Dragonslave - Dragonslave, #1

I was raw iron they put into the furnace, and made shapeless and malleable.  Then they poured me into a mould of their own making and by the time they chipped that mould away, I was something horrifying.  Something they tell me, time and time again, that they consider beautiful. Avrea was only a child when she was stolen from her village, stolen because she had the potential to become an askenszar - a dragon rider.
The Dragon Empire spans the world.  All humanity pays tribute to the Dragon Emperors, whose power depends entirely on the askenszari.  All dissent, all resistance is mercilessly crushed by searing jets of fire from the sky.  But what if one of the askenszari turns on the Emperor?  And what if an askenszar loves one in the rebellion's camp as well as the Emperor's?