Glorious Politics

AN: Longest GP chapter to date right here!

Let's find out why the warning bell was ringing, shall we? Oh, and remember when I promised that Mistral and Glory's relationship would have some bumps to it? Yeah...

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. Nimbus, Sobek, Mistral, and Veneno are my OCs. Bloodwalker belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan. Certus, Solstice, and Swiftback belong to Epsilon33. Bear belongs to Schwanze.

Chapter Forty-Two:

Eyes snapping open at the distant yet clear ringing of the palace warning bell, Glory was up and alert in an instant. All traces of sleep and exhaustion were gone, and she wasn't the only one to be awoken by the bell. Mistral was awake, too, his body tense as he knew that the warning bell only rang when there was danger afoot. He was growling lowly, his gaze occasionally switching between the door and the windows overlooking the inner courtyard.

"Should...we go check it out?" she hesitantly suggested. The fact they just arrived and there was nothing out of the ordinary on their approach meant it was highly unlikely to be an invading army, which was one of only three reasons the warning bell would ring. The other two were for if there was any kind of serious crime, such as murder, found to be committed within the palace or if a prisoner had escaped.

Both of those possibilities weren't great.

"No. We stay put." For some reason, that took her by surprise. She thought Mistral would be the first to volunteer to see what heinous act had been committed, but he seemed quite adamant about both of them staying here. "Let the palace guards take care of it. I'll keep watch if you want to go back to sleep."

"Sleep? With that racket?" The bell was still ringing, and now a chorus of shouts and a cacophony of rapid clawsteps were rapidly growing louder. Mistral huffed and nodded, recognizing her point.

A series of loud knocks came from the door, and neither of them moved to open it. At least until the dragon on the other side identified herself. "It's Peril! Let me in!"

"It's unlocked!" Glory shouted. Mistral turned to look at her incredulously, and she shrugged sheepishly. "I forgot," she said simply.

Before he could verbally chastise her for not locking the door, it opened to reveal their Skywing friend. Once she was inside, she shut the door and locked it, the deadbolt sliding into place with an audible clank. "You know, you really should lock your doors while we're here. There is an apparent traitor running around this place."

Mistral glared at her again, and Glory huffed. "None of the huts in my Kingdom have door locks, okay? Sometimes I forget they even exist, so don't look at me like that."

"Maybe you should rectify that," was his curt response.

The Rainwing huffed again, even though she knew he was right. "Anyway..." she turned to Peril. "What are you doing in our room?"

"Veneno told me to wait with you two while she and the palace guard go see why the bell's ringing." She moved to walk further in before she paused, her expression turning to confusion. "Were you sleeping on the floor?" Mistral blinked but didn't say anything. "It looks like the bed's big enough for both of you."

As she was preparing to come to Mistral's defense, the Icewing spoke up for himself. "I was giving her her space."

"Uh huh..." Peril looked as though she didn't believe that at all. "If you're supposed to be in a relationship, what's so wrong with sleeping together?"

"Can you just drop it!?" Peril smirked at Mistral's raised voice and aggressive tone but decided to indulge him.

The Skywing moved past Mistral and ended up jumping up to lay on the unoccupied side of the bed next to her. Glory snickered at what Peril was doing and the exasperation radiating from the Icewing in the room. "So...any thoughts on what's going on?"

That question brought the seriousness back into the room as they all thought about what might be happening out there. From the sounds of it, things weren't calming down in the slightest. All the shouting was still as loud as before.

"Vulture's group broke prisoners out of the dungeons once before, didn't they?" She nodded at Mistral's question. "But since I have no idea who's still down there, I couldn't even guess who they'd break out."

"Could be even worse than that," Peril posited, and both of them looked to her. "Sobek already attacked us in the Rainforest, trying to kill Glory. Maybe there's another assassin out and about here."

"Well, they won't exactly be short of potential targets," Glory grumbled. Then, a massive spike of fear hit her. "What if they killed mom?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mistral move towards her while also feeling a warm, large wing drape over her back. She wasn't paying much attention to either of them, though, as that possibility stabbed through her heart. She'd only been officially adopted for less than an hour! Her mom couldn't already be taken from her! "Let's not go that far," Mistral began, his voice gentle but firm. "If Queen Thorn was murdered, there would be a lot more activity out there."

