A Soul of Ash and Blood

“And I was sure she was caught between excitement and guilt, feeling as if she somehow dishonored Leo’s memory, and regret that she hadn’t realized who had been caged beneath Wayfair and at Oak Ambler earlier. It was a lot for anyone to think about. More to act upon.”

Navigating a strained relationship with his own parents, Cas empathizes with Poppy as she prepares to meet Ires, her birth father, for the first time. Cas and Poppy face similar life struggles, enabling them to understand and help each other when vulnerable. Cas’s ability to understand what Poppy is feeling—excitement, guilt, and regret—also highlights the closeness of their romantic bond as heartmates.

“One would think the vamprys would take better care of their people, considering they would simply shrivel up and waste away without them.”

Cas’s first-person perspective of Solis differs from Poppy’s description of the same plot in the series’ first novel. He judges the Ascended harshly from the story’s beginning, having the opposite reaction to Poppy’s first visit to Atlantia. This passage also emphasizes Cas’s moral compasses, underscoring his concern for Solis’s mistreated inhabitants.

“[I]t was almost like Vikter sensed my motivations or something because, from day one, he was not at all impressed. […] But what he said to me? It felt like an omen. Almost like he was warning me of what was to come. And he had.”

Both the present and flashback timelines prove critical to Vikter’s character development. While “Hawke Flynn” primarily describes him as tough and uncompromising, Cas learns to respect the transcending nature of Vikter’s warnings and advice. This passage also foreshadows the danger that Cas and Poppy will face later in the flashback narrative.

“You were about to meet who I used to be.”

Cas splits his identity into a clear “before” and “after” he meets and falls in love with Poppy. In doing so, he illustrates Love’s Influence on Identity, one of the novel’s central themes.

“Oddly unsettled by the revelation that she sought flowers native to Atlantia.”

Recalling the night-blooming roses, Cas foreshadows Poppy’s connection to Atlantia in retelling their love story. The roses represent Cas and Poppy as a whole, both dark and beautiful.

“In Atlantia, everyone who wanted a home had one. Providing for those who were unable to do so themselves for whatever reason wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible. Atlantia had always done it, even when we ruled the entire continent.”

Cas cannot tolerate the mistreatment of the mortals in Solis partly because he knows a more egalitarian society can exist for those suffering. While he prioritizes saving Malik, Cas struggles to ignore the systematic abuse in Solis. His concern for these people foreshadows Cas’s strength as a leader.

“I couldn’t think of her as the Maiden anymore. Truth be told, I’d had a hard time since the Red Pearl thinking of her as that. Now, she was…Penellaphe.”

Poppy remains a static character for most of A Soul of Ash and Blood. Her character only changes when Cas dismantles his assumptions about her traits. This passage also introduces the novel’s interest in the symbolic power of names and titles. Just as Cas embraces and later rejects the title of “the Dark One,” his decision to think of Poppy by her true name rather than her Ascended-given title reflects that their relationship is growing deeper and more authentic.

“‘You can be right.’ He moved in front of me as the door finally opened. ‘And still be wrong.’”

Vikter elaborates on the theme of Reconciling Contradictory Beliefs by explaining how two truths can exist, neither right nor wrong. By pointing this out, Vikter encourages Cas to fight his arrogance and keep an open mind about Poppy.

“The feeling of her hand settling over mine shocked me. I started to look at her, but she squeezed my fingers, and…gods, that simple gesture of comfort meant a lot. The pressure in my chest eased, the anguish retreating.”

While Poppy’s empath power is introduced in earlier novels in the series, Cas’s perspective on her abilities deepens her character development. Cas feels as if Poppy understands and lessens his emotional pain, which is just as intimate of a touch as Poppy’s physical contact.

“There was no answer as golden eyes stared back at me. I recognized my features, but I had no idea who I was…who I was becoming.”

Cas chronicles the changes he undergoes while falling in love with Poppy, emphasizing Love’s Influence on Identity. He allows himself to view an open-ended future, and consequently, he sees diverging possibilities for himself.

“‘It’s not easy,’ she said after a couple of moments. […] ‘Staying quiet,’ she said. ‘Dulling my tongue.’”

Poppy’s silence builds into a central symbol, representing the little control she can assert over her life. As with the other forms of power detailed in the narrative, Poppy struggles to maintain this control as she resists speaking her mind.

“The Duke of Masadonia went out without even a whimper, body broken and urine staining his pants. The surge of savage satisfaction from watching the life go out of his eyes was short-lived, though. He wouldn’t lay a hand on Poppy again—or anyone for that matter—but it wouldn’t erase the pain and humiliation he’d inflicted upon her. Wouldn’t undo any of that.”

Cas enjoys killing the Duke, highlighting his darker nature. The description of the Duke’s death builds a gory mood reminiscent of a horror story. While Cas and the Duke enjoy each other’s pain, Cas is motivated by righting wrongs and seeking justice where it is deserved.

