Dragon's Tithe

Every ten years, the dragons descend. The chosen are taken. And none ever return. Eighteen-year-old Elara has spent her life surviving in the forgotten lower realms, where poverty is a death sentence and the floating kingdoms above rule without mercy. Her only purpose is to protect her sick sister, Mila. But when the dreaded Dragon's Tithe arrives early, Elara makes an impossible choice: sacrifice herself to save the person she loves most. Dragged into the towering Spire of Aethelgard, Elara discovers the horrifying truth. The Dragon Academy is no place for heroes. Human recruits are treated as expendable prey, forced through brutal trials while the privileged Elven elite train to command the skies. Survival should be impossible. Until something ancient awakens. Deep within the mountain, a legendary Elder dragon begins speaking directly into Elara's mind. Powerful, dangerous, and bound by secrets older than the empire itself, the creature recognizes something in her that no one else can see. Defiance. As deadly trials, royal schemes, and forbidden magic threaten to destroy her, Elara discovers that the dragons are not the only creatures living in chains. And the bond she was never meant to possess could bring an entire kingdom to its knees. They took her as a sacrifice. They never expected her to become their greatest threat. Dragon's Tithe, Book 1, is a gripping dark epic fantasy filled with dragon bonding, deadly academy trials, ancient magic, ruthless power struggles, and a fierce heroine determined to challenge an empire.