Ruthless Vows

Ruthless Vows (2023) is a young adult fantasy novel by Rebecca Ross and the second installment in the Letters of Enchantment duology. Ruthless Vows follows two recently married journalists, Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, who became separated during an attack on their outpost in Avalon Bluff and now find themselves reporting on opposing sides of the ongoing war between two gods. The duology’s conclusion explores themes of How Trauma Shapes Identity, Pain’s Necessity to Healing, and What Is Versus What Could Have Been.

This guide refers to the e-book edition published by Wednesday Books, an imprint of Macmillan, in 2023.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide discuss wartime violence, the death of a loved one, grief, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Plot Summary

The Letters of Enchantment is set in a world called Cambria, which was once home to many gods split between Skyward and Underling factions. War eventually killed all but five. Now war has again broken out between the Skyward goddess Enva and the Underling god Dacre, who once confined her to his domain, the under realm. Dacre now wishes Enva dead for having used her magical music to lull him to sleep. As the novel opens, Enva has killed all the surviving gods but Dacre and taken their powers for herself.

Humans have also been drawn into the conflict between Enva and Dacre. Two weeks prior to the opening of Ruthless Vows, Dacre’s attack on a town called Avalon Bluff separated Iris Elizabeth Winnow from her new husband, Roman Carver Kitt; the two were reporting on the war at the time. Since the attack, Iris has resumed her position as a columnist for the Inkridden Tribune while attempting to reacquaint herself with her life in the city of Oath by living with her older brother, Forest. Forest had sustained mortal wounds while serving in Enva’s forces, but Dacre found and healed him; however, he also stole Forest’s memories to ensure his service to Dacre. Roman has now fallen victim to the same technique. After being saved in Avalon Bluff and healed by Dacre, Roman has lost all memories of his old life and now serves as a war correspondent for Dacre.

Helena asks Iris and her fellow reporter, Thea “Attie” Attwood, to return to the battlefront and report on what they experience. In the nights before leaving for a town called River Down, Iris begins having dreams about soothing violin music and a woman who appears to be her mother, Aster, but later reveals herself to be Enva. She also reads an article written by Roman praising Dacre. This prompts her to steal the last of three enchanted Alouette typewriters—capable of sending messages to owners of the others—to contact Roman, who she’s certain has either his own personal Alouette or the one she inherited from her grandmother.

Meanwhile, Roman resides near Avalon Bluff with Dacre and his forces while he struggles to remember his past. He dreams of a sister named Del who supposedly drowned and a mysterious Iris Winnow with whom he had a rivalry at his former workplace. One day, he finds a letter on the floor of his wardrobe asking him three personal questions about the letter’s author, whom Roman does not know.

Iris and Attie are taken to River Down by a post runner named Tobias Bexley. There, they reunite with Marisol, their host from Avalon Bluff weeks prior. While at Marisol’s, Iris receives Roman’s confused reply, which reveals that he has certainly lost his memories. Iris introduces herself to him as Elizabeth, and Roman agrees to continue their covert correspondence.

As the days pass, Iris and Attie continue writing articles for the Tribune that Tobias delivers back to Oath. Roman and Iris continue their correspondence until Roman learns of Dacre’s impending attack on Hawk Shire and worries for “Elizabeth’s” safety. Roman issues a warning to her via wardrobe letter, which Iris races to deliver to Marisol’s wife, Keegan, who is stationed in Hawk Shire with the remainder of Enva’s army. The army hastily retreats to Oath, where they plan to make their final stand, but Iris, Attie, and Tobias become trapped near Hawk Shire when their roadster gets a flat tire. Iris ventures back into town for a tire iron, nearly encountering Dacre’s forces. However, Roman discovers her first and helps her escape after recognizing her as the Iris Winnow from his dreams. Iris reveals that she’s his wife, and Roman’s memories come flooding back. Iris, Attie, and Tobias reunite with Marisol, Keegan, and Enva’s remaining forces in River Down before returning to Oath.

The longer Roman serves Dacre, the more he learns about the god and the under realm’s passages beneath the earth: Dacre has five silver keys that can open magical doorways that connect to these passages. Meanwhile, Iris’s latest articles have caught Dacre’s attention. Not knowing about Roman and Iris’s correspondence, he instructs Roman to meet with her in person to recruit her as a reporter for Dacre.

Back in Oath, Iris tracks down one of Dacre’s magical doorways, which happens to be inside the Kitt Estate—Roman’s family home. Meanwhile, Dacre’s trusted advisor, Val, escorts Roman to Oath via underground passage; he emerges by doorway into the Kitt Estate parlor. Roman meets with Iris at a café, slipping a private note in alongside Dacre’s proposal. They meet secretly later that night, sharing a night of passion. Roman also gives Iris a hastily drawn map where he’s detailed the ley line in Oath where magic is strongest and doorways might be prevalent.

After Iris leaves, Dacre and his lieutenant, Shane, arrive by magic threshold in the Kitt Estate. In private, Lieutenant Shane accuses Roman of being a traitor, having discovered his letters to Iris/Elizabeth. Shane forces Roman to write a confession to be used against him if he fails the task that Shane now assigns him: to deliver a letter to a man with a red anemone pinned to his lapel at Dacre’s upcoming press conference.

Iris and Attie have both begun dreaming of the violin music—“Alzane’s Lullaby”—which they believe is a divine message. Attie tracks down the original composition and begins practicing it to prepare for Dacre’s arrival; they believe that if Attie plays it in Dacre’s presence, it might lull him to sleep long enough to kill him.

Iris attends the press conference, distracting Roman, who misses the handoff. Roman decides to read the letter, which claims that only beheading can kill Dacre—not a blast. The conference is then interrupted by a bomb explosion, and Roman is dragged home by his father’s work associate, Bruce. Iris survives the blast and seeks shelter in a nearby museum, where a guard reveals herself to be Enva, claims that she’s unable to kill Dacre herself due to a vow she made when they married, and shows Iris a display containing an enchanted sword capable of killing a god. Iris steals the sword.

Iris is soon after invited to tea at the Kitt Estate, where Dacre instructs her to write an article for him that gives all the citizens of Oath a choice to make by noon tomorrow—surrender to him or face his bombs. Iris races to print the article but also publishes one detailing the addresses of places atop ley lines, where people can shelter for optimal protection during bombings. Back at the Kitt Estate, Dacre accuses Roman of stealing one of his keys. Though Roman suspects that it was actually Shane, who was behind the assassination attempt, he “confesses” and is imprisoned in the under realm. Dacre sends Val to retrieve Iris, but Iris kills Val with the sword and steals his key to Dacre’s doorways.

The following morning, the city devolves into chaos as the news of Dacre’s impending attack breaks. While Attie, Tobias, and their families accompany Iris to the safety of Gould’s Café, which is situated on a ley line and contains a magic doorway, Forest and his girlfriend, Sarah, get caught in one of Dacre’s deadly blasts. Iris and Attie travel through a doorway into the under realm, where they’re able to lull Dacre to sleep with Attie’s violin, allowing Iris to behead him with the sword. Meanwhile, Roman is freed and brought to the surface by Shane. In the following days, Iris grieves the deaths of Forest and Sarah, and Roman receives treatment for his old wounds, which have resurfaced since Dacre’s magic faded.

Months later, the city of Oath is steadily rebuilding, Iris has sold the flat she shared with her mother and Forest, and she and Roman have moved in together. Enva—the only remaining god in existence—ventures into the under realm with a newfound sense of freedom.