Talon. Julie Kagawa

      

      In Julie Kagawa’s groundbreaking modern fantasy series, dragons walk among us in human form.

      Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

      Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

      Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon’s newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey—and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him—and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Books by Julie Kagawa available from HQ

      The Talon Saga

      Talon

      Blood of Eden series

      (in reading order)

      The Immortal Rules

       The Eternity Cure

       The Forever Song

      The Iron Fey series

      (in reading order)

      The Iron King*

       “Winter’s Passage”** (ebook novella)

      The Iron Daughter*

      The Iron Queen

       “Summer’s Crossing”** (ebook novella)

      The Iron Knight

       “Iron’s Prophecy”** (ebook novella)

      The Lost Prince

      The Iron Traitor

      *Also available in The Iron Fey Volume One anthology

       **Also available in print in The Iron Legends anthology, along with the exclusive Guide to the Iron Fey

      Talon

      Julie Kagawa

      ISBN: 978-1-472-05515-6

      TALON

      © 2014 Julie Kagawa

      Published in Great Britain 2014

       by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

      All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

      By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

      Version: 2018-12-19

      To Laurie and Tashya, who dreamed of dragons with me.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

Booklist

       Title Page

       Dedication

As One, We Rise

Part I

       Part II

       Epilogue

       Acknowledgments

       Questions for Discussion

       Extract

       Copyright

As One, We Rise

Part I

      Observe. Assimilate. Blend in.

      Ember

      “Ember, when did your parents die, and what was the cause of death?”

      I stifled a groan and tore my gaze from the car window, where the bright, sunny town of Crescent Beach shimmered beyond the tinted glass. The air in the black sedan was cold and stale and, annoyingly, the driver had engaged the child safety locks so I couldn’t roll down the window. We’d been stuck in the car for hours, and I was itching to get out of this moving prison and into the sun. Outside the glass, palm trees lined the road, and charming villas shared the sidewalk with weathered gray shacks advertising food, T-shirts, surfboard wax and more. Just beyond the pavement, past a strip of glistening white sand, the Pacific Ocean shimmered like a huge turquoise jewel, teasing me with its frothy waves and countless beachgoers splashing freely in the glittering water.

      “Ember? Did you hear me? Answer the question, please.”

      I sighed and settled back against the cold leather. “Joseph and Kate Hill were killed in a car accident when we were seven years old,” I recited, seeing the driver’s impassive gaze watching me from the rearview mirror. Beside him, Mr. Ramsey’s dark head bobbed in affirmation.

      “Go on.”

      I squirmed against the seat belt. “They had gone to see a Broadway musical, West Side Story,” I continued, “and were struck by a drunk driver on the way home. My brother and I went to live with our grandparents, until Grandpa Bill developed lung cancer and could no longer take care of us. So we came here to stay with our aunt and