Hey everyone! Today I've got an excerpt from Heather McCorkle's new book, The Dragon Empire to share with you all! I've actually featured this author before on the blog when I reviewed her book, To Ride a Pùca. To see my review, click HERE. Now, before I get on to the excerpt, here is some more about McCorkle's new book! :)
On Yacrana dragons are the advanced species. But advanced doesn't always mean civilized...
There's trouble in the Dragon Empire, the kind that could start a war between dragons and the races of people. Hidden factions of dragons believe they should rule the lesser races, not simply stand aside and allow them to develop as they will. Having lived so long in peace, the Emperors turn a blind eye, many oblivious that such attitudes even exist.
Despite being only an architect class, emerald dragon, Grendar is willing to risk banishment and death to stop that which his rulers refuse to see. The hope of peace lies not within the scaled breast of a dragon however, but within the hands of a group of people. But if the hidden factions have their way, these people won’t live to fulfill such a destiny. With a reluctant seer at his side, Grendar must leave his precious Empire for the outside world to save those that will one day save his kind.
The Excerpt
What he was seeing could be the death of him, he knew, yet Grendar couldn’t look away. The undergrowth that had been hampering his progress through the jungle no longer seemed thick enough to conceal him. His hearts pounded and his throat constricted. What if they saw him? The human guise he was wearing wouldn’t exactly protect him, not considering what they were doing.
Through the ferns and palm fronds he could see them: four dragons the color of a starless night sky. At over twenty feet from hindquarters to nose, they were twice Grendar’s size. They gleamed in the tropical sun, their obsidian-colored scales contrasting with the bright blood on their long snouts and claws. On the beach before them was the source of all that blood. The partially eaten bodies of several people lay scattered about the sand like tortured and discarded dolls. The biggest dragon—one Grendar knew well—held a body beneath one of his massive forelegs. He reached down and tore a chunk of flesh from it, scarcely chewing before he swallowed. Both the sight and sound made Grendar flinch, the motion feeling foreign in a human body.
A breeze blew off the ocean, its salty essence tainted with the reek of carrion and death. Bile stung the back of Grendar’s tongue and nausea rolled through his stomach. People were protected, and for good reason. To kill one, let alone eat one, went against the creed of the Dragon Empire. Such a thing would get a dragon banished.
Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo
Rachel xoxo
Hi! :D
ReplyDeleteThis book looks good! I'm actually quite a fan of dragon books, so I'll have to check this out! :p xxx
I remember your glowing review of To Ride a Puca! I still have it for review (*guilty face*) but my mum has read it as she liked the sound of it and she said it was brilliant. Heather McCorkle is such a lovely author, too! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of this book, who doesn't like dragons?! :D Thanks for posting, Rachel <3