Page 36 of Flameborne: Chosen (Emberquell Academy #1)

~ DONAVYN ~

When Kgosi and I reached the stable, it was to find Akhane standing at its center, her neck turned to nose a crying Bren, who held the mounting strap in both hands, her knees trembling almost as badly as her chin.

When I caught sight of blood on Bren’s sleeve and Kgosi gave a concerned rumble, I thought Bren was hurt and hurried forward, Kgosi lumbering in my wake.

But when Bren saw me coming, her eyes went wide and fearful—then her mouth closed, her lips pressed then before she shoved away from Akhane and stumbled back.

“I can’t do it! I can’t fucking do it—you’re all just trying to torture me. You think this is funny? You think it’s funny to humiliate a woman, is that it?!”

I froze, midstep, startled by her fierce anger, and baffled by her words.

“What—”

“Don’t pretend to be kind—don’t pretend you care! I know what you’re all doing—this is punishment, right? And when I fail you’ll have your excuse to kick me out, you sadistic bastard. Is that what you want? So, it’s all my fault and none of you have to—”

“Flameborne, attend!” I barked sternly.

Bren’s eyes flew wide. She snapped to attention and fixed her eyes on the darkening windows high above my shoulder, her dirty cheeks flooding red, tears welling in her eyes.

Anger bubbled in my chest, but I also knew a person on the edge when I saw one, and I knew from experience that escalating the emotion would only break her further .

So, I left her standing in silence for a minute, folding my arms, and staring until she swallowed and released a heavy breath. Then I spoke.

“I don’t know what kind of men have ruled your life before now, Flameborne Kearney,” I muttered. “But I can tell you with great authority that no one here seeks to torment you. If you have been left a challenge it is exactly that: an obstacle to overcome. Nothing more.”

She blinked and a single tear trickled down her cheek to clean a new track in the smears of dirt on her reddened cheeks.

“As for me,” I said with a warning growl that Kgosi underlined with a rumble of his own, “I am neither sadistic, nor a bastard, though my father might have chosen differently,” I said through my teeth.

“If I hear those words out of your mouth and aimed at an undeserving target in future, you will sent to the scatpits without warning, do you understand?”

“Y-yes, Sir,” she said, her voice catching. She swallowed again.

“You stay at attention, Flameborne. Your Commanding Officer has a lesson for you,” I growled.

“I understand that the Academy is new for you. No Flameborne is expected to walk into the Reach and know all the rules—this is why we train and educate. However, manners. I hazard a guess that your parents taught you manners—would that be an accurate assumption, Bren?”

“Yes, S-Sir.”

“Then I will say this to you only once: in our line of work, the hierarchy of rank and experience is unassailable.

Authority will not be challenged, and in fact, cannot be.

Your job is not to lead. It is to follow.

And that is not for the sadistic pleasure of any man.

That is for the safety of you, your brothers, and our entire legions.

Your self-control and willingness to follow rules, to respect authority, and to follow orders may seem like a bit in your teeth, but trust me, when we reach battle, it will be the safety net that keeps you alive.

“If I were to give an order in the field while we were under flame, can you conceive of the fact that there is not time to explain myself?”

She swallowed again and nodded quickly. “Yes. I—I do understand.”

“The same is true of your Wing Captain, your Wing Lieutenant, and every other man of rank over you—which is every single one until you have passed the first trial. Am I clear?”

“Y-yes.”

“I would like you to imagine what would happen in battle if every man believed that he understood better than those in authority over him—the anarchy and chaos that would ensue. And the slaughter that would soon follow. Can you understand, Bren? Can you see it in your mind?”

“Yes, Sir.” Her voice was thin and breathy and eyes closed as another tear fell.

“Then you will understand this: when an order is given, you follow it without hesitation. When a challenge is placed in front of you, you take every possible step to overcome it. And when you feel angry, or hurt, or tired, you keep your mouth shut and you keep going anyway. That is discipline. And discipline is the spine at the back of our entire body of war—do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

I took a beat, sighing. “This isn’t only for your restraint, Bren,” I said sincerely. “It’s for your safety. Would you want your destiny determined by a man whose decisions were made in anger, or on some selfish whim?”

She blinked, then her eyes slid to meet mine. “With all due respect, Sir,” she said in a helpless tone that indicated she truly meant the words. “You have just described the life of every farmwife, daughter, and female servant I’ve ever met.”

My head snapped back.

Bren thought I was angry and she flinched, tearing her gaze from mine and back to the window behind me.

But I was breathless with ache, not anger when I stepped right up to her toes and spoke into her ear with every ounce of authority and solemn weight I possessed.

“Hear me, Bren. If any Furyknight ever places his whim, or lack of self-control on you, you tell me. You’re expected to respect authority.

But you are also protected by it. If any man attempts to use you, in any way, you tell me personally. You let me fix it.”

She nodded, but her jaw flexed.

