The matriarchal defaults and three-gender system present in Araşti society place the novel squarely among the ranks of contemporary queer fantasy.
Other countries appear to be based on Greece and France. In crafting their world, Rowland has drawn inspiration from the Renaissance-era Ottoman Empire, with characters described as having “golden” skin and “glossy black hair,” and much of the Araşti language is derived from Turkish. Far more engaging than the court intrigue, however, is the slow burn of Kadou and Evemer’s inevitable romance. But when they stumble upon a lead, Kadou and Evemer continue the original investigation, unraveling a conspiracy that leads to the very heart of the Araşti palace. Reeling from the kahyalars’ deaths and Tadek’s dishonorable discharge, Kadou drags Evemer along on a reckless quest to drink and fight his way through the undercity. In the aftermath, the taciturn Evemer, another kahya, arrives to take Tadek’s place. That secondary investigation spirals out of control, leaving three other kahyalar dead, Tadek stripped of his position, and Kadou and Siranos confined to the palace. Tadek is a kahya-a bodyguard trained in the ways of courtly life-and it is in that capacity that he begins to investigate Siranos. Kadou takes his concerns about Siranos to his lover, Tadek. His investigation leads to a frightening confrontation with his niece’s biological father, a foreign-born noble named Siranos. Second in line to the Araşti throne, Prince Kadou can intuit the contents of metal alloys just by touching them-a skill that leads him to investigate a counterfeiting scheme in the capital city. An anxious young prince must reconcile his duties to his family and friends with his growing fears of failure.
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