Ruthless Vows

Roman is the male protagonist of the series and the husband of Iris. As of Ruthless Vows, his handsomeness, while still present, is overshadowed by the trauma and hardship he has experienced since being wounded and captured at Avalon Bluff. When Iris encounters him for the first time after these events, she is shocked by his appearance: “He looked older, thinner. There was a hollowness to his face that hadn’t been there before, and a cold slant to his expression” (161). Roman is self-conscious about his physique the first time he becomes intimate with Iris after reclaiming his memories:

He stiffened, wondering if the flash of his pale skin was making her hesitate. If she kept going, she would eventually see all his sharp angles. The concave curve of his stomach. The prominence of his ribs. The scars that marred his leg. There was never enough food among Dacre’s forces, and hunger had become Roman’s closest companion. His scars? A map that he traced, over and over, in his loneliness and solitude (253).

Roman has suffered more injuries and direct trauma than any other character in the novel. Therefore, his character arc focuses on Pain’s Necessity to Healing. The stories behind the scars he cannot remember getting are important as he works to retrieve the memories Dacre stole from him; without understanding who he was and what he has experienced, he cannot truly heal. Paradoxically, this means that accepting the literal and figurative pain of his wounds is key to growing beyond his trauma. Roman’s storyline centers on his recognition of this truth and his broader rediscovery of himself and his relationship with Iris, with his evolution making him a round, dynamic character.

Attie is a secondary character who serves as a war correspondent for the Inkridden Tribune and was stationed at Avalon Bluff with Iris in the duology’s first installment. Attie is described as having brown skin, black curly hair, and a penchant for adventure; she subscribes to the idea of embracing life to the fullest. She’s highly intelligent and attended the prestigious Oath University before becoming a war correspondent. Attie’s connection to Oath is deep due to her large family—loving parents and five younger siblings—that calls the city home. Therefore, the stakes of Dacre’s impending attack on Oath are highest for Attie, who has the most to lose.

This backstory lays the groundwork for Attie to play a more prominent role in Ruthless Vows than she did in Divine Rivals. Though a static character in the first novel, she becomes a dynamic character who has her own small arc in the sequel. Attie falls in love with Tobias Bexley—“one of the most prestigious post runners in Cambria” (76)—and their relationship, seen through Iris’s point of view, serves as a romantic subplot during Roman’s absence. Attie’s background as a talented violinist also proves key to the plot. Despite the playing of stringed instruments being outlawed, Attie’s parents allow her to keep a violin hidden in their basement to play when none of the children are home. Attie’s musical talent is the driving force behind the ultimate defeat of Dacre.

Forest is a supporting character and Iris’s older brother. While he doesn’t appear much on the page, his presence is significant in Iris’s life, as he’s her only surviving relative. Following his escape from Dacre’s control, Forest attempts to reestablish his strong relationship with his sister. This includes making plans to see Tobias race after the war and expressing his pride in his sister’s accomplishments. This increased effort to reintegrate back into Iris’s life heightens the pathos of his eventual death.

Forest is closed off at the beginning of the sequel, which Iris attributes to the trauma of war: “[H]e was no longer the swift-laughing, affectionate person he had been before he enlisted […] [T]he war had left its marks on him, had taught him how to maneuver in the trenches and fire a gun and sneak across dead man’s zone” (6). Iris understands what Forest is going through because she is going through similar trauma herself, but she also hopes that he doesn’t continue to “keep to the shadows” (23). Forest’s character growth occurs through his developing romance with Sarah Prindle: someone with whom he can open up emotionally about his hardships in order to heal.