Rise of the DeathWIngs: A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

== Wings of Fire Fanfiction: Rise of the DeathWings ==
Disclaimer: This fanfiction has some violent themes, however introduced later in the novel. The gore that is featured is fairly tolerable, with only a few mentions of blood and fighting, but nothing worse than the Wings of Fire books themselves. Please do not steal any piece of this fanfiction, as I worked extremely hard to create this piece of writing to read at your own pleasure. I will be frequently updating this page as I add to the story, so please be patient. I also have refs of most characters, which I will show in a blog post, linked here once created. 
Enjoy, readers!
ALLEGIANCES
DEATHWINGS-
          SHADOW: Mainscales are varying shades of gray, pale gray underbelly and wing
          membranes. Red eyes, has tiny scratches and a torn ear  (female)
TORMENT:  Shadow’s brother, darker gray with piercing eyes, reddish-gray
wing membranes and horns, scarred face, and a skull earring  (male)
RAVEN: Shadow and Torment’s mother, dark gray with black topscales and
long black spikes. Bright red eyes and ugly scratch on shoulder  (female)
STRIKE: Shadow’s friend, gray with a slight tint of red. Large wings and broad                                    
shoulders, dark red spikes and horns  (male)
AGONY: Massive, with almost black scales, dotted with lighter underscales. Long
scratch going through her belly, and a scar across her eye  (female)
STORM: Reddish-gray with dark gray splotches like ash, cracked horns and a 
slashed snout, eyes are the color of blood  (female)
BLADE: Small, muscular figure, with a long tail and metallic pale gray scales
(male)
CHAOS: Dark gray with a slashed shoulder, reddish-amber eyes, and a rusty gold
arm band 
SANDWINGS-
	CACTUS: Bulky, dull yellow, adorned with jewelry and a golden crown (male)
	CHAR: Smaller than usual, with muscular arms and a thick tail, scales the color        
          of dust, arched back and a missing wing (male)
WITHER: light golden-brown, with splotches of dark brown and a silver hoop 
earring (female)
JACKAL: pale brown strong-looking soldier with black specks and a leather arm  
band, piercing black eyes (male)
CARACAL: light yellow, giant soldier with a wide wingspan and thick tail, has a  
leather band and stripes on tail and neck (female)
MAMBA: Sand-yellow dragon with a black diamond pattern running down his 
neck and spine (male)
ICEWINGS-
 	BLIZZARD: Blue like a pale sky with white dapples like clouds, giant spikes    
	going across the back of her neck (female)
	FLURRY: White, with pale gray-blue speckles dotted across her body and wings,
 	small wings and kind blue eyes (female)
PROLOGUE
Many years ago...
    Scorch fiddled with the clay figurine in his talons. It was a carving he'd made himself, of a broad-shouldered large dragon with spikes along its back and spines across its tail. Nobody but Scorch knew the power in this little clay carving. Nobody knew how it could change their lives forever. The dragons who had wronged him would regret it the most, once they saw Scorch's power. 
    Cupping the figure tightly in his claws, pulling it close to his face, he whispered, "Enchant this figurine so that the moment it hits the ground, a tribe of assassins will be born. Two dragons, just like this carving, clearing the way for more of the species to rise, seeking revenge upon my enemies." Scorch cackled, stroking his clay dragon. "They shall be called DeathWings, and together we will prosper." 
    He snarled, and then, opening his claws, the figurine fell, fell, fell to the ground, and the history of Pyrrhia fell down with it. 
CHAPTER ONE
  "Shadow… flip, now strike. Don't give yourself away! Now LUNGE, Torment, teeth bared! Claws out! Spikes erect!" Mother stood on a jutting stone, surveying her children's fighting skills. Shadow struggled to flip around to face Torment, and clumsily batted at her brother. Torment laughed mockingly and leaped in a dark blur, wrestling with her and painfully pulling her tail. 
    "OW! Torment, quit it!" Shadow pleaded as her opponent pinned her down against the rocky floor.
    "Shadow," her mother sighed, narrowing her eyes. "DeathWings don't politely ASK to stop fighting. It ends when we are victorious." Her nostrils flared angrily, then she glanced at Torment. "Good boy, Torment, we'll keep working tomorrow. As for YOU, Shadow, we need to talk." 
    "Yes, Mother," Shadow sighed sadly, plodding to her sleeping cave dejectedly. Why do DeathWings always FIGHT? Is there more to us… or is this all I can become?
    Mother glared sternly as she curled up into a ball and wondered why she was even created. She had been told of the story of their creation, from many generations ago. She didn't like the idea of being enchanted… especially being enchanted to do evil. Every other DeathWing seemed to think it was okay. Was something wrong with her to care for other dragons? 
All of a sudden, she heard loud footsteps at the entrance of the cavern. Shadow twisted her neck, only to see her mother and turn back again. 
"Shadow," Mother said. She walked to her daughter, puffing out her spikes. "Don't deny who you are. I tried long ago to run away from my destiny. I ran into the forest, living by myself for days. That's when the NightWings attacked. And I got this." She pointed to a nasty set of old scars on her face, then glanced down at a bruise on her shoulder. "That's why I'm doing this. I don't want you to learn this the hard way. You'd be nowhere without Scorch, and me, and your brother. We're all shaping you into who you're meant to be."
For a minute, she felt a strong surge of hatred for Scorch, the SandWing who'd enchanted her species a long time ago. The animus hadn't made her to live happily, he'd made her to get revenge. She wasn't meant to be brave and fight for victory, happily ever after. She was nothing but an act of selfishness.
"But MOTHERRRR!" she wailed.  "What if I don't wanna be like OTHER DRAGONS? What about what I want?"
"Nobody cares what you want, Shadow. You just have to live with it." Mother sighed and pushed Shadow up. "Now… about the fighting."
After a day of fighting practice, Shadow had every right to be exhausted. There were too many types of flips and strikes, and she wasn’t good at it anyway. It seemed much easier to just make peace with other dragons. But she couldn’t be sure if the other dragons would want that. She’d never seen any other kind of dragon before, but she had heard the rumors, and was eager to see them someday.
She thought about this as she stepped through the dead ferns into the main cavern, where the villagers held events and traded. But today it was different. A cluster of DeathWings stood in a circle, poking their heads and puffing out their spikes excitedly. 
Shadow followed the crowd and wove through the dragons until she could see a dull yellow dragon standing on a tall stalagmite. It was a male dragon, like none she’d ever seen before. He was a strange color, with spiny flat scales across his neck and going down his back. A golden crest of feathery scales, starting at his snout, went along his spine and around his barbed tail, which was decorated with a silver tail band encrusted with sapphires. In fact, the dragon was covered in jewelry, necklaces draped around his neck and a golden crown resting on his flat head.
Wow, she thought. Is that… a SANDWING?
Suddenly, cheers erupted in the cavern, bouncing across the cave walls. Once the echoing stopped, the large SandWing took a low bow and cleared his throat. 
“Hello, my DeathWings!” the dragon howled. “Today is going to be quite a special day… it could possibly be the end of the IceWings… if we fight stronger than ever, and you listen to ALL OF MY COMMANDS.” 
Shadow growled quietly. This dragon was being treated like a king, and he was acting like he had so much authority. Who did he think he was?
“Yes, and will we be going to the Ice Kingdom, Master?” a nearby dragon asked respectfully.
‘No, Hazard, of course not. They would see us coming, black and gray and red against that white snow… I have a BETTER idea. Now listen to me and you will hear.”
“Yes, Master Cactus!” All of the DeathWings roared and bowed so that their heads hit the ground. Shadow gasped, glancing at the SandWing. She had heard of Cactus before. If she was remembering correctly, he was Scorch’s great-great-great grandson or something like that. He had been in command for many, many years, according to Mother, but she had never seen him until now.
“Oh, boy! It’s Cactus!” She tried to act super excited like everyone else, but really, she was suppressing anger and fear. “Stupid SandWings… they think they’re so awesome.”
She glared at Cactus, who was blabbering about their dumb plan, and felt a jab in her side. She quickly turned to see a male DeathWing who looked about her age. She growled, hoping he hadn’t heard her muttering. 
“Hey… what’d you just say… about SandWings?” He narrowed his eyes and lifted his spikes. Oh, now she was in trouble.
“Err… nothing, just that, um… ” 
“That they’re stupid, and they think they’re so awesome?” The DeathWing grinned mischievously. “I TOTALLY agree!” 
“Err… you do?” Shadow said.
“Yeah! My daddy says that he’s met a ton of SandWings since he’s Cactus’s first in command.” the dragon answered.  “He tells me they’re all terrible. So, why do YOU hate them?”
“I don’t exactly know, but, I mean, just look at him now!” They both turned their heads to see Cactus taking long, dramatic bows as DeathWings cheered excitedly. “They all love him! And SCORCH probably just enchanted us to obey him, because he was greedy for revenge. I mean, I think the rumors are true, that if you use animus magic too much, then… your soul wastes away. Think about it, Mr. DeathWing. We are nothing more than an evil SandWing enchantment!” Shadow took a deep inhale as she finished, then sighed, glancing at the dragon. 
“Okay… first of all, calm down! And second of all, my name is actually NOT Mr. DeathWing, believe it or not.” The male dragon smirked. “I… am Strike of the DeathWings. Pleased to meet you, yes, autographs are totally free, and I do require applause for this grand introduction.”
Shadow giggled and slowly clapped sarcastically.
“And yes, I do want to know your name.” Strike added, flattening down his spikes and twitching his ears.
“I’m Shadow!” she said, and erupted into a fit of coughing.
“Okay, Shadow… Well, I actually think we work well together, don’t you?” Strike muttered nervously. Shadow could tell he was embarrassed to ask that.
Shadow smiled. “Well, yeah, I mean—” 
“HEY, you two DeathWings, over there!” a screech erupted from the front of the cavern. They both quickly whipped around to see Cactus, glaring sternly at them. “Quit talking and start LISTENING! Or, are you too lovey-dovey to pay any attention?” 
If words could kill, Shadow and Strike would definitely be dead by now.
“N-no, Cactus… we, uh… we were just talking!” Strike said.  
“That’s Master Cactus to you!” the SandWing snarled. “And don’t say no to me, if you want to stay alive.”
“Yes, Master Cactus! We shall never EVER disrespect you EVER AGAIN, not in our whole entire lives! Right, Shadow?” Strike smirked and waited for Shadow to go along with his joke.
“Yes, OF COURSE! For you are the great, epic Master who holds ALL THE POWER IN THE WORLD!” Shadow held herself back, tempted to erupt in laughter. 
But Cactus took no offense to these comments. Instead, he beamed with pride, apparently thinking the dragonets were being serious. Dragons glared at Strike and Shadow, but they didn’t care. They both agreed that they shouldn’t have to live under the power of a stupid SandWing, forced to be who others wanted them to be.
“Okay, DeathWings, do you all understand our plan to invade the IceWings?” Cactus asked, staring at the dragons with narrowed eyes.
“Yes, sir!” the DeathWings yelled in unison. All of the DeathWings except Shadow and Strike.
“I will build the underground tunnels, along with four other DeathWings of my choosing. And those four DeathWings will be… Agony, Storm, Blade, and… how about… Strike?” Cactus smiled at his own idea. 
“Uh… no, Master Cactus, I— I don’t really know how to dig tunnels. I’d be absolutely no help at all. You’d better choose someone else.”
“Oh, all right. Shadow, then.” The SandWing smirked with pure ferocity.
“N-n-no, please, no, Master!” both DeathWings yelled.
“Okay, then, Strike it is.” Cactus decided. “The four dragons who I have just addressed, please meet me tonight, when the sun sets below the mountains. We start immediately. And I absolutely do NOT tolerate anyone being late. I expect my great-great-great grandfather’s creations to be PUNCTUAL, or else that was surely a mistake in his enchantments.”
“Of course, Master Cactus,” said a dark gray DeathWing with a bony face, who Shadow thought was named Agony. “We are not mistakes.”
“Glad to hear it,” Cactus hissed, his forked tongue sliding out like a snake. “Well, now that I have mentioned everything… meeting adjourned.”
CHAPTER TWO
Shadow slumped as she trotted slowly to her cramped, dark cave. She felt so stupid. She had forced her new friend to dig tunnels, and worse yet, as a plot to destroy the IceWings! And, as if it couldn’t get any worse, he would be working for Cactus! What had she done?
She looked up at the mountain that had belonged to her great-grandfather, many generations ago. It had lasted long enough to be passed down to her mother, Raven.
The large mountain had many holes, little caves that were used as rooms. Shadow’s cave, of course, was the smallest, while her mother’s was the biggest. (“It’s my mountain, after all,” was her common excuse.) Torment usually stayed in his cave, the one at the very top of the mountain. The entrance was very small and a very tight squeeze for Shadow, but Torment was small enough to fit through, and because of that, he loved his room. It was private, which was why she barely ever saw him except during training. 
So she was shocked when she saw her brother, hunched by HER stone table, in HER room. Searching through HER books.
