Dario Santiago

**Dario Santiago** is from Spain and is part of the same group of postulants as Jess Brightwell.

## Biography

### Early Life

Dario is the son of a Spanish ambassador and comes from an incredibly wealthy noble family of Spain. His cousin is the King of Spain. His Codex is one of his most precious possessions. It was given to him by his father when he was ten and is the last gift he received from him.

### *Ink and Bone*

Dario arrives in Alexandria to begin his training with the Great Library of Alexandria. Dario is assigned as Jess's roommate, and the two immediately find themselves at odds.

Partway through his training, Dario is assigned special half-day intensive study in history on top of Scholar Christopher Wolfe's lessons. He is pleased about this as he wants to become a gold band Scholar and one day become Historia Magnus. After the test to capture smuggled original texts, Dario is the one to realize that Scholar Wolfe is being punished by being put in charge of the postulants, and thinks Wolfe resents them.

After the traumatizing events in Oxford, Khalila Seif and Dario begin dating.

Dario is given a three-year contract as a Scholar, with territory and specialty to be assigned by the Artifex Magnus. He also receives new permanent quarters in the Alexandrian Lighthouse.

### *Paper and Fire*

Dario attempts to use his new position as a Research Scholar for the Library, and his family's connections, to help his friends rescue Thomas Schreiber.

He blames himself for getting Scholar Prakesh killed.

### *Smoke and Iron*

Dario, Khalila, Thomas, Glain, and Santi are all prisoners on a ship bound for Alexandria from England. The ship belongs to Red Ibrahim who has switched alliances to make a deal with the Archivist.

### *Sword and Pen*

Dario successfully tricks the Spanish spy network in Alexandria into destroying the Archivist's minions and thus freeing up resources for Santi to defend the city with.

## Physical Description

Dario is impossibly good-looking. He has bronzed skin and his sharp, black eyes are almost as dark as his hair. He has very white teeth. He looks perfect and every inch a gentleman. He has a high forehead. Jess says he looks a bit like a pirate.

## Personality

Dario is entitled, snobby, and obnoxious. He and Jess are antagonists immediately upon meeting. Dario is used to bullying others in order to get what he wants, but quickly discovers this tactic doesn't work with Jess. Dario was clearly born rich and is used to those around him deferring to whatever he wishes. He tends to believe everyone is inferior to him. Dario is surprisingly smart and clever. Jess says he can almost *feel* Dario's intelligence at work. As Jess gets to know Dario, he realizes that there are depths to Dario that he prefers to keep hidden. Khalila, and Dario's feelings for her, are one of his few weak points. When Dario leaves his ego to the side, he is much more interesting. He's a strategic thinker. While he can still be a snarky, cynical jerk at times, Dario goes through a lot of character development and he does care about his friends. He matures from a shallow, class-conscious bully to a young man who is still manipulative but understands how to use this tendency for the better. He can be charming when he wants to be. He's rarely careless in politics or diplomacy. He can be insolent when angry though. He is ambitious and competitive, especially with Jess, even though he's achieved his life's dream to be a Scholar.

## Relationships

### Khalila Seif

Khalila is entertained by Dario. She is the only one who can get away with calling Dario a fool in public. He calls her "desert flower." She finds Dario's pursuit of her flattering and exasperating in turns. They are increasingly drawn together, and it's clear that she trusts him. Khalila is one of his few weak points. After the horrible and traumatizing events in Oxford, Dario and Khalila begin dating. Dario's love for Khalila is so strong that when he's captured by the Artifex, he forces him to betray the group, not by threatening his own family, but by threatening Khalila's. He proposes to Khalila and she accepts.

## Trivia

* Dario speaks English, Spanish, and he's fluent in sign language as his sister is deaf.
* The character of Dario is Rachel Caine's thank you to her Spanish fans.