Metal Slinger

Prince Acker of Kenta is Jovie’s love interest in Metal Slinger. He is initially introduced as an anonymous Kenta soldier but is eventually revealed to be the son and heir of the corrupt and malevolent King Edmond of Kenta. Acker is an extremely competent soldier and has trained since childhood as a member of Kenta’s army. His magical power to control metal gives the novel its title; Fia, the healer who helps Jovie recover from her dangerous acquisition of her magic, calls Acker a “metal slinger” in the process of criticizing him for the fact that his military history has caused him to kill many people. However, although Acker is not conflicted about the necessity of engaging in bloodshed, he is not an indiscriminate killer, and he balks at the idea of killing his father when Jovie tells him that Edmond needs to be overthrown.

When Jovie expresses horror at the fact that Kenta allows children to engage in battle, Acker defends this practice as necessary, citing the continued hostilities from Roison and Maile on either side of Kenta. Acker’s acceptance of his home country’s political violence is similarly ambivalent throughout the novel. Although Acker is frequently positioned as being at odds with his father, who is the novel’s primary antagonist, Acker also periodically defends Kenta’s more violent practices even when Jovie finds them to be unpalatable. This trend, combined with the novel’s implicit suggestion that men cannot be trusted to protect women over whom they wield power, leaves Acker’s trustworthiness in question. At minimum, he does not merit being included in Jovie’s plans to overthrow Edmond, although Jovie does share this plan with Beau, whom she meets after spending many weeks with Acker.

Acker is protective of Jovie and loyal to her as well, tendencies that his friend Hallis criticizes. This loyalty leads Acker to act rashly in defense of the people he loves, even to his own detriment, such as when he makes a blood oath never to harm Jovie. (She later exploits this oath in order to betray him.) He is also frequently hotheaded, and he and Jovie periodically argue and disagree. The novel’s climax reveals that Acker tends to ignore information that contradicts his worldview; likewise, he easily believes information that confirms his existing prejudices, and Jovie manipulates this tendency in order to manipulate him into taking her to Kenta so that she can carry out her rebellion against King Edmond.

Kai is Jovie’s friend and is only directly featured in the opening chapters of the novel, when Jovie is still going by the name of “Brynn.” As the son of the Alaha leader, Wren, Kai is expected to be the future leader of Alaha. Kai is in love with the protagonist and intends to marry her, though she holds only a friendly love for Kai. Despite this, she initially plans to go ahead with the marriage even though this prospect causes her emotional distress when she falls in love with Acker. Kai has magical powers of compulsion that are severely limited by his people’s long separation from land.

For much of the novel, Kai is portrayed as an antagonist because he and Jovie have secretly conspired to let Acker believe that Kai is using his compulsive powers to force Jovie into an arranged marriage. When Jovie finally reveals her plot to overthrow both Edmond and Wren, however, the narrative shifts to portray Kai as a steadfast ally to Jovie’s cause. When the true plot is revealed, Kai is shown to be someone who shares many of Jovie’s values; they both seek to protect their people from despotic rulers and are willing to suffer dramatic personal costs to do so. For Kai, this cost includes losing Jovie, as his parents will force him to marry someone else after Jovie departs Alaha.

Beau is Acker’s sister and King Edmond’s illegitimate daughter. Her mother, Greta, works in the library at the Kenta palace. Determined and fierce, Beau delights in the fact that soldiers find her intimidating, and this aspect of the novel pushes back against the persistent gender discrimination that otherwise characterizes Schneider’s world building; gender discrimination is suggested to be particularly strong in Kenta, given Edmond’s prejudices. Beau’s magical gift lets her see the “auras” of other people and detect their strong emotions. This skill also helps her discern the level of truth in others’ statements. Despite the utility of this gift, it also has a negative effect on her mood.

Beau ultimately betrays her brother in order to side with Jovie’s rebellion, and her choice indicates the depth of her hatred for her father. Her emotions on this matter are based on her love for her mother, whom Edmond callously discarded. Beau’s struggle with her decision to betray her brother indicates that she still loves him.