And Chosen me.
Isucked in a life-giving breath then the word rushed out like it had been punched from my lungs.
“Why?!”
She turned her head again, and that eye—sharp with intelligence, soft with compassion—fixed on me once more.
‘Because you’re worth it, Little Flame.’
3. Never
~ DONAVYN (Pronounced DON-ah-vin) ~
One of the young females, a goldscale, stretched her head into the aisle of the stables and bugled at Kgosi as we passed. She must be coming into heat. She wasn’t nearly mature enough for him to consider as a mate, yet she ruffled her wings and raised her tail, calling again as we walked on.
I shook my head, chuckling at the display—then looked at my dragon, incredulous, when he preened, fluttering his wings and snaking his head, trotting two paces before he slowed again, tail lashing so that one of the stablehands gave a shout and was forced to leap out of the way or lose a limb.
“Did you justprance?”
‘Don’t pretend you don’t walk taller when a beautiful female appreciates your form.’
“And you call yourself a Primarch? What’s next? Frolicking?”
‘Jealous?’
“Of your high-knee-step?” I guffawed.“No.But if you could locate your dignity, I’d like to get out of here without breaking anything. Or anyone,” I said dryly as I looked back towards the stablehand.
The stables had been built dozens of generations earlier when our herds were three times the size. These aisles were designed to allow two fully mature male dragons to pass each other comfortably. But Kgosi—the Primarch of the herd, and so the only blackscale—was so massive, and so dominant, the other males either made themselves small, or slipped into empty stables until he had passed.
Now it looked like the stablehands would start ducking behind walls to avoid his tail.
Amused, I eyed my dragon thoughtfully.
His gleaming black scales shone like diamonds, pulsing with health and that indescribable flicker that always reminded me of glowing coals at the base of a fire. As if the fire within the dragons was only barely contained by their skins, and sought its way out.
Aware of my scrutiny, Kgosi’s deep, amber eye set on the side of his head, swiveled to lock on me and his nostrils pinched, his ears pinning back as if he were angry. One of the stablehands who was just leaving a freshly turned stable looked at him nervously.
‘Stop posturing. You’re scaring the young ones,’I sent silently through the bond.
‘Then they’re too soft.’Kgosi snorted plumes of smoke, growling so low and deep the floor under my feet vibrated, and a smattering of dust trickled from the rafters high overhead.‘If they hope to make their lives with the Fury, they should applaud strength, not fear it.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed like he’d irritated me, though it was an act, and he knew it.
Kgosi pretended vanity, but in truth, I respected my dragon more than any man. He was wise, courageous, astute with both dragons and humans, and steady as a rock. He was also fucking formidable. There were days I was glad he wasmydragon and I wasn’t forced to face him without the benefit of the bond. If I hadn’t known the softness of his heart, and how heavily he carried the responsibility of his rank, I would probably have wet my leathers every time he looked at me.
‘No. But you might have shit yourself once or twice. Especially when you were younger.”
I coughed to cover a laugh because I didn’t want to give him the pleasure. But I couldn’t resist resting a hand on his foreleg for a moment as we walked. Even now after two decades together, just touching my dragon thrilled me.
Sometimes I was still surprised he’d Chosen me—or any human for that matter. Even messenger dragons saw humans as frail. Asthebattle Fury and herd Primarch, mighty even among his powerful kind, Kgosi seemed convinced we humans were each just one strong puff of wind away from falling on our faces.
I was about to see my fortieth summer, but Kgosi had chosen me when I was just eighteen. Barely a man. Even now I felt inadequate to his wisdom and strength. Ironic, since I’d been quite full of myself and convinced I’d make aperfectrider for a Primarch when he Chose me.
‘Ah, the arrogance of youth. For such short-lived creatures, you humans cling to it well into your years,’he murmured in my head with a sly look at me from the side. I would have shot back, but the female behind us bugled again and I glanced at her over my shoulder.
“Speaking of the arrogance of youth—surely she’s too young for you?” I asked him.
It wasn’t a joke. Kgosi was ancient. Over two hundred years old. And he’d remain in his prime until long after I died, even if our bond extendedmy vital years. A healthy dragon could live five centuries, and Kgosi was more than healthy. He was massive, intelligent, courageous, and possessed a rock-solid steadiness that I envied.
