Chapter Text
“Sora!”
She felt tears well up at the sound of her name. She knew Moon knew. She knew everyone knew.
But she still couldn’t move. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Tamarin’s unconscious form, her body frighteningly still. Moon and Qibli came running, Umber right behind them, but she barely registered their presence until Moon grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around so fast it made her vision spin with it.
“Sora, you need to leave! Icicle knows it was you, and she’s going to try and kill you.”
“I— I know…” Sora let her tears spill freely as Umber wrapped his wings around her. She didn't even have the energy to stand up, slumping into her brother like her limbs had become jelly.
“Sora, why didn’t you tell me?” Umber asked, gently cupping her face with his talons and lifting it up so they were eye to eye.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, stammering as she struggled to push out the next sentence. “I didn’t want to get you involved. Or Marsh. Or Clay.”
Her gaze fell upon the door way of the infirmary, so when she at first saw the IceWing enter, she let out a sharp gasp, nearly collapsing in fear—only for it to be Winter, not Icicle.
“Sora.” He bit out her name like a blade slicing the air. He was mad. Really mad.
“I j-just…" She sniffed loudly, her tears were falling fast, blurring her vision and tickling her chin. She wiped at them angrily, her inhales sharp and shuddering as they entered her lungs. She could feel the IceWing Prince's gaze burning holes into her eye lids. Looking in his eyes might just set her ablaze, just like she'd done to Carnelian and Bigtail with the bomb. "She— she... she killed Crane!" Sora’s voice cracked, and the weight of her grief pressed down on her chest, suffocating her.
Winter stopped in front of her, his anger faltering for a moment. His brows furrowed. “Who?” His voice had softened, oddly gentle for an IceWing.
“My—my sister…” she sniffled, leaning into Umber. “Icicle killed her.”
Winter’s expression shattered in an instant. Shock rippled through him, stiffening his posture. He had come here thinking she was a murderer, that she had done all this with cold intent.
“I…” Winter’s tail lashed, his wings tensing, but before he could say anything else—
A furious roar split the cave.
Icicle was too fast. Sora barely had time to react before the IceWing lunged for her.
Winter was in front of her in a flash, and Icicle slammed into him instead, sending them both stumbling. She snarled, trying to shove him aside, but Winter flared his wings, momentarily blinding her with the sunlight reflecting off his scales.
Icicle blinked furiously before lunging again.
Everything became a blur. Qibli was on her back, claws digging in, but Icicle was stronger than he must have expected. She roared, spinning around and shaking, attempting to throw the SandWing off her back, nearly taking Umber’s head off with her tail. Winter reacted fast—slamming into her side and helping Qibli pin her down.
“WINTER, GET THE FUCK OFF ME! YOU FOOL!” Icicle screeched, thrashing wildly.
Sora stumbled back, heart hammering so hard she could hear it in her ears. The blood drained from her face. She had been inches from death.
Moon rushed over. “Sora! Are you okay?”
Sora shook her head, the movement making her stomach lurch. Moon pulled her into her wings, but her legs felt like they couldn’t hold her up. She crouched down instead, shaking.
Talon steps pounded through the hall, rushing toward them.
The moment she saw Clay, she ran—slamming into his chest so hard she nearly knocked herself over backwards.
“Sora! What happened?” Clay’s warm wings wrapped around her, but all she could do was sob.
“I—I’m sorry! Don’t be mad at me!”
“Don’t be mad at you?” Clay sounded confused, concerned.
She choked on a breath. “I SET THE BOMB!” Her voice cracked. “I TRIED TO KILL ICICLE! BE— BECAUSE—” Her sobs cut off her words, a wretched, broken sound. “SHE KILLED CRANE!”
Silence.
The whole cave felt frozen in time. Even the dragonets gathered outside didn’t make a sound.
Icicle’s scream shattered it. “SO YOU ADMIT IT, YOU CRAZY BITCH!”
She thrashed harder, slamming her hind legs into Winter’s chest. He grunted but didn’t let go.
“IT WAS A FUCKING BATTLE!! I KILLED HER BECAUSE I HAD TO!! NOT BECAUSE SHE WAS YOUR SISTER!”
Tsunami stormed into the cave, immediately jumping in to help restrain Icicle. Sora barely noticed.
She was seeing red.
Her claws trembled. She wasn’t thinking anymore—only feeling.
Sora charged.
She didn’t even register Winter moving until she was caught mid-air. Cold scales pressed against hers, locking her in place before she could land a blow.
“I’LL KILL YOU!” she shrieked, clawing and fighting, trying to break free. “YOU TOOK CRANE AWAY! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”
Winter blocked her view of Icicle with his wings.
For some reason, that helped. Just a little.
