Adelina Amouteru is the protagonist/antagonist and the main narrator of The Young Elites trilogy. She has the ability to create and manipulate illusions, which Michel helped to perfect. She can create an illusion of nothingness and/or invisibility and she can induce immense pain into someone's sense of touch, which can even result in death; she can weave new features into someone's face, most often over herself to hide her malfetto scars. Her ability can feed on other people's fears and the stronger their fear is, the stronger her illusion manipulation is.
She was once the Queen of Kenettra after Queen Giuletta's death. She had many successful conquests, which included Merroutas, Domacca, northern Tamoura, and Dumor, earning her the title of Queen of the Sealands too.
Biography[]
When she was young, Adelina, her mother, and her sister, Violetta, became infected with the blood fever. At the age of four, Adelina's left eye became so swollen the doctor had to remove it. As her mother was an adult, she died from the disease, but both Adelina and Violetta survived. While Violetta retained her beauty, Adelina's hair and eyelashes turned silver and she was no longer desired by suitors due to the fact she was a malfetto (damaged by the blood fever), even though she was still very attractive.
The Young Elites[]
On the thirteenth of Juno, 1361, Adelina overhears her father striking a deal with a fellow businessman. In return for paying all of Martino's debts, the businessman would get Adelina as his mistress. Horrified, Adelina runs back to her room and takes out a bag of valuables, placed there months ago, waiting for the day she'd escape. As she leaves, Violetta enters the room. Adelina tells her not to tell their father, and she hugs her before departing.
While running through Dalia, she hears her father approaching on horseback. He grabs her and calls her a thief and begins pulling her back. Adelina screams for help, but no one comes. She manages to get loose, but he then pulls her by the hair. As he drags, phantoms appear. Terrified, he releases Adelina and runs straight into his horse. The horse rears up and lands its hooves on his chest, killing him. A shocked Adelina runs. She sells many items for money, but soon collapses. A woman finds her and Adelina begs her for help. The woman kindly takes her in as Adelina falls unconscious. Adelina states she felt the woman was trustworthy. Adelina is awoken by Inquisitors, who are searching for her for the death of her father. Adelina begs them that she didn't kill him, and that it was an accident.
Adelina spots her sister. The Inquisitors asked her if Adelina is her sister, and after she confirms this they place Adelina under arrest. Adelina, angry at her sister's betrayal, is dragged out by the Inquisitors.
Every time she wakes up she sees her father's ghost standing in the corner, laughing at her. Adelina would tell him she is glad that he is dead and orders him to go away, but he would stay. Adelina doesn't care, because she is going to die the next day.
She panics when the wood is lit, while a plague of locusts descends on the crowd, terrifying everyone. She realises that they aren't real and are just illusions. The Reaper - a member of The Dagger Society - appears. He saves her, but she passes out again.
While she sleeps, she dreams of when she was young, when her father was trying to coax her power out of her, cruelly. She wakes to find herself in a strange place, and shortly after the Reaper visits her, revealing himself as former prince Enzo Valenciano of Kenettra, and shows her his power. Adelina is impressed and in awe. Enzo tells her of his origins, as well as recognizing Tamouran descent in her due to her distinctive surname. At first Adelina thinks they might have saved her out of kindness, until she learns of their plans. Adelina is rather unbothered by this, not exactly caring about the Queen. Enzo tells her about her own power. She is fascinated. After being bedridden for a week, Adelina is brought to Raffaele Laurent Bessette. She realizes he is a consort, basically a prostitute, and subtly expresses her disapproval. He explains how he found her. When they go outside, Adelina is amazed at the beautiful city of Estenzia, as well as seeing a balira in the sky. Raffaele prepares her to take the test of which deities she aligns with. Five of the stones glow, precisely diamond, for Fortuna. Veritium, for Sapientus. Amber and nightstone, for Formidite and Caldora, the angels of fear and fury. She touches each of them, each time feeling a burst of energy and a flashback to her childhood. The last one is of everything bad that’s happened to her, of her father breaking her finger, abusing her, people jeering, the iron stake. It hits her with a violent wave of energy, surprising Raffaele. He tells her about the darkness in her heart.
She needs to prove herself, though she thought she was already one of them. Raffaele tells her how he recruited another boy, who could allegedly control the weather. However his powers did not show up, and he started to panic, eventually causing a massive and devastating drought. Raffaele does not tell Adelina what happened to him, but Adelina thinks he is dead.
