Keladry of Mindelan is finally a knight, and with war with Scanra on the horizon, she journeys north, expecting to see battle. Instead, she’s assigned as the commander of a refugee camp. Even she has to admit it’s a job she’s perfect for, but she feels like she’s not doing enough to help the battle against Scanra.
The Scanrans are using terrible machines that are powered by the spirits of dead children, and kill many before the Tortallans are able to overpower them. What no one else knows is that during the Ordeal that made her a knight, the power behind the Chamber of the Ordeal spoke to Kel, and gave her a vision of the mage building the machines.
Kel knows she should be out finding the mage, but her duty to the refugees keeps her in Haven, until a terrible attack, where all of Haven’s children are kidnapped. It’s up to Kel to save them.
This is a fitting ending to this series, where Kel has always stood up for the little guy – two hundred children kidnapped for such an evil purpose are pretty much the ultimate little guy. And it’s very sweet how many people are willing to help her, when in the beginning, no one wanted her to be a knight.
On a final note, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised that Kel didn’t get paired off by the end of the series. Not that I have a problem with this (Pierce is great in the pairings that she does do), but it’s refreshing to see a girl with a goal who realizes that a permanent relationship at this point in her life isn’t what’s best for her.