Chapter 8

Now for things to reach new levels of drama.

The IceWing was around seven years old, and was chained to the floor and walls of the room to keep from moving around. If Windracer wasn't so horrified at the fact that there was an IceWing in the room with them, he would have been wondering why she wasn't being held outside with the other prisoners.

"Is she one of you friends, too?" Vivid asked, her scales a mixture of orange and green. Windracer guessed she was rather displeased, or even downright disgusted.

Bog shook his head. "Nope."

"Never seen her before," Lagoon added.

Mango stuck her head out from between the bars of the cage that held her and her brother. "I think she said her name was Sleet."

"It's Princess Sleet to you, Ditzy!" the IceWing snapped. "My mother is Queen Glacier, and she can freeze you solid!"

Great. Just what they needed. An IceWing princess.

Windracer would have up and left the room if he'd been able to fly. But he didn't want to leave his friends behind. Not to mention that he was absolutely petrified of Sleet, who was giving him the evil eye.

"NightWing! You've got a lot of nerve being in the same room as me!"

Bog jumped back at the IceWing princess's yelling. "Guess they really do hate NightWings with a passion."

"Well, you're gonna have to deal with it for now," Lagoon said. She gestured to herself, Bog and Windracer with her webbed talons. "We're the dragonets of destiny."

The anger in Sleet's eyes subsided. "The dragonets of destiny? For real? The ones in the prophecy?"

Windracer somehow found the courage to step forward so he was in full view of the IceWing princess. "That's us." He hung his head apologetically. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we're trying to escape before Queen Scarlet kills us all tomorrow."

"No need," Sleet said, her tone the polar opposite (no pun intended) of before. "Being locked in here for so many weeks, and then having to deal with Ditzy and Bozo over there, it's driving me to my wit's end. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

The RainWing twins simultaneously cried out an offended, "Hey!"

"What are you in here for?" Windracer couldn't help but ask.

"My brother, Frost, and I were guarding our cousins, Hailstorm and Winter, while they were searching for scavenger dens in SkyWing territory," Sleet said. "Before we could even blink, about fourteen or so SkyWings ambushed us and took us to Scarlet's palace. Hailstorm gave himself up so Winter could get away, but Frost and I weren't so lucky. My brother didn't want to be held responsible for anything that happened to me, so he made a deal with Scarlet - if he won enough fights in the arena, she'd let me go unharmed. But the SkyWing Queen hardly ever keeps her word. I'm barley fed, on the verge of dehydration, and it's so hot in here! I'll probably be dead before Frost wins the final fight." She lifted her eyes to look at Windracer. "You don't look like any NightWing I've ever seen, and those were just in scrolls. What exactly are you?"

In all honesty, Windracer wasn't at all surprised she'd asked him that. "I'm a hybrid. My father is a NightWing, but my mother is a SkyWing."

Sleet chuckled. "Well, whatever you are, you're cute."

Windracer's eyes went as wide as they could go, and he froze like a statue. Cute? In what way would the princess of the IceWings find a dragon like him cute?

"You know, you could come with us," Bog offered. Sleet looked at him, and suddenly he wasn't entirely confident. "If you really want to escape tonight."

"Of course I do," Sleet said, grabbing at her chains. "Get these chains off me, and let's get out of here."

Windracer finally managed to find his voice. "But Arid-"

"We'll hide somewhere and wait until Vivid can free her tomorrow," Lagoon said.

An impatient pair of RainWings called out to the others, "Hello? Is anyone gonna get us outta here?"

Vivid mentally rolled her eyes as she approached the caged twins. "Right, sorry." After a few moments of working her claws into the lock, she wriggled her talons around until there was a distinct *click* and the lock fell away. The door to the cage swung open, and the twins bounded right out.

"Normally, I rely on my venom to get out of sticky situations," Vivid said, opening her mouth and pointing at her two longest fangs. "But our venom only works on living things. I melted, like, half the face of the NightWing that plucked me out of the rainforest."

Marmoset and Mango stared at the older RainWing's fangs in amazement and wonder. Marmoset asked Vivid excitedly, "Can we do that, too?"

"Yes," Vivid said, grimly.

Sleet held her chains up for the others to see. "Now, me."

Gulping nervously, Windracer padded over to the IceWing princess. "Have you tried your frostbreath?"

"Don't you think that was the first thing I tried?" Sleet said, sarcastically. "These chains are impervious to ice. Try your fire, it might break them."

"Are you sure you want the help of a NightWing?" Windracer asked, nervously. "We're supposed to be enemies, you know."

Sleet snorted. "Yeah, but I don't see any point in us fighting over something that happened so long ago. Arctic left with a NightWing, Queen Diamond was a jerk, and now our tribes are constantly squabbling over a big, fat lie."

