Dragon Riders of Vorden

Outcast. Healer. The girl they shunned may be the kingdom's best hope. Kanastya Herbanya has always been an outcast. With her pointed ears and slight build, she stands out as different. Orphaned young and raised by her grandmother on the edge of the swamp. Kanastya lives quietly on the fringes healing wounds, gathering herbs . . . and guarding a deadly secret. She knows dragon lore, and in the four kingdoms, secrets like hers could mean death. For generations, the Sundered lands have known peace, but now war is brewing. Rogue dragons have returned and are attacking the four kingdoms with relentless fury. The kings of Vorden need dragons, but to raise them quickly requires blood and sacrifice. Kanastya is chosen as one of those sacrifices. Torn from her home and thrust into a brutal selection meant for nobles, she finds herself among strangers who see her as a threat or a tool. As danger mounts and alliances shift, Kanastya must decide whether to remain the outcast they expect-or become something far more powerful than anyone is prepared for.

It is not power or strength that makes a great dragon, but the heart it chooses to bond with. The Weyr of the Evenstar was meant to be a place of honor-a home for those chosen to ride dragons. For Kanastya, it's a battlefield. Bullied for her differences and weakened by an illness, every day is a fight for survival. Yet among the dragons, she finds solace and belonging. But as threats beyond the weyr grow and dragons prepare for war, Kanastya must discover the true meaning of strength. Not the kind forged in perfect health or flawless skill, but the kind that rises despite everything. For her greatest power might not be the one they train for . . . but the one that makes her different.

Born an outcast. Forged by dragons. Chosen by destiny. Kanastya has come a long way from being the outcast from the Haffen swamps. Now she's the first dragon mage in generations. But power comes with a price. She's become the target of the black dragon himself. He can level cities with his sharr'vok death breath, command an army of the walking dead-and he's hunting Kanastya for something only she possesses: her dragon song. Serving on Vorden's war council should make her an asset. Instead, her unstable magic threatens to make her a liability. Every spell slips through her hands while her enemy grows stronger. As the four kingdoms edge towards ruin, Kanastya must uncover the truth behind her magic. She'll have to return to where it all began-the swamps of Haffen. Because the final battle won't just decide the fate of the kindgoms. It will decide the fate of the dragon mage herself.