Stunning photo by @onetruedaydreamer!
Hey fairy friends!
Welcome to our fifth and final day of The Night Ends With Fire readalong! Are you ready? I’m not. I think we’re about to get hurt! 👀
Today we’re reading from Chapter 47 to the end of the book.
When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the ending of the book. Happy reading!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for The Night Ends With Fire by K.X. Song from Chapter 47 to the end of the book. Please only read on if you have finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
“I won’t be imprisoned like that ever again.” SLAY MEILIN!!! What a way to start our final section!
She finds her way back to Sky and co. He knows exactly who she is now, black magic and all, and he doesn’t care.
He ropes in Winter and after he vetoes Sky’s plan to write to their father about the benefit of lixia (Sky, don’t be naive), they plan.
Meilin’s upset that Sky no longer invites her to meetings. He tries to say even when he did, she didn’t attend but Meilin’s seeing this as an attack on her character. Instead, he tells her it’s because he’s trying to protect her from unwanted attention. I feel like if he thinks he needs to protect Meilin, he doesn’t know her as well as he thinks he does cause if there’s one gal who can definitely handle herself, it’s her. She doesn’t need you, Sky!
Sky tells her he tried to go back for her. Didn’t try hard enough!!!! And then declares his feelings. She feels guilty that a mere few days ago she was kissing a new prince and now this one is saying he wants to marry her after the war. Awks! He swears to protect her and that flicks a switch in her, she remembers Lei offering her a general position. Very different vibes! Either way, she kisses Sky as a test.
As they’re scheming up a plan, Meilin finds herself wondering what Lei would do… now I’m biased cause I think I’m Team Lei (I could still be swayed, I’m fickle like that) but I think the fact she’s thinking about what he would do kind of means she:
1. trusts him more?
2. maybe relates to him a bit more and thinks in the same ways?
What do we think???
Anyway, she’s got it. She’ll enter the palace as a concubine to find Sima, get the seal and do what she needs to.
Things are kind of terse all around. Tao and Sparrow know she’s a woman now – that didn’t go well. Things between Sky and Meilin are getting more unsettled as she starts to wonder if he’s only interested in her because he sees her as a weapon. It’s not looking great, honestly.
She manages to get into the palace and gives the name MULAN. I’m screaming over this little crossover moment!!!
Meilin has to go alone though and then discovers she might not even get picked… but Sky and co are set to follow up the plan for that night?? Bad feelings – I have bad feelings!
Waiiiiiit. Why is LEI here??? Did he notice Meilin? What is HAPPENING????
I should’ve known that Meilin would come up with a plan to make sure she can get close to Sima. She brews a tea to… dispose… of the other concubines.
Once she’s in, she tries to compel Sima to give over his jade but things go very wrong, very quickly. For the… I don’t even know how many times this has happened now… but again she’s in chains and striped of her power.
BUT… Lei’s here. He helps her and it sounds like he’s also trying to destroy the seal? She tries to convince him to trust her to destroy it and it’s the mention of Rea that does it once more. WHO IS SHE????
Meilin finally compels Sima to destroy the seal and Qinglong is FURIOUS. In his addled state he also lets slip he killed Meilin’s mother. I’d guessed Qinglong was using her, I guessed he didn’t actually want the seal destroyed… but that I didn’t see coming.
She’s dragged back from the spirit realm just in time to stop Tao from killing Lei. She says they’ll take him as a hostage instead and Lei winds Sky up about bedding Meilin. Cheeky!
Meilin uses her chance to question Lei and turns out he quite literally saw her coming. His mother had second sight and predicted the whole thing. He’d been waiting for her for a long time. Is that cute or do I have second hand Stockholm syndrome? He imprisoned Meilin but also lowkey romantic? I’m so confused!
They travel to the capital, and Meilin is about to get everything she’s every wanted. Sky’s father, the Imperial Majesty, is about to give her a leading position… and Tao rat her out with Sparrow following him. The NERVE. THE GALL. THE GUMPTION. She saved them HOW MANY TIMES? I’m furious!!!
The warlord offers her a choice, she can either go back to the life she lived before she joined the war efforts… or live a life of imprisonment. Same difference, no?
As expected, Meilin chooses imprisonment. After starting this section with her quite literally saying she’ll never be imprisoned again, I didn’t think we’d end it this way! Meilin is once more locked up, feeling the madness take over her.
I have no words. So much betrayal and that ENDING? Call a doctor, I’m hurt!
What did you think of that final section?
What’s your rating for The Night Ends with Fire? It gets all the stars from me!
Do you have any theories for book two?
Thank you all so much for joining us for another FairyLoot readalong. See you soon for the next one!
Love,
Shannon
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What an end!!! I didn’t see this one coming at all. I need book two immediately! I hate hate hate Sparrow and Tao for doing this to her at the end. They truly weren’t her friends. Meilin choosing imprisonment will make the book 2 starting position really interesting. I absolutely want more Lei in book two!
I found the ending dissatisfying, I don’t understand why Meilin didn’t use the dragon power to avoid capture? She is now imprisoned again… I presume she will find a way to escape again but I really don’t know what to expect from book two. I’d like to see more of Lei.
