Conquest : A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

26. Heartbreak

Maelstrom.

After so many days of not seeing him, not knowing if he was dead or alive, his bright green eyes and dark blue scales in the flesh were a shock to Sandstorm's system.

Everyone was staring at him, mouths open, eyes narrowed and completely still.

Finally, Queen Tsunami broke the silence. She sucked in a breath, staring at her son, and then said softly, 'Maelstrom?'

She hadn't raised her voice, but it was so quiet that her words carried over to everyone easily, even Maelstrom, who was quite a distance away.

He looked directly at his mother and smiled. Then his painfully familiar green eyes met Sandstorm's dark ones.

A surge of different emotions rose up in her, so stark and raw that it took her by surprise.

His eyes were closed, shuttered-off, but she could read in them the same emotions that had taken hold of her, trying to break free.

She couldn't understand this change in their normal friendship. She wasn't sure if she liked it or if she just wanted everything to be like how it was before again.

Looking into Maelstrom's eyes was like looking into the depths of the ocean - they were nothing like how they appeared to be on the surface. A mystery of swirling blues and greens.

It only lasted a moment, and then he looked away, back at Azure, whose narrowed icy eyes had missed nothing.

'Who are you?' snapped Viperfang, scowling at Maelstrom. 'And why are you butting into our business? We've got the Runes. You better keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you.'

'Are you sure about that?' asked Maelstrom, raising his brows and then wincing slightly.

He looked slightly better off than he did in Sandstorm's dream, but still much worse than how he'd looked before he left for his quest.

Several new scars traced their way across his shoulders, flanks, snout and spine. A fresh cut on his upper arm was bleeding and his wingtip was bent slightly. Yet he managed to stay upright.

'What do you mean, dragonet?' hissed Geyser. 'Have any of you been in touch with your old friend Shell lately?' questioned Maelstrom.

Azure managed to look expressionless, but the sideways glance at the SeaWing Mutineer on her left gave her uneasiness away.

'Shell has been doing fine. He doesn't need my help for everything,' said Azure coolly.

'Maybe you should ask him,' drawled Maelstrom, using that stuck-up, annoying tone of his that always made Sandstorm want to punch him.

Judging by the expressions on the Mutineers' faces, they felt the same way too.

'And then maybe he'll tell you about how he got stuck in a seaweed forest and then got lost in a coral reef and finally made it to the cave only to find the Runes of Fortune gone,' continued Maelstrom.

Azure was silent for a long moment.

Sandstorm winced reflexively, waiting for the blow.

'What?!' she shrieked, finally. It was the first time Sandstorm had seen her lose her cool. Turns out she wasn't an ice statue after all.

'You're lying,' said Viperfang furiously, glaring at Maelstrom. Maelstrom shrugged. 'Keep believing that, and it will be all the better for us,' he replied nonchalantly.

'No, he's not,' said Azure softly, her eyes locked on Maelstrom's, poised like a shark about to strike.

Again, Tsunami interrupted.