“Just because we can’t crack the sword on her neck doesn’t mean it has to fall,” his sister said. “There are still conditions attached, right?”
Marci nodded. “I have to meet Vann Jeger tonight with a dragon.”
“Well, there’s your answer,” Amelia said with a tip of her giant drink. “We’ll show up, kick Vann Jeger to the curb, and wham, bam, your problem’s solved. Thanks, Amelia!”
She finished with a grin, but Julius couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You can’t be serious.”
Amelia arched an eyebrow. “Can’t I?”
“Youjust saidyou let your human die rather than fight him,” he reminded her. “And it’s not like Vann Jeger’s working alone here. He’s Algonquin’s Hunter now, the Death of Dragons! Fighting him directly is suicide.”
He was getting mighty sick of explaining that, but Amelia just looked down on him with an expression so haughty, even Julius, who got looked down on all the time, was impressed.
“Who do you think I am?”
Julius swallowed. “I know you’re strong, but—”
“Strong?” Amelia scoffed. “You’re not old enough to comprehend the word.” She set down her drink, and the room seemed to grow heavy. He actually thought she’d cast a spell until he realized he didn’t smell any power but Marci’s. The pressure he felt wasn’t magic. It was Amelia herself as she turned the full weight of her predatory attention on him.
“Do not confuse me with the rest of our scrabbling clan,” she said quietly. “While those snakes coiled and plotted in Bethesda’s shadow, hoping to catch a scrap of her power, I left and found my own. I am the Planeswalker, the last great dragon mage, unequaled in this world or any other. If I appear before him tonight, it is Vann Jeger who will be afraid.”
From another dragon, Julius would have dismissed that as sheer bravado, but given the power Amelia could apparently turn on like a switch, he wasn’t so sure. But while he was reeling from just how badly he’d miscalculated a potential threat, Marci grabbed on to another part of his sister’s speech entirely.
“Dragon mage?”
Amelia smiled. “Didn’t he tell you? I’m kind of a big deal.” She turned back to Julius. “As to your question earlier, I didn’t fight Vann Jeger in my youth because he was on his fjord then, and I wasn’t stupid. But he’s a long way from home out here, and I am older than I look.” She smirked. “Age in dragons equals strength, but spirits never grow no matter how long they live. They are eternally limited by the land that birthed them, while I am limited by nothing but my own ability to survive. And, as my status as the last A proves, I’mverygood at surviving.”
She paused to let that sink in, taking a long sip of her drink before adding, “I’d be happy to use my phenomenal powers to crush Vann Jeger into a watery pulp. Provided, of course, you can pay my price.”
Julius grit his teeth. He should have known that was coming. Dragons did nothing for free. Amelia had them over a barrel, too. She knew they couldn’t possibly fight Vann Jeger, which was why she’d just made such a big deal that she could. Now, the only question left was, “What do you want?”
Amelia laughed. “From you? Nothing. You’re adorable, Baby-J, but not very interesting. Your human, on the other hand, has much to offer, so I’ll be dealing exclusively with her from now on, say over breakfast?”
This question was directed solely at Marci, who was staring at Amelia like the dragon was Santa Claus and a winning lottery ticket rolled into one. Before she could say what she was clearly going to say, though, Julius grabbed her arm and pulled her into the corner.
“What are you doing?” he whispered, putting his back to Amelia, who wasn’t even pretending not to listen. “You can’t trust her. She’s a dragon.”
“You’rea dragon,” Marci pointed out.
“That’s different,” Julius hissed, growing more afraid by the second. “We’re talking about a serious power, here.”
“But that’s exactly what we need!” she whispered excitedly. “If breaking the curse is off the table, then our only other option is to find someone big enough to take on Vann Jeger. Plus, she’s a dragon mage!” Her voice squeaked. “Adragon mage, Julius! One who worked with humans before the magic vanished!”
“I think you meanownedhumans,” he growled, but Marci wasn’t listening.
“Just think of how much she must know!” she said, almost levitating with delight. “I blew it with Bethesda yesterday, but this could be my second chance, not to mention our only chance on the Vann Jeger front. I know you think she’s dangerous, but—”
“I don’t think, Iknow,” Julius said. “You can’t trust a word she says. For all we know, she planned this from the beginning.”
Marci gave him a deeply skeptical look. “Are you implying she’s responsible for Vann Jeger? Because that’s ridiculous. She didn’t even care about me until she saw Ghost.”
“I don’t like that, either,” he grumbled. “And I’m not implying anything. I’m just saying dragons can’t be trusted until you know what they’re planning, and even then you can’t be sure.”
“I don’t care if she’s planning to eat me for dinner,” Marci said, crossing her arms over her chest. “This is too good a chance on too many levels for us to possibly pass up. And it’s not like she can kidnap me.” She pointed at the sword on her neck. “I’m kind of leashed to the city at the moment, remember?”
Julius opened his mouth to remind her that didn’t mean Amelia couldn’t do somethinginsidethe city, but Marci cut him off. “I’m doing this.”
The way she said that made it clear there’d be no changing her mind, and Julius sighed. “Fine,” he said. “Just… just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
