Dark Sky

No one believes she deserves to be a rider. Except for him. But he may be her greatest threat of all. Zaydah has dreamed her whole life of becoming a rider of the creatures in the sky. In a kingdom always at war, there’s no greater honor than joining their ranks. She and her best friend, Brev, have trained every day for the last ten years to earn their place and follow in their fathers’ footsteps. In the Black Mountains, where the military sprawls over its hilltop base, not everyone remembers their fathers as heroes. The king has forbidden their last names to be spoken aloud.

After months in exile, Zaydah is back in Vulcanis. Though, as far as punishments go, uninterrupted time travelling with her best friends wasn’t so hard to bear. But returning to Vulcanis carries its own problems. Her association with Brev will easily brand her as a traitor. Her closeness with him is well known, as is his betrayal.

Zaydah’s fate is bound to Prince Aris’s. Much is undecided between them. When Zaydah disappears in the night without a trace, Prince Aris can feel her fear before things go dark between them. He knows she was taken, but not by whom. When Zaydah awakens, alone in the dark and underground, she has no idea either.

Zaydah and Aris have little time to come to terms with their newfound power before they’re thrust into the center of court politics. Aris’s father is now king, and he’ll enjoy any excuse to break them apart and use whatever means necessary. Nothing will continue like normal as new lines of power are drawn—nothing, except for the Choosing. But among this year’s batch of candidates is a sponsorless young woman, Ilyia.

Zaydah and Ilyia will bide their time. Sometimes destroying a man from the inside out is the best way to conquer a kingdom. In the belly of her enemy, Zaydah could try to escape, but the longer she’s trapped underground, the more she begins to unravel their secrets. They believe that she’ll never escape, that she’ll learn their ways and one day be as brainwashed as the rest of them. But Zaydah finds aid in unexpected places, from others who earn her loyalty. Ilyia is only one of those, but one of the most vital. She’ll use a man to gain access to the secret underground lair of the enemy.