The Taker of Hearts: Symbol Analysis in The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King

What Is the Taker of Hearts?

The Taker of Hearts is the legendary sword of Vincent, the former Nightborn King. Crafted with powerful magic, the blade carries a piece of Vincent’s essence — his memories, his ambition, and his ruthless will. For two centuries, the sword was an emblem of his terrifying rule, used to defend the Hiaj throne and to destroy enemies. In the events of The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King, the sword passes to Oraya, Vincent’s human-raised daughter, who must decide what the weapon — and her father’s legacy — truly means to her.

Where the Symbol Recurs

The sword appears in key scenes throughout the novel, each time reflecting Oraya’s evolving relationship with her father’s memory:

• Evelaena’s torture (Chapter 26): Vincent’s abandoned child turns the blade against Oraya, using it as a tool of vengeance. The sword becomes a symbol of inherited pain and the violence Vincent left in his wake.
• Oraya reclaims the sword (Chapter 41): After killing Desdemona, Oraya picks up the Taker of Hearts and uses it to fight through the castle, feeling its power surge through her. At this point, wielding it brings a sense of invincibility and pride.
• The weapon breaks (Chapter 62): The sword is shattered in battle, reduced to glowing red shards. Alya and Jace determine it cannot be repaired in its original form.
• Reforged into dual blades (Chapter 63): Oraya asks the smiths to forge the shards into two smaller blades — weapons that feel like her own. This act marks a definitive break from Vincent’s legacy.

Evolution of Meaning

The meaning of the Taker of Hearts shifts in parallel with Oraya’s character growth.

1. A symbol of Vincent’s power and approval – For much of her life, Oraya craves her father’s validation. Wielding the sword feels like proof of her worth, as if she has finally reached something he always held out of reach.

2. A source of discomfort and shame – After the battle in Sivrinaj, Oraya reflects on the sword’s bloody history. She wonders if her pride in wielding it is really just “chasing the approval of a dead man who couldn’t give it” (paraphrase from Chapter 62). She admits she never even liked rapiers.

3. A foundation for her own identity – By choosing to have the blade reforged into dual blades — weapons she feels are truly hers — Oraya rejects Vincent’s violent legacy. The physical transformation of the sword mirrors her internal transformation: she no longer needs her father’s ghost to define her strength.

Character Connections

• Oraya – The sword begins as a symbol of her inherited duty and ends as raw material for her self-determination. Her decision to reshape it shows her emerging independence.
• Vincent – The sword is imbued with his memories and his bloodthirsty nature. Even after his death, his presence lurks in the blade, testing Oraya’s loyalties.
• Raihn – When Oraya announces she wants dual blades, Raihn’s reaction is one of deep pride. The text notes “the pride in his face caught me off-guard” and his inner smirk says “There she is.” He sees her choice as a victory of her true self over her father’s shadow.
• Evelaena – Obsessed with the sword as a symbol of Vincent’s love, she cannot see beyond it. Oraya’s ability to let go of the weapon contrasts with Evelaena’s destructive fixation.

Theme Connections

The Taker of Hearts weaves through the book’s central themes:

• Love and Sacrifice – Oraya sacrifices her connection to Vincent’s legacy to build something of her own, an act of love toward herself and her future.
• Power and Betrayal – The sword embodies Vincent’s betrayal of everyone who loved him, including Evelaena and Oraya’s mother. Wielding it forces Oraya to confront the cost of that power.
• Identity and Legacy – The reforging is the physical manifestation of Oraya choosing her own identity over her father’s legacy.
• Trust and Vulnerability – By accepting that the old blade is gone, Oraya shows trust in her own judgment and her new path.
• Freedom vs Confinement – The dual blades symbolize her liberation from the rigid expectations Vincent placed on her, allowing her to fight freely in a style that suits her.

Study Questions

1. Why does Oraya decide to have the Taker of Hearts reforged into dual blades, rather than try to repair it?
   Answer: Oraya realizes that her attachment to the sword was rooted in a desire for Vincent’s approval, not in her own preferences. She admits she never enjoyed wielding rapiers. By repurposing the shards into a weapon of her own design, she reclaims her agency and steps out from under her father’s influence.

2. How does the meaning of the sword change from the moment Oraya first wields it to the moment she orders it reforged?
   Answer: Initially, the sword makes Oraya feel powerful and connected to Vincent. Over time, its bloody history weighs on her, and she begins to see it as a relic of violence she does not want to inherit. By the reforging, it becomes raw material for her own identity, stripped of its former symbolic weight.

3. What does Raihn’s reaction to Oraya’s choice reveal about his understanding of her character?
   Answer: Raihn’s pride — captured by his inner voice saying “There she is” — shows that he has always believed in the person Oraya is becoming, separate from Vincent’s shadow. He recognizes her choice as a sign of true strength, not a loss.

4. Compare and contrast Oraya’s relationship with the Taker of Hearts to Evelaena’s relationship with the same sword. What does this contrast teach us about legacy?
   Answer: Evelaena sees the sword as the ultimate proof of Vincent’s love and her own worth; she is desperate to possess it. Oraya, in contrast, is willing to destroy and reshape it. This contrast illustrates that clinging to a destructive legacy leads to ruin, while transforming it — however painful — can open the door to freedom and creation.