Reckless

Paedyn, who is injured and alone, has taken refuge in her old home. Digging under the floorboards to retrieve some supplies hidden by her father, she accidentally finds her father’s journal and takes it, hoping to read it later. She’s still reeling from the events of the Third Trial and Kitt’s betrayal. As she prepares to flee the city, someone begins pounding on the door, so she quickly scurries up the chimney. From her hiding place, she hears Kai enter the house with other Imperials, looking for her. After they search the place unsuccessfully, the Imperials leave and Kai sets fire to the house.

Kai, who is also reeling from his father’s death and Paedyn’s role in it, notices Paedyn scramble out from the chimney as the house burns down. He sets the Imperials on her trail as she leaps from roof to roof to escape them. He throws a knife at her and successfully slices her leg to impede her escape, but Paedyn runs out of his sight. During his search of Loot Alley, Kai finds the body of one of his Imperials, whom Paedyn killed. Because he knows that it would matter to Paedyn, Kai buries the soldier’s body despite realizing that he’s being irrational.

Paedyn, who is hiding on a roof just above the Imperial she killed, watches Kai but can’t stab him in the back because of her lingering feelings for him, especially as she witnesses his gesture of kindness toward the dead Imperial. She stays on the roof until nightfall, when most of the Imperials have left. She then sneaks through the shadows to reach the Scorches, the desert at the edge of the city, and begins trailing through the desert toward the cities of Dor and Tando to find refuge there.

Kai visits Kitt and finds him more tired and bitter than before. Kitt seems to be turning into their father, which worries Kai, who finds the new distance between them unsettling. Both brothers claim that their feelings for Paedyn won’t impede their mission to bring justice to their father, but Kai is aware that things are more complicated than that. When Kitt expresses doubt about Kai’s loyalties, the Enforcer swears that he’ll bring Paedyn back and leaves his ring with Kitt as a promise. Kai suspects that Paedyn is trying to reach Dor or Tando and plans to go after her.

Paedyn has been walking through the desert for several days and nights, struggling under the heat with dwindling supplies. She’s plagued by her guilt over being a murderer and by nightmares of Adena’s death, but she swears to stay alive to avenge her friend.

Kai is plagued by dreams of Paedyn that remind him of her betrayal and his feelings for her. He wakes up from a nightmare and finds himself in the desert at dawn. After he wakes up his men, they resume their pursuit of Paedyn through the Scorches.

Paedyn, now in sight of a city far off in the distance, is losing her strength (and her mind) because of the heat and exhaustion. She eventually collapses and awakes later, carried by a stranger. Terrified that Kai has finally found her, she attacks the man, who turns out to be a guard from Dor, the nearby city. When he realizes that she’s the Silver Savior, for whom Ilya is offering 20,000 silver coins, he tries to take her prisoner. Despite her injuries, Paedyn evades his attack and kills him before resuming her journey toward Dor.

When Kai and his men stumble upon the dead guard, the prince realizes that Paedyn is close. He orders the Imperials to take the guard back with them to Dor, where he looks for information about Paedyn. However, Kai quickly realizes that the people of Dor are wary of Ilyans and despise the Elites, so he decides to investigate less conspicuously.

A few days after arriving in Dor, Paedyn tries to barter for some bread from a local vendor, Francis, who seems unwilling to help her. She has been struggling because of the heat, which she isn’t used to, and her lack of resources. When she overhears some men talking about an underground fighting ring, she realizes that she may be able to steal some coins from the gamblers. Once there, however, she realizes that the crowd makes thieving difficult. Instead, she decides to sign up to fight and convinces Rafael, the man in charge, to let her prove herself in the ring.

Kai has been looking for Paedyn in Dor unsuccessfully for days. Despite his hatred for her, he also has lingering feelings for her and isn’t sure how he’ll react when he finds her. While he’s walking through the streets at night, a young thief tries to take his coin purse. When Kai confronts the thief, he recognizes Abigail, the young Ordinary whose life he spared at the beginning of Powerless. He asks her whether she has seen the Silver Savior, but she can’t help him. Instead, she tells him about a fighting ring where a new favorite has been making a name, and Kai follows her there.

Paedyn is in the ring, fighting a huge, muscular opponent named Slick. She has become known as Shadow and protects her identity by wearing a scarf to conceal her silver hair. After a difficult fight, she defeats Slick and returns, victorious, to collect her earnings from Rafael. However, Kai’s voice interrupts her.