A Darker Shade of Magic

Delilah “Lila” Bard is a thief, a ferocious fighter, and a free-spirited adventurer. The 19-year-old is “tall and thin, with a boyish frame that helped her pass for a young man” (62). This sharp physique helps Lila with her thievery and disguises. In Chapter 6, Kell notes that “[t]he only roundness came from her eyes, both brown, but not quite the same shade” (142). The different colors of Lila’s eyes foreshadow future reveals about her identity.

Lila has spent years fighting to survive. She grapples with poverty and an unstable living situation, and she is a survivor of sexual assault. Due to her past, Lila struggles to accept help even from her father figure. In Chapter 9, Kell realizes she “had likely frozen and starved and fought—and almost certainly killed—to hold on to some semblance of a life, guarding it like a candle in a harsh wind” (235). Lila proves her courage in Chapter 13 when she refuses to back down despite her certainty that Astrid Dane will kill her.

Lila is a resilient dreamer, which helps her cope with life in Grey London: “A pirate without a ship, that’s what she was, through and through. And one day, she’d have the ship, and then she’d sail away and be done with this wretched city once and for all” (113). She craves freedom and adventure, and allying herself with Kell grants her this. The novel ends with her reveling in her newfound freedom and plotting her next escapade mere days after narrowly escaping White London.

The romance in A Darker Shade of Magic is somewhat subdued. Kell and Lila share two brief kisses, and there are no passionate declarations of love. Instead, the trust and admiration that gradually develops between Lila and Kell lays a foundation for the rest of the series to build upon.

Lila illustrates The Nature of Family in two key ways. She teaches Kell that he “may not have everything” he wants but has “everything [he] could ever need” (235), which helps Kell see his own family in a new light. Secondly, her bond with Barron shows that family is defined by love rather than blood. Additionally, the theme of Choice and Consequence arises in Lila’s split-second decision to steal the black stone from Kell. This choice leads her to undergo dynamic growth: She rescues Kell when she would ordinarily focus on her own survival, and she joins Kell on his quest to send the stone to Black London and defend the worlds. Over the course of Lila’s character arc, she comes to protect others rather than just herself.

Rhy Maresh is the prince of Red London and Kell’s adoptive brother. All of Red London’s royals “[bear] a rich tan that, when paired with their honey eyes and black hair, [makes] them look like polished wood” (50). Rhy is handsome and strong, a fitting Prince Charming for the magical realm of Red London. Rhy has an appetite for mischief, as illustrated by Kell’s repeated claims that it takes all of his efforts to keep the amorous Rhy out of trouble. Under his playful exterior, Rhy is deeply worried about his brother and the weakness he perceives in himself. The prince learns of Kell’s smuggling years before the story begins and anxiously begs him to stop, rather than telling the king and queen of Kell’s treasonous deeds. Rhy views Kell as family, and he tries to protect Kell just as Kell protects him.

Rhy is deeply empathetic and merciful. The prince was abducted when he was 13, and “he burst into tears” when he realized that Kell had cut himself in order to heal him with blood magic (257). The young prince pardoned his kidnappers: “He understood why they did it, and he felt their suffering. And he was convinced that if he showed them mercy, they wouldn’t try to harm him again” (258). As the brothers grow older, Rhy feels increasingly guilty for depending on Kell to protect him, and his desire to grow stronger ultimately leads to disaster.

Rhy makes important contributions to Kell’s motivation and the novel’s major themes. Thinking of his brother spurs Kell on his quest to protect the worlds from the black stone. During the climax, Lila gives Kell the final push that he needs to banish Vitari by reminding him that Rhy will perish if he dies. The prince is the person closest to Kell, and Kell’s loyalty to Rhy is absolute. As Kell tells Lila, “The king and queen may not be my parents, but Rhy is my brother. I would die for him. I would kill for him. And I have” (255). The Nature of Family shows in the unbreakable bond between the adoptive siblings. Rhy also develops the theme of Choice and Consequence. Kell’s dismissal of Rhy’s concern over his smuggling leads to the consequences that shape the plot. Rhy also makes mistakes that he must contend with. He foolishly accepts the Danes’ gift in the hope that it will make him stronger and thus falls under Astrid’s control. In the novel’s final chapter, Rhy tearfully repents: “I could have ruined everything. I could have lost the crown before I ever wore it. I could have doomed my city to war or chaos or collapse” (394). Rhy teaches Kell the meaning of family while learning his own painful lessons about choice and consequence.