"Not to be a downer or anything, but that is a lot of activity out there," Peril said softly, worry beginning to seep into her voice now, too.

"If Thorn was dead, we'd already know about it," Mistral repeated more adamantly. "What's more likely is that they went after Qibli and Moon or even Six-Claws."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better!?" Glory shrieked, feeling a fresh wave of dread hit her. "They're all my friends, too!"

Mistral winced, realizing his form of comfort actually did more harm than good. He opened his mouth in preparation to speak when another knock came from the door. "Everyone okay in there?"

A massive wave of relief coursed through her at hearing the friendly voice. It was Moon, and she wouldn't sound this calm if something horrendous had happened to anyone she was close with, which meant Thorn and Qibli were alright. "We're alright!" Glory called. "Mistral, open the door."

He did so, albeit reluctantly since he wasn't Moon's biggest fan, and once the door was unlocked, the Nightwing stepped inside. Mistral shut and relocked the door behind her once he made sure no one else was about to come in. The same question was likely on all three of their minds, but Moon didn't need to be a mind reader to know that. "The guards bringing Sobek's body to the incinerator were found dead, and his body's gone."

All of them stared at her in a half-and-half mix of confusion and surprise. Mistral recovered first. "Are you trying to say he's alive?"

She shrugged, looking just as confused as the rest of them. "Either that or the cult wanted his body back. Turtle says it's impossible to bring a dead dragon back to life, even with animus magic, and I believe him. Darkstalker tried the same thing with Clearsight, and it never worked."

"Yeah, but she died two thousand years ago. She's probably nothing but bones now," Mistral argued. "Sobek still has a body."

Moon looked a bit less confident now, but she apparently was sticking with her argument. "Still, I think Turtle's other idea is more likely. Jerboa probably enchanted Sobek to be immune to the effects of Sandwing venom...or at least alter the effects they had on him."

"So we are operating under the assumption that he's still alive," Mistral concluded, to which Moon nodded.

"Any idea who his target is now?" And more importantly, did she still need to be concerned about finding an assassin in her room?

...Again.

"Well...Qibli had a few ideas based on how they've operated in the past." She started counting off the possibilities on her claws. "He would make a good bargaining chip against Thorn, and I would be a good one to manipulate him. You, of course, since they've tried to get you several times now. Greatness since everyone who could defend her is here now. Turtle is highly unlikely but possible."

"He's an animus...and so is his sister. Besides, Anemone wouldn't bow to their demands. She'd just magic her way out of it." Moon nodded to Glory's analysis, showing she agreed.

"And last but certainly not least, the one who Qibli thinks is the most likely target for reasons he hasn't explained to me...is Hailstorm," she finished.

That took them all by surprise, especially Mistral. "He's still here?"

Moon nodded. "Thorn asked him to stay and help her figure out who the traitor is. Since he's not a member of her court, she thought she could trust him. He agreed, though I hear Snowfall wasn't too happy about it." It looked like Mistral nearly gave Moon his obligatory, 'That's Queen Snowfall to you,' but was able to hold himself back.

Old guilt started eating away at Glory. It was hard enough having to tell his cousin and best friend about Winter's fate. How much harder would it be to tell his brother? "Does...Does he know what happened to Winter?"

Moon's gaze snapped to her, and she blinked several times in both confusion and worry. Glory knew what that meant before the Nightwing even said anything. "What? What happened to Winter?"

"Qibli didn't tell you?" That was from Peril, and she seemed genuinely taken aback by that.

"Tell me what!?" For someone who seemed extremely awkward and uncomfortable around her old flame the last time she saw them together, Moon seemed a bit too concerned. "What happened to Winter?"

"Nothing from Thorn, either?" Peril checked, and if looks could kill, Peril would be an ash heap from the heat of Moon's glare. "Really?"

Before Moon could explode, Glory bit back her guilt and told her what she wanted to know. "The cult captured my brother and offered me a trade: Jambu for Winter. He...volunteered."

Moon's face went expressionless in an instant, and she looked away. "So that's why he started wearing his skyfire again," she muttered, then huffed. "Bastard..."

