The Blade in the Ashes (House of Hyrax #3)
Chapter 1
The Rose in the Shadows
Book One in the House of Hyrax Series
Theadora Moore wakes in the infirmary of the Athenian castle with no memories, only a Bident tattoo—the Mark of House Hyrax, an extinct High House essential to the Athenian Royal Council.
Crown Prince Clayton Vail, a dragon-shifter descended from Zion, King of the Gods, quickly interrogates her, suspicious of her motives.
His cousin, Iris, suddenly recognizes the significance of her Mark, and Thea is instantly thrust into the treacherous world of Athenian court politics.
As Thea is forced to begin training for the trials that she will now need to pass in order to ascend to the Council, she struggles to summon her powers.
Her frustration grows, especially as recurring dreams pull her into haunting visions of a stranger warning her not to trust her new friendships with Clay, Iris, Lorelai, Rankor, Kent and Camilla.
When a witches hex bag is found in her room, and nearly kills her, its clear that someone wants to extinguish the Hyraxian bloodline.
Clay becomes her reluctant ally, saving her and vowing to find her attacker.
After learning that her marriage will be arranged to ensure the possibility of heirs, Thea panics, shaking the trees around the castle and it is Clay who calms her and finally teaches her to control her powers.
Desperate to understand how she arrived at the castle, Thea sneaks into the city with Iris only to leave with more questions than answers.
She continues training for her trials until a second attack - a massive explosion - destroys an entire wing of the castle.
Clay walks through the fire to carry her out and the tension between them grows too strong to resist. When they finally give in to that attraction, Thea forces herself to pull away, reminding them both that whatever exists between them is dangerous—and impossible.
Thea is left devastated, but is forced to attend Clay’s birthnight celebration.
Just when she can't take it anymore and attempts to leave the party an ambush erupts.
She watches as her friend Lorelai is killed, triggering a surge of power from deep within her, unleashing abilities no Descendant has displayed before.
As the truth unravels, it becomes clear that Camilla, the trusted witch in their circle, is behind it all.
Just as the warnings from the stranger in her dreams grow more urgent, Camilla strikes again, drugging and power-stripping Thea.
All seems lost—until, against all odds, Thea’s magic resurfaces.
She fights back, turning Camilla’s own dark power against her and proving that she is stronger than anyone imagined.
In the aftermath, Thea stays by Clay’s side as he recovers from battle wounds, unable to deny her feelings any longer.
But before she can act on them, the Dragon delivers his cruelest threat yet: if she does not stay away from Clay, he will exile her forever.
As Thea processes her fate, she visits Camilla in her cell, where a final, chilling revelation unfolds.
Camilla's betrayal wasn't just personal - it was driven by an ancient prophecy foretelling that the daughter of Hyrax would shake the Veil and unleash the God of the Dead into the Mortal Realm.
Shocked, Thea rushes to Hyrax Manor, tearing apart the library until she can find a depiction of Hyrax and finally recognizes him as the stranger from her dreams.
The realizations don't end though, and Camilla is the one to learn that her grandmother is not who she seems. Pasnia, the Goddess of Madness, has been orchestrating everything from the shadows, manipulating events to obtain Thea’s blood.