furious.
Dewberryâs wings lilted to her sides. âWe wonât . . . we canât go back to the herd, obviously. Your mother will think weâve all died.â
âI know,â she whispered.
Hazelwind whipped his head around. âHasnât Silverlake gone through enough,â he growled. âOur father was murdered before her eyes, and now you, her fillyâfalling to her death and drowning. Thatâs what sheâll think, you know. And sheâll think I got killed too. How could you?â
Tears erupted and flowed down Morningleafâs cheeks. âI didnât . . . I donât . . .â
âLet me guess; you didnât think,â accused her brother.
âDonât be so hard on her,â neighed Brackentail.
Hazelwind lashed his tail. âStay out of this.â
âI didnât think youâd follow me this far,â sputtered Morningleaf.
âLike I havenât heard you and Redfire talking for days about the aquifers,â he snapped. âAs soon as you let go of my neck, I knew what you were up to.â Hazelwind stared down at his battle-stained chest. âI need to clean up.â
âMe too,â said Dewberry.
The three pegasi whoâd attacked the blue roan slipped into the dark river to rinse their hides. They came out glistening, and also shivering.
âNightwing will search for you, probably for many days before he gives up,â said Hazelwind, his anger subsiding. âWeâre stuck in here for a while.â
Bumblewind glanced at the tall limestone walls, his eyes glowing in the phosphorescence. âHow did Redfire know this was here?â he asked Morningleaf.
Hazelwind answered. âRedfireâs been filling her head with information about the desert. Rivers like these that cut through soft rock, form underground channels like webs that canât be seen from the air. They branch out and surface far away from the main source, which is the river.â He glanced at his sister. âNow I know why you wereasking so many questions about them.â
âShe always asks a lot of questions,â said Brackentail.
Hazelwind shrugged. âThatâs probably why I didnât think too much about it until she let go of me.â
âWhat are we supposed to eat in here?â asked Bumblewind.
Dewberry shoved him. âHungry already?â
Everyone nickered, and the tension melted out of the cavern and floated away with the long, dark river.
âWeâll rest here a few days,â said Hazelwind. âThen, if itâs safe, weâll track Nightwingâs herd to the interior.â
âWeâre going to follow them?â asked Morningleaf, stunned.
He grimaced. âYes, weâll keep our distance, but weâll set up a watch to spy on Nightwing and the pegasi. When Star comes, heâll need information, and weâll be able to give it to him. At least something good has come from your recklessness.â
Morningleaf nodded quietly, because her brother was right; she hadnât thought out her plan, or what came next. She was shocked that she was alive at all.
They traveled deeper into the tunnel, found smooth stone, and settled for the night. Before falling asleep, Hazelwind nuzzled his sister, forgiving her. âThe four IceWarriors who swam downstream didnât see the aqueduct; theyâll report that we drowned, and a search wonât reveal our hoofprints or our bodies. It wasnât the worst plan.â
Morningleaf sighed. âOur mother will understand, someday.â
âYes, someday,â Hazelwind repeated, and then he closed his eyes.
10
CAMOUFLAGE
A STRIPE OF ORANGE SPLIT THE DARKNESS, AND Star watched Frostfire awaken and gaze at Valley Field, the charred meadow of his homeland. âI may never come back to this place.â
Star paced, feeling anxious. âAll that matters now is finding our friends and defeating
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