QK Agent Round 4: Short Girls Pack More Sass, YA Fantasy

Title: To Chase a Sky

Entry nickname: Short Girls Pack More Sass

Word count: 90K

Genre: YA Fantasy, #ownvoices, set on a Taiwan-inspired island

Query

Sixteen-year-old Lani is magicless—and therefore worthless—in a world where magic is vital as life. But she sure as hell can fly better than anyone else on her island, despite her bonded dragon Orys being invisible. To find her long-lost father, she must win the Carronby Island Dragon Race. If she can make it to the international finals, she’ll gain entry to the secluded, secretive country where her father disappeared.

After being ridiculed and banned from the race for Orys’ invisibility, Lani and Orys are determined to find a way to give him color. Their search uncovers a disturbing truth: Lani’s magic was stolen, and the effect leaked across her bond with Orys, rendering him invisible before he even hatched. They also encounter a magician who claims he can use illegal blood magic to make Orys visible. Flirting with the law doesn’t bother Lani, but the price of blood magic is unpredictable, and always terrible: ten years of bad luck, some unplanned soul-exchange, or even destruction of the bond between dragon and rider.

The race is fast approaching. Unless Lani can track down the thief in time and thus reclaim her magic and Orys’ colors, she faces a decision: to let her only hope of finding her father slip through her fingers, or attempt blood magic—even if it means losing Orys, her dragon and best friend.

TO CHASE A SKY will appeal to fans of Christopher Paolini's ERAGON, Maggie Stiefvater’s THE RAVEN CYCLE, and STUDIO GHIBLI films.

I am a Taiwanese bookstagrammer with 14.7k followers on Instagram (@biblionatic).


First Page

Lani didn’t believe in hell. But standing in the Ministry of Aerial Affairs, she found herself wishing it existed, and that Amorfus Neale would be sent straight there.

“See here, Miss Koh.” Amorfus Neale squinted, hunched behind his desk. “I’m willing to help, but you’re clearly not old enough to join the race.”

“I’m sixteen,” Lani growled.

He ignored her. “In addition, you do not have a dragon, and a dragon is necessary to participate in the Carronby Island Ayrnec Race. Which is, you see, a dragon race.”

Being just shy of five feet and bonded with an invisible dragon, Lani could usually accept that her age and Orys’ existence were met with doubt on all sides. But she couldn’t today, not from someone with a name as insufferable as Amorfus Neale. She gritted her teeth so hard her jaw popped.

“I have a dragon. He’s invisible, is all. If you read the regulations—”

Amorfus Neale released a sigh nearly as insufferable as his name. “Whatever the case, it’s simply impossible for you and your”—his lip curled with derision—“invisible dragon to participate.”

Lani slammed her palms on the counter. Sadly, the effect wasn’t as dramatic as she intended, given her less-than-dramatic height. But it did force him to finally look her in the face.

“He’s invisible, not imaginary. If you’d shut up for a second, he’ll prove it,” she snapped, then muttered under her breath, “When he comes back from the bloody bathroom.”

Come back, you dumb lizard, she thought at Orys. You’re embarrassing me.