Ultimate Resolve (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 12)

by Sarah Noffke

  Mahkah gave the new dragonriders a slight smile. “I’ll be fine. I taught those dragons how to fly. I know all their tricks.”

  Chapter One Hundred Seventeen

  “So you’re a werewolf,” Cooper said, an edge to his voice as he and Alina trekked through the thick snow.

  They’d left their dragons, Sage and Frost, not too far away once Alina picked up the scent of what she thought were the bombs to the east.

  “What gave it away?” Sarcasm dripping from Alina’s gruff voice.

  “I never met a werewolf.” Cooper slid his hand through his short blond hair.

  “I never met a scrawny American,” she retorted in her thick Romanian accent.

  “I thought Sophia said that you worked with her sister, Liv,” Cooper countered.

  She nodded. “Yeah, like I said, I never met a scrawny American. Not until you.”

  He glanced down at the loose-fitting clothes the Castle had provided. He was starting to grow into them as he trained more and built muscle mass. “So, do you think that the bombs are close?”

  “Hard to tell.” She sniffed the air.

  “That’s pretty cool that your senses are so advanced,” he stated in awe. “I mean, I was amazed when I magnetized to Sage, and the chi of the dragon made me so much more. I can’t even imagine what kind of senses you have.”

  “I know what we’re having for dinner when Trin is simply laying out the ingredients,” Alina admitted, catching the trail of something that wasn’t right. It didn’t belong in Iceland. The smell of explosives. It didn’t belong anywhere on this planet.

  She waved for Cooper to follow her, hoping that he didn’t slow her down in this thick snow, which she was used to. It was Frost’s element, after all. However, she got the impression that since Cooper’s dragon’s element was plants, he probably wasn’t that used to snow and ice.

  “I think it’s this way,” she stated, leading them downhill—toward a cave opening.

  Chapter One Hundred Eighteen

  “A lava rock quit his job at the volcano today,” Lunis said to Sophia as they lumbered through the tunnels in the volcano. Streams of lava snaked their way beside their rocky path, constantly reminding them of where they were.

  “Really?” Sophia played along. “Why is that?”

  “Because they took him for granite,” Lunis muttered with a slight snicker.

  “Oh, wow,” Sophia said dryly.

  The tunnel was wide and tall enough for the dragon, but Sophia had to stride beside him, which she preferred so she could peer around corners. So far there didn’t appear to be much through there except rock and lava. However, she was certain that the tunnel had been made using magic and led to something important. Again, it seemed unlikely that the Rogue Riders lived in Katla. Instead, it seemed more to operate as a headquarters and home base so that Versalee and Ash could store up power—using the proximity of the lava around them.

  “So my buddy Derek called—”

  “You don’t have a buddy named Derek,” Sophia interrupted.

  “Do you not know how jokes work?”

  “Go on then,” she muttered. “Tell me about Derek.”

  “Well, Derek called the insurance company to find out whether he could get insurance if the volcano near his house erupted,” Lunis began. “They assured him that he would be covered.”

  Sophia shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it, Lun.”

  “Takes talent,” he stated.

  Sophia heard a new noise ahead and halted. It was the sound of crunching mixed with a blade being sharpened.

  Sophia’s hand reflexively went to her sword, but it felt so different. Then she remembered it was Bellator. She was about to pull it from its sheath, but something in the sword told her not to. It wasn’t words, but a feeling she got as if she needed to stride into the next room and face her enemy like she wasn’t afraid and didn’t need to be armed.

  Giving Lunis a sturdy expression that he returned, the pair moved forward with a deliberate force and entered a vast chamber.

  Versalee’s ultimate lair was incredibly impressive, but Sophia worked hard to keep any indications of that off her face.

  The stone floor shimmered with a strange iridescence. Overhead, hanging from the sharp stone, was a large chandelier made of iron and flames that danced like they were alive all on their own. Sophia had no idea how the various pieces of furniture weren’t melting or how the columns throughout the space had been so intricately decorated, but she guessed that magic had been at play in their creation.

  “How did you get in here?” Versalee boomed, obviously caught off-guard as she looked up from a set of stairs that ironically led to a large throne made of rock. Beside her was the orange dragon known as Ash.

  Sophia hid her satisfaction, realizing that they had the element of surprise. Versalee never expected the Dragon Elite to break the lock to enter Katla, have the power to withstand the heat, or the courage to venture into the volcano. Sophia loved it when her enemies underestimated her.

  “Oh, weird, finding you here,” Sophia said casually. “We were taking a stroll, doing a bit of nature hunting. Didn’t expect to see anyone down here, let alone a gaudy chamber full of things that had gone out of fashion ages ago.”

  Versalee’s eyes widened in horror, making Sophia silently giddy. She’d learned from Lunis that little jabs were the way to make villains livid. Then they wouldn’t think clearly. Nothing stung worse than insulting someone’s taste, which was a personal preference, but so many wanted to believe their opinions were law and everyone else’s were wrong.

  “You came here to stop me.” Versalee stood and held her sword in her hand.

