Marci stood up with a cocky smile. “Illusion master, remember? I’m not going to go through the trouble of making a circle this big without taking out some insurance. I also added in a few lines to make it all waterproof because, you know, obvious reasons.”
She grinned, clearly expecting him to laugh, but Julius was too nervous to find anything funny. Now that the spell was done, it was starting to hit him that this was it. The sun was now as low as it could go in the sky. Vann Jeger would be here any second, and even though they were as prepared as they could possibly be, it was hard to be calm. He didn’t doubt Marci for a second, but a spray-painted circle, however big, suddenly felt like very poor protection against the world’s most infamous dragon hunter.
“Maybe we should just try to break the curse and run?”
Marci’s head snapped up. “What?”
Since it wouldn’t matter to the illusion, Julius ran a shaking hand through his hair. “I know I was the one who said we should fight Vann Jeger to save Justin, but now that we’re here, I worry we’re trying to do too much. If we had more time, it’d be different, but this just feels so rushed. Don’t want to reach too far and end up losing everything, you know?”
“But that’s how it works,” Marci said, her face growing serious. “Risk and reward are intrinsically linked. We don’t get anything if we take the safe route every time.”
“I know,” Julius said, looking down at her. “But…”
But I don’t want to risk you.
That was what he wanted to say, but admitting it out loud where she could hear terrified him way more than Vann Jeger. Thankfully, Marci interpreted his speechlessness as fear of a different sort.
“Wecando this, Julius,” she said with that supreme, unquestionable confidence that had drawn him to her in the first place. “Everything’s been planned, everything’s in place. All you have to do is get Vann Jeger in the circle and keep him there, which shouldn’t be hard at all. I mean, look at you!” She threw out her hands. “You look like the most terrifying dragon I’ve ever seen! Vann Jeger will eat you up.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Marci winced. “Okay, bad choice of words, but I’m telling you it’s going to befine. How many banishments have we done over the last month?”
“Thirty-two,” he said.
“You see?” she said, spreading her arms wide. “We’ve got this thing down to a science. I don’t care what nonsense Vann Jeger shows up with, his butt is gettingkicked. For good, too, because I’m sick of being the weak human. I’m going to show that stupid spirit what it means to mess with a mage.”
Her eyes were flashing when she finished, almost like she was daring him to argue, but Julius had nothing to say except, “Thank you.”
Marci blinked. “For what?”
“For not letting me back down,” he said with a nervous smile. “For everything, really. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, so I wanted to tell you thank you. Just in case the worst happens.”
“Well, it’s not going to happen,” Marci said firmly, stepping closer until he couldn’t have looked away from her if he’d tried. “Listen to me, Julius. I know your family likes to put you down, but I’ve met my share of dragons at this point, and I can say without a doubt that you are every bit as sneaky and slippery and cunning as the rest. Just because you don’t use your powers to be a colossal jerk doesn’t mean they’re not there, so you can kick your worst case scenarios to the curb, because if anyone can pull off this insanity, it’s you.”
That was such an odd, Marci-esque mix of insult and praise, he couldn’t help but grin. There was nothing romantic about standing in a trash-littered field at sunset waiting for a spirit who was coming to murder you, but in this moment, Julius couldn’t imagine anywhere he’d rather be. After so many years of being a failure, the shame of the Heartstrikers, the idea that someone as undeniably capable as Marci trusted him—believedin him—was more than he could ever hope to ask for.
But then, she always had been.
The truth of that sudden realization made his breath catch. From the very first time they’d met, Marci had been more than he had any right to expect. She was his ally, his teammate, his clever, brave, beautifulfriendwho’d stood by him with a loyalty other dragons paid kingdoms for. Three days ago, he’d thought he’d be happy forever if he could just hold on to that, but now, after everything that had happened, merely holding on was no longer enough.
Maybe it was the looming threat of death, or maybe there really was a risk-taking dragon inside him somewhere, because suddenly, Julius couldn’t wait another second. So he didn’t. He did something better, something he’d been wanting to do almost from the moment he first saw Marci marching toward him across that crowded restaurant.
He kissed her.
***
In hindsight, his timing left much to be desired. Kissing someone out of the blue when you both were waiting to be attacked was not very considerate. He should have given her some warning at least, because Marci nearly jumped out of her boots when their lips met. If he hadn’t been a dragon with superhuman speed, she would have head-butted him, which would have been awkward all around. But ill-advised as he knew this was, Julius didn’t regret it for a second. Vann Jeger could have landed on his head right now and he wouldn’t have cared so long as he didn’t have to stop kissing Marci.
He just wished she’d kiss him back.
Julius froze, eyes shooting open. Why wasn’t she kissing him back? He’d thought she’d wanted to in the closet. Had she changed her mind? Maybe he’d read things all wrong. Maybe she didn’t want this at all.
With that splinter of doubt, the reality of what he’d just done hit Julius like a punch. He’dkissedMarci. Without asking. Right before a fight. No, forget the fight. Going up against the world’s best dragon hunter was nothing compared to a reckless kiss that might have just cost him the most important friendship of his life.
Feeling like the absolute worst, Julius jerked away, his brain scrambling to think of how in the world he was going to fix this. But as he opened his mouth to start apologizing, Marci grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back down.
“Don’t stop,” she commanded against his lips, wrapping her arms so tight around his neck he nearly choked. “Don’t you dare stop.”
