‘Not all of them succeed!’I pointed out.
Kgosi sniffed.‘Not all of them achieve the bar by which you define success. Every one who follows the path, reaches the destination they were intended for—whether it’s the one they thought they aimed for, or not.’
I was frustrated. The men talked quietly. A few of them questioned Ronen. They knew I spoke with my dragon and they would wait. But Ronen’s eyes were on me, his expression difficult to read. Probably because he wasn’t sure whether he wanted me to affirm this or not.
‘If she fails in this, we lose Akhane as a battle dragon.’
‘If Akhane cannot bring her through this, they were never intended for battle,’Kgosi shot back.
‘But you said—’
‘I said don’t underestimate them. Don’t limit their opportunity. Let them fly. Only the Creator knows where they’re intended to land.’
I sighed and would have thrown up my hands, but I knew he was right. I would never stop her from trying, and she would be better placed in a squad where there was at least a reluctant willingness totry.
‘Then I suppose the Creator has revealed where she should be placed.’
‘I believe this is what I said at the beginning.’
God, he could be so smug.‘Thank you, Kgosi. Please return to your nap. Don’t let my need tokeep lives safedisturb you.’
There was a rush of amusement and smug satisfaction in the bond that made me grit my teeth. But when he spoke, my dragon’s tone was warm.‘Donavyn, please don’t ever hesitate to interrupt my sleep to help you figure your shit out. I wouldn’t be succeeding atmypurpose if I wasn’t available to you.’
I huffed, but I fought a smile. My dragon was a self-important ass. But he’d kind of earned it.
‘Ronen it is,’I sent.
‘What a startling result,’Kgosi sent dryly.
I turned my mind away from him and locked eyes with Ronen, nodding.
His jaw tightened, but he nodded once in return. “She’ll go to Ronen’s Squad, then,” I said formally. “Now, I’m meeting with the Captains after the dinner hour to determine any rules or codes of conduct that will be needed to make sure her training isn’t hindered by herfemaleness.If any of you have suggestions or questions you’d like answered, I have a few minutes. And I can take your thoughts to the others.”
Just as my Captains had, once the decision was made, the men settled into their work, but I saw more than one sly grin thrown at Ronen, and more than one relieved face among the others.
I didn’t like that they were taking some delight in seeing Ronen saddled with a problem, so before we left the room, I made another announcement.
“Ronen, given the unique nature of this particular Flameborne and the potential impacts for all of the Furyknights, I want to be clear that I make myself available to you and your squad as needed. Please don’t hesitate to have your dragons reach out to Kgosi, or to send a messenger for my attention any time it’s needed.”
The others all went still at that. They would envy the offer. The personal attention of the Commander was a great honor among the squads, who were still young enough to believe that my rank made memorethan an average man.
Kgosi snorted in my head, but I ignored him.
“If there are no more questions, we’re done here,” I said briskly. “Ronen, I’d like to speak with you before you leave—we’ve already solved the housing question, but there are many more. And I think you should attend the meeting tonight with the Captains…”
I’d been preparing to introduce him into the leadership council anyway. It seemed the time was now.
As the others muttered and joked their way out of the room in twos and threes, calling jibes to each other, and gossiping, Ronen crossed towards me instead.
He was an even-keeled sort of man. He rode a greenscale, a beautiful male. Eight years ago, when I’d raised him to Wing Lieutenant, I’d used him to help steady and unify a fracturing squad that had lost a member.He’d risen to the challenge with impressive dedication and steadiness. Now he led the most mature and steadfast squad in the Dragon Keep.
Well, I needed him to do it again. Given the way these men—the leaders among our rank and file—had reacted to her appearance, I was beginning to think Feroz’s doom-laden concern for how she might affect the Furyknights as a society weren’t as pessimistic as I’d believed.
And that thought made me curse.
9. The Final Word
~ DONAVYN ~
