by Sarah Noffke
Chapter Two
“I think he knows,” Sophia said to Wilder, who sat close to her at the dining table.
Ainsley laughed as she came through the swinging door from the kitchen. “You think? Of course, that dumb Viking knows you two are an item. Hiker totally saw you guys snogging on the Expanse.”
Quiet, who was trotting behind the housekeeper carrying a tray of pastries, mumbled something.
Another laugh popped out of Ainsley’s mouth. “Oh, good one. That’s my new favorite nickname for Angry Beard.”
“What is it?” Wilder asked, an amused expression on his face.
Ainsley set a platter of sautéed spinach onto the table, looking at it proudly. “You’ll just have to wait until I unveil it.” The housekeeper was obviously still pissed at Hiker for breaking her heart centuries ago and lying to her about who she was, making her the housekeeper for the Castle when she lost her memories and nearly died.
“Spinach for breakfast?” Sophia questioned. “That’s a bit unusual.”
The elf took the tray from Quiet and laid it on the table next to a bowl of cream of wheat and a plate of pickled beets.
Wilder leaned back, a grin on his face. “I see what you’re doing here.”
“Ensuring we starve?” Sophia asked.
He shook his head, pointing to the various dishes. “These are all foods Hiker can’t stand.”
Ainsley nodded triumphantly. “Don’t worry, S. Beaufont. I’ve got a thing or two I know you’ll enjoy, but that barbarian doesn’t like.”
Wilder peeked at the pastries Quiet had brought from the kitchen. “Pistachio scones and poppy seed muffins. Very clever.”
The gnome slid into his normal seat, muttering as Evan and Mahkah filed into the dining area.
“Dumbface knows about you two,” Ainsley said, indicating Sophia and Wilder. “It’s made him madder than hell.” She smiled sweetly. “Keep it up. Maybe you could sit in his lap during breakfast, S. How does that sound?”
“I approve,” Wilder answered at once.
Sophia rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I think we shouldn’t push things until Hiker has his new powers under control.”
“As well as his anger management problems.” Evan ran his gaze over the spread, not appearing excited about the options. “Oh, man, why can’t Hiker despise bacon and eggs?”
“Don’t worry,” Ainsley called, heading back to the kitchen. “I’ve got turkey bacon and vegan eggs coming up.”
Evan laughed. “He’s going to be pissed. I can’t wait to see this.”
“See what?” Hiker Wallace asked, thundering into the dining hall, Mama Jamba waltzing in behind him, a pad of paper in her hands as she added up numbers.
“See these two love birds canoodling,” Evan stated, grabbing a muffin and giving Quiet a look. “Do you want this one?”
The groundskeeper nodded.
With a wicked grin, Evan lobbed it across the room, making it stick to the far wall.
“That was rude,” Sophia scolded.
Evan nodded proudly. “The little guy doesn’t like it when I’m nice to him. He made everything in my room black, so now I feel like I’m living in a cave. My shower only has cold water, and my sink only has scorching hot water. Why did the short jerk do this, you ask? Because last night when I passed him in the hallway, I said, ‘Have a good night.’”
“Seems like if you shower in the sink, you might be okay,” Wilder offered.
“The way I figure it,” Evan continued, grabbing a muffin as Quiet went for it and snatching it from his grasp, “I might as well be mean to the naughty gnome if he’s going to punish me for being nice.”
“Or you could try being nice just for the sake of being nice,” Sophia interjected.
Evan seemed to consider this before tossing the muffin over his shoulder, where it landed on the floor with a splat. “I could, but that’s not really my style.”
“Your style is costing me work, you little twit,” Ainsley scolded, trotting back into the dining room carrying a tray of turkey bacon.
“Quiet punished me before for teasing him,” Evan argued. “Now, he’s ten times worse to me for being nice. So, I’m just going to be ten times meaner.”
Sophia grabbed a scone and bit into it. “Seems like a flawless plan. I can see no way this will backfire.”