All three of them wore similar, bewildered expressions. Even Mistral knew something wasn't right here. Knowing this was sensitive territory, Glory nevertheless dove right into the problem. "Are you and Qibli doing okay?"

Moon looked surprised by the question, but then she realized why they were asking. "Oh...yeah, we're fine. I was calling Winter a bastard, not Qibli." Then, she frowned. "But I will now. Bastard. Why didn't he tell me!?"

"He probably didn't want you to worry," Peril tried.

But that only seemed to make Moon angrier. "That's not his decision to make! I can worry about Winter all I want, and there's not a damn thing he can do to stop me!"

"Why do you even care, anyway?" Mistral's curiosity had somewhat overpowered his natural animosity towards the Nightwing telepath. "According to Winter, the two of you hardly spoke after Jade Mountain."

Moon's expression fell, and she looked away in clear guilt. "I know..." She chuckled humorlessly. "Do you know how lucky I was? Four years old, and I already had two utterly gorgeous males vowing for my attention. Both of them had flaws, though Winter was a bit more...outgoing with his. In the end, however..." She trailed off with a sigh.

There was a long moment of silence until Glory broke it with a realization she'd never expected to have. "You loved them both, didn't you?" Moon's faint, sad smile was all the answer she needed. "I thought you were happy with Qibli." In all the time she'd known the Nightwing, there'd been no clue leading her to any other conclusion. Moon always seemed happy with her Sandwing, and she never spoke of Winter.

"I am!" was the immediate, almost panicked response. Forcing herself to calm down, Moon repeated herself. "I am happy with Qibli. I love him with all my heart. But...things were different back then. My four-year-old self didn't know who to choose. Winter said I should choose Qibli, Qibli said I should choose Winter, I didn't know what to do, and then Winter left, leaving me with only one option." She was quiet for a while as all three spectators digested this new information. For her part, Glory never really thought about how Moon's love life when she was busy with finding someone of her own, so she never knew how the Nightwing ended up with Qibli. "Sometimes I think of all the 'What ifs'," she admitted. "What if I did end up with Winter? What would my life be like then? I talk to Qibli about it sometimes, too. He says he understands and that he does the same. There were a lot of bad days for him after Winter disappeared where he started pushing me away. He said I deserved Winter more than him, and oh my gosh, why can't I stop talking? It's just coming out, and I can't stop it."

Glory hopped up, Peril's wing sliding off of her back, as she went over to calm her friend down. "Just take deep breaths, Moon." She draped her own wing across the larger Nightwing's back, and that was enough for Moon to snap out of whatever funk she'd fallen into. Several deep breaths later, she'd finally calmed down enough to look more embarrassed than anything.

"Sounds like some unresolved internal conflicts to me," Peril said. She wasn't wrong, though there were probably better ways to say it.

Moon didn't seem too upset by the less-than-tactful comment, though. "I guess... Seeing Winter face-to-face for the first time in almost eight years must've thrown me off."

"Was it really that long?" She meant it as a rhetorical question, but Moon nodded, nonetheless. "Were you actively avoiding him or something?"

The violent wince was all the answer she needed. "And now I feel like absolute scum for not even trying to help him—and myself—move on now that he's...gone." The mere utterance was enough for tears to start forming in her eyes.

Before Moon could get sucked back into a pit of despair, Glory gave her the same promise she made herself. "I have every intention of finding him and bringing him back alive, Moon. The cult needs him alive to bargain with Snowfall, so you're only allowed to worry if we get word that Snowfall isn't Queen anymore." Everyone was quiet for a moment, and Glory looked around before shaking her head. "Nothing happened, so I guess she's still fine."

Moon snickered, and Glory was glad to see her friend feeling at least a bit better.

Just then, three heavy knocks, which honestly sounded more akin to someone trying to bust down the door, had them all jumping in surprise. "The lot of you need to get out here now!"

Only one of the dragons present didn't recognize the voice, and she seemed absolutely terrified, but after Moon saw that none of the others were too terribly concerned, she calmed down again. "That's Bear," Peril commented as Mistral moved to open the door again. "What's got him so worked up?"

