As much as we love the themes of rebelling against the system and daring to defy an oppressive society in Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes, we have to admit that we also love…wait for it…the romance. And who could blame us? Between Helene, Elias, and Laia, there are quite a few romantic moments, and we’ve pulled them all together for you to re-live.

“I like that Laia says things I don’t expect, that she speaks almost formally, as if she’s telling a story. I like that she defied my mother to go to the Moon Festival, whereas Helene always obeys the Commandant. Laia is the wild dance of a Tribal campfire, while Helene is the cold blue of an alchemist’s flame.”

“The wind pulls at her hair again, and I catch her scent—like fruit and sugar.”

“For tonight, maybe we can just be Laia and Elias.”

“I stare at her, realize I’m staring, tell myself to stop staring, and then keep staring. My breath falters, and my body, traitor that it is, tugs me forward until there are only inches between us.”

“Now, in her black uniform, with her shining braid encircling her head like a crown, she’s as beautiful as winter’s first snow.”

“I watch her long fingers at her nape, watch her lick her lips. I wonder what it would be like to kiss that mouth, to push her to the window and press my body against hers, to pull out the pins in her hair, to feel its softness between my fingers.”

“My breath comes in short, shallow bursts, and my skin tingles in wild impatience. He moves closer, drawing up my gaze, pinning me with his eyes. Oh skies, he’s going to kiss me … .”

“’You don’t have to be brave, Laia.’” His words are spoken with a quiet fierceness, and I suddenly feel shy of him. He raises his hand, slowly tracing my eyes, my lips, the curve of my neck with the tip of his finger.”

“I lift myself up on my toes, and his face comes down at the same time. His lips are soft, softer than I could have imagined, but there is a hard desperation behind them, a need. The kiss speaks. It begs. Let me forget, forget, forget.”

“It seems somehow significant, my hand in his. I look up into his face, surprised at how near he is to me, at the fire in his gaze, the life, and my pulse quickens.”

“His cloak falls away from me, and my body is against his. He pulls me to his chest, his hands running down my back, clasping my thigh, drawing me closer, closer. I arch into him, reveling in his strength, his fire, the alchemy between us twisting and burning and melding until it feels like gold.”

Learn more about An Ember in the Ashes here!