“Would it kill you to say something?” Julius gasped, clutching his pounding chest as he sank back down into the chair. “What are you even doing here? You’re supposed to be free.”
Instead of answering, Chelsie turned to grab a folding chair out of the pile of junk in the corner, shaking it open and setting it down in front of him. “I couldn’t leave yet,” she said as she sat down. “When I jumped off that balcony, I left something behind.”
Julius frowned. “You mean your sword?” If that was her problem, it was an easy fix. Chelsie’s Fang was still lying right where she’d dropped it, on the balcony upstairs. But his sister was shaking her head.
“I’m never touching that thing again. Even if I wanted to, I don’t think it would let me. All the Fangs of the Heartstriker serve a purpose. For mine, the Defender’s Blade, that’s the defense of the clan. With the exception of you and the Fs, though, I can’t think of a single Heartstriker I’d lift a finger to save if they were dying in front of me, so I don’t think the Defender’s Fang will be welcoming me back anytime soon.”
“Glad to know I’m in the ‘wouldn’t let die’ category,” Julius said with a nervous smile. “But if you’re not talking about your Fang, then what—”
“My egg,” Chelsie growled, her green eyes flashing dangerously in the dark. “It was in my room this morning, and now it’s gone. Normally, I’d blame Bethesda, but this was one secret I did manage to keep from Mother. You, Fredrick, and Bob were the only ones who knew.”
“I didn’t take it,” Julius said frantically. “I’d never—”
“I know,” she said. “Fredrick wouldn’t either. Even if he would touch it without my permission, he hasn’t had a chance. He’s been out flying with his brothers and sisters from the moment you broke Bethesda’s seal and set them free.”
Even with all the tragedies, that was enough to make Julius smile. Good for Fredrick. He and the other Fs deserved some joy after everything they’d been through. But if Fredrick hadn’t touched Chelsie’s egg, and Julius hadn’t either, that left only one suspect. “You thinkBobtook your egg?”
“There’s no one else,” Chelsie said bitterly. “And it wouldn’t be the worst thing he’s done today.”
Julius dropped his eyes as the crushing sadness came back with a vengeance. “You’ve heard about Amelia.”
Chelsie nodded, and Julius took a deep breath. “Do you…do you know why? You knew Bob better than most. Can you explain what could have motivated him to do something like this? I thought Amelia was his favorite sister.”
“She was more than that,” Chelsie said, leaning back on the chair as she searched for the words. “Amelia’s looked out for Bob since the very beginning. He was the runt of his clutch, just like you. Before his visions started, Bethesda had already written him off. She would have eaten him if Amelia hadn’t gotten there first. She stole Bob and ran away, which was the only reason he lived long enough to discover he was a seer. Bethesda welcomed him back with open arms after that, but for the first few decades of his life, Amelia raised him.”
“That only makes everything even sadder,” he said. “You make it sound like she was practically a mother to him.”
“She was in every way that mattered,” Chelsie said with a shrug. “She was the one who raised and protected him. She even taught him magic. He wields the Mage’s Fang, never forget. That sword should have been Amelia’s, but Bethesda never trusted her enough to let her get near the Quetzalcoatl’s skull. She trusted Bob, though. Despite his loyalty to the Planeswalker, Bethesda would never let a seer slip through her claws. From the moment she realized he was the real deal, she’s followed his advice to the letter. I think the only reason she accepted your coup with such grace was because she knew Bob was behind it.”
If the violence of the last week was Bethesda accepting him with “grace,” Julius couldn’t imagine the alternative. Still, what Chelsie said helped to explain Bethesda’s uncharacteristic despondence when she’d realized Bob had betrayed the clan. Their mother was many things, most of them terrible, but she wasn’t a quitter. The Heartstriker was as famous for her dauntless tenacity as she was for her egg laying, which was why her sudden willingness to just give up and run had seemed so odd. Now, though, Julius understood. It wasn’t facing seemingly insurmountable odds that had Bethesda down—it was the fact that she was having to do it without her seer.
“Do you think he’s really betrayed us?”
Chelsie frowned, thinking the question over. “No,” she said at last. “But only because the word ‘betrayal’ implies that he was on our side to begin with, and the only side Bob’s ever been on is his own. There’s no tragedy that strikes this clan that Bob didn’t see coming and work to his advantage. He knew what would happen to me before I’d even left for China, and I’m sure he foresaw your mortal’s death well before Mother kicked you out. Agoodbrother, one who actually cared about his clan, would have warned us when he saw these disasters coming.Youwould have warned us, but Bob didn’t. He didn’t lift a finger to save us, because Bob isn’t nice or good. He’s a dragon, and dragons look out for themselves.”
Julius closed his eyes. He wanted to deny it all—especially the part about Marci—but it was hard to argue when Bob had taken every opportunity to tell Julius the exact same thing. He’d always said that Julius was all the nice Heartstriker had, and now that the truth of that smacked them all in the face, Julius had to wonder why he’d been foolish enough to let himself think otherwise.
Even so.
“I still can’t believe he killed Amelia,” he said stubbornly. “Even if he really is a terrible, selfish dragon, it just doesn’t make any sense. Why would he invest so much in helping me change our clan if he was going to turn around and bring it all crashing down the same day we finally get the Heartstriker Council together?”
“I agree,” Chelsie said. “It doesn’t make sense, but that’s the problem: seersdon’t. They don’t follow normal logic. All their plans are based on observations the rest of us won’t see for decades. There’s probably something coming that will make Amelia’s death look like a brilliant move in hindsight, but until that actually happens, we have to accept that we can’t know.”
“So that’s it?” Julius said angrily. “You want me to justacceptthat bad things happen and do nothing?”
“I never said ‘do nothing,’” she snapped. “Why do you think I’m here? Just because I’ve accepted that I may never understandwhyBob took my egg doesn’t mean I’m going to let him keep it!”
The way she said that made him more nervous than ever. “You don’t think he’d hurt it, do you?”
“I’ve learned never to put anything past the Seer of the Heartstrikers,” Chelsie growled. “He knows I’ll protect that egg at all costs, which means so long as he has it, he has me by the throat.”
He hadn’t considered that angle, but as soon as Chelsie pointed it out, Julius’s mind flashed back to the confrontation in the elevator when Bob had ordered him not to free Chelsie. He’d done it anyway, of course, but he hadn’t considered the fact that that apparent failure might have been in Bob’s plan, too. After all, Bob saweverything. He might not have known for sure if Julius was going to refuse, but so long as it was a possibility, he would have had a backup plan. Something that would make sure Chelsie stayed under his control no matter what Julius did. Something she couldn’t walk away from.
“Oh no,” he whispered, putting his head in his hands. “No, no, no. He took it hostage.”
“He did,” Chelsie said, her eyes angry. “I’m sorry, Julius. I wish we were as good as you want us to be, but the truth is Bob’s not so different from Mother. Just like her, he can be charismatic and charming when it suits him, but when it comes to getting what he wants, he’s as ruthless as any other dragon. Including me, which is why I’m here.”
Julius looked at her in confusion. “What?”
