Alle Kapitel von The Dragon Thief: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 5

**A special thank you to my Delta, Angela, for writing the poem that you'll see throughout this novel.Let this be read in whispered halls,Where shadows linger and embers call.A tale of fire, of sky, of strife,Of stolen eggs and secret life.SkylarI look at myself in the mirror as my maids put the finishing touches on my hair while adding the royal jewels to my neck, wrists, and ears. Being a princess has its privileges.It also has its struggles.My father, King Augustus, is returning home tonight. He’s been away for a week, so the entire kingdom will be celebrating his return. Since I am an only child and my mother died when I was very young, I was in charge of making sure that everything was ready for this evening.My father was out hunting dragon eggs again. I hope, like the last three times he went out, that he comes home without an egg.There are six colors of dragons – the rarest are the golden queens. They are the most powerful of all dragons. Their mates are primarily the

Dragons of old, with eyes like stars,Held truths more vast than mortal scars.Their eggs, like jewels of breath and flame,Now fall to hands that know not shame.SkylarI watch as my father and his soldiers enter the castle walls. My father looks smug and proud.“My people, we have done it,” he says, uncovering the golden egg and lifting it above his head.Everyone around me gasps, then applauds, as if stealing a dragon egg from its mother is something to be celebrated. I ignore my own aversion to the practice and clap along with everyone else.“Call everyone in and lower the portcullis! The dragons will be coming for this one.” My father’s voice booms through the courtyard.He gets off his horse, carefully holding the egg, as one of the stable hands comes to get his horse.“Get the horses secured quickly,” he says, turning to his soldiers. “Get the torches lit and the harpoons manned! Hurry,” he says, before striding quickly in my direction. “Prince Kenneth, Skylar, come with me.”K

Yet midst these lords who seek to reign,One soul stands silent in her pain.She walks in silk and royal thread,But moonlight masks the life she’s led.SkylarThe moment my father raced off, I went straight to my bedroom. In the very back of my closet, I have the dark cloak that I wear when I steal eggs and sneak out of the castle. I quickly change out of my high heels and into shoes I can run in, and then put the cloak over me.As I make my way back to the egg, I’m thankful that everyone is either panicking or rushing to fight. In my cloak, no one pays me any attention.I can hear the roaring of multiple dragons outside, feel it in the shaking of the concrete walls of the castle, and smell it in the dust and debris that shakes loose as the walls quiver, fighting to maintain their position while the dragons roar threatens to bring them down.The moment I’m back at the dragon egg, I wrap the long silk scarf I brought around my neck, tying in in a knot and letting it hang to my waist.