The New Elite

by Sarah Noffke

  “Great power is held in one’s name,” Queen Anastasia explained. “You know that well, S. Beaufont. If you discover who Quiet truly is, it could potentially rob him of his power.”

  “But wouldn’t he prefer that over death?” Sophia questioned.

  The glorious queen smiled, and her angel wings flapped slightly. “I am not the right person to ask, for I live alone in my fortress so as to protect the power of my race.”

  Sophia nodded, realizing this was much more complicated than life and death.

  “I can’t say what will happen to Quiet if his name is known, but I know he’d rather no one knew his truth,” Queen Anastasia Crystal went on. “And yet, if you don’t find out his name, he will most assuredly perish and with him, a legacy as old as the Dragon Elite.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  The ominous words of Queen Anastasia Crystal rang in Sophia’s head all the way back to the Gullington. She had mistakenly thought learning Quiet’s real name would be easy. He had said if she stayed at the Gullington, he’d tell her what it was. Evidently, there were conditions on that arrangement.

  Maybe he thought she’d forget or he figured he’d tell her in a few centuries. Whatever the reason, she had to learn his name. His very life depended on it.

  So no pressure, Lunis said to her as they made their way toward the Barrier.

  The chill breeze sweeping across the hills of Scotland was like a summer wind compared to the cold they’d experienced at the Queen Mother’s fortress. Sophia’s head was still reeling from everything she’d learned.

  They had met the first fae, the Queen Mother, who protected an entire race. The whole idea was so new Sophia didn’t even know where to start.

  “Like why is Rudolf Sweetwater the king of the fae if there is a Queen Mother?” Sophia asked her dragon, the two having mused over the revelations all the way back to the Gullington.

  Well, I think he’s more of a political figurehead, Lunis answered. Also, it seems Queen Anastasia Crystal can’t really be out where others have access to her. For one, if anything happens to her, it would kill the entire race.

  “Talk about pressure.” Sophia sighed.

  She seems like she’s more about the longevity of the race, Lunis continued. Where Rudolf has leadership over them, ensuring they don’t seduce too many mortals or take advantage of their beauty by stealing all the modeling contracts in Hollywood.

  “Good point,” Sophia agreed. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she considered everything.

  And now you’re wondering who the King Father or Queen Mother of the magicians is, Lunis said as more of a statement rather than a question. He knew what was in her brain.

  Sophia nodded. “It’s just so weird. I never thought about how it all started, and when I’ve asked Mama Jamba about it before she said it was confusing. She created the Earth and most of us, but she works for the angels.”

  I believe her words were, ‘the managerial structure is a bit strange,’ Lunis told her with a laugh.

  “Yeah, it makes me think I need to spend a lot more time reading The Complete History of Dragonriders when I have a chance.”

  I think the key phrase is ‘when you have time’ which we both know is limited and with all the drama maybe even more so than usual, Lunis stated.

  Sophia nodded. “Yeah, so the angels created the five major races by, I’m assuming, creating these individuals, Queen Anastasia Crystal being one of them.”

  And they created the dragonriders in a way, Lunis added.

  “So, is there someone out there in charge of magicians, elves, gnomes, and giants?” Sophia asked.

  It goes to reason, Lunis answered.

  “But they would be as vulnerable and powerful as Queen Anastasia Crystal,” Sophia argued.

  I think with great power comes great vulnerability, Lunis replied.

  “I just never really thought about how incredible it was when this world was set up. It’s beautiful and complex and overwhelming all at the same time.”

  Before you got this inside experience, having chats with goddesses like Mama Jamba and others, you just thought it was like ‘poof,’ and everything was created. Now there’s a structure and people connected to it all.

  “Real people too,” Sophia said. “Like Mama Jamba and Papa Creola are actual people with personalities and quirky traits.”

