Dragonslayer

In the present, seven-year-old Wren is dressed by her parents and taken up a mountain, believing she’s attending another lecture from the village dragonmancers. She doesn’t realize she’s being taken to be sacrificed to a dragon. The three dragonmancers of Talisman seize her and begin the Gift for the Dragons ceremony. Recognizing the ritual from a book she’d stolen from them, Wren fights furiously, injuring the dragonmancers before they tie her up. Her parents and the villagers abandon her on a stone slab overlooking a river without looking back.

Wren realizes the dragonmancers chose her because they dislike her rebellious nature, and her parents allowed it. Her brother Leaf was deliberately taken hunting by their uncle to keep him away. Feeling utterly betrayed, she unties herself and decides she no longer needs anyone.

Crossing the river, she discovers a tiny, pale orange baby dragon tangled in branches. The dragonet is shivering and cold, which puzzles Wren since sky dragons are supposed to have fire. She frees it, and it immediately clings to her for warmth. A large rust-colored dragon with a burn scar on its cheek flies overhead, hunting. The baby dragon trembles in terror. Wren hides them both, speculating that the adult dragon abandoned the baby.

Wren names the dragonet Sky and decides that people are untrustworthy, but she and her dragon will be amazing together.

Eight-year-old Leaf, Wren’s brother, hates dragons and the restrictive rules they impose on life in Talisman. His parents constantly preach obedience and fear. Returning from a hunting trip with his uncle, Leaf is told that Wren wandered off and was eaten by dragons. His parents blame Wren’s disobedience for her death.

Leaf feels angry rather than afraid, questioning why his parents aren’t mad at the dragons. He argues that the dragonmancers failed to protect Wren. His parents defend the dragonmancers, warning him never to speak ill of them. When Leaf declares that he wants to kill dragons, his mother insists that no human has ever killed a dragon.

His oldest sister Rowan, listening from the loft, interjects that Leaf should know about the Dragonslayer. Despite their parents’ attempts to dismiss it as myth, Rowan recounts the legend: A young man killed the sand dragon queen, cut off her venomous tail as proof, and escaped with her treasure, becoming the wealthiest and most powerful man in the world. Their father’s mention of a partner the Dragonslayer abandoned convinces Leaf the story is true.

Inspired, Leaf grabs a piece of firewood as a pretend sword and vows to become the next and greatest Dragonslayer, swearing that one day every little sister will be safe.

Ivy is the daughter of Heath, the Dragonslayer and lord of Valor, an underground city built by survivors of a dragon attack. She grows up hearing her father’s heroic tales of killing the sand dragon queen, with the preserved venomous tail displayed in their home. The treasure her father claims to have stolen is supposedly hidden in a secret place, though Ivy suspects her mother has never seen it either.

At age six, Ivy begins noticing inconsistencies in her father’s claims. He takes credit for a tunnel to the underground lake that her mother and other women actually dug. At seven, she questions her teacher Miss Laurel about the recent banishment of Pine, a Wingwatcher who visited the ruins of the old village. Ivy points out that her father visits the ruins regularly, but Miss Laurel deflects, insisting that the Dragonslayer cannot break his own laws. Ivy suspects that her father created the law specifically to punish Pine.

Her friends Daffodil and Violet, having overheard, invite Ivy to join their secret club, the Truth Seekers. They vow to uncover the truth about Pine and everything else. The experience prompts Ivy to wonder what else her father has lied about. That night, studying illustrations of dragons, she has the forbidden thought that perhaps her father didn’t have to kill the dragon queen and wonders what the dragons’ version of the story would be.

During their first year together, Wren discovers that Sky is unusual for a dragon. He adores animals, especially snails, and refuses to eat meat, preferring nuts and berries. When Wren kills a rabbit for him, he cries. She also notices that he shows no signs of breathing fire, which she initially attributes to his age.

Now about eight years old, Wren travels south and west with Sky, avoiding the swamp’s hostile mud dragons. They cross the mountains toward the vast, terrifying desert. Wren misses reading and wishes for a map. She begins learning dragon language from Sky, teaching him human words in return.

One night, they discover a cave where five young dragonets of different colors play together peacefully. One appears to be reading a scroll, surprising Wren. She’s shocked to see different dragon types coexisting, which supports her belief that dragons are morally superior to people. Sky watches the dragonets with deep sadness, particularly as two breathe small flames to stoke their fire.

As clearly as she can, given the language barrier, Wren offers to help Sky join them. She worries that he’s lonely without any dragon friends, but he tearfully insists he’s happiest with her. When a full-grown red dragon with a burn scar—the same one from the river—enters the cave, Sky trembles in terror. They flee.

Reflecting on the younger dragonets breathing fire despite being smaller than Sky, Wren finally realizes Sky has no fire at all. She concludes that this is why he was abandoned and comforts him, telling him he’s perfect the way he is.