Moon reacted first, while Qibli was still trying to fit Darkstalker’s words into something that had meaning and reality. He could hear music playing from the distant palace, eerie and remote, like it was actually coming from the stars.

“Clearsight?” Moon said in a startled voice. “Clearsight? Like … the Clearsight from two thousand years ago?”

“My Clearsight, yes,” said Darkstalker. He reached out one of his talons and the NightWing came forward to take it, smiling at him. A gust of wind swept down from the mountain peaks, blew through the square, paused for a moment, and then diverged around the two dragons as if it didn’t dare disturb them.

“That’s … not possible … how is that possible?” Moon took a step closer, blinking at the new dragon.

How could it be possible? Qibli’s mind began hypothesizing. Maybe he enchanted her to be immortal, too, all those centuries ago. Which seems like something he would do — but then where has she been all this time? Lurking around the ruins? Waiting for him to return? Is she the presence I felt watching me earlier?

Or perhaps it wasn’t Darkstalker; maybe Fathom did something to keep her alive … or to bring her back to life if Darkstalker ever returned! That would be an interesting plan. Maybe she’s what we were supposed to find in the lost city of night — the only dragon who has ever been able to stop Darkstalker.

He studied her hopefully. Was this the meaning of the prophecy, revealed at last?

Hmmm. She doesn’t exactly look like she’s planning to stop him from doing anything right now. She looks more like she’d happily set the world on fire if he asked her to.

“It’s nice to meet you, Moon,” Clearsight said sweetly. “Darkstalker’s been telling me all about you and how you helped set him free.”

“That’s not exactly —” Moon hesitated. “How are you alive right now?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Clearsight blinked large dark eyes at Moon.

“How she’s alive isn’t important,” said Darkstalker, who looked as though he’d found literally all the treasure in Pyrrhia. “What’s important is that she’s here now. She can rule the tribe with me. We’re getting married tomorrow.”

“That’s right,” said Clearsight with a dreamy expression.

Darkstalker doesn’t look surprised, Qibli realized abruptly. Even if he had a vision of this — shouldn’t he still be surprised to find his long-lost love here? This should be a miracle.

Not to mention she’s the one who betrayed him and trapped him under that mountain. He should be surprised and mad at her.

Instead he looks … triumphant?

“Married?” echoed Moon. “After everything that happened with … the bracelet and … the murder … ?”

“All forgiven,” said Darkstalker, looking at Clearsight fondly.

There was a pause while Clearsight gazed affectionately back at him.

“And you?” Qibli prompted her. “You forgive him, too?”

“For what?” she asked.

“Darkstalker?” Moon said incredulously. “What —”

“I mean yes, of course,” said Clearsight. “I forgive him, too.”

Moon and Clearsight regarded each other with mutual confusion for a moment.

“Your visions of the future are legendary,” Moon said slowly. “I’d love to learn how you do it — how you can send your sight down each possible path and study all the futures at once.”

“Oh,” Clearsight said, flicking one of her wings at a moth flying by. “You know, I’m not really interested in studying the future anymore. I’d rather live in the present.”

Moon wrinkled her snout at Clearsight. “Seriously? You?”

“She’s a little different after two thousand years, that’s all,” Darkstalker said hurriedly. “This is better, though. She always worried about the future too much. Now she won’t worry and we can just be happy and everything will be fine.” He nudged one of her wings with his and she nodded, smiling.

“But — I still — how —” Moon started.

“Enough questions. Clearsight is tired,” Darkstalker announced. “I’m going to show her around our palace and find her a royal suite of her own. Please join us for breakfast in the morning. We’re all going to be great friends. You can come too, Qibli.” He ducked his head at Moon and Qibli, then put one wing around Clearsight to steer her back across the square. She waved brightly to them, and a moment later, the two black dragons were soaring up to the palace together.

“Nope,” Moon said to Qibli as soon as they were gone. “Nope. No no no. This is not happening. WHAT IS HAPPENING?”

“Very weird things,” he agreed.

“More than weird! Clearsight is suddenly back from the dead? With the personality of a sun-dried tomato?”

“Maybe she was always like that?” he said. “We don’t know.”

“I know!” Moon protested. “I’ve been reading everything I can find about her. I found papers she wrote in school and stories written about her by a friend named Listener. Clearsight was brilliant, maybe the most brilliant NightWing who ever lived. No one’s ever been able to navigate multiple futures in their visions the way she did.” She flapped her wings at the looming palace. “That’s why Darkstalker loved her. He wouldn’t love someone like that.”

“Maybe she’s just waking up,” Qibli tried. “Or maybe she’s manipulating him to change the future. I was thinking she might be the heart of the prophecy — the one we’re supposed to find in the lost city of night.”

Moon twisted her front talons together, thinking. “That might make sense,” she said finally. “If she can warn us about something so we can stop it. But she didn’t even want to talk about the future or her prophecy gift.” She shivered, and Qibli sidled closer to give her the warmth of his scales. “I’m just worried,” she admitted. “Something about this worries me. I mean everything. Everything about this is super weird. Why wouldn’t he tell us where she came from?”

