Outside, I could hear the stamp and the rising songs of the wild dragons as they mourned their dead. That was a sight that I didn’t think any human had seen in at least fifty years, maybe a hundred.
In my mind, I could feel Ymmen’s strong and ancient presence; he wasn’t going anywhere.
And I remembered some of the last words that I had said to Captain Nol Baggar, and they seemed as apt now as they did then. “Maybe we need new ideas,” I repeated. “And old ideas, too.”
The eyes of my friends looked up at me, questioning.
“The dragons have returned,” I said, my voice rising so that the others in the tent could hear me too, and their muttered and whispered conversations trailed off as they began to listen to this strange Daza woman with a crown on her head. “The dragons are back, and they are on our side. We have the Stone Crown. We can put an end to Inyene’s evil plans!”
For a brief moment there was silence, and then came a stomp, stomp, stomp as one Daza after another drummed their feet on the sand floor—the traditional gesture of agreement and victory. This was joined by the clapping and the cheers of the Three Kingdomers.
I looked at my friends, at Montfre, Tamin, Naroba—and finally Abioye. “We’re going to win,” I said as I looked at him, feeling confident, and cocky, and fierce.
About Ava
Ava Richardson writes epic page-turning Young Adult Fantasy books with lovable characters and intricate worlds that are barely contained within your eReader.
She grew up on a steady diet of fantasy and science fiction books handed down from her two big brothers – and despite being dog-eared and missing pages, she loved escaping into the magical worlds that authors created. Her favorites were the ones about dragons, where they’d swoop, dive and soar through the skies of these enchanted lands
Copyright
The Stone Crown Series
Dragon Connection
Dragon Quest
Dragon Freedom
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, JANUARY 2020
Copyright © 2020 Relay Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Ava Richardson is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Fantasy projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.
Cover Design by Joemel Requeza
Want more? www.AvaRichardsonBooks.com
