A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, guys! But hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for it :) Please remember to leave me a comment - I love to hear from all you guys, and all your comments are truly inspiring sometimes.

I hope you're all having a pleasant day!


Chapter Thirty Nine

Peril thanked the setting sun for the winds that gathered under her wings and propelled her like a shooting star straight back towards the palace. Twilight had crept in by the time she made it to the great windows overlooking the throne room. She hadn't thought to take the normal route of doors and hallways, because that would've taken too long. Instead, she flew through the opening and landed straight in the middle of the throne room.

"Queen Ruby!" Peril exclaimed breathlessly, standing.

Ruby, so surprised by Peril's entrance, seemed to freeze for a second, and Peril froze with her, shocked. Ruby was at the foot of her throne, wearing none of her regal jewellery or the Sunburst Crown. By her side was a male dragonet, probably around four years old. He had dark red scales and a long neck, with flecks of gold along his wings. But that was not what shocked Peril so. For cradled within Ruby's arms was a hatchling. She couldn't have been more than a month old, still possessing the large eyes and squashed proportions of hatchlings when they first come out of the egg. Her scales were a lovely shade of burgundy, her wings like peaches. Peril looked at her, at Ruby, at the dragonet. They all shared the same eyes. The former champion was surprised, for she hadn't heard any word of Ruby having any dragonets, let alone her first heir. How had that news been kept secret for so long?

Queen Ruby shook herself from her shock before Peril did. She clutched the princess close to her breast and hissed. The prince at her side looked between his mother and Peril, eyes wide. "What is she doing here?!" Ruby demanded venomously.

"Mother? Who's that?" asked the prince

A servant rushed forward, and Ruby quickly handed the hatchling over to her. "Take Princess Rubellite to her chambers - Cliff, go with them, please!" Ruby was trying very hard to keep her composure, but Peril could see her fear. The prince looked between the two of them again, and nodded before following after the servant and his little sister.

Peril didn't want to cause any more stress to the dragonets than necessary, and so waited until they were out of the room. "I came-"

"Protect the Queen!" shouted a guard, as he and half a dozen soldiers surrounded Peril, pointing their spears at her. "Don't let the traitor escape!"

"I'm not here to-!"

"Watch yourselves! She'll burn us!"

"ENOUGH!" Peril roared and threw open her wings. The gust of air she unleashed pushed away the spears, and the guards fell back, fearful of her firescales. Peril tried to control her frantically beating heart. She couldn't let them know she was vulnerable, without her firescales she'd just come this close to getting impaled. It stung that they were so fearful of her, but she had to use that fear, or else she'd never be heard. "I'm not here to kill you, Ruby! I never was. I came back to tell you Queen Scarlet's plan."

Ruby glowered at her. "And I'm supposed to believe a word you say?"

"You probably won't, but you should. Because Scarlet's been pitting us against each other for her gain," said Peril. "Scarlet has loyalists in the Sky Kingdom, we know that. She also knows you and I don't get along. I don't know what problem you have with me-"

"Really? It couldn't possibly enter your mind why I wouldn't want you anywhere near myself or my subjects?" Ruby prowled towards her, every step seemed to echo, and Peril was abruptly away that Ruby was larger and older than she was. Her guards didn't seem to want to part for her at first, but they relented silently, and Ruby halted when just out of arm's reach from Peril. "I was there that day my mother presented you to the court. I watched as you burned all the SkyWing eggs due to hatch on the Brightest Night. And ever since that day you've done nothing but gleefully kill whomever my mother told you too. Do you even remember them all?"

"I remember," Peril's voice was quiet, her stomach burning with shame. "It's one of my earliest memories. I remember the dragon I thought was my mother smiling at me and telling me to do something that made her happy. I didn't like doing it. But all any dragonet ever wants is to make their mother happy, because then she might tell me I did a good job. Maybe then she might tell me she loved me."

Ruby's eyes widened, something shifting within her gaze. With an epiphany, Peril realised just how much Ruby could relate to that. In all her years as Scarlet's champion, she'd never once seen the former queen and sole princess together for any meaningful length of time. And whenever they were in the same room, Scarlet had always gone out of her way to demonstrate how Ruby was always less than acceptable. Too meek, too mild, never any spine, Scarlet would say, and then remind her that she'd already killed 10 of her sisters. Maybe Ruby had always wanted her mother to be proud of her, to look on her with affection. They'd both wanted a mother, only to realise that Scarlet would never be that for either of them.

"And I might not remember all the names or faces of the dragons I've killed," Peril continued. "I thought at the time that I was just doing what everyone else was doing: if my Queen ordered me, I had to obey. I didn't feel guilt at the time. Everyone hated me or was afraid of me. Scarlet was the one who made me feel wanted. So I did whatever I could to make her happy, because then she would continue to want me."

"Even at the cost of other dragons' lives?" Ruby asked sternly.

"I know now that what I did wasn't right. I won't say it was wrong. But I know it wasn't right."

"That still doesn't tell me why I should trust you."

Peril hesitated. Ruby would always see her as her mother's monster. But to change what she saw was very risky. She gulped, and held out her wrist. "This is a magical bracelet that's busted. So long as I'm wearing it, my firescales no longer work."

A shocked whisper rippled through the throne room. Ruby looked like she was insulted, thinking it an obvious lie. But when Peril didn't move her face changed. Hesitantly, Ruby reached out to her, her claws twitching back in anticipation of Peril's usual heat. When she didn't feel it, Ruby put a trembling claw on the back of Peril's talon. She gasped. "It's true!"