I found the revelation about the prophecy/premonition from Lei interesting. And Quinlong… the back of the book did say not to trust a dragon! I expected Meilin to use her connection to the spirit world to learn more about her power and practice, I feel like after all this time she didn’t really improve her skills. She could have used the dragon as much as he was using her.
In terms of rating, this wasn’t a full 4 stars for me, maybe 3.5. I did enjoy it but there were too many things that either didn’t make sense, frustrated me or I found problematic – like was it necessary for men to strip her naked so many times??
This section was so intense!
I am liking Lei a lot more than Sky right now. Yes, he imprisoned and hurt her but he values her a lot more as a person than Sky does. Sky didn’t even go back, he just “tried”. REally? He’s the prince, if he says so, they all should have gone to her rescue, but he didn’t push it.
I am on my toes and need book 2 ASAP (in a pretty FL edition, please!)
Stars? At the beginning it was 3 but probably 4 now if next book is good.
As for predictions, I want Meilan to break free of the prision, maybe with Sky helping her, and she trying to take Lei with her as well. I want her to find Lei in the prision she is in too. And also to learn about her powers and to control that sneaky spirit who wants power for himself.
Yall I thought this was a standalone I’m DYING!! I’m still team Lei, I just don’t feel like Sky really gets her. Oh man that ending really got me, but it is definitely more realistic than the Disney version. No way those men would be thanking her, they’re embarrassed. That final annal at the end where they rewrote her story to make her a traitor had me fuming!! Overall I really enjoyed this read, 4 stars from me! Thanks again for a fun readalong!
I love this book! It was so intriguing and exciting to read! I don’t know whether I am Team Sky or Team Lei… they both have their flaws but care for Meilin all the same. What I didn’t like about Lei is that he easily gets drunk and then tends to be angry… this reminds me too much of Meilin’s father. However, he allows Meilin to be herself while I feel like Sky sometimes underestimates her. But there will be a sequel, so I am really excited for what is coming!
Overall, I think the ending is pretty realistic and satisfying to read, because it isn’t just a happy ending and there still is so much room for the story to be continued!
I rank this book 4.5 stars! 🙂
Besides, do you know when the second book will be out? I couldn’t find any information on the internet.
Thank you Fairyloot for your awesome book choice of the month!
That ending shocked me! She’s stuck in prison! Lei is definitely going to be the one who helps her. I can’t wait for book 2!! 4 stars for me.
I skipped the fourth day and just read all of it after day three. I am not well, send help.
Who is Rea? Where is the concubine (BUT DID YOU DIE?)? WHAT? WHO? WHERE? HOW?
I have so many questions, I need book 2 to come out yesterday.
It’s a 5-star read for me. I’ve read some of the negative reviews on Goodreads and I can agree with some of the arguments, but I guess I’m just easily pleased?
I’m also still a Lei-girly. Sky is cute, but meh.
Why did it have to end like that?? The ending was so infuriating to me. Yes, it was realistic, but seriously Tao and Sparrow? 🤬 So many unanswered questions. After finishing this book, I am team Lei all the way. She and Lei need to escape, and Lei should make Meilin a general. This book was 3 stars for me, but I am intrigued about book 2. Definitely need more answers!
I could not put this book down and I thought it’d be a 5 stars in the end. However, for some reason, I thought the last section of the book was so disappointing. It felt quite rushed and all over the place. I rate it somewhere between 3.5 and 4. I am so excited for the sequel though. I’m hoping to get to know Lei a bit more! I think that’d be possible since they both will be prisoners in the same kingdom. I hope for an alliance between Lei and Meilin now that her “friends” betrayed her and they both will have a goal to escape and potentially plot a revenge.
I need the next book!! But also feel emotionally worn out from being on edge with Meilin throughout this book haha Five stars from me!
Wow! I didn’t think things would go smoothly once she returned to Anlai, especially since I knew there was at least one more book in this series. Sparrow had me thinking, that a friend to many is a friend to none. Grrrr.
I have rated the book 4 stars. It was a struggle until Meilin went to join the army in her father’s place. I would have liked to see Meilin develop more within her magical powers. She knew early on what her lixia weaknesses were, but she never strengthened them even though she was determined to be physically capable. This was too much of a conflict in Meilin’s character. I understand that the author was stripping away Meilin’s ‘power’ within the story to bring out her resilience again and again. Still, I wasn’t a fan of her being in so many situations where she was stripped down. I also would have liked to have seen the development of a few supporting characters. However, the storyline itself was fabulous. There were so many surprises along the way. The details Song piled into the locations, always made me feel like I was there in the moment.
Lei will find a way to take Meilin with him when Anlai & Ximing work out a treaty. Although Lei kept her a prisoner, I don’t think he knew in what capacity Meilin would help him on his way to power. I believe he’s attracted to her tenacity but doesn’t want her to use her lixia powers. He doesn’t want her to go mad, nor does he want her to become Chancellor Sima Yi Volume 2. I’m hoping Rea is his sister, but I have to admit I’m kinda worried she’s not. I hope Lei doesn’t just want Meilin as a concubine.
Fairyloot’s edition of this book was stunning. I look forward to book 2 & hope it’s just as gorgeous.