Winterwatcher! - Light in the Dark

🌙 Chapter 35 🌙

A/N: 13k reads! Holy shizzzzz you guys are amazing!

RIP Queen Glacier.

"You did what?!"

"Winter, it wasn't his fault!" Moon cried, wishing she had seen this coming.

"It's alright. I understand." Turtle said, tears streaming from his green eyes. "You deserve to be angry at me..."

"You killed my queen!" The IceWing yelled. "She's my family Turtle!"

"I couldn't do anything to stop it!" Turtle continued to wail. "You have no idea what I feel right now Winter. Guilt, confusion..... oh that doesn't even begin to describe it."

"He didn't mean to do it," Moon pleaded, getting between fuming Winter and helpless Turtle. "Winter please calm down. The Master made him kill her!

Winter only got angrier. "Why did you join him in the first place?!"

Turtle only started back at them.

"Because you were scared of facing him? Because the entire thought of a war or a prophecy scared you into joining the winning side? Because you're a coward?" He asked, the hurt and grief of losing his Aunt showing in his voice.

"Because I'm a coward! There you go! Is that what you wanted to hear? I. Am. A. Coward. I can't take all of this fighting and drama anymore! It's just too much!" Turtle cried. Moon had never seen this side of him before. Winter, apparently, wasn't expecting that reaction either. "As soon as I feel like we have a chance of stopping this disaster, it goes out the window. As soon as we make a remarkable escape, someone is caught again! One second you hate each other's guts, then suddenly everyone is shipping you!"

Moon was lost for words.

"Feel better?" Winter asked.

"Yeah... I needed that." Turtle said. "Look, I'm... sorry. You guys go ahead. I'm completely useless to you like this."

Winter nodded. "We've got your back."

"Ok ok apology accepted. Right Winter? Now let's not forget who the real enemy is." Moon said, putting an end to this before any more drama could start up.

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"What exactly is... this?" Stardust asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Master laughed. "This is a firelighter. It lights fires." He twisted the stick of fire in his claws and smiled down at the triplets. Any second now.

"That's your be-all end-all weapon? Fire? I expected some sort of magic ticking time bomb. You know? Something more Doomsday material." Daze said. He made sure to leave all thoughts of their plan out of his head. If the Master heard anything at all, they were doomed.

"Now, who should I burn first?" He sneered. Clicking his claws, the stick came alight . Fire danced across the metallic surface illuminating the Master's black eyes

Before she knew it, a storm of fire was flying at Stardust. Time seemed to slow down... she had a split second to think, move or cry but her reflexes had turned off. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. Instead, a strong, icy blast poured from her mouth.

It was like a scene from Harry Potter; two forces meeting in the middle. Stardust couldn't decipher what was happening. She didn't see the Master drop his fire stick in surprise.

All she could think was: THERE IS ICE COMING OUT OF MY THROAT.

She slammed her mouth shut, swallowing the icy lump in her esophagus.

Daze and Glaze gazed up at their sister from the ground where they had fallen.

The Master was the only one smiling, despite the fact that his fire stick had failed. "Now you must know the real reason I kicked your mother off my volcano."

Stardust spoke carefully, wary that she could spit frostbreath again at any second. "I don't understand."

"Our father's an IceWing, Stardust." Glaze said, peering at his brother's silver stomach and un-NightWing-like horns. Her blue eyes widened. "We're hybrids."

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"Are you sure you're alright?" Moon asked, anxiously walking beside Winter. "I mean, it's okay to not be okay. You just lost a family member..."

"I'll be okay. Glacier taught me to be tough. I need to do this for her and to get my sister back."

"Are you sure can handle it?"

"I'll be fine!" He said.

"But... my visions, they're getting worse. I can't help but worry! I'm that type of dragon Winter."

Winter held her talons tightly, his face riddled with calm and panic. "I worry too Moon. Trust me when I say I worry myself out of sanity. But sometimes a little bit of hope cancels it out. It keeps me going. I have to hope that everything's going to be okay. I have to hope that we can win and save our friends. I have to hope that you don't ever get hurt, whether it's by them.... or me."

Moon was breathless, her heart jumping out of her scales. "Promise me you'll be okay."

Winter frowned. "You know I can't promise anything. I-I uh, promised myself I would tell you if I ever got the chance. This might be my last..."

Moon's eyes widened. "What? Tell me what?"

Winter parted their talons, preparing for the battle ahead. "That I love you Moon."

.....

She didn't get to say it back.

But I will. As soon as all of this is over, I'll tell him I love him too.

.....