by Sarah Noffke
“You mean he is not still cursing about the laptop I made him use?” Sophia asked.
Liv laughed. “Oh, he definitely is. By the way, we have to get that guy some typing classes. Watching him put information into the computer today took all the patience I had. It really couldn’t have taken any longer.”
Sophia laughed. “You should see him searching for something. He literally searches for google, clicks on it, and then googles.”
“Hey, guess what the internet’s favorite animal is?” Liv had a sneaky grin bouncing around her eyes.
Sophia lowered her chin. “What?”
“A lynx!”
Sophia didn’t laugh. “You would be telling that bad joke.”
“Yeah, I missed sharing it earlier at dinner,” Liv laughed. “Which reminds me.”
The look on her sister’s face let Sophia know they had gotten to the part of the conversation she had been trying to avoid. It was why Liv had come up there to Sophia’s room since it hadn’t been to help her with laundry.
Sophia reached across the bed and took the stack Liv had folded, realizing she’d have to redo them all later. “Thanks,” she said instead as she put the clothes to the side.
“Do you want to tell me what is going on?”
“Well, Rudolf knows where the captain’s hat is,” Sophia told her in a rush. “You and Clark will watch the Captains while we—”
“I think you know that is not what I’m talking about,” Liv coaxed. “Although watching triplets is something I would only do for you, my love. If they spit up on me, you are doing my laundry.”
“Deal. I do appreciate it,” Sophia said. “If I could go without Rudolf, you know I would.”
Liv tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful expression on her face. “You know, in battle, he is one of the few people I want by my side. He is strange and inappropriate, but there is no one who will show more bravery when facing danger than that fae. Rudolf has gotten me into a fair amount of trouble, but he has got me out of way more. And he has some strange luck.”
Sophia nodded, remembering when Rudolf accompanied her on the mission to find the Fierce so she could locate the Great Library. “Yeah, there is something curious about him. He is simultaneously super annoying and incredibly helpful. Like how did it come down to him to help me with this mission? The Captains…they were named after Quiet. What were the odds?”
Liv gave her a fond expression. “Life is kind of beautiful like that.”
“Which is what makes all the battles worth fighting,” Sophia agreed, feeling restless after she had put all the clothes away. She wanted something to do with her hands.
Liv patted the bed, encouraging Sophia to take a seat. “Come and talk to me. Because you know what, Soph, there is more to life than fighting for justice.”
Sophia crawled onto her large bed and felt the exhaustion begin to tunnel in her brain as soon as she rested on the mattress. “Coming from you, that is rather ironic to hear.”
Liv settled next to her sister, wrapping her arms around her own legs. “You know, I totally get it. I used to be this head-down, get-the-job-done, no-nonsense kind of gal.”
“Then what happened?” Sophia asked, already knowing how this story ended because she had watched it transpire.
A soft smile wrapped itself around Liv’s mouth and lit up her eyes. “I fell in love, and I realized there was more to life than fighting bad guys and wearing myself down.”
Liv was referring to Stefan Ludwig, another warrior for the House of Fourteen. Battle had brought the two together, but their adoration for each other kept them there. They were a romance for the ages.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Liv continued, “that is still how my life goes for the most part, but there is a new motivation. I don’t always want to work. Not like I used to. I have someone I want to spend time with, someone I crave seeing at the end of the day. Having that changes everything. We go from being these warrior robots who fight for justice, to these feeling beings who fight for love.”
“Do you know, I can tell when you are thinking about him because you get this smile on your face?” Sophia observed, having witnessed her sister hiding a private smile many a time, distracted by thoughts of the guy she harbored feelings for.
Liv and Stefan Ludwig had come a long way. It was for that reason, Sophia knew her sister understood better than most. The two warriors for the House of Fourteen hadn’t been able to be together for a long time, forbidden by House laws. In true Liv style, she had fought against those laws and changed them. In doing so, she had changed her future, and probably the future of many others in the process. In truth, Sophia knew the world was a better place because Liv Beaufont loved Stefan Ludwig.
That was what a great romance did. It changed the world for the better. Her parents had it. Liv had it, and Sophia didn’t want anything less for herself. There was no way she could settle when she had seen what was possible.
Sophia also knew the scariest thing in the world was going after that kind of love and risking everything for it. The fear of rejection, of failure, of heartbreak, was more intimidating than war for her.
“So, tell me what is going on with you?” Liv asked her sister when they had been silent for a long moment. There was a thoughtful expression on Liv’s face.
“It’s nothing,” Sophia lied, trying to keep her face neutral. With Liv, it was impossible. She sighed and decided to be honest with Liv, and with herself. “I rescued Wilder’s dragon, and now he is acting like I did something of great importance and looking at me in strange ways. Well, looking at me in strange ways more often than before.”
“Everyone knows the way to a man’s heart is to save his dragon,” Liv joked.
Sophia giggled. “It wasn’t that big a deal.”
“Oh, so this hasn’t been going on for a while?” Liv challenged.
“Since when?” Sophia asked.
“Since a while ago?” Liv asked. “Maybe since the beginning.”
Sophia shook her head. “No, why would you ask that?”
