Early polypeptides

Further thoughts on The Next Book™:

Setting: Arkhangelsk, an island city shrouded in mist; a city of angels.

Protagonist: [Agnetha], daughter of the royal family of Arkhangelsk. Agnetha is third in line for the throne, her older brothers above her by birth order, not by sex. She has one younger sister.

Antagonist: [Anael], a high-ranking angel intent on usurping the throne; Anael has enchanted [Kaleb], Agnetha's cousin, using him to overthrow the royal family.

Other characters: [Byron/Bryson], as previously described.

Balance: The royal family has an idyllic life; all the children are close. Agnetha feels something lacking in the state of sterile perfection and peace. She is fascinated by the demons, her father's subjects, and disguises herself to move among them, playing at games of chance.

Disturbance: While Agnetha has slipped out for one of her adventures, the royal family is overtaken by Kaleb, who has also killed his own father, the king's brother. (His mother died when he was young, and he has spent much time with the royal family, treated like a brother.) A servant of the palace who has escaped finds Agnetha in town, still disguised, and gives her the news.

Problem: Agnetha, the true heir to the throne, must go into hiding, and must find a way to defeat Kaleb (who is working powerful magic [something to do with music?]) to take her rightful place before she is caught and executed.

Complication: Agnetha discovers the ugliness beneath the perfect veneer of the Dominions [higher order of angels]; good and evil, angel and demon become less black and white, and along the way, her relationship with Byron becomes an entanglement. He is a thief, and unapologetic about it, but he has become her friend. Agnetha can't quite reconcile the contradictions.