The door opened to reveal the Mudwing Captain with several of his personal guards at his flanks. His expression was severe, and Glory dreaded what he was about to say. "Prince Hailstorm is missing."

"What do you mean 'missing'!?" Mistral demanded, panic and fury fighting for dominance in his expression.

"Exactly what I said. He's not in his room or anywhere else in the palace. Queen Thorn has already dispatched guards to search the town, but I think we all know it's a wasted effort." Mistral growled at his choice of words but didn't argue. "Sobek somehow survived getting stabbed with Queen Thorn's tail barb and captured Prince Hailstorm...and we gave him the opportunity."

"And what is that supposed to mean!?" Peril bristled at the insinuation that they were somehow responsible for this.

"It means he played us all as fools!" a new voice spoke up. Bear stepped aside to reveal Qibli, more furious than Glory had ever seen him. Smoke was pouring out of his nostrils, not unlike how Thorn had been earlier when confronted with Sobek. Like mother, like son, she supposed. "The palace was on lockdown! He staged the attack to get captured, knowing you lot would bring him here! Sobek is too well-trained to make a mission personal. He could've—and should've—killed you in the Rainforest, Glory. He had more than enough opportunity to do so. But no...his real target was here."

Glory glared at the Sandwing, joining Peril in the 'not liking what he said' club. "Nice to hear you apparently care so little about me. I should've died?" She turned to Peril. "That's what he said, right?"

"That's what he said," the Skywing confirmed.

That seemed to knock some sense into the Sandwing as he looked away with a sigh. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"I hate to break up this little drama of yours, but Prince Hailstorm is MISSING!" If he hadn't had everyone's attention before, he certainly had it now. Though Mistral started off speaking normally, he ended with a furious roar that had everyone shutting up. "I AM NOT LOSING HIM, TOO!" He growled, daring anyone to argue, and once it became clear no one was going to, he stood and started barking out orders. "Sobek can't have gotten far. Qibli, have patrols sweep the entire city, every block, every house if you need to. Bear, send a scout in all eight cardinal and intermediate directions. Sobek won't get far with a prisoner in tow. Peril, Glory, you two come with me. We're going to check out Hailstorm's room and the 'incinerator', see if we can't find any clues as to where they might've gone. Or at the very least, who was involved or how this happened."

With no better plan and no time to waste coming up with one, everyone scattered to follow Mistral's instructions. Qibli ran off, presumably to tell Thorn the plan of action, and Bear began walking away barking orders to his guards, who promptly saluted and ran ahead of him. That just left the four that had already been in the room, and Mistral looked to Moon. For once, his expression wasn't one of anger or hostility when looking at the Nightwing. Without words—or maybe with mental ones—he was very clearly pleading for her help.

And Moon was only too happy to oblige. "I'll take you to Hailstorm's room. Follow me." She led them to the other end of the palace's guest wing to the rooms closest to the kitchen and dining hall at the rear of the palace. The guards milling around outside the last room, the one against the rear wall, were a clear indication of which room they were looking for.

They allowed them passage without a word, and Glory frowned at the scene inside. Other than the bed being a mess and the outside window being open, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. It was Mistral who voiced what all of them were thinking. "There was no fight."

"How would you describe Hailstorm's fighting abilities?" Glory asked him.

"Average," he immediately responded as he moved to look out the window. "Hailstorm has always been more of a thinker than a fighter. He probably connected the dots upon seeing his attacker, knew he couldn't fight Sobek, and just went along with the abduction to bide his time until he could escape."

"One thing's for certain, though," Peril began, and all three of them turned to her. "They didn't go out the window."

Glory looked skeptical, but when the Skywing just motioned in that direction, she began to understand where that conclusion came from. Hailstorm was far from the largest dragon she knew, but he was still big. And Sobek was bigger still. Looking at Mistral next to the window for comparison showed that a dragon his size couldn't squeeze through that window. It was too small.

"There's a lot of windows in this palace, but none of them are very big," Moon explained. "They allow air to flow through while remaining small enough to limit the amount of sunlight, and heat, coming in."

