Page 86 of Ashborne: Defiance

A thread of fear coiled in my chest. “You really don’t know where they are, or why?”

He shook his head, though his jaw tightened as if he were determined to find out. “We don’t know what we’re flying into, Grace. So, unless Kham can reach someone we know we can trust, we’ll land a few miles from the Keep and hide you and Koa. I know a place. It’s only minutes’ flight from the Academy, but it’s a place I’ve been finding privacy for years. No one else has ever discovered it that I’m aware of. In any case, it won’t matter. You’ll have shelter there. It’s close enough to the Keep that Kham can keep in touch with Koa, and when the time is right, we’ll come back for you. But I have to ask you not to be reckless. If we leave you, we do so for your safety. No other reason.”

Then he looked at me, and I faced the chill that I imagined he’d felt when I urged him to trust me.

Was he telling the truth? Or was this some scheme? He had seemed warmer these last couple of days. Less angry. But it could be an act. A plot to lower my defenses.

The longer I went without answering him, the tighter his jaw became.

“Grace, you have to let me bring you into the Keep at the right time. I don’t know what’s happening there. And I can’t afford to protect you and myself while I find out.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

“I do,” I insisted. “I just… I don’t want to get this close and then be thwarted.”

His eyes glittered. “Now who doesn’t trust?”

I cleared my throat and nodded. “I acknowledge that.”

He blinked, apparently surprised that I didn’t resist. “Well, right. So, we have to work together on this. The Keep is full of men. Strong men, and their dragons. They will not recognize you for what you are. It’s critical that I reach someone in power and firstly make sure that the Keep is a safe place for any woman to be right now. And if it is, then I will tell Donavyn—or whomever is in charge—what’s happened with you and Koa. She’ll need to meet and submit to Kgosi. Once she does and is seen as a part of the herd, you become Flameborne. If you and Koa are willing to face the tests.”

“I am.”

He nodded as if he hadn’t questioned that. “I know you want to. And you will. I’m sure they’ll acknowledge you. But this is a difficult, uncomfortable life, Grace. I wasn’t exaggerating when I spoke of that earlier.”

“It cannot be more difficult than what I lived before.”

He huffed and scratched the back of his neck. “I know you’ve been working with horses, but forgive me, Grace, as a noblewoman you have no idea how difficult manual labor can be, and—”

“I didn’t mean the physical part. That will be a challenge. But I won’t give up,” I said fiercely.

He stopped talking and stared at me, his eyes dark and unreadable.

“I won’t!” I insisted.

“I believe you.”

“Then why are you staring at me like that?”

“I was considering the safest way to get you into the heart of the Keep so that you can fight for what you want.”

I took a deep breath, heavy with relief that he wasn’t going to fight me on that. “I’ll do anything to succeed here,” I said quickly. “Anything. Whatever is needed. Tell me. I’ll do it. Even if it’s hard. Even if it hurts. How do I make myself the best Flameborne? What do I need to beat the others?”

Voski’s brows rose. “There is no limit on who can become Flameborne, except that you achieve the tests. You don’t have to beat others. You’re competing with failure. Though, there are certain tests that require some competition, it’s not what you’d think. If you’re good enough, you’ll get through it.”

“So, tell me how! Then, if I have to wait to enter the Keep, I can practice while I’m waiting.”

His lower jaw went slack, then he cleared his throat and looked away. I was about to ask what had unsettled him, when he answered the question.

“Keep being fearless,” he said quietly, brushing crumbs off his leathers. “But also humble. Take instruction. Attempt to adopt advice as quickly as you can. Don’t fight for your pride, only for what you know is right, or for your dragon.” He paused and his brow crinkled. Then he met my gaze. “Essentially, exactly what you’ve been doing. Just keep doing that. Be willing to be corrected, and eager to learn.”

“I am eager!”

“I know,” he said without any of that bitter twist I’d become used to.

My heart rose into my throat. “You think I can do it?”