Dragon Raider

by Ava Richardson

  “It’s Afar, and Sebol.” Danu looked distraught. “She has lost the vote, and the witches have split into factions—many side with Cala and Ohotto – but some still side with Afar and Chabon. My mentor writes to me to say that, sadly, she cannot complete my training until safety is restored to the island.”

  “Oh Danu…” I had tried to cheer him up, but he was already shrugging off my concern.

  “It’s not the training that I’m worried about – it’s Afar and Chabon!” he said bravely, although I wondered if I saw a hint of regret somewhere in there as well. Instead, after provisioning the messenger Sheng and sending her with wishes of luck and strength, Danu threw himself into life on the island. He is an able hand, I thought wryly, remembering my father’s original challenge to him. But more than that, he spent time with Crux and me, as we endeavored to understand more of this mysterious bond that drew us three together.

  My father walked now with a stick and a limp, and he coughed, as he had been trying to free some trapped sailors after the Ariel had been hit by thirty or more cannon shots. He had saved the sailors as the rooms had filled with water, but had to swim out as wooden beams crashed into his legs and arms. If he wasn’t as strong as an ox, he would never have made it out alive at all.

  “The next time,” I agreed. We both knew that Havick and Ohotto were still out there, gathering followers, and we both knew that they would probably still regard me, as Lila Roskilde, child of the prophesy and a friend to dragons, a threat.

  I knew that was who I was now, really. As much as I had fought against it; I knew from the prophesy and the crown and a hundred other things that this was who I really was.

  But my name wasn’t all that I was. Just as Crux had said – I could be many things in one. I didn’t have to ‘just’ be a princess, just like I wasn’t ‘just’ a Sea Raider. I was everything that my parents – my real parents who had raised me, Chief Kasian and Pela – had taught me to be, but I was also a friend to dragons. I rode dragons. I had the blood of royalty in my veins.

  I don’t have to be just one thing. I can be all of them.

  “You will have to go after Havick, you know,” my father said severely.

  “And Ohotto,” Danu added grimly.

  “I know.” I sighed wearily. But for now, we had bought for ourselves and the entire Western Isles a little breathing space. Our own Raiding fleet was sorely depleted – but so, too, was Havick’s armada. The heavy storms of these islands’ winter would soon assail us, and that meant there would be few opportunities either for raiding or for our enemy to send his navies south after us.

  We had a little time to recoup, and to rebuild.

  “But we have a lot to keep us occupied now,” I said, and turned to look back over the island of Malata, where Crux and several of the young dragons that had followed the Blue Sym into battle flew above the headland. Most of the dragons had returned to their atolls and home island, swearing to seek out vengeance when they were rested. But some of the youngest of dragons had been so entranced by the bravery and skill of the human Raiders that they had stayed, inquisitive of us.

  It seemed that I would have my Dragon Raiders after all – only we wouldn’t be mercenaries any more. With the Sea Raiders at my back, and with Crux and Danu at my side, we would be engaged in a war for the freedom of the Western Archipelago itself.

  End of Dragon Raider

  Sea Dragons Trilogy Book One

  Sea Dragons Series

  Book One: Dragon Raider

  (Published: March 28, 2018)

  Book Two: Dragon Crown

  (Published: May 30, 2018)

  Book Three: Dragons Prophesy

  (Published: July 25, 2018)

  PS: Keep reading for an exclusive extract from Dragons of Wild and the next book in the Sea Dragons Trilogy, Dragon Crown.

  Thank you!

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  BLURB

  In order to embrace her true nature, a young Dragon Rider must accept who she is—and where she came from.

  Lila knows her people’s way of life is dying, but trying to get Raiders to become Dragon Mercenaries is no easy task. Although the world around them is changing, many among the Raiders still cling to the old ways of piracy. When a desperate message arrives from the West Witches, Lila and her new friend, the eccentric, unseasoned monk Danu, must risk a mission to the island of Sebol to learn what they can of the new danger they face, a threat that menaces all the Western Isles.

