Page 73 of His Greatest Treasure

“Yes, he has.”

“In that case, you must be hungry.”

I found myself sat at the large oak table, with a large bowl of fresh apple pie and cream, and a cup of strong tea.

“Now you sit there, chuck, and wait a moment. This apple pie is fresh from the oven. Careful now, it’s hot.”

She fussed around me for ages, waiting for me to take my first bite. When I did, I gave a groan of pleasure. It was absolutely delicious.

Mrs. Wilson beamed with pride.

“You just eat up; I won’t have you going hungry whileI’m chef.”

“I’ve not been hungry since I’ve been here, thanks to you and your delicious cooking.”

I glanced at Alfie and our eyes met. He gave me a bashful little smile and I said, “Alfie’s been taking good care of me.”

Mrs. Wilson clucked. “Of course he did! What else was he meant to do? I won’t have you going hungry and I’m glad Lord Somerville saw fit to give you hospitality.”

I tried not to wolf the food down but I’d been burning in my flame form for a long time without any fuel, and so I was ravenous. Luckily for me, Mrs. Wilson only grew more pleased the more I ate. She piled my plate high and promised to make my favourite dishes and looked after me like I was… I don’t know, like I was her family or something.

Other than from Alfie, I’d never felt that sort of care before. It made my eyes fill with tears even as I ate, and I blinked them back, feeling silly for wanting to cry because I was happy. It was just that it had been a hard day. A long day.

I’d been away from Alfie for so long, and I’d been worried about what they were doing to Alfie inside the castle, afraid of what the hag was doing to the boundary, and then I’d been caught. Therehad been a moment when I’d genuinely thought I’d be killed. And Alfie had saved me.

Then he had shocked me by shifting. Into a golden dragon. A legend come to life.

Something in me deflated at the thought. Someone that powerful wouldn’t want to be with me, would they? Alfie would have people lining up to mate him.

I stopped eating, unable to swallow another bite and thanked Mrs. Wilson.

She chucked me under the chin in a way that startled me and made me feel a bit special at the same time. I suddenly thought I understood what Alfie meant when he said that his clan treated him like a child. I felt small and looked after. The difference was that I wanted more of it, whereas Alfie found it stifling.

We left the kitchen and Alfie wandered the corridors, pointing out various rooms. The parlour, the dining hall, the offices, the storage rooms, the billiards room… he listed them off and I almost instantly forgot where they were.

When we reached another door, Alfie said, “This is the medical room.”

He pushed the door open and I went in. It was a sterile place, of course, and it was laid out efficiently and neatly. It smelled of bleach.

I wandered over to a large piece of equipment and asked, “What’s this?”

“I don’t know. It’s one of Glenwise’s machines. We’re not allowed to touch it.”

I looked over my shoulder. “Why not?”

“Glenwise doesn’t like us touching things in case we break them.”

“Is Glenwise… part of your clan?” Because, from what Alfie had told me, he wasn’t. Not any longer. He and another of their clan, Rhod, had disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving behind a dead body.

Alfie frowned.

“I-I suppose not. Father disowned them. But I still don’t think we should touch anything. Just- just in case.”

There was something about Alfie that was bothering me. He was… different than before. And I couldn’t put my finger on it. So I pushed.

“In case what?”

“In case he comes back.”

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