“First of all, our library is small and limited, and before the curse, people weren’t looking to learn about their shifter traits from books. They learned about that from their peers. So it makes sense that we wouldn’t have many volumes on shifter functionality. I know that because I whined about it, and that’s what I was told. Second, those that are carried are histories focused on the nobles and kings and queens and important people. They marry for money and power. They don’t give a shit about love. Common people like us have a better chance at finding our true mate.”

As Finley points out, knowledge about shifters before the curse would have been shared orally, not written in reference books, and this highlights how everyday information is often lost to a group. Further, these lines show how history disproportionately focuses on those with the resources to write down their history (nobles), meaning that written records tend to focus more on them and less on people who lack similar resources.

“Apparently in his eyes, and in the eyes of most of the people in the village, a proper wife didn’t hunt better than her husband, or at all. She didn’t tan hides, play with knives, and wear trousers. Nor did she look after villagers ailing from the curse’s sickness more than she would tend to her husband’s less-than-dire needs. This was because she would’ve (apparently incorrectly) assumed her husband was an adult and didn’t need a nursemaid to wipe his mouth and assure him he was the master of the universe. Silly her.”

Prior to this excerpt, Finley reflects on and how her ex-boyfriend left her to marry a woman who matched his idea of what a wife should be. These lines represent Finley’s unwillingness to conform, suggesting that Escaping Restrictive Gender Norms is a key component of her character arc. Finley also examines the role gender plays in her society, highlighting how women are expected to take care of their husbands while their husbands believe they are the ones running the home. Finley’s refusal to accept this societal structure foreshadows how she continues to throw off the restrictions the world places upon her, specifically in terms of defeating the demons and lifting the curse.

“The next room over was nicely furnished, used as a sort of ladies’ social club. It was a place of manners and tradition, with murmured conversations, tea, and little sandwiches. I’d never once been invited to attend.

It was for the best. I liked this side of the wall better, anyway.”

Here, Finley browses books at the village library while a women’s social gathering goes on in the next room. As Finley points out here, the gathering is meant to bring together women who think a certain way, and since Finley has never been invited to join, it’s made clear she is not the type of woman the club wants. Finley’s observation that she prefers the library proper highlights her love of reading and her interest in Escaping Restrictive Gender Norms.

“‘It’s unreadable. I’m not kidding. Why bother asking for my opinion if you aren’t going to listen to it?’

‘I think he’d rather you just compliment him and help him bind it.’

‘Bah.’ She swatted the air. ‘That’s what happens when you mate a woman who is too supportive. You make a fool of yourself.’”

This exchange between Finley and the woman who runs the library again calls to gender roles and how women in the village are expected to coddle men. A man in the village’s writers group asked the librarian for a critique of his writing, but instead of incorporating the feedback, he ignored it, signaling either that he lacks understanding of how to incorporate the notes or that he truly was seeking validation, not critique. In either case, he asked for one thing while expecting another, showing his lack of communication and highlighting how he expected the librarian to just know what he wanted. This passage again highlights Finley’s frustration with the village while pointing out she isn’t the only woman with these frustrations.

“‘Life is a battle we cannot win. The question becomes, do we want to go down peacefully, or fight until our last breath? I choose to fight.’

That weight in my chest—almost an actual presence—thunked within me. I felt its approval.”

Finley says this to Nyfain during their first interaction when he interrogates her about her interest in the everlass. Befitting her character and the banter common to romance novels, Finley does not directly answer his questions. Finley’s response here highlights her heroic qualities and the attitude she has cultivated through dealing with men like Jedrek. Her refusal to give into Nyfain foreshadows how she grows into a heroine. The presence she feels here is the first time she’s had any type of contact with her animal. This also marks Finley as special among shifters and hints that her relationship with Nyfain is critical for the battle the two will fight together.

“As a young girl, I’d dreamed of such things. I’d make believe I was a queen walking out onto her dais, waving to the adoring crowds gathered below and adjusting my long red velvet cape. I’d travel to distant kingdoms and meet their leaders, smiling serenely and drinking tea with my pinky up, as befitted royalty. Other times I’d play the jester, doing handstands and juggling for the simpering royalty, then making jokes at their expense, which they were certainly too slow to grasp.

But then I grew up. My grandiose make-believe downsized into my habit of addressing an invisible audience whenever I got into trouble or took risks to put food on the table. My dreams had dried up.”

Finley thinks this after Nyfain locks her in the tower and she gets her first glimpse of the world beyond the castle. This moment is a rare show of humility for her as Finley realizes there is so much she doesn’t know, signaling her willingness to learn. This excerpt also shows how quickly trauma has forced her to grow up. The metaphor “my dreams had dried up” suggests that, like the plants she cares for, her dreams can be revived with watering.