Windracer's eyes went wide, a light shimmer of realization in them. "So, you already knew?"

"That Arctic fell in love with a NightWing?" Sleet said. "Yeah. Queen Diamond had a private diary she kept hidden from everyone, even her family members. I found it by accident while I was playing around in Mother's room on my third birthday. Secret compartment in one of the walls, silly little scroll had all the answers you could ever hope for when it comes to why IceWings and NightWings hate each other so much."

"Never thought we'd be getting a history lesson out of this," Lagoon joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sleet paid her no mind. "Now, are you going to free me, whatever-in-Pyrrhia-your-name-is?"

"Oh." Windracer had been so shocked at Sleet's presence, he had forgotten to introduce himself. "My name is Windracer."

The IceWing princess gave him a look he had trouble reading. "As cool as that sounds, how about I call you Wind? I think it's easier to remember that way."

Windracer nonchalantly shrugged his wings. "You can call me what you want, but please don't use the term 'half-breed,' okay?"

Sleet pulled on the chains that still held her. "Less talking, more escaping."

The hybrid wasted no more time using his fire breath on Sleet's chains. The metal melted into a bubbly mess and broke apart, freeing the IceWing princess's wings and tail. Soon the princess of the IceWings was able to walk around the room, albeit with the chains still wrapped around her legs.

"Thank you, Wind," Sleet said, batting her eyes at the hybrid. "So, when we get out, maybe you could escort me back to my kingdom?"

Was she trying to flirt with him?

Apparently so, because then next thing Windracer knew, she was all up in his face and trailing her talons up his leg. "Once you fulfill the prophecy, you can come visit. Who knows, maybe I'll be queen by then."

"I see some claw holds," Lagoon said, pointing. Windracer gladly took his attention off of Sleet and onto the SeaWing. "If we free our wings, we can rest there, and..."

She was cut off by the sudden and unwanted arrival of Scarlet. "Going somewhere?"

Windracer instinctively rushed forward, shielding his friends as best he could with his wings bound.

"Honestly, did you really think you'd be able to get out of here without my guards noticing your absence?" Scarlet taunted. She moved to the side to reveal Inferno, decorated in a full set of armor for guard duty. Behind him were about ten other SkyWing guards, Scorch included. "Do with them what you must," the queen snapped, "No dragonet leaves this tower, dead or alive."

Windracer spared a glance over his shoulder to find Vivid gone, most likely camouflaged so she could fly out the window unnoticed.

"It's really very selfish of you," Scarlet said, shaking her head. "Ruining my party. My hatching day only comes once a year. I've been planning this for months. So, why don't you all be good little dragonets and stay here in this tower? That way, you'll all be well-rested and ready for my thrilling arena battles tomorrow morning." That last sentence she spoke with an inevitable sneer.

Sleet pushed past Windracer, her blue eyes flashing with ferocity that reminded him of Arid. "No way you're making me fight for your entertainment, firebreather! Do you have any idea who my mother is?!"

"Queen Glacier," Scarlet answered without guessing. "And your brother has been fighting for you, hasn't he, princess?"

Something about the queen's tone of voice sent chills down Windracer's spine.

The SkyWing queen's eyes shifted to Windracer. "Quite noble of you to try and protect a dragon that's supposed to be your sworn enemy. You remind me of your mother in far too many ways, half-breed."

One twitch of Scarlet's tail, and Scorch threw his spear at the dragonets. Windracer shut his eyes as the weapon came flying toward him. He expected to feel a stab, and then a world of pain.

But the blow never came.

Windracer cautiously opened one eye, only for both to shoot open in shock. Sleet was standing in front of him, her eyes glazed over. Right in the dead center of her chest was the spear Scorch had thrown, blue blood seeping out of the wound.

Sleet reached up with her talons and pulled the spear out, then fell to the floor.

"No!"

Windracer threw himself at the collapsed IceWing's side.

Scarlet chuckled to herself. "Those dragonets, constantly pushing and shoving to save each other. Sickening, yet thrilling at the same time."

Windracer was really starting to hate the word "thrilling."

The queen of the SkyWings took her leave, the guards taking their places outside the tower. Inferno glanced at Windracer once, but then turned away and went to his post.

The hybrid paid no attention to his cousin, or anyone else for that matter. Without stopping to think about what he was doing, he cradled Sleet's head in his talons. "Why did you do that?"

Despite the pain she was in, Sleet managed a smile. "There are more IceWing princesses," she said, her voice weak and quiet enough to be a whisper. "But there's only one NightWing dragonet of destiny."