After hearing this, Adelina realizes that if she does not control her powers, they’ll kill her. She thinks about how the Daggers will be forever watching her, a thought she does not welcome. Raffaele takes her to meet the others. Only Gemma, the Star Thief, gives a nod for comfort. Adelina gets ragdolled by the Spider for a while, until she manages to injure him. Then the Windwalker, Lucent, steps up, overpowering Adelina until she scratches her. Enzo realizes she is not afraid, and that she can’t tap into her power unless scared and in danger, so he forces her to do that by making flames stretch up to the ceiling and across the room, knowing this will scare Adelina. She eventually makes phantoms appear, shocking the other elites. Days later, she gets made up to fit in with the court. When she asks why the Daggers didn’t save the victims of two murders, Raffaele makes it sound like they couldn’t risk everyone to save so many people, but Adelina figures out his true, sinister meaning, that they weren’t Elites. Raffaele tells her how alike they are, both able to sense auras, leading Adelina to wonder how dangerous he could be.
During a performance, Adelina encounters Teren in the audience. Knowing she's in danger, Adelina reluctantly agrees to Teren’s deal, for her sister. The following week, when Raffaele explains that her powers are stronger when she’s in danger, Adelina becomes slightly irritated. To help her, Raffaele tries to get her to turn some grey stones black, at which she is partially successful. Dante taunts her with a thinly veiled threat until Raffaele shuts him up. On the way to the Inquisition Tower, Adelina notices the Tournament of Storms. She gives Teren as little info as possible, with him proving he has Violetta by showing Adelina a lock of dark hair and a necklace.
As she plans to return to the court, she gets swept up in the Tournament. For a split second she imagines herself as queen. Adelina sees that Gemma is one of the Green quarter riders, much to her surprise, realizing Gemma was from a very powerful family. When Gemma is disqualified for being a malfetto, Adelina creates silhouettes of the Daggers to deter the Inquisitors, then becomes angry with herself as the Daggers would know for sure she was there. Adelina is confronted by Enzo, who asks her why she left, to which she replies that she wanted to help Gemma. Enzo comes up with the idea for Adelina to disguise Gemma so she can participate. He then tells Adelina not to cross the line with him, aka do not recklessly endanger his Elites.
The next morning, Adelina goes to train with Enzo. He presents her with several dangers, and she fails again and again, and is on the verge of giving up until Enzo softly expresses disappointment. This stirs up rage in her, and she creates detailed illusions, making him blink, marking her progress. She replies that she is ready. Gently, Enzo tells her not to cry, because she is stronger than that.
Adelina's lessons speed up and she finds out Enzo has never trained anyone like this before, and fellow Dagger Michel helps to perfect her illusions.
She grows closer to Gemma, but admits she shouldn't get close to any of them. Raffaele shows her his favourite path, which is beautiful. He sings her a childhood song, 'The River Maiden's Lullaby', and tells her it calms her down. She begins to think that she really could have a future there, a life of kindness with no strings attached. She even manages to impress Enzo during training. She almost works up the courage to tell him about her deal with Enzo. Enzo decides to take her with them to Spring Moons.
Adelina has another memory, in which she is thirteen, and her father is being kind to her. Violetta warns her of a trap, but Adelina pays her no heed. On the trip, she realizes her father is only trying to coax her powers out, and thinks about what a fool she is. Back in present day, it is the night of Spring Moons, and she marvels at the beauty and lights of Estenzia's harbor. Enzo walks with her, politely. They keep up a facade of a young couple, and dance and giggle, informal, until Enzo kills two Inquisitors and Adelina covers it up.
When the attack starts, Adelina is told to get to Raffaele, who will get her to safety. She is attacked by Teren before she can reach him, who reminds her that her time is up, so she pretends she knows nothing. The Daggers catch up and save her, and when Teren gets injured she sees his skin stitching itself up and is shocked by the fact he is an Elite. She ushers herself and Dante out of there, but is unnerved by the way he speaks. She stays in her room for a while, refusing to come out, until Raffaele requests it. It turns out the Daggers are accepting her into their ranks. She pledges loyalty to them, and she gains the title White Wolf. All throughout the ceremony, she relives her and Teren's confrontation. Afterwards, Adelina attends the celebration and meets their patrons. She joins in the game, receiving two necklaces, initially looping her necklace around her own neck, until she shares a private moment with Enzo outside and gives him her necklace. Later she wants to tell him about Teren again, until she overhears Dante talking with him, telling him about his suspicions and telling him to use her to get to the throne and get rid of her afterward. Enzo tells him he appreciates his concern, however does not say whether he will follow through with Dante. His icy tone hits Adelina hard. She becomes convinced they are only using her, even Gemma and Raffaele. Kindness with strings attached.
