Lash Pearl grew up fighting.

Beneath the glittering pomp of the capital city, behind the palaces and princes, beyond the world of shining knights and spell-wielding sorcerers, there's another world - a world of poverty, despair and violence, of dark alleys and mean streets where only the strong survive.

Lash was born into that world, and its harsh and sordid ways were as natural to him as breathing. But thanks to the determination of a loving but iron-willed mother, he knew there was more out there. He just wasn't sure he'd ever find a way to escape.

Just when it seemed he'd drawn his last bad hand, fate dealt him one last, desperate chance: Join the kingdom's most elite warriors to confront a rising darkness unlike any the world has ever known.

But before he can even pick up a sword, he'll have to draw on every ounce of his strength and street smarts to survive a harrowing crucible of initiation.

He doesn't have a choice. Because Lash Pearl is Crown Property.