Hiker, who had stood looking down at the table with an angry stare, glanced up at Ainsley. “What’s the meaning of this?” He threw his arm wide, indicating the table of breakfast foods.
She shrugged. “I wanted to ensure you started your day off right.”
“How am I supposed to do that when you’ve served all foods I hate?” Hiker asked, his face blossoming into a shade of red.
“Oh,” she said, clasping her hand to his chest. “You misunderstand me. When I say I want you to start your day off right, I mean ‘how you deserve.’ So really, I’d like you to have a stomachache first thing, followed by a sour mood and something worth complaining about. That’s all I really want for you.”
“Would you stop this and bring out something I’ll actually eat?” Hiker demanded.
She batted her eyelashes at him. “I do so love your little nickname for me. Would-You is such a thoughtful pet name. I hope you’ll like the one Quiet came up with for you.”
Mama Jamba took a seat across from Sophia, her attention still on the pad of paper in her hands. “I don’t think he’ll like it.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Ainsley countered. “He calls me Would-You, and I call him Drop Dead. It really is the sweetest romance.”
“Ainsley,” Hiker growled, a warning in his voice.
She curtsied. “I’ll go and get the hash browns, sir.”
He sighed. “Finally, something I will eat.”
Ainsley nodded mischievously as she headed for the kitchen. At the door, she paused. “Speaking of romances, remember Sophia and Wilder have made things official.”
A seething expression covered Hiker’s face. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”
Tilting her head to the side, Ainsley gave Hiker a dreamy look. “Your annoyance really does bring joy to my heart.”
“You two,” Hiker said, indicating Sophia and Wilder. “You know I don’t approve of this. I made that abundantly clear.”
“Was that before or after you made me think my entire life was a lie?” Ainsley asked, bustling back into the dining hall, carrying a plate of steaming hash browns. She laid them down in front of Hiker and backed away at once with a rebellious smile.
“It was after,” he declared, answering the question like that was at all necessary. Hiker kept his light-colored eyes trained on Sophia and Wilder as he shoveled hash browns onto his plate.
“This really isn’t appropriate for dragonriders,” Hiker continued.
“There aren’t any rules against it,” Mama Jamba argued, her attention on the pad as she counted on her hands.
“I make the rules!” Hiker boomed.
Mama Jamba shot him a look over her paper and pursed her lips. “Really, son?”
He stuck his fork into the hash browns, nearly breaking the plate. He was doing that a lot lately when trying to eat due to this enhanced strength. “Well, you might be in charge of this planet, but you put me in charge of the Dragon Elite. We don’t fraternize with each other.”
“You said fraternize,” Evan stated with a chuckle.
“That’s because there’s never been a girl among us, though,” Mahkah supplied, daring to enter the conversation.
“It doesn’t matter,” Hiker argued. “Relationships are a distraction. We have too many priorities right now and this…” He waved his hand at the couple. “Well, it distracts from our missions.”
“Some would say love only makes everything better,” Mama Jamba observed, scribbling on her pad.
“This isn’t love,” Hiker grumbled. “It’s two people losing sight of what’s important.”
Ainsley stuck her hands on her hips, a defiant expre
ssion on her face. “How dare you try and define their relationship! Love is important. It’s what’s most important. It’s why people fight and defend. Dare I say, it’s why people make sacrifices, and why someone would risk their life for another.”
Hiker lowered his chin and gave the housekeeper a murderous expression. “Don’t make this about us. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it,” she sang, heading for the kitchen again. “Once I am cured and I can leave this place, I’ll be sure never to speak to you again. Call it my farewell gift for all these years of serving you while you kept secrets from me.”
“Quiet did too!” Hiker exclaimed.
Ainsley shot the gnome an affectionate look. “Yes, and he said he was sorry. Is that something you can do?”
Hiker’s mouth formed a hard line as he remained speechless.
