Page 116 of Ashborne: Defiance

Voski was upset. Angry. Hurt. Scared. I could feel it in him. See it in his stiff posture.

I’d always been perceptive of the emotional state of others, but something about him was far more vivid. I knew he was hurting, and I ached to comfort him.

Which made no sense!

Why did I ache to be close to this man when he did nothing but despise me?

‘The mate. Kham’s bonded One,’ Koa said in her careful tones. ‘Your heart wants close.’

I huffed and nodded, though she couldn’t see me. There was a thick, wooden floor between us.

‘Yes. You’re right, Koa. My heart wants close,’ I sent back, smiling.

The question was why? Why did my heart want to be close to a man who was so deeply unsettled by my presence?

I’d thought we were getting along better these last two days. He’d been quiet, but thoughtful, helping me not panic when the dragons were agitated, explaining what was happening, introducing me to Ronen and…

Everything had gone wrong after he spoke to the other men, and they wanted to put me in his squad.

With a frustrated groan, I dropped onto the narrow bed that had been made here for me.

Voski was nice to me, to keep the peace until we got here because he thought he’d be rid of me. Then they put me in his squad, and he realized we wouldn’t be apart. And that made him so angry, he got in trouble with his superior officers.

I felt sick.

‘No.’ Koa’s voice was low and soothing, but firm. ‘Not right.’

I sighed. ‘Do you know where they went? Is he in trouble because of me? Has he been given a task? Or is he… are they leaving?’

‘Not leaving. Not work. Kham comes back.’

Well, that was something. At least he wouldn’t be angry with me because he’d been forced out on some task all night when he was already so tired.

‘He goes to sleep. Away.’

She meant the words to be encouraging. To help. But the thought came screaming, unbidden. Does he sleep alone?

‘Firebird, come to me.’

I blinked. In the stable below, Koa shifted in the straw and blew loudly from her nose. ‘Come.’

I crept down the ladder, looking around. But no one else had arrived. Koa remained curled up in the straw, legs tucked under her.

When my feet landed on the straw, she chirped and lifted a wing, then turned her head to look at herself. ‘Come. Rest.’

I swallowed, because her care had raised a lump in my throat. But it was true, I felt relief and delight at the thought of not having to sleep alone in that narrow bed upstairs.

Wrapped up in the night shirt and coat I’d been given, I trotted through the straw, then settled into the crook of her foreleg, resting my head against her.

When I found a comfortable position, Koa dropped her wing so I was covered, completely sheltered from other eyes, and warmed by the heat under her scales.

I hugged her leg and did my best to snuggle in.

‘Thank you.’

‘Not thank you. Our bond is new. Good to be close. Together.’

Grinning at her stilted word, I nodded. ‘It is good to be close. That’s why I said thank you.’