Runaway

by Tui T. Sutherland

  But then she managed to casually fly by his window, and he was in there, looking JUST FINE, eating little fish cakes with SNOWFLAKE. Like he’d already forgotten about her. Like he could just go back to normal and carry on with his life, as though nothing had happened at all.

  JUST FINE.

  Her pacing slowed for a moment, and she reached up to touch her earring. But this was real. He’d broken the rules and used his magic and risked his soul for her. So it all had to be real, didn’t it?

  Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

  “Foeslayer, you are driving me mad,” said Prudence. “Either sit in a corner and read or help me pack. If I hear your claws squeaking back and forth on the ice one more time, I’ll remove —”

  Prudence abruptly fell silent.

  Foeslayer turned from the window to look at her.

  The older NightWing stood frozen, her mouth open as if she might continue the sentence any moment. Her eyes were blank, her talons unmoving. She held a blanket half-folded in her claws.

  “Mother?” Foeslayer said, approaching her. “Are you all right?” She poked her mother’s wing and got no reaction. “Mother?”

  “Sorry,” said a voice behind her.

  Foeslayer whirled and found Arctic’s head sticking out of the wall. She let out a little shriek before she could stop herself.

  “She’ll be all right,” Arctic said. His shoulders, wings, and front talons slipped through the wall, followed by the rest of him. “I did it to the guards in my room, too. It’ll wear off in a few hours, once we’re far enough away.” He held up a tiny dagger with a smile. “Isn’t that funny? Mother trusted our rules so much she left two ordinary dragons to guard an animus. As if I couldn’t make myself a cool magic thing to get out of there. As if I wouldn’t dare.”

  “You just walked through a wall!” Foeslayer cried.

  “Oh,” said Arctic, tapping one of his armbands. “That’s only a little spell. It can do this, too.” He turned it clockwise around his arm and vanished into thin air.

  “Whoa,” said Foeslayer. She reached out toward the space where he’d been and felt invisible talons clasp hers.

  “Now you are, too,” he whispered. She looked down and realized with a shiver that she couldn’t see herself anymore.

  “That’s a lot of magic,” she said, glancing over at Prudence. “You shouldn’t have wasted your magic just to come say good-bye to me. I mean, I’m glad you did, but —”

  “I’m not saying good-bye,” he said. “I refuse to say good-bye to you.”

  Foeslayer’s traitorous heart leaped. “But you have to,” she said.

  “No.” He became visible again, turning the armband back the other way. “I don’t want to live without you. Foeslayer, let’s run away together. We can find an island to hide on! Or maybe the stories of the lost continent are true … We must be able to find somewhere we can be safe, and, more importantly, be together.”

  Can we? Could it really be possible?

  “What about your mother’s magic?” she asked. “She’ll be so furious — what if she decides to use it? Won’t she be able to find us anywhere we go?”

  “I have magic, too,” he said. “I can hide us from her. You don’t have to be afraid.” He reached out and touched Foeslayer’s earring gently with one claw. “As long as she is wearing it, I enchant this earring to forever keep Foeslayer safe from any enchantment Diamond might cast.”

  How could I not fall in love with a dragon who wraps all his magic in his love for me?

  Maybe they could do it. Maybe they could escape and be happy, secretly, just the two of them, far away from their overbearing mothers and stifling royal courts.

  It was so tempting … except …

  Foeslayer looked over at the scowling statue of Prudence. She wasn’t a great mother, but she was still her mother.

  “If we run away,” Foeslayer said, “your mother will kill mine, and the other two NightWings as well. She’ll think I convinced you to run off with me and she’ll blame them. If she can’t reach me, she’ll need a target for her anger, and they’ll be right here, in her claws.”

  “So I’ll give them protection spells, too,” Arctic said, sounding frustrated. He lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug.

  “No, save your magic,” Foeslayer said, although what she really meant was save your soul. “We have to take them with us. We escape, all of us, right now.”

  “Take them with us?” Arctic said, recoiling a little. “I wasn’t exactly picturing your mother in our secret romantic hideout.”

