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Diana Farley
Shade Barrow is one of Mare’s older brothers. Like Mare, he’s a newblood, and his ability allows him to teleport. Like Bree and Tramy, Shade was also conscripted into the army when he was 18 years old, but he escaped from the Choke with Crance’s help and joined the Scarlet Guard. Now, he and Farley are in a romantic relationship. Shade is Mare’s favorite brother. He’s kind, quick, and clever. Skilled at tricking people, he’s a natural spy. He often makes himself seem quieter and weaker than he is so that other people underestimate him. Shade is also protective of Mare and frequently puts himself in danger to keep her safe. He stays by Mare’s side throughout the perils they face while fleeing Naercey, escaping from Tuck, and going on recruitment missions throughout Norta. Additionally, Shade reassures Mare when she’s doing the right thing and reminds her that they aren’t better or worse than anybody else for being newbloods. During the battle at Corros Prison, Shade rescues Mare several times. But in the last stage of the battle, as he tries to teleport Mare away to safety, he is killed by Ptolemus Samos. Shade’s death devastates Mare, Farley, and the rest of his family, who bury him on Tuck and hold a funeral for him there.
Shade Barrow Quotes in Glass Sword
The Glass Sword quotes below are all either spoken by Shade Barrow or refer to Shade Barrow . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
The electricity in my veins might be the only thing I trust in this world.
I want to believe in the Scarlet Guard, and certainly in Shade and Kilorn, but I won’t let myself, not after the mess my trust, my blindness toward Maven got us into. And Cal is out of the question altogether. He is a prisoner, a Silver, the enemy who would betray us if he could—if he had anywhere else to run.
But still, somehow, I feel a pull to him.
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Chapter 4 Quotes
We seem weak because we want to. Shade was talking about the Guard when he said that, explaining their motives. Now I wonder if he wasn’t also trying to convey a message.
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A cold thought ripples through me, remembering Julian’s lessons hard learned in the court and the arena. Anyone can betray anyone.
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Chapter 10 Quotes
With every breath, I let another thought go, each one harsher than the last. You forgot them. In. You killed people. Out. You let others die. In. You are alone. Out.
That last one isn’t true. Cal is proof of that, as are Kilorn, Shade, and Farley. But I can’t shake the feeling that, while they stand with me, there’s no one beside me. Even with an army at my back, I am still alone.
Maybe the newbloods will change that. Maybe not. Either way, I have to find out.
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“I don’t like it when you call them normal…There’s nothing wrong with us. We’re different, yes, but not wrong. And certainly not better.”
We are anything but normal, I want to tell him, but Shade’s stern words kill the thought.
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Four stones, pink, red, deep purple, and green—my earrings. The first three are from my brothers, part of a single set split between Gisa and me. They were bittersweet gifts, given when they were conscripted into the army and left our family, perhaps for good. The last one is from Kilorn, given on the edge of doom, before the Scarlet Guard attacked Archeon, before the betrayal that still haunts us all. The earrings were with me through everything, from Bree’s conscription to Maven’s treachery, and each stone feels heavy with memory.
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“Of course,” I reply. “These [earrings] will be with me to my grave.”
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Chapter 17 Quotes
I am a weapon made of flesh, a sword covered in skin. I was born to kill a king, to end a reign of terror before it can truly begin. Fire and lightning raised Maven up, and fire and lightning will bring him down.
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I cling to Cal, Kilorn, Shade, to saving all the newbloods I can, because I am afraid of waking up to emptiness, to a place where my friends and family are gone and I am nothing but a single bolt of lightning in the blackness of a lonely storm.
If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.
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Chapter 27 Quotes
“But still, you feel no remorse for the dead. You do whatever you can to forget them…Half the time you run away from leadership, and the other half you act like some untouchable martyr, crowned in guilt, the only person who’s really giving herself to the cause. Look around you, Mare Barrow. Shade’s not the only one who died in Corros. You are not the only one to make sacrifices.”
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Shade Barrow Character Timeline in Glass Sword
The timeline below shows where the character Shade Barrow appears in Glass Sword. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Shade comforts Mare with the promise that he won’t let anyone take her away again. Shade...
