And I was free again.
As Akhane shrieked her joy and tilted her head up, powering us higher, the world fell away. And with it, my memories. My thoughts. My pains. My fears.
I sat, cradled between my dragon’s wing ridges, holding the neck strap like a horse’s reins, and I could breathe.
From here, even when I leaned over to look down, craning my neck to see the tiny, scurrying ant-forms of the men crossing the courtyard of the Academy buildings, they were nothing. So far away, and so silent. There was only the rush of the wind, my pulse in my skin, and the rise and fall of my dragon’s warm body underneath me.
‘Akhane, this is…’
‘I know. I’ve yearned to share it with you, Little Flame. Thank the Creator we made it!’
I laughed as she screamed again, and distant dragons answered her.
The emotion of the moment—the relief, the joy—overwhelmed me. My vision blurred, my view of the buildings falling away. I leaned on Akhane’s neck and smiled into the sun rising over the ocean, stroking her and drinking in the world with awe.
‘Thank you, Akhane,’I sent.‘Thank you for Choosing me.’
‘You were made for me, Little Flame. And I for you.’
‘Still, thank you. I could never have imagined this life. I just pray I don’t take it from you. I pray I can find a way through this to become a true Furyknight and keep you where you deserve to be.’
‘What will be will be, Bren,’Akhane said softly, but I felt the swell of hope in her.
And as we spent the hours of that beautiful morning practicing ascent and descent, banking turns, spiral glides, and even flew up the cliff-faces themselves, I felt peace for the first time in as long as I could remember.
I was made for this.
I could feel it.
The height was terrifying, but it didn’t touch me.
Akhane’s speed and strength were intimidating, but I wanted to whoop and scream.
These skills she had would lead us straight into battle. And for the first time since I took that dreadful step off that cliff, a part of me beckoned for the battle to come. Wished for my chance to help her win.
She deserved it.
And maybe if I stayed with her long enough, I would too.
26. Feet Firmly on the Ground
~ BREN ~
I smiled ear-to-ear.
My brothers joined us in the air for the last minutes of our flight—and only teased me a little bit when I fell off as we landed and both Ronen and Gil had to get Akhane’s permission to climb onto her back so Gil could lift me, while Ronen unclipped me from the safety strap where I dangled uselessly.
I was embarrassed, and exhausted, andso happy.
“Don’t worry,” Gil murmured in my ear as he placed me back on the ground. “We all fall off the first couple times. If they try to tell you they didn’t, don’t believe them. You have to grip hard with your knees and pull up on the neckstrap to keep yourself hard against her back. You’ll get it. We all do eventually.”
I was grateful for the kind words, and too tired and ecstatic after hours in the sky to be truly deflated by my ungainly landing. Though it was, yet again, another obstacle to face.
When we all had our feet back on the ground, my brothers gathered into a tight circle around me and Ronen, who stood over me with an impish half-grin on his face.
“Flameborne Kearney,” he said in that formal snap of an order, despite his expression. “Congratulations on your first flight.”
The squad cheered and I felt my cheeks heat, but I kept smiling.
