42. Blaze

Icouldn't believe I'd slept all night. I hardly ever did that, but I must have been tired. I had felt safe, nestled between Alfie's large scales. His breaths played on my head, ruffling my hair.

I didn't really want to get up but we needed to. Alfie had a lot of responsibility now and he had to check that his clan were alright.

It took a while for him to shift back to his human form. He wasn't used to shifting in and out, and he struggled. I tried to help but maybe I was being a bit selfish, too. I stroked his big cheek, feeling the smooth golden scales beneath my fingertips, and I pressed kisses to his nose and laughed when he snorted in irritation that he couldn't kiss me back.

Chuckling, I said, "You can kiss me if you shift. Don't you want to touch me, my darling?"

I loved calling him that. I might say it too often but it was how I felt about him and I loved to claim him just a little but by reminding him that he was precious to me.

My teasing worked. Alfie shivered and shifted back into his human form, and then I had an armful of mate, pressed to my front and kissing me deeply. I wanted to stay there with him, locked together like that, but he pulled back and looked at me, scanning my face carefully.

"You're not frightened of me, are you, Blaze?"

"Why would I be?"

"Because I killed people."

"So did I," I pointed out.

"True… but I don't want you to think I'll hurt you."

I couldn't help but smile. "I don't think that, my darling. I know you'll always look after me."

He pulled me back into his arms and we kissed again. I had to hustle him into the shower to wash away the dirt that we hadn't washed the day before. He kept the bathroom door open so he could look out through the glass, straight into the bedroom, and see me. Steam escaped and I backed away, not liking the wetness of it, but I made sure I stayed in my mate's line of sight.

Partly to burn off any lingering traces of grime on myself, and partly to make sure that Alfie could see me through the misted-up glass, I slipped into my flame form and burned like that until he had finished.

When we got downstairs, we met Matilda about to enter the dining room. She hesitated, then bowed her head.

She didn't seem to know what to say. Neither did Alfie.

His hand squeezed mine because, yes, he'd taken hold of it as we left our room and I was hoping that he'd always hold it.

I smiled.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Lord Somerville. Good morning…"

She didn't know what to call me.

I smiled at her again, trying to reassure her. "You can call me Blaze. Is that alright with you, my darling?"

Alfie nodded. "And you can call me Alfie. Lord Somerville is such a mouthful, isn't it?"

We all knew that wasn't the reason he didn't want to be called that, but we all let it slide for the time being.

He gestured at Matilda to keep going, but she hesitated again. It looked like she wanted to obey the instruction from her elder but also didn't.

After a second, I asked, "Is something the matter?"

She glanced between me and Alfie, and then lowered her eyes. "Lord Somerville always preceded us into a room."

Alfie gave a start. "Oh, well, I can go first if you want. Seems silly, since you're nearer, though. Unless it's to keep you safe. Do you think that's it? That the elder has to go first to take the brunt of an attack?"

Matilda and I locked eyes and it might just have been a moment but we shared a look of understanding. Since he was my mate, and she was nervous around him at the moment, I decided it was up to me to speak up.

"No, my darling, I don't think that's it. Maybe outside of the territory, but not in here. We don't have any enemies inside, do we?"

That might have been the wrong thing to say, since I saw Alfie's eyes turn golden with flame and he growled out, "Not any more. Never again."

While I felt bad for reminding Alfie about the attack, Alfie's anger actually settled Matilda. She bowed her head again and said, "My dragon wanted to fight with magic yesterday but it didn't know how. I've never been taught to use it. I wasn't allowed a tutor like Mor—"

She cut herself off before she could say Morgan's name. Alfie twitched.

She carried on quickly, "I mean I wasn't allowed a tutor. I wondered, Lord Somerville, if I could request…"

Alfie nodded. "You'll have to wait until we're all settled. Then we can hire you a tutor. We must be able to find a good one somewhere."

"We've had tutors in the territory before," she pointed out.

Alfie, though, shook his head. "Not them. We had Madame Trevellian and, even if she wasn't dead, I'd never allow her back in. And Morgan's tutor wasn't very nice to him or very useful. We'll find somebody better. I wonder if anyone else can teach you in the meantime? Glimmer knows an awful lot."

"He's the Guardian," said Matilda, as though that instantly ruled him out.

"He might teach you, though. Once the borders are secure."

Matilda nodded but didn't seem convinced. I wondered if she'd been given hollow promises before. She hurried into the dining room ahead of us. I turned to Alfie and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"We don't need to sort everything out today. Today is for healing, my love. We'll make sure everyone is safe and the borders are protected, and then we'll think about how to move forward."

My mate pressed his forehead against mine and murmured softly. "Thank you, Blaze. It all seems so much… I don't know how I'm going to do it all."

I held him tight, trying to show him that I'd be there for him the whole time. No matter what. And that I knew he'd do a great job as the Somerville elder because he cared. He wanted to protect his clan and help them thrive, and that meant he'd put the work in to make it happen. He was already a better elder than his father had been.

By the time we walked into the dining room, Alfie was calm again and the only sign that he was tense was the way he gripped my hand.

As we entered, everyone rose from their seats. Alfie nodded to them and said, "Please be seated."

I smiled to myself. My mate was already becoming more sure of himself.

His mother was at the nearest end of the table and Alfie went to sit beside her. She held out her hand to stop him.

"Your place is at the head of the table, Lord Somerville."

Alfie said, "Can you keep calling me Alfie, Mother?"

She smiled and then her eyes slid to me. "Mrs. Wilson tells me that you have a hearty appetite, Blaze. Sit down and I'll fetch you some breakfast."

She stood to bustle round and load up my plate and Alfie watched with his mouth open.

