Metal Slinger

Brynn finds a part of the Market that is almost exclusively populated by locals. She suddenly realizes that she has seen the same Kenta soldier repeatedly; he is following her. She quickly heads back toward her group, but before she reaches them, the Kenta soldier accuses her of theft and reveals a stolen stone (which he himself planted on her). He drags her into the alley, planning to cut off her hand as punishment for thieving. When he forces her hand against a stone wall, Brynn feels a sharp, inexplicable pain, although her hands are undamaged.

Kai approaches and demands that the solider release Brynn. Brynn uses the chaos to swipe at the Kenta soldier with his own knife. She, Kai, and Messer then flee. Alaha and Kenta people begin fighting with one another in the streets as the Alaha flee for their ships. Aurora causes an explosion that helps them escape but bodes ill for future Alaha-Kenta relations.

Brynn’s shipmates are angry that her actions forced them to leave the Market early, and the situation is worsened by her widespread reputation as a troublemaker. Their hostility results in bullying prangs; Brynn discovers that a rat that has been lured to her bunk by a pack of bullies who regularly torment her.

Only Brynn, Messer, and Aurora have been blamed for the chaos in Kenta, as Kai’s high social status protects him from punishment; Brynn hopes that his testimony will save her from exile. Now, she inspects the knife that she took from the Kenta soldier and finds that it is inscribed with a “J.” She begins sketching a weapon with a black blade, an illustration that she creates repeatedly.

Kai laments the fact that Brynn refuses to admit that she is being bullied; when he encourages her to defend herself, Brynn counters that such action would cause her to be punished as well as bullied. She also contends that this time, her peers’ ire is not unearned, given that she cut short their only chance to see land. She is relieved when Kai believes her insistence that she didn’t steal anything.

In the middle of the night, Brynn awakens when Paul, the bullies’ ringleader, screams because he is covered in roaches. She suspects that Messer pulled this prank as revenge for the rat. When Brynn finds Messer kissing Gramble’s daughter, she judges him to be irresponsible because their instructor has the power to exile them for misbehavior.

The narrative reveals that Brynn is not close with Aurora because the two are the only female trainees and have always been pitted against one another. Now, Messer tells Brynn that Aurora wants to fight back against Kenta’s rule; Messer thinks that the explosion in the Market was Aurora’s way of doing so. Brynn thanks Messer for defending her against the bullying Paul, and the friends hug awkwardly.

The trainees’ ship arrives at the Grove, a network of trees that create the Alaha’s “island with no land” (35), which serves as their home. Brynn finds her home less appealing after seeing the vibrant Market. Though the sailors’ return means that the community will have a party, Kai, Brynn, Messer, and Aurora are instead taken to Captain Wren, the leader of the Alaha and Kai’s father.

Aurora is immediately confined to the brig. Faline, Kai’s mother, enters, and Brynn explains the incident at the Market, omitting any mention of the strange pain that she felt in her hand when she touched the wall. She reiterates that she didn’t steal anything and only fought the Kenta soldier in self-defense, but she does admit to running off alone in order to reflect on Kai’s unexpected proposal.

Captain Wren confides that Aurora is a suspected member of an uprising; she planned to damage the Kenta-Alaha peace treaty with her antics in the Market. Wren explains that the Kenta have agreed to maintain the peace as long as Alaha turns Aurora and Brynn over to them. Wren explains that he refused to give up Brynn, whom he frames as “the future leader’s wife” even though she has not responded to Kai’s marriage request (43). The Kenta responded by delaying the next trade by a year, which Brynn believes is an effort to starve the Alaha. However, Wren is optimistic about their food stores.

After the meeting, Messer, Kai, and Brynn wonder about Aurora’s fate. Brynn snaps at Kai about the fact that her marriage has been decided for her. She then reflexively apologizes even though she deeply resents that her choices are limited to submitting to exile or accepting an arranged marriage.

