Kassian, the Dragon Prince, relied on Laila’s phoenix fire to maintain his false Dragon Mark, but during the coronation ceremony, he drained her of her life force in order to have the noble maiden Aurelia take her place as queen. On the brink of death, Laila awoke to her true power, forcing the Dragon King to kneel before the public and exposing the royal Dragon Pact as a fraud.
Academy Dean Vilor immediately branded Laila a harbinger of disaster. Instead of fleeing, Laila united with students without the Dragon Mark, artisans from the Lower City, soldiers of the Broken Wings, and forces from the North to establish “Wings of Freedom.” She sought not only revenge but also to prove that even without a master, the sky would not fall.
When Vilor threatened to bring down the entire empire to force Laila to wear the crown, Cassian finally knelt before her, begging her to return the Dragon Flame. Laila refused to become the new controller, allowing the dragons to choose their own riders once more and ensuring that everyone involved in the old system would face justice.
