Book Summary of The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by author Carissa Broadbent is the stunning second book in the Nightborn Duet. This story follows Raihn and Oraya as they try to build their own kingdom in the wake of the bloody tournament that ended with Raihn killing Oraya’s father, former Nightborn King Vincent. Here’s a full summary to remind you of the main points in the book before you read my full book review. 

If you need a refresher on the first book (especially what happened at the end of the first book), The Serpent and the Wings of Night, read my full review and summary here. Both are really good books that you should read in their entirety. 

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Part 1 Night 

Chapters 1-3

In the wake of the Kejari, Oraya doesn’t want to wake up to face Raihn because she hates Raihn after what he did (but also cares for him). When he later returns, Oraya is jarred by the crown he’s wearing because it’s the crown Vincent was wearing when he died. Raihn brings her to the throne room and has Cairis put a chair for Oraya next to the throne. Septimus and his two guards-Desdemona and Ilia- are also there. 

The Rishan nobility enters the throne room, and Raihn already feels the hatred at them for what they did to him as King Neculai’s slave. Raihn notices Martas, Neculai’s cousin, in the crowd and asks where his older brother, Simon Vasarus, is. Simon was the most cruel to Raihn and thought he would be the next heir since he was the oldest living relative of the king. 

Then, Martas insults Oraya, and Raihn kills him with magic. Then, Vale walks into the throne room apologizing for his tardiness but pledging his loyalty as Head of War, just like he was Head of War for Neculai. 

After the meeting in the throne room, Septimus tries to talk to Oraya, but ignoring him Oraya makes it to her room. Then, she notices the guards only lock two of the four locks on her door. So, she plans to escape her room when the sun comes up and the other vampires go to bed.

Chapters 4-7

Raihn has a strategy meeting with Cairis, Ketura, and Vale who all agree that they’re in a bad spot with too few warriors, and the Hiaj fighting back so hard. Cairis also tries to convince Raihn that he should get rid of Oraya, but he won’t. After the meeting, Raihn thinks about wanting to help Oraya, but he thinks that he’ll just make it worse by being around her.

Oraya uses an earring and night fire to finally get through the two locks on her door. She takes the secret hallways that Vincent taught her about to Vincent’s personal wing where she stops in his study. 

On his desk, she finds shards of glass that suddenly move back into a bowl shape when she cuts her finger on them. Then, she hears Jesmine talking in the bowl, figuring this is a magic communication device Vincent used. Oraya hears voices outside the door, so she grabs the bowl and hides under the desk. 

Raihn comes in alone and says he can smell her. She concedes coming out from under the desk and confronts his about being locked up as a prisoner in her own home and killing her people-the Hiaj. When Raihn asks again for Oraya to help build a new kingdom, she just says she wants to go back to her room.

Back in her room, Oraya uses the mirror bowl to contact Jesmine again. Jesmine is surprised Oraya is able to use it even as Vincent’s heir, but presses on to tell her that the Hiaj are suffering loses from the Bloodborn. Oraya and Jesmine plan an attack on the Rishan armory. 

Part 2 New Moon 

The interlude tells Raihn’s story of shipwreck, being so close to death, and agreeing to King Neculai’s bargain as his only chance to live. 

Chapters 8-10

Raihn is meeting the Septimus and Vale about an attack, but Septimus suddenly changes plans. Later that night, Raihn goes out to the city armory wall with Vale and tells Vale he has a bad feeling because of Septimus changing the plans. Then, Raihn has all the extra Rishan forces moved to the armory where he stays also. 

An explosion in the armory rocks the city, and Oraya hears chaos in the castle outside her door. Escaping her room in the chaos, Oraya takes a horses to get to the armory, and sees the nightfire and the demons attacking the Rishan. There’s Hiaj warriors flying in to destroy the armory, so she runs into the fight. 

Inside the armory, Raihn is using his power to get rid of the demons when he sees Oraya. They start fighting, but when Raihn is distracted by her, Jesmine attacks him. After Jesmine gets distracted, Raihn lets Oraya point her blade at his chest, but she won’t kill him. Suddenly, she’s hit in the side by an arrow. 

