Chapter Twelve

"Your informant," said Morrowseer, "he's ready?"

"Yes," Scarlet rolled her eyes. "You already bullied me out of my special surprise. What more do you want?."

"You'll need to contact him again."

The former queen eyed him. "Why?"

"Because there's a few things he needs to be prepared for."

Safe to say, Moon didn't sleep well that night. Constant fear of dragons bursting into her cave to drag her away, incensed by her betrayal, gave her nausea inducing anxiety at best. And at worst, terrible nightmares that pounced on her the moment she drifted off, forcing her awake. She'd thought that telling her friends her secret would make her feel better. Instead, her mind was stuck on the prospect that five other dragons knew. If each of them only told one other, then that number would go up to ten!

I don't know how much more I can take of you worrying yourself into an apoplexy, said Darkstalker. At least he was the one thing that hadn't changed. How many times do I have to tell you, I do not foresee Tsunami or any of the others charging in and- … Oh.

Moon's eyes shot open. Oh?

Well. Now that's unexpected.

In an instant she was on her feet, wings half spread as if she meant to take off right through the walls. What is it?! Are they coming now? What's happening?!

Glory is considering murdering you in your sleep. Safer that way. No one will know.

Really!?

No.

She slumped back to the ground with an irritated huff. That's not funny. Breathing deep, she finally tried to take his advice, and calm down. No one had come for her yet. That must mean they didn't know. And if they did, or should there be any danger, Darkstalker would warn her. I think I've lost them, she told him quietly. You might now be my only friend.

The music that seemed to always be inside of him swept around her mind, further lulling her to sleep. If you only have one friend, I'm not such a bad one to have. Am I?

By the next noon, Moon had at least gotten a few hours of actual rest. But the tension in her gut persisted. She avoided crowds, excusing herself to her students that she was feeling unwell. Even if her friends hadn't told the Dragons of Destiny her secret yet, that didn't mean they didn't plan to. Moon felt as if she were constantly on the edge of a cliff, waiting with baited breath to see if the loose stone under her talons would crumble.

Part of her wanted to find her friends, to see if they'd calmed down, if they might tell her their decision. But she was too afraid to do so. It would be understandable if they wanted to avoid her completely. Even if it stung. So, she avoided the pain altogether by avoiding every place they would be. Instead, she stuck to the sort-of library.

Over the past 18 months that the rebellion had been active, Starflight had been desperate for an assortment of scrolls for him to collect and keep. Though he was blind and couldn't read them himself, he still loved scrolls and the knowledge they possessed. What he had right now was little more than a small collection of various history, philosophy, botanical and scientific volumes with a few works of fiction thrown in. Whilst Moon didn't obsess over scrolls the same way that Starflight did, who believed them to be as essential to life as breathing, she did have a special love for them. She often envied Starflight's job as a librarian, though she would never dream of taking it away from him. And she liked teaching.

She buried her nose in old and familiar stories to try and take her mind off her problems - and failing. And at the same time, a morbid part of her thought of it as having one last embrace with a fond love before she would be exiled. So it was unsurprising to her when she was eventually interrupted. But the face that greeted her wasn't what she was expecting.

"Qibli?"

"I couldn't stop thinking," he said, "all night."

That wasn't hard for Moon to believe. Qibli's mind never stopped scrambling.

"I get it." He continued. Before Moon could give even a slack-jawed expression, he hurried on. "After thinking it over, I can kind of understand why being inside other dragons' heads all day every day would make you very uncomfortable about telling them about it. You must hear all kinds of nasty things."

"Not really," Moon heard herself say.

Qibli frowned. "Really? Don't you hear all the bad thoughts everyone has?"

"Yes, everyone thinks something in anger sometimes, but that doesn't make them or their minds nasty. Usually within a second or two, they correct those thoughts. I don't think it's fair to judge someone based on an odd thought."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but shook his head. "Anyway. I came to help."

Moon blinked. "Help?"

"Shhh!" he looked over his shoulder, to be sure no one else was in the library. But Moon knew there was no one else. The whole rebellion was still shaken from the events of yesterday. Mostly everyone wanted to be either in the prey centre or in the valley. Starflight was busy helping Sunny try to keep everyone calm. She and Qibli were alone. "I meant help you catch the traitor."

"Why would I-"

"You can…" he lowered his voice to a whisper. "You can read minds right? All you have to do is listen in on the right person and we've caught them!"

