Royal Dragon Rider Gareth abandons little Talia beneath falling ruins, racing on his black dragon to rescue the woman he once loved and her son. As their child dies, dragon blood heiress Elowen transforms her heartbreak into a ruthless reckoning. With her fortune, the courts, and an Echo Cylinder, she unmasks Mira, takes back her dowry, and dissolves their union. Gareth discovers the cost only after everything he treasured is gone.