Gild

Gild is the first novel in the dark romantasy Plated Prisoner series by American fantasy author Raven Kennedy, who is also known for her why-choose romantasy series Heart Hassle, among other works. Gild follows the series protagonist Auren as she navigates the dark magic, political intrigue, and manipulative kings of the six kingdoms of Orea. In this world inspired by the Greek myth of King Midas, Auren is a golden-skinned woman who has been “gold-touched” by King Midas and is now a caged possession and a bargaining chip between violent men. As war looms, Auren must face the truth of her existence and reclaim her autonomy. 

Gild sets the stage for a complex struggle between kingdoms and ideologies, while exploring issues of captivity, the violence of power-hungry men, and resilience in the face of trauma. As a whole, Kennedy’s Plated Prisoner series has been compared to other popular romantasy series such as Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series, Carissa Broadbent’s Crowns of Nyaxia series, and Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses.

This guide refers to the 2020 paperback edition published by Bloom Books.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual content, gender discrimination, sexual violence, rape, emotional abuse, physical abuse, graphic violence, animal cruelty and death, death, death by suicide, and cursing. 

Language Note: The source material features frequent instances of derogatory language toward women, which this guide reproduces only in direct quotations.

Plot Summary

The land of Orea was originally divided into seven kingdoms ruled by seven different kings. Millenia ago, these seven kingdoms were friends with Annwyn, the realm of the fae, which was connected by a magical bridge. However, the fae betrayed Orea, tearing the bridge down and destroying Seventh Kingdom in the process. No one has seen the fae in 300 years.

When Auren was an orphaned child, King Midas of Sixth Kingdom “gold-touched” her, turning her into a girl made of living gold. Now, she lives in a gilded cage as his property and the favorite of his “saddles,” or concubines. The other saddles, especially Rissa, are jealous of Auren’s favored position. Despite the past 10 years of captivity and abuse, Auren loves Midas and remains loyal to him because he saved her from bandits when she was a child.

However, her faith in Midas begins to crack when Midas makes a deal with his ally, King Fulke of Fifth Kingdom, allowing Fulke a single night of sexual intimacy with Auren if Fulke commits his army to aiding Midas’s attack on Fourth Kingdom. Although Fulke is afraid to break a centuries-old peace pact with Fourth Kingdom, which is ruled by the dangerous King Ravinger, he gives in to his obsession with Auren and agrees.

Auren waits with dread while the armies converge on the border of Fourth Kingdom. One night, Auren overhears an argument between Midas and his wife, Queen Malina. (Malina is the last descendant of the original royal line of Sixth Kingdom and should have been the ruler. However, law requires that the ruler must possess a form of magic, and because Malina does not, she was forced to accept a marriage proposal from Midas: a man who had no title but possessed the ability of gold touch.) Now, Malina notices Auren eavesdropping and threatens her with violence if she does so again.

The next day, Midas proclaims the attack against Fourth Kingdom to be a success and formally offers Fulke a night of sexual intimacy with Auren. Angry and hurt, Auren refuses, defying Midas for the first time. Both kings threaten Auren with punishment, but before they can, a messenger arrives to warn Fulke that Midas never sent his army to aid Fulke’s, which was destroyed at Fourth Kingdom’s border.

Realizing that Midas always intended to invade his land, Fulke grabs Auren and threatens to kill her, but Auren’s primary bodyguard, Digby, saves her life and kills Fulke. Midas then travels to Fifth Kingdom, planning to take over under the guise of offering aid. Weeks later, Midas orders Auren and a dozen other saddles to join him. Digby leads the caravan through the icy mountains; the convoy is protected by guards—including a young man named Sail, whom Auren befriends.

When the caravan is trapped by a snowstorm, Digby and several guards scout ahead to watch for signs of an impending avalanche. While they are gone, snow pirates descend in their gliding “ships” and attack and capture the members of the caravan. The leader, Captain Fane, realizes who Auren is, and although he decides to auction off the royal saddles after all the men have had a chance to exploit them for sex, he plans to keep Auren for himself. When Sail tries to protect Auren, Fane kills him, after which his men tie Sail’s body to a ship’s mast.

Enraged, Auren reveals her secret ability: two dozen gold ribbons that protrude from her spine and move with prehensile control and strength. She uses the ribbons to pull Sail’s body down and throw it overboard, saving the slain guard from further disrespect. Before Fane can punish her, he receives unexpected visitors: a group of soldiers from Ravinger’s Fourth Kingdom, led by the infamous Commander Rip. When Auren sees the spikes that protrude from Rip’s back, she realizes that he is fae; this is the first time that a fae has been seen in Orea since Annwyn’s betrayal.

Rip demands the purchase of all the captured saddles, including Auren. Fane is angry but knows he is outmatched, so he agrees, but he intends to enjoy the saddles’ sexual services before he hands them over. He drags Auren and Rissa to his room and violently assaults Rissa while Auren is forced to watch. Auren demands that he stop hurting Rissa, and when he turns on her, she kills him with a previously hidden gold-touch ability and then swears Rissa to secrecy. Auren and Rissa throw Fane’s solid gold body overboard and then tell the other pirates that he stole Rip’s payment and ran off, betraying them. Rip arrives to claim his purchase, taking the saddles off the ship. Fane’s pirates retreat, leaving Auren and the saddles in the hands of this new enemy.

Meanwhile, in his chambers in Fifth Kingdom, Midas receives word that the enemy has captured Auren. Furious, he vows to retrieve her no matter what it takes.