An Ember in the Ashes

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2015

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, Chapters 5-10

Parts 1-2, Chapters 11-15

Part 2, Chapters 16-20

Part 2, Chapters 21-26

Part 2, Chapters 27-30

Part 2, Chapters 31-37

Part 2, Chapters 38-40

Parts 2-3, Chapters 41-45

Part 3, Chapters 46-50

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Parts 1-2, Chapters 11-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “The Raid” - Part 2: “The Trials”

Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary: “Laia”

Keenan prepares Laia to leave for Blackcliff, explaining her assignment is to gain information about the trials. As they talk, Laia sees the vulnerable boy beneath Keenan’s gruff exterior, and Keenan is impressed by Laia’s knowledge of healing herbs. Laia reveals she once dreamed of being a storyteller, but she no longer feels the need to tell stories of the supernatural since “there’s worse that roams the night” (91).

That night, a rebel operative brings Laia to the slaver who obtains all the slaves for Blackcliff. Though Laia’s been ordered to say nothing, she offers a list of her skills when it looks like the slaver won’t buy her. The slaver finally agrees, noting that Laia will have to learn to keep her mouth shut, and an hour later, she’s in a wagon on her way to the school. In the dark, a ghul appears, tells her Darin is suffering, and disappears as the wagon halts.

The slaver drags Laia to the Commandant, all the while warning her about what to expect. The Commandant will brand her, but Laia will be glad for it because it will keep the older students from abusing her as often. The warnings make Laia feel ill. She tries to run, but the slaver yanks on her chain, making her realize “there is no going back” (100).

Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary: “Elias”

That night, there is a party to celebrate the four chosen aspirants for the trials. Elias feels out of place, and he notices something odd about Helene that he can’t name. Elias’s grandfather pulls Elias aside to relay all the problems Elias will face—from the current emperor fighting to defend his throne to Marcus and Zak trying to discredit him. Elias’s grandfather gives him a family heirloom—a pair of the strongest blades forged by the weaponsmiths. Elias doesn’t want to accept them, but his grandfather slides them into the duel sheaths on Elias’s back, saying “they are a fitting gift for an Emperor [...] see that you earn them” (106).

Helene slips out a side entrance, and Elias follows her to a rooftop, where they discuss the future. Helene is sure Elias will win the trials and that she’ll be his second-in-command, but if she were to win, she would expand trade and stop the raids on the Scholars. Elias can tell something is bothering Helene, but she refuses to talk about it unless he tells her why he was in the catacombs the day before. Elias is unwilling to explain his desire to desert, so they just sit silently together in the night, “our secrets heavy between us” (111).

Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary: “Laia”

Blackcliff is the most forbidding place Laia’s ever seen. The slaver leads her to the Commandant’s quarters, where Laia is amazed to find the Commandant is shorter than her and almost delicate-looking. The Commandant asks Laia her name, and when Laia gives it, the Commandant slaps her across the face, telling her, “you have no name. No identity. You are a slave” (114). One wall is covered with pictures of all the rebels the Commandant has destroyed. Laia’s parents are among them, and the realization she works for her parents’ murderer enrages Laia.

The Commandant summons another enslaved Scholar (Izzi) to take Laia to the kitchen, where she is given a tea tray to take back upstairs. Izzi warns Laia to get to the Commandant’s room before the bells outside stop ringing, but Laia trips on the stairs and is late. When she reaches the Commandant’s chambers, the Commandant whips her and sends her away. Back in the kitchen, Laia realizes the Commandant’s office is probably empty. She should go up and look for information, but she can’t muster the motivation because all she can think about is “the throbbing in my back and the blood soaking my shirt” (121).

Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary: “Elias”

Following two days of leave, Elias returns to the school for the trials. Laia finds Elias and Helene, telling them they’re late for a meeting with the Commandant. Helene rushes ahead, but Elias lingers, staring at Laia as a “heated, visceral shock flares through me at the clarity of her dark gold eyes” (127). He feels a sudden urge of protectiveness and a hope that she will escape the Commandant before she’s disfigured. He suggests she cover her face as to not draw attention and then follows Helene.

The Commandant has information about the four parts of the trial that will test courage, cunning, strength, and loyalty. Winners of each trial will receive a token from the Augurs. Those who complete the trials will be rewarded with their survival, and those who fail will be executed. Whoever wins two trials first will be crowned emperor. That night, Elias dreams of an arid landscape and wakes to find he’s transported to a desert.

Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary: “Laia”

Over the next week, Laia grows more and more terrified, both of the Commandant and of what the resistance will do when they find out she’s learned nothing about the trials. As she does the Commandant’s hair one morning, she catches glimpses of a letter, but she’s too scared of being caught to learn much. The Commandant gives her two letters to deliver and asks if Laia has made friends. When Laia asks Izzi why the Commandant cares if Laia’s made friends, Izzi explains that the Commandant uses those connections to punish people and warns Laia that if she does make friends to “make sure it’s secret” (141).

On her way to the courier office, Laia sees Keenan working at a market stall, and he directs her toward an alley, where he meets up with her and leads her to a meeting with Mazen. Laia has nothing to tell them and begs for one more chance. Mazen is sure he made a mistake because Laia is nothing like her mother, but he grants her request, warning “fail me again and we’re done” (147).

Parts 1-2, Chapters 11-15 Analysis

Laia’s chapters in this section show more of the empire’s brutality and the careless disregard for Scholar lives. Laia’s observation that worse things than supernatural creatures roam the night is a nod to how terrible living under Martial rule is. She doesn’t yet know that the supernatural creatures are real and much worse than the empire, but their presence wouldn’t make the empire any better. The encounter with the slaver and her journey to Blackcliff begin to break her spirit, a necessary part of her character arc so she can rebuild herself stronger later. The casual way the slaver mentions abuse means such treatment has been normalized, and Laia should expect it to go unpunished. The Martial Empire is built on violence and superiority, and they view anyone they’ve conquered as lesser and not deserving of basic decency or comfort. They see no problem with abusing or harming Scholars simply because Scholars are not Martials.

Laia’s interactions with the Commandant reinforce the slaver’s warnings about Blackcliff and show Martial disregard for Scholar life in action. The Commandant doesn’t care who Laia is. To her, Laia is an enslaved person, and enslaved people have no identity or purpose other than to serve Blackcliff. This is one of many ways Laia is dehumanized. The Commandant’s severe punishment when Laia delivers tea late shows the Commandant does not mince her words. She does not accept excuses and revels in hurting people, which sets up the Commandant’s involvement in the greater story and series plotlines.

The Commandant’s treatment picks up where the slaver left off in terms of breaking Laia’s spirit. By punishing Laia so severely for one simple mistake, the Commandant instills a fear of what punishment for a serious infraction would be like. As a result, Laia is terrified to do something as innocuous as sneak a glance at the letter in Chapter 15 because she can’t fathom the pain the Commandant would rain down. This highlights the theme of The Power of Choice in that Laia’s only sense of agency is the option to not misstep or commit any deliberate rebellious actions to avoid further harm from her enslaver.

Chapter 15 shows how careful the resistance has to be. Rather than just approach Laia in the street, Keenan disguises himself as a tradesperson selling wares and makes subtle gestures as instructions for Laia. Keenan doesn’t enter the alleyway at the same time as Laia to avoid anyone noticing them together, and the meeting place is nowhere near the alley they disappear into. Despite the suffering she’s undergone in Chapters 11 and 13, Laia insists she be given another chance. She knows the Commandant will likely abuse her more, but Laia believes her actions are necessary to save her brother, showing her absolute commitment to her family.

Elias prepares for the trials in his chapters, both by attending gatherings and by trying to learn what’s coming. He is uncomfortable at the party in Chapter 12 because it shows him how shallow the empire is. People don’t care that the current emperor will die or that two more people will die competing to be the next ruler. They are more interested in getting close to Elias to secure their future if he wins. Elias’s grandfather embodies confidence. He has no doubt Elias will win because his family has been the most powerful for generations, and he cannot fathom anything different. He gives Elias the blades as an early victory present, and his warning for Elias to earn them foreshadows Elias failing the trials.

Elias’s conversation with Helene on the roof shows that they are both discontent with the empire in different ways. While Elias hates the entire system, Helene believes in the organization and power of the empire but doesn’t see why Scholars must be treated so poorly. Her suggestions for changes show her pragmatic side—content subjects don’t rebel. This conversation causes strife between Elias and Helene later. Elias believes Helene has a similar disdain for the empire, but when he presents her with his hatred for the empire, she doesn’t match it. This conversation foreshadows Elias leaving the empire while Helene rises to a position of power.

Chapter 14 is the first time Elias and Laia meet, and Elias’s immediate attraction foreshadows them being together at the end of the book. Laia finding Elias and Helene too late means she will be punished later. While Elias has hated how Scholars and slaves are treated for a while, realizing such punishments will be directed toward Laia makes him realize just how broken the empire is. The trials begin at the end of Chapter 14. Elias falls asleep in his room and wakes elsewhere, showing how vast the Augurs’ powers are.