Thatwasa low blow, and several of the white dragons bared their teeth in reply, but Svena just waved the insult away. “My mothers had just woken up from a thousand-year sleep. Whatever magic they had left was trivial, and probably already stolen by Algonquin. But even if their life’s fires were in front of me for the taking, I wouldn’t bother. I am not content to be merely the daughter of great dragons, ruling over the memory of power. Let the dead be dead.Iam alive, and for the first time ever, my future is wholly my own.” She lifted her chin proudly. “I am my own queen now, Bethesda, so I’ve done what any true dragon would do in my position. I’ve started myownclan.”
“And dragged my son into it,” Bethesda growled, glaring at Ian, who was still standing at Svena’s side, cockier than ever. “Why you conniving, dragon-stealing—”
“You can’t steal what isn’t owned, Bethesda,” Ian said, cutting her off. “Svena isn’t the only one with ambition. She didn’t take me. I went to her.”
Their mother’s face turned scarlet. “Why?” she growled. “Of all my children, why wouldyoubetray me?”
Ian shrugged. “Why does a dragon do anything? Power. You have given me several opportunities, but Heartstriker’s the biggest clan in the world. Even with your favor, I knew it would take centuries to claw my way up the ranks. So I started looking for other options, and once I showed Svena how useful I could be, she was happy to give me a spot at the top of her new clan.”
“New clan?” Bethesda scoffed. “Don’t be absurd. Two dragons doesnotmake a clan. You don’t even have territory.”
“I’ve claimed my mothers’ lands,” Svena said coldly. “And their daughters. Katya and the others have all abandoned the dead flame of our mothers. They follow me now.”
Bethesda opened her mouth again, but Svena didn’t give her the chance.
“You forget yourself, Heartstriker,” she growled. “My sisters and I are older than you or your children. With the exception of your obnoxious Planeswalker, we have more magic between us than all the dragons in this mountain combined. That makes us averypowerful clan.” She looped her arm through Ian’s. “Face it. Your son traded up. Especially sincemyclan will be getting bigger very soon.”
She placed a hand pointedly on her stomach as she finished, and Bethesda’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Ian, you didn’t.”
“I most certainly did,” Ian replied, placing his arm possessively around Svena’s waist. “Our mating flight might have started as a ploy, but a real dragon always figures out how to turn failures to his advantage. Svena and I had actually talked about doing this days before Estella returned. When Svena was taken, I knew the Northern Star couldn’t keep up whatever she was using to control her forever, so I played along and waited for my chance. When Svena was herself again, I explained what had happened. Once she understood the situation, she was more than happy to accelerate our plans.”
“I bet she was,” Bethesda grumbled, though she didn’t look as angry over this as Julius had expected. She actually looked grudgingly proud, but then, Ian had always been her favorite precisely because he did things like this. That said, Julius was sure his mother had never dreamed he’d do it againsther.
“Congratulations on your perfectly orchestrated betrayal,” she said bitterly. “But before you get too comfortable, remember that half of those eggs are still mine. The contract Estella and I signed—”
“Was applicable to the Daughters of the Three Sisters,” Svena said. “Alas, the mating flight took placeafterI decided to strike out on my own and take Ian with me.” She smirked. “You should have seen how fast he threw you over. You really should treat your children better, Heartstriker.” She rubbed her flat stomach again. “I’m just glad our whelps will never have to know you as a grandmother.”
By this point, Bethesda looked like she was about to burst a vein. If she hadn’t still been sealed in her human form, Julius was certain she would have been breathing puffs of smoke, and he decided he’d better step in before she did something they’d all regret.
“Mother,” he said quietly. “It’s not—”
“Shut up!” Bethesda roared. “Do you know how long I schemed for that mating flight?” She stabbed her finger at Svena. “I don’t care what technicalities you trot out. Those aremyeggs, and Iwillhave them! Your only say in the matter, White Witch, is whether or not you’ll be alive when I’m done.”
“Bold words, Broodmare,” Svena said, the words coming out in puffs of frost as the temperature in the room began to drop. “But you’re in no position to threaten me. Your clan is in turmoil, your dragon is sealed, and your territory surrounds the DFZ on all sides. That makes you the obvious first target for Algonquin’s little war, and huge as your child army is, even you can’t fight on two fronts at once. You would do far better to mind the children you already have. It would be a very stupid move indeed to risk the dragons you’ve got chasing after eggs you’ll never touch.”
That sounded like good advice to Julius, but if Bethesda knew how to put sense before pride, their family history would have been very different. She’d already opened her mouth to shout down Svena and most likely plunge their clans into war in the process when Julius decided enough was enough.
“Stop.”
The quiet word landed like a hammer, and his mother froze. Her eyes, the only part she could still move, flicked to Julius’s hand, which was wrapped in a fist around the hilt of his Fang. But while Julius knew better than to let it show on his face, he was jumping for joy on the inside that the sword had actually worked like he’d wanted. All he’d had to do was think about stopping his mother, and the sword’s magic had leaped up to meet him, freezing Bethesda’s blood-lust and locking her in place. It was still there, too, the echo of his dead grandfather’s will hanging sharp and alien in his mind, but Julius didn’t have time to worry about that. Already, Svena and Ian were both looking at him in surprise, and Julius knew that if there was ever a time to show the world that Heartstriker had changed, it was now.
“Our grudge against the Daughters of the Three Sisters died with Estella,” he said, fighting to keep his voice from shaking as he stood tall beside his frozen mother. “Also, since Svena was not in control of her actions when she signed, the mating flight contract was invalid from the beginning, which means those eggs belong to their parents.” He shifted his eyes to Ian, who was trying and failing to hide his shock. “On behalf of our clan, I formally renounce any claim to your children, and I sincerely congratulate the both of you on a successful mating flight and the formation of your new clan.”
He meant that, too. Svena and Ian were both terrifying dragons, but under all the posturing, they really did seem to work well together as allies. That was a love story for the ages by dragon standards, and Katya certainly looked happy to not be clan head anymore. But while Julius stood behind every word he’d just said, he could feel his mother pushing on his Fang’s hold with all her might. He was about to add another hand to his sword to keep her in check until the others left when Ian suddenly stepped forward.
“Well, well, Julius,” he said in a pleased voice. “It seems the rumors are true and Mother is no longer the absolute ruler of Heartstriker. But while I’m proud to see you’ve grown some fangs at last, I don’t believe you have full authority to make these decisions any more than she does.” He paused, letting that sink in, and then, “What about a compromise?”
Bethesda and Julius stopped struggling. “What?” they said in unison.
“A compromise,” Ian repeated with a smirk. “I’m given to understand it’s your favorite thing.”
“Julius’sfavorite thing,” Bethesda hissed, finally breaking free of Julius’s Fang’s control as her burning desire to murder them all faded to a far more manageable shocked indignation. “Don’t tell me he’s rubbed off on you, Ian.”
“Don’t be insulting,” Ian said. “I’m not interested in lofty ideals or the preservation of empires. The only thingIcare about is securing the best outcome for myself, my mate, and the children who will become the foundation of our future power.”
Julius arched an eyebrow. “And compromise fits into that how?”
Ian smiled and motioned toward the door to Bethesda’s apartments. “Step in there, and I’ll tell you.”