Brynn returns to her room. Though keeping pets is against Alaha’s food-rationing system, Brynn caresses and coddles a bird that lives near her window, a habit that annoys her neighbor, Grenadine. Brynn climbs to her roof and worries that the delayed Market trip to Kenta will affect the community’s food supplies. She feels compelled to sketch the face of the Kenta soldier, but when Kai approaches, she quickly hides the drawing in her other sketches and shoves them all out of view.

Kai reports that Captain Wren has decided to let Aurora go free in the hope that she will reveal additional members of the uprising. Brynn argues that turning her and Aurora over to Kenta is Wren’s most logical option, as it will protect Alaha as a whole. She alludes to “the plan,” which did not involve marriage to Kai, but he insists that all other details of their unspecified plan will remain in place after they are married. (In Chapter 56, the narrative reveals that Brynn and Kai plan to remove both Wren and the Kenta ruler, Edmond, from their respective seats of power.) Brynn and Kai kiss, which makes Brynn more amenable to the idea of their marriage.

Brynn practices with the other trainee guards, and although Aurora is aggressive during sparring, she helps Brynn stand up against various bullies. Brynn and Kai steal glances at each other but try to keep their romantic liaison a secret. Captain Wren arrives for a demonstration, which Messer, the best swordsman in their class, soon wins. Messer is offered the role of commander of that year’s class, but he insists that he needs to fight Brynn in order to earn it, as she has beaten him in the past. As Brynn and Messer spar, Brynn finds contentment in the patterns of battling another well-trained swordsman. Messer wins by a narrow margin. Kai then kisses Brynn in front of their gathered peers, which she considers worth the punishment that they will face for such a demonstration.

After spending a night in the brig, Brynn reconsiders whether the kiss was worth the punishment. Meanwhile, the people of Alaha cruelly judge Brynn and whisper behind her back. Both Wren and Brynn know that Kai’s ulterior motive in kissing Brynn was to publicly announce their relationship so that Wren would not be able to prohibit their marriage.

Kai reports that two fisherman and their ship vanished last night; this is the third such disappearance within a year. The disappearances have been going on for several years, causing Wren to consider “pulling all the fishing expeditions” (67), which would further threaten Alaha’s food supply. Brynn returns to the roof to sketch, lamenting that her sketches seem rudimentary compared to the fine art in the Market.

A watchtower alarm blares, and Brynn and the other guards race for the tower. Because Brynn is a mere trainee, she is turned away, but she insists that she needs to speak with Kai. He reports the approach of a Kenta ship and urges Brynn to hide. She finds a place from which to spy on the approaching ship. When the ship arrives, she is astonished to recognize the soldier from the Market. She worries that he has returned to reclaim his knife; if he does, her community will see her as a thief. When the soldier looks toward Brynn’s hiding place, Kai punches him. The soldier is arrested and taken to the brig.

Several days later, Brynn encounters a bruised Messer, whose father beat him after catching Messer sneaking out. Brynn and Messer debate the motives of the Kenta sailors, whose ship remains near the Grove. Brynn confesses that she still has the soldier’s knife, and Messer urges her to dispose of it quickly. Though Brynn knows that this is a logical plan, she feels reluctant to dispose of the black bladed knife.

Messer and Brynn have just arrived for their usual training when Captain Wren summons Brynn because the Kenta soldier insists that he will only speak to her. Captain Wren wants Brynn to listen to whatever the soldier is willing to tell her. She and Kai are sent to speak with the soldier, who is hostile to Kai but apologizes for causing Brynn pain. (He is referring to the moment when her hand touched the wall, but he does not explain what caused Brynn’s pain). However, the soldier quickly gives up information about Kenta’s armada, making Brynn suspicious that his admission is “too easy.”

Later, Brynn sneaks through the Grove to return to the brig undetected. When she enters, the soldier calls her a “little thief,” and she insists that her “theft” of the black blade was an accident. The two bicker, and the soldier reports that he came to the Grove for Brynn; however, he won’t tell her why, citing a lack of trust. He introduces himself as Acker and then quizzes Brynn about her childhood memories.

