“Love is for children, said the girl.

Death is for fools, said the shadow.

Darkness is my destiny, said the boy.

Allegiance is my undoing, said the eagle.

Suffering is our fate, said the beauty.

And they were all horribly wrong.”

This epigraph introduces foreshadowing, thus creating intrigue and suspense before the story starts. In fact, each of the first five lines is spoken by a character at some point in the narrative—respectively by Zafira, the Lion of the Night, Nasir, Altair, and Yasmine. The last line creates dramatic irony by suggesting that the characters are unaware of crucial pieces of information, whereas the reader knows they are “horribly wrong.” This plays into the literary device of theater as narrative framing.

“People lived because she killed. And if that meant braving the Arz where even the sun was afraid to glimpse, then so be it.”

“People died because he lived. And if that was the only way to carry forward in this life, then so be it.”

These two quotes introduce Zafira and Nasir, respectively. Their parallel structure both highlights the protagonists’ similarities and situates them as foils. On one hand, their motivations are in direct opposition: Zafira kills to feed her village, whereas Nasir kills because he is ordered to. On the other hand, both are sacrificing part of their identities to achieve their goals, and neither is content with the bargain. Despite their conflicting ideologies, their parallel mindsets foreshadow the development of their relationship.