  Foeslayer brushed his wing with hers. “We don’t have to go looking for an island that might not exist and then be fugitives forever. Come to the Night Kingdom. They might be a little mad with me at first, but my tribe will protect you. I will protect you.”

  Arctic let out a little snort that made her bristle. Didn’t he think she could protect him? Maybe she didn’t have magic, but she was one of the strongest fighters in her class. There were different ways to take care of someone.

  “But I’ll be the only IceWing there,” he said. “And you all sleep in the daytime and live in canyons and who knows what other weird stuff.”

  “You’ll adjust,” Foeslayer said, rolling her eyes. “It’s a great kingdom; you’ll see. And we can get used to anything as long as we’re together, right? That’s what’s important?”

  “Yeeeess,” he said, a little more reluctantly than she would have liked.

  “So it’s settled. We’ll all fly back to the Night Kingdom tonight,” she said.

  He hesitated, glancing out at the falling snow.

  “Arctic … I can’t leave them here to die,” she said, waving her wing at Prudence. “I’m not that kind of dragon.”

  Arctic sighed heavily. He pointed the dagger at Prudence and hissed, “Unfreeze.”

  “— them and give them to the library as quills,” Prudence finished. Her mouth caught up to her eyes, and her jaw dropped at the sight of the IceWing prince standing in her room, his tail twined with Foeslayer’s.

  “What —” she sputtered. “This — what are you —?”

  “There’s no time to argue, Mother,” Foeslayer said, lifting her chin. “Prince Arctic and I have fallen in love, and he’s coming back to the Night Kingdom with us. But that means we have to leave right now.”

  “Foeslayer!” Prudence exploded. “This is exactly the kind of brainless catastrophe I should have expected from you! But worse! You cannot steal the prince of the IceWings!”

  “I’m not stealing him!” Foeslayer protested. “It was his idea! He wants to come with us!”

  “More or less,” Arctic muttered. “NightWing,” he snapped as Prudence opened her mouth again. “You can’t stop us. Either you come with us now or I freeze you again, and you can explain all this to my mother in the morning.” He brandished the dagger, wagging the tip back and forth.

  Muscles clenched all through Prudence’s face, as though she were fighting back several waves of rage.

  “Fine,” she spat suddenly. “I’ll get Starclaws and Discretion.”

  Foeslayer couldn’t believe it. She’d expected much more yelling, disapproval, and abuse before her mother gave in. Maybe there’s a small part of her that does want me to be happy, she thought hopefully.

  “I’ll scout ahead and freeze any guards in our way,” Arctic said. He darted into the hall, leaving Prudence and Foeslayer alone.

  “Thank you, Mother,” Foeslayer said fervently. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but we just fell in love and he’s so wonderful and you’ll love him once you get to know him —”

  “I knew you were being an idiot,” Prudence snapped. “But I let it go on because I hoped you might be enough of an idiot to go home and have his eggs. By then we’d be far enough away that the IceWing queen didn’t have to know, and with any luck we’d end up with animus dragons of our own.”

  Foeslayer faltered. “You … you knew?”

  “Of course I knew.” Pr
udence snarled softly. “Why do you think I brought you in the first place? You’re the only NightWing in the tribe who would do something this idiotic, and I had a feeling you’d catch the prince’s eye. But I didn’t think he was as big an idiot as you are. I thought he had some loyalty to his tribe. Some sense of right and wrong. Young dragons are so useless.” She stepped toward the door, then spun back to glare at Foeslayer. “All I can say is you’d better have dragonets fast, Foeslayer. As many as possible, so our tribe can inherit animus magic and make this whole disaster worthwhile.”

  Her mother hurried away toward the rooms of the other two NightWings.

  I thought I was doing this great, daring, magical, romantic thing … but instead I was walking straight into one of my mother’s traps.

  Shock reverberated along Foeslayer’s wings. She felt as though she’d been dropped into the iciest part of the ocean.

  I can never tell Arctic. If he thought we ensnared him deliberately … he’d never believe I didn’t know. He’d never forgive me.