“Look, I’m not good at fighting. That’s why I’m still alive. I’m a butler, for goddess’s sake! I look after people—kinda. I’m not much good at it. That’s also why I’m still alive, I think. There is safety in mediocrity.”

Hadriel says this to Finley during their first interaction. These lines are a sample of his rambling speech pattern, an outward manifestation of the chaos the curse has created in his mind. These lines also introduce the idea of surviving through mediocrity, which marks a similarity between Hadriel and Finley. Both have been forced to downplay their talents to fit in and avoid trouble. This allows Finley to realize this problem is not unique to her or, indeed, unique to women. Hadriel is another representation of how much Finley has to learn.

“‘I’m a bit of a social pariah for dressing how I dress,’ I admitted as she refolded the clothes she’d been looking at and shut the drawers.

‘That just means you don’t conform to the way you’ve been told to live your life. That takes courage, milady. In these times, we need people with courage. There aren’t enough of them left.’”

Leala acknowledges the courage required for Escaping Restrictive Gender Norms. Where Finley has chosen to buck the societal expectations of her village, Leala has chosen to fall in line with the expectations within the castle, making the women foils of one another in terms of ways to survive. Leala all but admits that she sees her behavior as cowardly, as she has chosen not to fight because the risks feel too great. Her words are an encouragement for Finley and a signal that she sees the ability for Finley to succeed where others have failed.

“This plant is basically getting bullied, to put it simply. That creates a sort of…acidic quality that’s bad for healing. It can be poisonous, actually. Someone in my village used leaves from a crowded plant for the elixir we spoke of, and it killed her husband within a few hours. She claimed to have chosen the leaves—multiple—by accident, which means it was definitely on purpose. Given she refused to marry again and spent a lot of time after that with demons in the pub…well. She’s suspect.”

Finley says this to Nyfain as the two tend to the everlass. Finley shows off her knowledge of the plants here, again revealing how skilled she is in areas she chooses to pursue. This moment also introduces the everlass as a plant of many qualities. Up until now, the everlass has been used for medicinal purposes, making it seem like a savior. However, as seen here, the plant also has a darker side, and this keeps with the theme throughout the book that nothing is purely good or evil. The incident of a poisoning Finley describes here offers context for how women of her village deal with feeling trapped in untenable situations. It also foreshadows how Finley cures Nyfain’s poison in the final chapters.

“‘How does she not believe in demons? They’re in the castle. They have their own kingdom.’

He laughed as he stopped in front of another door. ‘Isn’t that a kicker? She doesn’t actually go out at night! She doesn’t partake in any of the sex stuff, yet she still turned out nuts.”

Here, Finley and Hadriel discuss one of the seamstresses. Where most of the castle denizens have incorporated the demons into their lives, the seamstress here has chosen to deal with the situation by ignoring reality and living in her own inner world. As Hadriel points out, this has not made the seamstress any freer than those who accept reality, and in fact, it has made her less adjusted. The seamstress is an example of how ignoring reality does not fix it, as well as of how choosing to live outside reality does not result in coping with the troubles of the world.

“‘Sacrifice your future? Reduce yourself to nothing more than a cause?’ […] ‘Sacrifice my future? What future? All we have to look forward to is sickness and death. Seeing our loved ones die horribly around us. You call that a future?’”

This exchange between Finley and Nyfain highlights the major difference between the two—how Finley has chosen action and hope against Nyfain’s choice of despair. Being trapped in time in the castle has made it difficult for Nyfain to see a future because he is caught in an endless present. He does not understand why Finley chooses to fight for something that cannot change. By contrast, Finley’s life in an ever changing world means she has lived and lost, and this makes her want to fight for something better because she believes change is possible. Their differences come down to Finley’s determination and Nyfain’s despair, making their relationship a symbol of The Harm that Comes from Shirking Responsibility.

“‘Some idiot locked me in the tower before I could make the draught to block that sort of thing out. Though I think I might have to make it a lot stronger to handle stronger incubi. That one was…gross.’ I shivered.

‘Some idiot is right,’ he murmured, so quietly I stared at him for a moment to see if I’d imagined it. ‘Get some clothes on. It’s time to go.’

I looked down at my nightgown. ‘I don’t have clothes. That was also on the list of things to do before the idiot locked me in the tower.’

‘Same idiot, I reckon?’”

In contrast to previous interactions between Finley and Nyfain, this conversation is characterized by joking and banter, a stylistic convention in contemporary romance novels. This is also the first time Finley realizes there is more to Nyfain than brooding anger, which allows her to open up to him and understand what he’s gone through. The opening paragraph highlights the shared danger she and Nyfain live with in the castle. The demon who infiltrated Finley’s dream did so without access to her room. This reveals how much danger Finley faces in the castle, and while it doesn’t change her attitude about being locked in the tower, it does make her understand how Nyfain’s actions are based in safety, not just control.