Liv seemed to hide the expression on her face. “Just because I know you, Soph. And I know how people react to you.”
Sophia ignored her, then remembered the pocketknife Subner had given her at the Fantastical Armory. She popped out of bed and retrieved her cloak lying across the back of the sofa.
“What is up?” Liv asked.
“Subner gave me something curious,” she explained.
“A headache with all his riddles?” Liv pretended to question.
Sophia’s laugh lacked humor as she checked the various pockets where she could have stuck the knife. It wasn’t there.
“What is it?”
She lowered the cloak and shook her head. “It seems without meaning to I dropped something.”
Liv didn’t seem to think much of it. “Well, that’s how it usually happens. We hardly ever drop anything because we mean to.”
Sophia nodded, her eyes thoughtful. “Yeah, but what if subconsciously, I actually meant to…”
Liv tilted her head to the side before shaking it. “You are talking riddles like Subner right now.”
Sophia stared off without really seeing. She felt like she was living a riddle, and maybe she knew the answer. She didn’t want to admit it. She swallowed down the nervous tension in her throat and tried to push away the uncertainty. This wasn’t the time for matters of the heart, but she knew she couldn’t avoid them forever.
Chapter Ninety-Four
The sun hadn’t risen the next morning over the Gullington when Sophia began going through her weapons, preparing for the mission ahead.
She slid her sword into her sheath and whipped her cloak around her shoulders, tying it tightly, not knowing where they were headed and what kind of weather she should prepare for. Rudolf had refused to tell Sophia where the Fae’s National History Museum was located.
The three Captains were all sleeping quietly on the surface of Sophia’s made bed. Rudolf had dropped them
off a few minutes prior with the promise he would return soon. She gave the babies a fond look as she grabbed the grappling hook lying beside Captain Morgan and fastened it onto her belt.
There was something about a sleeping baby that was very calming to look at. Sophia had never really been around young children, recently having been young herself and the smallest of the Beaufont family.
Sophia looked around her room, feeling like she was missing something but not knowing what.
The pocketknife, she thought.
She wished she had it for this mission but didn’t know why. Sophia reasoned she had probably lost it at the dinner table. It could be hiding under the sofa, having fallen out of her cloak when she threw it off last night. She decided she was going to stop overthinking the whole thing. The fact she had dropped it was not that big of a coincidence. Now, if a certain someone had found it, well, then that might be something she couldn’t dismiss so easily.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Sophia jerked her head up, a little more jumpy than usual. “Yeah?”
Liv poked her head into the bedroom, looking refreshed after a night of sleep at the Castle. It had been nice for Sophia, knowing her siblings were sleeping under the same roof as her for a change.
“Hey, they are sleeping still. Good,” Liv said, coming into the room and giving the children a fond expression.
“Yeah, Ru, dropped them off and said he would be back soon,” Sophia explained.
“Because?” Liv asked, giving her a cautious expression.
“He said he was grabbing something for the mission,” Sophia answered. “Something about looking his best.”
Liv hardly waited for Sophia to finish her sentence before she bounded back out the door and sprinted down the corridor of the Castle. When she returned a few minutes later, her face was red and her breathing ragged. “Well, that was a close call. You can thank me later.”
Sophia gave her sister a cautious expression. “What just happened?”
“Oh, nothing,” she said dismissively. “Rudolf just thinks big missions call for him to wear his big-boy clothes. Believe me, you did not want to see him in those tights. I have taken care of it, and he has agreed to wear his usual flamboyant clothes. While they include bright colors, you won’t have your eyes burned out by seeing way too much of what he calls his ‘manhood.’”
Sophia shivered. “Thanks. You just saved me.”
Liv nodded. “That I did. That I did.”
Rudolf knocked at the door. “Are you decent?”
“Ru, we are in here with your babies,” Liv grumbled, annoyed.
He pushed open the door. “So that is a no?”
Liv held out her hands in a choking motion. “Okay, let’s run through what you need us to do to keep these lovelies alive.”
Sophia couldn’t help but smile at her sister. She knew for Liv, taking care of babies wasn’t an ideal job. In truth, Sophia thought Liv would be pretty good at caring for children. She had an intuitive nature, and others inherently liked her. There was something about Liv Beaufont that was likable. Maybe because she fought for justice or protected the little guy, but Sophia thought there was more to it than that.
Liv teased Rudolf. She outright made fun of Rory, and she got on Bermuda’s last nerve. But the truth about this warrior for the House of Fourteen was she allowed those she loved to be who they were, without changing them. There was something innately comforting about being around someone who loved you for who you were rather than what you could become. Many loved the potential in others, whereas Liv loved the essence of a person. She didn’t love the people in her life despite their flaws, but in many instances, because of them. They were all human, after all.
Liv might make light of her friends, but Sophia knew no one loved them more fiercely, and Sophia knew being loved by Liv Beaufont was like feeling sunshine on your cheeks on a winter day, or the stars breaking through a cloudy night sky. Liv’s love was a cure to suffering most never knew they were enduring.
“All right,” Rudolf began, pointing at the bed. “Firstly, you have to feed them.”
