A Beautiful Nightmare {Book1-}

Chapter Seventeen

For six hours they've been flying, travelling to the other side of the continent, but being careful not to pass any other dragons or else things will get ugly.

Moondrift and Snowstorm haven't talked ever since they started flying, they've only been telling each other when to stop and take a quick break, then kept on flying without another word.

Maybe we should have just explored through Jade Mountain, Moondrift thought with a sigh, feeling her whole body ache from flying, but she just kept on going. I heard there was an animus that lives there. Oh well.

Snowstorm soared down as they both glided above the ocean. The IceWing twisted in a spiral as a twirl of water followed him. Moondrift wondered how he was able to do that if he had been in the Ice Kingdom for most of his life.

Moondrift gave him an amused look when she knew that he didn't see her. "Nice moves you've got there. Pretty impressive for an IceWing."

She copied the same twist and turns he did perfectly and hovered upside down above him. She appeared relaxed and calm, but her veins stabbed agony into her. Moondrift nearly got them both wet when the spiral of water whirled behind her tail. She would have gone angry if she did.

Moondrift liked the feeling of the fresh air flowing swiftly past her, the feeling of spreading her wings freely, knowing that she didn't have to go back to that torturous NightWing Island again.

Ha, those putrid NightWings can kiss my rear, she thought.

"For an IceWing?" Snowstorm yelped. "What do you mean impressive for an IceWing? IceWing's are awesome, thank you very much; and if you think you're such a pro at all of this, I can prove you wrong!"

Moondrift barked a laugh, the kind of laugh that would tell you, I find it so cute that you're even trying, sweet dragon.

"That's adorable," she mused. "Let's bet on that."

Snowstorm twisted around her until he was the one hovering above her. He hung upside down in the same position as Moondrift, but then turned over to face her.

He sniggered. "Bring it on,"

***

"Another race," Moondrift repeated after Snowstorm suggested it. They still kept flying the same speed, the moon was no longer in view,which made the two dragons' scales dim in the darkness. Moondrift was almost completely invisible and Snowstorm just looked like a different cloud from the others. "Challenge accepted. Where would the finish line be?"

Snowstorm thought for a few seconds, then answered, "Our destination, the underground caves you were talking about. You said there were stalactites and stalagmites hanging and sticking out from the ceiling and the ground. It sounds awesome."

"Yeah," Moondrift said. "I found those while on, what else, a mission. I didn't have the time to check it out, it would take me too long and my curiosity would probably take over me. Plus, they'll kill me because I've always finished my assignment earlier than a day."

The IceWing flinched. "You must have been very skilled," he pointed out. "Is that actually how you've killed that many dragons in..." he trailed off with an uncertain tone.

"Ten years," Moondrift answered. "I spent my first two training, then I started becoming a bloodthirsty, backstabbing (literally), death-seeking assassin that I didn't want to be."

"At least you're not containing a demon," he said sadly. "At least you're not a heart-crushing, purely evil, so-called innocent little IceWing that totally hasn't killed his own father."