Qibli could imagine a few reasons, but all of them would only worry Moon more.

“I should get back to Winter,” he realized out loud. “He’ll be wondering why I’ve been gone so long.”

“Yes,” Moon said, flaring her wings. (Don’t be selfish, Qibli — you wanted to make her smile. If taking her to Winter would make her happy, isn’t that what you want?) “I’ll get Kinkajou and we can all brainstorm about the prophecy. And maybe you can talk her off whatever moon she’s on; she won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

A dozen new anxieties stampeded across Qibli’s mind. He did want to talk to Kinkajou about what had happened to Turtle — but he couldn’t do that in front of Moon. He also couldn’t take Moon to Anemone’s room, because Anemone was there. Darkstalker wouldn’t be able to hear any thoughts Moon had about the SeaWing princess, but to explain why she was there, they’d have to tell Moon about Turtle’s imprisonment, and THAT would show up in her thoughts.

Arrrrrrgh, mind readers.

“I’ll get Winter and come to you,” he suggested. “How will we find you?”

“I’ll mark our balcony,” she said. “You’ll know it’s ours.”

“All right,” he said, spreading his wings. “See you soon.”

“Qibli,” she said, and he stopped short of launching, turning to her with his momentum instead.

Her smile was all the moons and the sun together, warm as gold coins on desert sand. “I’m really glad you’re here,” she said. “And I think our matching earrings are pretty cool.”

“Me too,” he said with an answering grin.

It was strange, he reflected as he flew back to the castle, how it could feel like the world was falling apart and yet he could still be happier than he’d ever been before.

Except … there was Winter.

Winter, who also loved Moon. Who became his best self around her. Winter, Qibli’s friend.

Save the world first. Sort out complicated feelings later.

When he reached the balcony — which took a few moments, finding the correct one — Anemone was still asleep, curled in the blanket and breathing peacefully. Winter was pacing the length of the room, twitching his spiky tail back and forth.

“You’ve been gone a long time,” he said to Qibli.

“I found her,” Qibli said softly, glancing at Anemone. “Come with me.”

They flew out from the palace and banked around so Qibli could scan the balconies. “Listen,” he said to Winter as they wheeled about in the sky, “be careful what you say to Moon, all right? She doesn’t have skyfire of her own. Darkstalker can read her mind as easily as a scroll. So I haven’t told her about Turtle or the IceWings or anything else. She thinks we’re just here to figure out the prophecy, and it has to stay that way until we can find a way to shield her thoughts. Do you understand?”

“I hardly think I need a lecture on discretion from you,” Winter said.

Qibli spotted movement on one of the balconies — wings unfurling and then incandescent patterns spilling across them, like the glow-in-the-dark stripes on a SeaWing, but spiraling across her scales.

“Kinkajou,” he said, nudging Winter.

They dove for the balcony. As they got closer, Kinkajou saw them and waved excitedly. Qibli adjusted his trajectory and speed so he could swoop right into her, catching her in his front talons and tumbling her backward into the room in a giant hug. She erupted in giggles as they slid and crashed into a pile of cushions.

“Ack, sorry!” he said, helping her up.

“Are you kidding? I wish everyone said hi to me that way!” she said, shaking out her wings.

Qibli turned toward Winter and Moon and immediately wished he hadn’t.

They were just … looking at each other. But Winter had a way of looking that any tragic hero would die for. His face was full of such tortured longing that even Qibli wanted to go wrap his heart in furs to protect it.

That’s what I should have done, he thought sadly. I should have tried to put how I feel in my eyes like that, instead of joking around like her goofy friend.

Why would she ever choose me when she could have that?

And how can I even fight for her, knowing what it would do to Winter if I won?

“I can’t believe you two are here!” Kinkajou chirped, breaking the spell. She bounded over and gave Winter a hug as well. “Oh, BRRRR, I forgot how cold you are,” she said, jumping away from him and whacking herself with her wings.

“I’m very relieved to see you’re fully recovered,” Winter said to her.

“I know, it’s awesome,” she said. “Anemone totally healed me, except it’s also not awesome because she also —”

“And you,” Winter said to Moon, smiling. He reached out to touch the earring in her ear. “Although we can all agree these are hideous, at least you’re free now.”

“I don’t think they’re hideous!” Kinkajou interjected. “Hey, wait a second. Why does everyone have a matching earring except me? Is this some kind of secret club thing? Can I be in it? Why aren’t I in it already?”

Moon’s smile had faded and she was giving Winter a concerned look. “What do you mean, I’m ‘free’?”

“Of Darkstalker’s evil spells,” Winter said. “You see what he’s really like now.” He paused. “Don’t you?”

“I wasn’t under any evil spells,” she said, taking a step back from him. “He’s just my friend.”

“Your friend?” Winter exploded. “What is wrong with you?” He backed away from her, lashing his tail until it knocked over an antique-looking vase on a side table. Kinkajou jumped to catch it but missed. The porcelain shattered at her feet, scattering white petals and pointed shards in a spreading puddle of water around her claws. Kinkajou looked down at it with a helpless expression.

