Glint (2021) is a dark romantasy novel by Raven Kennedy and the second installment in the popular The Plated Prisoner series. A reimagining of the King Midas myth, the story follows Auren, the gold-touched concubine of the power-hungry King Midas. After a decade of living in his castle, Auren is captured by the formidable army of the Fourth Kingdom and becomes the prisoner of their mysterious commander. This new form of captivity forces her to confront the lies of her past and begin a painful journey toward self-discovery. The novel explores themes of Dismantling Internalized Abuse and Controlling Behavior, The Importance of Abandoning Shame in Reclaiming Agency, and The Corrupting Influence of Greed.

Kennedy’s series, which also includes Gild (2020), Gleam (2021), Glow (2022), Gold (2023), and Goldfinch (2024), was originally self-published before achieving massive viral success through the “BookTok” community on the social media platform TikTok. This popularity led to its acquisition by Bloom Books, an imprint of Sourcebooks, and it has since become an international bestseller with over 4 million copies sold worldwide. The series is a prominent example of the “romantasy” genre, which blends high-stakes fantasy with a central romantic plot. Kennedy, a California-based author, had previously written in the romantic comedy genre before shifting to the dark fantasy that has defined her bestselling series.

This guide refers to the 2024 Bloom Books edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, sexual violence, sexual content, emotional abuse, physical abuse, cursing, and illness or death.

Plot Summary

Queen Malina of the Sixth Kingdom sits in her drawing room in Highbell Castle, resentful of her husband, King Midas. He has covered every surface of the castle in gold, erasing its history and her identity. With Midas away, Malina resolves to reclaim her authority.

Meanwhile, King Midas’s “favored” concubine Auren is a captive in a carriage escorted by the Fourth Kingdom’s army. She grieves the recent murder of her guard and friend, Sail, by the Red Raids pirates, and the absence of personal guard Digby. Auren used her secret, prehensile golden ribbons that sprout from her spine to kill the pirate’s leader. The Fourth Kingdom army, led by Commander Rip, then intervened and took her prisoner. Auren recognizes Rip is a full-blooded fae.

At the army’s first campsite, Commander Rip confronts Auren. Expecting violence, she is surprised when he informs her she will be given a tent, food, and water. During a tense exchange, he calls her “Goldfinch” and scorns her loyalty to Midas. Auren decides she must find a way to warn Midas of the approaching army. She explores the camp in search of messenger hawks but meets Rip’s solider Osrik, who dislikes her.

That night, Auren finds her assigned tent is surprisingly comfortable. While she is washing, Commander Rip enters, then he immediately leaves. He sends the army’s mender, Hojat, to treat her injuries. Auren refuses to let Hojat examine a bruise on her ribs, fearing he will discover her golden ribbons. Rip later reveals he and Auren are sharing his tent so he can keep an eye on her, as he does not trust her loyalty to Midas.

Auren recalls a time shortly after Midas rescued her. She was attacked by a family of nomads who cut her golden hair and stole her golden clothes. Midas found and comforted her, reinforcing her belief that she needs him to keep her safe from the world.

The next morning, Auren meets the friendly army cook, Keg. Some of the soldiers make lewd remarks, prompting Rip and Osrik to assign them latrine duty as punishment. Rip and Auren argue about her desire to see the other concubines.

Back in Highbell, Queen Malina solidifies her power. She commissions a new wardrobe in the old royal colors of white and blue, rejecting Midas’s all-gold decree. Wearing her mother’s opal crown, she sits on Midas’s throne and asserts her authority over the court. She then suspends all messenger hawk communication from the castle without her direct approval.

Osrik brings Auren to a meeting tent for dinner with Commander Rip. Osrik tells her she represent Midas’s power and greed, which is why he dislikes her. During the meal, Rip questions Auren about her life in the cage. She challenges him about his fae secret, and he proposes to tell her a truth if she tells him one. She refuses.

Later, a female soldier, Captain Lu, offers to take Auren to see the other captive concubines, or “saddles.” On the way, Lu enlists Auren’s help in stealing a barrel of wine from another flank of the army and reveals that women serve as respected soldiers in Fourth’s army. Auren finds the saddles alive but miserable and hostile toward her. One of them, Rissa, agrees to speak with Auren alone and blackmails her. Rissa will keep Auren’s secret about killing Captain Fane in exchange for enough gold to buy her freedom. Auren agrees to provide it once they reach Fifth Kingdom.