These thoughts drive Adelina to approach the Inquisition Tower, only to be stopped when she hears the king is dead, and draws a conclusion that Teren may have killed him. Teren meets with her and inquires some issues. Adelina doesn't give him details, deciding to be strong and tells Teren if he kills Violetta he will never get his info. He takes her to see her sister. Adelina is surprised at how frail she looks and when Teren asks for the names of the Daggers, she doesn't tell. Impatient, Teren plays on Adelina's doubt. Teren further tries to convince her by saying how alike they are. Adelina is tired of being used. She remains obstinate. Adelina cloaks herself and her sister in invisibility. Violetta is freed and they escape.
They are seen by the Spider on the way out. He attacks Adelina and calls her a traitor, and she instead sees her father. She throws an illusion of pain over him, increasing it until he pleads her to stop. All her pent-up rage spills out over him, killing him. Shocked, she hurries to court and plans to explain to Raffaele, knowing he would listen. But when they get there, they find it destroyed. She and Violetta catch up with recent events, and Violetta expresses her surprise at discovering her powers when she didn't have any markings. Adelina asks Violetta to try it on her, and it leaves them both exhausted. She is briefly angered because Violetta kept it a secret and left her to suffer alone. However she can't stay mad for long because of the commotion. When Enzo challenges Teren to a duel, she decides to help him and Violetta directs her to their safehouse.
To her surprise, Enzo doesn't pay her inconvenient disappearance any heed. The Daggers discuss plans for the next day, while Adelina thinks back to the day Enzo kissed her. She sits by Violetta's bed when Enzo comes in, and she confides in him that she was in the hallway. He reassures her he wouldn't hurt her, yet she senses fear from him. He tells Adelina about him and Teren when they were young, and about Daphne. Adelina is sad for his loss, but wonders if he only saw Daphne in her. Eventually, Adelina falls asleep next to him.
The day of the fight, Adelina disguises herself. She watches Enzo and Teren fight, then turns herself invisible. When Enzo gives his signal, Adelina turns him into a copy of Teren. She helps him fight by weaving an illusion of pain at Teren, until he moves towards her and causes her to hit her head. Threatened, she lashes out at him with all she has when she realizes she has attacked the wrong person. This gives Teren a chance to stab him. Adelina runs to him when he dies, while Teren sarcastically thanks her for her help. Adelina ponders whether her anger was at Teren, or at Enzo for possibly using her, however, it doesn't matter, because the prince is dead.
She wakes up in her bed with the Daggers around her. She confesses her deal with Teren to Raffaele and he gently tells her how he advised Enzo to kill her, which hurts her deeply. He also calls her Adelina, since he has only ever called her by her affectionate name, mi Adelinetta. He explains how uncontrollable her emotions are, and how dangerous she could get. Adelina desperately tries to cling to the idea that Enzo loved her, but Raffaele gently denies it. She can no longer stay there.
Adelina grows increasingly twisted and bitter with every thought about how the Daggers are murderers, and has a psychotic episode in which she chops off her hair and thinks it would be better if Teren won so the Daggers could suffer, how the public would be welcome to talk and fear her. She plans to start her own society to strike back at Teren, and the Dagger Society.
The Rose Society[]
Adelina is with Violetta in Merroutas on their search for another Elite. They remember to steer clear of the guards. The whispers have gotten stronger, and Adelina frequently torments herself with guilt over Enzo's death. They join a street game, in which Adelina purposefully casts pointless bets to pass the time, instead she wants to see if any of them are Elites. They follow the winner, a malfetto, because they know he will be attacked. They defend him, and the attackers run away, as well as the winner.
