Laia is one of the two protagonists of An Ember in the Ashes. At the book’s outset, she is timid and afraid to stand up for herself, either against her own family or the Martial Empire. Her character arc follows her internal search for bravery as well as her external quest to rescue Darin, the only family she has left. In Chapter 45, the Augurs name her as an ember in the ashes who will burn, because she is “[f]ull of life and dark and strength and spirit” (400). These four characteristics define who Laia is and who she becomes.

Throughout the book, Elias sees the life in Laia in the way she carries herself, smiles, and beholds the goodness within the darkness of her life as a Scholar and an enslaved person. Other than her situation, there is little darkness about Laia, suggesting this part of the Augurs’ description may come to pass later in the series. Though Laia doesn’t see it until late in the story, she is strong, and she comes to understand that strength and bravery are not the same thing. Laia is scared but does what she must anyway, and she exemplifies the book’s theme

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