The False Prince

Carthya is close to civil war. The nobleman Bevin Conner has a plan to hold the kingdom together: he collects four orphan boys from different parts of the land and pits them against one another. Only one will be picked to pass as Prince Jaron, the king's long-lost son, and take the throne.

Sage, fourteen, is the defiant one. He talks back, tests the men who hold him, and has no interest in being anyone's puppet. He is also starting to see that the boys who lose Conner's contest do not get sent home.

To survive, Sage must learn to ride, fence and speak like royalty, working alongside the swordsman Roden and the quick-minded Tobias, who are also his rivals. Under the lessons runs a harder puzzle: what Conner is really after.

This is the first book in the Ascendance series, a fantasy for middle-grade and young adult readers. It moves fast, with court intrigue, disguise and loyalties that keep shifting. The story continues in The Runaway King.