“What are you doing?” Shadow growled accusingly.
“Why would you care?” he answered, apparently shocked that he had been discovered. “I’m just READING.”
Shadow stifled a laugh. She didn’t think Torment had ever read, not in his life. “Why do I highly doubt that? I bet you don’t even understand the words.”
Her brother snarled defensively. “Of course I know how to read! This one, for instance,” he pointed to a thick book, about the history of Pyrrhia, “is about Pyrrhia’s fascinating mystery.”
“It’s HISTORY, not MYSTERY, you little bee-brain!” Shadow burst into laughter, rolling on the ground hysterically.
Torment hissed angrily. “Well, I was close enough.”
“Not close enough to stay in my room. Get out, now!” Shadow roared.
“Okay, okay!” Torment answered, sighing. “But, for the record, I am not the bee-brain here.”
Shadow watched as her brother flew out, up to his own cave. That was definitely strange. Why had he come to “read” in her room, and then given up so easily? 
She hunched by her desk, opening up drawers, making sure Torment hadn’t messed with anything. Everything seemed to be in place. Her dreamvisitor, her love potion, the bottle of RainWing venom... Wait… the last drawer was left a crack open… just barely noticeable. 
As she clasped her talons around the last drawer handle, and pulled it open slowly, she saw… the place where her most precious item was… was empty. 
It was her most prized possession… a letter from her father, from almost a day before he was murdered by the IceWings. She’d even memorized all the words, the heartfelt letters, scrawled together to form his last statements:
Dearest Shadow,
I want you to know that you have the power to change the way we see the world. You have the power of the stars and moons in your talons. You are an animus. Think of it as a secret, just between you and me. Use this power wisely, to change the world for the better. Do not be scared, don’t let your fear waver. Keep being yourself and don’t let this magic change you. Now, I insist you go to the library and borrow some scrolls about animus magic. And, while you’re at it, try enchanting this parchment. You’ll see you can do just about anything. But please, keep this power a secret and don’t let it go out of control. Remember I love you. I will always be there for you.
    Her father had always told her that animus magic was the most sacred power there was. According to Ancient Animus History, an animus could do practically anything, except bring dragons back from the dead. However, there had never been an animus in DeathWing history, and all of the animus scrolls were made decades ago, before DeathWings even roamed the earth. So, they didn't exactly help much. 
    So… was she the first DeathWing animus? Honestly, she preferred not knowing. If she was an animus, she'd either go insane (if the scrolls were right) or her magic would be used for terrible SandWing stuff. If she wasn't, she'd just feel stupid and ordinary. She liked feeling as if she might be special, even if she actually was totally normal. 
    But Shadow had realized that there were some good sides to her possible magic, so when she turned four, she had decided to enchant her father's letter, like he'd told her to. She had taken the parchment out of her bottom drawer, and whispered, "I enchant this parchment to cause the holder to… to have the power to… draw something, and it'll come to life!" 
    The parchment had twitched after she had finished the strangely-worded enchantment. A tiny vibration, barely visible to the unfocused eye. Shadow had shivered with a mix of fear and excitement. She'd rushed to her desk and, in the empty space at the bottom, she had drawn a bright red apple. 
    And, before her eyes, her sketch had gained realism, the dimensions forming and distorting, until a perfect crisp red apple had popped out. From the paper.  
    She WAS an animus. 
    Years after years, she'd spent time drawing and drawing and drawing. The parchment had never cleared, because as soon as her drawings came to life, her sketches vanished. It truly was magic, and she'd listened to her father. She never told a single soul, not even Mother or Torment. 
    Now, she had still managed to keep it a complete secret. She had stopped using the power, even though it was only a small enchantment. She now knew the true dangers of her sacred magic. She'd promised she'd never use it again, but she'd still kept the paper, just in case. It could determine the balance between life and death.
    And now the parchment was gone. 
    She screeched angrily, causing an echo to roll across the walls of her room. She KNEW who committed the crime… he couldn't have made it more obvious.
    "TORMENTTTT!" Shadow bellowed, blasting herself out of the cave, smoke billowing from her nostrils and sizzling in her wake as she sailed across the bleary sky.
    She pulled back her wings, tensing them up as she flung her airborne body into Torment’s tiny cave entrance. Her head and neck squeezed through, but she couldn’t go through beyond her wings, which stuck out hopelessly from behind the opening. Shadow snarled when she couldn’t see her brother in his cave, and she pulled her neck out furiously. Where had he gone…?
   Shadow, still flying around the caves, brought her talons into a fist as she surveyed the land. Then, she suddenly saw him… a tiny, dragon-shaped speck, far in the distance. Heading west. 
    And then, with a jolt of horror, she knew where Torment was going. 
    He was going to Cactus’s castle. 
    To reveal Shadow’s biggest secret. 
   CHAPTER THREE
    Shadow was flying… flying like her life depended on it.
    Her life didn’t depend on it, but her whole reputation did.
    NO WAY was she going to live her life as Cactus’s tool. And NO WAY was Torment going to be the one to ruin it for her.
    She tilted her wings and pulled in her legs, speeding up and catching the wind under the folds in her large gray wings. She sighed, knowing she’d never catch up to Torment in time. 
    She breathed heavily, thinking hard, before picking out a small dirty pebble from between her claws. She held it in front of her, whispering, “I enchant this pebble to fly straight to Torment, hit him square in the face, and cause him to be slower than a snail.”
That was it. Her first real enchantment. Not exactly a prideful or exciting moment in her life, but at least it was for a good reason. She couldn’t let the secret of her magic get out. She would be the first animus DeathWing. Her power would be devoted to evil… She couldn’t live with that.
    After a split second of waiting, the tiny fragment of rock shot out of her talons, making a beeline for Torment, who was still a small dot in the distance. 
    And then he became a larger dot. And then, she could make out his bony figure, and see him clutching the parchment in his talons. 
    “Hey, Torment!” she yelped, which startled her brother and caused him to miss a wingbeat, abruptly lowering in the sky for a moment before pulling himself up in a huff of anger. 
    Torment attempted to fly faster, but Shadow easily caught up to her brother’s slow flight. 
    She said his name again, but she barely even had to whisper it for him to hear. Torment turned abruptly, staring at her, directly in the face, with narrowed eyes.
    “Hey, animus. What’re you going to do now, enchant my teeth to fall out?” he hissed, clutching her father’s letter tight in his talons, gripping it so hard that it almost crumpled.
    “I MIGHT if you keep flying to that wimp’s castle.”
    “Hmmm…. Wimp? I can only think of one WIMP… but you don’t have a castle.”
    Shadow bared her teeth and tightened her claws into fists. “You are the only wimp here right now. And wimps DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR TEETH FALL OUT!” She could almost feel her scales simmering with fury.
    This seemed to really get Torment mad. In the air, he quickly lunged for Shadow and dug his claws… just below her throat. This slammed her to the ground, far below. Her back hit the grass and the wind was sharply knocked out of her. 
    “I enchant my scales to give my body invulnerability to Torment’s attack, and to heal any pain I have already received!” she hissed to herself quickly, out of Torment’s earshot, unsure if it would work. But, sure enough, she felt a surge of power sear though her gray scales, almost as if they were as hard as diamonds. Relaxation rippled in smooth pulses across her belly, shoulders, and back, slowly easing the pain until she felt stronger than before.
    Pulling herself up with barely any effort, she reeled back up into the sky, grabbing Torment’s shoulders and easily pushing him back. He flipped around and flew at her, but he was way too slow, and she was way too powerful. Shadow’s tail smashed him in the side, sending him flying hopelessly the opposite direction. But her brother wouldn’t give up. He winced, rushing up to Shadow once again, and snarled, with all his yellow teeth showing.
    “You wretched monster,” Torment growled. “You possess this sacred magic and you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about it? Nothing to help your tribe?” He flew a bit closer and swiped at his sister, narrowly missing her face. But Shadow grinned, knowing it wouldn’t have hurt her anyway.
    “I would help my tribe, if they weren’t a bunch of war-obsessed idiots!” Shadow answered angrily, suddenly imagining Torment with squid tentacles instead of legs. She laughed at the thought of it, then turned back to him. He seemed to be trying hard not to screech. 
    “War-obsessed? Idiots?” he yelped. “The DeathWings are the strongest tribe. Of course we use our power to its advantage. AND WE ARE NOT IDIOTS! We--”
    Just then, her brother shook uncontrollably, his legs jiggling and stretching. He screamed as his legs morphed… into squid tentacles. 
    Shadow’s heart missed a beat, and she could barely even fly with the shock of this magic. She hadn’t done anything….
    “SHADOW!” Torment attempted to rake his claws across her face, before realizing he had no claws now. His tentacles wobbled around and Shadow cracked up. 
    “Now, I enchant Torment’s earring to force him back home, and make him forget everything that happened once he’s there!” Shadow said, giggling. Torment’s skull earring tugged at his ear, and he was quickly dragged back home, screeching all the way.
    Shadow, quite satisfied with herself, flew a bit further away from home, not quite sure where she was going. Eventually, she reached tall peaks, with the sun setting behind them. As she flew closer to watch the sunset, she heard dragons, talking with their deep voices hushed.
    She pricked her ears as she immediately recognized Cactus’s voice.
    “--tunnels, under here. Storm, you start, dig north toward the Ice Kingdom. Strike, you go down there and help. Agony, Blade, you will come with me to the other side, at the border of the Ice Kingdom, and dig the tunnel in that direction. That way, our groups should meet in the middle.” She heard Cactus’s claws dig into the sand. 
    So, he wasn’t even at his castle after all. He was with the group of DeathWings. To dig the tunnels, to sabotage the Ice Kingdom in secret.
    Suddenly, she heard a complaining voice… Blade, maybe. “This is going to take forever. If we had an animus this would be so much easier.”
    Shadow, still hiding on the other side of the mountain, tensed, not making a sound as Blade’s voice got closer.
    "I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is… why didn't your great-great-however-many-greats grandfather make his enchantment have at least ONE DeathWing animus?"
    She heard another voice — probably Agony — pipe into the conversation. "Yeah, if you wanted power, wouldn't animus be the first thing that comes to mind?"
    Cactus snarled, baring his teeth and smashing his tail against Agony's side. The large DeathWing seemed mostly unfazed, until dark maroon blood welled up from a deep, wide puncture mark where he'd hit her.
    Suddenly, she took a shallow gasp, and convulsed into a motionless heap. She jerked her legs a few times before falling stiff after a few minutes, showing that she was lifeless.
    Shadow peeked from behind the mountain in utter shock. Cactus had killed Agony. Cactus had killed his own servant. Straining her neck, Shadow saw the SandWing’s expression of shock, and Blade’s bony face, which gave away nothing. But she could tell the DeathWing was devastated, by the way his shoulders drooped and how his tail brushed the sand, sending a cloud of dust in Cactus’s face. He glared, blinking, but said nothing. The large SandWing started digging instead, pushing Agony’s body aside.
    Just then, Shadow remembered Strike. He was on the other side, far from the Ice Kingdom, with Storm. What if Storm tried to kill her friend? The thought of a DeathWing doing that to another dragon made her shudder, but she knew that it was more than possible. She flapped her wings, making a deep echo across the mountainside, and flew up in pursuit of Strike. 
    A jabbing tug on her tail caused Shadow to shriek, and she was violently pulled down, her head smashing against the ground. Sand sprayed across her vision as she coughed. As soon as she had the strength to pull herself up, she saw the talon that had pulled her down. 
    Clenched into a fist, claws shimmering in the dull sunset, were the talons of Cactus himself. His spiked cuff was thrown to the ground and covered in sand, while his black claws twitched around Shadow’s tail. Cactus reared up, lifting her upside down in the air, while Shadow wriggled, attempting to shake out of his grip. But the SandWing was too strong.
    “What are you doing here, little dragonet?” Cactus hissed, his forked tongue sliding in and out. “Eavesdropping? Spying… to tell the IceWings of my plans?”
    Shadow shook her head rapidly, making herself dizzy. “No, no! I wanted to… see my friend! Strike!” That was only half a lie, she realized.
    “Oh, that excuse for a DeathWing! So he’s your boyfriend? Why, that’s an interesting choice. He can’t even seem to slide his claws out.” The broad, pale golden-brown dragon grabbed his spiky arm cuff, clasping it on his ankle with difficulty. 
    “He’s nice, you’d see that if you even CARED ABOUT US AT ALL!” Shadow screeched, almost unaware of what she was saying. “All you EVER cared about is YOURSELF! In your mind, we are just a load of scavenger droppings, only created to do YOUR dirty work for you! Since you can’t even DIG A TUNNEL, so don’t go around saying we can’t do anything! You’re the lazy, annoying, snotty brat! Not Strike, not me, not ANY OF US!” She took a deep gasp in, panting. Her throat felt sore, knowing that she had just spit out all of her feelings. To the one dragon she was trying to hide them from. But yet, she couldn’t let him go around assuming everything. Shadow swallowed, and added, “Strike isn’t my boyfriend.”
