Trained, stalked, and marked for death was not her plan for the day. Time for a road trip to clear her head.
Trin has trained to be stealthy, trained to defend herself, but when a bounty on her head threatens the safety of her friends, she has to get out of town.
Visiting a friend and mixing business with her escape, she learns that dragons mixing their bloodlines may be more common than anyone thought.
She spends enough time in Breaker City ordering tea and ceramics to figure out what she wants to do next, and what she wants to do is find out who and where she came from.
Learning the details of her family tree leaves her shaken, but nothing can hold her back when it comes to following her instincts. Not even the very folk she came to meet.
Excerpt:
The fist came at her head, and Trin didn’t duck. She deflected the attack and struck her opponent with an uppercut that knocked it back.
Rish staggered back and shook her head before flexing her jaw and grinning. “Very good. Let’s take a break.”
Trin nodded and inclined her head. “Would you like some tea?”
“Water with lemon, please.” Rish sighed and headed for the small table and chairs set against one wall of the sub-basement. “You are very fast.”
Trin chuckled and poured the water for her trainer. “I have always been quick. It is a handy skill at an orphanage full of shifters when you are human.”
Rish rubbed her jaw. “Well, you are definitely all dragon now. How are you feeling?”
“Good. I love learning things, and these skills are just up my alley.” She glanced down at the boiler suit-type clothing that she was wearing. “I also like ditching the skirts now and then.”
They sat down and looked around the exercise space that had been created out of a reading room. Training ladies for combat wasn’t something that the dragons liked to do. Training an unmated crystal dragon would have horrified most of the population. Lucky for Trin, the hunters and the council head had a plan for her.
She sat back and sipped her water, feeling the slight ache in her hands, back, and feet. In the mornings, she fought Rish; in the afternoons, she got espionage training from Brommin. Today’s lesson was going to be memory and assessment. If they had time, there would be some sparring, but her clothing had to be that of a lady. Fighting in a floor-length gown and a corset was not pleasant, but the practice was rather fun, especially when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and his mother had to intervene. He wasn’t allowed to fight with her unless Rish was there to hit the brakes.
“So, can I know what you are training me for?” Trin kept asking.
Rish gave her a bland look. “You are being trained for a situation you are uniquely qualified to be in.”
“You say that every day.”
“And every day for the last three weeks, you have asked me the same question. I am wondering at your ability to learn, Trin.”
