You can do everything right . . . and still lose.

Harper Tavros always dreamed of being a dragon rider. But after a prank went horribly wrong—or right—she ended up bonded to an utterly ridiculous and insanely brave griffin instead. A bond that can only be broken in death. Together, Harper and Felix graduated the Tennessan Bonded Training Academy and proved themselves during their first six months on active duty even as the war with Savinia heated up.

Now, every mission is more dangerous than the last.

Griffin riders are the eyes and ears of the Tennessan military, an advantage unmatched ever since their enemy’s griffin riders vanished from the battlefield years ago. So when a dying Savinian griffin shows up at a Tennessan fort, Harper and Felix are dispatched to retrieve the message she carries—a plea for help from Savinia’s last griffin riders.

A plea Tennessan can’t afford to ignore.

Harper and Felix are assigned to the team tasked with unraveling the mystery of Savinia’s griffins. Their mission will take them deep behind enemy lines and into the dreaded Southern Smoke Mountains. After everything goes wrong, Harper and Felix will be pushed to their limits.

When every choice leads into the fire, their only option is to burn . . . and let the flames temper them into something stronger.