from new york times bestselling author brigid kemmerer

A desperate prince. A daring outlaw. An undeniable spark.

In the thrilling conclusion to the Defy the Night series, New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer crafts heartrending twists and devastating turns that will keep readers breathless to the very end.

Left for dead, but desperate to survive . . . they have one last chance to save their kingdom.

In the kingdom of Kandala, a sickness is ravaging the land. Only the known cure is an elixir made from Moonflower petals, but the flowers are rare and the supply is limited. To help his brother maintain order, Prince Corrick enforces the laws with a brutal efficiency as the King’s Justice. Meanwhile, out in the Wilds, people have come to rely on two masked outlaws named Tessa and Wes for stolen supplies of the life saving medicine.

In the kingdom of Kandala, a sickness is ravaging the land. Only the known cure is an elixir made from Moonflower petals, but the flowers are rare and the supply is limited. To help his brother maintain order, Prince Corrick enforces the laws with a brutal efficiency as the King’s Justice. Meanwhile, out in the Wilds, people have come to rely on two masked outlaws named Tessa and Wes for stolen supplies of the life saving medicine.

An apothecary apprentice, by day and an outlaw by night, Tessa uses her knowledge from working as an apothecary apprentice to make Moonflower elixir, which she and her partner-in-crime Wes hand out to those in need in the Wild.

Weston began helping Tessa steal and deliver medicine to those in need after he met her the night her parents were killed by the Night Patrol. Weston is kind and carefree, but he always insists they keep their masks and keeps a distance from Tessa.

When their parents were killed and his brother became king, Prince Corrick became the King’s Justice. His job is to keep the peace within the kingdom by any means necessary - and they’re usually violent.

After being thrust into the role of king, Harristan has been struggling to keep control of his sick population, his greedy consuls, and his own persistent cough. He relies on his brother to keep the peace as King’s Justice.

Karri is Tessa’s good friend and fellow apprentice at the apothecary. Unbeknownst to Tessa at the start of Defy the Night, Karri begins helping the rebel group and falls in love with the leader, Lochlan.

As the Palace Master, Quint knows everything that goes on in the kingdom, including Prince Corrick’s nighttime activities. He is the only person trusted completely by both Prince Corrick and King Harristan.

the condensed versions

The kingdom of Kandala is suffering from a mysterious sickness, and only the elixir from the elusive Moonflower can cure it. Tessa Cade is an apothecary apprentice in the Wilds of the kingdom; she and her partner-in-crime Weston Lark steal Moonflower from the palace and distribute the elixir to those in need, while trying to avoid the wrath of the brutal King’s Justice, Prince Corrick.

Meanwhile in the palace, Prince Corrick tires of his violent job, though he’ll do anything to protect his brother King Harristan, who ascended the throne at a young age after their parents were assassinated. They are both at the mercy of the kingdom’s consuls who control the supply of Moonflower, and so they rule with an iron fist to deter smugglers and rebels.

One night Weston doesn’t come back from a supply run, and Tessa discovers that he’s been caught and killed as a warning to other thieves. Stricken with grief and anger, Tessa uses the cover of an apothecary delivery to sneak into the palace, where she is apprehended by the palace guards; but when she finds herself alone with Prince Corrick, he reveals the truth: he is Weston Lark, and he’s been sneaking out of the palace at night to help the subjects that he must harm during the day. Tessa is furious and betrayed, but agrees to keep the true story of their relationship secret and instead appeals to King Harristan that she wanted to get their attention because has discovered a way to use less Moonflower in the elixir and help more people.

Rebellion grows both outside the palace—where a man named Lochlan is rallying people to revolt—and inside the palace—where consuls seem to be keeping their own secrets from the King. Tessa and Corrick decide to sneak out one night, dressed as Tessa and Weston, to go among the people and find out more about the brewing rebellion. They’re caught by the palace’s night patrol and King Harristan is shocked to find his own brother amongst the rebels, until Tessa reveals the truth to him. Tessa also notices that the Moonflower petals King Harristan uses to brew his own elixir are different than the ones she uses in the Wilds, arousing further suspicion of treason.

Empowered rebels attack the palace, and, wary of oppressing his people, King Harristan asks Tessa to help negotiate a temporary cease-fire. The rebels stand down under the agreement that Lochlan will join the royals in negotiations, and that the devious consuls will supply weeks of free medicine while both sides look for a new way forward.

