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A prequel to Dragon's Milk (1991), explaining how there came to be dragons in a hidden valley. Since Kara can call birds, the king sends for her to call, not birds, but dragons, because he has sworn to eradicate them. After Kara summons the dragon that once nursed her, she's outraged and appalled when it's killed. Escaping to the mountains, she stumbles on the dragons' lair; and although those there fear and despise her for the death, they agree to let her lead them to a warm, isolated place known to Kara's love, Kazan, a young trader. The plan works; the dragons are saved, and Kara joins Kazan. It's all a little forced and contrived--the story never quite explains why Kara is foolish enough to call the dragon that's killed, or just how the dragons would be led to a promised land she's never seen. But then, high fantasy need not compute, and there's a satisfactorily remote, stern, and romantic air here that will please fantasy buffs. (Fiction. 10+)
