To Kill a Kingdom

“Technically, I’m a murderer, but I like to think that’s one of my better qualities.”

Here the perspective switches to Elian. At this point in the book, he truly despises sirens and views them as monsters. Nevertheless, his reference to himself as a murderer shows that he doesn’t enjoy killing and foreshadows his eventual change of heart: Most people only use the word “murder” in reference to killing other people. He finds it to be one of his better qualities only because he believes sirens to be dangerous and eradicating them to be saving human lives.

“In front of us, the siren’s skin begins to dissolve. Her hair melts to sea green and her scales froth. Even her blood, just a moment before threatening to stain the deck of the Saad, begins to lather until all that is left is sea foam. And a minute later that, too, is gone.”

In the classic fairy tale “The Little Mermaid,” mermaids become sea-foam upon their death because they do not have human souls. Here, Christo borrows the sea-foam concept, applying it to the sirens instead of the mermaids, which are two separate species in the book. Elian’s crew’s first siren kill of the book shows the reader how a siren death works.

“In Midas, the ocean glitters gold. At least, that’s the illusion. Really it’s as blue as any sea, but the light does things. Unexplainable things. The light can lie.”

Midas is the golden kingdom and appears as such. Elian views the gold as a façade and sees through it. He doesn’t see Midas as bad so much as stifling, and he wants to live a free life outside of his duties to the kingdom.

“Mermaids are ghastly things with minds that work in mysteries and lips made from riddles.”

The mermaids in this world are humanoid sea creatures like the sirens, but they have fewer human features and are more sea monster than sea maiden. They are grotesque and ugly, and they don’t speak in clear, direct language like the sirens. Sirens look down on them, especially because the mermaids are obsessed with humanity and becoming human.

“‘Lies aren’t answers.’ ‘But they sound so much better than the truth.’”

King Radames, Elian’s father, scolds him for being dishonest about his intentions to avenge Prince Cristian. Elian has become used to lying both at court and at sea because it allows him to keep people at ease around him.

“Let me be privy to a face few men live to speak about. My monster found me and I’m going to find her right back.”

After his first encounter with Lira, the Princes’ Bane, Elian is struck by having been face to face with her. He rationalizes not killing her, but it’s likely that he didn’t because deep down he didn’t want to. Hunting the Princes’ Bane gives him purpose, but he also felt a sense of awe at the sight of her.

“Once I felt the thrum of his heart beneath my fingers, I couldn’t forget it. And so I watched from the water, waiting for him to reappear.”

Similar to Elian’s reaction to their first encounter, Lira is struck by having come so close to stealing his heart. Their reactions to meeting foreshadow their romantic interest in each other that blossoms later in the plot.

“‘That’s the thing about risks,’ Kye says. ‘It’s impossible to know which ones are worth it until it’s too late.’”

Kye, as Elian’s sidekick and bodyguard, is often the voice of reason, urging caution before Elian makes any rash decisions. Elian, having offered marriage to Sakura in exchange for a map that shows the safest way up Cloud Mountain, has taken a huge risk that jeopardizes the future of his country, which is why Kye is wary.

‘“Sirens do not feel affection or regret,’ my mother seethed. ‘We don’t know empathy for our enemies. Any siren who feels such things can never be queen. All she will ever be is defective. And a defective siren can’t be allowed to live.’”

The Sea Queen, having scolded Lira for allowing her first prince to drown before taking his heart, orders Lira to kill her younger cousin, Khalia. Lira’s refusal, based on her love for Khalia, is too human of a reaction in the ruthless Sea Queen’s eyes. The Sea Queen uses pain and fear to control the sirens, and here she reminds Lira what she’s worth if she fails to kill without regard.

“The prince wants to help a doomed world. As long as my mother’s alive, war is all we will ever know.”

Lira believes Elian’s hopefulness is actually foolishness because she’s been raised to believe her mother’s wrath is unstoppable. She has not yet allowed herself to fully believe that anyone can defeat her mother, much less a human prince.

“‘You can’t win a war,’ I tell her. ‘Someone else just loses.’”