That was a good idea, Moon had to admit. And she could see this opportunity to win back Qibli's trust. She wanted to accept, but she didn't want him to put too much faith in her abilities. "It's not that simple," she said. "I can't hear every thought, just what a dragon is particularly thinking about at that moment."

"Well, I'd say that explosion is all anyone can think about right now. So what do you say? Are you in?"

There was a tingle at the base of her skull, like a dull warning. But Moon had to do the right thing; had to prove to her friends that she could be trusted, that she wasn't a traitor. She nodded.

She and Qibli then made their way through the mountain. The SandWing had been right. The explosion was all anyone could think about. Everyone had their own friendship groups that they stuck to for comfort. Amongst each other, they whispered their own little conspiracies about how the explosion happened and who set it. Most of the Mountain was accounted for, aside from two scouting groups. Which made it a rather large task to listen in on every single brain. To help, Qibli narrowed it down to most likely candidates and they worked from there.

Two SkyWings were first on their list, having recently joined the rebellion. The pair mostly kept to themselves, not having integrated with the rest of the rebellion all that well. Moon found their minds to be rather difficult to manage. They were filled with aggression and grievances with everyone else. But after a time, they started to wonder about the explosion as well, in terms that suggested they had no idea what caused it, let alone who did it.

Next, they tested a SandWing that had once been employed by Burn's army and refused to join either of the other sisters' forces. This particular SandWing had always had a peculiar dislike for RainWings, Glory in particular, and didn't like being told what to do by her. It was his reverence of Tsunami's combat skill and his wish to kill Blister that kept him with the rebellion. Qibli talked to him as a distraction whilst Moon listened in on the SandWing's thoughts. But it quickly became clear that this one wasn't responsible for the explosion either.

They then sought out former members of the Talons of Peace, who had always had a sort-of rivalry with the Dragons of Destiny. There were a few of them now amongst the Rebellion. After the NightWings had sided with Blister, the Talons of Peace had become divided. Some of them wanted to follow those who they believed created the prophecy, that this was fate's design. Others saw this for what it was, and so left. But once again these dragons had no clue about who had set the explosion.

In all, the only thing she and Qibli had managed to accomplish was to convince everyone they were weird.

Now that they'd gone through all their prime suspects, they now were left with the insurmountable task of interviewing everyone in the mountain. But how? This was the question that she and Qibli pondered as they left the prey centre that evening.

Moon watched Qibli. He'd tried to keep things professional between them, but sometimes he would make an almost natural slip of the tongue and try to make a joke. Only to remember a moment later why he was mad at her, and continue his stoic silence. Trying to find some way of conversation, she said, "Do they all hate me?"

Sharp as ever, Qibli didn't need her to clarify what she meant. "I don't know. Turtle definitely doesn't, you two were practically two peas in a pod. Kinkajou is mad, but I don't think she can hold a grudge for long. And I saw Peril this morning. She's more mad at Turtle then she is at you."

That, Moon could understand. Turtle was the one Peril was closest to out of their winglet, had been the first one to fully accept her. Yet all this time he'd been keeping a secret from her. An especially big secret, one that could have helped her with her fire-scales condition, that he'd chosen to keep to himself. She agreed that it was Turtle's choice on whether or not to tell others about his power; but she still sympathised with Peril's point of view.

"What about Winter?" she dared to ask.

Where is he, anyway? Qibli thought to himself worriedly. "I don't know."

"I really didn't want to hurt anyone," she said. "Please believe me on that."

"I do believe you. Can't imagine what it's like, listening to everyone all the time, even in a silent room."

"It can be hard," she admitted. "I've had to work hard on trying to block out crowds, or when there's a panic. Otherwise it's just constant distractions and headaches. If I didn't get at least a little control… I think I would've gone mad by now."

Was that little compliment for me? Darkstalker asked.

The corner of her lip twitched. You know I am grateful for what you've done.

You can't see it, but I'm blushing like a princess in one of your trashy romantic fiction scrolls.

They aren't trashy!

Just you wait. One of these days I am going to show you real literature.

Moon's distracted again, came Qibli's thoughts, drawing her back to the present. Is she listening to someone's thoughts right now? Would she tell me even if she was?

She didn't want to snap, so said, "I've kind of mastered drowning others out, but it's very hard to not listen when your thoughts are about me. It makes them extra-loud."

