There’s been a change in the power dynamic … thanks to a gift from the last adult blue dragon, Jadora has had both dragon knowledge and power imprinted into (onto?) her, making her the most powerful mage on Torvil. She puts it right to work in her lab, working still for Uthari, the despot king. Why she wouldn’t have tested herself against the powers that be, I really don’t know, and I rather wished she had. It wouldn’t have been out of keeping with her character. Missed opportunity, to my mind.
Still, there’s a boatload of action going on in this book as stuff starts to unwind … plots are being derailed all over. This is the chaotic part where authors maniacally laugh and readers wring their hands. As at least three of our characters (two main) were flying off to certain doom at the hands of Uthari, the massed grey dragons put on offensive that decimated the lands and flying cities in the varied kingdoms. Uthari has also pushed a regicide agenda … and Jadora is still working for him in the hopes that he’ll lighten up. Sigh. There’s a bright spot for Jadora though … her relationship with Malek.
This has all the hallmarks of a Buroker book, with the exception of the smart, sassy female lead. Right now, she’s being pretty dumb. We’ll see if she steps it up in the next, last book.