"Sleet, the prophecy..." Windracer paused for a moment. Sleet believed in the prophecy, like most other dragons on the continent. She believed in the dragonets that would end the war, and bring peace. She believed in him.

How could he tell a dying dragon with so much faith in their heart that it was all a ruse?

"...really means that much to you?"

"If it means no other dragons will be killed in the crossfire," Sleet strained to say. "Then yes." She raised her talons to rest on his. "Tell my mother what happened. She won't hurt you if she knows you're my friend. And Wind?"

Windracer forced himself to look into her eyes.

"I hope you find a way to end the war soon."

The hybrid shook his head. "I'll try, but I'm no hero."

Sleet smiled at him one last time. "You are...to me."

He felt her talons slipping from his own, and Windracer watched as Sleet's eyes slide shut and she went limp in his clutch.

Blue blood flowed out of Sleet's wound and onto Windracer's talons, but he didn't care. He'd just seen a dragon die in front of him. A dragon who had given her life to save his.

He barely knew her, but at the same time, he did know her. She reminded him of Arid in certain ways, and now she was gone.

Eyes glistening with tears, Windracer looked over his shoulder to see Bog bawling his eyes out. The MudWing was leaning his head on Lagoon's shoulder, she patted him gently with a somber look on her face. Even the usually chipper and hard-to-upset RainWing twins looked devastated.

The last thing Windracer remembered of that night was crying himself to sleep.

The roaring of dragons woke them up the next morning. The five dragonets barely had time to scrabble to their feet before guards began pouring into their room.

A minute later, Windracer was in the arena while his friends were all chained and muzzled on the queen's balcony, bolted to rings on the floor. Queen Scarlet was already there, lounging on her throne and stroking a thrashing Arid's head like she was a harmless cat. She smirked at them.

"I thought you'd appreciate the best view in the house for this." She nodded at the arena, where Windracer was crouching low in a futile effort to avoid being seen. He'd lost his leather bag again, likely ripped off him by the guards and then thrown into the room.

Burn stood next to Scarlet, ignoring the throne that had been provided for her. She glowered at all the dragons equally, until her black eyes settled on Arid.

"Oh, this is my new pet," Queen Scarlet said airily. "Pretty, isn't she? I bet I'm the only queen with my very own whatever-she-is."

"She'd look better in my collection," Burn muttered, her expression rather envious.

The seats were filled with hundreds of dragons - all the dragons in the SkyWing Kingdom, it seemed to Windracer. They roared and stamped their feet, demanding bloody entertainment.

Vermilion fluttered down into the center of the arena. "Fellow dragons," he called. "Loyal SkyWings and visiting MudWings and honored SandWing guests. In honor of Queen Scarlet's hatching day, we have a treat for all of you. A prisoner, Auburn, has been put on trial, and a dragon has requested that he fight for her freedom." He gestured to Windracer. "This dragonet is the child of Auburn, a traitor to our beloved tribe, who went and had an egg with a NightWing."

The SkyWings in the audience booed obediently.

"Indeed," said Vermilion. "This dragonet is willing to fight for his mother's freedom, but let's see if he can survive the arena. I give you, Windracer of the SkyWings and NightWings!"

Windracer blinked as the SkyWing continued with his announcing. He'd never been called "of the SkyWings and NightWings" before. It might have felt better if he hadn't been surrounded by hundreds of dragons ready to applaud for his imminent death.

A writhing, white mass landed hard on the sands, dropped by the guards. He was slightly bigger than Windracer, with talons sharp and serrated. His dark blue eyes were raging with eagerness at the inevitable bloodshed.

Vermilion flew up out of the arena to avoid the IceWing's claws. "Here we have another dragon fighting for a family member," he said. "After three wins, he's hoping to get the queen to release his dear sister. It's Frost of the IceWings! Claws up, teeth ready! Fight!"

The IceWing didn't wait for Vermilion's order. He tore across the sand toward Windracer as soon as he saw his opponent. He leapt at Windracer, but the hybrid tucked and rolled under him.

This IceWing was fighting for a family member, like Windracer was. Specifically, his sister. Vermilion said his name was Frost.

It didn't take long for Windracer to realize the dragon he was fighting was Sleet's brother.

Let it be known that I have never written a character death before, especially not one that graphic. But I know that it's something Tui T. Sutherland would do, and it adds drama to the story.

Still, I kinda hate myself for it.

The battle between Windracer and Frost will continue in the next chapter (obviously).

Auburn - Valka
Windracer - Hiccup
Arid - Astrid
Lagoon - Heather
Bog - Fishlegs
Marmoset and Mango - Tuffnut and Ruffnut
Killer - Stoick
Inferno - Snotlout
Scorch - Spitelout
Frost - Dagur