Elara Ashford, 23, has been living a lie her entire life. She was brought up as Princess of Veridia, wearing silk and jewels, and she believes she has royal blood in her veins.  However, when a marriage alliance insists that she marry the dreaded Dragon King of the North in order to stop war, her adopted family reveals the terrible truth: she was born with the real princess.  She is merely the daughter of a commoner, a stand-in for the legitimate heir who was concealed for her "protection."

 Elara is now being sent to her death with a single, unachievable task: either make the monster fall in love with her or her real family, the commoners who abandoned her, will be put to death for treason.

 The Northern Kingdom is a real-life nightmare.  Towers of obsidian are circled by dragons.  In courtyards, Fae warriors hone their blades.  In dimly lit hallways, witches murmur.  And in charge of it all is Kael Draven, the ancient and deadly Dragon King, whose touch burns like dragonfire, whose amber eyes see through every lie, and whose court keeps a watchful eye on the frail human bride like wolves circling wounded prey.

 Elara anticipated a monster.  She discovers a king who is plagued by centuries-old curses, haunted by betrayal, and frantically searching for his fated mate, whom he believes will break the curse that is slowly killing his people.  He believes that *she* is a bond.

 She's not his mate, though.  Wearing a stolen crown, she is a fraud.

 Elara learns that people have been lying about the North for generations as she makes her way through assassination attempts, lethal court politics, and a developing fascination with the dragon who could burn her with a single breath.  Humans have betrayed the "monsters."  And centuries ago, a human princess betrayed Kael himself, bringing a curse upon his entire kingdom.

 Elara's world falls apart when the real Princess Seraphine is found—beautiful, gifted with magic, and Kael's *actual* fated mate.  Kael and Seraphine's mate bond is unquestionably ancient and ignites instantly.  Elara ought to move aside.  Let fate do its thing.

 However, Seraphine didn't have to spend months gaining the dragon warriors' trust.  didn't put her life in danger to lift old curses.  didn't fall in love with a monarch who taught her that monsters are created, not born.

 Elara is faced with an impossible decision after learning that Seraphine is a part of a plot to overthrow the Northern Kingdom from within and that the "true princess" is the real danger to the precarious peace:

 – Lose Kael to his true love and expose Seraphine.

– Keep quiet and watch the kingdom she has come to love burn.

– Fight for a love that wasn't supposed to be hers.

 Because bloodlines aren't always important to the heart.  Sometimes love is forged in dragonfire rather than in the stars.  Furthermore, the girl who wore a stolen crown, Elara Ashford, is set to demonstrate that fate isn't the most potent form of magic.

 It's a decision.

Every dragon in the citadel turned on me at once.


Not possessed this time—their eyes were clear, desperate, horrified. They knew what they were doing. They just couldn't stop.


Shadowfang's claws tore through my side, and I felt his anguish through our bond like a physical blow. He was screaming inside, fighting the compulsion with everything he had.


But Elara's tamer power was too strong, amplified by whatever that cage was doing to her.


"Kael!" Lyra's voice cut through from the ramparts. "She's not doing this on purpose! The cage is weaponizing her fears!"


I already knew that. Could feel it through the incomplete bond between us—Elara's panic, her terror, her desperate attempts to stop what was happening only making it worse.


Another dragon—Frost, who'd flown with us for months—slammed into me from behind. Her talons raked down my spine, and I heard her sobbing even as she attacked.


"I'm sorry," she gasped. "My king, I'm sorry, I can't—"


Chapter 27 - The Tamer Unleashed