“Thick, hot liquid runs down my arm.

Blood.”

The opening of the first chapter, which is narrated by Paedyn, introduces the adventure-driven, suspenseful tone of the novel. By the end of the chapter, Paedyn’s belief that she is injured is revealed to be a humorous red herring, as she is in fact covered in honey. However, it foreshadows the end of the book wherein she must escape covered in blood after her fight with the king.

“She greedily claws the silk from my hands, running her fingers through the soft folds of the fabric. Peeking up through the curly bangs hanging in her hazel eyes, she looks at me as though I’ve just single-handedly eradicated the Plague rather than stolen fabric from a woman not much better off than we are. Like I’m the hero and not the villain.”

Paedyn’s relationship with Adena serves to characterize Paedyn as caring and passionate yet emotionally guarded. Their friendship is developed throughout the novel, building up to Adena being used by the king to assert dominance over Paedyn. Additionally, Paedyn’s belief that she is a “villain” reveals her self-loathing, which contrasts with Adena’s unconditional love.

“The idea of thanking the Plague that killed thousands of Ilyans makes me lose my appetite for even sticky buns. Thanking the thing that caused so much pain and death and discrimination. But all anyone cares about now is who the Plague didn’t kill. The kingdom was isolated for years to keep the sickness from spreading to the surrounding cities, and only the strongest in Ilya survived […] Dozens of supernatural abilities were bestowed upon Ilyans alone, all varying in strength, purpose, and power.”

At the beginning of the novel, Paedyn introduces a lot of background information about the history of Ilya and its current social organization. This passage, for instance, explains Paedyn’s disgust with the phrase “Thank the Plague,” which is commonly used in the kingdom, because it is rooted in oppression and genocide. She also explains the consequences of that Plague on the kingdom’s population, now divided into power-wielding Elites and