Book excerpt: Dragons are a lusty lot known for grinding their lovers into dust. Talan'alaith'illaria is no exception and has found no man or woman her match or equal in a thousand years. That changes when Raine, the sole survivor of two mythic races, stumbles across the ancient dragon queen in her lair. Raine possesses her father's strength and her mother's passion, and the combination ignites the dragon's desire to an inferno. Talan, greatest of the twelve ancients, at last finds her perfect lover. Their domestic bliss does not last long, however, as events conspire against their peace. The Hyr'rok'kin, monstrous demons of the underworld, are spewing forth from the Empty Land. Raine is called to join a band of humans, elves, and dwarves in a quest to stop the invasion. She fears no enemy, no injury, not even death itself. But something is waiting at the Gates of Hel, something that seeks to separate Raine from the dragon she is bound to for all of time.