Accomplice to the Villain

“She couldn’t see his magic—nobody could, and likely nobody ever would—but she could feel something very dark moving about the room with them, smaller than it was moments ago, but still something that should’ve made her shrink away in fear. Instead, she felt settled in it, almost…comforted?”

Evie’s innate response to Trystan’s dark magic foreshadows the revelation of her personal history at the novel’s end—that the magic is actually hers. At this juncture of the narrative, Evie is yet unaware of the events that led Trystan to become The Villain of Rennedawn. She therefore doesn’t understand why she feels “settled in” and “comforted by” Trystan’s death magic. This passage creates narrative mystery and tension, while conveying Evie’s attempts to understand herself.

“And finally, and certainly most enjoyable, watching his best friend—The Villain—a man who Alexander had never thought would open up his cold, closed-off heart, fall truly, deeply, and wildly in love with Evie Sage.”

Kingsley’s reflections on Trystan’s relationship with Evie convey the Transformative Power of Love. Because Kingsley and Trystan have been friends for so long, Kingsley knows Trystan extremely well. His belief that Evie’s love has softened Trystan’s “cold, closed-off heart” underscores the life-changing significance of their connection. Further, Kingsley is able to see the truth, depth, and wildness of Evie and Trystan’s love because he is consigned to being a silent observer.

“Nura Sage, however, had a choice, and no matter what happy feelings surged at reuniting with her—and as much pain as Evie knew her mother had suffered—she couldn’t help but resent her for forcing Evie to suffer all those years, too. Alone.”

Evie’s internal monologue during her interaction with her mother, Nura, conveys the Complexity of Intimate Relationships. In the privacy of her own mind, Evie is free to acknowledge and explore her dichotomous feelings for her mother.