Page 111 of Flameborne: Chosen

Every muscle in my body went rigid as I silently pleaded with the Officers at a safe distance to call a new order, to let us evade. But I didn’t hold hope.

I thought I understood the point—and why we hadn’t been warned that this would be part of the assessment. For a moment I wasfurious.But Donavyn’s words echoed in my head again.

Once you meet an enemy, battle never goes to plan. Your best strategies fall apart in the chaos of war and eventually, the rank and file are only arrows nocked at a target, and their leaders the bows shooting them. When you’re given an order, Bren, do it. And if you think you’ll die, confess and be certain your soul rises to the Creator.

I’d thought he was being dramatic, preparing me for tasks and responsibilities I wouldn’t have foryears.But I’d been wrong.

Then we were within wing flaps of the others and my heart stopped as the chaos came to us.

One of the dragons lifted its head and screamed.

Shouts rose from the men watching.

That dark-haired fuck smiled so widely all his teeth showed and his eyes flashed with satisfaction when our gazes met.

Not today, fucker.

Saul shouted and I gasped, pulling up on the neck strap and pulling myself into Akhane’s back and tucking my body as tightly to hers as I could.

For the moments we stared each other in the eye, fear whimpered in my head and my heart pounded so hard my ribs vibrated.

Then it was a flurry my mind could only untangle later.

As a crash became imminent, the left hand dragon in the V shrieked and pitched left, dropping and wheeling, screaming in frustration.

Shouts rose again from the Furyknights around us, but I didn’t hear any of them as Saul bellowed and Bich dove at the last possible moment, her wings drawing along the bellies of the dragons we faced.

Which left me no room but for the roll, just as I’d planned.

Later I’d be grateful—Saul’s line was off. Ascending would have been too slow. The enemies would have plowed into Akhane’s belly before we were out of reach. And if I’d tried to dive as well, Bich and Akhane would likely have tangled each other. Instead—

‘Now, Akhane!’

A male voice screamed, “Are you fuckinginsane?!”as I tucked my head against my dragon’s neck and the world flipped.

My heart pounded, thewhomphof multiple dragon wings, a dragon scream, men’s shouts—it was true chaos, just like Donavyn had said. And in it, Akhane surged forward as her tucked wings increased our speed—but then our momentum shuddered and I gasped, for a moment convinced that I’d given the order too late and she had tangled with another dragon.But then air appeared between my knees and my dragon just as something hard slammed on my arm where I clutched the strap—like a fist, trying to punch its way through my arm.

My hand was torn off the strap and then I was tumbling free, screaming, arms splayed and feet pedaling as I fought to center my gravity—then grunted when the straps caught and I was yanked around and backwards.

My chin was forced to my chest because the force was so strong, as if a giant planted his hand on the back of my head and pushed down. My arms and legs flew outwards like a rag doll’s tossed into the sky.

And then the air around us was clear and I swayed at the end of the strap, fluttering alongside Akhane, out of reach of her wing, but trailing at her side like a ribbon in the wind of our passage.

I blinked and gulped and tried to breathe. Managed to get my good hand gripping the strap and find the horizon with my eyes so I knew where was up and what was down…

The arm that had taken the blow sang. That hand felt numb and wouldn’t grip properly. But I was alive.

And we had held the line.

“You did it, Akhane!”

‘Are you well, Bren? You felt pain?’

“I just can’t grip with that hand. I was hit on my funnybone. I’ll be fine—Akhane, we did it!”

Then Saul and Bich appeared, rising back to the line from their dive, Saul still in his seat, and Bich flying with ears pricked.

He looked at me, a worried question on his face, but I smiled, because I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I’d fallen. We made it through. We held the line. That had to count, right? We’d taken the order. We’d held the line!