Hexed

“I know she thinks she’s in love, but for me, this marriage is nothing more than a business deal. One that gives her what she wants and appeases my father. I owe them both.”

Enzo reveals his emotional state as he describes Aria’s, developing the theme of Love Versus Duty. Where she plans to marry for love, he is resigned—driven entirely by a sense of obligation to the people he feels he “owes.” This insistence on paying his debts characterizes him as an “honorable” figure within the novel’s gray moral landscape, but he will undergo a radical transformation after he gets involved with Venesa.

“The painting has been passed down through the generations of Kingstons, from father to son, repeatedly, like a rite of passage. It’s not even an actual picture of the family. It’s just seven empty marble chairs at the bottom of the ocean and a glowing trident floating in the middle. A representation of the seven kingdoms of Atlantis, which Kingston lore says we’re descendants of.”

The trident painting suggests mythological origins for the Kingston clan, which ties it to the fairytale world in which The Little Mermaid is grounded. (The imagery also alludes to the film specifically, where King Triton wields a trident and has seven daughters.) Venesa goes on to explain that her grandfather bypassed his son to give the painting to his daughter, implying that the patriarchal overtones of the painting, the fairytale world, and Venesa’s own family structure no longer serve as cultural norms in Hexed. It thus relates to the novel’s exploration of The Unrealistic Nature of Fairy Tales.

“Despite Enzo looking like a proper gentleman, I know he’s the monster that goes bump in the night, just like me. Energy attracts energy, so when two people have a similar vibration, it’s easy to feel.”

Shortly after Venesa meets Enzo, she becomes aware of his dangerous side. Rather than being repelled by it as a traditional fairytale heroine would be, she’s attracted. This quote also announces her awareness that she is a similar kind of “monster.” Further, it suggests that she is proud of the danger she represents, underscoring her departure from fairytale norms.

“I ignored how uncomfortable it made me feel. And eventually, things you ignore grow roots too strong, their weeds all but impossible to dig out. 

I’ve already accepted that this boredom—this monotony—is going to be the rest of my life.”

Enzo ponders his father’s insistence that he marry Aria, expressing resignation at the prospect of executing his father’s will. The quote suggests an acute awareness of the way that sacrificing for his family deadens Enzo’s emotions. However, the metaphor of roots and weeds implies that duty has become a habit that would require tremendous effort to break.

“Granddaddy used to preach to him and Momma about how whoever held the painting held the power, and I think Uncle T may have taken that phrase too literally.”

Venesa’s grandfather’s statement is a nod to the novel’s fairytale roots, framing the trident painting as a lucky talisman. Since Trent is obsessed with power, the thought that the picture is imbued with mystical properties is enough reason for him to seize it. The irony is that the picture actually does possess power in the real world, as a will bequeathing the estate to Venesa is hidden in the picture’s backing. In this way, the novel literalizes some of the fantastical elements of traditional folklore.

“Watching her question him felt oddly carnal, like I was witnessing her purge the blackest parts of her soul. It was invigorating and something I’ve never experienced before—intimate in a toxic type of way, her darkness enabling my own and making it vibrate beneath my skin, desperate to come out and play.”

Enzo makes this statement when he sees Venesa in action for the first time as a torturer and murderer. More notable than her proficiency with poisons is the delight she takes in torturing her victim. Enzo feels similar impulses and realizes that Venesa is a dark kindred spirit. Venesa will later have a similar reaction while watching Enzo at work. The passage’s erotic tone, communicated by word choice (“carnal”) and tactile imagery (“vibrate beneath my skin”) implies a relationship between sex and violence, underscoring the moral ambiguity of the narrative world.

“Men like Enzo—dangerous, charismatic, intoxicating men—only drag you down, whip you around, and tear you apart until you’re nothing but crumpled pieces of paper being blown by the wind.”

This statement reveals another reason why Venesa doesn’t want to get involved with Enzo, beyond family loyalty: She spent her early childhood watching her father destroy her mother and doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her choice of verbs (“drag,” “whip,” “tear”) is notably violent, evoking both physical and emotional abuse, while the metaphor that compares Venesa herself to “paper” suggests underlying fragility despite her tough exterior.

“I’m irritated that a guy who seems to be her boyfriend wouldn’t be sensitive to her history. Doesn’t anyone actually see her? Do they even care? I’ve only known her for a week, and I feel like I could school them.”

