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Chapter One

Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outerplains—or just Elina for those who are lazy—carefully made her way up the mountain toward her destiny

It was, of course, not a destiny she wanted for herself This had not been her plan for her life But she didn’t have a choice, did she? The leader of her tribe, Glebovicha, had ordered her to take on this task Glebovicha had said it was to help Elina get a reputation she could be proud of a their tribe Even, perhaps, all the Tribes of the Steppes that were under the rule of the Anne Atli herself But Elina had no delusions about any of this

Her life was over nothis pathetic existence out as long as she could e And who knew? Perhaps the end would be quicker and o to hell with her ridiculous task

So Elina continued to climb that mountain Devenallt Mountain, it was called Deep in the heart of Southland territory Said to be the ons’ feared queen

It was a big, ier hters of the Steppes, or as others called the people At one time, the Steppes had been broken into rando marauders It had been a nasty way to live, and the females of those tribes had ended up on the worst end of it all, often ripped from one tribe to another, forced to leave their children and families behind so they could be the concubines of some male they didn’t know

Then, four, o, a female warrior named Anne Atli had been born The first Captain of the Riders, she’d had a ith horses, and she’d possessed skills eaponry that put her above all others She eventually took all the power, destroying any who challenged her And she did it again and again until finally, she united the tribes under her banner and turned the attention of the warriors from each other, to those who attacked the Steppes to raid and plunder

Since then, the Daughters of the Steppes had ruled the land and the Anne Atli, Mother of the Steppes Riders, ruled theiven to the next in line by birth, but to the one willing to take it for her own and keep it while still honoring the woun it all

Of course, Elina was not willing to take anything She’d never be willing She had no interest in ruling the Steppes She had no interest in being a warrior But each of the tribes under Anne Atli’s banner still cared about its individual reputation, and “having you around, doing nothing,” Glebovicha had told Elina,Elina doubted considering Glebovicha’s personal reputation She was a feared tribal leader, and Elina was one of many in the tribe But Glebovicha hated her Violently, it seee and kill the one they called the White Dragon Queen

So here Elina was nowcli ones that surrounded the Steppes Those, it was said, had dragons in them, too, but Elina had never on She could have gone her entire life having never on and been quite happy about it

That was no longer an option, though So she cli up a tent against the ht so she could sleep Thankfully, she did not turn in her sleep That would have beenunfortunate

On the fifth day, Elina finally reached the top of Devenallt Mountain She pulled herself up over the final rock face and stayed on her knees, taking in deep breaths as she thanked whatever horse god