The world around Lara Kael trembles as old pacts crack open and new agreements are forced to be spoken aloud. She travels with uneasy allies through markets that smell of copper and rain, chasing...
The world around Lara Kael trembles as old pacts crack open and new agreements are forced to be spoken aloud. She travels with uneasy allies through markets that smell of copper and rain, chasing rumors of a dragon who remembers every name it’s ever heard. In the shadow of a festival flame, a betrayal unspools with the suddenness of a blade drawn from a sleeve, plunging Lara into a labyrinth of loyalties where every light casts a double, and every ally might be a mask. The path to the dragon’s heart runs through a seaside ruin, a library of living embers, and a tutor who speaks in ember-glow and silence. Moments of peril arrive without fanfare—then demand a decision that could redeem a family scarred by wars of mercy and necessity. As Lara learns to ride the shifting breath between fear and courage, she discovers what it means to bear a name that could set a world on fire, or save it from flame entirely.
