The Dragon Thief (the Last Dragon Empire, Book 1)

Join the adventure in book one of critically acclaimed Ellen Oh's Last Dragon Empire series! Perfect for fans of Impossible Creatures, Greenwild, and How to Train Your Dragon.

"A treasure of a story." --Tui T. Sutherland, New York Times bestselling author of Wings of Fire

Life is hard for Duri and her family. Her mama is sick with the blood plague and her papa struggles to find work, taking whatever jobs he can get. Then one day the crown prince's guards break down the door, ransack their home, and arrest Papa, along with others throughout the kingdom. The prince has been robbed, and he will stop at nothing to get back what's his. The last thing Papa says to Duri is to help their family--all of them. Duri has no idea what that means.

When a boy named Rio arrives that afternoon looking for Papa, Duri realizes this is who she is supposed to help. Rio explains that Papa was hired to help transport some goods to a buyer in another land. The money would be life-changing for Duri's family, so she finds herself agreeing to take Rio. Only Duri didn't realize the goods were stolen dragon eggs that belong to the prince.

Unable to refuse the money, Duri sets off with Rio. But soon they're being hunted by the prince's deadly dragonkeepers and an entire empire looking for the eggs. As Rio and Duri continue on the dangerous journey, Duri starts to question whether dragons can truly belong to anyone or if they should be free. But can one girl stand up to an all-powerful prince?