"Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution." --Provided by publisher.

Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger as the Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, Laia of Serra, and Elias Veturius all face increasing dangers.

New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir joins writer Nicole Andelfinger and artist Sonia Liao for an all-new original graphic novel introducing the dangerous world of An Ember in the Ashes to new readers and revealing an untold story of Elias and Helene's beginnings at Blackcliff Academy in this stirring standalone chapter in the series' mythology. Before they were on different sides of a revolution, Elias and Helene were comrades at Blackcliff...