Briand just wants to survive.Oh, she's clever. She's quick with knives and even quicker with cards. She can scramble up a castle wall. She can ride a bad-tempered stallion with her arms tied behind her back.But her odd, unseemly skills have never been enough to protect her, for she's an orphan, no better than a guttersnipe in her uncle's eyes. Because the lord of the manor despises her, everyone else feels free to as well. The guards, her cousin's tutor... Even Kael, the handsome, enigmatic young steward who has protected her from her uncle’s wrath too many times already, sees her as nothing but trouble with a sassy tongue and pretty green eyes.But when Briand unexpectedly--and accidentally--gains the power to control dragons, she becomes the weapon to winning the kingdom's bitter civil war.Terrifying magic users called Seekers are now hunting her as Briand plunges into a world of danger, betrayal, and secrets, with only a motley band of rebel fighters to protect her. Or have they kidnapped her? It's hard to tell sometimes.Briand's going to need all her cleverness to survive.