Page 138 of Flameborne: Chosen
In this case, they’d aimed straight for the viewing platform where I stood with the King and Queen, which we were wasting precious dragon energy to keep suspended by thick ropes held in the talons of two dragons high above, keeping me at the correct height to evaluate the flyers.
I was frustrated by the restriction of my placement, and the necessity to explain each step to the King and Queen so they’d understand what we were testing. But there was no choice.
Usually during a trial I’d be flying on Kgosi, positioning ourselves far enough away that we wouldn’t interfere with dragons and their Flameborne, yet close enough to assess specific movements.
But last night when I’d told the King and Queen that the trial was going ahead, the King suddenly took a very direct interest and insisted that he and the Queen attend to watch the female Flameborne in her first trial.
I’d chosen not to tell Bren—or any of the other Flameborne—ahead of time because I knew they’d already be nervous. But they knew now.
Bren and Akhane had passed close enough for me to see Bren’s wide smile and her cheeks pink from the wind.
My heart lifted as the squad peeled off in opposite directions just ahead of our platform, so we watched them bank sharply, then reform behind and above us for the next formation.
“So thrilling,” Diaan, the Queen offered, leaning into my arm that she was still clutching. “And so brave what you do,” she said, her voice warm with admiration. “I stand here on solid wood and my heart flips every time I look at the ground from this height. I don’t know how you ride them like horses.”
“We were made for them,” I answered absently, watching Bren for her positioning in the sharp bank of their flight—and gratified to see her sitting far straighter and with less hunch than she’d ridden a month ago, the last time we’d flown together. She’d been working.
I wasn’t surprised.
“Why don’t they fall when the dragons tilt like that? It seems they’d slide right off!” she said, her free hand fluttering at her chest like she was nervous, but I wondered if it was affected. I hadn’t seen Diaan flutter aboutanything.Not war, or her husband’s infidelities.
“When you’re moving at speed as they are, the momentum presses you into the dragon’s back and keeps you secure when they bank. We’re actually at much greater risk during descent,” I said as professionally as I could, but I was preoccupied. Using the need to lift my arms as a reason to break her grip on me, I raised my spy glasses to my eye and watched as the squad was called to ground. That meant they’d finished the formations and the squad would now land. Then Bren and Akhane would immediately launch again and undergo individual testing. I sent up a quick prayer, then breathed a sigh of relief as I watched her land far below relatively smoothly. She’d been practicing.
But of course, within minutes she’d be back in the air, and then the true test would begin.
Flameborne flew with their squads as their first evaluation in their first trial because it was the easiest portion of the test, and gave them an hour to settle in with their brothers alongside.
If a Flameborne couldn’t fly the formations with their squad, they were never going to make it alone. I’d never seen a Flameborne fail at that hurdle—the squads were too invested in making certain they weren’t the first to fail a new member. But it also meant that for those of us who were Furyknights, the assessment didn’t begin until this moment.
Absent-mindedly answering the King and Queen’s questions, I watched as Bren took orders from an officer on the ground who pointed her towards the western marker, which meant we’d still be able to see her when she flew her first movements.
I wasn’t sure whether that made me feel better or worse.
As all the Flameborne being tested today launched again, I had to remind myself to take inventory of each of them. I saw no reason forconcern among any of them, but if they couldn’t launch steadily by now, we had bigger problems.
I watched, barely breathing, as Bren and Akhane flew directly to the marker to the west of our platform, then circled twice, waiting for their next instruction.
Don’t hesitate. Don’t second-guess. Just do exactly as you’re told.
I remembered my own first trial and my heart flipped up and into my throat again, my remembered nerves twisting together with the coil of anxiety for Bren.
I desperately wanted her to pass this trial, and I worried my investment in her personally would skew my assessment. Gunnar was still in the sky and we’d compare notes at the end, so I’d have balances from his perspective, but I couldn’t deny that my heart raced every time she and Akhane shifted to a new movement.
But I should have trusted Ronen and the others more. I’d been keeping tabs on the squad, meeting with Ronen every week, offering advice and collecting his insight into the areas of our training and life that were more challenging for her. He’d made certain she was prepared for this, and two days ago, went so far as to tell me he thought she wasmoreprepared than the men who’d been cleared to fly swiftly.
“She doesn’t take the position for granted. Even when she gets it right, she practices until it’s second nature. You’d think she already had her Sigil pin,” he’d said, sitting in my office two nights ago. “I don’t have to ask her twice to practice on her own. I don’t have to ask her at all. Yet, she needs a great deal of encouragement. She’s prone to seeing normal difficulties as failure.”
“Which skill is posing her the greatest challenge?” I’d asked, making notes as he spoke because I worried if I met his eyes, I’d reveal just how deeply I was invested in her success.
“Still her strength—she tires faster than the men. She struggles with the equipment. But she’s finding her way. It’s just going to take time.”
“Will she ever be battle-proof?”
Ronen considered my question. Often dragon battles were fought in assistance to the armies on the ground. But the appearance of dragons in the sky was a dead giveaway to an enemy, and the dragons were too large to move on the ground discreetly. So we always flew hours into battle to ensure we arrived when our enemies had no warning. But that meant very long nights of flying followed by a day of battle. Even the fittest among us were exhausted at the end.
“I don’t believe she’ll ever be a Flame,” he said finally with a reluctant shrug, referring to the dragon pairs whose primary skills made them the forward guard in combat. “I definitely see her potential, and believe she has the heart for battle. But it’ll depend where her gifts take her—and also Akhane’s growth. I’m not accustomed to working with a dragon who hasn’t finished growing. I have to assume they’re both herenow for a reason. But the truth is, there are so many things we don’t know… Things we can’t know.”
I nodded, that was a fair assessment. Still, it didn’t soothe my concern—
