A Curse So Dark and Lonely

“I remember a time when my people feared the day I would come to lead—because I was seen as spoiled and selfish and not half the man my father was. Now I am spoiled and selfish in another way, and no better fit to rule.”

In this passage, Rhen once again reflects on the mistakes of his past and his belief that these mistakes have made him useless. Prior to the curse, Rhen was spoiled and arrogant, taking what he wanted and caring little for the wants or needs of others. Ever since he killed his family during the curse’s first season, Rhen has changed; now, he looks back on his former self with contempt and disgust. Rhen is at the very beginning of his character arc here, and he doesn’t yet realize that the person he was before was a step on the journey of becoming a better person. Without his past actions, he couldn’t grow into the person he needs to be—the man who is ready to fall in love with Harper to break the curse. This passage also shows how part of us can change while other parts don’t change at all. Rhen is still spoiled and arrogant, but those traits are now manifesting in different ways. He is spoiled because he takes advantage of the luxury to hide away in his palace, and his arrogance is more of a defense now, rather than just who he is.

“Earrings. Bracelets. Necklaces. Rings. Every style, from large and gaudy to simple and delicate. This stuff looks real […] and expensive.

I think of Mom pawning her engagement ring to keep Dad out of trouble and anger swells to fill my chest.

Rhen has nothing to do with her illness, with Dad's poor choices, with the ‘business partners,’ but this room feels like a smack in the face anyway.”

Rhen has brought Harper to her room in the palace for the first time. The room once belonged to one of Rhen’s sisters, and the jewelry is left over from before the curse. For royalty in Emberfall, this is standard fair, but for Harper, it is an unnecessary show of wealth that triggers difficult memories of what her family had to do to stay ahead of her father’s debts. The final paragraph resonates with the theme of How Misconceptions Lead to Misjudgments, as it speaks to how pervasive negative assumptions about a person can be. Harper consciously reminds herself that Rhen is not to blame for her family’s financial troubles. Nonetheless, she still associates him with the people in her own society who enjoy wealth and privilege while people like her and her family are left to suffer.

“Grey, the Duke of Aronson says his man-at-arms could ride a full day without food or water, then win a swordfight at sunset. Could you do that? Show me. Grey could do that. He did do that. I watched him almost die trying.”

This passage of Rhen’s thoughts is an example of the kind of orders he used to give before the curse. On one occasion, for no reason other than pride and curiosity, he ordered Grey to complete a seemingly impossible task; Grey completed the task, no questions asked, despite the pointlessness of it and the risk involved. This passage demonstrates Rhen’s former carefree arrogance, as well as the guilt he now carries for his past behavior. It also exemplifies the theme of The Benefits and Drawbacks of Loyalty. Grey is loyal to a fault, accepting an unreasonable, dangerous, purposeless task without question. While there would have been consequences for Grey’s refusal, refusal was an option, and refusal would not even necessarily have indicated that Grey was disloyal. Grey’s need to not only be loyal but also prove his loyalty won out over his own sense of self-preservation.

“‘It affects everyone differently,’ she says. ‘Some people can't walk, or they can’t speak, or they have to use a wheelchair. I was a lot worse off when I was younger, so I had to have surgery to correct my left leg. I still have trouble with balance, and I walk with a limp, but I'm really lucky.’

I frown. ‘You have an unusual definition of luck.’

She stiffens. ‘Spoken like someone who lives in a castle with an endless supply of food and wine, but calls himself cursed.’”

This exchange between Rhen and Harper explores the theme of How Misconceptions Lead to Misjudgments. After explaining how cerebral palsy affects her, Harper concludes by observing that she feels lucky because her situation could have been a lot worse. Harper doesn’t feel sorry for herself or wish for things to be different. Instead, she recognizes her situation and makes the most of it. Rhen’s response shows he doesn’t yet understand that he has the power to control how he reacts to hardship. To him, a minor inconvenience is not lucky because there is inconvenience involved. Harper’s response, in turn, shows how she judges him based on the wealth he has. She doesn’t yet understand the terms of the curse or how Lilith tortures him; she has formed judgments based only on what she has seen so far, assuming that Rhen is a spoiled brat who cannot appreciate what he has.

“‘Not violence,’ says Grey, his expression losing any humor. ‘I had almost forgotten what this was like.’

