Given that they were in Heartstriker Mountain, Julius had expected a lot more dragons by this point. Bob must have given an order of some sort, though, because the only Heartstrikers in the throne room were the ones who’d been there the whole time: Chelsie, Conrad, Amelia, Justin, himself, and Bob. With the exception of Amelia, everyone had a Fang of the Heartstriker, including, Julius realized with a start, his mother.
“Now this is a momentous occasion,” Bob said brightly as Julius joined them. “All six Fangs of the Heartstriker, together again for the first time since they were in our grandfather’s mouth! Quite fitting, too, since we’re here to discuss Heartstriker’s future.”
“There will be no discussion,” Bethesda hissed through her locked jaw, her green eyes dropping to her own sword, which someone had placed on the floor in front of her. “The moment that blade is back in my hands, allof your swords will be mine again, and then we’ll see howyoulike being on your knees.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Bob said. “You see, so long as Julius hashissword out, none of us can so much as contemplate violence against the others without ending up like you.”
Bethesda growled deep in her throat, but Julius looked up in surprise. “What?”
Bob flashed him a grin. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? That’s what the sixth Fang does. Just like the others, it has its own special trick, but where Chelsie’s can cut to any of us, and Mother’s controls all the others,yourFang freezes any Heartstriker with killing intent the moment you draw it. Think of it as a localized family ‘Time Out’ button.”
“You’re kidding,” Julius said. When Bob shook his head, he looked down at his sword in astonishment. “I thought these things were supposed to be the ultimate dragon weapons! How ispeacea power of a Fang of the Heartstriker? ”
“Because before they became Fangs of the Heartstriker, they were theactualfangs of the Quetzalcoatl,” Bob explained. “And despite being long dead, some of his magic lives in them still. That’s why they have to choose their wielders instead of simply going to whomever Bethesda chooses, because, ultimately they’re not hers to give. Each Fang follows its own judgment according to our grandfather’s values: strength, wisdom, control, all that Elements of Harmony stuff.” He leaned in closer. “Coincidentally, that’s also why it took over a thousand years to find someone who could pull the blade in your hands.YourFang contains our grandfather’s diplomatic, compassionate side, and a compassionate dragon is a rare bird, indeed.”
That made sense, Julius supposed. A sword that radiated an anti-violence aura definitely wasn’t the kind of tool you normally found in a dragon arsenal. That said, it still didn’t sound like the sort of thing that should belong tohim, especially since he had no idea how it actually worked. “Is there any way to turn it off?”
“Who knows?” Bob said with a shrug. “But so long as it’s on, you are the only one here who can raise a weapon, which meansyou,Julius, are currently the most powerful Heartstriker.”
The implication of those words hit Julius like a freight train. From the sudden horror in his mother’s eyes, Bethesda grasped it, too. “Julius, baby,” she said in a voice so sweet and innocent, he barely recognized it as hers. “I know things have been a little tense between us recently, but—”
“Tense?” he growled. “You sealed me and then used that to make me do whatever you wanted! You’ve done nothing but abuse and bully me since I hatched!”
“It was for your own good,” Bethesda said defensively. “I’m your mother. It’s my job to be hard on you so you’ll grow into a strong dragon, and it was more painful for me than it was for—”
“Stop.”
Bethesda’s green eyes flashed. If she’d been able to move, she probably would have slapped him across the room for interrupting, but she couldn’t. So long as his Fang was doing its thing, she couldn’t move a muscle. That meant Julius was the one with the power, and for once in his life, his mother was going to listen tohim.
“You always do this,” he said, moving forward until he was standing right in front of her. “Youalwayssay you’re hurting us for our own good, but you’re not. It’s foryourown good. All my life, I thought that if I could just live up to your expectations and be a good dragon, I’d be happy, but that’s a lie.No onein this family is happy, because even the dragons you value, you abuse and manipulate!”
“Of course,” his mother growled. “Because I’m running adragon clan, not a happy home. The soft don’t survive in this world, Julius. You stand there whining that I hurt your feelings and made your childhood hard, but you don’t even stop to consider I’m the reason you got to grow up inside the shelter of the greatest dragon clan in the world. Heartstriker rose to the top becauseIwas willing to do what other clans wouldn’t, and if you’re too soft to appreciate that, then you don’t understand what it means to be a dragon.”
“No!” Julius yelled. “It’syouwho doesn’t understand! You think I don’t know what dragons do? I’ve been to our old home, the original plane where all dragons came from, and do you know what’s there?Nothing. The whole place is a motionless, timeless desert of ash becausedragonsmade it that way!”
He could see it again as he spoke, the endless black desert under the frozen sky. That waste—not even a real place, but a construct taken from a racial memory—was all that was left of their only real home. And the more he thought about that, the angrier Julius got.
“Vann Jeger was right,” he said bitterly. “Dragonsdodestroy everything they touch. We didn’t come to this plane as conquerors. We came here because we hadnowhere else to go.We’d already ruined everything we were given, literally sold our own future out from under us, and do you know why? Because dragons likeyouwere willing to do anything for power. It was that sort of selfish, victory-at-any-cost thinking that destroyed our old home and nearly took out our entire species, and you want me to respect you for it? To try and be like you?”
“Big words from a timid little whelp,” Bethesda snarled. “But you’re the one with the sword now. If I’m so terrible, use it. Kill me, if you’ve got the guts.”
She was obviously taunting him, and Julius was about to tell her to knock it off when Chelsie said, “Do it.”
Justin began to growl, but Conrad grabbed the knight’s shoulder, pinning him in place. For her part, Chelsie didn’t even glance in Justin’s direction. She was fixated on their mother, staring at the beautiful old dragon with so much hate, it made Julius’s blood run cold.
“Do you know what she’s done to us?” his sister said softly. “What she’s made us do? You were just a failure to be used and thrown away, but we were the ones who did her dirty work.” She glanced at Julius. “If you’re really the compassionate dragon, then end this. Kill her now, and set us all free.”
By the time she finished, Bethesda’s eyes were as wide as they could go, but Julius shook his head. “No.”
“Are you stupid?” Chelsie snarled, stabbing her finger at their mother. “She’s ordered your death twice, used you countless times, demanded you sell out Amelia to save Justin, and that’s just this month. We’re not even counting the lasteleven hundred years.Every one of us would be better off without her, and you know it. Kill her.”
“No,” Julius said again.
“Why not?” Chelsie demanded.
“Because I’m not like her!” he yelled, clutching his sword tight. “I don’t care how awful they are, Idon’tkill my family! I don’t killanyone, period, and I will never throw someone away just to make my life easier!”
“So you’re just going to let her stay in charge?” Chelsie yelled back. “You can’t keep her frozen forever!” She turned to glare at Bethesda. “If you don’t do something, she’ll just get her power back, and then she’ll grind us all into the dirt.”
