Juliette Cross

Firebird

DELUXE EDITION--featuring beautiful original illustrated stenciled edges with a foil case stamp, and designed endpapers An instant New York Times bestseller House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy. A conqueror captivated... A witch prophesied to save them all... An unforgiving world where dragons rule Rome. Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate. The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her. Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can't believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality...and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle's machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself. As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both. Firebird is an adult romantasy novel that contains dark themes, including slavery in Ancient Rome, which may be uncomfortable for some readers.