“That’s a rotten trick.” Evan glared in Quiet’s direction.
Sophia was going to defend the gnome, but before she could, a strange purple glow took over her vision. It was happening more and more, and blanketed her ability to see properly. She blinked and tried to recover.
“It’s happening again,” Wilder said at her shoulder, more of a statement than a question. He’d been watching her and knew what was going on. When the purple glow overcame her, she appeared disoriented.
She shook her head and tried to dispel the effect, which was a result of being cursed by the evil spirit that put a mark on her soul. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not,” Hiker argued. “You need to get Papa Creola to help you.”
“He’s working on it.” She was grateful that the strangeness was receding, making it easy for her to see again. The hallucinations were always different, but not bad when at the Gullington. She could sleep if she had the piece of hair from Mama Jamba. Still, things weren’t ideal after being cursed.
“In the meantime, I don’t want you on a case,” Hiker stated. Before Sophia could argue, he held up his hand. “That’s final. You get cured first. But the rest of you…” He motioned around the table at the men. “Now that the Dragon Elite’s name has been cleared once more, the adjudication missions are coming in fast.”
“Woot!” Wilder exclaimed, either because he was excited to be on a mission again or because Trin had entered, carrying an armful of protein bars.
She dropped them on the table and strode back to the kitchen.
Evan eyed them, not at all impressed. “You outdid yourself,” he called over his shoulder to the housekeeper.
“She’s trying,” Sophia argued as she grabbed a chocolate chip cookie dough protein bar and tore it open. She took a bite and chewed mechanically, hardly tasting it.
“Where are we with finding the demon dragons?” Hiker looked straight at Mama Jamba who was delightedly digging into the only hot food on the table.
“I started an hour ago.” She licked off the maple syrup covering her lips.
“I can’t believe you lied to me and said you were working on that tracking spell when you were creating that time ball,” he seethed.
She calmly looked up. “Can’t you, though?”
“You’re not supposed to lie to us,” he argued, sounding almost hurt. Maybe this was because Mother Nature had deceived him. Or maybe it was because what she had been working on was for Ainsley, to help her see how her life would have been different if she made different decisions.
“A mother’s job is to make decisions that benefit their children,” Mama Jamba stated. “You don’t have to understand them, now or later. But if lying is what I have to do, well, so be it.”
He shook his head, grabbed a protein bar, and looked it over like it was a piece of trash.
Everyone reluctantly took bites of their protein bars. No one appeared happy about the breakfast option.
It was Evan who threw his down, unsatisfied. “I’ll go ahead and say it. I miss Ainsley.”
Wilder nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
Mahkah released a small commiserating sigh. “Every day.”
It was Quiet’s expression that made Sophia speechless though. She could have sworn that a tear slipped from his eye before he turned his head away and nodded.
Chapter Three
The sunlight glistened across the glossy green grass of the Expanse, making it seem unreal. Sophia pulled in a breath of fresh air and enjoyed the coolness in her lungs. The herd of sheep baaed as they grazed. Quiet could be seen in their midst, but he seemed perplexed by something.
Sophia was about to investigate further. She didn’t have a mission demanding her attention since she was cursed and Papa Creola hadn’t yet alerted her to a cure. However, Lunis poked his head out of the Nest at that moment and immediately swooped down in her direction.
She smiled up at her dragon, feeling especially sentimental that morning with Ainsley gone and the realization that she wasn’t coming back finally settling in. It had been a week since she departed and things felt like they’d never be normal again, but then, maybe that was because Sophia didn’t feel normal.
However, to her surprise, Lunis didn’t smile back as usual when greeting her in the morning. He had the same worried expression as Wilder plastered across his face.
“You’ve had another episode,” he stated rather than asked.
Sophia sighed. “It was quick. Over before it started.”
“That’s impossible,” he said smugly. “Something can’t be over before it starts.”
“Sure it can,” she argued. “Time is a strange and beautiful thing. Just ask Papa Creola. It doesn’t have to make sense.”
“That’s not the point. Don’t try to derail the conversation.” The blue dragon shook out his wings before folding them tight to his large body.
“Am I in trouble for having hallucinations caused by an evil spirit who I was forced to face to save Baba Yaga’s grimoire from their greedy and dangerous hands?”
“No.” He lowered his head, seeming suddenly guilty. “It’s just that I’m concerned about you. You’re not the same since then. There’s something in your eyes.”
Sophia’s lips tightened and a sudden raw ache rose in her throat. “I’m not evil now.”
“I know that, Sophia. It’s just that a mark on your soul is evident in your eyes and it pains me to see you this way. We have to find a way to fix you.”
She nodded. “Yes, I worry about leaving the Gullington where the hallucinations would be worse, but that will be the only way to find the cure.”
“I think I can offer you some help in the meantime,” Lunis began slowly. “If I divert my energy to you when you’re away, maybe that will keep the hallucinations from happening.”
“Won’t that be costly for you?” she asked, concerned about the sacrifice her dragon would have to make.
He shook his head. “It’s only a forced nap. A deep meditation of sorts. Not the worst thing in the world. And if I do it in Falconer Cave, then I’ll probably have good results.”
Sophia considered this for a moment. “Okay, thank you. I guess that will work so that I can run a few errands. I need to check on the healing elixir, which I wish could work on me.”
“Souls can’t be healed.” He slipped into his “wise” voice. “The mark must be removed, is my guess.”
“And only Papa Creola will know how to do that.”
He nodded. “So pay him a visit. Prod him until he gives you some information. I don’t like seeing you like this.
Sophia leaned against her dragon and hugged him. “I know. I don’t like being like this.”
She could sometimes forget about the mark on her soul when in the heat of battle or asleep at night, but she knew Lunis was right. When she looked in the mirror, she wasn’t herself.
Sophia squeezed Lunis tightly, enjoying his warmth. Then a sudden blast exploded in the distance and made the blue dragon protectively swing his wing around her—holding her close.