Spark of the Everflame

Prince Luther is the prince of the Lumnos Realm, and for much of the novel, he is assumed to be the heir to the throne. He lives in the Lumnos palace with his uncle, King Ulther, and his sister, Princess Lilian, or “Lily.” Diem first meets Luther when she reports to the palace to tend to several wounded Descended children and immediately realizes that Luther is the Descended man she saw conversing with Auralie in Paradise Row months ago, on the night that Auralie disappeared. Although Diem is attracted to Luther’s good looks, she perceives him as an enemy and cannot “shake the feeling that if [she brings] him into [her] life, it [will] open a door [she can] never again close” (62). She attributes Auralie’s disappearance to her mother’s involvement with Luther and is therefore convinced that he did something to harm Auralie for failing to abide by the terms of their mysterious agreement. Luther’s steely exterior also does nothing to endear him to Diem. He treats her gruffly and often questions her, which fuels her anger toward him. At the beginning of the novel, Diem regards him as the embodiment of everything she hates about the Descended.

Over time, however, Luther proves himself to be a sympathetic person to whom Diem becomes emotionally attached. When Lily visits Diem in the village, for example, she tells Diem that Luther is a good person and explains away his bad attitude by insisting that if “someone he cares for is in danger” (274), Luther becomes fiercely protective. Over time, Diem comes to appreciate Lily’s perspective and sees Luther’s goodness, realizing that he is not the “ice-cold” and “heartless” person she thought him to be. Instead, Luther proves himself to be a passionate, empathic character who is just as spirited as Diem. Once she begins to see his true nature, Diem allows herself to become intimate with him and acknowledge their mutual attraction. Luther creates tension throughout the novel because Diem’s perception initially casts him as an antagonist. However, his negative impact lightens once Diem’s perspective of him changes and she realizes that he has always protected her and never tried to control her.

Henri is Diem’s childhood best friend and occasional lover. Although the two have sex when they take a trip to Fortos together, it has “been months since [they’ve] touched each other like this” (82). Years ago, the two had their first sexual experience with each other. In the narrative present, Diem still cares for Henri and cherishes their connection, but she is reluctant to marry Henri when he proposes to her, seeing marital duties as a trap and a prison that will efface her identity. She is not sure that she is ready to commit to being a wife, and she also fears that her feelings for Henri aren’t real love.

Henri is a sensitive, earnest character who loves Diem and genuinely wants to be with her. However, he doesn’t have the same passionate energy that Luther does. He is deeply invested in the political cause of the Guardians of the Everflame, but he doesn’t treat Diem with the same respect as he treats his fellow Guardians. He still abides by more traditional patriarchal values and believes that Diem’s gender makes her suited for only specific missions or activities. This mindset explains why he tries to stop her from going to the armory after the explosion, and it is also the reason why he is so shocked by her effectiveness as a spy when she joins the Guardians.

Henri’s presence generates a great deal of conflict throughout the novel because Diem is caught in an internal dilemma about the nature of their relationship. While Henri is not a nefarious character, he does embrace the morally ambiguous actions of the guardians, and his values and beliefs often conflict with Diem’s and complicate how she sees herself and her future.

Andrei is Auralie’s husband, Diem’s adoptive father, and Teller’s biological father. Because Diem has never known her biological father and Andrei has raised her as his own daughter, she loves and respects him and believes that he has “been the best father [she] could have ever hoped for” (23). She sees him as a heroic warrior because he was a soldier “who fought his way up the ranks of the Emarion Army, earning the highest rank […] for bravery on the battlefield and leadership off of it” (23). His name has “gone down in legend” (23), and Diem also respects the guidance that he gives to her and Teller. His lessons about war and life appear throughout the early sequences of Diem’s narrative as she recalls his words and relies on them to understand herself and the world around her; his worldview therefore provides her with a ready-made blueprint until she begins to form and follow her own opinions. She also admires Andrei’s decision to walk away from his heroic military career and instead pursue “a quiet life with a penniless young mother and her wild-spirited infant” (23).

However, Diem’s regard for Andrei changes over the course of the novel. She often hears others speaking badly of him and questioning his loyalty to the mortals. Henri and the Guardians are particularly skeptical of Andrei’s motives and are convinced that Andrei supports the Descended and the Crown more than his own people. Diem doesn’t want to believe these conjectures, but she comes to see that Andrei’s intentions might not be as pure as she once thought. This feels particularly true to her after she learns that Andrei is returning to the front to fight on behalf of the Descended. Andrei’s choices make Diem and Teller feel abandoned, complicating their already tenuous family dynamics in Aurelie’s absence. Furthermore, Andrei’s cagey behavior throughout the novel suggests that he knows something about Auralie’s whereabouts and has been keeping important secrets from his children.