Rhen doesn't answer that, so I say, ‘What what was like?’

‘Being useful.’”

This exchange between Harper and Grey comes after the group has rescued a woman and her children from the fire and brought them to an inn. Harper thinks Grey looks disappointed because he has no one to fight, but Grey’s response here shows how the curse has had an impact on his life. Prior to the curse, Grey was one of many guardsmen who protected the royal family and carried out other duties. Since the other guards and royal family were killed, Grey’s only use has been to direct Rhen’s monster away from people each season. While he willingly does this, it has stopped feeling like a useful task and more like a mandatory one. By contrast, helping this family to safety has given Grey something new to do, and unlike distracting the monster, this task has an actual impact on the well-being of others.

“When I was young and I'd wake with nightmares, my mother always used to say, All you have to do is think of me, and I'll appear in your dreams. I'll help you chase the nightmares away.

That story always worked. Too well, really. I used to think I could summon my mother by thought until I was way too old to keep believing such things.”

Here, Harper and Rhen have just returned from settling the family at the inn, and Harper goes back to her room to take a bath and relax. The events of the last few days weigh heavy on her mind, and this passage offers a glimpse into the girl she used to be, as well as into the girl she wishes she were. When she was younger, she believed in the ability to wish herself out of fear by hoping for her mother. As she’s gotten older and her home life has worsened, she no longer believes this, partly because she’s found it not to be true and partly because magic and wishes don’t come true in her world. The fact she thinks of this here shows her deep desire to believe in magic, especially now that she’s faced with its reality in Emberfall.

“Mom always says she's still in love with Dad, despite his mistakes, despite the fact that he left, and that makes me and Jake crazy. Their relationship sure isn't a standard of true love. I know about Stockholm Syndrome. Even if something like that kicks in—if this line of thinking isn't proof already—would that be real love?”

Here, Harper has started to have positive feelings toward Rhen and to see him as someone worth fighting for. She doesn’t believe she could love him after everything that’s happened, but she also doesn’t want to see him remain cursed. In this context, she contemplates what true love is and how love can be deceiving. She doesn’t understand how her mother could love her father after everything he did because Harper doesn’t yet understand that people are still deserving of love even when they make mistakes, something she learns later. Stockholm Syndrome is a coping mechanism in which a captive develops feelings for their captor. Harper references it here because she wants to make sure she doesn’t fall into such a situation with Rhen, and this is also a reference to criticism the Beauty and the Beast story has garnered for glorifying captive/captor romance.

“My fingers slide along the curved etching in the hilt, which is inlaid with silver, stamped with the same lion-and-rose crest that decorates everything else. For all their lethal power, the weapons are beautiful, with marks of true craftsmanship. So different from my life in DC, where everything seems disposable. Even the people.”

In this scene, Harper handles one of Grey’s knives and notes the exquisite craftsmanship put into the weapon. The rose in the crest is a likely reference to the original version of Beauty and the Beast, in which a rose was a key symbol of hope. Harper’s comment on how the weapon seems built to last draws a comparison between Emberfall and her world that refers to the disposable culture modern-day America has adopted. The final line suggests that Harper feels discarded by her own world—left to fend for herself because of poor choices her father made that have resulted in her family losing everything they have. Though she isn’t yet aware of it yet, she will come to feel the exact opposite in Emberfall, where she finds her place and realizes she can be useful.

“My father once said we are all dealt a hand at birth. A good hand can ultimately lose—just as a poor hand can win—but we must all play the cards fate deals. The choices we face may not be the choices we want, but they are choices nonetheless.”

As Rhen and Harper play cards during their second visit to the inn, Rhen remarks on how he views his circumstances. The two have just told each other parts of the truths surrounding their lives. Harper has revealed the condition of her family, and Rhen has revealed that he lost everyone he loves from the curse. This moment marks an important start to their understanding of each other, and this game is a truce to their bickering through which they come to view the other as a worthy ally. Rhen’s lines here speak to how, although life determines the circumstances of our birth, we still have power over the decisions we make. The cards symbolize this process here, representing the game of life. Both Rhen and Harper have been dealt a difficult hand of cards, including—quite unexpectedly—each other. However, they still have the opportunity to play those cards effectively. That is, by being smart about their respective strengths and strategizing well, they can still win.

