Page 104 of His Greatest Treasure

I nodded, seeking out Blaze’s eyes. He smiled at me and I nodded. “I’d like that.”

As I watched, I saw my own bond come into existence between me and the sprite. And, around me, a dozen more. Each one looked the same, thin and new, but there. They were the sprites of my clan.

I stood there for a moment, just enjoying the fact that we were all alive.

Blaze warmed my side and I breathed in his ashy smell, more ash than woodsmoke while he burned.

Finally, I looked at Glimmer. I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew I was meant to be the elder and everything, but I didn’t know anything about building the protections back up.

I cleared my throat.

“Glimmer, what do you want me to do?” I gestured at the gaping hole in the magic.

He bowed his head ever so slightly to me, and it was weird to see him do it. He’d never done that before.

“Kingsley and I will stay out here and build the protections up. We’ll fly the boundary in shifts for the next week, to check for any gaps, breaks or cracks, but we’ve been building them up for weeks so they should be strong. Only really powerful magic can break them and I’ll feel it if any of the protectionsdobreak.”

I nodded.

“I can help,” I said, and then felt foolish. I didn’t know the first thing about making protections.

Glimmer didn’t seem to think the same thing.

“When did you shift for the first time?”

“Yesterday.”

“Then you need to rest. You’ve used a lot of energy, especially as you had to fight physically and with magic to protect your clan. You’ll be exhausted when the adrenaline wears off. You and your mate can rest and we’ll protect the border. Keep your phone with you and I’ll ring if we need you, but I would put money on those three that got away never coming near here ever again.”

Kingsley had stepped into our territory by now but he was still on the edge, near the border. He nodded at the sprites nearby.

“Do any of you know how to lay protections?”

The sprites looked offended. “Of course we do.”

“I thought so. Sprites have very versatile magic. Why can’t I feel any of your protections along the border, then?”

Mrs. Wilson tutted loudly. “We were not allowed to lay any. Lord Somerville wouldn’t allow it.”

Glimmer muttered, “Such a waste. Sprites are good guardians.”

I hesitated only a second before asking, “Would you lay some now?”

For the first time, Mrs. Wilson beamed at me the way she did at Blaze. She rolled up her sleeves and then promptly ignored me, turning her attention to Glimmer. “Right, where do you want us to start?”

Having been dismissed, and seeing that my territory was protected, I suddenly realised how tired I was. Glimmer had been right. Exhaustion seeped into my muscles and made it hard for me to move.

Beside me, Blaze said, “Come back to the castle now, my love.”

I barely had the strength to shift again but I did, only by concentrating on the fact that my mate would be just as tired as I was and I wanted to get him tucked up safely in bed.

For the first time ever, I landed on the large ledge outside of my window. I knew that was the reason we had them, but since I’d never had a dragon, I’d never needed to use it. This time was better than when I’d gone looking for Blaze because it was my window and it was my room and Blaze wasn’t locked up and frightened inside.

I hadn’t left the window on latch, and I was out of patience, too tired to fly round to the front door and shift and walk through the corridors tomy room from the inside. I broke the window with one claw and Blaze reached his hand through to open it.

I snorted when he reached for it, worried he’d cut himself on the broken glass, but he stroked a soft little hand down my cheek and said, “Don’t worry, my darling, I’ll be careful.”

As I pushed into the room in my dragon form, I realised I was far, far too tired to shift back. I still hadn’t worked out how I did it, so I just grabbed the blankets and pillows from my bed between my teeth and pulled them onto the floor, making a nest and curling up around it.

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