Fearless
- its.brittanyb
- 3 days ago
- 23 min read
“I want to tell you a secret, but I’m scared of it.” He offers to say it for me. I nod. I notice what is hooked around his fingers, dangling from the hand beneath my knees. “You found my shoes!”
REVIEW
Would I read this book again? Yes No Maybe
Spice Level Legend How spicy is this book?
Tropes | Trigger Warnings |
Arranged marriage, Forbidden love | Death, Violence |
SUMMARY
TL/DR: Scroll down to the end to see condensed summary.
When we last were with Pae, she had been taken back to the King by Kai. They were close to Iyla in a
field of poppies and Kai was trying to get Pae to run away, even saying he’d go with her. But knowing how much Kai loves his brother, Kitt, she couldn’t let him go too. Before they could make a decision, they were spotted by other guards. Kai has no choice but to take Pae to the King as a prisoner. They figure that as soon as Kitt sees them, he will order Kai to kill Pae but Kai has no intention of doing this. He isn’t sure how to get them out of this mess, but he knows he won’t hurt Pae, or let anyone else. But Kitt shocks everyone when he addresses his fathers killer, and instead of condemning her to death, says he will be married to her. Pae, Kai, and all of us are like What in the actual fuck?
We find out that Kitt doesn’t want to kill Pae, but he doesn’t want to marry her either. Now that he is King, he has access to his father’s letters and knows of his father’s neverending fight to rid the area of Ordinaries, even though he knows they aren’t contagious or whatever he thought they were. He also finds out that Iyla is running out of space and resources, because the other realms aren’t open to trade with Ilya due to their treatment of Ordinaries.
Kitt has been advised by Calum. Calum used to lead the Resistance and was captured during the last Purging Trial. Calum has told Kitt that what is best for Iyla is to open up trade with the surrounding areas, but they won’t do that if they think that Iyla is still mistreating Ordinaries. Calum tells Kitt that he should marry Pae instead of killing her. This way, he ensures her survival (since she should be murdered for killing the King) and it will unite Iyla’s Elites and Ordinaries, which will show the surrounding areas that Iyla has changed.
He explains most of this, to Pae and Kai later. All Pae has ever wanted was for the kingdom to be united and everyone treated equally, so she agrees to marry him. Not to mention, she doesn’t have a choice if she wants to live. Kai is super pissed but begrudgingly realizes this is the way to save her.
Pae and Kai agree in private that they just have to pretend in public but to sneak around in private.
Pae finds out that Blair is still alive, and in the castle. Remember, Blair killed Pae’s bestie Adena. She storms off to her room to kill her but Lenny, her old guard, is stationed outside of it. He says Kitt put him in charge of Blair in hopes that Pae won’t hurt Lenny to get to Blair. Pae agrees to not do anything, at this very moment, but there’s always another time.
The fellow leaders in Kitt’s court tell him that the majority of people do not want Pae as their Queen, as they don’t believe she is worthy. The head of the court, Easel, tells Kitt that the people want Pae to go back into the trials. She agrees. Kitt announces to the court that the trials will be for Pae alone. There will be three and they will test the Three B’s that Edric (the King, their dad) lived by. Bravery, benevolence, and brutality. She either completes the trials or dies.
The first trial will be Bravery and it will consist of her going into the Scorches, alone, to the old crypt of the first Queen, Mareena of Dor, and retrieving her crown. Lots of people have tried this and all failed. The land is also full of bandits that will try to steal from her and kill her. Also, she only has until midnight to make it back.
She completes the first Trial…barely. She had to fight off and kill three bandits who were trying to take the crown from her. She makes it back to the castle, holding her head up high even though she is covered in blood - hers and the bandits. Not to mention, she fell down into the crypt so she’s cut. Oh, and attacked by bats, so she has scratches on her. She is kind of a hot mess.
Kitt leads her out of the throne room with Kai following. Kai tells him he should go back in there as the court seems a bit restless. Kitt goes back and Kai takes Pae to her rooms, where he gets her cleaned up and comforts her.
