Stars of Magic: Wings of Power (Book 1)

Chapter 24

Luna woke up the next morning to someone shouting. Bigwings shouting.

"We're here!"

Luna and the other magets sat up and headed over to where Bigwings was standing. They were heading for a palace. It was carved out of obsidian, and purple rays dazzled Luna's eyes in the morning sun. Joining the purple rays were studs of emerald, sapphire, and ruby. Luna knew what this place was. This was the palace of Queen Starlight.

Luna was confused. For the tenth or twentieth time this week. Luna wasn't counting that.

"What are we doing here?" Luna asked.

"We need to pick up a certain someone Her Majesty is keeping an eye on," Bigwings replied. "Well, two someones. Picked them out near one of the markets. One of them nearly ripped off the wings of my dad."

"Oh," Luna said. "Are they bad? Is it Silver?"

Bigwings winced at the mention of Silver. Weird. "No, they just thought we were bad. Euch. Water Sprayers are vicious."

Luna jumped. Water Sprayers?

The platform started descending to the base of the palace and standing at the entrance were two Night Bringers. One seemed to disappear into the shadows of the palace entirely, and the other had deep gray-blue underscales that went together with his midnight scales, big scratches on his nose and front arms, and a deep bite wound on his left wing. This must have been Bigwings's father, from the way he addressed Bigwings.

"Luna," Bigwings said when they landed, "This is my best friend, Blackout, and my dad, Midknight."

"Is that a K in there?" Luna asked.

"Yes," Midknight said. "Son, why is she here?"

"Seashell and Thundercloud asked me to bring her here," Bigwings said. "And you know how good of a bodyguard I am."

"You think I don't remember-" Midknight said.

"HA HA! FATHER!" Bigwings interrupted. Then he gritted his teeth and looked like he was trying to keep something secret from Luna. "She is right there and she can hear you. So keep your mouth shut if you want everything to go smoothly!"

"Everyone, stay here," Thundercloud announced to the other dragons. "We have some business to attend to inside. Magets of Magic, come inside. You too, Luna."

The other magets hopped off of the platform and followed Bigwings into the palace. Luna ran over to Edward's side. Thundercloud and Seashell hopped behind the group and they went inside the open doors.

The inside was amazing and just beautiful. So many windows high up on the walls of the front room, and the room was filled with sunlight. The sunlight reflected off of amethyst, sapphire, and emerald carvings of royalty over the last 999,000 years. Watercolor tapestries hung on every wall, beautiful landscapes, old cherry blossom trees, and royal family portraits.

Artemis, Fowl, and Sprite were standing in front of a statue of the current queen. Delicately curved horns, majestic wings, and a kind smile. Artemis was nodding and looking a bit impressed. Fowl was looking at the statue in awe. Sprite was smiling and looking over the carving as if she wanted to do one herself.

Edward was on the other side of the room. He was looking at a glass case. Above it, a portrait of the current royal family hung. It was covered in a purple curtain, as though it wasn't up-to-date. Inside of the case, there was a row of crowns, separated into sections.

"Hey, guys!" Edward called. "Check this out!"

Everyone crowded over at the case. Everyone oohed and ahhed at the crowns.