Chapter 93

“Fuck!” Dex roared.

Serena was already gone, swallowed by the storm.

Velkaris, meanwhile, was perfectly calm.

Serena: Water dragon ready. Need cover.

Gav: Solara has visual.

The water dragon bucked Serena off before Gav even finished.

Her high-pitched scream bled through the mindlink.

Dex’s soul left his body.

Velkaris dove just in time for Dex to see Gav catch Serena by the arm and haul her onto Solara.

Dex exhaled. Hard.

Then Serena immediately sprinted across Solara’s back and leapt onto another fucking water dragon.

Dex lost it.

“What the actual fuck,” he shouted. “No. Nope. Absolutely the hell not p>

The water dragon that just bucked Serena off moved next to Velkaris. It was pissed.

“Ground. Basalt ridgeline,” he snapped with zero fucks that its mouth was open, about to power-shot boiling acid water at him.

The water dragon turned its head and moved toward the ground.

Dex stared after it, chest heaving, eyes snapping back to Serena as she balanced on yet another enemy dragon like this was a sport.

“Oh my gods,” he yelled. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack, or is this just a fun hobby now p>

Velkaris rumbled, deeply entertained.

Serena: Second water dragon ready. No cover needed.

Before it could buck her, she jumped.

She dropped straight down through the clouds, already channeling ice, and slammed onto the storm dragon on her hands and knees. Ice blasted from her palms, gold magic flaring immediately and aggressively as she anchored herself.

The dragon roared, twisting violently, surging upward in protest.

Hale: Storm dragon’s eyes are gold. Kronk has your visual.

Serena didn’t even have time to respond.

The dragon bucked hard.

Her high-pitched scream tore through the mindlink.

Hale burst out laughing, also bleeding through the mindlink. Kronk dove and Hale caught Serena by the arms mid-fall, hauling her up.

She landed flat on her stomach on their dragon.

“Oh, this is so funny,” Serena huffed, then immediately started laughing too.

“Your scream is,” Silas observed from behind her, “deeply concerning p>

“Silas would be screaming too,” Hale countered, grinning.

“I am screaming strategically p>

Silas snorted. He leaned over the edge, squinting through the clouds. “You see that one under us p>

“Yup,” Hale confirmed.

“On it,” Serena called, already launching herself back down through the clouds toward the next storm dragon.

Hale shook his head, still laughing.

She went from dragon to dragon like she was late for an appointment. Occasional screams breaking through the mindlink.

One moment free-falling, the next catching herself on the leg of a storm dragon, slamming ice and gold straight into it with aggressive efficiency.

Irritation and anger were excellent motivators, it turned out.

Hale and Gav fell into rhythm with her almost immediately. Solara and Kronk caught her like it was a practiced drill, Zenith swooping in occasionally like, don’t worry, I’ve got this one. It started looking coordinated.

Meanwhile, Dex was stuck watching all of it while barking orders at enemy dragons to get to the damn ground like a Draken Air Traffic controller having the worst day of his life.

“Ground. Basalt ridgeline. No, not near it. On it. Yes, you. Don’t make me repeat myself p>

They’d ridden with her last night, and it showed. They adjusted. Anticipated her movements. Timed their dives to her jumps. By the fourth dragon, they were catching her without even being asked.

They were in sync with her.

Dex hated it but he had to admit they were good.

Really good.

It was painfully obvious she was the missing piece they hadn’t known they needed.

Dex scowled, gripping Velkaris tighter.

He rarely used a spotter. He didn’t need one. Logically, his bonded was supposed to be the spotter to his dragon. But he didn’t like her in danger, even on his dragon with him.

But now? She was currently using enemy dragons as stepping stones while his top command caught her midair like this was a competitive sport.

He felt her laughter, watching Gav pull her onto Solara.

Dex closed his eyes for half a second.

Velkaris rumbled, deeply amused.

“Oh, shut up,” Dex snapped.

Serena was on Kronk, wedged neatly between Hale and Silas, when the last dragon finally went down.

Tiberon: Status.

Dex: Final dragon grounded.

Tiberon: Return. Medical teams ready.

Normally, protocol would have Serena transfer back to Velkaris.

Normally.

But Kronk, by some divine mercy or malicious sense of humor, was already angling toward the ground.

Serena let out a long, relieved breath.

Dex, watching from above, was absolutely fuming.

Kronk hit the ground hard. Rain poured down in sheets, soaking everything as the last echoes of battle faded. Serena jumped down, boots hitting mud, and immediately regretted having legs at all. They wobbled like they were negotiating a strike.

She barely had time to register it before Shadowclaw was there.

He scooped her up without hesitation.

Dex saw it from the air.

Of course he did.

By the time Velkaris landed, Serena was already gone, carried straight into a medical tent while the rain hammered down around them.

Dex dismounted slowly, jaw tight, watching the tent flap close.

Velkaris rumbled, amused.

“Oh, shut up,” Dex muttered.

Dex ducked into medical to get checked over. He was banged up. Scraped, bruised, bleeding in a few places. Nothing dramatic.

Nothing like Serena.

He could feel her through the matebond before he even saw her. Pain laced under fading adrenaline, sharp enough to make him wince. Pure exhaustion.

His face darkened at the fact she was so injured. Her neck was bruised.

Then he saw Shadowclaw. He was standing too close, holding a wet cloth, carefully wiping blood from Serena’s face.

Touching her.

Aegon slammed forward so hard that Dex’s vision went gold at the edges. He breathed through it, forcing his hands to stay at his sides.

“That went about a hundred percent better than the other night,” Hale remarked, grinning at Serena. “No bracelets went off. Last time, most of us set them off like we were speed-running disaster p>

“That was the best flying, shooting, and coordination I’ve ever witnessed,” King Tiberon said. The edge of command finally slipping, pride winning. “Across any front p>

Gav looked Serena over slowly. “You look like you got into a fistfight with a wolf and lost p>

Serena didn’t even blink. “What are you talking about? We look fantastic p>

Everyone burst out laughing.

Gav’s grin stayed in place. His eyes didn’t leave the bruises on her neck.

King Nightspire entered the tent.

Unannounced. The air shifted instantly.

“Serena,” he called. “A word p>