Blood — Tony Shillitoe

If the Dragonkin take possession of the Genesis Stone, they will be all-powerful, immortal, and nothing will withstand their vengeance against the humans who tormented them in the past - but the Alfyn Old Ones stand between Ashan'e and her Dragonkin because they stole away the Genesis Stone and keep it hidden. The key to the great dragons repossessing their future is the fulfilment of a prophecy, through a cruel bargain with the Ashuak Dragon Priests. Grandson of a Dragon Priest, and distinguished military general, Sukaal Vekesh is commissioned to take command of Sekesu, the Ashuak Empire's southern province, a place exploited by Ashuak merchants who build their wealth on enslavement of the local Jaru population. A soldier of honour, Vekesh finds the sordid corruption in Sekesu distasteful, but he painfully learns that greed is more important to people than respect, and the province he inherits is embroiled in a merciless struggle between the rulers and the ruled. Against the tapestry of Jaru rebellion, led by the mysterious Death Tiger, two Jaru warriors, Shana and her brother, Kael, fight for their lives in the arena, for the entertainment of the Ashuak rulers, and become beacons of hope for the oppressed. In the Ashuak capital, Alwyn, a Jaru orphan raised by his adoptive father as a teacher, discovers he has a fascination and capacity for magic, which attracts the attention of the Dragon Priests, who see in him the answer to the Dragonkin's prophecy. But Alwyn is drawn to his lost Jaru heritage, and begins a quest for identity that has unforeseen consequences.