“‘This is not my request. As you said when Harper arrived, she is an unusual choice. If home calls to her so strongly, I will not trap her here. She will never love me if I keep her prisoner.’

Lilith moves close enough that I feel the weight of her skirts against my legs. ‘Ah, so you're altruistic now? I have heard men become so when the end is near. An attempt to right their wrongs, I believe.’”

This exchange between Rhen and Lilith comes shortly after Rhen asks Lilith to meet with Harper in regard to sending Harper home. Though Rhen knows that sending Harper away will ruin his last chance to break the curse, he also realizes that she was brought to Emberfall against her will and that she will never love him as long as she feels like a prisoner. Rhen’s choice here reflects the themes of The Burden of Leadership and The Benefits and Drawbacks of Loyalty. Rhen knows that releasing Harper could cost his people everything, as without Harper, there is no chance that the curse could be broken. Rhen advocates for Harper anyway, marking his unwillingness to try tricking Harper into falling in love with him and his willingness to prioritize her freedom; in the end, Rhen’s loyalty to Harper will become one of the catalysts for Harper’s return to his world. Even though this meeting with Lilith ends in disaster, it is clear that Rhen no longer views Harper as a pawn in a scheme but as an equal, worthy of his loyalty. Lilith’s line in response suggests she doesn’t believe Rhen is sincere, indicating her inability to change—as she cannot perceive genuine change in anyone else.

“‘When my sister died,’ Freya says quietly, ‘it was very sudden. I had no time to say goodbye. But she knew I loved her. I knew she loved me. It is not the moment of passing that is most important. It is all the moments that come before.’”

This exchange between Harper and Freya (Harper’s lady in waiting) comes while Harper prepares to travel with Rhen to the city. Following the confrontation with Lilith, Harper has been feeling vulnerable and missing home. Harper has just explained that her mother is sick and may die before Harper gets the chance to see her again. Freya’s comforting response speaks to the importance of life, which is long in comparison to the singular moment of death.

“‘I was the crown prince. I was raised apart from my sisters. In truth, I rarely saw her.’

I blink, though, and I see Isa in my mind, the way I found her after my first transformation. Her body was nowhere near those of the rest of the family. To this day, I still wonder if Isa was coming to find me.”

These lines come while Rhen teaches Harper to dance on their trip to the city. Standing with Harper in the night air, teaching her to dance, Rhen recalls his younger sister, with whom he often danced at functions. Rhen is struck by the power the memories still hold after so much time. Though he didn’t think he was very close to her, his reaction relates to the themes of The Benefits and Drawbacks of Loyalty and The Burden of Leadership. Rhen, as the crown prince, was separated from his family, raised to be a king. As a future leader, he felt isolated, even then. Yet something about his old self, no matter how unworthy Rhen today views that old self, seems to have inspired loyalty from others. He wonders darkly in this moment if the location of his little sister’s corpse suggests they might have been closer than he realized—enough so that she risked her life to come alert him to the danger, not knowing that Rhen himself was the danger.

“‘You are so very reckless. Just like in the arena. You act without thought.’

‘I acted in the arena to protect you.’

His jaw is tight. I've never seen him so angry. It's triggering my own anger. I meant what I said—I'll take anger over endless silence.”

This exchange between Rhen and Harper comes a few days after Lilith starts torturing Rhen with visions of the monster’s destructive past. Rhen has been questioning himself and his plan to save Emberfall ever since, avoiding Harper and making her feel like she’s done something wrong. In truth, Rhen fears for her safety and doesn’t want to put her in Lilith’s sights again because the visions of destruction make him realize just how badly Harper could be hurt. Harper doesn’t yet know if Rhen is angry at her, but she doesn’t care because his anger means they are communicating. His silence has been unbearable because she didn’t know what triggered it or if there was something she could do to help. The emotions, if unwelcome, are better than the nothingness of quiet, which shows both how Harper has come to care for Rhen and how much she relies on his input.

“‘What Lilith is doing to you is wrong,’ Harper says. ‘We all make mistakes. You slept with her without any intention of a relationship. Who cares? You're not the first man to do it. And she's not innocent! She sought you out because of who you are.’ Her jaw is clenched. ‘I hope she does come here. I hope she comes to this room. Because I don't care what I have to do. I'm going to end her.’”

