Page 152 of Ashborne: Defiance

All sign of the laughing smile was gone. I suddenly saw my new brother’s stern strength. He loomed over me, but turned his head to glance down the stable aisle behind me in the direction of Kham’s stable. And his expression was not amused.

I slumped. “I meant precisely that,” I said quietly. “I don’t want to give him any more excuses to stop me becoming a Furyknight.”

Gil’s eyes snapped back to mine and the muscles at his jaw flexed. “Oh, he won’t.”

I slumped. “You haven’t seen how angry he gets. He didn’t want me in the squad, and even though he’s training me, I’m worried that in one of his moods he’ll say something to Ronen—or perhaps Donavyn. I don’t know. I’ve humbled him, without meaning to. Men find that very aggravating.”

Gil’s lips twitched, but he rubbed his jaw and didn’t give in to the smile. “We will come back to your assurance of becoming Furyknight later. For now, I want to make certain you’re clear: Voski is a capable, talented Furyknight, and I’d encourage you to take any training he’s willing to give. But he has zero say in whether or not you pass the trials. And even if he did, he’s a sour-puss—we all know it—but he’s not an idiot. Any of us can see you were meant to fly—including him.” Then he glanced up the aisle again and that smile did emerge. “And apparently a consummate sneak, as well.”

“I don’t—”

“It was a compliment, Grace,” he sighed. “I’m not sure how your skills will be molded by a redscale like Koa, but I’m looking forward to finding out. We all are. You don’t need to worry. None of us questions whether you’ll be pinned one day.”

The statement was given so freely, with such casual conviction, I had to swallow a pinch in my throat. “I thought Koa and I trained together?” I asked faintly, unable to question whether he meant it about me being pinned, because I feared he was being kind. “What do you mean that she’ll mold me?”

Gil frowned. “Voski didn’t tell you about how your dragon’s color is an indicator of their natural talents and preferences?”

“Yes, but I’m willing to learn to fight with Koa. You said she’d mold me. Does that mean I’d have to become a warrior?” I asked nervously.

“No, no, not like that. But…” Gil glanced back up the aisle to Kham’s stable again, frowning. “He didn’t explain the differences in the wings?”

I frowned. “The dragon’s wings?”

Gil grimaced, then clawed a hand over his head as if he’d recently had hair he used to push back in the same way Voski did. “No,” he said emphatically. “The Wings. Flyer, Flame, and Fang.”

I knew I’d heard those terms before, but I wasn’t sure what they meant. As I searched my memories for any conversation in which Voski might have explained them, Gil muttered something under his breath.

“Look, we’ll get into this more deeply—I’m just surprised Voski didn’t drill you on it. I brought up Koa’s redscale, because reds are almost entirely Flame Wing—they’re our forward guard. The offense. Our biggest, strongest fighters, with the greatest range in flame. But your skills—being able to sneak like that, the natural skill to throw weapons—those would place you firmly in Fang. They’re our stealth agents. Ambushes, tracking, some espionage. You and your dragon have different natural talents. That’s not a bad thing. It’ll be interesting to see where you end up, that’s all.”

I chewed my lip. I’d thought her red scales were only relevant in whether or not Koa would want to ride to war. Which she did. But Gil thought I wouldn’t work well with her skills?

“He really didn’t tell you how it all works? The two of you together?”

I grimaced. I didn’t want to get Voski disciplined now. “We were, uh, distracted by many things. I’m sure he meant to…?”

Gil’s forehead pressed to lines, but he didn’t comment further, just began to explain.

“The dragons’ colors are all an indication of their strengths,” he said, slipping into the gentle command he’d shown when he was teaching Bren and I how to throw knives. “Goldscales like Kham are wise and able to communicate over long distances. Blues are peacemakers, and natural leaders. Very persuasive. And also great at communicating over distances. Greens can be fierce, but they possess a healing power greater than just what they do for their bonded riders. They can work with us to help heal others. Grays are sneaky. Like you,” he said with a grin. “In fact, with what I’ve just seen, I’m surprised you weren’t chosen by a gray. They’re excellent at stealth and camouflage, tracking and ambush. There’s always only one blackscale in a herd—ours is Kgosi. You saw him when you and Koa arrived.”

I nodded quickly. “And Koa’s scales are red.”

Gil nodded. “The reds are our warriors. Our fiercest fighters, and usually the first to leap to attack. Not always. There are always some dragons who lean into areas slightly different than their brothers and sisters, but, usually a red is the dragon equivalent of our best soldiers. And given Koa’s size, I’m guessing she will be eager to find a fight when there’s battle afoot.”

My heart sank again. “She will. She does. She grows aggressive if she believes there is need for protection. I really don’t like to fight,” I said miserably.

Gil snorted. “You may not have much choice. But don’t worry, it’s not your job to figure out what your purpose is. We’ll watch you and Koa, we’ll test you and train you both, and you’ll influence each other. The deeper your bond grows, the more you train, the more your instincts begin to reflect each other. Eventually we’ll figure out where you fit. I promise. We haven’t gotten it wrong yet.”

I took a deep breath. “I hope so,” I said sincerely. “I truly do.”

His eyes softened. “Grace, you’re going to do this. There’s not a man in the squad who doesn’t believe you’ll be pinned. You just need to be patient—and you really need to stop worrying about what Voski thinks. He can be a cold bastard. But he’s a good man underneath that. There’s no one in our squad I’d trust more, except maybe Ronen, and that’s only because Voski will save your life, then trip you as you walk away from thanking him,” he chuckled.

When he realized I wasn’t laughing, Gil sighed and muttered something under his breath, glancing back to the stables again, but he didn’t bring up Voski again. “Look, it’s your first days. Those feel overwhelming to anyone. Stop wasting energy worrying about the things you can’t control. Pay attention to what you’re told, practice the skills as you’re trained. And when you’re cleared to fly, fly every second you have the chance. It will happen for you. And there will be a day when you’ll forget how hard this was. I promise.”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely.

“Don’t thank me too soon. I’m in charge of making sure you learn. So, now, you have a new task today: You spend some time going back over and memorizing the dragons’ colors and skills. And the different Wings. I’ll come back and test you at the end of the week, and I don’t want any missed out!”

I nodded. “I will. And thank you—for the information, and for the encouragement. I’m less worried now. I’ll go practice the knives.”