Page 9 of Flameborne: Fury (Emberquell Academy #2)

~ DONAVYN ~

Following lunch the day after the King’s ball, I had no further excuses. I couldn’t avoid her any longer. Despite the dread, my heart thrilled. But, the elation was short lived.

I grimaced, eyeing the darkening sky as I crossed the courtyard outside the building that housed my quarters. I knew the urge to call off her flight didn’t come from anywhere that had anything to do with being a General and Battle Commander.

I was a man. And this man didn’t want to see Bren flying in these conditions.

But unless the wind strengthened enough to blow a dragon off-course, or the rain was heavy enough to make visibility too low for safe landings, we were all taking shifts and working as usual.

The dragons didn’t particularly feel the cold, and our dragonhide leathers benefited us greatly in staying dry and warm.

Flying in this weather might be miserable, but not particularly dangerous. I had to remind myself of that.

I strode on, fighting to keep my expression blank. I was already wound tight about seeing her, and Kgosi was tense too. Unusual for him. My tension must be bleeding to him.

When I walked between the buildings at dinner hour, the chaotic blend of eating and voices rumbled out of the dining hall.

Knowing she might be a part of that crowd, I hesitated and almost entered.

But I wanted to speak to Bren without an audience.

And besides, I need to bless her. And encourage her.

At this time of day there was a good chance she’d still be at her meal, or some other duty may have taken her away from her quarters.

But I’d arranged to be the one to deliver her orders.

If I needed to sit with Kgosi for an hour before she returned, well, I could probably use a nap.

It had been a late night the night before, and knowing what would happen today, I’d struggled to fall asleep even after I got into bed.

Nerves trilled in my chest as I hurried up the aisle towards Kgosi’s stable.

Bren was going on her final trial. If she passed, she’d be a fully pinned Furyknight.

I wanted to celebrate that fact with her. But when I thought of it, all I saw was myself embracing her, pulling her up into my chest, kissing her, and—

I ground my teeth and pushed the images away, striding into the stable—only to have my heart fall to my toes.

No Akhane. And that meant there was likely no Bren, either.

Kgosi raised his head and rumbled a greeting as I stepped inside. He was bedded down early again.

I frowned. ‘What’s going on? Why are you nesting so early?’

‘A nap is hardly nesting, Donavyn.’

‘Keg, you’ve been resting a lot lately. Why?’

‘Conserving my energy for when it’s needed.’

I frowned harder. ‘What do you need to conserve it for?’

‘If I knew, I wouldn’t need to take all chances, just in case, would I?’ His tone was short. Irritated. Kgosi could be pompous, occasionally judgmental, and often needling. But he was rarely impatient. And even more rarely sincerely grumpy.

‘Are you sure you’re feeling well?’ I asked him carefully.

‘Yes, Donavyn. But if you’re going to keep asking the same questions repeatedly, perhaps you could visit the hatchlings. They seem to enjoy that.’

I snorted, but my heart wasn’t in it. ‘I’ll let you rest, old man,’ I sent warmly. ‘I might even nap with you. I’m waiting for Bren and Akhane to return. I have her orders for the third trial.’

I was still crossing the stable towards him, forcing a smile, when he shot to his feet with such a lurch, I expected the floor to tremble. Instinctively, I leaped backwards, giving him space as his wings shot out and fluttered agitatedly.

“Whoa! What’s—”

‘Bren received her orders already, Donavyn. What do you mean, you have them?’

My head jerked back and I cursed. “Did Ronen bring them after all? I asked him to let me—”

‘No Donavyn, focus. The girls left before dawn. The messenger came—the boy who frightened her. I assumed that’s what you’d meant when you said she’d be challenged, though I’ll admit, it seemed a rather mean-spirited choice—’

“What?! No, Kgosi… No!” My pulse slammed in my ears and I rushed to him. “I have her orders, Keg. No one else has ever had them. Not—”

‘Then something has happened. Because she received orders this morning, and Akhane carried her before dawn. If they weren’t the orders for her trial, what were they?’

Panic roared to life in my chest, because I didn’t know.

I didn’t have a fucking clue.

Ronen gaped.

He and the squad had rushed to us the moment Kgosi passed the news to their dragons. They entered the stable on the run, forcing me to restart the story over and over until my body quivered with the need to move, to do. Something. Anything.

Kgosi paced the stable, a low, ominous growl rolling out of his chest, so deep it made the floor under my feet tremble and the rafters sprinkle dust.

