Page 103 of Ashborne: Defiance

They all stared, and though my will shrieked, and my fear rose on wings, I nodded, murmured an apology to all of them, then turned and slipped out of the door.

I knew it was no accident that no one spoke again until I was outside.

But the moment I closed the heavy door behind me, Bren and Grace turned from their seats on the bench in the hall, staring at me with expectant eyes.

My skin smarted. But the ache in my chest eased when my eyes met Grace’s.

“Welcome to the squad, Grace,” I croaked. “You two are sisters now.”

Grace’s mouth dropped open as Bren whipped around in her seat and threw her arms around Grace’s neck, squealing.

Panic hammered in my chest and sent my heart into my throat.

No.

No.

I couldn’t have her there, under my nose at every turn. Smiling and laughing and—

Both the girls jumped to their feet and hurried to me, Bren leading the charge. “Did they actually say that? Or is it just what they’re thinking? They haven’t talked to the wing leaders yet—”

She babbled on, barely giving me time to respond. Which was a relief, because my head was empty apart from the shrieking alarm.

But when she finally took a breath, I made myself be honest.

“Our dragons are mates,” I said through numb lips, avoiding Grace’s wide eyes that bored holes in the side of my face. “They shouldn’t be separated. And since we’ve already trained you, Bren, and you attained rank, they want to give her the best chance—”

“Oh, thank you!” Grace said, covering her mouth with both hands. Her eyes welled up.

Shit.

Shit!

I backed away from both of them. “Don’t thank me. It wasn’t my decision.”

I regretted the words the moment they were out. They’d sounded sharp and angry. Grace blinked and Bren hissed my name.

“Voski! What is wrong with you?”

But before I could answer—thank God—the door opened and the men began to file out.

Bren and I jumped to attention, putting our backs to the wall and saluting as the captains exited first, followed by their sergeants.

Most of them shot me a dark look, or ignored me completely, and Bren noticed. But we couldn’t speak.

The last two to exit were Donavyn and Ronen, in quiet conversation, their expressions solemn. I stayed at attention and braced for the onslaught the moment Donavyn was out of earshot.

“Send someone to notify the wing leaders that there won’t be need for a selection on account of the dragon bond. Make that very clear—I don’t want any stories about favoritism, or rumors about her receiving special treatment.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do that right away.”

“We’ll work on the accommodations and the equipment. You arrange the Acknowledgement. With so much uncertainty, we won’t have a big crowd tomorrow, but we aren’t ignoring the traditions.”

“Agreed.”

Donavyn turned to look at Bren. “Can you take our new Flameborne to the Quartermaster—you understand what she needs better than anyone—while Ronen works on where we’ll house her?”

“Of course,” Bren said breathlessly. “So, it’s true? Grace will be in our squad?”