“He doesn’t care that a noble of my standing would never lower himself with a woman like you. He just wants me to fuck you good and proper so that you’ll never, ever be used by another man. He wants our claim on you. He hates that you’re resisting it. That I am. He feels your animal trying to get to him, so he’s been taking matters into his own hands. It’s a battle every time, and when your beast wins, he wins. Our animals are feeding off each other, and it is too powerful for me to stop unless you work with me on it. Which you aren’t doing.”

Prior to this moment, Nyfain has blamed Finley and her lack of control over her animal for the sexual attraction between them. He does so again here, and in keeping with her character, Finley challenges the assertion that she is responsible when they are both equally involved. This explanation does not show Nyfain taking responsibility for his involvement in the attraction, but it does show that he is at least trying to take action. This excerpt also hints at the power inherent in a shifter’s animal form, which foreshadows the importance of shifting in the overall fight against demon control.

“We were taught to compete with each other for placement. To dominate each other. There was always an underlying hostility with us. The women working the plants…it was different. They always worked in harmony. They helped each other instead of trying to show they were better than each other. It was probably because I spent so much time with my mom, but I gravitated toward that mentality. My dad hated it. He called me weak because of it.”

These lines detail the emotional abuse Nyfain suffered at his father’s hands and offer a juxtaposition to the treatment Finley has received from the villagers. Both protagonists face challenges in Escaping Restrictive Gender Norms. Nyfain’s father bullied Nyfain for showing feminine qualities out of a belief that such qualities are weak. In truth, this only shows how weak Nyfain’s father was because he believed the only way to show strength was through dominance and violence. This relates to the idea of toxic masculinity, in which men are indoctrinated into a social system where brute strength and a lack of empathy are seen as the only forms of power.

“I liked the unexpectedness of it. I liked the constant need to react and adapt. I knew I could walk away at any time, and he wouldn’t push the issue. I knew he would respect my distance if I asked for it (and kept my animal under control). But right now? I was here for the challenge of it.”

Finley is annoyed by how Nyfain pushes her away one moment and wants her the next, and while the back-and-forth is confusing, she also finds enjoyment in the challenge of it, highlighting her affinity for the hunt and the battle. This moment is an example of Finley using her agency to choose involvement with Nyfain despite potentially problematic situations and feelings. She recognizes that the way he treats her is not entirely positive, but she chooses to accept it because it allows her to emotionally spar with him. She also wants physical intimacy with him and does not want to fight because doing so will not get what she wants.

“My mother’s favorite plant was the rosebush. She felt like it embodied her. When allowed to flourish in the wild, she was fierce and beautiful, sweet to smell but with a sharp bite. Then she was brought here, and the king treated her like he would a rosebush. She was pruned back. Shaped. Cultivated. Wild at heart, violent even, but unable to express it.”

The rosebush in the floor is a symbol of Nyfain’s mother, and it represents the emotional trauma Nyfain lives with. As Nyfain explains here, he thought of his mother as like a rosebush because, when left to her own devices, she was wild and untamable. However, like the bush trapped here, she was pruned and stifled by Nyfain’s emotionally abusive father. Nyfain’s mother is a foil for Finley here, as Finley refuses to be similarly trapped.

“I’m not the sort of person who hooks up with a prince.

But you are absolutely the sort of person who hooks up with an alpha. I know this because I want to hook up with that alpha, and he was all for it.

You don’t understand social hierarchy.

You don’t understand that the real pecking order is based on power and prowess.”

This exchange between Finley and her animal highlights the differences between the two and shows the possible bond between human and animal. Though Finley and her animal are technically the same being, they represent separate aspects of who she is. Finley the person is a product of the world in which she lives, and she has formed coping mechanisms and biases in accordance with that world. By contrast, her animal thrives off instinct and makes decisions based on what feels good to her without feeling restrained by rules. Finley sees any type of involvement with Nyfain as impossible because of the social barriers between them. By contrast, Finley’s animal sees the social barriers as constructs that don’t exist outside of Finley’s society and, thus, not a factor in her decisions.

“But here I am, watching you figure out the cure to save me. I wasn’t going to tell you. Mostly because I don’t actually know the details, but also because my mother passed the secret down to me, and I swore only to tell my family line if they were dragons.”

