Before he knew about the Roses, sixteen-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great -- until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind -- part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game -- a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre magical heritage isn’t enough, Jack finds out that he’s not just another member of Weirlind -- he’s one of the last of the warriors -- at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.

Jack’s performance on the soccer field has alerted the entire magical community to the fact that he’s in Trinity. And until one of the houses is declared Jack’s official sponsor, there are no limits to what they’ll do to get Jack to fight for them. . . .

Cinda Williams Chima is the author of The Warrior Heir and The Wizard Heir, her modern fantasy novels. She comes from a long line of fortune-tellers, musicians, and spinners of tales. She began writing romance novels in middle school, which were often confiscated by her English teacher. Chima is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron, where she now teaches. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two sons, and is always working on her next novel.

Ages 10 and up.