55 pages • 1 hour read
A Darker Shade of Magic
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Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: “White Throne”
Kell helps a reluctant Rhy practice elemental magic. The prince has always struggled with magic, and Kell suspects that something else is bothering Rhy as well, but Rhy brushes off his questions about Holland’s unexpected visit. When Rhy loses control of a fire, Kell is forced to use blood magic to extinguish it, which leaves the magician weary. Just as the apologetic prince suggests that they find a tavern to relax in, the king arrives with a letter for the rulers of White London. Red London feels guilty and responsible for White London because Red London chose to seal itself off centuries ago when Black London fell. This forced White London to fight off the dark magic that consumed Black London by itself, and White London became “a place torn by violence and power” (84).
Kell journeys to the grim and chill world of White London. To comfort himself, he chants Red London’s motto, “Power in Balance. Balance in Power” (86). While the people of Red London respect magic, White London sees magic as something to be dominated. However, the more they seek to conquer magic, the more it withdraws from them, leaving their world drained of life and color.
The twins Astrid and Athos Dane are the latest in a long line of power-hungry magicians to seize control of White London. On his way into their fortress, Kell passes guards whose minds and bodies are under magical control, as well as a courtyard full of the petrified remains of the Danes’ enemies. Even the powerful Holland is under a binding spell that forces him to obey Athos. Holland leads Kell to Astrid, who is in the throne room, and then informs Athos of Kell’s arrival. Astrid brings Kell to his knees with a painful surge of magic and expresses a desire to keep him in White London. He forces himself not to fight back, knowing he would only be playing into her hands. Athos enters the throne room and invites Kell to stay for a drink, an offer that Kell dares not refuse. Even though he’s an Antari, the Danes make Kell feel like “a mouse in the company of snakes” (102). Athos compels Holland to cut himself and fills a goblet with Holland’s blood. The twins share the blood while they provide Kell with a pale golden beverage.
After several drinks, a shaken and intoxicated Kell staggers through the streets of White London, berating himself for his recklessness. He resolves to stop smuggling things between worlds. Moments later, a woman begs Kell to bring a message to her ailing relative in Red London. Although he protests, she gives him the letter and a small cloth-wrapped parcel and hurries away.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Black Stone”
On her way back to the Stone’s Throw after a day of picking pockets, Lila sees a boy begging near the tavern and gives him some coins. A proud Barron teases her, “Someone might think you’ve got a heart under all that brass” (114). When a group of “thugs” steal the coins from the boy, Lila ignores Barron’s warning, dons her Shadow Thief disguise, and pursues them.
The scene shifts to Red London. Kell goes to the address on the mysterious woman’s letter and spots a shadowy figure lying in wait for him. He tears open the letter and finds it blank. Realizing that he’s been set up and that someone is after the parcel the woman gave him, Kell flees.
The narrative returns to Grey London. The “thugs” split up and lead Lila into a trap. They recognize the Shadow Thief from the wanted posters and intend to kill her and claim the reward. Lila realizes she has no choice but to do “the one thing she hate[s] to do” (119), which is to run away.
Back in Red London, Kell hides in his secret room in the Ruby Fields tavern. Opening the mysterious parcel, he finds a roughly hewn stone “small enough to nest in a closed fist, and as black as Kell’s right eye” (120). A piece of the stone appears to be missing. The stone is marked with a rune from Black London’s language. The rune, Vitari, means “magic.” All relics of Black London were meant to be destroyed after the city fell to corruption, and Kell feels both curiosity and alarm as he wonders why he’s been used to smuggle something so dangerous into his home city.
Two hooded men under compulsion spells find Kell’s hiding place. One of the attackers carries the enchanted sword of Red London’s royal guards, and Kell loses access to his magic when the man slashes him across the chest. In desperation, Kell cries out for the man to stop, and the black stone freezes the attacker in time, something Kell thought impossible. Kell feels dizzy and drained when he lets go of the stone, but he manages to kill the other attacker. Other pursuers take up the hunt, so, with great difficulty, Kell travels to Grey London. He sees a tall person wearing a mask and a broad hat and realizes that she’s a young woman. The disguised woman notices that he’s bleeding, gives him a handkerchief, and walks off. Kell feels as though he and the young woman could be friends under different circumstances, and he’s startled to realize that she stole the black stone.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Thieves Meet”
In Red London, the man whom Kell froze in time with the stone is taken over by dark magic, “the once-red core of life now burning pure and dark” (136). The sinister power turns the man’s eyes solid black and uses the stolen body to enter a nearby building.
Meanwhile, in Grey London, Lila examines the stone that she stole from Kell. Although she deems it worthless, she holds onto it. Removing her disguise, she returns to the Stone’s Throw. Barron gives her a concerned look, which she cringes at because they aren’t family. Barron gives the little boy outside some stew. Although Lila is also hungry, she refuses to accept charity and resolves to repay Barron in full once she scores a large haul.
Lila recalls the fight she had with Barron a year ago. He’d offered her a job running the tavern with him, but she’d retorted that such a life was not enough for her and stormed out. Lila goes up to her room and finds Kell waiting for her. He tries to take back the stone but collapses in a faint. When he starts to revive, Lila knocks him unconscious with a book.
