Page 85 of Ashborne: Defiance

As if he heard the voice of God himself, Voski had told Kham to land just minutes before the rain began. There was no time or way to make a fire. The rains, when they started, were torrential almost immediately. But by that time, Voski had already found a tree large enough that its root-structure had turned the earth around it into a downward slope. With just a few branches torn loose by Kham, the dragons could duck their heads and lie down under its expansive, upper branches. And Voski and I were cradled in the curl of each of our dragon’s forelegs.

The two dragons curled into each other, their tails and neck extending over and around each other’s bodies. They’d each extended one wing to offer a shelter from the rain that made it through the trees.

At first, I’d been worried Koa would be chilled by the rain she sheltered me from, but when I voiced the concern, both dragons huffed, and Voski grinned.

“Don’t worry about them—they both have the inner fire to keep them warm. As well as each other,” he said with a suggestive glance at Kham—that faltered immediately, as if he’d horrified himself.

Koa whistled and Kham huffed again, but Voski suddenly made a show of digging into his satchel.

My stomach growled, but I didn’t expect food—we’d been low on rations and hunting for the past two days.

But a moment later, a small paper parcel arced through the air between us.

“Heads up!”

I looked up and only got my hands up in time for the little parcel to bounce off my palms and into my lap, but when I picked it up and unraveled the twine around it, I found a piece of hard cheese, and a strange seedcake within it.

“I thought—”

“Always keep emergency rations, Grace. Even on patrol. You never know when a storm might blow in like this and strand you. Or if you’re on the battlefield, you can’t be sure what the next day brings. Never eat the last of what you have until you have no choice. We’ve been hunting, and successfully. So, I held onto this, just in case.”

Grateful for his thoughtfulness and preparedness, I tucked into both. And even though the cheese was too strong, and the seedcake far too dry, it tasted delicious, because I was famished.

When I’d eaten the last of it, I looked up to find Voski staring at me. He looked back down at his own food quickly, but I caught the stare.

“What? Was I rude? I thought—”

“You’re fine, Grace. Stop worrying,” he said flatly, then filled his mouth with the last of his seedcake.

I was about to protest—his expression had been dark. But he spoke again before I could.

“Unless the rain sticks, we’ll reach Vosgaarde tomorrow.”

My jaw dropped. “Truly?!”

He nodded without meeting my eyes, picking seeds off his leathers and eating them.

I would have clapped, but I caught myself and shoved my hands into my armpits instead. “That’s… that’s very good news!”

“Yes. It is.” His tone was utterly emotionless.

I frowned. “Are you not happy to arrive home?” He’d said their lives were hard, but for the first time it occurred to me that in all my gushing about freedom and not going back, I hadn’t actually asked him what freedom they had.

“Are they cruel in Vosgaarde?” I asked nervously. I could endure a great deal if it meant I could fly with Koa and have a purpose that ran deeper than dinner parties and providing an heir.

To my relief he shook his head, but he still didn’t meet my eyes. “It’s a difficult life—very taxing. Especially when you’re learning. But it’s a life of honor and led by good men. At least…” he trailed off.

I waited, because his jaw rolled and his eyes darted to me as if he considered whether to finish the thought.

I prayed he would. “What is it?” I breathed.

His jaw flexed and he looked down again. I thought he’d shut me out again as he had every time before, but then he began to speak.

“When we get closer to the Keep, Kham will start reaching for the other dragons of the herd. They don’t know Koa, and she hasn’t submitted to Kgosi—he’s our herd Primarch—so she won’t be able to reach them.”

“Donavyn’s dragon?” I asked to make sure I remembered correctly.

Voski nodded. “If Donavyn and Kgosi are there, then things are probably good. Or at least, under control. But if they aren’t…”