Page 151 of Flameborne: Chosen

‘What is it, Donavyn?’

I swallowed, eyes darting, looking for a way through, but there was none. “The King,” I said.

‘What has the self-important little rat done now?’

Kgosi didn’t despise our human King, but he definitely wasn’t enamored with him.

“The rumors,” I murmured, looking over my shoulder to make sure none of the men had followed me.

‘I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.’

I clawed a hand through my hair, grimacing. “There are rumors, about Bren,” I said darkly as I started the walk to the stables, Kgosi keeping his strides to my pace. “Some of them say she was a plant, the King’s toy, put here intentionally for his entertainment. Others say she caught his attention when she was Chosen, and he’s ordering me to keep her in the ranks.”

‘Preposterous.’

“Yes. Well, it was,” I said flatly. “Until I just went and asked the King and Queen to make her raising a Royal Decree for the first time ingenerations.Shit, Keg. Everyone who thought those rumors were nothing are going to think there’s substance there now. What the hell was I thinking?!”

‘You were thinking to keep the decisions professional and accountable. You thought correctly.’

“And possibly just made her situation worse!”

‘In terms of gossip, possibly. But I have a feeling our Little Flame will find her fire again soon, and she’ll be as eager to prove herself worthy of the rank as any man.’

That was likely true.

I prayed it was. She’d taken a real blow today. I hadn’t seen her that deflated since that night at the tavern—the night I did everything in my power not to think about.

But now there was no choice. I had to find her. But find her alone. I had to prepare her. Make it clear what was expected so there could benoaccusations of her raising being anything but justice, as Kgosi had termed it.

I also had to make sure no one saw us together in any personal capacity. Because even those with the maturity to ignore gossip wouldn’t ignore tales of the General raising a woman, then spending time with her privately.

‘I hope you’re ready for some company, Keg,’I sent on a sigh.‘I’ll be spending the evening in the stable tonight.’

‘I won’t complain.’

‘That’s good. Because I won’t be leaving until she gets back from celebrating with the squad. We need to talk, and there’s nowhere else that we can be sure we won’t be seen.’

43. What’s in a Name?

SOUNDTRACK:In the Darkby Klergy and Valerie Broussard

~ BREN ~

I shrieked at the same time my brothers cheered and crowed.

A plume of flame roared from Ekko over the sagging spit and wood they’d set for a fire, sending the log up so it crackled and popped, and the skin of the carcass on the spit seared, any last sign of hair from the boar going up in sizzling smoke.

My heart banged in my chest, but I settled back in my seat against the stump of a dead tree since I was now sure I wasn’t going up in flames along with the carcass.

My brothers laughed and teased each other, while Harle turned the spit, and Ronen dug around in one of the bags nearby.

No one had their attention on me in that moment, and I found myself strangely still, watching them, marveling that I was here.

I wasn’t sure I had a right to be.

But my brothers were buoyant. They had whooped and whistled the whole flight to get here, and they were still exuberant now that we were off the dragons, shoving each other, jeering.

We’d all flown here together, to a clearing a few miles inland where there was a large lake. I was touched when we landed, where the preset fire and spit made it obvious they’d planned for this. Because they assumed I’d pass, or just because they would have come out here anyway? I didn’t know. But it made my chest warm when Akhane and I landed at the site of the already spitted carcass and some large hessian bags with lumps inside that I’d guess were food since my squad brothers ateconstantlywhen they weren’t working.