“There is no need for that, chief,” my mate rebutted.
“Of course there is. They must learn to respect you.”
“They already respect me. Besides, they aremyguard. I decide what they call me. You can’t—”
Rolling my eyes, I let go of Braxton and turned to find my guard fighting chuckles while his tensely watched the quarrel. Willow snorted next to me just as Imogen and Asher walked towards us, leaving Brax and my guardian to argue while motioning to Aaron, Edward, Charlotte, Louis, Harvey, and Quinn to join our side.
“Asher Dawnsky will be your commander from now on,” she informed them while the bickering continued in the background. “He is the prince’s right hand, and I am his mentor. We will train you as Elevated Warriors, so any questions you have, you come to him or me. Not Braxton. Understood?”
“Yes, Red Wing,” they answered in unison.
“I have a question,” Charlotte admitted, receiving a nod from Imogen to proceed. “Well, my brother and I learned all about the Harbinger of Justice’s true legend after we got here, but why did they call you Red Wing?”
“It’s because she fought so seamlessly alongside the Harbinger that she became an extension of him. His wing. None of us have ever achieved what they did together…” Harrison was the one to answer, admiration and respect oozing from his every word while he held her gaze.
A slow, and sassy grin blossomed on Imogen’s lips, recognizing the reverence exuding from him—just like we all could.
“Why thank you, hon.” She winked at him, causing a handsome smirk to capture his lips.
“But why red?” Charlotte, asked again, seeming confused.
“I cannot help you there, darling. I haven’t the slightest idea.” Imogen’s hand brushed against her ruby red curls, causing them to bounce against her cheek, and we all chuckled.
“You will be fitted with Elevated Warriors’ armor later, and we will get you retractable spears,” Asher informed, returning to the matter at hand and igniting excitement in their expressions. “You will also need to learn how to sky ride.”
“Please don’t gasp,” Willow interrupted, and I repressed a laugh.
“The Dragons are Braxton’s weapon, so I won’t have land riders here,” Imogen declared. “He will need you all in the sky with him.”
“That is perfectly fine. We will master anything you need us to, Red Wing,” Quinn answered for all of them, effortlessly assuming the leader role. The others fervidly nodded.
“I mean, who would say no to flying a Drag—?”
Willow’s loud and indignant huff cut off Charlotte’s statement, and a chuckle escaped me at her reaction.
Charlotte just shrugged.
“Have you chosen your replacement?” my guardian grunted at Asher when he and Braxton finally joined us, though it wasn’t quite clear who won their argument—they were both scowling.
“I have, Chief.” Asher’s gaze focused on someone behind me, and he faced them. “I’d like to offer my old position to you as Kingston’s Commander in the Skyborne Legion.”
We all turned to find Harper standing taller, clearly proud of herself as she looked back at him. “It will be the highest honor.”
“Only because she now gets to formally order us around,” Harrison jested, causing everyone to agree.
“Nothing has changed,” Elijah, her mate, added.
My guardian offered her a single nod, clearly approving of Asher’s decision. “My choice as well. Welcome, Commander.”
“Thank you, Chief.”
“Congratulations, Harper,” I offered sincerely and gestured for Braxton to step aside with me. “How did it go with the Truth Teller?” I asked while everyone shared their congratulations behind us.
“Intense.” He sighed. “I need to fully control my Wizard magic to fight Raithian one on one, so I need to find the crown as soon as possible to see if that can help me control it.”
Concern filtered through me because I knew how he felt about having to use the magic of his trapped ancestors, but I nodded.
“She said I’ll need four Dragons for that battle too.”