Not only are we getting Kai and Pae POV but we are getting some Edric POV…from the past. We first find out that his first wife, Iris, Kitt’s mother, didn’t die in Kitt’s childbirth as was believed. But Edric hid her away so that she couldn’t be used as his weakness. She was pregnant in the first flashback and we actually get to see a nice side of Edric. He was a shitty king and a shitty dad but he did love his first wife. Flashback number 2, we find out that Iris died giving birth to what Edric calls “the spare”. At first, you think it might be Kai, until you find out that it's a girl and she is powerless. (If it's not already clear, spoiler alert, it's Pae). So now you’re thinking, wait a minute…if Pae is the second child of Iris and Edric then she is sisters with Kitt, and half sisters with Kai. Your line of thinking would be correct…if everyone belonged to who they said they belonged to. Flashback number 3, Edric is taking the news about this newborn baby girl having zero power pretty much how we thought he would - badly. He is also grieving the loss of his wife and the fact that she died over giving birth to a powerless nothing, greatly upsets him. He orders them to “get rid of it”. His Mind-Reader takes the baby and ensures Edric that he will “dispose of … it”. Edric announces to the room that this never happened - his wife died giving birth to Kitt, two years ago. Flashback number 4 shows the day after Iris died - Edric in his room, not grieving appropriately when he gets visitors. His trusted adviser, Oliver, his son, Kitt, and an unknown woman. Oliver tells the King that he has an idea. Since they are telling the kingdom that Iris died two years ago in childbirth, then they need to also explain why they haven’t told anyone. Oliver’s daughter, Myla, has a son, barely a year old, who could pass as Edrics. They could tell the Kingdom that after a few months of grieving, Edric took Myla as a wife but as she was already pregnant they waited until the baby was born to tell the kingdom. Edric is like why would I want your bastard and Myla tells him because he is powerful, the only one of his kind. Edric has Silencer (who can basically scan someone for power) check him and he agrees - this child is extremely powerful. Edric is like ok yeah I’ll take him.
Now, back to Kai and Pae. The next night, Kitt throws a big party to celebrate Pae surviving her first Trial. Pae sees Blair there and attempts to attack her but Kai stops her. Tells her she cannot attack Blair in front of the whole court. She tells Lenny to keep Blair out of her sight and proceeds to get drunk. She dances with Jax (remember him? Kitt and Kai consider him like a little brother), then asks to dance with Kai and Kitt - together. Pae gets so drunk, she loses her shoes, and Kai has to carry her bed. Pae tells Kai she has a secret to tell him but she’s scared to say it outloud, he says I’ll say it for you. He tells her he loves her (well it says he tells her the three-worded secret…so we assume). And in her drunkenness, she responds with “You found my shoes!”
The next day, Kitt tells the court that Pae will be traveling to Izram, to inform them of the opened borders and to negotiate peace. To get there, she must cross the Shallows, which is super dangerous and no one has tried for years. The last ones to do so, Jax’s parents, died. Kai is, once again, pissed off. He says the people only want her to do this because it's a death sentence. Easel and Calum tell him that she needs to deliver roses to Queen Zailah of Izram in a show of good will. Izram cannot grow roses there and roses are important to healers for their healing properties. Kai says he is going with her. Kitt gets mad saying he can’t be serious, he knows how dangerous it is, and Kai is HIS Enforcer, he needs him there. Kai says he serves both the Queen and the King, and does Kitt really trust the crew to not just throw Pae overboard and claim an accident? Kitt finally agrees and tells them they leave the day after tomorrow.
Even though Pae does not wish to be on a boat, does not wish to be crossing the Shallows, or be doing any of this. She is thankful for the time with Kai. He goes into her cabin the first night and she says that at least on the boat, they don’t have to pretend. Now they can’t be making out in front of the crew, but the crew doesn’t go where their bedrooms are so… they’ll never know. Before they left, Calum had given Pae some books that were her and her father’s. She spends the evenings reading them to Kai.
