Bankrupt auction-house intern Leo, to repay his debts, puts a forged dragon scale up for auction on the black market. He never expects this scale to draw the last black dragon in the world—Kael. Before the auctioneer’s gavel falls, Kael’s tail cuts through the crowd, coils around Leo’s waist, and announces for all to hear: “You stole from me. Now you’re mine.” When dragon hunter Grim and creditor Marcus join forces, shoot a dragon-fang arrow into Kael’s wing bone, and pin him under rubble, Leo realizes he can no longer stand by. He breaks his dislocated thumb to slip free of the gold chain, runs barefoot back to the battlefield, and puts his own body between the dragon and danger. In that moment, in the ruins, the dragon bites his tongue until it bleeds and feeds Leo his dragon blood, pouring his breath and ley-line energy into Leo’s body. From then on, an unbreakable contract of shared senses binds them.
