Page 162 of Flameborne: Chosen
But finally, my body’s screams and Kgosi’s warnings broke through.
I found myself on the other side of the stable aisle, Oros on one arm, and Gil on the other, Ronen in front of me, slapping a hand to my jaw and trying to snap me out of my rage.
And it was only then, when my head cleared enough to register that one of my men was doing his damnedest to break through to me, that I realized what I’d done.
I stopped struggling and looked past Ronen to the other side of the aisle where Faren sat, his legs splayed out in front of him, hands on his face, and bloodeverywhere.
“General… General, are you back, Sir?” Ronen said firmly and slapped my cheek with his cupped palm again.
I blinked and sucked in a breath. “Yes. Yes, I’m…”
Oh, shitwas right.
I stopped leaning forward like I’d go for him again and stepped back instead. Oros and Gil still held my arms, but I let them go slack. My hands hurt and I knew they’d be swollen in the morning. But I couldn’t feel the pain because my head spun.
I searched the crowd—there were now some stableboys, two dragons, all of Bren’s squad, plus Faren of course. Yet…
“Where is she?” I growled.
“The brothers have her so she wouldn’t get tangled up—she was coming after you, ready to pull you off of him,” Ronen said quietly
I met his eyes. “She was trying to pull me off?”
He held my gaze grimly, nodding. “They took her over there so she doesn’t get hurt,” he said, tipping his head.
Sure enough, near the intersection of aisles she stood, staring, horrified, hands on her mouth. Three of her brothers—one each side, and one behind—guarding her like dogs.
One of them glanced at me, then looked away quickly. Then Bren turned, as if she felt me staring, hands still on her mouth, her eyes round. And when our gazes caught, something in hers shifted.
Fear.
I suddenly felt sick.
“I’m fine,” I muttered to the men, taking a deep breath. “I won’t fight. You can let me go.”
Ronen stared at me for a second.
I gritted my teeth. “I’m fine. I’m clear.”
A moment later, with a warning in his eyes, he nodded and the other two let me go.
I rolled my shoulders, which were sore, then clawed a hand through my hair, trying to release the tension still tying up my body. My movement caught Bren’s attention, or maybe she never looked away. But our eyes caught again and hers were so wide and round and… God, I coulddrownin them.
Ignoring that whining little fuck on the floor, I held my palms up, trying as I marched over to where she stood with her brothers so she knew she didn’t need to be afraid.
“Are you hurt?” I asked her the moment we were face to face.
She grimaced, but shook her head. “No, he just scared me.”
“He had hands on you, Bren. Are you sure? You’ve had a shock—”
“I’m certain. I didn’t mean to create a scene. He just surprised me, and—”
With a growl of frustration and another spear of rage—I wanted to run back to that little bastard and break his nose properly this time—I looked past her to a cluster of stableboys near the base of the ladder from their loft. They were curious and whispering to each other, grinning as they enjoyed the drama.
It wasn’t every day they watched theCommanderbust a Furyknight’s face.
Shit.
