In this hilarious fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Story Thieves series, a girl strikes a deal with the ancient, cranky dragon she accidentally summoned to teach her the forbidden magic she needs to save her mother. STOP. Don´t read any further. There are magic spells in this book, and the Emperor has forbidden anyone from learning magic, because it´s way too dangerous! If you try one of the spells, any number of terrible things might happen (or so the Emperor says). Don´t be like Ciara, a twelve-year-old girl living in the tiny village of Skael. When she used a spell from within this book, she ended up summoning a dragon. A DRAGON! Those things breathe fire! From their mouths! She´s obviously doomed. And don´t listen if Ciara tells you that dragons won´t hurt humans, and that they even once taught us magic, a thousand years ago. Definitely don´t pay any attention to the fact that the dragon she summoned, Scorch, might be willing to help rescue Ciara´s mother and free her village from the Emperor and his Warden, because it´s all obviously a big lie. So put this book down, and forget about it. Magic is just way too dangerous. After all, you wouldn´t want to summon your own dragon, would you?