Empire of Flame and Thorns

A fish cutter splashes the most dangerous dragon alive

Selena Hale has spent years gutting fish and keeping watch for the fae resistance—a secret rebellion against the dragon shifters who conquered the Seelie Court millennia ago.

A fish cutter splashes the most dangerous dragon alive

Selena Hale has spent years gutting fish and keeping watch for the fae resistance—a secret rebellion against the dragon shifters who conquered the Seelie Court millennia ago. When a patrol approaches the tavern where resistance leaders are meeting upstairs, her partner panics and bolts inside, drawing suspicion. Selena slips in to distract the soldiers, flirting outrageously with their captain. But then Draven Ryat walks through the door—the Shadow of Death himself, Commander of the Dread Legion, black-winged and golden-eyed, the most dangerous dragon shifter outside the royal family. When he asks if there's a problem, Selena throws her glass of firechaser straight in his face and runs. She escapes through streets she knows by heart. But Draven never forgets a face.

Three fae can win their freedom every hundred fifty years

A poster catches Selena's eye near the city gate. The Atonement Trials—a tournament held every century and a half where fae magic users compete and the top three winners earn the right to leave the Seelie Court entirely. Selena recognizes the opportunity: if she wins, she can become a true asset to the resistance, spying and building networks beyond the thorn forest that keeps her people caged. She registers her name and her emotion magic—the ability to amplify or diminish feelings already present in others. The administrator recoils. Everyone always does. Her own parents, when she tells them, offer neither luck nor pride. Her uncontrolled childhood magic warped their marriage irreparably, and their only daughter has been kept at arm's length ever since.

Alistair blocks the gate, so Selena scales poisoned metal

The dragon shifters arrive in force—Empress Jessina and Emperor Bane Iceheart on silver dragons, Draven in black, all eight clan leaders trailing behind. On the Dragon Field, Draven presses his sword beneath Selena's chin and tells her he remembers her face. Then comes the first test: reach the iron-walled palace grounds before sundown. Alistair Geller, a fire-wielding bully, seizes the gate with his gang and torches anyone who approaches. With no combat magic, Selena has one option—the wall itself. Iron burns fae skin, blocks their powers, and drains their energy proportional to its mass. She climbs anyway, screaming through every handhold. She rolls over the top and plummets to the grass, utterly spent. Draven finds her there and threatens to throw her back.