Rebel Witch

Throughout the novel, Rune, Gideon, and their allies confront the violent, conflicting legacies of the New Republic and the Roseblood Dynasty. From the start, Rune recognizes that neither side offers true freedom. As she says to a woman while in Umbria, “Witches are still being slaughtered for nothing more than the crime of being what they are […] I’ll never be free until every last one of my sisters is free, too” (10). However, the only path to survival seems to involve empowering Cressida—a murderer—because the alternative is extermination. Rune realizes that the witch-hunters will never stop until they eradicate all witches. She initially believes that the only way to keep witches safe is to eradicate the Blood Guard and the New Republic, which they can accomplish by putting Cressida on the throne, even if she’s just as evil; however, Rune knows that hatred breeds hatred.

Gideon, too, recognizes how hatred poisons everyone it touches. Harrow’s bitterness mirrors Gideon’s his own past: “Looking at Harrow was like looking into a mirror. They both had been hurt by the witches they loved, and had let those wounds poison them” (247). Harrow must confront her wounds and heal from them; she let them fester into a hate that she initially can alleviate only by killing witches. While Gideon used to be like this, he has been healing from his trauma with Cressida, with Rune’s help, which allows him to ask Harrow outright, “Aren’t you tired of this bitterness? […] Aren’t you sick of the hate? (247). He explains that living in a state of distrust for a long time can keep one from recognizing good in others: “You’ll become like the monsters you hate” (247).

Both Gideon and Rune recognize the negative effects of the cycle yet helped perpetrate it and now must choose between continuing to do so or imagining something better. They realize that revenge—no matter how justifiable—only breeds more pain. This is evident when Laila opposes Rune because she put Cressida, her father’s murderer, on the throne. However, Gideon responds, “Like your father killed Kestrel Winters?” (304), drawing a parallel between their losses by pointing out that Laila’s father murdered Rune’s grandmother. In a world where every death demands another in return, no one wins.

The novel critiques the illusion of victory in such a system, noting that most of the people living under the constraints of the two ideologies hunger for a world that oppression doesn’t define. The real triumph isn’t seizing power but breaking free from the unappealing binary choice between tyrannies. Gideon’s hope for a world “without tyranny, violence, or hate… where we can live as equals” (334) represents the fragile but necessary alternative. In demonstrating his desire to lead with this view, he wins not only Rune’s trust but the loyalty of many followers. The novel highlights a bittersweet truth: Cycles of hatred consume everyone, but breaking them—even imperfectly—is the only true victory.