“That’s what I thought,” Ainsley stated. “Stubborn and also cowardly. What a perfect combination.”
He shook his head and stuck the bite of hash browns into his mouth. In mid-chew, he spat them out into his napkin. “Did you put tarragon in these? You know I can’t stand that herb.”
“Why, yes, I did,” she told him proudly, pushing through the kitchen door. “Drop Dead.”
“Oh, tarragon,” Mama Jamba marveled. “That’s a great idea!” She turned the pad sideways and wrote along the edge of the paper.
“What are you doing?” Evan inquired, peering over to see what she was writing.
She edged away, preventing him from spying. “Carry the two and then divide by din.”
“Din isn’t a number,” Evan challenged.
Mama Jamba glanced at him. “It isn’t anymore. Papa Creola had it erased eons ago because he felt it wasn’t necessary, but I think it’s useful in this case.”
“Cool, numbers that don’t exist anymore because Father Time didn’t like them,” Evan said, still trying to get a glimpse of her paper. “As you were saying, what are you working on?”
“I wasn’t,” she chimed in her Southern accent, flashing him the pad. “But since you must know, I’m working on a new species of plant.”
“That you’re sketching out on…” Evan squinted at the paper. “Is that hotel stationary?”
She nodded. “It’s how I craft my best ideas.”
“This plant,” Evan continued. “Will you name it after me?”
“There’s already a plant named stinkweed,” Wilder teased.
Mama Jamba smiled good naturally. “I haven’t named it yet. I won’t until Sophia plants the seeds.”
“Me?” Sophia asked, surprised.
“Sophia?” Hiker questioned, also surprised. “She has training with me and missions to attend to.”
“And hopefully a hot date when you give her a second off work,” Mama Jamba argued. “I want Sophia to plant the seeds, but not yet. I have to get the formula just right first.”
“The Dragon Elite don’t get time off,” Hiker said, turning his attention to the guys. “I have adjudication missions for you all. Mahkah, you already have the details on yours.”
Mahkah nodded in reply.
“Evan, I have a dispute you need to resolve in Asia,” Hiker went on. “Wilder, there’s a case that requires you to take a leave of absence for a while.”
Mama Jamba’s chair scraping against the floor when she rose made a screeching noise. She narrowed her eyes at Hiker. “That’s very transparent, son.”
He held up his hands. “Call it what you will, but I have missions to complete and will assign them as I see fit.”
Mama Jamba nodded. “I won’t object, but if you think for one second I’m going to allow you to make rules against people falling in love, you’ve got another think coming, Hiker Wallace. Now since you’ve thoroughly upset the housekeeper and it doesn’t appear she’ll be bringing my pancakes, I’m going to go sulk in your office.”
“I would eat pancakes,” Hiker muttered, looking at the breakfast options with annoyance.
“Sort things out with Ainsley,” Mama Jamba ordered, making for the exit. “I want pancakes.”
“There’s no reasoning with a madwoman,” Hiker replied, standing as well. He cast his eyes down on Sophia. “Well, shall we start training?”
She grabbed a piece of bacon and took a nervous bite. There was something in the heated expression he was giving her that made her think he needed time to cool down before they trained together. She didn’t even know how she was supposed to help him control his powers. He thought that because she was a twin-like him, she’d have some strategy to help him.
“I will as soon as I’m done eating, sir,” she replied between bites.
He continued to stare down at her, a warning on his face.
With a sigh, Sophia pushed out her chair, realizing he wasn’t going to let up until she complied. “Oh, look, I’m all done. Let’s train, sir.”
He marched for the door, his shoulders pinned up high.
Sophia took off reluctantly after him, giving the guys a pleading expression over her shoulder. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck,” Evan teased with a chuckle. “You need thick armor.”