In the palace of Kandala, peace talks between King Harristan and Prince Corrick, the Consuls, and the rebel leader Lochlan are tense and getting worse as the supply of Moonflower dwindles. The talks are interrupted by an unexpected visitor—Captain Rian Blakemore, who claims he is the son of a former Kandalan spy employed by Harristan and Corrick’s father. He says that he has a way to safely sail across the nearly uncrossable river dividing Kandala from their neighboring kingdom Ostriary; that Ostriary is in disarray following a civil war between their current king and a vicious challenger Oren Crane, but that they’re rebuilding now and are willing to trade Moonflower for Kandala’s steel.

King Harristan is suspicious of this but agrees to send a contingent back with him to Ostriary to negotiate a trade. Prince Corrick, Tessa, Lochlan, and three guards set sail on the Dawn Chaser, though tensions rise on board as Tessa grows close to Captain Blakemore and Corrick clashes with both Blakemore and Lochlan. As they near Ostriary, Tessa and Corrick discover a woman being kept hostage on board; she turns out to be the daughter of Oren Crane, a pirate and the primary rival for the king of Ostriary. When the captain is revealed to be the King of Ostriary; he admits that he kept Bella on board to guarantee the ship’s protection from her father, and kept his identity secret because of Harristan and Corrick’s vicious reputations and rumors that they are poisoning their own people.

Back in Kandala, Harristan discovers that people in his royal circle have been conspiring against him, spreading lies that he is withholding medicine and putting out a call for his arrest. Isolated and unsure who to trust, Harristan—along with his remaining guards and the Palace Master Quint—turn to Lochlan’s rebels for help.

Oren Crane attacks the Dawn Chaser before they reach Ostriary, and Corrick and Lochlan are thrown overboard. Tessa believes them both to be dead and is furious at Rian; the only other surviving Kandalan on board is the guard Rocco.

The book ends with Harristan hiding amongst the rebels and planning his next move; Tessa and Rocco reluctantly continuing on to Ostriary; and the discovery that Corrick and Lochlan survived and were captured by Oren Crane. Knowing it would give them too much leverage to have the prince of Kandala, Prince Corrick tells the pirates his name is Weston Lark.

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In the kingdom of Kandala, a mysterious sickness is ravaging the land, and the only known cure is an elixir made from the elusive Moonflower. The supply is limited, so while wealthy patrons can afford the medicine, many go without.

Tessa Cade is an apothecary apprentice who lives in the Wilds. She and her partner-in-crime, Weston Lark, sneak into the Royal Sector to steal Moonflower and distribute the elixir to those in need. They keep their identities hidden from everyone—including each other—but Tessa can’t help her attraction to Wes, who often tells her mind your mettle. Their excursions into the Royal Sector are getting more and more dangerous, and each time they fear getting caught by Prince Corrick, the King’s Justice, who has a reputation for being especially cruel.

Meanwhile in the palace, Prince Corrick tires of his brutal job. But he’ll do anything to protect his brother, King Harristan, especially after both of their parents were betrayed and assassinated by a former consul member. King Harristan is suffering from a prolonged cough like those with the sickness. Both he and Corrick are forced to capitulate to Consuls Allisander Sallister and Lissa Marpetta, whose sectors are the only places where Moonflower can grow.

A group of smugglers—who steal Moonflower and sell it—are captured and put in the hold prior to a public execution. Corrick accompanies Consul Sallister to interrogate the prisoners; one of them, Lochlan, attacks Consul Sallister through the prison bars and Corrick breaks his arm. Consul Sallister demands Lochlan be killed, but Corrick insists that they wait for the public execution. Consul Arella Cherry writes to King Harristan asking for clemency for the smugglers, but Harristan and Corrick decide that would be a show of weakness that would put the kingdom in danger of rebellion.

Tessa attends the public execution, but there is a riot when the prisoners call for rebellion and promise that a group called the Benefactors will be able to provide medicine to those who fight back against the royals. In the ensuing chaos, most of the prisoners escape. That night when Tessa and Wes meet up, Wes tells her that it’s too dangerous to continue breaking into the sector. When Tessa insists on continuing their duties to help people, Wes offers to do the Moonflower run alone—and then does not return to the workshop. Tessa hears that Prince Corrick caught and killed an outlaw and left his body hanging on the Royal Sector gates as a warning. She rushes there and is devastated to see that the tortured body is Wes.