"We can finally kill this murderer!" a soldier shouted. The others yelled in support and they all dove for Peril. She shrank back from, terrified as the spears descended-

"Wait!"

Everyone froze upon Ruby's shout. One spear was just an inch away from Peril's throat. It was hard to control the shake in her limbs. For the second time in one evening, she'd come close to a death her firescales would've shielded her from. Peril had never feared death before, it hadn't been something she'd ever considered, even in all the battles she'd participated in. To come so close to it so suddenly was a weird combination of feelings. Exhilaration at barely surviving, the sickening horror of how close she'd been.

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up at Ruby, standing over her now. The Queen had all the power now. Words - unfiltered truth - tumbled out of Peril's mouth, anything to keep her alive. "Scarlet knew you and everyone else here hated me. That's why she's been spreading rumours - to keep you focused on threats on the inside. You would be too busy with me and supposed coups, to notice threats coming from the outside."

Ruby cocked a brow and took a step back. The guards looked at each other, unsure of what to do. The Queen levelled a stare at her captain, and he begrudgingly ordered his soldiers to stand down. The spears receded and slowly, Peril stood. From under her wing, she carefully took out the piece of armour she'd stolen earlier that day, but she didn't brandish it - yet.

"Scarlet is in on the alliance between Morrowseer and Blister. She was there at the siege of Jade Mountain a few months ago. She struck a deal with them to pledge the SkyWing army to their cause if she won back her throne."

"She has yet to challenge me for it," said Ruby.

"Because she doesn't want to. That's why she's been getting us to snap at each other, so that whilst we're distracted, she was going to send in a platoon of Blister's soldiers. Her supporters in the court would get them inside. And then they would handle the palace guards."

"Do you have proof?"

Peril held up the piece of armour bearing the dragonbite viper crest. Ruby took it from her. Whether not trusting Peril fully, or out of old habit, she avoided touching her scale-to-scale. Peering at the breastplate fragment in the candlelight, the queen's brows furrowed. She gave the evidence to her captain for his assessment.

The moment he saw it, Peril knew he recognised it. She didn't know how - if there was some marker on the crest to identify it or not, Peril hadn't noticed one. But the captain did, his widening with amazement. "I recognise this! It's from one of Blister's best lieutenants!"

Ruby's tail lashed behind her, the only indication of her growing indignation. She began to pace in front of her throne. "My mother would've sold out our entire Kingdom to Blister for the sake of a crown! I take it you dealt with these soldiers, Peril?"

"I got them to retreat."

The Queen looked a little surprised by that, but nodded. "Then we only have a finite amount of time before they regroup and bring reinforcements. We must settle this now. Hawk!" the Queen's older brother materialised out of nowhere at her side. "Has anyone found Clay yet?"

He shook his head. "Not yet, Your Majesty."

"Clay?" Peril asked, her heart skipping a beat. Something in her gut churned, a feeling of dread she wanted to claw out and beat away before its worst fears could become reality. "What do you mean - where's Clay?!"

"After your little outburst yesterday," said Hawk, "Clay insisted on going to look for you. He wanted to hear you out, perhaps to convince Her Grace to let you stay. He has not returned."

The room spun, it was abruptly terribly difficult to breathe. Clay was gone? He couldn't be gone! Had he left her - decided she wasn't worth the trouble anymore? No! Hawk just said he went to look for her. That meant he'd gone out into the mountains. Alone. With no one to protect him.

"Clay wouldn't just disappear," she heard herself say, her voice strangled even to her own ears. "He'd come back, even when he didn't find me! Something's happened! We have to go after him, now!"

Ruby's eyes were sympathetic. "We've searched the forests and the mountains. He hasn't turned up yet."

"Then we'll all look again!"

"No," was the queen's firm reply with a shake of her head. "If Clay is beyond our reach, then that might mean my mother has something to do with this."

For a second, the world went dark. Peril caught herself before she could collapse onto the floor. Her heart was thundering in her ears like a stampede, the pressure behind her eyes felt like her head would pop. "No… nononononono! She'll kill him!"

"Not without public display. He was instrumental in her downfall - she'll want the whole world to see his death. That's the only comfort I can find in this situation." Ruby turned and snapped her claws, a skinny servant rushing to her side. "We don't have much time. Lyre! Send word to all corners of the Kingdom, I am announcing a proclamation."

Fury made Peril's blood burn white-hot, even without her firescales. "Are you serious?! Clay could be hurt, and you're just issuing proclamations?!"

"Scarlet obviously has ears in various circles, this will help draw her out. Clay said he learned about this old SkyWing custom from his guardian, Kestrel."

The memory of Kestrel slammed through Peril's brain like a boulder tumbling down a mountain. She hadn't thought of her mother in so long, it felt like there'd just been too much going on. It felt weird to think of her as a mother. Scarlet had painted a picture of a hateful mother who wanted her dead. When those lies had come to light, Peril had hoped that this was the moment where she would get the mother she always wanted - someone who loved her, someone who wanted her. But then she found Kestrel to be cold and worn from years of anger and grief. They'd only talked so briefly when Peril and the Dragons of Destiny had escaped the Sky Kingdom. Peril had been hard on her, just assuming that she had time later to make up for it. And then there was no time at all…

"There is an old law," Ruby was saying, drawing Peril out from her thoughts, "which states that should a Queen be deemed incompetant or acting against the interests of the tribe, her daughter can invoke the Rite of Crowns. So we will send word to all corners of the Kingdom! I call upon this Rite. My mother has until tomorrow's midnight to come forth and fight for the throne in honest combat. If she fails, she will have forfeited her right to the throne, and will've shown all the SkyWings her true cowardice."

