"Frostborne. You look like shit."

Gavriel Sterling’s bedside manner had not improved since the last time he’d seen her, which was a day ago, when he’d said the exact same thing in slightly different words.

"Thank you, Gav."

"You hungover?"

Serena did not dignify that with an answer. He had no fucking idea. She was first-shift after silver sore and everything hurt.

But she got up anyway this morning.

It was day one of the Shadowclaw-Drakenfell joint command, and she was already the most watched person on the field.

Aurelia: Why do they keep looking at us?

Serena: Aurelia! You’re back. Are you alright?

Aurelia: Yes. That shift was a bitch.

Serena exhaled through her nose in a stifled laugh.

"What are you laughing at, Frostborne?" Gav called.

She hadn’t told anyone about her first shift, outside of Fin who was there. She barely remembered it, frankly. And she needed to tell Dex first, alone, before telling anyone.

"I’m just thinking about how excited I am to jump on dragons that shoot electricity out of their mouths, Gav."

Her voice came out dry as sand.

Aurelia: They’re still staring.

Serena: I think they’re just curious. These are literal dragons.

Across the field, Onyx was holding position, waiting for Serena to notice. She glanced over at him, and raised her hands to clap, but saw Morholt and didn’t.

Onyx understood, and wiggled his whole body. Gav followed her train of sight, but didn’t say a word.

"Sterling is spotting you today, Frostborne," Morholt called. "No magic."

"Yes, Colonel."

"Wipe that smile off your face. Thor is running the obstacle course today, but he will be back tomorrow."

Her smile fell as quickly as it appeared.

"Understood."

✦✦✦

Serena sat behind Gav on Solara, as they gained altitude.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Remind me why you aren’t allowed to use magic for this?"

"Something about learning how to control them without it."

"Interesting. That sounds like a you problem."

Serena rolled her eyes.

A storm dragon roared from under them through the clouds.

She jumped off of Solara, landing on the storm dragon’s neck. Perfect. It was the only place she could hold on with storm dragons where her weight would do anything.

The second she wrapped her arms around it, and tried to get it to bank right with pressure cues, the dragon roared.

"Go to land," she commanded.

Her insides flared hot and the Hidden Flame mark on her arm blazed to life. Every warrior, every officer, every person in Drakenfell who bore the mark flinched in the same instant, the sensation like hot iron being pressed to their forearms simultaneously.

It did not land. He cut hard right. Then dove. Then the storm dragon corkscrewed straight down towards the ground with its wings out.

"That’s just dramatic," Serena called. Wrong thing to say. The dragon huffed, then tucked its wings into its body so it could go faster. It picked up speed so quickly that Serena lost her grip completely.

She flew off, catching herself on the tip of the dragon’s tail. But as soon as she did, it whipped its tail so hard, the air cracked, and she went flying.

Attempt number one: Fail.

"Got her," Gav called.

Solara banked hard from the left, and Gav caught Serena mid-fall, one arm hooking her around the waist. She landed on top of him, the impact knocking the wind out of both of them.

"Thanks," she gasped, still on top of Gav.

"Don’t mention it. Literally. My ribs would appreciate it."

Arms shaking, she pushed herself up off his chest. Solara banked left as she did, and she ended up with a knee on either side of his waist.

A water dragon appeared out of nowhere. She felt it before she saw it in the clouds.

Her hands shot up and a gold shield materialized around Solara. The water dragon released a boiling power-shot of hot acid right as the shield formed.

The gold shattered, and Solara dove to avoid being hit.

Serena fell forward on top of Gav, still straddling him.

Aurelia: The Gamma is hard under us. He wishes to mate with you.

Serena: He does not.

Her cheeks heated, as she pretended to not notice the erection under her that was growing by the second.

Gav was uncharacteristically silent, holding onto Solara’s back.

As soon as Solara leveled, Serena pushed herself to stand, orienting herself to face the water dragon still hidden in the clouds.

Her eyes glowed gold.

"To land."

Immediately her insides burned, but the water dragon listened. Improvement.

Morholt mindlinked her and Gav from below.

Morholt: No magic, Frostborne. If that shield activates again, you’re running laps.

Normally Morholt turned a blind eye. But apparently that was dependent on Thor.

Serena: Colonel, I wasn’t aware water dragons were also part of this exercise.

Morholt: They are not. Tell Sterling if one is near and Solara will dive to avoid it.

Serena: I sensed it right as it released the power-shot. We would have been hit. Can we have another spotter mindlink if one approaches so I’m ready?

