Being free of the last vestige of Bethesda’s control over them felt as good as Fredrick had hoped, but he hadn’t expected all his brothers and sisters to share the Qilin’s eyes. In hindsight, though, Fredrick didn’t know how it could have been otherwise. They were the children of the Golden Emperor, the most magical dragon to ever live, with a fire that had been carefully tended for hundreds of thousands of years. Of course his mark would be on all of them, even if his luck was not.
But Fredrick had no need for luck. With his siblings beside him and their real mother’s Fang in his hands, he could make their future himself. This was just the first step, and Fredrick meant to step big, motioning for the others to take position behind him in the sterile, cement-brick underground hallway. When all his family was in place, Fredrick nodded at his sister Frieda, who was standing in front of the heavy steel doors at the hallway’s end.
The moment his head moved, Frieda hauled back and kicked the doors open, knocking both off their hinges and clearing F-clutch’s way into the bunker deep below the Heartstriker compound in the District of Columbia, where all the rest of the clan was waiting.
They were all there, too. Fredrick had known they would be. His new sword knew where every Heartstriker was, but it was still intimidating to see so many green eyes turn to look at him. Every Heartstriker in the family except for Bethesda and Ian—who were still at the mountain—and Julius, Amelia, Chelsie, and Bob—who were already in the DFZ—was packed into the warded bunker hidden below David’s Washington, DC, mansion. Conrad himself was standing on the riser at the front, addressing the army of dragons he’d gathered to fight the Qilin’s invasion.
The moment he had the clan champion in his sights, Fredrick started looking for the second most dangerous target, but the other knight of the Heartstrikers found them first, stepping out from behind the door Frieda had just kicked down with his Fang drawn and his teeth bared.
As always, Justin came out ready to fight. He stopped in surprise when he saw who it was, and then his mouth curled into a dismissive smile. “It’s okay,” he announced, lowering his sword. “It’s just the Fs.” He tilted his head at Fredrick and the others. “Where have you guys been? And what’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Nothing,” Fredrick said calmly as his siblings fanned out to form a wall behind him. “They’ve simply returned to their natural color.”
That should have been the bomb drop of the night, but Justin didn’t even seem to be listening. He was too busy gawking at the Fang of the Heartstriker in Fredrick’s hand. “Where did you get that?” he demanded. “Where’s Julius?”
“He’s fine,” Fredrick said, lifting the blade. “This isn’t his sword. It’s Chelsie’s.”
“I know that,” Justin snapped. “You think I wouldn’t recognize the sword that stabbed me in the back? I want to know why you have it, and why aren’t you at Julius’s side? You’re supposed to be looking out for him! What are you doing here?”
“I would like to know that as well,” Conrad rumbled. He jumped down off the riser, and the rest of the clan parted like water as the giant dragon made his way to the back of the room. “I ordered everyone to gather here two days ago so we could prepare to take our mountain back from the Golden Emperor. You were exempt since you were watching Julius, but the rest of your clutch is still part of the family. Like every Heartstriker, you were all expected to appear when summoned, but only Frieda showed up.” The champion’s hard green eyes narrowed. “If this is rebellion, Fredrick, you picked a bad time. I can’t afford to be lenient when so much is at stake.”
“It is not a rebellion,” Fredrick replied, jaw clenching. “It’s true we have little reason to love Heartstriker, but Julius risked his life to prove that we are all family, and him we will never betray. He is the reason we are here now. Julius asked me to bring you all to the DFZ so that you may fight for the clan against Algonquin’s End.”
“Is that it?” Justin said, chuckling. “If that was all you wanted, why’d you kick the door down?” He waved at the dragons behind him, whom Fredrick now realized were all fully equipped for battle. “We’re already ready to roll. You didn’t have to get all gangster about it.”
“I didn’t think you’d be so prepared,” Fredrick admitted. “I’d heard nothing, so—”
“You didn’t think we would cower from a fight, did you?” Justin said, insulted. “What do you think we’ve been doing here? Having a party? We’ve been prepping to take back Heartstriker Mountain for the last thirty-six hours! We were just about to head home and kick some golden butt when we heard Amelia’s voice in our fires.” His eyes dropped again to Fredrick’s sword, and a grin spread over his face. “Now I get it. You’re here to bring in the cavalry! Julius sent you here with Chelsie’s dimensional can opener so you could ferry us to the DFZ, didn’t he?”
“He did ask me to bring you, yes,” Fredrick said, his voice growing hard. “But before I take you to join the others, my siblings and I have a requirement that must be met.”
Angry whispers rose from the crowd of watching dragons, many of whom were looking at Fredrick in the way he knew all too well: the disdainful glare that said he was wasting their time. That he was lesser, not even a piece on their chessboards. Seeing it now made his jaw clench. That look was why he’d had Frieda kick down the door, and he would not leave again until he’d wiped it off every one of their faces.
“Heartstriker has treated my clutch as slaves from the moment we were born,” he announced, his voice shaking with six centuries of suppressed fury. “Julius Heartstriker won us our freedom, but your thinking has not adapted. Now that I am one of the Fangs of the Heartstriker, I will not allow that to continue.” He raised his sword for everyone to see. “Before I take you to the DFZ to join the fight, each of you must swear on your fire to treat my clutch the same as any other in the family from this point forward.”
He’d waited all his life to say those words, but they were met with laughter. Some dragons looked merely amused, while others mocked him openly. Justin was rolling his eyes, but Conrad looked dangerously insulted, reaching for the large Fang lashed to his back with a look of cold malice.
“You dare waste our time with this?” the champion growled. “Amelia was very clear. Every dragon is needed to defeat this enemy. As the greatest clan in the world, we should be leading that charge.”
“And our fires will be snuffed if we don’t show up,” added a dry voice as David pushed his way out of the crowd. “Amelia will do it, too. She’s never cared about anyone except Bob, and she doesn’t make empty threats.”