Wilder batted his eyelashes at the other rider and hazarded a crooked smile. “Of course, and the pleasure is all mine.” He picked up the bowl of steaming hot baked beans and gave them to Evan.
Sophia, sitting next to her boyfriend, giggled until she caught the annoyed expression on Hiker’s face. She stuffed a muffin in her mouth to cover her reaction.
Hiker rolled his eyes and glanced at Ainsley. “Nothing has changed since you left. I still lead a bunch of immature few hundred-year-old dragonriders with little hope that they’ll ever grow up.”
“Sir, Ainsley was gone like six whole hours,” Evan hid his laugh.
The sigh that fell out of Hiker’s mouth made his beard flutter. “It was longer than that, and you know it.”
“My apologies.” Evan wiped the corners of his mouth. “Eight hours, sir.”
Mama Jamba pursed her lips and glanced at the other men before settling her gaze on Hiker, where her eyes softened. “I think that what Evan and Wilder are trying to say is that they’re very happy for you.”
Hiker used his toast to scoop up the last bit of runny egg yolk. “Why is that? Because they’re no longer going to be a drain on my patience by acting like ten-year-old boys?”
Mother Nature grinned politely and winked at the Viking while cutting into her pancakes.
Sophia knew that he and Ainsley were unwilling to name what this was yet. It was too new, and the tension between them was still high. They’d all awoken to find Ainsley at the breakfast table early, Hiker beside her, much more prompt for the meal than usual. The two were acting casual enough, but it was obvious that something had changed between them and they weren’t disclosing what it was for the others—not that anyone needed a real explanation.
The guys kept exchanging silly glances and hiding laughs. Mama Jamba seemed mildly irritated by the guys’ immaturity, which could hamper Hiker’s behavior. But it was Quiet who was in the rarest form, audibly whistling from his usual place at the table as he spread clotted cream on a scone.
Sophia found that she couldn’t look at Evan or Wilder without cracking up herself, so she simply gave Mahkah—the only mature dragonrider at the table—a commiserating expression.
“If you two children can focus for a minute,” Hiker began, “I have a few items of business to attend to.”
“You need my kilt size for the wedding, sir?” Evan asked and quickly added, “Ouch! For the love of the angels!” He ducked low and grabbed his leg under the table as his eyes darted to Mama Jamba beside him.
The old woman smiled sweetly at him. “Oh, darling, I’m sorry. Did I kick you? I’m so clumsy in my old age. I blame it on my restless leg syndrome.”
“Old age?” Wilder tilted his head and gave Mother Nature a flirty expression. “You can’t be a day over four billion.”
She scrunched up her shoulders and batted her eyes back at him. “Four and a half if you can believe it.”
“I can’t.” Wilder shook his head. “Whatever are you doing to remain so youthful? I want the recipe.”
“Eat what makes you feel good and always get enough sleep,” Mama Jamba advised. “That’s the secret to old age.”
“Oh, and also be the creator of all life,” Evan added slyly before turning his attention to Mama Jamba. “And how come the all-powerful Mother Nature is suddenly suffering from restless leg syndrome? I didn’t think that was a thing for people such as you.”
She pushed her plate away. “I guess something has me restless. Something that could ruin things if he’s not careful and keeps being a real pain in the ass.”
Evan’s gaze fell on the table like he was suddenly stumped. “I have no idea what could be causing you such things, but if you think of it, please let me know. In the meantime, Hiker was saying how he—”
“Wants you to shut your mouth so we can hear upcoming plans,” Sophia cut in.
“That’s not what I think he was trying to say,” Evan seethed and stuck his tongue out at her.
“What I was saying was that we need to start tracking down the demon dragons,” Hiker began. “Mama has supplied us with a map of where to find them.” He indicated the piece of paper sitting next to the scones and jam.
Evan leaned forward. “It looks like something I drew when I was six years old.”
The map did look like something a child would draw with crayons. The sketch showed the oceans and major continents all shaded in greens and blues. What wasn’t anything like a child’s drawing were the X’s and stars that moved from place to place on the piece of paper. One represented the demon dragons and the other the rider they’d magnetized to.
“You currently couldn’t draw something that good,” Wilder spat.
“The quality isn’t what’s important,” Hiker cut in. “The location of the demon dragons is what we have to focus on. I want you lot to go after the ones who have magnetized to riders.”
“Sir,” Evan began after clearing his throat. “If the demon dragons magnetized to riders, then why aren’t they showing up on the Elite globe?”
Sophia thought she knew the answer before Hiker said anything, but it was Mahkah who supplied the information.
“The demon dragons started at the Gullington and took their leave,” he stated. “They know what we’re all about and have made a choice not to be a part of it.”
“That’s right,” Hiker affirmed. “When a rider magnetized to a demon dragon in the past, they showed up on the Elite globe, and I brought them into the Gullington. At the point that they decided not to join us, once they left here, they disappeared from the globe.”
“And no demon dragonrider has ever joined the Elite,” Ainsley supplied with great authority.
It was strange for Sophia to watch the old housekeeper joining in the meeting like she was a part of things, rather than serving the Dragon Elite. It was exactly as it was and how it should be. Having Ainsley there made sense. She was the outsider with an insider perspective. She brought something different because of her intellect and background and who she was as an elf shapeshifter.
“Correct.” Hiker was careful not to look directly at Ainsley. “I don’t have any hopes that will have changed, but it’s my responsibility as the leader of the Dragon Elite to at least make an introduction, which has always been followed by a warning.”
“Which is?” Evan asked.
“Stay out of our way, or we’ll make you rue the day you were born,” Wilder supplied.
Hiker shot him an annoyed glare. “That’s not what I tell them, but it’s the gist, I guess.” He glanced back at Evan. “I warn them that we’re the supreme governing authority and they aren’t to confuse our mission or give us a bad reputation as dragonriders. They don’t have to be with us, but I won’t have them making our jobs harder.”
“For the most part, those riders have gone out alone and disappeared,” Mahkah imparted. “Demon dragonriders are usually loners.”
“That’s because they’re self-serving, which doesn’t work well for team mentality,” Hiker offered.
Sophia remembered Gordon Burgress, a lone dragonrider who she and Lunis had encountered in Colorado. He had been brainwashed by Thad Reinhart to try and destroy the Dragon Elite by using magitech to sever the connection between dragons and their riders. It was a horribly traumatic experience for both Lunis and Sophia.