General Aleksander Kirigan

General Kirigan commands the Second Army and rules the Little Palace with quiet, absolute authority. He is centuries older than he looks, gifted with a rare and feared power, and he presents himself to Alina as a mentor and protector — patient, magnetic, seemingly the one person who understands what she is becoming.

Ben Barnes plays him with a stillness that makes every gentle word feel considered rather than warm. The writing lets him be genuinely persuasive — his cause sounds righteous, his interest in Alina sounds like recognition — so the audience is seduced right alongside her, which is exactly the trick worth watching him pull off.