Dragon Unleashed

Halani is a free trader in the Krael Empire, where magic is outlawed and the penalty is death. She was born with earth magic and keeps it hidden. When her uncle buys a piece of bone said to come from a long-dead draga, she senses it is far more than a curiosity.

Dragas have not been seen in over a century, and most people think they are extinct. They are not. Some still live among the Empire's people in human form. Malachus is one of them, and his time is running short: the magic that has shielded him will turn against him unless he finds a missing piece of his heritage.

His search leads him to a band of free traders. Among them is Halani, an earth witch who robs graves and keeps many secrets. She fascinates him and frustrates him in equal measure.

Neither knows that the Empire's empress is hunting a draga of her own, intending to capture and kill it as a trophy. Malachus, who came as the hunter, becomes the prey. Halani must put herself and the people she loves at risk to protect him from the Empire and from the danger of his own nature.

This is a romantic fantasy with a shapeshifting hero, a healer heroine and a cruel empire as the enemy.