    Cactus squeezed her spiky tail, sending a jolt of pain through her body, before dropping her to the ground once again. He curled up his lip, showing his fangs, and slashed at the side of her face. She felt dizzy and weak, and her vision blurred. She could see the bleary outline of the SandWing, lifting up his tail to her chest. Instinct caused Shadow to roll to the side, her arm blocking her belly, and suddenly a searing pain, just below her shoulder. A flash of black spots flooded her brain. A snarl of fury… Blood…  A poison SandWing tail barb. 
    Her thoughts seemed to end as darkness took over, and her mind went black.
CHAPTER FOUR
    Shadow’s ears pulsed. Blood seemed to surge through her veins for the first time. She heaved herself up… yet she didn’t. She had no strength, she could barely even move without her body stinging like crazy. But mostly her arm, near the lower side of her shoulder. Why was she hurting so much? And where was she? 
    Suddenly, she heard whispers from about a tail-length away, but she couldn’t move her neck to see the dragons who spoke. 
    “...killed two DeathWings…” 
    “...Calls himself a master?...he’s sure not setting a great example…” 
    “...The darker one’s been dead for a while, it seems.”
    Footsteps pattered closer against creaking wood boards, as a wave of cold seemed to rush across Shadow’s scales. Now that she was less numb, she realized that it was quite cold. She smelled hints of freshwater, but in a cooler, deeper sort of way. Other scents were mixed in, of dragons and dried leaves and cold things. She squinted and glanced up above her. A drop of water immediately fell onto her snout. It dripped down uncomfortably, before going down the side of her neck. She was in some kind of bed, below… frozen water. Ice, it was called. Shadow had heard rumors and stories of ice, but she’d never actually seen it before. Mother had said not many DeathWings ever did. 
    All of a sudden, the talonsteps became louder, and a faint radiation of frost seemed to envelope her. A freezing cold, gentle talon swept across the side of her face. But no pain came. This cold dragon didn’t intend to hurt her.
    “I’m pretty sure this lighter one’s dead too, Blizzard.”
    “Okay, let’s move her to the hot water spring, it’ll clean out her body. She looks pretty badly beaten up… I’ll bet by a SandWing.”
    “Probably that master who controls those DeathWings! Well, anyway, let’s move the body to the spring.”
    Shadow’s body tensed as she was picked up by two freezing shoulders. She heard faint grunting, and the gentle rocking of the dragons picking her up lulled her. An aura of calm swept across her body in a smooth, icy wave. Her eyelids were pulled down by the force of exhaustion, and she fell into the darkness once again.
Shadow’s eyes flashed open as fiery warmth spread through her flesh and bones. She looked down quickly, and noticed steamy hot water, bubbling and sloshing up to her neck. It practically felt like it was sizzling through her scales.
    “AIEEEEEEE!” she shrieked, leaping instinctively out of the water pool, sending splashes that brought steam rising through the melted snow. 
    Shadow backed away as her arm buckled, but not before she fell knee-deep into the frosty snow. This caused a small dragon to rush over to her. Ahhhh! Shadow thought, THAT WAS SO HOT! And… My arm hurts so much!
    The dragon who came over was a white dragon with pale grayish-blue speckles on her wings and shimmering scales. She looked a bit young, only a little older than Shadow.
    “Blizzard! Quick, come here, the little dragon’s alive!” The dragon’s words echoed strangely in her head. Her brain seemed to pulse, feeling a raging headache starting to form. A second pale dragon popped out from an icy cave, rushing out with a shocked expression on her face. This dragon was a shade of blue lighter than the sky, with some white splotches like clouds. She looked a good amount older than the other one, at least double its age. But she had the same spikes like icicles, flowing from the back of her head to her spine.
    “No, Flurry, you said she was dead!” answered the older dragon sarcastically. “You couldn’t have possibly been wrong, right?”
    “Stop it, Blizzard!” the younger one, Flurry, said, gently jabbing the other one in the side. “We just need to help her… don’t we?” Flurry and Blizzard towered over Shadow, whose legs were still sinking into the snow. Her head kept burning, while trying to escape the snow and understand their conversation at the same time. She cleared her throat a few times, before finally gathering the strength to speak.
    “Um…” she muttered, her throat rasping. “Wh-who are you…?”
    “Oh, us?” responded the older pale blue dragon, Blizzard. “We’re IceWings… but, minor detail, we’re DeathWings’ enemies.”
    Shadow gulped. What were they going to do to her? Wait, didn’t IceWings have deadly frostbreath? She moved her legs around in the snow, trying to pull them free. But they wouldn’t budge. She was stuck, and these IceWings were going to freeze her like an ice cube and eat her for dinner.
    Just then, the small dragon, Flurry, crouched and crawled under Shadow. Hmm… was this an IceWing murder strategy? But instead of claws raking through her chest, she felt cold scales and a strong back against her belly. She was getting lifted up! Shadow thrashed her legs, and they were able to come out from this height, sending flakes of snow everywhere. Including Blizzard’s face.
    Flurry rushed out from under Shadow, panting. Blizzard frowned angrily, shaking the snow off her snout. “Please go now, to your own territory with your own wretched master.”
    Flurry sighed. “But… don’t we want to know how she got hurt? And maybe help her more? She hasn’t even been cured for her venom wound!” The young IceWing’s ears lifted. “And maybe she’s nice, even though DeathWings hate us and they like SandWings, and we hate SandWings, but, um, maybe we could get along! And maybe she could spy and tell us all of the SandWing plans! Wouldn’t that be cool, Blizzard? Huh?”
    This made Blizzard flare her nostrils and growl, sending out a tiny puff of frost. “Do what you want, but I’m definitely NOT hanging around with a sworn enemy who will probably kill us in moments.” The IceWing swished her tail and walked away to the ice cave.
    Shadow and Flurry sat there awkwardly for a minute. 
    Shadow coughed.
    Flurry took a breath in and shifted her talons.
    “So… um. Err, how old are you… DeathWing?” the young dragon said after another moment. 
    “Six thousand years old.” responded Shadow, glancing at her wounded arm. An ugly gash showed near the top of her arm from behind a piece of tree bark. A few brown, rotting vines tied around her arm held the bark in place.
   “Ha.” Flurry said, as Shadow looked up quickly. “Yeah, and I’m eight thousand.”
    The DeathWing bent down and sniffed at the putrid vines, wrinkling her nose at the gross scent. The IceWing clearly noticed her disgust.
    “Sorry, those were the only ones in our supply, don’t expect a flourishing garden of leaves and vines in here!” she said, glancing around at the icy cavern.
    “So, what is this place anyway?” asked Shadow. She stepped closer to Flurry, avoiding putting any weight on her crippled arm. 
    The white dragon smiled weakly. “Oh, this shabby thing? It’s an igloo… Like a hut made out of ice,” she added when she saw the DeathWing’s confused expression. “It’s kind of like my den, my home, sort of. Well, Blizzard’s too of course.”
    Shadow tipped her head. “Are you and Blizzard sisters?”
    “No,” Flurry answered. “We’re cousins, though. We were both exiled from the Ice Kingdom after talking to a SandWing.”
    “Talking to a SandWing? What’s the big deal with that?” asked Shadow.
    “SandWings--well, they’re kind of the all-powerful creators of evil, do you see what I mean?” The young IceWing squinted at the gray dragonet in front of her. “That kind of behavior isn’t tolerated in the Ice Kingdom. If you even speak a word to a SandWing, you’ll be bumped down to the lowest rank… or if you make a decent conversation with one, you’ll be forced out of the kingdom.”
    “Well, how come you had a conversation with a SandWing, if you knew it was wrong? Although I still don’t get why it’s wrong, but whatever…” Shadow muttered, lifting up her arm and gingerly tugging at one of the shriveled vines with her teeth.
    Flurry’s spikes lowered with embarrassment, and she took a breath before she finally started to speak. “Char was nice, really. Well, nice to the IceWings, at least. He came here some time ago, and he—”
    “Char! He’s that SandWing in my old history scroll! The evil traitor who betrayed the DeathWings and was a DISGRACE to his entire family!” Shadow said enthusiastically. That’d show Mother that at least she actually read her scrolls! “Now he lives in a cave somewhere, but the scroll said his exact whereabouts are unknown.”
    Flurry huffed. “Unknown? Those SandWings and DeathWings are so dumb, they won’t even notice something under their noses!”
    “Wait,” Shadow cut in, her eyes widening. “You know where he is?”
    “Yeah, but even me, an idiot slug according to Blizzard, knows that I would NEVER tell a DeathWing private information like that.” 
    Shadow blinked. “But he’s a SandWing! It shouldn’t be private if DeathWings work for SandWings!”
    Flurry sighed and let her shoulders roll back. “Ugh, okay. It’s in an underground cave, at the border between the Sand Kingdom and the Ice Kingdom. Near those mountains, you know where I’m talking about?”
    “Yeah!” she answered. “That's… that’s where I was when I was almost killed by Cactus!” Shadow’s ears lifted. She remembered everything now… Cactus pulling her down, she was going to check on…. Strike! Where was Strike?
    “Hang on, Cactus?” Flurry answered, interrupting her flood of memories. “Isn’t he that evil SandWing? The one in charge of the DeathWings?”
    “Yeah, he’s sure evil. He only cares about himself and all the other dragons just BLINDLY follow his commands. And he’s a cold-blooded killer, too!” Shadow looked around, her gaze settling on Agony’s limp body, which was sitting in a hot-water pool just like Shadow’s. Even though Agony certainly wasn’t the best dragon in the continent, she still deserved to live. “Everyone could use another chance,” she whispered to herself.
    Flurry sighed. A deep, empathetic sigh. She actually cared about Shadow. “Well… since I told you about Char… do you mind telling me about Cactus?” The IceWing pulled her claws in and out repeatedly, making marks in the loose snow.
    Shadow thought for a second, and then slowly nodded her head. She began to explain all the details of Cactus… how he wore a spiked arm cuff on one of his ankles, and how he was selfish and came up with terrible plans, like how he was digging a tunnel to invade the Ice Kingdom from underground. And how they somehow hadn’t come across Char, probably because Cactus put up a fight early on, and killed one of his own DeathWings. And, she began to rant about how she had wanted to check on Strike but Cactus had seen her and poisoned her. 
    Flurry raised her tail in shock, but then squinted. “Why were you at the mountains in the first place, if you weren’t supposed to be there?”
    “I kinda… got lost?” Shadow answered, feeling a sudden jolt of pain near her shoulder, but ignoring it. “Well, it's hard to explain. So, uh, my brother Torment was going to Cactus’s palace to warn him I was an animus because he snuck into my room and found my dad’s note in my dresser, and so… anyway, I enchanted him to not remember anything and then, I—um— I sort of accidentally gave him squid tentacles? And then I just flew away like an idiot and then I heard Cactus and, yeah.”
    “WAIT, WHAT? You’re an animus?” the white dragon stepped back in shock, a tiny glint of what looked like fear in her eyes. 
    “Oh,” Shadow slapped her forehead with her good talons. Why had she revealed that? To an IceWing, no less! “Yeah?”
    Flurry sat up straight. “Then heal yourself! That would make my job so much easier, and I would tell Blizzard I did it! She’d be so proud of me!”
    The DeathWing considered saying yes, but only because her arm would feel better. She had no reason to help this IceWing.
    “Fine, but just because I don’t want to die. Go ahead and tell Blizzard your stupid lies, and how about I go back to telling my own?” Shadow said.
    “What do you mean?” Flurry asked, clearly offended.
    “Oh, nevermind,” she answered, turning around. “Just how I have to keep my powers a secret from everyone I know.”
    Shadow sighed hopelessly and heard the IceWing mutter something about Char, before she bent her wings and lifted off into the sky. At first it was painful to move. Her wing joints tensed and her arm burned with pain. She slowed down and whispered, “I enchant this vine wrap so that once I take it off, my arm is good as new-- wait, no.” Shadow paused, realizing everyone would wonder how her wound had healed so quickly. “I re-enchant this vine wrap so that once I take it off, the puncture mark will still appear for a while, but it will not affect me in any way.” That way, if anybody saw her, they wouldn’t question her. She beamed with pride at her wonderful idea. She would be so wise with her magic, and she’d do the smartest things with it and never make a mistake. Except when she had given her brother squid tentacles. But that was a funny mistake, so it didn’t really count. 
    The vines around her upper arm suddenly began to move, energy humming through the tendrils. Comfort pierced through her scales and her muscles loosened. She felt more at ease than she had in a long time. She paused in midair and pulled off the tree bark wrap. They had done all they needed to.
    As she crossed the border and flew into the Sand Kingdom, Shadow noticed movement zigzag through the sand below. She swooped lower down, squinting. There it was. A dragon, well-camouflaged with the dull golden sand. He had darker splotches down his spine, and his one wing striped with faint black lines at the edges. 
    Shadow's talons sunk into the sand as she hit the ground. She rushed across the terrain, spraying sand as she went.