Kai was right to tag along on this journey. One night he wakes up next to Pae…except it's not really her..it's an illusion and he knows that he has been drugged. He gets out on the deck and three crew members have Pae tied up and are getting ready to throw her overboard. Kai makes quick work of them but Pae goes over anyway. Kai saves her by using one of the crew members' powers and then hauling her up by her clothes.
When they arrive in Izram, the Queen is intrigued by Pae. She has heard about how she killed King Edric, that there was a bounty on Pae’s head, and now here she is being called the future Queen and wearing a pretty little ring. Pae tells her that she is there as an Ordinary, in a show of good faith, in hopes to bring their two kingdoms together. Pae tells her that she has brought roses from the King. Queen Zailah says “And you know nothing else of it?” Pae says she does not, only that she was to bring the roses. The Queen seems to have no interest in helping Ilya, but likes Pae, so agrees to let her stay for a few days while the ship is repaired. She says only Pae can stay in the castle, everyone else can go back to the ship.
A day later, Kai climbs a tree and sneaks into Pae’s room. He spends the night and wakes up the next morning trying to extract himself from Pae when he feels a strange sensation on the corner of his brain. He then realizes they have an audience. The Queen has come into Pae’s room and is just sitting there, watching. She questions how come he is there, and he says well I’m her Enforcer…. She’s responds that she didn’t know this was part of that job description. He feels another strange sensation in his brain while talking to her but brushes it off.
Pae wakes up to the Queen just chilling in her room. Zaliah seems to know a lot about how Pae killed the King. Pae asks how she knows so much, she didn’t think there was any way to relay info across the Shallows. Zailah just says she has her ways and maybe one day she’ll share them.
The next day they start the journey home. They get a few days into the trip and then their ship is attacked by the beast that lives in the Shallows. It takes out a lot of crew members, almost kills Kai, before Pae stabs it with a spear. They arrive home and Jax is overjoyed to see Kai. Kitt seems a little shocked they all made it back but is thankful that Kai is home. At dinner that night, Kai notices that Kitt doesn’t look too good. His face looks gaunt and his voice is raspy. Before now, it has been mentioned, in passing, of Kitt coughing, or clearing his throat. Pae has questioned him at least once if he’s feeling okay, and he says yes.
After dinner, Pae, Kitt, and Kai sneak off to the wine cellars and get drunk together. Pae tells them she likes them like this - carefree and laughing together. Kitt tells Kai he has missed them together.
The next day, Pae has to pick out her wedding dress material and flowers. None of which she wants to do. She dreams about Adena that night so she gets up really early and heads into Loot alone. She goes to where her and Adena used to live - basically an alley. She breaks down crying. A guy comes up behind her and tells her that the alley is taken, but stops when he recognizes her. His name is Mak and he had been seeing Adena prior to her dying. They cry together for a while, and Pae finds it nice to not be alone in her grief for once.
Meanwhile, Kai had been practicing in the training yard all night, and Kitt shows up in the morning. Kai notices that he looks sick, and asks him about it, Kitt says he is just coming down with something but it will pass. They spar for a bit, with Kai teasing Kitt about being out of practice. Kitt questions if Kai has been down here all night and he says he has, Kitt seems surprised and said he thought he would be with Pae. Kai tries to play it off and Kitt yells that he knows Kai loves her. Kai tells him not to be silly, she is his fiancee, and he loves Kitt. They continue sparring and Kai makes a move and smacks Kitt in the chest with his wooden sword and then says “You’re supposed to dodge that, Kitt” and Kitt says “I forgot.”
Pae and Kai are trying to keep their distance in the castle so they’ve started writing each other notes and passing them back and forth. Kai tells her, again, he’d run away with her. And she reminds him that she won’t let him leave his brother.
Another flashback of Edric - Edric has grown to love Myla but still mourns Iris. Edric and Myla have now had Ava and have hidden her away due to her sickness. He doesn’t give a thought to the daughter he threw away, only spurs his fury towards the Ordinaries and makes him up to eradicate all of them.
After visiting Loot, it made Pae really want revenge on Blair. She goes to her room, Blair lets her in and taunts her. Lenny rushes in, and Blair uses her power to hold him back. Then somehow, the room goes up in flames. Pae and Blair fall to the floor and Pae …. Well she shoves Blairs face into the flames. Then she passes out, probably from all the smoke.
