The voice that Diem hears in her head throughout the novel is symbolic of her true self, which has been suppressed for many years. After she stops taking the flameroot powder, the voice becomes clearer and more difficult to resist, and it almost always advises her to fight against the restrictions that others attempt to impose upon her. At times, Diem relies on the voice to deliver her from difficult situations, and it is clear that the voice helps her access her inner courage and rebellious heart. When the voice tells her to fight during her encounter with the wolf, for example, she is able to use her magic to save herself. The voice also helps her stand up to Prince Luther and free the guards from the armory.

At other times, however, Diem fears the voice because she thinks it will encourage her to harm others. She sees it as a foreign force inside of her that is “becom[ing] something destructive […] [and] deadly” (126), and she fears that it will prove ruinous to the safety of her loved ones. As long as she regards the voice as a negative force, she lives in conflict with it.