30. Blaze

"Can we go and see your cook, Mrs. Wilson?"

Alfie beamed at me in a way that made me think he was pleased I'd remembered her name. Of course I remembered. She made the best food I'd ever tasted. And Alfie talked about her a lot, even if he didn't realise he was doing it.

It was strange to me that he never said the sprites were his clan, but it was obvious that they were. They lived on their land and worked in their castle, and it was their elder's protections which kept them safe.

I was going to ask them about it one day. Not today, though. I didn't think they'd like me prying straight away.

Instead, I went down to the kitchen and looked around me. I was just as hungry again.

Mrs. Wilson was a short, plump woman and she looked at me with assessing eyes before saying, "Ah, you're the one who's been living in the woods, are you?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you for sending me so much delicious food."

She smiled. "You're welcome. I take it Lord Somerville has allowed you to stay?"

"Yes, he has."

"In that case, you must be hungry."

I found myself sat at the large oak table, with a large bowl of fresh apple pie and cream, and a cup of strong tea.

"Now you sit there, chuck, and wait a moment. This apple pie is fresh from the oven. Careful now, it's hot."

She fussed around me for ages, waiting for me to take my first bite. When I did, I gave a groan of pleasure. It was absolutely delicious.

Mrs. Wilson beamed with pride.

"You just eat up; I won't have you going hungry while I'm chef."

"I've not been hungry since I've been here, thanks to you and your delicious cooking."

I glanced at Alfie and our eyes met. He gave me a bashful little smile and I said, "Alfie's been taking good care of me."

Mrs. Wilson clucked. "Of course he did! What else was he meant to do? I won't have you going hungry and I'm glad Lord Somerville saw fit to give you hospitality."

I tried not to wolf the food down but I'd been burning in my flame form for a long time without any fuel, and so I was ravenous. Luckily for me, Mrs. Wilson only grew more pleased the more I ate. She piled my plate high and promised to make my favourite dishes and looked after me like I was… I don't know, like I was her family or something.

Other than from Alfie, I'd never felt that sort of care before. It made my eyes fill with tears even as I ate, and I blinked them back, feeling silly for wanting to cry because I was happy. It was just that it had been a hard day. A long day.

I'd been away from Alfie for so long, and I'd been worried about what they were doing to Alfie inside the castle, afraid of what the hag was doing to the boundary, and then I'd been caught. There had been a moment when I'd genuinely thought I'd be killed. And Alfie had saved me.

Then he had shocked me by shifting. Into a golden dragon. A legend come to life.

Something in me deflated at the thought. Someone that powerful wouldn't want to be with me, would they? Alfie would have people lining up to mate him.

I stopped eating, unable to swallow another bite and thanked Mrs. Wilson.

She chucked me under the chin in a way that startled me and made me feel a bit special at the same time. I suddenly thought I understood what Alfie meant when he said that his clan treated him like a child. I felt small and looked after. The difference was that I wanted more of it, whereas Alfie found it stifling.

We left the kitchen and Alfie wandered the corridors, pointing out various rooms. The parlour, the dining hall, the offices, the storage rooms, the billiards room… he listed them off and I almost instantly forgot where they were.

When we reached another door, Alfie said, "This is the medical room."

He pushed the door open and I went in. It was a sterile place, of course, and it was laid out efficiently and neatly. It smelled of bleach.

I wandered over to a large piece of equipment and asked, "What's this?"

"I don't know. It's one of Glenwise's machines. We're not allowed to touch it."

I looked over my shoulder. "Why not?"

"Glenwise doesn't like us touching things in case we break them."

"Is Glenwise… part of your clan?" Because, from what Alfie had told me, he wasn't. Not any longer. He and another of their clan, Rhod, had disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving behind a dead body.

Alfie frowned.

"I-I suppose not. Father disowned them. But I still don't think we should touch anything. Just- just in case."

There was something about Alfie that was bothering me. He was… different than before. And I couldn't put my finger on it. So I pushed.

"In case what?"

"In case he comes back."

Given what I knew of Lord Somerville, I thought it was unlikely that he'd take back a dragon he had banished. But then Alfie knew that better than I did. I'd learned it from him, after all.

We were just walking out of the medical room – leaving all the equipment untouched – when Alfie startled and looked to the end of the corridor. I paused and followed his gaze and, sure enough, one of his bonds must have been telling him something because Lord Somerville rounded the corner, looking angry and cold.

"Alphonse, what is the meaning of this?"

"What do you mean, Father?"

"I told the fire spirit to stay in the grand hall, where he could be watched."

"Oh. Did you? I didn't realise. I- I mean, I thought you said he could stay in the castle. I was showing him round."

I hated that his father made Alfie sound so unsure. He always stuttered and hesitated more when he was intimidated or uncertain. I didn't mind him talking and talking because that was who he was, and I loved him, loved every part of him. But I knew he felt silly and small every time he did it, and I hated it for that reason.

Lord Somerville drew himself up and glared down at me. I was much smaller than he was, and I suddenly realised that he and Alfie were the same size. Alfie had grown in the past year, and I hadn't even noticed as it happened.

"I will escort the fire spirit to his room and ensure he is secure."

"Can- can I come?" asked Alfie.

"No. You will go to your own room. Tomorrow morning, you will start work learning how to use your powers to protect our territory. There are significant weaknesses that need addressing."

