Page 89 of Flameborne: Chosen

I froze. “Earnings?” I breathed.

Ronen huffed. “Yes. Did you think we work for free?”

It had never even occurred to me to ask the question. “No, but I thought since everything is provided and I’m only Flameborne, and—”

“You will earn a great deal more when you’re Furyknight, it’s true,” Ronen said with a shrug. “But you’re young and unattached. The Flameborne stipend will keep you in clothing and books, and perhaps even a few meals at the tavern each month.”

I was stunned.I would be able tobuybooks?

Ronen offered that, then kept speaking as if it weren’t a miracle.

‘Bren, you’re Flameborne. It is a great honor. Your life is with me now. Of course the crown will provide for you.’

I was speechless. So speechless, that when Ronen told me that I needed to mount Ekko with him to ride double so I could get a feel for launching without having to help the dragon, I didn’t even think it through.

Ekko knelt on his knees to make it easier. Ronen clambered up first, then shook the mounting strap out for me to follow. Though only halfway because Ekko had humbled himself for me.

My cheeks were hot, and I asked Akhane to apologize to him for needing to do that. But as I took a grip on that strap and braced myself, she assured me Ekko was pleased to help.

My hands were mostly healed from those early days, and my strength increasing. It still took me three tries to heave myself up the mounting strap, and I still couldn’t have gotten myself in my seat alone—but with Ronen’s grip to haul me up in front of him, I made it. And even though it was awkward, it felt like another milestone.

My head spun as Ronen clipped me in to Ekko’s neckstrap, then explained how to ride the launch.

“…the most important thing is to grip the sides of his neck with your knees, and pullupon that strap to keep your ass planted flat. The moment you bounce, it’s over,” he said with a chuckle. Then, when he’d checked my seat and showed the most effective posture for pulling on the strap, he put his arms around me to grip the other strap in front of me, and suddenly we were moving.

Launching on dragonback was earthshattering.

I would have fallen every time if Ronen hadn’t clamped his arms around me and crossed my body, pulling me down when I wasn’t strong enough to keep my seat.

Ekko’s launch was a power I’d never felt in my life—like straddling the apex of our cottage roof as my home heaved itself across the hollow, then into the air. The moment Ekko raised his wings, then thrust forward with a massive down-flap and those powerful legs, the jarring was so extreme, I bounced straight off his back and would have flown free, except for Ronen pinning me down.

The earth had to be trembling under his feet—it tilted under me with every teeth-clattering stomp. I suddenly understood why Ronen had recommended I grit my teeth when I bit the side of my tongue and squeaked.

“Hold on!” Ronen grunted. There was a sense of Ekko’s bulk gathering, bunching underneath us, and then we were thrust into the air.

My stomach swooped, then hung—not nearly as bad as when Akhane dropped us off that cliff, but there was a weightless moment before Ekko down-flapped again and the grassy bowl of earth beneath us eased away.

There was a high, piercing cry from my right. Akhane had taken off too and flew alongside, her mouth open and wings flapping faster than Ekko’s because she was smaller.

I took a deep breath and smiled, pulling up on that strap and settling myself better—then gasping when Ekko banked. But far from being thrown aside when he tilted, our momentum pressed me into his back as we wheeled.

“We’re going to land in the hollow. The slope makes it a little less jarring, but remember to pull up on the strap and soften your hips.”

I blinked, a whisper of a memory stretching across the months—a different Furyknight. A different reason for instructing me to soften my hips. But there was no time to look at the memory closely, because we were already losing altitude, and moving so quickly as we descended, it seemed the ground rushed up to meet us.

Before I was ready Ekko’s head reared up and his rump tipped down as he back-flapped, hard and fast, the strong gusts throwing up dust from the ground even though he hadn’t landed yet.

When his feet hit the earth, I felt it in every bone of my body. Once again, Ronen’s strength kept me in my seat, though tipped awkwardly over his arm.

We came to a stop moments later, and Ronen heaved me back upright. I trembled and breathed heavily, but my heart raced with thrill.

“That wasn’t bad,” Ronen said, his arms going slack as Ekko walked to the base of the hollow. “But we’re going to need to work on your upper-body strength. You’ll need to be a lot stronger to keep yourself in your seat when you’re alone.”

My cheeks heated because I knew he was being kind. I’d been helplessly thrown from the moment Ekko did more than walk.

But Akhane chattered in my head, and Ekko huffed happily.

“You ready?” Ronen said a moment later.