I sucked in a breath, tears rising from nowhere. Why did those words cut me so deeply?
I pulled my chin out of his grip and turned away, but I drew up short because there was no room between him and Akhane’s leg, so I had nowhere to go. No way to escape.
“My value isn’t—”
“Your value is in your heart, and your mind, and your courage, Bren. Stop talking about yourself as if you’re lowborn. You are anything but. You’re fuckingChosen.Not just Chosen, you’re the first womanever.Can’t you see what that means?”
I looked up at him instinctively, searching his eyes now because, no. I couldn’t.
“Akhane Chose me because I was trying to kill myself,” I said bluntly.
‘Bren, no. I told you.’
Donavyn blinked, then his eyes widened.
I set my teeth. “She knew I was—”
Akhane gave a strange, high call and Kgosi rumbled, shoving to his feet, head low and mouth open, groaning. Donavyn jerked to look at his dragon over his shoulder and I wondered if Kgosi would attack. But Donavyn only huffed.
“I know,” he said grimly, then looked back at me and his jaw was as tight as mine. “Kgosi wants me to make itveryclear to you—you were not Chosen from pity. Akhane knew you before she saw you.”
‘It’s true, Little Flame.’
I clenched my teeth as a wave of doubt and self-loathing rolled through me. But Donavyn continued.
“He’s showing me, Bren. It was the grace of God that Akhane saw you in time—but she didn’t Choose you because you wanted to die. She Chose you despite it,” he bit the word off, his teeth clenched and eyes blazing like he was angry. “I ache that you were so deeply wounded, Bren. I wish—” He cut off suddenly as Kgosi’s head turned towards the stable door.
“What—”
Donavyn turned, raising a hand towards me. Then he cursed under his breath and whirled back to me.
“Tell your brothers what happened that day,” he said quietly, darkly.
“What?”
“Tell them,” he insisted. “They need to know.”
I frowned and opened my mouth—this had nothing to do with my brothers!—but just then, Ronen appeared in the doorway in a posture of submission towards Kgosi. Gill stepped up to his side a moment later. Then shadows moved in the corridor outside and the murmur of the others behind them.
“No,” I breathed. “I can’t—”
Donavyn leaned down, lowering his voice, his gaze intense. “You can. And you will. This lie you believe ends tonight. Your past means nothing. But your rebirth here? That’s important. And the only way you’ll ever learn that they can care, is if they know and remain. That’s an order, Bren,” he said.
His expression was blank. Tight. As if he fought to cover anger. But before I could think about what that might mean, Kgosi stepped aside and let my brothers enter.
I wanted to swear.
Donavyn straightened and backed away, his eyes deep pools of some emotion I couldn’t identify. When he was a few steps away, he lifted one finger. “An order,” he insisted as my heart fell to my toes. Then he turned his back on me and marched towards the door, stopping to catch Ronen’s arm as they passed.
“Your sister has something important to say,” Donavyn said.“Listen.”Then walked away.
Ronen’s brows rose, but he nodded and turned back to me a look of concern on his face.
I glowered at Donavyn’s back, trying not to think about what he’d just ordered me to do. I thought he would leave, but he strode over to join Kgosi near the door, leaving the others to circle around me.
Akhane crooned again and I kept my hand back, resting on her leg, my breath growing shallow.
“What’s wrong?” Gil asked as they clustered in a half-circle around me. “What else happened?”
