Page 71 of Flameborne: Fury
“Ashthorn?” I asked, naming the sigil Bren had drawn, surprised because the King hadn’t mentioned a plot to me. The King of Ashthorn, while not an ally, had reasons to maintain peace with our nation. The lines of communication were open, though strained. If Alexi suspected Ashthorn of subterfuge, why hadn’t he told me?
“Yes! All those mixed messages, all the conflicting reports. I knew someone had to be intentionally interfering. The question was, which of those sneaky pricks had the balls to stand against me? I’ll admit, I assumed if he made a move, he’d use Draeventhall so if there was fallout, we’d blamed them. I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to send his own men. He’s more confident than I thought.” The King frowned down at the paper in his hand again, staring at the smudged symbol of the Warriors of Ashthorn. “What the fuck is he thinking, sending banners into my territory? He didn’t think I’d see him coming?” Alexi muttered, shaking his head.
“They may not be his at all. But regardless, you didn’t see them.Wedidn’t,” I reminded him. “If it hadn’t been for those orders sending Bren out—”
Alexi lifted his eyes to meet mine and I shut my mouth, because the expression on his face said I was being slow and would soon catch up.
My jaw dropped. “You?!Yousent her those orders?”
His lips pulled up on one side. “I thought you were onto me when you gave that great speech about how well she’d done and asked me to affirm her appointment—was that real? Was it really her who discovered this? Or did youhelpand act kindly, giving her the credit? It’s not necessary. If you want to raise the girl, do it—”
“It washer,”I growled, fighting not to glare at him, swallowing hard to keep the curses down in my balls where they belonged. It took a moment to collect myself. “I beg your patience with me, Sire, but, I want to make certain I understand: You believed Ashthorn schemed against you? So, you secretly sentherto investigate?”
He shook his head. “I knew someone was—perhaps several someones. But I deeply suspect the brains behind whatever we’ve found are Ashthorns, though he may have kept his handsclean. We’ll see… Why are you looking at me like that, Donavyn? You and I discussed more than once how to listen for evidence of movements from our neighbors. My discussions with the others at the summit left me with an air of unease. But I couldn’t uncover their purpose, and even with the hints I found, I wasn’t certain.”
I spoke through my teeth. “But, whyher?Why not send me? Or one of the Fang with some experience—?”
“It wasn’t that simple, Donavyn. I wasn’t sure, and I couldn’t risk igniting a war if I was wrong. Sending her wasn’t a whim. I even did as you suggested and humbled the little fucker who tried to hurt her. She received her orders exactly as a Flameborne should for their trial—he did no wrong. And neither did she.”
“But, Sire, you sent a Flameborne—her—directly into enemy hands!”My mate. You sentmy matedirectly into enemy hands.
“Potentialenemy hands,” he corrected, unaware of my panicked thought. “I couldn’t be sure. And I couldn’t risk increasing tensions if itwasn’tAshthorn. She was the best choice. If she failed it was no loss to us. If she succeeded, she was proof that women could do this kind of work and we should have more of them—as Diaan keeps insisting.”
The Queen smiled. “So, youarehearing me.” Then she turned to me with that catlike grin. “I’ve tried to tell him that there’s aspects of espionage and covert battle in which women excel, where the Furyknights are lacking. But I didn’t think he’d listened.”
Precisely what Ronen and I had seen in her.But I was so stunned by the King’s attitude, I didn’t reply.
Alexi frowned. “That’s what you wanted as well, wasn’t it, Donavyn? For her to have her chance, as any Flameborne would?”
I blinked. “Yes.”
“And did she conduct herself with the skill and intelligence needed foranyFlameborne?”
“Yes.But—”
“Then you should be thanking me,” the King said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You got what you wanted. As did we. So did the girl, for that matter. I have no doubt that she yearns to be a Furyknight, and now she will. Meanwhile, none of our valuable assetsorpolitical alliances were put at risk. Frankly, it was brilliant and I don’t understand why you’re glaring as if it was a poor choice. There was no losing.”
I almost punched the fucker.
No losing?
No fucking losing?
I wanted to bellow at him.She was my mate. Her dragon was Kgosi’s mate. And you set her on a path into the enemy’s jawswithout so much as a warning.
I wasstunnedby his flippant attitude. And left horrified by how close I’d come to losing her.
“The strategy was… understandable,” I croaked eventually, gaining a nod of approval from the Queen and a tight smile from the frustrated King. “But, Sire, I wouldn’t willingly putanyFlameborne into a position in which they’d face a real enemy, especially alone—”
“If she’d failed and been discovered, she was an unranked soldier who’d flown off course without permission. An ignorant—or at worst, a rebel. She wasn’t pinned, not to mention she’s awoman.They wouldn’t even have identified her as a Furyknight. We faced little to no political consequence. But in the event of her success, we gained maximum reward—for no cost. Please explain to me where you see a flaw in this?”
“Because she’sFlameborne,”I spluttered.
“Would you feel this way if she were a man?”
Both the royals watched me intently, awaiting the answer. But a bigger question rose in my mind: Would I care less if she wasn’t my mate? Was this bond twisting my judgment? Or was the rage coiling in my belly fully justified? Because as Alexi stood there waiting for me to congratulate him on his genius strategy, I found I wanted nothing more than to clamp a hand to his throat, pin him against the wall, and explain in deep, dark tones exactly what would happen if he ever again implied that to lose Bren was to losenothing.
His attitude was an example of what my mate feared, and I’d been arguing, insisting she see herself otherwise. Yet, here before me stood the evidence that her expectation wasn’t merely the overreaction to a wound.
