July 5, 2021
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
The basics
Title: The Prison Healer
Author: Lynette Noni
Series: The Prison Healer #1
- The Prison Healer (2021) - The Gilded Cage (2021) - Untitled
Add it: Goodreads
Goodreads Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan has spent the last ten years fighting for survival in the notorious death prison, Zalindov, working as the prison healer. When the Rebel Queen is captured, Kiva is charged with keeping the terminally ill woman alive long enough for her to undergo the Trial by Ordeal: a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water, and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. Then a coded message from Kiva’s family arrives, containing a single order: “Don’t let her die. We are coming.” Aware that the Trials will kill the sickly queen, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in her place. If she succeeds, both she and the queen will be granted their freedom. But no one has ever survived. With an incurable plague sweeping Zalindov, a mysterious new inmate fighting for Kiva’s heart, and a prison rebellion brewing, Kiva can’t escape the terrible feeling that her trials have only just begun.
Read a full summary of The Prison Healer by Lynette Non below. If you can’t remember what happened in The Prison Healer and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.
What happened in The Prison Healer?
- Kiva has been imprisoned in Zalindov for ten years. She started out as the healer’s apprentice and she’s now the only healer left.
- Kiva finds a note that has come in with a corpse, saying “We are coming.”
- Jaren arrives in Zalindov and is pretty beaten up. Kiva treats his wounds with the help of a boy called Tipp, and learns that she has been paired with Jaren to show him the ropes.
- Kiva asks Mot to take care of two bodies for cremation. She then sets about showing Jaren around and giving him a proper tour of the prison.
- Kiva points out the tunnels, which are submerged but are probable foreshadowing for an escape route, and the Abyss, which is the punishment block.
- – Prisoners are dying, there seems to be some sort of flu going around and killing them. Kiva is determined to find out what it is, because a similar thing killed her father.
- Another batch of prisoners arrives, and this time the Rebel Queen has been brought in. She will have to go through four elemental trials.
- Cresta, a rebel prisoner, threatens Kiva and says she must keep the Rebel Queen alive. Otherwise Cresta will kill Tipp.
- The prince and princess arrive to watch the first two trials. Kiva offers to stand as the Rebel Queen’s champion. She undergoes the first Air trial and almost dies but the prince saves her.
- The princess gives Kiva an amulet for the second trial.
- With Naari’s help, Kiva starts looking into the infection that’s going around. She gathers some rats to experiment on. She can’t find anything.
- The Fire trial happens and Kiva is almost baked in an oven. She passes the trial, though, and it’s all good.
- Jaren gets beaten up by prisoners, Kiva takes care of him and stuff.
- For the third trial, Kiva has to survive underwater for several minutes. Jaren goes in after her and creates an air bubble for her to breathe. The Warden is super angry about this and has Jaren punished.
- Kiva realises, after talking to her assistants, that the prisoners are being poisoned and it’s not a flu that’s going around.
- Kiva tells Naari about this before the fourth trial – Earth. Before the trial, Kiva is placed in solitary for disobeying the Warden. Naari comes to visit and reveals that she’s Jaren’s guard and Kiva puts it together. Jaren is the prince.
- Turns out that the Warden poisoned people last time this kind of outbreak happened, and that’s why none of the guards got sick. So the Warden killed Kiva’s father.
- Kiva is put in the tunnels and has to find her way out. Jaren is there with her and he’s got all four elemental powers (something that hasn’t happened in centuries) so he guides her out.
- Jaren said his plan was to enter the prison and question the rebels to learn more about their Queen but no one trusted him oops. It was a bit of a stupid plan anyway.
- When the two leave the tunnel, the prisoners are uprising. The Rebel Queen is killed and Kiva isn’t able to do anything to help her. Tipp is also gravely wounded but Kiva heals him with her magical healing powers that she’s had all along.
- Kiva, Jaren, Naari, and Tipp escape the prison. Mot fights off the Warden to allow them to leave. Kiva writes a note to her family, telling them where she’s going.
- And where she’s going is Jaren’s winter palace, where the royal family are currently staying.
- Which is great because the Rebel Queen was Kiva’s mother and KIVA IS THE REBEL PRINCESS.
That was our recap of what happened in The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni. Check out our recap list for more plot summaries, and if you can’t find what you need you can request a recap here!
