Read an And I Darken summary with spoilers, book #1 in Kiersten White’s The Conqueror’s Saga. If you are wondering what happened in And I Darken by Kiersten White, then you are in the right place! Get ready for the next book by reading up on exactly what happened in the first book.
Special thanks to Chinesebun for providing this And I Darken summary!
Author
Kiersten White
Ratings
4.2 stars on Amazon
3.8 stars on Goodreads
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The Conqueror’s Saga
#1 And I Darken summary (this page)
#2 Now I rise (synopsis)
#3 Bright we Burn (synopsis)
***** Everything below is a SPOILER *****
What happened in And I Darken?
Your And I Darken summary:
Written as an alternate fantasy history where, in 1435, Vlad the Impaler is instead a girl. Begins with the birth of Ladislav to Vlad Dracula and Princess Vasilissa of Moldavia. Vlad hopes for a boy but gets Lada, a girl.
Her father is supposed to be the vaivode, the prince of the nation Wallachia (modern-day Romania), but his brother rules instead. Lada is not traditionally beautiful, but she wants to earn her father’s respect by being cunning and a powerful fighter. Her tenacity surprises her father, who educates her alongside her brother, Radu, who is one year younger. Whereas Lada impresses her father but is seen as “useless” by others for being a woman, Radu’s father thinks him weak and a crybaby. When Lada is five, her uncle dies, and her father becomes vaivode. They move to Tirgoviste, the Wallachian capital. One summer during plague, Lada’s family travels to the countryside, where Lada falls in love with nature and her country and calls Wallachia her mother. Upon returning to the city, she becomes disillusioned with her father, who swore to the pope he would fight the infidels as a Christian ruler, but who also has a truce with the sultan of the Ottomans, allowing the Ottoman soldiers to occupy Wallachia. Lada is angry that her father has truced with them. She would never allow Wallachia to be a vassal state. He does not care for Wallachia, but for power.
Lada’s best friend is Bogdan, the nursemaid’s son. He is taken from her after she insults the Ottomans, since they can’t punish her. Her dislike for the Ottomans and her father increases. When Lada is twelve, the boyars (nobles) plot with Vlad’s oldest son, Mircea, who is the heir apparent from a prior marriage. Together, they seize the throne from Vlad. Vlad flees to the Ottoman Empire for help. He retakes his country with Ottoman power, but leaves Lada and Radu in the Ottoman capital as insurance to prevent him from playing both sides.
In the Empire, Kumal, a friendly noble, takes Radu to a mosque. Radu finds peace in religion and converts to Islam. Lada has her first period and tries to hide it to avoid marriage, but she is discovered and betrothed. They also meet Mehmed, who is third in line to the Ottoman throne but the son of a concubine. They become his companions. He cancels the betrothal and takes them to learn alongside him in the countryside. Lada starts training with the Janissaries and gathers Wallachian Janissaries into her fold. The Janissaries complain about “the little zealot” and dislike the idea of taking Constantinople for Islam because of the loss of lives.
When Mehmed is twelve, the sultan, Murad, declares peace with the Christians and steps down, making Mehmed sultan since his older brothers are dead. Mehmed was never groomed for the throne and fears the court will eat him alive. Lada drafts a letter to the Christians, telling them Mehmed is untested, and they should crusade. Mehmed’s father returns to lead the army while Mehmed prepares to take over in the capital. Lada’s father sends troops, condemning Lada and Radu to death, but they are surprisingly not killed. When the Ottomans crush the crusade, Mehmed’s father again retires, refusing the throne. An assassin comes after Mehmed, but Lada protects him. The assassin fights like a Janissary, and they realize they can’t trust anyone. They flee into the harem where the eunuchs and Mehmed’s slave mother Huma protect him. As the mother of the sultan, she is the most powerful woman in the harem. The public story is that Mehmed is enjoying his harem, not fleeing danger. Huma reveals she engineered Mehmed’s brothers’ deaths. If Mehmed dies, her efforts are for nothing. Lada and Radu betray Mehmed and engineer a Janissary revolt with Huma so his father returns as sultan. Mehmed is alive, but has lost the throne.