He looked away, a little shame-faced. "Sorry. I just need a little time to wrap my head around all this."

Moon stopped, ducking into the arch of a cave entrance so that she and Qibli might be out of the way should anyone come down this hall. She reached out and brushed her wing along his. "I know. And I appreciate you giving me this chance."

"I just don't know how you could've kept it to yourself for so long," instead of sounding agitated, as she would have expected, he instead seemed rather awed. "I mean, you can hear what dragons are thinking, and you never let on? Think about it. Look at dragons like Barren," his mind thought of the grizzled SandWing they'd spoken to earlier. "He thinks taking orders from a RainWing is beneath him, and he's not above using violence against such insults. So if he ever thought about hurting Glory, you could do something about it."

Moon drew back, slightly alarmed at the implication. "I won't spy on someone's thoughts and then report them for something they haven't even done. We must police dragons by what they say and do, not by what they think."

"But what you think is what you say and do."

"No. Even the lowliest peasant may find freedom in the safety of his thoughts. I don't want to take away even that."

Qibli was quiet. His mind spun back to memories of his time in the Scorpion Den, of being Thorn's right claw. There was always the threat of spies or infiltrators of some sort, and Qibli had been the only one quick enough to catch them at their own game. He'd had to resort to spotting them based on observations and knowing how everyone thought. A hint of shame coloured his thoughts as he remembered some of the measures he'd taken to ensure the safety of his fellow Outclaws.

Moon brushed her tail along his. "You're not a bad dragon, Qibli. You're smart, you're funny and you always have good intentions. You couldn't be better than this."

At least that got him to smile.

It wasn't long after that Moon excused herself. Listening in on so many minds in one day, purposefully trying to pry through their thoughts to find specific information, was exhausting. She needed a little alone time. Darkstalker always told her that it was good to take time to remember herself after being inside others for so long.

The tunnel was dark except for the small light at the end where it opened up to the air outside. Perhaps Moon's focus was so caught on getting outside that she didn't see the RainWing in front of her pop out of camouflage until she almost stepped on her.

"Ah! Kinkajou!" Moon scrambled to avoid her.

The RainWing immediately launched into a fast-paced speech before Moon could say anything else. "Look. I don't know why you felt the need to hide everything from me, because we are supposed to be friends. But Turtle says you just didn't know how - which I think is a little silly, because COME ON, this is ME, we're talking about. I'm the most chilled dragon ever to reveal stuff to. Unless you keep it from me for, like, our entire friendship. ANYWAY! I just wanted to say that I'm okay."

"You're okay?" Moon echoed, unable to form any other response.

"Yes. You can be a mindreading, future-seeing NightWing, it's not like you can help that. And so long as you promise to not look into my head on purpose…" she narrowed her eyes intensely.

"I promise!"

The look of murder vanished and was replaced with a radiant smile. "Then we've got no problem!" She threw her arms and wings around Moon in a quick, fierce hug. "Glad that's over. I couldn't stand being mad at my best friend. Anyway, sorry, gotta go! Got to get everything ready for tomorrow - don't stay up too late!"

Moon watched Kinkajou race off, speechless. She might've worried that the little dragon was trying to avoid her by running away so fast, but her mind was full of songs and no ill will. After a moment of bewilderment, Moon allowed herself to smile and laugh. After a day of tension, a piece of it seemed to evaporate. Oh, Kinkajou. She truly was a treasure.

Carrying on up the tunnel and out into the open air, Moon flung herself into the purple and pink sky, and headed towards the lake. The sun was just beginning to set, turning the water into a thousand shards of twinkling glass. The air beneath her wings held the slightest hint of warmth. A promise of spring. It was her hatchingday tomorrow. With everything going on, she'd almost forgotten, and it was likely no one else would remember. Which was fine with Moon. Hatchingdays were always a touchy subject. But was that what Kinkajou had meant about getting everything ready? She hoped not.

A distant sound on the wind carried to her ears. Moon's head swivelled towards the sound on her left. There. On the bank by the lake, two white and blue shapes that glowed in the low sunlight. Icicle and Winter. As Moon drew closer, their agitated shouts could be heard clear as the whistle of birds.

"How could you fail at something so simple?!" Icicle was raging at her brother.

