Justice Unhatched (The Exceptional S. Beaufont Book 5)

by Sarah Noffke

  “You need answers, don’t you,” Mae Ling asked. “Go on. You know how it works. Ask your questions.”

  The fairy godmother placed her hands calmly on the desk in front of her, a placid expression on her face.

  Sophia knew why she was there. It was to find information on Cupid’s whereabouts. She could also ask about Trin Currante, so she was surprised at the question that actually tumbled out of her mouth.

  “You’re a love expert, right?”

  Mae Ling smiled. “Yes. That’s the chief job of any fairy godmother. You and I have more of a unique setup since you were assigned to me directly by Mother Nature. You have a bit more responsibility than most, and Mama Jamba felt you could benefit from having a fairy godmother’s assistance in your life.”

  “Oh, so like with Cinderella, your job is to what? Make matches?” Sophia asked.

  “That’s right,” Mae Ling confirmed. “Love is what makes the world go round.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense.” Sophia chewed on her lip, considering her next question. She sometimes felt like Mae Ling was a genie, and instead of wishes, she got questions. Their sessions were always short, and her fairy godmother kicked her out when she was done. It was usually before Sophia had asked everything she wanted.

  “Well, since you are a love expert, I’m hoping you can help me find the whereabouts of the notorious Cupid,” Sophia asked.

  Mae Ling studied Sophia for a long moment, a discerning expression in her wise gaze. “That’s your question?”

  Sophia tilted her head to the side, wondering if she hadn’t asked it right. “Well, yeah, although I also would welcome information on Trin Currante.”

  Mae Ling shook her head. “I can’t help you track down the cyborg, but I suspect the Brownies will be able to, eventually.”

  Of course, her fairy godmother knew she was relying on the Brownies for information. She seemed to know everything, which was why the look she was giving Sophia made her uncomfortable.

  “Isn’t it funny that as soon as we get what we want, we don’t want it anymore?” Mae Ling asked, a musing quality to her voice.

  “I’m not sure how that helps me to find Cupid,” Sophia stammered, trying to wrap her brain around what the older woman was saying.

  “It isn’t meant to,” Mae Ling imparted. “He is in the hottest desert in the world.”

  “The Sahara?” Sophia questioned. “Where? That’s also one of the largest deserts.”

  She knew even knowing the location wouldn’t help her to find Cupid unless she narrowed it down.

  “Go there with someone you care for and you’ll find Cupid,” Mae Ling told her. “Or rather, I should say he’ll find you.”

  “What did you mean about getting what we want and then not wanting it?” Sophia dared to ask, not sure if she wanted her fairy godmother to answer.

  “I think that was pretty straightforward.”

  Sophia argued by shaking her head. “But I never wanted anything more than to be one of the Dragon Elite. I didn’t ask for anything else.”

  “No, and when the time came, you ran, dropping the glass slipper, didn’t you?” Mae Ling challenged.

  Sophia continued to chew on her lip. “It’s not about want and desire. It’s about doing the right thing. People in our positions don’t get options for love.”

  Mae Ling sat back in her oversized chair, appearing impressed. “Well put, S. Beaufont. There are certain people who fall into those categories of having to be exempt from love. Unfortunately for you and your need for excuses, you aren’t one of them. Whether you are prepared for it or not, your story will be one for the pages of the greatest fairytales. I daresay, all my contemporaries are keeping a close eye on how this one will unfold.”

  “Why?” Sophia asked, feeling the pressure.

  “Because it will change everything,” Mae Ling answered simply.

  “How?” Sophia continued with the one-word questions.

  “I can’t really say, but you already knew that didn’t you,” she teased coyly.

  Sophia did. She should have expected that answer.

  “I can offer you something, but you’ll only think it’s more riddles, and maybe it is. On the way to finding love, we often find ourselves,” Mae Ling began. “Isn’t it ironic we become that which we love when we start searching for the person we hope will complete us?”