All around the throne room, servants and guards ran into the hallways and swooped out of open windows. Each of them went in different direction, all to do their queen's bidding, all of them already spreading the word.

But Peril couldn't be inspired by it. She spread her wings, tail lashing. "Play around all you want. I'm going to look for Clay."

She turned to leave, but a pair of guards crossed their spears in front of her. The champion bared her teeth and growled. But her threats were unheeded. Without her firescales, these soldiers had little to fear from her. They ignored her completely and looked to their queen. "If it pleases Your Majesty, should we throw her in the dungeons?"

"No." Even Peril was surprised by Ruby's answer. "I think I will need her help."


Moon took a huge lungful of the crisp night air. The winds were calm on the talon peninsula tonight, but Moon liked the opportunity to leisurely glide around the city of night. It also allowed her to take her time to search for her prey. Darkstalker had been absent from breakfast earlier, and Moon was curious as to what was keeping him away. He was even too far away for her to hear his thoughts - or he was hiding his thoughts very well. She'd checked in all the usual spots but he wasn't in any of them. After an hour, she decided to relinquish her search for now; he would find her sooner or later.

As Moon soared back towards the palace, hoping to explore more of Border Mountain, she paused when she overheard the whispers of Anemone's mind. She was in the Cartography hall, the secret chamber above the throne room. The SeaWing Princess was puzzled by all the maps and charts and calculations - wondering what on earth Moon and Darkstalker would want with it all. On a whim of wanting to foster a better friendship with the princess (and also because Moon had an idea to take advantage of Darkstalker's absence), the NightWing swooped towards an arched window and climbed into the cartography hall.

"Good evening, Anemone!" she said brightly.

The princess startled, but quickly regained her composure. "Oh, it's you."

"I was looking for Darkstalker, have you seen him?"

If it were possible, Anemone's pout grew deeper as she scowled at a piece of parchment decorated with Darkstalker's messy notes. "No. He was too busy to spend any time with me - his prime student. He said he had to go and work on some 'secret project'."

A secret project? Moon wondered, and hoped he wasn't snooping on her surprise. She had asked him not to. "I'm sure he'll come and find us again when he's ready."

"He's supposed to be teaching me how to be an animus," Anemone growled. "But I'm starting to wonder if he can really do that when he doesn't use his own powers all that much. I was expecting something… more."

"Darkstalker is incredibly powerful," Moon said quickly, alarm making the scales along her spine feel tight. "But he learned a long time ago that magic is like fire - use it effectively and it's wonderful, but use it too much and it's dangerous."

Anemone rolled her eyes and an image of her big sister came into her head. Feelings of warmth and annoyance accompanied it. Now she's starting to sound like Tsunami.

For the first time in her life, Moon didn't know what to say to someone. When she'd been a teacher in Jade Mountain, it had been easy to get her students to like and trust her. She'd been able to see into their minds and know exactly what they needed her to be. With her friends, the bond had been genuine right from the start, all their differing personalities had just clicked together. And with Darkstalker it was so easy to like him, to be happy with him was as easy as breathing. But Anemone seemed resolute in her determination to not be friends with Moon. No matter what Moon saw in her head, no matter all her attempts to be friendly, Anemone rebuked all attempts to bridge this gap between them. And Moon didn't want to force Anemone to like her, she wasn't like Darkstalker, who wanted everyone to like him. But she knew how lonely Anemone was beginning to feel, and she wanted to ease that.

An idea struck her. "Hey, Anemone? We haven't had the chance to do anything together. I was wondering if you wanted to help me with something. You see, in three nights, on Midsummer, it'll be Darkstalker's hatchday. I'm trying to put together a surprise for him. Would you like to help?"

Anemone's rounded ears pricked up, her whole demeanour changing. She grinned and did a little bounce as she came over to Moon. As the NightWing explained her idea, Anemone's eyes grew bigger, her mind zipping with ideas. She clapped her talons together. "Of course! I can use my magic to make this spectacular!"

Together, they ventured down to the main hall. Anemone chatted the entire way, ideas spilling out of her and lightning speed. Moon contributed when she could get a word in. They went looking for Anemone's guards, the pair of them deciding that they'd need more help in their task. Moon decided not to mention to the princess that she'd already recruited her guards. She let Anemone take the lead, it was good to see her be so enthusiastic. And it felt good for them to finally get along - even if just in the capacity of Anemone bossing Moon about. They took a turn in the corridor, heading towards the ballroom, when Moon felt something in her mind.

She sensed him coming before she saw him, her movements slowing, her hackles rising. Even Anemone noticed, but before she could question Moon's behaviour, the dragon in question rounded the corner. Even if she hadn't heard his thoughts coming, Moon recognised him by his broken nose horn and brown eyes. Saguaro grinned at them, like he'd been expecting them. Moon could read in his mind that he was pleased they'd turned up - to help alleviate his boredom.

"Evenin', ladies," he drawled.

Anemone whipped her head around at the stranger's voice. She held no fear, even though the SandWing was easily twice her size. "Who are you?"

