EXCERPT 1
Chapter 1: The Wish

Aryna

“Look, Aryna,” my mom said, setting down the lopsided chocolate cake she’d clearly stayed up late making—complete with uneven frosting and slightly smudged Happy 18th Birthday written in shaky pink letters—her cheerfulness seemed forced.

“Let’s try to make today as fun as we can,” she said.

I love my mom, I really do, but sometimes she drives me absolutely crazy.

“Honey, I’m not upset you were out with your friends last night. I just wanted to know where you were.”

“Disappointed, then,” I said, unable to keep the snark out of my voice.

“Aryna!” She gave me that look, the one that said I was pushing boundaries we both knew I shouldn’t cross.

Mom walked around our tiny dining table, probably to avoid saying something she’d regret. She worked two jobs while Dad pulled night shifts, and they could barely make ends meet despite doing everything they could for me. I knew that. 

Knowing they were doing their best didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

All my hard work, school, science fair wins- everything my parents had always told me they were proud of yet it had come with the same quiet disappointment. They were always proud. They just weren’t always there.

I remembered the state championship for English literature, my best subject. I had stood at the front of the auditorium, looking out at the crowd while the other students’ names appeared on handmade signs. Their parents cheered, waved, and called their names.

I scanned the room anyway.

Just hoping I’d see Mom and Dad.

A smile. A wave. Anything that said, We’re here. We’re proud of you! 

The last question was asked. “Who wrote The Divine Comedy” 

Easy. I hit the button “Dante Alighieri,” one of my favorites. 

Then I won first place.

I should have been excited, and I was. But there was a sadness underneath it, knowing I was experiencing it alone.

When it was over, I put the trophy in my backpack and went home.

It wasn’t that they were bad parents. They weren’t. They were busy. They were always cheering for me when they had the time—late at night, early in the morning, whenever our schedules happened to line up.

Just not in the moments when I wanted them there most.

Our apartment was so cramped, the dining room table took up most of the kitchen-dining room combo, leaving barely enough space to walk around it. On nights like this, with tension thick in the air, it felt even smaller. I could feel the frustration steaming from me.

I looked down at the table. The chocolate cake sat in front of me, eighteen candles flickering in the dim light of our cramped apartment kitchen. Mom’s face glowed with pride across the table, her tired eyes momentarily free of worry lines. Dad stood beside her, his arm draped around her shoulders, a rare moment of peace between them. Arguments about money were what I normally heard.

“Make a wish, Aryna,” Mom said.

I closed my eyes, feeling oddly self-conscious. Eighteen. A legal adult as of today, I felt no different than yesterday. What did one wish for when standing at the threshold of adulthood? College acceptance letters had already come and gone—mostly rejections with two waitlists. My part-time job barely covered gas money. 

I wish for something extraordinary to happen, I thought, surprising myself with the childish desire. Something to make me special.

I leaned forward to blow out the candles.

 

EXCERPT 2
Chapter 6: Stormwing

Dean

The rules of the Bonding Trial are simple,” announced the battle-scarred man who’d introduced himself as Commander Raithel. “Choose a dragon that calls to you. Attempt to form a bond. Succeed or die.”

Around me, the other initiates shifted nervously on the massive stone platform. Some looked determined, others terrified. A few seemed almost eager, like they’d been preparing for this moment their entire lives.

Maybe they had been. Maybe I was the only one who hadn’t known this was coming.

“This is insane,” muttered a red-haired girl beside me. “They can’t seriously expect us to just… tame dragons.”

“I don’t think ‘tame’ is the right word,” I replied, watching as the dragons circled above us. There were at least thirty of them, varying in size and color—midnight blue, crimson, emerald, gold, obsidian. Some were sleek and serpentine, others bulky with armor-like scales.

“What would you call it then?” she asked.

Before I could answer, Commander Raithel blew a horn that echoed across the mountains. The dragons responded immediately, diving toward our platform in a coordinated attack.

“Begin!” Raithel shouted, stepping back as chaos erupted. In a matter of seconds, the circling dragons darted down. I jumped to the ground.

A boy no older than me stood frozen. He glanced in my direction as a rust-colored dragon swooped down, snatched him up, and bit him clean in half. Blood rained down on initiates as they scattered, letting out blood-curdling screams. 

I stood in pure numbness. 

This wasn’t a trial. It was a massacre. 

I shook my head and ran for the edge of the platform, seeking cover. A massive boulder provided momentary shelter as I tried to process what was happening. Dragons were real. They were killing people. I was supposed to bond with one or join the dead.

The copper-skinned woman who’d brought me here appeared beside me, materializing like a ghost. 

“You hide while others die,” she observed, her tone neutral. I jumped. 

“What the hell is this?” I demanded. “You didn’t say anything about being dragon food!”

“I told you exactly what awaited,” she corrected. “The trial claims those unworthy of bonding. It has always been this way.”

Another scream pierced the air. I peered around the boulder to see a girl being lifted into the sky, her legs kicking frantically as a green dragon carried her higher, then released her. Her scream faded as she plummeted toward the jagged rocks below.

“This is murder,” I yelled in her direction. 

“This is selection,” the woman replied. “Dragons choose as much as riders do. The weak are eliminated. Only the worthy survive to fight in war.”

“What war? Who are we fighting? What in the fuck are you even saying?” My mind was swirling with thoughts.

She smiled enigmatically. “First survive. Then learn.”

She turned around and walked away through the crowd of people screaming and running for their lives, leaving me alone again.

A shadow passed overhead. I looked up to see the midnight-blue dragon that had caught my eye earlier. It circled lower, its gaze locked on me. Unlike the others, it wasn’t attacking—just watching, assessing. Almost like it was debating whether I would be a good snack or not, and to be perfectly honest, I’m meat and bones. I doubt I would even remotely taste good! 

I felt something brush against my mind—a foreign consciousness, ancient and powerful. Curious, not hostile.