Diem is our fiesty healer, who’s twenty-years-old, and has an unknown father. Sigh, of course. She has grey eyes and tells everyone she looks exactly like the descended, the all-powerful a**holes who rule everything, because of a childhood illness. Everyone is like, oh, okay, that makes total sense, and Diem’s allowed to roam around the mortal city as a healer with a smarty pants brother, Teller, and an incredibly annoying idiot rebel boyfriend named Henri.
Henri does have a lopsided grin, so I guess that makes it okay that he’s a misguided rebel boy who seems incapable of clear reason or thought. But they’ve known each other foreverrrrrrr!
Diem’s mama goes missing right away, as birth parents are often not a part of the first book, and Diem, Teller, and her adopted dad, hmmm….I can’t remember his name, I’ll just call him Bobby, are all bummed that mama has vanished from their lives. Bobby is a big, important army commander guy, which we’re reminded of so much that I can’t believe I’m blanking on his name and I also lack the motivation to find it. Mama was a healer for the a**hole royals and has trained Diem in the healing arts, and guess what? Diem is super amazing at healing. But she’s not allowed to head descended people! Ever! No!
Before mama goes missing, Diem was running around the prostitute quarter, I don’t remember why and it’s really not important, we just get to learn that she can defend herself! Of course she can. And sees her mama talking to a descended, kind of arguing about something, so an old witch lady tells Diem eavesdropping is rude, then spews some “Use your power, girl!” and “Lets go kill stuff!” Diem’s all, well that was odd, but I need to get home! And boom, no more mama.
In current times she’s called to the Royal place because some kids might have blown up. The kids are a bit bruised — they don’t get their diamond-like skin until they are fully grown! But one girl, Princess Lily, has a wonky arm. Her brother, Prince Luther is the guy Diem saw arguing with her mama! Omg! Sigh. Diem heals Lily’s arm but is so dedicated to hating Luther because she is not bright, that she misses Lily bleeding out from her back. Really, not bright.
Diem heals Lily’s back to the point that the skin is perfect, and she was able to set a descended boy’s arm back into place, which she attributes to their amazing healing abilities. Not that she has some crazy magic, no no, her nearly translucent eyes, inhuman strength, and glowing healing energy are all because she ate some expired glue when she was a kid.
Oh and mama made her take flashwort, no wait, flameroot, to help keep her visions at bay, but Diem stopped taking it after the witch was like, we can be the Thelma and Louise of Prostitute City, let’s roll weird eyes! And bam, no more flameroot and power galore. Diem, obviously, doesn’t connect the dots here since it’s too early in the series for her to be the political and tactical genius I’m sure she’s destined to become.
Luther’s all, thanks for healing my sister, and Diem’s all, where’s my mama! But only in her head, she doesn’t actually say the words, just acts all sassy with the most powerful descended guy around before sashaying back home saying how much she hates him. Ummm, why? She hates him all the way through the book for no actual reason. I think she needs some therapy. But I digress.
She and Henri go to fancy town for who knows what. Diem tries to get some flameroot and freaks out her herbal supplier, then Henri’s all, join the Rebellion! Let’s kills some descended, weird eyes! Oh, and she and Henri Tiddlywinked on their journey to the big city only for Diem to wake up and kill a wolf. I guess since he didn’t bring her breakfast?
Diem decides she’ll help the rebellion, but I can’t remember why at first, but the rebels poison a small, royal girl, so Diem is called in to heal her and steal documents. Which she does and they all celebrate her, but she’s still kind of like, wait, did you poison her on purpose? It’s fine, we got the blueprints to the armory! We can really kill people now! Diem’s like, great! I’m amazing at this!
Diem does witness a descended guy kill a prostitute and their child, which might have been why she joined? I seriously can’t remember, but it was awful. So now she’s totally down to be in the rebellion, but she’s not getting that stupid tattoo. The rebels all call each other “Brother” and “Sister” so I guess it’s a cult. Diem did wrestle with breaking her healing vows, but honestly, not that hard. After healing the poisoned five-year-old, there’s a new mission for someone who can get into the royal castle and do stuff undetected. Henri’s all, that’s you, Diem! Diem’s like, no it’s not. He volunteers her and she’s like okay, sure, why not, it’s just my life if I’m caught.