"Saguaro," Moon said, not taking her eyes off him. As before, she didn't want to judge him by his thoughts and not his actions - yet she couldn't help it. There was something in him that made her instincts tell her to run. "We were just-"

"Oh, you're one of Vulture's SandWings," said Anemone as if Moon hadn't said a thing. "Be good and fetch my guards. We shall be in need of their assistance in the Ballroom."

Saguaro's smirk faded and he frowned down at the dragonet. "I don't take orders from you."

Anemone choked, a talon on her chest, deeply offended. "I am the Princess of the SeaWings!"

"And?"

Again, Moon tried to intervene, this time stepping in front of Anemone and trying to shield her behind her wing. "She's just a dragonet, Saguaro-"

"No," he said to her, "if the little shrimp wants to try and throw her weight around, she can do it herself." He bent his neck to her level and bared his teeth in a half-smile-half-growl. "Dare ya to order me again, blubber-tail. Maybe you should learn that not everyone's your little pet."

"How dare you!" Anemone screeched, pushing her way past Moon. "You…You uneducated, stinking… peasant!"

"Anemone! It's not worth it," Moon tried to pull her back, pushing the princess' exploding, rage-filled thoughts into as many raindrops as she could. "We'll be going now, Saguaro. Go."

She tried to turn Anemone around - be damned of how she didn't have the right to manhandle a princess, it was best for everyone involved if they just left. But as she tried to go, Saguaro's thoughts stopped her cold. Sirocco told us you can hear our thoughts, NightWing. Moon almost tripped over her own tail, her heart thundering a million miles a minute. She could practically feel the SandWing grinning again. Gotcha! Let's see if you live up to the hype. These animus dragons sure don't.

"No, Moon!" Anemone took advantage of Moon's petrified shock and burst her way free. She stomped right up to the thug and pointed a claw at him. "I want an apology!"

Saguaro didn't take his eyes off of Moon. You gonna make her stop or am I gonna rip her teeth out?

Moon bristled. "You'll not hurt one-"

"I'm talking to you!" Anemone shrieked indignantly. "Or are you so stupid you forgot how to use your ears? I want an apology out of your ugly mouth. You will show respect to your betters."

A dozen ways to beat the life out of her sprang to Saguaro's mind. His claws curled into a fist. "Oooh, I'm gonna enjoy teachin' you-"

"No!" Moon shouted and threw herself in front of Anemone, wings spread, bringing her almost nose to nose with him. "Turn around and walk away, Saguaro." Moon tried to sound calm and firm, but Saguaro's thoughts growled out at her: Don't get in my face, NightWing. I'll make you wanna scrub your brain after reading my mind… And he did. He bombarded her mind with mental images of the most perverse, lewd and disgusting things he could think of. Some of them even pictured her. Moon tried to hold her nerve, to resist her curdling stomach. "Don't make me… don't make…"

"Don't make you, what?" Saguaro mocked, his tongue rolling across his toothy grin. He was clearly enjoying watching her squirm.

"Moon!" Anemone hissed quietly from behind her. "What're you doing?!"

"I won't let you bully us." Moon said to the SandWing.

"Move over!" Anemone shouted, elbowing Moon in the side. She snatched up a random stone from the floor. "Pebble! I enchant you to keep hitting this SandWing right between his stupid eyes until he leaves us alone!"

Immediately, the stone flew out of Anemone's palm and hit Saguaro so hard, Moon heard the thunk of his skull. He yelled in pain and tried to swat it away. The stone hovered in the air, moving out of his way, before diving in again to hit him a second time. Blood splattered as his scales split from the strike. Saguaro hissed and rounded on Anemone.

"Why, you little-!"

Moon pushed Anemone aside before Saguaro could dive for her, reading his intentions in his head. Instead, the SandWing's talons closed around her, and the two dragons went tumbling in a scrap of teeth and claws. Moon knew she was outmatched, Saguaro had spent his life in the Scorpion Den fighting and thriving off of viciousness. But Darkstalker had been giving her self defence lessons these past few weeks. The two tussled across the floor, snapping and clawing at each other. Moon managed to avoid a swipe to her face, and traded it for a kick to his stomach. All the while, the pebble smacked into his skull over and over, distracting him with each hit and affording Moon some time to defend. Saguaro tried to bite at her and swung his tail.

A splitting headache slammed through Moon's skull. She saw a vision of a SandWing tail stabbing into her stomach. She could feel the excruciating pain, could feel the venom coursing through her body. And then, just as quickly, it was over, and she was back in the present.

Just in time for Saguaro to take advantage of her distraction, grab her shoulders and throw her to the ground. Moon felt the air knocked from her lungs. Before she could regain control of her senses, Saguaro had a talon on her throat and chest, a foot on her wing. Blood was dripping down his nose from the cut in his head, the pebble Anemone had enchanted was caught between his teeth - he'd bitten it out of the air! Moon tried to struggle but couldn't break free. Inside his mind, Saguaro was trying to decide what to do with her; hurt her or kill her? So many ideas raced through his head, and with his touch they amplified into Moon's mind, bombarding her with the graphic images that made her breath go short with panic. She wanted him off her body and out of her head! She tried to push him into a raindrop, tried to wrestle him in, grabbing hold of his thoughts and batting them away -

Saguaro yelled and jumped back, clutching his face in pain. Moon stared at him, wide eyed. What in the stars-?