I leaned in close. "What is it, my darling?"

"She never speaks at breakfast. It's always really quiet."

He'd thought he was whispering but dragon hearing was better than fire spirit hearing, and his mother spoke from the other side of the room. "Your father never liked chatter in the mornings. He preferred us to eat silently. Would you like the same, Alfie?"

Alfie shook his head quickly. "No, do as you like, Mother."

She placed a plate on the table for me and gestured at it. I tugged on Alfie's hand and we moved round so I could sit. Then we had to let go of each other's hands because Alfie needed to get his own breakfast and I needed both my hands to eat.

"How did Mrs. Wilson manage to make breakfast if she was building up the border?"

Regina said, "Mrs. Wilson took care of sustenance while the other sprites worked under the Guardian's instructions."

We ate breakfast and walked the castle. Before, when Alfie had been showing me round, I knew that circuit of the place had been for me, to show me where everything was. This time, though, I got the impression that it was for him. He wanted to see it. To see it with new eyes. To learn his new territory.

My Alfie might be new to shifting and he might not understand his instincts, but his dragon wanted to imprint on the territory and ensure it was safe for his clan.

And it was useful to see where everyone got to. Silvia was in her studio and although she wasn't painting, she had loads of beautiful works for me to admire. She patted my cheek gently and smiled at me, and I felt very flustered.

Isabella gently chided me for my out-of-date fashion sense and said she'd ensure I got a proper wardrobe, and Alfie gasped, "You can speak English, Aunt Isabella!"

She drew herself up and said, "I learned it last night. I knew Blaze didn't understand Italian."

We all knew she was lying about learning it last night. She'd understood Alfie perfectly when he'd been speaking English yesterday. She had simply decided to speak English today so that I could understand her, and that made me feel all strange and fluttery, too.

When we reached a small parlour, we found Evangeline. Alfie had told me she was old, but whether he'd been too polite to say just how ancient she was or whether he had no idea how many years this dragon had lived, I wasn't prepared for the shock of it. Her eyes were so old and so knowing that I didn't want to enter her room.

Then she, too, smiled at me. I'd never had so many people be nice to me before and I wasn't coping very well.

Alfie's grip on my hand tightened. "Are you okay, Blaze? What is it?"

"Nothing," I said.

The old woman said, "Come in and sit with me, Blaze Somerville. I wish to speak to the elder."

Alfie sat opposite Evangeline and, still holding my hand, tugged me onto his lap. I landed there with a bump and he wrapped his arms around me before I could topple out of his grip.

I was so surprised that I couldn't say anything. I sat still, wondering what this regal old woman would do when they saw our position.

"Oh," Alfie cried. His arms suddenly released me. "Sorry, I just assumed- you don't have to sit with me, Blaze. If you don't want to. I just like it when you do but maybe that's just for when we're on our own?"

Evangeline not only didn't look surprised, I thought I detected some satisfaction in the depths of her eyes.

And I liked it. It was my favourite place to sit. The place I felt warmest and most comfortable.

So I curled up in his lap, pressing myself against his chest. "No, my darling, it's for always."

The way his arms tightened around me told me everything I needed to know about how Alfie felt. There was relief and possessiveness in that hold, and I loved it.

There was a knock at the door and George came in. He bowed his head to Alfie and didn't look at all surprised to see me snuggled up on Alfie's lap.

"George, come in," said Evangeline. "Please, sit with us. Would you light a fire in the hearth?" She glanced at me. "I don't want Blaze to get cold."

I realised then that I was cool. Not so cold as to be uncomfortable but not warm, either. Alfie's arms were warm but the castle was thick-walled and chilly.

George nodded and, walking over to the fireplace, pushed out a flame from his hand, sending it in a neat arc so that it landed in the kindling already waiting. I studied George, this time with my sense for fire, not just my eyes. Yes, there was fire inside him. It was controlled and dignified, but it was there.

I decided I liked him.

"Thank you," said Alfie.

On his lap, I wanted to twist my face into his neck and hide from everyone. They were all being so nice to me, and I felt so treasured as I sat there, safe in my mate's arms.

Alfie asked, "What did you want to talk to me about, Great Aunt Evangeline?"

"I wished to know what your plans were for our clan."

"Oh, um, yes, plans. I have those."

We all eyed Alfie with amusement. I said, "You don't need to know yet what you want to do. You have time to think about it."

"Do I? Yes, I'd like that more. I need to think about it first. What am I allowed to do? It seems like a lot of responsibility, looking after a whole clan. I wish Rhod were here to help me. He's the one who knows everything."

I saw a flicker in Evangeline's eyes but she said nothing. George said, "You can do anything you wish, Lord- Alfie."

Alfie thought for a minute and we all sat in silence. I was used to him being a chatterbox, so I knew that if he was thinking things through now, it was serious. He needed time to process.

At last, he said, "I suppose it depends what everyone else wants. I need to ask them all first before I decide."

Evangeline said, "You can ask them now."

"Shall I go and fetch them?"

"You can summon them."

"How?"

"With your bonds."

Alfie cocked his head to the side and Evangeline shook her head. "I know you can do it. You did it before, when your mate was in danger. You summoned your clan to your aid."

"Oh, yes, that. But I was worried then," Alfie pointed out.

"You can do it, though. Call them to you."

Alfie shifted round and moved his hands and huffed in annoyance as he got it wrong but then, after five minutes, Regina came into the room, followed by Matilda and Isabella and then, from all the way upstairs in her studio, Silvia.

Alfie said, "I didn't want to summon the sprites or the Guardian while they were protecting the border."

"You can ring them and see if they have a few moments free," I pointed out.

Alfie gasped and then planted a big, loud kiss on my cheek. "I will!"