Volume III in the acclaimed Cassaforte Chronicles Petro Divetri—younger brother of famed sorceress Risa Divetri—just wants to be left alone. His status as one of the seven ruling families in Cassaforte has saddled him with unwanted attention, from bullies as well as from those seeking favors. So when Petro and his best friend Adrio are sent to far-off Nascenza for the Midsummer High Rites, they swap identities. Their prank goes awry when Adrio, mistaken for Petro, is kidnapped by rebels determined to overthrow the king. With the help of Emilia, a palace guard who wants to prove her worth, Petro must rescue his friend and defeat a political plot that threatens to wipe out all of Cassaforte.

About the Author

Though he has written primarily under his various aliases before now, Vance Briceland is the award-winning author of several adult and young adult novels, including You Are SO Cursed, a 2005 American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers title. 

Originally from Richmond, Virginia and a graduate of the College of William and Mary, Briceland moved to Royal Oak, Michigan, where he now lives, to study British literature at Wayne State University. 

He has since worn many hats, each more fantastic than the last, as soda jerk, a paper flower maker in an amusement park, a pianist for a senior citizens’ show tunes choir, an English teacher, a glass artist, and a novelist.

While he does not blow glass, Briceland is a stained glass window and panel lamp artist and also works with kiln-formed glass, where the heat only gets up to about 1,500 degrees.  He says, “The much higher temperatures involved in blowing glass scare me!”