Reckless by Lauren Roberts

The Setup: Picking up immediately after the events of Powerless, the kingdom of Ilya is in turmoil. Paedyn Gray, the Ordinary who faked her way through the Purging Trials and killed the King, is now a fugitive on the run. She has fled into the deadly Scorches, heading for the neighboring city of Dor, all while being hunted by the one person she once wanted to run to .

The Hunter: Kai Azer is now Ilya's Enforcer, loyal to his brother Kitt, the new King. He has vowed to find Paedyn and bring her to justice for his father's murder. But his feelings for her are impossibly complicated—he is consumed by anger, yet also feels relief at being freed from his brutal father. He pursues her across the desert, wishing he didn't have to .

The Conflict: When Kai finally catches up to Paedyn in Dor—a city without Elites where the power dynamic shifts entirely—he is unable to defeat her. After a series of captures, escapes, and near-death experiences, they are forced into a temporary alliance to survive bandits, prison breaks, and treacherous terrain. As they journey back to Ilya through the Sanctuary of Souls, their undeniable chemistry reignites, blurring the lines between hunter and hunted, duty and desire .

The Cliffhanger: Returning to Ilya together and determined to uncover the truth about the King's lies, they face a shocking final twist: Kitt, the new King, asks Paedyn to marry him to consolidate his power .