Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning.

Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. The saga that began with The Wrath and the Dawn takes its final turn as Shahrzad risks everything to find her way back to her one true love again. But to do it, she must evade enemies of her own to stay alive.

Using the burgeoning magic within her as a guide, she strikes out on her own to end both this terrible curse and the brewing war once and for all. Trapped between loyalties to those she loves, the only thing Shazi can do is act. Now she’s reunited with her family, who have found refuge in the desert, where a deadly force is gathering against Khalid-a force set on destroying his empire and commanded by Shazi’s spurned childhood sweetheart. Still, a curse threatens to keep Shazi and Khalid apart forever. She once thought Khalid a monster-a merciless killer of wives, responsible for immeasurable heartache and pain-but as she unraveled his secrets, she found instead an extraordinary man and a love she could not deny. In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad is forced from the arms of her beloved husband, the Caliph of Khorasan. The darker the sky, the brighter the stars.

Renee ahdieh the damned