Barron is Lila’s unflappable, generous, and protective father figure and one of the novel’s most important supporting characters. His introduction in Chapter 1 emphasizes his strength and stability:

The owner of the Stone’s Throw was built like a brick wall—if a brick wall decided to grow a beard—tall and wide and impressively steady. No doubt Barron had seen his share of strange, but it never seemed to faze him (27).

This steadiness makes Barron the most reliable presence in Lila’s life. Lila is betrayed by multiple men, including her biological father and Powell, but she can always count on Barron to be her “anchor, there and ready when she wandered back, which she invariably did” (208). He generously offers her a job at his inn that would allow her to leave her life of crime behind, and he allows her to stay at the Stone’s Throw without payment when she returns a year after their fight. Barron understands why Lila is so hesitant to accept his care, and he doesn’t push her. Even Barron’s death exemplifies his love for Lila: He confronts Holland without hesitation to protect her, and Holland kills him when he can gain no information about her location from him. In life and death, Barron protects his chosen family.

Barron’s tavern holds significance for Kell even before he meets Lila. There is an inn at the Stone’s Throw’s location in each of the Londons, making it a “phenomenon. A fixed point” and a comforting source of familiarity for Kell in his travels (26). Kell finds clients for the items he smuggles at the tavern, and it serves as a temporary hideout after Holland nearly kills him. Barron’s inn also offers Lila a haven after she burns the Sea King and runs afoul of Holland. In addition, Barron contributes to the themes of The Nature of Family and Choice and Consequence. After her mother’s death and her biological father’s betrayal, the Stone’s Throw is the closest thing Lila has to a home. Barron’s death also teaches Lila the heavy consequences of her choices: She leaves the inn without speaking to Barron, assuming he will be safe. His death motivates her to stop Holland and the Danes. In addition to advancing the novel’s plot and providing a key setting in Grey London, Barron helps the reader better understand Lila by developing Lila’s backstory and motivation.

Holland Vosijk serves as Kell’s foil and one of the novel’s antagonists. Holland hails from White London, and the stark world leeches the color from him: “The Antari’s skin was nearly colorless, and charcoal hair swept across his forehead, ending just above his eyes. One of them was a greyish green, but the other was glossy and black” (90). Although his black eye marks him as an Antari like Kell, Holland is adamant that the two have little in common. Holland has a shrewd sense of strategy and a keen understanding of others’ personalities. He captures Lila in Chapter 7 knowing that the self-sacrificing Kell will come to her rescue. In Chapter 9, he attempts to lure Lila out of hiding by exploiting her closeness with Barron: “He died because of you [...] Because you ran. You were a coward. Are you still?” (240). The insults against Lila’s courage add to the injury of Barron’s death, and Kell barely manages to keep Lila from revealing their location. Despite this, Holland’s words also inspire reflection and growth in Kell. Holland teaches Kell that “[c]onviction is key” when using the black stone (172), and Kell uses this when he wills the stone to obey him and conceal him from his foes.

Another of Holland’s primary traits is his bitterness at his circumstances. He is resentful of the privileged life of ease Kell enjoys in Red London. In Chapter 12, Holland grows weary of serving the Danes and allows Kell to strike him down rather than continue his existence as the twins’ unwilling puppet. In the end, Holland uses his cunning and his knowledge of Kell to break free from the Danes’ control.

Astrid and Athos are the novel’s main antagonists, but they don’t have the power to move between the various Londons. As a result, Holland plays an essential role in carrying out the villains’ will. From Chapter 7 to Chapter 12, Holland raises the stakes as he pursues Kell and Lila from one London to the next. Kell sees them as “one person on two divergent paths,” but Holland maintains that this is a “misapprehension” and that their shared ability “does not make [them] equals” (170). Both blood magicians hold remarkable power, but they hail from vastly different worlds and serve opposing rulers. While the Red royals treat Kell like family, the Danes subjugate Holland and rob him of his free will. Holland highlights not only Kell’s privilege but also his compassion. Although Holland’s role as Astrid and Athos’s puppet sets him in opposition to Kell, Kell repeatedly tries to avoid fighting him, and he mourns Holland when he believes that he has delivered a lethal blow to his fellow Antari. As Kell’s opposite, Holland creates suspense and advances the protagonist’s character development.