A Tempest of Tea

“It wasn’t waiting for a divine grip. It hadn’t been left there by a long-forgotten enchanter for a future king. It was simply one of the many artifacts in Ettenia’s possession. They collected trophies for civilizing countries that had never asked for a redefinition of the word.”

This passage reframes the mythic idea of Calibore/Excalibur as a remnant of colonization rather than as a piece of Ettenian/English legend. The “long-forgotten enchanter” is an oblique reference to Merlin, whose role in most versions of the Excalibur tale involved introducing the challenge of the Sword in the Stone to the English people. By contrasting the language of divinity and magic with the brutal realities of colonization, the novel emphasizes the distinction between the gritty reality of the marginalized and the elevated mythologies of the people in power.

“Arthie wasn’t a menace to society, she wasn’t ruining the economy. Spindrift wasn’t loud or brash or an eyesore. She, a lower-class immigrant, was successful, and that made people mad.”

The bitter, cynical tone of this passage highlights the impossible standard that people of color face to become successful. Even though Arthie is arguably helping White Roaring through her business, she suffers discrimination due to her race, gender, and other traits. Given the unjust limitations of Ettenian society, there is no way for Arthie to simultaneously enjoy success and please the people of White Roaring, for even if they refuse to admit it, they ultimately want her out of their sight.

“[Spindrift] became the beating heart of their bond, long after Arthie had found a surname in a book and declared it their own. It consumed him. The tearoom, the bloodhouse. Fitting pipes and cutting glass and twisting wires to light a bulb. He furnished rooms where a vampire and human could have their privacy while they transacted blood, he concocted a blend with coconut to give them something new.”

This passage illuminates the grip that Spindrift has on Jin, who lost his home as a child and has never fully recovered. Jin is “consumed” by Spindrift and does not know how to live without it, and this passage foreshadows the end of the novel. When Spindrift burns, Jin’s relationship with Arthie is also broken, and Jin himself dies and becomes a vampire. The “beating heart” in this passage therefore stands as a much stronger metaphor than it initially seems to be.

“Arthie stood with her hands on the railing of the second-floor balcony, surveying her domain with eyes that might have once been warm, the light long devoured by calculation. She wore trousers and a suit jacket as if they weren’t made for men, lace-up shoes instead of button boots, a waistcoat instead of a bodice, and a pistol in lieu of a parasol, bright at her hip like a knight’s sword.”

The comparison of Calibore to a knight’s sword emphasizes the magical attributes of the pistol, even though Flick does not know its true nature. This passage clearly highlights Arthie’s gender non-conformity, but Flick’s comment that she wears traditional male clothing “as if [it] weren’t made for men” and this passage suggest that Arthie is not wearing her chosen style of clothing to act masculine; instead, her clothing merely reflects who she is.

“Flick’s hand flew to her throat when the girl turned around. It was Beatrice McArdle. She had snickered at Flick’s gown last season, and now here she was with her own mostly undone. The girl said something else, but Matteo shook his head, and she turned with a screech before stomping out of the parlor.”

This passage emphasizes the Victorian setting of Ettenia, with a reference to social “seasons” that mirrors the traditions of upper-class British society, wherein important, high-class people attend varying events throughout the spring and summer, socializing and arranging business and marriages. Seasons are important markers of time in many Regency and Victorian works, such as The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

“The Festival of Night was a weeklong event beginning with an auction, the proceeds from which the Athereum gifted to the public to better their image. They were the good vampires, the high-class, enigmatic, impressive ones. She wasn’t fond of how the living treated vampires, but she loathed the Athereum’s distaste of lesser vampires even more.”

The novel emphasizes the idea that even marginalized people groups like vampires have class differences and mistreat one another just as hegemony mistreats them. In this way, the novel complicates the concept of intersectionality. For example, a vampire could be a person of color and oppressed for their vampirism, but they still might use wealth to oppress and reject others. Ultimately, however, the eventual revelation that all vampires are at risk of being kidnapped by the government emphasizes the need for unity against the oppressor.

“[Laith] twirled a sprig of rosemary between his fingers. Arthie wondered if he knew that Ettenians spoke with flowers when they were too prim and proper for direct conversation. He very likely did, for every corner sold a pamphlet with a list of which weed meant what and what blossom to say why.”

Sources vary on what “rosemary” typically means in flower language, and Arthie never reveals what the Ettenian meaning of the herb is, but the two most common interpretations are love and remembrance. This interpretation provides a dual insight into Laith’s motivations; he pretends to love Arthie in order to get closer to her, but he is ultimately controlled by his guilt and his memories of his sister. Arthie’s lack of interpretation reveals that she does not put much stock in flower language and suggests that she might not know how to see past Laith’s fronts.

“Every so often, Arthie felt the same pinprick panic as the people whose secrets she exposed. Like now, when quick as a trick of the light, Calibore the pistol became Calibore the knife, black filigree scrawling down its hilt, silver blade sharp.”