The Elite catches up to them, and reveals himself as Magiano, and mimics Adelina's powers the next day at the Little Baths of Bethesda. She reports the news in Estenzia, and Magiano becomes more convinced to work with them, but not quite. He challenges the sisters to a race, to steal the Night King's pin before he can. If they succeed, then he joins them.
At night, Adelina discusses with Violetta about how to win Magiano over. They deduce that he doesn't just want the pin, he wants Adelina to gain control over the mercenaries and prove they are worth following. They disguise themselves as dancers to gain entrance to the Night King's gathering. Violetta is able to charm the guards to let them both in. They immediately recognize the Night King. Adelina notices the guards always look at Violetta first, then her. She spots Magiano talking about Teren's relationship with the Queen. At Magiano's recommendation, she gives a flawless Kenettran dance, which Raffaele taught her. She conjures a fake pin and manages to take the real one, but the Night King does not want them to leave yet. Adelina puts the lights out, then causes a series of illusions, resulting in her killing the Night King in front of his mercenaries. She experiences a flurry of dark thoughts about everyone who betrayed her.
The sisters escape with the help of Magiano. He clarifies to Adelina exactly what she's done, seeming to admire her. She wakes up in the Little Baths, with Magiano and Violetta agreeing to get out of Merroutas via a note. They head to the Double-Edged Sword, a ship in the Night King's private fleet. On the way, Adelina leaves her mark by turning the banners white, the color of the White Wolf. When they board a gondola, Adelina has several terrifying illusions of Martino, Enzo, and Formidite. She recovers but the boatman no longer accepts them. Eventually they are grabbed by two soldiers who take them to the ship, helping them. Even with the port closed, the ship successfully leaves Merroutas. The mercenary captain meets them, whom Violetta identifies as an Elite. Adelina remembers the story Raffaele told her about the boy who could not control the rain, and she guesses it must be him.
Violetta asks her about her hallucinations and she bristles due to Violetta's doubt. The mercenary and Magiano enter their cabin. He introduces himself as Sergio and explains he was paid to help them. Adelina manages to get him to their side by promising more money and explains her history with the Daggers.
Adelina has a nightmare that night, about Enzo. She feels slightly jealous that Violetta is attracting Sergio's attention, while she herself has no one to love. Sergio reports they are near Campagnia. The sisters are forced to hide below decks. The crew's stories fail to stop the guards and they are sure Adelina must be on board. With no other choice, Adelina comes out of the hiding spot and attacks the soldiers. She orders her mercenaries to kill them all but the youngest one.
Soon after, she spots Gemma, a fellow Dagger, in the crowd, and decides to follow her to a tavern, where Gemma meets with the other Daggers. Adelina eavesdrops and finds out Queen Maeve of Beldain is working with the Daggers. She finds out Maeve will act in three days, and they are trying to resurrect Enzo. The shock of this news nearly causes her to reveal herself. She declares the Daggers deserve to suffer for hurting her. Gemma, suspicious, goes to the alley Adelina is hiding in and nearly discovers her, but decides against it. Adelina chooses to spare her, feeling a wistful pang at how they used to be friends.
When they meet up again, Magiano tells her she must not let Maeve have the crown. Curious, Adelina asks Sergio about his past with the Daggers. She shares his bitterness. It's now that she comes up with the plan to disguise herself as Raffaele to tether Enzo to herself. Suddenly, she has sweeter memories of happier times, when her father was being gentle, and Gemma looping her necklace around Adelina's neck as a sign of friendship. The Elites convince her to turn her back on the Daggers once and for all. Adelina then forms the Rose Society, with a pledge. She spends some time connecting with Magiano and guesses his alignments, slightly mournful that she aligns with fear and fury while he aligns with joy. She shares a kiss with him, and notes that the feeling he gives off is much more gentle than Enzo's burning passion.
She weaves an illusion of pain over the guards when they are almost discovered hiding in empty gondolas. After a short scuffle, they are free. Adelina marvels at how easy it is for her to kill people now.
Sergio spies on Raffaele so that Adelina can incapacitate him and take on his appearance. She does this successfully, and is greeted by Maeve who leads her to the site of resurrection. The ritual succeeds, which makes Adelina so happy she does not care about losing her disguise in front of the Daggers. Adelina helps the Roses fight the Daggers. A fight ensues, until she holds Michel at knifepoint. They are broken up by the arriving Inquisition. Adelina and the Rose Society leave with Enzo.
