It would be impossible to choose our favorite romantic moment from Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series. So we’ve narrowed it down to our top five! In continuation of our #EmberCountdown to A Sky Beyond the Storm, here are the most romantic moments from An Ember in the Ashes so far!

SPOILERS AHEAD for An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night, and A Reaper at the Gates! 

5. The Moon Festival

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This scene was magical. Even though Laia didn’t know who he was at the time, Laia and Elias dancing at the Moon Festival and getting just a few moments to be themselves was *chef’s kiss*

4. That fight between Helene and Elias

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Okay, okay, not to be controversial, but that ~very heated~ fight between Helene and Elias when she confesses she’s in love with him in book 1 was amazing and also heartbreaking at the same time.

3. Elias and Laia after Elias won the trial

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Remember that moment of absolute panic when Laia got dragged off by the Commandant and we all thought she’d finally been caught for spying and was going to interrogated? To refresh your memory, she actually found herself in Elias’s room (*phew*) and it ended with the first Elias/Laia kiss that will go down in history as one of our favorite romantic moments ever.

2. The Helene & Harper Kiss

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You know every single one of us was screaming JUST KISS ALREADY at these two for approximately all of A Reaper at the Gates. And then it HAPPENED. And it was perfect.

1. The time Elias teleports (but not really) to see Laia in A Reaper at the Gates

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If it isn’t obvious…WE SHIP THESE TWO SO MUCH. And even though it wasn’t a good force that sent Elias to Laia in order to distract him, we’re grateful for the super romantic moment that it led to when these two finally got to see each other again.

Pre-order A Sky Beyond the Storm here!

Check out the best villains of An Ember in the Ashes ranked here!