Nyfain has been poisoned after the battle with the demons in the Forbidden Wood. Finley has worked out that the poisonous version of the everlass might counter the demon poison, and Nyfain reveals that he also had this theory but chose not to share it. This moment highlights how little Nyfain thinks of himself and his role in battling the demons. As a result of the emotional abuse of his father and the death of his mother, Nyfain is caught in a cycle of self-blame, meaning he can only see how he has made things worse. This means he struggles to convince himself that he is useful in the fight. These thoughts highlight The Harm that Comes from Shirking Responsibility, as Nyfain’s self-blame is a form of self-indulgence that allows him to escape the responsibility to meaningfully help his people.

“Women don’t die of broken hearts. That’s just something people say to hide the neglect and mistreatment the women actually died of. But you said his momma thought of herself as a rosebush. Well, rosebushes don’t give in to anybody. You can cut the hell out of them, think you killed them, and they grow a new shoot and come back from the dead. Rosebushes die from being stifled and cut off from the things they love, like water and sunshine.”

Finley’s younger sister says this after Finley tells her family about Nyfain’s past. This excerpt again highlights the emotional abuse Nyfain’s mother experienced and also shows the reader that Nyfain cannot see the truth of what befell his mother because he was the victim of similar abuse. Finley’s sister does not say that Nyfain’s father killed the woman, but she suggests that he treated her in such a way that allowed her to give into despair and lose her drive to live. The ability of Finley’s sister to see this highlights the power of independent observation and the necessity for Nyfain (a victim of emotional abuse) to get external aid in dealing with his past.

“Yeah. But there are none in this village. I mean, that’s not true. I’m sure there are strong women; they just won’t go against the grain. No one has approached me, for example, to learn how to hunt. Except Sable. I was teaching her about traps and small game before meeting you. But she also likes frilly dresses and looking pretty, so she can hide her weirdness a little better than I could.”

Finley explains to Nyfain how Hannon takes interest in traditionally feminine tasks and how this makes him stronger as a person, not weaker for being less masculine. Nyfain agrees, showing his ability to see the value of Escaping Restrictive Gender Norms in others but not in himself. Finley’s explanation here speaks to how Hannon needs someone who will let him be who he is, not someone who will just put him first, but in their village, women are too afraid of being seen as unconventional to embrace their real desires. The final lines call to the idea of masking. Finley’s sister enjoys both looking pretty and activities like hunting, which Finley says allows the girl to mask her oddities. In truth, there is nothing wrong with having both these interests, and there should be no need for her to mask her interests behind looking feminine.

“‘Were your eyes always gold?’

‘No. Close, though. Hazel. But something about forcing the shift burned my irises. Or maybe it is something baked into the curse, forcing me to remember what was lost.’”

In addition to being frozen in time and having his animal’s wings sheared off, Nyfain’s eyes also changed from hazel to a gold color that matched his scales prior to the curse. In this way, the curse becomes a constant reminder of what he once had and how much he has lost. Nyfain cannot fully heal from his trauma because he is confronted with it every time he sees himself, and this highlights the lasting effects of experiencing trauma. It also shows why Nyfain struggles to see how he is worthwhile to the battle, making his eyes a symbol for his self-blame.

“We don’t have much, but we have enough. Before the curse, I remember happiness and smiles. Neighbors helping each other and monthly communal dinners. We didn’t have bad lives—we just didn’t have fancy tubs or towers to put our sidepiece abductees in. Even now, we all pull together as much as we can. Some people are the worst, but they help out. We don’t let anyone go hungry. Your kingdom could do a lot worse than to be fashioned after our community.”

Prior to these lines from Finley’s dialogue, Nyfain has lamented at how little her village has compared to him. Finley’s speech highlights that money and power are not the only ways to feel fulfilled. While her village has never had as much as the castle, this did not stop the people from thriving, and the fact that the people needed each other helped them foster a sense of community that has now helped them weather the effects of the curse in a more effective way than the castle denizens have.

“‘What I mean is, why didn’t you stay in your dragon form, since the scales would thwart the attack?’ […] ‘Dragons aren’t incredibly dexterous on the ground, and I had almost no time. With how tightly they were gathered around you and the angle I was coming in, I would’ve either stomped on you accidentally or the Fah Rahlen’s blow would’ve landed before I could intercede. Shielding you was the only thing I could think of.’”

This exchange between Finley and Nyfain shows Finley questioning both her own feelings and Nyfain’s attitude. Finley asks Nyfain why he took a poisonous blow to save her when he didn’t have to. While it seems like she is only asking about his lack of consideration for his own wellbeing, she is also hinting at what his actions might mean for his feelings toward her. Finley still fights her feelings for Nyfain, and she seeks validation of those feelings as a reason to stop fighting them. In addition, she is also trying to make Nyfain see that he cannot always put others before himself and that he is just as deserving of safety and caring as anyone else, even though he does not believe this is true.