~Serana⚜️

I watched as Mira and the two rebels searched for an alternate exit out of the room with a giant dragon's skull for a center piece. My eyes never strayed from the pair and I could see Mira glancing over her shoulder at them.

I would be more than happy to put an arrow in each of their eyes but the larger the group the more targets there were so, it was less likely for Mira or I to get eaten by that walking monstrosity of fur. Not to mention whatever else was hiding in this pit of death.

I just prayed we didn't run into any more bats, I was lucky to have been between the wall and that beam otherwise they'd have ripped me to shreds. I don't know how Mira had survived unscathed, she must have been in a similar position.

"Hey, over here." The man calls dark gray and black wings flicking to draw our attention.

I see a flash of a deep blackish green with a white patch out of the corner of my eye as the woman scurries through the rib cage of the ancient skeleton. As much as I hated to admit it the woman had gorgeous wings, they were a deep almost iridescent forest green/black and there was a large white patch on the back of her wings at the top of her lower primaries that flashed every time she opened her wings. The man's were a little dull in comparison but still striking with the black highlights framing his upper primaries and across the first wing joints on his back.

I waited for Mira to start after them before moving myself. Slipping between the giant white ribs I spot the man digging at a crumbled part of the wall making the hole there large enough to squeeze through.

A frown pulls at my mouth as I speak up. "What made that hole?" I question, not really expecting an answer but at least getting the others thinking.

The man stops for a second and looks over at me before stepping out of the way to reveal deep claw marks gouged into the rock. "My guess would be a gryph, maybe something smaller." He answers before going back to pulling the loose rocks out of the hole. "Come on." He calls in a hushed voice as he heaves himself up into the hole before slipping through to the other side.

Myka stands back and looks to Mira and I expectantly.

Mira glances over her shoulder at me to make sure I was alright, I nodded slightly and watched her turn back to follow the man through the hole. She gives the woman a warning glare before jumping up and forcing her injured wing down so she could crawl through the hole after Limah.

Myka scoffed at the queen before turning dark green eyes on me. I motioned with the tip of my arrow for her to go first, there was no way I was letting this woman get behind me and Mirandiona.

Her lips twitched up into a snarl which I answered by pulling my bow string back, at such close range there was no way I'd miss. She seemed to know this too because she let the snarl drop into a scowl before hesitantly turning her back to me and crawling after the other two.

Sheathing my bow and arrow I hop up and slide through the hole with more ease than the others thanks to my smaller frame. Dropping hands first onto the other side I quickly regain my feet and look around at the dark hall. It seemed a lot like the one I had initially fell into but instead of windows that lead into several different places there was a whole wall of windows that showed down into a giant pit overgrown with vegetation and an underground river. The pit was lit by shafts of light coming through giant cracks in the dome like ceiling that looked to be made of dirty glass.

"There." Myka whispers pointing up to a larger hole in the dome ceiling where someone could easily fly through.

Looking around the hole I didn't see a way Mira would be able to get up there with her limp wing. "We can't go that way." I speak up turning my head to look at the others.

Myka scoffed and rolled her eyes hard enough to physically injure herself. "What, are you afraid heights?" She asks sarcastically.

I was about to give her a smart ass remark in return until Mira stepped forward looking down into the pit. "No she's not, but I'm guess they aren't either." She says pointing towards something on the far side of the other room.

Turning my gaze back to the dome I look at where Mira's point to see several large droc flocked around something dead on the ground.

"Skies..." I breath out look at the large imitations of the sweet little lizards that roamed the castle garden. "Why are they so big?" I questioned not taking my eyes off of the creatures.

