Firebird

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination, sexual violence, graphic violence, sexual content, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Malina and Julian’s relationship explores the tension between fate and free will, as do the power structures of Rome and the role of prophecy and divine intervention. The novel presents a world where dragons and humans alike wrestle with the question of whether their lives are determined by their own choices or by magic, bloodlines, and the gods.

From the beginning, fate exerts a powerful influence over Malina’s life. As a Dacian girl with empathic powers descended from Medusa, Malina believes she survived a Roman massacre for a reason. She remembers Bunica’s words: “You, my darling Mina, will hold the world in your thrall […] You, and your sisters, will save us all” (50). She initially believes her purpose is to aid the Gauls but then feels unmoored when captured. Malina’s gifts feel like destiny to her, but as the novel progresses, she questions that fatalistic belief. Her evolving view illustrates her developing understanding of how, despite her gift, her life is largely determined by free will: She has the power to choose a new path, even after trauma.