Page 102 of His Greatest Treasure

He had one with every single member of my clan.

Glimmer had a bond with everyone because he was the Guardian. He needed to protect us all. That was why he cared.

His mate had no reason to care about us at all. No reason to protect us. Yet he had flown into this fight and risked his life to stop the hag from breaking in and killing us.

He was a guardian, too.

He cared about protecting us because his mate did. It was as though he’d learned to love us all simply because Glimmer did.

It felt natural to look him in the eyes and say, “You’re welcome here. You’re clan.”

A few of my clan gasped, but nobody said anything. To make sure they knew where I stood, I added, “Glimmer’s the Guardian.”

Glimmer stood taller and he stopped that shimmering magic.

“Are you going to introduce me to your mate, Alfie?”

My chest puffed up with pride as I stepped to the side to reveal Blaze. He looked magnificent and beautiful, flickering and golden-orange. He smiled at me, and I held his hand, even though I couldn’t properly feel it, only the warmth of flame.

“This is Blaze. Blaze Somerville.”

At last, I’d worked out what had made me so grouchy before, when Great Aunt Evangeline had called him Blaze Fire. He was mine now. He was clan. A Somerville.

My dragon rumbled inside me at the rightness of the name, and Blaze gave me a shocked look and then his expression split into the biggest smile I’d ever seen on him.

“Blaze Somerville,” he murmured, testing out the name for himself.

Around me, the bonds between me and my clan shone. For the first time, I realised what those bonds meant. I was their elder. I was responsible for them. And they trusted me to protect them.

All of the bonds were tainted by worry but only one bond showed real pain. I followed it to Uncle George but he was standing tall and proud, his face practically blank.

“Uncle George?” I asked.

“Yes, Lord Somerville?”

“Oh, um, maybe can you not call me that? For now. Just… call me Alfie?”

“Yes, Alfie.”

There was a note of awe I’d never heard in his voice before, and maybe… respect?

“Where are you injured, Uncle George?”

“I’ll be fine. My dragon is already healing me.”

“Are you sure?”

There was a beat of silence as Uncle George decided what to say, and then he said, “We have no medic. I shall recover in time.”

It occurred to me then to wonder what he felt about his son leaving. I still didn’t know why Glenwise had gone, why Rhod had gone with him, how Conley had died or why the two of them had fled instead of staying with us.

Uncle George had never expressed an opinion about it.

I wondered if he missed his son. He must do.

“Um, yes,” I said at last. I couldn’t promise to get Glenwise back because I didn’t know where he was. But I wanted him back. I’d like to have all of my clan back, and my dragon agreed with me. Itseemed to nod inside me, telling me I was right. The sensation was a funny one.

While I was focused on my bonds, I thought I’d try tugging on the one that linked me to Glenwise. He was too far away for me to know where he was but I could feel the bond in a way I hadn’t been able to before he’d left, and I gave it a gentle tug, trying to tell Glenwise – wherever he was – to come home. Like pulling on a fishing line.

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