Amber POV

I raced through the forest, the pines whacking my already scarred face. Fear mingled with excitement tingled in my stomach. I'd just escaped my prison, but the guards were still hot on my tail. How had I got here?

It had all started this morning, when I woke up. Normally I woke to loud bangs outside my cell, and the occasional screech of a dragon being whapped. Sometimes it was me. But today...

Around me was pitch darkness. I heard scuffling footsteps and soft, indestinct murmurs and growls. I figured I'd woken up early. Frowning, I sat up. As my green eyes adjusted to the darkness (and they should've already, since I'm half NightWing), I saw shapes, the bodies of dragons, being led down the dark corridor at the back of the circular prison/fight club.

Feeling nervous, I tried my bar door. It swung open and slammed against the wall with a loud bang that made me jump. At once I was tackled to the ground by what I thought was a guard.

It was actually my fellow inmate, Quartz the SandWing SeaWing hybrid. He's what we call a PalmWing. His blue lights lit the cave with a cold glow that unsettled me. I always found it weird that some dragons could emit light. It felt unnatural.

"Oh, it's you. Be quiet and follow me," he whispered. Confused, I got up and let him lead the way through the darkness to the hall.

"Now, this is our escape plan. Hazel, since she's old and out of poison in her tail, which makes her useless, is going to scream and run down this hall," he whispered, pointing to a corridor that had a dead end as they tiptoed past. Hazel gave an approving wave. The other dragons here looked a little disagreeing to sacrifice old Hazel, but no one argued. She was the best one for the job, and we all knew that in the back of our heads.

Quartz continued. "Then, when they're after Hazel, we run. Meanwhile she distracts, we hide here." With one golden claw he pointed down a left hall. Cobwebs covered the ceiling and walls.l, and a skeleton was slumped over, barely visible in the dark. I could only make it out from the faint blue light from Quartz. It didn't look pleasant.

My head was faint. All this was happening quickly, and I was tired. I just wanted to go back to bed. And dream of my family I barely knew, cuz of those stupid, greedy ShadowWings and their stupid test and fight experiments. And I'd never know my family because of them.

Okay, maybe I didn't want to go back to sleep.

Sighing inwardly, I followed suit behind Quartz's golden and turquoise glow. Our talon steps clacked and echoed down the hall. It sounded eerie and made me bristle. "Okay, coast is clear, let's get back," Quatrz finally declared. I heard a couple of relived sighs from a CaveWing (MudWing SkyWing) and a SlushWing (Ice Sea). I still held my breath, though.

We stalked back to the left corridor, and let Hazel move to her bait hallway. Then there was a scream so loud that when it was over, my ears were ringing. Crouched down on the cold floor with sweating dragonets next to me, it was easy to feel the vibrations of several guards stomping down the tunnel. I held my breath as they passed, but none of the black or blue or purple or green dragons noticed us. The hybrids zoomed past.

I heard Hazel yelp, and that was our cue that we could go. Not bothering to hide any longer, all of us raced up the tunnel to the actual aboveground catsle. I knew it from a small trip we took when I was young. The walls echoed loudly with our steps, and the screams and thuds of a struggling Hazel didn't go well in the mix. Cringing, I made my way upstairs.

Naturally I was the fastest. I used my massive wings to propel myself forwards effortlessly, and that helped a lot. Not everyone had managed to learn that; I heard the SlushWing's whimpers and pants as he fell farther and farther behind. Eventually everyone was out of earshot of me, and I was alone. But the tunnel was evening out now, and soon I was treading on smooth marble instead of rock and gravel. Around me the room extended.

Now I was in a palace. White pillars towered at every turn. In the center was a giant fountain that spouted grandly from a carved dragon's mouth. Around it were benches for two, plain and birch. Nothing special about them. On the ceiling were several diamond chandeliers, glowing brightly. The whole place was deserted, so I ran to the doors across the palace.

Waiting for me were two guards covered in metal armor. I quickly took them down, punching one hard in the gut and causing internal bleeding, then impaling the other with the hurt one's sword. I didn't like killing, but if it was a ShadowWing... I'd make an exception.

Then I raced down the pavilion steps and took off the the sky. Hopefully my NightWing wings will help me blend in a bit more. But dawn was breaking over the horizon, and pink was already out across the sky. Groaning, I veered down to the mountains and landed amongst a forest. But I heard guards hot in my tail. I would've turned and fought, but it sounded like a lot of them, so I ran.

Trees whirled past as I dashed through them, gracefully avoiding whacking into bushes. I pounced from log to root to branch, trying to get away. My wings were no use in such an enclosed space. I soon found myself panting from exhaustion. I listened in and heard no more talons. Running a couple more yards, I finally slumped down next to a tree, knowing one thing only.

I needed to go to school this year. As a four year old, I had to.