The narrative reveals the dominant story in Alaha concerning Brynn’s origins: that as a child, Brynn was found alone in her parents’ fishing boat, and their deaths were assumed to be an accident. Kai’s parents, particularly Faline, cared for Brynn after she was orphaned. (However, the narrative will much later reveal that in reality, Wren kidnapped Brynn because she is Princess Jovinnia of Maile, a nearby realm, and Brynn’s mother is alive. Although Brynn is aware of her true origins, she is bound by a blood oath not to reveal her past, so she continues to live as “Brynn” in these early chapters and maintain the illusion of her ignorance even to Acker.)

Acker alludes to a blood oath that now magically prevents him from revealing too much to Brynn. These oaths must be created using dirt—the essence of the land, which Alaha lacks. Acker reveals that although Wren has a small supply, the soil’s age makes the blood oath weak. Acker says that if Brynn can figure out enough on her own, he will be able to break free from the binding oath. Acker also teases Brynn for having “zero romantic interest” in Kai (88). He contends that Alaha’s rules are designed to exert undue control over its people. He implies that Brynn’s parents may not be truly dead and that Wren is manipulating her. Brynn leaves the brig and drops the black blade into the water.

On the trainees’ graduation day, Messer’s parents congratulate Brynn on her engagement to Kai. Messer, meanwhile, has collected more bruises from his father’s abuse. An approaching storm threatens to disrupt the graduation celebration, and Faline worries about the upcoming Matching Ceremony. Brynn, however, worries that Wren intends to let Acker drown in the brig, which often floods during storms. Messer reports that his parents arranged a marriage between him and Aurora. Brynn is surprised, as Aurora’s family has low social standing, while Messer’s father is third in command.

Brynn notices that the Kenta ship is no longer on the horizon, so she reports this fact to Wren. Wren urges everyone to return to safety to ride out the storm, and Kai confirms that his father is going to let Acker die as the waters rise. Brynn hurries to the brig and urges Acker to give her a reason to trust him. He insists that he is “never going to tell [her] something just to benefit [himself] […] not even if it means saving [his] life” (98). Even so, Brynn tries to break Acker free. When she fails, he encourages her to “call” the dagger, which will “answer [her] summons” (100). When Brynn envisions retrieving the dagger from beneath the waves, she suddenly finds it in her hand. Acker guides her through the process of breaking a seal on the door. This takes long enough that the water threatens them both, so he tells her to leave him and declares that Brynn’s “real name” is Jovie. (This later proves to be true; Wren kidnapped her when she was a child.) Now, she refuses to give up and breaks him free just in time. Acker breaks out of his metal shackles, astonishing Brynn. (His show of strength is later shown to be part of his magical power of metal manipulation.)

On the morning after the storm, Brynn frets that the guards will begin searching for Acker when they find the brig without a body. Acker fell asleep after their arduous journey back to Brynn’s room through the storm, and he is still sleeping, weakened from his time in the brig. While seeking food, Brynn encounters Grenadine, who implies that she knows about Acker’s presence. Guards begin searching homes for the missing prisoner, so Brynn urges Acker to hide on the roof. Kai arrives with two guards, and as they search, Brynn realizes that Acker’s bloody shirt is visible. Kai is anxious about the escape. Before he leaves, he confesses his love to Brynn for the first time. He and Brynn kiss. As soon as Kai leaves, Acker reenters and cryptically announces that Kai “overdid it.” Exhausted, Brynn falls asleep.

Brynn sleeps for nearly a full day. When she wakes, Acker is exercising and appears to be recovering from his ordeal. Acker complains about hearing Kai’s confession of love and insists that Brynn is aware that she is not from Alaha. He thinks it obvious that Brynn should leave her current life behind, but Brynn finds the idea absurd.

Acker offers an alternate history of Alaha’s exile. He explains that there are many territories beyond Kenta and that the ruling family of each territory possesses specific magical gifts “as a reward for taking care of the land and its people” (113). The Alaha’s gift was to calm discord and discourage war, but one Alaha leader used this gift for his own benefit and became a conqueror. Acker insists that this conqueror was Captain Wren, whose status as “an Heir” would let him live for millennia even though his magic is weakened by his separation from the land. Acker states that he cannot explain further because the blood oath still binds him to silence.