"It's also for security purposes, I imagine," Mistral commented. He moved away from the window to search the bed, and Glory moved to look out the window herself. Other than the cool breeze and the empty, moonlit dunes beyond the palace's perimeter defense wall, there was nothing of note. After a few minutes of silence as the Icewing searched the room, he shook his head with an annoyed growl. "There's nothing here! The open window's probably just to let the cool air in."

"If not here, then where did Hailstorm get taken?" Glory looked around for a few seconds before looking to Moon to see if she had any ideas. She knew this palace better than they, and since Hailstorm had been here for a while, she may know some of his habits.

Moon looked to the floor in thought, but a few seconds later, Mistral's voice had them all turning back to him. "I think we have grossly misinterpreted their plans. We assumed they wanted Winter as leverage against Icicle, but everyone knows—Winter himself told me!—that she cares more for Hailstorm than him. Hailstorm, however, would do anything for his brother."

"So they take Winter for leverage against Hailstorm, and then use Hailstorm as leverage against Icicle? Seems needlessly complicated. Why not just go after Hailstorm to begin with?" Peril raised a good point, and it had both Glory and Mistral stumped for an answer.

The latter growled in growing frustration. "Who's to say with these psychotic morons?"

That was another good point. Trying to predict rational behavior from clearly irrational individuals was a fool's errand if ever she'd heard of one. "Come on, Moon. Is there anywhere else that Hailstorm might've been tonight?"

Moon was silent as she thought for several seconds before shaking her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't know. Hailstorm and I aren't particularly close. Qibli might have some ideas."

"Find him," the Icewing commanded. Moon nodded and ran out to do just that, and Mistral turned to her and Peril. "I doubt he actually searched this room. He's too smart to look at this room and think this is where Hailstorm was captured."

There was a thought niggling at the back of her mind, and though it took a few minutes to figure out what it was, eventually she connected the dots. "Was my room in the Skywing palace a mess after Sobek captured me?" she asked her two friends.

"No, but you're considerably smaller and easier to overpower." The Rainwing glared at Mistral for his blunt statement, especially since she knew it was true.

"Point taken, but I remember he took me by surprise. I was completely immobilized within seconds of entering my room and unconscious in less than a minute. Maybe Hailstorm didn't fight back because he didn't even have a chance to." From his expression, Mistral was considering the possibility. "I know Hailstorm is considerably larger than me, but Sobek knows this palace like the back of his claw. Even with an unconscious prisoner, he shouldn't have much trouble escaping unnoticed."

"That was my thought." All three of them turned to see that Moon had just arrived with Qibli. It was the Sandwing who'd spoken. "And Hailstorm was always back in his room before midnight. He had a routine that he didn't break from."

"Sounds like him," Mistral nodded.

"I don't come up with half-assed assumptions, Mistral. You should know me better than that. I did search this room thoroughly, and based off what I know to be fact, Hailstorm was taken from this room." Qibli's tone and expression dared the Icewing to argue, and his glare was quite unfriendly.

"He's my friend, too," Mistral snapped, getting in the Sandwing's face. When Qibli didn't back down, Mistral's voice grew dangerously quiet. "And I've known him for a lot longer than you have, so why don't you quit the tough-guy act. Or do you seriously think Prince Hailstorm means more to you, some random Sandwing who only knows him because of his brother, than the dragon who was raised with him?"

Qibli's jaw tensed, and his gaze narrowed, but he didn't say anything. Moon and Glory were watching the two warily, but Peril took the initiative to firmly push them apart and step between them, thereby breaking line of sight. "I get it that tensions are high right now, but we don't need to be fighting each other. Find Hailstorm now, and I'll let the two of you rip into each other later. How's that sound?" It was clear she would only accept one answer.

Both males reluctantly backed down, and Glory moved to calm Mistral down as Moon did the same for Qibli. She leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek, which he seemed to appreciate. Knowing that she had his attention now, she whispered, "It's not a competition for who's more upset or who cares for Hailstorm more, okay? We're all upset, and we all care for Hailstorm. There's no reason for any of us to be fighting each other."

He released a deep exhale before nodding almost imperceptibly. "I know, I'm sorry."