When she wakes up, she is with a Healer. Kai bursts in and questions what the hell happened. Lenny tells him that Blair held him back, and a candle must have gotten knocked over, He says he took care of the body.
Pae shows up in Kai's room later, breaking down. She thought it would help her mourn Adena if she killed Blair and she is upset that it didn’t help anything. Kai feels Kitt approaching. He focuses on Kitt’s power and notices it feels very different. Pae hides in the closet while Kitt comes in. He tells Kai that the third and final trial will be tomorrow and it’s supposed to be a surprise for Pae. Kai questions Kitt again if he’s okay, his power feels off, Kitt looks off, then he starts mumbling and looking over Kai’s shoulder. Kitt says he’s fine, just tired.
The next morning, Lenny escorts Pae to the Bowl for the Trial. This last trial will be a fight to the death. Pae searches for Kai in the box with Kitt but she can’t find him and when her opponent walks out behind her and the crowd gasps in shock, she doesn’t want to turn around, she knows who it is.
Kai.
Pae refuses at first, screams up at the box where Kitt sits that she won’t do it. Then Kai is turning her around, and telling her that they have to make this look good. They want the Ordinary to fight against the strongest Elite, the Elite that can be every Elite. Then he proceeds to throw multiple punches at her, she doesn’t fight back, just retreats. He tells her they have to make this look good, so pretend. He makes it look so good, Pae questions whether or not he is actually going to kill her. She has never been scared of him but she is right now. After attempting to bury her alive in sand, he gets her out, and tells her she needs to fight, not to give up. They start fighting again, she wants him to kill her, she doesn’t want to live knowing that she killed him. He refuses. Then he makes her stab him in the heart. Pae starts screaming, yelling for a Healer. She turns towards the box where Kitt sits and starts yelling at him before she is hauled away.
She wakes up the next day telling herself that was all a nightmare and it didn’t happen. Ellie, her maid, helps get her into the bath. Ellie confirms that it wasn’t a nightmare, it did actually happen. Pae wants to see Kitt but Ellie tells her she can’t leave the room. Kitt has ordered her to stay there and has guards outside her door. Ellie leaves to go get her food and Pae has another breakdown. Then she hears the best sound….Kai’s voice. Outside the door, yelling “where is she?!” He breaks the door down and then he's there…he’s real…and alive. Not a mark on him. He tells Pae that he was drugged the night before the trial and was locked in his room. He wasn’t supposed to wake up, but he did, and he found his way down to the bowl to see Pae fighting him. Guards held him back and he was still too drugged to fight them off. He watched himself almost kill Pae and then Pae kill him.
Pae finally gets the courage to tell Kai she loves him, but he says it first. She says wait…didn’t you already tell me that? And he’s like yeah, but you were more interested in your shoes.
She realizes that Kitt knows Pae didn’t kill Kai, so who exactly did she kill? They go see Kitt. Kitt apologizes but says what he did was necessary. Kai had to be drugged because he couldn’t really be in that arena, he would have died to save Pae. Everyone, including Pae, had to think it was Kai, so the Ordinary could beat the most deadly Elite. Now, when it is announced that Kai has survived, it will look like he survived death and will be feared. And the kingdom will accept Pae as their Queen. Pae demands to know who she killed then. It was Mak. Adena’s lover from Loot. Apparently, Mak had come and offered his services (how did he know what the third trial was even going to be though?), knew the risks, and wanted to participate anyway. They had an Illusionist projecting Kai’s features onto Maks.
The next day, Pae is trying on her wedding dress, and Callum comes to visit. He tells Pae she looks so much like her mother. And then she’s like oh, yeah I forgot to tell you about my dads journals. He reads her mind that who she thought was her dad, was not actually her dad. And then she’s like but you think I look like his wife? And he’s like yeah a little. He leaves and Kai comes in. He looks so upset seeing her in her wedding gown and she tells him that she doesn’t want this either.
They announce to the court that Kai is alive, and just like they figured, they fear him. Then Kitt announces that they will be married in three days.
