Fallen

Daniel is a fallen angel and Luce’s main, yet mysterious, love interest throughout the novel. Daniel’s name is an allusion to the Watcher angel Daniel in the Bible and other Abrahamic religious texts. Daniel is described as having “deep golden hair,” a “matching tan,” and “high cheekbones” (38). The first time Daniel sees Luce in the novel, his eyes “quickly narrow[] in surprise” before he flips her off (40). This moment is later explained with the revelation that Daniel is trying to avoid the heartbreak that comes with their cyclical romance.

Daniel works to maintain a distance between himself and Luce, but he is never inattentive toward her. When Daniel has a cryptic conversation with Gabbe at the end of Chapter 5, Luce mistakes this for a lover’s quarrel. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that Daniel is asking Gabbe to protect Luce from Cam’s advances. Daniel’s instructions to Gabbe show that he is a protective partner, ensuring that Luce cannot be harmed even when he’s not around.

Daniel also tries to guide Luce in his own way, even if it means abandoning her at the lake twice. Both times he brings her to the lake, he tries to talk to her seriously about what she might be experiencing, but he abandons these talks when things threaten to creep too close to the truth about their connection. Daniel believes that exposing Luce to their love will kill her again, just as it has in every previous life, so he’s cautious not to clarify too much for her, maintaining his aloof status and creating further confusion for Luce.

Things change when Daniel rescues Luce from her disastrous date with Cam in Chapter 15. Daniel is unable to contain his feelings for Luce any longer, and he tells her how beautiful and smart he thinks she is. This leads to Luce and Daniel’s first kiss, which Daniel is terrified will bring Luce’s death. He is surprised and confused when it does not happen immediately. Daniel clarifies this reaction the next day when he and Luce reunite. He finally explains to her about her 17-year life cycle and their immortal love. This revelation clarifies Daniel’s hot-and-cold behavior toward Luce throughout the novel. Finally, in Chapter 18, Luce realizes that Daniel is an angel on earth, and Daniel confirms this knowledge, explaining that talking about it previously has brought harm to her. After the final battle, Daniel ensures Luce’s safety by having her escorted to a remote location and promising to return for her. Daniel’s love for Luce is everlasting, and he cannot stay away from her for long.

Cam is one of the students who arrives at Sword & Cross alongside Luce, and he quickly becomes one corner of the story’s main love triangle. Cam is described as having “shaggy black hair, and large, deep-set green eyes” (12), which “[a]re intense, and alluring, and, well, a little bit disarming” (13). Cam quickly makes his intentions known with Luce and begins pursuing her romantically. Luce “like[s] it when he pa[ys] attention to her” (130), and she entertains Cam’s advances well into the novel.

However, clues that Cam is wrong for Luce begin to pile up the more aggressively he pursues her. The first clue comes in the form of a biblical allusion when Cam and Luce are on their cemetery picnic date in Chapter 7. Cam passes an apple to Luce, which she eats as a snake passes between them. The imagery related to the serpent in the Garden of Eden becomes inexplicably linked to Cam when he presents Luce with a golden serpent necklace to commemorate the date. With the context of the snake’s role in the story of Adam and Eve, Cam’s temptation to Luce begins to take on a more sinister tone.

Cam’s full antagonistic nature emerges in Chapters 14 and 15 when he kisses Luce unexpectedly, precipitating a violent fight between himself and Daniel. Luce decides to end things with Cam after this fight. However, he doesn’t make this easy. He brings Luce to a seedy bar in a remote location and makes it hard for her to have a chance to set him straight. Cam once again gets into a fight and seemingly sadistically enjoys it, scaring Luce away for good. When Luce confronts him the next day, he forces a kiss on her without permission. Immediately after the kiss, she begins to forget Daniel: “She knew that she was forgetting something, someone—who? she couldn’t remember. There was only the kiss, and his lips” (342). The supernatural qualities of Cam’s kiss hint at his sinister intentions and foreshadow the revelation that Cam is a fallen angel.

The final chapters of the novel make it clear that Cam is on the opposing side of the battle from Daniel, Gabbe, and Arriane, but the Epilogue hints at a personal history between Daniel and Cam as they discuss the next steps in their ongoing battle for Luce’s soul.

Penn is Luce’s closest friend at Sword & Cross and her biggest accomplice in her pursuit of knowledge about Daniel. Penn is “a very powerful friend to have” because of her connections at Sword & Cross (64). Unlike the other reform school students, Penn attends Sword & Cross to stay near her father, who was buried in the cemetery on campus after working as the groundskeeper for years. Penn has privileges and access to places that ordinary students do not.

Luce meets Penn in Chapter 2, after a fight with Molly leaves Luce covered in meatloaf. Penn brings shampoo to the girls’ room to help Luce wash the food out of her hair. Penn is described as having “a squat build accentuated by an abnormal amount of clothing” (58); curly, brown hair; and purple glasses. Penn is quick to reveal her privileged status around campus and her knowledge of Luce, having already read her file.

Penn’s tendency to snoop is an important part of her role in Luce’s story. After witnessing Luce’s curiosity about Daniel in Chapter 7, Penn is the one who suggests that they “tour [] the highly off-limits underground lair of Sword & Cross office records” (160). With Penn’s help and encouragement, Luce uncovers small pieces of information about Daniel that eventually help her understand his true nature. Most importantly, Penn brings Luce’s attention to The Watcher, a book presumed to be written by one of Daniel’s ancestors and later revealed to be written by Daniel. The photo in this book helps Luce come to terms with the cyclical nature of her life.

Unlike Luce’s other friends at Sword & Cross, Penn is not an angel. She gets caught in the crossfire of the final battle at the cemetery in Chapter 18, mortally wounding her. Before Luce can get medical attention for Penn, Miss Sophia kills her, revealing that she has been a villain the entire time. Penn’s cruel and unjust death is devastating for Luce, and Luce ensures that Penn is buried with her father in the campus cemetery.