Emberfall: The Gathering storm

Three months after a blacksmith's son and a wounded dragon first defied a kingdom built on fear, Kael Ashford has a war on his hands - and forty followers have become fourteen hundred. Princess Elowen must turn scattered goodwill into real alliances, courting border lords one careful negotiation at a time, while Kael's own sister Wren discovers a bond of her own: a young, wingless dragon named Skyra, broken by captivity and desperate to trust again.But growing a rebellion means giving it more to lose. A mercenary company with a fearsome reputation marches to crush them before they can become a real threat. A trusted ally hides a secret that could unravel everything from the inside. And in a distant capital, Lord Malric has stopped underestimating the girl who escaped him - and started preparing something far worse than soldiers.As alliances are tested, loyalties are questioned, and the first real battle for the kingdom's future draws near, Kael, Elowen, and Vaelith must learn that holding a rebellion together is a different kind of courage than starting one - and that the storm still gathering may cost them more than they're prepared to give.