Captive Prince

“At the sound of the bells, the need to escape had overwhelmed any urge to caution or subterfuge, part of the fury and grief that came upon him in waves. The starting of the horses had given him his opportunity. But he had been unarmed and surrounded by soldiers, in a closed courtyard. The subsequent handling had not been delicate. They had thrown him into a cell deep in the bowels of the house, after which, they had drugged him. Days had bled into one another.”

In Akielos, Damen fights Kastor’s coup as much as he can, but he’s overwhelmed by Kastor’s preparations. This passage highlights Damen’s spirit as a warrior prince but also shows how he understands when and how to acquiesce to his situation. His “handling” and drugging reveal how much effort it takes to subdue him, but even Damen can’t resist without weapons and strategy.

“He must stay quiet, inconspicuous. Enough presence of mind had returned to him to know that as Prince Damianos he would be unlikely to last a night alive in Vere. Better by far to be thought a nameless slave. He allowed the handling. He had judged the exits and the quality of the guards in his escort. The quality of the guards was less significant than the quality of the chain around his neck. His arms were lashed behind his back and he was gagged, the collar chain shortened to only nine links, so that even kneeling, his head was bowed, and he could barely look up.”

Realizing that no one knows he’s Damianos, the Prince-Killer, Damen gains a new understanding of the importance of subservience in Vere, thematically developing The Dynamics of Power and Consent. In addition to avoiding beatings for insubordination, he must avoid drawing attention to himself, in case someone were to recognize him. He still measures his chances of escape, but he’s beginning to accept his role in Vere, if temporarily, to avoid worse punishment.

“Worse than the beating had been the viewing. He had been more shaken by it than he would admit. If the collar-chain had not been so short—so impossibly secure—he might have resisted, despite his earlier resolve. He knew the arrogance of this nation. He knew how the Veretians thought of his people. Barbarian. Slave. Damen had gathered all his good intentions about himself and endured it.”

Emphasizing Damen’s resolve, he withstands any physical punishment the Veretians subject him to; however, he can’t abide by the damage to his dignity from “viewings” and the way the Veretians ogle and molest their “pets.” Essentially, Damen is experiencing discrimination as a result of both his ethnicity and his status as an enslaved man, thematically contributing to Identity and Self-Discovery Under Oppression. The term “barbarian” historically discriminated against former colonized peoples, whom Europeans regarded as “savages” to justify colonization and slavery.

“He remembered that day very clearly. He had scored a hit against Kastor for the first time, and when he had pulled off his helm, giddy with triumph, Kastor had smiled and suggested that they swap their wooden practice blades for real swords. Damen had felt proud. He had thought, I am thirteen and a man, Kastor fights me like a man. Kastor had not held back against him, and he had been so proud of that, even as the blood pushed out from beneath his hands. Now he remembered the black look in Kastor’s eyes and thought that he had been wrong about many things.”

Damen’s fight with Kastor reveals how their characters differ, even though Kastor isn’t a fully developed character in this novel. Kastor can’t cope with Damen’s victory, no matter how small, so he switches to real blades and tries to kill his brother. Damen, however, is proud just to be growing and developing as a warrior and is too naive to see that Kastor’s actions aren’t friendly or competitive but underhanded and vicious.

“‘Maybe,’ said Laurent, his eyes widening a little, ‘you strayed after he fucked you.’ That idea revolted him so much, took him so unawares, that he tasted bile in his throat. ‘No.’ Laurent’s blue eyes gleamed. ‘So that’s it. Kastor mounts his soldiers like horses in the yard. Did you grit your teeth and take it because he was the King, or did you like it? You really,’ said Laurent, ‘have no idea how happy that idea makes me. It’s perfect: a man who holds you down while he fucks you, with a cock like a bottle and a beard like my uncle’s.’”

The implication that Damen sexually submitted to Kastor is disturbing to Damen because both incest and sexual submission are taboo in Akielos. Even in Vere, Laurent makes it clear that being penetrated by another man signifies weakness, but the critical element of this discussion is how Laurent seems to sympathize with Damen. The comparison of Kastor sexually assaulting Damen and the Regent sexually assaulting Laurent suggests that the Regent sexual abused Laurent when he was younger.

“‘Why not?’ said Damen. ‘I don’t share your craven habit of hitting only those who cannot hit back, and I take no pleasure in hurting those weaker than myself.’ Driven past reason, the words came out in his own language. Laurent, who could speak his language, stared back at him, and Damen met his eyes and did not regret his words, feeling nothing but loathing. ‘Your Highness?’ said Audin, confused. Laurent turned to him eventually. ‘The slave is saying that if you want the pet unconscious, split in half, or dead of fright, then you will need to make other arrangements. He declines his services.’”