Winter's posture was stiff, held back. He was angry but desperate to keep it together. "I said I would replace it!"

"That's not the point! I don't know what's gotten into you today, but you will refocus yourself or I will have the Queen find someone competent enough to take your place!" With one last angry snarl, Icicle spun and leapt into the air. She came by so fast past Moon, she had to dive out of the way to avoid being sliced by the princess' many spikes. In the next moment, she was gone.

Moon looked from the princess' back, down to Winter still by the lake shore. Green eyes met deep blue. A shiver ran the length of Moon's wingspan; it was hard to read the expression in those eyes, and she was too far up to read what was in his mind. Before she could possibly decipher such a stare, Winter turned away. But he remained sat by the shore. Stomach doing flips, Moon decided to be a little brave for once, and descended.

Moon, didn't we just learn this lesson? Darkstalker asked, exasperated. The little idiot is - as his name would suggest - an idiot and not worth your time.

I can't just leave things as they are.

Sand billowed up beneath her feet as she gently landed on the shore. Winter sat still with his attention steadfastly on the opposite side of the lake. Moon sat five feet away from him, watching, waiting for him to say something. His continued silence only made the tension thicker around them, and Moon's brief courage promptly began to wither.

Well, it appeared that she would have to be the one to break the ice. "Winter-"

"What makes you think you have any right to talk to me after what you've done?" He spat curtly.

Moon pressed her talons into the sand, the grains scratching and sliding along her scales until she felt the wet, clumpy sand beneath. "I wanted to make sure you were alright-"

He snorted. "You mean you wanted to be certain I hadn't spilled your secret."

"If I wanted to do that, I would've come earlier," she retorted. Winter's wings stiffened, and Moon forced herself to calm down. She couldn't afford to allow her anxiety to make her lash out. "You were pretty upset."

"For a dragon who goes on and on about friendship, you broke one of the first rules. You lacked honesty." He turned his head to finally regard her, deep blue eyes glaring as brightly as the sun silhouetted behind him. "What you've done is a gross violation of trust. This power allows you to see into others and see things that should be private. It's… It's… argh!"

"I can't help the way I hatched."

"It's not about that." But then his mind countered, Then what is it about? Why do I feel like I have to hold a grudge? Stop! She's probably listening in right now!

Her talons clenched into the wet sand. It hurt to hear him try to restrain his own mind for fear of what she might hear. She wasn't trying to, but it was difficult to keep some of his thoughts out. They just seeped into her, no matter how many times she tried to put them into the raindrops.

"I know I can't regain your trust, Winter," she said at last. She tried to lean around him, to catch his eye, but he refused to look at her. "You put your faith in me, and I didn't respect that. Didn't respect you. Ask me anything, and I'll tell you."

Anything? Darkstalker groaned. She ignored him.

Winter's brows furrowed, his mind whirling with possibilities. Slowly, he stood and fully turned to face her. Moon remained sat in the sand, to be as non-threatening as possible, even when he leaned into her until their snouts almost touched. "Does your power really come from the moons?"

She nodded. "I don't know the exact science of it. But yes. If laid and hatched under full moons, NightWing eggs will be granted either telepathy or precognition."

"Did you ever once use what you heard in our heads to further your own gain?"

"That's a trick question," Moon could've cheered for how she managed to make her voice sound so even. "No. I never purposefully went into your brain to find sensitive information to manipulate you. But if your thoughts were too loud for me to ignore, sometimes I would hear something was bothering you and do my best to help. It's how my students develop so fast. I can see inside their heads to know how each one struggles individually, and I help them."

For some reason, that explanation made Winter's eyes and voice soften. "How often do you see the future?"

"Not as often as you'd think. Mostly it comes in nightmares, or warnings of imminent danger."

He glanced to the side, tail swishing through the shallows of the water, clearly uncomfortable. "Is it really… is it as bad as…?"

"Sometimes," she nodded. "How can you differentiate between a nightmare praying on your worst fears, and a warning from fate itself that says your worst fears will come true?"

"Why are you really the only one of your tribe that has these powers?"

"The NightWings were dying on that volcano. Every generation brought fewer eggs than the one before. The mothers were often too weak, and their eggs died before they could be laid. Other times the toxic fumes would kill the eggs before they hatched. My mother had already lost eggs before. She defied tribe law to have me in secret. Maybe it's some kind of justice from the Great Dragon themselves. My mother got her wish for a living child. But as punishment, I was cursed with these powers."