They were half a second away from kissing before Qibli's voice made them back away, albeit regretfully. "There's nothing of note in the incinerator, either. Based on the attack pattern, it was a single aggressor, definitely Sobek. There were drag patterns on the ground where the two guards were dragging him, and then suddenly, there's a third set of footprints. I don't know if it's magic, or if he built himself a natural immunity somehow, but Thorn's venom didn't kill Sobek."

Mistral nodded. "So what do we do?"

"Nothing to do except wait. Patrols are already searching the town, and scouts are heading away from the city to try and find a trail." It was clear Mistral didn't like that answer, but he didn't argue since he understood that there wasn't anything else to be done at this point in time.

"What about having Turtle use a spell to locate him?" Peril's idea had them all thinking, but there was one thing stopping anyone from agreeing.

What if they found out about their use of a spell to disrupt their plans and retaliate? Until they got enough of those anti-magic charms to spread to those who needed them, no one wanted to risk it. Anemone herself, the dragoness that used her magic whenever and however she wanted, was no longer using magic because of that fear.

"With him bringing Jerboa into the picture, Vulture's made sure we can only do things his way." Qibli winced at the mention of his grandfather but otherwise didn't say anything as Mistral continued. "And I actually agree with him this one time."

Everyone stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Say what!?"

The Icewing looked at the Sandwing seriously. "Animus magic is not a force to be trifled with. Even ignoring the old theory of it damaging one's soul, which Anemone has quite thoroughly proven false, it is still dangerous. And before you try comparing it to any other weapon, such as a sword or our own claws, they cannot unmake the fabric of reality and allow dragons to ignore the natural laws of this world."

"I doubt that's what's going through my grandfather's head," Qibli muttered.

"Perhaps not," the Icewing shot back. "I doubt a dragon as ruthless and cruel as Vulture would see things so empathetically. But even he knows the power of magic. He knows what it is capable of, and he doesn't want to be on the receiving end of it. I have no doubt he would use it to line his coffers and seize power once Turtle and Anemone are taken out of the picture, but for now, the lives of our two Seawing friends might just be our greatest assets."

"No normal assassin can kill them, either," Glory pointed out. "I doubt even Jerboa would know how to get rid of them."

"No normal animus could go against another without some sort of consequence befalling them," the Icewing agreed, but then his expression grew grave. "But a future-seeing, mind-reading Nightwing with no sense of morality?"

The reference to Darkstalker's capabilities sent a chill down everyone's spines. Theoretically, all animus dragons had equal capabilities. The difference of effectiveness of the magic lied solely on the individual wielding it and how intelligent, imaginative, or cunning they were. Spells had to be well thought out and potential consequences or loopholes determined to make sure the magic didn't go awry.

For a regular animus, there was no way to be certain of the results until the spell was cast, but that was a risk most weren't willing to take, especially with larger, more complex spells. One that could see the future, however, was another matter entirely. Darkstalker could know the consequences of whatever spell he wanted to cast before he even cast it. He could see the futures to determine what spells to use in order to bring him closer to his 'ideal' future.

Again, theoretically, any non-Nightwing should be able to cast a future-sight spell on themselves to gain the same advantage. But one, there was always the risk of messing up the spell and causing oneself horrible brain trauma, insanity, or even death. And two, as Darkstalker himself illustrated, that kind of temptation—the desire to have a 'perfect future'—could easily corrupt one's purpose and drive them to commit progressively worse deeds as they sought a control they could never truly achieve.

Maybe Darkstalker wouldn't have been the monster he became had he not possessed his futuresight. It was hard to know for certain, but it certainly wouldn't have made things any worse...probably.

"But we made sure he couldn't come back." Qibli suddenly looked unsure of his own statement and looked to Moon. "Didn't we?"

Moon looked equally unsure. "I'd say yes if not for the cult. They wouldn't be trying this hard to revive him if their wasn't a possibility, would they?"

Peril scoffed. She'd taken up residence upon the bed since they'd been hanging around this one room for a while. "Remember how Mistral said they were 'psychotic morons'? Also, they're called cultists for a reason."

No one said anything for a moment, but Glory noticed how uncomfortable Qibli looked. "You have something to add, Qibli?"