  “We already have,” Sophia said confidently, her hand on her dragon’s neck. “Your riders are gone. The bombs are disabled. I’m here to deal with you. It’s your call how your story ends. Either brutally, or with a life sentence.”

  Versalee narrowed her wicked eyes at Sophia. “How did you know about the bombs?”

  Sophia wanted to laugh, but then she’d seem like the villain. So instead, she simply shook her head. “When you’re on the side of good, you know things because others help you.”

  Versalee uttered the evil laugh now, making Sophia glad that she hadn’t. “I’m a demon dragonrider. What do you expect?”

  “That’s what you are,” Sophia stated. “It doesn’t have to be who you are. Your dragon has demon blood to create balance, which means you have different talents. You chose to use them for evil, but you could’ve used them to help achieve balance.”

  “I manage the criminal world,” Versalee corrected.

  “No, you take advantage of the criminals,” Sophia countered. “I won’t argue that they need management because stamping them out doesn’t work. You’ve made them worse. You’ve made everything worse.”

  “You’re jealous.”

  Sophia let out a hot breath. “That’s not the case. I’m angry that you won’t stop going after the Dragon Elite, that you’re trying to cause wars between mortal nations, and that you’ve chained dragons and abused riders. It has to stop. Either you do it, or I’ll make you.”

  An evil flare flashed in Versalee’s eyes and Sophia tensed, her hand going to the reins on Lunis’ neck.

  Just as fast, Versalee spun and raced for her dragon, Ash. Moving in a blur, she jumped onto the orange dragon’s back, and he took off at once, racing through a network of passageways at the opposite end of the chamber.

  It appeared that Versalee wasn’t going to comply, as Sophia and Hiker had assumed. Sophia swung her leg over Lunis as he simultaneously took off after the orange dragon. It was time to end this brutal reign before the Rogue Rider did any more damage.

  Chapter One Hundred Nineteen

  As Evan had expected, keeping ahead of the demon dragonriders was as easy as pie. He made a mental note that he wanted some pie after this whole thing. A whole pie. Not a slice. He considered pulling out his phone and texting Trin to start baking one
but decided that since he was flying over Iceland with a bunch of demon dragoniders on Coral’s tail, he should probably wait.

  Someone, at some point, would have to teach the Rogue Riders how to fly. They made their jobs harder than they had to be, manually steering and yelling at their dragons. Riding a dragon was an art form that, when done correctly, appeared effortless.

  It made Evan proud to see Stephen and Will flying beside him, having no trouble keeping up. They might be new, but they were skilled and had picked up flying quickly. When Evan dipped through the sky dotted with stars and a super moon, Noob One and Noob Two did the same, throwing the demon dragonriders behind them for a loop.

  Exactly as Evan had planned, they’d gotten the distance they needed between the demon dragonriders and themselves. Now all they needed to do was land and get into position. He spotted a patch of flat land in the distance and informed Noob One and Noob Two over the comm.

  He glanced over his shoulder and ensured that all of the demon dragonriders were in pursuit. They were. He laughed, realizing that they didn’t know why they were following. Or who, for that matter. Still, they were after them.

  Maybe their instinct told them to chase. Maybe, just maybe, the demon dragonriders intuitively knew that Evan was leading them to something new. Something better than life inside of a volcano. He knew that if Sophia Beaufont gave them a peace offering that it was something grand—a new life that would transform them.

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty

  Mahkah wasn’t one to take chances. That was something Wilder did. Evan loved taking chances. Sophia took calculated risks. Mahkah was known for staying grounded and playing it safe. However, his usual ways weren’t going to serve him or rescue these dragons so a new tactic was necessary.

  He took off on Tala and flew high above the chained dragons, staying out of their reach. That was the easy part.

  The key to this going right was to draw the wild dragons away from Rob and Fred behind Mahkah. That would protect Wilder, who was perched on the edge of the volcano’s mouth, eyeing the inside for when Sophia and Lunis surfaced so he could have their backs.

  The only way to protect his fellow Dragon Elite was to turn himself into bait, something that would require taunting the wild dragons. Mahkah wasn’t worried. As he’d told Rob and Fred, he’d taught these dragons how to fly. However, there was tenacity in the pair of dragons that unnerved him. They were hungry and livid about being held captive. That was deadly combinations.

  Mahkah got into position and hovered several yards away from where the wild dragons perched on their pillars. With all the commotion around, they were snapping in different directions, definitely on guard. He needed to get their attention.

  “Hey!” Mahkah yelled, stealing their attention. They both turned their glowing red eyes on him, murder written on their faces.

  Mahkah gulped and patted Tala’s side, hoping this wasn’t their last flight together. Never could such things be guaranteed or taken for granted.

  Deciding that the time was right, Mahkah signaled to Rob and Fred, and in unison, both dragonriders used magic to release the dragons from their chains. Both immediately realized they were free, sprang into the air, and soared in Mahkah’s direction.

  He took off instantly and realized that he’d underestimated the wild dragons. He might have taught them to fly, but in their time away from the Gullington, they’d learned new tricks.

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One

  The temperature suddenly dropped when Alina led them to the ice-covered cave. She was getting a strong scent from whatever was inside the enclosed area.

