Page 67 of His Greatest Treasure

All of the dragons took a step nearer. They watched Alfie with an intensity that would have unnerved me. It would have unnerved Alfie too, normally, but his eyes were fixed on me and I could see the flames in them, was drawn to that fire in a way I’d never experienced before, and I could see that he was oblivious to everyone in that room except me, the hag holding me captive, and his father.

“Let him go,” he said again, and this time the words rumbled out of him. His dragon was coming out.

I tried to speak but couldn’t think what to say. Alfie’s eyes blazed with something I wasn’t familiarwith, and I didn’t know what I could do or say that would help him.

I watched along with all the other people in that room as Alfie shifted for the first time.

Scales rippled across his smooth skin, his body grew, pressed against the thin cotton of his sleep shirt, his face changed shape and his dragon burst out of him in a huge, glorious rush.

And, like everyone else, I gasped at what I saw.

It was the impossible, a myth I’d vaguely heard of but never thought would be true.

The rest of the clan breathed out in relief, as though this was what they’d hoped for. His mother sagged with despair. Lord Somerville tightened his magic, radiating a coldness that made me want to hiss and flicker away from it.

The hag clenched me harder, and there was possession and greed in that grip.

She wanted me.

And she wanted Alfie.

Chapter 28

Alfie

The tension in the room was making me vibrate with unease but it was the threat of harming Blaze that made me angry. He was flickering, his flames pulsing with oranges and reds, which meant he was in pain. I could almost feel it through our bond, which shone brighter than ever.

Around me, every bond I had with my clan suddenly snapped into place. They became unbreakable. I felt it happen, and the bonds became permanent. Even when I died, the bonds would remain, just like the broken bonds Alexander had left behind.

What was strange was the look of the bonds. They felt protective and afraid, but I couldn’t tellwhich way round that was going. Was I the one who was afraid or were they?

I was too angry and frightened to examine that closely. My attention was on Blaze.

His eyes held mine, even in his flame form. I heard the gasp he gave and the way his eyes went wide with amazement.

I’d shifted. Finally, I’d shifted.

The spells that had been buried in me, holding my dragon inside, suddenly felt weak and insubstantial. I’d broken them easily, which was strange. I’d spent at least two years trying to break them, trying to shift. Now that my dragon was out, I was overwhelmed by it.

I felt big. My body was huge and my power radiated out.

I’d never felt it before. I’d neverhadany power before.

Something rumbled inside me, and I got the feeling that it was telling me I was wrong. Ihadbeen powerful. I just hadn’t been able to access that power.

And now I had.

My dragon’s power.

Nobody spoke, and I breathed in deeply, drawing Blaze’s scent into my lungs, identifying the difference between my senses in my human form and this form.

It must have been a minute before Blaze opened his mouth and a faint word came out. “Alfie…”

He sounded amazed. Awed, in fact. And I preened at that. Even though he was in danger and I was worried, I felt my chest puff out at the sheer wonder in Blaze’s voice.

“You’re… golden.”

I was what?

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