Full of guilt and grief, Tessa accidentally grinds powders into poison while working at the apothecary. When she’s assigned a delivery in the Royal Sector, she brings the poison with her and realizes she can pass as a servant girl and enter the palace. Once inside, her thoughts of treason switch to terror when she realizes what she’s done; she tries to escape but is apprehended by the guards and Prince Corrick.

After ordering that Tessa be imprisoned in his chambers, Prince Corrick sees her alone and reveals the truth: that he is Weston Lark, and he’s been sneaking out of the palace at night to help the subjects that he must harm during the day. The body she thought was Wes was a decoy, and Corrick killed off his alter ego when he feared that Tessa’s taste for rebellion was growing enough that it might get her in danger. Tessa is furious and betrayed.

Corrick introduces Tessa to the Palace Master (and his close friend) Quint, who is aware of their nighttime activities, but keeps their relationship secret from Harristan, who does not know that Corrick has been sneaking out of the palace. Instead, Corrick tells Harristan that Tessa has theories on improving the Moonflower elixir to make it more effective with fewer supplies. Harristan is suspicious of Corrick’s treatment of Tessa, but is willing to hear from Tessa on how more people can be helped with their limited stock of Moonflower.

While Tessa adjusts to life in the Palace as a new advisor, Corrick interrogates newly caught prisoners about the identity of the Benefactors. Rebel raids and attacks have increased on Moonflower shipments, and it’s causing tension between the royals and the consuls, and less medicine for everyone.

Corrick offers Tessa an opportunity to escape back to the Wilds but, realizing she has a real opportunity to make change for the people of Kandala, she opts to stay. Tessa and Corrick discuss options for helping their people, including finding out if their neighboring kingdom, Ostriary, is also suffering from the sickness, but because of the nearly impassable Flaming River between their kingdoms, emissaries haven’t been dispatched since before Harristan took the throne.

There is an attack in the Royal Sector, and the remaining prisoners escape from the Hold. This shows an unexpected level of organization from the rebels and disturbs the consuls. Consuls Cherry and Roydan request to speak to each other away from King Harristan; Corrick is forced to execute two of the re-caught prisoners and struggles with it. After Tessa helps ease the king’s cough one night, one of Harristan’s guards, Rocco, begins to act as Tessa’s personal guard.

The next day, Harristan confronts Corrick. He’s grown suspicious over his relationship with Tessa and his newfound leniency as the King’s Justice, as well as rumors that Corrick is working with the smugglers, and he asks Corrick if he’s committed treason. Corrick, betrayed by the lack of trust and unwilling to tell Harristan about his time as Weston Lark, argues with Harristan and later finds himself watched by the royal guards.

With the help of Quint, Corrick and Tessa decide to sneak out of the palace and venture into the Wilds, to see if they can learn more about the Benefactors as Weston and Tessa, because their alter egos are trusted by the people. Back in their workshop, Tessa and Corrick share a kiss but are interrupted by the alarm sounding in the Royal Sector.

When they go to leave the workshop, however, they are both captured by Lochlan and the rebels, who have figured out Wes’s true identity. The crowd attacks Corrick out of revenge, but Tessa appeals to them for mercy, reminding them of how much Wes has done to help. When she convinces them to stop, they take him to get patched up and Tessa realizes Karri, her coworker from the apothecary, is there working with the rebels too.

The palace’s night patrol finds the rebel camp, but instead of rescuing Tessa and Corrick they have orders to take them both into custody. Harristan visits Corrick in the Hold and though Corrick still doesn’t tell him about Wes, they come to an agreement, and Corrick insists on staying in the Hold to appease Consul Sallister. Consul Sallister visits the hold and taunts Corrick, claiming that he and the other consuls will move against Harristan if Harristan won’t punish Corrick. Royal Guard Rocco arrests Sallister for treason and then frees Corrick and takes him to report this development to Harristan.

Meanwhile, Harristan has gotten Tessa to tell him the truth about Corrick’s time as Weston Lark. When Corrick and Rocco join the discussion, Harristan has a coughing fit. While making him a remedy, Tessa realizes that the Moonflower petals look different than they should, and suggests that they might be harming Harristan instead of helping him.

Suddenly, an explosion rocks the palace and everyone scatters. Corrick, Harristan, Tessa, and Quint flee with to the safety of the workshop, where Corrick, injured and exhausted, passes out. Knowing they have limited time before the rebels find them, Harristan asks Tessa to act as his liaison, and in exchange agrees to grant amnesty for the rebels, to relieve Corrick from his role as King’s Justice, and to give Tessa a position in the palace.

