Page 32 of Flameborne: Chosen

He groaned again, but it was a welcome sound. A happy rumble. Soon, she sank to the straw as well.

Akhane turned her head as if she’d tuck it under a wing, but then caught me standing there, and stopped.

‘Go rest, Bren,’she sent with a sigh.‘We all need to rest. The days to come will be challenging. But the Creator knows them intimately.’

There was a finality to those words, as if they were irrefutable. Simply taken as fact, and comforting because of it.

I nodded once, then turned hesitantly towards the door the Commander had indicated was the groom’s space.

When I stepped inside, it was small and dark. No windows, the only light coming from the bright stable outside. But it was cozy. Warm. And… mine?

It felt safe. Closed. Away from eyes. Like I could finally breathe.

The bed had a pillow but no blankets. Yet, with the heat of the dragons, the stable was warm. I didn’t need cover. Only a place to rest. So, after looking out to make sure Akhane was settled, I curled up on it and rested my head on the thick pillow, surprised by its softness. Sliding one hand underneath it, I lay on my side, staring at the stone wall and the light seeping along it from the cracked door.

It was such a strange place. So wholly unfamiliar, I thought I would never sleep. My brain buzzed with everything that had happened in just a few short hours.

But before I knew it, my eyelids drooped, and with whispered thoughts of comfort in my head from Akhane, I nodded off almost immediately.

8. Stand Up

~ DONAVYN ~

I waslividas I strode towards the meeting room, but I had to wrestle for control. Walking into a battle-planning room full of Wing Leaders was a very different environment than a council room full of Captains.

While the Captains and their Lieutenants of rank were men in the prime of their careers—experienced in battle, proven integrity and strength, consistent leadership under fire, both literally and figurative—the Wing Leaders were men expected to grow into those shoes, recognized as having the potential to become Lieutenants and Captains for our entire force. They were the men we attempted to mold and discipline into true leaders. Their first step in that journey was as the appointed leaders in their squads.

Wing Leaderswas a collective term to describe both Wing Captains—individual men in charge of their squads—and Wing Lieutenants, their Seconds-in-Command. Some squads had two of those.

Most Wing Captains had seen battle at least once. The Lieutenants may not have flown in war at all. They were all men showing promise and strength, but still proving themselves worthy of greater rank.

And they were younger.

Where the Captains and legion Commanders were all older than me—because I’d been ranked young—and their Lieutenants were my peers in age, Wing Leaders of both ranks ranged from mid-twenties, to early-thirties. Often still young enough for boundless energy and somewhat cocky ambition. Most of them hadn’t yet lost the idealism of youth—they yearned to prove themselves warriors rather than being sobered by the anticipated losses of battle. But the flippant attitudes of Wing Leaderstowards war was not an issue I had time to address today. I was now latefor the meetingIhad called. Annoying, but unavoidable.

I walked into the Commander’s Council earlier to be challenged and aided. I walked into this room to assert control—or be wrung dry.

The moment my steps rang on the floor, everyone turned from the large table in the middle where we left maps of the Kingdom and the Continent spread out.

“Sir!”

“Is it true, Sir?”

“Is she really Flameborne?”

“I thought Akhane was too young to Choose?”

“She’s not actually going to Trial, is she?”

“Where will she bathe?”

That question stopped the cacophony in the room and amid sputters of laughter and mockery, every head turned to stare at Cephas, the youngest of the Wing Lieutenants, and new to the rank.

His cheeks blazed at the scrutiny, but he stared the others down. “What? I have four sisters. They’d have fits if they had to share a pool with my squad.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Cephas,” I said wryly, after all, it was a question I still needed to answer. “Perhaps if she enters your squad, you could help her determine the answer?”

Cephas blushed beet-red while the others teased him mercilessly. But I barked a command and every man in the room snapped to attention, silent, and awaiting orders.