Chapter 1

The fifth of January was the highlight of every year, and the key event was the Tournament, a magical sporting contest between Knights. The Tournament was broadcast all across the world, but here in Killfield we got to see it in person.

Kylie and I were staying in neighboring houses in the Apprentice Village, so we'd walked to the Oval together. It was barely seven in the morning when we arrived, but it was immediately obvious that we hadn't come early enough. Even though the Tournament wouldn't begin for another hour, people had already packed the perimeter of the low metal fence that surrounded the large grassy field.

The sun was hot today. Despite the early hour, I was already baking in my black shirt and leggings. Last night's storm water was evaporating under our feet, rising off the pavement in steamy funnels, filling the air with the sweet scent of slowly-burning grass.

We'd been circling the fence for ten minutes, looking for a spot to stand and watch the Tournament. There weren't any. Mom gave me a wave from the adults' section across the Oval. She was chatting with a woman dressed in a wrinkled tan jumpsuit.

"That's your mom, isn't it?" I asked Kylie.

The two of them shared the same round face, heart-shaped lips, and blue eyes.

"Yes," Kylie replied.

Kylie's mom had sharp, intelligent eyes and a muscular build. In fact, she looked strong enough to benchpress me, which made sense. From her uniform, I knew she was a Fixer, a mechanic. In her line of work, those muscles came in handy. Fixers had to lift a lot of heavy machinery.

"The crowds came early today," Kylie commented.

"People came early because everyone wants to get a close look at the Knights," I said as we continued to look for somewhere to watch the Tournament. "And their magic."

"Over here, girls!"

Bronte was waving at us from her spot at the fence. She was standing directly next to the gate the Knights would use to enter and exit the field. That put her closer to the Knights than anyone else in the audience.

"What time did you wake up this morning, Bronte?" Kylie asked as we squeezed in beside her.

Bronte's laugh was a tad manic. "Who said I went to bed last night?"

I knew just how she felt. I'd hardly slept either, but that was probably because of the loud storm—and all the nightmares. The General had featured as the villain in a hundred different dreams, trying out a hundred different ways to get me thrown out of the Apprentice Program.

He'd even tried to drown me by dropping me into the Sydney Harbour, but that plan had kind of backfired. I burst out of the water on a majestic tidal wave, magic spear in hand, target in sight: the Black Obelisk. I totally flooded the General's headquarters, and, no, I didn't feel bad about it at all.

I sighed at the fleeting memory of that dream. If only my magic were even half as powerful in real life.

"I got to the Oval before five," Bronte told us. "I wanted to make sure I got our team the best spot to watch the Tournament."

"Have you seen Asher or Dutch yet?" I asked her.

"Yeah, they're just…mingling." Bronte chuckled.

"Mingling?"

"See for yourself."

I looked where she was pointing. Our male teammates were parading through the crowd with the brightly-colored teenage magic fans we'd seen yesterday in the Emporium. They were taunting a man from the Brotherhood of Earth—and when that didn't get much of a reaction from the Brother, the teenagers torpedoed his rough brown robes with handfuls of popcorn.

"The boys are going to be in so much trouble when the General finds out about this," Kylie laughed.

"Actually, I think the General already has his hands full with public enemy number one," I said.

Kylie patted me on the back. "He doesn't think you're public enemy number one."

"Then why did he call me in for an inquisition last night during dinner?"

"The General is always like that," Kylie told me. "He loves to torture the Apprentices. Everyone knows that."

"This goes beyond all reasonable boundaries of torture," I replied. "He's not going to stop until he finds a way to kick me out of the Program."

"You have magic, Savannah. Gaia needs you. The General knows that."

I sighed. "I need to figure out a way to deal with the General."

"Deal with? Like this?" Kylie sliced her hand across her throat.

"No, not like that." I sighed. "Deal with, as in talk to him in a way that makes him respect me as a person."

"If you can convince the Iron Wolf to respect a teenager as a person, you will have accomplished a miracle greater than any the world has ever seen," Kylie said, her voice solemn.

"I'll be right back, girls!" Bronte said cheerfully.

Something had caught her eye: a man dressed in a festive red-and-white candy cane striped suit, two overstuffed messenger bags crisscrossing his chest. She returned a few moments later, clutching three glossy Tournament Day Guide magazines in her hands.

Each of us dove into our magazine, which claimed to be the ‘100% Total Inside Scoop to this year's Tournament of Knights'. Those words were printed in big block letters on the cover, right under a dramatic illustration of two clashing Knights in full body armor, magic exploding all around them. It looked like the cover of one of Mom's old comic books.

And inside there were quizzes, fact sheets, and magical trivia. I eagerly flipped through the pages. Maybe if I looked hard enough, I could reverse engineer a spell or two.

"Savannah."

I cringed when someone stomped on my foot. My attention snapped to Kylie, whose eyes were as big as twin moons—then to Bronte, whose mouth hung at an awkward slant. I realized she was the one who'd called my name. And stomped on my foot.

I understood why when I pivoted around and focused on the figure in front of me. He was covered head-to-toe in a suit of pristine white armor that sparkled like diamonds in the hot summer sun.

Kato.

"A pleasure to see you again." He swept into a perfect bow. "Will you come with me?"

Beside me, Kylie sounded like she was hyperventilating. And Bronte was strangely silent, like she was having trouble processing the sight of a Knight in front of us, requesting that I follow him.

I was having trouble processing it too. "Come with you?" I choked out, my pulse thrumming. "Where to?"

"To meet the Knights who will be competing in this year's Tournament," Kato replied.

At that, Bronte gasped, Kylie swayed, and I tried not to trip over my own tongue as I replied, "I'd love to."