Chapter 16

Now, let's keep things moving along.

Windracer didn't have much time to assure Lagoon that she would be safe with them before Queen Coral brough him and his friends before the SeaWing Council. Windracer scanned each of twelve dragon-sized stone pools set in a circle around them. Each one was labeled with emeralds the size of roe, which he guessed must cost nearly a fortune.

It was easy to find Coral, who was sitting in the pool labeled Queen. She was right next to the Defense and Communications pools, which housed Shark and a female dragon Windracer guessed was his daughter.

A SeaWing named Jellyfish sat in the Aquaculture pool.

The pool labeled War was occupied by a disfigured, scar-covered dragon Windracer initially thought was male, but turned out to be a girl named Piranha.

The Treasury pool housed a respectful SeaWing appropriately named Pearl.

The Justice, Medicine, Secrets and Spies, and Hunting pools housed SeaWings Windracer never heard the names of, mostly due to the demanding attention of the SeaWing in the Magic and Publishing pool.

Whirlpool, Windracer heard his name was, had dark green scales and blobby, pale green, frog-like eyes, as well as light green scales decorating his back in a wave pattern. His main accessory was an immense golden hoop earring piercing one of his ears, but he also had multiple golden rings on his ink-stained claws. A cold, unsettling smile revealed his tiny baby teeth. To sum it all up, he was a very oily dragon. Definitely not someone Windracer would want to run into in a dark area.

Averting his eyes from Whirlpool, Windracer finally found Lagoon with her sister, Anemone, in a pool labeled Dragonet Care. The moment her eyes landed on Windracer, Lagoon rasied her talons and tapped at her temples. Taking the hint, Windracer plunged into the sea of secrets that was Lagoon's mind.

Mother has guards taking shifts to protect the Royal Hatchery at all times. The pool was empty, so she said we could sit here for now.

The sound of Queen Coral's voice brought Windracer back to reality.

"These dragons entered our territory after being led by that creature. The hybrid Windracer comes bringing a negotiation for me, which I believe is for us to ally with the other tribes in order to end this war. I, personally, am quite fond of that message he sent us all, pure poetry, and wish to hear him out."

No one objected.

A nod from Coral prompted Windracer to speak. "It wasn't my intention to make you all lose hope, even if the prophecy isn't real. What Morrowseer is doing is wrong, and the tribes deserved to know the truth. The SandWing sisters and the NightWings might come for us, but if we all band together, we can find a better way to end this war. I'm not asking as a Dragonet of Destiny, but as a friend. Help us find a better way."

Lagoon quietly applauded the short, but heartfelt, speech, her eyes shifting to the other SeaWings nervously. The Council members all muttered amongst themselves for several minutes before Queen Coral made her final declaration.

"The dragonets, and their parents, are welcome to stay safely in my palace for as long as they need to."

Windracer let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He didn't really care where they'd be staying, just as long as it wasn't in the prisons.

Windracer had noticed that the only empty pool on the Council was the one labeled King. He found himself questioning the reason why, though there was little doubt it had something to do with the war.

He was about to ask Coral when he spotted Lagoon talking with a large group of male SeaWing dragonets. Remembering her earlier words, Windracer guessed that they were her brothers.

His attention shifted back to Coral when she made an unexpected announcement. "I'd like to dedicate my daughter Anemone's next demonstration to our honored guests." She gestured to the bewildered group with her wing as Anemone and Whirlpool padded into the center of the ballroom.

The exact type of demonstration became clear when the little princess made one of Queen Coral's pearl necklaces slither up the wall like a snake, without touching it.

"An animus," Windracer muttered to himself in amazement.

Queen Coral heard him. Smiling proudly, she explained, "It runs in the royal family. Anemone is the first to have animus magic since..." Her smile faded. "Since Prince Albatross went insane and massacred his family two thousand years ago."

Windracer stared at the queen wide-eyed. "Are you sure he really went insane? I mean, I've been using my magic recently to help my friends and other dragons, and I still feel like myself. Maybe Albatross used his power for his own gain, or someone or something made him mad?"

"I remember from the scrolls, Queen Lagoon had him serve her as her personal animus," said Coral. "Now that you mention it, perhaps her personal needs did contribute to his insanity. But I suppose we can't know for sure, can we?"

"I want to learn and understand everything I can about animus magic," Windracer explained. "I can't help but feel there's more to it than what the scrolls say."

Queen Coral's only response was a curt nod before her attention went back to Anemone.

With the SeaWing queen distracted, Windracer reached into his leather pouch and pulled out the mirror he'd enchanted. He said to it in a whisper, "Please show me what happened to Prince Albatross of the SeaWings."

The images that swirled into focus, revealing a bluish-gray SeaWing, very much confirmed Windracer's suspicions. He saw Albatross building the Summer Palace with nothing but his animus magic. Albatross being forced by his sister, Queen Lagoon, into creating whatever she wanted with his magic. The last image showed Albatross looking at his sister with hooded eyes before enchanting a knife to slit her throat. After that, it was all blood and destruction.

But what really sealed it in was what Windracer heard Queen Lagoon say just before Albatross killed her.

"Do you think you're done? Do you think you'll ever be done atoning for what you did to Sapphire? It's not going to end, Albatross. You'll always be mine."

