Blood Bound

Blood Bound centers on the transformative power of female friendship, deliberately subverting the expectations of the romantasy genre by positioning a platonic, sisterly bond as the narrative’s most important and world-altering relationship. Not only does the friendship between Skylar and Astrid rewrite the tropes of the romantasy genre, but it is also upturns the written rules of its world by forcing a new meaning in the Covenant. Further, by choosing to be allies, Astrid and Skylar provide an allegorical template for rebelling against the real-world patriarchal order that pits women against each other. 

The novel tracks the evolution of Astrid and Skylar’s relationship from antagonistic heirs to steadfast allies. Initially, their interactions are fraught with tension and suspicion, framed by the looming threat of the duel. The class divide between the two also isolates them from each other, with Skylar considering Astrid a privileged, spoiled princess. However, the women realize early on that as outsiders in the social order of Vatra, they have more in common with each other than the men training them in war. The blood-binding ritual allows them glimpses into each other’s memories and feelings, with Astrid sensing the traumatic past behind Skylar’s brittle exterior. As the women focus on their commonalities instead of their differences, their trust deepens into genuine care through reciprocal acts of protection, as Skylar vows to protect Astrid after Jessa’s murder and Astrid’s tries to help locate Cam, even after learning he is already dead.

The narrative prioritizes female friendship by returning to the bond between Astrid and Skylar despite the women’s growing romantic connections with male partners. Several romantasy tropes are subverted, with female friends—instead of romantic mates—communicating psychically. When Skylar in in peril at the isle of dragons, Astrid nearly faints from pain; in romance narratives such psychic sharing typically occurs between romantic soulmates, and is a sign of the fated, intense nature of their bond. When Astrid’s friend Jessa dies, it is Skylar—rather than Astrid’s romantic partner Zryan—who avenges Jess by killing her murderer. 

Female solidarity is shown as deeply subversive because it challenges power structures. The text repeatedly shows instances of jokes between Astrid and Skylar rattling King Zachary because laughter is the antidote to the fear he projects. Further, by refusing to be blood-thirsty rivals in the arena or the romantic sphere, Astrid and Skylar reject the roles set for them by society. The rebellious aspect of their friendship is a satire on the real-world sexist order which pits women against women, suggesting that the most rebellious strike against the patriarchy is for women to back each other.  

The full power of female friendship in unleashed in the climax of the duel, where Skylar and Astrid refuse to play the game which has been mandate for them. They stop fighting and exchange weapons, breaking all the rules of the competition. This act of defiance triggers the formation of their mate marks, revealing a connection that is as spiritually deep as a romantic mating bond. The discovery that “two did become one” not through death but through their unified souls (432), literally breaks the cage and the curse that bound them, and metaphorically breaks the shackles of patriarchy. This twist presents female friendship as the force capable of rewriting history and defying destiny.