Shadow of the Serpent Wing
Aeliana has never belonged. As a foundling with no memory of her past, her existence at the lofty Aethra Academy—a realm of floating islands and ancient magic—is one of quiet servitude and whispered scorn. Her only worth, the elders say, is a strange, dormant magic in her blood that even they cannot identify. On the day of the coveted Dragon Bonding Ceremony, where the elite students form lifelong bonds with majestic dragons, Aeliana expects to be overlooked once again.
But when a swarm of shadowy, serpentine dragons—the Shade Wyrms, a breed thought to be extinct and eternally hostile—descends upon the ceremony, chaos erupts. In the midst of the attack, the lead Wyrm, a creature of immense power and terrifying beauty, does not strike her down. Instead, it bows. In that moment, a forbidden mental link snaps into place, and Aeliana hears a single, earth-shattering word in her mind: "Mine."
This bond brands her as both a savior and a traitor. Forced into a fragile alliance with Kaelen, the most gifted and ruthless rider of his generation—a man who views her and her "monstrous" bond as a threat to the entire academy—Aeliana is thrust into the heart of a political firestorm.
As they train together, a volatile and electric connection forms between them, blurring the lines between hatred and desire. But their fragile trust is tested when Aeliana begins to uncover fragments of a hidden truth. The Shade Wyrms are not the mindless beasts history portrays, and the academy's founding is built upon a lie drenched in blood. Aeliana's unique magic is the key to a lost throne, and a shadowy faction within the academy will stop at nothing to control her or see her dead.
With the walls closing in and a war brewing between the floating realms, Aeliana must learn to master her dangerous powers, confront the terrifying secrets of her origin, and decide where her loyalty truly lies—with the world that fears her, or the "monsters" who claim her as their queen.