Winter didn’t seem to notice. “How can you even consider being friends with someone who’s completely evil?” he shouted at Moon.

“He’s not evil!” Moon flared before Qibli could step between them. “I think he’s really trying to do the right thing! He just does it differently than we would sometimes. Why are you so mad? I thought you said you would give him a chance!”

Her front talons suddenly flew up to her snout as if she’d been struck by lightning. She turned to Qibli with an anguished expression. “Oh no. He wasn’t —”

“Brainwashed?” Winter said fiercely. “Bewitched? Did I have my mind taken over by your ‘friend,’ is that what you’re wondering? The answer is yes. This dragon you like so much used his magic on me, Moon!”

“You knew right away,” she said to Qibli. “But Darkstalker promised —”

“He only promised we’d all be safe, remember?” Qibli said. “Hey, he probably thought everyone would be safer if Winter was enchanted to like him, instead of trying to start fights all over the place. I mean, if I had a spell that would make Winter like me —”

This was the wrong thing to say, he realized immediately. Winter whirled toward him, hissing.

“Don’t you trivialize this!” Winter growled. “Don’t act like what he did is normal or acceptable. He was trying to make me adore him. Against my will! Changing my thoughts and my feelings like I’m just a character in the story he’s writing about himself. Like nobody else is real except him. If that’s something you would seriously do, SandWing, then we can never, never be friends.”

Qibli opened and closed his mouth. Even when he’d been at his most worried about Winter, there had still been a small part of him that thought the basic idea of Darkstalker’s spell was all right. A spell that could make everyone like him — would that be so terrible? He hadn’t thought of it as something completely selfish.

“You’re right,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Winter turned to Moon as if he was ready for her apology, too. She met his gaze for a moment, then folded her wings and crouched beside Kinkajou, helping her pick up the broken pieces of the vase.

“Don’t move,” she said to the RainWing. “You’ll cut your feet.”

“I pretty much think he’s evil, too,” said Kinkajou. “I’m sorry, Moon.” She rested one of her wings lightly on her friend’s back.

Moon looked up at her, then over her shoulder at Qibli. “But I’ve seen good in him,” she said. “And I’ve heard it in his thoughts. He has this vision of a peaceful future where everyone in Pyrrhia is safe and happy … he wants to make sure it happens. I believe that’s what he really wants.”

“Tell me something,” Winter said harshly. “Are there any IceWings in this blissful future?”

She blinked at him, uncomprehending. “Of course there are.”

“Winter,” Qibli said in a warning voice.

“No, there aren’t!” Winter snapped. “Because he just sent a magic plague to kill every single one of them!”

“Winter!” Qibli cried. “What did we just talk about? Did you really not understand me? You can’t tell her stuff like that!”

“What?” Moon started to stand up and let out a yelp as one of the vase shards stabbed her palm. A line of blood welled up, bright red against the black scales.

“She has to know,” Winter insisted as Qibli grabbed one of the dark green blankets from the closest bed and ripped off a swathe. “She has to understand how dangerous he is.”

Qibli crossed to Moon, took her talon gently in his, and wrapped the bit of cloth around the wound. This was the side of Winter he didn’t like — the angry, self-righteous side. It was the only thing that made him wonder if Winter was good enough for Moon. How could he yell at her the way he did, if he really loved her?

“I do want to know,” Moon said, touching her snout to the top of Qibli’s head. “I want to know everything.”

“But it puts everyone in danger,” Qibli said anxiously. He tied the bit of blanket together so it would stay and met Moon’s eyes. “You don’t have skyfire. I don’t know where to find more. Darkstalker already knows about the earrings from your thoughts — now he’ll know we know about the IceWing plague, too. I don’t know what that’ll make him do.”

Her talon was trembling between his. “So it’s true? He really did that? An IceWing plague?”

“Yes,” said Winter. “A spell that would kill every IceWing in Pyrrhia.”

“Except Winter. Or any hybrids. And I guess we don’t have confirmation that it was him,” Qibli said, trying to be honest. Winter shot him a glare. “But we’re pretty sure.”

“I feel sick,” Moon said, sitting down and pressing her talons to her eyes.

“We have to do something!” Kinkajou said. “Can’t we save them? We have to make him stop the spell — or find another animus who can!”

“It’s all right,” Qibli said. “We think we’ve stopped it. If it was a spell from Darkstalker, they should be cured now.” He tugged away one of Moon’s talons from her face so she could see him smile. “We sent them hundreds of my hideous earrings.”

“So the entire IceWing tribe is in the secret club?” Kinkajou said. “Huh. I don’t get it, but I’m still offended.”

“They’re protection spells,” Qibli explained. “They make us immune to Darkstalker’s spells. You can have one, but I think Turtle already made you immune, didn’t he?”

“That’s true,” she said.

“I don’t know what to do now,” Qibli said. “Moon, I think we have to get you away from here before Darkstalker sees you again.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said a voice from the window. “I have skyfire.”