Again, Damen displays his honor and dignity, refusing to assault Nicaise while referencing the way Laurent and his men have mistreated Damen. Laurent, though he could further turn the court against Damen, decides not to translate Damen’s words accurately, preventing Audin from realizing how little control Laurent has over Damen. Still, Damen’s decision to reject Nicaise foreshadows Laurent and Damen’s problems later on because of Nicaise’s competitive nature.

“Nothing happened on the second day, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth. The passing of time inside this exquisite prison became its own ordeal; the only thing that interrupted his days was the routine of his meals and the morning bath.”

Damen’s life as an enslaved Akielon in Vere is largely filled with empty days, as this passage indicates. He does nothing, can’t go anywhere, and waits for any event of note. For Damen, this life is worse than constant beatings or ridicule, since he’s accustomed to the busy days of a prince ruling his country and enjoying the luxuries of royalty. Having nothing to do is the worst kind of life for him.

“‘Shall I tell you the part you liked?’ said Laurent. ‘There was nothing I liked.’ ‘You’re lying. You liked knocking that man down, and you liked it when he didn’t get up. You’d like to hurt me, wouldn’t you? Is it very difficult to control yourself? Your little speech about fair play fooled me about as much as your show of obedience. You have worked out, with whatever native intelligence you possess, that it serves your interests to appear both civilised and dutiful. But the one thing you’re hot for is a fight.’”

Laurent sees through Damen’s act of feigning obedience until an opportunity to escape arises. Laurent is correct, since Damen is trained to fight and constantly must remind himself not to resist too much. Laurent’s racism is clear in this passage, referring to Damen’s “native intelligence,” as well as in the implication that Vere is more civilized, even though the novel’s glimpses of Veretian culture portray it as equally violent in its dynamics of deception, manipulation, and abuse.

“‘I was curious what kind of man you were. I see we have stopped too early. Again.’ Damen tried to brace himself for another strike, and something in his mind splintered when it did not, immediately, come. ‘Your Highness, I’m not certain he’ll survive another round.’ ‘I think he will. Why don’t we make a wager?’ Laurent spoke again in that cold, flat voice. ‘A gold coin says he lives. If you want to win it from me, you’ll have to exert yourself.’”

Laurent reveals the intention of the cross in this passage, since there are two possible outcomes: Either Damen dies or survives to become more obedient, and in either case, Laurent gets the pleasure of destroying some part of Akielos, the country he hates. However, Laurent is rarely wrong, so it’s most likely that Laurent knows Damen will survive and thus wants even more to display the lengths to which he’ll go to harm Damen.

“Here and there, useful information emerged. Pets weren’t guarded, which explained the lack of men at the perimeter of the harem. Pets weren’t slaves. They came and went as they pleased. Damen was the exception. It meant that once past these guards, it was unlikely he would encounter others.”

The information Damen learns about “pets” is contradictory in that they’re clearly abused by their “masters.” This paradigm, combined with the subservient nature of “pets,” makes the distinction between enslavement and owning “pets” purely semantic. The more valuable information is that “pets” aren’t guarded, as is also true in Akielos, where obedience is an “art.” Damen is realizing that behaving like a good “pet” will likely open up opportunities to escape with little resistance.

“‘The Council and I have met and agreed we must take action.’ The Regent spoke in a voice of unquestioned power that was heard in every corner of the chamber. ‘Your lands of Varenne and Marche are forfeit, along with all troops and monies that accompany them. You retain only Acquitart. For the next ten months, you will find your income reduced, and your retinue diminished. You will petition to me directly for any expenses. Be grateful you retain Acquitart and that we have not taken this decree further.’”

The critical details in this passage are, first, that the Council agrees with the Regent, showing how he has manipulated the court into siding with him against Laurent, and, second, that the Regent speaks with “unquestioned power,” which highlights his comfort in the position of power. In the end, the Regent even suggests that Laurent be grateful that the punishment isn’t more severe, hinting that the Regent will continue to punish Laurent if he’s not obedient. This scene foreshadows the later revelation that the Regent is the real enemy—to both Damen and Laurent.

“It almost didn’t work. Laurent seemed unmoved by Ancel’s flirtatiousness, even bored by it. He had tossed Damen into the ring, but in the sex-drenched atmosphere of the stands, Laurent’s pulse had not even appeared to flicker. He had been singularly immune to the carnality of what the Veretians called ‘performance,’ the only courtier without a pet fawning all over him.”

Laurent expresses interest in Ancel’s sexual performance with Damen purely to torment and upset Damen, but it leads Damen to question Laurent’s sexuality. Many survivors of sexual abuse struggle with arousal and interest in sexual stimulation, and Laurent appears to have this psychological block, seeing sex only as a primitive thing that other people do. The two possible interpretations of Laurent’s asexuality are that he’s genuinely disinterested or that he has incredible sexual restraint.

