do you mean ghosts...?"

Umber's jaw dropped. Fatespeaker screamed. Tsunami inhaled short, sharp breaths.

The translucent, floating shape whirled around the corner and made a bee-line for the dragonets. It's lifeless, white eyes started back at Umber as it loomed over them like a massive shadow. Umber could make out the shape of ghostly-silver claws and gills reminiscent of a SeaWing's. He swore he saw a razor-sharp knife dangling in the dragon-ghost's pale talons. It glowed with an aura of ancient power and danger unlike anything the dragonets had ever seen.

Tsunami and Clay barred their teeth and extended their claws. "Run."