Heir

Heir is a 2024 young adult fantasy novel by Pakistani-American author Sabaa Tahir. It is the first entry in the Heir duology and a spin-off of Tahir’s prior An Ember in the Ashes series, set 20 years after the original books. Heir follows three main point-of-view characters: Aiz, an orphan driven by the desire for vengeance and the love of her people; Sirsha, an exiled tracker who uses her magic to hunt her marks; and Quil, the reluctant crown prince of the Empire. Their stories collide as war descends on the Empire and a mysterious killer returns, targeting children.

This guide references the 2024 e-book edition published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of child death, death by suicide, animal death, graphic violence, sexual content, illness, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and death.

Plot Summary

Heir is mainly told from the perspectives of three characters in two different timelines. Quil and Sirsha’s chapters are in the present, while most of Aiz’s are set a year prior.

Aiz is a woman from Kegar—an economically disadvantaged, warlike kingdom on the southern continent. Seeking vengeance for fellow orphans killed years earlier, Aiz targets Tiral, the cruel fleet commander. After failing to assassinate him, she escapes, stealing his strange book of children’s tales. Tiral retaliates by capturing Aiz and the clergy of the cloister she inhabits, imprisoning them in the prison called the Tohr. There, Aiz tells the sacred stories of Mother Div, the Savior of Kegar, offering hope to the prisoners. This angers her captors, and Aiz is sent to the Hollows, a dark and isolated part of the prison. At her lowest point, Aiz experiences a vision of Mother Div, who tasks her with escaping, freeing her, and saving their people. With a renewed sense of purpose, Aiz escapes the prison and reunites with her friend Cero. He tells her that Tiral plans to declare himself the Tel Ilessi, the vessel of Mother Div, and seize control of Kegar. In the book of stories, Aiz uncovers a story about Div’s imprisonment. She resolves to track down the book’s author, Laia of Serra, for answers on how to free Div.

Guided by Mother Div’s voice, she goes to the territory of Tribe Saif, on the Northern Continent, to meet Laia. She introduces herself as “Ilar” and earns their respect by bonding with Laia’s son, Ruh. When Aiz asks her about the story, Laia says she doesn’t remember it but agrees to help. While she impatiently waits for answers, Aiz ingratiates herself with the tribe, particularly Quil, the young heir to the Empire. Despite their growing attraction, Aiz remains focused on her mission to uncover Mother Div’s prison. Just as she is about to get answers, Laia realizes that Aiz has been lying to them. Aiz is banished from the tribe. She realizes that the location of the prison is nearby, and she sets out to find it, accompanied by Ruh. At the cavern, Aiz encounters a Durani, a chaos storyteller, who is keeping Mother Div imprisoned. Aiz frees Mother Div, but to her horror, Div is a monstrous entity who demands human sacrifices to sustain her power, starting with Ruh. Despite her grief over Ruh’s death, Aiz chooses to align with Mother Div, believing it necessary to save her people. They travel back to Kegar, where Aiz confronts and kills Tiral and then declares herself the Tel Ilessi.

A year later, Sirsha—having been banished from her native Jaduna community years before—is hired by Elias to track a killer targeting children: Mother Div. Sirsha is a tracker: She uses her magical connection with the elements to track those who are missing or on the run. In this case, she tracks the killer toward the city of Navium. There, Quil is still struggling to deal with what happened to Ruh and “Ilar,” who he believes is dead as well. Their killer, after going dormant, has returned and started killing children again. At the midwinter celebrations, Quil’s aunt, Empress Helene Aquilla, plans to announce his coronation. Before she can, the Kegari launch an assault on the city. Quil runs to the docks with his cousin Arelia and Sufiyan, his best friend and Ruh’s older brother. Sirsha, also escaping the destruction, runs into Quil’s group, and together they commandeer a ship. Sirsha explains that Elias hired her to track Ruh’s killer. Despite mistrust on both sides, Quil persuades the group to cooperate when Kegari ships arrive. Sirsha reveals she is really a Jaduna sorceress—the Jaduna people hail from a distant, little-known land and are known for their potent magic—and convinces the soldiers that her mission is sacred. The Kegari soldiers allow the group to continue.

The group travels to the Kegari-occupied city of Jibaut, where Sirsha meets with a contact for more information. However, the man betrays her, setting her up to be captured by a group of Jaduna—including her former fiancé, J’yan, and her estranged sister, R’zwana. For breaking the rules of her exile, R’zwana orders Sirsha’s execution by drowning. Quil and Sufiyan arrive and demand Sirsha’s release, claiming that she’s engaged to Quil. When R’zwana challenges this, Sirsha and Quil reluctantly agree to swear an official Jaduna engagement oath. They then regroup with Arelia and leave the city.

The group travels to meet Sirsha’s former mentor, Loli Temba. Quil and Sirsha begin to form a relationship, though she fears letting him get too close. When Sirsha falls deathly ill, Loli Temba arrives and leads them to her hidden sanctuary. There, she reveals that Mother Div is stalking the group. Once Sirsha recovers, the group prepares to leave, only for Mother Div to ambush them outside. She kills Loli Temba and then taunts Sirsha by taking the form of her estranged mother. Sirsha, using her wits, traces a tether from the killer back to the camp where the Tel Ilessi commands the Kegari forces.

After Mother Div vanishes, the group splits up. Arelia and Sufiyan go south to find Tas, a spy and close friend of Quil, while Sirsha and Quil head for the Kegari camp. One night, a storm forces them to shelter in a cabin, where R’zwana and J’yan join them. Quil defends Sirsha from her sister’s taunts, and the emotional tension between them culminates in the pair having sex. The next day, the four reluctantly team up to hunt Mother Div. When they reach the Kegari war camp, Sirsha goes after Mother Div. However, her attempt to magically bind her fails, and Div kills J’yan. Meanwhile, Quil discovers that the Tel Ilessi is Aiz. Despite her attempts to justify her actions, Quil condemns her for the innocent lives lost, including Ruh’s. Aiz has him imprisoned, along with Sirsha. However, Cero, disillusioned by Aiz’s actions, helps them escape.

Sufiyan and Arelia find Quim’s friend Tas in Ankana, and he tells them about Ikfa, a magic-suppressing metal that could help defeat the Kegari. The trio steals the metal during a storm and smuggles it to the empire, keeping a single chain. They then reunite with Quil and Sirsha and make a plan to stop Mother Div and Aiz.

Quil convinces the High Seer Remi E’twa to throw the group in prison and then contact Aiz. When she arrives, the group breaks out of their cells and uses the Ikfa chains to neutralize Aiz’s magic. Sufiyan stabs Aiz in revenge for his brother, while Sirsha confronts Div, sacrificing herself to stop the entity. Quil and the others leave to continue the fight against the Kegari. Aiz is alive but stripped of Div’s power, leaving her without purpose. Sirsha, meanwhile, awakens on an isolated beach. At first, she believes she succeeded in destroying Div. However, she soon realizes that not only is Div still alive, but they are now bound together.