Brief

Dragons hiding in plain sight protect the humans from supernatural forces.

What We Liked

- This story follows Denae as she navigates a new world hiding in plain sight. On her journey we meet plenty of interesting characters and watch her newfound romance blossom. Fantastical elements include dragons, characters both good and bad from other realms, and a world filled with love, betrayal, and hope.
- Film: The author has clearly set up a franchise storyline with this piece. Fantasy elements reminiscent of Lord of the Rings.
- TV: This could work as an episodic series. Plenty of great cliffhanger moments and new characters introduced throughout. Character arcs to follow and good vs evil tropes.
- Key points: Shape shifting dragons; Story of romance at its core; Interesting characters; Big action sequence potential; Could appeal to audiences across several demographics.

Synopsis

In the middle of the night, a beautiful young woman runs through a heavy forest in complete darkness toward her objective. Given nothing more than a GPS coordinate, Denae Lacroix, 29, reaches a small pool of water with her partner Matt. They know what to do, as both strip off their clothing revealing wetsuits and quickly dive in. In an instant, everything goes terribly wrong and her life is forever changed. She is a highly skilled operative working in the UK for the elite spy agency MI5. She’s an up-and-coming agent and a real go-getter but she is about to be double-crossed. Once in the water, while navigating an underground tunnel, her partner cuts away her air supply with a blade and begins shooting at her. Amazingly she avoids the bullets and comes up for air in a cave inside a mountain. Her mission details were vague and unclear and she finds out why. Matt tells her that he was given orders to kill her because the agency planned to use her as bait. However, she proves to be tough as nails, and with a blade to the heart, she kills Matt instead.

Denae blacks out from her injuries, but unbeknownst to her someone else is in the cave witnessing the entire incident. His name is Kellan, he is immortal, handsome, and he had been asleep in the cave for many centuries. He also happens to be a shape-shifting dragon king. Shifting to his human form, Kellan calls to Constantine (the Dragon King of Kings) to inform him of the security breach and then takes her lifeless body to their manor for questioning. With the betrayal fresh on her mind, Denae cooperates and gives the little information that she has about her mission. She was to follow the coordinates, cross the border into Dreagan, and infiltrate the cave reporting back any information found on the ground.

Despite the unconventional introduction, Denae and Kellan both feel an undeniable mutual attraction for each other, even if Kellan despises all humans. In the past, dragons were meant to protect humans but just like Denae, they were also double-crossed and were forced to go into hiding. Constantine instructs Kellan to get close to Denae by any means to squeeze out further information she must be hiding. Suddenly, Rhi, a friend of the dragon warns that “something” is closing in fast on Dreagan and Denae needs to be moved to safety. Ultimately she is correct when on their way they are ambushed. After barely managing to escape capture, they learn MI5 agents have joined forces with bad actors from another realm called the Dark Fae or Dark Ones.

With all the conflict, imminent danger, and not to mention sexual tension, emotions are running high and Kellan and Denae give in to their instincts and make love. The bliss doesn’t last long as another attempt is made and this time they are both captured by the Dark Ones. Once again, Denae wakes up in an unfamiliar situation. Kellan is in chains and they are locked in a holding cell underneath a castle in Ireland. Taraeth, leader of the Dark Fae, tortures both of them using Denae as leverage to pry information out of Kellan. When Taraeth steps out, Rhi appears and is able to help Denae escape who in turn breaks Kellan’s restraints. He is enraged and a massive battle ensues between the dragons and the dark army. Taraeth manages to escape but with one less arm, thanks to Denae’s sword. The team safely retreats back to Dreagan with a lot of unanswered questions still remaining.

Denae returns to her childhood home in Texas where Kellan makes an unexpected appearance to confess his love, promising her an eternal partner if she accepts his hand in marriage. Denae returns to Dreagan to wed and becomes his mate and dragon queen.

About The Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her "totally addictive" and "unique and sensual" stories. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features a thrilling combination of dragons, Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible.