Without another word left to say, Sophia strode over to Lunis. She realized he was shinier than usual, and his claws looked manicured. It appeared he’d received special treatment as well. Sitting on his back was a brand new saddle that was elegant in design and of the finest quality.
“Are you ready to go save the world?” Lunis asked her.
Sophia glanced back at the fairy godmothers, overwhelmed by their collective beauty and the love they radiated before turning back to her dragon. “Absolutely. Let’s go make this place better so that love has a chance to continue to flourish.”
Chapter One Hundred Five
“Who brought the coffee and donuts?” Lunis asked as he hovered in the air, flapping his wings only enough to keep him and Sophia aloft.
Beside them, Simi and Wilder were in a similar position, high in the air over the cascading Pacific Ocean.
“I brought trail mix.” Wilder held up a bag of pistachios mixed with dried cranberries.
“You do get that you’re the absolute worst.” Lunis groaned. “Well, when Simi isn’t present. She tops you.”
Wilder laughed and popped a handful of nuts into his mouth. “If you’re going to start being all sentimental, it’s going to make it difficult to focus on this stakeout. I need constant vigilance.”
Sophia chuckled. The pair and their dragons were outside the elfin homeland island in Hawaii and near the barrier that kept them out of the Rogue Riders’ stolen territory.
The plan was to wait until one of the demon dragonriders crossed into the barrier or out of it and confront them. In the best-case scenario, they could persuade this dragonrider to switch sides by stating the obvious, that bullying their way around the globe wasn’t the way even for demon dragonriders.
If that didn’t go well, they would move to Plan B, which involved fighting the Rogue Rider for the soul stone. They only needed one stone for the next part of the plan, but getting it was the tricky part.
“Sophia, did you bring any candy?” Lunis asked.
“I have a pocket full of Jolly Ranchers.”
“Because you’re not the ultimate worst.” The blue dragon sighed. “Take note, Vegan. Candy. Not trail mix. It’s almost Halloween.”
“What are you going to dress up as this year?” Wilder asked Lunis.
“I’m going to paint myself white and have no personality,” he answered.
“Oh, you’re going to be a sheep then!” Wilder exclaimed.
Lunis shook his head. “No, I’m going to be Simi. Duh.”
The white dragon hovering beside them pretended not to have heard the joke.
Sophia yawned and momentarily wished that she was back in bed at Happily Ever After College. It was by far the coziest place she’d ever slept, and waking up to desserts was amazing.
They had been cloaked in the clouds for over an hour with no sign of a demon dragonrider. However, Sophia knew that one had to pass through the barrier to the island soon. According to what Mae Ling had told her, one couldn’t portal inside the protected zone. It worked similar to the Barrier at the Gullington. From everything that Sophia had heard, the Rogue Riders were very active outside their headquarters, bullying and stealing from mortals and magical creatures—they showed no prejudices about who they took from.
“I’m bored.” Lunis copied Sophia’s yawn.
“Only boring people get bored,” Wilder teased.
“If I weren’t certain that you’d taste awful from all your vegan fare, I’d eat you,” Lunis threatened.
Sophia pulled the parts of the key that Trin had given her when she returned from Happily Ever After College out of her pocket. Now she had two. She tried different ways of putting them together, but something was missing. She figured that she needed more pieces for them to fit.
“Do you know what’s at stake for a tired dragon?” Lunis asked.
“Falling from the sky and killing his rider?” Wilder offered.
Lunis shook his head. “A flaming yawn.”
Sophia groaned. Wilder chuckled. Simi rolled her eyes.
“When I get my bachelor pad, Simi…” Lunis let the sentence trail away.
“Yes?” the white dragon asked.
“You can’t come over unless you tell me a joke,” he replied.
Wilder leaned over and patted his dragon. “I have a few jokes for you.”
“But they have to be funny and can’t make me want to kill myself.” Lunis cut his eyes at the other dragonrider beside them.
“All right,” Wilder chirped. “Tell me a joke, Lunis.”
“That’s not how it works,” Lunis countered. “I’m not a monkey to perform for you on a whim. I’m a majestic dragon with the knowledge of my entire race locked inside my consciousness. I have always been and always will be. I’m timeless. Wielding the power that the angels and Mother Nature gave me before humans were even a spark of an idea. I refuse to be ordered to tell a joke like I’m your circus clown.”
The light expression on Wilder’s face disappeared. “My sincere apologies. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
“Well, you did,” Lunis snapped. “Let’s focus on this stakeout. I only want to talk about things pertaining to that from here on out.”
Sophia shook her head, knowing exactly where this was leading.
“Okay, that’s fine.” Wilder gave Sophia a confused look—falling for Lunis’ antics.
“Speaking of stakeouts,” Lunis began, his voice serious. “I had a friend who investigated a thief and waited to catch him in the act. There were two suspects. One was a Canadian, and the other an Eskimo. My friend and I are on this stakeout, and he tells me that his gut tells him that the real culprit is the Eskimo. Well, after a long stakeout we discover the Eskimo is the thief. My friend turns to me and says, ‘Inuit.’”
Sophia groaned and shook her head.
An abrupt laugh fell from Wilder’s mouth.
Simi let out a puff of smoke and growled.
“I should have seen that coming,” Wilder replied, still laughing.
“Because Lunis doesn’t have any friends,” Simi stated.
The blue dragon cut his eyes at her. “That almost resembled a joke. Who says you can’t teach an old dragon new tricks? How old are you again?”
“Three hundred and thirty-three,” the white dragon answered.
Lunis whistled through his teeth and shook his head. “You look much older. Maybe try a night cream.”
Sophia and Wilder laughed, but Simi didn’t appear at all amused.
“Do you think the Rogue Riders are cloaked when they leave the barrier?” Sophia asked, feeling like they should have seen someone come or go by now.
Wilder pondered this. “I don’t think so. From what I’ve learned, they aren’t that proficient with magic.”
Sophia’s brow wrinkled. “I’ve been doing cloaks since I was, like, five years old.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not everyone is Sophia Beaufont and gets their magic before losing their first tooth. Most grown magicians still can’t perform a cloaking spell, especially for long lengths of time.”
Sophia considered this. “It does seem that when it comes to magic, the Rogue Riders lack a bit. Like when they relied on technology to keep you caged instead of using a locking spell.”