Awaking to find Harristan and Tessa gone, Corrick takes Rocco and ventures back to the Hold to interrogate Consul Sallister. There, they discover that he’s been conspiring with Consuls Craft and Marpetta as the Benefactors; he’s been funding the attacks on his own supply runs, in order to manipulate King Harristan into paying a higher price for his shipments; and that they have been supplying the palace with fake Moonflowers—the reason why Harristan’s illness hasn’t abated. Corrick realizes that Consul Sallister has been stoking the fires of revolution out of pettiness and greed, and that he hasn’t even grasped the scope of the brewing rebellion. Corrick forces him to agree to supply free, untainted medicine so that Harristan can use that as a bargaining chip with the rebels.

Meanwhile King Harristan and Tessa reach the rebels and find them riled up and hungry for blood; they’re trying to negotiate with Lochlan, but it isn’t until Corrick appears with Consul Sallister in tow that they begin to listen. With the promise of medicine and Tessa’s word, Lochlan agrees to get the rebels to stand down, buying them time for future negotiations.

Back at the palace, Corrick heals and Harristan encourages him to leave his role as King’s Justice. Knowing they have only delayed a possible revolution, Harristan offers Tessa the role of personal advisor in negotiations with the rebels. The book ends with Corrick and Tessa finding a moment of peace together in the darkness outside the palace.

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The book opens from the perspective of an unnamed Outlaw, who is sneaking through the Wilds, leaving coins for people in need. A girl named Violet surprises him, and when she cannot get more information on his true identity, nicknames him Fox.

Back at the palace, negotiations are taking place between King Harristan, Prince Corrick, the rebel leader Lochlan, and Consul Allisander Sallister, who was conspiring against the royals but who kept his position of power by offering a supply of Moonflower.

Their negotiations are interrupted by a new arrival: Captain Rian Blakemore, who sailed across the Flaming River from Ostriary and claims to be the son of a spy who was employed by King Harristan and Prince Corrick’s deceased father, the former King Lucas. He and his crew are met with suspicion because no one has crossed the Flaming River in years, but they are able to provide proof of an agreement between King Lucas and a Captain Blakemore.

Rian Blakemore says that Ostriary has suffered from political infighting and civil war and is in dire need of steel for rebuilding—something Kandala has excess of—and in exchange, they can offer new supplies of Moonflower.

At a royal function, Consul Roydan tells Corrick that shipping records of Kandala sending steel and explosives to Ostriary stopped 30-40 years ago, but his information about the islands of Ostriary line up with what Blakemore told them, giving his story more credence. Corrick and Tessa also meet Laurel Pepperleaf, a wealthy landowner from Allisander Sallister’s sector. Laurel wants to discuss Tessa’s theories on decreasing the amount of Moonflower in the elixir, but her connection to Consul Sallister makes them wary of her.

Rian Blakemore impresses Tessa, but draws the ire of Corrick and Harristan by criticizing their handling of the kingdom’s sickness. Blakemore explains that their former king passed away, leaving several illegitimate children, half-siblings, and other relations to fight for the throne. One contender was Oren Crane, the king’s vicious half brother, who made many enemies in his bid for the throne; but eventually the king’s illegitimate son won the throne. Now that the new king is in power, Ostriary is rebuilding, which is why they are in need of steel.

Blakemore offers that Kandala could send emissaries back with him to Ostriary to complete negotiations with their king. Harristan agrees to send Prince Corrick to negotiate on behalf of Kandala; Tessa to verify the authenticity of the Moonflower; Lochlan as a representative of the people; and his guards Rocco, Kilbourne, and Silas.

Aboard the ship, Tessa’s concerns about the restraint Corrick has shown during their relationship—combined with seeds of doubt sown by Lochlan—cause a rift between the couple. Tessa is charmed by Captain Blakemore’s openness and his beloved reputation among his crew, and can’t help comparing it to Corrick’s cynical, violent means. Corrick is stressed about the potential trap they’ve walked into by boarding the ship and, between that, keeping Lochlan in line, and earning back his brother’s trust, he decides not to confide in Tessa, causing further discord between the two. Corrick is also suspicious to learn that Blakemore is keeping the ship’s armory locked and refuses to open it for him.

