The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)

by Samantha Shannon

The dragons watched her. It was said they could see the deepest secrets of a soul, for human beings were made of water, and all water was theirs.

“This is the finest dancing pearl in his possession, caught off the coast of Seiiki,”

A dragon pearl?

“Even so, our master believes that the origin of the pearl does nothing to dull its beauty.”

She had only avoided sharing their death because she had chased a butterfly out of the house, to the sea.

“Wherever I am,” Tané said, “I am with you.”

Siden, the gift of the orange tree—a magic of fire and wood and earth.

They drink and smoke and laugh with one another, but all I can do is continue to refine my skill. After fourteen years of preparation, the water in me will not run true—and I am afraid, Susa.

I felt like this all throughout high school. I had to focus so hard on studying and homework while everyone else had fun and skated by.