Page 65 of Flameborne: Fury
Then I remembered that clash she’d had with Faren, and the horrific derision he’d thrown at her.
Fucking Commander’s favorite and King’s entertainment…
Even though the little prick thought he had reason to be particularly cruel, I knew his sentiments, while invalid, were rooted in gossip that had been seeded throughout the ranks—even some of the Officers had raised it with me, though they were smart enough not to go further thanimplication.
But what would those men think when they heard I’d chased after her when she disappeared, and we returned bonded?
The truth was, I knew exactly what they’d think: The young ones would take great delight in deciding the salacious gossip was true, and the older ones wouldwonder.
And I could imagine how their attitudes towards her would shift. Even though the more mature among them wouldn’t ever speak words to her face, or repeat the accusations in company, they’dthinkthem.
Bren was perceptive. She’d know.
There was an awful moment when I saw it in my head: My mate walking across the courtyard from the dining hall, male eyes on her back, half of them admiring and considering how to approach, the other half sneering, convinced she only walked among them because of her privatedutiesfor more powerful men.
Shit.
I reached for her through the bond, both to seek and to offer comfort, measuring her, her misery and apprehension. But that only increased my unease.
I was suddenly plagued with doubt.
Was it possible she was right? That her bid for Furyknight couldn’t survive this? Would my insistence on telling them hurther?
Frowning, pulling her back into my chest, gratified when I felt her shoulders loosen a hair because I held her, I let myself consider her proposal that we veil the bond from others.
The thought turned my stomach, but I made myself ask: What if we kept it quiet for a time, during which she earned her pin, was raised to Furyknight, and proved herself? If the bond were revealed in the wake of that, would the gossips be silenced?
Not entirely. But partly.
Yet, I’d be sick with the deceit of it all.
And what if, instead of opening doors for her to prove herself, instead we were discovered? The gossips, or those with that baseless desire to tear her down wouldfeedon the news.
Though I wanted to discard deception as an option, I had to admit the alternatives might be equally horrifying: My rank demoted and those loyal to me taking revenge on her.
Or, my rank sustained, but her bid for Furyknight seen as a joke—and treated accordingly. A disaster if she was sent on a mission without me. Which any real Furyknight would be.
I had a high opinion and expectation of the men in my ranks, but most were fairly young, and all were vital, domineering men. Trail a woman among them where no other women were allowed and couple that with their belief that she was the King’s secret—or my toy.
I’d bet my life that no Furyknight would ever force himself on a woman—even one who was known to sell her body. But proposition her? Flirt? Suggest? If they believed she’d been placed among them for the sexual pleasure of men in power, some wouldn’t be able to resisttryingto capture her attention—especially those immature enough to make a bid to tempt a woman away from the King or myself.
The thought of that kind of attention and pressure on my mate made my skin pull tight. I wanted to roar like Kgosi. To shield her. Yet, at the same time, I wanted to proudly present her to them with warnings that if they so much as eyed her wrong I would slit them from balls to gullet.
‘You’re very violent in your mating throes,’Kgosi interjected smugly into my mind.
The irony was suffocating.‘This from the dragon who will remain quiet andpassivewhen we return to the Keep, and all the males in the stable?’I sent back.
‘The males of the herd wouldn’t dare perk their ears at my mate. I am Primarch. She belongs to me.’
‘And if theydidn’trespect that?’
‘The Creator have mercy on them,’he rumbled in return.
I almost smirked.‘I don’t know if I could ask for mercy. My mate fears, and a large piece of me would rather see them removed by Divine smite than have to watch her deal with their bullshit.’
‘She will face none of it alone, ever again.’
I sighed.‘It doesn’t work like that for us, Kgosi. You know that. With our roles and our limitations, I can’t possibly be at her side every moment. She will inevitably face things alone, though I wish it weren’t so.’