Chapters 11-12

She crumples to the ground from the arrow wound as Raihn berates the Bloodborn soldier that shot her. If the Bloodborn are here, the Hiaj are definitely out numbered. Oraya signals for Jesmine to retreat and leave her as she loses consciousness.

Oraya wakes up to Raihn tending to her wounds, and, because she’s been dreaming of him, it’s hard to look at him. Raihn returns later to bring Oraya to a meeting with Cairis and Septimus who have the mirror bowl and confront Oraya about communicating with the Hiaj general. They want her to use her blood to open and use other magic objects that Vincent probably has around the castle. 

Septimus tells her that he believes Vincent has some of Alarus’ blood hidden. Alarus, the God of Death and Nyaxia’s husband, was killed by the other gods but his remains should still hold his power. Oraya refuses because she knows they’ll use that power to wipe out the Hiaj, but Raihn says she doesn’t have a choice after she just committed treason.

Chapters 13-14

A few hours later, Raihn comes to her room and flies Oraya to the slums of the human district into a run down apartment building to a tiny room on the top floor. When she asks who lives here, Raihn tells her that he does, and Raihn gives her back her daggers as well as Vincent’s legendary sword. Oraya doesn’t think she can even lift it because it was cursed against anyone but Vincent. 

Then, Raihn proposes to Oraya to help him find Alarus’ blood and other magic objects in the castle to help get rid of Septimus. 

Back at the castle, Raihn realizes that Oraya is probably planning to betray him, but he’s just happy she’ll be talking to him again. She says that part of the deal is that he has to stop locking her in her room, so he reluctantly agrees. Then, Raihn goes to the guest wing to find Mische who he told not to come but is happy to see anyways. 

Chapters 15-17

Raihn tells Mische everything that happened since she left the Kejari. Mische helps to comfort him, and even though he protests, says she’s staying here with him. Raihn hopes that having Mische here will help Oraya, too, and Mische seems very concerned for her. 

In the training room, it’s been a long time since Oraya fought, but it feels good to fight again even with Raihn joining her. Oraya is mad at first, but when they get back to her room, she’s excited to se Mische there. Now, Mische will be staying in the room next to Oraya’s. 

Raihn is in his office with Oraya and asks if she knows anything about the city of Lahor. It was Vincent’s home land, and, today, his only family, a distant niece, lives there. Raihn says Septimus thinks Vincent may have hid things there, so they’re going together.

Part 3 Crescent Moon

The interlude is about how awful turning is. Raihn wakes up to King Neculai sitting beside him and is confused forgetting what happened at first. When he asks to go home, the king tells him that he only exists here. 

Chapters 18-19

When they finally reach Lahor, it’s a city in totally ruin surrounded by a tall black wall. Raihn and Oraya had sent a letter to Vincent’s niece, Evelaena, but did not receive anything in return. 

Oraya places her hand on the tall, black stone gate in the wall, and it begins to open. A young boy is on the other side who says his master, Lady Evelaena, is pleased to welcome them.

They’re led to a castle, barely standing, and seemingly empty when they enter. In the throne room, they’re greeted by Evelaena who resembles Vincent but is wearing outdated, once elegant but now dirty clothes. Evelaena clearly doesn’t like Raihn, but she leads them to a ballroom with the promise of a feast. 

In the ballroom is a long table filled with vampires who all look like young teenage children. They all resemble Evelaena and follow her commands to sit. Raihn thinks they can’t all possibly be Evelaena’s children, but it’s still very unnerving. 

Chapter 20-22

Seated near Evelaena, Oraya tries to calm herself by drinking some wine but almost throws up when its blood instead. Then, Evelaena signals for dinner, and the children bring out almost dead humans. The children and Evelaena are delighted while Oraya’s group looks disgusted. 

After the feast, Evelaena is drunk and dancing with some of the child vampires when Raihn tells Oraya that the children are all turned. Then, Oraya asks Evelaena to show her Vincent’s old things. 

Evelaena leads Oraya to a small, neatly kept apartment that apparently belonged to Vincent. Because she thought he’d return one day, Evelaena kept all his possessions, and Oraya realizes that Evelaena was here the day Vincent killed the rest of his family. When Oraya asks about it, Evelaena says Vincent killed everyone the night before he left for his Kejari and tried to kill her as well, a five years old, but Nyaxia saved her.