Kai’s mother is dying. She has been dying since the king died. Has a horrible cough, and hasn’t gotten out of the infirmary bed for 2 months. She tells Kai that Kitt and her have bonded since his dad died and he visits her. She also tells Kai that he has so much to learn but doesn’t elaborate.
The day before the wedding, Pae is supposed to go meet Kitt in the throne room. She makes it there, but seeing all the wedding decorations, she almost has a panic attack and runs out. Straight to the willow. Straight to Kai. He tells her that he won’t watch her marry his brother tomorrow, he just can’t do it. She wants him to be her first and her forever. So even though she’s marrying his brother, the King, the next day, she loses her virginity to the Prince.
Kai does what he says - he doesn’t go to the wedding. Pae goes through the whole ceremony thinking there is no way this is actually going to happen. Neither Pae or Kitt want this. They don’t love each other. Kai is surely going to say something. Except when Pae looks around, Kai isn’t there. She hesitates for a very long time when she is supposed to say “I do” just searching for someone to save her. After it's over, and they are walking down the aisle, the doors burst open and there is Kai. Extremely out of breath and looking shocked that Pae actually did it. Pae realizes that Kai was going to save her but that she wasn’t strong enough to save herself by just saying No.
Kitt walks Pae back to her room. They are going to freshen up and then head to the Loot for another ceremony. Kitt tells Pae he didn’t want this either, he knows how Kai feels about her, and he didn’t want to do this, but duty. Marrying each other will unite the Elites and the Ordinaries. Kai will never have to hunt down another Ordinary and kill them again.
Kitt coughs and Pae notices blood on his handkerchief. When she questions, he snaps at her and tells her she’s fine.
Before the ceremony, Kitt had dropped off his mothers jewelry box and asked Pae to wear something from it. She ran out of time and didn’t get a chance before the first ceremony, so before the second one, she opened it. She finds a very old rose and some notes from a lover. She realizes the queen was cheating on the king. Then she finds a picture of Queen Iris and Pae is shocked. She sees herself in the Queen. Pae is having a shocking realization when Calum walks in. Then her brain flips into overdrive, putting so many comments together. One of them is when Ellie was telling her about the rose garden that had been at the palace for decades. Another one from King Edric about how a friend told him about the Resistance. She realizes that Calum has been at the castle for decades - he was the King’s Mind Reader. She calls him out, saying she thought it was weird earlier when he said that she looked like her mother, because her “dad” didn’t have any pictures of his late wife around. So how does Callum know what she looked like? Pae says it wasn’t Alice (her “dad”s wife), but it was Queen Iris that he thinks she looks like. And the roses…and the handwriting…he was the Queen's lover. He smiles slightly, and says who else do you look like? And she realizes that Calum is her real father.
Edric made the Kingdom think that Iris was dead to hide her away for her safety. Calum was his Mind Reader but also sleeping with Iris behind the King’s back. Iris was an Elite called a Soul - the ability to sense someone's emotions and alter them. With Iris being a Soul and Calum being a Mind Reader, the fact that Pae was completely powerless, is rare.
Pae’s “dad”, Adam, was a Healer who worked in the castle. He walked by Calum one day and Calum read his mind about the Resistance. Calum told Edric but convinced him to let the Resistance grow, let them try and stage a coup, and then they can eliminate the Ordinaries all in one setting. Calum had asked Pae what else was written in her dad’s journals, and she remembers this, and questions it. She says Adam knew something he shouldn't didn’t he? Calum won’t answer. Calum tells Pae he has great plans for her, and she needs to attend the second ceremony in Loot. Pae says she will not be leaving with him. She starts to try and fight him, but the Mind Reader knows what she is going to do before she does it. So she starts with the mental fight. Hitting him where it hurts with her words. She eventually manages to subdue him but doesn’t kill him, just knocks him out, then runs to Kitt to tell him.
