ook Title: WINGS OF LIFE
Character Name: Serae of Cavendaffe (a day before WINGS OF LIFE begins)
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Normal enough. A bit dull whenever Bale was away at school, but when he used to come home for the summers to celebrate our shared birthday, it was a dream. He’s four years my senior, and this birthday will be the first we’ve ever spent apart. He’s off fighting in the king’s army, no doubt because of some idiot scheme of Father’s to try to stay in the king’s good graces. The king seems to like Bale well enough, probably because they were schooled together, but he doesn’t pay my father, the margrave, much attention.
What was your greatest talent?
Putting up with my older sister, Merria, without gouging out both my eyes and cutting off my ears. If Gerta heard me say that, she’d give me that look, but I swear…it’s a talent. Merria is insufferable, and I am her favorite target for ridicule. If she understood half my retorts, she’d probably learn to leave me alone. But - pity for me - she’s got nothing but sawdust between her ears.
Significant other?
Oh, I suppose that would be Tam. He’s my oldest and dearest friend. But my father will want to marry me off for advantage, so I guess the answer right now is no one.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
Finding a man who doesn’t tuck tail and run as soon as I open my mouth. Or when he spots my red hair. Or when Merria saunters by, flipping her honey-blond curls and pouting her lips. Take your pick.
Where do you live?
Our manor abuts the southern border between Cavendaffe and Fethersen. Cavendaffe is the northern-most province of Inra. As a coastal province, we’re in charge of much of the trade in and out of the kingdom, but we’re also the most raided by the Rihtlonders on the other side of the White Sea. After his training, Bale should have been stationed somewhere back in Cavendaffe to oversee the protection of the ports, but he hasn’t been given leave to return home to us yet - not even for Midwinter Day.
Do you have any enemies?
Martyrs, seems like I have more enemies than friends. Merria, her slimy soon-to-be betrothed Lord Naton, my mother who caters to Merria’s every whim, all the ladies I’m forced to sit with during sewing circles that mock my hair… I could go on. Oh, you mean mortal enemies? Fine. Just Rihtlond then. Relations between us have been strained for hundreds of years. I’ve heard rumors things are getting tense with Volaach, but once they were our strongest trading partners. Merria used to dream of being sent off to marry a Volaachi prince. I dream of that, too. Fire and ash, would it be wonderful to have her gone.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
My home? Well, I suppose it’s all I’ve known. My room is very comfortable, and I always have Gerta with me—my lady’s maid. She’s been caring for me as long as I can remember, but she’s also become a dear friend. I hope Father will send her with me whenever he sells me off to the highest bidder. Lucky for me, it’s Merria whose head will be on the marital chopping block first.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
I have one beautiful horse - Copper. She was a gift to me from Bale on my sixteenth birthday, and in a sense, she’s the only thing that’s truly mine. I love her with all my heart, and if I could, I would take her off galloping around the country and never return.
What do you do for a living?
A living? Do you mean like a trade? We have many tradesmen on the land, but my father is the margrave. My only responsibilities are to him, where I aid him with bookkeeping in my mother’s stead and at times help transcribe his letters. Aside from that, expectations for a lady of my station are to participate in sewing circles, act as gossips, and learn to twirl my skirts and bat my eyes at dinner parties to win the attention of one of the over-pretentious lords.
Greatest disappointment?
Myself. I know I should be grateful for all that I have. I know that I should do better to play my part. I just can’t seem to keep ahold of my temper and my wayward tongue. Perhaps if I were a bit dumber, I wouldn’t mind so much.
Greatest source of joy?
My brother. He’s the only person who sees me for who I truly am. It’s a lonely, dreary world with him gone.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
Race Copper down the forest road. Tam gives a good chase on his stallion, but he only beats me because he cheats. In a proper race, I’m certain I’d best him every time.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
My eyesight. I’m the only young person in the whole Creator-forsaken town who needs them, and they get me about as many disdainful looks as my rusty red hair. The worst part is, I have to constantly be mindful of them. If I ride too hard, I risk them tumbling off my nose. Martyrs above, I can’t even spin too much during the faster dances, or they’ll go flying across the room. I’m used to them now, but times like these I’m reminded that my poor vision is a liability.
What keeps you awake at night?
Boredom, plain and simple. Though, when I was younger, I used to sneak books into my room and read by candlelight until the flame ran out. Those were some of my favorite times, reading about when evil dragons still prowled across Jaeda and the Nine Martyrs used the Creator’s magic to beat them back!
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
The dreaded luncheon. Tomorrow, the Ingletons and Fethersens will arrive, and Gerta told me she heard from one of the other maids that Father plans to reveal a big announcement. Three guesses what. Mark my words - by the end of the day, Merria and Naton will have formal papers signed—or I’m a flaming dragon’s egg. Perhaps I’ll be rid of her soon after all.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I suppose I’m blessed by the Creator to have everything I need, except for Bale. But, if I could wish for one thing for him, it would be the freedom to live his own life. He’ll have to marry, too - as must we all - but I know in his heart of hearts he yearns for a different kind of match. The forbidden kind. I doubt he would ever find another man willing to face the wrath of the king and queen to get it.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
Bale has the purest, most gentle soul. When he gives his heart, he gives it fully - and he’s damn terrible at hiding it. But that’s not the way of things in Inra. He can’t bring that kind of love out in the open and expect to be welcomed.
Creator’s bones, I worry one day he might try and incur all of Father’s wrath in the process. Who knows what he would do? I pray we never have to find out.
Dragonbound Chronicles #1
Deluxe Limited Edition
Fans of enemies-to-lovers romance and epic dragon-filled fantasy will be swept into Le Fay's Wings of Life, where duty, danger, and forbidden desire collide.
DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with stenciled edges, a beautiful foil-stamped hardcover, exclusive interior design with full-color endpapers - Only while supplies last.
They cast me off to Rihtlond as a bride.
They don’t care if I come back alive.
Too sharp-tongued and too curious, I am my mother’s greatest lament and my father’s constant frustration. Unwilling to bow to their will, I’ve become expendable, worth sending on a mission doomed to fail.
Armed with nothing but a coded journal, a quill, and my wits, I’m thrust into the kingdom of our oldest enemy—a land of storms and warriors—to wed their high dane’s son. Trapped on their ruthless continent, I am no blushing bride. I’m a spy sent to unlock Rihtlond’s weaknesses… a cuckoo in the robin’s nest.
But my heart still bleeds red when the weaponmaster of these strange people steals it away. Through him, I learn to unlock their secrets. What I uncover is more dangerous than I ever imagined: magic thrumming in the roots of Rihtlond, a dragon hidden in plain sight, and a love I was never meant to feel. Holding this knowledge, I am meant to return home and bind myself to a future I was given long ago.
Now, as war rises and alliances crumble, I must choose between duty and desire, between the family who cast me aside and the bond that awakens who I truly am. To protect what I’ve found—and who I become—I must risk everything. Even if it brands me a traitor. Even if it costs me my life.
Romance Fantasy [ Page & Vine, On Sale: May 26, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781964264578 / eISBN: 9781964264585 ]
Meghan Le Fay hails from present-day Earth, despite her lifelong dream of being born as an elf in Middle-earth. A constant and consummate fan of fantasy, she lives, breathes, and dreams in the spidery language of the magic. Her works are inspired by her obsessions with mythology, medieval history, and all things magical and mystical—especially dragons.
When not writing or daydreaming of other realms, Meghan can be found avoiding the Arizona desert heat through reading, crafting, music, or dance. Or having wild adventures (both real and imaginary) with her family.
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