I kept quiet. I didn't dare to point out that I'd told him that already. That maybe he owed me some thanks for saving his defences from the hag's nasty spells. That maybe he should show more respect to Alfie, since he wanted to use the power of the golden dragon for his own benefit. It seemed to me that the least Lord Somerville could do was to say ‘please'.

He didn't.

He grabbed my arm and marched off. I recoiled from his touch and the chilling cold of it. It felt the hag's grip all over again, though not quite as bad. Her grip on my wick had been excruciating, and Lord Somerville was only hurting my arm, not the core of me.

I twisted round to say goodbye to Alfie, and saw him standing there, shaking.

"Good night," I said, and tried to sound as cheerful as I could. I hated to leave my darling but if being locked up for the night would mean I got to stay in the territory, I'd take it.

I wasn't sure whether Lord Somerville would take me to the dungeons or something, but he didn't. He took me up and up, to one of the highest rooms. He must have known that I couldn't fly or climb. I was fire, but I needed solid ground beneath me. Once he locked me inside the bedroom, I couldn't get out except through the door.

The first thing he did was to lock the door, and then I felt the barbed-wire spells being layered over it. There was no way I'd get out again without him opening that door for me, not unless I wanted to be cut to ribbons by those spells.

So I stood in my new room and looked around me. It was a large room, easily more beautiful than any room I'd ever been in before. It seemed a little bare, as though some of the furniture was missing.

And it was cold. There was a draft coming from the window.

I wandered round, pointlessly touching things, not sure how I felt.

Alfie was a golden dragon. That was… way beyond anything I'd considered before. He would inherit his father's title in time and I was sure that he'd do great things.

I just didn't know where that left me.

It was clear that his father didn't trust me. On the other hand, he'd let me stay. Maybe I'd get to stay in the castle and work my magic for the Somervilles and I'd get to see Alfie every day.

That seemed both wonderful and yet, somehow, so depressing.

Considering I'd spent months wishing to get into the castle, wishing Alfie's family knew about me, now that I was here I found myself longing for the way it had been before, when it was just me and him and I knew he'd come and see me every day and snuggle against me and take my mouth with his.

I found my thoughts scattering and, as always when I got overwhelmed, I wanted to flicker into my flame form and just burn. That way I wouldn't need to think. I went to the hearth, but it was cold and damp and there wasn't anything in the room I could burn except the expensive-looking dresser. I didn't dare to.

So I had to stay in my human form.

I pulled back the sheets, which smelled a bit musty, and crawled between them. I lay like that for minutes, listening to the sounds of the castle around me. I was sure I could hear talking in the distance but it was so faint I couldn't hope to tell who it was, let alone what they were saying. I heard footsteps, briefly, and I heard doors closing. Each one shut with a final-sounding click.

Then I heard a snort.

I sat up. Because that snort came from outside.

I rushed to the window and looked out and, sure enough, there was my golden dragon, beating his magnificent wings and looking straight in at me through the window.

It took me a few tries to get the window open. It was rusted and creaked as it opened. The ledge outside was large, large enough for a dragon to land on, and Alfie eased himself onto it. At the last moment, though, he slipped and his whole body shot towards the ground. He made a surprised sound in his throat and I shouted in fright.

"Alfie!"

His wings burst into movement again and raised his large body up, up until he was level with my window again.

His expression was sheepish. I was surprised I could tell that on a dragon but, somehow, this dragon was so… Alfie that I could. I could read him easily.

I stood back and this time he landed on the window ledge with only a bit of shuffling and then he was trying to push his way into the room still in his dragon form. His long neck slid in and seemed to search me out, and I reached out a hand and touched my palm to his snout.

"I think you're going to have to shift back if you want to fit through that window, my darling."

The dragon huffed because he didn't know how to shift back.

"Come on, my darling. Think human thoughts. Don't you want to get in here where it's warm and snuggle up with me? We can sit together."

Alfie practically fell through the window, landing on the carpet with a thud, in his human form.

He was across to me in an instant, his arms around me and his nose pressed against my neck. I liked it when he did that, though I couldn't say what it was about the movement that made me feel so… adored.

He mumbled, "Can we really sit together?"

"Yes, of course."

I looked around. There was no chair.

"We can sit on the bed."

I was practically lifted off my feet as Alfie dragged me across the room to the bed and I found myself seated in his lap, in my favourite place. His arms were tightly around me, his body seemed to surround me and protect me, and I relaxed into his hold.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he asked after a while.

I tensed. It hadn't occurred to me that it wouldn't be okay. But maybe Alfie had realised that his family wouldn't like him being with someone like me. His whole family was… a bit intimidating. They were all so aristocratic and austere.

Alfie's arms tightened around me and, when he spoke, his voice sounded thick.

"Do you want me to let you go?"

"Do you want to?" I asked.

Two days ago, I'd never have thought it. Alfie wanted me, I was certain. But that had been before his family knew about me. Before he'd become a golden dragon.

My answer was his arms tightening yet again. By that time, I could hardly breathe. I was okay with not breathing, though, if Alfie was holding me tightly.

"No, I don't want to let you go. My dragon is trying to get out of me again. It's like my bursting, but this time I know it's my dragon. It wants to get closer to you."

I chuckled. "We're as close as we can get."

"Not quite," he said.

I stilled. "Do you mean…?"

"Only if you want. I want you, Blaze. I've always wanted you. It was just that my bursting got worse when we kissed. Now, though, I think my dragon's going to rip its way out of me if we don't kiss."

That was all the invitation I needed. I twisted in Alfie's arms and pressed my mouth to his.