Chelsie clearly didn’t buy that for a second, but Julius still had no idea what they were talking about. When Marci snuggled closer into him, though, he realized she did smell different. Not anything alarming or bad, but under the overpowering smell of alcohol, Marci’s usual combination of magic and chalk and the sweet tang that was her own unique smell was tinted with something new. A sharp, draconic scent that smelled distinctly of Amelia.
“What the—”
“Relax,” Amelia said, wobbling to her feet. “It’s nothing sinister. Marci and I just made a deal. Didn’t we, Marci?”
“Yep,” Marci hiccupped.
A lump began to form in Julius’s stomach. “What kind of deal?”
His eldest sister smiled. “A necessary one.”
“Necessary for whom?” Chelsie growled. “And did you make this deal before or after you got her sloshed?”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “Before,obviously. Give me some credit, here! I take good care of my mortals, and it’s not as though I could have done anything untoward with her cat on the prowl. This is all on the up and up, I swear. Just ask her.”
Chelsie glanced at Marci, who would have been sliding down Julius’s chest if he hadn’t been holding her up. “I don’t think she’s in a position to give a reliable answer.”
“She’s doing great,” Amelia said dismissively. “And you could be, too. I broke out the good stuff.” She held up her half-empty fifth in salute. “Lighten up, Chelsie! Have a drink!”
“Drinks aregooooood,” Marci agreed, oozing halfway down Julius’s body before he could pull her up again.
“I think you’ve had enough,” he said gently.
“Past enough,” Chelsie agreed, scowling at Amelia. “Stop being a bad influence.”
“But those are the best kind!” Amelia cried. “Youshould stop being such a dragon-in-the-mud. What was I supposed to do? Endure being at homesober?”
“You could try being responsible,” Chelsie suggested. “Our entire clan is in uproar, and you’re partying. I’d say you’re as bad as Bob, but at leastheshowed up for the vote.”
“I’ll have you know I’m being very responsible,” Amelia said, glaring down her nose. Or, rather, shewouldhave been glaring down her nose if she hadn’t been listing so badly Chelsie was forced to catch her before she fell.
“This is for all of us,” she slurred as Chelsie helped her back to her seat. “I had to do it. This is the only future we’ve got left.”
“If our future depends on you being drunk, I think we’re covered,” Chelsie said bitterly as she pushed Amelia firmly down into the chair. “Now stay there, and try not to fall off the balcony.”
She let go of her sister gingerly. When it looked like Amelia wasn’t going to try standing again, she turned back to Julius, who was still clutching Marci. “Can you carry her?”
He nodded and crouched down. It was much harder than it should have been with the armor restricting his movements and Marci herself being floppy as an overcooked noodle, but eventually he managed to get one arm under her knees and one under her back. He was attempting to gently pick her up when she finally realized what was going on. After that, Marci nearly knocked him backwards in her rush to jump into his arms.
“Best. Night.Ever!” she cried, hugging him around the neck so tightly Julius could barely breathe. “Let’s go flying!”
Julius’s poor heart—which was already racing at breakneck speeds thanks to Marci being wrapped around him like an octopus—skipped several beats. But while parts of him strongly agreed that a night flight with Marci was, in fact, the best idea ever, the rational, responsible part of Julius knew that flying with a drunken passenger wouldn’t end well for anyone. A few seconds later, though, it became a non-issue, because Marci had already gone limp in his grasp, her body falling still and soft against his as her drunken energy finally gave way to exhaustion.
Even if it was just a drunken pass-out, Marci falling asleep in his arms was still too adorable to stand, and it took Julius several seconds to stop smiling down at her like an idiot long enough to glance back at Chelsie, who was tapping her foot.
“Ifyou’re done.”
When Julius nodded, she turned back to Amelia, who was sucking the last drops out of her bottle. “I’ll send one of the Fs up to check on you later. Don’t give them a hard time. I’m on Julius duty, and I don’t have time to babysit both of you.” She looked over her shoulder at Julius. “Where are you staying tonight, anyway?”
He’d been hoping she knew. “My room, I guess,” he said, adjusting Marci in his arms. “I don’t know where else I can go. The mountain’s full.”
Chelsie winced and glanced down at her sister. “Are you functional enough to deactivate your wards to let us out? I’d rather not have to wrestle a passed-out human through your minefield of a hallway.”
“I’ll do ya one better,” Amelia said, lifting a wobbly hand. “Where’d’ya live?”
It took Julius several seconds to realize that slurred question was directed at him. “Overflow sub-hall four.”
Amelia looked horrified. “Overflow? Isn’t that where the failures live?”