  The area was simultaneously dark and strangely light as the moonlight reflected off the snow and ice. However, once Cooper and she took a few steps into the cave, that light source disappeared.

  Thankfully, Cooper immediately created an orb of light to illuminate their path. Alina turned her attention back to sniffing out the bombs. They smelled of chemicals and wrongness. She thought that they should be frozen solid already down here in this ice cave, but maybe they needed more of an ice layer to keep them dormant.

  Whatever it took, she thought, leading the way into a cavernous room that was strangely lit by a different light source than Cooper’s orb. She realized there was a hole in the ceiling that allowed moonlight to spill through, illuminating the hundreds of bombs spread all around them.

  “Wow, this would blow up Scotland for sure.” Cooper extinguished the light orb.

  She nodded. “I can cover them in thick ice using Frost’s power, making it so they’ll stay defused even if the temperature rises, but I don’t have enough power for this many.”

  Cooper winked at her, a clever glint in his eyes. “I think I can help there. However, I need to take a small trip first.”

  “You what?” she asked, but he didn’t answer. Instead, the dragonrider created a portal and instantly disappeared, leaving her alone in the cold, dark cave full of bombs.

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two

  Evan landed on Coral without displacing any snow. Noobs One and Noobs Two couldn’t boast the same thing, but they’d done well enough.

  All three Dragon Elite members were turned and facing the approaching Rogue Riders as they soared in their direction. As Evan had instructed, they’d all thrown their weapons in the snow at their feet.

  When the ten or so dragonriders landed, they looked ready to charge. However, they paused, probably based on the non-threatening look that Evan was giving off in the front position.

  “We’re not here to fight you,” Evan exclaimed, his hands up in surrender. “I will if that’s what you really want. However, please note that I have a hundred years on you all—easily. I’m the dragonrider who brought down three of yours in the South Pacific and Nathaniel in Las Vegas, and I didn’t break a sweat on either occasion. So fight if you want to be put down. Or stand down if you want to live.”

  The Rogue Riders all looked around confused, not one of them making a move on their dragons.

  “I’m here to offer you a peace offering from the Dragon Elite,” Evan continued. “You can’t like the life that Versalee has given you here in the snow and the cold with the lava. So we might have something else in store for you. Something that would be more to your liking. However, you’re going have to hold tight for a moment until my leader defeats the person who thought she was good enough to be yours.”

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three

  The wild demon dragons were faster than Mahkah remembered. Then he recalled that unlike the Rogue Riders, they didn’t have riders on them. How could he have miscalculated that?

  On top of that, they worked together, cutting through the air at an angle, taking turns shooting fire at him. Mahkah and Tala had to dodge faster than they ever remembered to keep from getting hit. Mahkah had never seen wild demon dragons operate like this. The new generation was something else. They were something exceptional and meant for great things. Still, they might be the death of the almost three-hundred-year-old dragonrider if this persisted much longer.

  Mahkah had thought he would have the upper hand and draw the wild demon dragons away. So far he’d been successful on the first part. As far as escaping alive, the second part…well, that didn’t look entirely likely.

  The demon dragons had gained on him and were too close for comfort. They were too close even if they were pals, as Evan would have said.

  Mahkah wasn’t a coward. He was a man who had fought his fair share of fights, but right then, facing two wild demon dragons that were about to overtake him, he had no choice.

  There was one advantage that a dragon and rider had that a single wild dragon didn’t.

  Dragons couldn’t portal. Only their magician riders could open such things and hopefully close it behind them quick enough.

  Mahkah did just that, opening a portal to a nearby spot and slipping through it, then closing it before the wild demon dragons could trespass through. He hadn’t abandoned his friends, though. He n
ever would. He emerged between Rob and Fred, grateful to see that they were safe too and the wild dragons in the distance were continuing elsewhere to find a land and maybe a rider meant for them.

  Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four

  Alina was going to kill Cooper when he returned…if he returned. She was starting to get cold in the ice cave, and that was saying a lot. She wanted to abandon the whole thing, but she had to defuse the bombs—only how?

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Cooper said from behind her.

  She spun, ready to tear out his throat, but then remembered she was in werewolf form so she meant that literally and had to quiet the urge. “Where did you go? Why did you leave me?”

  “I was only gone for a moment,” he explained. “I know you’ll need my energy to cover all of these in a thick block of ice to defuse them, but my element through Sage is plants and as you can see, there aren’t any plants in these parts.”

  Alina almost laughed while looking around at the snow and ice. “Good point.”

  “So I went to my family’s house in Oregon,” he explained. “They own a Christmas tree farm…well, they did… You see, when they found out I was a dragonrider, they shunned me because at that time, dragonriders were getting a bad reputation due to the Rogue Riders.”

  “I remember.” Alina smiled.

  “So I went and pulled a bunch of energy from the Christmas tree farm, and it won’t do them too much harm,” Cooper explained. “They’ll have to replant, but Dad has been talking about doing that for years, so I’ve done him a favor.”

  “You have enough stored to lend me?” Alina asked hopefully.