Acker believes that Kai is using his own inherited magical power to try to “influence” Brynn into loving him. Brynn scoffs at the idea that Kai would behave so dishonorably as to try to control her using magic. Acker counters that Kai has been using his weak powers against Brynn for years. Plotting ways for Acker to escape, Brynn urges him to steal a ship during the Matching Ceremony, which will take place in two days. He refuses to leave without her and insists that he will kidnap her if necessary.

Brynn joins Kai and Messer in a common area, where their classmates gossip about the upcoming Matching Ceremony. Privately, Brynn wonders if Messer, who is famous for being charming, really does have the magical “influence” that Acker described. A fellow classmate named Lawson is dejected that he is unlikely to be chosen for a marriage because Alaha’s population is disproportionately male. When Brynn goes to be fitted for the dress that she is to wear for her Matching, Kai interrupts and bribes the shopkeeper for a few minutes alone with her. He reminisces about their childhood before kissing her goodbye.

When Brynn returns to her room, she asks Acker what it feels like to experience the “influence” that Kai supposedly possesses. She makes a show of coming to the realization that her sense of disquiet over the idea of marrying Kai is always present—except for the moments when Kai is kissing her. She understands that he is using these powers against her, but her own latent magical power resists this control. She looks at an old sketch that she made of Kai and weeps to signal her dismay that her “friendship” with Kai has been built on lies and coercion. (The narrative will later reveal her behavior in this scene to be a ploy to gain Acker’s trust, part of her and Kai’s broader plan to trick him.)

As Brynn looks through her sketchbooks, Acker explains that his magic lets him control metal. He reports that Brynn was kidnapped as a child when her family visited Kenta; Acker was part of the group tasked with helping to search for her. He reports that Brynn’s mother is still alive and has never given up hope of finding her child. Acker doesn’t know about Brynn’s father. He explains that he and Brynn were friends as children; the black blade was really hers—forged by her own hands with her father’s help. Acker says that the blade “hummed” when he saw her in the Market. Ashamed, he admits to having given up hope of finding her alive and reveals that Brynn is actually “Princess Jovie of the Maile” (131); Wren kidnapped her years ago in order to incite a war that would weaken other territories so that he could invade.

Acker believes that Wren also intended to push for a match between Brynn and Kai because this match would entitle Kai to half of the Maile territory. Having access to land would greatly increase Kai’s powers, and his strengthened powers would allow him to put Brynn completely under his control.

Later, when Faline arrives to speak with Brynn, she reminisces about the past, stating that Brynn and Kai have been “inseparable” since childhood. Brynn asks Faline for money, pretending that she wants to buy Kai a Matching gift. (In reality, she plans to steal a fishing boat and escape with Acker.)

Brynn shows Acker a drawing that she has repeatedly made over the years of rolling hills, which she now understands to be the home from which she was stolen. As they try to sneak away from Brynn’s room, Grenadine stops them, so Brynn pays the woman for her silence. Brynn and Acker sneak to the wharf and prepare to steal a fishing boat, but they halt when Dupre, Wren’s second-in-command, presses a sword to Brynn’s neck. Suddenly, Kai arrives and orders Dupre to stand down, but he then uses his powers of persuasion to make Acker kneel. Kai pleads with an angry Brynn that he was trying to protect her by using his powers on her since the only alternative was for Brynn to be forced to bond with Wren instead. Kai insists that he only magnified Brynn’s existing feelings, and he claims that he avoided having sex with her because he wanted her feelings and consent to be legitimate.

Kai orders his guards to kill a shackled Acker, but Acker uses his metal-oriented magic to loosen the shackles and then defeats the guards. When Dupre threatens Brynn again, Acker throws a sword that unerringly kills Dupre. Kai stabs Acker, who chokes Kai until Brynn asks him to stop. Acker renders Kai unconscious instead of killing him. Acker then kills a fleeing guard by throwing a knife, which then magically returns to his hand. He and Brynn steal a boat and sail away from the Grove.