The Traitor Queen

Lara Veliant is one of two protagonists and point-of-view characters. She is one of dozens of daughters born to King Silas of Maridrina. Her childhood was spent in the Red Desert with her half-sisters and Silas’s spymaster, Serin, who trained them ruthlessly, often employing torture, to become assassins and warriors. Lara poisoned all her sisters to save their lives after hearing that Silas planned to kill all his daughters except the one he chose to marry King Aren of Ithicana and fulfill the Fifteen-Year Treaty. Ever since, Lara has wondered about the fate of her sisters and worries that they’ll never forgive her.

Nicknamed “little cockroach” in childhood, Lara has garnered a reputation for surviving impossible odds. This reputation is proven repeatedly throughout The Traitor Queen as she overcomes all manner of impossible situations—including swimming through shark-infested waters, rescuing Aren from her father’s impenetrable palace, and finding her way to Eranahl after being purposefully left behind. However, Aren attributes more of her personality and resilience to this reputation: “Lara’s capacity to endure hardship was nothing short of astonishing, and that surprised him and yet somehow… didn’t. Even when she’d been hiding her true nature from him, she’d shown herself to be both adaptable and willing to push herself through the worst sort of circumstances” (178). It is these qualities that prove invaluable to the war. Lara comes through for Ithicana every time the kingdom is in need, never faltering despite fear and exhaustion.

Though her accidental betrayal paints her as a traitor to Aren and his people, Lara genuinely loves him and takes her role as queen seriously. Like Aren, she embraces The Responsibility that Comes with Power, sacrificing everything for him and Ithicana, but most of her actions are motivated by her journey down The Long Road to Redemption. Even while she understands this may never happen, Lara remains determined to atone for her mistakes.

Ahnna Kernel is Aren’s twin sister, commander of Southwatch Island, and the princess of Ithicana. In Aren’s absence, Ahnna rules over what remains of Ithicana, defending Eranahl against Maridrina while trying to solve the problem of its dwindling resources.

While Aren has spent his years traveling beyond Ithicana before being tied to the islands as king, Ahnna has rarely left, preferring to treasure every moment at home before she must make good on the arranged political marriage to the Harendellian crown prince. Though Aren has always given Ahnna the option not to follow through with the marriage, Maridrina’s capture of Ithicana and of Aren force Ahnna’s hand. In order to secure Harendell as an ally in the war to free Aren and Ithicana, Ahnna agrees to marry the crown prince as soon as the war is over, exhibiting The Responsibility that Comes with Power.

Ahnna has always been wary of Lara even as they became friendlier over time. Though Lara’s betrayal only confirmed what Ahnna’s always suspected, Ahnna allows Lara to live when she returns from exile with a plan to save Aren from her father. Ahnna’s mercy shows the compassion and grace that the novel associates with Ithicana’s people, even when The Long Road to Redemption seems impossible for Lara.

Keris Veliant is Silas’s only surviving son and the Crown Prince of Maridrina. He is also Lara’s brother and shares Lara’s grief over the murder of their mother at Silas’s hands. Though many fear that Keris is just like his father, it becomes clear that he despises Silas just as much as Lara and her sisters do. Keris’s disinterest in the war against Valcotta and his preoccupation with studying philosophy (compounded by his dreams to study at Harendell’s renowned universities) make him unfavored by Silas even when he is the king’s only choice. Because of his father’s disdain, Keris has reason to believe that his life is always in jeopardy.

Described as slender with dark blond hair and blue eyes, Keris greatly resembles Lara. Their similarities extend past the physical, however, as they are both cunning and highly intelligent. There is a “gleam” in his eyes that “suggested he was no fool” (52). His defiant behavior around Silas’s guards suggests he is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing, much like his sister” (93). While Keris schemes to help Aren, his motivations remain mysterious. Though Aren and Sarhina are the only ones to note the developing relationship between Keris and Zarrah, everyone else believes that Keris is motivated by personal ambition.

Aren himself tells Lara that Keris is “hard to pin down” and that while he “claims he only wants the crown because the alternative is a grave” Aren isn’t convinced (196). He also believes that Keris is “willing to risk his life to stand by certain principles” but Keris speaks “of himself as though he were a coward” (196), which contradicts the former point. This combination of traits isn’t malicious or manipulative but could pose its own set of dangers. Keris might be willing to do anything for Zarrah, but his disinterest in politics and his self-proclaimed cowardice make him more inclined to make unorthodox and unpredictable decisions to achieve his own ends.