For days, they search the castle for any object that seems important or valuable, but they don’t find anything of note. Raihn flies her up over the nearby lake, and she remembers how much she likes flying. They fly up to a ruined tower near the lake, and Raihn says he should have known Oraya was half-human half-vampire because she loves flying. 

Then, Raihn suspects Oraya could conjure wings. She doubts this, but Raihn suddenly pushes her off the tower. 

Chapters 23-25

As she’s falling, she starts flying, but, then, Raihn rushes towards Oraya telling her to watch out as everything goes black. Oraya is in a memory of when she’s eleven and falls off the balcony trying to climb it, but Vincent scolds her. Suddenly, Oraya realizes Vincent knew she could fly, but broke her down to never try. 

After Raihn leaves at Oraya’s insistence, she practices flying again to the ruined tower. She enters into the rooms of the tower to find a picture of Hiaj wings around something that looks like a real heart beating in time with Oraya’s. She reaches out to touch it, and it opens to reveal a pendant. 

When she touches it, she sees the memory of Vincent killing his father and pinning his wings to this wall with a spell. Suddenly, she hears Evelaena behind her who says she’s been trying to open the heart for years. Then, Evelaena attacks, slamming Oraya’s head into the wall and knocking her out.

Raihn keeps looking out the window into the sunlight when Mische wakes up. He tells her that Oraya has still not returned. But Raihn knows something is wrong and tells Mische they’re going to get her.

Chapters 26-28

Oraya wakes up with her new wings nailed to the wall of dark chamber with Evelaena and her children. She notices Evelaena is wearing the pendant and trying to carry Vincent’s sword (that was taken from Oraya’s bag) which is burning her hand even through cloth. Then, Oraya uses her magic to fill the room with nightfire. 

Oraya grabs the sword from Evelaena, and even though it is painful and fills her head with memories of Vincent, Oraya is able to use the sword to kill Evelaena. One of the children comes up behind Oraya to stab her, but there’s an explosion somewhere. Suddenly, Oraya is in Raihn’s arms and passes out. 

Oraya wakes up in a small room with Raihn, and slowly the memories of Lahor come back. Raihn shows her the pendant and the sword he retrieved when he found her. Then, Mische is knocking on the door saying there’s a problem in Sivrinaj. 

The Rishan nobles are making trouble by not sending troops to Vale in a protest about Raihn being king. Then, he tells Mische he’s going ahead to Sivrinaj and she’ll stay with Oraya and some guards. As he’s outside leaving, he looks up to see Oraya waving bye in the window. 

Part 4 Half Moon

The interlude tells of Raihn’s struggle as a slave at first and getting used to being immortal. The only bright spot during this time is when he first meets Nessanyn. It takes years for them to actually speak and eventually form a relationship, but she’s the only kind one to him in the whole castle. 

Chapters 29-31

Oraya falls into a routine training with Mische, but she feels like something is missing without Raihn. After a few weeks, Oraya tells Mische they should return to Sivrinaj even though Raihn hasn’t sent for them yet. At first Mische says no but, then, finally agrees. 

Raihn isn’t happy to see them when they return, and he’s covered in blood from dealing with rebels. At dinner, Raihn tells Vale that they’re throwing a huge wedding reception for Vale and his recently turned wife. Vale argues with Raihn, but ultimately his wife agrees if that’s what the kingdom needs. 

After dinner, Raihn offers to walk Vale’s wife Lilith back to her room while Vale meets with Ketura. Lilith seems shy until Raihn starts speaking Dheran, the language from the human lands they were both born in, and tells her that if she’s ever here against her will he will help her. She tells him Vale is nothing but good to her, and she wants to be here. 

Chapters 32-33

Oraya goes back to the human districts, and she ends up at the bar Raihn took her to. Then, Raihn shows up behind her after Mische told him she left the palace. They sit down with their beer, and Raihn ends up telling Oraya he started actually enforcing the law that vampires couldn’t hunt in the human districts.

