Read a Heir summary with spoilers, book #1 in Sabaa Tahir’s Heir Duology. If you are wondering what happened in Heir by Sabaa Tahir, then you are in the right place!
Author
Sabaa Tahir
Ratings
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.22 stars on Goodreads
Add Heir at Goodreads.
Heir Duology
#1 Heir summary (this page)
#2 Untitled (on Goodreads)
***** Everything below is a SPOILER *****
What happened in Heir by Sabaa Tahir? Heir Summary
Aiz comes from the Dafra slum in Kegari. She lives in the cloister with clerics who look after orphans. Fueled by revenge against Tiral, the highborn commander for burning the children ten years ago, she tries to assassinate him. When she fails, he captures her and all the clerics. While in the Tohr prison, Aiz sees Mother Div, who tells her that she must free her spirit, so that Tiral doesn’t declare himself as the Tel Ilesi, the vessel of Mother Div’s spirit. Tiral had already raided neighboring villages and was preparing to wage war against the Martial Empire. People of Kegari had windsmithing powers. Aiz did too, but hers came with rage and less control.
While in isolation, Aiz sees Mother Div. She escapes with Mother Div and Cero’s help – her best friend. She boards an Ankanese ship with a seer to get out of Kegari, because they are not an enemy of the Kegari, and nobody would think to check it. Cero knows the seer because she has visited Kegari for years. The seer named Dolbra says she’s helping Aiz because she’s appeared in her visions, consuming and wielding an ancient power.
She goes in search of Laia of Serra, a storyteller who knows the ninth tale of Mother Div’s stories. That tale holds the secret to setting Mother Div free. When she finally finds her, she meets Quil. At the time, she doesn’t know that Quil is a crown prince. Aiz pretends she’s from the slums of Ankana to gain their trust and calls herself Ilar, afraid they might not accept her if she tells them she’s from the Dafra slums. Laia of Serra’s youngest son, Ruh, has the power to see beyond the ordinary. With Ruh’s help, she understands the last tale of where Mother Div’s spirit is held captive. Ruh insists on riding through a sandstorm with her to free Mother Div. When they finally find her, Mother Div asks for a sacrifice and eats Ruh’s heart. She promises to give Aiz the power to free her people from poverty and take them back home where they belong, if she helps her feed them. Aiz agrees.
Quil, the heir to the Martial throne and prince of Gens Aquilla, is the nephew of Empress Helene Aquilla. He also possesses a magic power that lets him see into people’s minds and memories, but he keeps it a secret. After a boy is found dead in the market square, Sufiyaan’s grandmother, the Bani al-Mauth, Chosen of Death, warns him that his aunt, the Emperess, is keeping secrets about the other children who have died in the same way. All with the same gaping wound, their hearts turned to ash. She warns him that something is coming.
When Tiral’s army attacks the Martial Empire, Quil, his best friend Sufiyaan, and his cousin Arelia flee to safety. They are on a mission to track the killer who is ruthlessly murdering children, including Sufiyaan’s younger brother and Quil’s first love. They are also looking for Elias, Sufiyaan’s father, and Tas, an orphan and brother to Quil. Quil decides to head to the Ankanese capital, Burku, to find Tas and to save the empire.
Sirsha Westering is a Jaduna outcast and a tracker. She uses Earth’s elements to track a person. She works alone after being outcast for killing innocent people. Elias hires her to track the ruthless killer. He gives her money and a ring and makes a blood oath that binds them. If Sirsha fails to complete her mission, there will be consequences. According to the rules of her banishment, she cannot track anyone who uses magic, or she will be punished.
Sirsha tracks the killer to the Martial Empire. She realizes that the killer possesses power and magic. It had been years since she hunted a magical entity. Now, she has no choice but to complete the mission discreetly so that the Jaduna do not track her. She reaches the Martial Empire when Tiral’s army attacks. She finds a boat to escape. When Quil, Sufiyaan, andAreliaappear on the boat, they bind her, suspecting she is an enemy. On the water, she reveals that she is a Jaduna when questioned by the enemy. Since the Kegari and Jaduna are on good terms, one of the Sails trails them till their destination. Sirsha convinces them to head to Jibaut, where her friend can help them avoid the Kegari.
In Jibaut, Sirsha’s friend betrays her. Sirsha’s sister, R’zwana, ambushes her with her troupe. To save her from being punished to death, Quil announces they are engaged to be wed. Her sister makes them say the vows to prove they are not lying. Quil, unaware that this binds their souls (Adah), does so. They have to be near each other at all times, and when apart, a coin around their necks burns. Sirsha suggests taking the highway to Ankana and meeting a friend on the way who can tell them more about the killer’s magic. Sirsha tells the group that the killer they are hunting is a woman, not a man, with powerful magic. Not a Jadugar, but something more sinister. Quil confesses that while Sufiyaan lost his brother Ruh, he lost his first love, Ilar, a year ago.