Chapter Three
The man known as Hiker Wallace had never known such a challenging time in his very long life. Even when his twin brother was hunting him down, trying to kill him for his power, things hadn’t felt this bad. Presently, Hiker felt he couldn’t control his own riders, his housekeeper was furious at him for something he could do nothing about and worst of all, his powers were so overwhelming they were out of control. He felt ready to explode at any moment. He had embraced the power he had inherited from Thad, but that was only the beginning. Now he had to discover how to control it before it destroyed him.
Sophia marched behind Hiker as he led them out to the combat area on the Expanse. She almost ran into him when he pivoted abruptly. All the dragonriders moved swifter than most, even magicians and elves, who were quite stealthy in their own right. Hiker Wallace moved with a unique grace that made it nearly impossible to predict his movements.
Sophia sucked in a breath and looked up at the man before her, peering into his nostrils.
“Hey,” she said, taking a step back and loosening her throat with a cough.
“Hey,” he replied, his voice gruff.
“So, what did you have in mind for training?” she dared to ask.
He returned her question with a question. “What have you learned?”
“Well…” she began, thinking of what she’d discovered reading The Complete History of Dragonriders the night before. Bermuda Laurens had taught her how to use the book by thinking of specifically what she needed to find and then seemingly randomly flipping the book open. The intention acted as a sort of table of contents, bringing her to exactly what she was looking for.
She could have just given the book to Hiker to read—it was his book after all, but for whatever reason, Quiet wasn’t allowing the leader of the Dragon Elite to have access to it. Every time Sophia gave it to him, it ended back up in her room on her desk. Once again, Quiet had reasons for the strange things he did, and no one but he knew why.
She had learned something she thought would be of help for Hiker.
“I think you’re out of balance,” she continued. “According to what I found, when a twin inherits another’s powers, there are a couple of factors that impact it.” She held up a finger, listing what she remembered from the book. “The first is guilt, which I think was your initial obstacle. You didn’t want to have to kill Thad, because you were the good twin. The book says this is common with good twins. So you were reluctant to embrace the power, which created a concentration of it, like when something gets bottlenecked.”
Hiker nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Go on then.”
“Well, because of that, when you did embrace the power,” Sophia explained, “the levels were out of whack, overwhelming you.”
He nodded. “You’re telling
me. I’ve broken most things in my study, just going about my usual business.”
Sophia had to stop herself from laughing, having witnessed the Viking put his coffee mug on his desk and breaking the cup to pieces while also putting a dent in the solid wood desk. She swallowed to cover her laughter.
“In cases like this, it’s a balancing issue,” Sophia went on, motioning to the Expanse where the grounds were littered with bowling ball-sized dragon eggs of various colors. “Just like half the dragon eggs from this batch are going to turn out good and the other half evil, there has to be balance within you. Yin and yang. The power within you is sourced from both good and evil, so I think you need a way to equalize the forces.”
“Like how?” he asked at once, his temper flaring.
Sophia shrugged. “I’m sorry, but the book didn’t elaborate. It simply said that in cases such as these, the dragonrider needed balancing forces.”
“Why don’t you have this problem?” Hiker asked, his eyes narrowed.
“Well, I think at times, I do struggle, but I inherited Jamison’s powers at birth, and therefore, this is my normal,” she explained. “You’re having to deal with it after five hundred years, and that can’t be easy.”
“Don’t give me your sympathy,” he spat.
Sophia shook this off. “More than anything, I think you have to get control over your emotions. The bad ones are creating more of an imbalance, making it harder for you to control your powers. This is just a guess, but I think it makes the most sense.”
Hiker scowled at Sophia. “I’m perfectly in control of my emotions.”
Again, Sophia had to resist the urge to laugh. “Really? So, this Ainsley situation doesn’t have you upset?”
The scowl deepened on his face. “That topic is off-limits.”
“That’s why you’ll continue to smash teacups,” Sophia fired back, folding her arms and giving him a defiant expression.
“That has nothing to do with this!” Hiker picked up a sword from the weapon’s area and swung it, testing the balance.