The power of secrets is a recurring theme in the novel, and Arthie’s control of others and their secrets suggests that her own secrets are well-kept and dangerous. Like her own weapon, perceptions of Arthie also shapeshift; she begins the novel in the guise of a human and ends it as a half-vampire, with her goals and treatment of others changing to fit each new situation. Arthie and Calibore are deeply connected, and this renders the novel’s conclusion all the more ironic, given that Calibore’s own bullet seemingly kills her at the end.

“They were in terrible, terrible danger. A vampire like Matteo wouldn’t go around using his lure on a human. Not unless he was giving in to his more animalistic impulses. Any moment now, Jin was bound to be his midday snack.”

This passage implies that Matteo has far less control over himself than the average vampire, while also introducing the concept of a “lure”—a specifically alluring voice that vampires use to bewitch their victims. While the novel never reveals Matteo’s true nature, this passage contributes to the suggestion that he, too, is a half-vampire and is possibly the Wolf of White Roaring; like Arthie, Matteo has minimal control over his need for blood.

“Flick envied them. Their camaraderie, their friendship, their love. They were bound without blood, a bond not unlike hers and her mother’s, and yet they couldn’t be more different. And it made Flick wonder, then, what exactly she wanted from her mother, if not this.”

This passage contrasts Flick and Lady Linden’s fraught relationship with the healthier power dynamic of two marginalized people who view each other as equals. While Flick is a person of color, Lady Linden is a white woman who forcefully adopted her and assimilated her into Ettenian culture without her consent. Now, Flick thinks that she wants Lady Linden’s love, but she really wants respect and freedom: two things that her mother has no wish to give her. Flick wants to be recognized as someone with inherent value, and when she begins to envy the regard that Jin and Arthie have for each other, Flick begins to recover from a life of being shaped into something “better” than what she is. As this unmasking process unfolds, she must learn to untangle those lies before she can experience a healthy relationship.

“To some, it was romantic—a family forever united. To Jin, it was heinous. It was one thing to be born without the privilege of money and standing; it was another to live without the power to make a decision for oneself. To have control forcefully taken from one’s hands, to understand the true meaning of helplessness.”

Complementing the previous passage that emphasizes Flick’s desire for freedom, Jin’s arc reflects a similar desire for freedom and agency. While Jin has more agency than some characters, he is trapped in the past and haunted by his family’s deaths. However, his willingness to acknowledge that families can sometimes be harmful indicates that he has the capacity to adjust his outlook and gain a more nuanced perspective.

“That was the problem, wasn’t it? She didn’t trust anyone. Jin sometimes wondered if she even trusted him.”

In this moment, Jin recognizes the fatal flaw in the bond that he and Arthie share. Arthie, for all her love, does not trust him with her deepest secrets. Although Jin spends most of his time hoping that this is not true, the novel makes it clear that his hope is in vain. Arthie loves Jin, but she also manipulates him by withholding information about her true nature. Her reasons for doing so are complex, but this passage emphasizes that Jin does not know her motivations and cannot begin to understand them.

“Flick thanked her and stepped into the lavish opulence of the Athereum. The walls dripped in sinful decadence. The heels of her boots clicked on the tiles like bullets in a glass. The chutes rattled as another pair of markers shot through.”

The descriptive language and imagery in this passage emphasize the beauty and violence of the Athereum, painting a vivid picture of the lavish lifestyle that the rich vampires enjoy. However, the scene is also tinged with a sense of threat and tightly leashed violence. With the simile comparing Flick’s heels to bullets and referencing “dripping” decadence that connotes the presence of blood, the passage indicates that the vampires are not safe, despite the outward beauty of their surroundings.

“When Matteo had made the suggestion back in Spindrift, none of them had believed an argument over style could distract anyone, but Jin stood corrected. There was good sense and then there was affluence.”

This passage uses a comedic tone to emphasize the absurdity of upper-class society, whether its members be vampires or regular people. Matteo’s insult in the preceding lines is biting but ultimately harmless, yet the exceedingly dramatic reaction emphasizes Jin’s point that there is little room for reason when people are rich enough to be offended by minor details. This scene also emphasizes Matteo’s importance to the success of the mission, since even Flick does not seem to recognize how to manipulate this silliness.

“‘Hello, darling,’ Matteo said, tipping a fluted glass at her. Even disguised, he looked every bit… himself. The way he walked, the way he smiled. The way that damned dimple taunted from his cheek.”

This passage emphasizes the contrast between Matteo and Arthie even as it draws attention to their similarities. While both characters are living a lie, Arthie keeps secrets from those she loves, while Matteo keeps secrets only from those who could harm him. Both are also uniquely capable of seeing the other person for who they truly are. Arthie sees through Matteo’s fronts and disguises far more easily than she sees through Laith’s, and this dynamic suggests that she and Matteo are more similar than Arthie might think—something that Penn explicitly points out.

“Arthie caught a whiff of the cigar in [Penn’s] hand and she was eight again, standing on his ebony doorstep while silver needles of rain pelted the cobblestones, clouds heavy and gray. Her cheeks were still stained with the death of her parents, blood still crusted under her nails.”