Enzo makes this comment about Fisher, whom he mistakes for her boyfriend. Although Enzo is wrong about the relationship between Venesa and Fisher, he isn’t wrong about Fisher’s obtuseness, nor the fact that everybody is used to ignoring Venesa’s feelings.

“She tilts her head, her eyes scanning me from head to toe, like she’s trying to strip away every single shield I’ve built up over the years to uncover the little boy underneath. The one who was smothered too soon because of the weight of expectation and the reality of what it means to be in a Mafia family.”

Venesa has just observed Enzo’s wistful reaction to the sight of a little boy playing on the beach with his family. With Venesa as a witness to his longing, he realizes for the first time the high price he paid for being an obedient son: Enzo never had a childhood. However, this mutual recognition of The Effects of Toxic Family Legacies does not culminate in a redemption arc; rather, both Enzo and Venesa take charge of their violent family businesses.

“I can tell he wants to kiss me. And I want him to, which is crazy because I’ve never kissed anyone. It’s too close. Too personal. And I’m afraid I’ll be bad at it.”

Venesa explains her aversion to kissing, echoing and subverting the plot of The Little Mermaid, which hinges on Ariel’s ability to obtain true love’s kiss from Eric. (Ironically, Ursula stipulates this condition in the film.) Although Venesa’s reluctance to kiss contrasts with Ariel’s eagerness, kissing has a similarly transformative effect for both characters, highlighting the ways in which the novel conforms to romance conventions.

“And each time I was left behind, it would chip away a bit more at my damaged spirit, proving it didn’t matter whom I lived with or who called me family. It was all just another version of the same thing. I was always a burden. An obligation.”

That Venesa was usually excluded from outings on her uncle’s yacht highlights that her position in the family is tenuous. While she is useful to Trent in running his business, he doesn’t want to display her publicly as he would his daughter. Venesa doesn’t yet realize that Trent’s mistreatment stems from his jealousy of his sister and her offspring—the rightful heirs of the family fortune.

“I was a fool. I thought I could put this thing aside, that I could marry Aria and make my pops happy and settle for whatever life everyone else has laid out for me, but if it means this? If it means being tied to a woman this cruel and not being able to speak up for someone who deserves it? I don’t know if I can do that.”

This statement represents a turning point in Enzo’s character arc. Previously, he was prepared to obey his father’s orders without question. However, his growing feelings for Venesa leave him outraged when he sees the way her family treats her. Aria’s invitation of Harald to Venesa’s party not only makes Enzo empathize with Venesa but also reveals the vicious nature of his fiancée. That Enzo, a murderer and crime boss, nevertheless balks at calculated “cruelty” is one way in which the novel frames him as comparably “good” and thus deserving of a happy ending.

“My entire life has been focused on one thing. Making my uncle happy. But that trident painting, as silly as it may be, was my last connection to my momma, and while she may not have been a great one, she was still mine. If there’s one thing a man will do, it’s disappoint you.”

Trent has just publicly bestowed the trident painting on Aria, who pointedly remarks that it belongs within the family, framing Venesa as an outcast. Venesa sees the painting as her last link to her mother and the last proof that she actually belongs to the Kingston clan, making the episode all the more painful but also freeing her to pursue her own interests independent of her family. Her final comment echoes others regarding the untrustworthiness of men, underscoring how deeply her traumatic childhood has shaped her worldview.

“And for as strong of a woman as she is, for everything she is that no one else sees, she’s asking for me to take control. To relieve her from being someone who always has to take care of everything on her own, because if she doesn’t, then no one will.”

Even though Venesa doesn’t ask Enzo to rush in and save the day, he feels an urge to protect her. This statement indicates his awareness that she doesn’t need help but also acknowledges that her strength invariably puts her in the position of solving problems on her own. This framing allows the novel to cast Enzo in the traditional role of rescuer without casting Venesa as a damsel in distress—one of the ways it plays with fairytale conventions.

“I won’t lie, this hurts. Having Uncle T stare at me like I’m a stranger. Like I’m the biggest disappointment he’s ever seen. It sears into me like a serrated knife, jagged and cold, but I don’t know this version of him, this untrustworthy, secretive man who keeps me locked out and lies to my face.”

Venesa’s single goal throughout her adult life has been to win her uncle’s approval. At this point, she still doesn’t know the role he played in her mother’s death, so she blames herself for failing to please him. At the same time, her description of Trent’s behavior as alien suggests that she has begun to recognize that her uncle’s conduct has been blameworthy, too.

