Prince Chris rides triumphantly into the imperial capital after surviving eight bloody years of relentless frontier warfare, expecting a hero's reception. Instead, he discovers Queen Maggie has seized tyrannical control of the realm and condemned Chris's first love, a rebellious scholar, to immediate execution. Standing bound at the executioner's scaffold is young Zoe, a fierce seven-year-old child who unexpectedly manifests the royal dragon flame.
Realizing the captive child is the secret daughter he never knew existed, Chris draws his sword against the imperial guard to halt the execution. With Maggie's inquisitors hunting magical bloodlines across the realm, Chris abandons his royal birthright to defend his newfound family. He must mobilize dissident lords and awaken dormant dragon forces to topple the tyrannical queen before his child's extraordinary gifts cost them their lives.
