Centered around the protagonist, Emma Carstairs, the series follows her journey as a Shadowhunter at the Los Angeles Institute, and her life with her best-friend and parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, and his family.
The Dark Artifices is a trilogy about their struggle against their enemies and how the two protagonists deal with their forbidden love and the resulting consequences.
The main theme developing in Cassandra Clare's The Dark Artifices series is the concept of maturing and the transition into adulthood.
The conscious decision one must make between responsibility and personal desire is explored through Julian and Emma's hesitancy in Lady Midnight.
The two struggle between pursuing their feelings for one another and weighing the consequences of defying Shadowhunter law, which could ultimately threaten the Blackthorn family.