34. Decisions, Decisions
~ VOSKI ~
“I’m very relieved that you’re here, and safe, sir,” I told Donavyn honestly, after we’d debriefed quickly on the most important points—Gil, the king’s death, the queen’s succession, and the fact that Grace had abandoned a marriage contract in Fyrehold.
We’d gone around in circles on that, but Donavyn agreed there was nothing we could do. Grace couldn’t have parted from Koa. And as long as they didn’t know she was here, hopefully the scandal would pass. It was something we’d take the queen’s advice on when things settled down.
Now, we back-tracked to cover the more personal ground and decide how to move forward from here.
Donavyn nodded to accept my relief. “And I still lay gratitude firmly at your feet, Voski,” he said quietly.
“I’ve told the captains, and Ronen here, how you identified the scheme, and your willingness to follow me to thwart it.
We can’t tell anyone outside Shadowfang, of course.
But let me assure you, your loyalty won’t be forgotten. ”
We held gazes for a moment. Pride and gratitude surged in my chest. I admired this man.
But I was glad there’d be no announcements or medals.
I found the attention on those occasions extremely uncomfortable.
It was half why I loved my role in the Shadowfang, and lower rank in my usual squad.
I didn’t have to deal with all that shit.
“Thank you, sir,” I said sincerely. “I’m just glad that we’re all here, and there hasn’t been a coup. I was very worried—”
“Tell him what you told me. About the dragons.” Ronen looked at me darkly.
I frowned. “That they’re bonded?” I asked. I was confused. Everyone had seen that. Why did he want me to tell Donavyn, as if it were secret?
But Donavyn, who stood in front of the windows on the other side of his desk, leaned back on the sill and folded his arms. “I gathered as much from Kgosi’s agitation,” he said, scratching his jaw with one hand. “But, they’re your dragons? Yours, and Grace’s?”
I nodded, frowning deeper when Ronen gave Donavyn a pointed look.
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Koa submitted to Kgosi. At least, I thought she did. Has there been a problem? Isn’t that why they all flew off together?”
Donavyn nodded and waved off my concern, but he’d caught Ronen’s gaze, and his expression was tense. Neither Ronen, nor the general spoke.
“What?” I asked. “What am I missing?”
Donavyn rolled his jaw. “Grace is bonded to Koa, and you’re bonded to Kham. The dragons bonded each other—after Grace was already bonded to Koa?”
“Yes. Though, barely. Grace didn’t even understand what Koa had done when the dragons linked.
It happened when I caught Grace following me.
Koa must have just Chosen her. I had a knife to her throat.
I thought Grace was a spy and I’d captured her.
But Koa came for me—and of course, Kham took exception to Koa’s aggression.
But then they faced off and… well, you can imagine. ”
Donavyn huffed. “I can.” But he caught eyes with Ronen again, before turning to me. “So, your dragons bonded, but you two didn’t?”
“No.”
There was a beat during which his lips thinned. I held his gaze evenly, though my stomach simmered.
“You haven’t had any particularly strong draw to Grace? You’ve felt no drastic effects from their bond?”
I slammed my mind closed. I didn’t think Kham was close enough to hear, but I didn’t want him to hear me lie. “No. Not particularly. That is, there were some issues when the dragons actually mated, but we both resisted and now we’re fine—”
There was a knock at the door.
Donavyn’s frown deepened. “Come in!” He raised his voice so he’d be heard through the thick wooden door.
A moment later the latch turned and two of the three captains of the Furyknights, the highest ranking men below Donavyn, filed in, accompanied by a handful of sergeants, men who were high level squad wing leaders, or specialists of senior rank.
Donavyn stepped around his desk to greet them all and accept their salutes with short patience, but as he passed me and Ronen, he leaned in.
“We’ll talk more about this later. For now, leave it.
” Then he gave Ronen a pointed look, who nodded.
I was confused, and a little nervous, but then Donavyn turned to the others and filled them in on the important points of what had occurred since our arrival.
“…Voski will fill us in on what happened in Fyrehold after we were taken away—then we’ll discuss the new Flameborne, and the new addition to the herd.”
As the men nodded and turned expectantly to me, Donavyn faced me as well.
“Son, you’re invited into this circle because you’re respected and you have information these men need.
” Then to the others. “There’s more to the story than you can know.
But rest assured, Voski has proven both his skill, and loyalty. His words can be trusted.”
The men murmured approval. I nodded my thanks quickly.
Then, with a glance at Ronen, I started from the day before Donavyn disappeared.
The day I’d uncovered the code that revealed the plot to take Donavyn’s life, weaken Kgosi, and overrun the dragon herd.
