Archaeologist Elara Vale has spent four years digging through Verdancia for proof that dragon history began far earlier than the accepted record. Then her team uncovers an egg sealed inside an ancient stone box, surrounded by offerings and marked with a symbol from a dynasty thousands of years old. If the dating is correct, the discovery could rewrite everything scholars believe about dragon migration. It could also ignite a conflict among the clans surrounding the site. Kael Draven has been irritating Elara since the day he first wandered into camp. The local dragon shifter is arrogant, flirtatious, far too attractive, and always more interested in the dig than she thinks he has any right to be. When he finally sees the egg, his teasing disappears. He knows what it means. Then he steals it. Elara refuses to let the most important discovery of her career vanish into clan politics without a fight, even if chasing Kael means entering a world of dragon loyalties, old claims, and secrets no academic paper prepared her to navigate. Kael has his own reasons for believing the egg is the key to a future he has been denied. The problem is that the stubborn archaeologist determined to stop him may matter just as much. Rivalry becomes reluctant cooperation as the mystery surrounding the egg deepens, and every answer raises the stakes for both human scholarship and dragon society. Elara came to Verdancia to prove a theory. Kael came looking for something his people lost. Neither expected an ancient relic to choose the path between them, or to force them to decide whether the past belongs in a museum, a clan, or the hands of whoever is brave enough to protect its truth.
Archaeologist Elara Vale has spent four years digging through Verdancia for proof that dragon history began far earlier than the accepted record. Then her team uncovers an egg sealed inside an ancient stone box, surrounded by offerings and marked with a symbol from a dynasty thousands of years ol...