A Reaper at the Gates
The highly anticipated third book in Sabaa Tahir's New York Times bestselling Ember Quartet.Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister's life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she'd have to fight.And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias's devotion–even at the cost of his humanity.
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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
Copyright © Sabaa Tahir 2018
Maps by Jonathan Roberts
Cover design and illustration Micaela Alcaino © HarperCollinsPublishers
Cover illustration © Shutterstock.com (eagle, background)
Sabaa Tahir asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of 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 authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780008288754
Ebook Edition © June 2018 ISBN: 9780008288778
Version: 2018-09-21
For Renée, who knows my heart.
For Alexandra, who holds my hopes.
And for Ben, who shares the dream.
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Maps
Part One: The King of No Name
Chapter One: The Nightbringer
Chapter Two: Laia
Chapter Three: Elias
Chapter Four: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Five: Laia
Chapter Six: Elias
Chapter Seven: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Eight: Laia
Chapter Nine: Elias
Chapter Ten: The Blood Shrike
Part Two: Inferno
Chapter Eleven: Laia
Chapter Twelve: Elias
Chapter Thirteen: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Fourteen: Laia
Chapter Fifteen: Elias
Chapter Sixteen: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Seventeen: Laia
Chapter Eighteen: Elias
Chapter Nineteen: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Twenty: Laia
Chapter Twenty-One: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Twenty-Three: Laia
Chapter Twenty-Four: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Twenty-Six: Laia
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Elias
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Laia
Chapter Thirty: Elias
Part Three: Antium
Chapter Thirty-One: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Thirty-Two: Laia
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Thirty-Four: Elias
Chapter Thirty-Five: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Thirty-Six: Laia
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Elias
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Laia
Chapter Forty: Elias
Chapter Forty-One: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Forty-Two: Laia
Chapter Forty-Three: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Forty-Four: Laia
Chapter Forty-Five: Elias
Part Four: Siege
Chapter Forty-Six: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Forty-Seven: Laia
Chapter Forty-Eight: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Forty-Nine: Laia
Chapter Fifty: Elias
Chapter Fifty-One: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Fifty-Two: Laia
Chapter Fifty-Three: Elias
Chapter Fifty-Four: Laia
Chapter Fifty-Five: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Fifty-Six: Laia
Part Five: Beloved
Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Blood Shrike
Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Soul Catcher
Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Nightbringer
Acknowledgements
Also by Sabaa Tahir
About the Publisher
You love too much, my king.
My queen spoke the words often across the centuries we spent together. At first, with a smile. But in later years, with a furrowed brow. Her gaze settled on our children as they tore about the palace, their bodies flickering from flame to flesh, tiny cyclones of impossible beauty.
âI fear for you, Meherya.â Her voice trembled. âI fear what you will do if harm comes to those whom you love.â
âNo harm shall befall you. I vow it.â
I spoke with the passion and folly of youth, though I was not, of course, young. Even then. That day, the breezes off the river ruffled her midnight hair and sunlight poured like liquid gold through the sheer curtains of the windows. It lit our children umber as they trailed scorch marks and laughter across the stone floor.
Her fears held her captive. I reached for her hands. âI would destroy any who dared hurt you,â I said.
âMeherya, no.â I have wondered in the years since then if she already feared what I would become. âSwear you would never. You are our Meherya. Your heart is made to love. To give. Not to take. That is why you are king of the jinn. Swear it.â
