Page 160 of Ashborne: Defiance

I’d meant my assurance that I wouldn’t lose my temper. I knew she was training hard and not just with Koa. I’d seen her from a distance several times, throwing knives. Once, barely after dawn, on the first shift I returned from the city. But today, it would be just the two of us.

Nervous energy crackled up my spine as I jogged through the stable. And yet, something in my chest went quiet when I reached the edge of the launch hollow and saw her at the base, harnessing Koa.

It wasn’t a change of shift, so the launch hollow was virtually empty.

Of course it was.

“You’ll find it easier to tack her up in her stable before coming down here, so you don’t have to carry the harness,” I called as I approached, trying to keep my voice casual.

Grace’s head snapped around to find me with her eyes, before she turned back to work the buckles of Koa’s harness.

“I still get the harness throw wrong sometimes in the closed space.” She had to raise her voice a little because I was still a short distance away. “Besides, I’ll get stronger and better at handling the harness the more I carry it.”

She’d turned away again and put her attention back on her dragon as she spoke, so she didn’t see my brows rise in surprise.

Flameborne were usually quite dedicated to their training, desperate to please their dragons, and eager to be assessed worthy to fly alone.

But they were also, usually exhausted. Any opportunity to use less energy to complete a task was always taken without question.

“That’s good,” I said, scratching the back of my neck as I stood there, waiting for her to finish harnessing.

The fact that she’d gotten the harness up and fixed without help was an excellent sign. Bren had still struggled with that at this point in her journey.

I folded my arms and waited until Grace double-checked everything, then stood at her dragon’s foreleg, as was correct etiquette. “Koa says it’s fine for you to approach now,” she said, a little breathless.

That sizzle of inexplicable nerves raised the hair on my nape, but I nodded once and approached, thanking Koa, then turning all my attention to the harness. Because I could feel Grace’s eyes on me, and it made my lungs tight.

Shit. I needed to get past this. She was my squad-sister now. I’d never felt like this with Bren. Never suffered humming skin, or nervous bolts in my belly.

Talking myself down from the increasing tension, I made quick work of checking the buckles and straps, nodding my approval. “Excellent job—you even remembered all the sleepers.”

They were the thin loops below every buckle that held any excess strap against the harness so it didn’t flap free and tangle with limbs or wings.

“Thank you. I’ve been practicing.”

I could see that. I swallowed and nodded. “Report, Flameborne. What strides have you made since we last flew, and what challenges are you facing? Where do we need to focus our attention?”

Grace took a deep breath, but didn’t shift her feet. “I’m getting stronger at pulling myself into the landing and take-off. I didn’t fall on take-off at all yesterday, even though we practiced for two hours with Gil. I’ve gotten better at landings, but I can still get toppled off in that first impact. Gil had to catch me twice yesterday. It was frustrating.”

I suffered a burst of images in my head—Grace bent over Gil’s arm as he caught her in the landing. Both of them laughing. My brother’s gleaming eyes when her breasts pressed against his forearm—

The shriek of anger in my head was out of proportion with events. We all caught Flameborne—male, or female—in their early days of learning. It was why they weren’t allowed to fly alone. It was entirely appropriate for Gil, or any of our brothers or sister, to ride with Grace and help her steady so she didn’t fall.

But my skin crawled, because all I could see in my mind’s eye was Gil standing in the stable with that smug fucking grin plastered all over his face, as he tried to imply—

Kham whistled and I blinked. He’d stopped at the water trough for a drink as I’d finished harnessing him. But he followed now, leaning back to take the heavy steps down the side of the launch hollow, chirping and whistling to his mate.

He was so fucking cheerful.

Koa greeted Kham, then Grace called to him as well. He chirped to her like he chirped to me, which made my shoulders hunch, but at least it made it easy when I needed her to mount him. I knew there’d be no complaints from him.

I was beginning to think my dragon liked Grace more than he liked me.

‘Poor little pouty warrior. I am touched by your envy.’

‘You aren’t funny.’

‘My mate assures me that I am.’