    "Hey, you! SandWing!" she yelled. Good thing she could trust this guy. SandWings and DeathWings were on good terms.
    But the dust-colored dragon took one glance at her before breaking into a run.
    "Wait!" Shadow rushed after him urgently. Something inside of her just wanted to meet this SandWing. She stumbled up a sand dune, catching sight of his tail-tip vanishing behind another hill. Flying would be quicker, she realized. But then why wouldn't he fly? Was he not really trying to escape her?
    She felt more strength in her muscles as she took flight above the desert. She caught up to him easily, and ducked down, descending right in front of the dragon. 
    The small SandWing was more muscular up-close. He had an arched back and one of his wings was missing, with only a wingbud showing. His eyes were deep hazel, nearly black. They narrowed when he saw the DeathWing.
    "What are you doing here?" he snarled. "I'm not coming back to Cactus's castle. I said that long ago, so tell him no." The SandWing's tail pricked, its barb gleaming in the midday sunlight. 
    “Wha-- no!” Shadow stammered. “I’m not a DeathWing.” She immediately clamped her mouth shut. What had she just said? She’d almost said it instinctively. Just to defend myself from this SandWing, I guess, she told herself. 
    “Not a DeathWing? Ha! Go back where you came from, little runt! What’ll Cactus ask you DeathWings to do next, make him a feast and perform a show?” the sand-colored dragon lashed his tail, stepping back angrily.
    Shadow cleared her throat. She’d clear everything up for this stranger, if he was stupid enough to not understand. “Um, you don’t get it, SandWing. So…” she grasped for the right way to explain herself. “You know how you’re a SandWing, and you should be with them and the DeathWings?”
    “Yes,” the dragon grumbled. “Don’t remind me.”
    “Well, I’ve kind of always hated them, probably the same with you, do you get it now? I hate Cactus! And all Mother wants me to do is fight. And my brother Torment found out I was an animus and that would STINK if I had to use my magic for horrible dragons.”
    The SandWing gasped, his tail straight up and his eyes wide. “There’s never been a DeathWing animus!”
    “I know, but I am. Anyway, a while ago, Cactus ATTACKED me! With his tail, and I woke up and I was in this… igloo, that was what Flurry called it, and--” Shadow stopped when she saw the strange SandWing prick his ears.
    “Flurry?” he gasped. “You saw Flurry? When?” 
    “Uh, I forget how long it’s been! Almost half a month ago, it feels like.” Shadow answered, shifting her weight uncomfortably. “Why do you want to know, exactly?”
    “I— I love her.” the muscular SandWing murmured, dipping his head. “My name is Char.”
CHAPTER FIVE
     Shadow’s claws dug into the sand under her feet. This SandWing, she knew who he was now. Char, the SandWing she’d read of in her scrolls. The one Flurry had talked to some time ago. 
    “Char,” she said thoughtfully. “I read about you.”
    “Wow, go figure. Probably about how I was a TERRIBLE and NASTY dragon,” the bulky SandWing growled, his one wing lowering so that it touched the ground.
    Shadow grinned. “Yeah… but you don’t seem too bad.” 
    “Try telling that to my uncle.” he said, causing the DeathWing to tip her head in confusion. “Cactus.” Char added quickly, lowering his gaze. “He was the one who exiled me. My own uncle… He never really seemed to favor me, anyway, but I never thought he’d go as far as to EXILE me!”
    Shadow bent down and licked her wounded shoulder. It didn’t hurt anymore because of her enchantment, but it still looked gross on the outside. “Wow,” she said to Char once she lifted her head. “That’s harsh. I’ve learned firsthand too, that he’ll go really far to get what he wants.” 
    Char nodded. “He sent me and a troop of DeathWings, a long time ago, to invade the NightWings. One of them, a really big NightWing, tore off almost all my wing. It was terrible and it took many months to stop the infection. The SandWing healers ended up cutting off all of my wing,” he snarled, wiggling his remaining wingbud. “It’s all Cactus’s fault, if you ask me. He was the one who forced me to lead that invasion.”
    “Well, it’s nice to formally meet you,” said Shadow, quickly changing the subject. She dipped her head. “I’m Shadow.”
    “You know what happens to animus dragons,” he whispered, as if not even hearing her. “They--”
    “They what?” she burst in. What was going to happen to her? Would SHE grow squid tentacles too? Oh no, that couldn’t happen! 
    “They go CRAZY,” murmured Char, his head lowered. He buried his claws into the sand, the grains flowing over his talons. Shadow lifted her tail, her eyes widening in disbelief. 
    “No, Char, that isn’t true!” Shadow wailed, touching her forehead in horror. “Am… AM I CRAZY?” She flapped her wings nervously, spraying sand in dust clouds around her.
    “Quit it, Shadow. You’re not crazy. Not yet, at least…”  
    “Not yet? How do I NOT become crazy?” Shadow shuffled her talons, pouting.
    “Never use your animus magic. Ever again.” Char answered. “I know this because I almost went crazy. And it’s worse than any missing wing, or poisoned arm, or any pain you can imagine. You’ll become like Scorch was.”
    The DeathWing’s eyes widened into orbs of blood. “W-what do you mean… when you said YOU almost went crazy?”
    “I was an animus.” the SandWing growled. “Before I vowed never to use my magic again.” He glanced at a small ring on his fifth talon, lifting his right arm so Shadow could see. “This was my first enchantment. A Memory-Seeker.” 
    Char glanced at the ruby encrusted in the ring, then whispered in a low voice. Shadow caught the words “fate” and “torn from my grasp” as the SandWing closed his eyes. 
    The sand of the tall dunes seemed to shift, and Char and Shadow were suddenly thrust into a sandstorm of dust and wind. The air gave a deafening roar and grains of sand stung as they blew into her eyes. She grunted, squinting her eyes shut while trying to keep her feet on the ground. She could barely see Char in the desert storm, but he was probably doing the same as her: cowering down and avoiding the danger.
    Shadow barely even had time to wonder what Char had done. With a jolt of shock, her feet were dragged from the surface and she was tossed away, wind clawing at her face as it rushed by. Howls grew louder and louder in her ears. Shadow could barely hear her own screech as the breeze carried it away. 
    Suddenly, the wind stopped. Completely… stopped. 
    She opened her eyes quickly, looking down to make sure she was on solid ground. She definitely was on ground, but it wasn’t the sand that had been there a second ago. It was cracked, weathered stone, eroded by years and years of existence. Shadow glanced around, looking for any signs of life. Anything that could give her a clue of where she was.
   Behind her, she saw a large, burly SandWing, a smaller one at its side. In front of them was a group of DeathWings, swishing their tails and talking amongst themselves. 
    “Quiet!” hissed the large SandWing, dipping his head to the smaller one. “Char, tell them about our task.”
    Shadow’s eyes widened. Char? But-- Char was with her… and this didn’t look like Char. The small dragon looked well-fed, and he had two wings intact. 
    The tiny SandWing cleared his throat, standing tall with his tail barb raised. “Okay, DeathWings. Here’s what we’re gonna do. Mamba and I will lead the way, but I will be the one who starts the invasion. You better do this right, because you wouldn’t want to ruin my first day as Secondary Army General, would you?” 
    The gray and red dragons facing him shook their heads. Some looked a bit nervous, while others looked eager for this opportunity to attack.
    “Good. Now, the reason Cactus assigned us to invade the NightWings is because it’s an important task. You see, if we weaken the nearby defense, not only will we have defeated a major enemy, but we’ll also have given ourselves a clear path to defeat the BIGGEST enemy. The IceWings.” The general, who seemed to be Char,  narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, Shadow felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped around to see a SandWing. THIS was really Char, with his missing wing, and his thin, muscular figure. But the small dragon behind her was also Char somehow.
    “Wh-what is this? Why do you and that army general have the same name…?” Shadow asked, squinting in the midday sun. It was lowering across the jutting peaks, which were nothing more than a dark shadow in the distance. 
    “No,” said the real Char, “that’s me, or-- it was me, at least. Before I left Cactus and lost my wing. I left my honor with me.” He lifted up his arm, showing the tiny ring on his fifth talon. “I enchanted this long before now, as you can tell,” he murmured, dipping his head toward the younger Char, who wore the same ring. 
    “The Char From the Past is a nice nickname for this dude, you think so?” asked Shadow, grinning.
    “Watch your mouth, because ‘this dude’ is about to eat you for dinner!” growled The Char From the Present with a gleam in his eyes.
    Shadow stepped back. “Y-y-you would really do that?” She glanced at his tail barb, which was tucked in, but accessible for him at any moment. 
    “No.” Char smirked. “But don’t make me change my mind.” He glanced back at the gathered dragons, who were flying off the stony peak of the mountain. “Let’s follow me… well, the old me,” said Char, attempting to fly along with his past self, before flopping down dejectedly. His missing wing prevented him from taking flight. 
    “Hey, it’s alright! Because I have an idea!” Shadow piped up.
    “No, I know what you’re thinking, Shadow. You are NOT using your magic.” Char hissed, lowering his one wing. 
    “Actually, I was thinking you’d just go on my back.” she said, shifting her weight and lowering her legs into a crouch. She pressed herself down so that the SandWing could get on.
    Char tipped his head. “You really think you could carry me?”
    “Um,” she muttered. “I can definitely try!” Shadow flicked her ears, beckoning for the impaired SandWing to clamber on her back. 
    “Try all you want, then.” he climbed up onto her back, and Shadow pulled open her wings and took flight, with Char clinging onto her shoulders, his one remaining wing spread wide, trembling in the strong breeze.
    She tried to keep her back from lowering too much; the SandWing was extremely heavy despite his size. With a grunt, she slowed down to catch her breath. This was a much better pace.
    “This is a much worse pace!” complained Char, digging his claws into her back. Shadow stifled a loud groan, which instead came out as a snort. 
    “You aren’t a dragonet in need of a piggyback ride,” she retorted. “I go at the speed that’s good for me. You should be thanking me, really…” Panting, she continued to fly away from the mountains, with no exact location in mind. She was just trying to follow the invasion army. But she’d never been to the Night Kingdom, although she had seen it on a map. It was below the Sand Kingdom, a small peninsula jutting out of Pyrrhia. Mother had told her it was creepy. She’d said that it had lava, and volcanoes, and sharp rocks. A few DeathWings had died there, Shadow remembered with a shudder.
    “We won’t keep up with them at this rate,” Char complained, while pointing to the invaders, which were becoming smaller and smaller figures in the distance.
    “Are we able to die like this?” Shadow asked, tensing up as she gradually picked up speed.
    “In my past?” Char yelled over the howling wind. “No, we’re technically just spectators now.” This caused her to let out a sigh of relief. 
    “Good, because I surely would have died in the Night Kingdom,” she said.
    “Actually, probably not. You seem really strong, and brave.” Warmth flooded through her body as Char added, “But, not very smart.” 
    “I am VERY smart, you ignorant load of camel spit!” Shadow snarled, which turned into laughing after a moment. “Disgusting piece of vulture dung…” She quickly tilted herself, sliding Char to the side of her back. Smirking, she balanced herself back, looking behind her to see the SandWing panting. A faint smile was plastered on his face, making Shadow burst out laughing.
    “What?” he hissed. He spoke as if he was mad, but she could see laughter in his dark gray-green eyes. He lifted his tail slowly. 
    Shadow wasn’t scared of his tail barb anymore. She knew he was just using it as a joke. Char would never hurt anyone with it, unlike Cactus. She glanced at her wound from Cactus’s barb, a nasty puncture mark crusted with dried blood. She probably would’ve lost her leg if she hadn’t enchanted it to heal. That was why Char was wrong. She NEEDED to use her magic.
    Lowering his tail, Char let out an exaggerated sigh. “Come on, let’s keep following my patrol.”
    The two dragons flew for what felt like hours, until the sun was merely a sliver from below the blazing horizon. They had gained on the group of dragons, and once the sky darkened, the army patrol settled on a flat mountain peak to rest for the night. Shadow paused in midair, hesitant to go closer. What if the dragons tried to kill her? She couldn’t die here, but… 
    “Come on, Shadow,” Char said, tilting his head to the mountain. “They can’t see us, I told you we’re just spectating!” He tapped impatiently on Shadow’s scaly back, yawning. 
    “Oh. Yeah, right,” she muttered. Tucking in her wings, she lowered, settling gently on the flat stone.
    “Careful!” hissed the SandWing as he nearly slid off her back. Shadow growled an apology, scraping her claws against the mountain surface. 
    Only a thin golden strip of light showed beyond the towering cliffs, like a line of fire being extinguished by the shadowy veil of night. Thin clouds drifted slowly, covering the stars and moons. Two of the milky orbs were half-moons, while the third one was nothing more than a white sliver across the sky like a claw mark. Shadow glanced ahead, seeing the outlines of the patrol as they rested, yawning and lying down uncomfortably on the cold stone.