"Those aren't what you think." Mira states. "See the feathers?" She motions towards one that was pushed out of the group. I looked at the dark bluish black creature and sure enough it was covered in feathers instead of scales. Now that one of them had been pushed back from the others I could see a long broad snout that was lined with razor sharp teeth that stuck out of the sides of its mouth in a constant toothy grin. The thing stood on two hide-legs with a massive tail not unlike that of a gryph but with one solid spade of feathers instead of two fin shapes. I also noticed that the wings seemed to have claws on the arches like that of a droc but it stood taller than a droc would lifting itself high with its wings and using its tail as a balance.

"What is that?" I breath out as the one I had been starring at leapt back into the pile to tear more meat off of the dead carcass of some unfortunate animal that had fallen through the roof.

Limah was the one to answer as he stepped back away from an empty pain where glass should have been. "Algor." He answers in a low voice so as not to draw their attention. "Scavengers mostly, but they won't hesitate to kill you if they think they can." He informs turning away from the pit and the creatures feasting inside of it.

Mira turns away as well flicking me with her good wing as she walks away. Tearing my gaze from the pack of scavengers I begin to follow until I notice that Myka hadn't moved.

"Myka." I call out lowly. It was enough to cause her to jerk and spin around to pin me with a glare. "Come on." I nod after the others before she can open her mouth to berate me for using her name.

She glances after them before snapping her teeth together and following without much further complaint. "Don't feel comfortable, I'm still going to kill you when we get out of here." She growls when she passes me.

Someone's cranky. Rolling my eyes with a sigh I throw one last glance at the algor in the pit before turning around and following the deep green wings disappearing into the dark hallway.

We make our way down the seemingly endless hall. It looked like the whole hall edged around the pit and everywhere that would have lead away had been collapsed. Somebody really didn't want us getting in here. I muse looking at yet another collapsed hallway.

"Ssst." Limah hisses from the front of the group. Everyone in front of me dropped down into a crouch at the sound. Following suit I drop and reach for my bow incase I needed to draw it. Thanks to the fact it was white it was safer to keep it tucked against my side than unfolded for anything to spot in the darkness.

Moving forward in an odd half crouched slide and waddle motion. I pass Myka before she seems to get the same idea and closes group with the other two.

Before anyone can ask why we stopped I hear hissing, not unlike that of angry droc, coming from down the hall. Limah makes a move to go forward and investigate but Mira's hand shoots out and pulls him back by his wing.

He turns with a confused look on his face before Mira is tugging him over to the far wall to hide in the beginnings of another collapsed hallway. I move to follow grabbing Myka in a similar fashion when she looks like she wants to question the action.

No sooner are we hidden behind the corner before the hissing gets louder followed by scuffling and the snapping of jaws.

A leg that looked to have once belonged to a prel slid across the floor into sight quickly followed by a mass of bluish/black feathers. The algor snatched the half chewed on leg off the floor before another jumped on its back and grabbed the other end yanking it out of the first ones jaws.

These things were much bigger than I had initially thought. Both were easily as big as Etria making them just slightly smaller than a gryph in size, but they looked to be packing quite a bit of muscle and I could see how many teeth they had.

The first algor hissed flaring the feathers atop its head and neck in anger before lunging forward to try and snatch the leg back. The second algor jumped back away from the first flapping its wings to gain more ground before turning and taking a running leap out of an empty window. With an angry cry the first threw itself out into the pit chasing after the other while still snapping at the shredded meat of the leg.

I felt a little sick to my stomach watching the display, and despite not having eaten since last night I felt the need to throw up last week's food. The show had my feathers bristling even as Mira stood up and poked her head out from around the corner to check the hallway for anymore of those monstrosities of nature.

I could see Mira's feathers bristling as well giving away her unease with the situation. Out of all of us she was the most vulnerable not being able to fly. If one of these things came at us head on the rest of us could probably out maneuver it in the air but she would be stuck on the ground with the creature.

"It's clear." She calls quietly stepping out into the main hallway.

Forcing my feathers to lay flat I stand up and step out into the hall as well, allowing the two rebels to get behind us. I doubted they'd try anything, even if they did manage to kill us quietly the sent of blood would draw the algor into a frenzy.