They go back to Raihn’s apartment in the human districts, and, because of the drinking, Oraya asks Raihn if he ever has other female companions up here. Raihn is amused that Oraya is jealous, but he tells her that he only wants his wife. Also because of the drinking, she kisses his hand and then bites it out of instinct. When she tastes his blood, she’s surprised at how good she finds it, and Raihn reassures her that it’s not surprising she likes blood if she’s half vampire. 

Then, Raihn brings up the wedding celebration and tells her that to get rid of the Bloodborn, he’s invited the House of Shadow to potentially make a secret alliance with them. Raihn promises Oraya that if she helps with this, she’s free to leave and go wherever she wants.

Chapters 34-36  

The day before the wedding, Oraya goes wandering around the castle and accidentally walks into Septimus in a small library. It’s their last resort to find the god blood to break the curse, and he’ll do anything he has to. He offers Oraya the crown to the House of Night if she agrees to help him, but she knows that deal will trap her to the House of Blood and declines.

Cairis sends up a dress for the wedding that’s both revealing and flattering on Oraya. It comes with a high necked mantle that covers her shoulders, neck, and back including her Heir mark. She lets maids get her ready, but, after they leave, she decides to remove the mantle. 

As Raihn greets guests in the ballroom, the prince of the House of Shadow arrives, and the prince seems friendly at first. Then, he shows his distaste that the Bloodborn are in the House of Night. Raihn is about to explain when he has to stop and catch his breath because he just saw Oraya walk in.

Chapters 37-39

In the ballroom with Mische, Oraya points out that the prince of the House of Shadow is admiring Mische, but Mische seems immediately uncomfortable and makes an excuse to move back into the crowd. Left alone, Oraya is approached by Simon, but Raihn quickly shows up and pulls Oraya away. Then, Raihn tries to shake it off and asks Oraya to dance.

While they dance, Oraya can feel how much she wants Raihn, and how much he wants her, too. At the end of the dance, Raihn falters in his steps, and Oraya asks if he’s alright and feels like something is off. But before she can say anything else, Cairis pulls him away.

Raihn followed Cairis outside, but everything felt fuzzy and finally realizes something was very wrong. Raihn realizes Cairis is the traitor who’s also drugged him tonight. Cairis says he won’t let Raihn mess this up because of his feelings for Oraya, and Raihn starts to loose consciousness as Rishan soldiers tie him up.

Chapters 40-42

Oraya still can’t find Raihn or Mische in the ballroom, and, when she tries to leave, Septimus is behind her and uses blood magic on her. He’s so strong that Oraya can’t move her body at all. In the ballroom, she sees Bloodborn soldiers attack Raihn’s men.

Oraya wakes up to being carried by two Bloodborn soldiers, and, when one is distracted by removing her weapons, she attacks and kills both. One of them was carrying Vincent’s sword, so she takes it and doesn’t feel any pain this time. All she can think about is Raihn, so she runs up to the ballroom to find Raihn’s own nobles around him chained up.

Oraya is so full of rage and Vincent’s sword is so powerful, she easily cuts down all the Rishan soldiers in her way. She realizes that they’ve changed up Raihn out here, so he’ll slowly burn to death when the sun comes up. Oraya unchains and picks up Raihn as best she can, and jumps off the balcony with her wings coming out. 

Part 5 Waxing Moon 

The interlude is about Raihn’s relationship with Nessanyn. It may or may not have been real love, but it was Raihn’s reason to live. When he starts hearing whispers of a rebellion around the Kejari, he decided to help Vincent. 

Chapters 43-45

Oraya struggles to fly Raihn, and they just barely make it outside the apartment building in the human districts. Inside, Raihn gives Oraya a drawing Vincent made of her mother along with letters to her that Raihn found scouring the castle. They piece together Oraya’s mother was a magic user, a seer who practiced under Acaeja-goddess of the unknown and weaver of fates. 

Finally kissing each other, Oraya gives in to her want for Raihn, but first she makes him beg. He gladly does, and he acts like he’s starving for Oraya. Raihn asks what she really wants, and she says his blood.

Raihn uses her dagger to cut his neck. Oraya drinks his blood, and then she lets him drink her blood, too. Then, they sleep together.