  Sophia sighed. This was a riddle, and it only made her more confused. She worked to keep the look of frustration off her face as she thanked her fairy godmother for the help.

  “You have one more question,” Mae Ling said, catching her before she left the office.

  Sophia halted, thinking. She wanted to ask about Cupid, Trin Currante and…she couldn’t remember another question plaguing her, but there were so many mysteries that she could be forgetting something. Then it occurred to her, making her mouth pop open.

  “Ainsley?” she asked.

  Mae Ling nodded proudly. “There it is.”

  “You know how I can save her and recover her memories?” Sophia asked, hope filling her chest.

  “I don’t actually,” Mae Ling stated at once. “But the next time I see you, I will.”

  “And that will be?” Sophia asked, hoping for a specific.

  “At our next meeting, when you need me once more.”

  Feeling slightly defeated, Sophia nodded, realizing she should have expected this visit to bring up more questions than answers. Such was the way of the most helpful people in her life.

  Chapter Eighteen

  All the way back to the Castle, Sophia turned Mae Ling’s words over in her brain.

  “On the way to finding love, we often find ourselves,” Mae Ling had said. “Isn’t it ironic we become that which we love when we start searching for the person we hope will complete us?”

  Sophia couldn’t make sense of it. Maybe at her early morning wake up it would be clearer. She’d been trying to find herself in one way or another since becoming a dragonrider and coming to the Gullington.

  Right then, more important than her and Wilder were the missions that demanded their attention. Sophia had to find Cupid or the repercussions would be far worse than Subner spouting hippie phrases. And she had to figure out where the dragon eggs were that had been stolen. Almost as important was her need to rescue Ainsley. Of course, there was the need to strengthen the reputation of the Dragon Elite. That was how Sophia needed to find herself, but she had no idea what it had to do with Mae Ling’s advice.

  The Castle was bustling with noise when Sophia entered, the smell of garlic and other savory herbs strong in the air. “Wow, something smells good,” Sophia declared, talking to herself and strangely grateful Ainsley had made real food. She couldn’t have another meal of sugar and baked goods that day.

  “I have gone all out,” Ainsley said proudly, buzzing by Sophia carrying a large vase of flowers as she made for the dining room.

  “What is the occasion?” Sophia asked, following behind her.

  “Well, since Quiet is mad at me and refuses to help me with meals, I have decided to show him I don’t need his help,” Ainsley explained, putting the arrangement on the table and eyeing it before moving it a few inches. “You know that squatty fellow has been helping me as the Castle for the last five hundred years, sometimes making my life more difficult, but also helping me with meals and whatnot. Now that we have had this falling out, I’m doing everything myself. I’d say I’m winning at it.”

  The housekeeper pushed her shoulders back and held her chin high. “He probably thought I’d fail without his help. Probably hoped I would, but I won’t. I’m going to show him.”

  Sophia was proud of Ainsley. This just proved to her she was a fighter, and worth saving. Ainsley and Quiet would make up. It just was a matter of time. Ainsley had been hurt about being kept in the dark, but this was a good thing for now. It was empowering the shapeshifter, and maybe that was what she needed.

  “What did you make that smells so good?” Sophia a
sked.

  “Beef roast with neeps and tatties, fresh rolls, and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert,” Ainsley stated.

  “Oh, why flourless?” Sophia asked.

  “Because I’m working on ways to be a pain in Hiker’s ass, so I have decided everyone is going gluten-free,” she told her proudly.

  Sophia laughed. “That will definitely infuriate him.”

  Ainsley joined in, slapping Sophia’s arm as she giggled. “I have got recipes for scones made out of things he will loathe. He’s going to complain bitterly about all the bread made out of tapioca and milled nuts.”

  “I can’t wait to see this,” Sophia said. She was about to say something else when a familiar voice chimed in her head.

  Soph, Lunis called, an urgency to his voice.

  “What is it, S. Beaufont?” Ainsley asked, the light expression dropping from her face. She must have seen the change in Sophia’s face.

