Quicksilver

Fisher is Saeris’s love interest. Though Fisher emerges ultimately as an ally and fated romantic partner for Saeris, their romance novel arc follows the enemies-to-lovers framework—a standard genre scaffold. They begin the novel as antagonists, develop an emotionally ambivalent but sexually strong bond, and then come together romantically.

Fisher meets Saeris when, summoned by the call of his father’s sword through the newly opened quicksilver portal, he arrives in Zilvaren just in time to rescue he from a grievous injury. Though Saeris does not learn this until late in the novel, Fisher immediately recognizes her as the fated mate that his oracle mother foretold. He takes her back to Yvelia, but decides to keep his distance, as he has psychological and cognitive symptoms from quicksilver poisoning and does not anticipate living much longer. When circumstances keep him and Saeris in close contact, however, Fisher finds that he cannot resist getting to know her. His caustic attitude gradually drops and the two bond.

Fisher is noble and self-sacrificing; he plays, for much of the novel, a variation on the tragic hero archetype. His backstory reveals that Fisher’s supposed wrongdoing arose out of good intentions that were foiled by antagonists Malcolm and Belikon. Fisher’s sense of honor, however, does not let him forgive himself for even accidental transgressions, given their far-reaching effects. Fisher can also be fatalistic. When the quicksilver’s effects worsen, he believes there is no solution but death. He underestimates his own importance to his friends, thinking that they will be unaffected by his loss. At the end of the novel, he suddenly finds a solution to his quicksilver problem, which eliminates this as an obstacle to the romance between him and Saeris.

Fisher covers up his emotional vulnerability with bravado that often manifests as high-handedness. Saeris criticizes him, for example, for defaulting to ordering her to do things instead of asking or trying to collaborate; she grows angry with him when he hides information about their mating bond to protect her, rather than letting her decide for herself how much emotional pain she is willing to risk.

Ren is one of Fisher’s closest allies and friends. Ren frequently functions as a voice of reason and operates as a foil to Saeris and Fisher’s occasional hotheadedness. In the century that Fisher spent searching the labyrinth for Belikon’s coin, Ren never gave up hope that Fisher would return from exile. Even after Kingfisher comes back, changed by his ordeal, Ren retains hope that he will return to his old self.

Ren serves a supporting role in the text. In the first half of the novel, his conversations with Everlayne provide exposition about the political stakes at play in Yvelia—both to Saeris, a new arrival, and to the reader who is being introduced to the primary setting. Later in the text, once Saeris understands the stakes of the war between Yvelia and Sanasroth, Ren serves to encourage the novel’s romantic plot line. He encourages Fisher to get to know Saeris, for example, and drops playful hints that indicate to Saeris that Kingfisher cares for her more than he lets on. Given this intermediary role, in which he transports needed information between characters and the reader, Ren is relatively static and changes little throughout the text.

Carrion is a smuggler from the Third Ward who has a sexual history with Saeris. Despite this former attachment, Saeris and Carrion operate more as allies (and sometimes friends, though this friendship manifests through caustic banter) than romantic interests. Carrion is flirtatious and relaxed, leaving him to frequently play a comic relief role. Despite his lackadaisical attitude, he is shown as being clever and caring, deep down. For instance, in Zilvaren, he secures a good job for Hayden out of respect for Saeris, when he believes her to have been murdered by Madra’s soldiers; later in Yvelia, Carrion cracks the puzzle of how to make the quicksilver transmute.

Carrion is often reckless, though this recklessness is shown to be the result of his knowledge that he is a Fae prince in disguise. Moreover, he has secret powers revealed only at the novel’s climax: Since his ancestors’ blood was used in the original blood curse, he is immune to Malcolm’s venom and instead reverses its effect, weakening Malcolm at a crucial moment.

Lorreth is one of Kingfisher’s most loyal allies and a member of the Lupo Proelia, a group of elite soldiers who have long fought at Fisher’s side. Lorreth possesses a piece of Fisher’s soul, as Kingfisher used soul magic to restore Lorreth from near-death when they first met. Loreth is a former singer; when the quicksilver demands a song in exchange for forming a magical blade, Lorreth writes a ballad describing one of Kingfisher’s heroic battles. The quicksilver, in return, decides that Lorreth is worthy of wielding a magical sword, the first to have been forged in centuries. Lorreth, like Ren, often serves a supporting role. In the climax at Gillethrye, for example, he saves Carrion and Saeris from drowning and provides them with a painkiller that they need to endure the trials ahead.