In Highbell, Malina secures the allegiance of a powerful noblewoman, Lady Helayna. She then receives a letter from the Red Raids confirming they failed to capture Auren because the Fourth Kingdom’s army intervened. Malina is ecstatic and celebrates with her personal saddle, Jeo.

Auren falls ill. One night, Hojat checks on her, and she accidentally shoves him across the tent with her ribbons. Rip witnesses the display and questions why she is ashamed of her ribbons. Hojat treats her and inadvertently reveals that one of the saddles, Mist, is pregnant, presumably with Midas’s child. Auren is devastated and jealous. She and Rip have a volatile argument in which he accuses Midas of manipulating her for years.

Auren then has another flashback, recalling Queen Malina’s cruelty to her during a dinner and Midas’s failure to defend her. He later comforted her in private and promised to expand her cage, reinforcing her dependence on him.

A few nights later, Auren discovers a training “fight circle.” Mistakenly believing a young boy named Twig is being bullied, she intervenes. Osrik informs her it is training and enforces the rule that anyone who enters the circle must fight. Rip appears and declares he will be her opponent. He provokes Auren until she exclaims she is fae and attacks him with her ribbons. He easily overpowers her but praises her for finally finding her fight. He reveals his inner circle—Osrik, Lu, and a soldier named Judd, whom he calls his “Wrath”—know he is fae and will keep her secret. He takes her to see Midas’s guards, and she is heartbroken to find that her personal guard, Digby, is not among them.

Queen Malina visits the peasants of Highbell to attempt to win their loyalty, but they turn against her, scorning her wealth. While fleeing, Malina is approached by a traveling merchant named Loth Pruinn. He claims to have magic and makes a map appear in her hand, which he says shows the path to her greatest desire. The map leads into the supposedly destroyed Seventh Kingdom, and he hints that it is real.

Feeling conflicted, Auren tries to visit the saddles again but is turned away by Polly, who calls her a traitor, assuming she is having sex with Commander Rip. Hurt and determined to prove her loyalty, Auren finds the army’s messenger hawks and sends a warning to Midas, a choice she immediately regrets. She returns to her tent to find Rip waiting. He reveals he knows she sent the hawk, then he kisses her. The next morning, Lu encourages her to reject what men want her to do and be a warrior. Inspired, Auren asks the Wrath to train her to fight.

After arriving in Fifth Kingdom, Auren and Rip share a quiet moment on a secluded beach under a “mourning moon.” He reveals that King Ravinger had already informed Midas of her capture, making her warning irrelevant. She apologizes for sending the hawk and tells him she is from Annwyn, the fae realm, which she recalls longingly.

The next night, as the army camps outside Ranhold Castle where King Ravinger will meet Midas, Rip tells Auren he can arrange for her to stay with them instead of returning to Midas. They argue fiercely, and Auren, feeling torn, tells him she will always choose Midas.

A deal is struck between the kings, and Auren is returned to Midas. The farewell with Rip is tense and painful. Auren is taken into Ranhold Castle, where her reunion with Midas shatters her illusions. He is immediately controlling and reveals a new iron cage he has built for her until they can return to her golden one at home. Auren refuses to go back into a cage. Midas becomes enraged and tries to force her inside.

Auren unleashes her ribbons and tears the cage door from its hinges. In the struggle, her glove comes off, and she accidentally touches a servant woman with her bare hand, turning her into a solid gold statue. Midas tells her she needs the cage to protect others from her. He says he only needs her power and leaves her locked in the room.

King Ravinger visits Midas, who lies about his involvement in an attack on Fourth Kingdom and offers gold to appease him. Instead, King Ravinger demands the strip of borderland known as Deadwell. Midas, though suspicious, concedes the land to avoid war and agrees to let Fourth’s army remain in Ranhold to rest.

Trapped and enraged, Auren tries and fails to escape until night falls. King Ravinger appears, having killed her guards. He learns about her gold-touch magic after she throws her coat at him, exposing its secretly gilded lining. As he taunts her, he transforms, revealing that he and Commander Rip are the same person. He introduces himself as Slade Ravinger.