Soldier
When forced to choose between safety with the dragon organisation Talon and being hunted forever as an outcast, Ember Hill chose to stand with Riley and his band of rogue dragons rather than become an assassin for Talon. She's lost any contact with her twin brother, Dante, a Talon devotee, as well as Garret, the former-enemy soldier who challenged her beliefs about her human side.As Ember and Riley hide and regroup to fight another day, Garret journeys alone to the United Kingdom, birthplace of the ancient and secret Order of St. George, to spy on his former brothers and uncover deadly and shocking secrets that will shake the foundations of dragons and dragon-slayers alike and place them all in imminent danger as Talon's new order rises.
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Praise for internationally bestselling author
âKatniss Everdeen better watch out.â
âHuffington Post
âJulie Kagawa is one killer storyteller.â
âMTV
âA book that will keep its readers glued to the pages until the very end.â
âNew York Journal of Books
âKagawa pulls her readers into a unique world of make-believe with her fantastic storytelling, and ultimately leaves them wanting more by the end of each book.â
âTimes Record News
âKagawa has done the seemingly impossible and written a vampire book ⦠that feels fresh in an otherwise crowded genre.â
âKirkus Reviews
âAn intense and thought-provoking series.â
âSchool Library Journal
âSurpasses the greater majority of dark fantasies.â
âteenreads.com
JULIE KAGAWA is the internationally bestselling author of the Iron Fey, Blood of Eden and The Talon Saga series. Born in Sacramento, she has been a bookseller and an animal trainer and enjoys reading, painting, playing in her garden and training in martial arts. She lives near Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband and a plethora of pets. Visit her at www.juliekagawa.com.
Soldier
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Julie Kagawa
To Nick
Contents
The world was on fire.
Flames surrounded him, crackling in his ears, filling the air with heat and smoke. Coughing, the boy huddled in a corner the fire hadnât reached yet, tears streaming painfully down his cheeks, burning his eyes. He couldnât breathe. Everything was so hot; sweat poured off his small body and drenched his clothes. Gasping, he crawled toward an open closet on the far wall, wanting only to escape, to hide in the beckoning darkness and hope it all went away.
âGarret!â
A blurry form moved across his field of vision, and someone swept him off the floor. Instantly, he relaxed, burying his face in her neck as she clutched him tight. He was safe now. As long as she was here, he was safe.
âHold on, baby,â she whispered above him, and he squeezed his eyes shut as she began to run. Heat pressed against his back and arms and scalded his bare legs, but he wasnât afraid anymore. Somewhere close, he heard shouting and gunfire, but he didnât care about that. Now that she had found him, everything would be okay.
A cool breeze hit his skin, and he peeked up from her shoulder. They had left the building; he could see it burning behind him, orange-and-red tongues of fire snapping overhead. The shooting and screaming got closer, and a couple people went rushing past them, toward the noise and the chaos. A deafening boom rocked the earth behind them, and he flinched.
âItâs okay,â she murmured, stroking his hair. He could feel her heartbeat, thudding rapidly against his chest as she staggered down the road. âItâs okay, Garret, weâre okay. We just have to find Daddy andââ
There was a roar above them. He looked up just as something huge and terrifying swooped down on black leathery wings, and the world cut out like a light.
* * *
âLadies and gentlemen, at this time weâre beginning our descent into Heathrow Airport. Please return to your seats and make sure your seat belts are securely fastened.â
As the captainâs voice drifted over the intercom, I opened my eyes and blinked as the plane came into focus. The aisle was dim, with only a few reading lights shining here and there. Outside the window, a faint pink glow had crept over the distant horizon, staining the clouds below it red. Most everyone was asleep, including the elderly woman in the seat beside mine. The engines droned in my ears as I yawned and shook my head. Had I dozed off? That wasnât like me, even on a ten-hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
The remnants of a dream lingered in my mind, familiar and disturbing at the same time. Heat and smoke, fire and gunshots, a woman carrying me to safety, the roar of a dragon in my ears. Iâd had this nightmare before; for years my sleep had been plagued with death and flames and, above all, dragons. The frequency of the nightmares had faded with time, but every so often, Iâd be right back in that burning room as a four-year-old, a woman I no longer remembered carrying me to safety, the screams of dying men echoing all around us.
And my first glimpse of the monster Iâd soon dedicate my whole life to fighting, descending on us with a roar. That was where the dream, and the memory, ended. How Iâd escaped certain fiery death, no one really knew. The Order had told me Iâd repressed that memory; that it wasnât uncommon in children whoâd experienced something traumatic. Theyâd said I didnât speak for three days after theyâd rescued me.
