Julius jumped, coming dangerously close to losing his balance as he spun around to see Chelsie standing behind him. This in itself was nothing unusual—it was the Heartstriker family motto that Chelsie was always behind you—but the rest of her was a shock.
His sister looked different. Physically, she was the same—same lean body, same short black hair, same deadly aura—but she wasn’t dressed in black combat armor and boots anymore. She was wearing normal clothes. Colorful clothes, including a purple sundress and a washed-out jean jacket that stopped just above her waist. Her feet were tied into pretty lace-up sandals with little straw flowers on the tips, and her toenails were painted the same green as her eyes. It was such a stark difference from how she usually looked, Julius didn’t know what to say, which unfortunately meant he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
“Are you going undercover?”
“What? No! I just…” Her cheeks flushed as she looked down at her clothes. “I haven’t gone shopping in a long time, okay? Modern women’s clothing is… tricky.” Her brows furrowed. “Is it weird?”
“No, no,” he said at once. “You look great! It’s just… really different.”
“You’re telling me,” she said, opening the door to his room so they could go in. “But I always hated wearing armor. Now that I no longer have to, I thought I’d try something new.”
“It looks lovely,” he assured her, trying not to show how relieved he was to get back to his bed. “So why are you here?”
Chelsie shrugged. “Can’t I just visit you?”
“Yes, but no one does that except Marci.” Julius sighed. “Amelia called you, didn’t she?”
“The moment you left the roof,” his sister confirmed. “But that’s actually very responsible of her. Your fire is still too low to be left unattended. Really, though, you should be flattered. The only other dragon she’s ever been this on the ball for is Bob.”
Julius was flattered, which was part of what made this so annoying. It was hard to be mad at your sister when she was only trying to help. “I’m just tired of being treated like I’m made of glass,” Julius grumbled. “I feel fine.”
Chelsie snorted. “You just collapsed in your bed after walking half a hallway.”
“Says the dragon who didn’t stop working after she got stabbed.”
“That was different,” Chelsie said sharply. “I had to do those things, but you’re not like me. You’re free, and we’re only doing this because we care about you. I don’t see how you have cause to complain.”
“I know,” Julius said, slumping into his pillows. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But it’s only been two days, and I’m already sick of it. I just feel so useless. Everyone else is up to their necks in important work, and I’m stuck here being a burden.”
“You’re not a burden,” Chelsie said. “You carried us over a lot of hard ground, Julius. Let us carry you for a change. And not all of us are working.” Her lips curled in a smile. “I didn’t just happen to be in the area when Amelia put out the call for someone to check on you. I came to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” Julius sat up with a start. “Why goodbye? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Chelsie said. “I’m just going on vacation.”
He gaped at her. “You are going on vacation?”
Chelsie’s smile grew wider. “Crazy, huh? I didn’t want to leave so soon, but Fredrick insisted. He and Frieda practically packed my bags for me. Bethesda’s still enjoying the novelty of getting to be in the DFZ without hiding, so F-clutch has taken over Heartstriker Mountain. They’re all there, including the baby. They said they needed Felicity to themselves for a whole week, some nonsense about teaching her F-clutch solidarity, so they kicked me out.” She shrugged helplessly. “I’d be suspicious, but it’s so transparent, there’s no point. Especially since Fredrick already went through the trouble of getting Xian kicked out too.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Julius said, putting up his hands. “Fredrick got the Golden Emperor kicked out of China?”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure that part was Xian’s idea. I find it highly convenient that my children kicked me out at the exact same time as my ex’s subjects suddenly decided he needed a week off.”
Julius did too. “But you’re still going, right?”
“Of course I’m going,” she said. “I haven’t been to the Bahamas in a century, and Xian’s never been. It’ll be nice.”
He grinned. “Nice, huh?”
“Shut up,” his sister snapped. “This doesn’t mean anything. We’re not back together, we’re just… trying it out. A lot has changed, and we need to get to know each other again before anything can… you know…” She cut off with a growl. “Why am I even telling you this? Anyway, I just wanted you to know where I was in case you needed me. I still owe you a huge debt, so if you need help with anything, promise you’ll call.”
Julius crossed his heart. “I solemnly swear that I will not call you for any reason while you are vacationing in paradise with the Golden Emperor. Have fun. You deserve it.”
“Whatever,” Chelsie grumbled, her face red. “Just try not to let Justin throw anyone out of your window. I’ll be back in time for the all-clan meeting next week.”
“The what?”
“The all-clan meeting,” she repeated, giving him a funny look. “Didn’t they tell you?”
“No!” Julius cried. “No one tells me anything in here! What’s the all-clan meeting?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Chelsie said, leaning against his door. “The defense against the Leviathan was the first time all the dragon clans had been together in one place in ten thousand years. Miraculously, we got through the whole thing without killing each other, so Bethesda, Ian, Xian, Svena, and Marlin Drake banded together to organize a more formal meeting next week. They’re even holding it in the DFZ since this is still the only neutral territory in the world, though that’s sure to change now that Algonquin’s no longer around to keep everyone away. Between you and me, I think a big reason Bethesda pushed for the meeting is because she intends to claim the DFZ for Heartstriker. Seeing how we control the rest of North America, I don’t see how anyone could object to that, but they will.”
“Of course they will,” Julius said. “Even in ruins, the DFZ is one of the wealthiest, most magical cities in the world. No one’s going to let Bethesda just walk in and take it. She could start a war.”
“So make sure she doesn’t,” Chelsie replied, giving him a wry smile. “You’re on the Council, and you wanted something useful to do.”
Dealing with his mother was not on Julius’s preferred list of jobs. He’d much rather have helped Marci, or Amelia, or General Jackson, or literally anyone else. But his sister was right. He was one of the heads of Heartstriker, and the fact that Ian and Bethesda had planned this meeting without him even knowing proved it was time to get back to work.