  The IceWing prince slipped back into the room, grinning now from ear to ear. “Coast is clear,” he whispered. “I froze the eight guards I found between here and the closest balcony.” He flipped the dagger between his claws. “So this is what it feels like to unshackle my power,” he said with a laugh. “No wonder the tribe doesn’t allow it. I feel so free.”

  “Don’t let yourself get too free, though,” Foeslayer said. His grin faded and she whisked over to throw her wings around him. “No, keep smiling. I know you’re doing all this for me. It’ll all be worth it. Together forever, Arctic! We’re going to be the happiest dragons in the world.”

  “We are,” he said, holding her close. “But first we have to get out of here.”

  In the hall they found the other NightWings waiting. Starclaws and Discretion looked a little dazed, but they came along quietly, all of them following Arctic as he slipped stealthily through the dark corridors. Foeslayer’s heart twitched with fear when she saw a shape loom up ahead, but it turned out to be one of the frozen guards, staring straight ahead into space. They crept past seven more of them, each IceWing immobile, no longer a threat.

  Finally they reached a balcony that faced south, with nothing but open sky and empty land stretching ahead of them, all the way to the dark shadow of the Great Ice Cliff that crossed the horizon.

  They stopped on the threshold and Foeslayer saw Arctic take a deep breath. She reached out and wound her tail around his reassuringly.

  Please don’t change your mind, she prayed. Don’t make me go home alone after this.

  He looked at her, and with her night vision she could see that his expression was unsure. He had imagined a daring flight with only her, an escape from everything they hated. He hadn’t imagined giving himself to the NightWings — exchanging one disapproving tribe for another.

  “Well, I’m going,” Prudence said abruptly. “I have no intention of dying for Foeslayer’s mistakes.” She pushed past Foeslayer and Arctic and launched herself off the edge. Starclaws and Discretion leaped after her.

  “Together,” Foeslayer said to Arctic.

  “Forever,” he said slowly.

  “Halt! Stop right there!” Six IceWing guards came plummeting out of the night sky, all with diamond-tipped spears strapped to their backs.

  “Let’s go,” Foeslayer cried. She seized Arctic’s talons and dragged him off the balcony. Their wings tangled for a moment, and then they righted themselves, beating furiously as they lifted away. Foeslayer felt the rush of wind swoop past as the IceWings missed them, twisted in the air, and gave chase.

  “Prince Arctic?” one of the guards called, confusion weaving through his voice.

  For a moment, Arctic faltered beside Foeslayer. “I know that guard,” he said when she tugged him forward again. “He was my trainer — he taught me everything I know about weapons.”

  “It’s the NightWings!” screamed a voice from the parapet above them. “They’re stealing our prince! Stop them!”

  Foeslayer glanced back and saw two more IceWings launch themselves from the parapet. The one that was shouting had odd shadowy scales rippling across her pure-white wings, and the other — no, that couldn’t be Snowflake, could it?

  Whoever it was, the guards were listening. Their wingbeats got stronger, more powerful, and they all drew weapons.

  “Keep flying,” Foeslayer said breathlessly, pushing Arctic forward. An arrow shot by her snout, barely missing her ear.

  “Leave us alone!” Arctic shouted at the guards. “Go back! Let us go!”

  Another arrow nearly nicked Foeslayer’s wing and she yelped with fear. The earring will protect me, she reminded herself, trying to calm her racing heart. It won’t let them hurt me. Just keep flying, Arctic. We just have to stay ahead of them.

  “Stop shooting at her!” Arctic roared.

  “We’ll save you, Prince Arctic!” called the voice of his teacher.

  This time it was a small hail of arrows, but they swerved around Foeslayer’s scales.

  “I’m all right,” she shouted. “Arctic, just keep flying!”

  Perhaps Arctic didn’t hear her or perhaps he’d forgotten about the earring’s protection or perhaps he was too upset by the sight of Foeslayer in danger to think clearly.

  Whatever made him do it, Arctic spun in the air, flung his wings open, thrust his front talons toward the pursuing guards, and shouted, “Spears! Stop those guards!”

  Foeslayer grabbed his arm in horror. “Arctic, no!”

