The kefta is a robe or outer garment that the Grisha wear, with each order having a distinct color that identifies their powers. For Alina, the kefta is imbued with symbolic meaning because others express their domination, expectations, or control over her by their attitude toward it. For example, in the previous books, the Darkling wants Alina to wear a black kefta to show her allegiance to him, although she resists this and for a time chooses to wear a blue kefta. In Ruin and Rising, the Apparat’s domination of Alina is expressed by her threadbare and patched kefta. Nikolai gives Alina a lavishly decorated golden kefta as a gift, which symbolizes Alina’s power as a Sun Summoner and is intended to make a political statement during the planned trip to West Ravka. At the end of the story, Alina receives a blue kefta from her friends, even though she’s no longer Grisha. This time, the garment symbolizes her identity and freedom rather than subordination.

Nikolai’s airships are symbolic of Ravkan freedom from the Darkling. The first clue to this association is when Nikolai rescues Alina and her companions from the soldiers who want to turn them in to the Darkling.