Arctic was having trouble sleeping. He was still adjusting from the nocturnal sleep schedule he had kept during his years in the Night Kingdom. He was also troubled by Whiteout's warning about Snowfox and all the dark possible futures that he suspected might spin from it. His eyes locked with Whiteout's in the dark.
"Hey," he whispered. "Let's go flying. I can show you the Ice Kingdom. Take our mind off things. And the special fish I buy for you in the Night Kingdom swarm by the hundreds right off the shore here. Who cares if we just had a feast?"
Whiteout smiled to show her agreement. The two of them rose quietly and snuck out of the Ice Palace, defying the IceWings' strict rules about sleep schedules.
Outside, it was glorious. Even if a dragon hadn't been raised here, there was no denying that the Ice Kingdom was breathtakingly beautiful. A bright streak of green, blue, and purple light – an aurora – danced in the sky above them to help the moons light the landscape. These natural lights of nighttime gently reflected off the snow and ice that covered everything, making the whole world look and feel bright and lovely. This would be a great place to be nocturnal, Arctic thought.
A wide river rushed between rows of steep, snow-covered hills. Tall, gleaming, snow-capped mountains stood regally beyond. Arctic led the way, closely following the river toward the sea.
The hills suddenly seemed to fall away as they reached the impossibly wide ocean. Its waves roared splendidly. Arctic showed Whiteout how to hunt for those special fish while staying close to the shore for safety. She learned quickly. He felt so proud of her, and proud of himself for teaching her, and proud of his Ice Kingdom home for providing such an abundance of these fish that had been such a delicacy in the Night Kingdom.
As the sky grew lighter, having feasted on their early breakfast of the finest, freshest fish, Arctic and Whiteout turned away from the sea to return to the palace. Arctic had an early meeting with the queen, and he did not want her to become aware that he had snuck out overnight – just like in those first days of his relationship with Foeslayer.
As they flew, Whiteout's head turned and she squinted into the distance.
"There," she said simply.
Arctic looked. Far away, closer to the mountains, someone else was flying. It might have been hard to tell from this distance, but he had grown up around that dragon. Arctic was quite sure that it was his mother.
What was she doing out there, alone, at this hour?
She was not the type to betray IceWing norms and rise before dawn to take a leisurely flight.
Arctic hesitated. He did not want to be seen. But he also desperately wanted to know what Queen Diamond was up to. What if it had something to do with the war? Or what if the queen had a secret that Arctic could use to his advantage in his negotiations with her?
Arctic took a deep breath and made a mental note of Queen Diamond's general location. He could investigate later. Or could he? Would his whereabouts during waking hours be carefully monitored, as they always were when he previously he lived in the Ice Kingdom?
Arctic and Whiteout watched as Queen Diamond shrank further and further into the distance. There was still a little time before Arctic's scheduled meeting with the queen. The imaginary voice of Foeslayer whispered in his mind: Now's your chance.
Arctic abruptly changed course in the air, taking a sharp left in the direction he had seen Queen Diamond flying away from. Whiteout hastened to follow her father.
They flew carefully close to the ground to minimize the possibility of being seen, following the increasingly steep curves of the hills until they turned into mountains.
"This way," Whiteout said. "I feel it."
Arctic felt it, too. It felt like something unnatural lay ahead. It felt like magic.
Whiteout led the way now, using her knowing (as Arctic was starting to think of it) to find the way. Arctic followed her carefully around cliffs and through narrow crevasses, paying careful attention in case he needed to find the way again, until they stopped in front of a cave. They landed carefully near the mouth of the cave and peered inside.
They could not see the back of the cave. Arctic made a short, loud noise to listen for an echo… and it echoed back and back and back to him. The feeling of magic was strong here. This cave had been magically carved into the mountains. Arctic and Whiteout both shivered.
"What is this?" Arctic asked Whiteout. If the queen respected her for her knowing, then he would, too.
She thought for a few moments, seeming to listen to something far inside the cave. "There's hatred here. And death, and life. A curse. I– I don't understand this." She went quiet, her expression flummoxed, her eyes frightened.
Arctic took a deep breath. Again, those weren't the clear, eloquent words he'd hoped his enchanted necklace would gift to Whiteout, but there was still some information there. But not nearly enough. He glanced up at the sky, brighter than ever. They needed to get back to the palace. He would come back tonight, if he could, to investigate further.
"We have to go meet with Queen Diamond to get your mother back," Arctic said. They took off flying.
"Don't trust her," Whiteout called out.
They flew silently the rest of the way back to the palace.