The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Oraya is plagued with nightmares about her father’s death and spends most days grieving in her childhood bedroom or cultivating her hatred for her former lover, Raihn. She has been forced to marry Raihn against her will to survive the bloodthirsty Rishan nobles. Oraya is summoned to a meeting with Raihn, the Rishan nobility, and Septimus, the Prince of the House of Blood.

Raihn stands before the Rishan nobility—his masters when he was enslaved—as the newly crowned Nightborn King. To gain their support, he mimics the cold cruelty of his former master, Neculai Vasarus, the Rishan King who preceded Vincent’s rule two centuries ago. Neculai’s cousin, Martas, displays open dissent and refuses to bow. Raihn beheads him with a blast of deadly Asteris power. Vale, a respected Rishan noble and Raihn’s Head of War, arrives and swears his fealty, at last convincing the other nobles to bow to Raihn.

After the meeting, Oraya is escorted to her bedchambers and overhears Septimus in the hallway with one of his guards, Desdemona, who mentions an attack on Misrada in two weeks and suggests he pull troops from the armory to make sure they will have enough soldiers. When a guard only latches two of the four locks on her chamber door, Oraya plans to pick them and escape the palace.

Raihn debriefs with his advisors, Cairis, Ketura, and Vale. They believe Raihn was foolish to make a deal with Septimus to supply House of Blood forces to help subdue the resistant Hiaj clans. Cairis remains behind after the others have left. He reminisces about Nessanyn, Neculai’s mistreated wife, whom both Cairis and Raihn loved though only Raihn had been her lover. Cairis reminds Raihn of her oft-used phrase, “Remember who wins.” Raihn thinks of how often he hears Oraya crying through the thin wall separating their bedchambers, proof that, like Nessanyn, Oraya had not won.

Oraya picks the locks to her bedchamber and takes the secret passageways leading to Vincent’s private wing. In his study, Oraya finds reports of Vincent’s order to destroy Salinae, Oraya’s homeland, where any surviving family Oraya might have resided. She also finds a crude dagger she’d made and gifted him in childhood. Oraya cuts herself on discarded shards of glass, which rearrange themselves into a bowl after collecting a drop of her blood. The bowl establishes a staticky connection to Vincent’s Head of War, Jesmine. Oraya overhears Cairis and Raihn speaking in the hallway outside. Raihn stops outside the study door, prompting Oraya to hide underneath her father’s desk. He urges Cairis ahead and enters the study.

Raihn is aware of Oraya’s presence. She accuses him of keeping her prisoner, which he denies, instead claiming it’s the only way to keep her alive. Raihn admits to not being able to stomach ruling without her, but Oraya is unmoved because he’s killing so many of her people, the Hiaj. Raihn apologizes, but Oraya knows he’d do it all again for his cause. She understands he’s got obligations to the Rishan and Bloodborn, but Oraya’s secret Heir Mark is proof that she has obligations too—ones that directly oppose his.

Raihn escorts Oraya back to her bedchambers, where she withdraws the glass shards from her pocket and contacts Jesmine. Oraya remembers Septimus’ conversation with Desdemona and warns Jesmine of the forces headed for Misrada in two weeks, which will leave the Sivrinaj armory unmanned. Oraya orders Jesmine’s forces to evacuate Misrada and take the unguarded armory.

In a flashback, a 32-year-old human Raihn fights to survive the treacherous waters of Nyaxia’s Hook, a “curved strip of land, given its name because it so often snagged unwitting human sailors like helpless fish on a line” (63). The waves shatter his ship against the rocks, and though Raihn’s body breaks with it, he manages to swim to shore. A king finds him and asks him one simple question: “Do you want to live?” (64). Raihn begs for life and the king Turns him into a vampire.

A day before the planned attack, Septimus informs Raihn and Vale that he cannot send his Bloodborn troops to Misrada. Septimus pulls his Bloodborn forces from Sivrinaj, leaving the Rishan troops scrambling. Raihn is suspicious of Septimus’s withdrawal and becomes restless when night falls, ordering Vale to pull as many guards as they can spare from their posts around the city and place them at the armory.

An explosion across the city marks Jesmine’s arrival. Oraya pounds on her bedroom door, knocks out the Rishan guard who answers, locks him in her room, and runs to the stables, where she steals a horse and gallops through the human districts. Oraya reaches the bloodshed at the armory just as Nightborn demons are summoned.

Raihn helps the Rishan guards defend the armory against the Hiaj and their demons and crosses paths with Oraya, whom he refuses to let go. When Jesmine arrives, Raihn flings her away with Asteris. He and Oraya battle but hesitate to land damaging blows on each other. Oraya refuses to kill Raihn, but a nearby Rishan guard shoots her with an arrow to defend him.

As Bloodborn reinforcements arrive to aid the Rishan, Oraya orders Jesmine to flee with the other Hiaj before losing consciousness from blood loss.

Oraya wakes at the palace to Raihn dressing her chest wound. He informs her that no Hiaj were captured, both sides sustained equal losses, and the armory was destroyed. A few hours later, Oraya is summoned to meet with Raihn, Septimus, Cairis, and Vale. Septimus presents the glass bowl found in Oraya’s bedchambers. His scheming has made him aware of her Heir Mark and that she could use her blood to activate the scrying bowl, proving her biological tie to Vincent. Septimus reveals he has found teeth belonging to Alarus, the God of Death, in the House of Blood and suspects Vincent has hidden Alarus’s blood within the House of Night. He hypothesizes the remnants of power lingering within Alarus’s remains will be useful to wield but believes Vincent put wards around wherever he has hidden the blood—wards only he or his offspring can pass. Septimus and Raihn task Oraya with finding Alarus’s blood. If she refuses, she will be punished for her treasonous involvement in the armory attack.

Raihn pulls Oraya from her chambers in the middle of the night and flies with her to his private apartment in the human districts of Sivrinaj. The apartment is his haven from the castle, which holds many horrible memories of his past as an enslaved person. He offers her The Taker of Hearts, Vincent’s centuries-old sword, which has been known to reject and cause pain to all other wielders but him. Raihn wonders if Oraya might be able to use it since she is Vincent’s daughter. Raihn admits that he had not known of Septimus’s scheming before their meeting and requests Oraya’s help in finding the god blood, then betraying Septimus and “getting the Bloodborn out of [their] kingdom” (111). In return, he will grant Oraya full freedom.

Oraya accepts the alliance with Raihn. When they return to the castle, Oraya’s chambers are permanently unlocked, and she’s given freedom to roam.

Raihn’s friend, Mische, arrives at the castle and he tells her of everything that has transpired. Mische is happy he has survived and reclaimed Rishan power, but saddened by the rift between him and Oraya.

Oraya explores the castle freely for the first time in her life; even Vincent never allowed her to do so. Oraya happens across Septimus and witnesses his hand freeze mid-movement as he reaches for his cigarillo box, “like his muscles had locked without his permission. His ring finger lurched in erratic spurts that shook his entire hand” (126). He acts as though the moment never happened and saunters off. Oraya begins training with Raihn. He assigns Mische to be her bodyguard. Oraya reluctantly accepts because she has missed her friend.

Two weeks later, Raihn questions Oraya about Vincent’s homeland, Lahor, believing Vincent might have hidden something valuable there. Vincent never spoke about his past to Oraya, but she knows he has a distant niece named Evelaena who lives in Lahor.