After Rhen confesses how Lilith has been torturing him with images of the monster, Harper offers a new perspective on Rhen’s situation. Up until now, Rhen has taken all the blame for the curse because he made the mistake of putting himself in a situation where Lilith could curse him. His guilt doesn’t let him see how Lilith is equally or perhaps solely responsible for the situation. Rhen may have behaved in a cruel manner, but Lilith’s punishment has far exceeded the crime, and Lilith had her own questionable motivations in seeking Rhen out in the first place. Harper’s statement is the first time someone has told Rhen that his actions weren’t terrible, and Harper’s perspective allows him to start changing how he views himself, the curse, and Lilith. Lilith may have the power in the situation, but Rhen doesn’t have to keep letting her control him, something it takes him several more chapters to realize.

“‘I started to forget them.’ She gazes up at me, torment in her eyes. ‘They started to feel like a dream. Another life. I was happy here. And now—now I know exactly how bad their lives are. They're going to die, Rhen.’”

Harper says this to Rhen after Lilith has shown Harper a vision, complete with texture and emotions, of the danger her brother is facing. The situation at home has grown dire, and if her brother doesn’t pay off the debts soon, the creditors will come for him, leaving their mother to die alone. Harper feels guilty for having started to enjoy her time with Rhen in Emberfall. This grim reminder of her family’s situation leaves Harper feeling as if she has betrayed them. This moment marks a drawback to loyalty; being happy is not a crime, and Harper has every right to find happiness. However, the following events highlight a benefit to loyalty. Shortly after this moment, Rhen commands Grey to take Harper home. His willingness to do so is a substantial sacrifice, one that Harper repays by returning to Emberfall after she has done what she needs with her family.

“There's a part of me that wishes I'd just left the satchel on the front step, then asked Grey to take me back.

Or that I'd begged him to take my entire family back with us.

Back to what? I think. Back to a war with Syhl Shallow? Is that really better?

And what would you do with Mom, away from any doctors? Away from her morphine pump?”

Now back in her world and returning to her family’s apartment, Harper feels torn. On the one hand, she wants to see her family with her own eyes to make sure they’re all right. On the other hand, she no longer feels like she fits in this world and wants to avoid getting embroiled in anything that might make her stay. She contemplates bringing the two worlds together, which makes her realize how truly different they are. Though both contain people who care for her, the limitations of technology in Emberfall would mean pain and suffering for her mother, and the threat of a war is little better than the threat of cancer or angry creditors. In this way, the two worlds are also made similar because both contain strife that must be fought against.

“I thought I'd be uncertain about returning to Emberfall, that somehow my family would anchor me here, that I was obligated to play a role in their drama. I don't think I ever realized that I'm not trapped by their choices, any more than they're trapped by mine.”

After her mother has died, Harper begins to realize that loyalty to someone should not necessarily mean being “trapped by their choices.” As Harper waits for Grey to return so they can go back to Emberfall, she reflects on the value of having her own agency in Emberfall. Harper is realizing that she is allowed to have her own life outside her family. She loves her family, and she is loyal to them, but she now also understands that she can live her own life and choose the battles she will fight.

“‘I don't quite believe this,’ Noah says finally. ‘I need you to pinch me.’

‘I'm too busy pinching myself,’ says Jake.

Noah gives him a rueful look. ‘At least you get to be the prince. I got stuck with healer.’

‘Fine. Let's trade. You be the fake prince.’”

These lines between Jake (Harper’s brother) and Noah (Jake’s boyfriend) come when they arrive in Harper’s room at the palace. After being teleported from their world to Emberfall, the two characters faced soldiers in the woods, watched the weather change as they entered the palace grounds, and otherwise have been rushed from task to task as Harper reoriented herself with what’s happening in the kingdom. This moment is the first chance the two have to take a breath, and while both know what they’ve lived through, neither can quite believe it, showing how we may not trust our senses when they show us things we don’t think can possibly be real. The final lines of this chapter are humorous too, though, indicating that the characters are striving to cope with their situation.

“I want to tell her the truth. I just don't know how.

Just like that, I understand how he kept his monumental secret from me for so very long. Choices built upon choices.”

