Page 101 of Flameborne: Chosen

And the next as well.

I was bounced on the third and my tailbone complained, but I did as Donavyn suggested and loosened my hips, trying to rise with her massive strides like I would with the horse. It wasn’t nearly as simple, but I did find myself sticking closer to her back. I pinned my knees around those wing ridges, gripping for all I was worth and begging God to help me not fall again. But I was listing to the left and had to take a grip further down the neck strap on the other side, whimpering as my back ached and the bruises from the straps dug in. On the next roll and jolt, I was tipped backwards and cursed, tightening my knees again and waiting for that jolt.

But there was only awhomph.

Then another. Then…

Whomph… Whomph… Whomph.

Akhane lifted her chin and screamed into the night, and Kgosi answered her from behind and below us.

Belowus.

We were flying.

“Akhane!” I breathed as the wind rushed against my cheeks and blew my hair back. “Akhane, we’re flying!”

She screamed again, and this time Kgosi’s answer wasn’t further away. He’d launched as well. Moments later he drew level with us, flying almost wing-tip to wing-tip with Akhane. She turned her head and called to him, and he roared in return.

I couldn’t hear anything over the wind rushing past, but I saw Donavyn, sitting proudly on Kgosi’s back. He raised a fist into the sky in salute, and I laughed.

I’d done it. I mounted my dragon alone and rode out her launch.

They couldn’t take that from me. No one could ever take that from me. I’d done it. That meant I could do the next thing too. If I just had enough time and practice—

‘The Primarch says the General is very proud of you and that you’ve earned another book.’

I laughed out loud.‘Please tell him I’m grateful, but I receive my stipend this week and plan to buy them for myself.’

‘Let your friend honor you for your hard work, Little Flame,’she chided good-naturedly.

I winced.‘The General isn’t my friend, Akhane. He’s my Commander.’

‘Your human boundaries are nonsense,’she snorted and a blast of hot steam poured into the night, drifting past my face in the wind of our flying.‘The General celebrates your hard work. He laughs with you. And he is hurt when your words are harsh. He is more than a Commander. Kgosi is my Primarch. He is also my nestmate. And—’

I didn’t get to find out what else Kgosi had become to Akhane, because in that moment, the Primarch flapped quickly, twice, pushing himself ahead of us in the air, then banking to cross our path and head back to the Reach.

Akhane chittered.‘The General says it's late and we need to return to sleep.’

I looked at the position of the moon and grimaced. Shit. It was late. I was so busy trying to get this right, I hadn’t watched the time.

We landed in the launch hollow ten minutes later and I fell when Akhane braced her back legs on the ground. But I didn’t even care.

I whooped as she came to a halt. I swung back and forth on the strap, dragging an arm across her shoulder to slow my momentum, until on the backswing, I managed to catch the mounting strap and use it to pull myself back to her side, brace my feet, stepup,and unclip. Then I slowly walked back down to the ground.

I slipped the last few feet, but it didn’t matter. I caught myself, then jumped up, pumping my fist, just as Donavyn strode around Kgosi, who’d landed just in front of us in the launch hollow.

“Well done, Bren. Well done!” He hurried towards me like he’d pick me up, or embrace me—but then he stopped a few paces away, blinking. He still smiled, but I was suddenly reminded that he was ourGeneralandI was aFlameborne, and I’d just been whooping like I was out on a practice flight with my brothers.

We stared at each other for a moment, then I snapped to attention, and saluted him. “Thank you, Sir,” I said, beaming and trying to cover the nerves fluttering in my belly again. “Thank you for your help. I’m going to get this.”

“You’ve already got it,” he said gruffly, but he was smiling too. “You just need more practice.”

I nodded, then turned to Akhane and slapped her leg. “Yes, I do. And I’ll remain very grateful that you have helped me so much… Sir,” I said, still facing Akhane, trying to cover the fact that my cheeks were heating again. “Very grateful indeed.”

Donavyn cleared his throat like he wanted to say something, but didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what else to say. So I looked at him and shrugged. “I know you’re tired, Sir. I can take the dragons back and have one of the stablehands unharness Kgosi, if you’d like.”

“No, no. Thank you. I’ll take care of him. He likes to scare the stableboys too much. They don’t know he’s joking.”