He stopped short, whirling around. For a moment, Julius couldn’t understand why, and then he felt the prickle on the back of his neck a split second before Chelsie stepped out of the evening shadows beside him, and directlybehindJustin.
The knight swore loudly, whirling around to face their sister, who was standing exactly opposite of where he’d turned to find her. “Really?”
“Didn’t mean to bruise your ego,” Chelsie said, holding out a folded piece of paper. “I actually just came to give you this.”
Justin snatched the paper out of her hand with a sour look that faded quickly as he read. “This is a challenge!”
“One of several,” Chelsie said, looking annoyed. “It seems that everyone’s taking today’s chaos as an opportunity to move up in the world, and since your Fang is the only one that can be won through combat, there’s a waiting list of dragons as long as my arm who want to duel you for it. I told them you were busy guarding Julius, but—”
“Oh, Julius doesn’t mind if I go fight,” Justin said instantly. “Do you, Julius?”
“No,” Julius said, glancing at Chelsie in confusion. “But what about bodyguarding?”
Justin’s face fell instantly, making him look like a kicked puppy. It was painful to see, but before Julius could tell his brother that it was fine and he’d just keep a hold on his Fang, Chelsie beat him to the punch.
“I’ll keep Julius safe tonight.”
Justin’s face split into a huge smile. “I take back everything I said about you,” he said as he jogged out of the throne room. “I owe you one, Chelsie!”
“You owe me hundreds,” Chelsie muttered, turning to Julius, who couldn’t believe that had just happened.
“Are you really okay with this?” he asked. “Not that I mind your company, but don’t you have other things to do?”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you not want me to stick around and keep you alive?”
“No, no,” he said quickly. “It’s just that you’re the clan enforcer. You’re supposed to be looking out for the entire clan. Having you following just me seems a little…odd.”
Chelsie sighed. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ve had that list of challenges for weeks. I only gave it to Justin now because he lives for that kind of thing, and it was the only way I could get him away from you tonight.”
Julius went very still. “Why would you want to get him away from me?”
“Because he’s a terrible bodyguard,” Chelsie said matter-of-factly. “He’s perfectly strong, but he’s also easily distracted, overconfident, gullible, and he pays no attention to his surroundings. That’s not a winning combination, and even if it’s not my job, I’d still like to see you alive tomorrow.”
“I appreciate that,” Julius said wholeheartedly. “But I really don’t think it’s going to be as bad as you and Justin seem to think. Yeah, Gregory’s mad, but I’ve been at the bottom of the clan for years. I’m used to bigger dragons trying to kill me.”
“I’m sure,” Chelsie said dryly. “But I don’t think you’re taking into account the difference in scale.”
When it was obvious Julius had no idea what she meant by that, Chelsie darted her eyes at the crowd of Heartstrikers that was still lingering near them in the throne room. Sure enough, when Julius turned to look, it became clear that the dragons weren’t just loitering. They were watching him. Several actually eased daggers, garrote wires, and various other weapons back into their sleeves and coats as he watched. By the time he turned back to his sister, he was sweating bullets.
“I see what you mean,” he said quietly, wiping the back of his golden gauntlet across his face. “But I just showed them my Fang stops all violence. Every dragon likes to posture, but surely no one’s going toactuallytry something. They’re just trying to make me nervous.”
“Don’t underestimate the destructive potential of power-hungry dragons in large numbers,” his sister said. “Your Fang is a powerful deterrent, but I never met a dragon who saw a deterrent and just gave up. You might no longer be an easy target, but you’ve still put yourself at the top of the clan. That’s a dangerous place for anyone to be, or do you think Bethesda keeps Conrad with her at all times for the pleasure of his company?”
Julius sighed. She made a good point.
“Mark my words,” his sister went on. “Someone’s going to try something, probably soon, and I intend to be there to make sure they fail. I’m just glad I had those challenges lying around to distract Justin. I was thinking of guarding you along with him, but I can only take your brother in small doses.”
“That’s most people for Justin,” Julius said, giving her a weak smile. “Thank you, Chelsie. I’ll try my best not to be a sitting duck.”
He put out his hand to shake on it, but she just grabbed his palm and steered it right back to the hilt of his sword. “Keep that there,” she ordered. “It might not be the guaranteed protection you think it is, but your Fang is still the best defense you’ve got. I don’t care if you’re in the shower, you keep a hold on that sword at all times. Understood?”
Julius nodded.
“Good,” Chelsie said, returning her hand to her own sword hilt. “Now, where are we going to pick up Marci?”
That was a very good question. “Do you know where Amelia is?”
She gave him a haughty look. “Who do you think I am?” she said, turning on her heel. “Just try to keep up.”