Sora’s vision blurred as her rage collapsed into something else—something unbearable. Her whole body trembled, and suddenly she didn’t care that Winter was holding her back. She pressed her face into his scales and sobbed.
She felt him tense at first. But then he exhaled, allowing her to cry into him.
Before long, Clay was there instead, pulling her into his wings, into his safety, into his embrace.
How could they still love her?
She was a murderer... a monster...
——
Hours later, Sora sat alone.
The tiny, claustrophobic stone room swallowed her whole.
She deserved this.
No one had come to talk to her. She had spent most of her time staring at the door, tracing every groove and line in the wood. It was a distraction—one that barely lasted.
Her breath hitched.
One. Two. Three. Four—
The door creaked open.
“Sora?”
Her heart lurched. She recognized the voice instantly.
Winter.
She stared down at her talons. Why is he here?
She had tried to kill his sister. Twice. Why would he want to be alone with her? Was he going to take revenge and kill her? Maybe that would be better then whatever fate Moorhen or the other three Queens had in plan.
Instead, Winter sat beside her. For a long time, he didn’t speak. The silence stretched, unbearable, until he finally asked, “What was she like? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Sora’s head lifted. He cared?
It was strange, knowing he and Icicle were siblings. They were nothing alike.
“Y-yeah…” She fiddled with her claws, glancing away. “Crane was—she was the big sister who always teased us, made us laugh when we were sad. She was funny, smart, and brave. She wasn’t much bigger than me, but she fought hard…”
Her voice broke.
“She sounds like my brother,” Winter murmured. His wing nudged hers gently. Had he meant to do that? Had he purposely done it? Either way, it felt nice, a friendly gesture that meant so much more then he'd probably meant it too.
Sora wiped at her eyes. “R-really?”
Winter nodded. “He’s gone now. Captured by SkyWings two years ago. Killed in Scarlet’s arena. All because I was a coward.”
Sora frowned. “What do you mean?”
Winter hesitated, staring at his talons.
“We were looking for... scavengers when we ran into a patrol. Fourteen SkyWings. My brother… begged for my life. Told them I was weak. A failure.” His voice wavered. “I still don’t know if he meant it, or if he was just trying to save me. But I left him there. Alone.”
Silence.
Sora’s throat tightened. He blames himself too. At least he hadn't directly killed him. Like she had. Carnelian... Bigtail...
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You must love Icicle.”
Winter exhaled. “I… don’t know how I feel about her. I know she hates me.”
Sora hesitated, then said, “You’re a much better dragon than her.” She met his gaze. “You’re a better dragon than most.”
Winter’s eyes widened slightly, as if the idea had never occurred to him.
“…Thanks,” he muttered.
A tiny, hesitant smile tugged at his snout.
For a brief moment, Sora thought maybe—just maybe—she wasn’t entirely alone in this.
"It's nothing." She shook out her wings before curling them around herself as she sat back on her haunches. It was strange that he was so much taller and broader than her. She was older than him, yet she was the same size as Moon. Maybe it was genetics—his family and hers were vastly different. He had most likely grown up training and well-fed, while Sora and her siblings hadn’t had it too terribly, but it wasn’t great either.
"Why do you willingly choose to talk to me when I killed dragons while trying to kill your sister?"
Winter hummed, as if he had expected this question. "What you did is horrible, but I can relate, in a way. The NightWings killed my brother in Scarlet's arena. I won't trust a NightWing, even if it was life or death."
"Not even Moon?"
"No. Not even Moon."
Sora tilted her head at him. "Really?"
He nodded, his head turning toward the door as he heard talon steps approaching.
Tsunami walked into the room, her eyes immediately narrowing when she noticed Winter. "Why are you in here? Where's Sora?"
At the second mention of her name, Sora poked her head out from beside Winter. Was she really that small, or was Tsunami just blind?
"Oh, what are you two doing in here?" The SeaWing princess asked haughtily. "You do know mating isn’t—"
"Woah," Winter interrupted, giving her an incredulous look while Sora went red. Where in the world had she gotten that conclusion from? Maybe it was a joke, it wasn't an appreciated one. That last thing Sora wanted right now was to deal with jokes. "I was talking to her, trying to comfort her, but of course the bitchest of Princesses with a worse rbf then me had to open her mouth."
Tsunami rolled her eyes and gestured to the door. "We're going to be talking to Sora privately now, so you can leave."
Winter scoffed but didn’t argue, gliding out of the room in all his sparkly glory, but not without shooting one last glance back at Sora. Were all Prince's like this? Strangely complex and difficult to figure out?
Tsunami turned back to Sora as Sunny and Clay entered, Sora resisted the urge to run into her brother. She wasn't the one who deserved to be comforted. She was a killer, not a victim. "So, Sora, as you know already, we want to have a talk with you…"