I frowned. “You doubt me?”

“Can I speak honestly, sir?”

“Always, when you ask respectfully like that,” I said with a nod, standing back and folding my arms.

“In my experience, a man of authority addressing another’s transgression against a woman often gives a very pretty sounding speech or a mild punishment that allows the one in authority to claim that he has addressed the issue, when everyone concerned knows he has not.

Behind the victim’s back there are many winks and smiles.

It is… a pretend punishment. A thin veneer of discipline, not honor. ”

I swelled. “You accuse the ranks of Furyknights of—”

“No, Sir. I didn’t mean… only, that men advocate for each other against women. Or blame women for the transgressions of men. And then—”

“Attend,” I snapped and she closed her mouth, biting off the words, stiffening, obviously expecting punishment for her words.

Dear God, she’d been misused in some desperate way. That much was clear.

“Rather than debating the merits—or otherwise—of a man of authority watching over you, I’ll show you the way things work under my watch. Tell me exactly what problem you’re facing that spurred your outburst when I walked in?”

Her breath sucked in and she blinked. “I’ve been trying for three days to harness, mount, and unharness Akhane.

I haven’t managed a single step on my own.

Yet they’ve harnessed Akhane and left her here for me.

I know it’s a challenge, but I have tried.

I have truly tried. And I cannot do it. At least, not yet. ”

“You can’t?”

Her chin trembled. “No, Sir.”

“You can’t, at all? Or you can’t the way that you’ve been trained?”

“I can’t in the way that I’m supposed to. Not without making her lay down. I can’t climb her yet, and even if I could, the straps are so thick and heavy, I can’t move the harness around without help. I get hopelessly tangled. And I can’t throw it—”

I raised a hand to stop her, and she cut off.

I looked at Akhane who watched her charge with compassion but was surely ready to be free of her harness as well. Perhaps Ronen had misjudged. Perhaps she really wasn’t ready for—

Then Kgosi’s voice in my head. ‘What would you say if faced with a male of her stature who told you the same thing?’

I frowned and turned that over in my mind.

“Bren, I understand that you’re struggling.

But sadly, the thickness and weight of our straps and harnesses are necessary.

You flew the day you were acknowledged. You saw how important it was for all our equipment to be of the highest quality and cared for to keep its strength.

We need that harness to safely catch us and protect us from falling when we’re flying at speed.

We are strong people to begin, our bodies robust and heavy.

But in flight, with the momentum of our dragons, especially if we are jerked or thrown free, our bodies place immense pressure on the straps.

They need to be thick, to catch us. So, this isn’t the time to give up.

This is the time to ask yourself how you might manage things differently than your brothers to achieve the same goal. ”

She blinked and her brow furrowed. “I’m sorry, Sir. Do you mean—”

“You aren’t strong enough. So, perhaps you will have to do things differently. If you can find a way to do that without impinging on the safety of yourself, your dragon, or your brothers, I will allow it—and I’ll make certain your Wing Captain does, also.”

I expected her to ask to have her dragon kneel.

Little did she know, she wasn’t the first Flameborne to be bonded without the upper-body strength for this task.

It was partly why we started with it. It was humbling to fail.

And failure was the greatest measure of a man—those who rose to overcome the challenge, against those who folded under it.

Even if a Flameborne was strong enough to manhandle the harness, it required practice to develop the skill.

Many Flameborne began with their dragons kneeling so they could climb and reach the heavy straps more easily.

But I needed her to come to that conclusion herself. To solve the problem, and—

“Does the leather have to be that thick for the dragon’s sake?” she blurted suddenly .

I frowned. “No, only strong enough to endure their scales and heat. But it needs to be strong enough to catch the weight of the rider.”

“But, Sir—I’m not as heavy as the men. And I’m not as strong.

I don’t need straps as thick as they do.

I used to mend the harnesses for my father’s horses and wagons.

Are there harnesses for smaller dragons, or thinner straps I could use to replace some of these?

I know how to work leather safely—I could make adjustments so it’s not as heavy. ”

Her eyes were wide—half fearful. She licked her lips and peered up at me warily, awaiting my response.

I had to decide what that should be. I didn’t want to discourage her, but wasn’t there a simpler solution than making a new harness?

‘Can it hurt to let her try?’ Kgosi asked gently.

I huffed. ‘I suppose not,’ I said with a mental shrug for my dragon, though I was still skeptical.

“If you believe you can do this safely, I’ll help you take this off and get it to the leathersmith,” I said quietly. “But only if you give me your word that no matter the result, you’ll return and at least attempt to get the harness back on without assistance when we return.”

She actually smiled. “I will, Sir! You have my word!”

Somewhat bemused, but also quite curious, I asked permission to approach Akhane and remove the harness. Through Kgosi, I thanked her for her patience, urged the dragons to drink and eat while we were gone, then ushered Bren and her harness to the leathersmith.