by Sarah Noffke
“I didn’t—”
“You did,” she interrupted. “You went into a burning building for me and ran errand after errand and risked everything to set me free. I’ve never known someone like you. I always hoped I would. I couldn’t leave the Gullington unless I knew someone like you was here to protect my family.” She looked proudly at Wilder, Evan, Mahkah, and Quiet. “That’s what they are. These guys are my family. I get that I’m leaving them and that seems wrong, to leave the ones you love. Only your family understands that sometimes you have to go to find yourself. To find the life you were meant for.”
“We understand,” Wilder said, taking a spot next to Sophia.
“We want what’s best for you,” Evan stated, closing the distance.
“Always, Ainsley,” Mahkah echoed the sentiment.
She nodded, putting on a brave face. “Well, I better get up to bed. I’ve got a few centuries worth of stuff to pack.”
“Goodnight,” they said together as the former housekeeper strode up the grand staircase, brushing by Hiker Wallace, who stood like a statue. He appeared unable to say a word. His eyes didn’t leave the stone floor, and he didn’t rush after the woman he had once loved and who had lost everything to save him.
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Five
Sophia didn’t know why, but she awoke with a start before the sun was up. She felt something tugging at her.
The night before, even after the exhaustion of the battle, she’d had trouble falling asleep, her heart aching that Hiker had just let Ainsley slip away without a proper goodbye.
Those weren’t her troubles, she told herself. Those weren’t her problems. Hiker and Ainsley had to deal with this on their own. The elf was getting a second chance, and Hiker was proving himself to be the leader the Dragon Elite had followed for so long, and the world was ready to believe in once more. Maybe it was better for them to go their separate ways silently. It hurt Sophia to watch Hiker not say goodbye. For Ainsley to rush by him, not even glancing at his face.
She pushed her covers off her legs and tiptoed to the dresser, where she usually had a cup of water. It wasn’t there.
Glancing around, and feeling exceptionally thirsty, Sophia searched her room for water. There was none.
“May I have some water, Castle?” she asked.
Usually, there was a response. A pitcher of water and a glass. Not this time.
Sighing, Sophia trudged to the door, finding the candlelight in the hallway a bit bright as she walked toward the kitchen to fetch something to drink.
Sophia didn’t make it all the way to the stairs before she heard the shuffle of feet and paused. She hid behind a pillar that hadn’t been there before but provided the perfect place to spy on the two people in the entryway.
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six
Ainsley was standing with a single suitcase in her hands, looking down at the floor in front of Hiker Wallace. The dress box was in his hands, looking small, although it was quite large.
“You know I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye,” the Viking began, his voice quiet and full of hesitation.
Sophia didn’t so much as breathe as she watched the two, feeling bad about spying on their intimate moment, but needing this. She was praying they let their walls come down.
“We have quite the history, don’t we, Mr. Wallace?”
Hiker actually smiled. “You used to call me that. I remember.”
“Only when I was cross with you.” Ainsley was looking everywhere but at the man before her.
“Are you cross with me now?” Hiker asked.
She shook her head. “I understand. You did what you thought was right back then, putting the Dragon Elite first. I did what I thought was right. Now, we are here, and there is much history behind us.”
He nodded. “I can’t change it.”
Ainsley laughed. “No, apparently, the only one who can change history is a little blonde everyone underestimates and who will surely be the one to save this bloody planet time and time again.”
Hiker chuckled with her. “You’re right about that.”
“You know,” Ainsley began. “I respect that you made Soph your second in command. That’s not something the Hiker Wallace I used to know would have done.”
“I’m a man who can change,” he said with confidence, also not looking at her. “I hope to prove that.”
“To whom?” she asked, and there was a challenge in the question.
“To anyone interested,” he answered.
“Oh,” she said. There was a fair amount of disappointment in her voice.
Sophia pressed in tightly to the pillar, suddenly not thirsty. She realized the Castle had woken her and made her come out to see this. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing there was a happy ending for these two.
“I’m sorry that all these years, I’ve ruined your life,” Ainsley said, a joke in her voice, ending the long silence between the two.
Hiker laughed. “It’s fine. I think I did a fair bit of under-appreciating you.”
“It couldn’t have been easy, leading a group who were irrelevant—the Dragon Elite, unseen by mortals.”
He nodded. “It wasn’t. But you watched me go through it, and you stood by.”
“I couldn’t really leave,” Ainsley argued and then quickly added. “I don’t think I would have even if I could.”
Hiker brought his chin up and looked at her directly. “I want the best for you, for what it’s worth.”
“Same to you,” Ainsley said, returning his gesture and staring into Hiker’s eyes.
They were lost for a moment. Sophia saw it. She wanted to look away. To give them privacy, but she couldn’t because she needed this. She needed them to say their peace, so she would know that two people she loved were okay, even if they weren’t together.
“I had this made for you.” Hiker held the dress box out, and Ainsley dropped the suitcase like she had been waiting for him to hand it over. A table materialized beside them from the Castle, and neither of them seemed surprised by it.