“Somebody find that fucker, Faren!” I barked. “Tell him the General demands his presence immediately!”

“Yes, Sir!” Gil tore out of the stable and down the aisle. Ronen eyed me. I ignored him.

“While we’re waiting for him, have your dragons reach out. Meet minds with every dragon within range, find out who was flying at dawn, see if any of them saw the pair or knows in which direction they left—”

‘The dragons are mine to command, Donavyn.’

‘Then command, please. We need to know!’

‘Your impatience only serves to make you rash. Stop. Think. Plan.’

I raked a hand through my hair, then twisted it up and tied it at the back of my head when I realized it was still down. We might need to fly.

Ronen organized the men to spread out and question the servants and stableboys, while I stood there, feeling useless and helpless and so fucking angry.

Those little shits had done it again. Sabotaged her. I couldn’t believe they’d had the gall. Especially after last time. But why wouldn’t they? The King had let them off. Of course they wouldn’t think they were at risk. I ground my teeth, muttering curses under my breath.

“I want Lorr here, too,” I said darkly.

Ronen looked at Oros, who nodded once, then trotted off. There was grim satisfaction in that. The man was huge. Any Furyknight would be wary to see him coming. Let alone a selfish little prick with—

Kgosi groaned and tossed his head. My agitation was making his worse.

I made myself breathe and pray.

Help me. Help us. We need to find her!

The minutes until Gil returned with Faren crawled by. But the moment that little asshole strode into the stable looking fearful, but defiant, I almost went for him.

Without preamble, Gil walked him straight to me and tipped his head. “Tell the General what you told me.”

Faren stood at attention, pale. But his jaw was set and his eyes blazing. “I did my job. I took her papers. They were sealed. I don’t know what was in them.”

“I don’t believe you,” I snarled, taking the step that put me at his toes and glaring down at him. “You’ve sought to sabotage her chances for this since the first assessment.”

“And I paid the fucking price for it. I didn’t do anything today except the job you gave me!”

“I didn’t give you this one.”

“Well, someone did!”

“Who? How did you get the orders? Which Officer brought them to you?”

For the first time, his defiance faltered. “I don’t know.”

“Do you expect me to believe—”

“He woke me from my bed in the night. He was in uniform. I haven’t met him before, but I’m not a Flameborne so I don’t know all the Officers yet!

It was dark, and I was asleep. He shook me awake and hissed that I had a job to do, that I needed humbling.

He told me to dress immediately, take them to her, bless her mission, then leave her to prepare. So, I did!”

Kgosi groaned again, lifting his head high and opening his mouth, his nostrils flaring as he tasted the air.

‘I gave him entrance to the stable,’ he sent, his tone dark and tight. ‘I believed he’d been sent. I smelled no deceit on him, Donavyn. Only anger.’

“Why were you angry when you came to give her the message?” I snapped at him.

“Because I was woken early to do a job I didn’t want to do! I’m a fucking messenger. And I had to come give her orders? Bless her? Watch her fly off and earn her pin? I was pissed.”

I went still. “You watched her fly?”

He frowned. “No. I meant—”

I cursed. But I was starting to think. ‘Do you scent any deceit in him now, Keg?’

‘He’s agitated. Angry. There’s a great deal of inner conflict. It’s difficult to say. But my heart says no, Donavyn. He speaks the bitter truth.’

A tight coil of rage and pride knotted in my chest and wanted to rise out of my throat, but I fought it down.

I put a finger to that little fucker’s chest and made certain he knew he wasn’t cleared.

“Is there anything you haven’t told me? Any clue where she might have gone, or what might have been in those papers? ”

He shook his head tightly. “It was a folded piece of parchment with a wax seal,” he muttered. “The Officer left the moment I threw back my blankets.”

Shit.

I wanted to scream, my body recoiling from all of this, but I couldn’t give in to the fear. “If I find out you’re lying, or there’s even a hint that you were involved in this, you’ll never fly again,” I vowed.

Faren’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t do anything except my job!”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

He opened his mouth and I saw in his eyes—the accusation, the snide remark, the thought that I was the one who’d played dirty. But he wisely closed his teeth and saluted.

“Yes. Sir,” he said through a clenched jaw.

“You may go. But you’re grounded for today—” His mouth opened again and his eyes bulged, but he held himself back. “I need you available in the event I have more questions,” I growled.

“Yes, Sir,” he said tightly, but his eyes blazed. When I nodded, he turned on his heel and marched out of the stable, hands clenched at his sides.

And I was at a loss.

‘She was seen.’