Secrets of the Dragon’s Crown

The hidden bones beneath the ruin

Dear Reader,

Some stories begin with a whisper. Others with a scream. The Hollow Crown began with a girl in a garden—but it didn’t end there.

From the very beginning, The Dragon’s Crown Trilogy has been whispering to you. Each book carried its own hidden trail, woven into the bones of the story itself. Some of you found them on your first read, others only on your return to Eldermere. But every secret, every bold letter, every vow was part of the crown’s design.

The Prophecy

The first bold letter of each chapter across the trilogy spelled out a prophecy:

The dark dragon queen of shadow and starlight wears the broken crown and rules forever.

• Book One – The Hollow Crown: The dark dragon

• Book Two – Crown of Ruin: queen of shadow and starlight

• Book Three – The Broken Crown: wears the broken crown and rules forever

The fate Elspeth could never outrun.

The Vows

Beyond the letters, the bolded words whispered their own truths:

• Crown of Ruin:
  When the world calls you monster, wear the name as your crown—for rage is sacred, and only by embracing the darkness within can you seize a crown of shadows. To love a god of ruin, you must first become ruin yourself.

• The Broken Crown:
  To forge a crown of infinite night, you must break the world, break yourself, bleed and then let the pieces burn until you rise remade, crowned in rage and starfire.
  

These weren’t tricks. They were devotion. The heartbeat beneath the ruin.

One Last Whisper

If you uncovered them, you’ve glimpsed Eldermere’s heart. If not—well, the castle waits. Its halls will always whisper when you return.

P.S. Don’t spoil the hunt for others. Let them bleed a little for the truth, the way Elspeth did.

With starlight and shadow,
Grace