Story so far
Roque, the gentle poet and Darrow's dearest friend, is the deepest traitor of all. At the Mask presentation he recites their shared history with tender sorrow—'I would have died for you a thousand times, because you were my friend'—then pricks Darrow with a poisoned needle-ring and kisses his cheek: 'And thus go liars, with a bloodydamn kiss.' Wounded past forgiveness by Quinn's death and Darrow's endless using of him, and knowing Darrow's Red secret, he has thrown in with the Sovereign, Cassius, and the Jackal. Calm and dreadful amid the massacre, he stays Cassius's blade—the Sovereign wants Darrow alive for dissection—and delivers the final blow himself, tilting the ivory box so Darrow sees Fitchner's head within.
To Darrow's whispered 'Brother,' he answers that the world where they are brothers is lost: 'You are a son of Red. I a son of Gold.'
Appearance
A soft-faced Gold poet with long wavy hair slicked back, golden eyes cold and sorrowful, in a sleek black Praetor's uniform.
Role
The Sovereign's hidden agent; the traitor who poisons Darrow and ends the rebellion's hopes.
Relationships
Darrow — His friend, whom he betrays and poisons with a kiss, renouncing their brotherhood.
Cassius au Bellona — His co-conspirator, whose killing blow he stays to keep Darrow alive for the Sovereign.
Quinn — His lost beloved, whose death sealed his turn against Darrow.
Earlier in this series
Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:
Sources — 11 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 2
- The gentle poet of House Mars, Darrow's conscience and a prodigy of astral warfare.
Chapter 11
- Darrow's gentle, loyal poet-friend, who pledges to buy his contract and is secretly drugged to save his life.
Chapter 23
- The gentle poet, broken by Quinn's death and Darrow's unexplained betrayal, who now blames his friend.
Chapter 28
- The grieving poet who seeks Darrow out at last—not to forgive, but to name the betrayal of being drugged.
Chapter 30
- The grieving poet who commands the Europa space battle with a startling, vengeful spite over Quinn's killer.
Chapter 33
- The grieving poet who mourns Tactus, rebukes Darrow's cold calculus, and passionately defends Victra.
Chapter 37
- The poet made youngest fleet commander in a century, who at last reconciles with Darrow before the invasion.
Chapter 39
- The young fleet commander who wins the heavens over Mars and discovers the Sovereign herself is trapped in Agea.
Chapter 44
- The poet-admiral hailed 'Nelson reincarnate' for taking the Bellona fleet, now commanding more ships than Darrow himself.
Chapter 45
- The poet who tells Darrow the hard truth—'I think I'm better than you'—yet leaves the door to friendship open.
Chapter 52
- The gentle poet revealed as the Sovereign's agent, who poisons Darrow with a kiss and betrays the rebellion.