Suddenly, a table flew threw the air and smashing into Saguaro's back. The table splintered from the force and sent Saguaro flying across the corridor. He hit the wall and smacked his head. Finally, his thoughts went dark as he blacked out. The SandWing slumped to the ground, out cold. Anemone stood when he had been, breathing heavily, her eyes wide and glazed over.

Moon scrambled to her feet, grabbed hold of Anemone's arm and pulled her along with her as she ran. The pair of them raced down the corridor, ducking through archways and sliding around corners. After a moment, Moon wondered why they were running - no one would punish them for what they did, but Moon reasoned that she'd rather get away than give the chance of Saguaro waking before help could arrive. Finally, she and Anemone slowed and stopped when they heard no pursuit. They stood for a moment, side by side, trying to catch their breath.

"Thank you, Princess," said Moon, her voice a little raspy from Saguaro's touch. "You sure showed him."

Anemone blinked, coming out of her haze. A smile crept across her face. "I… I did, didn't I?"

"Your Highness?" The pair startled when they heard voices. Just across the way stood Anemone's guards, with very perplexed looks on their faces.

"There you two are!" Anemone huffed. At her annoyed tone, the guards stood to attention instantly. "What is the point of you both if you cannot even do your most basic function - guarding me?!"

Moon let Anemone berate the guards for a minute or two, before suggesting they all head towards their original destination: the ballroom. Personally, Moon wanted to forget that that entire ordeal never happened. And as she, Anemone and the SeaWing guards went about their tasks, she almost did. The adrenaline of the fight was replaced with the mundane, the outrage at having been attacked dulled by the wish to pretend everything was fine. Moon had every intention of making sure Saguaro was punished, but later, once she had time to calm completely and look at the situation with logic and reason.

She and the trio of SeaWings spent a few hours in the ballroom, putting together all their plans. With each task they completed, Moon felt her excitement for Midsummer grow. It had been just an abstract thought in her head a few days ago, but now it was starting to take shape, and she loved it! That was when she sensed Darkstalker's thoughts - distant, but distinct. He was searching for her and Anemone. Moon hurried them all out of the ballroom and led Anemone to find him. She was relatively surprised at how quickly Anemone mastered suppressing her thoughts so as to not spoil the surprise.

"Ah! There you both are," they heard Darkstalker's rich voice before he finally rounded the corner. His handsome smile was warm and his blue eyes were mischievously bright. "Apologies for not finding you sooner, my dear. I had a spark of inspiration from a dream in the day, so I've been preparing something for all of us!"

Anemone bounced on toes with excitement. "What is it? What is it!"

"Both of you, come with me! This is a lesson for all three of us."

He led them out of the palace and the three of them took wing. Quick as could be, they travelled east and came to the banks of the river. There they landed, and Moon noticed that Vulture was already there and waiting for them. Moon did her best to ignore him.

"Tonight," Darkstalker said, sweeping a majestic wing towards the smooth current of the river. "We can both test Moon's capabilities and teach some important lessons in magic."

"Will you tell us what that might be?" Anemone asked.

"And spoil the surprise?" Darkstalker tsked and shook his head. "Moon, why don't you try and see into the next five minutes of the future? How many fish can Anemone catch?"

"Me?" the princess echoed, an indignant talon clutched to her chest. "But I'm wearing my good jewels. Can't my guards go in for me?"

"Did your guards learn to read for you? All this is part of the lesson. You'll understand soon. Now, Moon, how many fish?"

Moon closed her eyes and cast herself into the talons of her ancestors, to see beyond time. "I see… she will catch… three carp."

Anemone snorted. "What am I, a hatchling? I'll show you I can catch five!" and before another word could be spoken, she dove into the river. Her splash almost got Vulture, who hissed and shuffled further away from the water.

Darkstalker playfully bumped Moon's wing with his own. "Cheater. I saw your mind, little missy. You didn't see anything."

"No," Moon found it very difficult to hide her smile. "But I did read Anemone's thoughts and she was determined to catch two or three more than whatever number I said. So I picked low to save us some time."

"Ha!" Darkstalker threw his head back and barked a laugh. "So sly, little Moon! Colour me impressed."

As they chuckled together, Moon slid herself inside his mind. She took a moment to welcome that enchanting music that always played inside his head, before she thought to him: There's something else too… Anemone's been wondering about your lack of power again.

Word cannot get out about my curse. Darkstalker replied firmly. This lesson will provide a chance to dispel those doubts. I'm going to use the fish she catches for our lesson.

Very well. She read what he needed from her out of his mind. But it confused her. Darkstalker, I give you permission to enchant the fish to… imitate sentience for ten minutes…?

Anemone soon returned, the fish dangling from her mouth, still wriggling. She spat them into her talons and held them aloft. "See! I got them just as I said."

Darkstalker had her lay them out upon the ground, and touched one claw to one fish's slimy gill. "I enchant these fish to imitate sentient thought for ten minutes and then return to normal."

"What's the point in getting them to imitate sentient thought?" Anemone asked, her face screwed up in confusion. "Why not just make them think real thoughts if that's what you wanted?"

"Out of the water, they shall be dying. Do you want them to gain true understanding just before they die due to suffocation?" Darkstalker cocked a brow at her, and the Princess ducked her head, embarrassed.

