chapter 2

The sun hung high in the sky, blazing down on the Knight Academy’s training grounds, and here I was, Lysandra the Daughter of a Librarian-turned-Lyle the Boy Knight, sweating bullets. Today was officially dubbed *Gauntlet Day*, which sounded far more intimidating than it needed to be. Wasn’t a gauntlet supposed to be something fearsome, like a medieval death trap? Well, that’s precisely what it *was*.

The instructors had set up an obstacle course that looked like it came straight from one of my wildest dreams—or nightmares, depending on how I viewed the prospect of facing off against a series of rapidly swinging axes, fiery pits, and a pair of particularly menacing armored trolls. Who even thought up this stuff?

To make matters worse, Duke Darian was overseeing the whole operation with that brooding presence of his, leaning against a tree as if he had all the time in the world to watch me fail spectacularly. I could feel his sapphire gaze like a freight train barreling down the tracks, heavy and unyielding. Ugh, why was he so infuriatingly handsome?

“Lyle!” barked my training partner, a shockingly cheerful boy named Jeb, as he shoved me forward. “It’s your turn! Don’t lag behind!”

“Right, smashing through obstacles. No big deal,” I mumbled under my breath, glancing over my shoulder at Darian. If I screamed and flailed my arms while running headfirst into the trolls, would he think I was giving it my all? Probably not.

With shaky knees, I approached the gauntlet, taking a deep breath to steady myself. “Just act like you’ve done this a hundred times,” I whispered, channeling all the warrior courage I could muster.

As the horn sounded, I sprinted forward, dodging a swinging axe that could’ve decapitated a hapless knight—or, you know, me. The thrill of running fast surged through me, and I felt a flicker of magic deep inside. *Nope*, not today, Lysandra. Just focus.

I vaulted over a lava pit (thankfully not actually *lava*, but who would’ve guessed?) and landed in an impressive roll. The crowd of students cheered, and I grinned like an idiot. Maybe this was my moment. I was totally crushing it!

Suddenly, the trolls started lumbering toward me, groaning menacingly. Panic shot through me like a lightning bolt—only this time, I had no clue how to electrify them.

“Unbelievable!” yelled Jeb as he tackled one of the trolls with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. “Lyle, use your magic!”

Oh right. Magic!

In a surge of adrenaline, I let out a deep breath and flicked my wrist, summoning the energy I’d unintentionally harnessed before. A crackling bolt of electricity shot from my palm like it had a mind of its own, striking one of the trolls square in the chest. It let out a bellow, stumbling back.

*What just happened?* I barely had time to celebrate, though, as the other troll advanced, snatching Jeb and hoisting him up like a rag doll. “Uh… help?” he squeaked.

“Right! Coming to the rescue! Totally normal boy here!”

With that absurd declaration fueling my confidence, I hurled my hand towards the second troll, sending another jolt of electric energy that sparked across its armored body.

The onlookers erupted into applause, and just like that, I had become the unexpected hero of the day.

But as I glanced over at Duke Darian, I caught him smirking, barely hiding his amusement. Great. Just *great*. At least no one knew that behind my thrilling facade lurked an average girl from a world where the most dangerous thing I’d faced was a deadline.

As the training session wrapped up, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my days of pretending to be a boy were far from over—and neither was the spellbinding intrigue of the Duke watching my every move. What had I gotten myself

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