Wrath of the Dragons by Olivia Rose Darling

After the events of Fear the Flames, Cayden is giving Elowen her space. She is still angry about being used to gain his crown, even though Cayden only wants her. But because she has asked for space, he is giving it. The two still have a wedding to prepare for and a lot of things to do since they have ascended the throne after Cayden killed Eagor. They also have a war to prepare for, with Elowen’s father Garrick getting closer to their front doors. On top of all that, they still need to weed through the royals and nobles to find those who support Elowen and those who still support Garrick.

One day, when Cayden is giving Elowen space, he returns home to talk to Ryder and Saskia, his old friends. They tease him for being madly in love and claim he is a different person because of her. He responds that they should take her out into the city for the day, but that night it will be his turn with her.

Meanwhile, Elowen is battling many emotions—towards Cayden, and how she believes he betrayed her and used her as a piece in his game, and also dealing with the death and recent abuse her uncle Aliard dealt out. To occupy her time, she trains with her dragons, feeling at peace whenever she is with them. That day, Finnian (her oldest friend) and Saskia come to take her around town. At the end of the day, they take her to a home that Cayden built for her and left with thoughtful touches; he claims it is her safe space, away from royal duties.

That night, Cayden goes out to his fighting pit, where he feels at home and is able to fight out his feelings. After a conversation with Raine about weeding out the traitors in the court, he decides to spend the night with Elowen. He goes to the house to tell her that he truly cares for her, no matter what her feelings are. He then says that they need to keep up their happy appearance together for the kingdom and offers a night out. Cayden takes her to a restaurant so people can see them together. It is a night that goes well. The end of the evening ends in a small truce when Elowen says they can share a bed when they are in the castle, so the servants don’t spread rumors about them. Elowen realizes that she is already slowly forgiving Cayden.

Elowen continues her training with dragons and feels more prepared with each day. During one day of training, Cayden brings some prisoners to her—her old guard, people who supported her uncle Aliard. Both Cayden and Elowen give them the chance to swear a blood oath to change sides. They refuse, and Elowen and Cayden kill them. But now Elowen has a new priority: to go back to her old people in Aestilian and bring them to the new city as refugees.

Cayden and Elowen go out on the town again so their people can see them. This time Cayden takes Elowen shopping, where she is determined to buy as much as she can. She is having a great time until her mind starts playing games with her—she sees Aliard everywhere. Cayden realizes something is wrong, but Elowen still won’t talk about what happened, so he takes her back to the palace to let her think.

The group makes plans to go to Aestilian. They make it through the wards. When they get there, Finnian gives a rallying speech to the whole town about Elowen and how they should collect their belongings to move cities. The city is excited to have Elowen back and prepares for the move. That night, Cayden tries to talk to Elowen about her feelings, but she can’t. Instead, she leaves and goes to her childhood home—to Aliard’s rooms. She has a breakdown, realizing how much her uncle really used her. She grabs all of his belongings and anything that reminds her of him, and has her dragons burn everything. Cayden lets her have her moment, but then goes to look for her. She is freezing cold, so he brings her inside to talk. As soon as they get in, Elowen is ready to fight. She yells at Cayden and tells him how she feels about his so-called betrayal. Cayden lets her get everything out, then tells her that he understands—but he is willing to do and say anything to prove his loyalty. He gives a passionate speech about his feelings for her and says she can take all the time she needs, but he will always be right next to her. She tries to kiss him, but he stops her, saying that if they are to kiss, he wants her full forgiveness.

The next morning, there is an attack on Aestilian and their people. The attack separates Cayden and Elowen in different parts of the city, and they both fight to reach each other. When Cayden sees Elowen, he grabs her and throws her through the portal with as many others as they can save. They still lose a lot of people. The next day, Cayden brings news about Elowen’s father, Garrick. He plans on remarrying in a few weeks, and has promised their firstborn daughter to the Thirwen heir to solidify an alliance. This makes Cayden and Elowen nervous about the allies Garrick is gaining, and they want to solidify their own. Four soldiers are also found—they came to kill Elowen on Garrick’s command. Some swear allegiance to Elowen, and the others are killed. Cayden tells Elowen that she needs to go take over the land of Imirath and secure her crown there.

The two continue their separate lives, but one night Elowen is drawn to a certain area and ends up fighting Cayden in his pit. When he finds her, he takes her to his office where they talk. Elowen wants his full trust, and in order to have that, she wants to know about his childhood. Cayden explains how his mother died because of him, and how his father put him in a cage and forced him to fight in the pits. It was a terrible childhood with an abusive father who whipped him often. But one day, Cayden escaped his cage, killed his father, and started to live on his own. After hearing this, Elowen decides she will fight for the Imirath throne.

