**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**


There was so much political intrigue in this book that it's not even funny. Kestral is amazing art being able to manipulate her way to getting what she wants. It sucks that she cares so much about Arin, but he misinterprets all her actions. To be fair, from an outside perspective her actions look really bad. They do miss each other, though, and I'm hoping that after that ending he's able to understand what's really going on. Kestral really is alone at this point, though. Jess no longer speaks to her and Ronan is dead, so nothing can really be done about that. I didn't expect him to die so soon after enlisting. I thought that maybe he and Kestral would be able to be amicable with him in the future. I'm somehow not surprised her father betrayed her, though. He's super loyal to the laws he believes in and will uphold them even at the cost of his daughter's life. I'm going Kestral's wit will help her survive where she is going, she'll need it.