Page 37 of Flameborne: Chosen

He had a point, I supposed.

“…in short, every man will be expected to keep his hands—and body—off her, his words respectful, and his eyes averted. She will be required to meet the same exacting standards you have. But shewon’tbe pressured outside of her training. At all.”

“And that is where they’ll struggle,” Mont muttered.

To my surprise, Olve agreed. “The men test each other—in healthy ways, and not-so-healthy. But it’s their way. We’ve all experienced the hazing and joking. Men hear these things differently. Where’s the line? If she’s excluded from the joking, she won’t find her place among her squad. But with her being a woman it will beveryeasy for hazing to tip into abuse.”

“That’s why it’s so crucial to have her in a mature squad,” I said. “She’s been selected by Ronen, and Kgosi affirms the choice.”

Mont cursed and everyone’s brows rose, or they laughed and shook their heads.

“There’s nowayshe’ll keep up!”

I was about to respond, but Barak stepped in. “It depends greatly on her dragon,” he said firmly. “Akhane is large enough to keep up with the males. And if she’s mentally ready, she’ll be able to bring her rider through.”

“Her rider hasn’t even learned to ride yet. Even if she can do it physically—I’m not convinced—how can she be expected to keep up with a squad we were moving towards promotion? That entire squad is well past the trials. We’d be promoting Ronen into Captain within years, and his Lieutenant—”

“There are two possibilities,” I broke in to quiet the agitation in the Captain. “That squad will need to bring their Flameborne up as they would with any male. This may slow their individual progress, but it will not stop it.”

“How does Ronen feel about that?” Mont spat.

“If you open the door and call him in, he can tell you himself,” I said quietly. I’d asked Ronen to wait outside until he was called in, as was appropriate for his rank.

At Mont’s nod, one of the Lieutenants rose to his feet and opened the door, leaning into the hallway to call the man inside.

Ronen entered looking grim. He was a strong, steady man, and the most mature of our Wing Leaders. Mont was right that without the appearance of Bren, he would likely have been promoted within a year or two at most. And his Lieutenants not far behind him because though most didn’t know it, he had two, and he’d done an excellent job of preparing them.

But now? Who knew.

He entered the room and marched towards my desk to salute me. I waved him off. “You’ll find us an informal group when others aren’t present,” I said to him with a nod of reassurance. “We retain traditions of respect before the eyes of anyone outside this room. But here we are brothers before anything else.”

Ronen’s eyes widened slightly, but he smiled and nodded too. “That’s gratifying to hear. Sir.”

I snorted. “You’ll get used to it. In any case, my brothers would like to hear how you feel about taking on the female Flameborne, especially if her progress slows your own.”

No point avoiding the issue.

Ronen’s expression flattened. “It’s a challenge I didn’t anticipate,” he said, turning to address the room. “But as the Commander spoke this afternoon it was clear to me—and to my dragon—that to refuse her would be selfish. And that’s not true leadership,” he said grimly.

Well said. And well-spoken for this room—that would give them something to think about.

I would have said it out loud, but I didn’t want to give the impression I’d urged Ronen to raise that thought.

Fighting a smile, I turned to look at the others. “Does anyone disagree with Wing Captain Ronen’s assessment?” I asked, fighting not to sound smug.

The others glared, or shook their heads. But no one spoke up.

“Good. Then, are we in Accord? Do we take the example of our up-and-coming leader here and accept the burden of her training with a view to our own growth in it? Or are there more questions to address? I don’t expect you all tocelebratethis. But can we meet the men in the morning as one mind? Can I tell them honestly that we see the Creator’s hand at work in this, and will step up to the challenge with hearts willing to meet it, even with our concerns?”

There was a muttering and shifting throughout the room. But of course, who could argue with Ronen’s honorable and selfless assessment? No leader worth his wings would admit that he could be less devoted tohis given charge, or less reliable in the face of change than a man ten years younger and less experienced.

I had brought Ronen here forhisimprovement and reward. Instead, to my delight, he was steadying the rest of us.

‘God will always use the humble to lower the proud,’Kgosi inserted airily.

‘When do you get lowered, then?’I sent back with a jab of amusement.

Kgosi huffed, but didn’t respond and I gave my full attention to the men.