Page 27 of Flameborne: Fury (Emberquell Academy #2)

~ DONAVYN ~

We dressed then found a shady spot at the edge of the meadow to wait for the dragons.

My body was tight again, but I lay on my back, head propped on one bent arm and pulled Bren into my side, smiling when she rested her temple on my shoulder, curled a knee over my thigh, and laid her arm across my chest.

The wind still rustled the trees and made the long grasses ripple like waves on the sea.

The clouds overhead were scattered and thinning, blowing away.

It was growing safer to fly every hour. The thought made me want to roll Bren onto her back and kiss her clothes off, take her again and fuck the world. Or rather, each other.

But we needed to conserve energy. We’d barely slept after flying most of the previous day in a storm, running from the dragons wet and haggard, then making love too many times to count.

I was spent—and unlikely to find time for more than an hour’s sleep tonight after we got back to the Keep.

Once the King heard what she’d found, I’d be lucky to find time to eat.

That thought made me tense. Being in the King’s presence would require being out of Bren’s. My body went cold at the thought of reaching out to her not there?

Panic sliced through me and I pulled her tighter against my side. She sighed, half-asleep and snuggled closer. I cursed myself for disturbing her. There was no need for both of us to miss rest.

I should have been sleeping too. When the dragons were done, Kgosi would reluctantly tell me so we could leave again. But my head spun.

I played fingers through her hair, frowning at the clearing sky.

This could end my career. A thought that was both terrifying and oddly acceptable.

I tried to be optimistic. After all, what would they do with Kgosi if we weren’t leading together?

The Primarch wouldn’t be affected in the slightest. His dominance over the dragons was unassailable. But mine over the Furyknights?

This newfound relationship could be twisted into something dark if the King chose to see it that way. And even though my stomach sank at the idea, I abhorred the idea of losing her more.

I didn’t regret finding my mate in the slightest. Only wondered—dreaded—how it might be received.

Then Bren stirred again and I turned my head to find her peering at me, her head on my shoulder, her cheek resting on her hand.

“Why are you frowning? I can feel your unrest. Is it the enemies I found?” she asked quietly.

I huffed. In truth, it should have been, but I’d barely been able to consider the implications of that. I was still trying to find how to place my feet in this bond.

“No. I know we’ll handle them. I’m glad we found them—you found them,” I corrected myself. “No, I’m wondering how this will affect my rank. How the King will react,” I said quietly, trying to keep my expression casual. Not worried. “But I don’t regret it at all,” I added.

“How can you not?” she asked tightly. “You’ve done so much and come so far—you lead all of us, Donavyn. You said this could fuck up our careers, and yours is so important. You must be nervous, or angry? If Kgosi had mated with a normal Furyknight’s dragon, there wouldn’t be any problem, right?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Then she stiffened against me. “Does this happen to everyone? This need when their dragons mate?” she asked, hushed.

I chuckled. “Definitely not. I think it must be because you’re a woman.

That might also explain why you and Akhane sank so deep in your bond so quickly.

You’re very entwined already. Which one was the seed and the other the fruit, who knows?

But clearly something has changed us. Dragons can bond without their riders sharing any link. Yet, here we are.” I frowned.

“What usually happens?”

“Usually, the dragons choose their soulmates before they take a Rider. Then, when one or both of them Choose riders, we simply place them in squads together. But dragons finding bonds later in life do happen and if two dragons discover each other as mates after they’ve taken riders, we move the Pairs to a new squad together.

There’s some disruption, but no one’s rank or Wing changes.

We’ve had some challenges with new bonds making dragons unwilling to be parted for missions, but where possible, we try not to let it happen. ”

Bren sighed. “But you’re not in a squad anymore, right?”

I nodded. “Our dragons’ bond wouldn’t cause that kind of issue, Bren.

It might limit where you could fly for a time, but the Primarch taking a mate will be celebrated—it’ll strengthen our entire herd, and at a time when the number of offspring is dwindling.

So, no, Kgosi taking Akhane isn’t a problem.

The dragons are free to bond and mate as they see fit.

But us? Furyknights are supposed to prioritize our roles and if we do take wives, select them carefully.

Or not at all. I’d accepted it was my fate to be alone.

I thought that’s what Kgosi had told me would be required.

I’ve assured the King for over a decade that he wouldn’t see my time and attention divided.