You aren't cursed.

"You aren't cursed." Winter murmured simultaneously with Darkstalker. Moon was astonished - she hadn't thought Winter would defend her in any capacity. The IceWing once again looked out to the sparkling lake, his thoughts tearing and reforming themselves over and over. How much must her mother have loved her, before she was even born, to defy the tribe like that… Would my-

"Hey!"

Both Moon and Winter jumped apart as great golden veined wings swooped down from above. Moon flinched back before the stinging heat even reached her scales. Her mind was assaulted with the blaze that protected the SkyWing's thoughts. The dragoness landed, her back feet at the very tip of the water's edge. Where she touched, all moisture evaporated from both sand and small drifts of water with a loud hiss.

"Peril?"

"Moon!" The firescales dragon leapt towards her, coming as close as she physically could without directly touching the NightWing. "I need your head!"

Moon recoiled. "…excuse me?"

"Well, I don't mean I need just your head - the rest of you is good enough, I guess. I just need you to get inside someone else's head for me."

Usually Moon was understanding of Peril's bluntness, but this time, it struck a nerve. "Peril, my powers are not a parlour trick," she reproached. "I'm not going to snoop in Clay's head to tell you-"

Peril leapt back, feet wading into the water and bringing it to boil. "Wait, you could do that? Do you know if he likes me? Not that I'm worried, because I'm not!" she shook her head. "No, later! Now, come! He's at the border!"

Giving herself room, Peril jumped into the sky, her massive wings blasting out a wave of heat with their downward thrust. Moon and Winter exchanged a look. What on earth was this about? Peril wasn't known for being a master of social interactions (though Moon could've said she hadn't been much better when she first joined the Dragons of Destiny); but whatever this was really had her scrambled. They took off after her.

The three flew across the sky, heading south. Peril took the lead, her large wings allowing her to keep ahead ease. The flames in her head parted enough for Moon to get the impression she was frustrated with having to slow her pace a fraction for the sake of her friends. Even so, Winter and Moon made sure to give her enough room so that she wouldn't accidentally brush against them even slightly.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" Moon asked. She already knew Winter's thoughts on her abilities. And when she'd told Peril yesterday, the SkyWing had sat in silence for all of thirty seconds before declaring: "Okay, so I'm not the only one with a freaky power. Good to know. Not concerning whatsoever. I have to go now. Bye!"

Peril glanced in Moon's direction. "I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."

Winter took longer to respond, his mind weighing options back and forth, the sheets of glittering ice closing in on him to reflect in a dizzying display. "We have to be sure that this newcomer is safe for the rebellion. Better to be certain of this."

Despite his acceptance, Moon tried not to read too much into it.

"When did this dragon appear?" Winter asked Peril.

"I was making my rounds earlier, and saw something just beyond the border." Being arguably the most dangerous dragon in the rebellion, Peril did most of the patrols around the borders of Jade Mountain. Should enemies be lying in wait, they wouldn't be able to attack her, her firescales offering the ultimate protection. "I went to look, and there was this SkyWing. He said he followed the RainWing scouts… because he wanted to find me."

Moon frowned. "You?"

"He…" Peril grimaced. "He says he's my father."

Winter and Moon exchanged another look. Well, this certainly just got a little more interesting. They followed Peril right to the tip of the southern border, the mountainous terrain giving way to rolling hills. The grass waved and flowed as one like the creases on a strip of silk flapping in the breeze. The trio knew how to spot the border, for during the first three days after the magical shield was created, the Dragons of Destiny had painstakingly marked where it lay. Certain things that would go unnoticed by most dragons, unless one was looking for it. In some places it was noticeable through landmarks, like the circle of stones at the forest edge on the north-eastern side. In others, there was a slight furrow in the ground, as if the body of an impossibly long serpent had been given a shallow grave.

A boulder jutted out of the ground and rose above the grassy sea. Peril carefully landed upon it, coiling her tail around her feet to be sure she didn't set the grass fields on fire. As Winter and Moon landed on either side of her in the long grass, the NightWing noted to herself that the blades were too damp to start a wildfire as Peril feared. The most that might happen would be she scorched an immediate ring around herself. But Moon had noticed that Peril often felt guilty even when she set any vegetation alight by accident. Her entire life was restricted around the need to always be careful.