  To face it, Lila must leave her Raider past behind and become the leader Danu knows she was born to be. Knowing the crown of Roskilde holds the key to her destiny, and perhaps the key to defeating the deadly threat that is upon them, Lila must seize it. But to do so, Raiders and dragons will have to learn to trust each other—and Lila—as she leads the charge. Can Lila let go of fear and doubt and face the future, or will the only life she’s known be destroyed?

  Pre-order Dragon Crown at

  AvaRichardsonBooks.com

  EXCERPT

  “Senga! Adair - Pull up!” I shouted, as the two Raiders clutched onto Kim, their sinewy Blue dragon, as she hurtled towards the sea. “What is wrong with them?”

  The Blue that they were riding awkwardly flared its wings, shrieked, and tried to slow its descent. It was embarrassing all round, as Kim scraped her toes along the choppy blues, the small form of Senga was thrown forward, and Adair was flung from the blue’s back, plunging into the Malata bay like a cannonball.

  “Sweet Waters,” I swore, turning to look at Danu at my side. We stood on the rocks above Malata harbour, trying our best to coordinate what few Dragon Raiders we had. Just learning how to talk to a group of dragons all at once was also a learning curve. Danu could hear them and talk to them with his innate dragon ability, and, through their excellent hearing, the dragons could hear my voice. Or I could convey our instructions to Crux, and hope that he would get the right message across. But these techniques were taking time to simplify. Some situations called for Danu to mentally ‘shout’ at all of them, and sometimes it was easier to just holler at the dragon that we wanted to listen – if they did! Del and Vaya were on Thiel, another blue and Kim’s brood-brother, whilst older Martov was on the stocky Green Porax, and half a dozen other younger Raiders were still waiting on the shore for their turns on Retax, Holstag and Grithor, Ixyl, Viricalia and Lucalia.

  “It’s not going well, is it?” Danu said, blinking his eyes as if he had been dozing, and not paying attention. Great, I thought irritably.

  “What’s wrong – are we keeping you up?” I sniped at him. I knew it was unfair, but I was in a foul mood, and Senga’s and Adair’s antics weren’t helping improve it at all. Danu had been complaining of bad dreams recently, and he was always awake and looking pale when I encountered him in the mornings. I put it down to his highly-strung nature.

  All through the long, storm-lashed winter I had been encouraging the Raiders to take to the dragons that now regularly visited our skies. I hoped that their appearance meant that the dragons were willing to bond with our Raiders – or at very least that our Raiders wouldn’t reach for their spears every time they saw them! Ever since the battle against Havick’s forces in the fall, Malata had been locked down by the fierce winter storms that swept around the Western Archipelago; There was no raiding, and only a little fishing near the in-shore waters, but that hadn’t stopped some of the dragons of the Western Isles from taking an interest in us. I spent years dreaming of this day, and got into a lot of trouble sailing to Sym’s island just to be brushed off by her hatchlings, I thought a little ruefully, when all I needed to do was to get into a fight with Havick!<
br />
  Of course, I knew that wasn’t entirely true – there was a whole lot more going on that had made the dragons come to our aid. But when I was in a bad mood, it at least felt good to have something to grumble about.

  Thank goodness someone was taking an interest, I thought, frowning as Danu’s eyes glazed over once again.

  “Danu! Come on – we need to get them ready before…” my anger failed me as my words trailed off into silence. Danu’s eyes snapped into focus once more, shadowed and worried as he nodded. He knew as well as I what was coming. With spring would come not just fairer weather – but Havick’s return to terrorize the southern half of the Western Archipelago – the Free Islands of which Malata was but one.

