50. Alfie

Something was making me restless. I was prowling round the castle, trying to work out what I could do that would make my dragon settle down inside me because it was nudging at me from the inside. I couldn't work out what the problem was.

I was just looking into some of the rooms on the upper floors, wondering what was kept in them and whether we'd need to clear them out or leave them, when I felt a flutter in my bond with Blaze. It didn't feel like anything bad, necessarily, but it was sudden excitement and nerves and it pulsed with red flame.

I took off running before I'd thought about it.

Following our bond, I almost crashed into Blaze rounding a corner because he'd been running towards me.

"Alfie, Alfie, quickly! They're here!"

"Blaze, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

I was trying to look at him and check him for injuries and make sense of what he was saying all at once, but he was dragging me along and almost bouncing with excitement.

He just kept repeating, "They're here."

"Who's here?"

"Rhod and Glenwise. They're back."

I stopped walking, stunned.

"They're back? You mean they're here, right now?"

"Yes, my darling."

"But… how? Who found them?"

"Mrs. Wilson found them. She knows an awful lot, you know. Come on."

I let him drag me and, as I went, I pulled up the bonds I had with both Glenwise and Rhod. We rushed into the grand hall, which is where they'd gone for some reason. That seemed strange to me, since the grand hall was mostly used for guests and when our territory had been attacked.

"What are they doing in the grand hall?"

"Glimmer took them there."

We entered the large room through the double doors and I was so relieved to see them there that I couldn't control myself.

My clan. My clan were back. They were safe.

All of the fears I'd had about them being out there alone, living in ditches and eating out of bins, fighting for their lives against witches and shifters and ridire, suddenly vanished and I thought I'd burst into tears with how glad I was to have them back.

My dragon had other ideas, though.

It pushed up inside of me so quickly that I couldn't stop it. I was filled and filled and then, suddenly, it wasn't breaking out of me any more, it was me.

There was a ripping sound and I shifted, shedding my clothes around me.

My dragon wanted to see our clan with its own eyes and I didn't mind that. It seemed sensible, actually. I could see differently like that, in different hues, and our bonds looked different, too. I circled them, studying them from every angle, trying to identify injury or illness.

The most noticeable thing about them was the bond that shone between them. It was strong and so pretty. It practically sparkled with love.

Glimmer was standing beside them and he grinned.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Glenwise, always stoical no matter what, said, "He is smaller than Alexander but he has not yet finished growing."

Rhod was staring at me with huge eyes and I wondered if he was too young to have known Alexander. I might be the first golden dragon he'd ever seen.

For some reason, that made me proud and I paraded round a bit longer to let them admire me. I wasn't normally vain. I didn't normally think about the way I looked at all, in fact, but today I wanted my clan to admire me. Then they'd decide to stay.

When I was finished circling them, I nuzzled Blaze's temple, sniffing at him and ruffling his hair with my breath.

He giggled and tried to straighten his hair.

"I've heard a lot about you," he said to Glenwise. "I'm Blaze, Alfie's mate."

Their eyes flickered to his neck where my mark was visible, and I puffed up proudly again.

"Pleased to meet you."

They each nodded at Blaze but didn't shake his hand. That made me frown and I shrank down again to my human form.

A little distracted part of my brain noted that I was getting better at that, shifting between forms.

"Don't you like my mate?" I asked.

"I'm sure he's delightful, Lord Somerville."

"I prefer being called Alfie in private. Why didn't you shake hands?"

"It is not proper to shake hands with a newly-mated dragon's mate. Not to mention dangerous to do so."

"Oh! Are you sure? Because everyone else hugged Blaze."

"They are your clan."

It was a simple statement but it made my dragon snort inside me again, threatening to break out again.

"You're my clan," I said, and the sound growled out and reverberated around the room. I ruined the effect by adding, "Oops."

"We were… unsure whether we would be welcomed back," said Glenwise.

So far, Rhod hadn't spoken at all. He was standing against Glenwise's side, their arms pressed firmly together. It looked a little bit like the way Blaze pressed against me.

"You're my clan," I repeated, and was disappointed that my dragon didn't sound in my voice again. "You are coming back, aren't you?"

To my horror, Glenwise hesitated before answering.

"Our circumstances have changed."

"How so?"

Was it me or was my voice too high-pitched? I tried to clear my throat.

"Rhod and I are mated."

"Oh, that explains your bond. It was always strong. Are you fated mates?"

"Yes."

"Is that why you left?"

"Yes."

"Well… are you coming back?"

They studied me and I wanted to say whatever it was that would make them agree to come back. My dragon wanted to protect them. Our bonds shone with protection. I wanted to give them that. It was my right. They were my family.

As I looked, I saw that they still had their bonds with the rest of the clan. Two of the only people who had bonds with everyone. And, now I looked harder, now my dragon allowed me to see bonds clearer, I noticed that they had bonds with all of the sprites, too.

"You can choose a new room, if you like," I said. For some reason, that seemed to be the best thing I could offer.

