Geoffrey felt indignant on his mate’s behalf. “Forgive me, sir, but Matthieu would make an excellent counsel.”
At that, Grimbold’s smile widened slightly. “Perhaps,” he said, “in time. It’s something I’m sure the boy will now have in excess.”
“As will I,” Geoffrey said. He tried not to sound glum. He understood why his father had to replace him and was grateful that he wasn’t being disowned in the bargain.
“Indeed,” his father said. “And there are five—excuse me, six—reasons why all that excess time is a gift.” The smile, such as it was, fled Grimbold’s face. “Whelps grow up before you know it. Take this time I’m giving you as the gift it’s intended to be.”
* * *
Geoffrey stepped out the door to find Ian and Matthieu seated on a bench at the end of the hallway, waiting for him. They looked up anxiously as he approached them.
“It’s fine,” he hastened to reassure them. “I mean, Father is having me step down as head counsel after I get Sargon properly trained, but he’s not disowning me. I’m still an Amethyst and a Drake.”
Ian smiled, but it wobbled a bit. “That’s fantastic, my love. Truly.” He seemed far more upset than Geoffrey’s news warranted. Anxiety poured out from his mate bond.
“What happened? Are the eggs safe?” Geoffrey frantically searched and felt for the faint, but still detectable, egg bonds. They were indeed intact. “Matthieu. Are you well?”
“Of course,monsieur dragon anxieux. It is Ian. Or rather, his clan. They have been calculating their resources. It looks like one of his brothers might be the winner.”
“The winner?” Geoffrey asked.
“Clan leader,” Matthieu said, waving a hand as if dismissing the entire Topaz clan.
Geoffrey looked back at Ian. “And?”
Ian looked stricken. “It’s Marduke. He’s the one who tried to kill your brother’s whelps and destroy the other’s eggs. With him in charge, none of us will be safe. He has my father’s cruelty and none of his cunning. This has all been for nothing. There will be war now no matter what.”
“What are his resources?” Geoffrey barked.
Ian looked up at him, startled. “What?”
“How much is that miserable brother of yours worth? This is important, Ian. And how long until your clan declares a new head? Is it today or tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow. Geoffrey, love, what are you thinking?”
“How much are you worth?” he demanded.
Matthieu looked wistful. “Far more than seems reasonable, but I’m afraid it’s still much less than this vaunted brother of his.”
“It doesn’t matter! One billion or one penny, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have enough.” Ian pounded his fists on his thighs. “I don’t know how to keep you safe! I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
Matthieu threw his arms around Ian and gave Geoffrey a glare that plainly said,fix this.
“I need to know how much,” Geoffrey repeated. “It’s important.”
Matthieu fished Ian’s phone out of his pocket and held it out to Geoffrey, who took it. What looked like a scoreboard was on the screen. There were all of the Topaz clan, ranked from most income to least. Ian wasn’t at the bottom, but he was also far from the top.
“Thank you,mon coeur,” he said to Matthieu. He handed back the phone to Ian, then squatted down so he was eye level with the other dragon. “I will fix this,” he said. “Please let me.”
Ian looked at him, then nodded mutely.
Geoffrey stood and took out his own phone to make a call.
“What?” snapped a brash and unfamiliar voice on the other line.
Geoffrey frowned, not that the rude person answering him could see it. “I need to speak with Reynard Drake. This is Geoffrey Drake. His brother.” He emphasized the last word to the unidentified person using his brother’s phone. “This is his phone, is it not?”
“Yeah, it’s his phone. Look… he’s kinda tied up right now. Can it wait?”