“Every day?” Liv questioned, a serious expression on her face.
He nodded, rather seriously as well. “I’m afraid so. At least a few times every day. Each of them.”
Liv pretended to be shocked. “No.”
“Yeah, it’s crazy but true,” Rudolf complained.
“Okay, well, I will do my very best.” Liv hid her laughter. “Feeding me is already a chore, so we will see how I do caring for other humans.”
Sophia patted Liv on the shoulder. “Clarky will help.”
Liv agreed with a nod. “He is an expert at keeping young ones alive and feeding them. Just look at you, Soph.”
It was true. Sophia was alive because of her older brother. He had been her primary caregiver after their parent’s death since Reese and Ian had to step up to replace their mother and father as Councilor and Warrior for the House of Fourteen.
Rudolf gave the children on Sophia’s bed a look of longing.
“Are you okay?” Sophia asked, sympathetic for the man before her.
He sighed. “Yeah, I just forgot to tell them a ghost story before we left. Do you think we have time?”
Sophia grunted aloud. And to think, I felt sorry for him for a moment, she thought.
“I’m afraid we don’t,” she told him. “But if you want to offer them a quick kiss, I think we could make time for that.”
He scoffed at her like she said something repulsive. “What are you thinking, you demonic woman? I want to return to my children. Do you know what a fae’s kiss does if given at a departure?”
Sophia’s eyes widened with alarm. “Obviously, I don’t...”
From behind Rudolf’s back, Liv shook her head and mouthed the words, “Absolutely nothing.”
“Okay, is there something else you can offer them that can be given quickly? A high five? Fist bump, maybe? A salute since they are captains?” Sophia suggested, knowing they needed to get off soon.
Mother Nature’s protection over the Gullington had ended. The giants were helping, but everyone knew it wasn’t enough to protect the land of the Expanse entirely. Liv was there to help, but her attention would be divided as she needed to watch the triplets with Clark. That meant Sophia and Rudolf needed to be fast at the Fae’s National History Museum. Then they could return, and hopefully, everything would go back to normal. That was the plan anyway.
“I’m just so worried about them,” Rudolf mourned. “I have never left them alone before.”
Liv gawked at him, an expression of disbelief on her face. “I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me to believe that playboy fae boy, King Rudolf Sweetwater, hasn’t parted from these babies since they were born.”
He looked at his friend and smiled. “If they were yours, you wouldn’t either. Just. You. Wait.”
She shook her head. “Okay, what if I give you a way to keep an eye on them in a sense.”
He clapped his hands, making Captain Silver squirm like she might wake up. “Yes, let’s do it. What do you have in mind?”
Liv held a single finger to her lips, making the universal shush expression with her lips. “First off, let’s shut our faces and our hands and be really quiet before godmother Liv is going to be in charge. I’m hoping these kids sleep until noon.”
Rudolf eyed his wrist, which had no watch on it. “You have about another ten minutes until they demand nonstop attention. All three of them, at the same time. It’s impossible to give them all what they want at the same time, and you will nearly kill yourself trying. You will lose your mind trying. You won’t get any sleep and will go without showering and starve nearly to death trying to meet their needs.”
Liv looked at her sister. “I want a puppy for Christmas. That is what you owe me for doing this.”
Sophia pursed her lips, thinking she got the easy end of the deal. “Is that all?”
“Specifically, it’s a puppy dog from
Mars that pukes up gold and farts bitcoin currency,” Liv told her. “I will settle for no less.”
Sophia nodded. “Got it. I have made a note of the impossible creature I will have to get you to make up for this atrocious task I have assigned you.”
“Good girl,” Liv said, before returning her attention to Rudolf. “Now, I think I have a solution to your problem.”
Relief flooded his eyes. “You do?”
“Yeah, well, you are understandingly going to be worried about the Captains,” Liv continued and held out her hand. “What if I offered you a way to check on them?”
She flicked her finger at her hand, and a small white bear appeared. It had large brown eyes and a blue bow.
“Oh, it’s so cute!” Rudolf exclaimed, a bit too loudly. All three babies began to fidget as though they were seconds away from waking up.
Liv held up a finger to her mouth, silencing him. “Now this is Fluffy, and he will tell you what is happening with your babies.” She pointed to the bear’s smiling face. “Notice how he is smiling now?”
Rudolf nodded like a kindergarten learning the alphabet. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Liv said, drawing out the word. “Well, if something isn’t going right, it will be on Fluffy’s face.”
“And if they wet their pants?” Rudolf asked.
Liv shook her head. “Then, I will change their diapers. The bear will simply tell you about their moods, collectively. Not whether they are hungry or sleepy or whatever.”
He nodded. “Okay, I like this.” He grabbed the bear and held it in close for a moment before turning his attention to Sophia.
“Now,” he pronounced, shaking his head at her. “The only remaining problem is you.”
Chapter Ninety-Five
Sophia glanced down at her body. “What about me?”
She had remembered her sword, Inexorabilis, and the grappling hook Wilder had given her. She had on her armor and cloak. She couldn’t fathom what else she could be forgetting. Maybe a snack?