Chapters 46-48

When Oraya wakes up to Raihn kissing her, she feels safe for the first time since they woke up together in the Kejari. They agree they need to get back to the palace, but they can’t think of a good plan to get in. Raihn shows Oraya that he has Vincent’s magic mirror to contact Jesmine, and they have Vincent’s sword. 

Oraya remembers that Vincent had once shown her a secret way out of the castle through the sewers if she ever needed it. Raihn and Oraya jumped into the river in the human districts and swam up the sewer grate attached to castle that opened. They follow the tunnels up into the basement level of the castle. When they come to a split, Raihn goes towards the dungeons to look for Mische, and Oraya goes towards her rooms to look for the pendant. 

Oraya makes it all the way to her room to see Mische inside but doesn’t have the time to explain. Oraya searches the room, but the pendant is gone. They leave to find Raihn, but run into the Shadowborn prince. 

Chapters 49-51

Oraya is about to attack the prince, but Mische beats her to it. Mische stabs him in the heart, and, finally, she blurts out that he’s the one who turned her and left her to die. They hurry to find Raihn in the dungeon and find him fighting off a bunch of guards. Raihn uses their keys to free Ketura, Vale, and Lilith. Together, they all go back to the sewers and swim out of the castle. 

The group flies for almost a week straight to make it to the cliffs on the border of the House of Night where Jesmine and what is left of her forces have been hiding. Oraya tells Jesmine that she intends to rule as Queen at Raihn’s side, and Jesmine tells Oraya she’s faithful to her and the Hiaj throne no matter what. Then, Oraya tells Jesmine about Septimus’ plan with the god blood. 

Down in the hot springs within the caves to clean up, Vale stops Raihn to talk to him and thank him for saving him and Lilith.  Raihn makes it to a secluded hot spring. He dives under the water, and when he comes up he’s aware of Oraya staring at him.

Chapters 52-54

She was staring at the Heir mark on Raihn’s back, and, as she gets into the water, she starts tracing his mark with her fingers. Oraya tells Raihn she meant it when she told Jesmine she was going to rule with him. And Oraya finally admits that she’s missed Raihn all this time, so they hook up again in the hot spring. 

The plan is to attack Sivrinaj in a week, and Raihn finally manages to corner Mische. She very reluctantly tells him the whole story of realizes the Shadow prince was the one who turned her.  Raihn tells her that he would have killed the prince if she hadn’t. 

Everyone’s sleeping the night before they’re supposed to march on the city. Oraya can’t and she finds Raihn also awake outside a tent. Oraya rests her head on his shoulder, and he tells her she’s been the best part of the his time as a vampire. 

Chapters 55-57

They set out towards Sivrinaj. One group of Vales allies were going around by sea, Raihn was leading some flying soldiers to the inner city, and Ketura was leading a force on the ground. Oraya and Jesmine were using the secret tunnels to attack the castle directly.

Raihn and his flying soldiers make it all the way to the inner city before Simon’s Rishan soldiers fly up to meet them. There’s more of Simon’s soldiers than they thought, but Raihn doesn’t slow down as he meets them. 

Oraya and Jesmine start in the tunnels and make it to the inner city. Above they can hear the battle going on. Suddenly, Oraya feels something with her magic that fills her with dread, and they pick up their pace to get out of the tunnels.

Chapters 58-60

Raihn has killed countless soldiers when he spots Simon on the balcony of the castle. Simon doesn’t seem concerned when Raihn cuts his arm or even when Raihn has him pinned. Then, Raihn notices Simon is wearing Vincent’s pendant that they’ve reformed around a tooth. 

Suddenly, Raihn puts together this is one of the god’s teeth that Septimus said he found in the House of Blood. Simon lets out a huge blast of magic.

Oraya emerges from the tunnels outside the castle to see Raihn under Simon, and she flings herself at him.  Raihn and Oraya both start fighting him, but he seems unconcerned by any injury he gets. Simon pins Oraya at the edge of the balcony, and Raihn can’t get to her in time. She’s flung by a blast off the balcony as Raihn jumps after her. 

Raihn flies out carrying Orayas unconscious body with him, telling Vale to retreat. Without realizing it, Raihn flies not far to a small town, Vartana, that was listed on the letter Vincent kept from Oraya’s mom. When they land, a lady steps out of her door and says she knows who they are.

