Valeria is a half-blood dragon speaker bound by blood contract to Duke Loris at Golden Wing Dragon Fort. For eight years she has done the actual work of calming the swarm, while Katrina, the saintess she substitutes for, collects the title and the credit.
When Katrina's reckless order causes a disaster, the blame lands on Valeria. She breaks the oath instead of taking it, and the Black Dragon Court takes her in. There, the ancient black dragon Cedric offers her a pact between equals rather than a leash. Without her, Golden Wing's dragons slip their handlers, and Loris has to live with what he threw away.