    Lowering down gently so that Char could climb off, Shadow narrowed her eyes. “At least tell me that we can SLEEP here.”
    “Nope. No sleeping,” the SandWing said, getting off her back and smirking. 
    “WHAT??” Shadow screeched. “What will we do all--”
    “I’m kidding! Of course you can sleep here, it’s something we all can do naturally.”
    “Very funny, Char,” she said, tilting herself so that Char tumbled off her back and landed on the stone with a heavy thump. Shadow ignored his growl of indignance and let out a massive yawn. Her body hurt all over… mostly her legs. Or was it her back? It felt numb with pain, from carrying the heavy SandWing all the way here. Stupid missing wing, she fumed. If he’s an animus too, then he could just fix it! Or I could do it for him, if he REFUSES to use his magic. 
    She buried her head between the gap in her elbows and closed her eyes. She’d talk to Char in the morning.
    Shadow was dreaming. At least, she thought she was. 
    She was standing in a throne room, decorated with desert-themed tapestries and SandWing statues encrusted with gems. This must be Cactus’s palace. she thought with a groan. Looking around, she saw a massive golden throne in the center of the large room. On the ground was what seemed to be a rug made of bobcat fur, and in a nearby display case, an owl was trapped inside. But it had been killed… and stuffed. 
    How could Cactus be so CRUEL? What did the bobcat and the owl ever do to him? Although… her mother and the other DeathWings would probably be perfectly fine with killing harmless creatures. But was something wrong with them, or was it her that was wrong? 
    “Cactus, um, do you mind… reporting to the war pavilion?” Shadow flipped around to see a pale brown SandWing marked with black specks down his neck and legs. He wore a leather leg band on his back ankle, signifying that he was one of Cactus’s high-ranked soldiers. His black eyes were fixed on something behind Shadow. Turning slowly, she saw none other than Cactus, hunched in a corner with his head in his talons. 
    Once he heard the soldier’s words, he quickly looked up, glaring. “I don’t take orders from my soldiers.” He stood up, growling, with his head bent down.
    The light-colored SandWing looked down at his leather band, lifting up his hind leg to get a good look. “Well-- you see, Master Cactus, it’s of utmost importance. Several other soldiers are requesting your presence as well.”
    “Requesting?” Cactus echoed, narrowing his eyes.
    Shifting his feet, the soldier nodded. “We need to talk about the DeathWings.”
    “Fine,” snarled Cactus, draping a golden chain over his head. “But you know better than to defy me, or my rules.” He tucked in his tail, so that the venomous barb was hardly showing. He’s right to be embarrassed. Shadow realized, with a hint of satisfaction. He shouldn’t use that dumb killer tail so much. 
    “Yes, Master.” The SandWing soldier slowly led Cactus out of his throne room. It was nice to see the master of all DeathWings, being led somewhere by one of his own soldiers. She didn’t think Cactus would’ve put up with that on a normal day. But this wasn’t normal, not when a life had been lost (although everyone probably assumed she was dead too). But would anyone lose respect for the leader they had fought beside for so long? Or would they still risk their lives for him?
    Shadow quietly slithered behind them, careful not to make a sound. She had always been terrible at being quiet in her stealth training lessons.
    Suddenly, when she was crawling out the doorway of the throne room, she heard a crrrreeeaaaaakkkk sound, like an alarm saying, “you blew it again, Shadow.” 
    Cactus and his soldier turned around immediately. “Who goes there?” snarled Cactus, crouching down and baring his fangs. Shadow’s heart pumped inside her chest, and she was genuinely shocked that the SandWings couldn't hear it. Risking a look down at her talons, she saw the wooden board she’d stepped on was loose. Out of ALL the floorboards she could have stepped on, it HAD to be the one that made the loud creak to show your presence to the dragon who tried to kill you. Just perfect luck.
    Glancing back up at the dragons, Shadow tensed. The soldier who accompanied Cactus was staring at her, making direct eye contact. Her ears flattened, and she sighed to herself. She’d been caught.
    But the SandWing only looked at her a split second before frantically scanning the rest of the room. As if he hadn’t seen her… 
    “Nobody’s here, Master Cactus. I probably just stepped on a loose floorboard or something.” The rust-colored dragon nodded curtly to his leader, beckoning them to leave.
    “Once you’re back to your job, tell Wither to fix my floor so that it doesn’t make such an annoying sound,” said Cactus. 
    Shadow’s eyes widened as she breathed a deep sigh of relief. They couldn’t see her! So, this must be a dream. But-- maybe it was a VISION! Maybe something like that was really happening, right now, in Cactus’s palace! 
    The soldier nodded immediately, but… what was that in his eyes? It looked like a hint of fear, or exasperation. But that couldn’t be what it was, since no SandWing had feelings. They were all soulless monsters, except maybe Char. Although it was a possibility that they’re all scared of Cactus now, after the terrible things he did. He deserves to be disliked. He deserves to be squashed in the snout with his own dumb tail! She grinned, slowly following the two dragons as they went to a large, dome-shaped room at the center of the castle. 
    “Thank you, Leopard,” Cactus grunted, looking down at the wood floor scornfully. 
    “Actually, it’s Jackal, sir,” the soldier answered, swishing his tail nervously.
    “Leopard, Jackal, what’s the difference?” growled the large SandWing as he strutted to a round table, his necklace jingling on his neck as he walked. 
    Jackal sat down on a tall velvet chair next to Cactus’s even TALLER velvet chair. Once all the SandWing soldiers had settled down, a pale yellow SandWing facing Cactus locked eyes with his master. 
    “Cactus… we have some things to discuss.” The dragon pressed his wings against his body and sighed. Kind of like how Mother sighed when Shadow did something stupid.
    “I know what this is about, Jackal,” snarled Cactus. “I don’t want to--” 
     “Um, it’s Caracal, sir. That’s Jackal… over there.” She pointed across the table to the dragon who had escorted Cactus.
     Shadow could tell the master was fuming, by the way he seethed in his miniature throne, and how his shoulders tensed angrily. He wasn’t used to being bossed around by his own soldiers. The thought of that satisfied her.
    “I still know what this is, Caracal. You’re going to mention the dead DeathWings, which I’ve been avoiding, and you will regret ever speaking to me about such a neglected topic.” Cactus said, searing his gaze into the soldier’s.
    “No, Master,” another SandWing piped up. “I mean, kind of, but… we feel like you’re going a bit too hard on the DeathWings, do you see what we mean?” The other dragons in the room nodded their heads, except Cactus, who sat in a stunned silence. Jerking up his head, he glanced at the dragon who’d spoken wearily. 
    “Well then, answer this question for me,” hissed Cactus, “who will be the one to do my work?”
    A moment of tense silence followed his question, but suddenly, a soldier spoke up. “You, Cactus. You fix your own problems, clean up your own messes.”
    An uproar of agreement nearly deafened Shadow, but she was glad to hear that the soldiers agreed with what she was thinking. Without his soldiers, he was hopeless. And he knew it.
    “I’m SORRY, okay? Just keep working for me. How else will you succeed in life, without my commands, or the payment you need?”
    The SandWings considered, and Caracal muttered, “I guess you’re right, Master. You always are.”
    Jackal piped up. “I’ll remain loyal to you, Master Cactus.”
    The dragons sitting around the table slowly nodded their heads in unison, but some looked torn, as if they were just following the others’ decisions. Maybe it was hard for the soldiers, harder than Shadow had thought. Their whole life was a mess, wasted on revenge they (hopefully) will never receive. Shouldn’t they all feel some resentment? Some annoyance at Cactus for forcing their lives to be a certain way? 
    Growling under her breath, Shadow wondered why they were staying loyal to him. They clearly knew what he did; who would listen to him after he became a killer?
    Probably some threats, she realized. Like, “I’ll take away all your valuables unless you work for me and never stop respecting me!” Stupid Cactus. That was totally something he would do, but the soldiers NEEDED to figure that out.
    Clenching her talons into fists, she wriggled with an annoying sense of helplessness. She’d felt this way before, like when Torment taunted her and there was nothing she could do about it since Mother was standing right behind them. Except this was worse, because now, a killer was on the rampage. Well, not exactly “rampage”, but with him around, more dragons could die!
    Her claws slid out instinctively. She had to tell the soldiers somehow. But what would she say? She didn’t know where to start, since it would be pretty hard to convince them that their master was evil. 
    Taking a deep inhale, she walked closer to the pale brown soldier, Jackal, hoping she could deliver an amazing speech that caused him to say, “Ohh, okay, let’s abandon this dumb dragon, like we should have done long ago!”
    Shadow cleared her throat, her legs feeling like thick vines. Jackal was listening to Cactus talk, and he didn’t even seem to hear Shadow. She tried again, clearing her throat a bit louder this time. He didn’t even seem to know anyone was behind him, desperately trying to get his attention without yelling across the whole room. 
    Maybe he’s deaf? Or maybe he just has really bad hearing. She sighed and walked over to his chair, until she could feel the heat radiating off of his scales. She was terrified, but she didn’t dare show it as she lifted her arm and pulled one talon towards his shoulder. She tapped it, hoping he would notice.
    But it didn’t make contact with his scales. Instead, it swept through them as if he was a ghost.
    And then she remembered. She was dreaming, she obviously couldn’t touch him or get anyone’s attention! That was why they hadn’t noticed her earlier. So she had to find a DIFFERENT way to warn the SandWings of Cactus’ tyranny. That would be so fun.
    Just go there yourself, bonehead, scolded an impatient voice in her head. 
    And possibly get murdered by Cactus for real this time? she retorted, narrowing her eyes. It was hopeless, a dragonet like her warning a whole army, which would probably not even be successful, because who would listen to her? She was just a useless dragonet who’s cranky and stubborn and weird.
    What are you thinking, Shadow? Use your animus magic! The voice in her head was buzzing like a fly. Shadow wished it was a fly, then she could squash it easily, into a pile of disgusting mush. 
    Pressing her talons against her forehead, she answered, Come on, Char seriously said I would go crazy if I kept using it. Neither of us would want that, would we?
    The annoying thoughts continued, as if it wanted to prove her wrong constantly. One enchantment won’t hurt, will it? 
    Considering for a moment, she raised her head. “I’d rather just go to his palace than use my magic.” She shut her mouth, realizing she’d said that out loud. But she meant what she’d said, there weren’t any other ideas, and this one was far better than going insane. She pricked her ears, remembering that Cactus was still droning on about stuff, and she wanted to hear it.
    “—still, assign Sahara and Harmattan to guard the castle. We don’t want any uninvited guests,” he was saying. “Please get those guards now.” Cactus nodded to a pale-colored dragon at the table, who bowed and quickly scurried out of the room. Another nearby soldier, who Shadow recognized as Caracal, sat up straighter, addressing everyone’s attention. 
    “And Cactus, we have something for you,” the soldier said, her expression unreadable. 
    The master’s black eyes lit up, as if he was containing his excitement. “Well, what are you waiting for, Jackal? Bring it to me!”
    Shadow heard her mutter, “It’s Caracal, sir,” before she turned around and opened a closet with golden handles. When she came to Cactus, she was holding a strange-shaped cloth, which had a metal extension at the bottom that closed and opened the pouch when it was pulled. 
    “Created by the kingdom’s finest workers, made with the thickest cloth on the markets,” Caracal said, a hint of fear in her voice, but some excitement as well. 
    Upon seeing the weird tiny sack, Cactus frowned slightly. “And… um, what is it, exactly?”
    “It’s a tail barb cover, Master. So that you don’t kill dragons.” The soldier said.
    Snarling, the dragon shook his head, his necklaces clanking. The other dragons around him looked nervous, as if he would murder them all in one second. One soldier began to back away, but Cactus hissed at him, and he rushed back to the table.
    “Please, it’s for your own good. At least just try it on?” another dragon asked hesitantly.
    Smoke billowed from Cactus’s large nostrils as they flared angrily. “How is it for my own good if I have no defense?” he challenged, ears twitching. The SandWing soldiers looked around, waiting for someone to respond. When nobody else did, Jackal looked at Cactus.
    “We will protect you, Master. Won’t we?” He turned his head to gaze at the other soldiers, urgency in his beady black eyes. They all slowly nodded, agreeing in unison, but Shadow noticed a hint of reluctance in the way they shared glances at each other with uncertainty.
    Without waiting for Cactus to decline, Jackal rushed up, clutching the small pouch, and slid it over the master’s tail barb. His talons shook with fear as he pulled away and returned to his chair with wide eyes. Shadow could sense fierce anger, but all the soldiers seemed worried about what furious things he would say to them. They could already see their master narrowing his eyes and opening his mouth to scold them. 
    “TRUST ME, I AM…” Cactus stopped himself, clenching his jaw. “I am lucky to have soldiers who care for me so much.” 
    He was clearly just hiding his anger, but the SandWing soldiers sighed with relief. A few of them began bowing down to him, thanking him profusely. A pale yellow SandWing tilted his head towards the doorway, and the soldiers nodded, streaming out of the room in an orderly line. 
