The Twiceborn Queen — Marina Finlayson

Kate O'Connor's had a rough week. Thrown into the middle of a war of succession between the daughters of the dragon queen, her introduction to the hidden world of the shifters almost proved fatal. Now, because of Kate and her new powers, that hidden realm has been revealed to the world, which hasn't exactly won Kate any popularity contests. Still, it's not all bad news. After all, it's not every day someone you love comes back from the dead. Throw in a hot new boyfriend, and suddenly Kate's got a lot to live for -- which is bad timing, because now the queen's set a bounty on her head and every shifter in Sydney is trying to collect it. Kate may have defeated a dragon already, but there are plenty more where that one came from. As her enemies close in and the body count mounts, Kate begins a desperate search for allies. The deadly game of the proving continues. If Kate is to save the people she loves, failure is not an option. The rules are simple: win or die. The Twiceborn Queen is the second book in the urban fantasy trilogy The Proving.