THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time Book two in the New York Times bestselling series A USA Today bestseller A Wall Street Journal bestseller “Spectacular.”—Entertainment Weekly “Fresh and exciting...Tahir has shown a remarkable talent for penning complex villains.”—A.V. Club "Even higher stakes than its predecessor… thrilling." —Publishers Weekly; starred review “[An] action-packed; breathlessly paced story.” —Booklist; starred review Set in a rich; high-fantasy world inspired by ancient Rome; Sabaa Tahir's AN EMBER IN THE ASHES told the story of Laia; a slave fighting for her family; and Elias; a young soldier fighting for his freedom. Now; in A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT; Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial; Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire. Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother; who is the key to the Scholars' survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed; even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom. But dark forces; human and otherworldly; work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus; the merciless Commandant; the sadistic Warden of Kauf; and; most heartbreaking of all; Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike. Bound to Marcus's will; Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape...and kill them both.