Last Dragon Standing (Heartstrikers #5)(53)
He blew out a line of smoke, letting Conrad see just how big he was beneath his human mask. And he was big. As the eldest son of the Qilin, Fredrick was well aware that he was much larger than he should have been given age alone. The rest of his clutch was the same, but none of them had had any idea of their true size because of the seal. Yet another thing Bethesda had stolen from them. That time was over, though. This was a new age, one where they had the power, and while the timing was unfortunate, Fredrick refused to let another minute pass without forcing the rest of the clan to acknowledge that.
“You are the Champion of the Heartstrikers,” he said, tilting his head up slightly so he could glare at Conrad. “You value the power and prestige of the clan above all else. I’m sure you can find your way to the DFZ without my help, but do you want to? Because we have no end of places we can go as free dragons. If you want Heartstriker to remain the top clan in the world, though, you need us.”
By the time he finished, Conrad was growling so loudly he was shaking the cement. It was a terrifying sound, because as big as Fredrick was, Conrad was bigger. Putting him on the spot like this was a dangerous gambit, but Fredrick and his siblings had all agreed they’d seize this chance with both hands or not at all, so despite the sweat trickling through his black hair, Fredrick held his ground. But then, just when the knight looked ready to call his bluff, David stepped in front of him.
“We’ll take it.”
Conrad jerked back, glaring down at his younger brother, but the draconic senator from New Mexico waved the look away. “Now’s not the time to be inflexible, Conrad,” he said, flashing Fredrick a smooth smile. “If you think about it, we’re getting this for a song. Our clan has treated the Fs worse than humans for six centuries. Once they got unsealed, I was sure they’d be out for our blood, but apparently they’ve fallen into Julius’s gravity just like all the rest of the upper alphabet, because they’re not demanding retribution. They’re not even asking for an apology. All they want is a binding promise that we’ll treat them ‘equally.’ A promise I have no idea how they’ll enforce since it’s a proven fact that most Heartstrikers treat their siblings like dirt.”
That comment drew a laugh from the crowd, and David’s smile widened. “You want to be treated like normal Heartstrikers? Fine.” He extended his hand to Fredrick. “I swear on my fire to treat you with the exact same callous disregard I give to every other sibling who hasn’t proven themselves useful. And since I’m the highest-ranking Heartstriker present with the exception of Conrad and Justin, I also swear on my fire to make all of our lesser siblings do the same on pain of my displeasure. That way we won’t have to sit here and wait for you to squeeze a separate oath out of every single dragon while the world crumbles around us.” The crowd laughed again, and David’s green eyes twinkled. “That good enough for you, prince of the Fs?”
Fredrick didn’t answer at once. He was too busy replaying David’s words in his head, frantically looking for the hook or double cross he knew had to be there. For once, though, the most political Heartstriker seemed to be playing him straight. From the way he was bouncing on his feet, David actually looked even more eager to get to the fight than Justin, which was out of character enough to make Fredrick extra leery.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Because I have a lot of plans in the air, and I’d rather the world didn’t end before they came to fruition,” David said. “I’m also chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, and I’ve already pulled every string I have convincing the president to scramble all of our forces to the DFZ’s defense. That’s a lot of political capital wasted if I’m not there for the victory photo op.”
Fredrick sighed. There was the David he knew. In a way, though, his blatant maneuvering for power was reassuring, because it meant he was serious. If David saw Fredrick and the others as the means to his ends, he’d keep his promise to the letter, and he’d force every Heartstriker below him to do the same. That was as much as Fredrick could hope for, and he found himself reaching out for the older dragon’s hand.
“We’ll take it,” he said as they shook.
“As you should,” David said, squeezing Fredrick’s fingers painfully before looking over his shoulder at Conrad. “Your turn. Quickly now.”
“I will swear nothing,” Conrad snarled, looking down his nose at Fredrick. “Knights do not give in to threats. But I will give you my word that if you fly with us against the enemy, I will treat you all as Heartstrikers. Nothing less, nothing more.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Justin piped up, standing as tall as he could at his older brother’s side. “Now can we get going? At this rate, Julius will probably trip over something and kill the Leviathan by accident before we even get there, the lucky bastard.”
Fredrick glanced at his siblings. When they nodded their agreement, he turned back to the knights. “We accept.”
“About time,” Justin growled, drawing his sword. “Take us to Detroit!”
Fredrick nodded and bent down to pick up his sword. When his hand wrapped around the hilt, though, David placed his elegant Italian leather shoe on the blade. “Not with that,” he said when Fredrick glared at him. “I know how Chelsie’s blade works, and if we have to wait for you to ferry the whole clan over by twos, this will take forever. I have a much better idea.”