by Sarah Noffke
Rudolf spun her out, holding Sophia’s hand and making her feel like she was the belle of a ball even though she was wearing a cloak and a sword and a disguise, in a museum where her kind wasn’t allowed.
Sometimes, that’s how fairytales were told in her world.
Chapter One Hundred Two
Sophia found it hard to believe she’d rather dance all night with the king of the fae in a museum than do what a mission had dictated. It wasn’t like her and went against her practical nature. But, she’d never danced with a king at a ball, so maybe she was more of a romantic than she thought.
Sophia knew she couldn’t allow anything to totally override her practical side. She did as she was charged and let Rudolf’s hand go, making for the main exhibit. He had once again proven to be more than she expected. He was her friend and trustworthy, and his advice was right and true. A princess always gets to have a choice. Fate wasn’t dictating her path. Even if she dropped something, it didn’t mean a prince would return it.
Sophia halted in the main room where they’d found Quiet’s father’s captain’s hat. It appeared almost the same as before, except there were now three hats sitting on three pedestals in the middle of the room. They appeared identical.
“Okay, now let’s ensure everything is all right,” Rudolf said.
Sophia thought he would go to check on the hats, but instead, he pulled Fluffy from his jacket and looked the stuffed bear over. She shook her head at the fae and went over to the pedestals.
She craned her head down, looking underneath the hats for the embroidered initials. The first hat had nothing on it. The second one was the same. It wasn’t until her eyes connected with the third that she spied the letters. Her heart rejoiced. She was about to grab for it when the hats did something unexpected.
They began to spin like cups in a magical act.
Chapter One Hundred Three
Rudolf clapped a hand on her shoulder and tightened his grip as Sophia’s eyes widened.
“Pay attention to that which you prize most,” he instructed.
How had the fae been so wise, Sophia wondered as the hats rotated slowly at first then began gaining speed. She kept her eyes trained on the one she knew had the identifying mark, not wanting to lose track of it. The hats picked up speed, moving faster, switching places, rotating, and blurring in the air. Still, Sophia never took her eyes off the one she thought was the right hat.
They slowly stopped moving and came to rest on top of the pedestals where they’d been before. This time the bottoms were obstructed by the lip of the stands.
Rudolf tapped her on the back once more. It was time to choose, and they both knew it.
Sophia knew when she picked the right hat, it would change everything in many ways. Alarms could sound, fae could charge her, but more than anything, she didn’t want to disappoint her own. Not now.
Sophia took another step forward, and Rudolf caught her hand. She turned back to find him shaking his head, holding up the stuffed bear.
“It’s all comes down to Fluffy,” the king of the fae said.
Sophia scowled at him. “That’s what it comes down to? The freaking stuffed bear?”
He giggled. “Remember the sensors? You need to replace the correct hat with the bear to displace the weight sensor, or it will trigger the alarm.”
Sophia couldn’t believe it. King Rudolf Sweetwater was a genius. She nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right,” she said and took the little white bear, which should weigh as much as the captain’s hat. She held it in her shaking hand.
Chapter One Hundred Four
The exchange had to be perfect.
Sophia had to pick up the hat at the exact same time she replaced it with the stuffed bear. If she didn’t, the alarms would sound, and who knew what would happen?
Sophia didn’t want to find out. She suspected a bunch of fae could be just as menacing as a bunch of gnomes or giants or magicians if they wanted to be, even with their dim wits and pretty faces.
She held Fluffy in one hand, hovering it next to the pedestal. Her other hand shook next to the fabric of the hat. She flexed her fingers, ready to grab it but felt uncertain. What if the tradeoff wasn’t perfect, and she didn’t do it with precise timing?
Sophia quit worrying and made an impromptu decision. She shoved the stuffed bear over, trading places with the hat, as she scooted it out of the way.
Nothing happened.
The bear sat on the pedestal where the hat had been. Beside it sat the two illusions, looking as real as Quiet’s father’s hat in her hand.
Sophia turned it upside down and saw the initials. It was the real one, and the alarms hadn’t sounded.
They had done it! Sophia was ready to rejoice when something familiar sounded in her head.
Hey Sophia, Lunis said, undeniable tension in his voice.
Yes, she answered, suddenly breathless.
The Gullington is under siege once more, her dragon informed her, his voice full of dread.
Chapter One Hundred Five
The Barrier was down.
It was the only explanation for why Sophia could portal straight into the Gullington from Paris.
Her heart sank at the sight around her. In the distance, there was fighting by the Nest. She spied dragons whirling, shooting fire at cyborg pirates running across the Expanse. There was way more than before—hundreds of them.
In front of the Nest, Hiker stood, flanked by his riders. They were defending the dragon eggs, but they appeared to be losing the battle, the pirates getting closer. On the ground below the cave, Sophia spied Liv slashing at the trespassers, Rory and Bermuda at her back
The area around the Cave was on fire, burning with a strange green and blue smoke.
But the worst was the Castle.
It was on fire and burning fast.