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Farley orders Shade to look after Mare. Mare understands that she’s valuable because of her power and identity...
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Farley and Shade seem unbothered by Cal’s warnings, but they don’t explain why or what their plan is....
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Shade leads Mare and Kilorn through the city, at first on foot and then by small...
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Chapter 2
Shade, Mare, and Kilorn continue to run and teleport through falling steel and glass. Gunfire sounds,...
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Mare and Kilorn grab Shade and find cover. Shade can’t teleport anymore, so Kilorn asks Mare what they should do....
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Chapter 3
...considering that she doesn’t even trust her own brother. Then Kilorn takes Mare to visit Shade, who’s healing from the gunshot wound to his leg.
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In the medical station, Mare and Kilorn talk to Shade, who says they’re traveling to a Scarlet Guard base on an island called Tuck. The...
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Chapter 4
...She’s “the greatest weapon of all,” even if other people don’t recognize it. Mare recalls Shade’s words—“We seem weak because we want to”—and wonders if they have a double meaning.
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Chapter 5
...Mare doesn’t believe in these arguments, but she pretends to agree. She decides to heed Shade’s earlier warning and make herself seem weak, otherwise she’ll be treated with the same fear...
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Chapter 6
Mare asks her family how they got to Tuck. Her mom and dad explain that Shade appeared on their porch two days ago and persuaded them to leave home. Shade jumped...
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...Mare asks Kilorn if they can go to the infirmary. She wants to talk to Shade about Cal. Along the way, Mare follows behind Kilorn and exaggerates her limp. In the...
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In the infirmary, Mare and Kilorn find Shade talking to someone in the next bed. He cuts himself off when he sees Mare...
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Chapter 7
...trusting anymore. When Kilorn scornfully implies that he must mean nothing to Mare compared to Shade or Cal, Mare insists that’s not true and apologizes to Kilorn. Their conversation turns amiable...
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Chapter 8
...rather have her killed. She asks if the Colonel plans to put all newbloods, including Shade, into cages. The Colonel merely replies that Shade is a good soldier and praises Kilorn....
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...he planned to help Mare and Cal all along, and that Mare should’ve trusted him. Shade teleports into the hallway, takes out the guards, and frees Mare, Cal, and Farley from...
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Chapter 9
Shade jumps Mare, Cal, Kilorn, and Farley out of Barracks 1 and into one of Tuck’s...
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...Kilorn only pretended to imprison Mare for the Colonel. This diversion allowed him, Farley, and Shade to pull off their plan to take back Julian’s list and escape Tuck together.
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Chapter 10
Mare shares food rations with Shade. He reassures her that escaping Tuck was the right thing to do, because the Colonel...
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Chapter 11
At night, Mare, Cal, Shade, Kilorn, and Farley travel on foot through the forest to Coraunt. Mare is wary of...
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...arrive at a hill overlooking Coraunt. To Mare’s unease, the group splits up. Farley and Shade go to infiltrate the village and find Nix Marsten. Meanwhile, Mare and Cal stay behind;...
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After an hour, Shade and Farley return with Nix Marsten, a stocky middle-aged man. Nix came willingly, even though...
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...by her lightning or Cal’s fire. Mare realizes that Nix’s ability gives him impenetrable skin. Shade breaks up the fight by teleporting Nix a few feet away, and Mare tries to...
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Chapter 12
Farley wants Mare and Cal to accompany her and Shade into Harbor Bay. Cal fears that he and Mare will be caught and jeopardize the...
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Chapter 13
Mare, Cal, Farley, and Shade head through a sparse forest toward Harbor Bay. Mare senses a small source of electricity...
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Shade recounts how Crance once helped him escape the Choke. Shade and Crance seem like they...
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Chapter 14
Underground, Mare, Cal, Shade, and Farley flee as more sections of tunnel collapse. Crance helps them navigate and escape...
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...Paltry, Seaskulls spot and attack Crance, angry that a Mariner is trespassing on their territory. Shade gets caught in the conflict too, but he can’t free himself by teleporting because there...