Vulture was watching, his eyes alight with an interest Moon had never seen before. "Magic truly is a wonder…"

"As powerful as Animus magic is, it does have its limitations. We cannot change time or bring back the dead. But anything else we can imagine is ours!" the NightWing male fluttered his claws for extra flourish, and then turned to his NightWing companion. "Now it is your turn, Moon. The ability to read minds can be a great defensive tactic, but on rare occasions it can be used as a weapon. In order to read a mind, you are reaching out to them with your own and holding it like a book on your talons. But, if you ever need to, you can take hold of that mind you're reading and squeeze those thoughts. This can cause a temporary stun, allowing you to win a confrontation or distract an enemy long enough to get away."

He demonstrated, and Moon was in his mind to see what he did. As he described, he took hold of the fishes 'thoughts' and slowly squeezed them. The fish began to flap and flop around, their pretend thoughts shouting with pain. He released them, and quickly the fish returned to how they were before.

"And then, Anemone," said Darkstalker, "you can return the fish to normal."

Moon couldn't stop staring at the fish, disturbed. Unbidden, the memory of the NightWing who died in the Rainforest came to her mind. She didn't want to think of herself causing another pain inside their own head. And it made her feel queasy that Darkstalker granted an animal sentience (even if only an imitation) just to teach her to hurt and inflict pain upon it. When she looked up, she noticed that Anemone wasn't doing so well either. Her eyes were glazed over again, her phospherescent scales dull. Her head was full of images of another SeaWing - Whirlpool, her mind called him. Her thoughts were filled with guilt and questions as she remembered that it was her spell that had pushed Whirlpool into a tank filled with electric eels. He'd died, and Anemone had never told anyone.

"Darkstalker…" said the SeaWing princess in the smallest voice Moon had ever heard from her. "Can a spell like this go bad? Like, what if you say one thing, but the spell doesn't go how you intended?"

Of course, Darkstalker knew what she meant, for he could see into Anemone's mind as easily as Moon. But Moon noticed Darkstalker's back become a little rigid, his wings stiff. Something made him uncomfortable. Why? "Well… sometimes, um, that can happen. Emotions and the secret wishes you keep at the back of your mind can influence a spell and cause it to run awry."

"Has that ever happened to you?"

Darkstalker wet his lips, looking lost for what to do. His tail fidgetted, and Moon could read in his head that he was trying not to catch her eye. "Um, well… yes. One spell of mine did get a little out of hand."

Moon stepped closer to him and entwined her tail with his. Finally, he seemed to turn his head to look at her, every muscle on his spine loosening, as if with extreme effort. Darkstalker?

He met her eyes and gave a deep breath. No secrets.

As he and Moon carried out the conversation in their minds, he spoke without faltering. He told Anemone an abridged version of events, but with Moon, with their minds so connected, he told her the full story in the same time. He even gave visual aids with snippets of his memories.

You remember I once said that the SeaWings all thought that Fathom had died during Albatross' massacre? Well, a patrol swam by the coast and spotted him. When the queen, Fathom's sister, found out he was alive she sent a soldier to negotiate his return. They sent his dragonethood-friend, Indigo, to appeal to his heart.

I remember her, said Moon. Images of the purple SeaWing with fierce eyes and a hot temper filled her head.

She hated me. And I hated her. She was trying to take away my brother and best friend. Constantly she would tell him that I was evil and up to no good. Paranoid and afraid of anything magical - except for Fathom. They fell in love very quickly, and Fathom even entertained the idea of leaving with her. Of siring a family with her. I opposed the idea, and that was evidence enough to Indigo that I was manipulating and enchanting Fathom to force him to stay. Hogwash! One night, it got a little out of hand…

Unlike when he had showed Moon his memories before, Darkstalker didn't pull her into his mind this time. Instead, he showed it to her, like a dragonet shows their artwork to a parent. He held it up for Moon to see. She watched the one night where Darkstalker returned home from a long day. He and his mother were meant to be on shore-leave, but the queen was taking up all his free time lately. Indigo had cornered Darkstalker in his room, away from prying eyes. She'd tried to warn Darkstalker to stay away from Fathom, told him that they were eloping, and that he couldn't stop them. Darkstalker, already irritable and tired from his long day, had had no patience for her "goading". They'd argued continuously for ten minutes. All the anger, all the resentment and hate, it had boiled to the surface, Darkstalker's was the first pan to spill over and hiss on the fire. He'd shouted at Indigo, his voice ringing around the house. "Why can't you just leave! Forget me, forget Fathom, just leave us alone! I want you gone!"

The memory faded, and Moon was left inside Darkstalker's mind. And in another shocking twist of the night, Darkstalker looked actually ashamed of himself. My emotions… they engaged my magic without me even realising. Indigo instantly forgot everything and left. Fathom was heartbroken and I… said nothing. I tried to tell myself that it was better this way, that Fathom would be happier in the future that I saw for him.

It was shocking for Moon to realise that this frightened Darkstalker. The idea that his own powers could act out without his consent, to not be fully in control of himself… it was humbling. Gently, she reached out to caress his mind with her own, tightening the coils of her tail around his. She echoed his music back to him. The corners of his lips twitched and he leaned into her touch.

"But I learned my lesson," Darkstalker said to them all, resuming things as if all were normal. He put a talon on Anemone's shoulder. "Always have a clear head when using magic - and be focused. Do not feel guilty over Whirlpool. He tried to kill your sister and coveted your throne. Killing him was no crime."

