Informationen zum Autor ELIZABETH LIM grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised on a hearty diet of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Before becoming an author, Elizabeth was a professional film and video game composer, and she still tends to come up with her best book ideas when writing near a piano. An alumna of Harvard College and the Juilliard School, she now lives in New York with her husband and her daughters. Elizabeth is the New York Times bestselling author of Spin the Dawn , Unravel the Dusk , Six Crimson Cranes, and the upcoming Her Radiant Curse . She is also a contributor to Disney's A Twisted Tale series. Visit her at elizabethlim.com Follow her on Twitter at @LizLim Follow her on Instagram at @elimpix Klappentext NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the critically acclaimed author of Six Crimson Cranes comes the thrilling next adventure! A journey to the kingdom of dragons, a star-crossed love, and a cursed pearl with the power to mend the world or break it... Fans of Shadow and Bone will devour this soaring fantasy. Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon's pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined. She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood. The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori's aid one minute, and betraying her the nextthreatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she's fought so hard to win. Leseprobe CHAPTER ONE The bottom of the Taijin Sea tasted of salt, slime, and disappointment. But for a few faint beams of mysterious light, it was darker than the deepest chasm. Hardly the magnificent watery realm dragons were said to call home. I sat up on Seryu's back as he slowed, his long whiskers vibrating toward one beam in particular. Maybe I'd imagined it, but the beam shone brighter than the rest--almost violet. You ready? Seryu asked. Ready for what? I thought, but I nodded. With a flip of his tail, he dove through the violet beam--and everything changed. The water turned azure, and puffs of coppery mist hissed from beds of sand and crystal. And light! There was light everywhere, radiating from an unseen sun. My heart began to race with anticipation, and I clung to Seryu's horns as he accelerated down, swimming so fast that I almost let go of my breath. We're almost there, Kiki, I thought excitedly in our shared, unspoken language, but she didn't respond. A peek into my sleeve told me why: my poor paper bird had fainted. I didn't blame her. We were moving at dizzying speeds, and my head pounded like a storm when I tried to see straight. But I couldn't afford to faint. I didn't even dare close my eyes. I wanted to see everything. At last we arrived at a labyrinth of bright coral reefs, fathoms below the mortal sea. Seagrass swayed in an unseen current, dunes of white sand and gold-veined rocks dotted the grounds, and canopies of braided seaflowers formed the roofs of underwater villas. So this was Ai'long, home of the dragons. It was a world few mortals would ever glimpse. At a glance, it didn't seem so different from land. In place of trees were pillars of coral, some slender and some thick, most with spiraling branches adorned with bracelets of moss. Even the way the fish glided, their tapered...

Klappentext

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the critically acclaimed author of Six Crimson Cranes comes the thrilling next adventure! A journey to the kingdom of dragons, a star-crossed love, and a cursed pearl with the power to mend the world or break it... Fans of Shadow and Bone will devour this soaring fantasy.

Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon's pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood.

The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori's aid one minute, and betraying her the next—threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she's fought so hard to win.

Leseprobe
CHAPTER ONE

The bottom of the Taijin Sea tasted of salt, slime, and disappointment. But for a few faint beams of mysterious light, it was darker than the deepest chasm. Hardly the magnificent watery realm dragons were said to call home.

I sat up on Seryu’s back as he slowed, his long whiskers vibrating toward one beam in particular. Maybe I’d imagined it, but the beam shone brighter than the rest--almost violet.

“You ready?” Seryu asked.

Ready for what? I thought, but I nodded.

With a flip of his tail, he dove through the violet beam--and everything changed.

The water turned azure, and puffs of coppery mist hissed from beds of sand and crystal. And light! There was light everywhere, radiating from an unseen sun.

My heart began to race with anticipation, and I clung to Seryu’s horns as he accelerated down, swimming so fast that I almost let go of my breath.

We’re almost there, Kiki, I thought excitedly in our shared, unspoken language, but she didn’t respond. A peek into my sleeve told me why: my poor paper bird had fainted.

I didn’t blame her. We were moving at dizzying speeds, and my head pounded like a storm when I tried to see straight. But I couldn’t afford to faint. I didn’t even dare close my eyes.

I wanted to see everything.

At last we arrived at a labyrinth of bright coral reefs, fathoms below the mortal sea. Seagrass swayed in an unseen current, dunes of white sand and gold-veined rocks dotted the grounds, and canopies of braided seaflowers formed the roofs of underwater villas.

So this was Ai’long, home of the dragons.

It was a world few mortals would ever glimpse. At a glance, it didn’t seem so different from land. In place of trees were pillars of coral, some slender and some thick, most with spiraling branches adorned with bracelets of moss. Even the way the fish glided, their tapered fins spread out like wings, reminded me of birds soaring across the sky.

And yet . . . it was like nothing I’d ever seen. The movement of the water, constantly tossing and turning, was revealed by flashes of color and flurries of fish. The way the seagrass tickled the fish that swept by, as if they could speak to one another.

Seryu smirked as I drank in the view. “I told you you’d be dazzled.”

He was right, of course. I was dazzled. Then again, Ai’long was meant to astound mortal eyes such as mine. That was its danger, after all. Its trap.

A place so beautiful that even time held its breath.

Every hour you spend here is a day lost at home--if not more, I reminded myself sharply. That time would add up quickly, and I’d been away from my father and brothers so long I didn’t want to waste a single minute.

Let’s go. I signaled with a kick to the dragon’s long serpentine side.

“I’m not a…