Revelations

This is from Aurora's perspective. It takes place right after Winter leaves with Faredir in Chapter 26.

Edited: (5/30/21)

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Aurora and the Spirits and Faredir belong to me.

Aurora:

He promised…

It was the same phrase that had been repeating in her mind for the last several minutes. He promised to stay with her, but he left. Not only that, but he left with the dragon who was their enemy. At least, Faredir was supposed to be their enemy. She didn't even know what to believe anymore.

She raked her talons along the cold stone ground and clenched her teeth. No…I know what I believe. Faredir is my enemy, and this was a trick to separate Winter and I! She glared at the exit furiously, I'll make Faredir pay for this!

Her thundering heartbeat—a previously unknown sensation—was pounding away in her ears because of the sheer magnitude of her rage. She didn't get angry very often, though she had let her temper slip more and more often lately. When she did, though, she could become a bit…cold.

"W-What are we supposed to do now?" she heard the Seawing, Turtle, ask.

She remained silent and steadfast, glaring a metaphorical hole into the darkness beyond the exit's threshold. The Changewing soldiers had left with Faredir, but she doubted they were gone. They were probably guarding the exit, making sure they stayed put until Faredir was far enough away.

"We go back to the Summer Palace," Darkstalker said.

"To what point or purpose!?" she snarled, finally breaking the silence she had maintained for the last twenty-odd minutes. "Winter is gone—and the anchor is gone with him!" She spun around and turned her glare on him. "What we should be doing is chasing after them!"

"And do what?" Shade broke in. "We can't fight Faredir by ourselves—especially without Stratos. He's stronger than all of us combined, so what do you expect to do when we find them—especially when he warned us not to follow?"

She slowly swiveled her gaze over to him, and he had the decency to look cowed. Her anger was reaching never-before-seen heights right now, and she was just waiting for someone to explode on. "Hmm, I don't know…maybe to KILL HIM!" she bellowed. "What did you think I was going to do!?"

"To what point or purpose?" Shade echoed her previous words. "You heard him; He's not interested in continuing this war. If he wants peace for his tribe, who are we to deny him that? We should be working together right now against our common enemy!"

"Faredir is our enemy!" she shot back. The others—even Darkstalker—were starting to back away from their shouting match at this point. "He's been our enemy for fifteen thousand years! Why would he have a sudden change of heart now other than to fool Winter into helping him!?" she challenged.

Shade, however, met that challenge. "Dragons can change, Aurora! My Champion is evidence of that," he gestured to Darkstalker for emphasis.

She scoffed, "Some dragons don't change."

"Like you?" Darkstalker shot back. She snapped her furious gaze over to him, but this time he stood firm. "You're so focused on the past that you won't even consider the future! Faredir could be our greatest ally if we gave him the chance that Winter did!"

"Winter was coerced!" she defended.

"Three moons, listen to yourself; you're obsessed!" he accused.

"You've never seen what he can do!"

"I JUST SAW HIM!"

"YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT!" she paused to catch her breath and collect herself. "You've never seen him murder the dragon you love…" she said quietly as she seemed to deflate.

She felt a paw on her shoulder and turned to see who it was. "We can't change what happened, Aurora," Shade said solemnly. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but Winter leaving with Faredir was for the best."

She sighed then froze as what was said fully registered. Shade was her closest friend and gave her advice on what to do all the time. Since he could see every possible future at any given time, she always listened to him because she believed he knew what was best. Put simply, she trusted Shade more than any other dragon, so she didn't think twice about following his counsel. She believed Shade felt the same about her even though he didn't share the reasons why things should be done in a specific way.

Knowing what she did about Shade, she knew he was always looking through the threads. He knew what was going to happen here. There was no doubt in her mind that he did. "You knew!" she ground out through clenched teeth. He blinked a few times in startled confusion. "YOU KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!"

She swirled around and struck so fast even the mind-reading Nightwing Spirit couldn't duck in time. Her talons clenched around his neck despite the fact she was now mortal and slammed him into the wall. There were shocked gasps from the others—especially Sediment. The Mudwing hadn't interfered in their argument thus far, but he did now. "Aurora, what—"

A wing blocked his path, and Darkstalker shook his head at the stunned Mudwing Spirit. Aurora turned her attention from them to the equally stunned Nightwing in her grasp. "Why didn't you warn us!?" she yelled.