“The words Erasmus had been able to decipher from what had been said to him were: Silence. Kneel down. Don’t move. ‘Did I misspeak?’ said Erasmus, misinterpreting the expression. ‘No, you spoke well,’ Damen said, though his consternation remained. He didn’t like the choice of words. He didn’t like the idea that Erasmus and the others were rendered doubly powerless by an inability to speak or understand what was being said around them.”

The Veretian words that Erasmus knows indicate the abuse he has experienced, since each term implies sexual assault. Damen starts to understand, in this passage, how the enslaved Akielons are being mistreated and the challenge they face in a new culture and language. This interaction signals a turning point for Damen in which he feels he must prioritize the needs of the other Akielons above his own desire to escape.

“One of the handlers took a heated iron from the fire to test whether the slave would obey an order to stay silent while he used it. I don’t know if that is usual practice in this place, but good men don’t torture slaves in Akielos. Slaves are trained to obey in all things, but their submission is a pact: They give up free will in exchange for perfect treatment. To abuse someone who cannot resist—isn’t that monstrous?”

Damen’s thoughts about why the mistreatment of the enslaved Akielons is so “monstrous” stem from the difference between Akielon and Vere. Though both countries practice some form of slavery, Akielons don’t take pleasure in hurting those weaker than themselves, so they would consider an act like branding Erasmus pointless and cruel. Veretians, however, enjoy domination regardless of context, so their abuses toward the Akielons are purely for sadistic entertainment.

“He felt no new rush of warmth for Laurent. He was not inclined to believe that cruelty delivered with one hand was redeemed by a caress from the other, if that’s even what this was. Nor was he naive enough to think that Laurent was acting out of any altruistic impulse. Laurent was doing this for some twisty reason of his own. If it was true.”

Having spent enough time in Vere to understand the complicated webs of deception and manipulation in the court, Damen is hesitant to appreciate Laurent’s choice to help the enslaved Akielons. Instead, he discounts the possibility of altruism, resolving that Laurent must have another reason for helping Damen. This suspicion highlights how Damen has changed since he was in Akielos, where he couldn’t comprehend the possibility of Kastor’s coup.

“‘I don’t think he can. I think it doesn’t work, what he has. When I was younger, I used to think he’d had it cut off. What do you think? Have you seen it?’ When he was younger? Damen said, ‘He hasn’t had it cut off.’ Nicaise’s eyes narrowed. Damen said, ‘How long have you been a pet in this court?’ ‘Three years,’ said Nicaise, in the sort of tone that said: You won’t last here three minutes.”

Nicaise’s memory of Laurent’s disinterest in sexuality forces Damen to acknowledge the possibility of a traumatic event in Laurent’s past. He defends Laurent, which shows an attachment forming between them, but he also shows concern for Nicaise, whom he still sees as a child. The fact that Nicaise became a “pet” at only 10 years old further emphasizes the pederasty practiced in Vere, hinting that Laurent was similarly abused.

“‘A man with sound judgement, who could help guide him without being swayed.’ ‘Swayed?’ said Damen. ‘My nephew is charming, when he wishes it. His brother was a true leader; he could inspire extraordinary loyalty from his men. Laurent has a superficial version of his brother’s gifts, which he uses to get his own way. If anyone could have a man eating from the hand that struck him, it’s my nephew,’ said the Regent. ‘Where is your loyalty?’ And Damen understood that he was not being asked a question. He was being given a choice.”

Though the Regent claims he wants a man with “sound judgment” to help Laurent, his explanation of Laurent’s position hints that he doesn’t think Laurent could ever effectively rule over Vere. Damen sees that the Regent wants Damen’s loyalty to undermine Laurent’s authority, not to improve it, which leads Damen to form a greater attachment to Laurent, contrary to the Regent’s intention. However, this scene only establishes that Laurent is better at manipulating Damen than the Regent is.

“‘Kastor was furious. The Keeper of the Royal Slaves was executed for letting it happen. And several of the guard.’ Yes. He had warned Adrastus. Kastor would have wanted the evidence of what he had done blotted out. Adrastus, the guards, probably even the yellow-haired slave who had tended him in the baths. Everyone who knew the truth, systematically, would have been killed.”

Damen now has a full understanding of Kastor’s plot, which he couldn’t have understood without his exposure to Veretian court culture. Though he knew Adrastus would be killed to hide Damen’s identity, he now sees how Kastor’s plot involved killing everyone who could have exposed the nature of the coup, including the enslaved woman to whom Damen was so attracted. In a way, the death of the blond woman foreshadows the danger Laurent faces, since Damen frequently compares Laurent’s beauty to hers. This passage thematically highlights Betrayal and Deception as a Form of Warfare.

