How had she gotten to this point?

Clearwing sat in a cell, miles above the ground, with another SilkWing.

Around them, other cages hung from the ceiling of a massive cavern, overlooking armored dragons in every shade of grey flying about below.

But even though she was with someone she should've been with for all of her life, they were strangers. Even though she wanted to hug him, to say something, she couldn't. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't blink. Couldn't say, "I missed you."

All she could do was think of Coal, and hope that wherever he was, wherever the queen had taken him, whatever she had done to him, he was better off than her.

"WHAT?!" Clearwing had screeched. She didn't think she'd ever screeched before, this was new.

"Wh- animus-touched?" Cricket asked. "What's that? I mean, touched by an animus, obviously, but what's an animus?"

"A very, very powerful dragon," Clearwing replied, reading through Cobalt's racing thoughts. "A dragon who can... do things?" She paused. "A dragon who can manipulate things. But not like with mind manipulation, physical manipulation. Like, they could say, uhm, turn that rock into a diamond." She looked at a loose pebble. "And it would. Or they could say, 'I hereby enchant this coconut to float.' And it would float. But I don't think they can bring back the dead. That's the only restriction? What would keep them from using their power all the time? If I had a power like that, I'd-

"Oh. Power. It drives them insane if they use it too much. Just like normal power."

"That was a lot of information in not a lot of seconds," Coal said.

"Yes," Fusca said, looking slightly bemused. "But Pantalans have never had this power. Only one." His eyes glazed over. "Legend has it, that when the Pantalans crossed the sea from the Distant Kingdoms, they used something to help bring them here. An animus-touched object, something enchanted by an animus dragon to have some sort of power.

"Whatever they enchanted, it was powerful enough to get them across the ocean. And now the GreyWings have it."

"So you want us to go get it?" Clearwing asked.

"Correct," Cobalt replied. "And then you may go and fight Wasp and die as much as you like."

"You only want us to do this because of our own powers," Coal growled. "You want us to risk our lives by going into a fortress to steal the one thing it's built around."

Clearwing felt like she'd heard that before, but the voice was off and the tone was sad, not angry, as Coal was now.

"Actually, it's built around its queen," Cobalt replied smoothly. "The animus-touched object is just a bonus. No one will miss it."

"Um, yes, they will," Cricket said. "If someone were to steal the Book of Clearsight, the Hives would totally fall apart and there would be a lot of chaos. And it's not even magic — I mean, it was written by someone who was magic, and it tells the future, but the Book itself isn't enchanted or anything."

Clearwing shook her head.

"We're not doing it."

"Then you will never see the LeafWings again."

Cricket, Coal, and Clearwing looked at each other.

"Snudoo? Eeenow? Bumpbump too grrrrr," Bumblebee said.

"..." Clearwing looked at Bumblebee, then to the queen, then to Cricket and Coal. "I'll go. Just me. Let them go to the LeafWings. Bumblebee would alert the GreyWings of our location. Cricket would be too distracted. Coal-"

"Is coming with you," Coal interrupted. "If my tribe is as militant as everyone says it is, I'm not letting you walk into a deathtrap alone."

Cricket nodded, hugging Bumblebee. "We were kinda told to go as well, soo..."

"Well then I guess we're all in agreement," Cobalt said. "Now go."

Now Clearwing was in a cage with her supposed brother.

He turned and faced her. "You're awake," he said.

It was Marble. Marble. Her brother.

He leaned forward and hugged her tightly. "I missed you," he said, strangely. They didn't even know each other. But it's Marble. He's probably as thick-headed as Polistes.

Marble chuckled, stepping back. "My name isn't Marble, It's Weave. They named me that to spite our ancestor who was also named Weave. I assume they thought only one egg had our powers, because they've been treating me terribly for the last six years."

Clearwing looked at Weave with a skeptical look. "They?" she said.

"Oh, Queen Crystal and her council," he said casually, even though with that statement she felt so much hurt behind his voice. Queen Crystal. Another dragon she wanted to stab.

"Where did you put her!?" a voice yelled from somewhere far below. It was Coal. "Where is she!?" Clearwing looked out the cage to see Coal struggling against a GreyWing. Unfortunately, strength was genetic among the GreyWing tribe, and he wasn't helping, just flapping his wings and yelling bloody murder. He was thrown into a cage and rattled one of the skeletons on the roof with the force he was thrown in with.

That was when he saw her. He gripped the bars of his cage, some ways away from her's, looking at her. She did the same, wishing she could say "don't worry, I'm getting us out."

"You love him?" Weave asked from beside Clearwing. "A GreyWing? After them capturing you, and kidnapping me, and killing who knows how many dragons-"

"You don't know him," Clearwing growled.

Yes, I do, I was raised among his tribe, his mind snapped. That was the wrong set of words.

"He's not a GreyWing. He's not like his tribe. He is kind, he is caring, he is loving."

Weave let out a snort. "Yeah, and I'm bright pink with purple and yellow polka dots. Give him enough time here, with his tribe, and even if he's the dragon you think he is, he'll be just like them in a week. No, six days." He lashed his tail and turned around. "If they don't kill him first for treason, that is."

"I..." This was the part where Clearwing was supposed to argue with her brother. This was the part when she was supposed to say that Coal was strong, and wouldn't bend under the weight of the rest of his tribe, and wouldn't let them kill him, he'd be more likely to kill himself first.

But all of the angry words she wanted to say slipped away like black and white hourglass sand through her talons. Shattered like a marble falling against the floor.

She remembered what Queen Crystal had said about Coal's parents.

Surprise! We're doing it now.

I, in my incredibly ill wisdom, have realised that I'm probably not getting out of school until the end of the school year, so here's more TSS. I'm gonna update it slower, since there are only seven more parts to the book, but uhm... ye!

Also, I'm probably gonna convert this fully to my profile, since the collaborator isn't on Wattpad as much. 

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

-Dragonner