The Crown & the Arrow: A Wrath & the Dawn Short Story

By Renée Ahdieh

Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn’t know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest. Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn’t she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife’s chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9780399547720

Book preview

Reviews for The Crown & the Arrow

[seriesousbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wish this was just a chapter in The Wrath and the Dawn because it sets up the scene for that book so well. It helped give more context to the circumstances. I'll admit, I felt a little lost for the first two chapters trying to orient myself with the story and where it was starting from.

[beammey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was just a nice little extra of seeing things from Khalid's POV. It wasn't really new information or stuff we didn't know, but it was still fun to see things from the other perspective for once. I did enjoy it and I wish there was more here! But that's the feeling an author wants to leave you with. I would recommend this novella to those that have read The Wrath and The Dawn. 5 out of 5 stars.

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This story is incredibly short (I was done with it in about five minutes) and doesn't really add much to the story. It is the wedding scene told from Khalid's perspective, and I still have no idea why he was drawn to her, except that he could tell she hated him for some inexplicable (to him) reason.

[catherinehsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Actual Rating: 4.5 Reading this was like pouring salt on an open wound. I picked it up right after I had finished The Wrath and the Dawn, while I was still recovering from the feels.This novella reveals the details of Shahrzad's arrival from Khalid's point of view, and once again we get to see the extent of Khalid's raw emotions. We get to see him as human.We get to see Shahrzad's fire. Shahrzad's hate. Her anger. Her determination.And when these all come together, Ahdieh is able to weave the beautiful moments that set everything in motion.

[funstm · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Tiny snippet from Khalid's point of view when first meeting Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Teases the story to come, but kind of a nothing story. 2 stars.