The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate novel Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Parachutes for Everyone. Except Me. Fuck.

Thor: Dive Serena now!

Styx moved before Serena knew what was happening, taking the blast of boiling acid and the arrow meant for her.

Velkaris dove, escaping more blasts.

Her bracelet vibrated again. Four times now since the first hit.

Serena swallowed, forcing herself calm, and scanned her surroundings. She was all alone and there was no margin for error.

Lightning flashed, illuminating a spotter on a water dragon. He saw her at the same time she saw him.

"Shit," she whispered, standing immediately, arrow drawn.

Her instinct was to pull flame into her arrow as she’d practiced. But the energy surrounding the water dragon also surrounded the riders, and that gave her pause.

Fire against water. She wasn’t stupid. She might as well throw a match into the ocean.

Fine. Then she’d freeze it.

She reached for Flareon’s energy, and her Hidden Flame mark froze against her skin.

She fired, and her ice arrow penetrated through the magical barrier surrounding the spotter with ease.

She released her second ice arrow a millisecond after.

Two bullseyes.

Two blinding flashes followed that illuminated everyone’s positions.

Two shockwave explosions hit next.

She was blasted off Velkaris’s back and he was knocked upside down. He roared, flailing through the air.

Fae fire dragons were also caught in the blast. Bodies tumbled as the storm screamed around them.

Serena’s heart thudded and ears rang as she free fell.

Her thoughts were discombobulated, but her protective instincts were sharp.

Parachutes of gold magic bloomed around the Drakenfell dragons and riders remaining.

She would have grinned at her own cleverness, but then realized she forgot her own parachute.

How odd, she thought to herself, almost wanting to laugh at the stupidity.

She knew she should be alarmed, but she felt detached from it.

Velkaris’s parachute vanished the second he recovered. He let out a deafening roar, diving straight for her.

Right as she flinched, bracing to hit the sea, his claw hooked around her waist.

He threw her upward and dove under, catching her on his back.

She landed flat on her stomach and stayed there for a moment. It was not graceful.

Out of her peripheral vision, Fae dragons righted themselves without parachutes, catching their riders midair. It looked practiced.

Noted.

The Drakenfell dragons began to stabilize, parachutes vanishing as soon as their wings snapped open.

King Tiberon: Status Update.

Thor: Recovered. Styx injured, Bardoff missing.

Bardoff: Transported via cuff. Loki, Mattius, and Darius also transported.

Alistair: Dislocated shoulder. Grog injured.

Ragnar: Arrow through my ribs. Balazaar injured.

Locke: Severe burns on myself and Morvexis. Need medical.

Serena lay on Velkaris in the pouring rain dazed, listening to the mindlinks come through.

The amount of boiling water jets didn’t make sense. She could feel the fire and ice dragons clear as day. But after getting closer, she realized there was more than one dragon she couldn’t fully grasp. Their energies were clearer than earlier, but still a blur in comparison.

Lightning flashed, and she could just make out multiple silhouettes where the blurs of energy were.

King Tiberon: Serena status.

She answered a second later, breath tight but controlled.

Serena: Recovered. Primary not singular. Five water dragons.

King Tiberon: Balazaar, Styx, Morvexis, & Grog to land.

All four dragons turned back toward shore. Serena pushed her magic to them, immediately, wrapping them like a shield.

Enemy dragons saw the gold and raced towards them.

No. Absolutely not.

Serena moved in between. She stood on Velkaris’s back against the storm.

"Halt, until I command otherwise."

Serena heard the words leave her mouth, in a voice that was different than her own.

The dragons’ eyes flared gold in response.

Spotters and riders’ shouts rang through the storm before arrows hurled towards her. The dragons ignored their riders and stayed put.

Velkaris dodged hard, banking left, then right.

Finally, they were in the storm clouds.

King Tiberon: Status, Serena.

Serena: Twenty-four fire and one ice immobilized and ready to move to land. They were approaching our injured and I had to intervene...

Tiberon cut her off, voice sharp.

King Tiberon: Send to North Field.

Serena was well aware King Tiberon said do not engage until primary was neutralized. The problem was there were too many arrows flying.

"First day on the job and I’ve already misstepped. Lovely. Clearly I know what I’m doing," Serena said dryly to Velkaris.

Velkaris huffed in agreement.

✦✦✦

Serena: On both sides!

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