29. Alfie

Ididn't want to go and talk to my father. Something about the way he said ‘we need to talk' made the dragon inside me grouchy, and it was such an unfamiliar feeling to have a massive beast inside me that I wasn't sure I'd be able to cope if it did something. After all, it was bigger than I was.

My dragon snorted, and I got the impression it thought I was being silly.

Great, another person who thought I was ridiculous. I hoped my dragon wasn't going to treat me like a child the way everyone else did.

"Alphonse," said my father again. There was a warning in his tone.

I reluctantly let go of Blaze's hand. I didn't want to leave him but at least he was standing beside Mother. She'd protect him.

Blaze spoke softly, but his voice commanded me much more surely than my father's did.

"Wait," he said.

He slipped his coat off, the one I'd given him so long ago. I didn't like to see him taking it off because it was something of mine that he kept with him all the time, and I liked that.

He held it out to me.

"Here, you can borrow my coat. So you're not… naked."

The way he phrased that made me feel good. It was his coat. He'd liked my gift so much, it was his now.

Then I processed the rest of that sentence and looked down at myself. Yep, I was naked. I guess I'd burst out of my sleep clothes when I'd shifted.

I knew that none of my family were particularly shy because dragons needed to shift in and out of their dragon form, which meant being naked, but also I'd never done that and it made me flush red with embarrassment. I took Blaze's coat and slipped it on, glad it was long enough to cover my ass.

Blaze's fingers worked at the fastenings to make sure it was done up, and I smiled to myself that he was taking care of me. Or maybe he was just trying to get my junk out of sight.

The flash of memory of the last time Blaze had put his hands near my dick sent a wave of lust through me, and I backed away from him quickly, hoping I could stop that thought before I got hard.

I gave him a quick smile and then walked over to the dais where my father was standing, looking angry and cold.

"You know it is your duty to report any trespassers to me."

I nodded. It wasn't as though I could deny that. We all learned that before we could crawl.

"You have nothing to say?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him because I know I should have reported him, but I- I'm not sorry I let him stay and I'm not sorry I didn't tell you about him because you'd have sent him away."

I paused. I'd just said two completely contradictory things there.

My father's lips pressed together in a thin line and I felt his power gather to him, cold and angry. For the first time, I felt that clearly, whereas before I'd always just got a vague impression of it. He was drawing power to him.

Fascinated, I watched the power being drawn through his bonds. They were icy and brittle, and no wonder Father's power always felt cold – he was taking the power from me, taking the heat and the fire.

I just stood there and stared at it. All those bonds. He drew the magic along the bonds from every member of the clan.

"You- you—"

I couldn't think what to say. Which was a first.

I didn't even realise I was backing away from him. My instinct was to get closer to Blaze. He needed me to protect him. Or maybe I needed him to protect me?

My father said, clearly and slowly, "All trespassers must be killed. It is your duty as a Somerville to protect this territory."

I didn't know what I would have said to that. I wasn't sure what my dragon would do, either. It didn't seem to want to talk, not the dragons could. It wanted to… do something else. Move in some way. I could feel its restlessness inside me.

I just couldn't work out what it wanted.

Before I could try and respond to my father, though, Blaze stepped forward.

"Lord Somerville? I have protected your territory."

My father turned his cold eyes on Blaze and, although he kept his face neutral, I saw the pulse of uncertainty in Blaze's bond with me. I went to stand beside him and held his hand.

Lord Somerville looked down at the two of us and considered. He was still gathering power to himself and the chill in the air made me want to shiver.

"How have you guarded my territory, fire spirit?"

"The hag was laying spells at the borders that were destroying the protective spells. Each spell she put down grew and rotted the spells it touched."

"She has not left the castle."

Blaze's hand was shaking and I clutched it tighter, trying to tell him how brave I thought he was being by talking to my father.

"She found me outside. I can show you where she laid the spells at your borders and I can show you the door she used to get in and out. You can check the spells for yourself. She snuck out."

My father didn't believe him and I didn't know what to say to make him.

Blaze just carried on. He sounded so sure that my father had to believe him, surely.

"The spells over your castle have been tampered with. That is a fact. Either the hag got out and found me outside, or I got in and she found me inside. Either way, your defences have been breached."

Behind me, there was a murmur. It was so quiet that I couldn't make out the words, nor which of my clan had made the noise, but there was definitely a sound. An agreement. They didn't like the idea of our defences being breached.

