37. Blaze

Alfie blinked at me as though he were surprised he's shifted.

"My dragon's gone," he said. "You healed me. I love you. I have bonds with everybody. Wait, I didn't mean to say it in that order. I meant to tell you I love you. That's the most important one."

My darling Alfie. Relief washed through me as I realised he was still the same, still the young man I knew.

I'd worried for a moment that he had become too much a dragon, too fierce with the raw strength and power that he contained.

Beside me, Alfie's mother moved. She reached out a hand slowly, as though afraid of what she might feel, and touched Alfie's cheek. I thought perhaps she was just checking he was real. That he was alive.

She had pressed close to me during the fight, and I'd heard her tiny gasps each time Alfie had been hurt. She did not flinch and gasp when her husband was hurt.

On my other side was a woman I knew to be her sister, Alfie's Aunt Silvia. She had one arm on my elbow and the other on her sister's back. She was lending us both silent support, being there for us both. I had felt… strange. Protected.

I'd begun to feel safe with Alfie but that had been a small thing, just the two of us. I had never felt the protection surround me like this.

Now both women studied my mate and I let them touch his cheeks and reassure themselves.

Alfie said, "I'm okay, Mother. Are you hurt? Did anyone get you? Are you cross with me?"

It took her several seconds to answer, to swallow and work the words up her throat.

"I've been afraid of this day for so long."

"I won't hurt you. I know I just killed that dragon but he was hurting Blaze. I asked him to stop, I didn't mean to kill him, not at first. I didn't know I was like that. I won't hurt you, Mother. I promise. Please don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt any of you. I have bonds with you all. Look."

Alfie gestured between them at the air, but he was the only one who could see whatever he was talking about. I believed he had those bonds, that he felt them and saw them, but that was his talent, not mine.

Regina shook her head. "I wasn't afraid of you, I was afraid for you."

"But I'm safe now. Nobody else is going to try to hurt us, are they?"

His mother gave a sob and covered her face with her hands. Alfie's face crumpled and he sniffed back his tears. I could see him getting overwhelmed again. This change had come so suddenly. He was a completely different person with a dragon, a legend, and his clan suddenly looked at him in an entirely new light.

I stepped forward and slid my arms around his waist. He was warm and I could feel the heat of my claiming mark on his chest against my cheek.

His arms held me tightly and they grounded me. I felt that everything would be okay if only I could stay this close to Alfie forever.

Regina was sobbing and couldn't speak. It was Silvia, Alfie's aunt, who spoke to us. She had her arms around her sister's shoulders and she whispered promises to her sister.

"He is alive, Regina. He'll live. We'll keep him safe."

I nodded. "We'll protect him," I promised her. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I would die to protect my mate. And fire spirits could be powerful when they needed to be. I'd survived this long, hadn't I?

Regina shook her head. "They will come."

"Who will?"

"The hunters. Just like they came for Alexander."

A sort of collective shudder ran through the dragons. Outside, in the open, the wind suddenly seemed chilly.

My reassuring voice wasn't so reassuring as I asked, "What will they do?"

She opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. I got the impression that she was slipping into a sort of grief that was deep and long-lasting, beyond words. I grabbed her hands.

"He's here," I insisted. "He's alive. We'll protect him, you and me."

It was only when Alfie gently took my hands and held them in his own that I realised I was hot and I'd been burning his mother.

"Sorry!"

She shook her head. I don't think she'd even noticed.

It was Silvia who explained it to me.

"Her son, Alexander, was killed. He was a golden dragon, too. He discovered what he was, what made him great. The hag drew his power out of him, praised him, made him bold and proud. He was not wary enough. When our clan was attacked, he thought he could fight alone. He was killed, and our clan was nearly wiped out trying to retrieve his body. We couldn't let the hunters have it. The power it contained. That is what they'd come for."

Alfie spoke quietly. "Is that why you'd never tell me anything about him?"

"Yes. It was forbidden. Your father did not want you to know that you might be special."

"Do I have to fight? What if I just want to stay here with Blaze?"

