Quiz The Ashes and The Star Cursed King - Nightborn #2 (SL & TF) Carissa Broadbent

The Ashes and the Star Cursed King Quiz – Nightborn Book 2

Whether you just finished The Ashes and the Star Cursed King or want to revisit Oraya and Raihn’s story, this quiz will challenge your recall of key events, character choices, symbols, and the bigger ideas that drive the duet’s conclusion. Each question is based directly on the book’s events—no made-up details. After the 20 questions you’ll find a complete answer key with brief explanations.

Plot & Sequence Questions (1–8)

  1. What does Oraya discover in Vincent’s private study in Chapter 5?

    • A) A map showing the location of Alarus’s blood
    • B) A report confirming Vincent destroyed her home city, Salinae, and a child’s dagger she made for him
    • C) A letter from Raihn confessing his betrayal
    • D) A vial of healing blood that belonged to her mother

  2. Why does Raihn order a full retreat at the end of Chapter 60?

    • A) His army is outnumbered five to one
    • B) Oraya is gravely wounded and he needs to find a healer
    • C) Simon unleashes a magical explosion that kills half of Vale’s fleet
    • D) Septimus threatens to destroy the city unless Raihn surrenders

  3. What triggers Oraya’s wings to first appear?

    • A) She falls from a spire after Raihn playfully pushes her
    • B) She drinks Raihn’s blood for the first time
    • C) She touches a fungal heart that contains Vincent’s pendant
    • D) She wins a battle against a group of Rishan soldiers

  4. Which character betrays Raihn by drugging him during the wedding feast?

    • A) Cairis
    • B) Vale
    • C) Mische
    • D) Ketura

  5. How does Oraya escape from Evelaena after being pinned to a wall?

    • A) She uses the Heartrender sword, which burns Evelaena when she touches it
    • B) Raihn bursts into the room and kills Evelaena
    • C) She convinces Evelaena to release her by offering the sword’s ownership
    • D) She sets the room on fire with Nightfire and slips away

  6. What happens when Oraya and Raihn offer their blood to Nyaxia during the festival?

    • A) Nyaxia appears immediately and accepts the offering
    • B) The blood does nothing for several seconds, then rises into the sky
    • C) The blood turns to ash, signaling the goddess’s anger
    • D) Nyaxia rejects the offering and the blood falls to the ground

  7. What is the name of Oraya’s mother, revealed in Chapter 43?

    • A) Alana
    • B) Alya
    • C) Lilith
    • D) Nessanyn

  8. In the final confrontation, what does Raihn tear from Simon’s chest to wound him severely?

    • A) The Heartrender sword
    • B) The god‑metal teeth fused into Simon’s flesh
    • C) A piece of Oraya’s stolen dagger
    • D) The Mark of the Heir

Character Motivation Questions (9–13)

  1. Why does Septimus cancel the planned offensive on Misrada in Chapter 8?

    • A) He learns Oraya has allied with Jesmine and prefers to wait
    • B) He cites troop logistics, but the real reason is he is working with Simon and wants to weaken Raihn
    • C) He wants to test Raihn’s loyalty by creating suspicion
    • D) The Bloodborn forces are needed elsewhere to suppress a rebellion

  2. Why does Oraya agree to Raihn’s secret alliance in Chapter 13?

    • A) She still loves him and believes he can change
    • B) She sees it as the only path to power and vengeance, and a way to eventually expel the Bloodborn
    • C) Mische convinces her that Raihn is telling the truth
    • D) She wants to retrieve the Heartrender sword from Vincent’s study

  3. What motivates Mische to kill the Shadowborn prince in Chapter 49?

    • A) She was ordered by Raihn to eliminate a threat
    • B) The prince was the vampire who abducted and turned her years ago
    • C) She feared the prince would expose her true identity
    • D) The prince attacked her first during the escape

  4. Why does Raihn spare Cairis after the coup, sentencing him to imprisonment instead of death?

    • A) Cairis provides valuable intelligence about Septimus’s plans
    • B) Raihn wants to show mercy as a new kind of ruler
    • C) Oraya begs for Cairis’s life
    • D) Killing Cairis would cause a rebellion among the Rishan nobles