  “I’m sorry,” Danu shook his head. “I don’t know what is wrong with me today…”

  You’re spending too long out on the harbor with all the other of my dad’s sailors, I thought but didn’t say. But it was true. Over the winter we’d all had our fair share of work to do – there was the wreckage on the Bone Reef that needed sorting and clearing from the battle (we’d had a lot of good bits of salvage from that!) as well as general defenses that needed replacing after the fury of the winter’s waves, and before the Roskildean fleet returned. Father had his dock teams working from break of dawn until after dark, rebuilding the walls, re-caulking the hulls of the boats, and making a thousand other minor repairs – all of which Danu threw himself into, often staying for the harbor-side bonfires afterwards.

  If I didn’t know better, I would have said that he liked this life.

  “Incoming!” Senga shouted from above, howling with laughter as Kim swooped low across the bay and extended her back legs just like a fishing eagle, to snatch Senga’s spluttering idiot brother from the wave tops.

  “You have to admit, that was a good move,” Danu grinned.

  It was. But I wasn’t going to let a chance maneuver spoil my bad mood. “They’re doing this on purpose. They’re just playing about!” I said, incredulously. Even Kim appeared to be enjoying herself as she whistled and called to her brother Thiel to join them.

  “No, wait!” I waved my hands at the other Blue, but it was already too late. He roared in his young, bullish voice, letting out a puff of flame as he and the two humans on his back dipped even closer to the bay. Thiel trailed his foreclaws along the waves, sending up huge plumes of white water over his sister.

  “Bah! Right, that’s it!” Senga laughed indignantly, pointing for the blue dragon underneath her to do the same.

  “Not with Adair underneath you, for heaven’s sake!” I groaned, watching as Kim dropped Adair in the harbour waters with a plop and circled back to antagonize her own brother.

  “This is ridiculous.” I growled at the spectacle. “I’m supposed to turn them into fighting fit Dragon Raiders, not children messing around on the backs of dragons!”

  It wasn’t as if we even had enough Raiders or dragons wanting to fly together. Although Sym’s brood visited our skies, only the younger dragons took an interest in the day-to-day life of the Raiders, despite my cajoling. And of the Raiders? Only those around my and Danu’s age showed any interest in dragons, ever since the battle for Malata when they had seen just how devastating an angry dragon could be.

  But it wasn’t enough, I thought. We couldn’t always rely on Sym to decide to fight our battles for us, the Raider part of me thought.

  “Why claim that tomorrow it will rain?” Crux’s reptilian voice breathed soot into my mind.

  “Huh?” I said.

  “You humans. Always borrowing trouble from tomorrow, when you have enough today!” I could feel the mirth in his words. “For now, sister-Sym fights with you, until we can find the witch that attacked the dragon newts. You have the same goals as her.”

  Almost, I thought, not wanting to disagree outright with Crux, the Phoenix dragon I had bonded with and that Danu and I rode. (Who does ever want to argue with a dragon?) But still – I knew it wasn’t enough.

  “Lots of my people lost their lives during the Battle for Malata,” I murmured, my eyes wavering towards where the shell of my father’s flagship, the Ariel, was still shackled to the harbor wall, undergoing repairs from the barrages of cannon shot that had rained down on it.

  “And many dragons were injured!” Crux replied indignantly. He, too, still had a ragged hole in the leather of his wings that had only closed-up a little, and still gave him trouble in strong winds.

  “I know that, my dragon-brother,” I sat down on the boulder feeling frustrated and useless. Danu still stood in front of me, starring glassy-eyed at the horizon as if he was asleep standing up. Maybe I’m not the only one who is being useless, I grumbled to myself, turning instead to Crux. “And believe me, I never want to see any of your kind hurt for us – not you, not anyone. But I’ll be asking the Raiders to fight Havick’s fleet – maybe not just his fleet, but also his armies as well. I don’t want to ask that of any who aren’t bonded.”

  There was a moment of silent regard from Crux, which could have meant anything. Finally he spoke. “You are wise to want to rely on yourself, Lila Wave-Rider, and not just the good wishes of sister-Sym. But you should let the dragons of the Western Isles come to their own decisions about when and with whom they will fight. They might surprise you.”

