An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes
Sabaa Tahir

‘Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy’ Us WeeklyRead the explosive New York Times bestselling debut that’s captivated readers worldwide. Set to be a major motion picture, An Ember in the Ashes is the book everyone is talking about.What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands of Scholars, all in the name of power.When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.But once Laia and Elias meet, they find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire.In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES

SABAA TAHIR

Copyright (#u1e49439b-f574-5054-a796-722157f0530d)

HarperVoyager

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpervoyagerbooks.co.uk (http://www.harpervoyagerbooks.co.uk)

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 (http://www.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 (#u1e49439b-f574-5054-a796-722157f0530d)

‘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 (http://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 (http://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

Dedication (#u1e49439b-f574-5054-a796-722157f0530d)

For Kashi,

who taught me that my spiritis stronger than my fear

Contents

Cover (#u7bd5a8cf-6e1f-5f9d-8201-6dddcbecaa30)

Title Page (#u88ea4a59-559b-5d05-b731-c95d38c9ccd7)

Copyright

Praise

Dedication

Maps (#uc608b48c-bac0-5c5d-9fcf-52176a81e239)

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