Elian takes no joy in killing and doesn’t revere it the way Lira has learned to from the Sea Queen. He sees his fight against the sirens as a necessary evil to save humanity, but he doesn’t find joy in the idea of killing them or in war generally.

“We continue on that way, swords arcing through the air, our breath ragged. Soon there’s sun in the distance, or perhaps even moonlight. Everything is muted and as Lira swoops her blade down on mine once more, I let it all fall away. My mission, my kingdom. The world. They exist somewhere other than in this moment, and now there is only this. Me, my ship, and a girl with oceans in her eyes.”

While teaching Lira to sword fight, Elian begins to fall for her, though he isn’t quite ready to admit it to himself. Both characters are fiery and aggressive, and through the controlled violence of sparring, they have begun to find common ground and see each other as equals.

“Some people burn so brightly, it’s impossible to put the flames out.”

In Elian’s view, Lira is a person who doesn’t hold her tongue. She is full of fire and verve, so he finds her to be a useful asset, but his flowery descriptions also indicate his growing interest in her.

“As a human I could pretend I had some kind of a clean slate if I wanted to. At least for a little while. But not now. Not anymore. I’m a killer in every life.”

After facing Tallis Rycroft and nearly killing him, Lira is shaken because she hadn’t killed anyone since becoming human. She starts to believe that she is nothing but the ruthless killer that her mother raised her to be, although her very discomfort with the idea indicates that she is not.

“I was a siren and so I was a killer. It was never wrong or right; it just was. But now my memories are cruel dreams, twisting into merciless visions and accusing me of a past I can’t deny.”

Lira has a nightmare about Elian finding out her true nature and turning on her for it. In the dream, he gives her his heart, which also symbolizes that Lira wants a romantic relationship with him. She feels remorse for killing Prince Cristian and fears what will happen when the truth is revealed.

“‘You may care about her,’ Yukiko says, ‘but it won’t change anything. Love is not for princes, and it’s most certainly not for kings.’”

Yukiko, an ambitious princess who wants nothing more than to sit on a throne and rule, only views marriage as a contract of convenience. Christo also hints that she is attracted to women, which suggests that Yukiko might never have felt romantic interest in a man or the desire to marry a man. Therefore, she believes that love is irrelevant and that royals should marry to form alliances.

“It feels like the entire world is asleep. And us—just us—we are finally awake.”

While climbing Cloud Mountain, Lira and Elian finally get the chance to explore their romantic feelings for each other. While watching the stars, they share their first kiss. This is the last moment when either of them gets to ignore the problems that they both are faced with.

“‘People don’t tell secrets because someone needs to know them. They do it because they need someone to tell.’”

Elian is afraid to hear Lira’s secret. Perhaps deep down he knows what she is and wants to continue ignoring the clues to her identity.

“How strange that instead of taking his heart, I’m hoping he takes mine.”

Lira realizes that she loves Elian, and she hopes that love is enough to change how he feels about sirens. She, like Elian, wants to believe that love can be enough and avoid facing the inevitable confrontation.

“A steeple of ocean water floats in a perfect mixture of emerald and sapphire, and I recognize it instantly as water from the Diávolos Sea. From my home.”

The Crystal of Keto is suspended in ice made from the waters of the Diávolos Sea. The sea, which is the domain of the sirens, is particularly vibrant, so Lira recognizes it instantly.

“Any human who takes a siren’s heart will be immune to the power of their song. Only Elian didn’t need to take my heart; I gave it to him.”

Elian is able to resist the sirens’ songs because Lira loves him. This quote is foreshadowed earlier in the novel when Lira tells Elian that stealing a siren’s heart provides protection against siren songs.

“I don’t just have power; I am power. It flows through me, replacing the acid blood with thick, dark magic.”

Lira, having freed the second Eye of Keto, is imbued with the same level of power that her mother wields. Challenging her mother is a full-circle moment for Lira, who initially feared her mother and wanted nothing more than to please her.

“There’s no blood, and for a moment I think she can’t possibly be dead. It doesn’t seem right that she can look so pristine, like the sharply carved statue of a slain beast.”

The death of the Sea Queen marks a new era of freedom for the sirens. Lira finds the death hard to believe because the Sea Queen seemed invincible until Lira acquired the second Eye of Keto.