Adelina knows he is different, but still loves him. When Enzo wakes up, Adelina expresses her guilt for causing his death, but does not tell him the whole truth. To Adelina's horror, when she tests out a command, Enzo turns rather dangerous, but only for a brief moment, as her own power pushes back. Adelina tries commanding him again, and although he seems to lose control of himself, he listens to her.
Sergio tells them the camps are burning, and Adelina discovers her illusions spiral out of control when she kills. They come up with a plan to get Teren to their side. She successfully plays on Teren's obsession for Giulietta, and convinces him to side with them. She decides to use him first, then kill him. Back in their hideout, Adelina is upset over the fact that Enzo will never become who he once was. Later she has a short conversation with him and realizes he really does yearn to return to the Underworld.
Their hideout is soon attacked by Beldish soldiers. All the while, Adelina is hallucinating again. They find that Enzo has been taken by the soldiers and Adelina dreads what the Daggers will tell him about her, both lies and truth. They see that the Beldish navy has arrived, and while Kenettran warships counter the attack, Adelina decides to sneak into the castle to kill Giulietta. Once she successfully gets in with Teren, they go to the queen. Adelina weaves a fake marking into Giulietta's hair, and an already furious and hurt Teren becomes even more bewildered and enraged when he sees this. He kills her, leaving the throne free for Adelina. Once Adelina erases the illusion, Teren regains clarity and attempts to attack Adelina, but she escapes with the help of her mercenaries onto the back of a balira.
They go to retrieve Enzo from the Daggers' clutches by following Gemma through the out-of-control storm. Gemma sees them, and at first Adelina tries to give her space because Gemma had been kind to her in the past, however this time Gemma fires an arrow at them. This causes Adelina to become confused, then her fury builds up and she orders her balira to chase her. She cuts off the air to Gemma's through an illusion, revelling in her terror, then the balira dives lower to avoid the thunder. But lightning strikes and Adelina sees Gemma's lifeless form falling from the sky. They face the Beldish navy and she fears they won't win the battle. Enzo appears and Adelina senses a familiar pull, even though he is now hostile. She weaves a terrifying illusion in the sky to distract the Beldish, then attacks Maeve. Teren furiously attacks Maeve. Adelina switches her attack to the Daggers, trying to reason with Enzo, but only results in him telling her he would've killed her, so she successfully takes control of his power and sets the Beldish warships on fire. Raffaele attempts to calm Adelina, who watches with a tear-stained face as Enzo is taken away.
Afterwards, Teren threatens Adelina, who overpowers him and gains the support of his Inquisitors. They see her as their queen, and imprison Teren. Adelina sadistically taunts Teren before he is led away. She makes herself the ruler of Kenettra.
In the castle, her Roses get what they want, but they stay with her. Violetta talks with her to tell her what Raffaele had suspected about their powers, that one day it will eat them up. Adelina cannot bear this news and the fact that her power will drive her insane. She becomes so desperate that when Violetta takes her power away, she threatens her with a knife, causing Violetta to flee.
Even with her sister gone, Adelina feels satisfaction for making her enemies and former friends pay for what they've done. She, however, does not feel the same satisfaction when she sits on the throne.
The Midnight Star[]
Adelina, Queen of Kenettra, rides out with Sergio and her Inquisition to Dumor. The people cower at the sight of her. Only Magiano can make her laugh, and he presents her with some herbs to help her sleep better. The queen notices how Sergio, one of the Roses, has been thirsty for weeks already, and is not a fan of treating non-malfettos well, reluctant to give money to citizens even at Magiano's idea. There have been several assassination attempts, but Adelina refuses to stop her cruel ways. She is filled with bitterness when it comes to love, to the point where she only wants to find her sister because only she can command when she leaves, not Violetta.
They stop in a square where she addresses the conquered people of Dumor as their new ruler. Her mercenaries and Inquisitors pick out people to join her army, and she kills one of them when they protest. A dagger flies in her direction and she is nearly struck and killed, however she is unwilling to show weakness in front of citizens and punishes the assassin.
