Marci smiled like that was the best thing he could have said. “That’s amazingly sweet of you, Julius, but it’s perfectly okay. I’m not going to get hurt, and I’m not going to do something dumb. Have a little faith.”
“I do,” he said earnestly. “But…”
She arched an eyebrow. “But?”
But you’re a human, he wanted to say. And she’s an ancient dragon who sees mortals as playthings and pawns. That match never ended well, but as much as he wanted to grab Marci and run away so Amelia couldn’t take her, doing so would make him just as bad—another dragon ordering a human around like he owned her. Julius could never do that, which put him in a conundrum. One he’d been in for a while, actually, which stung, because it meant his brother had been right.
He had to pick. Was Marci his friend or his human? His equal or his servant? Because he couldn’t have it both ways. He didn’t want a human, though. He wanted his clever partner and ally. He wantedher,and so he stepped back with a shaky breath. “I trust you,” he said quietly. “Do whatever you think is right.”
She beamed and squeezed his hand before turning back to Amelia. “I’m ready.”
“Thank goodness,” the dragoness said. “That was getting too sappy to stomach.” She knocked back the rest of her giant mimosa and vanished the bucket-sized glass with a flick of her hand. “So what’s your pleasure? Waffles? Pancakes? The heads of your enemies on sticks?”
“Whatever you like is fine with me,” Marci said, scooping up Ghost and placing him carefully in her shoulder bag, along with several notebooks. “I just want to get there quick. I have so many questions to ask—”
The slam of a door cut her off, and everyone jumped. Well, everyone except Amelia. She merely turned at a leisurely pace to face the doorway where Justin was now standing shirtless with Julius’s sword in his hands.
Julius didn’t even know how his brother had found Tyrfing’s hiding spot in the ceiling, but he had it now, and he was pointing the needle-sharp tip straight at Amelia’s face. “How did you get in here?”
“Justin, stop,” Julius said. “Can’t you see she’s our sister?”
“Impossible,” his brother growled, looking Amelia up and down. “She doesn’t have the eyes.”
“And you, clearly, don’t have the brains,” Amelia said, glancing back at Julius. “Which one is this? I can’t keep all you babies straight.”
“This is Justin,” Julius said quickly. “The Fifth Blade of Bethesda. Justin, this is our sister Amelia.”
Justin’s scowl faded. “Amelia?”
Julius nodded.
“A-melia?”
Amelia rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Yes,” she said loudly. “AAAAAAAA-melia. Seriously, do you kids do that to everyone? Because if so, we’re going to have a long talk about manners.”
She flashed them both a condescending smile, to which Justin responded by baring his teeth. “How do I know you’re who you say?”
“Hmm,” Amelia said, tapping her finger against her chin. “I could turn you into dragon hamburger. Would that suffice? But then, how doIknowyou’rewho you say?” She looked pointedly at Tyrfing’s narrow blade. “You seem to be short the necessary equipment for a Fifth Blade.”
Julius winced. Of all the things she could have chosen to pick on, she had to pick that.
“You’ll be missing something soon!” Justin snarled, taking a menacing step forward. “If you really are Amelia, then I don’t need my Fang to teach you a lesson. Everyone knows you’re a coward who ran to hide on the outer planes rather than doing her duty to the clan.”
“Is that what they’re saying about me now?” Amelia said, clutching her chest dramatically. “I’m wounded. But then again—” her hurt look fell away “—even after being branded for cowardice, my position isstillbetter than yours. How many Fifth Blades have there been now? Ten? Eleven?” She shrugged. “They die so fast, I can’t keep track. But I guess that’s how it is when your job is to be Bethesda’s attack dog.” She gave Justin a cruel smile. “Maybe I should be congratulating you for slipping your leash? Who’s a good boy?”
By this point, Justin’s growl was rattling the floorboards, and Julius decided it was time to intervene before structural damage occurred. “Let’s just stop,” he said, putting his hands up. “We’re all on the same team here.”
“She’s on no team of mine,” Justin snapped, looking down his sword, which was still pointed at Amelia’s head. “She’s a traitor, Julius. A Heartstriker in name only. She’s been living on the outer planes for years, refusing all of Mother’s summons. I don’t know why she’s back now, but it’s not to help us.”
Amelia lifted her chin. “Maybe it’s different for you, whelp, butdragonsdon’t come when called. I’m here because it suits me. No more, no less. Now.”
She flicked her finger, and magic roared into the room. It slid through the air like a heated knife, overpowering even the scent of Marci’s spellwork before turning to focus on Justin. He jerked a second later, his whole body shooting bolt upright on his tip-toes like he’d been grabbed and lifted by a giant, invisible hand. He was wiggling there in vain when Amelia walked over to pat him on the head.
“That’s better,” she cooed, plucking Tyrfing from his frozen hands and tossing it to Julius, who caught it only by reflex. “Angry children shouldn’t play with knives.”
Justin’s eyes widened, but with her magic holding him, he couldn’t even open his mouth. Amelia knew it, too, and she grinned like a fiend as she reached up to pinch his cheeks. “Poor little baby. You might be big for your age, but we both know you’re just an overgrown whelp pretending he can keep up with the big kids.” She tilted her head back toward Julius. “You clearly think your brother is less than you, but at least he has the good sense to know when he’s outclassed. You, on the other hand, are like a mad bull in a bullfight, and unless you wise up real quick, with about the same life expectancy. That’s why I’m going to do you a favor.”
She touched him on the shoulder, and Julius felt the magic holding Justin double. “There,” she said, smiling. “Now youcan’tbe stupid. See what a loving sister I am?”
