The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

Ketura, Mische, Septimus, and a group of trusted Nightborn and Bloodborn guards accompany Raihn and Oraya to Lahor to meet with Evelaena.

Evelaena invites them into her ramshackle great hall, where she has prepared a welcome feast. The room contains dozens of guests, all Turned children no older than 12, and several naked humans lying on the banquet tables.

Septimus, the Bloodborn, and the children begin feeding on the humans. Raihn is forced to feed on a human woman but ensures she receives a swift and painless death. Oraya tricks Evelaena into becoming drunk on wine and blood and then asks about Vincent’s possessions.

Evelaena leads Oraya to Vincent’s old chambers, which contain nothing noteworthy. Evelaena reveals she was in the castle over two centuries ago when Vincent slaughtered his entire family to secure a direct line to the throne. He dragged five-year-old Evelaena out from under a bed and stabbed her through the chest. She miraculously survived and has cared for the dilapidated remains of Lahor since. Evelaena is tempted by Oraya’s human blood but is interrupted by Raihn’s arrival.

Instead of retiring to the bedchambers Evelaena procures for them, Raihn and Oraya’s entourage scour the castle for important objects. They find nothing. While the others retire to their suites to rest, Oraya and Raihn sneak into the city where they find both humans and vampires starving. Oraya kills a vampire hunting a human woman. Raihn flies Oraya over the beautiful coastline and lands them atop a tower to admire the view. They speak of her half vampire heritage and Raihn wonders if Oraya can summon wings. To test the theory, he pushes her off the tower.

Oraya manages to summon wings and flies unsteadily, but her joy at the discovery is overshadowed by her anger at Vincent, whose secrets kept her weak. Raihn likens Vincent’s love for Oraya to the love Neculai Vasarus had for his wife, Nessanyn, a destructive love that broke and killed her. He admits that love is terrifying “no matter who you are” (186). Oraya believes this to be true of her love for Raihn but does not voice this aloud and instead requests to be alone.

Alone at the tower, Oraya regards Lahor as the sun rises. She remembers an ink drawing of Lahor from Vincent’s study and flies to another tower which provides the viewpoint the sketch depicts. Within the tower is a set of Hiaj wings spread across the wall with a pulsing heart at its center. Oraya bleeds on it and the heart opens to reveal a silver crescent moon pendant. Evelaena and one of her child vampires, both suffering burns from the sun, corner Oraya in the tower. Evelaena has been trying to open the heart for a decade to no avail. They both attack and Evelaena knocks Oraya unconscious.

When the sun fully rises and Oraya doesn’t return, Raihn and Mische become worried.

Oraya wakes in a room with Evelaena and her vampire children, her wings nailed to the wall and her hands bound. Evelaena has stolen Vincent’s sword, the Taker of Hearts, from Oraya’s belongings but cannot use it without immense pain. Oraya tricks Evelaena into unbinding her and feigns transferring ownership of the sword to Evelaena. When Evelaena attempts to wield it, it causes terrible pain which allows Oraya to seize the sword and stab Evelaena fatally through the chest. Oraya is attacked by one of the vampire children but saved by Raihn at the last moment.

Oraya wakes in a town near Sivrinaj. She has been sedated and healing for nearly the entire return journey. Raihn possesses the crescent pendant Evelaena took from Oraya, which he has kept secret from Septimus. Raihn applies healing salve to Oraya’s sensitive wings, resulting in a tender moment between them that Oraya retreats from.

Mische delivers a letter to Raihn from Vale, who is struggling with the uncooperative Rishan nobles in Sivrinaj. Mische questions Raihn about Oraya and reminds him not to compare their relationship to Neculai and Nessanyn. Raihn leaves for Sivrinaj and orders Mische to help Oraya with her magic as she heals.

Another flashback depicts Raihn’s first decades enslaved by Neculai, during which he suffers endless degradation and abuse. The only person who shows him kindness is Neculai’s wife, Nessanyn, who begins bandaging his wounds. It is months before they begin speaking to each other and years before they have a physical relationship.

Oraya is the only one who can touch the pendant, but she and Mische cannot determine what it is or what it does. When Oraya’s wings heal enough, Ketura teaches her how to appear and disappear them on command. Mische becomes more uneasy as the days draw on and they receive no word from Raihn.

