Lotus

Chapter 30

I couldn't feel my wings anymore.

While I was pretty sure that they were still moving, considering that we were still airborne, I couldn't be one hundred percent positive. I glanced over at them out of the corner of my eyes. Yep, still there.

We had been flying for several hours with only a few short breaks. I didn't want to spend too long in one place, for fear that SkyWings would come across us.

It ended up being in vain, though. They still found us.

I had stopped on a wide outcropping to rest for a few minutes. I set Murre down, reminding her to not wander around, and started massaging my stiff wing muscles. We were just about to take to the sky again, when we heard the flapping of wings and some shouts behind us. While I had considered trying to make a run for it, I figured that I wouldn't be able to make it in my current exhausted state. Instead, I waited there for them to come to me.

"What are you doing in SkyWing territory, IceWing?" the smaller of the two SkyWings asked. "Especially with a SkyWing dra--" He faltered when Murre came between the two of us. "--gonet…"

"Uh, Xenops?" The other dragon looked at Murre as well. "That's no SkyWing dragonet." She then looked up at me, squinting slightly. After a moment, her eyes widened. "And I don't think she's full IceWing as well."

Xenops looked at me then, and his face hardened. "Hybrids…" he muttered.

"We...we should probably take them to Queen Zodiac," she said in a worried tone, glancing around. She frowned slightly.

"But, Virga," Xenops muttered, tapping her shoulder lightly. "We could deal with them now and no one would have to worry about them."

My heart started pounding. They were going to kill us. My mind started racing, trying to come up with a way for us to both get out of here, but nothing seemed to work.

I was startled out of my thoughts when Virga spoke. "No. You heard what Queen Zodiac said. We're to bring all trespassers to her." She glanced over at me. "Even hybrids."

Xenops scowled at this, but didn't bother arguing. Instead, he started flying again. "Don't even think about trying to fly away. It won't do you any good."

I had already figured as much, but I nodded anyway. I then scooped up Murre, and followed behind Xenops. Virga flew close behind me.

As we grew closer to the palace, I did my best to focus on the ground far below me, rather than the impending doom that seemed to grow inside of me.

After a while, I found myself outside of the throne room of the SkyWing palace. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't entirely sure how I got there. I had been so lost in my own anxious thoughts that I hadn't bothered to pay attention to where I was going. 

While I still had a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, it mostly faded away as I watched Murre scamper about the halls. She seemed to be having to time of her life exploring these new surroundings.

She ran over to a window and started tracing her talons over the fine cracks along the ledge when a gust of wind blew a small, lavender petal in. Murre jumped back as it landed, then cautiously moved closer to it and poked it. When it didn't do anything, Murre picked it up and brought it over to me.

"Mala!" She said, then thrust the petal into my face. 

I had to cross my eyes to see it clearly. "That's wonderful, Murre!" I said, smiling at her.

She smiled back at me, then giggled. She then scurried over to where Xenops and Virga stood nearby. Murre thrust it forward so they could have a look at it as well. 

Xenops, surprised, hit a defensive pose, growling slightly. Virga rolled her eyes at him. "It's just a flower petal, Xenops. It's not like she's going to kill you with it." He scowled, but she ignored him, instead crouching down in front of Murre to get a better look at the petal. "What a great find, there, tiny one!" She smiled, patted Murre on the head, then straightened back up. Murre giggled again and hurried off to look at some other new discovery.

Virga glanced over at me, a small smile playing across her face. "The tiny one's got some spunk. I wish more dragons were like her."

I wasn't sure how to respond, but I was saved from doing so as we were summoned in to see Queen Zodiac.

We entered through the tall archway and into the wide, sun-lit cave. In front of me, I saw the cloud-shaped throne that was said to have been there for generations. It still looked to be in pretty decent shape, despite the slight crumbling and hunks of rock broken off here and there.

Though she was quite petite, the garnet-colored SkyWing sitting in it looked rather menacing. She sat there watching us, mindlessly fiddling with the thin, golden hoops she had attached to her ears.

"Queen Zodiac, we found these two hybrids flying inside of our borders," Xenops said.

"Hm." She looked at Xenops and Virga in front of her, then flicked her talon slightly. They quickly moved to the side of the room.

She then turned her gaze to Murre and me, not saying anything. I shifted slightly, uncomfortable and unsure what to do. Even Murre seemed to feel that way, since she sat next to me quietly, barely moving.

Finally, the queen spoke. "Well? Would you care to explain why you're here?"

After a moment's hesitation, I very briefly explained coming to the SkyWing Kingdom and meeting Cerise. When she heard me speak her name, a surprised look came over her face. She covered it quickly, though, making me wonder if I actually saw it at all.

After my hasty explanation, Zodiac seemed to consider something. As she was opening her mouth, another SkyWing scuttled in and up to her. She closed her mouth and looked at him. 

"Your nephew is requesting an audience with you, my Queen," he said, bowing. 

"Tell him to speak with me later. I'm occupied at the moment."

"I already did. He said that he needs to talk with you immediately. He said it would only take a moment."

Zodiac thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, bring him in."

The SkyWing hurried back out. The rest of us all sat there silently, waiting for him to return. After several long seconds, he finally did, with another dragon trailing behind him. What surprised me, though, was who that dragon was.

Gemini?!