  And yet, they are the most powerful people slash gods in the world, Lunis told her. I think that’s the real irony to this, but it makes perfect sense. The most powerful entities are real and strange and flawed. So much of what has been and what will be rests on their shoulders. It just proves you can’t ever discount a person. The power of this world resides in the hands of those who would be underestimated by most passing them on the street. That’s one of many reasons everyone deserves our respect.

  “Yeah,” Sophia said, breathless from the realization.

  Well, except that one guy who cut me off today, Lunis joked.

  “That was a plane,” Sophia teased with a laugh. “I don’t know the etiquette of plane crossings and whatnot, but I think he had the right-of-way.”

  I breathe fire, Lunis argued. I always have the right-of-way.

  Sophia chuckled again as they crossed through where the Barrier of the Gullington used to be. Her lightheartedness immediately fell away at the devastating sight in the distance.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Night still covered the Gullington in darkness, but a fire streaking through the sky made it appear as though it could be sunset.

  The Castle was dark and appeared abandoned. Sophia had never seen it like that. There were always torch lights flickering in the windows, and the flames of the lanterns marking the entrance.

  Even if it wasn’t lit, the Castle always felt alive, more of a feeling than anything else. However, Sophia felt she was looking at a dying figure, and her heart ached with a brutal force she’d never known before. Having lost her siblings, she knew what death felt like, and the Castle was close, her instincts screamed.

  The real danger was by the Pond where the dragon Cave was and the cave that held the eggs. Sophia saw figures sprint across the Expanse in the distance, fighting.

  She couldn’t make out which were Dragon Elite and which ones were the trespassers by their appearance, but she could by their actions. She knew the dark figure next to the Cave was Wilder because of the way he fought with seamless grace. He was fighting multiple thieves at once and keeping them back with a speed she’d never witnessed him use before.

  Behind him, closer to the Pond, Sophia made out a figure who had to be Mahkah, throwing radiant green spells at a set of villains closing in on him. Three dragons flew, torching the grounds, trying to push the trespassers past the Barrier. But what was the point if they could just get back in? They needed the Gullington to recover and the Barrier back up, but Sophia had no idea how to do that.

  She turned the potion bottle Queen Anastasia Crystal had given her over in her hands. Like before, she wanted to run to the fight, to help the men and to find Hiker who wasn’t in view as far as she could tell, which worried her.

  “They’ve been fighting all night,” Sophia said, her voice vibrating.

  And somehow they are losing, Lunis observed.

  “How?” Sophia questioned. “We’re the Dragon Elite.” It was a point of pride for her. They were the adjudicators for the world, not some magicians that anyone could easily defeat.

  We’ll have to find out, Lunis confirmed. They are holding their own, though. I’m going to help. He unfolded his wings, about to take off.

  Sophia wanted to climb onto his back and join him, but her eyes went to the Castle in the distance. She had to help Quiet. That’s what Mama Jamba had said, and Mae Ling had echoed.

  She shook her head at Lunis. “Give them hell. Torch every single one of those thieves. Don’t let them near our eggs.”

  Lunis nodded, nobility in his ancient gaze. I will make you proud. Do what you must.

 
; She wanted to say more, but there was no time, and they both knew it.

  The battle wouldn’t last much longer, which meant one side was about to lose and the other win.

  Sophia needed the winners to be the Dragon Elite, but the side victory fell on didn’t depend on her. She clenched the antidote for Quiet in her hand and took off at a sprint for the Castle.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The Castle door was locked!

  It was never locked. She tried again, frustrated that after everything, a stupid door would get in the way of her doing what needed to be done.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” she said, stepping back to try an unlocking spell on the door.

  To her shock, it didn’t work.

  “Are you serious?” She groaned and tried another spell.

  She half hoped it meant the Castle was doing better. Maybe it was recovering if it was able to lock the front door. It had a way of keeping the residents of the Gullington in places it desired. If the Castle locked a door, it meant no one was getting in until it so desired.

  Sophia had to get into the Castle. Queen Anastasia Crystal had said Quiet would most assuredly perish and with him, a legacy as old as the Dragon Elite if Sophia didn’t save him.