    Cactus was left alone in the war pavilion. He glanced around, his eyes widening to the size of giant black beetles. Shadow could barely focus on him through her weariness, but her head lifted up when she saw the SandWing’s gaze locking on her own. But he couldn’t see her… could he?
    “I need to know what’s worth killing. I feel the presence of my victims looming over me.” With a deep, heavy sigh, he began to walk to Shadow, never leaving her gaze, until his warm, foul-smelling breath nearly burned her snout. 
    She wanted to run. Or, maybe even ask him, “What are you doing?” or just claw him in the face right that second. But her legs felt alarmingly stiff, like cracked stone. She didn’t want to move a muscle.
    Cactus tore his necklace off his neck, stepped through Shadow’s ghostly body, and placed the jewelry on his dresser. Shadow took in a sharp inhale and stared at the dragon’s outstretched talons as he grabbed a wooden statue of a dragon, bearing a spear-like tail and massive spikes. It was a statue of a DeathWing.
    “Should I even be asking you for advice?” whispered Cactus, barely louder than a whisper. “What have you done that was ever good, Scorch? Look what you got me into!” Flicking his tail, the SandWing master slammed the wooden dragon against the dresser, stalking out of the room.
    Shadow let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. He hadn’t seen her, he’d been staring at the statue, right behind her. She wondered what the statue did or if Cactus was just a talented sculptor? But it looked super old, a thousand years ancient, at the least. Maybe Scorch had made it? 
    The edges of her consciousness (or was it unconsciousness?) seemed to blur together, as swirls and flickering dots scattered throughout her brain. Was that SandWing meeting all a dream… or did it actually hap…  
    Suddenly, the world began to flash in a whirlwind of darkness and confusion. The stone crumbled. The dark walls caved in. Icy talons gripped her, sending a numb feeling through her body, and she was thrust back into reality.
CHAPTER SIX 
   “Come on, Shadow, wake up!” A voice rang through her brain, the words mushing together into what sounded like a foreign tongue. Lightning seemed to strike her brain, as her eyes suddenly burst open into narrow slits. 
    Moaning softly, she rolled around and found herself staring up at the blurry figure of a SandWing. Blinking furiously, her vision began to focus, and she finally recognized the scowling face of Char. 
    "Char…?" Shadow murmured, flopping down uncomfortably on the hot stone. The sun beat down on her scales, and she realized it was morning. It had all been a dream, like she'd thought. 
    “Great to see you’re finally awake,” the SandWing hissed, raking his sheathed talons across her chest playfully. 
    Shadow heaved herself up, opening her wings and quickly lowering into the fighting crouch. “Yeah. Unfortunately for you, I’m awake.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Char challenged, leaning forward.
    “Take one step closer and you’ll find out.” she snarled, dragging her claws across the rocky floor. The dream was still swirling in her mind, but she tried to shove the thoughts away as Char smirked, shaking his head.
    “I’m going to need to get closer, if you want to fly us to the NightWing Kingdom,” he said, standing up and clambering onto her back without any hesitation.
    “I don’t want to bring you along, but I will, because I have to.” Extending her wings, she took off from the cliff, feeling the SandWing’s claws pierce into her back. She was about to bark at him to stop hurting her, but she bit her tongue; she knew better than to get Char mad while he was on top of her.
    Grunting, Char lifted an arm and pointed to a distant silhouette, of what looked like a spiky rock jutting out from the ground. “Fly until we reach that volcano.”
    Nodding, Shadow increased speed, heading in the direction Char had advised. By the time the morning sun had lowered, so that it was barely more than a sliver above the tall mountain peaks, her wings felt as though they would fall off and break into a thousand pieces. Her back was burning with the pain of Char’s claw marks, but she pushed on. She was the only way they could catch up to Char’s patrol from the past.
    After the sun had completely set, her and Char were nearly at the volcano. The sky was washed in purple blood, with drops of scarlet bordering the horizon. Millions of glowing stars were rising into the clouds. The three moons illuminated the way, one of them full, while the other two were thin, silver crescents pierced through the sky. 
     Finally, Char From the Past’s patrol was within sight, just tiny figures from beyond the thick smoke. Lifting her chin, she swooped lower, determined to reach them before dawn.
    Char shifted on her back, but Shadow couldn’t tell if he was nervous or excited. Risking a glance back at him, she saw him with his head in his talons. He looked upset about something.
    Landing on the nearest cliff, she dug her sharp claws anxiously into the stone. “You okay?” she whispered.
    Char didn’t move. 
    “Is something wrong?” Shadow ventured, looking back again to see his head raised up, meeting her gaze wearily. Sighing, he nodded slowly, still unmoving on her back.
    “This is just… a sensitive subject for me to talk about, let alone relive it,” he muttered. “Plus, it feels wrong to drag you here, just to witness my wing being torn off by a random NightWing.” 
    Suddenly, Shadow understood how useless the journey seemed, now that Char mentioned it. “But how do we get back?” Moaning, she added, “I am not flying ALL THE WAY back to where we came from. I can’t even remember WHERE we came from!”
    There was a glimmer of an emotion Shadow couldn’t read shining in Char’s eyes, like a mix of sadness, pain, but also a bit of pride. Lifting his arm, he pointed one talon, showing his ruby-encrusted ring. It glowed in the moonlight, like a silver drop of blood. 
    “The Memory-Seeker!” Shadow recognized Char’s enchantment immediately, lifting up her shoulders with a regained feeling of hope. “It’ll bring us back, right?”
    “Yep,” the SandWing grunted, dragging himself off of her back. She felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and she relaxed for a moment before sitting straight, her tail curling over her front talons. 
    Looking down to his ring, Char murmured, “Bring us back to the present, where we belong. Keep our memories alive.”
    Shadow’s eyes widened as the world gave way below her feet. She seemed to be gliding on air, but she felt wind chilling her face as if she was plummeting down into nothingness. Heart pumping, she opened up her wings, but they just shook helplessly against the strong wind. 
    Eventually she saw a shadow, shrouded by layers of fog and clouds. It stretched across her line of vision, and she realized, That’s the ground! It seemed so far away, but it still gave her a surge of joy. 
    Clouds swirled in pale clumps around her, thinning out the further down she fell. Yelping with excitement, Shadow stretched her arms out, and looked up to see Char, not far above her. He didn’t seem half as excited as she was.
    The ground became closer with every passing second, until she felt her body hit solid rock. “Oof!” she grunted, feeling her scales burn with pain. Char landed in a heap next to her, moaning in agony.  Hm! Normally a dragon would have died after a fall from that high… She wanted to ask Char about that, but as she saw his muscular figure, sprawled out on the stone, she thought better of it.
    Stepping up to him, she touched his scales gently. They burned against her talons, but she ignored the fiery pain and whispered, “Are you okay?”
    As if her voice had revived him, Char weakly pulled himself up. “I have to be.” he rasped, flicking his ears. Does that mean he’s okay? Shadow swished her tail, deep in thought. I don’t quite know. 
    Craning his neck below the stony cliff, the SandWing lifted his head back to her. “We’re home.” 
    Bounding to his side, she followed his gaze. She saw massive tall peaks, with nesting holes like hollow eyes staring lifelessly at her. To the west, the stone thinned out into peaty earth, fading into needle-strewn forests. Far in the distance, behind the towering mountains... she flinched. Cactus’s castle loomed beyond the horizon, casting a shadow of darkness across the terrain. 
    “Yep,” Shadow muttered. “This is home, that’s for sure.”
    Hissing, Shadow fought against Char’s muscular body pressing against her. “Stop! I never agreed to this, Char!” Glaring, she whipped to face him, while still thrashing furiously. “Quit pushing me, camel-breath!”
    “I thought—” the sand-colored dragon panted. “I thought I told you not to call me that. You’ve got to get home, frog-vomit.” Char bared his teeth, pushing harder. Shadow’s claws dug into the dirt, dragging lines as she was moved forward by Char’s force.
    “I thought I told YOU not to call ME that!” roared Shadow as her mother’s cracked mountain came into view. 
    Ignoring her protests, Char clamped his mouth around her neck and pulled her forward until the entrance cave opened above her like outstretched jaws, ready to clamp over Shadow and eat her alive. And it was just Shadow’s luck when she saw her mother, Raven, lighting the hallway torches. 
    Looking up abruptly at the sound of talons on stone, her mother’s gaze locked with Char’s, eyes widening to twice their size. Baring her teeth, she raced over and snapped her jaws, tearing Shadow out of the SandWing’s grip. Smoke still spilled out of her nostrils from setting the torches on fire, which only made Raven look more menacing. 
    Digging her claws into Char’s scales, she snarled, “You’re Char, aren’t you?” Accusingly, she added, “The one who went missing after he ran away from his army.” The SandWing blood shimmered from under her mother’s claws.
    Weakly, Char hissed, “I never went missing, just typical DeathWings and SandWings— too idiotic to even care.” After speaking, he moaned and collapsed, but his ears still twitched. He’s alive. Thank goodness.
    Raven scowled at the SandWing’s rude comment, and Shadow rushed to Char’s side without another moment of consideration. “Mother! How dare you be so savage!” Lowering her head, she muttered, “Like the rest of them. Of course you aren’t different from your tribe.”
    Mother swished around to face her, eyes blazing. “What did you say?”
    “I said you’re savage, like all DeathWings!” Shadow growled back, her claws sliding out. She couldn’t fight her own mother. But something told her to be defensive. After all, Raven didn’t like being messed with, and she could be unpredictable, like when she’d attacked Char.
    Memory of the moments before only fueled her anger. “It’s like NOBODY understands that we don’t have to blindly follow the SandWings! It’s stupid, and it’s time we escaped out of their grip and declared independence!” Her mother looked thoughtful for a second, so Shadow continued. “Another tribe can’t control us. But we would need to make changes, we can’t go on like this!”
    The curiosity faded from Raven’s eyes, quickly replaced by hostility. “All this time, I thought you were loyal.” She clenched her blood-stained teeth. “I taught you to fight. I wanted you to be like your brother, just as noble as he was. But now I see why he’s currently screeching in his cave with squid tentacles. Your secret is out, and it’s time I told Cactus.”
    “But—” Shadow began, before her mother’s thick tail swished over her mouth.
    “You could have used your power to help your tribe. But you choose to go along this path instead… my own daughter, a traitor.” Raven pulled her tail back, and suddenly, faster than a snake, struck it across Shadow’s face. Pain seared through her snout, and she lowered down in fierce agony. Raven roared jubilantly and burst out of the cave in pursuit of the castle. 
    Shadow groaned, twisting onto her side. Blood gathered in a puddle next to her, and she sighed with relief when she saw it wasn’t her blood. But her breath practically caught in her throat when she saw Char a few tail-lengths away, droplets of dark maroon splattering his scales. Her mind ached, urging her to rush over to her friend. But she couldn’t bring herself to get up. There was nothing she could do, anyway. It was hopeless… Mother would tell Cactus about her animus magic and her life would be ruined.
    Animus magic! Shadow lifted her head, a sudden realization echoing in her mind. But… Char wouldn’t want me to use it. Would it really eat away her soul if she used the sacred power? She couldn’t bear to imagine that. She glared, pushing the thought away. No. Even Char would agree. He needs me. Everyone is depending on me. 
    Seeing her chance, she reached for the unlit torch her mother had dropped. Straining, she managed to grasp her claws around it and pull it close to her snout, which still stung from Raven’s powerful blow. 
    “I enchant this torch to heal Char and I from any pain Raven inflicted upon us. And also,” Please let me do a second enchantment... “would you mind flying faster than the swiftest dragon, hit my mother, and cause her to forget I ever existed? She will wonder why she ever went to Cactus’s castle, come home, and life will go on as if I never had been born.” Shadow felt a jolt of fury and confusion piercing through her chest. Was she losing her soul? However, she smiled once she felt the throbbing vanish from her snout. 
    Abruptly, the wooden torch erupted from her talons, speeding out of the cave in the direction her mother had gone. Good. Now Mother won’t even remember me.
    Still, it brought her grief to think of Shadow, wiped from all of Raven’s memories and thoughts. It would be like having no mother at all… but it HAD to be done. There was no other way.
    “What did you do?” A familiar voice hissed into her ear. She glanced back to see Char behind her, sitting up straight. Relief swept across her scales when she saw that all the blood was gone, as if it had never been spilled in the first place. When she stared up at his face, however, her heart lurched.
    “What did you do?” he repeated, his snout wrinkling with anger. “Did I hear you use your magic?” Shadow shut her eyes in disappointment. There was no way out of this. 
    Nodding slowly, she said, “Yes. Why should it matter to you?” She was trying to sound confident, but she was honestly terrified of what her power might possibly do to her. Or what Char might possibly do to her. 
    Char curled his lip, showing his sharp teeth. “We’ve gone over this!” he snarled, his harsh tone stinging Shadow like poison. “I thought you agreed not to use it.”
    Feeling her anger building up, she retorted, “Agree? When did I agree?”
