When the wrong dragon chooses the wrong rider, their bond will echo across empires… with fire and a new throne. Realm-Building is open to the Republic. On the continent of Elondria, anyone may become the next legendary dragon rider by building the greatest towns, cities, and even kingdoms. Skálda Branwright dreams of leaving the remote glaciers of home to become the first Dragonlord to build a realm. Only no dragon egg has ever hatched for her. But when a hatchling falls to her from another world, begging for rescue, she must decide whether to surrender her dragon to the brutal elvish elite... or become the worst criminal of all. A rogue rider. Yet this is no ordinary dragon. The elves would do anything to purge it—and by the time Skalda discovers why, it's much too late. Bonding this beast will come at a steep cost—breaking herself to become something she may not be ready for... and eliminating the elves that created the rules for Realm-Building. The same war machine that manufactures humans into riders to serve elfkind. A Queen will rise out of blood and dragonfire—but love from the wrong bond has costs that might burn far more than realms.
