House of Sky and Breath

“‘The sword’s as much yours as it is mine.’

Bryce waved a hand. ‘I’ll take it on weekends and holidays, don’t worry.’

Hunt tossed in, ‘And it’ll get two Winter Solstices, so…double the presents.’

Ruhn is the rare Fae man who wants to share power with the women in his life. His banter with Bryce shows how the irreverence and the humor of the younger generation have the power to destabilize old-fashioned power systems. These lines also highlight how Hunt and Bryce understand each other’s humor.

“Cormac has always been the son I should have had. Rather than the son I was burdened with.”

The Autumn King’s cruel statement to his son Ruhn shows the depth of his emotional abuse of his children. While Ruhn seems to be favored by his father for being his heir, the reality is that the Autumn King regularly invalidates and humiliates his son.

“Males will always try to control the females who scare them. Marriage and breeding are their go-to methods.”

Jesiba unpacks why the Autumn King wants Bryce to get married. It is a way to curb Bryce’s power, which now eclipses even that of the King.

“If you’re looking for How Not to Be an Asshole, it’s shelved between Bye, Loser and Get the Fuck Out.”

Bryce’s cheeky greeting to Cormac illustrates how realistic, witty dialogue operates in the novel, easing some of its more somber themes. Bryce’s prickly exterior is also an armor against the discrimination she has faced as a woman and a half-human in her world.

“My father’s name is Randall Silago. The Autumn King is just a male who gave me genetic material. He will never have a place in my life.”

Bryce has a toxic relationship with her tyrannical, sexist father and often emphasizes that her stepfather is her father. Her statement reflects her honesty and fearlessness as she emphasizes that the Autumn King only provided her with his genes and nothing else. Therefore, she prioritizes bonds of love and friendship over bloodlines.

“Tharion threw me off last night […] It dragged up a lot of old shit for me—and worries for you. But if you want to move forward with this…let’s talk it through first.”

Hunt’s response to Bryce’s suggestion to get involved in the rebel plot shows his maturity as a character. He does not bulldoze over Bryce’s suggestion despite his misgivings on the subject.

“She’s dead, Bryce. Knowing or not knowing won’t change that.”

Bryce initially wants to pursue Danika’s secrets to wrest some control over the sad reality of her death. However, as Fury reminds her, this is a futile exercise.

“‘Some of us crave a normal life, you know,’ Hunt said to Baxian.”

After a lifetime of wars, Hunt wants normalcy above everything else. Ironically, it is because he craves normalcy and abhors the spotlight that Hunt is more suited to power in the moral system of the novel.

“Beyond Sofie, beyond Emile…This world could be so much more. This world could be free. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want that.”

Cormac is an idealist who wants to sacrifice personal happiness for a larger cause, while Hunt, whom he is addressing, is a weary soldier who wants a normal, happy life. Both points of view are valid, and the novel doesn’t take sides between the two.

“Never about the cause, Cormac said quietly. Only about the people in it.”

Even the most noble of causes can attract people whom power easily corrupts. As Cormac notes, Pippa Spetsos is one such person.

“I think I’ve lost my true self entirely. To destroy monsters, we become monsters. Isn’t that what they say?”

Lidia’s statement to Ruhn is a poignant clue into the extent of her sacrifice for the rebellion. It is also a hint about her real identity.

“It wasn’t that the mystics could see all worlds—no, the gift wasn’t the unnerving thing. It was what they gave up for it, Life. True Life.”

On her visit to the mystics, Bryce discovers that not all gifts are worth having. The mystics symbolize the way people in power exploit people in Midgard. They also represent a state of passivity and willing delusion.

“Was a rebellion worth fighting, if it only put other power-hungry leaders in charge? For the innocents, yes, but…Tharion couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better way to fight this war. Better people to lead it.”

Tharion’s question is very pertinent: Is a rebellion only half-successful if it replaces one set of tyrants with another? The text suggests a true rebellion is one which aims to change the very way people rule.

“‘While you’re busy getting your nails painted, Princess, good people are fighting and dying in this war.’ Bryce wiggled her nails at the rebel. ‘If I’m going to associate with losers like you, I might as well look good doing it.’”

This exchange between Bryce and Pippa shows people’s tendency to underestimate Bryce because of how she expresses herself via her outward appearance. Bryce’s reaction shows that she will not succumb to bullying or shaming from people who are prejudiced and sexist.

“To be free of the Asteri, there are things that we all must do that will leave a mark on our souls. It’s the cost, so that our children and their children won’t ever need to pay it.”

Day’s words are surprisingly idealistic, at odds with the cool exterior she usually maintains. Only a true idealist would make the kind of sacrifices she has in her double life as the Hind.

“‘Trash gets dumped in the back,’ she said without looking up. ‘I see your irreverence has not been altered by your immortality.’”

Bryce’s sharp words to her father highlight her quick wit and refusal to change despite her Fae Princess status. Bryce’s humor is a tool of resistance against the old guard and their way of life.

“A long, golden leash stretched from it to her father.”

Privilege and wealth often come with a price, and the price is one’s individuality and soul. Bryce understands this and therefore feels stifled by her father’s gifts, imagining them as a leash around her neck.

“Most people wouldn’t get it. They’d think, Oh, poor you, a princess. But I’ve spent my entire life avoiding this male and his court. I hate him. And I just walked right into his clutches like a fucking idiot.”

Bryce’s distress at her father’s offer of wealth is genuine. Her reaction encapsulates her abhorrence of the sly patriarchal method of disguising control as concern and bribe.

“Someone who listens. Who thinks before acting. Who tries to understand different viewpoints. Who does what is right, even if the path is long and hard. Who will give a voice to the voiceless.”

Ironically, no one amongst the Ophion command fulfils Lidia’s idealistic criterion for a good ruler. The text suggests the answer might lie elsewhere.

“‘Perhaps there’s a thin line between Governor and slave,’ Hypaxia mused.”

The idea that privilege carries its own burdens is a prominent theme in the novel. Placing people in important roles is one way of binding them to those roles, as the Asteri do with Celestina, Hypaxia’s lover.

“War means death. Death means souls—and more secondlight. Who am I to turn away from a feeding trough?”

Secondlight is emitted by the souls of the dead when they make their final transition from life. The more people die, the more souls the Under-King samples. The Asteri also benefit from the secondlight of the dead. Keeping the war running is important for the Asteri, as is turning the inhabitants of Midgard against each other.

“‘It'd be safer not to go at all, but here we are, going,’ Hunt said. Ruhn wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself as the angel crossed the room and knelt before Bryce, grabbing her hands. ‘I want a future with you. That's why I'm going. I'm going to fight for that future.’ His sister's eyes softened. Hunt kissed her hands. ‘And to do so, we can't play by other people's rules.’”

Love as a powerful motivator for action is a key theme in the novel. Hunt’s words to Bryce show how love in personal relationships can lead to a concern for the larger world.

“Why do you drink water and eat food? We are higher beings. We are gods. You cannot blame us if our source of nutrition is inconvenient for you. We keep you healthy, happy, and allow you to roam free on this planet. We have even let the humans live all this time, just to give you Vanir something to rule over.”

More than power and strength, Rigelus embodies genuine entitlement. The Asteri believe they are superior beings and thus deserve people’s bodies and souls.