LEGEND: Dragonrider Legacy Book 3 by Nicole Conway ***Guest Post -- Excerpt***
Legend
Dragonrider Legacy
Book 3
Nicole Conway
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Month9Books
Date of Publication: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1948671361
ASIN: B07M59GM4D
Number of pages: 384
Cover Artist: Title and cover design by Danielle Doolittle
Cover illustration by Tatiana A. Makeeva
Tagline: In a war of gods and tyrants, the will of the dragonrider must never falter.
Book Description:
Captured and tortured by the brutal tyrant, Argonox, Reigh’s worst fears have now been realized. Argonox has successfully twisted his mysterious dark power for a truly evil purpose—reanimating the long-deceased legendary dragonrider, Beckah Derrick, and her monstrous king drake. But Argonox’s cruelty won’t end there, and Reigh fears the worst is yet to come. Rescue is unlikely as the Tibrans prepare to make their final strike, poised to break Maldobar’s ranks of proud dragonriders once and for all.
With many of its cities already captured by the Tibran Empire, all hope now rests with Jaevid, Princess Jenna, Phillip, and their mismatched band of dragonrider allies to lead the last stand and save their kingdom. Even in such frightful times, Jaevid may find he still has a few old friends ready to take up their weapons and stand at his side again. But facing down Beckah is perhaps the one thing that might break Jaevid’s resolve. Can he really strike down the woman he used to love in order to save the kingdom?
One final battle will decide the fate of our heroes. Can the strength dragonrider prevail once again? Or will the Tibran Empire become Maldobar’s new legacy?
“Bravery is not an immunity to fear—it is rising up to meet it with the hope that nothing is impossible.” — Sile Derrick, FLEDGLING
LEGEND is the final book in Nicole Conway’s trilogy DRAGONRIDER LEGACY, which also includes SAVAGE and HARBINGER.
Want more dragons?
Check out Nicole Conway’s bestselling quartet
Guest Post
DRAGONRIDER TRIALS SNEAK PEEK
“Thatcher,” Jaevid warned. His tone had taken a sharp edge of seriousness.
I snapped my mouth shut and straightened.
“Being a dragonrider doesn’t mean you like fighting or that you enjoy hurting people. In fact, it’s the opposite of that. We fight so that others don’t have to. We’re warriors, yes. However, we are guardians—first and always. We protect each other and the people of Maldobar. That’s what the dragonrider brotherhood is built upon. That’s what you would be a part of. Fornax has already decided that you’re worthy of that honor, but you have to decide for yourself if that’s the life you want.”
My stomach clenched as my brain struggled to process all that. Being a guardian didn’t sound so bad, honestly. But I still wasn’t sure I was really cut out for that. Fornax couldn’t even see me—how could he possibly know if I was the right person for this? What if we couldn’t work out a way to fly together? What if I lost my nerve at the wrong moment and someone got hurt because I didn’t—
“Where’s your whistle? The one you’ve been using with Fornax?” Jaevid asked suddenly.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the slender brass whistle and held it out for him to see.
Without a word, Jaevid swiped the whistle from my palm. Then he took the strange, elven-styled necklace from around his neck and threaded the whistle onto the woven resin cord. It hung right next to the white, bone-carved pendant as he held the necklace out to me. “Here.”
“B-but that’s, I mean, isn’t that necklace something the Gray Elves made? Isn’t it special to you?”
A hint of sadness flashed over his features as he stared down at the pendant. “It was a gift from my mother a long time ago. Wearing it always made me feel closer to her, like I wasn’t alone in the world. It kept me going until I was able to make a family and a life of my own. Now that I have, it’s … become more of a sad reminder of what I lost. But years ago, it did make me feel braver. Perhaps it’ll do the same for you. Consider it a gift of good faith.”
I eyed the necklace, watching the sunlight glint of the polished white pendant. It wasn’t much bigger than my thumb and engraved into a sleek pointed oval with a twist on one end. The tiny etchings on its surface made swirling designs and spelled out words in the elven language that I couldn’t read.
Slowly, I reached out and took it from Jaevid’s hand. “Thank you.”
He smiled, although there was still a hint of sorrow in his pale eyes as I put it around my neck. “If you ever begin to question whether or not you have a place among the dragonriders, look at it and remember your dragon believes that you do … and so do I.”
Excerpt
Bellowing howls and thunderous booms shook the ground under me. The sound of snarls, snapping teeth against scales, and shrieks of pain seemed to come from every direction. I recognized the deep inhale and throaty hiss, followed by the roar of flames. A dragon was spitting its fiery venom so close by I could smell the acidic tinge of it lingering in the air. The low hum of something huge swooshed right over me, probably missing me by inches. A tail? Wings? Gods only knew. But I couldn’t even lift my head to see.
The brawl seemed to end as abruptly as it had begun. No more roars. No more flame. A break in the commotion with only the distant sound of the battle to fill the silence.
A soft whine and series of pops, clicks, and chirps resonated against my ear and a hot blast of musky breath blasted over my cheek. I felt it. Something huge was looming over me. But I couldn’t move or open my eyes.
A rough shove rocked my senses, rolling me over so that I flopped onto my back. More hot breaths blasted against my face. I didn’t have to see her. I knew it was Vexi. It took every ounce of strength left in my body to will my eyes open. The end of her big green nose was right in my face, smelling me and whining. She licked at my forehead, one big swipe of sticky dragon spit up the bridge of my nose all the way to my hairline.
“H-hey there,” I managed to rasp weakly.
She chirped, huge blue eyes blinking down at me with concern. Curling her scaly body around me like a protective living barrier, she laid her head on the ground right next to mine. Her ears perked toward me and nostrils puffed in deep, as though she could sense I was in bad shape.
Too late, I realized that leaving her, trying to send her away, was by far the stupidest thing I’d ever done. That’s saying something, I know. Doing stupid stuff was basically my life’s hobby. But Kiran had told me about the loyalty of dragons many times. And right after Vexi chose me, Jenna had said something about it, too. She’d said that our bond was special—that Vexi would stick by me no matter what, even in death. At the time, I hadn’t understood what that meant.
Now I did.
About the Author
NICOLE CONWAY is an author from North Alabama. She graduated from Auburn University in 2012, and has previously worked as a graphic artist. She is happily married with one son.
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