An Age of Ashes

Summary: Sagari was raised to be useful. She is an Azhirah, one of a species brought back from extinction and raised by humans who believe they know what is best for them. At the Hatchery, Sagari learned how to survive by pretending to be exactly what people expected her to be. She learned early that appearing harmless could be as useful as obedience. Then a foreign king buys her. Taken from Sinthara and delivered to the riverland empire of Ishtaraya, Sagari is meant to become a Temple Guardian: a creature trained to live among humans and serve them, and perhaps become something far more dangerous. Meanwhile, the court is already wondering what else a flying Azhirah might be made to do. Ishtaraya is an empire built on conquest, slavery, and the obedience of those who have no power to refuse. Among its soldiers, slaves, and the Devasiya who are the invisible backbone of the empire, Sagari encounters people who have little reason to care what happens to her, and plenty of reasons to care about what happens to themselves. As Sagari grows, she becomes entangled in the lives and ambitions of the people around her, and in conflicts far larger than the purpose for which she was bought. She was raised to be useful. No one thought to ask what she might want.