An Ember in the Ashes is a fantasy novel by Sabaa Tahir following two mask soldiers and a Scholar slave. The first mask's name is Elias Veturius, he is the son of the evil teacher of Blackcliff, Keris Veturia. Elias wants to escape but finds himself in the trials for the selection of the next Emperor with his best friend Helene Aquilla. Helene is the only female mask other than the Commandant, Keris Veturia. She must decide what is more important, winning the throne or keeping her best friend. Meanwhile after the murder of her grandparents and imprisonment of her brother Darin, Laia must seek out the very people who betrayed her brother, the Resistance. Once Laia finds the Resistance she must cut a deal for her brother's freedom in exchange for spying on the vicious Commandant as a slave. Their paths collide at Blackcliff in a fight for what's more important.
