Yerna Yatskievych left her humble beginnings on a poor farm to become one of the few female knights in Draconia. As a guard for the kingdom’s handsome younger prince, Yerna finds her role both wonderful and challenging. Of course, the prince is far above her reach, but a girl has to dream sometimes.
For Hazwell the Disposable, the trappings and perks of royalty hold little appeal. He wonders what will become of him when his older brother, Crown Prince Maximilian, becomes king. Now, with Max away, a few duties fall to Hazwell, revealing a life of which he will never have more than a tempting taste. But things start to go wrong when his young guard’s hesitant request to be relieved of a problem starts a chain of events with incinerating consequences. Then treachery and mischance bring about huge changes.
With this courageous young female knight at his side, Hazwell dares to reach and strive farther than he had ever dreamed, even to claiming an ancient family power and rising to incredible heights.
Chapter 1Draconia, Draconisla Late Spring Yerna hunkered down to fasten the stiff buckles of her shining new spurs. The metal twinkled in the slanting sun of early morning. Her heart skittered at the thought of the future. Today she’d be dubbed Sera Yatskievych, Knight of the Draconian Empire. Of the twenty-seven squires who’d be knighted today, only three were women, including her. It had been a struggle, without a doubt, but the six-year effort was now behind her. Of the original group of forty-six recruits, five women and fourteen men had flunked out. Yerna felt more pity than contempt for them, but a bit of both. Maybe she had a little more motivation than most and the benefit of the strength and stamina gained in the first fifteen years of her life. The eldest of a family of seven