‘Bren!’
I turned and with a sob, pushed to my feet, then ran on shaking legs to meet Akhane, who’d landed ahead of us.
She crooned, fluttering her wings as I ran straight into the shadow of her wing, and hugged her massive leg, hiding my face against her skin that was still cool from flying.
‘Don’t cry, Bren. You did it. You did it! You are Flameborne. I knew you could do it!’
I just clung to her, glad that one of us had.
19. Take Heart
~ BREN ~
A few minutes later when my tears had passed and everyone had landed, Akhane nudged me out from under her wing to find the men all gathered, boisterously clapping shoulders and teasing each other with great delight.
“You were beaten by a girl, Voski.”
“Stop trying to distract from the load you left in your pants, Harle.”
“I didnotshit my—”
“Enough!”Ronen barked once, and they all quieted down.
My heart still hammered at my ribs mercilessly, and I felt perilously close to bursting into tears, but I swallowed them back and made myself face the men.
All of them tall and strong. All of them confident and bonded to dragons. All standing shoulder to shoulder in their flying leathers and—
I shuddered and my stomach churned.
This isn’t Ruin and his squad. I don’t need to—
“Well done, Bren,” Ronen said quietly, smiling at me.“Verywell done. These idiots won’t admit it, but you got through that faster than most of us.”
I blinked. “I did?”
He nodded.
“Don’t get too cocky about it!” someone piped up from my right, but Ronen shot him a glare. I wasn’t sure who had spoken.
“I know we were introduced at the Acknowledgment, but if you were anything like me, that’s all kind of a blur. So, let’s make sure you know everyone now. Because this is your squad, Bren. For better or for worse, whatever comes while you’re Flameborne, we’ll meet it with you. This is the new life offered to each of us by the dragons. But to succeed, we mustwork as a team—you understand? So, I’m Ronen, your Wing Captain. My dragon is Ekko—the green back there.” One of the dragons lifted his head. I raised a hand to greet him, but then wondered if that was stupid and turned back to the Wing Captain.
Ronen was brunette, his hair short and trim. He looked older than the others, a little more rugged. Butfit.His build was trimmer than the largestmen in the squad. But he wasn’t slim. He was obviouslyverystrong. His body reminded me of Ruin—that effortless strength that seemed ready to meet anything. Yet, Ronen was older and possessed something Ruin never had. The way he held himself, his strength felt permanent. Immovable, like a rock.
“And this is Gil, your Wing Lieutenant.”
Gil, he man who’d been on the other side of the net, grunted, but offered his hand to shake. “My dragon is Runar,” he said, his voice very deep and rough. I looked where he tipped his head to see the large gray who’d flown at my left.
“H-hello.”
“We’re in charge here, Bren. No matter what this lot tell you,” Ronen said with a grin. Some of the others chuckled. “If they try to tell you a rule has changed, or anything like that, my advice is, check with one of us first before you believe them.”
“Ronen! God! We were going to—”
“I know,” Ronen said starkly. Then he looked pointedly at the man on the other side of him whose shockingly white hair gleamed in the sunlight.
“I’m Einar,” the white-haired man said quietly, taking my trembling hand and shaking it once. His voice was surprisingly smooth. “I won’t be trying to trap you. But watch out for Harle.”
“Thank you?” I said hesitantly.