  But it was too late. The spears snapped free — out of the guards’ claws or off their backs — pivoted, and stabbed into the IceWings’ chests.

  “No, wait!” Arctic yelled. “Don’t kill them!” He shook his talons frantically and tried to point at the guards again. “Don’t kill them! Just stop them, that’s all I meant! Leave them alive!”

  It was too late. One by one, the six IceWings fell from the sky, dropping like the rocks Foeslayer used to throw into the deepest canyons of the Night Kingdom.

  “No!” Arctic cried. “Go back and leave them alive! I take it back!” He turned to Foeslayer, clutching her arms desperately. “I didn’t mean to! I just wanted them to leave us alone!”

  “I know,” she said. “I know, I know, Arctic, but we have to keep flying. You can’t go back now. And those other two are still right behind us.”

  The two from the wall had caught up to the spot where the IceWings fell, and Foeslayer realized with relief that neither of them had weapons on them — nothing they could attack with, nothing they could be hurt by.

  “What did you do?” one of them yelled. She flew toward them and Foeslayer saw that it really was Snowflake, after all. Why is she even awake? How did she happen to be there as we escaped?

  “You monster!” Snowflake cried, diving at Arctic. “I knew those dragons! How could you just kill them? For a NightWing? What is wrong with you?” She slashed her talons at his snout, but Foeslayer jumped in the way and shoved her back.

  “I was going to let you have him,” Snowflake shouted at her. “But he doesn’t deserve to live! He doesn’t deserve to be happy!”

  She flew at Arctic again. Foeslayer shot a blast of fire to drive her back — at least, that was what she intended to do.

  But at the same moment, she saw Arctic lift his claws, as though he were catching her fireball in his talons, and then shoved it forcefully toward Snowflake.

  Fire caught all along one of Snowflake’s wings.

  At first, Foeslayer thought Snowflake’s scream was echoing in her own mind, before she realized the other IceWing was screaming, too. Snowflake’s companion plummeted down to catch Snowflake before she could fall to the ground. Frostbreath shot from her mouth, extinguishing the flames, but leaving a trail of blackened marks. Snowflake howled with pain, clutching at her friend as her injured wing flailed uselessly.

  “Oh, Arctic,” Foeslayer said, her voice catching in her throat. “We have to go. Let’s go. Come on, just
keep flying. Don’t look back.”

  She dragged him along with her, forcing him to fly. The unfamiliar IceWing started yelling curses after them.

  “I’ll never forgive you for this!” she roared. “I’ll kill every last NightWing if I get a chance! You’ll wake up one day with my claws in your eyes! I’m going to wipe out your whole tribe and leave you until last so you’ll know their deaths are all your fault!”

  “Did I kill her?” Arctic asked hoarsely.

  “No,” said Foeslayer. “Snowflake was hurt, but I’m sure she’s still alive.” She may never fly again … but he doesn’t need to know that.

  They flew in silence until they found Prudence waiting near the Great Ice Cliff.

  “I suppose you need this to get across,” she said gruffly to Foeslayer, holding up one of the enchanted bracelets that had gotten them safely into the kingdom in the first place.

  Foeslayer felt a pang of guilt. We might not be stealing their prince, but we are stealing their “gift of diplomacy.” Will they ever trust another tribe in their kingdom again?

  She thought of the falling, dying guards. I thought we could escape without anyone getting hurt.

  But the IceWings will hate us forever for this.

  “Thank you for waiting, Mother,” she said. She touched her earring. “But this will get me across safely.”

  Prudence squinted at the earring, then threw a sharp look at Arctic. Foeslayer could almost read her mind. She was thinking that if the prince was willing to use his magic like that, maybe he could be convinced to do something useful for the NightWings as well.

  Foeslayer felt her throat closing with dread. Poor Arctic, flying right into the tribe’s web.

  But they’d still be together. That would make up for whatever any other dragons did to them, or how hard life might be … wouldn’t it?

  They soared over the cliff and joined the other two NightWings on the far side. Together they flew south, dipping into the dark clouds that were gathering up ahead.

  Foeslayer and Arctic flew near the back, close together, but he didn’t say anything for a long, long time.