Mare’s next instructor has an office full of old and priceless books and maps in the room, which are all “fascinating” and which she feels a “pull towards.” Want to play a game of “guess the gender of the room’s occupant based on description?” If you said this one is a dude, then grab yourself a cookie, because you win.

The instructor sees her looking a giant, wall-sized map of “the world as it once was” and asks if she can find where they are based on context clues.

Norta is the northeast . The Stilts is on the Capital River, and the river goes to the sea. After a minute of pained searching, I finally find the river and the inlet near my village.

…so, by “world” I’m guessing you mean…not. I mean, your map has to be pretty limited if you’ve got a “the northeast,” or else that’s a very loose definition and this is set in eastern Russia. Also what kind of map only has a few rivers, to the point where you can find only one running into the sea (all rivers do that) in an entire region?

Anyway, they then talk vaguely about “the ruins” which I’m guessing is New York City just because…fiction fucking loves that town.

Mare suddenly realizes that there are no cameras in the room, and asks him why that is. The teacher reveals that he knows she’s not silver, but he doesn’t plan to spill her secret, and the cameras are turned off so they can be frank and he can figure out why she’s got magic.

Also the cameras are turned off because he’s got enough pull to make that happen.

“I mean that my sister was queen once, and that still counts for something around here.”

“Lady Blonos didn’t teach me that.”

…why would you expect her to after, what, three hours of deportment training?

He chuckles to himself. “That’s because Lady Blonos is teaching you nonsense. I will never do that.”

Oh, fuck you, too.

Anyway, this guy is Julian, and he’s Cal’s uncle.

Julian laughs aloud. “My dear, the queen would like nothing more than for you to disappear. Discovering what you are, helping you understand it, is the last thing she wants.”

…why? I mean, that she cares more about Mare just not making waves and quietly going away via deadness, okay, I get that. But isn’t understanding what made this situation come to pass part of ensuring it never happens again?

Not if you’re an evil queen, apparently! Thinking is for the menfolks around here. Because fuck feminism.

Something flashes in his eyes, something like anger. “The queen’s reach is not so long as she wants you to think.

So far her reach is nowhere at all; I’m not really sure how you can get shorter than that.

Then they talk about how Mare is the second coming of Jesus or something and she’s totally going to quash the growing rebellion in their country.

But you are the controlled change, the kind people can trust. You are the slow burn that will quench a revolution with a few speeches and smiles. You can speak to the Reds, tell them how noble, how benevolent, how right the king and his Silvers are. You can talk your people back into their chains. Even the Silvers who question the king, the ones who have doubts, can be convinced by you. And the world will stay the same.”

Yeah, I still don’t see it. I mean, okay, the “talk to the Reds and pretend to understand both sides and compromise” but, I see that as being possible, but it requires Mare to be eloquent and personable, and yet they’re carrying on like all that’s a given. Like, yes, she’s totally going to do all this and they know it because…IDK, she ran away really eloquently that one time?

It’s a fine goal and all, but they’re putting the cart before the horse here.

“And you don’t want that? You’re a Silver, you should hate the Scarlet Guard—and me.”

“Thinking all Silvers are evil is just as wrong as thinking all Reds are inferior,”

…we’re going to get to talk about privilege in this review, aren’t we?

I’m withholding judgment on Julian himself because we have no idea if he’s lifting a fucking finger or not for the Reds, but I do take issue with that “just.” No, those two things are not “just” as bad as each other, because one leads to pouty faces and the other leads to FUCKING DEATH.

I mean, I get what he’s saying and there’s certainly some practical concerns at work because you almost never topple a system without help from those in the privileged class. And there’s really no good way to say “be nice to your oppressors, or at least a few of them.” But there has to be a tract you can take that doesn’t say “wah, think about my feelings!”

“But we are different.” One day in this world taught me that. “We’re not equal.”

Julian stoops, his eyes boring into mine. “I’m looking at proof you are wrong.”

…so Julian isn’t basing this on some notion of intrinsic humanity, but on the fact that Mare can fart lightning? Did he develop these beliefs in the last 12 hours, or was he just convinced that eventually Reds would evolve powers?

Because, really, he’s not saying “you have worth just as you are, powers =/= humanity,” he’s saying “you have potential to be just like us, therefore that makes you worthy.”

But Mare agrees to work with him, but because he swayed her with his “you’re like us therefore now I care” speech but because she figures not dying is a good thing so she should probably just play along.

