Set in a rich, high-fantasy world inspired by ancient Rome, Sabaa Tahir's AN EMBER IN THE ASHES told the story of Laia, a slave fighting for her family, and Elias, a young soldier fighting for his freedom.
Now, in A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT, Elias and Laia are running for their lives.
After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.
Laia is determined to break into Kauf — the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison — to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars' survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.
But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene — Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.
Bound to Marcus's will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own — one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape... and kill them both.
Also known as An Ember in the Ashes Book 2.
Rate this book
Sabaa Tahir
Sabaa Tahir was born in London but grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at an 18-room motel. During a summer internship at The Washington Post, she wrote an Outlook piece on arranged marriage from her perspective as a South Asian. Little did she know that this would result in an offer of a reality TV show on MTV, a dozen marriage proposals, and one phone call that turned out to be from her future husband. After graduating from UCLA, Sabaa accepted a full-time position as an editor on the foreign desk at The Post. Three summers later, in 2007, she came up with the concept for An Ember in the Ashes. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and children. An Ember in the Ashes is her first book.
