House of Flame and Shadow

Hunt Athalar, the dark-haired love interest of Bryce Quinlan, is a Fallen angel with lightning magic who’s lived for over two centuries and gained a reputation for fighting against Midgard’s oppressors. Hunt, who began the series enslaved, is enslaved once again in House of Flame and Shadow. This cycle of torment makes Hunt reluctant to continue fighting the Asteri, as it prevents him from fully healing from his traumas. However, since he now has family and friends worth defending, the burden of failure weighs on Hunt all the more.

Hunt’s self-hatred and shame are exacerbated by the realization that he’s a creation of the Princes of Hel—and the negative connotations that come with that, despite the Princes appearing as benevolent allies. Throughout the novel, Hunt works to see himself not as the Umbra Mortis—the Shadow of Death—or “some instrument of Hel,” but the partner of a “kind and selfless and brave [woman] who would give everything for her city, for her planet [and] would need someone to give everything back to her” (795). Bryce loves Hunt for who he is beneath the armor, allowing him to see his true identity apart from the past that haunts him and giving him the courage to defeat the last Asteri and pull Bryce back from death. This act shows Hunt shedding the negative connotations of his association with death and instead using that connection to save the world.

Ruhn Danaan, the Crown Prince of the Valbarran Fae with powers of shadows and starlight, is Bryce’s half-brother. The Oracle’s prophecy—that he will be the last of his bloodline—has hung over Ruhn nearly his entire life. Ruhn is considered edgy because of his love for rock bands, long black hair, tattoos, and body piercings.

Ruhn, like Lidia and Cormac, experienced a childhood of extreme emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his abusive father, the Autumn King, who repeatedly burned Ruhn’s flesh as punishment. However, Ruhn has never been anything but a generous friend, brother, and lover, breaking the damaging cycle of his family. Rather than being a pawn in the Autumn King’s game by submitting to an arranged marriage, Ruhn claims the freedom of choosing for himself, and for the right reasons.

Ruhn’s tattoos are marred and body piercings ripped off during his torture in the Asteri dungeons—a physical manifestation of the betrayal he feels after learning that his torturer Lidia, The Hind, is also Agent Daybright, the woman he loves. Ruhn struggles to cope with this knowledge, as the novel chronicles his path to forgive Lidia and pursue again their passionate relationship.

Lidia Cervos—also known as The Hind of the Triarii and Agent Daybright of the Ophion rebels—is the love interest of Ruhn Danaan and an undercover agent working to undermine the Asteri. Lidia is a beautiful deer-shifter with golden hair, gold eyes, and hidden fire magic. However, since she begins the novel by having to torture Ruhn in her guise as the Hind, Ruhn now views her beauty as “a flawless mask over a rotted heart” (63).

Lidia’s cover as the Hind also requires her to maintain a romantic relationship with Pollux, a cruel and abusive member of the Triarii. Even a light touch from him feels violent: “From another, it might have been a gesture of comfort, of solidarity. From Pollux, from the Hammer, it meant nothing but possession” (2). To survive the tyranny of the Asteri without revealing herself as a double-agent, Lidia must “shut down every part of her that felt, that breathed” (8). For this reason, Lidia struggles to embody her true self—a self only Ruhn and Lidia’s twin sons can bring out. Inspired by her parental love to rise against the Asteri, Lidia suffers as a double-agent as a means to a better world for Brann and Actaeon.

Tharion Ketos, a Mer, used to be the River Queen’s former Captain of Intelligence. After defecting from the Blue Court, he faces the ire of his people. Not only are his parents disappointed with him, but he’s openly wanted by the River Queen for stringing her daughter’s along for years with no intent to marry. Tharion begins the novel enslaved to the Viper Queen, spending his days fighting in her underground rings.

As an attractive man with auburn hair and light brown eyes, Tharion has always boasted a flirtatious and charming personality. As dragon-shifter Ariadne points out, “you throw around your attraction to females quite a bit. I’m starting to think it’s a shield” (31). Tharion uses this persona to hide his insecurities; in reality, he sees servitude to the Viper Queen as “a long-overdue punishment” (37) for his cowardice, indecisiveness, and self-destructive nature. Dubbed “Captain Whatever” by Ithan Holstrom, Tharion seemingly embodies the “pathetic, weak failure he’d always been beneath the surface” (35).

However, the faith his new friends have in him—specifically Ithan, Declan, and Flynn—puts Tharion on the path of redemption. Tharion regains his sense of honor and bravery when he marries Sathia to save her from the Murder Twins and forges alliances with the Ocean Queen and River Queen on Bryce’s behalf.