Exile

Sophie’s elvin parents are members of the nobility and friends of the Vackers. Grady is a Mesmer and Edaline a Conjurer. Together, they rehabilitate animals at their estate, Havenfield. Their only daughter, Jolie, died in a fire that Grady mistakenly believes the Black Swan was responsible for, in retaliation for his refusing to collaborate with them. At the end of Exile, Forkle adamantly denies this, telling Sophie that Grady misunderstood their message to him. This relieves Grady of the guilt he harbored over his daughter’s death.

After Jolie’s death, Edaline and Grady retreated from society to grieve their daughter, and Grady gave up his civic role as an Emissary over anger at the Council for ignoring his concerns about Jolie’s death. After Alden’s mind is broken, Grady returns to his role out of respect for his friend, showing that he is a dynamic character who evolves over the course of the story.

After a rocky transition in the first book, in which Edaline and Grady temporarily backed out of adopting Sophie over fear of losing another daughter, the three increasingly grow to trust in and bond with each other. A challenge for the Ruewens is to mentor Sophie so that she can fulfil her mission while providing as much protection as possible.

The Vacker family includes parents Alden (a Telepath) and Della (a Vanisher) and their children, Alvar (a Vanisher), Fitz (a Telepath), and Biana. Alden features prominently as a mentor to Sophie but also relies on her himself. When he needs a guide during his memory-break of Fintan, he chooses Sophie, who proves herself a worthy partner. Although others defer to him for his skills and status, Alden is comfortable deferring to Sophie when appropriate and credits her with saving his life at the end of Exile.

Prominent members of the nobility, the Vackers dress elaborately and are very attractive. Although all elves are physically attractive, Della and Biana stand out as exceptionally lovely to Sophie. Both wear beautiful dresses, and their hair and make-up are always perfect. Sophie often comments on Fitz’s extraordinary good looks and poise. He’s tall and has teal eyes like his father’s. Fitz is one of Sophie’s romantic interests, as well as the object of many elvin girls’ crushes. The other Vackers serve primarily as supporting characters in the novel.

A member of the Council, an Inflictor, and an Ancient, Bronte is identifiable by his pointy ears, a characteristic of Ancient elves. He serves as Sophie’s inflicting Mentor but becomes her antagonist in Exile. He distrusts the engineered nature of her talents, believing the Black Swan chose them at random, and he tells her that this prevents her from respecting and understanding her talents. His role as Councillor makes him overly invested in hierarchies of power and promoting respect for the Council. While this can promote stability in the elvin world, it can also make him insensitive and inflexible.

In his mentoring sessions with Sophie, Bronte tells her that inflicting requires negative emotion and can only cause pain. He’s disdainful when she’s unable to inflict pain on him at will, attributing this to the unnatural nature of her talents. He then inflicts pain on her to prove that her mind is penetrable, gloating that everyone will see what she really is. At the presentation of Silveny to the Sanctuary, he repeatedly attempts to inflict her but is unsuccessful. He then admits to Sophie that if she’s able to inflict positive emotions, he too has something to learn, showing in the end that he is a round character, capable of depth and growth.

An Empath and the only son of nobles Lord Cassius and Lady Gisela, Keefe has a mischievous personality, a strong sense of humor, artfully tousled blond hair, and an intentionally disheveled appearance. He’s a prankster who uses humor to mask his pain. His parents, who become important characters in later books in the series, are portrayed in Exile as perpetually dissatisfied with what they perceive to be his underperforming and lack of seriousness toward his status in society.

Keefe’s humor is also a way that he lightens the mood in social settings. As an Empath, he can feel everyone’s emotions, though he may not understand the cause of those feelings. He knows when Sophie feels something intensely or when she’s hurting, and he has an instinct for knowing when to drop his humor to make her feel safe. In addition, Keefe’s empathic abilities enable him to connect with Silveny, who adores him. Keefe begins the series in the first book as Fitz’s sidekick but grows into a round character in Exile, revealing complex feelings and strength of character. His admiration for Sophie’s strength and endurance inspires him to do everything he can to protect her.