The Sandwing seemed to have an internal debate as to whether he should say anything. Eventually, however, he told them what was on his mind. "It's just something I've been thinking about ever since this whole deal started. Darkstalker's supposed to be this super intelligent dragon with almost unrivaled foresight abilities, right?" A round of nods. "So then why didn't he see what the strawberry would do?"

Silence.

Nobody had any explanation for how Kinkajou's spur of the moment plan had actually blindsided Darkstalker, of all dragons. "It was a heat of the moment thing, so maybe he didn't have time to see it?" Moon weakly tried to argue.

"You really believe that?" Mistral challenged her, to which she hesitantly shook his head. "Unsettling as it is, I think it's important to consider that this was all a part of some twisted plan of his. Darkstalker is no god, but that doesn't mean he isn't a force to be reckoned with. The moment we start underestimating him and how unfathomably intelligent he is is the exact moment we've lost."

'Unsettling' was certainly an understatement. She didn't doubt that Darkstalker somehow predicted the exact course the future would take—or at least prepare for the most probable or general futures. She didn't really think about it all that much since it wasn't any of her business, but Mistral's declaration made her understand why the Nightwings still collectively preferred to have their dragonets hatch indoors and away from the moonlight. Knowledge of the future and the ability to at least somewhat control it was a power no dragon should have. Or at the very least, those that did should be heavily monitored.

Then came the problem of those monitoring them using their powers for their own gain, much like the Nightwing Queen during Darkstalker's time had. It was just too much knowledge, and therefore power, for any dragon to have. Perhaps it was potentially even more dangerous than animus magic in that regard.

Glory sighed, knowing it probably wasn't healthy to be thinking too deeply upon such heavy topics. "If there's nothing more to be done, maybe we should try to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be an equally long day."

There was a round of nods all around as the exhaustion from the last few days returned in full force. The only one who didn't seem to be all that affected was Peril, but that was hardly surprising knowing who she was. Long hours of physical exertion and her were best friends. "I'll go check in with Thorn, make sure she's caught up and knows everyone else is okay. Moon, you and I are on night patrol duty in the guest wing while Glory's here." The Nightwing seemed utterly dejected knowing she'd have to stay up the rest of the night but nodded, regardless.

"Well..." Peril bounded off of the bed and rolled her shoulders. "I guess a few-hours' nap wouldn't hurt. See you guys in the morning." With that, she was the first to go, Qibli right behind her to do as he said he would.

Mistral made for the door, pausing long enough to study Moon for a moment that ended when he nodded at her—in respect or appreciation for her help, Glory didn't know—but from the surprise on Moon's face, the Rainwing gathered he'd said something to her in his mind. Most likely, something he wasn't willing to admit out loud quite yet.

He waited just outside of the room for Glory to join him, and once she'd taken her place on his right side—not touching since they wanted to put at least some effort to keep their relationship out of Snowfall's knowledge—the two walked back down the hall towards their shared room. Mistral was unusually quiet, but since they were alone for the moment, other than Moon trailing a good distance behind them, she decided to tell him of the theft she and Veneno had discovered.

"My bracelet, the one Anemone gave me, is missing." He glanced down at her, taking in her expression to make sure she wasn't lying and then confirming it for himself as he checked her wrist. "I last left it in Thorn's room before we went to eat at Nimbus' restaurant, but she hasn't seen it. Veneno and I think Magnificent must've taken it."

Mistral grunted, glanced behind them for a moment, and then frowned as he looked ahead once more. "Nothing we can do about that right now," he told her curtly. Beyond that, he didn't say anything. He didn't even glance in her direction again until they made it to their room and he stopped to hold the door open for her.

His silence worried her, and it didn't take a genius to realize he was being unusually quiet and dismissive because he was upset about Hailstorm. As soon as she was inside the room, she turned to face him. "Are you okay?" It was a genuine question, said in a way that asked him to talk to her without making it an outright demand.

The door shut more forcibly than it needed to be, though he made a point to avoid her gaze. His claws lingered on the handle for longer than necessary, but his gaze seemed to land on the Icewing circle necklace that hung around his neck—one that still indicated him to be second-circle. She hadn't really paid it much mind until now, but apparently Snowfall hadn't given him a new necklace after his demotion.

