The Dragoness of Truth: Book one, School of Dragons

By Stephenie Fay Corbin

About the Book
Eighteen-year-old Ara has just lost her parents. In the aftermath of their death, she finds strange and beautiful artifacts hidden away. With the sudden appearance of Ethan, an old friend of her parents, she begins to learn the incredible truth: Her parents were dragon royalty, a Fire and Water dragon, and she is the first and only offspring of dual lineage. Ethan tells her of a school for dragonkind, to learn to control their dragon forms and magic, and Ara takes a leap and attends.
Ara, along with her new friends, begins to learn all about being a dragon and mastering her powers. But as her powers grow, a darker force is watching, waiting for her to come into her own so he may claim her as his own and break a centuries’ long curse.
About the Author
Stephenie Fay Corbin resides in Central Pennsylvania. She has three silly dogs who help her with everything. She has loved dragons ever since she was little and has written stories since she was in the second grade. In her spare time, she enjoys writing and watching movies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Jan 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798888125021

Book preview

Dedication

To my Dad in Heaven who always believed in me.

Chapter

One

The day of her parents’ funeral was the worst day of Ara’s life. She stood, numb, in the shower so long the water ran cold. She got dressed in a black sweater and skirt, drove to the cemetery, and drove to the service without really noticing.

The whole thing was a blur, and after her parents’ few friends came around to tell her Sorry for your loss, and to ask if she needed anything, she would just nod her head and say, Thank you. Even after everyone left, she just stood there.

She couldn’t believe that a week ago, her parents were alive and happy, then a drunk driver had ruined it all. Her parents had gone out shopping for her birthday, and on the way home, had been driven off the road by the drunk driver, and hit a tree. The doctors all said they felt nothing and died instantly, but Ara didn’t care, it was her fault.

They’d been out for her; it was her fault. Now, on her eighteenth birthday, she was burying her parents.

She stood there, until it started to get dark. Turning to go, she spotted a short, dark-haired man leaning against her gray hatchback. She walked to her car, with every intent of ignoring him.

Aramana Firestream? he asked very calmly.

Yes, she said. Who are you?

My name is Ethan, Ethan Black. I was a friend of your parents growing up.

That stopped her in her tracks. Her parents had a few close friends, but with her parents’ jobs, they had moved every few years and didn’t have a lot of old friends. She took a closer look at him; he appeared to be around her parents’ age. He was short, around five foot three; he had short cropped black hair; he had olive colored skin, bright green eyes, and a pearly white crooked smile. She wasn’t very impressed by what she saw.

They didn’t talk much about their past much. All they ever told me was they were both only children, and that their parents died young.

That’s true. Look, it’s getting late. Here’s my card. Call me if you want to talk.

He handed her a small glossy business card.

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Thanks, I’ll think about it. She shoved the card into her purse, got in her car, and started to drive away. She glanced in her rearview mirror, and saw Ethan climb into a big black SUV.

Weirdo she thought. She pushed him to the back of her mind and drove home.

Chapter

Two

A week later, Ara stood at the bottom of the attic stairs. Her parents had everything in order, and she had gotten a big inheritance. She was selling the house; she had her own apartment, and had cleaned and organized everything except the attic.

She slowly climbed the stairs. She had never been allowed up here alone. She cracked the door open and held her breath.

It was just as she remembered. All the boxes were labeled with their contents, her mother’s doing, and neatly stacked.

Well, she said to herself, I have to start somewhere. She grabbed the closest box and started her work.

After hours of sorting things into piles of keep and donate, and what felt like hundreds of trips up and down the stairs, she was finally done. She took one last look around and spotted a small dust-covered chest shoved in a corner, almost the same color as the attic itself.

She walked over to it, not remembering having seen it before. She blew the dust off the top and was amazed. The top was covered in intricate carvings of dragons. It was beautiful, and also, locked.

She peered closer, and the lock was heart shaped. Ara took off the locket her mother had given her last year for her birthday and opened it. Instead of pictures inside, one side held a small ruby, and the other a small sapphire. Her mother had told her it was their birthstones.

She closed the locket, tears in her eyes, and held it to the lock. It fit perfectly, and when pressed, the lid clicked open.

Ara put the necklace back on and opened the trunk.

Inside, she found photos of her parents when they were younger. She looked just like her mother, except she had her father’s amber-colored eyes.

There were pictures of her parents with whom she assumed to be her grandparents. There were even some of her parents with a younger version of Ethan.

She lifted up her mother’s wedding dress, when something sparkly caught her eye. There was a small indent, just barely big enough to get her finger in, that pulled up the top part of the chest, revealing a false bottom.

The chest was filled with gold and silver coins, precious gems of all shapes and sizes, jewelry, pearls, and on top of them all, sat two beautiful scepters.

She delicately lifted the first one up. It was about two feet in length, a rod of black onyx with a huge Western-style dragon wrapped around it. The dragon was made of red and orange precious gems, with wings wrapped around the top, almost closed in the front. The dragon’s head rested on the top of the rod, two eyes made of onyx and a giant ruby in its gaping maw.

She sat that aside and picked up the other. This one was made of white quartz. It had an Eastern-type of dragon wrapped around it. These dragon scales were made of blue and light green precious gems. Its eyes were white quartz, and in its maw was a giant sapphire.

Underneath the scepters were pictures of her parents, obviously at their wedding, with her mother holding the onyx scepter with a silver crown on her head, and her father holding the quartz with a golden crown on his brow. They were smiling, and looked happy; her grandparents were there, and so was Ethan.

Ara couldn’t believe it. She delicately put them back in the chest and put everything away. She sat there a moment, stunned, when she remembered Ethan had given her a card when they met.

She rushed downstairs and dumped the contents of her purse all over the table. She searched through everything, frantically, flinging things everywhere when she finally found the crumpled card. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialed the number.

It rang a few times, when a nasally female voice said, Black and Sons Shipping, how may I help you?

My name is Aramana Firestream. I am calling for Ethan Black.

One moment, I will transfer your call.

Mrs. Firestream, how can I help you?

Well, I found some old photos of my parents, while cleaning the attic, and… something else.

Something else?

It’s hard to explain over the phone. Can you come out to my parents’ house and check it out?

Sure, what’s the address? I don’t have anything on my calendar this afternoon.

It’s 428 Riverside Drive. It’s the last house on the right.

That’s quite a drive. I should be there in an hour and a half. See you then.

Thanks, and she hung up. She