“Oh, Julius,” Bob sighed. “Sweet, naive Julius. Never change.”
“What?” he said, defensive. “How is that wrong?”
“You’re giving our mother too much credit,” Chelsie said dryly, glaring at him. “Or do you really think all the A’s died of natural causes?”
He hadn’t actually thought about that. “I—”
“Mother killed them,” she said, cutting him off. “She used them until they were old enough to be a threat, and then she killed them one by one, a preemptive strike against the one clutch strong enough to do to her what she did to her own father. The only reason Amelia’s still alive is because she was smart enough to stay away. That’s why she’s been out on the planes so long. It’s the one place Mother can’t get to her. She only came to the party last night because she knew she could get away if she had to, and because she never could resist a chance to rub her new power in Bethesda’s face. Now that she’s injured, though, it’s a different game, and that’s why your argument won’t work. It doesn’t matter if we’re under attack. Estella could have a sword to Bethesda’s throat, and our mother would lean right into it if that meant getting a chance to finally take Amelia down. It’s all about target priority. The Daughters of the Three Sisters are a major threat, but at the end of the day, all they can do is kill Bethesda. Amelia, on the other hand, is one of us. If she challenged our mother and won, she could take her power and become the Heartstriker in her place, and it isthat, not death, that Bethesda fears most.”
By the time she finished, Julius was chilled to the bone. He’d never heard Chelsie sound so bitter, but he didn’t doubt her words for a second. If there was one thing he was learning not to underestimate, it was his mother’s ruthlessness when it came to preserving her own position. “Okay,” he said with a deep breath. “No mountain. But should she really be on my couch?”
“No,” said Chelsie.
“Yes,” said Bob at the same time.
Chelsie shot him a dangerous glare, but Bob stood firm. “You’re busy,” he reminded her.
“You really want to entrust our sister’s safety toJulius?”
“Yes,” Bob said. “Honestly, I can’t think of anyone better.”
Chelsie bared her teeth. “Have you finally gone insane?”
“No more than usual,” the seer said, clapping a hand on Julius’s shoulder. “But if you can name another dragon who could be trusted to look after the unconscious heir to the Heartstrikerswithoutbetraying her to Mother the moment we’re gone, I’m all ears.”
Chelsie’s face fell into a stubborn scowl. “Fair point,” she grumbled, turning her glare back to Julius. “Don’t let me down, whelp.”
Julius swallowed. On the one hand, this was quite possibly the highest compliment he’d ever received. Two of his most powerful siblings were entrusting him with a job that could change the course of their whole clan, and they were doing it because he was who he was, not who he wasn’t. He’d earned their trust by beingloyal, not ruthless. But as much as he wanted to swear up and down that he’d guard Amelia with his life, there was still a fjord-sized problem in his way.
“I want to help,” he said. “Really, I do. But Ameliacan’tstay here.”
“Why not?” Chelsie demanded.
He began to sweat. This was not how he’d intended to break the news to his family, but there was no hiding it now. “Because,” he said, voice shaking. “I’m being hunted by Vann Jeger.”
“What?”
Chelsie’s shriek made him jump. Or, rather, start to jump. He hadn’t actually made it off the ground before she grabbed him by his collar and slammed him into the wall. “And you were planning on reporting thiswhen?”
“It only happened last night,” he said, trying not to panic as she lifted him off the ground. “After the party. I wasn’t trying to hide anything, I swear! It just went down so fast.”
“At least this explains why your human has a killing curse on her neck,” Chelsie said, glancing at Marci. “That’s how they trapped you, wasn’t it?”
She made it sound like a personal failing, but Julius didn’t care. “Yes,” he said. “And unless I go with her to face Vann Jeger tonight, that sword is going to cut off her head.”
“And you were just going togo?” she cried. “What were you going to do when you got there? Nice him to death?”
“Wehada plan,” Julius said. “Amelia was going to—”
“Amelia isn’t doing anything now,” Chelsie growled, dropping him as she turned her wrath on Bob. “Did you know about this?”
“I might have seen something,” the seer said. “But it didn’t seem immediately important.”
“Not immediately important?” Chelsie yelled. “Being targeted by the most powerful dragon hunter in the world didn’t strike you asimmediately important?”
“It’s not exactly easy to read a future that’s in constant flux,” Bob said defensively. “There was a lot going on.”
Chelsie closed her eyes with a long sigh. “Done is done,” she growled, turning back to Julius. “Pack your things. We’re leaving.”