"You will need to fortify the defences, if that is what you wish. Once word gets out that a golden dragon lives, they will come."

"But nobody knows! Can't we just keep it secret?"

Silvia shook her head. "The witches will know, soon enough. They can tell when a golden dragon has come into their power. You will need to learn how to shift, how to fight and how to use your magic."

Regina found her voice again. She leaned forward, looking Alfie in the eyes, and said, "You must flee, Alfie. Our borders are breached and our territory is unprotected. You have to get to safety before the hag gets back."

"But—"

"Fly to the Hoskins territory. Morgan is obliged by blood to protect you. His elder will take in a golden dragon. The rest of us will protect you on your flight. We'll protect you with our lives and you'll make it to safety."

From the way she was talking, it seemed she didn't think the rest of them would make it to safety. It was like she expected them all to sacrifice themselves to keep Alfie safe.

I knew I'd do that in a heartbeat, if I had to. And I expected Alfie's clan would do it, too. But didn't she think any of them would make it there alive?

I had to ask.

"Why don't you think all of you can make it to safety?"

"The hag's army killed Alexander. He was a golden dragon. He was strong. Stronger than anyone."

Alfie squirmed, and I wanted to wrap him in my flames completely to protect him.

"I'm sorry, Mother, but I don't want to go."

"You must, Alfie! You must get to safety."

He squirmed again. He wasn't used to standing up to any of his family, but he was doing it.

"I don't want to." This time, he sounded more resolute. "I'm going to stay here."

"The border—"

"Aunt Silvia said I could learn to build it. I want to do that. My dragon doesn't like the idea of leaving the territory. It doesn't think it can protect you all out there."

"It doesn't matter what happens to us. The important thing is that you are safe."

This time, Alfie spoke with authority. The sound of his voice made me shiver slightly. "No, that's wrong. It does matter what happens to you all. You're my clan. I'm going to protect you. You're all staying here with me; I don't want you spreading out across the borders where you might get hurt."

"I'll stay with you, my darling."

Alfie grabbed my hand and smiled, as though I'd said something funny.

"Of course you'll stay with me. I'm not letting you go anywhere you might get hurt."

That made me smile, too. I nodded.

"How long do you think we'll have until the hag comes back? I presume they'll attack here again, since the protections are broken here."

Alfie looked along the borders uncertainly. "Do you think the protections are weak all along it?"

"No, Glimmer was building them up, wasn't he?"

"That's right. And Glimmer's protections are strong."

I got the impression that Alfie wanted to do something, but wasn't sure what. I huddled closer to him and spoke quietly.

"What do your instincts say, my darling?"

"I don't know. I don't want to leave this place because I can't leave that hole in our border. I want to send you all back to the castle where you'll be safe, but I also don't want you out of my sight."

George, the middle-aged man, stepped forward.

"I'm afraid we can only defend the borders for a short time. It will depend how strong the attacking army is. Last time—" His voice cracked. "We lost too many dragons last time."

Alfie began to look around him with an air of desperation.

"Can anyone show me how to use my magic? Do I even have magic?"

George was the one to answer. "Yes, you have magic. I'm afraid it will take a while to teach you, and none of us have the skills to defend the borders with magic. The Somervilles who could do that are the ones who were killed fetching Alexander's body back." He looked around at the little cluster of them left. "We were the last line of defence. All we really have is our dragon form and a few tricks."

My brave mate drew himself up and tried to make the best of that sorry little group.

"Well we can start now. Maybe I can cover this hole again by the time the hag gets back."

We all turned to face the hole in the boundary. It was a strange sight, since the boundaries were invisible, except as a thick layer of magic. Only those with a sense for magic would be able to see them like I could, as a wall of spells criss-crossing and layered up.

Only now there was a hole. A big, ragged gap that splintered the edges of the protection spells. An army could pour through that gap, if given the chance.

And it was while we were all looking at that hole that we saw it.

Behind us, the young dragon, Matilda, suddenly pointed and cried out, "Look!"

In the distance, where they were just a small mass of ant-like bodies, were the hag and her army.