Page 96 of Ashborne: Defiance

He shot me one look that said we weren’t finished speaking on the issue, then took a deep breath. “Where’s Gil?” he asked quietly. His tone careful.

He braced for bad news. I could have smacked myself for not reassuring him sooner.

“He’s safe—or at least, he was a few days ago. He only stayed back to ensure there were no whispers about us. He’ll be here tomorrow, or the following day.”

Ronen’s shoulders dropped with relief. “Good. That’s good.”

I wanted to thank him and reassure him that, in many ways, this mission had been far less dangerous than others we’d endured. But Gil and I had been called into Fyrehold as Shadowfang—the silent spies and agents among the Furyknights, unknown even to the normal Furyknight ranks.

Although Ronen knew of the shadow ranks because of his rank, he wasn’t one of us. There was always a tension when we were taken away without his knowledge.

In pure rank, Ronen and I were matched. Yet, my authority was held in secret. I led a squad of spies, just as he led my Furyknight brothers and sister. But because my work was in the shadows, my rank was unknown to those who weren’t also Shadowfang.

I gladly handed over daily responsibility to Ronen when I wasn’t under orders. Yet, times like this, I wished I could offer him all the transparency and reassurance I could offer another Shadowfang leader.

Ronen carried that weight more than the other squad leaders because, since my squad-sister Bren had accepted the oath, he now had three of our squad secretly in the Shadowfang.

Most squads had none, or one.

“What happened here while we were gone?” I asked him, keeping my voice low so we’d hear if anyone else approached on the path. “Are Bren and Donavyn injured? Obviously, Kgosi and Akhane are safe and strong, so they’re alive, but—”

Grace hurried her steps to match my stride. She’d obviously heard me mention Bren. I grimaced. But Ronen glanced at her, then must have decided since she was Flameborne, that he could answer openly.

“Yes, they’re safe,” he said, “Though Donavyn and Kgosi are both still recovering. We can cover the details later, but the short answer is, the brothers on the mission to Draeventhall are all dead. And since you left, the king sadly passed away—an injury that was too much for his heart, I believe. The queen has taken the throne. Donavyn’s agreed to work with her.

“Outwardly, very little has changed, but Vosgaarde is in upheaval. The queen is changing a lot of the rules—some would say, too quickly. I think mostly for the better. But you know how men can react to change.”

I sighed, because I did.

That niggling voice in the back of my head wanted to insert itself, but I pushed it down.

“What’s she changing?”

Ronen snorted. “Women. Everywhere,” he said, with a wry smile. “She’s recruiting an entirely female guard to work shoulder-to-shoulder with men in the castle. But probably the biggest change is that Kgosi no longer submits the dragons to the throne—only to their bondsmen. And women,” he corrected himself quickly with a glance at Grace.

Grace smiled.

“So, the queen still supports Bren?”

Ronen’s jaw went tight. “More than that, she’s openly announced to the kingdom that Bren is the first known female Furyknight.”

Grace gasped.

I grimaced. “So much for keeping her status close to home.”

Ronen nodded. “It has freed up Bren and Donavyn—he revealed their bond the moment the battle smoke cleared. He essentially told the rank and file, including the captains, mind you, that they could accept their bond and his ability to lead with it, or they could take it up with him personally. To my knowledge, no one has challenged him.”

I was shocked. “He just announced it?”

Ronen nodded. “He hadn’t yet vowed to the queen. The future was in flux. It was clear to anyone listening that he’d walk away if they didn’t trust him to lead fairly. No one wanted to lose him. And the queen already knew of their connection, and trusts both of them. She’s named Donavyn as her primary advisor—disbanded the old council completely, though she kept one or two—and she continues to speak personally with Bren. I’m not entirely clear on the purpose of those meetings but, she’s the queen,” he said with a shrug. “If she calls for Bren, Bren goes.”

I gaped. “So, everyone knows?”

“More than that—we’ve already had a handful of women arrive at the Keep, asking for work in the stables, or in any capacity that will allow them to be near the dragons. One of them is forty years old! Kgosi told the dragons there is no further resistance to the Choosing of females. It’s only a matter of time—” he cut himself off with a glance at Grace, then grinned and shook his head. “Well, it’s no time at all, is it? We already have our next female Flameborne. I anticipate more to come in the very near future.”

I opened my mouth to agree, but we’d just stepped out into the sunshine, on the path between the stable and the Academy buildings. Before I could speak, a feminine voice rose behind us—shrill and excited.

“Voski!”