“So do humans,” he reminded her. “But that doesn’t mean they let murder rule them. And if mortals can do it,surelywe can, too. But we’ll never know if we don’t try. I’ve already taken the first step. Now it’s your turn.” He smiled at her. “Let me help you, Chelsie. Let him go.”
Chelsie said nothing for a long time after that. Then, slowly, she lifted her sword and slid it back into her sheath. “You don’t know how lucky you just got,” she growled at David before turning her glare on the rest of the room. “Show’s over, but don’t think this means you get a break. Council or no, I’malwayswatching, and don’t you forget it.”
Julius bit back a frustrated sigh. That was not how this was supposed to end, but he supposed Chelsie had to keep a tight hand on things until he actually came through on his promise to improve her situation. For now, though, her method still definitely worked. The crowded room was so silent you could have heard a snail breathe as Chelsie turned and marched back into the hall, slamming the double doors behind her with enough force to rattle the chandeliers.
Thebangbroke the terrified silence, and then everyone started talking at once. Several dragons actually rushed Julius, but Ian got there first, appearing at his side so fast, Julius wondered if Svena had taught him her teleporting trick.
“What did I tell you?” he said proudly, wrapping his arm around Julius’s shoulders. “Afraid ofnothing. He can even talk Chelsie down!”
“That’s not why I did this,” Julius said, wincing in pain as Ian’s grip bit into the still-healing burns on his shoulder. “I—”
“Now you see the proof,” his brother went on as if Julius hadn’t spoken. “I told you all he was the real deal. Some of you didn’t believe me, but would Bethesda have fought so hard if he wasn’t a true threat? No. She threw the best she had at him, even Chelsie, and Julius still came out on top. He’s even eliminated our final competition.” He nodded at David. “Now, all that’s left is to claim our victory.”
The room began to applaud, and Ian drank it in, gripping Julius even tighter. “We’ve got this,” he whispered excitedly. “Can you stand long enough for a vote?”
Julius didn’t know. Now that the crisis was over, he was feeling nauseous and lightheaded. If Ian hadn’t been physically holding him up, he probably would have fallen face-first on the banquet table beside David. But while he didn’t care for the grandstanding, he couldn’t deny Ian had a point. For the first time ever, all the Heartstrikers around them were smiling and talking to each other excitedly. That was a huge change from the mistrust bordering on violence he’d seen when they’d flooded into the mountain yesterday morning, and Julius was desperate to lock that positivity in before Bethesda figured out a way to ruin it. Desperate enough that even though he was sure Fredrick was probably going to have to hold him up through the whole thing, he nodded anyway, earning himself a beaming grin from Ian.
“I knew you were one of us,” his brother said proudly, glancing down at Julius’s wobbly legs. “I’ll have someone get you a chair.”
“Thanks,” Julius muttered, sinking down into the chair one of the other Js who were always around Ian now had already slid in behind him. He sat down with a sigh, closing his eyes to focus on managing the pain as Ian took control of the room, ordering dragons out to gather everyone in the throne room, because they were doing thistonight. He was about to ask Fredrick to get him another tray of food, because he was clearly going to need it, when David finally pushed himself up off the banquet table.
The sudden movement made Julius flinch back instinctively, but for once, the politician dragon didn’t look slick, sly, or dangerous. Quite the opposite. His face was pale and still a bit terrified, but the look in his eyes when he looked at Julius was a humbled mix of gratitude and bewilderment.
“You stopped her from killing me.”
“Of course I kept her from killing you,” Julius said irritably. “How many times do I have to say this? We don’t kill—”
“No,” David cut him off. “I meant you saved my life. She would have gutted me for sure if you hadn’t grabbed her arm.” He dropped his eyes. “I owe you a debt, Julius Heartstriker.”
Julius was grimacing before he even finished. Not thisagain. But when he opened his mouth to tell his brother he didn’t do the life debt thing, a new, far better idea occurred to him.
“Youdoowe me,” he said, nodding. “And you know what? I’m cashing it in right now.”
David’s head whipped up in confusion, but Julius was on a roll. “You want to repay me for saving your life?” he said with a pained, but still sincere, grin. “Help me make this Council work. You’ve been a professional politician for decades. That means you’re an expert on all the problems we’re about to have. You’re the best resource we’ve got for this, so my price for saving your life is that, until the next election cycle, you have to swear to help me build this Council. And I don’t mean arrange things for your own benefit, either. I meanactuallyhelp me design a clan that will smoothly, peacefully, and fairly work for the benefit of all the dragons who live in it.”
By the time he finished, David looked horrified. “I don’t know if what you’re describing is even possible,” he warned. “Dragons are not—”
“Dragons are whatever we want to be,” Julius said firmly. “We’ve been told our whole lives that if we’re not violent, greedy, and ambitious, we’re not dragons, but anyone with eyes can see that’s ridiculous. Dragons come in all types, with all different personalities and dreams. Those differences mean there will always be conflict, but that’s fine. We’re not trying to build a utopia. I just want to create a system where being strong enough to eat your opponents isn’t the only option for victory. Something with fair and understandable laws, not a supreme leader’s whims. You know, the kind of government most human nations take for granted, like the one you’ve worked in for the last five decades. I’m not asking for the moon, here. I just want you to help me build something that will work. A clan government that takes its lessons from the best of what the humans have already discovered, but is still designed to take into account dragon lifespans. That’s what I want. Help me build it, and I’ll count your debt paid.”
He wiped the blood from his hand and held it out, but David just gave him a funny look. “You could have made me your slave, you know,” he said as he shook Julius’s hand.
“I could have,” Julius said, happy that David’s normal handshake wasn’t nearly as crushing as his murdering one. “But I don’t think either of us would have enjoyed it. You seem like you’d be a very bad slave, and I know I’d be a terrible master. This solution plays to both of our strengths.”
David nodded, closing his eyes with a wince as the sharp, stabbing magic of the life debt bit down, locking them both to their promises. “I just hope you know what a mess you’re inviting,” he said, dropping Julius’s hand to shake out his fingers. “Designing a system dragons can’t abuse isn’t going to be easy.”
“That’s why I called you in to help,” Julius said, slumping back into his chair with a relieved sigh. “No one can do everything on their own.”
In what seemed to be his default expression now, David gave him another baffled look. Before he could say anything, though, Fredrick cut between them with a large plate of food, which he shoved unceremoniously into Julius’s hands.
“That’s enough of that,” the F growled, glaring at David. “The debt is made, but if you want the Great Julius to be conscious later for the vote, he needs to eat and rest.”
“I was just leaving,” David assured him. “I have a lot of work ahead of me.” He turned back to Julius with a bow that would have been graceful if it wasn’t so obvious how unused David was to lowering his head. “I hope you feel better.”
Julius nodded, his mouth too full of delicious roast to answer. As soon as David moved away, Fredrick moved in to cover Julius’s side, keeping the other dragons away while Julius stuffed himself as fast as his hands could move.
***
After the excitement surrounding their entrance into Algonquin’s airspace, the rest of Marci’s grand return to the DFZ was almost boring.