She goes to the castle to tend to the King — she’s taken on the descended healing to replace her mama, who did it so Teller could go to the super smart descended school. At some point it’s like, where are the descended healers? But I’m sure none would be as good as Diem, anyway. She’s there with her trusted healer buddy, who’s all, follow their rules! But Diem bolts away as soon as she can and runs around the castle like she’s being attacked by bees, only to have Luther tell her to knock it off. She’s hiding behind a pillar from him but is eventually found and he stabs a guard for hurting her. She failed at her mission, and she’s all, I suck! And it’s like, yeah, you really do and for so many reasons. But the rebels are all, you’re amazing! You got in the castle! Weird eyes, weird eyes, weird eyes!
I think it’s around this time that Henri’s all, let’s get married! And Diem’s like, errr, nah. But I’ll think about it.
Having been a total failure in her bee running in the castle, Diem takes on smaller work and avoids the castle until there’s an explosion one night. She grabs her healer bag and heads out to help, when she’s restrained by Henri. Yeah, we blew that up, it’s cool, go home. Diem actually manages to connect these dots and realizes the explosion is from the blueprints she got the rebels, so if any one dies, it’s completely her fault. Yup, it totally is. Henri restrains her pretty forcefully and the other rebels with her tell her to go home and fuggedaboutit.
Diem says ha ha of course, see you later, then roadrunner’s it toward the explosion. They call her names, which is not cool, rebels, and she loses her healer bag, but does eventually make it to the armory, which is now in flames.
When she sees the burned guards, she’s sad that she sucks and demands the chance to go into the burning building to save the last few guards. Diem’s smaller than the average descended, so she’ll fit better. Luther’s like, f no, you stay here, and she’s all, f yes! I’m headstrong! Here I go! He’s all, oh, okay, see you later.
In Diem goes, and all I can think is “A Very Brady Christmas” when Mike has to rescue the construction guys and gets stuck until Carol starts singing “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
The exact same thing happens here - Diem refuses to leave without the injured guards, but realizes that she’s an idiot and this is where she dies. But her magic’s all nah, get up, weird eyes. Diem gets up, decides to use on guard like a stretcher tosses one guard on top of the other guard and drags them out of the building. Because that’s how stretchers work.
Diem does pass out, or is on fire or something, so Luther carries her back and he and a cousin tend to her until she’s well enough to go home. I think it’s here that Luther makes her see the dying king, who babbles “You’ve come for me, weird eyes, your blood will burn stuff and goobly goobly cryptic warnings!”
Luther does walk her home, and she’s all pissed off at who knows what, so they kiss and get she gets bloody hand prints all over him, tells him to fix the secret passage into the kingdom so more people don’t get blown up, and goes home. Oh, and Luther said he’d tell her where her mom is if mama’s not back soon, or something like that. I’d expect to see Mama Diem in book two.
Once home Diem decides she doesn’t want to be a healer anymore because she sucks at keeping her vows, and Henri tells her she needs to tell the rebel thugs what happened, they’re upset with her. Yo, they called her a b*tch and tried to attack her, wake up, Diem, Henri sucks. Oh, and Bobby has joined the army or something to attack mortals for the royals, so yeah, Diem! Bobby sucks the rebellion rocks! Henri yells at her.
Diem goes home and Bobby wants to have a talk. What the f was she doing at the royal palace? She can’t do that! Diem’s all, you joined the army! Teller’s all, you joined the army? and starts crying. Bobby’s all, yeah, so? I don’t have a choice! You’re not my Dad! Diem cries. And blah blah blah, Teller likes Princess Lily, and that’s bad, the royals are jerks, blah blah. More yelling and Diem finally runs off to the lake, or some kind of water source to try to find the flameroot she tossed in a few weeks ago.
Diem’s all upset about everything when a lightbulb appears above her head and Teller runs down and tells her she has the crown. Diem is the new queen of the nearby descended a**holes!