At his words, Anemone seemed to slowly come back to herself. She smiled at Darkstalker - not her usual, brilliant, princess smile. Instead it was a vulnerable, comforted smile, the smile of a dragonet finding herself again. Moon felt her heart warm to see Darkstalker do this small goodness.

"Will the fish feel pain?" she asked, focusing them back on their task.

Darkstalker shook his head. "No, I don't believe so. They are not really thinking, so they won't actually be hurt."

Taking a deep breath, Moon sought out the thoughts of the fish as they continued to wriggle on the ground. Their thoughts were simple, and felt strange to touch, like they were hollow. There was no spark to these thoughts, no emotions attached, no magic of life. It helped her to feel more at ease and trust in Darkstalker's words. As she'd been told, Moon imagined herself taking hold of these thoughts with her own mind, and squeezing them like she'd squeeze an orange for its juice. Immediately, the thoughts stuttered and stopped, crying out in false pain. On the floor, the fish began to slap the pavement, wriggling and flopping in panic and discomfort. Shocked, Moon released them instantly.

"Yes, Moon!" Darkstalker exclaimed. "That's it!"

But Moon was far from pleased. "No, no, I can't! I-" anxiety was eating at her stomach - she recognised what she'd done. It was the same as what had happened with Saguaro. How had she managed to do this before she'd even learned it existed? The idea that her powers had capabilities beyond her current knowledge, and that she could accidentally set them off, frightened her.

"Something seems to be the matter," came Vulture's slithering voice.

Anemone groaned in exasperation. "Darkstalker said it's just a fish! Stop being such a hatchling-"

He was there in front of her, his talons gently cupping her cheeks, stroking her neck, his eyes wide with concern. Of course, he couldn't read her inner turmoil, but he could sense her distress clear as daylight. "Moon, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I can't… I-I'm sorry," Moon said, taking hold of his wrists to still his fretful touches. "I don't want to learn how to hurt dragons."

"Not even if it could save your life? Moon, you've seen this before - it's what I did to Icicle in Jade Mountain, when she tried to kill you. You've seen that it doesn't do any real harm."

She stepped away from him, and carefully collected the fish. They were starting to suffocate now, so she carried them back to the water and released them. "I want to use my powers for good, to help other dragons."

"But why not learn this so that you can use this to your advantage?" said Darkstalker, bewildered. "Honestly, Moon, can you not see the potential here?"

"My father thought that way, and I don't want to be anything like him."

"And if you're not given a choice?" He stepped up beside her and tapped the silver tear-drop scales by her eyes with the tip of a claw before touching his own. "Our powers are more than mere parlour tricks, Moon. We were built to use our powers to their full potential - why shouldn't we?"

"We are more than the sum of our powers, Darkstalker."

"Don't listen to her," butted in Anemone, trying to push herself between them. "She's just still feeling sensitive after what happened earlier."

Darkstalker's brows furrowed. "What happened earlier?"

Moon felt her stomach drop. "Anemone, please-"

But either the Princess didn't hear her or willfully ignored her. "One of the SandWing peasants, Saguaro, thought he could intimidate us. But jokes on him - I threw a table at his face!"

By the look on Darkstalker's face, Moon realised with a sinking feeling that he wasn't exactly listening to Anemone's words. He was combing through her memories himself. He saw everything, through Anemone's eyes. His pupils turned to paper-thin slits, his lips pulled back over his teeth. A growl, so low that Moon could hardly hear it escaped out of him, vibrating her bones. "Darkstalker, please, we handled it. There's no need-"

"You!" Darkstalker shouted in a thunderous voice. He turned towards Vulture, pointing a wickedly long claw at him. His nostrils flared, smoke pouring out of him as if he intended to incinerate the SandWing where he stood. "This is one of your dragons you brought here! I won't have this! If you cannot control your worms, then I shall do it for you. I will banish filth like that from my kingdom!"

"Darkstalker, wait!"

Moon's pleas fell on deaf ears. Darkstalker opened his gigantic wings and pounced into the air. He flew faster than Moon had ever seen him fly, and he was quickly out of sight. Moon tried to reach out to his mind but he was closed off to the world, just a blank slate that she couldn't breach. She watched him leave, despairing though she didn't fully understand why. Saguaro was an awful person, she'd known that from the beginning. So why was she trying to protect him? It didn't feel right to say she wanted to protect Saguaro from harm - more like she wanted to protect Darkstalker from causing any harm. He'd shown her how good he could be, how gentle and considerate. She didn't want this to be a step towards a path of darkness; not on her behalf, not in the name of protecting her.

You have to trust him, she told herself. He was her friend, he knew how she felt about killing dragons, he knew she was trying to prove to the world that he could be good. This was a test, she said. She would do nothing and let Darkstalker handle this. He wouldn't kill Saguaro. She had to believe that.

Abruptly, Anemone stomped in front of Moon, breaking her out of her thoughts. The SeaWing bared her teeth angrily in Moon's face. "Why did you have to interfere? Why must you spoil everything?!" and with a screech, the princess took to the air and stormed off.

It was difficult for Moon to admit that the words hurt. In a way, she had spoiled the evening. Head hung low in despair, the NightWing decided she'd take the long walk back to the Castle of Stars - she needed time to clear her head. But as she left, she didn't notice Vulture still behind her, watching the others leave one by one. He stood on the bank of the river, staring off into the water. He watched the fish swimming to and fro, his black eyes filled with awe, his mind spinning with possibilities.