From here on out, Her Majesty decides to become more ruthless. She goes to visit Teren, where she finds out his power is no longer as effective as his skin takes much longer to stitch up. Teren leaves her with an ominous warning. On the way back to her castle, she comes across two unmarked men talking about her behind her back and has a good time unnerving them. In the baths, she sees Magiano talking with a maid, stirring up jealousy and she nearly wants to hurt the maiden. She enters the baths and chats casually with Magiano, but when he reveals he still pities the Dumorians, she calls him soft-hearted. Magiano takes her to a secret corner where they can be alone. Magiano calms her down, and believes the girl Adelina used to be is still there.
She is soon approached by messengers who hand her a note written by Raffaele. Bewildered, Adelina thinks it's a trap and decides to invade Tamoura the next day. Before leaving, she sees four unmarked people tied up in the streets for breaking her laws. She wants to kill them while malfettos watch, like it was the other way around in the past. Instead, she orders them released because she is too bothered by Raffaele's letter. In the hallway, she has a short conversation with the whispers when she is seemingly attacked by the unmarked boy whom she spared. Her illusions lose control again, until she runs into Magiano who takes her back to her room. She sets sail for Tamoura with her soldiers and Sergio and Magiano, and during the battle, she feels how poisonous the ocean water now is. One of her own soldiers is revealed to be a spy, who knocks her off her balira.
She wakes up in Tamoura's castle and is brought to the Triad. The tether with Enzo pulls harder as she sees his empty, soulless eyes. Raffaele says they will release her, but Adelina no longer trusts him and knows he want something else. After some convincing, Raffaele explains what is happening and takes her to see Violetta, whom Adelina is angered to find out has taken refuge with the Daggers. Adelina initially does not want to help them, but for a while the whispers clear away and she can think clearly for the first time.
In her cell, she wonders about betraying the Daggers, but before she can make up her mind, she is visited by Moritas, the goddess of the Underworld, in Enzo's body. Before he, no, she, can kill her, Raffaele shoots Enzo with a crossbow. Before he dies a second time, Adelina does not grieve, because she finally understands the real Enzo died a long time ago.
After Enzo's death, Adelina agrees to go with the Daggers with her own conditions. Because they need the final alignment, she takes the Daggers to see Teren. With him on board, they set off to the Underworld
Adelina leaves Sergio in charge of Kenettra, although the whispers suggest against it. Due to the storm, Adelina briefly gets thrown overboard but is saved by Teren, causing her to become less untrusting of him, and the fact that he saved her proves to Adelina he is more trustworthy than her own guards, and so she makes him her personal guard. Adelina returns to her cabin with Magiano, and she expresses her concern over the day she might completely lose touch with reality. Magiano around, the whispers subside. He stays with her that night.
In Laida, she is recognized by Saccorists, who launch an attack on the group. The Daggers and Roses are able to defeat them. When Raffaele once again calls her by her affectionate name, she has a memory of him singing to her. A feverish Violetta tells her what happened when she left Adelina's side, and only then does Adelina realize how much Violetta has tried to protect her, that she is able to push away the whispers when Violetta dies in the morning. Upon hearing of her death, Adelina attacks Teren in a blind rage, remembering him as a monster instead of her saviour. After calming down, Adelina feels heavily guilty for not moving faster and being nicer to Violetta.
Adelina is astonished when they successfully enter the Dark of Night, however she is soon horrified at the sight, which only she can see, the bodies of all the people she has killed hanging from trees, and she realizes the whispers in her head are the voices of dead people. Magiano and Raffaele return her to reality, and to her surprise, Lucent helps her stand. They are soon noticed by the monsters of the Underworld, and Teren dies in the fight to save them. Adelina even feels sad at his loss.
Upon entering the Underworld, she is faced with Moritas. She pauses in front of everyone she cares about, including Enzo, Gemma, Teren and her mother. Then she finds Violetta. When giving her powers back, she is hesitant, and the whispers are now enraged. But she has visions of a horrible life of madness and bitterness if she keeps her powers, and in the end she relinquishes them. Adelina is expectant for Violetta to come alive again, but Moritas tells her there must be a soul in exchange for Violetta's soul.
Hesitant to give her life away, she thinks of a better world with Violetta as queen of Kenettra, and silently apologizes to her friends and Magiano for the better future they would never have together, then trades her life for Violetta's. As she dies, Violetta wakes up and embraces her.
Floating in the dark, Adelina is approached by Compasia, the goddess aligning with empathy, and told of another deal. Adelina is then turned to stardust, a constellation in the sky.
