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rungu—a
Matron, gives me Hand Maids Tales vibes
If Deka’s mom was a Shadow, did her dad know?
Why does picking around the chicken bits seem important?
Amazing what perspective can do
“It was quite the scandal. We Shadows are not allowed to marry, so an execution order was sent out. Luckily, she had some noble as a benefactor who protected her. Got her away in time.
what if Deka's dad is really the noble that saved her mom?
I frown. “But I don’t control when the dreams—” A sharp pain pricks my neck. All I see is the faint smile on White Hands’s face as she says, “Remember, when they call you—go.” Then I’m falling.
Deka has been sedated
A hand nudges mine. Britta’s. “It’s all right, Deka,” she whispers, smiling. “I’m right here.”
Deka's protector
Keita looks away guiltily, so I move closer. I don’t want him to turn away from me, from this conversation. This may be the only chance I ever have. “My kind, we don’t have a choice,” I say. “Fight or die—either way, our lives are not our own. Belcalis is right, you know. They call us demons, but are we really?”
confronting the conversations that need to be had
Keita gathers my hand in his and squeezes it. The heat from his hand is like a furnace, washing over my skin. “It matters to me,” he says. “You matter to me.”
love interest OR genuine true friend
White Hands freed us from the Death Mandate and gave us the chance to fight. Just as she promised, we’re the emperor’s crown jewels and will ride at his side in less than two months and deliver Otera from the deathshrieks once and for all. She’s proven herself a woman of her word again and again. So why do I feel uneasy?
Maybe she wants to over throw her cousin later?
Something I didn’t know was clenched inside me releases. My friends are coming to Ixa’s rescue. They’re protecting him for me.
true friendship qualities, let's hope it doesn't come back to bite them in the ass
“You will continue training, you will harness your power, develop it until it becomes so strong, no one can stand in your way. In our way.”
our way, that's foreboding
as I was beginning to think I could trust White Hands. Now I see that she’s just like all the others—worse, even. A spider on a web, dangling threads that I have no idea how to connect.
“If it is a danger to you, then I want to share in it. We’re partners, remember?”
I read partners with endearment
“If it’s not the sun, it’s the sand, all flying everywhere an’ getting all in me delicate bits.”
😂
Keita rolls his eyes. “Just because I’m male doesn’t mean I want to be chasing every girl in the vicinity. Perhaps I want my first time to mean something. Perhaps I want to be married, to be bonded, before I sleep with someone. I thought you’d all understand that.”
He kisses me so suddenly, I have to hold on to him to ground myself. I’m overcome by the warmth, the bliss, of our mouths moving in perfect harmony. When we separate, I take a ragged breath. Keita is looking down at me, his eyes fathomless again.
swoon ☺️
As I smile back, I realize something beautiful: this whole time, I’ve been searching for love, for family, but it’s been here, right in my grasp. No matter what happens in this new world, I have Keita now, and Britta, and Belcalis, and Asha, and Adwapa.
