Last Dragon Standing (Heartstrikers #5)(68)
“Yeah, we know,” Justin snapped. “She makes us watch every time she’s on. But I don’t see what your famewhoring sellout of a dragon-and-pony show has to do with anything.”
“Justin,” Julius hissed, putting a hand on his brother’s arm as he dropped his voice to a whisper. “We don’t have enough allies to afford insulting one!”
“But he’s the head of the clanless,” Justin hissed back. “They’ll take anyone who’ll swear loyalty to Drake. Complete lack of standards. Don’t believe me, check out who’s lurking in his ranks.”
Justin glanced at the mismatched knot of Marlin Drake’s “clan” standing at the far edge of the cavern. Sure enough, the clanless dragons stood out from the rest of the room like platypuses among swans. All the other families were clearly cut from the same cloth with similar clothing and physical features. Even the Golden Empire’s dragons—which were technically twenty different clans held together by a lucky golden claw—looked like a matched set. But the only uniting feature of the clanless dragons was that they were standing together. They came from every family, age, and type, including a few breeds Julius had never seen before. All of them looked scruffy and intimidated by the bigger powers surrounding them, but one dragon in particular seemed to be going out of his way to hide in the shadows, his green eyes glowing like a sulking cat’s.
“Is that…” Julius squinted through the gloom, breathing in deep to catch the dragon’s scent. When he found it, he grabbed Justin’s arm. “That’s Gregory!”
It didn’t seem possible, but Julius’s nose didn’t lie. There was no question the dragon lurking at the urban cavern’s edge was Gregory no-longer-Heartstriker. Just seeing him was enough to make Julius’s long-healed injuries twinge as if they were fresh. The only reason he didn’t panic was because Gregory looked just as freaked out as Julius felt. The banished dragon was practically cowering behind his fellow clanless, watching the Heartstrikers as though he expected them to come over and rip his head off at any second, which, given the way Justin was growling, was probably a legitimate fear.
“You dare bring a traitor into our midst?” the knight snarled, taking a menacing step toward Marlin Drake. “Some ally.”
“I didn’t bring him,” Drake replied. “He was called by the Planeswalker and summoned by the White Witch same as the rest of us. My only crime was vouching for him, but don’t worry. I’ve heard all about the unpleasantness at Heartstriker Mountain, and I promise you personally that he will be no trouble.” He looked over his shoulder at Gregory with a killing smile. “As a clanless dragon, he has nowhere else to go. Even Heartstriker’s enemies would not shelter a traitor. I’m his only safe harbor, and I’ve made it very clear that my protection is strictly conditional on our continued good relations with your family.” He turned back to Julius with a smile. “You won’t even know he’s here.”
“I’ll believe that when it happens,” Julius grumbled. But annoyed as he was at this new complication, a very small part of him was happy that Gregory had found someone to take him in. Dragons were highly social creatures, and traitor or not, no one deserved to be alone.
“This has been a very humbling experience for him,” Drake said, leaning around the still-growling Justin to lock his eyes on Julius. “He was actually the one who first told me your name. You’re the head of Heartstriker now, aren’t you?”
“I’m one of three heads,” Julius corrected. “I share power with Bethesda and my brother Ian via a clan council.”
“Dragons don’t share power,” Drake said dismissively. “On paper, perhaps, your rule is split, but I just saw every dragon in the world deferring to you, which tells me where the real power lies.” He moved a little closer. “So how did it actually go down? Gregory was tragically short on the details, and Bethesda threatened to eat me when I asked her. I’d love to hear the whole story from the dragon who was in the middle of things.”
He smiled eagerly, and Julius bit his lip. “We don’t really have the time right now to—”
“Of course, of course,” Drake said, moving closer still despite the increasing volume of Justin’s growling. “You can tell me everything on my show when this is over. An exclusive interview with you and your Merlin, and your knight, of course.” He flashed a smile at Justin, who seemed surprisingly mollified by the possibility of being on television despite badmouthing the whole idea earlier. But while his brother was looking pleased, Julius was starting to get annoyed.
“If we survive, I’ll think about it,” he said, moving away. “Right now, we have more important things to worry about.”
“But right now might be our last chance to talk,” Drake said, his sea-blue eyes gleaming dangerously. “I’m dying to know more about the runt of a J who rose from the bottom of his clan to become the leader who commands the respect of every important dragon in the world. The Qilin, Svena, the Planeswalker, even Bethesda’s Shade all defer to you, and I find that fascinating. Not surprising, of course. Unlikely success is in your blood. After all…” His lips curled into a coy smile. “You are my son.”
Julius jerked back so fast he nearly fell over. His face must have been a sight, because Marlin Drake’s smirk turned into a laugh. “When we survive this, call me,” he said, flipping a business card out of his sleeve and tucking it into the front pocket of Julius’s jacket. “We’ll do a whole series. ‘The Unlikely Dragon Who Saved the World!’ It’ll be a sensation.” He gave Julius a final wink and turned around. “Bring your Merlin girl as well. When I’m done, the two of you will be the talk of the world. I just hope you’re ready to be famous.”