Movement caught Moon's attention, her eyes snapping onto it immediately. Just on the other side of the border, basking in the last light of the setting sun, lay a large SkyWing. His big orange wings flattened the grass around him, allowing Moon to catch sight of his muscular gold-orange body. There were no visible scars on him anywhere, his scales shiny and kept in great condition. On his claws he wore heavy-looking gold rings, and golden thread wound around his horns. Draped across his chest lay a large amulet, a ruby the size of a dragon's palm nestled in a frame of gold suspended on a sturdy gold chain. This dragon was obviously very wealthy, and not at all subtle about it.

"You're sleeping?" Peril called incredulously down to the SkyWing. "I only left you for, like, ten minutes!"

"Closer to fifteen, actually," said the SkyWing. He yawned widely, and leisurely stretched out each leg, rolling onto his belly to roll his spine. Winter muttered under his breath, offended at this dragon's lazy manner. The SkyWing opened dark amber eyes and stood. His gaze found Moon immediately. "Ah, this must be the friend you told me about."

"Moon, Freeze-face," said Peril, ignoring Winter's little growl. "This is Sore. I know, I think it's a stupid name too."

"Wait. I think it's meant to be 'Soar'," Winter drawled with a roll of his eyes. "As in 'to soar through the sky'. Has that fire burned away your last brain-cells as well?"

"Finally!" grinned Soar. "Someone gets it!"

"But yes, it is a stupid name."

Whilst they had all bickered, Moon had zoned out, focusing her mind on attempting to read Soar's thoughts. Her stomach did a little flip when all she could hear from Soar's brain was a series of numbers. He thought in an eerily similarly way to her father. It had been so long since she'd seen her father, but she would always remember that shield of his, frustrating and frightening in equal measure. Was it coincidence? Moon had encountered minds that needed to catalogue things the moment they walked into a room, could this be similar?

Moon subconsciously stepped forward, eyes narrowing as she looked over the Drake on the other side of the shield. How was she supposed to read him? "You say you're Peril's father?"

"Yes. Kestrel and I were paired to mate, but I was sent away with the army not long after. I didn't even know there had been an egg, let alone a daughter." Soar smiled yet he spoke of Peril's mother and his ignorance of her existence rather nonchalantly.

"Then how did you find out about her?" Winter asked.

"Well, it was at Kestrel's trial that she was revealed to be her daughter, and it was that which started Scarlet's downfall. The whole Kingdom was talking about it. Once I heard, I tried to find you."

"You were part of the SkyWing army?" Winter didn't bother to hide his derision as he looked Soar up and down. "There's not a single scar on you."

"I was a scout."

"And you just left? Just like that?"

"Wouldn't any father when they hear they have a long lost daughter?"

An image of a dragon flashed in Winter's mind. The dragon Moon suspected was his father. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut those walls of ice down on the thought.

Peril seemed to notice the pause in Winter's interrogation and so asked, "And how did you know I was here?"

"I came across some RainWings scouting to the east," said Soar with a slight smirk. "They complained about a dragon who could set things alight just by touching them."

"And you want to join the rebellion?" Winter quirked a brow.

"Peril is my daughter. We're the only family either of us have left."

That seemed to hit a spot in Peril, her expression going slack. For one of the first times ever, she appeared uncertain of herself. She turned to the NightWing at her side, bright blue eyes begging for help. "Moon?"

What was she to say? Concentrating as hard as she could, Moon tried to narrow her mind in order to hear only Soar's thoughts. He was thinking about colours now, naming every colour he could see, in the grass, Winter's scales, Peril's eyes, Moon's wings, and then spelling out each colour. Without a means to get around this, Moon could only beat herself against this wall of thought, which did nothing. How was she supposed to make this decision? Without the ability to read Soar, especially when the rebellion was already dealing with one hidden traitor, could she afford to let him in? But he did seem like he really wanted to know Peril, who'd had no family all her life. Could Moon look her in the eye and tell her "no"?

Darkstalker, she called out. He'd been oddly quiet throughout this exchange. Odd. I can't read him very well… what should I do?

I… His voice was small, faint, like an echo through a deep cave. Moon, it's… hard…

It took all of Moon's willpower not to visibly react, even when her heart was suddenly pounding. Darkstalker?!

