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
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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,
