Page 17 of Flameborne: Chosen

She blinked, but grabbed at the leather sides and pulled them closed in front, and some of the tension went out of her shoulders. My manners kicked in instinctively, so I stepped aside and opened my arm for her to walk. She did so, hovering close to my side, moving slowly, and with a small limp. Her eyes darted left and right as we started across the bowl, Kgosi and Akhane following at a safe distance as I tried to figure out how to do this.

But before I could find the right words, she turned her head and looked up at me, tendrils of her fine, hair falling from the lumpy bun that now swung drunkenly halfway down her neck, with chunks pulled loose to curl around her shoulders.

“Thank you. For the jacket. I know it’s your uniform,” she whispered, and there was something so deeply earnest in her eyes and her tone. It spoke of a bone-deep humility that struck a gong in my chest.

“You’re welcome, of course,” I said gruffly. “But it will soon be yours.”

“Oh, I could never keep your jacket, uh, Sir. Just show me to the road. I’ll travel home and… I will get it back to you when I’ve changed.”

I blinked. Had she misunderstood? Or was she still naïve to the situation in which she found herself?

We were at the base of the incline, a cluster of soldiers, Furyknights, and a couple of their dragons at the summit, waiting for us to reach them. The shock and disbelief on the Furyknight’s faces told me their dragons had filled them in.

This news would tear through the Keep like Dragonfire.

I stifled a groan and caught Bren’s elbow through the leather, tugging her to a stop as I eyed the men above us warily.

“Bren, I have to tell you that your appearance here is quite the, uh,thrill?” Had she been a man, I would have given her the speech, welcomed her as a brother, and delighted to do it—to hear those words from the Commander himself would be a memory he’d hold precious for the rest of his days. But how could I do that withher?”

‘How could you not, Donavyn?’Kgosi muttered in my head.‘She is Chosen.’

‘She’s a… she,’I reminded him.

‘She is Chosen,’is all he replied.

‘Against every rule and—’

‘There are no rules among dragons, Donavyn. It’s your kind who like restrictions.’

If there hadn’t been so many eyes on me, I would have gaped at him.‘How can you say that? The dragons haveneverChosen a woman before!’

‘That doesn’t mean it was forbidden. We merely agreed with your kind in the past that it was not wise.’

‘And it’s wise now?’I asked incredulously.

‘She. Is. Chosen,’Kgosi sent slowly, as if I were a child who wasn’t following.‘The dragons acknowledge her. Any disquiet is yours.’

Stunned, I cleared my throat turning my attention back to Bren. “Do you understand what’s happened to you?”

Her brow furrowed. “Akhane saved me,” she said, her lips barely moving.

“And in the process, shebondedyou. Do you know what that means?”

The lines in her forehead grew deeper, then she licked her lips. “Is that why I can hear her voice?”

I nodded. “It’s also why every dragon in the Vosgaarde society will now stand for your protection. As will their riders and carers.”

Her eyes widened. “The Furyknights?” she breathed, then looked quickly around as if she expected one to leap on her.

“Yes,” I said frankly. “Bren, you’ve beenChosen. Akhane measured you suitable and bonded you. Which means you take your place among the ranks of the Flameborne.”

“I—wait,what?!”She stopped dead and her eyes went round.

It surprised me thatthatwas the term that broke through to her. Most citizens were aware of the Furyknights, but knew little to nothing about how they were Chosen and raised to that auspicious rank. It was part of the fun for a Flameborne’s brotherhood to introduce them to our society—anda wicked delight to awe them with the requirements they would have to meet.

I sighed. “As a Chosen One of a dragonfury, you are Flameborne. That is—”

“I know what that is,” she hissed, blinking rapidly. “But that’s… I thought onlymencould be Furyknights?”