Page 32 of Flameborne: Fury (Emberquell Academy #2)

~ DONAVYN ~

Leaving Bren at the door and walking away felt like tearing off a limb. The ache was so acute when I felt her moving away, I stumbled a step.

Diaan gave me a raised brow, but Alexi frowned. “How many days has it been since you slept?”

“I’ve slept. Just not enough. But don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Diaan looked sharply at her husband. The King ignored her. “I’m certain you are—but I insist you sleep a few hours tonight. I need you sharp. It’s too late to launch an offensive before daylight, anyway.”

I frowned. “You’re taking this very calmly.”

Alexi scowled. “I’m not calm. I’m furious. I knew that rat-bastard was planning something.”

“Ashthorn?” I asked, naming the sigil Bren had drawn, surprised because the King hadn’t mentioned a plot to me.

The King of Ashthorn, while not an ally, had reasons to maintain peace with our nation.

The lines of communication were open, though strained.

If Alexi suspected Ashthorn of subterfuge, why hadn’t he told me?

“Yes! All those mixed messages, all the conflicting reports. I knew someone had to be intentionally interfering. The question was, which of those sneaky pricks had the balls to stand against me? I’ll admit, I assumed if he made a move, he’d use Draeventhall so if there was fallout, we’d blamed them.

I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to send his own men.

He’s more confident than I thought.” The King frowned down at the paper in his hand again, staring at the smudged symbol of the Warriors of Ashthorn.

“What the fuck is he thinking, sending banners into my territory? He didn’t think I’d see him coming? ” Alexi muttered, shaking his head.

“They may not be his at all. But regardless, you didn’t see them. We didn’t,” I reminded him. “If it hadn’t been for those orders sending Bren out—”

Alexi lifted his eyes to meet mine and I shut my mouth, because the expression on his face said I was being slow and would soon catch up.

My jaw dropped. “You?! You sent her those orders?”

His lips pulled up on one side. “I thought you were onto me when you gave that great speech about how well she’d done and asked me to affirm her appointment—was that real?

Was it really her who discovered this? Or did you help and act kindly, giving her the credit?

It’s not necessary. If you want to raise the girl, do it—”

“It was her,” I growled, fighting not to glare at him, swallowing hard to keep the curses down in my balls where they belonged.

It took a moment to collect myself. “I beg your patience with me, Sire, but, I want to make certain I understand: You believed Ashthorn schemed against you? So, you secretly sent her to investigate?”

He shook his head. “I knew someone was—perhaps several someones. But I deeply suspect the brains behind whatever we’ve found are Ashthorns, though he may have kept his hands clean.

We’ll see… Why are you looking at me like that, Donavyn?

You and I discussed more than once how to listen for evidence of movements from our neighbors.

My discussions with the others at the summit left me with an air of unease.

But I couldn’t uncover their purpose, and even with the hints I found, I wasn’t certain. ”

I spoke through my teeth. “But, why her? Why not send me? Or one of the Fang with some experience—?”

“It wasn’t that simple, Donavyn. I wasn’t sure, and I couldn’t risk igniting a war if I was wrong.

Sending her wasn’t a whim. I even did as you suggested and humbled the little fucker who tried to hurt her.

She received her orders exactly as a Flameborne should for their trial—he did no wrong. And neither did she.”

“But, Sire, you sent a Flameborne— her —directly into enemy hands!” My mate. You sent my mate directly into enemy hands.

“Potential enemy hands,” he corrected, unaware of my panicked thought.

“I couldn’t be sure. And I couldn’t risk increasing tensions if it wasn’t Ashthorn.

She was the best choice. If she failed it was no loss to us.

If she succeeded, she was proof that women could do this kind of work and we should have more of them—as Diaan keeps insisting. ”

The Queen smiled. “So, you are hearing me.” Then she turned to me with that catlike grin. “I’ve tried to tell him that there’s aspects of espionage and covert battle in which women excel, where the Furyknights are lacking. But I didn’t think he’d listened.”

Precisely what Ronen and I had seen in her. But I was so stunned by the King’s attitude, I didn’t reply.

Alexi frowned. “That’s what you wanted as well, wasn’t it, Donavyn? For her to have her chance, as any Flameborne would?”

I blinked. “Yes.”

“And did she conduct herself with the skill and intelligence needed for any Flameborne?”