Back in Kandala, the mysterious narrator called The Outlaw ventures out into the Wilds again, this time coming upon a gathering with rebel leanings waiting for one of the consuls to arrive. The Outlaw blends in with the group and sees Consul Arella Cherry, along with Laurel Pepperleaf and Captain of the Palace Guard Christopher Huxley arrive. The group claims that the palace’s new position – that people can take less Moonflower elixir – is a trick, and that King Harristan sent Lochlan on the ship to get rid of him as a blow to the rebels, and that they have records to prove it.

The night patrol interrupts the meeting and sends everyone fleeing; in the rush, the Outlaw is injured and nearly captured, but Violet hides him. He asks her to go to the Palace to fetch Quint—revealing that he is actually King Harristan, who has been following in Corrick’s footsteps and sneaking out of the palace to help his subjects.

Quint arrives along with two guards, Thorin and Saeth, and though Harristan worries their loyalties may also have shifted, they both bow to their king and agree to protect him.

Back on the ship, Corrick and Tessa argue about their relationship and Captain Blakemore; Corrick urges Tessa to think of the mysterious locked room, and to use her rapport with Blakemore to learn as much as she can instead of assuming that he means well. Soon everyone realizes the Dawn Chaser is being followed by two ships of questionable motive, and tensions flare when the ships draw close enough for the crew to realize they’re flying Kandala flags.

Captain Blakemore accuses Corrick of conspiring to send warships after them to find the route to Ostriary; Corrick worries that his brother Harristan might have discovered something about their trip and sent the ships as a warning. Knowing that as the ships come closer, tensions will come to a head, Tessa stays in Corrick’s room that night. With time running out, Corrick is anxious to learn what Blakemore is hiding so he and Tessa concoct a plan where he will distract him while Tessa picks the lock on the armory door.

While Corrick picks a fight with Captain Blakemore, Tessa opens the armory and discovers a woman being held captive. She bursts out in anger, saying that her father is Oren Crane and that he will come for her and wreak vengeance upon the crew. A tussle ensues and Captain Rian Blakemore reveals that he isn’t a spy for Kandala – he’s the new king of Ostriary. He was keeping Oren Crane’s daughter Bella captive for leverage. Rian and his crew overpower Bella and the Kandalans, killing one of the guards and tying Bella and Corrick to the mast. The two ships catch up and launch an attack on the Dawn Chaser during a storm; in the chaos, Bella disappears overboard and another guardsman dies, leaving only Corrick, Tessa, Lochlan, and guard Rocco left from the Kandala contingent.

After the storm, Rian explains that after his father, the King, died and Ostriary descended into civil war, he met the real Captain Blakemore and was inspired to form a crew that would help those hurt in the crossfires. Eventually he had enough support to take the throne, so he decided to venture to Kandala to set up a trade agreement to help the kingdom rebuild. On his way to Kandala, Oren Crane attacked, killing the real Blakemore but allowing Rian to take Bella prisoner for protection. On their way to the palace in Kandala, they docked at a port and learned about the sickness and the value of Moonflower. Rian explains that in Ostriary, the people know that boiling the stems of Moonflower can cause a fever and a cough—a sickness that can be cured through an elixir made of the petals. Rian also reveals that he knew of a thwarted attempt on Harristan’s life with the poison when he was little. Ostriary thought that the royals of Kandala were poisoning their own people in order to prevent an uprising.

Suddenly the ship is under attack again—this time from Oren Crane’s people.

Back in Kandala, Quint and King Harristan are waylaid on their return to the palace by guardsman and learn that there is a reward out for capturing the king, who is now wanted for crimes against the kingdom—Harristan has been accused of poisoning the people and causing the sickness. They, along with the remaining loyal guards, escape back into the Wilds, and look for Karri for help. She takes them to the rebel camp, where Harristan speaks directly to the people, telling them the truth about the consuls and asking them to stand by him as they attempt to take back the kingdom.

In the attack on the Dawn Chaser, there is so much damage to the ship that Corrick and Lochlan go overboard. Tessa believes Corrick to be dead and is furious with Rian, but she and the only remaining guard Rocco have no choice but to sail on with him to Fairde, the safer lands in Ostriary where Rian is in charge.

In the final chapter, Corrick wakes up vomiting seawater. He and Lochlan have been captured by Oren Crane’s people, who demand to know his identity. Knowing it would give them too much leverage to have the prince of Kandala, he gives them the name Weston Lark.