The Devils

In the sprawling Holy City where pilgrims and charlatans jostle for salvation and coin, a desperate thief named Alex finds herself thrust into an impossible destiny when a chance encounter with papal authorities reveals her striking resemblance to a murdered princess. Plucked from the slums and declared Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos, rightful heir to the ancient throne of Troy, Alex becomes the centerpiece of a dangerous political gambit orchestrated by Cardinal Zizka and the Vatican's shadowy machinations. To escort her to her supposed birthright, the Church assembles an unlikely retinue from the Chapel of Holy Expediency—a secret prison housing supernatural beings bound by papal magic to serve the Church's will.

Alex's guardians prove as dangerous as they are devoted: Jakob of Thorn, an immortal crusader cursed never to die; Vigga, a Norse werewolf whose bloodlust wars with unexpected tenderness; Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi, a necromancer whose aristocratic pretensions mask genuine magical power; Baptiste, a barber-surgeon whose healing hands conceal deadly skills; Baron Rikard, a vampire who feeds on the living; and Sunny, an invisible elf whose quiet loyalty becomes Alex's anchor in a world of deception. Bound by Pope Benedicta's mystical compulsion to protect their charge, this collection of monsters and outcasts becomes an unlikely family as they navigate treacherous roads filled with rival claimants, hybrid abominations, and political assassins.

The journey to Troy transforms from mere escort mission into a crucible of identity and belonging, as Alex grapples with the weight of a crown she never sought while her supernatural guardians confront their own demons. Through burning towns and flooded cities, ancient monasteries and cursed baronies, the group faces increasingly desperate odds as Duke Michael, Duke Constans, Duke Sabbas, and other claimants deploy armies, sorcery, and monstrous creations to eliminate the threat Alex represents. Yet the greatest dangers emerge not from external enemies but from within—as Alex's growing feelings for Sunny complicate her royal duties, and the revelation of her true origins threatens to unravel everything she has come to believe about herself.

Upon reaching Troy's legendary Pillar, Alex discovers that survival was merely the first challenge. The ancient city's political labyrinth proves as treacherous as any battlefield, with Empress Eudoxia's lingering influence manifesting through body-stealing sorcery and loyal apprentices who view Alex as an obstacle to their mistress's resurrection. The coronation that should mark Alex's triumph becomes instead a trap, forcing her and her supernatural allies into a final desperate battle atop the lighthouse of Saint Natalia's Flame, where the cost of victory demands sacrifices that will forever change those who survive.

Abercrombie crafts a darkly comic fantasy that interrogates the nature of identity, belonging, and redemption through the lens of characters society has deemed monstrous. The contrast between Alex's common origins and royal destiny mirrors the broader theme of appearance versus reality that permeates every aspect of the narrative, from religious hypocrisy to the true nature of heroism. Through Alex's transformation from street thief to empress and her companions' journey from bound prisoners to chosen family, the novel suggests that worth lies not in birth or nature but in the choices we make and the connections we forge, even as it acknowledges the brutal cost of power and the impossibility of escaping the roles history assigns us.