Waking in Darkness

Aithne's dream has come true. Years of rigorous training and unwavering dedication pay off when she is Chosen by a dragon, Saphir. Together, they will join the Wybren ranks in defense of Slan. Two steps remain to make their bond complete. First, Aithne must undertake a quest to find a unique stone that will become the beacon that connects her to Saphir. Once Aithne crafts it, she must use it to summon Saphir to a random place. The process will bond them for the rest of their lives. But nothing goes according to plan. When a pair of female mages kidnaps her, her life takes a turn she never saw coming. Briant is finding it harder than he thought to fit in. He's convinced that the necromancer he killed was a small part of a larger plot, but no one else believes it. Not with winter coming. The more people disagree with him, the more anxious he gets. On top of that, his magic reacts differently than his friends' magic. When Tanwen assigns him to accompany a diplomatic team to Commain, his initial irritation becomes relief, then fear when they realize establishing a relationship with their neighbor will be harder than they thought. No one saw the trouble coming, and it's bigger than anyone expected.