There is a "Beauty and the Beast" dynamic, but Pierce Brown subverts this by keeping it platonic. Lyria sees the "Morning Knight" not as a heartthrob, but as a symbol of the Gold class that ruined her life. Their bond becomes one of shared brokenness.

Many fans point to her relationship with the Obsidian, Volga, as the emotional core of her story. It is a deep, soul-level friendship that borders on the romantic—a partnership of two outcasts finding a "tribe" in each other. Conclusion

In the later novels ( Iron Gold , Dark Age ), Lyria’s relationships with high-tier characters like Cassius au Bellona or Pax Augustus are grounded in mutual respect and mentorship rather than romance.