Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender and/or transgender discrimination, sexual violence and/or harassment, rape, mental illness, child abuse, suicidal ideation and/or self-harm, graphic violence, sexual content, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

There are two rose scars in the novel, both carved by Zade for different reasons. The first rose scar is the one on Zade’s own chest, which he carves with a broken fragment of mirror out of anger at himself for losing Adeline. For him, the rose represents his failure to protect her, and it stands as a representation of the darkness that he believes is overcoming him. Zade sees the rose as a renunciation of his humanity, showing the depths of his anger and desire for vengeance. The fact that he carves the rose with a fragment of mirror emphasizes the reflective nature of the rose, which brands him with a symbol of his and Adeline’s love. However, Adeline sees this scar only as a symbol of his love and his fundamental desire to save her. Although Zade believes that the rose represents his lost humanity, Adeline redefines it as a symbol of his connection with her.

Zade carves the second rose scar on Adeline’s chest when she asks him to do so.