Cast in Flight

## **Blurb**

New York Times *bestselling author Michelle Sagara returns to the city of Elantra with a thrilling tale rife with ancient magic, assassination attempts and political intrigue.*

Private Kaylin Neya already has Dragons and Barrani as roommates. Adding one injured, flightless Aerian to her household should be trivial. Sure, the Aerian is Sergeant Moran dar Carafel, but Kaylin's own sergeant is a Leontine, the definition of growly and fanged. She can handle one Aerian.

But when a walk to the Halls of Law becomes a street-shattering magical assassination attempt on the sergeant, Kaylin discovers that it's not the guest who's going to be the problem: it's all of the people who suddenly want Moran dar Carafel dead. And though Moran refuses to tell her why she's being targeted, Kaylin is determined to discover her secret and protect her at all costs—even if keeping Moran safe means dealing with Aerian politics, angry dragons and something far more sinister.

## **Plot**

Assassins try to kill wing-injured Moran while she, Kaylin, and Bellusdeo are walking to work at the Halls of Law. The Aerian High Court claims exemption, and somehow is granted it despite public damage and injuries to non-aerians; Kaylin asks around indignantly, including Nightshade, a shadow-tainted invisible man hired by Hawks to get prophecies out of Margot, and wingless Lillias at Evanton's shop, where she learns that Outcaste Aerians have their wings cut off and left to die.

Further questioning reveals Moran was born with wings marking her as the Illumen praevolo (caste leader and holder of flight magic), but a bastard to a low-caste mother; she survived three assassination attempts as a youngling, then slapped the High Court's collective face by moving to a menial position with the Hawks rather than be around the would-be childkillers. They had more-or-less accepted the insult until her wings were damaged beyond flight in the attack of the Barrani Ancestor on the High Halls, and now they are trying to kill her again so someone else can be born with the magic wings. The second attempt involves three Aerians with a shadow-net; two are captured, vomiting up the shadows possessing them on the stairs, then being murdered by fellow Hawks their cells.

The Emperor Dariandaros comes for a dinner with Bellusdeo, which goes a long way to getting the two to better understand and respect each other, but also solidifies Bellusdeo's opposition to romance. The fraught meal is further complicated by the presence of the Hawklord Grammayre and Nightshade. The next morning at work, an arcane bomb goes off in a supply closet; the schrapnel showing shadow-magic enhancement. Kaylin and Moran are ordered home, but rather than stay, Moran puts on her ceremonial robes and bracelet of power, and returns to work, accepting the fealty of the Aerians on duty. A great deal of discussion with Evanton, the Arkon Lannagaros, the Barrani Consort, and her supercilious arcanist Evarrim eventually reveals that Moran can fly without healed wings (which she does to help Kaylin reach a difficult birth), that Aerians who saw Moran as a threat and insult to their aristocracy and religion have been trying to steal her praevolo-ness, that they may need her dead body for its wings or bracelet, and that most likely this involves the outcaste Black Dragon using shadow magic.

Moran, Kaylin, Severn, Bellusdeo and the awakened Barrani Mandoran and Annarion go to the Southern Stretch to confront the Aerian arcanist and Dar Carafel leaders; almost immediately violence ensues as an imposter praevolo reveals himself as the Outcaste, but his followers are slow to abandon him. Eventually, Moran uses her astonishing wings and magic to ground all the aerian rebels, then faces off against the Outcaste; he has poisoned Bellusdeo with shadow, and Kaylin and Mandoran were infected when they cut it out of her, but she uses her understanding of the runes to outmatch his simple reading of them and resist falling under his spell. When it's clear they are at a stalemate and reinforcements are on their way, he retreats back to Ravellon.

Lillias and Moran meet again in Helen, who builds a flight room for them, promising to keep it even though Moran will need to move to the Southern Stretch Aerie to lead her people.

## List of Characters

1. Kaylin
2. Helen
3. Annarion
4. Nightshade
5. Hope
6. Mandoran
7. Bellusdeo
8. Moran
9. Tain
10. Teela
11. Marcus
12. Severn
13. Grammayre
14. Gennet
15. Clint
16. Grethan
17. Evanton
18. Lillias
19. Maggaron
20. Tanner
21. Rakkia
22. Margot
23. Caven
24. Hanson
25. Lannagaros
26. Dariandaros
27. Nevaron
28. Ybelline Rabon'alani
29. Caitlin
30. Emmerian
31. Marya
32. Keira
33. Consort
34. Evarrim
35. Ynpharion
36. Aguila
37. Makuron
38. Diarmat