"We… have a new clan."

"But you came back! Why would you come back if you didn't want to be part of my clan any longer?"

Rhod whimpered and Glenwise put his arm around Rhod's shoulders, pulling him close against his body. He glared at me.

"Do not frighten my mate, Lord Somerville."

"Sorry, I'm sorry, but you came all this way back and now you're not staying? How will I protect you if you leave again? Will you tell me where you're going?"

Things were spiralling, I was starting to hyperventilate and Glenwise was glaring as though he'd storm out with Rhod any second now.

Blaze saved us.

He stepped forward and smiled at Rhod.

"Alfie's told me all about you. He says you practically ran the whole castle. How did you manage it?"

Rhod spoke quietly. "I'm very organised."

"I thought so. Your office is very neat. It's only me and Kingsley who have been in there, you know. We didn't want to touch too much of your stuff."

"It belongs to the Somervilles," Rhod mumbled.

"You're a Somerville, though, aren't you? Alfie wants you to come back to his clan. His dragon is all protective."

Slowly, Rhod began to nod.

"I- I can help organise things."

I didn't mean to interfere but my relief burst out of me in a rush. "You'll come back? That's great. Because I need you to show me all of the systems. Father never let me see anything inside the office and I have no idea how anything works. We did try, didn't we?"

I indicated the group of us.

Rhod nodded again, and drew himself up. I got the impression he was holding himself tightly. The bonds he had with everyone went pale, almost like they were ghosts. Rhod's face was blank, like it always had been.

Before I could say anything, Glenwise said, "No," in a clear, cold tone.

Rhod looked up at him, wide-eyed with surprise.

Glenwise reached out and dragged Rhod against him again. Rhod went willingly and leaned into Glenwise as my older cousin wrapped his arms around his mate.

"No, Rhod is not being Lord Somerville's PA again."

Glimmer shimmered up to Glenwise and spoke in deceptively silky tones.

"Do you speak for Rhod now, Glenwise?"

Glenwise glared down at Glimmer. Glimmer was slender and a couple of inches shorter than Glenwise but he moved with a deadly sort of grace and the shark-like look he was giving Glenwise right then made me shiver.

Glenwise didn't seem affected. He stood his ground.

"Do you speak for Lord Somerville now, Glimmer?"

They glared at each other and I was just wondering if they were going to fight and I was starting to panic about what I'd do if they were, when Blaze saved me. Again.

He interrupted and Glimmer looked over his shoulder at my mate, which I'm almost sure he wouldn't have done for anyone else.

"Leave him be, Glimmer. He's just protecting his mate."

The bond between Glimmer and Rhod suddenly flashed, like a blade catching the light. I was sure Glimmer was annoyed because he wanted to be the one to protect Rhod. Glimmer was so protective of all of us. It made me feel safe, having him here beside me, my Guardian. My clan was safe with me and Glimmer here.

Rhod peeked up at Glenwise. "You don't want me to work again?"

"Not like last time. It was killing you."

"But I like doing it. I enjoy working at the farm."

Glenwise considered. "You need proper boundaries and clear expectations. I'm not having you work yourself to exhaustion again."

With that last part, he looked at me, glaring. I blinked at him. Did he think I wanted to work Rhod into exhaustion?

"Oh, um, that's fine you know. If Rhod doesn't want to do it, we can find somebody else. Maybe. Okay, nobody else would be any good at it but maybe we could hire someone? I don't want Rhod to be miserable. He's my clan."

Glenwise's glare softened and he stroked a hand softly up and down Rhod's back. I stared at it. I'd never seen him show that kind of affection before. Somehow, Rhod had managed to make the stoical Glenwise actually affectionate!

My dragon gave a rumble inside me, and it filled me and I was anxious that it meant something bad… until I realised that it was satisfaction. That was okay. It wasn't going to burst out of me again or anything.

"Um, what about you, Glenwise? Are you going to be our medic again?"

I hadn't meant for that to come out as a question. Father had never asked questions. He always just snapped out orders.

I would have loved to have kept that thought internal, but I was me and my mouth was a run-away disaster, so I blurted out, "Am I allowed to ask questions like that instead of just telling you? Father always gave orders but I'm not used to doing that. Besides, it doesn't seem fair to tell you to do something if you don't want to do it, unless it's an emergency or something. But as elder I need to be respected, right? I'm meant to order you around."

Everyone in the room stared at me. I felt a wave of panic as I realised I'd just lost everyone's respect, and then… then Rhod smiled.

I stared at him, and realised that I'd never actually seen him smile before. That couldn't be right, could it? Surely I must have seen him smile. I'd known him my whole life.

And yet I came up blank. This was the first smile Rhod had ever given me.

Glenwise didn't smile because apparently he hadn't changed all that much. He did look less angry and stern, though.

"As our elder, you have our respect, Lord Somerville. You do not need to behave in a particular way to demand it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Somehow, when Glenwise said it, sounding all stern and knowledgeable, I didn't have any trouble actually believing it. I got the impression that Glenwise never lied. He just wouldn't bother.

