a cave which they had sheltered in during Dark After, using Heart's Blood's body as a door and heater. Jakkin manumits the traitorous Erikkin, and Heart's Blood dies from a stinger shot in the neck, her body saving Jakkin and Akki. The only shelter they have during Dark After, is Heart's Blood's body, so they crawl into her birth sac. In the morning, Jakkin and Akki are reborn out of the dragon blood, and became the first real human Austarians, linked to each other and Heart's Blood's five hatchlings. Book 3: A Sending of Dragons (1987) Jakkin and his beloved Akki are currently living in the mountains, having escaped from some oppressive situations that caused them to be on the run. Jakkin and Akki are now able to communicate the way the dragons can, due to their "rebirth" from Heart's Blood carcass. Threatened by the sighting of a strange helicopter, the two decide, rather than fight, to try and hide by taking refuge in the labyrinth of caves inside of the mountain. In the caves, they meet dragons completely different from anything they've encountered and a strange people who think dull thoughts in dull colors and have other peculiar traditions and dragon-like habits. After witnessing very sanguine and very disturbing rituals, in which dragons were sacrificed at the birth of every child, Jakkin and Akki escape, taking a few dragons along with them. Book 4: Dragon’s Heart Dragon's Heart was released on May 4, 2009. Austar IV isn't the planet it once was, and when Jakkin and Akki finally return to the dragon nursery, their homecoming arouses mixed emotions. Together they've survived the insurmountable, and now they can weather the brutal conditions of Dark After and communicate with the dragons they love. But with this knowledge comes responsibility. What they've learned about survival could transform the planet—or, if entrusted to the wrong hands, bring about its destruction. Akki's insistence that she return to the Rokk to finish her training and begin new experiments drives a chasm between her and Jakkin. Suddenly she finds herself in the middle of a political battle that could claim her life. Only Jakkin can save her. Reaction Yolen said that there were objections to Jakkin committing the act of stealing in Dragon's Blood. References Science fiction book series Novel series Novels by Jane Yolen CBS Storybreak