‘You forgot noble, gallant, andhandsome,’he prodded.
“For an ancient, you’re very vain,” I muttered, striding down the wide aisle with a nod to any of the Furyknights caring for their dragons. To a man, they snapped to attention when they saw me, saluting with a fist to their chest until I’d passed.
‘It’s not vain to know your worth, Donavyn.’
“To know it? No. But to announce it to others?” I grinned at him from the side.
Kgosi huffed, but didn’t respond because we had reached the end of the aisle and the double-width stable that was his.
Only the Primarch had a stable large enough to accommodate more than one dragon. I flipped the massive, steel locking mechanism on the door and yanked it back. The metal rang, echoing in the tall rafters. Then I grasped the thick handle with both hands to haul one side of the door back.
‘Do you need assistance, Donavyn?’Kgosi asked breezily. I glared at him as I dragged the heavy door back on its rails to give him room to pass. We locked his stable mainly to keep the stablehands from endlessly cleaning it. But also because Kgosi was fastidious.
When I’d dragged the door far enough back, Kgosi flowed into the huge space and made a beeline for the trough.
As he dipped his jaw into the water and lifted his head to drink, I reminded myself that this wasn’t a simple stroll for fun. We had things to discuss.Difficultthings.
I sighed.
‘I assume I don’t need to ask what weighs on you, brother?’Kgosi asked as if it were no matter.
I was touched to my bones whenever he named me family like that, but this wasn’t the moment for emotional displays.
‘I’m sure you can. Did you have a chance to speak with the matriarchs?’I sent silently. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted overhead by… well, anyone. Dragon or human.
A low rumble that was either frustration or irritation—possibly both—rolled out of Kgosi and vibrated in my ribs.
‘I did,’he said, his tone grim.
Not a good sign.
‘And?’
Kgosi took two more long draws from the trough before turning and dropping his head so that he could meet my eye.‘The Dames tell me they don’t know the cause.’
I grit my teeth, hands clenching at my sides.‘Are you certain? The birthrates have dropped before, but there’s barely a dozen eggs incubating this winter and—’
‘I’m not in need of convincing there’s a problem, Donavyn,’Kgosi sent acidly.‘The Creator simply has not yet revealed the solution.’
I caught myself and started again. I knew this was a sensitive subject to the dragons for whom reproduction was very slow, and often unsuccessful, even when the herds were thriving. But in the past century our rates of mating pairs had dwindled—and that meant fewer and fewer dragons born and reaching maturity for the generations of Furyknights to come.
‘There must be a reason the females aren’t taking mates. Are we humans interfering in some way? Do we need to bring in fresh bloodlines? I could speak with the Furymaster in Fyrehold to see if we could trade some young males?'
‘New males would only cause more problems than they might sol—’Kgosi suddenly raised his head towards the door, his eyes narrowing and crest standing tall.
“What is it?” I asked quickly. I’d seen my dragon lumber past an all-out frenzy between young males and barely flick his tail. If he’d gone on alert, it was important.
There was a beat before he answered, as if he measured his words.
‘A new Flame is borne,’he sent, his deep voice somehow even more resonant than usual, settling into my skull, the words brimming with portent. But he didn’t turn back to me. His head stayed high as if he were listening intently.
A new Flameborne was exciting—it meant a dragon had chosen a potential bond rider who could one day become a Furyknight. But it wasn’t earth shattering. I’d never seen a Choosing stop Kgosi in his tracks before.
“Keg? Which of the dragons Chose—?” The shouts were distant, but finally reached my ears. Tight and protesting. Not shouts of celebration or honor as I would have expected when a dragon made their claim. Something else must have happened. “Whatnow?”I muttered.
In answer, Kgosi snorted plumes of steam and smoke in a short burst.‘Come. We’re needed.’
He started out of the wide door before he’d finished the words in my head forcing me to trot to catch up, or be left behind.
