Chapter 689: Dark Fae Can Kiss My Ash

Arrow nocked. String pulled.

CRACK.

Lightning illuminated the water dragon she was sensing. The spotter saw her the same moment she saw him, except she was ready for him and he was not expecting her.

She released.

By the time the spotter released, her arrow was mid-arc.

Talon moved, dodging the incoming fire.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Lightning flashed three times in rapid succession, creating a strobe effect. First frame: the arrow buried in the spotter’s chest. Second frame: half a body, half ash. Third frame: the rider dissolving beside him.

Serena knew from experience that other Dark Fae nearby would’ve also just turned into ash. Not all of them, but a good chunk of them. That’s how these arrows worked. A cheat code from the Gods that Serena was not going to question.

Somewhere in the clouds, a rider was going to turn around and find a pile of ash where their spotter used to be. The confusion would be brief and total. The image was a little funny. That thought was fucked up, poorly timed, and accurate. Three for three.

But these Dark Fae were killers heading for her walls. She would not let innocent people die because of them. Shadowclaw was hers to protect. These Dark Fae were messing with the wrong bitch.

Talon held position. Steady. Silent. The frost dragon hadn’t flinched at the draw or the release or the violence that had just occurred sixty meters from his nose. He was military. This was his environment. This was what the prince’s fastest was built for.

Serena nocked another arrow.

She scanned.

The energy signatures shifted in her mind. The dragons that lost both rider and spotter were lighter in color now in her mind. She was able to decipher between them to a degree she hadn’t been able to the first few times she had been in battle. She wondered if that was due to the shadow tether on her soul or if that was due to training with Maelor.

"Definitely Maelor," she said to no one. To Talon. To herself. That was the answer she was going to stick with.

The figures of dragons in her mind separated until she could sense the full first wave.

Identified. Separated.

Storm dragon. One rider and three spotters still intact.

She drew. Aimed.

CRACK.

Lightning flashed again. The Moon Goddess was either helping or providing dramatic lighting for something deeply grim. Either way, Serena appreciated the timing.

She fired at a spotter, who was having the last good night of his career.

Bullseye.

More ash for the collection. She was going to stop calling it that. Right after the next one.

The four flanking dragons pulled back into formation on both sides of her. That meant they had already completed a full circle. Right. She had forgotten about that momentarily.

Serena was already nocking her arrow and would have to put it down to do a hand signal. So they were going to have to wait a moment.

She could feel every gaze locked on her while she aimed. Audience acquired. Target still pending.

Were they about to see how good of a shot she was? Yes.

Was she fully aware of this? Also yes. If they wanted a show, then she would give them a goddamn show.

Another storm dragon approached. Lightning kept flashing. Multi-frame effect again.

Hit.

Shock. Dissolving. Ash. The other spotters’ "oh shit" faces. More dissolving. More piles of ash.

One confused dragon underneath.

She lowered her bow and glanced at the nearest rider flanking her. It was hard to read his face in a lightning storm at speed, but she was fairly certain calm was not the word for what was happening on it.

Serena scanned the dragons’ energy around her. They all felt lighter than they were, which meant riders or spotters had been eliminated. The first wave was that quick. All because of these arrows. Arrows that would have been helpful the first few times she did this.

She raised a closed fist. The formation held. She tapped her chest twice, pointed forward, then swept two fingers wide to both flanks.

I’m going in. Cover me.

Every rider read it clean. No hesitation.

Were they about to get another show? Yes.

This one took a little more concentration.

She channeled Talon’s ice. He huffed under her, okay with the arrangement.

Her Hidden Flame mark froze. This would be quick and hopefully not a distraction to Drakenfell. But the ice was necessary for this.

Serena ran off of Talon’s back. Full sprint. Into open air.

The fall lasted two seconds. The water dragon was below her, massive, its scales slick with rain and its own mist.

THUD.

Serena hit its back on all fours.

The second she made contact, gold erupted from her palms with ice beneath it. Both at the same time, shoved into the dragon with everything she had.

She didn’t ease into it. She had learned that lesson the hard way. She had maybe a few seconds before it tried to buck her and there was no room for timidity here.

The water dragon’s eyes flashed gold immediately.

She let out the breath she absolutely had been holding since she landed. That was much easier than she remembered.

The massive body shuddered beneath her. The corruption receded from the contact point outward, the dark veins in its scales draining of color, replaced by the original pigment underneath.

"TO LAND."

The dragon heard it. The dragon would listen. But the dragon also hated it. Spine arched, body bucked. Serena was already in motion, because she had clocked the tantrum before the dragon finished having it.

She jumped.

Mid-air. Two hundred meters above the ground. Rain horizontal. Visibility nothing. She fabricated a glider in the space between the dragon’s back and the dark, gold magic hardening into a frame that caught the wind and converted her fall into a controlled descent that lasted exactly long enough for the flanking dragon below to close the distance.

The rider’s hand shot out. Serena grabbed it. Her boots hit the dragon’s back and she was standing before the rider’s arm had fully retracted.

"Thank you," she said, somehow not winded. It usually wasn’t that easy. They happened to see the best one. "Whoops. Missed one."

She nocked her arrow still on their dragon.

Her body had transitioned from free-fall to combat stance with zero pause in between because Serena Drakenfell did not "miss one" and was taking that personally.

One more for the ash collection.

Below her, the flanking riders exchanged a look that translated, cleanly, to "what the fuck."