In Julie Kagawaâs groundbreaking modern fantasy series, dragons walk among us in human form.
Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and theyâre positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.
Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.
Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talonâs newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his preyâand nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Emberâs bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in himâand what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.
Books by Julie Kagawa available from HQ
The Talon Saga
Talon
Blood of Eden series
(in reading order)
The Immortal Rules
The Eternity Cure The Forever Song
The Iron Fey series
(in reading order)
The Iron King*
âWinterâs Passageâ** (ebook novella) The Iron Daughter* The Iron Queen âSummerâs Crossingâ** (ebook novella) The Iron Knight âIronâs Prophecyâ** (ebook novella) The Lost Prince The Iron Traitor
*Also available in The Iron Fey Volume One anthology
**Also available in print in The Iron Legends anthology, along with the exclusive Guide to the Iron Fey
Part I
Observe. Assimilate. Blend in.
Ember
âEmber, when did your parents die, and what was the cause of death?â
I stifled a groan and tore my gaze from the car window, where the bright, sunny town of Crescent Beach shimmered beyond the tinted glass. The air in the black sedan was cold and stale and, annoyingly, the driver had engaged the child safety locks so I couldnât roll down the window. Weâd been stuck in the car for hours, and I was itching to get out of this moving prison and into the sun. Outside the glass, palm trees lined the road, and charming villas shared the sidewalk with weathered gray shacks advertising food, T-shirts, surfboard wax and more. Just beyond the pavement, past a strip of glistening white sand, the Pacific Ocean shimmered like a huge turquoise jewel, teasing me with its frothy waves and countless beachgoers splashing freely in the glittering water.
âEmber? Did you hear me? Answer the question, please.â
I sighed and settled back against the cold leather. âJoseph and Kate Hill were killed in a car accident when we were seven years old,â I recited, seeing the driverâs impassive gaze watching me from the rearview mirror. Beside him, Mr. Ramseyâs dark head bobbed in affirmation.
âGo on.â
I squirmed against the seat belt. âThey had gone to see a Broadway musical, West Side Story,â I continued, âand were struck by a drunk driver on the way home. My brother and I went to live with our grandparents, until Grandpa Bill developed lung cancer and could no longer take care of us. So we came here to stay with our aunt and uncle.â I snuck a longing gaze out the window again, seeing a pair of humans on surfboards, gliding down the waves. My curiosity perked. Iâd never gone surfing before, not in my dusty little corner of desert. It looked nearly as much fun as flying, though I doubted anything could compare to soaring the air currents, feeling the wind in your face and beneath your wings. I didnât know how I was going to survive the summer completely earthborn. Humans were lucky, I thought, as the car sped on and the surfers were lost from view. They didnât know what they were missing.
âGood,â muttered Mr. Ramsey, sounding distracted. I imagined him scanning his ever-present tablet, scrolling through our files and background. âDante, what is your real objective while in Crescent Beach?â
My twin calmly pulled his earbuds down and hit the pause button on his iPhone. He had this uncanny ability to zone out to music or television and still know exactly what was going on around him. I did not have this talent. My teachers had to smack me upside the head to get my attention if there was anything remotely distracting around. âObserve and blend in,â he stated in his cool, unruffled voice. âLearn how to engage with humans, how to be human. Assimilate into their social structure and make them believe we are one of them.â
I rolled my eyes. He caught my gaze and gave a small shrug. Dante and I werenât really twins, not in the truest sense of the word. Sure, we were the same age. Sure, we looked very similar; we had the same obscenely red hair and green eyes. And weâd been together as far back as I could remember. But we didnât come from the same womb. We didnât come from a womb at all, really. Dante and I were clutchmates, which was still highly unusual because our kind normally didnât lay more than one egg at a time. Making us strange, even among our own. But Dante and I had hatched together and were raised together, and as far as anyone was concerned, he was my twin, my sibling and my only friend.