Rose in Chains

Toven Hearst is Briony’s romantic interest in Rose in Chains. He is roughly the same age as Briony, as they are in the same classes during their shared education. He is described as tall with pale, silver-blonde hair and gray-blue eyes. He is the only son of Serena and Orion Hearst and the heir to his father’s place in the line of succession to the Seat of Bomard. Toven is an extremely talented heart magician, capable of killing multiple people with a single casting of heartstop. He is also a talented mind magician, as Briony slowly realizes that Toven can read her thoughts, and she knows that “only incredibly advanced mind magicians could read one’s thoughts. Not even Briony had learned the skill yet” (201). Toven is adept at both kinds of magic, which is rare and makes him a valuable asset to either side of the war.

Toven is so powerful that Briony even considers killing him after he kills numerous people while hunting her in the woods, thinking, “She’d wondered then, as she stared at the carnage that was normally impossible for a single magician, if she should kill him where he lay and save Evermore the problem of Toven Hearst down the line. But she couldn’t” (133). Briony cannot bring herself to kill Toven because of her feelings for him, just as Toven fights to rescue Briony from Reighven because of his feelings for her. Toven’s character arc is less about the changes within his behavior and more about the change in Briony’s perception of him.

Briony previously saw Toven as a heartless Bomardi, a powerful magician whose sole goal is to support Mallow’s war. However, after she moves into Hearst Hall, Briony begins to discover Toven’s feelings for her, culminating in Toven’s near revelation of his feelings for Briony as he says, “Sometimes I have to act without your approval to do what’s best for my family! Not just you, all four of us!” (383). Toven includes Briony in his perception of his family, demonstrating the depth and intensity of his feelings for Briony. However, because of his power over her due to Briony’s enslavement and Bomard’s oppressive societal structure, Toven does not pursue a romantic relationship with her, as he’s concerned about pushing her into a relationship she cannot meaningfully consent to. Briony, however, does want Toven, and their feelings for each other and miscommunications will likely continue to shape the trilogy’s narrative in the next installment.

Veronika Mallow is the antagonist of Rose in Chains. She is described as having long, black hair, black eyes, and appearing to be in her fifties. Mallow is 40th in line for the Seat of Bomard when she first arrives in the narrative, though she quickly works her way up the line. She convinces Riann Cohle to name her his successor, then Cohle kills his own father and abdicates, putting Mallow first in line for the seat. Mallow then kills Gin Pulvey, the Seat, and ascends to power. As ruler of Bomard, Mallow heightens the tension between Evermore and Bomard, and she outlines her plan for starting the war in her first conversation with Briony, saying, “For what possible reason would we school our young people together if not in an eternal promise not to harm them […] Promises are only words after all. They can be broken” (89). When the Bomardi invade the school and kidnap students over three years later, Briony knows that it was Mallow’s plan.

Mallow is a static character, equally villainous from the beginning of the novel to the end. She does not experience significant character growth or change except in Briony’s perception. Briony realizes that Mallow is not truly bonded to the dragon as she claims to be, and Mallow is insecure about her power over the continent. Though Mallow seems all-powerful and inescapable at the start of the narrative, she becomes more fragile and vulnerable by the novel’s end, setting the stage for a rebellion against her regime.