Part 6 Full Moon 

The interlude tells how Raihn fed Vincent information about the king, castle, and guards during the Kejari without ever revealing his identity. He does all this in exchange for safety for those closest to him. The night before the final event of the Kejari, he tells Nessanyn, but she refuses to come with him. 

At the edge of the city, he turns back to see Nyaxia rising above the arena. She looks right at him, and he feels the power flow through him. That night he tries to burn the Heir mark off his back almost killing himself. 

Chapters 61-62

Oraya awakes in a small room with Raihn sleeping in a chair when a lady enters and says she’s Alya, Oraya’s aunt. Alya tells Oraya that her and her sister, Alana, were both acolytes of Acaeja. Alya was a healer and Alana was a powerful seer. 

Alana went to work for Vincent and fell in love with him. They visited Alya once who sees that Vincent seems to love Alana but looks at all other humans of disgust. 

Eventually, Alana leaves Vincent when she gets pregnant, and Alana gets remarried and has two more kids. Then, Alya gives Oraya a bracelet that was her mother’s that matches the ring she always wears. When Raihn puts the bracelet on Oraya, a map appears on the back of her hand. 

Oraya, Raihn, and Alya talk with Mische, Jesmine, and Vale with the mirror. Oraya shows everyone the detailed map on her hand leading them to a spot in the desert outside of Sivrinaj. They figure this is where the god blood or something else just as magically strong must be. 

After the meeting, Alya brings Jace, her husband, and, Tamyra, who tells them she’s part of a network of hundreds of humans who are trained to protect humans from vampires. They’ve noticed the change under Raihn, too and want to join the fight. Jace, who makes magical weapons with Alya, shows Oraya that Vincent’s sword was destroyed by Simon’s magic but can be remade for her.

Chapters 63-65

Raihn and Oraya left a day before the others to get there early. They flew the whole night avoiding Rishan spies in the air. Then as the sun is coming up, they set up a small tent that blends into the desert.

As they lay together, Raihn reflects on the night he laid with Nessanyn before the Kejari. He thought he was in love then but, now he knew it was a survival mechanism. What he feels for Oraya was actually love. 

When they arrive at the ancient ruins in the desert, they see their army flying in and the humans marching in. Once Oraya feels the magic, she is lead to a hidden door that only she can get through, not Raihn. Just then, they see Simon’s massive army flying in, and they both know Raihn has to go lead the fight against them.

Chapters 66-68

Raihn flies up to meet Vale. He doesn’t want to admit, but he feels afraid. He also tells Vale to stay away from Simon who he’s going to try to hold off.

Beyond the door, Oraya can’t see anything, but she finally makes it to a circular room that’s covered in carved symbols. The magic is overwhelming and almost too painful. She tries to get to a pillar in the center of the room, but she has to cut her hand open and offer more blood. 

When Raihn’s and Simon’s swords and magic clash, a few vampires around them are killed by the blast. While Simon’s distracted talking to Raihn, Raihn reaches out and pulls on the magic pendant stuck in Simon’s chest. Everything goes white. 

Chapters 69-70

When she spills her blood, she’s pulled into Vincent’s memory of building this room with her mother. Oraya sees Vincent’s memory of killing Neculai, winning the Kejari, and his strong emotions for Alana as he pulls her in for a kiss. 

Then, it’s Vincent’s memory of when he came here after Alana left him. He knew she was pregnant, but he let her go because he could never hurt her. He’s furious at her for leaving, but more mad at himself for having a weakness. 

Raihn and Simon fall to the ground, but Raihn’s wings won’t work to stop his fall. He hits the ground so hard when Simon staggers up, and the pendant in his chest looking different now. But Simon charges anyways. 

Chapters 71-72

When she touches the middle pillar, she’s in Vincent’s memory of the night he found her. Vincent had been hearing whispers of Rishan rebellions and having dreams of a small vampire son who looked just like him stabbing him in the heart. In his paranoia, he decided to show power against the Rishan and eliminate his weakness. 