Hiker laid the box down, and Ainsley lifted the lid off. She stared at the blue dress made from the finest silk in the world.
“It will protect you,” he said when her mouth hung open in awe.
“I had it made by Jeremy Bearimy,” he went on. “I hope it’s elegant enough for your taste.”
“It’s very nice.” Ainsley ran her hand over the fabric. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Hiker said softly. “I’ve appreciated your service all these years and—”
“Service,” she interrupted, lifting her chin.
“I only mean—” he said in a rush.
“I get what you mean,” she said tersely, putting the lid back on the box and tucking it under one arm as she picked up her suitcase. “I better be off. The guys and Soph will be up soon, and I promised they wouldn’t have to look at my face again. No goodbyes.”
“Ains…you know it’s not like that,” Hiker said with a raw pain in his voice.
The shapeshifter strode for the door, nodding like she was giving herself a pep talk as she walked out of the Castle. “I know what it’s like, Hiker. I’m ready to move on.”
At the door to the Castle, Ainsley spun around, looking up fondly at the rafters and the walls and furnishings, tears in her eyes. “Regardless of how it all happened or why, I’m grateful for my years here.”
Hiker opened his mouth, seeming to try and speak several times but incapable. Finally, he said, “If you ever want to come back and ruin my life, I would welcome it.”
Ainsley seemed grateful for his silly line, laughing suddenly. “I don’t think I can go back to being a housekeeper.”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t have to be. If you ever want to return, you could be something else. Something more.”
“For the Dragon Elite?” she asked, a curious note to her voice.
“No,” he declared, a new strength in his voice. “Something you used
to be. Someone you used to be to me.”
She clenched her lips, holding back emotions. “I have to see what the world out there looks like. It’s been out of my grasp for so long.”
“You deserve it,” he said, his chin held high and with a strength that made Sophia proud in his eyes. “If you ever find yourself missing the Gullington, please know that our doors are always open to you. My door especially.”
Ainsley nodded before turning and opening the door to the Castle and walking out into the dawning morning, away from the place she’d called home for so long and was leaving behind.
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Seven
Sophia’s heart was simultaneously full and breaking as she made her way back to her room after witnessing Ainsley and Hiker’s departure from each other. It felt like two parts of history had been severed before her eyes.
She was grateful the Castle had shown her their goodbye and also remorseful. How could two people who clearly loved each other, let each other go? Ainsley needed to live the life that had been taken from her, and Hiker had the Dragon Elite. She reasoned as she slid into bed, that if things were meant for them, they’d find their way back to each other.
It hurt Sophia’s heart, knowing she’d go down to breakfast that morning not to find Ainsley slapping Evan in the back of the head or scolding Wilder for something. She figured it would hurt them too. There was something about that woman that was intrinsically good.
Sophia knew why Hiker had fallen for her. She knew why the Elfin council wanted her back so desperately. She didn’t know how the Dragon Elite would move on without her, although Trin was a great replacement in her own way. She’d grow into her role, as they all had to do.
Sophia snuggled into her bed, hoping to catch another hour or two of sleep before she had to awake to another new day full of new adventures. Liv had mentioned something about the new location for the Great Library and finding a librarian. Mama Jamba had promised to track down the demon dragons for them. Then there was the world that believed in the Dragon Elite once more.
There was an ocean of possibilities, and Sophia couldn’t wait to wake up to it. She closed her eyes, with a smile on her lips, grateful that for a little while, her planet was safe once more.
The Story Continues with Adapt Or Be Crushed
Coming October 9, 2020
Pre-order today and have it delivered to your Kindle Reader at Midnight on October 9, 2020
Sarah’s Author Notes
August 23, 2020
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.
Have I mentioned lately that at LMBPN, we have the absolute best readers in the world! It needs repeating. Seriously, it blows me away how supportive you all are. Many of the readers through the various Facebook groups have become my friends. Many have given me great ideas. There are a small, very select few, who do not know boundaries…and sort of creep me out. But that’s none of you reading this.
Anyway, more about the awesome, most of you, who I love dearly and keep me writing and a roof over Lydia and my heads. Paul, I’m looking at you right now and all the wonderful ideas you give me. He’s going to be the Great Librarian in the next book. What will the sisters have to do to convince him? We shall see…
More about awesome readers: Jurgen, my right hand guy and the guy who this book is dedicated to, asked to become Jeremy Bearimy’s bumbling assistant. I offered to make him a wise mage or sage or whatever. He chose bumbling assistant to a tarantula. Who am I to say no?
Some of you who have watched the Good Place will have recognized the name I gave to the seamstress. I love weaving in fun details like that from things I enjoy for you all to find. And I love the idea from the show about how the timeline in the afterlife goes. It’s Jeremy Bearimy. That tarantula, by the way, was inspired by a friend I made when out on a nightly walk. He was really friendly and kept following me around. When I posted a video on Instagram of it, someone informed me that he was a mature male tarantula who was looking for a girlfriend. He didn’t find one in me that night. And how someone was able to sex a spider and know his dating preferences from a video astounds me…
Bep’s Rose Apothecary is a nod to Schitt’s Creek. If you haven’t watched the show, stop reading this and do so. No, don’t stop, actually. Keep reading. Oh, and I had to include the Tom Haverford lines from Parks and Recreation. Leslie Knope is my spirit animal.
