Growing up as an apprentice healer in the castle, Ilia loved listening to the stories the knight-mages told. Tales of valour and glory, adventures in the wilderness, things she'd never see while she's trapped behind the stone walls. When knights show up with wounds from battle, and Ilia has new visions and nightmares, her powers flare wildly. What's happening to her?
Dragons are rare. When word reaches the castle that a dragon was slaughtered, her life is changed forever. Ilia feels something pulling at her inside. She must help. What can a mere student do when the best Knight-mages are already out there, seeking the last dragons to protect them? With her powers acting up, can she trust what she feels?
With nothing more than feelings to go on, Ilia leaves the safety of the castle, the only place she's ever known. Can she find and protect dragons before it's too late? Are her powers tied to the dragons somehow? If so, what happens if the last dragon dies? Will she die, too?
A maiden must marry into nobility to uphold honour in her family's name. However, when her soon-to-be husband is burned alive by a fiery creature, she realizes there's more to life than just suitors and balls.
~·~·~
As a woman, Alyria Willows is expected to cast aside her pursuit of independence to fulfil her duties as an acquiescent housewife; all for the sake of one's honour not even her own.
However, the veil isn't as pellucid as Alyria thinks when a devastating upheaval leaves her grasping for answers. It's only after surviving a terrifying experience that she discovers more than blood flows through her veins.
But that'll be the least of her concerns when a creature neither man nor dragon stalks her from the shadows. His gaze pierces like iron. His power radiates like lava. But even a man of his strength cannot hinder the threat that seeks to destroy.
A ballet of starlight foretells a restless war. Lies will be unearthed, truths will be muddled, and victories will come at a steep price. But not everything is as it seems. After all, how can she trust a man of fire and ore when he may be the embodiment of evil itself?
________________
WARNING: crude language, depictions of violence and gore, mature content. A few scenes will be offensive and WILL trigger some audiences. READ AT YOUR DISCRETION.
Previously known as Destined to the Dragon.
(Written in British English, set in the 1800s)
Beauitful cover by @lavendareyes