“…When the general disappeared, I feared the worst. I left Gil at the castle to continue investigations there, and I went for Kham. We were going to fly, try to locate Kgosi and see whether the general needed help…”
As the men leaned in, listening, my heart pounded. Not because I spoke to a roomful of men who had authority over me. I was accustomed to that. But because I knew there’d be questions about Grace. And I found myself suddenly very nervous. And protective?
Minutes later, bristling in anticipation, I had explained the events that took my time and attention away from the pursuit of Donavyn and Kgosi. I told them what I’d found after checking in with Gil at the castle, and then briefly touched on the flight home.
“…she is noble and na?ve. Yet, I can see why she’s been chosen,” I said honestly.
“She and Koa will be assets to our ranks. But we’ll have some unique challenges in the process.
Her people will be looking for her, though she believes that will cease once they can’t find her in Fyrehold. I’m not so sure, because she—”
“Her life starts new here, just as any Flameborne’s would. We can handle families. What we need to know is how to move forward with her here.”
I swallowed and nodded. “Whoever takes them will have to keep an eye on her. Koa is extremely independent, having been feral and without a herd. Meanwhile, as a lady of the court, Grace can be unaware of the finer details of functioning as part of a team. Yet, she’s very resilient.
So eager to rush ahead, she’s often heedless of her own safety. ”
Most of the men chuckled at that, and Ronen gave me a grin.
I might have shown similar tendencies in my first year.
“The queen will be overjoyed,” Captain Mont, the Commander of the Flame Wing—our forward guard in battle—muttered.
Donavyn nodded. “She will. She’s been waiting for another dragon to choose a woman.”
“She wasn’t chosen because she’s a woman,” I interjected, then blinked as every man in the room looked at me with some measure of surprise—or displeasure—at the correction I’d directed at a man who outranked all of us.
I gritted my teeth. It was always a hazard of returning from a spy mission, where rank lines blurred, depending on roles. In this case, Donavyn and I had communicated as peers in private. I needed to adjust my mindset now that we were back in ranks.
Ronen, my immediate superior, shot me a look, but kept his mouth shut in this circle.
“Sorry, sir,” I said quietly.
Captain Mont, eyes blazing, swelled with offense, but the general cleared his throat and stepped in before I received the tongue-lashing.
“Apart from the obvious limitations for modesty, we’ll treat Grace as we would any other Flameborne. Just as we did with Bren.”
“Sir, she’s a noble,” Mont spluttered. “You can hardly shove her into Kgosi’s stable and hope for the best.”
“Actually, we can—or at least, a similarly humble housing arrangement. We’ve been here before, and we have the evidence to prove that a woman can, indeed, reach the pin.
Her nobility means nothing to the dragons.
And I won’t stand in her way—particularly since her dragon has submitted to Kgosi.
There will be challenges, yes. But we’ll have a new bloodline in the herd, as well as growth in our ranks.
” His expression was casually confident, but his eyes gleamed as he looked around, daring any of the men to challenge the fact that his mate was anything less than a fully fledged Furyknight.
Bren had been instrumental in helping us uncover the plot that could have torn the Furyknights down by their foundations. Not to mention that her dragon was the Primarch’s mate.
No one would argue with Kgosi about his mate’s choice in rider. Not now.
When Donavyn turned to me with a nod to dismiss me from the meeting, I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful, or terrified.
“Please wait outside. If we need further information about anything, we’ll call you back in. And once this is done, you’re free to bathe and sleep. Ronen doesn’t have you rostered for patrol, so you’ll have a few days to recover.”
“Thank you, sir, but—”
“Take a seat outside, Voski,” Ronen cut in quietly. “I’ll fill you in later.”
I nodded, uncertain why my nerves increased as Donavyn turned away from me and addressed the men while I weaved between the bodies now crowded into the office, heading for the door.
“It’s clear that we’ll have the same challenges here as we faced with Bren—the same rules will apply.
For now. We’re going to have to reassess in light of the queen’s new openness.
I’ll look for accommodations that are suitable for Grace, but other than that, she just needs the right squad.
Of course, that’s easier this time. She’s Kham’s mate, and Seventh Squad has already been through a female Flameborne once. ”
I’d just whispered my apologies to slip between the last two men, and reached for the door handle when, at those words, I froze. Every hair on my body standing tall.
“Yes, of course,” Ronen said as if it was of no consequence. “I would have suggested we take her anyway, since we’ve got Bren to help her adjust. I imagine it will go more smoothly for that reason alone.”
I whirled, caught myself just before I bellowed, you can’t be serious?! Because Ronen, who still stood beside the general, locked eyes with me and the steely, undeniable warning that gleamed in his gaze stopped me in my tracks.
My squad leader was a good man. A solid man. A man about to be promoted—as evidenced by his presence in this very room. He was difficult to ruffle, and entirely dependable.
And far, far too willing to sacrifice comfort for duty.
She can’t be in my squad. No. Absolutely not.