Queen of Shadows

“Aelin had given herself a day at sea to rest and to miss Rowan. With the blood oath now eternally binding her to the Fae Prince—and him to her—his absence was like a phantom limb. She still felt that way, even when she had so much to do, even though missing her carranam was useless and he’d no doubt kick her ass for it.”

When Aelin temporarily separates from Rowan, she feels the loss of him much more than she did her separation from Chaol—as equivalent to losing a limb. This thought illustrates the depth of Aelin’s suppressed feelings for Rowan, which will become apparent later in the novel.

“There were two men in this city responsible for destroying her life and the people she’d loved. She would not leave Rifthold until she’d buried them both.”

Maas foreshadows the novel’s climax with this declaration from Aelin’s point of view. Surely enough, Aelin does not leave for Terrasen until both Arobynn and the King of Adarlan are dead and the castle is rubble.

“It had been a decade since they’d spoken baldly of her heritage, or of the title he had helped her walk away from, had taught her to hate and fear. Sometimes he’d mentioned it in veiled terms, usually as a threat to keep her bound to him. But he had never once said her true name—not even when he’d found her on that icy riverbank and carried her into his house of killers.”

This passage reveals the involvement Arobynn had in stripping Aelin of her identity and turning it into something she spent years fearing and feeling ashamed of. His refusal to use her true name, even now, illustrates his desire to dismantle the self-acceptance she gained in Wendlyn.

“Everything—everything was for Dorian, for his friend. For himself, he had nothing left to lose. He was nothing more than a nameless oath-breaker, a liar, a traitor. […] The captain he’d once been would have refused to tell her. Aelin was an enemy of his kingdom. But that captain was no more.”

Chaol suffers from shame after abandoning his morals and undying loyalty to his friend Dorian by leaving him behind in the glass castle. Chaol’s self-hatred makes him lash out verbally at those close to him, mostly Nesryn and Aelin. Chaol’s loss of identity in the novel foreshadows the character growth he’ll find in the next book.

“You remind me of what the world ought to be; what the world can be, she’d once said to Chaol. Her face burned. A girl had said those things; a girl so desperate to survive, to make it through each day, that she hadn’t questioned why he served the true monster of their world. […] She could forgive the girl who had needed a captain of the guard to offer stability after a year in hell; forgive the girl who had needed a captain to be her champion. But she was her own champion now.”

In this passage, Aelin recognizes the girl she was as Celaena and accepts that Chaol was the romantic partner she needed at the time. Chaol offered stability and safety during a time when she couldn’t provide it for herself. Now, a newly mature Aelin has outgrown her romance with Chaol and no longer needs him to be her support system.

“Oh, she could play the devoted protégée again. She could go along with the plan she’d let him create—the plan she’d modify slightly, just enough. She’d kill whoever was needed, whore herself, wreck herself, if it meant getting Aedion to safety.”

Queen of Shadows marks the point in the series where the stakes become much more deadly and readers get the first glimpse of the lengths Aelin is willing to go through to protect her loved ones and ensure her rise to power. The themes of ethics, sacrifice, and unconditional love remain at the forefront of the series from this point on.

“She could already sense the reinforcement added to every weak spot she possessed. The specifications must have been sent months before the suit arrived, by the man who did indeed know about the knee that sometimes twanged, the body parts she favored in combat, the speed with which she moved.”

Arobynn is positioned as a major threat and antagonist from the beginning of the novel. Though his long past with Aelin is mentioned, the new suit he sends to her apartment is the first proof of how well he actually knows her: The suit protects every one of her weak spots, proving that he knows just where to strike.

“‘Please,’ Lysandra said, waving a manicured hand, ‘you and I are nothing but wild beasts wearing human skins. Don’t even try to deny it.’ The courtesan had no idea how close she was to the truth. Aelin wondered how the woman would react to her other form—to the elongated canines. Somehow, she doubted Lysandra would call her a monster for it—or for the flames at her command.”

