A picture commissioned by Sekkite from the amazingly talented Sciggles from a scene from my up and coming book. The first in a Trilogy called The Dragon's Storm.

Sithen had heard the cracking of the shell a moment before a dove grey body spilled
out wetly onto the hard stone of the cave. It had lain flat for a moment with the wings
spread out to both sides and staring around with eyes that changed colors rapidly.

Sithen's heart almost stopped when he saw the short horns were curved
downwards at the tip so that they almost brushed the curve of her cheeks. They
weren't the long almost straight horns of a male, but the curls of a female. He pushed
onto his paws and for a moment hadn't been able to move forward. His world had
shattered and remade itself in the span of a heartbeat. He was not alone.

The drake had felt the sudden wash of disgust as the little one spat the fish offered
and creeled out her hunger. The simple touch of unrefined emotions soaked into his
mind like rain on the desert. He luxuriated in the very beauty that her mind had
reached out to him, and he stepped forward. The female had hissed a warning for him
to back away and he lifted his lips in his own warning and used his larger bulk to force
her away from the hatchling. The carrick's job concerning the egg was finished!

The beautiful bundle of grey scales and multi-hued eyes watched both of them with
evidence of intelligence rather than the animalistic hunger of the other hatchlings. The
carrick kits were loud and annoying. They had hatched days ago and he had been
forced to drive the female to tend to the remaining egg. He had no intention of letting
her grow up believing she was a carrick, a crippled parody of a dragon. The female
hissed behind, but he ignored her, his world consisted of the youngster that lay in a
damp pile on the ground at his feet.

He lowered his head and snuffled softly before reaching out to brush his thoughts
against her mind. He felt her hunger keenly and disgust at the fish that she'd been
offered. It had been cold and disgusting. She wanted something still warm and rich with
blood. His eyes roamed over her body and treasured every inch of her. The wings
would be broad and as long as his own, her scales were dove grey that faded towards
black at her appendages and her eyes.

Her eyes boasted layered irises that widened and contracted with angry oranges
and gold at having to wait for her meal. Eyes the likes of which he hadn't seen in
centuries. Her infant thoughts were so indistinct, but to him they were nothing less than
miraculous. He wanted to bathe in them, but her hungry thoughts weren't stilled by the
stoat he had given her. If he had known she would hatch so soon he would have had
fresh meat waiting.

Sithen rumbled to himself as he stared up at the skies above him. He drew in a
deep breath of the air and tasted with it the new scent of his hatchling. What a queen
she would be! His chest swelled with a feeling of victory and the sudden sensation that
his world was more solid today. He leapt into the skies with a snap of his wings and
the feather light brush of the hatchling's thoughts rode with him.

He had no way of knowing when she would hatch. He had brought the carrick and
her brood to his Lair, but he couldn't judge his egg's age. He had only known that the
thoughts had grown more distinct each and every day. He had started to sing softly to
those thoughts and wrap his mind around them. He could remember when he was
young and mated how long it took his eggs to reach hatching readiness, but he had no
idea how long it had been hidden away or how long.

He had searched for days for the rest of her clutch. He had torn the cave open
that he assumed she came from, but he hadn't found her. He had found signs of a
human recently inhabiting the place which enraged him. If he hadn't been so distracted
by the egg he would have gone to the village and meted out his punishment. Even
thinking about it made him lose a bit of altitude as he mastered his anger.

It was obvious that she was healthy. He had been worried that her time in the
shell would make her stunted. He hadn't heard of an egg being hidden in stasis for so
long without a guardian. By rights the egg should have been destroyed by the weather
and cold, but it had hatched a live and happy baby. It made his wings feel light as he
skimmed the clouds and angled his flight towards the place he'd last seen the deer
herds.

The sky was starting to show the fiery red hues of sunset in streaks that ran
overhead. The colors bathed his normally silvery-grey scales in vibrant crimsons and
oranges. Watching the colors ripple over them turned his mind to his hatchling. She
would need a hatching-name.

Duskwing. His chest threatened to burst with pride. I shall call her Duskwing.

She would grow. He would bring back a summer fattened buck for her to gorge on
until her stomach was round and full. He would make sure that she was fed on the best
that he could find as she grew. He would see that she grew into her wings and name.
His mind felt dizzy at the idea of another flying by his side after so long. He pumped
his wings higher in the air and executed a rolling twist in the clouds. It was a good day
to be alive.

The book is now live and available on Lulu, Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Nook Version: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/captured-by-fate-kristen-koller/1111480336?ean=2940014793575

Amazon:

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Captured-Fate-Book-Dragons-Storm/dp/1477500340/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1339255018&sr=8-8

E-book: http://www.amazon.com/Captured-Fate-Dragons-Storm-ebook/dp/B0089XB5AE/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339255237&sr=1-4

Lulu

E-book: http://www.lulu.com/shop/kristen-koller/the-dragons-storm-captured-by-fate/ebook/product-20180857.html

FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/TheDragonsStorm