Page 121 of Ashborne: Defiance

“Trust me, that was good. You pay attention.”

“You’re a good teacher.”

His head snapped to look at me, and my cheeks heated—that rush and prickle on my skin washing from the side of my face where he stared, down my arm. But he turned away when Bren spoke.

“We don’t have much time. We’ll hurry, but she needs to eat. Do you want me to get you anything?”

“No, thanks. I’ve already eaten. I’ll go with the dragons—give Kham time to make sure Koa isn’t overwhelmed. She hasn’t met all the herd yet.”

“Donavyn said there wouldn’t be as many as there was at mine. Too many on patrol—is that right?”

Voski nodded, his lips thin. “That’s what I understand, too. But don’t worry, Grace. The squad is here. You’ll get your Acknowledgement, even if we’re the only ones.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, except that this was really happening. I would really be a dragon rider today. But then my jaw dropped as I looked at Koa, harnessed and ready.

“Am I going to have to mount and take off with her?” I squeaked, looking at them both, alarmed. I hadn’t ridden a take-off or landing without falling unless Voski held me into it.

“No, don’t worry,” Bren said with a reassuring smile. “But, it’s going to be a long morning all the same.”

They looked at each other. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “What is it?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Nothing,” Voski said.

Bren chuckled. “It’s a day you’ll remember for the rest of your life, Grace. Don’t worry. Now, let’s go get you some food. You’re going to need your strength.”

Then she led me north, toward the dining hall at a pace much faster than she used to walk the halls of the Fyrehold castle when we met.

Then again, we were both in trousers. And though my breath grew faster, I could keep up.

It felt strange and wonderful to walk through the Keep in leather, alongside a Furyknight. I stared at Bren’s pin whenever she wasn’t watching. And I prayed that one day I’d have one of my own.

42. Flameborne

~ VOSKI ~

There weren’t nearly the numbers for an Acknowledgement that there should have been. But Grace didn’t know that. She stared, wide-eyed, down the slope when she and Bren broke through the trees and into the clearing to be greeted by the roar of the attending dragons, and the cheering of about fifty Furyknights. Her hands clapped to her mouth and for a moment I thought she’d bounce—but she caught herself. I had to swallow a smile, because I watched her freeze—and look at me as if remembering what I’d said. I let one side of my lips curl up, but then gave my attention to lining up with my brothers in preparation for the formal greeting.

Donavyn—newly appointed as the queen’s personal advisor, I’d been told—stood at the top of the slope and bellowed to all attending. His dragon, the massive blackscale, Kgosi, loomed behind him.

“…I’m sure you’ve all heard, and I’m here to affirm for you: The She-dragon, Koa, has submitted to Kgosi, and brings with her our newest Flameborne. Brothers and Furyknights, I introduce to you, the Chosen, Grace Barnslow!”

Then he turned to Grace, who stood at his side. I frowned. Next to him, she looked very small. How the hell was she supposed to do this? I wanted to shout that there had been a mistake, but it was too late.

“As a true Chosen, the Grace Barnslow of the past is no more. She stands before us as Flameborne—a new creation, molded by the bond, and borne to the fire of trial. The past is discarded. The future is before her—and you.” The men in attendance clapped and Grace’s cheeks pinked. “Flameborne Barnslow has been Acknowledged by the Dragons and named, Firebird.”

I jolted. It hadn’t occurred to me! I hadn’t thought… Her dragon name.

I swallowed hard and reached for Kham. ‘Firebird? What does that mean?’ The human words the dragons gave to their names didn’t always match—like mine.

‘She is the one who rises from the ashes. The bird who, in death, is born again.’

I blinked, my breath freezing in my lungs. ‘A Phoenix?’

‘Yes.’

‘But, Kham… the Phoenix dies—’

‘Only to be reborn. Grace will rise from the fire to new life.’