A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire is the second book in Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series. The first novel, From Blood and Ash, was situated largely in Solis, a kingdom ruled by immortal vampire elite called the Ascended. Poppy is known as the Maiden, a young girl chosen by the gods to assist in the next Ascension Rite of the kingdom. In the Rite, a new batch of Ascended will be created, including Poppy and her ladies-in-waiting. To keep the Maiden safe, she has been raised in complete isolation in a castle and is not meant to court or wed. She is supposed to be quiet and pious. However, as Poppy grows into a young woman, she begins to suspect that something is off about the history of her homeland. One of her guardians, Vikter, trains Poppy in warfare in secret. Poppy also feels stifled by her cloistered life and sneaks off to an establishment called the Red Pearl to socialize. At the Red Pearl, she runs into a handsome stranger whom she kisses. This stranger is Hawke, a new guard for Poppy. Hawke and Poppy fall in love before it is revealed that Hawke is none other than Casteel Da’Neer, the heir apparent to the enemy kingdom of Atlantia. Cas kidnaps Poppy to bargain for his brother Malik, believed to be a captive of the court of Solis. 

Casteel has a terrifying reputation in Solis and is known as The Dark One. Several years ago, Atlantia and Solis fought the War of the Two Kings. Solis won and the Atlantians were forced to retreat. Now Solis is ruled by an oligarchy of the Ascended, who control all the resources of their land. Descenters, or rebel mortals in Solis hounded by the Ascended, believe that The Dark One is the true heir to both Solis and Atlantia. As the narrative unfolds, Poppy realizes that the Atlantians are not the villains she believed. In fact, they believe in an equal distribution of resources, while the vampiric Ascended are cruel and heartless. The real reason they have raised the orphaned Poppy as the Maiden is to use her as a source of blood during the next Ascension. Poppy, who possesses supernatural abilities like telepathy, empathy, and the ability to heal, will pass these abilities to the next batch of Ascended with her blood.

The civil war known as the War of the Two Kings is not explicitly explained in the series, but certain facts about the history of Atlantia and Solis can be inferred. King Malec, a direct descendant of the god Nyktos was married to Queen Eloana. He fell in love with Isbeth, a mortal. When the gods did not give the union its blessing and refused to make Isbeth immortal, Malec made her an immortal vampry, or vampire, thus creating the first Ascended. Malec was exiled for the unnatural act. Queen Eloana married Valyn Da’Neer, with whom she had Casteel. Meanwhile, the current rulers of Solis, King Jalara and Queen Ileana, are known as the Blood Crown. Ever since the civil war, Cas and his brother Malik have tried to overthrow the Blood Crown with the help of Kieran, Cas’s best friend. In one such attempt, Malik was captured by the Blood Crown and tortured. Cas too was held by the rulers of Solis and tormented for 50 years, but managed to flee. At the start of the series, Cas’s sole objective is to liberate his older brother and bring down the Blood Crown, but as the series progresses, he falls in love with Poppy and hopes to build an equitable world with her help.