Magitech Rises (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 3)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Do you mean, I saved Hiker Wallace?” she asked, curious.

  The shapeshifter shook her head. “Oh, no. He’s madder than hell. In five hundred years, I’ve never seen him this angry. I was saying you finally got the men to behave.”

  Sophia swung her feet over the side of the bed, confused. “Ains? What do you mean?”

  The mischievous housekeeper had her robe at the ready and held it out for her. “Find out for yourself, S. Beaufont.”

  Sophia stood, her feet faltering under her from tiredness unlike any she’d ever known. She slid her arms into the robe and shrugged it onto her shoulders.

  The housekeeper led her out of her room, making her press her eyes shut like it was a strange birthday party, although Sophia had been born in the summer, not the winter. Spring would be dawning soon, she realized.

  With a care that made Sophia’s heart tighten, Ainsley led her down the steps to the foyer. When Sophia was at the bottom, the housekeeper said, “Open up.”

  Sophia Beaufont opened her eyes to find something she’d never imagined.

  Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine

  Standing before Sophia Beaufont, the first female dragonrider in the Dragon Elite, were four polished men, ready to impress.

  They were the sight she hadn’t seen when she’d first entered the Castle, and they were every bit as perfect.

  Sophia loved them for everything they were and everything they were trying to be to impress her.

  She stood looking ridiculous in her pajamas and glared at Evan, Mahkah, Wilder, and Hiker as they nudged each other to stand straighter, look better, be more polished.

  “Hey,” she said to the four men before her.

  “Hey,” they all said in unison, sounding like a bunch of bumbling idiots, although she had to admit they didn’t look like it.

  Evan looked nice in his black suit. Regal, almost.

  Mahkah was sophisticated, which matched his demeanor.

  And Wilder? Well, he was more than nice, but more on that later.

  As for Hiker, he was alive. For Sophia, that was all that mattered.

  She went straight to the leader of the Dragon Elite with a wide grin on her face. “You made it,” she said, knowing better than to offer a hug.

  He shook his head as if she had offered such a thing. “I told you not to help me.”

  “Deal with it, old man,” she retorted.

  He lowered his chin, offering her kind eyes. “I wouldn’t be here if not for you. It wasn’t anything short of sacrifice that saved me, and it was you.

  “I just didn’t want Evan to be our leader,” she answered with a laugh.

  “Dude,” Evan called, “I can hear you.”

  Hiker grabbed her hand and pulled her off to the side. “I can’t thank you enough. There is little that divides us from life and death, I’ve found. It’s usually just a well-placed friend. Thanks for being mine.”

  “Anytime, sir.”

  Chapter One Hundred Forty

  Spring was coming; Sophia could feel it. Somehow a warm breeze had appeared, and she had grown accustomed to it during her recent journeys.

  She stood on the Expanse, feeling the breeze on her back. She was glad Thad was dead and the wars he’d started were over. She knew more battles were waiting to be waged. And then there was the end of dragonriders.

  No one was ready to deal with that. Sophia knew she had to move on.

  Sophia took one step toward the Pond and then another.

  Each seemed to lead somewhere, although she wasn’t sure why. She didn’t even know where she was going when her feet led her to the other side of the Castle. It was where the Expanse met the Pond, which was a strange place to find oneself. But here she was, with an ache in her heart and the blue of the water spreading before her.

  And then she saw what she had been looking for without knowing it.

  Quiet.

  The gnome poked his head out of a cave and withdrew it again.

  She thought about ignoring him, but then he looked out again and glanced straight at her, and his eyes connected with her as he said, “Hey, you!”

  Sophia’s feet carried her to him.

  Chapter One Hundred Forty-One

  The door to the cave was mostly closed.

  Sophia held her breath, not understanding why her heart was beating rapidly, or why she felt like she was on the edge of something great.

  She was just catching Quiet in an act of mischief.

  When she pulled back the great stone door to this mysterious cave, she got it.

  Sophia knew, and then she didn’t. She soaked it all in, disbelieving, before she ran for the Castle, fetching Mom and Dad. Or in this case, Mama Jamba and Hiker Wallace, the only parents the girl had ever known.

  Chapter One Hundred Forty-Two

  Hiker Wallace slowed before they entered the cave as if he knew what they’d see, but he didn’t. There was no way.

  He covered his mouth. “Soph, what is this? What do you need to show me?”

  She retreated back into the cave, waving him forward and encouraging him to follow. “I don’t know, sir. I mean, not entirely, but I’m sure we’ll get an explanation.”

  He hadn’t said much about the rescue, not really. What he hadn’t said was still evident in his eyes, and now he seemed reluctant in a different way. He was whole and broken at the same time. Hiker Wallace had finished his brother, the biggest threat he’d ever known, yet that was accompanied by the idea that his kind—the dragonriders—were done.

  “Just trust me, sir,” she said, sidling up to the cave door she’d just found. Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Quiet in the distance, and for some reason, she knew there was nothing else to say.

  All questions were gone as she pushed open the cave door.

  Hiker Wallace’s awe was equal to hers and he gasped.

  Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three

  One thousand dragon eggs, full of potential, sparkled at Hiker Wallace and Sophia Beaufont as they entered the cave curated by the great Quiet, the groundskeeper for the Gullington.

  They gaped at a sight most would never see.

  “How?” Hiker asked after a long moment.

  “Because,” Mama Jamba answered from a distant corner where no one expected her to be standing, “she’s Sophia Beaufont, and she completed her training.”

  “What?” Sophia asked since that was the only question in her mind.

  “My dear, haven’t you wondered what Quiet has been doing?” Mama Jamba asked.

  “Every day,” Sophia answered.

  “He’s been starting the seeds of sacred new beginnings,” Mama Jamba stated, kneeling and cupping an egg.

  “I don’t understand,” Sophia argued. “I thought the eggs were all gone.”

  “They were,” Mama Jamba explained. “But that was from the first rider. There were always supposed to be two.”

  “Her?” Hiker asked, pointing at Sophia and looking around, perplexed.

  “That’s right,” Mama answered. “The first rider came about when the first and only dragon landed on Earth. An experiment of sorts. That union with the first male rider spawned one thousand eggs—the first set. Then I decided, with the angels, that we’d have more riders, but I had no idea how to have more until now. It was Sophia who spawned the idea and this batch of one thousand eggs.”

  “If the first male rider got one thousand eggs…” Sophia said to herself.

  “Then the first female also gets a thousand,” Mama Jamba agreed. Mother Nature cupped her hands. “This is my gift to you—your eggs. Know that some will be good, and some will be bad. They are yours and not yours. That’s how it works when you’re a mother. You own your children, but you don’t.”

  Sophia nodded obediently, looking at Hiker for direction. He was still the leader of the Dragon Elite, and that was how it was meant to be for as long as time, as far as she was concerned.

  Finally, Sophia looked at Mother Nature and smiled with gratitude
. “I promise to take care of them for all time, Mama.”

  She patted her side. “I think they will take care of you, but whatever, my love.”

  Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four

  The atmosphere in the Castle was different when Sophia returned after discovering the eggs. Hiker admitted to telling the guys about them.

  But there was something else to it.

  There was potential pouring up from the creaks in the floor, Sophia felt. She also had the distinct impression she was being watched. She glanced around the entrance hall, feeling strangely disoriented from the weight of everything.

  She wasn’t sure why but she turned to find Quiet smiling at her in a way she couldn’t explain. The gnome stood in the shadows with a glint in his eyes.

  She thought he might murder her or crown her at any moment with the strange looks he was giving her.

  Sophia wanted to ask him about the eggs. Thank him. But then an arm hooked around her shoulder and she was swept away, her attention stolen.

  “The thing about Quiet is,” Wilder began steering her in the direction of the Valentine’s Day feast, “he has a crush on you because you’ve been leading him on.”

  Sophia slapped him. “I have not.”

  “Well, of course, you have,” Wilder argued. “You are available, we have no one like you, and you’re all batting your eyelashes at him.”

  “There’s no way to look at him without batting my eyelashes,” Sophia argued.

  He nodded. “Thanks for taking my literal point. You’re good at that.”

  She shook her head, deciding to abandon talking to commoners like Wilder. That brought her to talking to Mama Jamba, who gave her a considering look as she approached.

  “So, you knew about the eggs?” Sophia asked, taking a bite of a heart-shaped cookie. “That was the business with the training, wasn’t it?”

  “Oh, my dear, you don’t think you’ve figured me out by now?” Mama Jamba asked coyly.

  “No, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Sophia answered.

  “Anyway, so you’re happy here? At the Gullington?” Mama Jamba asked, grabbing Sophia’s hands and holding them tight with great intent. “That’s the biggest question, and the only one I can’t answer for you.”

  Sophia didn’t know how to answer for a moment, feeling a strange draw toward Mother Nature rather than the Castle. Then she decided it didn’t matter. It was all the same.

  “I’m more than happy. This is my forever home,” Sophia finally answered.

  Her thoughts ran over her like a waterfall. These people were her family. Her chosen family. Evan might annoy her. Quiet intrigued. Mahkah was an enigma. No one made her laugh like Wilder. And then there was Ainsley, who she needed to help, although she wasn’t sure why or if it would matter. There was no one she respected more than Hiker. These people, all the Dragon Elite had left, were her family.

  Familia est Sempiternum.

  One day, the family would grow. The thousand dragon eggs nestled in the cave by the Pond guaranteed that. There would be more dragons one day, and with that would come the potential of new riders.

  The Dragon Elite weren’t done. Not by a long shot.

  In a way, they were just getting started.

  Sophia looked around the dining hall, smiling as everyone cheered, grateful for the celebration.

  These people at the Gullington were all her family.

  And Sophia Beaufont was going to do whatever was needed to protect them all from now on.

  The Story Continues with The New Elite

  Available for pre-order at Amazon.

  The dragonriders have been given a second chance.

  But that only draws more attention to them.

  Many powerful people want a dragon egg.

  And they will kill for them.

  The Gullington has never been more unsafe.