That left us vulnerable.

Blaze looked straight at my father.

"Let me show you where the hag laid her spells. You can see for yourself. And you can see that I burned them away, protecting your territory, Lord Somerville."

"Why would you protect my territory?"

Blaze's fingers squeezed mine back.

"Because I am inside it, and those protections keep me safe, as well as your clan. I have… grown fond of your clan, Lord Somerville. I offer you my services in protecting them."

He eyed Blaze for a long time and the dragon inside me began to vibrate with nerves, sure it would be needed to surge up and protect our- our friend.

Just when I thought I would go mad with the tension of waiting, my father nodded.

"Very well. I shall inspect the castle doors. You will stay here."

With that, he swept across the grand hall and out of the double doors.

I just stared after him, not sure what had happened. I looked to my mother for an explanation, but she was crying silently.

"Mother? What happened? What's wrong?"

She whispered, "It's happening again."

Aunt Silvia was standing beside her with her arms around her, and she shook her head. "No, Regina, it's not. Alfie is different. And we are not under attack. He will learn to control his power and build our defences, that is all."

Mother cried harder.

I'd never seen her cry. Her face scrunched up and became red and blotchy. I felt way out of my depth as I stood there, not able to help at all.

Behind me, the door opened with a slow creak and I glanced over. Standing framed in the doorway was Great Aunt Evangeline, looking pale and weak. She was leaning heavily on her stick and had one hand against the doorframe to support her.

Uncle George hurried over to her but nobody else moved. He slid his arm under hers and lifted so she could lean on him. He kept his face practically blank, but I could see his worry for her in the tightness of their bond.

Actually, once I looked, I could see the tension radiating out from every bond around me. Everybody was scared. They could feel the lingering chill of my father's power and feel him draining theirs, even if they didn't realise that's what it was.

Great Aunt Evangeline walked a few steps into the room and her eyes were fixed on me. They were old, old eyes, and the strange new feeling inside me – my dragon – reacted to them in a way I hadn't before. It felt… seen.

And it saw, too.

It saw Great Aunt Evangeline's power in a way that I hadn't before. It saw her bonds shine strong and bright, looking far more alive than she did.

"I knew it," she said. Her voice was quavery, not as strong as it had been just a few days ago. She hadn't recovered yet. She looked happy, though. There was an excitement alight in her eyes as she looked at me. "I felt it. I had to see for myself. You've shifted."

"You- you know about that?"

"Our bond has changed."

Looking down, I saw the strong golden bond between us. I followed her gaze as she took in all the bonds in the room, saw her follow my bright, beautiful bond all the way to Blaze, and then she looked me in the eyes and smiled.

My mouth responded before the rest of me could decide whether that was a good idea. It would have been nice if my dragon could have sorted that out for me and stopped me being such a blabbermouth.

"This is Blaze, Great Aunt Evangeline. He's a fire spirit and he's my- my favourite person."

The old woman smiled and there was joy and pity in that smile.

"Am I to understand that Blaze Fire has been granted permission to stay in Somerville territory?"

"Yes."

She turned her attention to my mother. She looked, and I saw their bond flicker, though I wasn't sure why. If I had to guess, I'd say that Great Aunt Evangeline was reading my mother the way I'd read Blaze through our bond.

She looked at Aunt Silvia. "Take her upstairs. She needs to rest."

As Aunt Silvia obeyed, I saw Mother start to sag against her as though she'd just drank a sleeping potion, already falling asleep as she walked.

Then Great Aunt Evangeline turned to Blaze.

"Welcome, Blaze Fire."

Inside me, my dragon made a weird, growly sound. I didn't know why, so I ignored it.

"Have you shown him our territory?"

I shook my head. "He's been—" I stopped myself before I could say ‘hiding'. That didn't give a very positive impression, and I didn't want Great Aunt Evangeline to look down on Blaze. Finally I said, "Outside. Blaze has been outside."

She gave a gracious nod, and I felt somehow that this was a formal occasion, a ceremony as Blaze was welcomed into the family. If Great Aunt Evangeline liked him, he must be welcome, right? And Father had said he could stay.

I grinned and looked at Blaze.

"Do you want to see the rest of the castle?"

He nodded and I dragged him out of the grand hall and down the corridor.