Getting too far… I'm trying…

She must be reaching the end of his mental range. That meant he was trapped somewhere on the other side of Jade Mountain. Had he been shouting out, trying to reach her? Don't strain yourself.

His voice came like a whisper, tingling along the shell of her ear. Be careful… with him…

It was only then, as the last echo of his voice was absorbed into her mind, that Moon realised she had an audience. Soar, Peril and Winter were all staring at her, waiting for her verdict, and she'd been staring into space. She shifted her wings, embarrassed. "Sorry. Thought I smelled something."

Peril eyed her, and whispered so loudly it was wonder why she even bothered to whisper. "Well? What do you think? Should we let him in?"

"Considering you've led him right to us," Winter snorted, "I -"

The SkyWing puffed a giant, black smoke ring right in his face, making him choke. She smirked. "Wasn't asking you."

Moon flicked the end of her tail, nostrils flaring, her indicion making her agitated. Soar's mind continued to puzzle her - she couldn't guarantee he was safe. But what if she were in Peril's place, and it was her mother on the other side of that barrier? The memory of Secretkeeper, how much she missed her, the uncertainty of her mother's fate, made Moon's heart ache painfully. There was no question. If it were Secretkeeper, Moon wouldn't hesitate to let her in, to feel that love only a parent could give. Peril had never had that, a mother to comfort her when she had a nightmare, lullabies to soothe her to sleep, that voice to tell her 'I'm here, I've got you, you're safe'.

Peril deserved that.

"Very well," she said. "Soar, on behalf of the rebellion, I invite you into Jade Mountain."

Wings spread in excitement, Soar grinned and stretched out his talon to the barrier. When his claws met no resistance, he stepped right through, bigger than the three younger adults before him. Peril leant forward, like she wanted to jump down to him, but reminded herself she couldn't. Moon paid attention to Soar's mind, to see if this change of circumstances made his constant listings slip. But it didn't.

Soar shrugged his wings with a sheepish smile at Peril. "I would hug you but…"

"Doesn't matter," she muttered, turning her head away in a manner that was obvious to everyone else that it did matter to her.

"No. Because we're together now." Soar caught her attention with that, and when he smiled, she slowly smiled back. Spreading his wings, Soar walked around Moon towards Jade Mountain, but kept his focus on Peril. "Well, I guess you need to take me to your leaders, then? Let's talk on the way. I want to hear everything you've been up to."

Peril followed him, her smile slowly growing, her face seeming to lose that severeness that life had ingrained in her. Instead, she looked almost like a dragonet, eager to follow her father devotedly. Her wings streaked a dash of light as she leapt into the darkening sky, catching up with her father and leading the way. Moon watched them go, and felt herself relax upon seeing Peril so happy.

"She's lucky," Winter's voice came out right next to her. When had he come so close? "Not many parents would be so willing to accept a child with her past, let alone her abilities." He must've noticed Moon staring at him, and frowned. "What? I can be sincere if I want."

Moon chuckled. Her green eyes returned to the shrinking forms of the SkyWings, only visible now as Peril's fiery body seemed to produce its own ever-so-slight illumination. "You're right. She is. I'm not completely sure about Soar… but for Peril's sake… I hope he is everything she needs."

"Despite his tacky fashion sense, he seems genuine in his wish to know her."

She studied Winter, at the way he watched father and daughter fly away. There was something soft in his gaze, and Moon just had to ask, "What's your father like?"

"Nothing like that." He nodded in Soar's direction, his voice unexpectedly quiet. Seeming to remember himself, Winter shook his shoulders, straightening his neck, that IceWing formality back in place. "Prince Narwhal is an exceptional IceWing, and a close advisor to Queen Glacier. He is always quick to remind his children to live up to those expectations."

"But he still loves you, doesn't he?"

At her question, Winter was silent. His mind thought of an IceWing, young, handsome, strong, always smiling. He was surrounded by SkyWings, no way out, as Winter fled for his life. Then she saw two IceWings, one she recognised now Narwhal, and a female, likely Winter's mother. Winter watched them from around the corner of a doorway, as his mother and father stood in their room in the dead of night, heads bowed and pressed together, tears running down their faces.

My fault… Winter's mind whispered. His eyes flickered up to Moon's, and realised that she had likely seen it all.

But he didn't need her to comment. So instead, she buried her pity, and bumped his shoulder playfully with her own. "At least your father isn't an evil mastermind. And a NightWing to boot, can you imagine?"