When Aiz willed it, Mother Div would return, but she could offer Aiz power only after she had fed on innocent, pure children. Aiz feels every death followed by a power surge through her. A few days later, Aiz makes her way to face Tiral in Kegar. Aiz uses Mother Div’s power to build hope among the Snipes and in leading them. Tiral watches as Aiz descends from the sky with Mother Div’s power. But her power was too weak to overthrow him. Mother Div begs Aiz to let her feed and return stronger. Tiral dies quickly.
Since they’re hunting the same thing, Sirsha, Quil, J’yan, and R’zwana reach the Kegari encampment together. Sirsha finds a path to Mother Div. When she tries to bind the creature, she realizes that her magic is being consumed instead. The creature is feeding off her. J’yan and R’zwana refuse to believe her, trying harder to bind Div. The creature burns J’yan’s heart. Sirsha and her sister escape. Quil mistakes Cero for the Tel Ilesi. He comes face-to-face with Ilar and is surprised to see how she has changed. He blames her for Ruh’s death, which she calls a sacrifice. He doesn’t tell anyone that Sufiyaan’s grandmother, the Bani al-Mauth, buried Ruh and ordered him to keep it a secret. Aiz leaves him with Cero, who binds and ties him. But Cero worries for his friend. So after bringing Sirsha to Quil, he gives them a chance to escape. Quil confesses to Sirsha that he has magic powers. Sirsha explains to his friends that Quil is a rare type of magic user.
Sufiyan and Arelia search for Tas. They find him in the city’s most popular brothel. There, he shows them a piece of metal found only in Kegar that suppresses magic. The Ankanese deny the existence of the metal, but Tas heard they’re expecting a shipment soon. Arelia presents Ikfa, a set of purple-black chains and manacles, as a way to suppress Aiz. Ikfa is dangerous to anyone with magic. Sirsha tells Quil that if she doesn’t fulfill her promise of catching Mother Div to Elias, her mind will be affected, and she will be dangerous to anyone around her.
Sirsha reads a book she stole from Quil, which has a short section about Jaduna magical theory. Magic cannot be destroyed, only contained or transformed. She realizes then that she was not able to bind Mother Div in the encampment or kill her. Mother Div seemed to represent Owa Khel – the Empty. A place of suffering and torment for spirits. If Sirsha wants to bind Div, she has to sacrifice her own life.
Aiz hopes to find loha in Blackcliff, but fails. She interrogates Empress Helene Aquilla, whom her soldiers have taken captive. But Helene overpowers her. Elias also appears. To escape, she uses all of Mother Div’s energy. Div tells her to look into the Empress’s mind and search for the loha. She sees children wearing Masks that could be useful to her. So, she sets out with Cero to find them. Cero is against Aiz killing innocent children. At this time, she is alerted to an uprising led by the Empress. Even though some clan leaders die during the attack, after Mother Div tortures the children for the loha masks, she gives Aiz power to fight back. The Empress retreats. Sister Noa worries for Aiz. While recovering after the fight, Aiz remembers a story she was told as a child, that Mother Div loved children and would never harm them. So, this creature could not be Mother Div. However, it’s the only way to liberate her people from suffering.
How did Heir by Sabaa Tahir end?
Quil meets the Eye of Ankana – High Seer Remi E’twa, one of the holiest men alive. He tells the High Seer that Ambassador Ifalu, also known as Dolbra, had been feeding his people misinformation while pretending to be an ally. He asks the Seer for a favor – to be arrested with his friends and kept in prison.
The High Seer informs Aiz of their arrest. She, Cero, and Mother Div visit the prison. While fighting Aiz and Mother Div, Sirsha sacrifices herself. Sufiyaan stabs Aiz. Cero dies. They leave the Ankanese prison, but Quil searches for Sirsha for days. Even the High Seer can’t help him, worried that Ambassador Ifalu is also missing like Sirsha. Musa sends word to Quil that Ikfa had arrived and the smiths are shaping it into weaponry.
Quil is reunited with Laia, the Kehanni (storyteller), on the southern coast of the Tribal Lands. She tells him that Mother Div’s spirit was trapped in a story. The more she told it, the more she released it into the world. Only after Mother Div was eradicated and the power broken, Laia’s memory returned.
Aiz wakes up, unfamiliar with how or why she’s alive. But she feels the absence of Mother Div. She uses Bloodsmithing to bring Cero back to life, too. She worries how she will rule as Tel Ilesi without Mother Div.
When Sirsha wakes up, only one coin remains around her neck – Quil’s. Elias disappeared after she destroyed Mother Div. She meets Mother Div again in her form, and when a vast hunger fills Sirsha, she realizes they are one.
There you go! That’s a quick recap of what happened in Heir by Sabaa Tahir. We hope you enjoyed this Heir summary with spoilers.
Ready to read or reread Heir? Click to buy and help us pay for hosting! (paid links)
What now?
Follow Book Series Recaps on Instagram and Twitter.
Friend us on Goodreads: Sara and Stacy.
Check out awesome art, quotes and more on Pinterest.
Oh, and share this with your friends who might like to read a recap of Heir by Sabaa Tahir.