  She held up a finger, pausing the housekeeper so she could hear Lunis. What is it?

  It’s the dragon eggs, he answered. The first of them are starting to hatch.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sophia ran all the way to the Nest, Ainsley on her heels. She’d have gone up and gotten Hiker, but Ainsley had said he was out. Lunis followed up with something about how fewer people were for the best.

  Once they were at the Nest, Lunis met the pair and told them Ainsley shouldn’t enter the cave area.

  I’m sorry, he said remorse in his voice. It’s really better if they aren’t overwhelmed when they first enter this world again.

  “Again…” Ainsley clasped her hands to her chest, looking all starry-eyed and not seeming disappointed by the news. “Dragons are so romantic in that they really never die since they hold the collective consciousness of their ancestors.”

  “Thanks for coming to the Nest with me,” Sophia said to the elf. “I’ll give you a report when I return to the Castle.”

  “You’ll give me a report when you exit that cave,” Ainsley corrected. “A new dragon has not hatched…” She pointed at Lunis. “Well, since that one, but still, we didn’t think there would ever be another dragon on this planet. Now there are a thousand, all thanks to you, S. Beaufont. You are going to march in there, watch history happen and come out here and tell me all about it.”

  Sophia didn’t know how she could argue with that, so she nodded and followed Lunis into the Nest, unsure what to expect, but her nerves buzzing with excitement for what she’d witness.

  The hundreds of colorful eggs spread over the grounds of the Nest glittered in the flame lit cave. Sophia at first thought Lunis had been mistaken and maybe the dragon eggs weren’t hatching. The entire area was silent save for the crackling of the flames.

  Then her ears heard an unmistakable sound. It was also a cracking sound, but distinctively different than that of embers and fire. It was the sound of birth. Of awakening.

  Sophia remembered hearing it once before. The night Lunis was born.

  A few yards away, surrounded by unmoving eggs, was a single one with a crack running down the side. It was black with white spots.

  Sophia sucked in a breath and squatted to get a closer look. She glanced at her dragon, feeling a unique fondness to witness such an event with him. He mirrored her emotions in his eyes.

  “What happens when the first one is here?” Sophia asked in a whisper.

  We will move it to the Cave and take care of it, showing it the way, Lunis answered and then shrugged. Or we might eat it if the little one gets on our nerves.

  She scowled at him. “You are ruining the sentimentality of the moment.”

  Am I? Lunis argued. That black dragon is taking his sweet time getting out of his shell.

  He was right, Sophia realized. Lunis had broken through his shell pretty quickly when hatching, but his egg was much larger. This one was about the size of a bowling ball, the same size as all the rest of the eggs in the Nest. They were growing at roughly the same rate. Some dragon eggs would hatch when their eggs were smaller and some would hatch when much larger. Eggs would stop growing at this point until they were ready to hatch or magnetize to a rider. There were no hard and fast rules when it came to dragons, she’d learned. She and Lunis had set new standards, and Sophia suspected the dragons in the Nest would set their own, along with the new generation of riders.

  A black dragon’s head poked out of the top of the shell, finally breaking free. He popped his head up, blinking shining eyes around the Nest before landing his gaze on Lunis and then Sophia. He regarded them with a strange expression that filled Sophia with both sentimentality and also a foreboding fear.

  The new dragon was unmistakably beautiful with its shiny black scales and horned head. She recognized the ancient wisdom of the dragon in his eyes, the same as Lunis when he first hatched. Unlike human babies, dragons were born with inborn intelligence. They had the gift of seeing the history of their ancestors, but that also could be counted as a burden. It was impossible to be an individual as a dragon who shared the memories of all.

  The black dragon crushed his shell with its front leg, knocking the rest of the way through its binds. It shook its tail and spike-covered back, turning the shell to bits, and sending pieces flying.

  Sophia ducked to avoid being hit with flying bits of shell. When she returned her gaze to the black dragon, she was astonished by its beauty.