“I grinned as her cheeks pinked. ‘You look…’ There really wasn’t a single word that would do her justice, so I settled for the best I could think of in the moment. ‘Lovely.’ I turned to Tawny, and honest to gods, she could’ve been nude or wearing a sack for all I knew. ‘As do you.’”

This passage depicts the growing attraction Cas and Poppy share, emphasized by Cas’s inability to visually process anything other than Poppy’s beauty, including what Tawny is wearing. Cas’s interactions with Tawny add comic relief to an otherwise severe text. Cas appreciates Tawny’s proclivity for mischief, which encourages Poppy to enjoy life when she can.

“It wasn’t so much the dagger that turned me on. It was what the blade symbolized. Her resilience. Her capability. Her strength. The proof that she had taken the nightmares and the fear and turned them into power.”

Cas’s admiration for Poppy contrasts with Poppy’s constant self-criticism in the series’ other novels. While Cas is obviously physically attracted to Poppy, he is also aroused by her power and strength. His recognition that Poppy has drawn strength from “the nightmares and the fear” points to the theme of Understanding and Countering Maladaptive Coping Mechanisms.

“Fuck good intentions and the sliver of me that was a decent man.”

Cas willingly admits to his flaws, especially when Poppy is concerned. He frequently acts impulsively, allowing his instincts to take over when his better judgment attempts to interfere.

“Scenario after scenario played out as I sat there, trying to figure out how I could at least give Poppy freedom when this was over. Different options. Choices. But they were all half-baked impossibilities.”

This passage depicts Cas struggling with Reconciling Contradictory Beliefs: his loyalty to Poppy and his loyalty to Atlantia. He feels the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders, even though he wants Malik to be king. Simultaneously, he recognizes how critical the role of control over one’s own life can be, and he believes Poppy deserves to have free will.

“Strands of hair fell across her cheek as she twisted at the waist, her features set in determination and utter fearlessness as she left a wake of blackish-red blood through the mist. There was simply nothing…sexier than that.”

Jennifer Armentrout regularly mixes fighting and violence with sexual desire, an often problematic cliche. Cas taunts Poppy sexually while she tries to escape from him on several occasions. While Cas never hurts Poppy, he crosses lines of consent several times while acting as her guard.

“But you know what I can’t understand? Your silence. You could’ve sent word to me. You could’ve let me know you were surviving.”

Having already established that the Maiden’s silence, weaponized against him, felt like torture, Cas confronts his brother’s lack of communication while in Solis. Cas loathes when people keep secrets and fail to communicate with him, even when they do so for good reason.

“I wanted to be a good man who would walk away from what he knew he wasn’t worthy or deserving of. The kind Kieran believed I was. The type I had been raised to be. But I wasn’t a good man. I was just hers.”

Cas’s struggle to control his identity reaches a pinnacle just as he has sex with Poppy for the first time. He believes their intimacy makes him a bad person, unworthy of Poppy’s love and Kieran’s respect. This passage illustrates a darker side to the theme of Love’s Influence on Identity, for Cas fears that his love for and sexual attraction to Poppy prevent him from being a “good man.”

“‘Promise me.’ I lifted my head, catching her stare. ‘Promise me you won’t forget this, Poppy. That no matter what happens tomorrow, the next day, next week, you won’t forget this—forget that this was real.’”

Cas’s desperation for Poppy to believe their relationship is real mirrors Cas’s anxiety about Poppy forgetting her identity upon waking from stasis. While the two timelines sharply contrast, they also contain echoes of one another.

“Orion’s laugh was as thin as ice. ‘It’s interesting how you use your title only when it suits you.’”

Cas’s interactions with minor characters assist in building his multifaceted character. While most show loyalty and respect, Orion exhibits distrust and questions Cas’s intentions. Armentrout uses a simile to compare Orion’s laugh to thin ice, indicating the cold relations between the two characters.

“‘And based on the lies they’ve told? Wouldn’t that make her half-monster?’ I said, smirking. ‘And wouldn’t they do anything to prevent that knowledge from getting out?’”

Cas begins thinking more dynamically when he begins Reconciling Contradictory Beliefs. Without losing the loyalty of his closest followers, Cas realizes he can save Poppy and Cas by using the Ascended’s own logic against them, mirroring his choice to brutalize the Ascended using their invented title of “the Dark One” (89).

“Not when we didn’t know what it felt like to have each other when the realm was at peace. Not when we hadn’t gotten the chance to know what our love was capable of—what we could create together.”

As the novel nears its conclusion, Cas points out that his relationship with Poppy is still in its early stages. Though married and sworn in as King and Queen of Atlantia, they have had little time to exist solely as a couple. While the novel explores Love’s Influence on Identity, much of that exploration centers on Cas’s identity. This passage acknowledges that the couple’s shared identity, too, will be influenced by their love.