Devon Wiltshire - Abandoned on the streets when she was 10, she's managed to survive for almost five years, making her way down from New York City to Washington, D.C. That is, until she's nearly killed several times by a group that isn't hiding the fact that she's their main target.
Sophia Elmonds - A freshman at James Gulligan High School in nearby Fairfax County, Sophia lives the fairytale life, white picket fence and a golden retriever named Max included. Everything gets turned upside down when Devon resurfaces in the flesh from the memories of Kindergarten and needs a place to stay and lie low.
Playing the role of Sophia's cousin, Devon tries to assimilate back into a normal life. School isn't easy - her education stopped in the fifth grade. Living in a house with rules isn't a walk in the park either. Struggling to keep a low profile while keeping up her old habits, Devon turns to Sophia to help her stumble along in her new life.
But strange things start happening. Sophia starts being able to manipulate people through what she says. Devon begins to sense other people's emotions and thoughts. One day, they wake up to find themselves in the land of Harbsen, a realm for humans of special ability to learn about, train, and harness their new talents.
Joined by a quiet, brooding, self-centered soldier trainee and his happy-go-lucky, long-time best friend, Devon and Sophia enter the Academy in Harbsen's capital province Dyncra, and begin their training. While Dyncra and life inside the castle project a picture of order, routine, normalcy, and safety, the two girls find that not is all as it seems. Everything they have ever learned combined with their wits is the only thing that can save them.
And in the end, even that might not be enough....