As I got close Mira reached back in search of my hand. Placing my hand in hers I let her lead me around the smears of blood and clumps of meat and ligament to continue down the hall where the algor had come from.

Creeping our way down the hall we get a good distance before we find the rest of the prel's remains. There were light chestnut feathers strewn everywhere and bones that had been cracked open by powerful jaws laying scattered around the hall where another hall converged. Only this one wasn't completely blocked off.

Looking up at the top of the collapsed section I could see a shaft of light from where a hole was dug into the roof. The hole was plenty big enough for that prel to have fallen through and broken its neck on the jagged rocks beneath it. My mouth went dry at the realization that these creatures were smart enough to set traps like this.

"This place is a waking nightmare." I husk still staring at the age old smears of blood coating the rocks.

I hear a huff of agreement behind me from one of the rebels but I don't dare take my eyes off of the hall.

Mira let go of my hand and made to step forward and investigate the possible exit. I shot forward and grabbed her arm to pull her back away from the trap. Something doesn't feel right, we have to keep moving. I wanted to shout my thoughts at her but I couldn't get my mouth to work right as fear began to crawl up my spine making the hairs on my neck and feathers across my body stand on end. This isn't right.

The queen gently pulled my hand off her arm and unsheathed the sword from her good wing. With an encouraging look she turned and picked her way across the jagged blood stained rocks. I held my breath as I unconsciously unclipped my locked my bow and loaded it, as Mira carefully climbed up until she was just under the hole.

Something seemed to pull her short from sticking her head out and trying to see what was on the other side. Instead she wedged herself up against the corner where the rocks met the ceiling and slowly stuck her sword up through the hole.

We all waited with baited breath for an algor to drop down and start attacking us. After a good half minute when nothing happened we all let out a tentative sigh.

Limah was the first to start moving, his bow drawn and at the ready. Mira retracted her sword and made like she was going to look out to the other side when she stopped and pulled back nodding for Limah to go first instead.

He hesitates before slowly ascending the rocks until he was just before Mira. He scanned the hole for a good half a minute before deciding it was safe enough to put back his bow and jump up to catch the rim of the hole and hoist himself up. He lifted himself out into the open letting snow fall in after him.

It seemed like it took hours before he finally called down. "Alright, it's clear."

At that Mira resheathed her sword and hopped up to grab the ledge and pull herself out with only a hiss at the pull on her wingblade. Not wanting to be the last one down here with the walking embodiment of every child's nightmare I quickly follow in their steps and climb the rocks. Once I'm under the hole I resheathe my bow and arrow before jumping up and pulling myself onto the other side.

Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! My arms were buried in snow as I pulled myself up. Thankfully I didn't have to roll into the snow like Limah had. Mira was standing right there grabbing me by the arms and hoisting me up onto my feet.

Once I'm on my feet I step away from the hole to inspect our new surroundings. It seemed we were standing on a slope of some sort that kept the dirt from completely burying this place. There were trees around us but it was almost suspiciously blank where the dome was buried.

"Skies alight that's cold!" Myka hisses from behind me. Turning around I see Mira pulling her up out of the hole. Is her hair green?! My jaw nearly dropped when I saw the green tint to Myka's otherwise black hair. Definitely don't see that everyday.

"Keep your voice down Mykala!" Limah barks lowly over his wing from where he stood several yards away. "Those algor are still well within earshot of us." He hisses.

I turn to look at him and spot something that has my eyes nearly popping out of my head as my blood runs cold. "And what about the leopard's?" I breath staring at the large light gray eyes. If I hadn't caught the movement of its tail I would have completely looked over the massive predator. Even now it was hard to pick out from within the tree line.

Limah froze as he slowly turned his head back around to look at the leopard crouched in the trees. "Don't. Run." Limah orders, slowly inching his way back into the group. "Back-away. Slowly." He instructs. I started shuffling backwards with the others but couldn't help but wonder if that was such a good idea considering we were headed straight for the buried dome.