  This wasn’t her dragon, but she was unmistakably drawn to it—as all humans were tethered to dragons on some mysterious level.

  Respectfully, she bowed her head to the dragon, the first of many, and offered a single word she hoped imprinted her on its soul.

  “Welcome.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Sophia left Lunis in the Nest to look after Blackey. That was what they were calling him between the two of them. His name wouldn’t be revealed until he did it or magnetized to a dragonrider.

  She’d nearly forgotten about Ainsley waiting for her until she ran into the shapeshifter, who was in the form of a barn owl. She landed on Sophia’s shoulder and flapped her wings excitedly. Sophia couldn’t help but laugh at the strangeness of the elf, who was always doing silly things, especially during heightened moments.

  “He is beautiful,” Sophia said, knowing what Ainsley wanted to hear. “It’s a him, although I only know because Lunis told me since I don’t know how to sex a dragon.”

  Ainsley hooted in reply, encouraging Sophia to keep talking.

  “Well, he is all black and has these old soul eyes, the same as all the other dragons, but it’s very striking when you see it right after they are hatched,” Sophia went on, trying to remember all the pertinent details Ainsley would want to know.

  The housekeeper hooted again as they descended the hill in the direction of the Castle. The sun was beginning to set on another day in the Gullington, which was fitting since they had just had the first dragon egg hatch there in…well, forever. Sophia would have to ask Hiker and maybe consult the Complete History of Dragonriders, but she was almost certain no dragons had actually hatched there.

  The Gullington was the home of the Dragon Elite and the place dragons and their riders were brought to once they magnetized to each other. However, Sophia didn’t think eggs had ever hatched there, even back in the day when the first thousand were in existence. She considered that Ainsley might know the answer to the question, but she seemed so excited in owl form and being the first one to hear about the new dragon she didn’t want to make her shift to answer the question.

  The barn owl hooted again on Sophia’s shoulder, to encourage her to keep talking.

  “Right,” Sophia chirped, trying to think what else to tell her. “Well, the dragon is very small by our standards. Much smaller than Lunis when he came to the Gullington.” Sophia laughed, the fond memory washing over her. “Remember he was small enough to enter the Castle and sleep in my room. He was like a Great Dane.”

  The owl hooted with delight.

  “This one is the siz
e of a poodle, but no doubt will grow fast, just like Lunis did,” Sophia continued. “Although Mahkah will undoubtedly be able to tell us much more about its growth potential. I seem to remember dragons grow faster when paired with a rider, right?”

  The owl hooted as they approached the Castle steps.

  Sophia paused just before the door. The owl froze on her shoulder, sensing her trepidation. “There was something else about the black dragon…” Sophia thought for a moment, replaying the memory of the newly hatched dragon in her mind. “A spark in his eyes.”

  Ainsley flapped her wings excitedly.

  “Yeah,” Sophia said, sensing what she meant in the movement. “But I don’t know. The spark wasn’t like the one I witnessed in Lunis’ eyes or Bell’s or the others. It was something else. Like a sinister spark. I remember having the urge to draw my sword, but I’m certain it was just my nerves.”

  Sophia shook her head, wondering if she was reasoning away her instinct, or her excitement was coloring the experience. What she didn’t say to Ainsley and nearly didn’t want to admit to herself was the spark reminded her of something she’d seen only two times before. Once in the eyes of Sulphur, the dragon who belonged to Gordon Burgess, a lone rider and his dragon.

  The last time Sophia had seen that strange spark was unmistakable. It was in Thad Reinhart’s dragon—Ember.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sophia shook off the trepidation and forced a smile. “Well, it looks like we have something to celebrate,” she said to the barn owl.

  Ainsley squawked, springing off Sophia’s shoulder and taking her usual appearance, nearly knocking into Sophia as she took up more space.

  Sophia was about to ask what the matter was when Ainsley burst through the Castle doors, her red hair flying behind her. “My dinner! The roast! The rolls!”