  She banged on the front door. The stained glass window with an angel on it vibrated from her force. “Let me in, Castle! I need to get in there!”

  Sophia expected to hear the lock click and the Castle would acquiesce to her demand, but nothing happened.

  Pulling back her boot, Sophia kicked the door hard, more out of frustration than to break it down. “I defeated a freaking abominable snowman! Open up!”

  She stepped back and pointed her hand at the Castle. She didn’t expect the spell to work. If the Castle didn’t want to open up, she was subject to its whims, but she had to try, and with each passing moment, the screams from the Expanse were tearing at her resolve not to join the fight. If the Castle door didn’t open, she’d have no choice but to abandon helping Quiet and help the dragons and their riders, her friends.

  About to fire a spell at the Castle that would take all of her magical reserves, it never left her as the door swung backward, and the tired and frantic face of Ainsley swam into view on the threshold.

  “S. Beaufont!” the housekeeper yelled, waving her forward. “Get in here!”

  Sophia sprinted through the front door, ready to charge past the shapeshifter and up to Quiet’s room, although she realized she didn’t know where it was.

  “Ains,” she said breathless and halted next to the woman whose red hair was falling into her pale face. “Where is—”

  “Did Hiker order you to stay in here too?” Ainsley asked, interrupting her.

  Sophia tilted her head to the side. She hadn’t expected that question. It made sense, Ainsley wasn’t trained to fight, and Hiker had already cost her so much the last time she entered a fight. Sophia was sure Hiker didn’t want anything to happen to the elf again on his watch.

  She shook her head. “No, I have the cure for Quiet. I need to get to his room. Show me the way?”

  Ainsley’s face brightened, but only slightly. It was hard to make out her expression in the darkness of the Castle. “Yes, I can do that. Follow me, S. Beaufont. And mind your steps. The Castle is quickly falling apart. One misstep will send you through the floor into the dungeon below.”

  Sophia trailed the housekeeper, igniting an orb of light in her hand to help her navigate up the stairs. The chandelier had fallen and was in pieces all over the place. Broken candles lined the path up to the second story.

  Sophia’s heart ached to see the large painting of Adam Rivalry and Kay-Rye lying on its side on the floor. The canvas had been slashed from falling on a nearby structure. Everywhere Sophia looked was devastation, the Castle even worse than when she’d left for Happily Ever After College. It wouldn’t be long before the roof caved in, and the whole building was a pile of rubble.

  “What is happening here?” Sophia asked in a hush, following Ainsley as she veered off a hallway Sophia hadn’t noticed.

  She stopped and doubled back to study a tapestry of a unicorn and knight on the wall next to an arched hallway. She was certain it had never been there before.

  Ainsley turned, a knowing look in her eyes. “This area used to be hidden. It’s the servant’s wing. Only we were allowed down this area, but of course, with the Castle in its current state, nothing is closed off. All security measures are down.” She sniffed, tears brimming in her eyes. “Which is why those repugnant thieves are pillaging our grounds.”

  Sophia nodded in understanding. All the secrets of the Castle were revealed, and all she wanted was the curtain of mystery back up. She didn’t want to know the secrets of the Castle or see what had been previously hidden, even if she’d been curious before.

  This area of the Castle was decorated much more simply than other areas. There were no elaborate display cases with crown jewels and heirlooms. Instead, the hallways were bare and lacked windows.

  Sophia was sad. Ainsley and Quiet deserved to have their spaces decorated with shiny armor and beautiful paintings too. She’d address that later when, if the Castle recovered and they survived the plague of doom that had befallen the Dragon Elite.

  “I don’t know what’s happened,” Ainsley cried. She shook her head wildly, her disheveled red hair hitting her in the face. “This has never happened before. Not in all my years serving the Dragon Elite.”

  “And Quiet?” Sophia asked, not knowing what to be more concerned about.

  Ainsley’s face contorted with more pain. “I’ve never seen him like this either. He’s sick in the worst way. He only wakes up for short spells, and those are growing less frequent. I can’t get him to eat or drink. I’m glad you sought a cure.”