Since Elowen has taken the throne, she has allowed magic to return, letting cults, religions, and mages live freely. She brings in a mage to officiate their wedding, and the mage tells her there is a chance Elowen might have magic—it was just suppressed by Aliard and the trauma he caused. The mage explains how to unlock it. The ritual involves her floating in a cold river while Cayden grounds her with his hands. It takes hours, but Elowen manages to use magic to connect to the minds of her dragons. When she wakes up, Cayden warms her up, and they talk about what she saw.

Elowen and Cayden start to hear of riots in the Southern Isles—they want their true king, Cayden. He is reluctant, not wanting any connection with his father. But they continue talks with their court. One day, Elowen tricks a lord into admitting he is committing treason. Cayden takes him out in public to show what happens to traitors and kills him slowly. It becomes a rallying cry for war.

The wedding finally approaches. Cayden is still absolutely in love with her. When the mage finishes the ritual, they both receive a mark on their hands. The mage is surprised and says the gods have blessed their union. During the reception, they speak to other courts and say they don’t want war, but would love their support. That night, when Cayden finally gets her alone, they share several moments together. They are interrupted in the morning with news that Garrick and Thirwen soldiers have been found. War is coming.

They march to battle. Cayden fights from the ground while Elowen fights from above. She wields dragonfire and kills many. Cayden defeats everyone who comes for him. But Garrick hired a mage who likes to experiment with poison and created a bomb. It strikes Cayden while he is protecting Raine. Elowen rushes to him. Cayden seems fine, but shards are stuck in his back, and he is slowly dying. Elowen calls for a mage, but it’s too late. When the head mage arrives, she says since Cayden and Elowen were blessed by the gods in marriage, a ritual can save him—but it will cost Elowen something unknown. She agrees, unable to bear losing him. The ritual is done. Cayden is saved, although angry that Elowen risked her life. The ritual also deepens their bond, and their marriage marks climb further up their arms. They take time to heal and begin moving to secure other kingdoms as allies.

The group is on a boat, going from isle to isle. On the ship, Elowen stays away from Cayden because he seems angry, and she wants to give him space. When they finally talk, Cayden admits he just doesn’t feel worthy to be with Elowen, and he hates that his life is now tied to hers. But their conversation turns into them both revealing that they love each other.

Their first stop is Zario, where they steal the exiled crown prince Zarius. They take him with them as they continue to Galakin—a place Elowen fears. It is the kingdom she was supposed to marry into, and in return, they gave her the dragon eggs. When they arrive, the king and queen are clearly upset she is married, and introduce them to the Crown Prince Zale. After a rough night, Zale requests a meeting with Elowen and Cayden. He promises to convince his parents to give them 800 ships if he can teach Elowen about magic, believing he can help her regain her dragonfire. They agree.

While in Zarius’ kingdom, Elowen visits the mage who gave her the dragons. Zale takes her to his grandmother, Mae, who isn’t doing well. During their conversation, Mae shakes and has a vision. She speaks of someone who is loved and hated by the gods. It puts Elowen on edge.

At a party, news arrives—Thirwen has used magic to sneak past the wards and attack Zario. This happens just as Elowen and Zale sign their treaty. Everyone rushes off to help. The massacre has already happened, but now it is time for Elowen to claim her crown and her land in Imirath. They travel by ship and run into a navy. A battle ensues. At one point, Cayden and Elowen are thrown into the sea and must escape a kraken. They continue their journey and learn that Zarius is an illusionist. They plan accordingly.

They arrive in Imirath. Cayden and Elowen spend a night together, saying their goodbyes in case they don’t survive the battle. When it begins, Elowen flies and taunts Garrick to leave his castle. On her way, she spots a group of soldiers—they support Cayden, the true king of the Southern Isles. She wishes he could see that people traveled just to fight for him. Garrick finally comes out, and Elowen fights him. She makes his death brutal, ending with dragonflame down his throat. As she flies away on Sorin, she realizes something is wrong with him—she believes it’s the cost of the bargain she made to save Cayden. Death is coming for Sorin. While trying to calm them both, Elowen is shot out of the sky by Nykeem, the same mage who poisoned Cayden.

Cayden watches her fall. When he reaches her, she is comforting Sorin, but he is focused on her—she has arrows in her, full of poison, and is not healing. Elowen knows she is dying and tries to say her goodbyes. Cayden refuses to accept it. When the mages and healers arrive, there’s nothing they can do. They remove the arrows, but Elowen slowly fades and dies in Cayden’s arms.

Furious, Cayden storms into the fields and demands Nykeem face him. Nykeem appears, saying he acted on his king’s orders. Cayden kills him.

He returns to Elowen’s body—where everyone is mourning. He cleans her up, then has an idea. He cannot live without her. Against everyone’s wishes, he takes her body and flies to summon the Goddess of Souls and Mercy to strike a bargain. She agrees. Cayden must die and go into the underworld to find and bring back Elowen. If successful, the goddess requires a few objects in return. Cayden agrees, stabs himself in the heart, and wakes up in the underworld.