    After a split second, Char replied. “A SandWing never forgets.”
    “Oh, so I suppose the SandWings back home didn’t forget how you abandoned them all?” Wow, Shadow thought, clamping her mouth shut. I am not good at quick replies like that.
    “I thought you disagreed with those SandWings!” he spat. “Plus, that has NOTHING to do with this.”
    “Oh, but what if it does?” Argh! Why did I say that?
    “What is that supposed to mean?” Char answered, narrowing his beady black eyes. “Admit it, I’m right in this situation.”
    “All right, all right. Just drop the subject, okay?” she muttered angrily. “And by the way, I used my magic to save us. So at least give a little re--”
    “Thank you.” She felt warm SandWing scales against her body, and turned to see Char looking at her with genuine appreciation in his gaze. “But please. I’m worried about you. Just promise me... Don’t use that magic. Ever again.” His words came in nervous gasps, but they were so heartfelt; her anger immediately melted away. 
    He took a breath and continued. “I stopped using my magic, and look at me! I ended up fine.”
    “No, you didn’t!” Shadow snorted. “You ended up like a blob of camel spit!” Smirking, she lifted her tail and flicked it over Char’s shoulder playfully. He reeled back, grinning back at her. 
    “Oh? Does a blob of camel spit have a deadly tail barb like this one?” He swished his tail, looking down with pride at the stinger on the end. 
    “I’m not scared of that thing anymore!” Glancing resentfully down at her shoulder, Shadow hesitated. “Not yours, at least.” Cactus’s tail barb had impacted her in a way she’d never forget. But if he hadn’t hurt her, she wouldn’t have met Flurry or Blizzard, and she probably would have never found out about Char in the first place. It was funny, how one small action led to a pile of life-changing events.
    Char seemed to understand what she was thinking of. “You can change the world, you know.”
    Shadow’s ears suddenly pricked up. “What?”
    She sensed him shifting his talons as he replied, “Well, not the world, but… you can definitely change lives.” After stopping for a second, he pushed on. “And you can maybe change Cactus’s mind.”
    She grunted. She doubted it, but she didn’t want to deny Char and risk the possibility of ruining their perfect moment. “You really think I can?”
    Char nodded. “I know my own uncle. And I know you, Shadow. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
    Shadow’s legs felt numb as she wandered the stone path, which snaked all the way to the main cavern. Wilting ferns covered the wide entrance, which she stepped over easily. She was aware of thousands of smoldering gazes, searing onto her scales, but she blocked them out to the best of her ability and kept walking. She had only one thing on her mind right now, and she couldn’t let these curious onlookers distract her.
    She had to speak with Cactus.
    Narrowly avoiding a throng of annoyed DeathWings pelting toward her, Shadow rushed away with her wings tucked in. She heard indignant yowls and puzzled grunts, and immediately whipped around to see two SandWing guards, wearing copper helmets rimmed with eyeholes. She recognized them as Harmattan and Sahara, the most respected guards in the castle. And, conveniently, the most brutal. 
    “What do you think you’re doing here?” Harmattan challenged, swishing his black tail barb threateningly.
    “Spying, after being gone for so long? Possibly leaving to plot against us?” added Sahara, his pale golden-brown scales radiating burning heat. His dark eyes narrowed into slits, gleaming with suspicion and anger.
    Shadow pulled back defensively, her heart pumping. “N-no!” she stammered. “I just want to talk with Cactus, that’s all! I promise!” Please, don’t think I’m the enemy. At least don’t hurt me!
    “That’s Master Cactus to you, scrawny DeathWing. Have you not learned your respect? Your mommy should have taught you that.” Sahara retorted, his expression unreadable. But she could tell she was enjoying this, bossing a dragonet around.
    After a minute, Shadow jolted up, her spikes prickling with anxiety. Had Sahara’s words been implying that her mother HAD visited Cactus? Had her animus spell failed? Maybe I can’t enchant an item twice? she fretted. 
    “Has my mother been here?” Shadow asked, deciding to risk it in order to find out. If Raven had been here, her plans would be ruined. She shuddered at the thought of using her magic for the SandWings’ biddings, just as she had constantly feared. But it could happen.
    Harmattan snorted. “No, little dragonet. Your mommy isn’t here to comfort you.” Sahara shot an amused glance at his fellow guard.
    That is definitely NOT why I asked! Shadow wanted to burst out. But she swallowed back her words; knowing better than to reveal anything.
    "Anyway," the SandWing soldier continued, stepping forward. "We need to bring you to Cactus. He'll decide what to do with—"
    Suddenly, the plan was in action. Char plummeted from above, hissing in blind fury as he scrambled up and raked Sahara's face. Blood dripped in dark clots from his snout, and he wailed in anger and pain. Shadow nodded to Char, glad everything was going well so far. And, taking a breath, she joined the fight, whipping her thick tail against Harmattan's shoulder. Screeching, he batted against her cheek, sending a jolt of pain. She ignored it, continuing to scratch at any sand-colored scales she could. 
    "Ow— ugh, Shadow, you can't fight if you hit ME by accident!" Backing away, Shadow dipped her head apologetically. You're stupid, she scolded herself. You scratched your own ally!
    She watched Char flip around to fight Sahara, and didn't even notice Harmattan until he gave her a sharp blow across her spine. Shadow winced as the SandWing guard leaped on her, knocking the wind from her chest. Writhing desperately, she managed to kick the SandWing's face, his helmet clanking onto the stone because of the impact. Her gaze flitted helplessly; the noise hadn't distracted Harmattan for long. He was back facing her, his tongue sliding in and out. 
    What is that… Red eyes gleamed from the shadows, above her on a stony ledge. Soon, she saw another fiery gaze next to the other. Two pairs of eyes, two dragons. They seemed to be DeathWings…. That would NOT be good.
    While she was focused on the dragons up above, Harmattan was able to launch another powerful swipe at her neck, narrowly missing her throat. Shifting around, she caught a glimpse of blood dripping down the scratch on her neck, just over her shoulder. 
    Looking up at the bulky SandWing with wide eyes, she panted. "What do you want from me? I can give up… just don't kill me." Her last words came in desperate rasps.
    Harmattan looked behind him. Sahara's body was on the ground, blood flooding down the side of his neck. Is he dead? But his chest still moved in shallow breaths. Sahara was alive, but weak. 
    Char stood above, his tongue showing as he panted, his body trembling. But Shadow couldn't focus on him. Turning back to Sahara, who had now pinned her by the tail, she growled. 
    What happened next came in a flash of motion and snarling, with the scent of blood burning her nostrils.
    She could barely move, but she heard a dragon's familiar voice yowl, "You're outnumbered!"
    Attempting to pull herself up, she yowled, "Strike!"
    A skinny DeathWing appeared behind her, grinning. "What, did you forget about me while you were gone?"
    He may have slipped her mind a bit… but when she saw him, Shadow was worried. "What have you been eating lately…?"
    Strike gave her a look that seemed to say Now is not the time to talk! Nodding curtly, Shadow slipped out of Harmattan's grip and got a look at the other dragon who accompanied Strike. It was a massive DeathWing with reddish-orange eyes that burned with fury. He wore a rusty golden arm band that showed off his high status. He was Cactus's first-in-command. 
    "Dad!" Strike yowled to the unknown dragon, looking down at Sahara. "Should we finish him off?" 
    The muscular DeathWing rushed over and slowly nodded. "I guess. He would've died anyway, before long."
    Looking away immediately, Shadow wrinkled her nose, the scent of blood becoming stronger. Sahara’s shriek was cut off, and she knew he was dead, killed by Strike’s own talons. 
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harmattan launching himself up at her. His claws dug into her shoulder, and searing pain flashed through her as she saw scarlet blood dripping from a wide gash. With a new rush of adrenaline, Shadow hissed and knocked Harmattan away. Grunting, the SandWing guard reeled back up, leaping for her again. But he barely got his claws on her before she raked him away with a powerful swat. Soon Char fell in beside her, matching her movements swipe for swipe. 
    Furiously, Harmattan bared his teeth and lifted his tail. Its barb gleamed threateningly as he thrust it at Char, who dodged just in time. Shadow winced, seeing blood oozing down the side of his tail. The barb must have hit it a split second before her friend had escaped. It won’t kill him, Shadow assured herself. But he’ll be in so much pain if we don’t find a way to heal it. 
    However, Char seemed oblivious to his wound, still slashing at Harmattan’s bulky shoulders. Strike and his father joined them, forcing the guard further back. They were cornering him!
    Just then, Harmattan leaped, whipping around in time to slice Strike’s father’s eye. More blood. Shadow could barely take the sight and smell of all the gashes and scars and fighting. But jerking her head up at Char’s angry hiss, she saw Harmattan rushing away, much too far to catch up to. He’d escaped, but he’d escaped as a bloody mess. 
    Looking around, she felt her heart drop. Her friends were all severely wounded. Strike had a long scratch going from the side of his neck all the way to his spine; Char was sniffing at his wounded tail and a scarred flank; while Strike’s father was almost unbearable to look at. Red clots of blood rimmed his eye socket, which barely held his eyeball. Blood vessels were popping out, and there was a set of nasty claw marks over the wound. 
    “Shadow…” Strike was leaning close to her, staining her scales with blood. Looking down, she gasped. Strike must have been bleeding a lot, he’d gotten a ton of blood on her! 
    As if her friend knew what she was thinking, he whispered, “Most of that is your blood, Shadow.” She winced, realizing he was right. Her chest was marked with scars, and her ear burned with pain. Tiny scratches covered her arms, some still shiny with blood. “Ugh…”
    Limping closer, Strike asked, “So where do we go? The SandWing healers definitely won’t want to help us.” 
    At the same time, Shadow and Char weakly stepped up. “I know what to do,” they said in unison. Sharing a knowing glance, they nodded at each other slowly. 
    “Let’s go,” Char murmured.
    As far as Shadow could tell, nobody was in that good of a condition to fly. Everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing. 
    “Strike,” rasped Strike’s father, whose name, she’d learned, was Chaos. “You seem to be in the best condition. Do you think you could carry all of us?” 
    Looking quite uneasy, Strike beckoned for them all to climb onto his back. His spine lowered, and he immediately gave way. “I’m sorry. I can’t handle all that weight…”
    Lowering his head, Chaos muttered, “It’s all right. I didn’t expect that you could.” Sighing, Char slouched down. There seemed to be no hope.  
    All of a sudden, a wiry SandWing emerged from the shadows. She was a pale shade of golden-brown, with small flecks of dark brown across her snout and back. A silver hoop earring shone in her left ear. 
    “Wither?” Char hissed. “What are you doing here?” 
    Strike, Chaos, and Shadow crouched down in a fighting stance, ready to pounce on the newcomer. But Char flicked his ears dismissively at them, saying, “Don’t worry, Wither isn’t that bad.” Lowering his head, the two SandWings whispered among themselves. 
    “Yes, thank you!” Char lifted his head happily. “Guys, Wither’s going to help us!” Shadow tipped her head. 
    “Um, who is Wither?” Strike echoed Shadow’s thoughts, squinting at the female SandWing. 
    Stepping a bit closer, the strange dragon answered, “I work for Cactus, I clean the castle and make sure it’s in good condition. And you may not trust me since I work with Cactus. Well, I understand… I would feel the same way. But hear me out.” She cleared her throat before going on. “It would be in my best interest to help you. I get treated unfairly. I get low payment and I’m addressed as if I’m a lower rank than other SandWings. I want that to end, and I truly believe you fellas can do that.” 
    Char was grinning with satisfaction when Wither finished speaking. Shadow was grateful for her help, but they had to hurry if they wanted to be healed. “How many dragons can you carry?”
    Dipping her head, Wither replied, “I may look like scales and bones, but I’m stronger than I look.” 
    Shadow’s spikes, rippled with gratitude. “Okay, then let’s go. We shouldn’t waste any time.”
    The wind rushed against Shadow’s face, stinging her eyes. Wither’s front talons dug into her spine, while Char rested on the SandWing’s back. They had quickly decided who would go where. Char had volunteered to ride on top, saying “I’m used to it.” Shadow sighed, remembering those times when Char was riding on her back.
    But it was different now. Everything was different. 
    Glancing behind her, she saw Strike not far in the distance, Chaos shifting on his back. The half-blind DeathWing tensed up when his son tilted, flying awkwardly to catch up with Wither. Strike’s father was the one who seemed the most anxious, he definitely was in the worst condition. His eye would never heal.
    “So,” Strike muttered, panting. “Who exactly are Blizzard and Flurry?”
    Char was ready to respond, but Shadow answered him first. “They’re IceWing healers, not far from here. They’d be willing to help us, don’t worry.”
    Strike nodded, but he still looked a bit uneasy. “All right. So, not much longer?” 
    “Nope. I can see the igloo from here.” Shadow squinted, pointing to a silhouette in the distance, beyond the border where sand turned to mountains, giving way to a flat snowy surface. The dome-shaped figure grew closer by the minute as they were greeted by a harsh northern wind, bringing clumps of snow with it. 
