27. Blaze

Iwas held in the hag's pincer grip, flailing around in my flame form, unable to transform back to my human form.

The grip pinched me painfully but I didn't say anything. None of the people there cared that I was hurting, except Alfie and I didn't want him to know because he'd worry about me. So I held my silence.

We all proceeded to the great hall and, despite my fear, I was amazed by the splendour of the castle around me. It was all large corridors, high ceilings, marble floors, mahogany panelling and antique art.

Lord Somerville stood on a dais, looking out over the rest of the clan, and I thought Lady Somerville would join him but she stood beside Alfie instead. A woman who looked remarkably like her stood near Alfie, almost on the other side of him, and even without knowing anything about them, I could see that the position they'd taken up was defensive.

That didn't make me feel better.

I liked that Alfie was protected, obviously.

I didn't like that they thought they'd need to protect him. Who was going to hurt Alfie?

"Bring the fire spirit forward," said Lord Somerville.

His voice made me shudder with the icy power inside it, and I glanced at Alfie as I was dragged nearer to the dais.

Lady Somerville moved slightly as though to block Alfie from my view, and I realised with mingled surprise and relief that it was me she was protecting Alfie from. Surprise because I knew I wouldn't hurt Alfie, not ever. Relief because at least nobody else was a danger to him.

Except the hag. Her repulsive power was radiating out, making me feel like I was being tainted. My flames were burning the slimy tendrils as they touched me, and I was glad she'd caught me in this form and not my human form. I wouldn't be able to burn those spells if I was human.

The dragon elder looked at me for a long moment, and his eyes were sharp and pale silver-white.

"How did you enter our territory?"

"I slipped through in my flame form."

"When?"

"Before your Guardian made the border impenetrable."

He made an impatient movement with his hand and I realised that I wasn't going to be able to misdirect him. This was it. The truth would come out.

I tried to glance behind me to see Alfie, but I couldn't twist round that far, not with the way the hag was holding me.

"Let me go, please. I won't hurt anyone."

"No."

It didn't matter what he said anyway. At the mere notion that she might have to let me go, the hag's magical grip tightened around my wick and I gasped.

Behind me, Alfie said, "Stop hurting him!"

Lord Somerville said, "He is trespassing. The penalty for that is death."

I believed him. And the stupid thing was, I'd known that when I'd entered the territory. It was just, at the time, I hadn't thought I'd be caught there.

The hag spoke, and her rancid breath wafted over me. "I will dispose of him for you."

I knew exactly what she meant by that. Fire spirits were powerful, in our way, and we could be harvested for our magic. My wick, if she could kill me without it disintegrating, would be a source of strong fire magic. It would be worth a fortune.

Lord Somerville sneered. "We do not need you to do that. This is my territory. I will execute the trespasser."

Once again, Alfie's voice rang out. "No! No, you can't do that. I let him stay and he's never harmed anyone. He wasn't trespassing and you can't execute him. You can't. I won't let you."

As he spoke, his voice changed. It went from his own clear, sweet tones to something more gravelly, something with a growl in it. I heard the dragon in his voice and so did everyone around me.

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

I went from being the centre of everyone's attention to being completely ignored. Every pair of eyes turned to Alfie.

The hag turned round, practically turning her back on Lord Somerville, and I was twisted with her. I craned my flickering flame form so that I could see my darling and I gasped.

In his eyes, there was fire. They flashed the same colour as my flames, burning orange and gold instead of the usual silver colour.

Beside him, Lady Somerville whispered, "It's happening."

All of the dragons took a step nearer. They watched Alfie with an intensity that would have unnerved me. It would have unnerved Alfie too, normally, but his eyes were fixed on me and I could see the flames in them, was drawn to that fire in a way I'd never experienced before, and I could see that he was oblivious to everyone in that room except me, the hag holding me captive, and his father.

"Let him go," he said again, and this time the words rumbled out of him. His dragon was coming out.

I tried to speak but couldn't think what to say. Alfie's eyes blazed with something I wasn't familiar with, and I didn't know what I could do or say that would help him.

I watched along with all the other people in that room as Alfie shifted for the first time.

Scales rippled across his smooth skin, his body grew, pressed against the thin cotton of his sleep shirt, his face changed shape and his dragon burst out of him in a huge, glorious rush.

And, like everyone else, I gasped at what I saw.

It was the impossible, a myth I'd vaguely heard of but never thought would be true.

The rest of the clan breathed out in relief, as though this was what they'd hoped for. His mother sagged with despair. Lord Somerville tightened his magic, radiating a coldness that made me want to hiss and flicker away from it.

The hag clenched me harder, and there was possession and greed in that grip.

She wanted me.

And she wanted Alfie.