One of my favorite parts of writing this book was revisiting the Precious Galaxy series and specifically Ricky Bobby. I woke up the morning I was to write that chapter and was looking for a cool sci-fi location for Sophia to get the tech to defeat the magitech army. Then I was like, why invent something new? I should have Sophia go to RB, the ship I inherited from MA.
And it was so much fun. I was in a different place when I wrote that series. But getting back the voice of those characters was easy. I missed Hatch, Pip, Lewis, Bailey and Ricky Bobby. And I can partially thank Paul for that idea too. He reminded me of that series and all the special qualities of those characters. Thank you!
I’ll be in Scotland when this book releases. I hope you all enjoy. I treasure your support and reviews. My job is to entertain you and bring laughter and love to your life. Oh, and I want your tears! And I think after that Ainsley and Hiker scene where he invites her to “come back and ruin his life any day,” I’ve got them! What will happen to that pair? You’ll have to come back for the next book to find out!
Much love and peace,
Tiny Ninja
Michael’s Author Notes
August 24, 2020
Before I harass Tiny Ninja™ let me thank you for reading both this book and this whole series! Without fantastic readers like you, I wouldn’t get the chance to meet authors like Sarah Noffke, much less harass her.
So, let’s get to the fun, shall we?
So TN™ was all ‘stop right now and go watch this TV show!’ and I’m reading her notes and thinking, But what about my author notes, Noffke? I mean, by the time you wrote that comment you had already provided a fair amount of information and engagement in your author notes.
But my author notes aren’t even starting on the same page and no where would they get to chat with me! Plus, who wants to go watch TV when there is another book available somewhere? There is author note blocking and then there are proactive efforts to get the fans to ignore the second name on the billing. Huh, backstabbie much Tiny Ninja™?*
*Sarah is in no way even remotely like this, but WOW is it fun to ask her this, knowing she is going to respond like WHAT?! and laugh. Maybe it’s just me laughing. But at least SOMEONE is laughing.
And don’t EVEN get me started with ‘why are you in Scotland, Ms. Noffke?’ Ahhh, young(er) love, it’s so adorkable.
If you happen to be in Scotland and notice a young American author the height of a leprechaun walking around with a yellow head of hair, that would be Tiny Ninja™.
(I’ve probably provided Stephen Campbell (VP of Ops who often puts the books together) a reason to say ‘Oh no you didn’t, Anderle!’ in these notes already.
To which I say, ‘Yes I did – and it’s so cute you said it that way.’)
By the way, I just let Sarah know in one of our SLACK conversations that I was writing a ‘fun’ set of author notes. I wonder if she will spend two seconds in Scotland thinking about this at all.
Hmmm….
Plus, she needs to deal with author Ramy Vance and his shenanigans before she comes back after me. Because, priorities.
I hope you have a fantastic week ahead of you, wherever you are!
Michael Anderle
Acknowledgments
Sarah Noffke
I feel like I’m on the stage at the Oscars, accepting an award when I write my acknowledgments. I stand there, holding this award, my hands shaking and my words racing around in my mind. I’m not an actress for a reason. I’m a writer and talking to people in �
�real life” is hard. Not to mention a ton of people all at once.
I picture looking out at the audience and being blinded by spotlights and forgetting every word of the speech I memorized just in case I won. The speech would go like this and it’s meant for all of you, not the guild. For the fans. The supporters. The people who are the reason I would ever stand on any stage, ever.
Okay, here we go. I clear my throat and smile, looking up at the camera, holding the little golden man. And then I begin:
This was never supposed to happen. I was never meant to publish a book and then another one. And then another. I was supposed to write in private and live a life that Henry David Thoreau called a life of “quiet desperation.” I would always hope to share my books, but never bring myself to do it. And you would never read my words. But then, in a crazed moment of brashness, I did share my books and you all liked them. And because of that, I’ve never been the same. And here I am feeling grateful all just because…
That’s why I’m here. Because of you. Thank you to my first readers. The ones who picked up those books that I didn’t even outline and you still liked them. You messaged me and maybe you thought it was no big deal, but when your ego is new to the publishing world, it’s a big deal.
I can’t thank you readers enough. I’ve found that reading your reviews helps me to start a chapter when I’m stuck or lazy.
I really need to thank someone who has made this all possible and that’s my father. I was going to quit. I can’t tell you how many times I quit. But when I wasn’t making it, he was the one who told me to not throw in the towel. “Give yourself a timeline,” he suggested. If I didn’t get to my goal by then, I’d quit. And apparently there was magic in that advice, because I’m still doing this. Dad, you’re the pragmatic one, but when you believed in me enough to tell me to not quit, I knew I had to follow your advice.