Back when he was just Lon Kardl, before he knew he was the crown prince of anywhere, he'd had a pretty good life, all things considered. No, he and his stepfather hadn't gotten along very well, so he'd had to learn how to take punishment. Yes, he'd had his troubles in school, so he'd had to know how to fight. But it was good he'd learned those things, wasn't it? Because the Old Court was a bad place for a boy, just turned fifteen, who looked older than his age. He was going to have to fight—he was going to have to win that fight—if he wanted to get out of the trouble he was in now.