Fearless

Paedyn Gray stands in Kitt Azer’s courtroom covered in dirt and blood. Kitt is now the king of Ilya, having assumed the throne after Paedyn killed his father, Edric Azer. At the end of the previous book in the trilogy, Paedyn and her lover, Kai Azer (Kitt’s brother), decided to return to Ilya as a couple. This is unusual because Kai is an Elite, gifted with magical powers as a result of the Plague that infected the kingdom years ago, while Paedyn is an Ordinary, one of the people who didn’t gain magical powers in the wake of the Plague. Elites see Ordinaries as inferior to themselves, and before their relationship, Kai was an assassin who tracked and killed Ordinaries.

Now, Kitt asks Paedyn to marry him. He tells the court that he wants to unite the Elites and the Ordinaries despite Edric’s historic hatred of the Ordinaries. Paedyn tries to focus on what’s happening, but she wishes that Kai were there. Kitt goes on to discuss Ilya’s history and his plans to unite Dor, Tando, and Izram, all nearby communities, for the first time in years; he will open trade between the various cities. Then, he puts a diamond on Paedyn’s finger. She accepts the ring to help her fellow Ordinaries.

Kai enters the courtroom. He’s overwhelmed by the sight of Paedyn and wishes that he were the one by her side. As Kitt’s Enforcer (a role that dictates that he hunt down and kill Ordinaries), he was tasked with bringing Paedyn back to the castle and blames himself for her fate.

An Elite rushes to attack Paedyn, disgusted that an Ordinary might take the throne, and Kai races in to protect her; Paedyn pushes him aside and defends herself. She leaves the court, and Kai follows to see if she’s okay. He apologizes for everything that happened; he had no idea of Kitt’s plans. He tells her to play with her late father Adam Gray’s ring (which she wears on her thumb) to distract herself while he concocts a plan. She argues that marrying Kitt might be best for Ilya after all. As queen, she could save many Ordinaries’ lives. They hug and kiss until the door swings open.

Paedyn’s friend and maid Ellie opens the door and finds Paedyn and Kai together. She leads Paedyn to her new chambers. In her room, Paedyn is overcome by sadness as she looks out over the balcony. She feels trapped and alone without Adam or her best friend, Adena, who recently died in the Purging Trials, an event in which Elites and Ordinaries compete.

Ellie encourages her to bathe and change. She also offers to trim her hair, but the jagged edges remind Paedyn of Adena. They change the subject to Kitt and Calum, who was Edric’s advisor and is now Kitt’s. Paedyn tries to make sense of what’s happening in the castle. She also remembers reading Adam’s journals, in which she discovered that she isn’t Adam’s biological daughter.

After taking a bath, Paedyn wanders the halls in search of her friend Lenny. She’s horrified to discover that he’s Blair’s new guard. (Blair killed Adena in the Trials, and Paedyn is desperate for revenge.) A sympathetic Lenny warns Paedyn not to attack Blaire and reminds her of what she can accomplish as queen.

Kai finds Kitt in his late mother Iris’s old chambers. He is studying her old jewelry box, which contains jewels and an “assortment of parchment” (39). He extracts an Enforcer ring and gives it to Kai. Kai dons the ring but demands to know why Kitt didn’t inform him of his plans to marry Paedyn before he made the announcement. Kitt apologizes but assures Kai that it’s the only way to protect her and create peace. Kai is suspicious because Kitt has always followed Edric’s lead; he fears that Kitt will harm the Ordinaries, but Kitt assures him otherwise. He says that he’s realized the error of Edric’s ways and wants to be better.

Paedyn bursts in and joins the conversation. Kai remembers his and Paedyn’s pact to hide their feelings for each other. The conversation turns back to the future of Ilya.

Ellie helps Paedyn prepare for a court appearance, but Paedyn insists on dressing herself. She doesn’t want Ellie to see the “O” (for Ordinary) that Edric carved into her chest before she killed him. (Kai is the only one she’s shown it to.)

Paedyn appears in court. She spins Adam’s ring to calm her nerves while Kitt addresses the room. He explains that the idea that the Ordinaries carry the Plague, which Edric had always insisted on, is a lie; Edric invented it to cause division between the Ordinaries and Elites. He now wants the Ordinaries and Elites to live together in peace.

The court protests. They don’t want Paedyn on the throne because she is an Ordinary, might not give Kitt Elite children, and killed Edric. Kitt argues otherwise. Overwhelmed, Paedyn tries to meet Kai’s gaze.

That night, Paedyn dreams about Adena. When she wakes up, she’s horrified, remembering that Adena is dead. Kai’s voice calms her; he snuck into her room to see her. They hug each other and decide to spend the night together. Kai slips Paedyn’s diamond onto her right hand so that they don’t have to think about it for the night.

Paedyn and Kai go to their favorite willow tree. They lie under the stars, holding and kissing each other.

Kai accompanies Paedyn and Kitt on a coach ride into the city for a parade to celebrate the Elite-Ordinary union. He tries to ignore Kitt’s and Paedyn’s knees touching. Kitt urges Paedyn to smile, but Kai knows how hard this is for her; she’s supposed to perform for the very people who want her dead. To distract her, he and Kitt start joking about their childhood past together, but this reminds Kitt of when Paedyn betrayed him. She tries to explain herself again; Kitt softens and suggests that they visit the slums instead.

Paedyn, Kitt, and Kai arrive in Loot Alley, where Paedyn grew up, and she is overwhelmed by memories. Suddenly, bombs start exploding in the streets. The three race out of the slums to safety. On the way back, Paedyn grieves for the destruction of her home.

The narrative shifts into the past and the third-person point of view. Edric took the throne after his father Landan’s death. Landan had raised him to be cruel, and Edric was only soft with his wife, Iris. She was “a descendant of an Izrami queen” (83), and Edric loved her dearly. Terrified of losing her, he hid her away after their first son Kitt’s birth. He kept her hidden when she got pregnant a second time, too.

Paedyn, Kitt, and Kai discuss the bombings after returning home. When Calum joins them, Paedyn races into his arms. She’s known him for years and sees him like another father figure. They speculate that the Elite are behind the bombings, fighting back against Kitt’s recent proclamations. The group agrees that Paedyn should complete the Trials again so that the Elites will accept her.

Kai joins Kitt and Paedyn when they make the court announcement about the Trials. He wants to protest, but Paedyn has already accepted the plan. He fidgets with his Enforcer ring, feeling helpless and frustrated. Kitt explains that the Trials will test Paedyn’s bravery, benevolence, and brutality, according to Edric’s “three-B” principle of who a ruler should be.

Paedyn lies awake nervously anticipating the Trials. Restless, she gets up and slips outside. In the courtyard, she eavesdrops on Kitt and Kai playfully sparring and discussing the parade bombing. After Kitt goes to bed, Kai joins Paedyn, and they retreat to the willow.

Paedyn joins Kitt and Kai in the dining room. She tries to hide her feelings for Kai while listening to the plan for her first Trial the next day. She will prove her bravery by retrieving the late queen’s crown from her crypt in the caves. She banters with Kitt; she doesn’t want to marry him but hopes that they can be friends again.