As the novel opens, Sera and Ash have just escaped from Kolis’s dungeon. Although they are physically free, they continue to grapple with the abuse and trauma they experienced. The experience has a particularly lasting impact on Sera, who resists acknowledging the depth of her pain and its continuing influence on her daily life.

Sera’s trauma is reflected in her night terrors, dreams that repeatedly wake her up as she imagines herself still in Kolis’s cage. At first, she succeeds in ignoring them, using Ash as a source of physical comfort and willing herself to forget about her dreams upon awakening. However, her nightmares become increasingly more impactful, forcing her to turn into her nota to avoid facing the trauma. Each time, Ash tries to get her to talk about her trauma, but Sera insists that “it’s nothing” and that she is fine.

Sera’s reaction to discussing her trauma, such as the shame she feels, the belief that worse things have happened to others, and her desire not to relive it by talking about it, all reflect common responses to trauma. Ultimately, the thing that causes Sera to address her trauma is her reaction to the death of the people of Lasania. After she kills Embris and wreaks havoc on Dalos, Sera realizes that forcing her feelings below the surface only causes them to resurface in the form of rage and vengeance.

The novel posits human connection and, more importantly, time as the solution to facing trauma. Sera feels isolated in her trauma, believing that it is something she has to handle on her own. However, once she learns that Aios and Ash face similar feelings after having been held captive by Kolis, she begins to recognize that facing one’s trauma does not mean being weak; rather, it allows her to work through her feelings and begin to heal. Each time Sera talks about it, first with Aios and then with Ash, she admits to herself that she is not magically healed. Rather, talking is the first step toward healing, a long process that may never truly end.

The final part of the novel shows that Sera is continuing her journey toward healing. When she allows Ash to feed from her for the first time since she was held captive, she still struggles, forcing back images of Kolis and resisting the urge to pull away. However, Ash reassures her that she will always have his love and support.

Sera’s character best exemplifies the theme of autonomy, as she has struggled with it throughout the series. From birth, Sera’s path was set for her by fate. She was born to kill the Primal of Life and trained in combat and seduction for this purpose, all while being emotionally abused by her family. When she came into the Shadowlands, she was not allowed to leave the bedchambers and was treated with distrust by nearly everyone there. In this way, Sera has a history of lacking autonomy, which only emphasizes her power once she is able to change.

Ascending to the Primal of Life gives Sera autonomy for the first time in the text. The central trauma that Sera feels—her abuse by Kolis—centers on the lack of autonomy she felt under his control, as she was caged and forced to obey Kolis’s commands. Thus, when Sera gains her freedom and her new powers as a Primal, she is able to exert control over her life for the first time. Through her choice to go through with her pregnancy and her decision to fight despite her pregnancy, Sera uses her agency to determine her future and the futures of others, despite what the Fates have written.

Similarly, the character of Sortoria, although largely absent from the novel, further develops this theme of the importance of autonomy. In the centuries leading up to the series, Sotoria was reborn and used, either by Kolis or as a weapon against him. In each life, she lived at the whims of Kolis, hiding from him, being abused by him, or being brought in by others to try to kill him. Now, Sera insists that she will not use Sotoria in the same way. This idea draws a parallel between Sera’s experiences and Sotoria’s: both suffered from a lack of autonomy, so Sera will fight to ensure that Sotoria gets a choice. Although Sotoria could be used to kill Kolis, Sera refuses to ignore the intrinsic value that Sotoria’s life holds. Instead, Sera chooses to imprison Kolis and wait until Sotoria is reborn so that she can decide for herself whether to use her power against him.

Ultimately, power in the novel lies in the ability to act and to choose. As Kolis takes this away from many of the characters during his reign, Sera seeks to rectify this, creating a democracy, bringing the Primals together to discuss how to act, and finally giving them an option to resist Kolis’s cruelty and corruption.