We time skip ahead, and still have no idea what Julian is teaching her. “Protocol in the morning, Lessons in the afternoon” I mean, does that even need to be capitalized? What lessons? What are you learning?

We pick up again at a social meal, where Mare internally flails about how eeeeviilll Evangeline is while she…sits there doing nothing and eating her food. So far as we know, Evangeline hasn’t done anything in the time skip, and she’s certainly not hurt Mare or we’d have heard about that, and she’s not doing anything now…but EEEEVVVIIIILLLLL!

There’s random talk about how Reds are inferior over dinner, which is pretty heavy-handed but if they’re just trying to goad Mare then that makes sense.

“Of course,” I continue, unable to stop myself. “Being forced to live such lives, with no respite, no reprieve, and no escape, would make servants of anyone.”

And Mare gets her shots in, too.

Then someone changes the subject to the rebels and what the king plans to do about it.

Every eye at the table turns to the speaker, a woman in military uniform. A few other ladies wear uniforms as well, but hers shines with the most medals and ribbons.

I do like that this book has women in the military from the very start and completely without question. Brownie points for that, at least.

Turns out there’s been more attacks, just no public claiming of responsibility, and the Queen repeats the official lies/explanations and smoothly turns it into a scold on the other woman for turning every mishap into the country into fear-mongering over the rebels. Smoothly done, Elara. I mean, you’re still an antagonist, but finally you’re competent at something and not being goofy-evil.

More time skip, some talk about Maven and Cal and how both aren’t very present, and then on to a Julian lesson. They’re trying to get her to use her powers at will instead of wildly. I…guess that’s what all her lessons are, since she doesn’t mention what else they’re going over?

Without the cameras and Elara’s eyes, we can spend our time discovering what I really am. But the going is slow, frustrating us both.

Okay, but controlling your lightning doesn’t really tell you who you are, everyone already knows you have that stuff?

She basically just has to meditate to be able to use her powers. Yawn.

For some reason her lightning makes stone shelves and statues explode. Which…is not what lightning does. I’m pretty sure it just burns stuff.

Hell, lightning strikes people all the time and people are much more explodable than stone statues. I mean, most of the die, true, but they stay in one piece.

Several days (weeks?) later, in a new and larger location, they’re still doing experiments on her powers. And it turns out Mare can create electrical energy out of nothing.

“No, I thought your ability was the power to manipulate, not create,” he says, his voice dropping gravely. “No one can create, Mare.”

Oh, great, so she’s even more special. How awesome. Do you even have a plan on figuring out why she’s got Red blood, or is that not even on your to-do list? He starts practically crowing over how special and powerful she is, and compared with the whole “woohoo, Red having powers = worthy” subtext from before…yeah, I’m not really getting any sort of an ally vibe from this guy.

Well, Mare takes news of her extra specialness and figures that makes her even more of a freak, because why do YA heroines like this always hear “you can do anything you want!” and take it as “OH NO, THE WORST NEWS EVER, THIS IS BAD SOMEHOW”?

Anyway, her emotions get out of control and she can’t reign in her sparks, so she runs away instead. She winds up outside, and Maven joins her for a good sulk fest. He tries to sympathize with her, Mare is still being excellent at holding onto her “dude, you don’t get it, you are everything wrong with this situation” attitude.

Maven remains a clueless privileged asshole.

“You think I don’t know how difficult it is to be here? With these people?” He casts a glance over his shoulder like he’s worried someone might hear. But there’s no one listening except the rain and thunder. “I can’t say what I want, do what I want—with my mother around I can barely even think what I want. And my brother—!”

“What about your brother?”

The words stick in his mouth. He doesn’t want to say them, but he feels them all the same. “He’s strong, he’s talented, he’s powerful—and I’m his shadow. The shadow of the flame.”

Excuse me while I cry a river of sadness for the utter teenagedness of your life. So tragic.

I think the book is working on trying to paint him as a woobie and get Mare around to feeling sorry for him, but if she holds out, this wouldn’t be a bad set up. I mean, it would have to end with Maven either dropping this shit or becoming an antagonist, but he’s being really petty and annoying and actually pretty accurate as far as poor, self-centered allies goes.

I mean, I don’t trust that it’s going to go that way, but it could.

Mare doesn’t fully agree with him, so that’s something.

Maven then says that she must be so emotional because she’s homesick, and he says he can “do something about that.” Guess it’s time for a road trip!