

All because I talked to a girl from school, my parents decided I was too young to date and sent me to a behavioral correction camp over winter break. I spent 14 days there before they came for me. When Mom reached for my backpack, I flinched and dropped to my knees. "Mom, I'm sorry. I'll carry my own things. Please don't touch me. You're the opposite sex." Her expression soured. "I told you to watch out for girls out there, not treat your own mother like one of them." I kept my head down and said nothing, because responding to the opposite sex was also a violation. On the drive home, Dad noticed me sitting rigid and perfectly still. He laughed, pleased. "Look at him. He's so well-behaved now." "It worked even better than I expected. We'll have our family dinner tonight and send him back in the morning. They need to straighten him out for good." I said nothing. I just turned and looked out the window. There would be no tomorrow. Tonight was my farewell gift to them.

On her coronation day, Empress Yedda Lara orders her betrothed, Ronan Vance, thrown into the furnace for allegedly draining the empire's dragon vein. Ten years ago, Ronan actually tore out his own dragon core to seal the demons beneath them, but now, he stands branded a traitor.Before he can burn, the ancient Vowstone shatters, unleashing memories that expose the truth to the entire court: it was Ronan who saved Yedda's life as a child, sacrificing his blood, his horns, and his power to protect her, while the true villain, Chancellor Cyrus, stole her memories and framed him.As her hatred shatters into agonizing guilt, the dragon vein begins to die. Desperate and broken, the empress falls to her knees, begging the man she just condemned to save them all.