<b><b>THE #1<i>&#160;NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER<i><br></i>One of <i>Time Magazine</i>&rsquo;s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time <br>Book two in the&#160;<i>New York Times</i>&#160;bestselling series<i><br></i></b>A</b><i><b> USA Today&#160;</b></i><b>bestseller<br>A <i>Wall Street Journal</i>&#160;bestseller<br></b><br>&ldquo;<b>Spectacular</b>.&rdquo;<b>&mdash;</b><i>Entertainment Weekly<br></i>&ldquo;<b>Fresh and exciting</b>...Tahir has shown a remarkable talent for penning complex villains.&rdquo;<i>&mdash;</i>A.V. Club<br>"Even higher stakes than its predecessor&hellip; <b>thrilling</b>."<b>&#160;</b>&mdash;<i>Publishers Weekly</i>, starred review<br>&ldquo;[An] <b>action-packed</b>, breathlessly paced story.&rdquo; &mdash;<i>Booklist</i>, starred review<br><b><b><br>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.</b><br> <b>&#160;</b><br> <b>Now, in A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT, Elias and Laia are running for their lives.</b><br></b>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.<br> &#160;<br> Laia is determined to break into Kauf&mdash;the Empire&rsquo;s most secure and dangerous prison&mdash;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. <br> &#160;<br>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&mdash;Elias&rsquo;s former friend and the Empire&rsquo;s newest Blood Shrike. <br>Bound to Marcus's will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own&mdash;one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape...and kill them both.

Unabridged.