A week later, Oraya, Mische, and Ketura return to Sivrinaj, where they find Raihn covered in mysterious vampire blood. At dinner, Cairis suggests they hold a big event to “flaunt the king’s significant […] power” before the resistant Sivrinaj nobles; he believes Vale’s wedding reception to his newly Turned wife, Lilith, will be the perfect opportunity.

After dinner, Vale is pulled away to speak with Cairis, and Raihn walks Lilith to her chambers. He relates to her as a Turned vampire and offers his help if she ever feels trapped and wishes to leave. Lilith assures him Vale treats her with the utmost respect and affection and she has no desire to leave the House of Night.

Oraya travels to the human districts at night to hunt for vampires but finds none. She visits Sandra’s, where she orders a beer and is joined by Raihn, who has followed her. He reveals that in his short time ruling, he’s already made the human districts safer from vampires, unlike Vincent and the cruel rulers who came before him. When a human man bumps into Raihn and recognizes him as the king, the tavern falls silent with fear, prompting him and Oraya to leave the premises.

Raihn brings Oraya to his private apartment where they become intimate, but Oraya once again pulls away. They speak of the upcoming wedding celebration. Raihn reveals that Simon Vasarus—the brother of Martas, whom Raihn killed for his dissent—will be there. Raihn has invited the House of Shadow, with which he hopes to make diplomatic ties as they hate the Bloodborn as much as he does. Raihn tells Oraya there is a traitor in his court, feeding Rishan rebels confidential information, and he believes it’s Vale.

The day before the wedding festivities, Oraya crosses paths with Septimus in the library. The trembling in his hands has gotten worse, which she suspects is a sign of the Bloodborn curse which shortens the House of Blood’s lifespans. Septimus tells her a story of his family: His parents went to a seer after they married, who prophesied that they would have a son who would either save the House of Blood or end it. They doted on their son, trained him to be the best, and then sent him on a mission to find Nyaxia and earn back her love for the Bloodborn. When he found her, she mercilessly killed him. The man was Septimus’s brother. Five more brothers have died since then, leaving only Septimus to fulfill the prophecy. He’s desperate to save his house and offers her his support in reclaiming the House of Night’s crown if she shows him loyalty. She declines.

Oraya decides to wear a dress that proudly reveals her Heir Mark to the wedding reception.

At the wedding reception, Raihn performs his part to earn respect from the resistant Rishan nobles and introduces himself to the House of Shadow prince and his companions. He is also approached by Simon Vasarus and his wife, Leona, who still view Raihn as one of Neculai’s enslaved Turned.

Oraya arrives at the reception, drawing everyone’s eye. At the sight of her Heir Mark, they begin to view her as a threat. When Simon corners Oraya and grabs her arm, Raihn pulls her away for a dance.

The intimacy of their dance captures everyone’s attention, much to Cairis’s irritation. Oraya is suspicious of the drunken stumble Raihn takes afterward as Cairis pulls him away to talk.

Raihn becomes more intoxicated as Cairis leads him outside. When Cairis apologizes, Raihn realizes he has been drugged by his advisor, who has chosen to ally with Simon and Leona because he believes Raihn’s affection for Oraya will waste all they’ve done to secure Rishan power.

Oraya becomes more concerned about Raihn’s strange stumble and his disappearance from the reception. She is cornered by Septimus, who draws blood from her and uses blood magic to render her unconscious after admitting he has chosen to ally with Simon and Leona after Oraya’s rejection.

When Oraya wakes, she discovers she is a captive of Septimus’s guard, Desdemona, and another Bloodborn guard who is unsheathing the weapons hidden on Oraya’s person. While they believe she is still unconscious, Oraya uses their proximity to snatch the weapons and kill them both. Oraya notices they have taken the Taker of Hearts from her rooms and grabs it, intending to wield it for the first time to save Raihn.

Oraya finds Raihn on an upper room’s balcony, guarded by several Rishan guards, his wings nailed to the castle exterior. They plan to let the sunrise burn him—a humiliating death before all of Sivrinaj. Oraya tears through the soldiers using the Taker of Hearts and her Nightfire, leaving none alive, and frees Raihn from the wall. She summons her wings and hurls them both over the balcony as more Rishan guards flood in.