Given Faizal’s focus on reimagining scraps of Arthurian legend, Penn’s name might be an oblique reference to Pendragon, the surname of Arthur and his father Uther. However, Penn is a much more sympathetic figure than Uther, serving as a genuinely loving father figure to Arthie despite his faults. This passage also shows that Penn has a unique power over Arthie; while Arthie is very skilled at repressing her trauma, Penn forces her to relive it, in turn driving her closer to her true nature and feelings.

“Flick sank deeper into her chair. She knew the EJC wasn’t entirely clean, but this was beyond acceptable. And as she sat there, she felt like a kettle left too long on the stove. All her insides were roiling, raging, and bubbling out, hot and angry.”

This scene once again proves that secrets are the lifeblood of the story, and Flick’s realization that the EJC is trafficking vampires finally revolutionizes her understanding of Lady Linden and of her own place in the world. Flick’s description of her own anger emphasizes the suddenness of her dramatic change in worldview; previously, Flick had been largely cheerful and actively repressed her more “unladylike” emotions for propriety’s sake. Thus, learning the truth transforms Flick into the much more discerning, decisive person that she needs to be, and she finally finds the strength to free herself from her mother’s toxic influence.

“It was as Laith had said: the Ram disliked Spindrift, and as long as Spindrift existed, the threat to it would remain. For as long the Ram existed, the threat would remain. This wasn’t only about Spindrift anymore. She couldn’t be a thorn in the Ram’s side anymore. She needed the Ram gone. For herself, for her crew, and for the vampires being snatched for a war that wasn’t theirs.”

Arthie’s anger throughout the book has been largely directed at the concept of colonialism and the effects that these circumstances have had on her personally. However, this passage emphasizes a fundamental change in her perspective, and she embraces a much broader and more violent worldview as she decides to destroy the powers that be in order to save Ettenia’s victims.

“Because that was the nature of man. Born to nurture, determined to destroy. Fitting, Arthie thought. At least Jin wasn’t here in this nightmare returned. All her life she’d spun a slow dance through a burning room, and the inferno had caught up to her at last.”

A quieter theme throughout the novel can be found in Arthie’s intense grief over her identity as a half-vampire, as well as her struggle to come to terms with her intense losses. Arthie believes, however subtly, that she is better off dead, and this passage emphasizes her grief over the harm she has caused and the destructive life that she has led. This passage also reveals her feelings about Jin, indicating that she hides her secrets from him because she wants him to be safe and to love the version of her that she projects. She loves Jin, but she has little faith that he or anyone else could love the person she truly is.

“Arthie spent days huddling in the alleys of White Roaring’s streets. She saw other vampires bewitching humans into baring their throats, just for a taste. She didn’t trust herself to hold that same restraint, so she starved. She vowed to never drink another drop of blood again. She clung to the humanity she remembered, the remains of what had been stolen from her.”

More than anything else, Arthie yearns to be human, and her actions throughout the book emphasize her humanity, as when she gives in to emotion and loves her found family deeply, even at great personal cost. Arthie’s refusal to drink blood therefore holds many complexities, for when she refuses to drink blood, this decision only drives her closer to losing control and harming people. Arthie’s uncompromising perspective on her own identity removes any possibility of finding a vestige of humanity in her status as a half-vampire; instead, she hurts herself in the doomed effort to pretend that she is human.

“He spoke as if he understood. He’d lived a life sheltered between canvases, immersed in a brushstroke meadow of his own making. But when he turned his face to the lamp, she thought she saw something ruined and monstrous. She blinked, and the light painted him anew in the same beauty as his work. Was there more to Matteo than she saw?”

This passage once again draws attention to the fact that Matteo contains greater depths than the narrative reveals. The emphasis of his “monstrous” nature also implies that, like Arthie, he might be a half-vampire. Arthie and Matteo’s relationship is one of mutual assumptions, but Arthie’s assumptions about Matteo are repeatedly disproven as he reveals himself to be far different than she initially believes.

“It was rare to hear praise for her intellect. It was only ever treated as something that was overgrown to the point of recklessness; she was always told she was too cunning, too corrupt. Never brilliant.”

While this passage initially reads as an alternative to complimenting Arthie’s beauty, it also shows Matteo’s understanding of Arthie’s needs. Arthie, more than anything else, needs to feel that she is human and is a good person. Matteo’s compliment reminds her that she is not a monster and that her intellect is a blessing, not a curse. This idea directly contrasts with Laith’s decision to provoke her into biting him. While Laith goads her to give in to her darker side, Matteo’s compliment instead encourages her to acknowledge that even her more dangerous attributes have the potential for good.

“She knew he was not happy with the secrets she’d kept. She looked smaller, frailer. Broken. She stumbled and righted herself. He didn’t know what to say, and so he watched as Arthie threw the drape of her sari back over her shoulder, a fan of red and crimson and blood, and then she was gone.”

The final interaction between Jin and Arthie demonstrates the new conflict in their relationship. Now they are both undead, but Arthie’s secrets have broken them both, shattering Jin’s confidence in her and her confidence in herself. The imagery of Arthie’s departure implies that the loss of Jin’s trust is turning her closer to her vampiric nature; although she once saw Jin as her primary tether to being human, this connection is now lost.