Chapter One Hundred Six
How did they get in? Sophia asked Lunis in her head.
They set off a bomb on the back side of the Cave next to the Barrier, he explained, relief in his voice at knowing she was there.
Sophia spied the flood of pirates storming over the hills, a constant flow of steampunk cyborgs, screaming as they ran, their weapons overhead, and menace in every movement as they made their way to the Nest.
Of course, the pirates would have been able to see the Gullington. The giants were unable to shield it. All their efforts had focused on keeping up the Barrier, and that appeared to have failed.
The bomb, Sophia said, clenching the hat in her hands.
It was strange magitech, Lunis explained. It cut a hole in the Barrier, and the giants can’t get it back up.
Sophia couldn’t understand how Rory and Bermuda could do anything but fight. The giants were being overrun by pirates storming in their direction. They were doing their best, throwing their large fists in the air and knocking back the smaller magicians. Beside them, Liv was blocking attacks using magic.
They were outnumbered. This fight wouldn’t last long.
She could tell that high on the hill, next to the Nest, the dragonriders were struggling to keep up with the pirates raging in their direction.
And the Castle. The fire on the roof rose higher, licking its way up to the stars.
“The Captains!” Rudolf screamed and sprinted for the Castle.
Clark would be taking care of them. He would get them through a portal to the safety of the House of Fourteen Sophia knew. Still, Rudolf needed to be with his triplets, and Sophia let him run off.
She pulled Inexorabilis, fury building in her as she had never felt before. She was about to take off, intent on killing as many of the thieves as possible when the voice of her dragon made her pause before her feet had started moving.
You can’t help us, Lunis told her.
What? she questioned, confused.
Sophia, we will lose this battle, Lunis said. We can only hold them off for a little longer. Rory and Bermuda can’t get the Barrier back up. The only way to win thi
s is to fix the Gullington. Go find Mother Nature. Beg for her help once more.
Chapter One Hundred Seven
Hiker had been in many a battle. Many.
But nothing like this. The attack had come so swiftly. They had been ready to defend and for the Barrier to come down. They had been ready to fight, but not anything like what they were facing.
He swung his sword, knocking down two cyborgs at once, sending them back down the hill. Beside him, Mahkah was using stunning spells to keep a slew of invaders from getting any closer.
Evan had his hands held out and was using a shielding spell to defend the top of the cave where the Nest was located. The pirates were coming from every direction now.
In the area in front of the Nest, Wilder threw axes that returned like boomerangs after they hacked into an enemy. They were all doing their very best, and it wasn’t enough.
The magitech being launched at them was taking its toll. Hiker didn’t know how much longer they had. Even with the dragons flying overhead, blasting fire at the thieves, they weren’t making a dent in the numbers.
There was also the blimp that had dropped a bomb on the Castle, making it explode with fire. The blimp was now taking all the dragon’s attention. There was a shield on the blimp that deflected all their attempts.
Another of those strategically placed bombs and the Gullington would be wiped out.
How had it all come down to this for Hiker Wallace? How could he lose his home after all these centuries like this?
He let out a scream as he pulled his sword again, slicing through men with wires covering their chests and strange eye patches.
Wilder spun around after catching one of his axes. “Hiker! Use it!”
“I am!” Hiker yelled, knowing what the young dragonrider was referring to. Wilder didn’t think Hiker was embracing the power he inherited from his twin brother, Thad Reinhart. He thought he was holding back, and maybe he was, but he didn’t know how to harness the power.
Something very deep in his spirit prevented him from fully trying.
Hiker had never felt a power like what lived in his blood and bones now. It was a power that, if he wasn’t careful, would overwhelm him. It was the kind of power that could burn him up. It was Thad’s power, and it corrupted, and Hiker would never allow that to happen.
As the Gullington was overwhelmed, he started to think he wouldn’t have a choice anymore.
Chapter One Hundred Eight
Liv swung Bellator, never having faced so many enemies at once. They weren’t normal magicians, sending normal combat spells at her and the giants.
These cyborgs threw lasers from their eyes and small missiles from guns on their arms. They came at them with attacks resistant to magic. They came with their mouths wide open and screams echoing from their lungs. There was angst in these men. And they were all men, which was weird since Hiker had said the leader was a woman by the name of Trin Currante.
So far, there had been no sign of her, but it would have been easy to miss her in the sea of attackers.
Liv was using every combat spell she could think of to keep a perimeter around the giants at her back. Rory wasn’t a fighter. Bermuda, though, she was fierce in battle, throwing her arms wide and taking out multiple attackers at once.
Still, the shield wouldn’t last long, to keep the cyborg's attacks at bay, and neither would Liv. That was a truth she didn’t want to admit to herself. She’d come to the Gullington to help the Dragon Elite, and now it looked like she might go down with them.
Chapter One Hundred Nine
Sophia’s feet blurred as she sprinted for the Castle. It was burning fast. The flames rose up into the night sky, sending strange green and blue smoke all around, the wind making the fire burn hotter.
The entire top story was engulfed.
