Book Excerpt: 

A spark in the air hurtled towards us. As it grew larger, I knew that the thing the ghost of Melusine had turned into was like a child’s toy compared to the creature descending upon us. Flames streamed from its nostrils with every breath, lighting up the sky. The dragon was the size of something from a monster movie poised to destroy New York City, but it flew gracefully above the buildings. Burgundy-colored scales covered it, but where the fire reflected off them, they sprang to vivid, crimson life.

As it landed on the edge of the terrace, its wings beat the air into powerful gusts and we were knocked to the ground. I could feel Peter’s wild joy where he crouched beside me, but I didn’t share it. Almost against my will, I looked up.

Straight into the slitted pupil of a giant eye.

I’d been afraid so many times in the past few months that I’d become an expert in discerning the subtle shadings hidden within the white of terror, but what I experienced now was pure nothingness. Just when I thought I would lose my mind, the warmth of the dragon’s power filled me. It was the color of a fire that warms a home in the middle of the winter, not burns it down.

Rise, little Earth Queen.