City of Smoke and Brimstone by Kayla Edwards

Here is a full summary with spoilers for City of Smoke and Brimstone by Kayla Edwards

Six months before Loren’s story starts, her parents visit the Widow, who tells them that their daughter is going to change the world, but she has a rough life ahead of her. People are going to try and kill her, and maybe worse. But if her parents find her a protector, specifically Darien, then there is a chance that her life won’t be as bad. Her parents agree.

Back in the present, the Yveswich is destroyed, with the veil failing. Loren and Malakai are walking the streets, trying to find where they need to go. But all Loren can think of is Darien. Ever since she found out he tied his life to hers, and that she won’t live longer than a year, she has been furious with him. They parted ways with heated words, and now she regrets it all; she just wants to get back to Darien.

Darien, meanwhile, is with his cousin Roman, but trapped below the void. Darien can only think about Loren, about wanting to find her and fix what was broken between them. It’s his only motivation as he shifts, and he and Roman start the long fight to get out.

Max is also waking up from the void; he is with Dallas, Maya, and Magenta. They have just found out that all of the other elementals are dead, except for Maya and Magenta. They quickly meet up with Ivy, Travis, and Lacy, the other pack members. They make plans to look for Paxton, knowing that his father will be looking for him.

Roman and Darien are in the middle of fighting their way out. It is messy and ugly, and they are quickly getting overpowered, especially when vines start sprouting from the ground and take over both the monsters and them. Darien fights the vines and accidentally falls into the pit with Roman. Luckily, it takes them to Yveswich, and Roman remembers an old tale that he now believes is true; the waterfalls are portals.

Sabrine and Logan, meanwhile, are away from the chaos, which Sabrine needs as she is still getting used to having a wolf form. The two of them are worried about their friends, as they haven’t heard any news from Yveswich. They go to check in on Tamika and find her covered in blood; she has been stabbed.

Loren is still leading Malakai around, as he still can’t see and she can. But they make it to the edge of the city and out of the void, and they run into Travis and everyone with him. They are surprised to see them there, as they were supposed to leave the city. But then they find out that Loren basically saved the whole city again. The group starts to make plans; they still need to find Pax, but before they go, Jewels starts having a seizure and they have to take her to the hospital. While there, everything hits Loren as well, and she starts to have a medical emergency.

Roman and Darien are slowly working their way out, but Darien gets distracted when he thinks he hears Ivy and her screams of pain. He runs to a house and runs straight into a trap. His uncle Donovan is there, waiting for him and furious. He’s still upset that Darien killed his own father, Donovan’s brother. Don tells Darien he is nothing, then starts to beat the crap out of him. By the time Roman gets to him, Don is gone, and Roman needs to take Darien to a hospital.

At the hospital, Darien and Loren end up walking right into each other. Darien immediately goes for Malakai and almost beats him up for not getting Loren out of the city. But then Loren helps calm him down, and he finally looks at her and sees that her back has been injured. He takes her to a room to help get her back straightened out, and the two continue their argument. While still angry with each other, Darien requests that they stick together no matter what, because he still wants to protect her.

Their next stop is Roman’s house to see if the kids are still there. On their way out they run into Roark (basically Loren’s father). He tells them that the next day at noon, a new forcefield is going up. It will act as a quarantine zone; they need to get out or they will be stuck in Yveswich. As they are getting into the truck to leave, a monster attack happens near the hospital at the same time that Loren’s heart gives out and stops. With no serum with them, Darien has to start CPR to keep her going until they get it. When they finally do, Loren comes back, and even though she is still heartbroken toward him, she hangs on tight.

Meanwhile, Shay makes her first appearance, stuck in the back of a truck with Tanner Atlas. The two were drugged, and now that they are awake, their captors start to beat them up to get information about where Pax is. Shay channels her powers and uses lightning to strike them down, giving her and Tanner a chance to run away. They make a plan; they are going to an arcade where they think the boys are hiding. When they get there, they find the boys being taken, so they follow to an old warehouse. They break in and find both boys, but are attacked; the only thing saving them is Roman showing up and killing anyone who touched Pax. All of them are reunited, but are forced to leave quickly before Don arrives.

Everyone else makes it to Roman’s house, no kids. But they take that moment to regroup, replan, and let Loren recharge. The group is quickly falling apart and fighting. Everyone wants to go separate ways to find people, and Darien isn’t having it, including telling Max that if he goes to look for his sister, he will be excommunicated from the pack. Choices are being made all around, and all Loren can think of is that she is tearing the Devil family apart. On top of it, there is still a wall between her and Darien because they still haven’t had a chance to talk. Darien takes Loren and a few others to get out of the city, only to find that the forcefield has already been put up; they were supposed to have hours still. Darien is able to convince them to open it back up, but only for three hours.

Darien calls everyone and tells them the new timeline. It is now a race for everyone to rush to the border. Those at the hospital try to get through via the ocean, because there is no traffic, however they just miss it and are stuck in the water. Dallas’s father Roark (who got a text from Loren) sends a helicopter for her and her group, but they also just miss the opening and end up falling into the ocean; luckily they are saved by those who were in the boat. Roman and his group go on his bike as fast as they can. They are the first and only group to make it, but are quickly stopped when Pax starts screaming in pain.

Loren, Darien, and everyone in their car are trying to get back home as quickly as possible. For Darien, the risks are high, as he is having withdrawals from his drugs, and he doesn’t want Loren to see it. When they do finally make it back home, their fight ensues. It’s full of miscommunication and leads to Loren sleeping in another bed without Darien. The next day, the police arrive, with Glen in charge, and he arrests all of them, listing a number of charges.

Meanwhile, Roman and Shay are also sharing a hotel room, but with Pax. Roman wants Shay gone, specifically so she doesn’t get dragged into his mess. Luckily Pax smooths things over and tells him that he wants Shay there.