  “Thank Mama Jamba,” Sophia said, unwilling to take credit for the old woman’s plan.

  “I think before the night is over, we’ll have more to thank Mother Nature for,” Ainsley replied.

  “Do you think Quiet is sick because the Castle was keeping him alive?” Sophia nearly passed a small passageway when Ainsley made a quick turn in that direction.

  The corridor was so narrow Sophia had to turn her shoulders to the side to navigate through. It seemed logical this would lead to the gnome’s chambers since he would have little trouble getting through the passageway. None of the men would have been able to get through. It was a chore for Ainsley and Sophia, who had an even smaller build than the elf.

  “I don’t know what to think, honestly, S. Beaufont,” Ainsley said, worry in her voice. She covered her head, seeming confused.

  “Ains, are you okay?” Sophia asked when she stopped, almost running into her in the tight space.

  “No, I’ve been getting these headaches,” Ainsley answered, pressing her eyelids shut. “I keep forgetting where I am…who I am.”

  Sophia laid a hand on her shoulder. The Castle had kept Ainsley alive after Thad Reinhart attacked her. Either the Castle’s energy was enough presently to sustain the housekeeper or something else was at play. There was too much going on for Sophia to focus on one thing.

  She desperately hoped they figured out whatever was happening to the Castle and the Gullington, or it looked like more than just the Dragon Elite and Quiet’s lives would be at stake. Not until that moment had Sophia realized how important the Castle was to them.

  “I want you to go find Mama Jamba after you lead me to Quiet,” Sophia ordered Ainsley.

  The housekeeper blinked up at her in confusion. “Mama Jamba?” she asked as though she had never heard the name before.

  Sophia nodded. “Yes, ask her to help you.”

  “Help me with what?” Ainsley swayed a bit in the narrow passageway.

  “She will know,” Sophia answered. “But it’s imperative you find her. Get her help.”

  “For the men?” Ainsley queried. “I seem to remember something about them having trouble.” She looked off as if trying to recall a distant memory. Her eyes fou
nd the crumbling bricks of the walls enclosing them in the tight space together. “This place is in shambles. Someone should really fix it up, don’t you think, Sophia?”

  She nodded. The housekeeper was losing it, moment by moment. Ainsley couldn’t remember the present and wasn’t acting like herself. Whatever had held them all together was dissipating, and it filled Sophia with fear.

  “Now, take me to Quiet and hurry,” Sophia urged. She would have slid around Ainsley and gone the rest of the way on her own, but there was no getting around the housekeeper. The passageway was too narrow.

  “Quiet?” Ainsley asked, her brow scrunching with uncertainty.

  “Just move forward,” Sophia encouraged, tears catching in her throat. This wasn’t the time to grieve. They would fix things, and this would simply be a record in The Complete History of Dragonriders.

  Sophia desperately hoped this wouldn’t be the very last chapter recorded in that book.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The moon was only half full as the blue dragon flew across the Expanse, headed for the Pond.

  Lunis always hungered for a fight but never had one been so personal. Unlike Sophia, he wasn’t prone to sentimentality, a human emotion dragons didn’t experience readily.

  Lunis sometimes caught himself having slightly mushy thoughts after spying Sophia’s emotions. That was the influence a rider had on their dragon. As a female, Sophia was more sentimental than the men, which meant Lunis was different from the other dragons, something to be expected because of their newness, generation, and circumstances.

  Lunis knew the other dragons were experiencing sentimentality right then, the same as him. He could feel Simi’s fierce need to protect her home of two centuries. Tala would rather die than allow the thieves outnumbering them to take over the Gullington. Coral had never been more offended than she was at that moment. But it was Bell who was in a rare state. The oldest dragon on Earth was enraged, taking the current events at the Gullington personally. There were few things that scared Lunis, but being on the other side of the red dragon’s fury was one of them. Thankfully for him, he wasn’t.