"I couldn't," he tried, but Aurora just squeezed harder, letting him know clearly that that wasn't good enough. "I-It had to h-happen," he struggled to say.

She released the pressure a bit so he could breathe. As Spirits, they may not have had an actual windpipe, but disrupting their Spirit essence produced the same effect. "Why?" He didn't answer. She tightened her grip again. "WHY!?"

His struggles got weaker and his body started to slump, so she dropped him unceremoniously. He hit the ground and coughed as the 'air' rushed back into his 'lungs'. He staggered back to his feet and looked at her with a saddened expression. "Because Winter needs Faredir in his life."

Aurora recoiled back as if she had been struck then snarled. "WHAT!? Give me one role Faredir could play in Winter's life that none of his friends could!" she challenged.

Again, Shade would meet her challenge. He looked down for a moment and sighed. He looked back up and locked gazes with Aurora. "A father," he said simply.

She recoiled even more forcefully that time. She staggered back a few steps before her legs buckled and she plopped down onto her rump. Her eyes glazed over as she stared off into space. "Father?" she asked in what was barely above a whisper.

She noticed Shade nod. "It doesn't matter how, and it doesn't matter why," he said. "What matters is Winter finally having a loving parent—something he's been denied since he hatched."

"We're thinking about the same dragon, right?" the Rainwing, Kinkajou asked. "That didn't look like a caring father to me."

"Do you really think Faredir would show his softer side to us? Or his soldiers? He does have a reputation to uphold," Darkstalker pointed out.

Kinkajou was about to retort when Shade spoke first. "He's right. Winter is the only dragon Faredir will ever open up to—and I do mean ever. And despite how cold he may seem to any of us, Winter will see the father he always needed."

Aurora sagged in defeat at hearing that. She hated Faredir…but she loved Winter. How was she supposed to walk that line between hatred for her old nemesis and tolerance of him for Winter's sake? She bit back a sob when she realized she might not be able to. She cared for Winter—loved him with all of her heart—but she didn't think there was any way for them to be together if Faredir was part of his life, too.

"I know it seems hopeless right now, but you can still find happiness with him if you so choose," Shade said gently, no doubt reading her mind. "With Faredir as his father and you and Moon at his side, Winter will finally find the peace and happiness he deserves."

"You really think Faredir and I could coexist?" she asked skeptically.

"That's what the futures say," he smiled. It dropped after a moment and he looked away. "Though, that might not matter anymore." He looked at her and then swept his gaze over the others before settling back on her. "Urfael will be freed, Aurora. It's inevitable. I've looked through countless futures—billions upon billions."

She let the fact Urfael would be free again sink in before she decided to ask a question she dreaded the answer to. "How many do we win?"

His expression grim, he answered, "…One."

"And how do we do that?" Turtle asked, hesitantly.

Shade looked at him, his expression once again serious. "If I tell you that, it won't happen." He took a deep breath and continued his explanation. "Since the end of the war, I knew Urfael's return was inevitable, so I've spent the entire time preparing for this moment. I knew it couldn't be stopped, but I knew I could control how it happened. Most of the pieces are in place, but there's a few—"

He was cut off when Arena reappeared and collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud. All eyes turned to him in surprise and then worry. Aurora rushed over to him and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Arena!"

He groaned and opened his eyes. "S-Stratos escaped. He's…stronger than I thought."

Her eye ridges furrowed in rage then worry. "Arena, where's Oceania?"

"Alive but unconscious," he replied before falling unconscious himself. Aurora let out a furious breath as she rubbed his shoulder gently. If Stratos could defeat both Arena and Oceania, then he was stronger than any of them believed.

"Take him back," she ordered Sediment. The Mudwing Spirit nodded and disappeared with Arena. She then turned to Shade. "Part of your plan?" she ground out. He merely nodded. She just huffed in annoyance. She hated being kept in the dark, but…she trusted Shade. He would never lead them astray.

"So…what do we do now?" Kinkajou once again asked.

"We do as Darkstalker suggested and go back to the Summer Palace," she replied. She looked to Shade and he nodded again. "No one speaks of what happened here." She looked around and saw nods from all of them.

She sighed to herself as everyone got ready to leave. The prospect of facing Urfael once more terrified her to her very core, but she had to have faith. One victory in a billion was still a chance. And with stakes as high as these…it would have to be enough.

AN: Now then, back to the main story for one more chapter!

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22