The Dragon Wakes With Thunder by K.X. Song

Here is a summary with spoilers for The Dragon Wakes With Thunder by K.X. Song

Meilin has been sitting in a prison for a year, living with the consequences of pretending to be a man and joining the army. Meilin has come to love the silence in her head, as now that she has been trapped, she can no longer hear Qinglong, the sea dragon, in her mind. Things start to change for her when she gets a visitor, Liu Sky, who tells her that she can’t give up, because that would mean death for her. After a few more weeks, the king decides to bring her out, as it turns out he can use her.

Though the king doesn’t get to use her, instead Prince Sky takes her and insists that she be his bride. Meilin falls for the idea and says yes. Thus starts her new life as the wife of the prince, whom she loves dearly. While there, she is reunited with Cao Ming Lei, prince of Ximing. He is currently a prisoner of war, and Meilin starts to form a tentative relationship with him, especially when she finds out that he just wants to restore balance to the Three Kingdoms. Their friendship becomes much more when Sky takes his protection of Meilin too far and locks her up. Lei is there to help her escape and is badly injured while doing so. Since Meilin can’t keep holding him up, they are forced to take refuge, which is when she runs into the rebel leader in the east.

Eventually, Meilin starts to realize that she is the one who will keep the Three Kingdoms safe, even if it means sacrificing herself. She decides to fully embrace the name of the Phoenix Slayer and begins to prepare for war.

Battle comes to her and brings death, especially when the young girl she trained dies. But as the fighting continues, Meilin is injured and dragged into the spirit realm. While there, she is reunited with her mother, and all sense of time begins to disappear. She starts to forget her name and spends her time listening to her mother and her stories. One day, a young man comes to her and thanks her mother for keeping her spirit alive. Meilin takes the man’s hand, and they are able to return to the mortal world, where she finds out that Sky went down to save and protect her.

Sorry, not a lot of details in this summary. I listened to the audiobook and forgot to take notes while reading.