Sophia threw her hands into the air in the act of surrender but also prepared to unleash an attack or a defensive measure if necessary. “Hey, we didn’t come here to fight you. No weapons.”
With his hand still partially in the bag, Tanner paused, narrowed his eyes, and frowned. “Then what do you want? I haven’t got all day.”
“Yeah, Soph.” Wilder winked at her. “It’s almost the baby’s naptime.”
She shook her head at him. He couldn’t resist antagonizing the other dragonrider, but she couldn’t blame him. “No, we’re not here to join the Rogue Riders. We’re here to give you an opportunity. One that if you turn it down, you’ll seriously regret it. One connected to your very survival.”
Chapter One Hundred Seven
Tanner pulled his hand from the satchel with something small in it, but Sophia didn’t react since it didn’t appear to be a weapon. “Go on then, little girl.”
Wilder laughed again. “Remember when this little girl put you on the ground and made you eat dirt? You know that’s how you can get worms? Have you been tested?”
“Shut your mouth!” Tanner yelled. “I don’t have worms!”
Wilder shrugged. “You don’t know unless you’ve been tested, but that’s fine. It will help you keep your weight down, which we all know you struggle with, being so short and all.”
Tanner’s other hand went for whatever was in his other palm, but Sophia quickly encouraged Lunis forward and brought him nearly nose-to-nose with the black dragon. “Stop! Both of you! I have something to say, and it’s important.”
“Say it then!” Tanner yelled, his face red and spittle flying from his mouth—Wilder had gotten under his skin.
“We’re going to give you an opportunity to join the Dragon Elite—”
Tanner’s sudden laughter cut her off.
She sighed. “We’re serious. You can make a choice. You don’t have to be with the Rogue Riders.”
“I’m a demon dragonrider,” Tanner stated through clenched teeth.
“That doesn’t matter,” Sophia lied. There had never been a single demon dragonrider aligned with the Dragon Elite. However, she was hopeful that she could sell this long enough to get hold of a soul stone. “You can still pledge allegiance to the Dragon Elite. We don’t steal or bully to get what we want. We’re revered and celebrated around the world. People welcome us into their countries and lavish us with gifts, praise, and riches. Wouldn’t you rather have that kind of notoriety rather than be feared?”
Tanner considered this for a moment as his gaze slid to the right. Finally, he brought his eyes up and looked straight at Sophia. His dragon’s breath was hot on Lunis, but the blue dragon was on alert for sudden movements. He had a plan for dealing with Coal. The proximity worked for the bigger dragon.
“That’s all about to change,” Tanner said hotly. “The Dragon Elite were in power, but that’s not going to last. So no, I don’t want to join a bunch of old boring dragonriders when I can be a leader of the new, better group.”
“Well, we tried, Soph.” Wilder sighed. “Tanner, this is going to hurt you a lot more than it’s going to hurt me.”
The Rogue Rider’s eyes widened, and again he reached for what was in his other hand.
“Stop!” Sophia yelled and waved her hands in the air. “We don’t have to fight!”
“But it’s way more fun,” Wilder groaned.
She kept her eyes on Tanner. “Look, fine, stay with the Rogue Riders, but why not do something for us so that way if anything happens with them, we’re loyal to you? Having us in your debt could come in very handy if the tables turn.”
Tanner lowered his chin and considered her. “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Give us your soul stone,” she said in a rush.
Sophia didn’t have to question if he understood her because he burst into laughter and almost doubled over on his dragon. “You can’t be serious. Why would I do that? How would I get back into our territory? You’re insane, little girl.”
Sophia worked to keep her calm. “I’m not. You can tell your leader that you lost it and he’ll give you another one.”
Tanner shook his head. “That’s not how it works. We lose it, and we’re out! That was made clear from the beginning.” He tilted his face to the side, something suddenly occurring to him. “Why do you want my soul stone anyway?”
“It’s for our rock collection,” Wilder answered before Sophia could say anything.
“Well, you’re not getting it,” Tanner fired. “And you’re not getting into our headquarters. You might have been able to push us off that other island, but we’re already making plans for new territories.” He indicated the small island to the east where the Rogue Riders had tried to push the natives off their land and held Wilder prisoner.
“Soph…” Wilder’s tone shifted.
He didn’t have to say another word. Sophia knew what he meant. They’d tried it her way. Now it was onto Plan B, and he got to do what he’d been longing to—give Tanner the beating he deserved.
Chapter One Hundred Eight
At this range, this wasn’t the time to let Tanner make the first move. Using the element of surprise and before the less-experienced dragon could react, Lunis’ front leg came up and around. His claws slammed into Coal’s face and sent the black dragon to the side.
Tanner nearly fell out of his saddle when Coal spiraled through the air after being knocked back by the larger blue dragon.
Simi took advantage of the situation to breathe fire at the black dragon and scorched his exposed side.
A terrified scream rocketed from Tanner’s mouth as he held on for dear life while Simi and Lunis assaulted his dragon from multiple sides.
Lunis was about to go in for another hit, but Coal righted himself, partially recovered, and whipped around with his spiked tail jerking in the air.
Sophia had to steer Lunis down and to the side to avoid him getting hit in the face. Tanner took advantage of this and sank low, heading in the opposite direction toward an uncharted island.
Sophia and Wilder had been smart to station themselves between the barrier-lined headquarters and Tanner—knowing that if he tried to escape, he’d choose that route to get away from them.
The black dragon was badly injured. That was obvious from the way his wings moved through the air in a jerky motion. He wasn’t moving fast, and the whole thing shook Tanner. He whipped around to look over his shoulder with fear heavy in his gaze as he watched the two other dragonriders’ progress after him.
If he were a Dragon Elite member, then he’d know how to open a portal while flying and get away from them since he wasn’t going to win against them. However, Sophia didn’t think that was an option for him since he appeared to be making a beeline for the deserted island, probably because Coal couldn’t fly much longer.
Wilder, beside Sophia, gave her a quick look as they flew smoothly after the injured dragon. His expression seemed to say, “This is going to be a piece of vegan cake.”