Reckless

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2024

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 11

Chapters 12-24

Chapters 25-34

Chapter 35-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Chain

After Kai and Paedyn escape captivity together and open up about their feelings for each other due to the threat of death, he chains her to himself. Throughout the rest of the novel, the chain comes to represent the bond between the two protagonists. As a marker of captivity and violence, the chain underscores their conflicting motivations since Kai has a duty to kill Paedyn. On the other hand, the unbreakable chain represents their bound fates and the inevitability of their romantic relationship. The chain initially feels like an artificial bond between them, forcing them to work in tandem: “I stand to my feet and walk on shaky legs until the chain grows taut. It tugs at my ankle, already tempting to tear skin. I strain to take another step, yanking at his leg” (202).

As a result, Kai and Paedyn gradually learn to balance each other out, and the tension that the chain symbolizes becomes less conflictual. For example, Paedyn wakes up one morning “tangled in [Kai’s] arms and wrapped in the chain tethering [them] together” (218). In the end, the chain is removed after they confess their love for each other. This symbolizes their newfound trust in each other, as they don’t need to be physically attached to each other in order to function as a team. The chain, through its presence and then its removal, symbolizes the evolution of Kai and Paedyn’s relationship to a more open, healthy, and unconditional romance, foreshadowing events in the final book in the series as they complete their character arcs.

Paedyn’s Hair

Paedyn has long, silver hair that emphasizes her beauty and makes her stand out. She often braids or adorns her hair to enhance her actions, either as a fighter and a thief or as a seductress. Her hair holds symbolism that particularly informs her character arc in Chapter 41. After Paedyn and Kai are attacked by bandits and Paedyn is forced to kill them in self-defense, she starts to panic. Afterward, she notes, “All I smell is blood. All I feel is guilt” (323).

She then decides to cut off her long hair to symbolically rid herself of those negative emotions. She states, “This hair holds memories. And it’s heavy” (324), and she cries for the loved ones she lost as Kai cuts her braid. After he does, she feels a “weight lifting off [her] shoulders” (325) and is symbolically purged of her guilt and grief. When they leave the next day, Kai explicitly notes the shift in her character: “It feels as though she left a version of herself on the floor of this cave, another ghost to roam the Sanctuary of Souls” (336).

Pretending

Paedyn knows she’s supposed to hate Kai because he’s duty-bound to kill her, while Kai is supposed to hate her because she killed the king. However, both struggle to resist their strong attraction to each other. As a result, they use the motif of “pretending” to navigate their complicated relationship and conflicting emotions. In Chapter 25, after escaping their cell together and finding refuge in an occupied room in an inn, Paedyn and Kai strike a deal. Paedyn asks, “Can we pretend that it’s okay not to hate each other in these moments?” (183), suggesting that they find a way to tolerate each other when they’re forced to spend time together despite their differences. Kai agrees, and they repeat this pattern in several of their subsequent interactions.

When Kai pushes Paedyn against a wall to make it look as if they’re an innocent couple, for example, he reminds Paedyn that it’s only pretend. Paedyn then comments, “I don’t push him away when his hand trails down my neck to lift the scarf from my head. Because this is pretend. This is a plan” (221). Later, in the gambling house, they hide their identities by flirting with each other and Paedyn repeatedly reminds herself that it is “Pretend” (237-38). However, both protagonists note that the line between pretending and reality is blurred and that they use their bargain to permit themselves to give in to their impulses.

At the end of the novel, when they eventually confess their love for each other, Kai admits: “‘Darling […] I have never had to pretend to want you’” (355). The motif is upended as Kai and Paedyn finally become honest with each other and with themselves. In other words, they were pretending to pretend, and are now embracing their feelings for each other openly.