Page 144 of Flameborne: Chosen

Smiling.

They werefucking smiling?!

We had only moments until the King and Queen would be lowered to the ground and the evaluation and ceremony would begin. I wasted no time, skipping the stairs and leaping straight onto the stage, storming towards these petty children who called themselves men.

Lorr saw me coming over Faren’s shoulder and his eyes lit up—for a moment, until he absorbed my expression. Then his chin dropped and his eyes filled with fear.

He must have spoken because Faren whipped around, so both of them faced me when I marched right to their toes to loom over them and hiss the words I couldn’t afford for the King and Queen to hear.

“Flameborne, Attention!” I snapped.

Both men shot to attention. “Sir!”

I wanted to snap my teeth. “I don’t know what the fuck you two think you were doing, or how you convinced yourselves we wouldn’t see it, but you should both lose those shit-licking smiles because this isn’t going to end well for you.”

‘Donavyn—’

“Three incidents involving both of you. Three! Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think Captain Gunnar is an idiot?!”

“No, Sir!”

“Then why thefuckwould you think you could get away with subverting the rules?!”

Faren blinked, his face paling. “Rules? Sir, we didn’t break any rules. We got all our banners, and—”

“Silence!”I snarled. “Between you, you wounded a dragon and could have gotten another Flamebornekilled.”

“What?! No, Sir—” Faren swallowed the words when I glared and pointed back towards Akhane, and Bren who was now walking towards the stage, her head low and eyes on her feet despite the banners clenched in her fists. Did she think because she was last she would be failed? I looked forward to seeing her eyes light up when she learned she was wrong.

“I have seen hundreds of Flameborne tested in my career, and I’ve seen some pretty ballsy maneuvers, but I’ve never seen two men so overtly flout our code of conduct.”

“Flout—Sir, I don’t know what you’re—” Lorr cut off when his friend elbowed him in the side and I snapped my glare at him.

“You’re damn right you don’t know—you don’t know a fuckingthingabout what it means to be a Furyknight, either of you. Be glad you’re only Flameborne and not raised to first rank. Be thankful to the Creator you haven’t been given your wings, because if you had, your careers would both endright here.”

Both men froze, their eyes widening. “Sir?”

“A Furyknight is strong, and courageous, and if he’s lucky, he’ll be a hero before he dies. But he isalwaysa man of honor. And he is first and foremost a servant. A servant to his dragon, to his squad, and to all of the Furyknights. We cannot trust any brother in the skies who would choose his own, petty ambitions over the greater good of the rest of us. And both of you demonstrated clearly today that you haveno cluewhat being a servant means.”

“Wait, Sir, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, you’re grounded. Both of you!” I hissed.

Both men paled and jerked back. I was pettily gratified to see their delight so quickly change to despair.

“But,why?!”

‘Donavyn, be calm. Be an example. Discipline without anger. Remember?’

I took a deep breath to center myself, but shook my head at the horrified pair. “The fact that you even need to ask me that question only demonstrates that, at least as of this moment, you have no place in the Furyknight ranks. Give me your banners. Now.”

They both quickly handed me their fistfuls of pendant banners, then stepped back. I shoved the thin strips of fabric into my pockets as Lorr blinked several times, rapidly. Faren went so pale his face looked green. Both of them stared at me, agape.

“Sir, there must be something! We never meant to hurt a dragon. It was just the way things panned out.”

“Thingspanned outthat way because of your choices,boys.And if you ever do join our ranks, you’ll need to learn that lesson quickly. Every choice we make in battle affects every other Pair in the skies.”

“But—”