  5. What is Oraya’s primary reason for invoking Acaeja rather than accepting Nyaxia’s refusal?

    • A) She believes Acaeja can heal Raihn without a Coriatis bond
    • B) She hopes Acaeja will kill Simon in exchange for a different bargain
    • C) She thinks Acaeja, as a goddess of destiny, might grant a Coriatis bond to save Raihn and end the war
    • D) She wants to make Nyaxia jealous

Theme & Symbol Questions (14–17)

  1. In the interludes about the slave and the queen, what does their secret bond symbolize?

    • A) The inevitable corruption of power
    • B) The transformative power of compassion and love in a cruel world
    • C) The futility of resistance against the king
    • D) The necessity of violence for change

  2. What does the Coriatis bond between Oraya and Raihn ultimately represent in terms of the story’s political themes?

    • A) The survival of vampire tradition at all costs
    • B) The merging of Hiaj and Rishan bloodlines, ending their conflict
    • C) A temporary truce that will collapse
    • D) The subjugation of the House of Night to the goddesses

  3. Why does the Heir’s Mark (Marca) become an important symbol in Oraya’s journey?

    • A) It proves she is the legitimate heir to the House of Night
    • B) It symbolizes her rejection of Vincent’s lies and her embrace of her true identity, including her scars and agency
    • C) It is a curse that she must hide to avoid assassination
    • D) It allows her to command the Rishan army

  4. The moon phases used as part titles (Noche, Luna Nueva, etc.) reinforce the theme of:

    • A) Cyclical darkness, hiddenness, renewal, and transformation
    • B) The precision of vampire calendar rituals
    • C) The dominance of the House of Night over the other houses
    • D) The predictability of Oraya’s fate

Synthesis Questions (18–20)

  1. How does Raihn’s view of love change from his relationship with Nessanyn to his feelings for Oraya?

    • (Short answer: Describe the contrast in one or two sentences.)

  2. Both Oraya and Raihn suffer from trauma caused by Vincent and Neculai respectively. How does their shared experience of being turned/raised by brutal figures affect their ability to trust each other?

    • (Short answer: Explain in 2–3 sentences.)

  3. In what way does the decision to forge Heartrender into twin daggers reflect Oraya’s character arc?

    • (Short answer: Explain in 1–2 sentences.)

Answer Key

  1. B – The report and child’s dagger are described in Chapter 5.
  2. B – Oraya is gravely wounded; Raihn flees to find a healer named Alya (Chapter 60).
  3. A – Raihn pushes her off a spire, and her Hiaj wings manifest as she falls (Chapter 23).
  4. A – Cairis drugs Raihn during the ball (Chapter 39).
  5. A – Oraya uses Heartrender to burn Evelaena (Chapter 26).
  6. B – The blood stalls for several seconds before rising (Chapter 78).
  7. A – Raihn gives Oraya letters revealing her mother’s name is Alana (Chapter 43).
  8. B – Raihn tears out the god‑metal teeth (Chapter 72).
  9. B – Septimus is secretly working with Simon (Chapter 16 implies this; the outline shows he cancels the offensive due to logistics, but his alliance with Simon is later revealed).
  10. B – Oraya sees the alliance as a path to power and a way to betray Septimus later (Chapter 13).
  11. B – He is the vampire who turned her (Chapter 49).
  12. B – Raihn chooses mercy; he does not kill Cairis (Chapter 77).
  13. C – Oraya believes Acaeja might grant the bond to save Raihn and end the war (Chapter 75).
  14. B – The interludes show compassion as transformative (e.g., the queen bandaging the slave’s wounds).
  15. B – The bond merges the bloodlines, ending the Hiaj‑Rishan conflict (Chapter 93).
  16. B – Oraya displays her Mark at the ball, choosing to embrace her identity (Chapter 47).
  17. A – The moon phases symbolize darkness, renewal, and transformation (as noted in part headings).
  18. Synthesis – With Nessanyn, Raihn’s love was a survival mechanism that never frightened him; with Oraya, love forces him to confront his flaws and be fully seen, making it terrifying but genuine (Chapter 80).
  19. Synthesis – Their trauma makes them initially suspicious and prone to lashing out. Over time, mutual vulnerability and shared suffering allow them to build fragile trust, culminating in the Coriatis bond (throughout the book).
  20. Synthesis – Forging Vincent’s sword into daggers symbolizes Oraya letting go of her father’s legacy and claiming her own identity as a fighter, independent of his power (Chapter 78).

Want to discuss any answer or explore a specific scene? Check the book overview, questions and answers, or the ending explained.