AN EMBER IN THE ASHES
SABAA TAHIR
HarperVoyager
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2015
Copyright © Sabaa Tahir 2015
Published by arrangement with Razorbill, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Cover design and illustration by Micaela Alcaino © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Cover illustrations © Shutterstock.com (background, cat)
Maps by Jonathan Roberts
Sabaa Tahir asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007593262
Ebook Edition © June 2015 ISBN: 9780008125073
Version: 2018-07-03
Praise for An Ember in the Ashes
‘Game of Thrones fans will relish Tahir’s debut set in a brutal Rome-inspired empire’ Independent
‘The writing is as smooth as silk and keeps one reading long after the lights should have been out’ Robin Hobb
‘Sabaa Tahir shows us light in darkness, hope in a world of despair, and the human spirit reaching for greatness in difficult times’ Brandon Sanderson
‘Blew me away … This book is dark, complex, vivid, and romantic – expect to be completely transported’ MTV.com
‘Perfect for fans of … Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series … The book is already set to be a film, which will be EPIC!’ TeenVogue.com
‘A heart-pounding story of love and loss, with the most original worldbuilding I’ve read all year … I could not put it down’ Margaret Stohl
‘Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy’ Us Weekly
For Kashi,
who taught me that my spirit is stronger than my fear
Contents
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
Part One: The Raid
Chapter One: Laia
Chapter Two: Elias
Chapter Three: Laia
Chapter Four: Elias
Chapter Five: Laia
Chapter Six: Elias
Chapter Seven: Laia
Chapter Eight: Elias
Chapter Nine: Laia
Chapter Ten: Elias
Chapter Eleven: Laia
Chapter Twelve: Elias
Chapter Thirteen: Laia
Part Two: The Trials
Chapter Fourteen: Elias
Chapter Fifteen: Laia
Chapter Sixteen: Elias
Chapter Seventeen: Laia
Chapter Eighteen: Elias
Chapter Nineteen: Laia
Chapter Twenty: Elias
Chapter Twenty-One: Laia
Chapter Twenty-Two: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Three: Laia
Chapter Twenty-Four: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Five: Laia
Chapter Twenty-Six: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Laia
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Laia
Chapter Thirty: Elias
Chapter Thirty-One: Laia
Chapter Thirty-Two: Elias
Chapter Thirty-Three: Laia
Chapter Thirty-Four: Elias
Chapter Thirty-Five: Laia
Chapter Thirty-Six: Elias
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Laia
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Elias
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Laia
Chapter Forty: Elias
Chapter Forty-One: Laia
Chapter Forty-Two: Elias
Chapter Forty-Three: Laia
Chapter Forty-Four: Elias
Part Three: Body And Soul
Chapter Forty-Five: Laia