Back in Kenettra, Magiano tells Violetta he is going away, to find Adelina. It is since told that at midnight a boy will ride out, joined by a girl, and the pair will ride out to the dawn, where the girl will turn back to stardust, waiting for the next night.
Personality[]
Adelina has a dark past and twisted opinions about the people and the world around her. She had the idea that everyone was plotting against her, even to her allies and this spurs her cruelty. According to author Marie Lu, Adelina is "not a nice girl" and "is a girl who walks in darkness."[1] Adelina was originally inspired by Darth Vader. Her father called her a malfetto, an abomination, for ruining their family's reputation and standing in the way of their fortune.[2] Cast out by her family, Adelina found a place to belong to with the Dagger Society. This impacted her hugely, both emotionally and mentally. Some consider her an antihero, a protagonist who lacks moral fiber. What she seems to crave throughout the entire series is just someone who will happily accept her, and to prove that she is worthy of love. While she is very twisted and descends slightly into madness, she truly cares for certain people, including Enzo, Magiano, and Violetta, and wants to help malfettos.
Family[]
Mother[]
The name of Adelina's mother is unknown, but it is described that they shared a strong relationship. They sang a lot together in the garden and she called Adelina 'kami gourgaem' meaning 'little wolf' when she was a child.
Martino Amouteru[]
Adelina used to share a good relationship with her father, until the death of her mother and the loss of their money. He started blaming things on Adelina and shows favoritism towards her sister Violetta. When rumors of malfetto's with powers started spreading around, Martino pretended to care for Adelina in a bid to take advantage of her, thinking that she had powers. However, Adelina could not use her powers at the time and, frustrated, Martino broke one of her fingers to force out any hidden powers. Since that, their relationship has only deteriorated and Adelina lived in terror of her father's physical abuse. She often has hallucinations of him ever since she killed him.
Violetta Amouteru[]
Adelina shared a close and hating relationship with her sister until their mother's death. Adelina was jealous of her, and despite having the blood fever, Violetta was not scarred. She was also their father's favorite. Because of this, Adelina slowly started distancing herself from her sister. By the end of the book, Adelina finds out that Violetta did indeed get powers (the ability to remove an Elite's powers temporarily) from the blood fever, and had used it on her sister during all those times their father had abused them. This was done in order to protect Adelina from giving away that she had powers. Violetta knew their father would exploit Adelina and her gifts if he was aware she had them. Eventually, they began to trust each other again and and made a promise to never use their powers against each other, though Adelina still secretly feared Violetta's powers. At some point, Adelina becomes so deluded she threatens her life, though she regrets this afterwards. Adelina finally realizes how much her sister cares about her, that she trades her own life so Violetta can live.
Appearance[]
After surviving the blood fever, Adelina's black hair turned silver and her lashes pale. She has dark olive skin, also described to be a warm brown. Adelina also gained a jagged scar where her left eye used to be, as a doctor had to remove it when she was sick with the blood fever. She was said to be very beautiful before the blood fever.
Even with her half ruined face, she is very attractive and appealing. Adelina can weave another face over her scarred one to hide her malfetto status because she is very self-conscious of her scar and hair. Adelina was once an attractive girl, but the blood fever damaged her that her father thinks she can no longer attract suitors and will mar their good fortune and reputation. After she became a consort, Raffaele used creams, ointments, and powder to hide and distract others' gazes from her scars and hair.
Due to her Tamouran blood, she had her hair wrapped up in two long strips of silk in white and gold. It was bedecked with jewel pins and a silver chain with a diamond in the shape of a teardrop. She wore a golden dress in loose silks. The cloth was imported from the Sunlands. The people of Sunlands often wear loose silks due to their hot temperature while the Kennettran women wore stiff corsets and lace. She wears a white mask made of porcelain, bedecked with diamonds on the edges and elaborate paint glitter with a white plumage at the center. It was commissioned by Raffaele and was meant to cover her eyes. She was taken to baths until her skin glistened, and she smelled like roses and honey.