She took a single step forward upon noticing that he was shaking before he sneered in contempt and ripped the necklace from his neck. Taken aback by his sudden, furious action, she hesitated to do or say anything until he spoke first since she didn't want to say something to make things worse. He glared at the necklace in his open claws before forcefully tossing it to the ground away from him in readily apparent disgust.

"When I lost my parents, I swore I would never allow anyone to take those I cared about from me again." Only now did his gaze lock onto hers, and for the first time since she'd known him, the anger she could see in his expression and hear in his voice was aimed squarely at himself. Unlike Winter, who was really the only comparison she could make, Mistral had never once shown any sort of self-doubt or self-loathing. The former Lord knew his place and accepted who he was. Seeing him like this was a first for her, and she had no idea what to do. "I gave up the life my parents wanted for me and threw myself into my training. I joined the military and became a soldier rather than the politician I was originally meant to become."

He looked away with a growl, his jaw clenching and unclenching from the force of his sudden emotions. "A fat lot of good that did me!" he spat. A loud bang from the door made her jump, but it was only upon moving a few steps to her left that she noticed he'd punched it. From the angle, she knew it wasn't hard enough for him to have broken anything, but it hadn't exactly been a soft hit. "Winter and Hailstorm were like brothers to me!" His gaze swung around to her again, and this time he approached her, radiating fury unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was enough to make her afraid of him, and she took steps backwards until she bumped into the bed, but he still approached, not even caring that he was scaring her. "Within a matter of days, both of them have been taken from me! So I ask you this..."

He leaned down until his face was inches from hers. Her scales turned a lighter shade of green to show her fear as his intense gaze penetrated her until she was unable to look away for fear of him striking. "What makes your brother more important than mine?" His voice was as much a whisper as it was a hiss. He didn't even give her a chance to respond before he continued. "Jambu is a nobody. Winter is an Icewing Prince, and you somehow thought he was less important!?"

Her heart pounded in her chest. She had no idea he'd been holding in this much anger because of her earlier choice. Had she known, she would've addressed it before it exploded in such a fashion. "F-Former..." It was the only response she could come up with, and it only took a second to realize her mistake.

His tail slammed on the ground and he snarled at her. "DON'T GET TECHNICAL WITH ME! Former Prince or not, Winter is a member of the Icewing Royal Family!" Once again, his voice lowered until it was a dangerous growl. "But he swore an oath to you...gave you his loyalty when he had no one else to turn to. He trusted you enough to do as you asked him to, but what did you gain from that?" He backed away and glared down at her. "Where is your brother even at? You sacrificed a dragon I consider to be a brother for someone who didn't even bother sticking around. Who didn't even thank you for saving his life." He scoffed. "But you better hope he stays missing this time around because I swear on my honor that if he ever shows up again, I'll kill him myself." Despite knowing how angry he was, she could tell that was no idle threat.

It was a promise.

Mistral would kill Jambu when next they crossed paths.

With that declaration, he glared at her for a few more seconds before storming away, throwing the door open as he left the room. Glory sighed in utter relief, sagging to the floor as she watched the open doorway. Bloodwalker slipped inside after a few seconds with Moon right behind him. He was next to her in a second. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No...No, he didn't." Angry as he was, he didn't lay a single claw on her, which was a good sign. Whether or not this was enough to tear their relationship apart was another matter, but she knew—and he had proven to her—that he would never hurt her.

"That's good," he sighed in relief. "Moon was listening in, so I would've known if he had, but still..." He glared at the open door that the Icewing had left from. "Want me to give him a piece of my mind?"

Glory immediately shook her head. "No, leave him be. Let him cool down in his own time." She sighed, muttering the truth that broke her heart. "He has every right to be angry with me right now."

Hopefully, some form of reconciliation will happen later. If not tomorrow, then soon.

AN: Well, this is a particularly big bump, ain't it? Turns out Mistral wasn't quite over what happened with Winter, and with Hailstorm gone now, too, he just couldn't handle holding in that anger anymore.

Speaking of, poor Hailstorm. And how exactly does one kill Sobek? The guy's like a cockroach at this point. Every time you think he's dead, he just comes back.

Hope you enjoyed the extra long chapter!

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22