Page 89 of Flameborne: Fury
I cleared my throat. “She’ll give herself away. She doesn’t have the—”
“You’ll have weeks before the invading men are all within our grasp and we’re sure which way to point,” the Queen pointed out. “You can train her specific to this need and send her out so that when their defeat becomes public knowledge she’s already in place. His Majesty is right—she’s perfect. No one will suspect her because she’s not a known Furyknight. None of our men will believe she was an agent because she’s so inexperienced, and no one outside our borders even knows a woman has been Chosen. Her pure uniqueness will cover for any gaffs she might make through inexperience, simply because no one would even consider that a woman would be a Furyknight.”
“They’ll know it the moment she appears on a dragon!”
“Well, she won’t. Her dragon will have to keep her distance and—”
“I mean no disrespect,” I insisted, panic churning in my chest. “But I cannot see—”
“Donavyn,” the King said firmly, his brows drawing down anddaringme to challenge him again. “It’s an excellent solution. She’s already proven she’s capable of the basics. Wecan train her for a week or two while we roust these troops, then send her in. Hell, she could walk openly into any city. She’s still naive enough to be assumed a poor farm runaway. It’s the perfect solution. As long as her dragon remains outside the city, they’ll have no reason to suspect her.”
“Not if we have amole,”I growled.“They’llknow of her. They’ll tell others—”
Alexi flapped a hand. “That’s what you’re refusing to see, Donavyn: No oneherewill know she’s been selected for this, either. And because she’s so new, no one would think to suspect. That’swhyshe’s perfect.”
The Queen nodded and started talking about the ways women were so overlooked, but I couldn’t hear her. I couldn’tthinkbeyond the risk to Bren.
MyBren.
Mymate.
They would send her into the lion’s den, untrained, and unassisted, because even if she failed, she would have served her purpose first.
Yes, they were right, she wouldn’t be suspected quickly. She was too unassuming. Too unpolished. And that would protect her for a time. But the moment she misspoke they’d make her a sacrificial lamb. Literally no one in the world would believe she was a Furyknight—even an ally would laugh in her face if she told them and asked for help. The very naivete that meant she could enter any nation without suspicion also meant she’d have no support. And the moment she did the real work?
If she was good, she’d be assassinated. And if she failed, she’d be abandoned—and already separated from her dragon who was the one creature other than me that would set aside hell to protect her.
No loss,the King had once said about her death.No loss.
And he’d meant it.
34. A Piece of the Truth
~ DONAVYN ~
“Y-Your Majesties,” I stammered, scrambling for the way to divert them. “I have to disagree. She’s simply too young and inexperienced to handle the Kingdom’s fate like this—”
“It’s why she’ll work,” Alexi growled.
“If we can insert her into the Court in a way that offers her no weight politically, but puts her close to the people who’ll know… they’ll never suspect,” Diaan said with a sly smile that I recognized. She was delighted with her own cleverness and would celebrate the plan no matter how it might affect those involved. “She’s unpolished, as you said—they’llneversuspect her as a Furyknight. It won’t even occur to them. She could probably even keep her dragon nearby—her bond is new, so not as deep. You told me that, Donavyn.”
“Yes, notasdeep, but still very—”
“She could be anything. A server, a seamstress—”
“A whore,” the King suggested, without an ounce of humor. “Many an intelligent man has fallen to the wiles of a woman.”
The King and Queen shared a smile at that comment, but I couldn’t respond. I was too busy swallowing back the roar ofrage at the King’s suggestion thatmy mate—
‘Donavyn, don’t act in anger. This is very delicate.’
I blinked at Kgosi’s voice in my head, my breath huffing, hands clenched to fists.‘You’re back?’
The King laughed at his Queen who’d made a sly comment about whores that I was glad I hadn’t heard. “Regardless of the role she’ll play, she’s the one. There’s no more discussion, Donavyn. She’s clearly made for this kind of work—you said so yourself.”
“Made for this workin time.It would be irresponsible to put her in a position to fail the entire Kingdom when she has no experience. I know you said she was no loss, but the fact that you see her as a tool for the kind of mission you’re suggesting means you understand her value. If she had more time and could grow into it, she could be an invaluable resource—”
“She already is. That’s precisely my point, Donavyn. I’ll admit, I didn’t catch your vision early on. You were disgruntled that I sent her false orders without care for her worth—well, here we are. I’m trusting her with what is possibly the most important mission in Vosgaarde in a generation.Thatis value.” He eyed me sharply. “Do you want to suggest otherwise?”
