Stoking The Embers
The Dragon Duels #1
Laura Greenwood
Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Author Note
Also by Laura Greenwood
About the Author
© 2021 Laura Greenwood
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; [email protected].
Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:
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Cover Design by Ryn Katryn Digital Art
Stoking The Embers is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Blurb
Two hundred and fifty people go into the Dragon Duels. One in fifteen come out.
When Raine finds herself part of the quarterly Dragon Duels, she has to do everything she can to survive without losing herself in the process. Teaming up with a volunteer from the White Towers is the last thing she thought she'd do, but Cobalt has the information she needs to live to win, and she isn't about to let that slip through her fingers.
Escaping from the dragons is only half the battle - does she have what it takes to win the rest?
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Stoking the Embers is book one in the Dragon Duels series, an urban fantasy adventure with a dystopian flare and a slow burn m/f romance.
Chapter One
Ash rains down from the sky. Somewhere, a fire is blazing and someone is losing another attack. I stare out of the window, searching for the silhouette I know will be there.
Even from this distance, I can see the creature is huge. Large wings flap against the clouds. It gives out a roar and fire spurts from the dragon's mouth, turning the grey sky a burnt orange. I should feel shock, or outrage. Instead, all I have is resignation. This is the way the world works now. We're slaves to the dragons, kept in line by all the things they do.
And there's only one way to escape it. I glance longingly over at the White Towers in the distance. The dragon will be heading back there in a moment, but not to destroy it. It will nest in the mountains on either side.
"You're never going to get there, Raine," my sister says, knowing what I'm thinking before I even say it out loud.
I turn to face her. The beautiful blonde hair falls down her back and frames her perfectly formed face. She's everything I'm not. She could get to the White Towers via the Marriage Market, though I know she refuses to go there. Me on the other hand, it's not something that's open to me. I'm not pretty enough, nor am I timid or obedient. Both of those are an issue for the market, and reduce my value too much for it to be worth it. It's a stupid system.
"There's nothing for me there anyway." No one ever comes back from the White Towers, and I have too much to live for here. I don't want to leave Mila on her own. If the wrong person catches her, then she could end up at the Marriage Market through no choice of her own. No one checks whether the woman is a willing participant. They don't care.
"You're not still thinking about volunteering for the Dragon Duels again, are you?" She sighs with exasperation.
"No." It's partly a lie. If she wasn't here, then I probably would try and join the mysterious competition. I've heard that winners get the option to join the Dragon Defenders, the guard who help defend the city. They're not very good at it, but something is better than nothing when it comes to the dragons.
But it's not something I'm seriously considering. The chances of me dying are higher than I'm comfortable with, especially when I don't personally know anyone who has come back from the Duels alive to ask about it. No way can I put Mila through that.
"Good, they're dangerous."
"I know, Mila," I assure her. "It was only an idle thought I had years ago. Can we drop it?" I'm not sure why she brings it up so much when I've constantly said I'm not going to go through with the plan. As tough as our life is, I enjoy having it.
I try not to let relief show on my face when she nods. I don't want to argue with her.
"What do you want for dinner?" she asks.
I shrug. "What have we got?"
"Some old rice and maybe some dehydrated chicken."
I wince. That's hardly enough to feed us both and still be healthy at the end of it. "Give me a couple of hours, I'll go get some bread."
"We can't afford bread," she points out.
"Then I'll make a trade with the baker. I'm sure there's something I can do for him."
"You're not supposed to use the Arts," she hisses. "It's illegal."
I roll my eyes. "Everyone does it."
"I don't."
I bite my tongue, not wanting to point out that the only reason she doesn't use her Arts is because she doesn't have access to the same powers as I do. Anyone who can use the magic given to us by the Arts uses them. We'd be idiots not to when it's such an in-demand quality.
She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything else. I can understand that. It must be frustrating to live with
