A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

In the novel’s world, the eye-for-an-eye model of justice is ethically sound. In a key scene in the book, Cas tells Poppy that he has a surprise gift for her. “It’s not a ring,” he reassures her, but something she will like even better: “retribution” (229) for Lord Chaney. When Poppy enters the dungeon where Chaney is jailed, she can smell “the rich iron scent of blood” (230) from the wounded Ascended. Chaney has already been severely injured: Kieran “tore out his tongue” because Chaney “annoyed” (231) him with his talk. Chaney could be left jailed in the dungeon, but Poppy decides to accept Cas’s gift and thrusts her bloodstone dagger in Chaney’s heart, watching him as “the flesh cracked and peeled back” (232) till the vampry is reduced to ash. This passage indicates Poppy’s acknowledgment that violence in the name of justice or to right a wrong is necessary.

Violence is a pervasive feature in the world of Blood and Ash, and protagonists often partake in bloodshed. Cas rips out his courtier Landell’s heart for insulting Poppy. Kieran tears out Chaney’s tongue. Poppy becomes a killing-machine in battle, feeling “nothing but a sudden iciness” (504) as she watches the vampry Duchess Teerman turn to ash.