  And with that rebuke, he was gone from my mind, leaving me feeling even more stupid than before.

  Just great. I really had annoyed a dragon.

  “Woohooo!”

  My grumbling thoughts were broken by another plume of water thrown up by the antics of the young dragons and few brave human Raiders on their backs. I scowled.

  “Don’t be so harsh on them, Lila.” Danu said lightly, rubbing his eyes as if they hurt. Oh great, I forgot about that, Danu can hear and speak to all dragons, and only when Crux has chosen to speak to me alone are our conversations private. But Crux didn’t have the same notions of privacy that I had. Where I might have a private word with a crewmate if I wanted to tell them off – Crux would just blare it out to every dragon (and Danu) that could hear it. “At least humans and dragons are having fun together?”. Danu said. “That’s, uh…more than you could say four months ago.”

  “Four months ago we were fighting for our lives, Danu,” I muttered back, wondering how to get through to them all that this was serious – it wasn’t a game!

  “Urk.” The sound that Danu gave was very slight, and for a split second I thought he was just going to yawn – until his body thumped to the grass at my side, out cold.

  Pre-order Dragon Crown at

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  BLURB

  The once-peaceful kingdom of Torvald has been ravaged by evil magic, forcing Riders to forget their dragons and their noble beasts to flee to the wilds. Now, anyone who dares to speak of dragons is deemed insane and put to death. Into this dark and twisted land, Saffron was born sixteen years ago. Cursed with the ability to see and talk to dragons, she’s been forced into a life of exile and raised by wild dragons—secretly dreaming of a normal life and the family she lost. But as her powers become more uncontrollable, Saffron knows she must find her family before she hurts herself—or worse, her dragon clan.

  Scholarly and reclusive, Bower prefers to spend his days reading about the legends of the Dragon Riders—even if being caught means death. But as the son of a noble house on the brink of destruction, it falls to him to fulfill a mysterious prophecy that promises to save his kingdom from the rule of the evil King Enric. When fate brings him into contact with Saffron, Bower gains a powerful ally—but one whose wild, volatile magic threatens their very lives.

  Their friendship might just have the power to change the course of history, but when King Enric makes Saffron a tempting offer, their alliance will be shaken to the core.

  Get your copy of Dragons of Wild at

  AvaRichardsonBooks.com

  EXCERPT

  The Salamander Prophecy:

  ‘Old and young will unite to rule the land fr
om above. Upon the dragon’s breath comes the return of the True King. It will be his to rebuild the glory of Torvald.’

  (date and author unknown)

  Vance Maddox

  The city is in uproar. I have never seen the like—even in the old days when the wild dragons would raid from the north. Never has there been so much terror, so much bloodshed and so much anguish. Screams fill the air as people are thrown from their homes. The ringing of bells, the call of the Dragon Horns, and above it all the fire and shriek of the agonized, enraged dragons.

  Another beam from the roof splinters and explodes in a shower of sparks on the flagstones at my feet. I dodge to one side. Through the gap in the tiles above I see the red and orange scales of something vast and threatening. The dragon tries once more to get at us inside—to get at me!

  “Protect the prince!” I call to the guards, all of them Maddox men and women like myself: tall, light-haired and pale-skinned. They have that rangy look those of the Maddox line never seem to quite outgrow.

  “Captain!” The guard chief gives me a quick, stern nod. Gone are the smiles and the fine tunics that marked this small group of bodyguards as ambassadors. We’ve all thrown aside finery, replacing it with the hardened steel and iron armor of my family.

  A hissing roar comes from above. The red-orange dragon once again throws its weight onto the roof. We can all hear the intake of its breath like a giant bellows.

  “Flame shields,” I call, falling to one knee and holding up the specially-treated oval shield over my head, and not a moment too soon as a firestorm bursts into the hall from the dragon.