And while he’s respectful of my skill—and Kgosi’s power—he won’t welcome having to share my loyalty and attention. ”

I’d been thinking out loud, but I felt the bolt of fear spear through her. I should have taken more care with my words.

“Don’t worry,” I murmured, turning my head to kiss her hair.

“Whatever happens, wherever it takes us is in the Creator’s hands.

He’s using you, Bren. You’re a disrupter.

They appear in every generation, and they’re always used for change.

You should be proud—everything with you is new. You’re changing history.”

But she pushed up on her elbow and frowned down at me. “I don’t like that.”

“Why not? I do.”

She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Donavyn, look at the consequences. They could remove you from your rank just when we’re riding to war.

And they might not raise me—right? I thought I’d completed the third task, but it wasn’t even my orders.

If they haven’t evaluated me and they find this out, will they ground me? ”

“They better fucking not.”

“But you might not have a say. You said this breached your vows, so it would breach mine as well if I were to take them. How can this be from God if it breaks all the rules?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “And I don’t know if the consequences will be terrible, or non-existent.

The King is… unpredictable.” Not to mention the Queen.

My stomach sank at the thought. I needed to make certain both the royals heard this from me.

The King so that I could counter his concerns before he had time to find them, and the Queen because she had made her interest clear.

And she wasn’t a woman who took kindly to unpleasant surprises.

“What? What are you nervous about?” Bren asked suddenly, her brow furrowed with worry.

I pushed up to sit, crossing my legs and leaning towards her as she scrambled to sit up as well.

“Bren, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life it’s that circumstances never play out as we’d expect.

I don’t like the potential problems this raises, it’s true.

I don’t want to lose my rank—or watch you be denied yours.

But those decisions are out of my control.

All I can do—all we can do, is speak up, follow our honor, and pray that the King’s response is measured. ”

“But—”

I slid a hand to her face, kept her there with me because I could feel her panic rising. “No matter what occurs, I’ll protect you. Even if they discipline me. Even if they remove my rank. They know me. They know what I’m capable of. No one will harm me.”

“Stealing your career is harm!”

“And yet, men survive it every day.”

Her jaw dropped. “How can you be so flippant about this?”

“Who said anything about flippant? Acceptance of what I can’t control is balance, not lack of care.”

“But Donavyn! You can’t! You can’t just give up!”

“I’m not volunteering, Bren. I’m accepting that—”

“You can’t!” She was agitated, fear twisting in her chest.

I frowned. “Bren, I’m trying to reassure you. What’s—?”

“We can hide this,” she insisted. “Until I’ve earned my rank, we can hide it.”

I sat back. “Absolutely not. I’m not living a lie. And I’m not denying my mate,” I growled.

“I don’t mean deny the bond, I mean, we can work around it. No one else needs to know—”

“Why would you want to ignore this?”

“I don’t!”

“Then why—”

“Because I could never make it up to you!”

I froze, but she hurried on, gesticulating, her eyes pinched with worry.

“You’re so good! You’re needed! I couldn’t have gotten this far without you—and I know you’ve helped others, too. The whole legion needs you. If I take you from them… Donavyn, they’ll hate me!”

I stared at her, torn between wanting to snarl that she stop valuing herself so little, and being stunned because, though I hated it, the truth was, she was right.

The men would resent her if she was the reason they believed I’d been removed.

I cleared my throat. “That’s not what’s happening here. We were Divinely appointed, Bren. Neither of us chose this. We didn’t forge a bond—it was revealed to us—”

“They won’t care! Donavyn, can’t you see that they won’t care why it happened, only that it did?

If you claim me before all of them, even if the King agrees, they’ll still see me as your whore.

They’ll think we’ve made my Choosing up so we can be together—or…

oh, God. They’ll think you’ve been helping me all along.

That I haven’t earned any of it. They’ll think—”

“Bren, stop.”

“Tell me I’m lying!” she cried. “Tell me it’s not true? Tell me all those fucking cocky, arrogant Furyknights who see me as a burden or a joke won’t turn on me the second they hear that I put you in jeopardy? Tell me they won’t see me as a curse! Can you, Donavyn?”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what they think,” I growled. “I’m not hiding you, Bren.”

“Why the hell not?!”

I was stunned. “Because you’re mine!” I spluttered.

But she looked horrified. “But Donavyn. I’m not worth that!”