Hidden Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon Book 7) by Genevieve Jack (best book club books .txt) 📕

It was a good idea. If Avery was brave enough, Raven could be brave too. Raven drew a symbol in the air with her hand and sent her sister flying over the monster. For one harrowing moment, she pictured the thing tipping its head back and snapping Avery right out of the air. Thankfully, the creature didn’t seem capable of moving that way. Avery landed on its grotesque head and thrust her sword into the top of its skull. She clung to the anchor as the beast swayed and roared, then placed her hands on its eel-skin flesh.

“Which spell?” Raven yelled to Clarissa. She had to yell to be heard over Charlie’s wailing.

“Do we try to freeze it again? Or tear it apart?” Clarissa asked.

“I’m afraid if we eviscerate the monster, we’ll potentially hurt Avery. She’s immune to our magic, but the fall might kill her. The thing has to be fifty feet tall.”

“Then we freeze it. You hit it in the gut, and I’ll sing.”

“Ready!” Avery’s voice came on the ocean breeze.

Raven raised both hands, centering her energy and directing it at the monster. “Pagoma.”

She’d just spat the word out when another tentacle slapped down on the wooden ship. It was too much for the ancient vessel to bear. The wooden hull splintered in two, and Raven dropped into the sea. She gripped Charlie, terror’s icy fingers digging in where the cold water left off. They descended into dark blue. Above her, the light of the sun danced on the surface of the water. She kicked hard and swam with one arm, but the weight of her jeans was dragging her down, Charlie still gripped tightly to her side. Oh dear goddess, Charlie! She had to get to the surface.

She closed her eyes, searching her memory for any spell that could help. It came to her from the cobwebs of her brain. “Fysallída.”

They rose like a bubble in a straw. Hungry for air, she gasped when they broke the surface. Little Charlie coughed over her shoulder, her wings working uselessly on her back.

Raven bobbed on the surface in a bubble of her magic, but she knew it wouldn’t last. She eyed a floating beam and reached for it. Thankfully it was large enough to hold Charlie, and she laid her on her stomach and patted her back. At least she’d stopped crying. Imminent drowning overcome, she turned her attention to the next crisis.

Slowly Raven became aware of Clarissa’s singing. Her sister had done it! The monster stood before them, a giant ice sculpture. Avery waved to them from its head. Sabrina was nearby with Nick and Maiara, floating in what appeared to be the ship’s dinghy. As Raven watched, Avery sheathed her sword and dove into the water, swimming safely to their boat.

“Let’s get to shore, baby,” she said to Charlie.

Although she was drained from overusing her magic, she forced herself to kick, navigating around the remains of the creature and praying it did not come to life again. She could see the island now. Closer. Closer.

A colossal splash behind her turned her head. Rowan’s dragon popped up among the waves. She shifted back into her soma form and started swimming toward her. Raven was relieved when she realized her feet could touch bottom. Scooping Charlie into her arms, she walked toward shore, feeling like a waterlogged mess. Clarissa was already there, staring at the battle overhead.

Rowan stumbled out of the water, shaking her head. “By the Mountain, the bitch stunned me!”

Behind her, Alexander’s dragon collided with the surface, then Tobias’s. Gabriel, Nathaniel, and Xavier still battled above, bending and snapping around Eleanor and Ransom.

Sabrina, Maiara, and Nick rowed up.

“Thank fuck Sabrina was able to free the dinghy in time,” Nick said, pulling Rowan into his arms. “I would have been fish food.”

An exhausted Sabrina stumbled to meet Tobias as he reached the shore. She collapsed in his arms. Alexander met Maiara halfway. He held her as she rambled out the story about the monster and he comforted her with soft words. Together, they all turned to watch the battle still going on above them.

“What do we do?” Raven asked Avery and Clarissa. “It doesn’t look good up there.”

Flashes of dragon fire exploded in the sunny sky.

“No spell we put out from here is going to help them up there. It’s too far away,” Clarissa said.

“Her claws…” Rowan worked to catch her breath at Nick’s side. Raven noticed her wing was torn and a wicked bruise was growing across her cheek. Raven hadn’t known a dragon could bruise like that. “They’re enchanted. It’s like being hit by a Paragonian grenade every time she touches you. I’d go back up, but I have nothing left to give.”

Alexander held up his arm, torn deep but healing slowly. “She got me too.”

Tobias rubbed the back of his neck. “My ears are still ringing from the shock she gave me. I can’t shift yet. So much for the theory that she can’t use magic in her dragon form.” Tobias squinted. “Wait a minute… What’s that?”

Raven’s human eyes saw what Tobias’s sharper vision had picked up a few seconds earlier. A dragon the color of rich garnet was heading straight toward Eleanor and the others, coming up directly behind her. “Who is that?”

“Sylas!” Tobias cheered.

“Sylas! Of course! He must have seen us from the island.” Rowan squealed. “Go get ’em, little brother!”

Sylas was the reason they were all here. Nathaniel had left him a shadow-mail candle after rescuing him from the dungeon. After Charlie was born, a message had come through the candle, warning them to evacuate Nathaniel’s home, Mistwood Manor. Although the message had simply said that Eleanor was coming and to run, Nathaniel had assumed it was from Sylas and thus had led them to Aeaea. Sylas had mentioned hiding here before. Without any formal communication though, they hadn’t known for sure he’d be here. Now it seemed clear they’d