Bright We Burn
Kiersten White
The last part of Lada’s journey
In Now I Rise, book 2 of Kiersten White's Conqueror's Saga, Mehmed conquered Constantinople. In book 3, Bright We Burn, he claims to be Emperor of Rome. Lada, meanwhile, conquered her native land, Wallachia, and is now the Vaivode, the prince and ruler.
Like all the small countries in the region, Wallachia is historically a vassal of the Ottomans, and therefore of Mehmed. Lada, of course, refuses to acknowledge any such obligation. Mehmed cannot let her get away with this. It's not so much that he needs Wallachia, as that if he lets one of his vassals resist, his entire empire falls apart. He would honestly be satisfied with any mere fig leaf obligation. But this is unacceptable to Lada. She is Wallachia, and it is hers. She is no more capable of giving up any part of that to Mehmed than of ripping her heart out of her chest and handing him that.
So, it's ON. Mehmed has a huge empire at his back and can field an army many, many times the size of Lada's. But Lada is fighting on her native turf. And she is Lada -- she is capable of viciousness that Mehmed can barely imagine.
Between them is Lada's brother Radu. Radu now has a family and has achieved, if not peace, at least the prospect of it. He is the human between Mehmed the Emperor and Lada the Genius Loci of Wallachia.
I will not tell you how it ends. Probably if you know the history of this region -- I did not -- you will be able to figure it out, mostly, realizing that Mehmed the Conqueror is a real person and that Lada is the gender-swapped version of another real person, Vlad the Impaler. There is, however, at least one ahistorical surprise. (spoiler1)
The entire series is a brilliant depiction of one of the most dramatic stories in European history, and one that I knew little of.
Lada and Mehmed have a daughter.