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A 12-year-old girl wins an invitation to train as an apprentice to immortals in the first book of the new must-read magical series destined to take the world by storm—p**erfect for fans of <Amari and the Night Brothers, Skandar <and <Eragon. <Let the competition begin!
“A new classic fantasy adventure.” — Eoin Colfer, author of the internationally best-selling Artemis Fowl series
An outsider in her village above the cloud sea, 12-year-old orphan Yeung Zhi Ging’s only hope of escape is to win the single invitation to train as a Silhouette: an apprentice to the immortals. After her ill-fated attempt to impress the Silhouette scout leads to a dragon attack on the jade mountain, Zhi Ging is sure that her chances, and her life, are over. But the scout spots her potential and offers her protection and a second chance. She’s in.
In her lessons in Hok Woh, the underwater realm of the immortals, Zhi Ging must face the challenging trials set by her teachers to prove that she’s worthy of being a Silhouette—despite her rivals'' attempts to sabotage her. But as Zhi Ging’s power grows, so do the rumours of the return of the Fui Gwai, an evil spirit that turns people into grey-eyed thralls.
When the impossible happens and the Fui Gwai attack the Silhouettes, can Zhi Ging use her newly uncovered talents to save her friends and the world beyond? Or will the grey-eyed spirit consume them all?
“A soaring, luminous new world." —Jessica Townsend, <New York Times< bestselling author of The Nevermoor series 
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Auteur
Siobhan McDermott was born in Hong Kong and grew up on a steady stream of stories filled with Chinese legends and Irish folklore. She now lives in the UK and continues to order dim sum in Cantonese tinged with a distinctly Dublin lilt. Paper Dragons: The Fight for the Hidden Realm is her debut novel and was chosen as Waterstones Children's Book of the Month. The story was inspired by moments across her life: from childhood ferry trips between Lantau Island and Hong Kong, to travelling around Taiwan, Italy and Spain.
Échantillon de lecture
Chapter 1
Zhi Ging scowled up at the glass dragon blocking her way. Since when does the Lead Glassmith lock his office door? Why is he making it so difficult to break in?
The glass door had been designed to look like a coiling dragon, and its body curled from ceiling to floor in a protective circle, its head snarling out at her from the center.
Zhi Ging flicked its snout in frustration, and a hollow chime echoed across the Glassmiths’ workshop. The dragon’s long whiskers jangled together, and she flung her arms around them to muffle the sound. Curled glass pressed uncomfortably against her sleeves, but Zhi Ging couldn’t risk moving until the noise stopped. The last thing she needed was a curious Glassmith catching her before she had a chance to find the letter.
The predawn haze was doing little to help, filtering down the corridor like a spotlight on her break-in attempt. She groaned and ran a hand along the dragon’s overlapping scales. Any one of them could be the switch needed to unlock the door.
Fei Chui, the village Zhi Ging had grown up in, was set to announce its new Silhouette at noon, but she couldn’t wait until then. Not when she knew Iridill would be watching, ready to pounce if her name wasn’t called. Visions of the Lead Glassmith’s sneering daughter flashed across Zhi Ging’s mind, and she shuddered. No, she wouldn’t give Iridill the satisfaction. If she found out now that she hadn’t been chosen, she could at least hide her disappointment later.
Zhi Ging frowned and shut her eyes, head pressed against the glass in concentration. The dragon’s carved face was ice-cold beneath her forehead, and she grimaced. Training as a Silhouette was her only chance to escape Fei Chui. If someone else was picked, the Lead Glassmith would force her to spend the rest of her life trapped inside glass much colder than this. Now that Aapau was gone, no one would stop him from sending her into the post pipe, her chances of drowning creeping up with each minute she spent squeezed inside that narrow, water-filled space.
Zhi Ging straightened up and winced when she opened her eyes. A large smudge had appeared on the dragon’s polished glass, marking the exact spot where her forehead had rested on its surface. So much for a stealth break in! The Lead Glassmith might not care about her, but he would definitely notice if there was anything different about his precious door. She tugged her sleeve over her palm, ready to wipe the smudge away, and froze. If pressing my forehead against the glass left a mark, maybe . . .
Zhi Ging took a deep, steadying breath and exhaled gently over the dragon’s glass face. Her eyes darted between the soft pale clouds that bloomed across its surface.
There!
Faint fingerprints had appeared on one of the dragon’s spiraling whiskers, revealing how the Lead Glassmith entered his office each morning.
“And you thought you could keep me out.” She beamed, pulling the whisker down. The dragon jolted to life, and scales chimed against one another as it uncoiled around the doorframe. The faint clicks of whirling glass cogs rippled along the length of the dragon, and its long body stretched tight against the corridor wall.
Zhi Ging slipped inside. There was a faint rumble behind her, and the dragon curled back into its protective circle, plunging the office into an eerie gloom.
Centuries earlier, another Lead Glassmith had stumbled across a shed dragon skin and draped it around the ceiling beams. Over time, the scales had dried and faded to a milky opal until you could almost mistake them for fused shards of glass. But no glass would make a Glassmith’s hair blaze with crackling white light. Only dragon scales could do that.
For Zhi Ging though, there wasn’t even a hint of static along her braid. She puffed out her cheeks and tried to squash down the all-too-familiar pang of frustration. Why was she the only person in Fei Chui whose hair didn’t glow near dragons or dragon scales?
The muffled sound of footsteps bustling past the door jolted her back to her mission. Zhi Ging hurried across the sand-covered floor, wincing in pain when her foot hit the Lead Glassmith’s desk. Letters fluttered to the ground, and she scrambled after them, peering closely at each one before tossing it aside. Every faint sound on the other side of the door added to the nerves already bubbling in her stomach.
She yelped in excitement when she finally spotted an ornate envelope flecked with gold. Heart pounding, Zhi Ging pulled a glass hairpin out from the top of her braid. Her shoulders hunched in concentration while she eased the slim edge under the seal, tensed for the sound of wax snapping in half. Time slowed as the glass pushed forward, and there was a faint pop when the seal came loose in a single piece. Zhi Ging hugged the hairpin tight between her hands before sliding it back into her braid. It might not have been what Aapau intended when she’d gifted it, but Zhi Ging couldn’t help feeling her old guardian would have been proud.
Despite the darkness, the letter seemed to glow, a narrow triangle of white shimmering up from the opened envelope. She wiped her hand against her loose green trousers, suddenly worried her fingers would mark the spotless paper. Whoever was picked as S…