The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song

Here is a summary with spoilers of The Night Ends with Fire

The Three Kingdoms are at war, and the cities are in the grip of an imperial draft. Amid this turmoil, we meet Meilin and her family. Her father, ensnared by his opium addiction, refuses to answer the draft. Meilin’s stepmother, Xiuying, only slightly older than her, acts more like a sister than a maternal figure. Her real mother, rumored to have been mad, passed away years ago.

Desperate for money, Meilin’s father plans to sell her for her dowry. When she discovers the identity of her intended husband, she sneaks out to see him, only to find that he is violent. A confrontation ensues, and Meilin becomes caught in the fight, until she is rescued by Prince Liu, the prince of her region. He returns her home, but that night, Meilin makes a decision: she refuses to be sold into marriage. Instead, she will disguise herself as a boy and enlist in her father’s place. Confident in her hand-to-hand combat skills, she believes she can blend in. Before she leaves, Xiuying gives her a necklace that once belonged to her mother. As Meilin departs, she hears a mysterious voice.

At the training camp, she adopts the name Ren and befriends a soldier named Sparrow. Seven princes rule her kingdom, and some are assisting in the army’s training, including Prince Liu, who is assigned to her platoon. There, she encounters the ruthless Lieutenant Fang, a man who demands absolute discipline. Despite a close call, Meilin remains undetected. That night, Fang’s amulet goes missing, and he forces the recruits to strip for inspection. Unable to reveal her secret, Meilin falsely confesses to stealing and losing it. As punishment, she is flogged and placed in solitary confinement. The mysterious voice returns.

Training proves difficult, but Meilin pushes herself, training alone each night. Eventually, she realizes that Prince Liu has been watching her and he offers to help. They become training partners, and he tells her to call him Sky. The voice warns her not to trust him. She soon discovers that the voice comes from her mother’s necklace, which she believes is linked to the gods or a spirit stone, specifically the sea dragon. One morning, the sea dragon himself appears through the amulet. His name is Qinglong.

Months pass, and it is time for the Squad Leader to be chosen through combat. Meilin is confident, but when she loses, frustration overtakes her. Sky challenges her to a fight to release her emotions. Later that night, she catches a fellow soldier smoking opium. Furious, she unknowingly channels the sea dragon’s power, compelling the soldier to obey her. Black lines spread across her arms. Qinglong warns her: if she misuses her magic, it will turn into black magic.

The army marches forward, limiting Meilin and Sky’s training time. One day, Qinglong warns Meilin of an ambush. She alerts the troops, and a battle breaks out. During the fight, she uses her magic to drown an enemy soldier who, before dying, warns her that they are hunting the sixth prince, Liu, because he, too, possesses black magic. Meilin rejoins the battle and stumbles upon Sky and another prince, both captured. She rescues them, earning high praise from the princes—but also a dangerous hunger for power.

As she revels in her newfound strength, she hears her mother’s voice warning her not to make the same mistakes. That night, she has a vision. There are two spirit stones: one of fire, one of sea. The phoenix and the dragon. A figure calling himself Taiyang—the sun—claims her stone was stolen. The phoenix feeds on vengeance; the dragon feeds on greed. Days later, Qinglong gives Meilin a mission: she must find the hidden jade before Taiyang does. The fate of the war rests in her hands.

When she awakens, most of her platoon is dead, save for a few, including Sparrow. Her secret is out; everyone knows she is a woman. Sky is furious, calling her deception treason. They fight, but ultimately, Meilin convinces him of her mission. They must find the three pieces of jade. She already possesses one.

A small team is formed, and Meilin continues to disguise herself as a man. She struggles to trust her magic and control her fear of water. Their first stop is a city rumored to house Taiyang—and a piece of jade. At a tavern, Meilin gathers a clue leading her to its location. She risks her life retrieving it, angering Sky. But before she can celebrate, Prince Lei appears, seizing the jade and capturing Meilin. Bound in iron cuffs, blocking her magic, she is thrown into prison. Sky warns her to keep up her disguise; worse things will happen if they discover she is a woman.

Imprisoned, Meilin meets Autumn, a healer, and is summoned by Lei, who discovers her true identity. He tries to sway her to his side, but she refuses. One night, she steals a knife and orchestrates an escape, freeing herself, Sky, and Sparrow. Just as she tastes freedom, an iron arrow strikes her. When she wakes, her jade is gone. Autumn reveals that she hid it. Lei keeps Meilin drugged and weakened, but eventually takes her to retrieve another piece of jade. After securing it, he invites her to a duel, revealing that he now holds two pieces of jade while she has none.

Back at Lei’s stronghold, Meilin remains his prisoner but begins spending time with him. She soon learns that he plans to attack Sky’s forces. To prevent this, she devises a dangerous plan, she will seduce Lei. But just as she makes her move, Prince Xihuan interrupts, burning them both with candle wax. Undeterred, Meilin kisses Lei, stealing back her jade. Guards rush in, and she makes a desperate escape, diving into the sea. As soon as she hits the water, Qinglong’s voice returns.

She reunites with Sky and her remaining platoon. He is exhausted from battle, but relieved she is alive. Meilin shares all she has learned, she was held captive for 42 days. Now, they must stop Chancellor Sima and destroy his jade seal. The plan: Meilin will compel him to destroy his own seal, severing the phoenix’s power.

On the eve of battle, Sky tells Meilin that once the war is over, he will ask for her hand in marriage. She is uncertain about the future but kisses him. Meanwhile, she struggles her thoughts and Qinglong’s are merging.

To infiltrate Sima’s palace, Meilin disguises herself as a concubine, revealing her true identity to her comrades. Some, like Sparrow, support her, while others believe she has bewitched the prince. The plan works, but upon arrival, she sees Lei. Inside Sima’s chambers, she uses compulsion, but he uses it against her. They battle in a mental stalemate, until Meilin forces him to destroy his own jade.

In doing so, she is pulled into the spirit realm, where Qinglong waits. He is furious. She was meant to claim the jade, not destroy it. He reveals a chilling truth, he should have killed her, just as he did her mother. Then, he forces her back into the human world.

With Sima dead, the war ends. Sky captures Lei, but Meilin convinces him not to kill him. Later, Lei warns Meilin: his mother had a vision of a golden-eyed girl who would change the kingdom. He tells her to continue her disguise as Ren, it will be useful.

As the victors return home, they stop at the palace for recognition. The king, pleased with their service, is interrupted when a soldier reveals Meilin’s secret. The king gives her a choice: marriage and a life under his watchful eye, or prison. She chooses prison.

As they take her away, soldiers strip her tunic, revealing the spirit stone she has hidden. Without it, she is powerless. Meilin is led to the darkness of her cell.