Kell wakes up tied to Lila’s headboard. He is relieved to note that his wound has stopped bleeding and that his magic has returned. He also observes that his captor’s eyes are two different shades of brown. Kell and Lila exchange names, and he explains that he’s from another London, that he used her handkerchief to magically transport himself to her, and that the black stone holds dangerous power. He burns the ropes binding him to ash and tries to seize the stone, but Lila stops him by slashing his palm with a knife. She uses the stone to wish for a sword, and it appears in her hand. Next, she toys with Kell by creating a magical doppelganger of him. The duplicate gains sentience and attacks Lila, and Kell uses blood magic to dispel it. Then, he binds Lila to a wall, gathers the stone and the rest of his belongings, and escapes into the night.
Cursing Kell, Lila uses a knife to saw through her bindings. Once free, she picks up the magical black sword and experiences “a strange, bone-deep sense of longing that she [doesn’t] trust” (152). She throws the sword out into the street, where an intoxicated man named Booth finds it. When he draws it, the blade compels him to stab himself, and the dark magic takes over his body.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
In this section, two thieves cross paths, resulting in ominous consequences for both of their worlds. In Chapter 4, the reader sees White London for the first time. This desolate domain and its bloodthirsty rulers embody the theme of Power as a Path to Corruption. The people of White London’s desire for control drove them to abuse the balance between magic and humanity. As a result, the city suffers under a string of cruel conquerors, and the landscape is so stark and lifeless that Kell names it White London: “The magic here was bitter and mean, and it bled the world’s life and warmth and color, leaching it out of everything and leaving only the pale and bloated corpse behind” (87). This is a stark contrast to the vibrant livelihood of Red London, and Schwab emphasizes these differences through descriptive language, associating “white” with coldness and death. In menacing White London, not even the powerful Antari are safe, and the novel’s suspense escalates.
Chapter 4 also introduces the most important object in the story: the black stone. The stone serves as a motif for the theme of power and corruption, and it also contributes to the novel’s color symbolism because black represents imbalanced, corrupted magic. Kell’s ill-fated decision to smuggle the stone yields deadly consequences as early as Chapter 6. He accidentally uses the stone to freeze someone in time, and the man becomes corrupted by its power, which adds context to what might have befallen Black London. Kell’s actions give the dark magic that destroyed Black London a foot soldier in Red London, foreshadowing the danger to come. The stone possesses almost limitless power and preys on people’s desires. For example, the first thing Lila wishes into being is a sword because she thinks of herself as a “pirate without a ship” (113). Lila’s folly in using the stone and then discarding the sword causes a man’s death and creates a second dark soldier, this one in Grey London. Both Lila and Kell’s home worlds are imperiled because of their choices, which builds the theme of Choice and Consequence.
Some of the novel’s most important interactions occur in Chapters 5 and 6, the latter of which is fittingly titled “Thieves Meet.” It is theft that brings the novel’s protagonist and deuteragonist together. Against his better judgment, Kell breaks Red London’s laws by smuggling the black stone between worlds, and Lila makes the spur-of-the-moment decision to pick his pocket. Both characters act hastily, inadvertently bringing a gravely dangerous object to their homes—and bringing their paths together. These parallel decisions are key moments in the theme of Choice and Consequence. When Kell first sees Lila, the mysterious young woman makes a positive impression on him: He thinks that “under different circumstances, they might have been friends” (130). However, he soon has abundant cause to question his initial assessment. Lila steals from him even though he’s injured and then knocks him unconscious and ties him up when he comes to reclaim his purloined property. Despite this less than convivial treatment, Kell saves Lila from his doppelganger. At this point in the novel, Lila and Kell are far from friends, let alone romantic partners. As the story continues, their relationship evolves and allows them each to discover more about themselves and one another.
In between the suspenseful chase scenes and high stakes, this section offers moments that show The Nature of Family. Chapter 6 offers further insight into Barron and Lila’s relationship. A mere “flicker of concern” from her father figure has her cringing with guilt and inwardly protesting: “She wasn’t his family. He wasn’t hers” (138). The freedom-loving Lila balks at the idea of being tied to one place or having obligations to another person. As a result, when Barron offered her a chance at an honest life a year ago, she threw it back in his face. Despite this rocky history, he still welcomes her back when she needs a place to lie low and is the closest thing Lila has to a family. Lila is torn between her dangerous life as a thief and the safety and care she receives under Barron’s protection. She believes she cannot have both, and she is too used to being hurt by others, including her own biological family members. Thus, she denies her connection to Barron to protect herself.
This section provides subtle hints about the upcoming events of the plot, as well as the series’ future. In Chapter 4, Kell rightfully suspects that Rhy is hiding something from him. The prince’s unwillingness to talk about Holland foreshadows the revelation that Holland gave him a necklace that allows Astrid to control him. Readers are also given context as to why Prince Rhy foolishly accepted a gift from White London’s notoriously ruthless leaders. His frustrated attempts to work magic in Chapter 4 make him feel weak and ashamed, so he embraces the lie that the necklace will make him strong. In Chapter 5, the stone’s rough-hewn edges foreshadow that a piece is missing. Later in the novel, it’s revealed that King Athos of White London holds the other half. In Chapter 6, Kell notices that Lila’s eyes are slightly different colors; toward the end of the novel, Lila explains that one of her eyes is made of glass. The full significance of this detail isn’t confirmed until later in the series, but given the significance of Kell’s eyes, this implies that Lila could secretly be an Antari.
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By V. E. Schwab
