At this point in the book, Amari had been living her life day by day, unsatisfied with her situation, but not unhappy enough to change it. One of the greatest joys in her life was Binta, her servant, and closest friend. One day she sees her Father kill Binta, and she also sees that he is in possession of a scroll that has the ability to bring back magic. This flips her whole world upside down, and while distraught from the death of her friend, she steals the scroll without being noticed. This is an important part for her character because it shatters her already weak opinion of her Father, while simultaneously planting the idea that magic might not be as bad as everyone else has led her to believe, and that maybe those without magic have been the crueler ones.

Amari had been traveling with Zélie and Tzain for quite a while once they reached Chândomblé, but she still hadn’t seen that much of the magic she was risking her life to protect. Chândomblé was nothing like Amari had ever seen before, and the magic she witnessed was even more incredible. Led by a Lekan, a protector of sorts for the temple, he shows the group how much beauty there is to be had in magic. Until this point, Amari had only heard legends and seen small glimpses of magic in use, but I can only imagine what witnessing it first hand was like, especially magic of this level and beauty.

During an intense battle for the Sun Stone, Amari is put in a very difficult position. She sees that the last remaining enemy captain is going for the final blow on a downed Zélie, who happens to be their captain. In a very quick decision, Amari decides to plunge her sword into the other team's captain, killing him. By doing this, she won the game for them, and acquired them the sun stone, but it also affected her very deeply on an emotional level. While maybe not the first taste of danger or death she had encountered while on her journey, it was the first time the death had been at her hands. This moment made her reconsider the whole thing, because before she didn’t really consider the possibility that she would have to harm people to fulfill their mission. After a lot of self reflection, she finally decides that it is still worth it to continue with their quest, and work towards their very important goal.

After a very stressful battle for the Sun Stone, followed by another very stressful battle with a clan of diviners, Amari and company are finally given time to relax and rewind at a festival organized to celebrate the return of magic. During this festival, Amari hangs out with Tzain, and they even dance together a little bit. I think this section is really important to Amari’s character because it shows she is getting more comfortable with the group she has been traveling with, more specifically with Tzain, who she is romantically interested in. They have also been going non-stop trying to bring magic back for quite a while, and it was nice to see our main characters finally get a chance to relax, even if for a fleeting moment.

For most of the story up until this point, Amari has been shy and mostly in the background, letting Zélie and Tzain do a lot of the talking, especially in situations where charisma and a forceful personality was needed. But once Zélie and Inan are taken away, and Tzain is extremely worried for the safety of his sister, Amari steps up to do the talking while in the bar. I chose this part as an important moment for Amari because it really shows that she has grown as a character, and become more involved in their goal and her friends. I don’t think Amari would’ve done something like this a few hundred pages ago in the book, and it was cool to see her step and take charge.