Chapter 1
one
Moyrie
She is back—my dragon.
Saff’s wings open wide over our receiving area—a wide, circular open-air theatre, the perfect size for her to land. A place she knows well.
Now, she brings creatures on her back. Unheard of, for the dragon has only ever allowed myself, my father and his father to ride her.
And that is only because we proved ourselves worthy, dedicating our lives to her care and helping to find her young, though we have never come close to discovering the egg she seeks—the words etched in my grandfather’s mind upon meeting her.
The dragon had made a deal with him, conversing in his head for the first and last time, never speaking to any of my people again.
But we carried the tradition of riding her through our family line, keeping us in power.
Only the strongest fighters are crowned kings and queens of the Silver Sands. Thanks to Saff, no one has dared challenge our seat in power, my family having been the sole custodians of nobility since the beginning.
Seeing two people ride Saff is an anomaly I’ve never witnessed before. The male is of no consequence to me, but the female—
She is an enigma.
She holds power. I can see it in the way the large, scruffy person holds her, in how Saff handles her small touches on her scaled neck.
“Seraph.” The word is a growing murmur in the crowd.
“Daughter.” My father clutches my hand in his grasp. “She has come.” His voice is strained. Looking over to my mother, I see her hand raised to her mouth, shocked at the sight she is witnessing.
A sight we could only ever dream of. One that is now our reality.
Saff lands, a plume of light sand falling over us like the waves that crash against the walls of our lands.
All eyes are on the female. Long hair the colour of tree trunks drapes around a soft, feminine face. Wide, wild eyes stare back at our dais, focusing on one person in particular. Rivern.
Their gazes spell more than a simple connection. My heart kicks up a beat at this new revelation. At this new meaning. Did my betrothed bring us the Seraph? Maybe this was Osear’s plan all along.
If my betrothed has brought us the Seraph—the being prophesied to bring about a new world, one who can control the beasts and see us safe—our debt is paid in full with the fae, and we require nothing else from them.
No bloodlines mingling, no deals made out of necessity.
My body sags, relaxing for the first time since meeting the fae. I can choose my partner again.
With this newfound knowledge, my ire at my betrothed pulling away is a thing of the past. If the female is who we have been waiting for, she is everything to my people.
I can have autonomy over my future again.