Lysandra’s comment subtly hints at the fact that Lysandra is a shapeshifter—something that aligns her with Aelin’s nonhuman ancestry. Aelin worries that her Fae form with its pointed canines will cause her human friends to fear her, but doesn’t believe Lysandra will react the same—more evidence of the depth of understanding and friendship Lysandra will be able to offer her.

“‘You bring my court into this, Chaol,’ Aelin said with lethal softness, ‘and I don’t care what you were to me, or what you have done to help me. You betray them, you hurt them, and I don’t care how long it takes, or how far you go: I’ll burn you and your gods-damned kingdom to ash. Then you’ll learn just how much of a monster I can be.’”

The Ethics of Survival applies not only to the individual but to kingdoms as well. Aelin acts unethically at times to protect Terrasen; when Chaol threatens the safety of her kingdom and its citizens, her response here proves just how far she’ll go to protect them.

“She was the heir of fire. She was fire, and light, and ash, and embers. She was Aelin Fireheart, and she bowed for no one and nothing, save the crown that was hers by blood and survival and triumph.”

As Aelin breaks into the glass castle to rescue Aedion, she embodies the legacy of her family. Saving her only surviving family member symbolizes her reclaiming an aspect of her past life in Terrasen and the identity she lost long ago.

“You will make mistakes. You will make decisions, and sometimes you will regret those choices. Sometimes there won’t be a right choice, just the best of several bad options. I don’t need to tell you that you can do this—you know you can. I wouldn’t have sworn the oath to you if I didn’t think you could.”

As a warrior who served the Fae Queen Maeve for centuries, Rowan offers Aelin advice on how to be a ruler in this passage. This advice will remain relevant throughout the rest of the series as Aelin’s responsibility to Terrasen will force her to make tough decisions between only bad options.

“Asterin let out another joyless laugh. ‘You would not have disobeyed even if it had been Blackbeaks down there, would you? Loyalty, obedience, brutality—that is what you are.’”

For Asterin, Manon perfectly embodies the tenets that Ironteeth witches are trained to follow: “Loyalty, obedience, brutality.” However, Asterin does not mean this as a compliment: She is criticizing the indoctrination to which all witches have been subject. While the covens have internalized the idea that they were born monstrous, Asterin believes that in reality, Manon’s grandmother turned them into monsters they weren’t born to be. The conflict showcases the theme of Nature Versus Nurture.

“‘I have had a long, long while to think on the wretched things I’ve done to you, Celaena.’

‘Aelin,’ she snapped. ‘My name is Aelin. And you can start proving you’ve mended your ways by giving me back my family’s gods-damned amulet. Then you can prove it some more by giving me your resources—by letting me use your men to get what I need.’”

This passage plays into the theme of Self-Acceptance as Closure. Arobynn refuses to call Aelin by her true name, and while she fakes still being his protégée Celaena, she never corrects him. However, in their last interaction, Aelin demands he recognize her real name—and with it, the identity that he stole from her. This moment of self-actualization finally rejects his constant efforts to belittle and control her.

“She had picked up the amulet to drop it into the little space when a thread tugged inside her—no, not a thread, but…a wind, as if some force barreled from Rowan into her, as if their bond were a living thing, and she could feel what it was to be him—”

Maas foreshadows the magically linked romance that will occur between Aelin and Rowan. Though neither notices it at the moment, the tether connecting them will feature not only in the rest of Throne of Glass but also in the entire Maas-verse of connected series.

“She wondered whether the queen knew. Rowan did. Aedion did. And Arobynn did. He had understood that with Rowan, she was no longer afraid of him; with Rowan, Arobynn was now utterly unnecessary. Irrelevant.”

The futile dominance battle between Arobynn and Aelin portrayed in this passage illustrates that Aelin has found true support prior to Arobynn’s death, in her relationships with Aedion and Rowan. This makes Arobynn’s death, while a useful measure for Aelin’s rise to power, not necessary for her emotional or psychological health.

“She would find that love again—one day. And it would be deep and unrelenting and unexpected, the beginning and the end and eternity, the kind that could change history, change the world.”