At the holding cells, Darien is furious that Loren was brought into the prison, and doesn’t like that they are using her and pointing guns at her to get him to talk. Glen wants to know what they were all doing in Yveswich, especially near the control tower, and they have video proof of all of them there. Glen also mentions that he and his men are going after Roman for kidnapping, and it’s only a matter of time before he is caught. Before things get more out of hand, another officer, Finn, comes in and lets them all go as there is no evidence against them. On their way out, Roark is there waiting for them. He was dismissed at Yveswich thanks to the stunt he pulled, but he still wants to help. He warns them that they plan on sending missiles in, hoping it will close the void. They don’t care about the people inside anymore; they just don’t want it to spread.

Roman and Shay are still acting timid around each other, but one thing they can agree on is that they are both worried about Pax and the surge he had, along with the black veins in his eyes. On their drive, they get surrounded by officers, who take Roman and Shay into custody and say that they kidnapped Pax. While separated, the police escort stops, and a man Roman hasn’t seen in some time appears: his uncle Dean. With his help, Roman and Pax are reunited again.

Back in Yveswich, everyone there has grouped together and found shelter. Max starts to ask questions about everyone’s powers, but specifically Magenta and Blue’s. The whole group also starts to speculate that Loren is an elemental and has more magic than they know about. Travis and Jewels’s relationship also continues, but Jewels warns Travis that she only has years left to live thanks to her illness. Travis doesn’t care though, and still wants to continue their relationship.

Back at home, Loren and Darien finally have a conversation about their feelings and make up completely. Although Loren has a new mission, she plans on finding a way for Darien to get back some of his years.

Roman and Shay also end up talking about their feelings and sleep together, thanks to Dean encouraging Roman to go after what he wants.

Darien and those at the house are finally able to get the phone signal in Yveswich back up. They talk to everyone there, and all are relieved that everyone found each other. Now for a new plan. They all share information. Darien comes up with the idea that they need to use the missile warhead, imbue their magic into it, and take out the control tower before the missiles reach them. Everyone agrees on the plan and splits up. Roman, Shay, Pax, and Uncle Dean all start the long trek back to Yveswich, because Roman feels guilty about leaving Travis there with angry last words. Everyone else will stay back.

Everyone in Yveswich starts their mission. It takes some time for all of them to use their magic, but they manage the first part of their task successfully.

While Darien is out making his rounds, he gets stopped by police again. This time they are taking him to Blackwater Penitentiary, a prison that works on its own magic system, and most inmates die within the first 48 hours. Roark, who has not been fully dismissed despite his actions, goes to tell Loren what happened. But before they go after Darien, Roark takes Loren to a new chamber, one that was built in their hospital and will help her. While in there, she asks Roark to add black magic to her treatment as well. It ends up working, and all of Loren’s tattoos tell her she is now as good as she has ever been in years. She is then able to create an illusion so the whole group can sneak into the penitentiary. Darien, meanwhile, is being taunted by Glen, who brings out his Hob, Mortifier. Darien keeps quiet, and Glen ends up stabbing him. Darien loses it, and starts fighting off both Glen and Gavin, killing them both. He grabs Mortifer and heads to the control tower so he can call those in Yveswich and walk them through the next steps, all while bleeding out.

Back in Yveswich, as they continue, they find out that Darien has been taken to prison. This puts a hitch in their plans, as they needed him for his sight, and now none of them can see. After wandering around and guessing, they hear from Darien, who walks them through everything until they complete their mission, and he gets them out safely. Loren ends up finding Darien passed out in a massive pool of blood.

Roman drives like crazy to get to Yveswich, and makes it to the border right when the control tower goes down, causing a massive shockwave and causing the car to spin out. When Roman looks around, all he sees are dead bodies, including Shay, Pax, and Dean’s.

Meanwhile, Shay wakes up after the crash. She finds Dean injured and Pax doing fine, but Roman is missing. As Pax and Shay are looking for him, Pax is taken at gunpoint by Pia, Shay’s old friend. Shay fights Pia, killing her, but also gets shot in the process.

Back with Roman, he realizes he is in an illusion his father created. Don then tells him that he should let Pax go, as they aren’t even real brothers. He claims Roman should have known years ago, because all of Don’s kids have a dog as a familiar, but Roman has a dragon… just like his father Dean. Roman doesn’t care that they aren’t really brothers; he’ll still do anything to protect Travis and Pax. Roman breaks the illusion and finds Dean and Shay being loaded onto a stretcher. Roman manages to talk to Shay briefly, where she admits that she loves him before she is taken to a hospital. The two brothers patiently wait for everyone to get out of Yveswich, hoping to find Travis and their friends. When they finally reunite, the three brothers are happy to be together and just hold each other before making their way back to their new home.

Don gets a chapter of his own, where he talks to Althene Cousens, Shay’s mother. He tells her she only has one job: to bring back all three children, and she is failing miserably. The next time she fails, there will be repercussions.

All groups are now reunited, yet they are unsure of what to do. Loren has been lying for days next to a still passed out and healing Darien. Roman goes to the hospital and waits for Shay to wake up, where he then confesses his love for her as well. Everyone in the group feels like they are in limbo, realizing that it is only a matter of time before the void spreads and reaches them.

In an epilogue, Loren leaves Darien’s side for a bit. She and Lacy go to the wishing well to talk to the Widow. Loren is addressed as Liliana Sophronia, and the Widow also confirms that she will not live another year. Loren tells the Widow that she will give her her freedom in exchange for the years that Darien gave her. The Widow agrees to the deal. Before Loren leaves, she asks to see a memory of Darien bargaining his life away. The Widow agrees, and Loren is able to see how the meeting went down.