Chapter 1
The amethyst dragon queen changed everything.
Violet, that was her name.
She was ready to find her sister queens, ready to revive a forgotten generation of dragon royals lost to time.
She wasn’t like the others we had found thus far.
There’s a new breed of Dragon Queens that I didn’t know about.
Finding the others heightened my magic, my instincts, and my skills enough to be ready for the challenge she offered.
Someone woke her up, but it wasn’t me.
She has power over realms.
Power over connection.
With her, I can find the others because her soul is linked to them. That is her gift… and her curse.
She had survived a realm where not even souls could exist. She even ruled, once upon a time.
Her innate power had given her an edge, but she was too young and vulnerable to make the journey alone to bring back what was lost.
She had waited for me.
She had called me—or at least, that’s what I had thought.
And now that I had freed her from her prison, everything changed.
Including me.
Everything hurt. My body throbbed as if I’d been beaten all over and tiny little flecks of pain jabbed over my skin every time I tried to breathe.
Who needs to breathe, anyway?
When I opened my eyes, I expected to see the craggy rocks of the Shadow Realm, not the vibrant oasis of colorful flowers and misty clouds drifting in a purple sky that spanned out before me.
Where am I?
Groaning, I struggled to my feet and tried to get my bearings.
The last thing I remembered, I had found a Lost Dragon Queen in the Shadow Realm, a place where souls were ripped right out of a living body and only vampires and their like could survive it.
Maybe… I didn’t survive it, I thought with a sinking sense of dread as I looked at my empty hands that definitely weren’t holding a baby dragon anymore.
Although, I didn’t feel very dead.
That’s probably what all dead people think, I lamented.
A scarred line marred my wrist where my soul anchor device had been attached.
One I’d shattered.
Now, an elegant silver bracelet was there instead. A single purple stone glittered inside one of its many silver divots, making me frown as I turned it over.
It seemed as if there were supposed more, but the rest of the divots were empty.
Pondering the strange new jewelry, and my unusual location, I wasn’t expecting the glittering satin that caught my eye.
No, that isn’t satin.
I blinked at the translucent wings floating over my shoulder. My birthmark faintly glittered underneath their shadow.
Are those… attached to me?
As the thought crossed my mind, one brushed over my shoulder as if reaching for my hand. I touched it and a jolt of electricity ran up my spine, making me flinch. The sensation stung everywhere and settled in my teeth.
Yep. That’s real.
And… ouch?
“I wouldn’t touch those if I were you,” a male voice supplied.
What?
I shot my gaze toward the sound, finding an attractive, tall male grinning back at me. He wore what looked like an academic uniform, but it was left open in the front, leaving me a view of his chiseled body that was too perfect to be human.
When I flicked my gaze back up to his face, I spotted pointed ears poking through his brilliant red hair.
Great. He’s some sort of fae.
That explained all the strangeness. Maybe running into a fae didn’t exactly explain how I’d gotten here, but now I knew this wasn’t Heaven.
This was a fae realm.
“Did they just come out?” he continued, likely asking about my wings. “They tend to do that when you’re near a powerful place like the Academy.”
I shrieked and covered my mouth when he decided to demonstrate and red translucent wings popped into view.
Okay, now I knew this guy couldn’t be trusted. He was a freaking butterfly.
“What have you done with my dragons?” I asked, because the Lost Queen I’d just been holding was gone, and so was Solstice. And I had no idea what he was actually going on about with wings and the Academy.
He couldn’t mean Dragonrider Academy, could he?
His unnaturally red eyebrow shot up in question. “Dragons? How hard did you hit your head, love?” he asked as he steadily approached.
My hand fell to the hilt of my sword and I drew it, then wielded it at him.
We both stared at each other for a moment as I slowly realized I was, in fact, holding a flute.
Not a sword.
Well, I must look absolutely terrifying.
He held up both hands and offered me a disarming and annoyingly charming smile. “Please, don’t melody me to death.” He tilted his head, sending the fiery tendrils of his hair brushing over his eyes. “Although, I suspect you don’t know how to use that thing. You’re a new student, yes? Did you come here by a malfunctioning portal? I assume so. You’re off course.”
A stirring of warning curled inside my soul, making me flick my gaze skyward. A flash of gold sent an unnatural ray across the purple clouds that twirled under what must be a large disturbance.
Solstice.
A flash of what she’d seen filtered into my mind, showing me a beautiful campus filled with fae, or what looked like fae. This male seemed different than the ones I had met so far.
From Solstice’s vantage point behind a dead zone, there were tons of various buildings, all of them adorned with vibrant flowers growing along the sides in a wild fashion that seemed intentional, rather than unkempt. A massive stage with silver stands rested in the center and an archway rose over it, reminding me of an elegant fae version of an opera house.
But it was the leveled ground and dark cities spanning all around the campus that made my hackles stand on end.
Corruption had seeped over this place, slowly casting them into darkness and making the pretty vines bleed and their flowers wilt.
This fae civilization was teetering on the edge and probably didn’t take kindly to strangers.
Lowering my flute weapon, I frowned at the male who was patiently waiting for my answer.
“I… I suppose that’s what happened. Can you lead me to class?”