    Dusk came quickly, and the sky was washed up by deep blue. The further they went, the more beautiful the sky became. The navy blue canvas was splattered with bright purple, blue, and green, illuminating their path brighter than the moon could ever shine. Char informed them all that these beautiful glowing patterns in the sky were called “northern lights''. 
    “How do you know?” Strike piped up, struggling to keep up with Wither, Shadow, and Char. 
    The SandWing grunted. “None of your business. I just saw them a few times with Flurry, that’s all.”
    Strike and Shadow oooohed teasingly while Char hissed with embarrassment. “It’s no big deal!”
    Wither’s voice came close to Shadow’s ears from above. “I can feel his scales getting hotter against my back… It clearly is a big deal.” This caused Strike to laugh uncontrollably, sounding exactly like he had when Shadow had first met him. He was the same dragon he’d always been. That was what had kept her going, the fact that some things stayed the same throughout the confusing, ever-changing world. And if she had to fight for those things, she would.
    A couple moments passed in silence until Char murmured, “Down there. That’s the igloo.” She felt Wither dive below, until her talons made contact with the densely-packed snow covering the ground like a blanket. More like a thick blanket, she corrected herself as her talons sunk into the snow, sending a rush of cold across her scales. 
    Looking around, she noticed with relief that all of her friends had landed safely. Well, as safe as they could be, considering their conditions. Even more joy pulsed through her when she saw the icy dome just up ahead. Just a few more steps and we’ll be there! 
    But they soon realized that Shadow, Char, Strike, and Chaos all struggled to walk, even a step. In fact, Char had fallen down multiple times in his fruitless attempts to reach the igloo. She was humiliated to admit it, but Shadow had, too. 
    Fortunately, Wither was there to support them all. But she wasn’t at all used to the snow, so they ended up arriving there right before moonhigh. 
    Everyone was getting impatient by the time they hobbled into the icy hut one at a time, with Wither at their sides. Shadow entered last, the SandWing’s scales burning her own as she leaned closer to Wither for support.
    “That’s everyone,” muttered the female SandWing. She looked wearily annoyed like the rest of them, but Shadow could easily see beyond her stern expression; she was really proud of what she’d accomplished. 
    Maybe Cactus’s reign had turned all SandWings into hard workers like Wither, who were just forced to guard their emotions… even though they were actually kind-hearted on the inside. They have to disguise their true identity. So that they don’t get exiled, she assumed. Or worse.
    Looking ahead, she saw Char glancing around hopefully. Clearly he was desperate to see Flurry, it must have been forever since they had last spoken to each other.
    The frosty air raked across her face like a snow monster’s deadly claws. Shadow sighed, her breath clouding in front of her. How could the IceWings live with this temperature? Frost already hung like icicles from her ears. 
    “Anyone here?” Wither’s call seemed to shake the mounds of packed snow, rumbling in Shadow’s eardrums. But after a moment, a tail-tip lined with ice was visible behind the frozen wall. It swept across the floor as the dragon came into view.
    It was an elegant IceWing, its pale blue scales reflecting like the morning sky. Faint white splotches covered her scales like clouds, unmoving against the shades of frosty daylight. Her scales shone where muscles rippled through her arms and shoulders, and as her dark gaze locked with Shadow’s, she felt a familiar presence looming over her. 
    “Blizzard-” Shadow began, but her voice was immediately drowned out by the IceWing’s shrieks.
    “Flurry! An army’s coming for us! Grab as many herbs as you can carry, SandWings and DeathWings are here!”
    Emerging from behind the wall came Flurry, a look of panic flashing in her blue eyes. They widened when she saw Char, and she made a beeline towards him. 
    “Char! Where have you been?” she hissed, but her face suddenly lit up with fierce adoration and relief. “We said we would meet sooner… I was so worried.”
    Nodding slowly, Char leaned close to the IceWing and shut his eyes with contentment. Cold scales met with warmth, and Char choked out, “I missed you, so much. I didn’t know when I would be able to see you again.” He lifted his ears happily when Flurry pushed against him harder, and they wrapped their wings around each other. 
    “Ewwww!” Strike whispered into Shadow’s ear. Smirking, she hissed back, “Let them do it. They haven’t seen each other in so long.”
    Blizzard skidded to a halt when she saw Flurry, Char, Shadow, Strike, and Chaos. She did a double-take at Char and Flurry’s embrace.
    “Flurry!” the sky-colored IceWing snarled. “Who— I seriously told you not to—” Her furious scolding was cut off by Chaos’s grunt of annoyance from the igloo entrance.
    “Er… we sort of need some help here.” The skinny DeathWing raised one talon in front of his bloodshot eyeball, which hung dangerously from its socket. Blizzard flinched upon seeing him, and Flurry bolted upright to sniff at Char’s tail, blood still clotting from the long gash at the side. Char tried to move his tail-tip, showing the IceWing that it was okay, but he winced with pain and sighed, nodding.
    “We do need some assistance,” he agreed reluctantly.
    Wither dipped her head to the two IceWings. Blizzard stepped back immediately, her claws scraping against the icy floor and a look of distrust gleaming in her shadowy gaze. The female SandWing stared at her urgently before saying, “Um, yeah. Char’s tail got slashed up by Harmattan— a SandWing guard. Shadow and Strike got scratched pretty badly, and Chaos’ eye… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    Flurry looked at Char with round eyes, while Blizzard moved closer. “I guess we can trust you,” she mused. “Anyway, you wouldn’t want to fight us in this condition, you all really need help.”
    Turning to face Chaos, Flurry nodded. “Your eye is beyond our repair,” she murmured solemnly. “But we can prevent it from getting infected. That’ll probably save your life!”
    She immediately raced to her herb store, searching for a moment before grabbing shriveled marigold petals and dried oak leaves, setting them down at Chaos’s feet. She made a second trip, returning with rosemary blossoms, and honey covering her talons. 
    “We… may not have enough honey- but I think we will?” she panted as she rubbed the golden liquid around the wounded DeathWing’s eye socket. Blizzard appeared beside her with more broken rosemary petals, claiming it was the best herb for this type of wound. 
    "Leave me to handle Chaos," the older IceWing ordered, not looking away from the DeathWing as she chewed the purple flower into a thick pulp. "Flurry, help whoever needs it most."
    Immediately, Flurry bounded up to Char, with a few dark leaves in her mouth. Are those ferns?
    "This is yarrow," the IceWing said, her voice muffled by the dying plants in her jaws. "It'll prevent the poison from setting in."
    Strike tipped his head. "What about the… dragonfire cactus— is that what it's called?"
    Flurry set down the herbs before responding. "Dragonflame cactus." Shadow realized she was referring to the cactus that healed SandWing-poisoned wounds. "It doesn't grow near here, a few miles out in the desert. We just used our last bit on an IceWing patrol that came by." She took one of the yarrow leaves and chewed it up like Blizzard had done, then spitting it out into a piece of bark. 
    Char's shoulders slumped with relaxation as the gooey substance touched his wound. Suddenly he sat up. "Wait— IceWings got harmed by SandWings?"
    "Yeah… pretty bad, actually. One of them had a scratch going from their cheek to their underbelly! Barely came out alive." Flurry continued to rub the pulp onto Char's tail, which still showed the gash from Harmattan's barb.
    Shadow stiffened. "The SandWings must be attacking from the tunnels!" When everyone gave her a confused look, she explained, "Long before now, Cactus had ordered a group of DeathWings to dig tunnels all the way to the Ice Kingdom. They must have finished them."
    Strike nodded grimly, and Shadow remembered he'd been one of the few dragons assigned to work on them. "Somehow they betrayed me… I was never aware that they continued working on the tunnels." His eyes flashed with grief and anger. "It was a bloody nightmare, anyway. I'm glad I wasn't there."
    Blizzard was growling to herself on the other side of the igloo, still hard at work with Chaos's eye. She scooped a talonful of honey and rubbed it around the DeathWing's eye socket, clearly pretending not to hear anything Strike was saying. 
    Looking back at Flurry, she noticed the IceWing's eyes gleamed with shock, and a new flame of anger burning in her gaze. "They need to be stopped."
    "Ack—! Go easy on the rubbing, your claws are digging into my tail!" Char burst in. He glanced at his tail, which was stained with purple rosemary pulp. 
    While Flurry apologized profusely and continued to treat Char's tail wound, Shadow sighed. How could the SandWings have done so many attacks, without her knowing? 
    Oh, duh! She slapped her talons against her forehead, groaning. I was gone with Char for so long, there was no way we could have known. But… I had a dream about Cactus. Maybe my STUPID DREAMS could have told me about the attacks… I would have rushed to help! Ugh, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!
    "Wha—" Char's dumbfounded voice brought her back to the present. "Strike and Wither are gone!" 
    He was right. The place where Strike and Wither had stood was now empty, with only faint talonprints left behind in the snow.
    "None of us are fit to look for them!" Shadow fretted, her tail flicking anxiously.
    "And we need to be here to help you. I'm not leaving you unattended." Flurry added, looking down at Char's tail.
    "But… maybe Wither will help Strike." Char mused. "She's perfectly fine. I bet they'll come back soon."
    Shadow nodded slowly, but her mind flooded with concern. Maybe Char was wrong. Maybe her friends had gotten lost. Or maybe… maybe worse.
    
    
CHAPTER EIGHT
    The sun was burning below the horizon, casting a shadow of darkness from inside the icy hut. Shadow shifted around anxiously as Flurry pressed a honey-soaked piece of bark against her arm, while dead leaves held soothing pulp around her other wrist. Blizzard was on her opposite side, mashing up marigold petals and rubbing the juices into a scratch on her flank.
    She’d have a permanent nicked ear, but that was a small price to pay, considering how far she’d come in saving the DeathWings from the SandWings’ reign. 
    Char and Chaos were resting on uncomfortable-looking beds, covered by thin blankets. Their wounds had already been tended to; Shadow had volunteered to be healed last. Their wounds were much worse than hers, after all.
    Shadow winced as the marigold ointment sunk into her wounds, stinging and letting out a pungent scent. Even Blizzard was wrinkling her snout at the odor.
    Flurry pulled away the piece of bark from Shadow’s arm, still shimmering with the honey, which she’d been told would prevent infection and soothe her scratches.
    “I think you’ll be okay,” Flurry said. “My work here is done.” But as the IceWing stepped away, Shadow couldn’t help noticing worry, shining in the depths of her dark blue eyes. Casting an embarrassed glance at Blizzard and Shadow, she began to quietly walk to Char’s bed. She stripped off his blanket, revealing his tail, which still was crusted with dried blood. 
    Blizzard snorted, tilting her head at Flurry. “We’ve already given him an ointment of rosemary, honey, and yarrow; that’ll stop the worst of the infections! What more can we do, if we don’t have the actual cure?” 
    “We find the cure! It isn’t so far!” Flurry retorted, her voice shaking with anxiety.
    Blizzard narrowed her eyes. “Yes it is far, and you know it.”
    Chaos lifted his cloth blindfold, revealing a grotesque eyeball, puffed up around the eyelid, and unable to open because it was so inflamed. He muttered weakly, “What’s going on?” and scanned the area for Strike. When Chaos couldn’t find his son, he let out a deep sigh and stuffed his head in his pillow. 
    “I told you not to take off the blindfold!” Blizzard barked angrily, storming to the large DeathWing and pulling the tattered cloth up over his eyes.
    Shadow couldn’t push down her pity for Chaos. Straightening up, she snarled, whipping around to face Blizzard. “Don’t treat him like this! His son just went missing, and you scold him— as if he hasn’t been through enough pain!” 
    Blizzard’s gaze swept away from Chaos and settled on Shadow, locking her gaze. Her eyes burned with fury. “Don’t tell me how to treat my own patients!” Noticing Shadow’s claws extend, she added, “I’m the one doing you a favor, don’t you forget that.” Her words felt like fangs biting into Shadow’s chest.
    Chaos didn’t even seem to notice the argument going on right next to his bed. He was facing away from them now, his blindfold back on, and his ears didn't even prick up at Blizzard and Shadow's raised voices. 
    Flurry rushed between them, her eyes wide with anguish. "Stop! We can't fight now." She panted, pushing Blizzard away from Chaos. Flurry lowered her head and whispered to Shadow, "It would be best if you just leave Chaos alone, maybe look for Strike and Wither? But don't go far." 
    Shadow nodded and pulled herself outside the igloo, scanning the skies. She desperately hoped to see two flying figures returning home after a morning flight, laughing and unharmed. But nothing stirred the cloudy sun-splotched painting of light; no dragons erupted from beneath the golden clouds. 
    Sinking to the cold ground, Shadow lay down. Melting snow cracked under her talons and her body felt strangely numb. She was just so desperate for her friends to come back.
    Just then, with incredible comic timing, wingbeats sounded from above her, and a moment later, Strike and Wither were swooping down to her, their faces lighting up in the fiery sunlight.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)