Despite being a malfetto, Adelina is still treated with luxury. Raffaele described her as being kissed by moon and water. During her time in Merroutas, she wore a Tamouran headwrap, used an illusion to hide her scars for a pretty face, her fingers adorned with bronze rings. After she took the throne, she sensed that she no longer needs to hide and wants to show everyone who their queen is, abandoning her Tamouran headwraps and illusions as a disguise. Instead, she shows her markings and no longer wears a mask. Because she is queen, she can have the finest clothes and jewels. Her silver hair, which was straggly from her attempt of cutting, is now long like a silver curtain which she ties with different hairstyles suitable to a queen and bedecks them with jewels.
Powers and Abilities[]
Adelina Amouteru has the ability to create and weave illusions that can trick the sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound.
Trivia[]
- Adelina has a little Tamouran blood.
- Because of her Tamouran descent, she has been told she looks like Daphne, a Tamouran girl who was Enzo's former lover.
- Adelina is an antihero, a protagonist who lacks many ideal qualities that most main characters have (such as morality or idealism).
- Adelina aligns with roseite, diamond, veritium, amber, nightstone: respectively, passion, ambition, knowledge, fury, and fear.
- Adelina was formerly one of the series' supporting characters, but became the protagonist when Lu believed that the former protagonist, Tye, was too bland and uninspiring. Tye is now one of the series' supporting characters and goes under the name Raffaele.
- Her first love is Enzo Valenciano, however the love of her life is Magiano. She feels different intensities of warmth when she is with either of them; with Enzo being almost scalding, and with Magiano being warm and loving.
- The only reason she hesitated before trading her life for her sister's was because she thought of the future she would never have with Magiano if she made the bargain.
- One of her last thoughts before she died was of Magiano.
- During the final book of the series, Adelina is noticeably uncomfortable about Magiano talking to the palace maids. She even considers killing that maid, but decides against it.
- Her mortal body's failure to house the power of the gods (towards the end of Rose Society) will be that she will continue to lose control of her illusions and they will eventually destroy her mind. They may have already started before Raffaele found out this information, which could be the reason her thoughts are so dark.
- Adelina was immortalized as a constellation after Violetta begged her goddess, Compasia, the angel of empathy. Compasia took pity on Violetta and went to the Underworld to ask her sister, Moritas, for her forgiveness and carried Adelina's soul from the Underworld and placed her in the sky, turning her into stardust as she once did with her lover, Eratosthenes.
- A folklore, the Midnight Star, says that at exactly midnight, Adelina's constellation would transform her back into her human form and she would walk the earth with Magiano until the dawn separated them again, the same way Eratosthenes, Compasia's mortal lover, did with Compasia.
- Artwork by Tumblr user Deanpinterester [3]
- Marie Lu said before the release of The Rose Society that she based Adelina's character arc after Darth Vader's in Star Wars. [4]
Quotes[]
"Violetta, soon you're going to realize that things don't end well for everyone." - TYE
"I am not broken easily. I will never break." - TYE
"I can see a life for me here, as one of them." - TYE
"You left me to fend for myself." - TYE
"I look on in disbelief as his eyes meet mine one last time. Then his life fades away." - TYE
"I am tired of losing. I am tired of being used, hurt, and tossed aside. It is my turn to use, my turn to hurt. My turn." - TYE
"I'm in the Underworld. The angel of fear is calling me." - TRS
"Perhaps Raffaele was right on my count, at least - Enzo had refused to hurt me, and his decision destroyed him." - TRS
"Had it been this easy for me, when I ended Dante's life?" - TRS
"You are his link to the living world. You can control him. Try it." - TRS
"She has always been kind to me, and perhaps she would be kind to me even now." - TRS
"How could you? I spared your life in that alleyway. Don't you know? I should have killed you." - TRS
"It sends a jolt of fear through me. Why does she sound like this?" - TRS
"Only Magiano can coax joy out of me so easily." - TMS
"So brave, when they think no one else is listening." - TMS
"I have a hundred ships. Twenty thousand soldiers. My Roses at my side. I am queen." - TMS
"It is the voice that once comforted me, gave me strength." - TMS
"Would they follow me out of love, if I did not use fear against them?" - TMS
"I see the darkness that the world inflicted upon us, and we onto them." - TMS
"After a lifetime of darkness, I want to leave something behind that is made of light." - TMS
"Someday, when I am nothing but dust and wind, what tales will they tell about me?" - TMS
"If I return to the surface, alone, I will forever remember this moment, the moment I decided to choose my own life over my sister's." - TMS
"But I don't want to live as I had." - TMS