Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Virtue and Vengeance, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Systems of Oppression
Cycles of Violence
Tradition and History
Love vs. Duty
Summary
Analysis
Zélie fixates on the fact that Inan might be on the mountain. Tahir calls out to Zélie and offers her new and improved fighting staff. A button extends daggers on either end and she imagines stabbing one into Inan’s heart. Mâzeli asks why Zélie needs such a weapon and Zélie says she wants to stab her betrayer in the back. Mâzeli apologizes for never having killed anyone and insists that he can’t help because he’s so afraid, but Zélie shares that everyone, including her, is terrified. She promises to protect Mâzeli. Nâo kisses Khani and then summons a cloud of fog. She moves it over their enemies.
Mâzeli gives Zélie the opportunity to remember that what they’re doing isn’t just about murdering Inan and destroying the monarchy. They’re doing this so that Zélie can continue to be around for Mâzeli and other young Reapers like him, while paving the way for this kind of mentorship to flourish in the years to come. What they have now is tenuous, given that the monarchy wants to kill all maji.
Themes
Kenyon lights a path forward and Zélie tries to act brave for Mâzeli. At the edge of the ravine, Kâmarū and Tahir separate the ledge the group stands on from the mountain and they slide down the mountainside. Kâmarū then begins to summon dirt to create steps so he can cross the ravine. Amari goes next, followed by the others. Zélie and Mâzeli go together. Zélie makes the mistake of looking down and sees Inan’s decomposing snow leopanaire, and remembers Lekan’s sacrifice. She vows to not let anything like that happen.
Seeing Inan’s former ryder (who died in the last novel as Zélie escaped Inan’s grasp) is a sobering reminder of what’s at stake, as it reminds Zélie of Lekan. Lekan is one of the biggest reasons Zélie is here now at all, so remembering him and honoring his sacrifice means that Zélie needs to do everything in her power to make her world a better place for Mâzeli and others.
Themes
On the other side, Amari thanks Tahir and sends him back to destroy the bridge if something goes wrong. Kenyon begins to tunnel into the mountainside. He tells Zélie that his father was the clan elder and trained him. After the Raid, he practiced the incantations to remember his father. Zélie thinks of how the other elders lived before the raid and of Mâzeli’s losses. Kâmarū catches her eye and says that the fear of being responsible for others pushes him to be better. They reach the wall of the temple.
Thinking about the other maji and elders reminds Zélie that she’s a part of a community that has, overwhelmingly, suffered at the hands of the people they’re trying to thwart here. Focusing on her community and their collective grief and loss enables Zélie to better channel her grief into something productive: getting the scrolls.
Themes