When he found Oraya who looked just like her mother, he knew he loved her overwhelmingly right away and could not think of ever hurting her. When Oraya comes out of the memory Vincent is beside her, and he tells her to take the small vial of blood that has appeared in the middle column. It’s extremely painful to touch, but she grabs it and tells Vincent she loves him as she leaves.

Just when Simon pins Raihn to the wall, they see Oraya come out of the doorway surrounded by red magic. Simon starts stabbing Raihn a few times, before his own wounds catch up to him. Oraya throws Simon off of Raihn as Raihn collapses. 

Chapters 73-75 

As Oraya screams out for Raihn, she sees Simon stumbles to his hands and knees, only alive because of the magic pendant. Suddenly, she thinks of what she would give to have any possessions or parts of Vincent because she loves him. Holding up the vial, Oraya calls out to Nyaxia offering her the blood of her husband.

Nyaxia is suddenly descending down in front of Oraya, and the battle around them seems to stop. Nyaxia goes to Simon and rips out the pendant from his chest calling it an atrocity causing him to die. Oraya asks Nyaxia to make a Coriatis bond between her and Raihn to save his life. Ultimately, she denies the favor because that would mean uniting the Hiaj and Rishan which Nyaxia doesn’t want. 

Oraya asks how she can save him, then. Nyaxia tells her that he needs a Coriatis bond given by a god, but she won’t give it. After she disappears, Oraya calls upon Acaeja in the name of her mother. 

Acaeja appears before her, and Oraya asks her for the Coriatis bond. Oraya tells Acaeja it’s for all the great things and change Raihn could do for this kingdom. Acaeja says she does see this possibility in their futures, but they have to promise to fight for what’s right when Nyaxia comes for revenge. Oraya agrees, and Acaeja performs the bond on them. 

Part 7 Dawn

Chapters 76-78

Oraya wakes up to her room in the castle very disoriented, but starts to remember when she finds Raihn. She can feel his heartbeat and his surge of emotions just like she can feel hers. Then, they notice they both have the Hiaj and the Rishan heir mark. 

Raihn is gathered in a meeting room with Oraya, Mische, Vale, Lilith, Ketura, and Jesmine who are annoyed that Septimus has escaped. Then, Raihn enters the dungeon with Oraya to find Cairis, and decides to send him to a prison worse than death. Cairis tells them that although he has no concrete information, he knows Septimus is not done and only planning something big. 

Oraya and Raihn go to biggest feast of the year-the lunar new year-where they’re supposed to offer gifts to Nyaxia in front of the whole kingdom. When they offer their blood which Nyaxia traditionally takes herself, this time nothing happens for a few seconds. When the blood finally disappears, both Oraya and Raihn are relieved but thinking of Acaeja’s warning. 

Chapters 79-80 

Raihn finds Mische who seems to be avoiding Raihn again, and after some prodding admits that she’s leaving in a few weeks. When Raihn tries to ask why, she just tells him that she’s not made to sit still. After their talk, Raihn finds Oraya again who asks if he wants to go somewhere more fun.

Raihn and Oraya go to the human districts to drink beer on a rooftop like they’ve done in past. Oraya asks Raihn if he ever feels afraid because the devastating love she feels for him makes her afraid. Raihn tells her he’s also afraid by how much he loves her, but there’s also so much safety in it. 

Bonus Chapter

Six months later, the House of Night is slowly starting to change. Oraya and Raihn are still getting used to their bond which has made Raihn slightly more comfortable in the sun. It has also warped Oraya’s sense of time because she now shares in Raihn’s immortality even though she’s still human. 

They briefly note that they’re worried about Mische because her letters have stopped coming the last few weeks. Then, they fly to the ruins in the desert where the battle took place. Because of their bond, Raihn can now enter the chamber and use his blood the same as Oraya’s. In the now empty middle pillar, they place the remaining pieces of Vincent’s sword and his pendant that they retrieved from Simon’s body which hold great power while they remake the protections. 

Read the Full Book Review

Now that you got a refresher on the main points of the second novel, read my full book review. If you’re a fan of dark fantasy romance, there’s also more recommendations to read next. And you can continue in this world of vampires with more fantasy novels from this series about other characters. 

The next book to read in the series is The Songbird and the Heart of Stone, which you can find here. This is another great read for fans of dark romantasy.