Conrad nodded. “Time is already short. If we fail to answer the summons, not only do we risk our fires, we cede our place at the top. They will call us cowards!” He bared his sharp teeth. “You are gambling with our honor, and you dare to ask for our respect?”
“We are not asking for respect,” Fredrick snarled, stepping forward to meet the tall knight eye to eye. “All we want is to be Heartstrikers, same as any other! I was just in the DFZ. I know exactly what is at stake, but I also know that the end of the world is the only thing big enough to make you stubborn snakes listen. If we Fs did our part and quietly obeyed, things would just go back to how they always were the moment the crisis passed. Now, though, you must listen to us, and that is why, before we go anywhere, I want a binding promise from each of you that F-clutch will no longer be treated as servants, but given the same rights and deference granted to any other dragon in this family.”
“Why should we give you anything?” Conrad demanded, crossing his massive arms over his massive chest. “You say you want to be equals, yet you come to us like enemies with threats and demands. But your blade is empty, eldest F.”
“Quite,” David agreed, holding up his sleek black phone. “We’ve been hearing about Svena’s portal from other dragon clans for the last half hour, so if you were counting on playing the ‘I’m your only way’ card, that ship has sailed. We don’t need you to get to the DFZ.”
“You don’t,” Fredrick acknowledged. “But we don’t need you, either.”
He opened his hand, letting his Fang fall to the bunker’s cement floor. The sword landed with a crash that made everyone flinch, even Conrad. But though it was still rocking loudly against the hard floor, Fredrick made no move to retrieve it.
“I picked up that sword for Chelsie’s sake,” he growled. “But that time is passed. We are happy to fight for a clan that accepts us, but if you can’t promise that, then my siblings and I will leave Heartstriker.”
“You can’t do that,” Justin snapped. “No one leaves the family unless they get kicked out.”
“Try and stop us,” Fredrick snarled back, drawing himself to his full height. “Can you not see what’s standing in front of you? We are no longer sealed dragons. We’re Fs, the largest of Heartstriker’s remaining upper alphabet clutches! In the whole clan, there are only ten dragons older or bigger than we are. Nine if you don’t count Amelia, whom I’m sure no longer considers herself a Heartstriker. But there are twenty of us, full-grown dragons ready to fight.”
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.”