Chapter Sixty-Three
The relief of not having to dart away from the pursuits of a crazed lunatic bird was instant for Evan. Then it was followed by total terror as he realized he was racing toward a huge angry sea serpent that was thrashing around in the ocean and making it their bitch.
Salt water sprang up from the Mediterranean and made it seem like they were in a hurricane of sorts. But around the chaos, the coastal area was clear. They were in the storm. The monster was the eye of it.
“Don’t worry, Pink Princess,” Evan called over the comm. “I’m coming to the rescue.”
“Thanks, but I think worry is still going to be a part of the equation,” Sophia stated, breathless as she and Lunis darted around the many attacks unleashed by the leviathan as its tentacles whipped through the air. They were doing a surprisingly good job of avoiding getting hit, although like Evan trying to evade the simurgh, it was impossible to keep it up for too much longer.
And the leviathan had surprising speed for being so large. The ends of its tentacles were tiny, like ropes, but grew in width closer to its body and created quite the effect on the water’s surface.
As Evan approached, the monster caught sight of him and twisted in the air. Its mouth chopped at them, looking for a little appetizer, which was exactly what Coral and Evan would be for the gigantic monster.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Sophia and Lunis rode to the creature’s backside.
“I’m married,” Evan said dryly, always able to keep up the pretense, even in battle.
She sighed, but still laughed over the comm. “We know how we need to defeat this monster.”
“Cool, then I’ll just pop off to Cyprus, which isn’t far from here,” Evan replied, still racing toward the scene of chaos. “Awesome tiki bar, and I once met a waitress there who—”
“You’re going to have to do it,” Sophia interrupted.
Because no one ever taught her manners, Evan thought. “Continue.”
“We’ll serve as the distraction,” Sophia stated with authority. “You need to get to Carl’s underside.”
“Carl?”
“This monster with a bad temper,” she explained.
“Oh, he’s a total Carl.” Evan laughed. “And this underside?”
“According to Lunis, it’s underwater,” Sophia stated. “He’s not sure what you’re looking for, but you’ll know it when you see it. Or more likely, Coral will.”
“Oh good, so you can’t offer many specifics.” Evan swerved to the side as a tentacle tried to shake his hand—and by hand, he meant his face—right off.
“Can you do it?” Sophia asked, hope in her voice.
“Distract Carl,” Evan ordered. “I’ll go swimming with the fish.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
Shooting at the simurgh hadn’t worked, Mahkah realized with a rush of disappointment. He had suspected as much, but had held out hope.
The dragonrider wasn’t out of options though. In battle, it was a series of eliminations. When one attack didn’t work, the warrior had to be agile enough to change their approach and hope that time was on their side.
For Mahkah, time was running out.
For Wilder, time was speeding by him.
Racing away from the simurgh’s pursuit had been Evan’s attempt to stay alive. Shooting at the monster from a distance was another option. There were a few other attacks that Mahkah was considering. Racing straight at the giant simurgh hadn’t been one of them.
The creature was massive and although Simi was a good-sized dragon, as she approached, she looked more and more like a small bird racing toward the zeppelin that had attacked the Gullington under Trin’s command. That airship had been huge. The dragons had kept their distance from it and shot fire from afar. Wilder had thrown all those cautious measures away and was now dangerously close to colliding with the gigantic bird.
Mahkah almost wanted to shut his eyes and not witness what would happen next. He was powerless to help as Wilder neared the simurgh. Even if he enchanted the arrows, he couldn’t fire an attack with his friend so close to the bird. All Mahkah could do was watch. And watch he did, knowing that when the time presented itself…if it did, he would swoop in and help, hopefully before his friend got himself killed.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Having Carl’s attention momentarily distracted by Evan and Coral racing in its direction was a welcome relief after having to dodge its many attacks. The splattering seawater and roar of the monster was enough to contend with, but having to dart away from its tentacles and snapping jaws made everything a lot more intense.
However, Sophia recognized that they would have to act fast because the monster wouldn’t be distracted for long. This gave Sophia and Lunis enough time to get to the backside of the beast and plan a distraction, which hopefully worked to allow Evan the opportunity he needed to get into place…whenever that was.
Lunis hadn’t been able to offer more on Carl’s vulnerable side—only that it was underwater. That, and as much of the leviathan as they saw above the surface, more stretched under the sea.
Sophia didn’t know what kind of magic had created this beast, but she didn’t think the world would miss something so large and destructive. More perplexing was the question of where the monster came from. Hiding something this large or manifesting it would be complex. The leviathan’s presence brought up a lot more questions than it answered. But those would all have to wait.
“Anytime you’re ready, Pink Princess,” Evan called. A rush of wind and splattering rain echoed in the comm.
“I’m almost in place.” She steered Lunis around the monster’s backside, which was expansive. There were spikes and more tentacles on the back, like the creature preferred a multi-pronged approach.
Thankfully, Carl didn’t have eyes in the back of its head and the tentacles moved with less precision, more like flags in the wind than enacting actual attacks. This gave Sophia and Lunis a chance to get into position, hovering in a place at the monster’s back that was less covered in thick spikes and appeared somewhat vulnerable.
“We’re ready,” Sophia announced over the comm.
“About time,” Evan huffed. “And thanks. Once we take the plunge, communications will end.”
“Then stay safe and be fast,” Sophia responded with a strange fondness in her voice.
“You got it boss,” Evan chirped.
“And also,” Sophia added. “Don’t die.”
“Roger that.”
Chapter Sixty-Six
Wilder had done a lot of crazy things in his two hundred years. Most of them didn’t matter because if something happened to him, he didn’t much care. But recently, things mattered more. His life meant more than it used to.
The Dragon Elite had a purpose after several centuries of being stagnant. Wilder had the chance to save the world again and again for many years to come. More importantly than that, he had someone worth saving the world for. Even better, Sophia Beaufont didn’t need Wilder to save the world for her. In most cases, she would be right by his side and saving it with him.