Morholt: That’s not how battle works. Pay better attention.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. That was exactly how battle worked. He was so incredibly wrong it was laughable. But she’d only been to two battles. Maybe she was missing something.

Serena looked up at Gav who was watching her, wearing an identical expression to the one on her face.

"That’s stupid."

She let out a dark laugh. "Yeah, I feel that way too. But I have a laundry list of stupid things that have been happening in Drakenfell. This doesn’t make it."

Gav frowned at that. "Serena, are you alright?"

She opened her mouth. Shut it. Somehow, Gav always managed to ask the most basic questions that seemed to cut through all the complicated thoughts and pull out the most basic answer.

She swallowed down a lump that formed in her throat. They had a job to do.

"Yes, Gav. You don’t need to worry."

✦✦✦

From the ground, Fin and Dex had both been watching. Neither was happy. Both looked at the Colonel, who stood at the edge of the dragon field, arms clasped behind his back, watching with calm detachment.

The ceasefire between them had become so frequent lately that it was starting to feel less like a truce and more like a standing agreement.

When it came to training, to being a warrior and a commander, Dex respected him. Begrudgingly. Fin had proved that immediately upon arrival. And when it came to Serena, they were on the same page. Every time.

"Why can’t she use magic?" Dex asked Morholt, his voice level. "She’s not ready to control storm dragons without it."

"Hyran’s orders, Commander." Morholt’s expression was stone. "He said she’d figure it out."

"I’m overruling. If she is bucked off a dragon, she can make a glider instead of breaking a rib on my Gamma. And she should be shielding whatever dragon is being used to spot, just like she would in battle. Every time." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Dex didn’t bother hiding his irritation.

"Understood, Commander." Morholt dropped his voice. Dex had to lean in. "Hyran specifically said that she shouldn’t be using her magic because he needs her to be at full capacity this afternoon."

Aeron who was sitting nearby, tilted his head at that.

"It sounds like he wants her to be as miserable as possible so she quits this and goes back to being his full-time apprentice."

Fin bit back a grin. He’d had the same thought.

"For today," Dex said, redirecting. "If she’s up with water or storm class, she can use magic to shield. That’s my order."

"Yes, Commander. I’ll mindlink her."

✦✦✦

Serena received the updated orders mid-air.

Good. Because she was completely over this. Thoroughly, entirely, bone-deep over this.

She jumped off Solara. Landed. For one, miraculous second, the storm dragon didn’t try to buck her.

It was short-lived. She was flicked off. Climbed back on. Got flicked off again.

Aurelia: I have been conscious for an hour and I have already almost died nine times. Is this normal?

Serena: Define normal.

Aurelia: That means yes. I am telling Xeon.

Another storm dragon turned towards the one Serena was on. It was larger. Territorial. Its mouth was open and Serena didn’t need to be told twice.

Serena jumped off the dragon under her, just as a lightning strike came from the other dragon’s mouth.

"GOT HER," Gav shouted.

His arms came out of nowhere, pulling her into his chest. She landed on top of him, in a tangle of limbs and adrenaline. Gav was sandwiched between Solara’s back and her.

Neither moved for a second, both panting. Solara circled smoothly, unbothered, the only composed member of the trio.

"You good?" Gav wheezed beneath her.

"Just a scratch." Serena rolled off him and sat up, inspecting the damage. Part of her training suit was eaten through, the skin beneath angry and red.

"That’s not a scratch."

"Yeah. I have no idea how that happened."

"Don’t say that. It doesn’t make me feel better."

A storm dragon broke from formation and dove toward them. Serena sensed it just as Gav saw it.

"SERENA!" Gav yelled.

Solara dove, wings tucked, and Serena felt something from the dragon. A sensation she recognized from Velkaris.

"Shit!" she screamed, panic flaring. "Solara, no. STOP!"

The air around Solara was warped already. Sound and light bent. And the dragon either couldn’t hear her, or decided it wasn’t going to stop

On instinct, Serena grabbed Gav tightly, pulling him on top of her. Gav locked one arm around her waist, and one on his dragon.

His vision split into two overlapping images that refused to merge, and the only thing that was real, the only thing that was solid, was her under him.

In a span of half a second several things happened. Velkaris let out a roar. Every adult fire and ice dragon rose in the air with him.

Solara was performing a Truebond Veil. But Solara wasn’t Gav’s true bonded dragon. And therein lay the problem.

Truebond Veils were fatal for most who tried with their bonded. And they were impossible without being bonded.

And Serena and Gavriel were in the middle of one when Dexmon looked up.

His face went white.