Sophia pulled her cloak off her shoulders and wrapped it around her head when she entered the Castle.
She nearly ran into Ainsley pacing in the entryway.
“Ainsley!” she yelled. “You have to get out of here! Go to the southern border. There are no pirates there!”
The housekeeper shook her head. “Oh, no, S. Beaufont. I can’t leave the Castle.”
“Of course, you can,” Sophia argued, the smoke burning her eyes.
“No, I must stay.” Ainsley shook her head again. “I don’t know why but if the Castle goes down, I have to go with it. It’s a part of me, and I can’t abandon it.”
It was no good wasting time arguing with the shapeshifter, and in a way, Sophia knew she was right. She couldn’t leave the Castle. It would be like abandoning a friend when they needed help or running when a loved one was dying.
“Fine, where’s Mama Jamba?” Sophia asked, having to yell to be heard over the crackling of the flames.
“I don’t know, S.,” Ainsley said, her eyes brimming with tears. “I think she left.”
Sophia shook her head. “No, she wouldn’t have done that.”
Ainsley nodded. “I watched her go. She walked straight through that door and said, ‘If they survive, it’s because they saved themselves. Only those worthy of protecting my Earth can do that. Otherwise, they were never right for the job.’”
Sophia spun around, searching the area in front of the Castle. She hadn’t seen Mama Jamba out there, but there had been so many sights vying for her attention.
Ainsley’s gaze darted to the hat in Sophia’s hands. “What is that?”
It seemed silly now. She had a hat that was supposed to help save Quiet. What was the point if they were all going down? It was the only thing she had left, and the only hope remaining.
Maybe she couldn’t get Ainsley to leave the Castle, and maybe the Dragon Elite couldn’t win this battle. But she could save the groundskeeper, convince him to take the antidote, and get him to safety.
Sophia didn’t hesitate another moment as she sped for the stairs, taking them two at a time, in the direction of the servant’s wing.
Chapter One Hundred Ten
They couldn’t hold them off much longer. Hiker could see that in the way his dragonriders were fighting. They were giving this battle everything they had, and it wasn’t enough.
A blast from a cyborg hit Mahkah in the chest and sent him rolling down the hill. Wilder ran after him, slashing through enemies to help his fallen friend.
Evan sprinted after the pirates trying to come down the back side of the Nest, sending spell after spell at them. Hiker whipped his sword as fast as he could, and it didn’t matter. There was always another enemy. They were like ants sent to attack, not caring they would be chopped down.
They were sacrificing themselves for this Trin Currante, but Hiker knew she had access to a kill switch in their heads. What choice did they have? Either they threw themselves at the Dragon Elite, or they died a different death. He wasn’t sure what he’d do in their situation.
He figured if he had nothing left to lose, he’d do the right thing.
Something flipped in Hiker. He pulled in the power he’d been resisting. He let it flow into him and build in his veins. It made his eyes burn hot, and his blood boil. It made him feel he might explode embracing this power.
Just as he was about to unleash what he’d been resisting, a blast threw him forward. He had flown for most of his life on his dragon, Bell, but never ever like this.
At first, he thought the explosion had been him, and he’d been right not to use the power. As he was thrown to the ground a hundred yards from the Nest, he saw the area where he’d been moments prior in front of the cave opening had been bombed.
Green and blue smoke rose up from in front of the Nest. The bomb had cleared the area, sending all the dragon riders down the hill along with the pirates.
Hiker glanced up at the blimp overhead, knowing it had sent the attack, and now the Nest was unguarded. All the riders were too far away as a single woman slid over the front of the cave and slipped inside.
“NOOOO!” Hiker yelled, staggering to his feet and realizi
ng his legs weren’t operating after being at the epicenter of the explosion. If he hadn’t been pooling power from within, he was certain he would have died. This was worse as he tried to crawl across the ground toward the Nest, where Trin Currante had just disappeared.
Chapter One Hundred Eleven
The explosion rocked the Gullington and sent everyone to their knees. Liv immediately tried to stand but found herself completely disoriented. There was something in the blue and green smoke.
She looked up and saw the dragons sending all their attacks at the blimp that had dropped the bomb. Still, their fire had no effect on the flying magitech device.
The blimp disappeared, portaling away.
A scream ripped through the air. Liv whipped her head in that direction, but it was hard to make out anything through the smoke and fire.
The Nest. The front of it had been bombed. Hiker Wallace had been blasted from his position at the front, defending the opening where the dragon eggs were.
Liv shook her head, trying to will her eyes to adjust.
Everyone, including the pirates, had all been laid out flat from the last explosion. She looked over her shoulder to see more cyborgs storming in their direction. She reached for Bellator that had flown from her hands. Her fingers shook. She was weak. The smoke was making her disoriented.
The pirates would be on them soon. They would defeat them.
It would all be over.
Chapter One Hundred Twelve
Sophia slid through the narrow opening that led to Quiet’s room, covering her mouth from the smoke slipping down from the upper story. She’d have to carry him back down. She could do that. First, she had to get to him.