  Harboring dragon eggs is dangerous business. Sophia Beaufont feels the pressure to protect and also defend like never before.

  Being a mama to eggs isn’t easy.

  And yet, S. Beaufont would have it no other way.

  Will the dragon eggs survive the greed seeking to steal them for selfish gains?

  Pre-order The New Elite for delivery on March 13, 2020

  Sarah’s Author Notes

  January 25, 2019

  Thank you so much for reading. Your support of the Liv Beaufont series and this one has been life changing. Thank you! Seriously! Thank you.

  Right before writing this book, I went and spent a week in Scotland. I’d been wanting to so since the 20Booksto50K conference in Edinburgh. However, I had a series of life complications that prevented that from happening. My cat was mauled by a coyote. My daughter needed me home. And I needed to be there. So I didn’t go and I thought that was okay. But the desire to see Scotland never left me…

  And then I wrote a bunch of books. And then I had to keep a child alive. And then I went to Vegas for the main conference. And I got back and was like, damn it, I’m going to Scotland.

  Here’s the truth. I was burned out. I’d written 15 Liv and Sophia books in one year. I love those gals. They are Lydia, my daughter, and me. But writing nonstop is draining. I don’t usually go out on the weekends I don’t have my daughter. I wake up, go to Pilates, put back on my pajamas and then write for 12 hours. And then repeat.

  So when I got back from Vegas and couldn’t shake Scotland from my mind, the location for the Gullington, I didn’t let it go. I did something I’ve never done and booked a spontaneous trip. I didn’t really know anyone there. J.L. Hendricks was hanging there. RE Vance and lives there. But I didn’t have a travel companion which is weird for me. I’ve never traveled alone internationally.

  And it was incredible. It was a soulful trip where I learned how to be alone and make friends and realize I’m never alone no matter where I am.

  I worried I wouldn’t have anyone to eat with. That I wouldn’t be able to navigate the city. That I’d be lonely. None of those things happened.

  And I learned so much about Scotland which I hoped made this book richer for you. I hiked to the top of Arthur’s Seat and pretended I was Sophia Beaufont. The skies were blue and the sun clearly shining. The Scotsman who led the way told me that it’s rare to have a day like that in December in Edinburgh, but he’s never been on that hike with a Cali girl.

  When we got to the top the winds were so fierce he said he’d never experienced that in Scotland. Again, he’d never been with an LA girl—we make things happen (or at least I do). So there we were, on the top of a peak, the winds blowing our hair back and the sun shining. Talk about inspiration! We watched a storm move in, blowing across the North Sea. These are the things that fuel stories.

  I pretended I was S. Beaufont riding on Lunis. The winds were so intense, the puddles had a currant. The Scotsman, with a prideful look, told me about how the wind makes them stronger. They brace their shoulders and charge into it. You know that went into the book.

  I found the Scots to be such sweet and lovely people. I got back saying, “Thank you. That’s lovely. Cheers.” I also took so much inspiration from the trip. This book is littered with things from that trip.

  I can’t tell you how much that trip refilled my inspirational vault. As writers we are constantly putting out creative stuff into the world, but it’s important that we remember to refill our reserves. I soaked it all in. I fell in love with a country. I fell for the people. And I came home with stories unlike I ever thought I’d tell.

  I was fortunate enough to make a friend with a native Scotsman and he taught me a lot. That’s how I was able to discuss things like the Scots New Year in this book and their vernacular. I came back saying “quite” and “wee” a lot and also missing Edinburgh like crazy. I bought him a fork for Christmas. He bought me a gift card. We aren’t Wilder and Sophia but we are entertaining nonetheless.

  I always want to come home after a trip. Always. And yet, I felt like I left part of my heart in Scotland. Not entirely
because of the people (although there was that). Because there had been something calling me there since before I started this series. And now it calls me back.

  But I have so many places that demand my attention. I have so many stories to tell. So who knows if I’ll go back. Only time.

  Currently, I’m on a plane to Montana for a family reunion…in freaking January. Wish me luck. I hope not to freeze. Expect to see Sophia in the artic with Lunis. Lydia is so excited to see snow. I’m excited to take a break from the books because when I return, my focus is better. I love my characters and miss them when we take time apart, but we are richer for the break.

  I love to travel. I love staying home and writing books you all enjoy. And more than anything, I love doing it with people I enjoy. Thanks MA for being awesome. Here’s to another year of creating addictive stories together.

  Now, it’s his turn to tell you all about how I blamed him for the trip to Scotland to anyone who would listen. It couldn’t be my idea so I told everyone that he “made” me do it.

  Drops the mic and walks away.

  Michael’s Author Notes

  January 27, 2019

  You know, TinyNinja™, as an adult you start to learn how to accept the blame of your choices, or the CREDIT when you do something fantastic.

  You went to Scotland by yourself… that is pretty fantastic. So, I’ll pick the mic up and give it back to you.

  While you and I don’t talk very much,Sarah - except on books and beats and covers - you have my admiration for what you have accomplished with Liv Beaufont and now S. Beaufont. Two sisters who are changing lives, not just those in the stories, but for you and her daughter.