“I […] was always taught that a slave’s duty was sacred, that we honoured our masters through submission and they honoured us in return. And I believed that. But when you said that you were sent here as punishment, I understood that for men here, there is no honour in obedience, and it is shameful to be a slave. Perhaps I had already started to understand that—even before you spoke to me. I tried to tell myself that it was an even greater submission, to become nothing, to have no value, but—I couldn’t—I think it is in my nature to submit, as it is not in yours, but I need someone—to belong to.”

The struggle Erasmus experiences is the effect of the culture shock of Veretian slavery as opposed to Akielon slavery. Erasmus believes that submission is a virtue, per the training he received in Akielos, but submission is weakness in Vere, showing him how those outside his own culture look down on enslaved people. Even after realizing the nature of his status in Vere, however, his training and outlook prevent him from taking action, resolving that he needs to “belong to” someone.

“Given time to think, he would surely have said, in a hardened voice, that the internal politics of Vere weren’t his business, and that whatever acts of violence Laurent had brought down upon himself were thoroughly deserved. Maybe it was bizarre empathy, because he’d lived through something like this, the betrayal of it, violence in a place he’d thought was safe. Maybe it was a way of reliving those moments, of repairing his failure because he had not reacted as quickly as he should have, then.”

Damen sees how Laurent’s position is the same as his own, and he would have liked someone to stand in and prevent the coup in Akielos when he couldn’t stop it himself. He tries to avoid empathizing with Laurent, who has hurt him, but while the idea of “repairing his failure” is valid, Damen is also discovering his attachment to Laurent. He doesn’t want Laurent to die; he simply wants his freedom.

“‘Not wounded. Poisoned,’ said Damen. ‘You can restrain your delight. I am not going to die from it,’ said Laurent. ‘How do you know that?’ But Laurent, delivering him a killing look, refused to elaborate. He told himself, feeling oddly detached, that it was no more than justice: Damen perfectly recalled the experience of being doused with a drug then thrown into a fight. He wondered if the drug was chalis. Could it be drunk as well as inhaled? It explained why the three men had been so casually assured of their own success in tackling Laurent.”

Again, Damen sees the similarities between his experiences in Vere and Laurent’s current predicament. Laurent’s confidence doesn’t waver, but Damen can’t help but worry about Laurent’s well-being, struggling to convince himself that Laurent deserves punishment. As a prince, Damen sees how the pieces of the assassination are starting to form a clear plot, given Laurent’s poisoning and the assassins being so secure in their attempt. This scene foreshadows the later revelation that the Regent sent the assassins.

“After a moment, Damen saw the Regent’s hand lift again to rest in Laurent’s hair and stroke it with slow, familiar affection. Laurent remained quite still, head bowed, as strands of fine gold were pushed back from his face by the Regent’s heavy, ringed fingers. ‘Laurent. Why must you always defy me? I hate it when we are at odds, yet you force me to chastise you. You seem determined to wreck everything in your path. Blessed with gifts, you squander them. Given opportunities, you waste them. I hate to see you grown up like this,’ said the Regent, ‘when you were such a lovely boy.’

The Regent’s behavior in this scene confirms the earlier hints that he abused Laurent when he was a child. The way the Regent touches Laurent’s hair, and Laurent’s stillness during the encounter, reflect an interaction between an abuser and a survivor, while the Regent’s addition of “lovely boy” marks a shift from a concerned mentor to an infatuated abuser. The Regent’s insistence on obedience, then, becomes abusive in itself, changing the tone of his previous conversations regarding “teaching” and “guiding” Laurent.

“And so, as the sun climbed its way from morning to afternoon, he found himself remembering the three men, with their Veretian voices and Akielon knives. These three men attacked the slave, Laurent had said. Laurent needed no reason to lie, but why deny he’d been attacked at all? It helped the perpetrator. He remembered Laurent’s calculating cut with the knife, and the struggle after, Laurent’s body hard with resistance, the breath in his chest drug-quickened. There were easier ways to kill a prince.”

Damen pieces together the attempt on Laurent’s life, concluding that the assassins were Veretian, meaning that Laurent would only lie to achieve or prevent some aim within the Veretian court. His initial conclusion is that Laurent is protecting the perpetrator, but Damen is starting to see how Laurent’s position is similar to his own. His thought that “[t]here are easier ways to kill a prince” reflects his own experience in that Kastor could have killed him but instead chose to sell him to Vere to humiliate him and pacify the relationship between Akielos and Vere.