Battle of Black River

Conflict has torn the kingdom of Layr apart. Now two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a war that could mean the end for dragonkind. **This is the prequel to Blood of the Dragon. It is a short story of approximately 8,000 words.**Ava Hart’s life is ordinary, just like it is for most seventeen year old girls. She goes to school, studies hard and has everyday boyfriend troubles, that is, until one night in November. Ava’s mum is killed by a drunk driver. Ava’s world is turned upside down over night. Everything she held dear is taken from her. She believes she has no one to turn to. However, her fears that she is now all alone in this world are short-lived, when her estranged father makes an unexpected appearance at her mum's funeral .He turns up and announces that he wants to make amends for the past. His first act is to offer her a new home in Harrogate. And so, at the age of seventeen, Ava leaves the security of the life she knew with her mum to begin a new and more privileged life with a family she never knew existed. After a tough beginning in Harrogate, Ava, slowly finds the strength, with help from new friends and family, to re-build her life. But before she has time to fully recover from her recent trauma, her heart falls into the hands of a stranger, albeit one who has already had a hand in shaping her past.