Sleep was not easy for Peril to come by that night. Her entire being was sickened with worry over Clay. Ruby had had to placate her over and over again just to get her to stay within the palace. Even when every inch of her soul was bursting out. Peril had gone back to the room she'd shared with Clay, when the hour was so late it was closer to dawn than dusk, and she was so exhausted by the day's events that she knew she could do nothing now. Even then, sleep had not come right away. But when it finally had, she fell almost instantly into dreams.

The dream was vivid tonight. She was back in Jade Mountain, the corridors and prey centre all familiar to her. For a moment, it felt relieving to be back home. Even if it was only pretend, Peril spread her wings to languish in this feeling of welcome, of belonging. Oh, how she wished she was there now. But then that moment ended when she realised that everything was too quiet. Jade Mountain was never silent, not even in the hours when every soul lay asleep. Bugs and birdsong could always be heard, even on still nights. And in the day, there was not one corner of the bustling mountain that did not hum with sound. So for Peril to stand in the mountains centre and not hear a single noise - not even her own breathing - was unsettling. Was she so alone here? Was everyone else simply gone?

Peril decided to go looking for familiar faces. But the moment she turned around to leave, she was met with the horrifying, disfigured face of Queen Scarlet. Peril shrieked and tried to jump away, but the image of the former queen seemed to grow above her, staring down on her with glee, smoke pouring from her nostrils and between her teeth.

"What're you-?!" Peril shook her head, trying to get control of the adrenaline coursing through her veins. "No, I'm not doing this! Get out of my head!"

She tried to ignore the phantom image of the tyrant and walk away. Peril didn't know where she planned to go. She picked a random corridor and walked down it. But no sooner had she turned the corner, than she found herself in an unfamiliar cavern. Circular with no exits and no holes leading out to the light. And there was Scarlet, larger than life and smiling like a cat toying with a bird.

"Did you think it'd be that easy, you burning oaf? Not when I have this," the former queen flicked her talon and a blue sapphire shaped like a star appeared in her grasp. Her grin was impossibly wide, even with her skeletal half-face. "You've enjoyed a few years of respite - I couldn't get to you behind your magical shield. But now you're out, and easy pickings."

Peril bared her fangs and stomped her talon. "I said, get out of my head!"

"Of course," Scarlet purred, "your little MudWing friend was even easier prey."

With firescales, Peril had not often felt what it meant to be cold. But now she felt it, as panic set in and despair seized her heart. Of course, she'd thought Scarlet had abducted Clay, that was the only explanation for his disappearance. Yet to hear it confirmed, to know that her worst fears had been realised… she wanted to scream, cry, roar, vomit. Even the dream world spun and grew dim for a second. It took everything in her to focus, to breathe. She couldn't let Scarlet's stupid face see how her stupid feelings were making her vulnerable.

"I knew you had him," Peril growled finally.

"Ah, look who has a brain-cell after all. I must admit, poor thing is heartbroken you haven't yet come to his daring rescue."

Real anger surged through Peril's veins like liquid fire. "I swear, if you hurt one single scale on his head, I'll -!"

"You'll what? Shove more crazy ideas into my daughter's silly head?" There was an edge to Scarlet's voice now, a malicious glint to her eye. "I've heard about your little proclamation. And you're going to tell me everything I want to know about it. All the traps my daughter has in wait for me, all the guards she's stationed to catch me. You'll tell me everything, or I'll show you in this very dream just how exquisitely I can make Clay scream. He can't burn, but he still bleeds - I've already checked."

"Don't hurt him!" Peril launched herself at Scarlet. But her claws passed through her as the queen was made of smoke. Scarlet cackled as she reformed behind Peril. She whirled, but Scarlet was gone again, this time in the air, twice as large as before. "There's no traps, no betrayals, Scarlet. Ruby is not you!"

"Ha! Then she's more of an idiot than I thought."

"No, she's going to meet you in open combat, and she's going to show the whole tribe what you really are - a coward who hides her spinelessness behind bouts of cruelty."

"Coward?" Scarlet echoed, her eye twitching. "You haven't seen real cruelty, you freak. But you'll know it once I show you what's left of your boyfriend's corpse!"

"No you won't!" Peril snapped furiously, emboldened by this rush in her brain, drowning out a lifetime's worth of insecurities and conditioning. She felt brave, she wanted to talk, to say something to make Scarlet squirm, and it was rushing out of her in a wave. "Because if you do, I swear, Scarlet, there will not be a corner of this earth where I won't hunt you down. Not even if you went to the moons themselves - I would still find you. You had best hope Ruby wins, because if she loses, you're going to have me to deal with. And don't even think about running and hiding with your new friends in the Rainforest - mine are coming to deal with them, too! So there's nowhere you can hide Scarlet, not forever, not while I live!"

She expected Scarlet to be unsettled, she wanted her to be put off by her tirade. But… instead, Scarlet was silent, still, watching Peril studiously. "The… rainforest?"

It was only then that Peril realised that she'd said too much. She wanted to bite her tongue, take the words back but it was too late. Scarlet vanished from the dream - Peril tried in vain again to grab her, to stop her, but again she passed through her like mist. Instead she was left in this nothingness, the silence deafening.

Peril awoke with a screech. What had she done? Scarlet would tell Blister and Morrowseer! Had she just put her friends in danger? How could she fix this? What had she done?!