Page 60 of Ashborne: Defiance

A tiny nudge at my shoulder woke me. I opened my eyes, then squeezed them tightly shut again, rolling to my side because the sun beamed between the leaves of the tree overhead and blazed right into the back of my skull.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes with my fists, trying to gain my bearings. I was disoriented by the hard ground under my shoulder and the smell of dirt and grass. But then a deep, ragged voice murmured, “Are you awake?”

Vane.

Koa.

The dragons.

I had flown! Twice!

I’d thought it was a dream because it faded into sleep, but as I pushed up to sit, wincing against sore muscles, it all came flooding back.

I looked at Vane and smiled.

He stared at me uncertainly, his expression wavering between unease and nerves. “I have to tell you something,” he muttered.

“Oh. Well, what is it?”

He glanced over my shoulder, in the direction of the dragons, his lips pressing thin. “When Bren told you my name was Vane she was covering for me. If you’re coming to Vosgaarde and training you need to know: My real name is Voski.”

I blinked at him, shocked, and touched, and irritated all at once.

He’d let me call him a fake name all this time?

Yet, he told me the truth without my uncovering it?

He must have realized I’d find out when we got to Vosgaarde.

Yet, we wouldn’t arrive for days. He’d chosen to tell me.

Why was I so delighted that he’d reveal this about himself after days? He’d been lying to me this whole time!

I frowned.

His eyes were wary. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

And my heart lifted. “I forgive you,” I breathed.

His eyes widened a hair, then he ducked his head, cleared his throat, and picked up his bag to dig through it, muttering about getting something for us to eat before we launched again.

His continued coldness stung, but my heart flipped over at the word launch.

We were about to launch. I would fly again!

‘Good morning, Firebird.’

My smile returned at the sound of Koa’s voice in my head, though I turned my head so Vane—mean, Voski—wouldn’t see it. ‘Good morning. Is it still morning?’

‘For a time.’

‘Then, good morning, beautiful Koa.’

A rush of delight reached me through that strange cord that connected her heart to mine.

I looked down at myself, shaking my head in disbelief. It was real. It was all real. A dragon had chosen me. I was flying to another kingdom to learn how to ride her. I would be a soldier? I giggled with pure thrill.

“Did your dragon share a joke?”