Blue Fire

by Amity Thompson

  I grabbed his sleeve before he rose. “Wait. Thorkel said I had a grandfather.”

  Merram turned red. “I will contact him immediately. I should have in the beginning.”

  I didn’t let go. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

  Merram stared at my hand gripping his sleeve rather than at my face. “Because I am a coward. First I feared that Thorkel had already contacted you, that you were a spy. Then I feared what you’d do if you discovered you had a father… and I feared…”

  For the first time, his mask of control and certainty fell away. The second-most powerful man in Drageria was merely a man. A man who could be shattered by my words.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. He stared at them for several moments. “I suppose this is as good a time as any.”

  I accepted them with my good hand and held them up to read one at a time. A lump formed in my throat.

  Adoption papers.

  One was signed and sealed by the Baronet and Baronettess of Threepines, naming me their daughter and sixth in line to inherit.

  The other was signed and sealed by Merram of the Kyer, Dragonmaster.

  I blinked away tears and looked up. Merram’s mask had returned. The Dragonmaster stood beside my bed once more.

  “You can take your time deciding,” he told me as he set a pen on the table next to my pillow. “Wilhelm and Juliana are good friends of mine. They know your history in full and agree to keep it anonymous. Considering your status in the family, and their reputation, no one will look too closely. Your grandfather will protest, but he will understand that he cannot name a random woman his heir without naming your father. I’m sure he’ll decide to become your patron at the Kyer instead.

  “As for the other…” Merram faltered. The mask almost slipped. “I had always planned to adopt Krysta’s child. I’m a younger brother, I have no inheritance, but as Dragonmaster I cannot quietly adopt you. People will question why I adopted one Dragon Mage over another, and your history is bound to be discovered.”

  He waited for me to work out the meaning. “I’m invisible with Threepines. With you, everyone will know about Mother. And Thorkel.”

  “You will become Marquess of Clearspring,” Merram said, “but you will also be the traitor’s daughter. You’ve learned how blood runs deep. The fact you killed Thorkel will help… and it will not.”

  I held the sheets in front of my face. Silently, I wept. For ten years, I’d longed for a family. Now two wanted me.

  Except…

  I kept the papers in front of my eyes so I could not see him. “Do you want me, Adara, or do you want Krysta’s daughter?”

  The silence stretched so long that I almost feared he had left. Finally, Merram cleared his throat.

  “I do want Krysta’s daughter,” he said. My heart fell, especially as he continued. “I also would like the prestige of a blue in my family, not to mention the heroine who ended the war. As for Adara, well, I barely know her.” A pause, and then his voice became rough. “I do, however, know my Seneschal very well indeed, and I can say that Adara captured the most hostile heart I’ve ever met. Therefore, I very much want to know her better, and I’d be honored to have such a woman as family.”

  The door clicked. A rainbow spread across both pieces of paper, blurred by all my tears.

  For months I’d been Threepines. The lie could finally be truth. Now that big, messy family could really be mine. Cari might become my favorite sibling; I could introduce my nieces and nephews to baby dragons. I’d be part of a respected family. An invisible family.

  Or I could be the bastard of a madman, raised in the dirt but adopted by a powerful leader. I’d inherit a march with all its wealth and status. Everyone who met me would know me, and not just because I’d defeated Thorkel. Because, no matter what I did, his blood flowed through my veins.

  The ends of the rainbow fell on the names. Baronet and Baronettess Threepines. Dragonmaster Merram. A family of eleven children. A man who had loved and lost and who was alone.

  I signed below Merram’s name,

  Adara, Dragon Mage of the Kyer

  Connect With Amity

  Thank you so much for reading Blue Fire. The BEST way to keep up with me is to join my bimonthly newsletter:

  Amity’s Newsletter

  No spam, ever. Each newsletter includes tidbits about my writing and current projects, a snippet from my life, and occasionally a shout-out of a book I’m enjoying.

  Also, please consider leaving a review!

  Amazon and/or Goodreads

  Reviews don’t just help authors! They help readers like you find a book they will love (or avoid a book that is just not for them). It only takes a sentence or two!

  More from Amity

  Unseen Beauty

  “How do I get her to fall in love with someone I fear and hate?”

  An invisible servant must convince Beauty to fall for Beast… without losing her own heart.

  Acknowledgments

  Blue Fire is a special book. I decided to be an author at age six (and a scientist, and a bus driver, and a mommy, and and…). At fifteen, I took the first big step on that path: Blue Fire, scribbled in rainbow ink in a spiral-bound notebook, my very first completed book.

  I typed it, stuffed the printout into an envelope, and mailed it to Tor. To no one’s shock but my own, they (kindly) rejected it.

  (Seriously, how could they turn down Mettalise?)

  Now, *mumble* years later, after half a dozen redrafts (at one time 200 pages, at another 500), Adara, Shamino, and Mettalise are out in the world.

  First, thank you to all those I can remember from high school who read the first version and provided encouragement and feedback: Grant, Jen, Dawn, Shaun, Brandon, Robert. Jen especially—I’m not sure how many drafts you put up with, but you never complained.

  Dad, you found the printout in the living room and read it one night. I don’t know if you remember, but you told me in the morning that Blue Fire was better than half of what was published. I never forgot that.

  Later, the lovely ladies in my SAW group provided feedback: Margaret, Kirsten, and Cathy. Also Merrie and Catherine—I can’t remember if you read it, but I’m positive you listened to me wailing.

  Even later, Shiny Heather and Lethal Heather, Lacey and Kerry.

  Holly Lisle’s ‘How To Revise Your Novel’ course saved this book. I figured if her process could turn a wreck like Blue Fire into something worth reading, I might make it as an author. I learned more about writing from that course than any other.

  Andrew and Meredith, thanks once more for making the manuscript presentable. The crew at Books Covered did an amazing job. I LOVE THE COVER.

  Finally, to my dear husband, Dave. I will never forget the day I graduated college and began to look for a job. You told me to stay home instead, and after a ‘discussion’ (you were the discussing one, I was a bit more… excited) I more or less accepted your insistence that I rewrite Blue Fire. Of course, I doubt you meant *cough* times. But thank you. For reading each version, for being honest, for being patient, for adoring the words I put on the page. Most of all, for taking the babies so Mommy could have her time.