“Yes. But—”

“Then you should be thanking me,” the King said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“You got what you wanted. As did we. So did the girl, for that matter. I have no doubt that she yearns to be a Furyknight, and now she will. Meanwhile, none of our valuable assets or political alliances were put at risk. Frankly, it was brilliant and I don’t understand why you’re glaring as if it was a poor choice. There was no losing.”

I almost punched the fucker.

No losing?

No fucking losing?

I wanted to bellow at him. She was my mate. Her dragon was Kgosi’s mate. And you set her on a path into the enemy’s jaws without so much as a warning.

I was stunned by his flippant attitude. And left horrified by how close I’d come to losing her.

“The strategy was… understandable,” I croaked eventually, gaining a nod of approval from the Queen and a tight smile from the frustrated King. “But, Sire, I wouldn’t willingly put any Flameborne into a position in which they’d face a real enemy, especially alone—”

“If she’d failed and been discovered, she was an unranked soldier who’d flown off course without permission.

An ignorant—or at worst, a rebel. She wasn’t pinned, not to mention she’s a woman.

They wouldn’t even have identified her as a Furyknight.

We faced little to no political consequence.

But in the event of her success, we gained maximum reward—for no cost. Please explain to me where you see a flaw in this? ”

“Because she’s Flameborne,” I spluttered.

“Would you feel this way if she were a man?”

Both the royals watched me intently, awaiting the answer.

But a bigger question rose in my mind: Would I care less if she wasn’t my mate?

Was this bond twisting my judgment? Or was the rage coiling in my belly fully justified?

Because as Alexi stood there waiting for me to congratulate him on his genius strategy, I found I wanted nothing more than to clamp a hand to his throat, pin him against the wall, and explain in deep, dark tones exactly what would happen if he ever again implied that to lose Bren was to lose nothing.

His attitude was an example of what my mate feared, and I’d been arguing, insisting she see herself otherwise. Yet, here before me stood the evidence that her expectation wasn’t merely the overreaction to a wound.

I’d seen the King think twice about sending his favorite war horse into dangerous training exercises. Yet he threw my mate into the enemy’s grip alone, and called it no loss if she were taken and killed?

“Donavyn?”

I blinked, swallowing back the snarl that wanted to crawl up my throat.

He was King. He could send me, or any other Furyknight—or Flameborne—into the pits of hell if he so chose. I didn’t like it, but it was the life we led once the dragons Chose us. And we were honored to be tools in his hand.

He was right that she’d succeeded, and now she’d be raised as a result. And Diaan was right to be thrilled by that.

Bren would get what she wanted—she’d earned it. And the King would get his way as well. They would all be pleased by the outcome of this night.

But those words he’d said left me breathless.

If she failed it was no loss to us…

No loss to him, as he saw it. But to the Furyknights? To me?

“Donavyn, speak up man. Why do you look like you swallowed a thistlebrush?”

I met the King’s eyes, desperately stifling a roar of rage. “Because, Sire, I consider what might have been. And I fear we almost lost an excellent soldier. But you’re right, of course, that the strategy was both brilliant, and successful,” I ground out.

Then Diaan stepped forward to put a hand on my arm and smiled up at me. “Your concern for your soldiers is admirable, Donavyn. I’m glad you don’t take lightly the lives of those serving us.”

I assured her that I didn’t, but my hands were clenched into fists, and I was forced to avert my eyes from Alexi’s gaze until I had myself more firmly under control.

My heart sang with rage and indignation and cold, hard vengeance—and all of it sent me into waves of yearning.

To have her close again, to hold her tightly, to not let her into the reach of this fucker who wanted to use her…

I forced myself to put the angry thoughts aside. She was a Furyknight—or soon would be. It meant she’d face danger every day at the King’s behest, as we all did. I couldn’t steal that from her.

And Alexi was right that this opportunity had allowed her to earn her place. I needed to remember that.

She was here. And safe. And successful. I couldn’t steal that from her.

As Alexi clapped my shoulder and assured me that this was a win and I needed to start seeing it so, I nodded, but my body was tense from head to toe.

As he strode to the alcove in their Royal chamber where the maps were stored and pulled out the one for the region where Bren had found the intruders, I could feel Diaan’s eyes on me and had to avoid meeting her gaze.

But no matter what came of this night—these plans—I was certain of one thing: My mate would never again be declared no fucking loss.

Never.

I just had to figure out how the hell I was supposed to defend her without letting others know of our bond. Because it was clear her fears weren’t unfounded. Which meant I needed to choose the timing of this reveal very, very carefully.