At the centre of the story is Elva, a warrior princess forced into a political marriage to end a devastating war. She’s abrasive, impulsive, and deeply physical in the way she approaches problems. I’ll be honest: she didn’t always feel emotionally accessible to me. But she did feel consistent. Elva is someone who has survived by armour and action, and that hardness is part of her construction, not a flaw in the writing.