Lysandra mentions a few times throughout the novel that she hopes to experience the same kind of passionate and unconditional love that Aelin and Rowan have. Lysandra believed it would be with Wesley, but Arobynn had him murdered. Years later, Lysandra still believes that love is waiting for her, signaling to readers that she will become a romantic partner to one of the protagonists in the coming books.

“Rowan didn’t know what to make of it. A whirlwind of hate and rage and violence, that was what she’d become. And none of these piss-poor assassins had been surprised—not even a blink at her behavior. From Aedion’s pale face, he knew the general was thinking the same thing, contemplating the years she’d spent as that unyielding and vicious creature. Celaena Sardothien—that was who she’d been then, and who she’d become today. […] This person she’d become today had no kindness, no joy.”

Rowan and Aedion see the persona of Celaena Sardothien for the first time when she sells the Assassin’s Guild to Arobynn’s remaining assassins. Their shocked reactions illustrate the growth Aelin has had in the years since she left the guild. Both men mourn the lack of kindness and joy in the persona, which they realize reflects the young girl Aelin used to be.

“‘You have to get her out of the tunnels,’ Aelin said to Chaol and Nesryn […] For a heartbeat, she wasn’t in the warehouse. For a heartbeat, she was standing in a beautiful bedroom, before a bloody bed and the wrecked body splayed upon it.”

Lysandra is repeatedly compared to Nehemia and is the first female companion Aelin chooses to have since Nehemia’s death. When Lysandra is taken captive, the fears Aelin’s been working to overcome since Nehemia’s death come flooding back; she is terrified that she might be forced to once again grieve a friend’s death.

“A monster, he’d called her weeks ago. He had believed it, and allowed it to be a shield against the bitter tang of disappointment and sorrow. He was a fool.”

This passage compares the way Chaol saw Aelin upon her return to Rifthold and the way he views her at the conclusion of Queen of Shadows. As Chaol has let go his memories of Celaena and made efforts to get to know Aelin, the two take the first steps in mending their relationship to the point of friendship.

“I knew your grandmother had hidden me from you for a reason. I think she knew you would have fought for me. And whatever your grandmother saw in you that made her afraid… It was worth waiting for. Worth serving. So I have.”

Asterin plays a vital role in shifting Manon’s allegiances. Manon’s loyalty to her grandmother makes her oblivious to the Matron’s immense cruelty. Asterin’s grief for the love she lost and the devastating pain surrounding her stillborn child force Manon to consider whether the Matron has truly earned that loyalty. This passage reveals that the Matron fears the Thirteen’s, specifically Manon’s, capacity for human compassion, which is more powerful than the pliant, vicious rage of the other Ironteeth.

“Her mouth was soft and warm, and he bit back a groan. His body went still—his entire world went still—at that whisper of a kiss, the answer to a question he’d asked for centuries.”

Though the mating bond between Rowan and Aelin is not explicitly acknowledged here, Aelin suspects it has happened. Though Rowan is not consciously aware of the strength of their connection, the fact that his kiss with Aelin is “the answer” to a centuries-old question shows that their love is meant to last.

“Her grandmother had sold them to these people. She was a Blackbeak; she was no one’s slave. No one’s prize horse to breed. Neither was Elide.”

Manon’s changed opinion of her highly revered grandmother, the Blackbeak Matron, illustrates her character growth. Manon is no longer prepared to unquestioningly trust her grandmother as she has in the past but rather prepares to betray the Ironteeth by deserting Morath alongside her Thirteen.

“And the wounds on this castle, on the city—those would heal, too. He’d stood on battlefields after the killing had stopped, the earth still wet with blood, and lived to see the scars slowly heal, decade after decade, on the land, the people. So, too, would Rifthold heal.”

As Rowan looks upon Erilea now that the King of Adarlan is dead and Dorian has freed the countries conquered by his father, the novel ends on a positive note. Rowan remains optimistic about the continent’s ability to heal after the terror and bloodshed of the last decade.