Cally wakes up in her room to find that she is completely, totally, 100% healed.  Because consequences are for other books, and explaining stuff to Chaol would entail explaining stuff to Chaol, which for some reason this book is opposed to.

Cally explains who she is to Nemmy, and Nemmy repeats the old song and dance of “oh, you survived Endovier, wow, you have to be super awesome to do that!”  Cally also explains about the competition and gives an emo-speech about how hard it is to consider working for the nasty king she hates.

just know that there’s not a moment that goes by when I don’t wonder what it will be like to kill for him—the man who destroyed everything that I loved!”

Uh, no, there’s been lots of moments when you haven’t wondered that.  A whole book of moments.

In honor of her being so awesome, Nemmy gives her a special…nickname?  She calls her Elentiya.  I care not, because why should I?  Conveying a name like this has no meaning to me, and the book hasn’t given it a meaning for me.  Might as well call her Giggles and say she’s an honorary clown for all the significance this has.

Also:

It hurt me—hurt me more than I realized it would—to have things become so cold between us. To see you look at me with such distrust in your eyes. And I don’t want to ever see you look at me like that again.

You wanna explain your secret language skills and magic, then?

No?

Just gonna walk out and end the scene there?  Fine.

She’d told Nehemia almost everything. There were certain things she’d never tell anyone, and she hadn’t mentioned Cain or the creature, either.

Because…reasons?

The next day she banters with Chaol and he mentions that he trusts her now.  Cally says she can’t tell Chaol about the beast/show it to him because then he’d know she has access to secret tunnels.  Eh, fine, I’ll give her that one, although we’re maintaining the previous stupidity of the tunnels.

Then there’s shipper banter, because of course, and then they turn a corner and there’s the king.

Cally goes all frozen and the book lays on the ominous word-choice extra-thick, doing its damndest to make us see the king as evil incarnate.  Blacker-than-black eyes and everything.  However, it falls flat, because he’s literally doing nothing but standing there while Cally throws a conniption fit in her own head.

And for all we’ve been told he’s the root of all evil in the world and the reason Cally went to the mines, that’s all very vague.  Countries don’t actually go to war just because one guy wants to, no matter how powerful.  Enough of the rest of the government has to agree.  That goes for kings, too.  Also, Cally was a known criminal; what else would he have done with her once she was caught?  Blame the justice system, not one guy.  Basically, if the guy were completely incompetent and nothing but a figurehead, all the eviltude being ascribed to him would most likely still being going on.  With things being that vague, and with the awkward disconnect between action and description here, I’m just not afraid of the guy.

POV switch to Chaol as he’s in his own room, frustrated at the lack of information about the king’s trip.  Apparently the king came back alone and everyone that went out with him is now dead, but he’s being dodgy about the details.

But a couple of paragraphs of that is too long to spend not thinking about Cally, because didn’t you hear?  It’s all about Cally.  So let’s think about Cally now.  He thinks about how awesome she is while at the same time thinking about how scared of the king and vulnerable she is.  And we still don’t know why she shrivels up like a kicked puppy around the guy.

She’d stirred up enough trouble in the months she’d been in the castle. He could only imagine what would happen over the next four years.

…no she hasn’t.

Really, where is this coming from?  She’s done jack diddly to make waves, despite having plenty of opportunity and reason.  The competition and murders are certainly doing a lot, but Cally herself has been meekly in her room reading books.

Drinking Game Count:  Epithets – 5, Exclamation Marks – 2

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