Flashback to Edric meeting Pae for the first time at the dinner before the first trial. He recognizes her eyes at once as Iris’ eyes. This angers him because this nothing Ordinary killed a very powerful Elite. Edric thinks how Adam was supposed to help, unknowingly, kill off a bunch of Ordinaries but instead he had to be handled sooner due to discovering a secret.
Edric confronts Calum about how he was supposed to kill the baby but he didn’t. He says that his original plan of organizing the Ordinaries in one place, can still happen during the Purging Trials. Someone only needs to lead Pae to the tunnels under the bowl, and the King knows just who to ask. Kitt.
Pae runs to Kitt who is standing in the courtyard with some of his guards getting ready to head to the second ceremony. She word vomits to him about Calum, what she learned about their mother, and all the lies. Kitt is like wtf are you talking about. Kitt and Pae realize that this means their half siblings…about an hour after they just got married. Pae tells Kitt that she thinks Calum is not only a Mind Reader but also a Controller. He is able to easily persuade people to do what he wants, for example, He mentioned to Kitt to marry Pae, and he did it.
Calum comes walking out, carrying Pae’s dagger. Kitt goes up to him and Calum says that Pae is clearly confused. Kitt unsheaths his sword and stabs him. Kitt is very concerned that Calum has said something about him to Pae. Kai shows up and wants to know what the hell happened, he assumes Pae killed Calum, and is shocked when Kitt says he did it. Takes Kai a few minutes to realize that Pae and Kitt are half siblings. But then he looks hopeful, he’s like there’s no way this can continue now. Easel tells them that the second ceremony must go on. If the Kingdom finds anything out right now, it will ruin the united Ilya they are trying to achieve.
Later that night, Kitt and Kai are in the kitchen with Gail (the cook) when Kai has another thought. He is a year older than Pae. If Queen Iris didn’t die until Pae was born…where did Kai come from? He questions Gail, who seems surprised that the boys know. So that means Gail knows. Gail knows that Pae and Kitt are half siblings. And yet, she didn’t say anything, and let them get married.
Kai goes to get Pae and takes her to Queen Iris’ chambers to search for answers and then to see his mother, Myla, in the infirmary. Myla tells them all about her dad presenting Myla as a solution to the King's problem, how he was hesitant to take Kai as his own until he found out how powerful Kai was. They told the kingdom that Iris died during Kitt’s childbirth, then 3 months later, Edric met and fell in love with Myla, they had a baby right away, and Edric wanted to make sure they were healthy and safe before announcing to the kingdom. Myla also mentions that she knows that Pae is the child of Iris and Edric. Pae corrects her on who the father is. But …. If Myla thought Pae and Kitt were FULL siblings, not just half, WHY did she not say anything and let them get married?
Kai and Pae go see Kitt. Kai asks Kitt what is wrong with him, the Kitt he knows would feel very broken up about his first kill. Kitt gets defensive, and then shows his true feelings when he starts yelling about how Pae has just ruined everything from the moment she was born. Pae realizes that Kitt had to have read the letters in the jewelry box since he's the one who gave it to her and he says he got distracted and forgot to remove the letters. But he thought HE was the son of the Queen and her lover, since he has always been told his mom died giving birth to him.
Pae asks Kitt why did he want to marry her when he clearly feels like Pae is in the way of him and Kai’s relationship? He says he needed her for his plan. He needed her to convince the other kingdoms to open their borders and trade with them. He wants to liberate the Elites and he wants to rule over the whole realm. Kitt says the Plague didn’t just happen to Ilya, it was MADE for Ilya. Kitt has been meeting with the Scholars, getting them to come up with another Plague. He tells them that he is trading resources that are laced with the Plague. He says the Elites are weakened and a new Plague will strengthen them and create new Elites throughout the realms. He had the roses laced with the new Plague and Pae delivered them right to Izram, they will be the first kingdom infected. He also admits that Calum was not a Controller, just a Mind Reader. He knew who Calum was, he knew of Calum’s plan to have Kitt marry Pae to draw out more Ordinaries. But Calum became a loose end, and now so is Pae.
