Crown of Feathers

Crown of Feathers book cover

### Summary In Library of Congress

Veronyka, sixteen, leaves her controlling sister and disguises herself as a boy to join a secret group of warriors who ride phoenixes into battle

### Publisher

Simon Pulse

**Crown of Feathers** is the first book in the series. It is told from primarily three perspectives, Veronyka, Tristan and Sev, with Val narrating the epilogue.

## Synopsis

*I had a sister once...*

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders-legendary warriors who soared through the sky on wings of fire-until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.

*I promised her the throne would not come between us.*

Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider like the heroes of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders-even if it means disguising as a boy to join their ranks.

*But it's a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled.*

Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders' return and intends to destroy them once and for all.

*Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.*

Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy novel about love's incredible power to save-or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen who would rather see her empire burn then have it fall into her sister's hands.

## Brief Summary

Veronyka and Val attempt to hatch phoenix eggs, but only one hatches, and bonds with Veronyka. Val is mad. Sev, a soldier finds Veronyka and her phoenix Xephyra, and keeps it a secret, because as an animage, he won't betray them. Val finds Sev and almost kills him, and scolds Veronyka for being careless for her bondmate. Out of frustration, Val kills Xephyra. Veronyka realizes how cruel her sister could be, and runs away to try and find the Phoenix Riders. She finds them, but learns that they only accept boys, so she disguises herself as Nyk and joins them. Tristan is the one to find Veronyka and is accidentally humiliated by her, so he treats her poorly. Together, they get over their differences, and he helps train her, while she helps him get promoted to Master Rider. Veronyka learns that not even the Phoenix Riders are perfect, as they refuse to recruit girls, and female phoenixes are forced to be breeders. Val finds Veronyka at the Eyrie, and brings Xephyra. Val tries to poison Veronyka's mind to have them unite. However, when Veronyka realizes the manipulation, Val reveals that Veronyka is a girl to Tristan.
While all of this is happening, Sev is attempting to escape his life as a soldier. Unfortunately, Trix notices, and blackmails him to join her rebellion. Kade, one of the bondservants is forced to work with him to help stop the soldiers from attacking the Phoenix Riders. The two grow closer, and the Empire learns of the Riders' location. Sev and Kade split up so Sev can deliver phoenix eggs to the Riders, while Kade serves as a distraction. Sev delivers the eggs and warns the Riders of a large attack. Veronyka and Tristan work together to help defend the Eyrie, but not without casualties. One of the female phoenixes, Xolanthe dies, while the other, Xatara flees. Veronyka reveals the truth of her gender to everyone else, and becomes an apprentice. Sev offers to be a spy for the Riders, and goes back to join the soldiers. Veronyka meets with Val one last time, and learns that Val is Avalkyra Ashfire, the warrior queen from years ago, who has resurrected herself. The epilogue, in Val's point of view reveals that Val still has her own plans, and that Veronyka isn't her sister, but her niece.

## In-Depth Summary

### Chapter 1

The chapter begins with Val, remembering Pheronia, and how she wondered whether she would've loved her had she known what would've happened between them.

Veronyka, using her owl guide, searches for animal bones to hatch phoenix eggs in their fireplace. She worries about taking too long when she sees that the smoke coming out of their home is diminished, and she runs in to find her sister, Val, already having gotten bones that are implied to be human. Val immediately begins to scold her for the bones she got and bringing her owl guide into their home, and launches into how loving them was a weakness, bringing up the example of phoenix bonds, which causes Veronyka to remember the Phoenix Riders, and she, despite having been wiped out after the Blood War, wanted to become one, and bring them back to the skies. She also remembers how they bribed their way into Pyra, their parent's homeland, in order for them to try and achieve that goal. She remembers how, after the Blood War, Pyra had become a dangerous place, but safer for animages as it had separated from the Empire. She thinks about how their luck had finally turned when Val had found two perfect phoenix eggs in the wilderness, and how every time she got too excited, Val would scold her and tell her not to rejoice yet, in case they didn't hatch because of a problem in their incubation, causing it to be as somber as a funeral pyre. When Veronyka makes the Eye of Axura on her forehead, Val scolds her again, telling her not to follow silly superstitions like a peasant, even though they hadn't had a proper home since they were children, which had simply been a hovel in the Narrows of Aura Nova. In an attempt to change the subjects, Veronyka turns the conversation to Val's wellbeing, which Val doesn't care about, especially since they found the eggs, as her sights and thoughts are on other, distant things. When Veronyka begins to worry about whether they would starve on the little food they had left, Val, using shadowmagic, tells her off, causing Veronyka to put her mental defenses back up, and to think about how, if they were caught as shadowmages, which were much rarer than animages, they would certainly be turned in on the basis of myths, and how Val was perfectly fine on using it on Veronyka. Using shadowmagic, Val tells Veronyka to guard her mind, and Veronyka thinks about how Val uses her shadowmagic to control people when she bartered for food and clothes, and how, despite only communicating with her with it, had been tempted to control Veronyka when she defied her. As Veronyka announces that she's making dinner, she puts up her mental defenses, and thinks that her defenses were usually kept up better, but as they had been tending the fire for two whole days, their emotions had become raw and on the surface, both their excitement at getting phoenixes, and the worry that all of it would end up being for nothing, and how cooking would help distract her. When Veronyka smells Val's tunic smolder from being too close to the flames, she returns, to find the first egg beginning to hatch.

### Chapter 2

The chapter begins with Val, remembering how her birth killed her mother, and compares herself to a phoenix rising from a pyre.