Combined with all the ways Albatross had been forced to use his power for someone else, it was enough to make even the most calm and collected of all dragons snap.

Windracer shut his eyes tightly as he slipped the mirror into his bag. What if that happened to him? He couldn't bear the thought of murdering his own mother, or even his beloved Arid, because he'd gone mad from using his animus magic for all the wrong reasons.

That isn't me, Windracer said to himself. It can't be me. It will never be me.

On the bright side, he now knew why Queen Coral seemed unhappy whenever she said her eldest daughter's name. Lagoon was the name of Albatross's sister, who was the first dragon he'd killed in the massacre. Windracer wasn't sure if Webs knew of that fact when he named their friend, but the way he saw it, Queen Coral now had another reason to hate their guardian.

A set of webbed talons on his shoulder made Windracer jump. He looked up to find Queen Coral staring at him intently. "I almost forgot," she said, "We got a written message from the SkyWings a couple days ago. Some dragon named Tourmaline said you were at Scarlet's palace."

"We were," Windracer confirmed. "My mother was put on trial by Queen Scarlet, and I kinda made a deal with her. If I fought in the arena and won, Auburn would go free. But then my opponent, Prince Frost of the IceWings, turned on Scarlet after he learned she killed his sister, and he breathed his frostbreath down her throat." Every time he told this story to another dragon, Windracer would get chills down the length of his spine, like an IceWing was breathing down his back. The image of Frost killing Scarlet was one of those things that would haunt him for life.

"Did any of you see a SeaWing named Gill?" the queen cried, looking at each of the dragonets. "Green scales, big and powerful, with brave eyes? We've been planning a rescue mission, but he's not in the regular prison with the others. And we've got to get him back, you have no idea how important he is."

Windracer shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see a SeaWing like that."

"Neither did I," Lagoon added sadly.

"I would have remembered a dragon like that," Bog said.

Arid and the RainWing twins said nothing. Windracer knew for a fact they didn't have any contact with any SeaWings, other than Lagoon, while they were in the Sky Kingdom.

But Ocotillo and Storm told a different story. "I remember seeing Gill," said the SandWing. "He was placed in the arena, but refused to fight. He convinced each of his opponents to lie down and refuse to fight with him."

"Queen Scarlet was furious," Storm said, continuing the story. "She punished him for trying to start a prisoner revolution by taking away all of his drinking water for months. He went insane from dehydration. He was hardly even a dragon anymore."

"We didn't see who killed him," Ocotillo concluded. "We found it best to look away whenever they brought Gill out to the arena, with him being all mad and soulless. I'd never seen anyone so psychotic in all my life." He bowed his head apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty."

Queen Coral showed no sign of ill will towards any of them. She dropped her head, he eyes shut tight. "Dead," she mumbled sadly. "My Gill is dead."

"Your Gill?" Arid repeated in confusion. But the look in her eyes said that she knew what Coral meant.

She was proven right when the SeaWing Queen lifted her head and replied in a hollow voice, "He was my husband."

Lagoon sat down hard, her eyes sparkling with tears. "Gill was...my father?" Breathing shakily, she shifted her eyes to her talons. "And I never got to meet him..."

"You would have loved him," Queen Coral said, draping her wing over her weeping daughter. "He was so smart, strong, persuasive, gentle, and of a noble family. And he always had a way with words. He would tell me so often how much he adored my writing. Oh, if I knew who killed him, I'd have them brought here so I could snap their head right off their neck!"

Windracer's claws itched to grab the mirror so they could see what happened to Gill, but he fought against it. "Technically, it might have been Scarlet who killed him." His voice was wavering with anxiety, but he didn't want to show weakness before Queen Coral. "She was the one who took away his water."

"That's not good enough," said Coral. "His blood isn't anywhere on her talons. There must be someone who can tell me whose it's on."

No longer able to fight the impulse, Windracer reached into his bag and pulled out the mirror. "I think this can." Pausing to make sure he had Coral's attention, Windracer held out the mirror so they could all see into the reflective glass. "Please show us King Gill's final fight in Queen Scarlet's arena."

The image that swirled into focus nearly made him drop the mirror in shock. Gill looked nothing like Queen Coral had described him. His eyes were bloodshot and hooded, his tongue swollen and purple, and his snout was flecked with blood as if he had tried to drink from his own veins. Storm was right, he'd gone completely insane.

Queen Coral didn't have time to admire the enchantment Windracer had placed on the mirror, her eyes were locked on the image of her dehydrated husband. He was fighting an IceWing, a young and battle-experienced one at that. The battle went by so fast, they had trouble keeping track of who was on top of who until the IceWing suddenly pinned Gill into the sand. Queen Coral didn't have time to look away before the IceWing grabbed Gill's horns in his talons and snapped the poor king's neck with one mighty twist.

When the image faded, Queen Coral tore away from the group, sobbing loudly. Lagoon hesitated before following her, casting a glance back over her shoulder that Windracer had trouble reading.

Windracer didn't say anything, but he knew he recognized the IceWing that killed King Gill. He'd been snout-to-snout with that very dragon in the arena, his cold eyes piercing into his soul like a knife.

Prince Frost.

It may seem like a filler chapter, but there are moments of significance.

Happy birthday to me!

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