Kitt raises a sword towards Pae and Kai takes a step in front of her which further enrages Kitt because Kai is clearly choosing Pae. Kai tries to talk him down but Kitt is manic looking. Kitt tries to get to Pae and Kai is always there to block. He is not trying to win, just playing defense. Kitt and Kai go through their practiced motions - they are used to sparring each other. Kai thrusts forward but Kitt forgets to dodge and Kai spears him through the chest.
Pae rushes to go find a Healer and Kitt tells Kai he never wanted to be a monster, to read the letters he wrote, he doesn’t remember a lot of what he did. He takes off his ring and tells Kai that he and Pae should love each other for him. Pae shows up with a healer too late.
It takes 6 days for Pae and Kai to read Kitts' letters. There is some rambling. Obsessive thoughts about Kai. And secrets - Edric gave Ava (his and Mylas daughter that was sick and died a young age) a dose of the Plague because he was worried Ava would be powerless like his last daughter (Edric died thinking Pae was his, he never learned the truth). But it ended up killing her. Kitt was responsible for the bomb that went off in Loot on their first trip there to announce their engagement. This bomb spread the idea that no one would accept Pae as Queen so Easel pushed the idea of the trials. Kitt wanted this - an easy way to get rid of Pae. Kitt made the Scholars give him another dose of the Plague. He starts coughing, losing weight, losing blocks of time, prone to anger. He found his mothers jewelry box and found the notes. He thought he was the son of Iris and Calum. When Pae went sailing for Izram, Kitt told the captain he wouldn’t be upset if Pae found herself overboard on the trip. Kitt was mad at Kai for insisting on going - knowing he would protect Pae but also worried he might not make it back. Kitt reveals how Mak came to be Fake Kai during the third trial. Calum had told Kitt that back in the Purging Trials, after Adena died, he had found a Wielder outside who was upset. He blamed Paedyn for Adena dying. Kitt went to Loot, found him, and offered him a chance at revenge. Kitt repeatedly writes that he wants to be great, he wants to be better than his father to prove himself to his dead dad, he wants him and Kai to rule the Kingdom together, he wants Pae gone. He expresses concern that his mind is slipping. He repeats that he doesn’t want to be a monster, he doesn’t want Kai to think he's a monster.
Two days after Kitt died, a letter appeared at the castle. From the Queen of Izram. She says she knew the roses were tainted before Pae ever left, and she also knows Pae truly believed them to be a gift, and does not blame Pae for what happened. She also says she has already heard that Kitt is no longer alive. What powers does this lady have??
Kai buries Kitt beneath the willow beside Ava. Kai gets crowned as King and he and Pae get married in a small, loved ones only ceremony under the willow.
5 years later - Pae and Kai are in another kingdom for trade agreements. Ilya is thriving with the borders being opened. Elites and Ordinaries are living side by side and (for the most part) getting along. A little girl runs up to them, their daughter, Kit. (Cue the tears). They are walking through the village and Pae sees a flash of iliac hair. When she turns to look, she sees a woman with half of her face burned. Blair didn’t die after all. Lenny got her out and helped her escape.
Epilogue - Kitt is wandering around emptiness in the afterlife. All alone. Until two orbs of light show up. One with a female voice, one with a male. They tell Kitt they’ll sit with him until his brother comes. It's not said exactly, but I like to think it's Adena and Mak. (More tears)
TL/DR: Kitt says Pae and him will be married to save him from having to kill her for killing the King. Pae agrees to help bring peace to Ilya. Pae and Kai are in love and sneak around (but not very well). Kitt finds out that the Plague was made and he takes another dose of it. It fucks with his brain - making him lose time, affect his memory and his mood. Kitt wants to spread the Plague to other realms and rule them all. Kitt and Pae marry and then Pae finds out that she is the daughter of Queen Iris (Kitts mom) and Calum (King's Mind Reader) which makes Pae and Kitt half-siblings. Kai finds out that he is not the King's child which means he is not related to Kitt or Pae at all. Kitt loses his mind - wants to kill Pae to get her away from Kai and so that she can't claim the throne. Kai accidentally kills Kitt, which emotionally destroys him. He eventually gets crowned King and then marries Pae. Five years later, they have a little girl named Kit.