If you’ve fallen in love with Kai and Paedyn in Powerless, and had your heart ripped out by Adena and Mak in Powerful, and experienced the twists and turns in Reckless, we know that you can’t WAIT to read Fearless! These books have broken our hearts, put them back together, and CRUSHED them once again (that book 2 cliffhanger, Lauren!?!?!) and we know that you want to refresh your memory before you reunite with Paedyn, Kai, and Kitt.
If you’re short on time and didn’t get to re-read the first two books to prepare for Fearless, we’ve got you covered with our Powerless recap, and this comprehensive recap of Reckless! If you want to do a re-read in the future, check out our tandem read guide for revisiting both Powerful and Powerless!
WARNING – if you haven’t already experienced the joy (and soul-crushing sadness) that comes with reading Powerless, Powerful, and Reckless… go read them ASAP and stop reading here to avoid spoilers!!!
Reckless begins with Paedyn returning to her childhood home and reflecting on the events of Powerless. While there, she finds her father’s journal hidden beneath the floorboards. Now that she’s on the run, her plan is to cross the Scorches to reach Dor, a city where only “Ordinaries” live. However, her plans take a turn when Kai, accompanied by his entourage, arrives at her house after guessing (correctly) that she’ll be there. Paedyn is able to avoid capture (VERY narrowly) by hiding in the chimney, and Kai doesn’t find her. But in his frustration, he sets her house on fire and throws a knife at Paedyn as she makes her escape (overreaction much, Kai???).
Kai returns to the palace and talks with his brother Kitt, the new King of Ilya after their father’s death, who’s now more like their father, King Edric, than the brother Kai once knew. Kitt expresses doubts about whether Kai will bring Paedyn back to the palace, and Kai himself is conflicted, struggling with his feelings for Pae. The brothers eventually confront the fact that they BOTH have feelings for Paedyn (eeeeeeek), but they lie to each other, pretending that their feelings for her died when she killed their father. Kai reassures Kitt that he will bring Paedyn back to Kitt alive to face the consequences of her actions.
Paedyn, meanwhile, faces the BLEAK harshness of the Scorches, fighting tooth and nail to survive. She’s delirious and struggles through the desert for days. When she sees a city in the distance, she collapses, only to be carried the rest of the way by a guard from Dor. The guard recognizes her as the “king killer” and attempts to capture her for the bounty on her head, but Paedyn manages to kill him to save herself and learns that both Dor and Tandeau have put a twenty-thousand-silver bounty on her head.
Kai finds the dead guard and knows Paedyn was the killer by the way he was stabbed. He worries about her injuries and begins asking around in Dor about her. Pae, hiding under the alias “Shadow,” survives by stealing food and eventually joins an underground fighting ring. She catches the attention of the ringleader, Rafael, and becomes the favorite fighter. (Because, of course she is!! That’s our girl!) Kai eventually encounters Paedyn again, and their reunion leads to an explosive fight. ANGRY KISSING ensues, and Paedyn challenges him to a deal: if she wins, Kai lets her go; if he wins, Pae comes with him. They fight, and though Paedyn nearly kills him, she can’t bring herself to do it. Kai rips off her scarf, revealing her hair color, and the crowd erupts. Kai declares that Paedyn is his (SWOON).
Before they leave Dor, they share a night in an inn together, where there’s only one bed!!!!!! While Kai tends to her leg wound, Paedyn reveals that he is the one who killed her father. Kai opens up about not knowing the full extent of his actions, and not even knowing who he had been sent to kill that night. Meanwhile, back in Ilya, Kitt struggles with his new role as king and his concerns about Kai’s loyalty.
Kai and Paedyn begin the trek back to Ilya with Kai’s Imperial soldiers, bickering like the old married couple we can only hope they’ll eventually be. Overnight when they’re resting at camp, they’re ambushed (or really RESCUED) by Lenny, Leena, and other members of the resistance from Ilya. When Paedyn asks about what happened to the resistance in the Bowl, they reveal that they were unprepared for how brutal the fight was. Anyone who wasn’t captured or killed in the Bowl is on the run. The resistance brings them to a refuge where people known as Mixes—children of Elites and Ordinaries whose powers are far weaker—live. After resting, they plan to take Paedyn and Kai back to Ilya where they’ll use Kai as leverage for Paedyn’s freedom.
But unfortunately for us and this great plan, this time Kai AND Paedyn find themselves captured TOGETHER in a cell. Rafael, the ringleader of the fighting ring, has found them and plans to collect the bounties on both their heads. Paedyn suffers a panic attack, but Kai calms her down as only he knows how to do, and then they plan their escape. They soon find themselves trapped in a sewer filling with water, with no way out…Believing they are going to die, they share a final kiss. But Paedyn finds an escape route and saves Kai, despite not knowing how to swim and despite having a chance to escape him, and Ilya, for real this time. She CONTINUES to prove that she deserves the name “the Silver Savior!”
Kai and Pae’s relationship becomes even more complicated, though, as Kai uses chains them together, forcing Pae to think he’s betraying her. They share a night in an inn, and despite their bickering, they end up snuggling (!!!!!) Then they end up in a gentlemen’s club???? and eventually continue on their journey until it leads them to the Sanctuary of Souls, a dangerous, bandit-infested area. Their emotional bond deepens as they continue their journey, sharing more intimate moments and heart-to-hearts. Along the way, they share more swoony moments, including an emotional kiss in a pool.
As they travel, Kai and Pae read her father’s journal and learns devastating truths about herself, and Ilya as a whole. King Edric had been killing Ordinaries not because they weakened Elites, but to prevent Elites from producing children with them. Paedyn also discovers that her parents weren’t her real parents (GASP), and learns the truth about her lineage, which devastates her. Kai comforts her, and they both acknowledge their deepening feelings for each other. While braiding Pae’s hair, Kai reveals that he learned how to braid by braiding the hair of his younger sister: a girl named Ava, who was born weak and hidden by the king until she eventually died at age four.
Things take a turn when bandits shoot Kai, and to save him, Paedyn kills them all. After the battle, she’s absolutely covered in blood and (understandably), has a moment of sheer panic, leading to Kai cut off her blood-soaked hair. The two continue to argue about their roles and the increasing difficulty of their mission as they move on, but on the last bit of their journey, Kai and Paedyn find themselves in a field of poppies, and share a dance SO ROMANTIC and he admits he’s in love with Paedyn. Though he’s SO close to fulfilling his duty, he begins to unchain Paedyn and tells her to just keep running. Pae returns his feelings, but she insists she won’t run to safety without him. However, Kitt’s men find them, and they agree to play along to fool the approaching imperials.
Kai and Paedyn return to Ilya to finish up the wild ride this book has taken all of us on, and we’re hit with a SHOCKING twist… instead of demanding Paedyn’s head, Kitt asks for her hand in MARRIAGE (!!!!!), setting the stage for the dramatic conclusion of their journey in Fearless!