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Chapter 15
...lightning, though, she worries about the ways her mission could fail. She especially fears for Shade, who is nowhere to be seen. She regrets abandoning him and feels like Shade shouldn’t...
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...through the back entrance. With her lightning and Cal’s fire, they should succeed even without Shade’s help. Cal warns Mare that if they use their abilities, Maven will discover where they...
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...Farley burst into the gate yard. They’re surrounded by dozens of armed officers and soldiers. Shade teleports Mare and the others away.
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In an alley far from Ocean Hill, with Cal and Farley close by, Shade seems angry at Mare, and she expects him to rebuke her for leaving him behind...
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Mare, Shade, Farley, and Cal reach an empty square. Shade stops abruptly and apologizes to Mare. A...
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Chapter 16
Mare hears a clicking noise, and Silvers attack Shade and Farley before she can reach them. As the clicking sound continues, Mare tries to...
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Chapter 17
...wondering how many more newbloods Maven has murdered in that time. Kilorn reassures her that Shade, Farley, Nix, and Ada Wallace—whom Crance rescued—have been continuing the search for newbloods. When Mare...
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Chapter 19
...a town called Templyn with Ada, Crance, Nix, and Harrick—a recent newblood recruit. Cal and Shade have stayed behind at the Notch. Without them by her side, Mare feels she has...
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Later, at the Notch, Mare can’t stand either to be alone or to join Shade and the others. She feels cold and empty inside, although Maven’s note in her pocket...
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Chapter 20
...Cal lands the Blackrun near Pitarus, a city where Mare plans to locate four newbloods. Shade, Farley, and Nanny accompany them, as well as Gareth Baument, a newblood who can manipulate...
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Chapter 21
...a charred tavern in Rosen, the stranger introduces himself as Jon and answers questions before Shade, Cal, or Mare can ask them. Jon states that Gareth and Nanny have run into...
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...wasn’t lying, everyone agrees to fly to Little Sword Lake. When they land, Mare and Shade exit the jet to start searching the area, only to be stopped by the sound...
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Chapter 22
Mare and Shade stand in a forest with a girl pointing a large pistol at them. When Shade...
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Shade and Mare realize Jon sent them here to find Cameron. Just as she’s done with...
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Chapter 24
...Mare leaves the training session to check on Cal. Inside the Notch, Mare runs into Shade and Farley, who are coming from the bedrooms. For the first time, Mare realizes that...
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Chapter 25
...house and everyone who’s staying behind. As Mare and the others depart for the airjet, Shade assures Mare that storming Corros is the right thing to do. Mare is comforted and...
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Chapter 26
Farley, Shade, and Kilorn help round up the newbloods, and Ada leads them away. Cal, Mare, and...
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Shade teleports Mare to a hallway near the prison entrance. Mare is overjoyed to see Sara,...
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...Ptolemus and attacks him, giving Mare time to run to the Blackrun and prison jets. Shade teleports Cal, Julian, and Sara inside the jets, while Mare prepares to call down lightning...
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As if in slow motion, Shade appears in front of Mare to teleport her to the jets at the same time...
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Chapter 27
...prisoners from Corros. She remains in the jet’s upper level, where Farley kneels next to Shade. Meanwhile, Mare stares at Elara’s uncovered body. Kilorn is nervous for Mare and suggests she...
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Devastated, Farley asks Mare if she knew Shade was going to die and chose to storm Corros anyway. She accuses Mare of sacrificing...
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Chapter 28
...lies down in the empty infirmary, unable to face her family. She relives the moment Shade died, when he came back to save her. Julian chastises Mare for isolating herself when...
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...died in Corros, but she doesn’t have enough strength to grieve for anyone else but Shade. Inside the barracks, Mare finally joins her family. They seem angry, like they blame her...
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Chapter 29
...now, but he assures her that he doesn’t hold her behavior on the jet after Shade died against her.
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Later, Mare and her family bury Shade in Tuck’s new cemetery. There, Mare learns that Nix, Ketha, Gareth, and 42 other people...
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Mare laments the unfairness of Shade’s death, which Jon allowed to happen. Before leaving the cemetery, Farley tells Mare that she’s...
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