It worked. Winter huffed a laugh, his frame visibly relaxing. It was good to see him laugh, Moon realised. He spent so long trying to live up to the expectations of his tribe, that when alone, or just the two of them like now, it was like an entirely different dragon came out. A dragon who wanted to be here, a dragon who could smile and be a friend. After what happened yesterday, Moon had feared she would never see that dragon again.

"Sorry for interrupting you and Icicle earlier," she said. "Why was she so angry with you?"

"Oh," Winter sighed, exasperated. "It's my own fault. She's sour because her Skyfire bracelet is broken."

The voices slowly drifted in and out, rousing Moon from her slumber.

… This will happen, with or without your cooperation! Came the hissing voice that sent shivers down Moon's spine.

How long do I have?

Until the next sunset. A part of Moon's brain recognised the urgency of the situation, and it brought her back to full awareness to hear the voice clearly. Just one of them, think you can manage that? Kill one of them by the end of tomorrow… if not, then I shall have to take matters into my own talons.

Moon strained her mind to hear the response, to find the traitor, to know what was happening. If she could find the culprit that set the explosion, then all their troubles would be over! But try as she might, the connection had already been severed, and all Moon could hear was the stray thoughts of dragons in the midst of dreams.

Is it really Scarlet? She asked, knowing he was always with her. Darkstalker, was that her?

She heard him hum thoughtfully. From examining the memories of those who have encountered her, yes, I believe so.

Where is she?

Far from here, he said evasively. So he still hadn't figured out a way to help her. Not without getting her killed.

Moon decided not to focus on such morbid possibilities. Then how did I hear her thoughts?

She is using magic to slip into the dreams of someone here.

What kind of magic?

A Dreamvisitor, I suspect. It is -

I know what it is. Starflight found one in the volcano, that's how he tried to warn everyone about the NightWing attack. But it was lost in the evacuation. How do you know about them?

I created them. He stated the fact as if it should be completely obvious, and not sending Moon's mind reeling with questions. They were meant as a gift. One for me, one for my love, Clearsight, and the last for… my 'friend', Fathom. It was during the war. I didn't know where I would be sent to fight, nor where my friends would end up. The dreamvisitors were meant to link us together always. So that no matter how far apart we were, we could always be together in dreams.

That's… really very sweet of you. And it really was. From Darkstalker's cocky and sometimes cheeky personality, she hadn't expected such romantics from him. Unfortunately, Scarlet now has one.

With that kind of power, Scarlet could do all kinds of damage. She could snoop into the dreaming minds of any dragon in the rebellion and pluck from them any information she wanted. Moon didn't know if the magical barrier would prevent that, but evidently it didn't stop Scarlet from making contact, at least. This meant that the entire rebellion was in more danger than they'd previously thought. And right now, Moon was the only one who knew.

That gave her an advantage, she realised. Not even Scarlet knew Moon was onto her. What if Moon went out in search of her, used her ability to read minds to hear her thoughts and find her. By the Great Dragon, Moon knew that she'd never forget Scarlet's chilling snake-like voice. If she could take back the dreamvisitor, it would eliminate a threat and grant the rebellion an advantage. No more having to send scouts and spies back and forth, Sunny and Glory could contact them no matter where they were.

Despite the fact that she'd just made up with her friends (she hoped), wouldn't it also be safer to leave before anyone else discovered the truth?

Moon. Don't. Said Darkstalker, voice low, quiet.

What if this is what my power is meant for? What if I could go and find Scarlet...?

Please, Moon, don't. For me.

The smallness of his voice, like he was on the brink, made Moon come out of her wild imaginings and focus her full attention on him. What?

I know it sounds selfish but… If you leave, the future goes dark. And even on the slim chance you survive, I won't be with you to help you. I won't be able to reach you. I'll… He couldn't finish.

Darkstalker?

I'm afraid I'll go mad. With no one to talk to, no way to know you're safe…

Moon imagined reaching out and draping her wing across his back, holding him close. Her head attempted to mimic his beautiful music, like he always did for her when he tried to calm her. It's alright. I'm not going anywhere. I promise.

He didn't say anything. But after a moment, Moon felt a tingle across the scales on her tail, like someone had coiled around her. And then Darkstalker joined her in the music, leading her in a simple and uncomplicated duet.