Lizzy had never liked duels. Even though her brothers Brent and Jake loved to watch Papa beat other knights into the dirt, she had never seen the appeal of it. And her little sister Kitty liked to go for the food. For a petite girl, Kitty ate like a pig. Sighing, Lizzy wandered the village of Boroso, the scene of Papa's latest duel. Why did he have to get into so many fights? Mama had given up on trying to curb Papa's temper.

Lizzy kept away from the crowds. Her magic picked up on the thoughts of everyone in the large crowd of people to see Papa's fight, and she hated it. All those thoughts, crawling up her spine, making her uncertain what was hers and what was theirs.

So concerned with her hatred of crowds, Lizzy didn't see the brown-haired boy until she ran into his back. "Oof," he said, stumbling forward. Then he turned to face her, his face flushed. "What's the big idea? Watch where you're going!"

Lizzy crossed her arms and tried to pry into the boy's mind. Oddly enough, she couldn't, and that roused her curiosity. "Sorry," she apologized. "I was just thinking, is all. Who are you?"

"I'm Terra. Terra Roland," the boy answered proudly. "The squire of Sir Roland, fighting against Mr. Drenlin today."

Lizzy cocked her head. "You're Sir Roland's squire?" she said, and narrowed her eyes. "He called my father a drunken hermit!"

Terra frowned. "Well, he wasn't wrong," the boy answered.

Behind Terra, leaning against the wall, was a pitchfork. Lizzy attempted to lift it and knock some sense into Terra with her magic, but it steadfastly refused to move. Hmph. "He was!" she said. "My papa hasn't taken a drink since my little sister was born. And he never drank himself drunk, either!"

Her words set in with the seemingly-idiotic boy. "Your ... father? You're one of the Drenlins?"

"Lizzy Drenlin," she snapped. "And I think your Sir Roland was the drunk one. Who else would have the audacity to say that somebody was a drunken hermit, particularly when my father is so skilled a fighter?"

Terra poked out his tongue. "Girls," he muttered. "Always so keen to avoid a fight."

"You mean Sir Roland only said those terrible things about Papa to incite a fight?" Lizzy stared at Terra. "And you approve? Men! What would you do without girls to put some sense in those empty heads of yours?"

Terra glared at her, but before they could speak—or, more likely, start arguing again; Terra was more infuriating than Brent, and that was saying something—the sound of hoofbeats cut him off. The two children moved to get out of the cart's way, but apparently, the cart didn't want them out of the way.

It stopped in the middle of the street and two men jumped off. Terra grabbed Lizzy's hand and said, "Run!"

Not sure why she was running, Lizzy nevertheless followed Terra as he dragged her down the street. Unfortunately, the men in the cart were full-grown and had much longer legs than the children. They caught up to them with contemptuous ease and one grabbed Lizzy, yanking her from Terra. The squire went to draw his sword, but the second man snatched him, pinning his arms to his sides. The first man bared his teeth in a grin as he easily held Lizzy with one arm. He placed his free hand over her mouth, stifling her screams of anger. "We have two of the Drenlins," he said. "Jacob Drenlin won't be able to resist saving his children. Come on."

They thought Terra was Lizzy's brother? Now that was unforeseen.