“Nothing,” the emperor said angrily. “Shetrieda great deal, offered us wealth and power, lands, everything at your clan’s disposal. But I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted Chelsie back, but she wouldn’t even look at me. When I demanded to know why, the truth came out. She never loved me. She’d only seduced me for power, just as I’d accused her of conspiring to that first night in the garden. And it had almost worked. Before she ran, I’d been ready to name her my empress over my mother’s objections, giving the Heartstrikers control over all of China.”
That sounded more like Bethesda than Chelsie. It also made zero sense. “If she was seducing you for power, why would she run away just when you were about to give it to her?”
“Because she’d been found out,” the Qilin said. “I was too besotted to see what she was doing, but my mother knew what Chelsie was up to. But while she was willing to turn a blind eye when it was just an affair, she’d never tolerate a Heartstriker as empress. None of my dragons would, and with the entire court aligning against her, it was just a matter of time before it all blew up. Chelsie knew that, so she did what any proper snake would do and bolted before she got trapped.”
Again, that didn’t sound like Chelsie. “Are you sure that’s why she ran?”
“Why else would she do it?” he demanded. “I was her fool! Her pawn, just like everyone said. Even after she confessed everything to me, I was still ready to forgive her, but she threw my mercy in my face. She knew the game was up, but she also knew I didn’t have the heart to execute her. She and Bethesda embraced their banishment and sailed home laughing, while we were the ones who suffered.”
Julius dropped his eyes. The emperor’s story was actually worse than he’d anticipated,ifit was true. The Qilin clearly believed what he was saying, but nothing about his description fit the Chelsie that Julius knew. She’d admitted she wasn’t proud of what she’d done in China, and six hundred years was a very long time, but no matter how much she might have changed, he simply couldn’t imagine his sister betraying someone like that. Especially not someone she cared about as much as she still clearly did for the dragon who’d painted her picture. She definitely wouldn’t laugh about it withBethesda. Whatever had really happened, though, it was obvious the emperor felt he’d been betrayed, which begged the question…
“If you think she was using you, why are you here now?”
The Qilin heaved a long, defeated sigh. “Because I’m still her fool.”
He turned away, putting his back to Julius again as he stared up at the painting. “The Heartstrikers were well named. Once their claws are in, you can never really dig them out. I should know. I’ve tried for six hundred years. I thought I was far enough away to manage it, that the years had finally buried what I never should have touched, but all it took was one glimpse, and I was seeking you out to ask after her. I even painted this ridiculous thing.” He shook his head at the lovely portrait. “I’m eternally an idiot, it seems. But as much as I hate your sister for what she did, nothing has changed. I couldn’t kill her then, and I can’t leave her to die now.”
Julius let out a relieved breath. “So youdidcome here to save her.”
“Don’t romanticize it,” he growled. “Coming to your lands was even more selfish than falling for Chelsie’s ruse in the first place. What sort of emperor uproots his subjects and marches them into enemy territory for the sake of a dragon that publicly betrayed him? I never should have come, but I couldn’t see any other way. Heartstriker is doomed. Algonquin’s on the warpath, and your clan’s right on her doorstep. Even if the lake spirit let you live, another clan would come to finish the job. You’re too wounded and too rich a prize to ignore. Sooner or later, someone was bound to reach out and take you, and as Bethesda’s enforcer, Chelsie’s head would be the first to roll. I couldn’t let that happen, but I also couldn’t betray my subjects by involving them in a clan war half a world away. I was caught, stuck between two impossibilities. The whole thing seemed hopeless until I realized there was a way for me to have both.”
Julius nodded. “Your luck.”
“Exactly,” he said, turning back around. “My good fortune falls on all my subjects, no matter where in the world they are. If I conquered Heartstriker, then my luck would protect you just as it does all my other clans, and since you were already on the verge of collapse, coming here posed no risk to my dragons. Now do you understand why I couldn’t take an alliance? You were right about it being the smarter move, but I don’t care about fighting Algonquin or expanding my territory. All I want is to keep Chelsie from dying, and bringing Heartstriker into my luck is the only way I can do that without endangering those who depend on me.That’swhy I invaded your mountain, and it’s why I can’t leave it as anything other than your emperor. Now do you understand?”
He did. Julius understood the emperor’s position perfectly now, and it made him want to bang his head against the wall. “I get what you’re trying to do,” he said when the urge had passed. “And I deeply admire the care you’ve taken not to hurt anyone in this, butsurelyit would be simpler to just, I don’t know,talkto Chelsie instead of conquering her entire clan?”
The emperor arched a perfect eyebrow. “Do you not want my protection?”
“I do,” Julius said quickly. “I’m not blind. I know how much trouble Heartstriker’s in, but there has to be a better way to keep her safe than strong-arming all of us into your empire. I mean, that’s ridiculous.”
“It’s necessary,” the Qilin said firmly. “You’ve seen my luck in action. Once you’re part of my empire, even Algonquin won’t be able to touch you. The terms of surrender I’ve offered could not be more generous. Other than good fortune and protection, you won’t even know you’re in my empire. What more do you want?”
“Our freedom,” Julius said stubbornly. “We might be down, but we’re still dragons. We’re not going to roll over and give up our sovereignty just because it solves a problem for you. Especially if it locks us under your dubious good fortune.”
He jerked back. “There’s nothingdubiousabout—”
“Everything about it is dubious!” Julius cried. “You talk about your luck like it’s a sure thing, but from what you just told me about your behavior after Chelsie’s disappearance and the way I’veseen your court treat you, your ‘unbeatable’ good fortune isn’t unbeatable at all. It depends on you not getting upset, on yourserenity, and that’s not good enough. I don’t care how amazing your luck is, it’s irresponsible for me to stake my clan’s future on a power that’s governed by something as capricious as an emperor’s moods.”
He must have hit the nail on the head with that one, because the Qilin dropped his eyes. “You’re not seeing me at my best,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “This whole mountain smells of Chelsie, and it puts me on edge. I’m normally much calmer.”
“But your luckdoesdepend on your feelings.”
The Qilin said nothing, which was answer enough. “Well,” Julius said with a sigh. “At least now I know why Lao was so insistent about not upsetting you.”
“My cousin is overprotective,” the emperor said dismissively. “But remaining calm is part of the responsibility of being Qilin. I’ve maintained my serenity and showered good fortune and prosperity on my clans for centuries. It will be no different once Heartstriker joins.”
“Are you sure?” Julius asked. “We’re the biggest clan in the world. Adding us will more than double the number of dragons you’re protecting, not to mention we’re on the other side of the planet. Can your luck even manage that?”
“Of course it can,” he said proudly. “Thanks to my mother’s sacrifice, I’m the strongest Qilin ever born. Even half a world away, my magic will protect all of you.”
That sounded more inescapable than protective, but it was the first part of his statement that really caught Julius’s attention. “Wait, your mother? I thought you got your power from your father.”
“The luck magic passes from father to firstborn son,” the emperor said. “I am the Qilin, as my father was before me, and his father was before him. But while the golden luck passes through the male line, it’s always the dragoness who determines how strong her children will be.”
“How?” Julius asked.
“By controlling their fire.” The Qilin gave him a pitying look. “Not all clans follow the Heartstriker’s shortsighted strategy of quantity over quality. By the time she’d defeated her rivals and won the right to become the Qilin’s mate, my mother had already been hoarding her magic for a century in preparation. They were planning their mating flight when the drought struck, and all ambient magic vanished from the world.”
