Since Mare’s surrender, she has been living her own personal hell as Maven’s glorified doll. Chained up with manacles of Silent Stone and accompained by three Arwens at all times, she’s been forced to speak treason against the Scarlet Guard to weaken their morale, paraded about as a symbol of Maven’s might and to writhe under torture from one of Maven’s cruelest cousins, a singer who nicknames himself a butcher of minds.

Under this physical and mental strain, Mare is almost broken as days turn into months. But Mare’s torture reveals cracks in Maven’s seemingly solid grip on the throne. The longer she lives by his side unharmed and without further information on the Scarlet Guard, the more the other Houses scheme against their king, seeing his weakness, his madness and obsession as a chance for them to vye for the throne.

Mare still has maintains some risilience and as she’s too personally close to Maven’s cracks, she accumulates the information, waiting for the time she may escape her cage and strike down the tyrant once and for all.

While the previous book showed the evolution of Mare from naive, idealistic spy to a hardened warrior whose rage, truama and powers poise her to turn into the monster she despises, this brings Mare back to the bottom. It’s a difficult reckoning as Aveyard doesn’t spare Mare an inch of mental and physical pain. It’s almost torture porn in how she doesn’t let up on Mare’s helplessness in the situation. Even her small acts of defiance are swiftly dealt with.

Nonetheless, it serves to humanize Mare after the atrocious actions she committed previously. Unfortunately, even more remorse and guilt will haunt her ontop of everything else. But it also helps readers recenter to seeing that even though Mare’s been awful, Maven and his court are worse in the bigger picture.

As for Maven, he gets some. . . sympathy. Well, not sympathy exactly but an explanation for his sociopathic demenour. Yes, there’s trauma involved but I appreciate how Aveyard does her best to make this an explanation of how Queen Elara constructed Maven to be the way he is, not an excuse (It won’t excuse some fangirls I’m sure). Plus it serves to give Mare some closure about the boy she thought she knew. It’s been a reoccuring theme that the potential of what he was, and how much was real taunts Mare that she cannot let go of that image. Now, she can and she can focus on the work when she escapes.

Especially since Maven represents an even greater danger now that his sanity is slipping and his poisoned hatred for Cal and twisted love for Mare causes him to make mistakes, cornering him. And an evil man cornered is a dangerous man because he becomes unpredictable, forging an alliance with Lakelanders in an attempt to “please” Mare.

Yep, now there’s a third player on the crowded battlefield.

Because she does escape at the most unexpected time thanks to the help of some friends and foes. The book could almost be split into two parts, the first being Mare’s internment and the second being her return to the Guard and fight against Maven’s new Lakelander/Norta army.

But it is not all Mare all the time as Aveyard expands the POV to include Cameron and Evangeline.

Yeah, I was so not expecting that and it was a pleasant surprise instead of hearing the usual split POVs between love interests.

By focusing on Cameron and Evangeline, we see a somewhat more objective view of Mare and the wider politics surrounding the world. Cameron is more concerned about her twin and saving him from the Dagger Legion who are being held as hostages by Silvers. She is delightfully snarky about Mare’s self centered hypocrisy yet understands the primal actions driving her because they are driving Cam herself. Fear of her powers and what they can turn her to, love for her family to keep them safe, desire for vengence against those who hurt her and see them as gods. She adds a more humble view, reflecting the person Mare was at the start before being totally broken down by the choices and decisions she had to make. Unfortunately, her POV dips out in the second half of the book.

Which is where Evangeline comes in. And yes, Aveyard makes her sympathetic too, highlighting her close bond with her brother whom she refers to as Tolly (so weird after seeing him as Ptomolus but that’s the point. Humanizing the haughty Silvers so we understand how Cal sees them) and her love, Elane.

Now I’m not saying she’s pro-Red or Mare or anything, Evangeline is still looking out for herself and since the other Houses have cut their loyalty to Maven, they’ve made their own kingdoms. Now, Evangeline has had a taste of freedom, of being a princess in her own right without having to depend on marriage or anyone else and she’ll do anything to keep that freedom.

Remember, I was saying that there’s a third player in the battlefield. There’s actually five with different factions vying for control which includes the Samos House that wants to retain the Silver-Red divide as the natural order. Or at least ally itself with Queen Anabel (Cal’s grandmother) to put Cal on the throne again with Evangeline as cosort, something she no longer wants. Providing a different foil to how Mare is now, rejecting and running from the gilded cages others want to put her in despite her immense power.

And that’s ontop of what the Scarlet Guard is fighting for, what the Democratic Republic of Montfort is secretly planning, Maven’s desire to rule all, the new ally Lakelanders, Queen Anabel and the Samos. That’s five!

It’s a lot to take in but Aveyard skillfully plays the different players off of each other with fake smiles and blood splattered walls. Just like Game of Thrones! I assume, I haven’t actually watched the show.

There’s nice expansion of the newblood cast, Farley and Mare’s family with hints that Julian will be exploring how/why the newbloods have their mutation. But those are little extra details that add to the already exciting world.

As for Cal during these important negotiations where he may be part of a coup? Aveyard toes the line in showing how Mare and Cal continue to provide a unique understanding and comfort for one another that no one else gets and Cal’s greatest flaw. He is unwilling to take action. As Cameron aptly states he won’t commit to the Scarlet Guard because he still cares for the Silvers, the people he was born to rule, but he doesn’t try to stop the Guard either when they plan out massacres. I get Cal’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, but it bodes little confidence that Cal won’t stand for anything as a king.

It’s at this uncertain question that Aveyard leaves readers, making this the most interesting book so far in the series and I’m excited to see who will ultimately rule in this game of crowns.

4 stars.