The brand burned onto the chests of the Lords is a symbol of their permanent, inescapable servitude to the secret society. It represents the ultimate expression of Power Through Absolute Submission, thereby marking the individual’s body as the organization’s property. Unlike a uniform that can be removed, the brand is an indelible scar, signifying that a Lord’s identity is irrevocable. During his senior year initiation, Tyson articulates the significance of the branding ritual, noting, “Once I’m branded, the only way out is death” (28). The observation presents the brand as both a mark of elite membership and a burdensome life sentence. 

The intense pain of the branding ceremony is a required trial, forcing an initiate to willingly accept bodily mutilation as proof of his loyalty and his consent to being owned. The brand is a constant physical reminder of the oath each Lord has taken, underscoring their role as instruments to be wielded by the elite, patriarchal society. While the Lords regularly impose their dominance over others, these physical brands are a reminder of their own lost autonomy.

The shock collar is a direct and intimate symbol of the power dynamics between Tyson and Laikyn. Presented as a twisted wedding gift to replace Laikyn’s inherited pearls, the collar establishes their marriage as a transaction of ownership, reinforcing the theme of Power Through Absolute Submission. Tyson’s threat to Laikyn before the ceremony makes its purpose clear: “You either willingly walk down that aisle to me, or you crawl on your hands and knees with a collar around your neck while I drag you by a leash” (53-54). This declaration clearly frames the collar not as an instrument of coercion and humiliation, used to enforce obedience and dismantle Laikyn’s will. The collar serves as a constant physical reminder to Laikyn that her submission is not optional and her body is not her own. Her inability to remove it, and Tyson’s ability to inflict pain from a distance with an app reinforces his pervasive control, demonstrating that he can command her obedience at any time. 

More than any other object, the shock collar encapsulates the evolution of Laikyn and Tyson’s relationship throughout the novel. Initially, it embodies the violent, non-consensual foundation of their initial dynamic and Tyson’s systematic effort to remake Laikyn into his possession. However, as Laikyn comes to embrace her submissive role in the marriage, her hatred of the collar turns to possessive ownership. Her insistence that Tyson retrieve the shock collar from Whitney, after he lures Luke to the Cathedral, signals how she has grown to prize the dynamic the accessory represents. In the final lines of the novel, Laikyn’s enthusiastic response to Tyson taking the collar from the bedroom drawer indicates how dominance and submission continue to play a key role in their sex life after years of marriage.