Page 77 of Ashborne: Defiance

“That’s exactly my point!”

I cursed myself when she flinched.

Both the dragons groaned.

25. Two Hearts

~ GRACE ~

He caught himself before he continued, but I’d already flinched. I was confused by his sudden anger. I’d thought we were getting somewhere.

I couldn’t deny that what he described was a risk—my father, in particular, would be quick to accuse. But he assumed I wouldn’t tell the truth, or be heard. Then again, I’d assumed I would never be found. I hadn’t thought of the fact that I’d disappeared so soon after Bren.

If my parents heard of our friendship, they’d make that connection very quickly, I was sure.

I closed my eyes and prayed that somehow, some way, God would keep their eyes off Vosgaarde. Or that Breckon would simply give up, and even if my parents found me, they could be convinced to leave me there. Surely, no one expected me to return home with a dragon?

I couldn’t go back.

I couldn’t.

I looked down at the land passing under us, so far away the tallest guardians of the forest seemed like blades of grass. And the mountain peaks, so distant, suddenly felt as if I could reach out and touch them.

Koa made a strange sound—a croon? She attempted to soothe me?

My heart swelled with gratitude. She was such a sweet soul.

‘I chose well,’ she murmured in my head. ‘Do not fear, Firebird. What comes, we meet together.’

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, turning my head slightly, though I didn’t meet his eyes. “I’m sorry if you’re dragged into my troubles. But I’m telling you the truth: I never plotted to catch you, or cause you difficulty with powerful men. And I will defend you in the event that I’m ever discovered.” I did glance at him then, wondering if he would lose his temper again.

But strangely, his face looked tight and pained.

He sighed and shook his head. “There’s no point harping on. We can’t change it now. But please, Grace, is there anything else I should be aware of? When we land in Vosgaarde, I’ll be expected to debrief my superior officers, and offer them everything I know about where you’ve come from, how you were Chosen, and whether family need to be notified. There are many details. Is there anything else I should know?”

I shook my head, but hunched my shoulders against the images in my head of being denied access and dragged back home and—

‘They will not have you.’ Koa’s words were so simple, but emphatic.

I smiled at her and some of that weight lifted from my shoulders.

“There’s nothing else,” I said honestly. “I’ll answer their questions and pray that they’re willing to let me stay. Koa says she won’t let them take me.”

Voski huffed. “Our dragons are very protective. She means what she says.”

That made me smile. ‘Thank you, Koa,’ I sent genuinely. ‘I’m so grateful for you—I’ll do anything I can to stay with you.’

‘They will not take you,’ she repeated. Kham shook his head like a dog, and I wondered if he agreed with her, or not. ‘My mate protects you also,’ she said, her tone faltering. ‘Do not worry.’

“She says Kham would protect me, too,” I breathed, stunned.

Behind me, Voski tensed, and I waited for him to grow angry with me again. But to my relief he didn’t. I suspected he was having words with his dragon in the link.

And the longer we went, without changing course, without Voski snarling at me, the more my hope grew.

Later, in the evening, we landed. I was growing better at the dismount, but my muscles were so tired, and my joints stiff, that once we reached solid ground, I tottered for the first half hour.

“Roll your shoulders and hips. Stretch. Lunge. Do anything you can to flex your joints. The stiffness will pass eventually. But not quickly.”