A feisty princess befriends a mage’s apprentice—and finds she’s uncannily linked to a dragon—in a suspenseful fantasy charged with warmth and wit. Calen, a lonely young mage-to-be, never dreamed that Princess Meglynne would become his friend. And impulsive Meg never imagined that tending a baby dragon would "link" her to the creature — for life. And now Meg’s sister is about to marry a prince to end a war between kingdoms, a celebration that Meg and Calen know is endangered by a murderous plot. How can a girl, a boy, and a dragon merge their magic and strength to bring down a powerful traitor in time? From the author of  Library Lion  comes a classic middle-grade fantasy soaring with sorcery and suspense, spunk and adventure, friendship and first romance, and a cast of enchanting characters. Magician’s apprentice Calen and young princess Meglynne meet accidentally when both choose the same hiding place from which to watch the enemy kingdom’s procession, in which the prince of Kragnir comes to Trelian to marry Meg’s sister. Calen, lonely with only his strict master for company, and Meg, burdened with a terrible secret, quickly grow to trust each other. Calen helps Meg with the baby dragon she has been secretly tending, and he teaches her how to manage the psychic link she’s formed with it. When they discover a plot to assassinate Meg’s sister on the eve of her wedding, thus rekindling the war, they must find a way to stop the traitor with just their wits, Calen’s apprentice-level magic, and Meg’s half-grown dragon. Calen and Meg’s easygoing, entirely believable friendship is the core of this adventurous first novel. Meg is gutsy and impulsive, while Calen is thoughtful and steadfast; and they make an appealing duo. Though not breaking new ground, this is a solid addition to the fantasy genre. Grades 4-7. --Krista Hutley Michelle Knudsen is the New York Times best-selling author of Library Lion and Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten , both illustrated by Kevin Hawkes; Argus , illustrated by Andréa Wesson; Big Mean Mike , illustrated by Scott Magoon; and Marilyn’s Monster , illustrated by Matt Phelan, as well as the Trelian middle-grade fantasy trilogy and the Evil Librarian YA horror-comedy trilogy. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. CHAPTER ONE CALEN TRIED NOT TO LOOK DOWN. This was the best vantage point in the east wing of the castle - a thick window ledge that looked out over both the main gate and a good bit of the Queen's Road leading up to it - but the method by which the window achieved this singularly spectacular view was by being very, very far from the ground. It was by no means the highest point in the castle, but it was still a good deal higher than Calen normally preferred to go, and if he managed to fall, he suspected he would have a disturbingly long time to scream in terror and watch the shaped hedges rush up at him from below before he died a horrible and painful death. He'd had to come, though. He wanted to catch that first glimpse of the procession as it approached, to witness the very beginning. It was like something from a story - a delegation from an enemy kingdom, bringing the prince of Kragnir to marry one of the princesses of Trelian and end a war that had been going on longer than most people today had been alive. Certainly it was the most exciting thing to happen in Calen's life in a long time. Maybe the most exciting thing to happen in his life ever, at least once he'd figured out that becoming a mage's apprentice was not going to be the whirlwind of glory and adventure he'd briefly imagined. And he was going to be here to see it, the arrival of the enemy prince and his family and whomever else princes generally traveled with, the first moments of an event that would be recorded in history books for future generations! His heart was beating a little faster just thinking about it. Obviously it was the excitement, and not the glance he'd accidentally taken at the ground just now that was causing his insides to jump around that way. Calen took a deep breath, settled his back firmly against the edge of the window opening, and struggled to keep his eyes on the distant hills and his mind on anything other than the vast empty space to his immediate right. There was plenty he could think about, but most of it was not espe cially pleasant. The procession was supposed to have arrived hours ago, and Calen was getting later by the second but he wasn't leaving until he got to see something. He was bound to be in trouble - more trouble, he amended - once Serek discovered that he hadn't come straight back from the royal gardens with the silverweed. Calen had picked the silverweed first, of course - he wasn't that much of a fool - but he knew Serek had expected him to return at once, and that he hadn't done. Instead, he had circled around through the kitchen entrance, run down the Long Hall, then climbed the many, many stairs to the guest suites on the eighth floor. Heavy