“Harrow could touch what Palamedes had done nudge it knock it out of Cytherea’s grip.Why don’t I believe it? Because back in Chapter 34, Ianthe has an extended argument with dead Naberius about who’s in charge of her body, and Naberius fights her all the way.I don’t believe this for a second, but it’s a thing that Harrow has to believe in the moment. Gideon tells Harrow she’s basically a hallucination “produced by your brain chemistry while coping with the massive trauma of splicing in my brain chemistry” (p.Also, you’ve got to love the response, “Yes, you can, it’s just less great and less hot.”.

“Harrow said, with some difficulty: ‘I cannot conceive of a universe without you in it’” (p.

I want to quote this whole chapter, because it’s so powerful and so heartbreaking. Harrow looked back at Gideon, and Gideon’s eyes, as they always did, startled her their deep, chromatic amber, the startling hot gold of freshly-brewed tea.

“They were cheek to cheek: Gideon’s arm and Harrow’s arm entwined, holding the sword aloft, letting the steel catch the light.

Gideon is trying to get Harrow to focus because Cytherea is still a threat. ‘Pick it up - pick it up and stop looking at me, dick. Harrow drops the sword, pulls Gideon’s body off the spikes, and sits beside her in the sun. It is, however, pretty clear that, after Harrow nudges along the acceleration of Cytherea’s cancer, Cytherea is actively dying, which makes the stabbing a mercy killing. The referent is unclear it could be that Cytherea is not afraid, but it could also be Harrow feels no fear now because Gideon is in/with her. As Harrow drives the sword home, “Cytherea the First sighed in no little relief. 438) - Eventually we’ll meet another girl waiting for her birthday party the parallels are striking.

There was only anticipation verging on panicked excitement, like a girl waiting for her birthday party” (p. 437), which is pure Gideon, and a repetition of her words in the Act 4 fight scene.Ĭytherea is already dying from the augmented cancer, and (apparently) the narrator breaks in once again (first time was the point-of-view shift at the end of Chapter 32): “Cytherea the First vomited a long stream of black blood. When Cytherea asks, “How do you feel, little sister?” it’s “Harrowhark’s mouth said, ‘Ready for round three,’ and, ‘or round four. Harrow is the bystander in the swordfight. We barely notice the fight, though, because the real action is between Gideon, insisting that Harrow absorb her soul, and Harrow, horrified beyond comprehension. Gideon is with Harrow, talking and moving her through the next steps in the battle: make sure Camilla is safe, “take down” the bone construct, pick up the sword, and prepare herself to fight Cytherea. The very brief but packed and tragic Act 5.Ĭhapter 37 (Skull header: Gideon - 9th House skull with a mandible and aviators, and the IX crossed out)

Gideon 9th