"We're all gonna fucking die." Myka mutters, echoing my thoughts.

"Just, keep moving." Limah orders.

The leopard saw us inching away from it and began to move forward itself.

"We need to run." I raise my voice just above a whisper so they can all hear me. "When it looses the tree cover it's gonna sprint." I relay my realization just as the leopards front paw passes the tree line.

The leopard's muscles tensed just as I began to turn around. For a split second I caught the burst of white as snow flew up into the air and the leopard sprang forward into a dead sprint.

Mira and Myka were already sprinting with Limah and I right on their tails. We got about fifteen feet before I heard a scream from behind me followed by the leopards growl and a burst of freezing snow spraying my back.

I didn't get more than another ten feet before I could hear the leopards footsteps thumping against the snow as it continued after us. That meant Lemah was either dead or dying and the leopard was trying to catch as many of us as possible to make for a bigger meal.

Panicking I begin to flap my wings in an effort to either get off the ground or help me cross the snow without sinking in so far. I was almost on all fours running in my efforts to fly and sprint at the same time. I saw Myka trying to do the same and get off the ground but Mira's injured wing was still firmly stuck to her side not wanting to spread at all.

I finally gained enough traction on the cold glass beneath the snow that I could push off and gain some height. I heard a growl from just behind me and I could feel the spray of snow from leopards bounds but I didn't dare look back as I flapped my wings as hard as I could. When I was up high enough I didn't fear getting swatted out of the air I banked to turn back and see where Mira had gone.

I see her skidding to a halt just before that giant hole in the top of the ceiling before catching a flash of green out of the corner of my eye. I barely have time to brace myself before Myka collides with my right wing.

Damn she really is going to try and kill me! Pulling my lips back in a snarl I call on my memories of being put in the same position by Treale when we were younger and tried to tackle each other out of the air. Folding my wings I wrap my legs around her knees and let gravity swing me backwards allowing my body to flip underneath her while throwing her off enough that I could get some distance between us.

Spreading my wings again I pull my bow from my hip and get an arrow notched. Spinning mid air I pulled back and was about to let loose when I spotted the leopard cautiously advancing on Mira. I watched for only a split second but it was enough to see the ground quiver beneath their feet. The glass is breaking!

"Mirandiona!" I screamed out, more from fright than for any actual reason.

Turning my arrow away from the green ball of feathered furry coming at me, I didn't waist a moment lining up my shot. Instead I let it fly with an instinctual aim and prayed it would hit its target. The leopard was moving too much and it's bones were too thick and the distance too great for the arrow to pierce through. No I need to shatter that glass. "Mira, jump!" I screamed at the top of my lungs just as Myka's body collided with mine again.

I couldn't see if my shot had hit its mark as the world around me blurred in a smear of blacks, whites, and greens. Taloned hands were grappling at me trying to get past my bow and into my tender flesh.

Another body crashed into us from the side taking the other woman off of me and allowing me just enough time to spin in the air and catch myself before I collided with the snow covered dome.

Banking hard I come around and search desperately for any signs of Mira. My heart stopped as I saw the giant hole where I had shattered the ceiling but I couldn't see the queen anywhere. I thought I was about to fall out of the air as my wings refused to work, when a man clad in gold armor came shooting out of the hole with Mira dangling by her foot and a pack of algor snapping there jaw close behind them.

Now that I payed attention I saw several more members of the royal guard and even of the city guard circling around and chasing off the algor with their spears as they flew in a protective circle around the queen.

I followed as the guard carrying Mira flew towards the nearest tree line and dropped her as gently as he could into a snow drift. I came down and landed hard with a fumble as snow sprayed everywhere. I didn't care, all I cared about was making sure that the other woman was safe.

"Mirandiona?! Mira?" I was nearly on top of her as she winced and rolled over onto her back.