His brother nodded. “None of us talked about it because who brags about a deadbeat dad? But we all knew. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner. Marlin Drake’s a sea serpent, and his dragon form is all over his movie posters. Didn’t you ever notice we all shared his coloration and head shape?”
“Blue and green aren’t exactly uncommon Heartstriker colors,” Julius said defensively. Then he thought of something else. “Wait, if our father’s a sea serpent, why don’t we have any water-related powers?” Having gills or something would have beenreally usefulall those times he’d nearly drowned fighting Vann Jeger and Algonquin.
“Because like I said, he’s a deadbeat,” Justin growled. “Bethesda picked prime mates for her early clutches because she was breeding up her power base. By the time she got to us, though, she needed other things more than she needed strong dragons, so her standards for good matches started going downhill. Drake is only slightly older than the H’s and the last surviving member of his clan, so it wasn’t like he had a broad power base to start from. Even if he had been ancient and powerful, though, it’s never gonna be a good mix when you’re combining scaly sea serpents withfeathered dragons.” He huffed in disgust. “If we did get something good out of the match, I’ve never found it. I can’t even go into the water in my true shape without looking like a drowned chicken.”
Julius had never been crazy enough to try swimming as a dragon for that exact reason, but hearing they’d gotten nothing from their dad made him angry all over again. Worse, Marlin Drake hadn’t even bothered to seek him out until Julius had something he wanted. Like a true dragon, he’d only cared about his son when Julius became useful, and even then, his caring was limited to how Julius could be used to his advantage.
“He and Bethesda deserve each other,” Julius snarled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’d rather have no father at all than another parent who only sees me as a tool.”
“That’s what children are to dragons,” Justin said with a shrug. “You see, this is why I never told you. The rest of us could handle the truth, but you were always too soft. You wanted parents who loved you, but that just doesn’t happen for us. Anyway, it’s not like Drake matters. He’s half our DNA, but he’s not family. We are. We’re Heartstrikers,clan. That’s something Drake could never have given us, and who wants to be part of a stage show for humans, anyway?”
He finished with a grin, but Julius could only stare at his brother in awe. Their entire life, Justin had been his bully, the tormentor of his childhood. He’d hunted and harassed and irritated Julius more than any other J, and yet, of everyone in the family, Justin was the only one who’d always been there. Even when he was being a pompous, overbearing jerk about it, he’d always looked out for his little brother even at the risk of his own life. He could be an absolute pain, but Justin had been truer to Julius’s idea of family than any other dragon, and though he’d always known it deep down, Julius loved him for it now more than ever.
“Thank you, brother,” he whispered, stepping in to wrap his arms around Justin’s chest.
“Yeah, yeah,” Justin muttered, tolerating the hug for a good five seconds before pushing Julius away. “Don’t get all mushy on me. You get a pass as the Nice Dragon, but some of us have actual reputations to maintain.”
“You’re the knight of the Nice Dragon,” Julius pointed out. “Doesn’t that buy you some slack?”
Justin’s answer to that was an appalled look. But just as Julius was about to tease him again, the military com he’d just put on his head buzzed to life. General Jackson’s face appeared in the AR in front of his face a moment later. “Canadian Command in Windsor says that magical levels have dropped enough to authorize flight,” she said, her voice surprisingly loud despite the fact that the com unit had no supplemental speakers. “I’m clearing all air units for combat. Repeat, all air units are cleared for combat. Get up there and bring that bastard down.”
“That’s our cue,” Julius said to Justin as all the UN forces began to scramble. “Ready?”
“Are you kidding?” Justin said, drawing his sword. Fire engulfed him before the blade was even out, replacing his towering human form with a bright-green-feathered dragon with the bone cage of his transformed Fang of the Heartstrikers locked over his jaws and a look of pure glee shining in his green eyes. The moment the change finished, Justin launched into the air, his Fang transforming the flames that flashed between his giant teeth into the magical green fire of the Quetzalcoatl as he flew straight up into the shadow of their enemy. Julius was still staring after when he realized no one else was flying.
“What are you waiting for?” he shouted, turning to the rest of the dragons. “The magic’s down! It’s time to fight back!Go!”
“You heard the small Heartstriker!” Svena called, striding out from the circle of her sisters with her whelps clinging to her shoulders like a living cloak of snowy down. “Fly, you idiots!”
She shed her human form as she spoke, revealing the beautiful white dragon underneath. Then, babies still clinging to her frosted scales, Svena launched herself into the air as well, shooting up through the hole in the Skyways with a single powerful beat of her frosted wings. Her sisters followed at once, as did everyone else. Within seconds, the air was full of flapping wings and scraping claws as all the dragons of the world took off en masse.
Julius was the last to go, waiting until the cavern was empty before shedding his own human mask to transform into his dragon. As always, the weight of his transformed Fang was surprisingly heavy on his head, but at least it gave him somewhere safe to tuck his com unit before he launched into the air as well, following the others into a sky that was already full of fire.
***
“And they’re off,” Bob said, rising from his seat on Julius’s last remaining step. “Quite the spectacle, isn’t it?”
He glanced at the Black Reach, who was standing beside him, but the construct’s face was bleak. “I find no joy in watching the race I was made to protect fly to their almost-certain deaths.”
“Thank you, Captain Bringdown,” Bob said. “But loath as I am to undercut your doomsayer routine, death is no longer a foregone conclusion. We’re in new territory, predictively speaking, and new territory means new opportunities.”
“That is true,” the Black Reach admitted. “But just because the cards have been reshuffled doesn’t mean they’ve changed their faces. We’re still up against the same unbeatable foe.” He arched a narrow eyebrow at Bob. “Unless you’ve got something in mind that changes the fundamental fact that we are outmatched in every way, I fail to see how any of these newly created futures will turn out differently than the old ones.”
“I always have something in mind,” Bob said with a smile. “This ismyplot, remember? I didn’t make the Leviathan mess, but I orchestrated its current form.” He nodded at the sky full of dragons. “This fight is taking place onmyboard withmypieces. If there’s a way out of this, I already have everything I need to make it happen. I just have to find it.”
“And then what?” the Black Reach said, shooting a dangerous look at the pigeon snoozing on Bob’s shoulder. “Usethatto ensure it? Sell all other futures for the latest version of the happy ending where you survive?”
“My lady’s already done her part,” Bob said, placing a hand on the pigeon’s feathered back. “She helped me survive you. Now that the veil of my death has finally been lifted, I’m free to use my genius to find us a real way out of this. No cheating required.”
“That sounds dangerously close to desperation,” the Black Reach growled. “Hope is fine for others, Brohomir, but we seers must always embrace reality. If you let what you want to happen blind you to whatwillhappen, you’ll be just as unprepared for the end as they are.”
Bob’s jaw clenched. “Perhaps I am being overly optimistic, but the only other option is to prepare for defeat, and I never could stand losing. You’re the one who taught me that even certain doom isn’t certain until it actually happens, and if there’s any seer who could find a way out of this, it’s me. After all…” His lips curled into a smirk. “I’m the one who beat you.”
The Black Reach didn’t dignify that with a response. He just stood there silently, rolling Marci’s Kosmolabe between his long-fingered hands as the dragons overhead began burning the Leviathan’s tentacles to ash.
***
The sky was chaos.
