Jonas Svik, known as “the Wolf,” is Silla’s primary love interest in this novel. His arc traces a tragic descent from a charismatic warrior to a broken antagonist. As second-in-command of the Bloodaxe Crew, Jonas is initially characterized by his charm, his fierce loyalty to his younger brother Ilías, and his all-consuming drive to reclaim his family’s stolen lands. This ambition comes from his traumatic past; when he was young, he killed his abusive father to protect his mother, only to find himself stripped of his rightful inheritance.

His relationship with Silla begins as a flirtatious game but deepens as he hears her lie about a land dispute and assumes that she is a kindred spirit. However, his possessiveness and jealousy are early indicators of his darker impulses. He tells Silla, “You shouldn’t be with other men. You belong with me” (314), and this assertion suggests that his need for control arises from the insecurities stemming from his past powerlessness. Jonas’s internal conflict intensifies as his feelings for Silla clash with his personal mission, and the death of Ilías accelerates his moral downfall.

Consumed by grief and guilt, he decides that Ilías’s death can only have meaning if he betrays Silla and uses the money from the queen’s reward to regain his lost lands. He rationalizes this betrayal when he tells a drugged Silla, “Ilias died so I would get my lands back… You will bring me a handsome reward, and Ilias’s death will mean something” (470). As his grief curdles into a vengeful obsession, Jonas betrays the trust that Silla placed in him, and his fall from grace shows how grief and trauma can warp a person’s moral compass, turning love into a weapon and honor into a justification for cruelty.

Rey Bjarg, the formidable leader of the Bloodaxe Crew, is also known as “Axe Eyes” because of his intense glare. He initially serves as a reluctant protector but gradually becomes a mentor figure for Silla. His pragmatism, stoicism, and loyalty are the glue that holds his group together, and he operates under a strict personal code of honor, demanding absolute honesty from his followers. He therefore views Silla’s presence as a dangerous complication in his meticulously controlled environment. Initially harsh and dismissive, he sees Silla as a liability, but his decision to spare her life in exchange for her help with Kraki reveals his deeper willingness to take calculated risks.

As he becomes a more compassionate guardian, Rey’s development is a slow burn, characterized by a gradual erosion of his hardened exterior. Despite his threats, he consistently chooses to protect Silla. Although his past will remain shrouded in mystery until future installments in the series, Winters provides a few hints, such as his real name, Reynir Galtung, and his visceral reaction to a saying from Matthias. He ultimately serves as a source of strength, offering Silla stability and protection. His decision to stand by Silla and to lead the Crew in a vote to protect her solidifies his role as her most dependable ally, and even in the aftermath of Ilias’s death, he proves his devotion when he rushes to her rescue in Kopa.

Hekla is a key member of the Bloodaxe Crew who befriends Silla and teaches her self-defense. She is a tough, battle-hardened warrior with a cynical wit and a formidable prosthetic arm, and she has survived the trauma of her abusive former husband, whom she killed after he cut off her arm in a fit of rage. This history makes her initially wary of Silla’s false story of fleeing a husband, but she is the first member of the Crew to show Silla genuine kindness, and this compassion develops into a protective, sisterly role as she teaches Silla how to defend herself. She tells Silla, “Turn your pain into power” (164), and this motto reflects her own philosophy of life. Hekla’s character is central to the theme of Found Family as a Survival Strategy. Her acceptance of Silla demonstrates that true kinship is based on shared struggle and mutual support, and she is a crucial source of strength and inspiration for Silla’s own transformation.

Skraeda is the novel’s most immediate antagonist. Like Silla, Skraeda is a Galdra who has been forced to navigate a world that criminalizes her existence. However, whereas Silla seeks community and connection, Skraeda chooses ruthless opportunism, becoming an agent for the very regime that would see her kind exterminated. As a powerful Solacer, she has the ability to sense and manipulate others’ emotions, and she has honed this gift into a weapon for interrogation and control. She is desperate to gain some measure of power and earn the queen’s approval, seeing these goals as the ultimate form of security. When King Ivar’s regime first imprisoned her, she bought her way free by betraying her twin sister, Ilka, to Queen Signe. Skraeda justifies her actions as necessary for survival, claiming, “I am an opportunist. I do what I must to survive” (94). Skraeda is cunning, resourceful, and utterly merciless, embodying the corrupting influence of power and the moral decay that can result from a life governed solely by the drive to survive at all costs.

Matthias, whose true name is Tómas, is Silla’s adoptive father and her original protector. Though he is killed early in the novel, his presence and the secrets he kept are foundational to the entire plot. He is a gentle, loving father figure whose primary motivation is to keep Silla safe from the regime that would hunt her. He pursues this goal by forcing the two of them into a life of constant movement and deception. However, his strategic lies shield Silla from the truth of her identity, leaving her vulnerable to unknown dangers after his death. When Silla learns that he is not her biological father, this fact shatters her understanding of her life. His final moments, in which he displays the skills of a seasoned warrior, reveal a hidden past that contrasts sharply with the simple farmworker Silla knew. His dying words, urging Silla to go to Kopa and confessing “I loved you like my own kin” (25), serve as both the inciting incident for her journey and a final testament to his devotion.

Ilías Svik is a younger member of the Bloodaxe Crew and Jonas’s brother. He primarily serves as a source of comic relief and represents the genial heart of the Crew’s found family. His lighthearted, reckless nature contrasts sharply with the more serious dispositions of the other warriors, particularly his older brother Jonas and the crew’s leader, Rey. He is quick with a joke and often the target of affectionate teasing. Despite his jovial exterior, he is a capable warrior who is fiercely loyal to his kin. His tragic death during the battle against the queen’s mercenaries spurs Jonas’s psychological collapse and subsequent betrayal of Silla.

Gunnar is a loyal and steadfast member of the Bloodaxe Crew whose good humor and fighting abilities provide a cheerful, grounding presence. He functions as a core component of the story’s found family, and his quiet physical relationship with Hekla adds another layer to the intricate bonds within the crew.

The mute Sigrún is a formidable warrior and archer in the Bloodaxe Crew. Sporting prominent burn scars on the side of her head and neck, she never reveals the details of her traumatic past, but these attributes suggest that like Hekla, she is a survivor. She communicates primarily through a series of hand gestures that the rest of the crew has adapted to, further emphasizing their close-knit dynamic. Despite her silence, Sigrún is expressive and perceptive, often offering eloquent commentary on the group’s antics.