" No man owns me! " Since the death of her mother, Lydia Estrella has grown up her father's trading ship, surrounded by sailors and trained to defend herself by the Master-at-Arms. Abducted by pirates, trained to be an assassin at the Naran College of Black Arts, and driven by revenge, fifteen year-old Lydia becomes a deadly pawn in the arsenal of Lord Zhe. In a world of fierce wyverns, ravenous sea monsters, gate-guarding trolls, mysterious mountain creatures and the karinga, a magically evil blade, men are still her most dangerous foes. Step inside Lydia's world in this fabulous page turning fantasy novel, full of action and intrigue.