“It’s easy to see the resemblance between where my pops lives and the Kingston estate. Both are flashy with wealth and tucked away from civilization, and just like with Trent, for the first time, I wonder how out of touch Pops is with the streets he runs, since he doesn’t live and breathe them.”

Trent and Carlos are two sides of the same coin. Both are bad father figures and power-hungry rulers of their petty kingdoms. Enzo’s comment suggests that their obsession with power has cut them off from their subjects, and they are too insulated and arrogant to see that they might be overthrown.

“‘Don’t be scared,’ I tell her. Kiss the girl. I brush my nose against hers again. ‘I’m going to kiss you. And I promise it will be the best one of my life. […] Because it’s with you.’”

Enzo overcomes Venesa’s reluctance to kiss by emphasizing that technique matters far less than emotion. Notably, he uses the phrase “kiss the girl” to motivate himself, an allusion to the title of one of the songs in Disney’s film. Unlike Eric’s abortive attempt to kiss Ariel, Enzo succeeds.

“Is anything he tells me true? Throughout my entire life, with all its difficulties, there’s been one constant: The foundation on which I was raised was sturdy. Strong. Never made me stumble or shake, and I could always come back to that in the face of adversity.”

Enzo has just had a conversation with Carlos in which he realizes that his father is lying to him. As the metaphor of a “foundation” suggests, Enzo previously trusted Carlos implicitly and repaid him with loyalty. It isn’t until Carlos proves his ruthlessness that Enzo turns on him, once again framing him in a comparatively sympathetic light.

“I tilt my head, watching him, letting the betrayal of my uncle stream through me like static, filling every fissure in my heart that he caused. I thought we worked together, and now I know we never did—I was always just a puppet on invisible marionette strings.”

Much as Enzo is forced to realize his father’s duplicity, Venesa here confronts her uncle’s true nature. The foundation of her world similarly crumbles when she realizes that she is simply a cog in Trent’s machine that can be replaced. This epiphany is even more traumatic than Enzo’s because her family identity was far more tenuous. However, the parallel nature of their realizations underscores that they have found real trust and loyalty in one another.

“I’m done with not putting myself first. And I know this thing with Enzo won’t last forever, but I’m sure as hell going to enjoy it while it does last. Besides, I’ve never really lived in the lap of luxury, even though I’ve been a prisoner, forced to watch it from the inside.”

Venesa makes this statement after Enzo allows her to redecorate his apartment any way she likes. She is no stranger to luxury as part of the Kingston family, but her remark emphasizes that she largely witnessed wealth rather than sharing in it. Her assumption that her relationship with Enzo is temporary is also revealing, underscoring how difficult she finds it to trust others.

“The thing about men like my father is they become so headstrong, so inflated by their own ego, it becomes almost impossible for them to take someone out without waxing poetic beforehand. And my pops has always been someone who loves to hear himself speak. His overconfidence has made him deluded enough to think that he’s unbreakable, impenetrable.”

Carlos has just shot Gio and is on the point of murdering his son. However, Enzo knows his father’s true nature now: that he has become a legend in his own mind in a way that clouds his judgment. This allows McIntire to nod to an implausible literary convention—the villain who delivers an unnecessary monologue when they’re on the cusp of achieving their goals—while still invoking it.

“‘When you’re working with him, it’s all an illusion. It’s him pulling strings and making you think you’re getting your way. It’s his specialty.’ 

She turns away from me, but I know she’s listening. My words are a hook thrown out to sea. I just have to reel her in slowly.”

Venesa tries to persuade Aria to betray Trent by appealing to Aria’s self-interest. Venesa is also telling the truth even as she manipulates her cousin: Trent has used both his daughter and his niece. Venesa’s metaphor of Ariel as a fish on the line is one of several instances of maritime imagery in the novel, highlighting its debt to The Little Mermaid.

“The way Uncle T is acting completely unhinged at the thought of someone touching his precious daughter has me realizing even the greatest of men have their weaknesses. And it’s usually a woman behind their downfall.”

Venesa lures Trent into the Lair by using Aria as bait. Venesa’s wry comment about male weakness proves true, as she brings about the downfall of not only Trent but also Carlos (because Carlos’s threat to kill Venesa leads Enzo to kill his father). Even Harald’s downfall stems from a woman, as Aria lures him to attend his daughter’s birthday, with fatal consequences.