Chapter summaries A Sky Beyond the Storm Sabaa Tahir

Chapter XXXVI: Laia – Rehmat’s True Identity Revealed

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Laia recovers from the flash flood and searches for her pack, finally finding a path toward the Tribal encampment where Afya and Mamie wait. Exhausted and bruised, she is haunted by despair but refuses to call for help. Rehmat appears in luminous form, and Laia immediately accuses her of deception. Rehmat admits she was once the Nightbringer’s wife and queen, but has not been his wife for a thousand years. She explains that before the war with the Scholars, she befriended the Jaduna and, foreseeing the Meherya’s turn, volunteered to have her soul extracted upon death and nested inside human bloodlines. This blood magic came with three sacrifices: never speak of her time with the Nightbringer, remain dormant until one of the kedim jadu directly defied him, and have no corporeal body unless granted by a conduit. Laia is furious that Rehmat kept the truth hidden and still feels sympathy for the jinn. When Rehmat argues that the Nightbringer should be imprisoned rather than killed—calling him the “Beloved” and insisting his death would bring more despair—Laia refuses. She recounts her own losses (mother, father, sister, friends, betrayal by the Resistance and Keenan, abandonment by Elias) and declares that loss does not justify mass murder. Rehmat finally agrees to help Laia steal the scythe and, if necessary, kill the Nightbringer. Laia, however, no longer trusts her.

Key Events

  • Laia recovers from the flash flood, finds her pack, and locates a route toward the Tribal camp.
  • Rehmat manifests and reveals her true identity as the Nightbringer’s former wife and a jinn.
  • Rehmat explains the blood-magic covenant with the Jaduna that allowed her soul to survive within human descendants.
  • She describes the three sacrifices required: silence about her past, dormancy until defiance of the Nightbringer, and no physical form without a conduit.
  • Laia confronts Rehmat about her lingering affection for the jinn and her reluctance to kill the Nightbringer.
  • Rehmat argues that the Nightbringer was once the “Beloved” and that his death would only cause more suffering; she proposes imprisonment instead.
  • Laia rejects mercy, citing her own devastating losses, and insists the Nightbringer must die.
  • Rehmat vows to help Laia obtain the scythe and, if needed, kill the Nightbringer—but Laia no longer trusts her.

Character Development

Laia is at a breaking point: physically battered and emotionally raw, she refuses to let Rehmat’s pleas soften her resolve. Her speech listing her dead family and friends shows how personal loss shapes her sense of justice. She is no longer willing to accept half-truths or compromise.

Rehmat sheds her previous evasiveness and reveals painful details about her former life. Her confession that she still yearns for the jinn and struggles to wish for the Nightbringer’s death adds complexity to her character. The misery in her voice when mentioning her children hints at deep, hidden wounds.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Love and Hate as Two Sides of the Same Coin: Rehmat explicitly states that the Nightbringer’s hate burns as brightly as his love once did, a motif central to understanding his transformation.
  • Trust and Deception: Laia’s discovery that Rehmat has been hiding her jinn past fractures their alliance, illustrating how secrets undermine even the most necessary partnerships.
  • Vengeance vs. Mercy: The debate between killing the Nightbringer (Laia) versus imprisoning him (Rehmat) raises questions about whether justice can ever be served by more bloodshed.
  • Loss and Empathy: Laia’s litany of personal losses serves as a counterargument to Rehmat’s plea for pity, showing that grief does not automatically grant forgiveness.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point in Laia’s relationship with Rehmat and in the overarching conflict with the Nightbringer. It provides the long-awaited explanation of Rehmat’s origin, the nature of the kedim jadu bloodlines, and the three sacrifices that bind her. The philosophical clash between killing and imprisoning the Nightbringer forces Laia to articulate her own moral code. Furthermore, Rehmat’s reluctant vow to help kill the Nightbringer—despite her private hope for a different outcome—introduces tension that will carry through the rest of the story.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Rehmat want to imprison the Nightbringer rather than kill him?
    Rehmat believes that killing the Nightbringer will only bring more despair, partly because she still loves who he once was. She calls him the “Beloved” and insists that imprisonment is the only safe way to end the war without unleashing further tragedy.

  2. What are the three sacrifices Rehmat agreed to as part of the blood-magic covenant?
    First, she could never speak of her time as the Nightbringer’s queen, deeds, or children. Second, she had to remain dormant until a kedim jadu directly defied the Nightbringer. Third, she could have no corporeal body unless allowed by a human conduit.

  3. How does Laia’s personal history of loss inform her stance on killing the Nightbringer?
    Laia lists the deaths of her mother, father, sister, friends, grandparents, and her betrayals by the Resistance, Keenan, and Elias. She argues that she understands loss but refuses to let it justify murder on a mass scale, which is why she demands the Nightbringer’s death.

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