When Harper arrives back in Emberfall, some of the servants seem to be questioning her story about being a queen from another land. Harper wants to tell the truth, but she doesn’t know how to do so. She has built herself up as a leader from a powerful kingdom, and she has been able to maintain that story because she only had herself to keep track of. With Rhen’s help, it was easy to convince others her story was true, but without Rhen and now juggling her brother and his boyfriend, Harper doesn’t know how to continue the lie. Earlier, she was mad at Rhen for not telling her he was the monster. Here, however, she comes to understand why Rhen never told her. The theme of The Burden of Leadership is relevant here. It is only now, as Harper is finding herself taking on similar responsibilities to Rhen’s, that she starts to appreciate Rhen’s motives and actions.

“Rhen crouches and leaps into the air, catching the wind with his wings, soaring high above before turning west. The scales glitter in a shimmering array of pinks and blues and greens in the sunlight. From here, he's all beauty. It's only up close that you see the danger.”

These lines from Harper’s thoughts come as she, Grey, and her brother confront Rhen as the monster. Moments ago, Rhen was on the ground and a very real threat. Now that he’s flown some distance away, he isn’t putting them in immediate danger, and Harper can see all of him, rather than only his sharp claws and fangs. At a distance, he is beautiful, which shows how perspective changes our understanding of a thing. Rhen’s monster is all shining scales, power, and strength, things Harper can appreciate when they aren’t used for her destruction.

“‘True love is not about romance. True love requires sacrifice. A willingness to place another's life above your own.’

‘Then Grey should have broken the curse,’ I say. ‘He's been doing that over and over again.’

‘Grey was oath-bound to do so. Is that not true, Commander?’”

This exchange between Harper and Lilith comes during the final battle, shortly before Grey drags Lilith to Harper’s world. Lilith says that Harper hasn’t broken the curse yet because Harper hasn’t shown her love in a substantial way. Harper has helped Rhen and empathized with his situation, but she hasn’t sacrificed what Lilith considers an acceptable amount to show she truly loves him. Harper argues that, in that case, Grey should have broken the curse long ago. This argument calls into question both the original terms of the curse and what is actually required to break it. Harper’s logic opens the possibility that breaking the curse doesn’t necessarily have to involve a girl or romantic love. Lilith’s reply builds on The Benefits and Drawbacks of Loyalty, highlighting the importance of an equal relationship to true loyalty. Because Grey was oath-bound to sacrifice himself for Rhen, Grey did not have free will; he was, in effect, subordinate to Rhen, not his equal.

“Jake and Noah are trapped here. They've fallen into a routine, and they seem happy enough, though I've heard Jake comforting an emotional Noah late at night, when the darkness is absolute and there are no patients to treat, and reality seems more profound.”

This passage comes after the curse has been broken, during the book’s resolution. Harper recounts where the characters are and how Jake and Noah are stuck in Emberfall without Grey to take them back. Harper doesn’t count herself as trapped, showing that she has fully accepted Emberfall as her home and wouldn’t go back if she had the opportunity. Her description here shows how people can adapt to extraordinary situations. Jake and Noah are far from home and suddenly in a world that’s little like the one they’re used to, but they seem to be adjusting. Noah’s difficulty at night speaks to his character and how he is used to working all hours to treat people who need medical aid. He struggles more than Jake because he has left more behind in his own world.

“‘I don't think he's right. I think you get cards, and you play them, but then you get more cards. I don't think it's all predestined from the beginning. All along the way, you could have made a different choice and this all could have ended up differently.’ I pause. ‘Failure isn't absolute. Just because you couldn't save everyone doesn't mean you didn't save anyone.’”

Harper makes this observation in the book’s final chapter, referring back to a conversation she had with Rhen during a card game in Chapter 22. The “he” Harper is referring to is Rhen’s father, who Rhen recalled saying that cards were dealt at birth and that a person was stuck with their hand for the rest of their life. Rather, Harper argues that new opportunities and resources arise as life changes. Harper further asserts that failure is not some kind of world-ending event. Throughout the book, Rhen has blamed himself for his failure to protect his family and subjects, many of whom he has killed while in his monster form. Even after he started his plan to save Emberfall, he still only saw his actions in terms of failure. Harper challenges that idea here. Rather than being a failure because he failed, Rhen is simply a person—especially because he is a leader, what he must do now is re-evaluate his new hand of cards and continue playing to the best of his abilities, drawing new ones if necessary.