Page 125 of Ashborne: Defiance

Be fearless. Take instruction. Do as you’re told. Don’t question. Show willingness to learn…

And I remembered that moment, when he’d asked me if I wanted to die—I definitely didn’t. But I’d thought carefully about his question at the time.

Why had I willingly thrown myself off Kham when he told me? Because I really would rather plummet to my death falling from my dragon’s back, than spend a lifetime in a cold, dusty estate house with a man who considered me little more than a broodmare.

I clenched my jaw at that thought, nodding to myself. I lifted my head and kept my eyes on the dragons in front of us, and the horizon beyond them.

I could do this. I would do this. Whatever these men asked, I would do. Without hesitation. Because the only way to be certain they’d accept me, and train me, and not reject me, was if I did it without complaint or hesitation.

So, I would. Because it would be better to die trying, than to run back to the life I was trapped in before.

“…Grace!”

I blinked. To my right, Ronen’s brows were high in a question. He’d been shouting at me.

“I beg your pardon! I was distracted.”

One of the men flying close cackled a laugh at that, and several of the others hooted or called teasing comments. I wasn’t sure what was funny, but I could feel Voski’s unamused gaze on the back of my head. My eyes, already watering from the stiff wind, wanted to tear up. But I swallowed it back and fixed my gaze on Ronen.

“Squad, alert!” he barked, glaring, and the men stopped laughing and talking, and suddenly the sky was quiet except for the wind thundering past my ears.

Ronen waited a moment, glaring at the others, then he turned to look past me. “You ready for maneuvers, Voski?”

Voski must have nodded, because I heard nothing, but Ronen raised his voice again. “Huddle up! Come on, we’re showing our new sister how this is done.”

The men whooped and waved their fists, but the dragons all moved to fly close together in front of us, some above, and others lower than the net.

I swallowed to wet my throat which was dried both by fear and the strong wind. But as soon as the dragons all took position and the men and Bren turned to look at Ronen, he nodded.

“Flameborne, salute!”

I waited a moment to see what they’d do—but then Bren turned to look at me over her shoulder and widened her eyes, making a shoo-motion with one hand.

“I—oh! Me!” I squeaked. I yanked one hand up to my chest, clapping that arm between my breasts—but with the shift of my weight on the billowing net, and the wind, my body was caught and I tipped sideways.

The net moved—rising and falling with my movement, so the attempt to lift a foot to catch my sideways momentum was a failure. I tipped to my side and almost lost my grip on the net, which set my heart thundering again. There was a short shout to my left and a pang in my chest, but I clung with aching fingers to the net and a moment later, I did as Voski had told me when I had a fall.

Take a moment. Assess.

So, I did. My fingers burned from being scraped on the net, and my shoulder was sore from the twist of my weight against that grip, but I was safe. The net rose and fell with the dragon’s flapping, but other than that, I was secure. I thought.

‘Be calm. You do well.’

Sending a quick thrust of gratitude at Koa, I grabbed for the net again. “I’ll get it!” I called to Ronen. “Just a moment!” I awkwardly spread my feet on segments of the net that were further apart to brace my weight more securely, then clasped the fist to my chest and shouted, “Sir! Yes, sir!”

A smattering of applause surprised me, and I looked up to find Bren pumping her fist, and some of the men clapping. I heard Voski’s voice among the rest and turned to look. He stared, brows high, his face pale. But he nodded, then tipped his head to Ronen.

I hurriedly looked at Ronen for the next instruction.

Ronen’s brows were high too, but his lips twisted like he fought laughter. He didn’t tease, even though I must have looked very silly, falling like that.

“Flameborne, Attention.”

I frowned. Attention? That meant to stand? I opened my mouth to ask, but Ronen obviously anticipated the question.

“Get to your feet. Release your grip on the net, and stand straight. You will not receive another order until it’s done.”

I nodded. There were more claps from some of the men, and Koa called to me.