Rhod gave a contented sigh and leaned further into Glenwise. There was no way he'd be able to don the same mask he always used to wear. Not now he was mated to Glenwise. That made me fiercely glad.

Blaze crept nearer to them and asked, "What farm are you working at?"

Rhod glanced at Glenwise before replying.

"It's our new clan."

I huffed. They were my clan.

Blaze, however, didn't have a possessive dragon bitching inside him because he grinned and said, "Oh, that sounds wonderful! Will you tell me all about them? Are they nice?"

"Yes, they're very kind. We- we don't want to leave them. We were doing a lot of good there. Glenwise was—"

He cut himself off again and glanced at his mate.

Glenwise finished for him. "I was working as a doctor."

Blaze kept smiling at Rhod and it was fascinating to watch because Rhod began to smile back. Blaze just looked so sweet and innocent and interested. Who could resist that?

"Perhaps we can loan you out to them? Would you make an alliance with Rhod's new clan, my darling?"

It took me a second to realise that Blaze was talking to me.

"Yes, I suppose. If they're nice. I'm not letting them go back to someone horrible."

Glimmer had retreated from the group of us and had been circling us. I got the impression he was working, perhaps laying protections on Rhod and Glenwise, but I wasn't yet good enough at magic to be sure.

Suddenly he appeared right next to me.

"As Guardian, I have the right to visit allied territories if our clan is to stay there, to assess their security."

"Do you?" I asked. I'd never heard of that rule but then I hadn't heard of much at all, since I'd been kept in the dark most of the time.

Glimmer scowled. "Lord Somerville wouldn't allow it. He would never let me leave our territory, since you—" He shrugged. "He would never let me leave. It's only because Dane was there that I allowed Morgan to live inside Hoskins territory without checking the security myself."

"That's fine with me. Can you wait until our borders are all finished and safe?"

"Yes, of course. Besides, Glenwise and Rhod will be here for a while yet, so you can imprint on them as part of your clan."

Glenwise said, "I want Glimmer to put down protections around our new territory. They're strong but they're not a dragon's protections. I want my mate to be safe there."

Rhod looked bashful and pleased. Without seeming to realise what he was doing, he lifted his hand to his neck so he could touch his claiming bite.

"Yes," I agreed. "That sounds good. You can have all the protection you need. We can hire someone as well, if you want. Aren't gargoyles meant to be the best security?"

Rhod gasped, "You'd do that?"

I growled, "You're my clan. I want you to be safe."

Glenwise murmured to Rhod, "We all want you safe and protected, my love."

Rhod melted against his mate and I was completely satisfied.

Before we could get back on track, Silvia came bursting into the hall. She flew towards Rhod and Glenwise and embraced them both.

She was already talking.

"There you are! I've been so worried about you. I'm so glad you're safe now. You found safety out there, alright? You're here to stay now, though, aren't you?"

Rhod peeked up at Glenwise, checking in before answering. "Yes, Mu- Mother."

Silvia tutted. "You can call me Mum. I know you never liked calling me ‘mother' and I'm sorry I asked you to. I'm not going to let you work at all hours again, you know. What about you, Glenwise? Are you taking over as medic again? I'm afraid we raided your supplies and we didn't do a very good job of healing everyone, so you might have to check up on our handiwork."

Glenwise smiled softly at Silvia, which was yet another shock.

"Yes, Silvia, I'll be clan medic again. Rhod can come and take an inventory with me and order whatever we need to replace."

It was only when Silvia stepped back that I saw it. The bond she had with both of them. The one with her son was brightest, naturally, but she had a bond with Glenwise, too. It had the same sort of maternal feeling to it, and I realised that Glenwise was her son-in-law. But the bond was strong enough that it was clear it had formed slowly, bit by bit. When had that even happened?

Before they left the great hall, Rhod said, "I'll draw up the documents."

I blinked at him. "Documents?"

"For the alliance with Heather. I'll need to liaise with her to work out the details and I'll get the documents to you as soon as I can."

"Oh, yeah," I said. "That's what I was thinking, too. Lots of… papers to sign. There's no rush, though. You're going to stay a little while, aren't you?"

Rhod nodded and hurried out after his mate. Blaze turned to me and smiled, pushing his way into my arms where he belonged.

"I like them," he said.

Glimmer appeared again out of nowhere. He liked doing that. It kept making people jump.

"Rhod's alright. He does his duty. He seems happier now than he was before, less uptight. Glenwise is still a pain in the neck, though."

"Oh?" I said, but I wasn't really paying attention. It didn't matter that Glenwise wasn't easy to get on with. He was clan. He belonged here.

"Yes, but he's useful to have around and he protects us all in his own way by keeping us healthy. I guess he's alright."

Blaze giggled and said, "Two more people for you to protect, Glimmer. I think you get happier the more people you can look after."

Glimmer gave him a startled look and then shrugged. "Probably. Good job we're getting more clan now, then, isn't it?"