Radu and Lada return to the countryside, but Mehmed stays in the capital to build support for himself. Huma tells Lada, who is developing into a woman, a story about Theodora, wife and equal to Emperor Justinian, and the power a woman can have if she holds the right man’s heart. She urges Lada to either use Mehmed to gain power or to stop holding him back. Lada kisses Mehmed. Radu realizes she holds Mehmed’s heart. Radu’s Janissary friend, Lazar, hints that both he and Radu are gay. Radu fears this about himself and is jealous of Lada.
The sultan arranges a marriage between Mehmed and a noble girl. Lada and Radu return to the capital to celebrate. A baby, Ahmet, is born to another of Murad’s wives. Mehmed is again the spare; noble sentiments lean towards Ahmet ruling because Mehmed will ruin the Empire if he tries to take Constantinople. While Lada feels neglected by Mehmed, Radu spends his time politicking. Mehmed confesses he hates his new wife and loves Lada. Lada murders another assassin to protect Mehmed. At this point, Murad questions her identity; she and Radu survived Vlad’s betrayal because Murad forgot them. Radu saves them by confessing they have both converted to Islam. He becomes the sultan’s favorite “son.”
After the wedding festivities, Lada travels to the countryside. Radu stays in the capital with Mehmed. Lada feels betrayed by Radu choosing Mehmed over her. She tells him Mehmed will never love him. Mehmed gives Lada the power to form her own unit of Janissaries. She chooses only Wallachians.
Skanderberg, a powerful Janissary, rebels against the Empire with his men. The sultan, along with Mehmed, Radu, and an army, goes to besiege Skanderberg’s city, Kruje. Lada is left behind by Mehmed, jealous that Radu is with him. The siege does not go well. The Ottomans cannot take the wall, and many soldiers fall to disease. Radu promises Kumal he will take care of his sister, Nazira. In the countryside, Lada receives a letter telling her Mehmed is dead, and that she should flee to Wallachia. Lada realizes her power comes only from men. She is determined to carve out her own power and is about to take her soldiers to Wallachia. Mehmed returns before she can leave. The letter was a trick to make Lada leave. Lada realizes she loves him enough to stay, despite Mehmed having a harem and a son. She still holds her maidenhood to herself, though.
The sultan sickens and is about to die. Halil Pasha, a powerful noble, wants to kill Mehmed and set up Ahmet or a fake heir, Orhan, whom he can use to rule the Empire. He controls the Janissaries. Mehmed uses Lada’s soldiers to sneak into the capital and bribe the Janissary commander to work for Mehmed, not Halil. Mehmed takes control when Murad dies.
Radu quietly marries Kumal’s sister, who is a lesbian. This way, Nazira can live happily with her maid while appearing married to Radu.
How did And I Darken end? And I Darken summary
Bogdan, now a proven Janissary, joins Lada’s contingent. Mehmed is mildly jealous. While Lada and her friends go out into the city, the Janissaries riot about their pay again. Lada realizes it’s a distraction to kill Mehmed. The Janissaries want to kill Mehmed, so they aren’t sent to Constantinople. Lada defends Mehmed. Radu must kill his friend, Lazar, to protect Mehmed. Huma kills Ahmet, making Mehmed the one true heir besides a touted imposter from Constantinople. No more assassins should come.
News comes through that Vlad has finally died. Mehmed considers installing Radu as vaivode, but Radu refuses. The Empire is his home. Mehmed offers Lada marriage to him to secure Wallachia, but she refuses. She wants to be beholden to no man and no Empire. Mehmed has his own harem, and Lada fears being relegated to what she sees as a powerless wife or concubine. Although she is Mehmed’s equal, she sees that Mehmed does not care for his other harem women and sees them as tools. She chooses to leave Radu and Mehmed and ride for Wallachia with her Janissaries to claim it for herself as prince. Mehmed is heartbroken, but lets her go.
There you go! That’s a recap of what happened in And I Darken by Kiersten White. We hope you enjoyed this And I Darken summary with spoilers.
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