Red Queen

Mare’s new name is Lady Mareena Titanos, heiress to the House Titanos. In her new chambers, three Red maids cover her skin in glossy white makeup to hide the fact she’s a Red. Dressed in a gown of purple and silver and with dark makeup at her lips and eyes, she looks “cold, cruel, a living razor” (89), and she hates her new appearance.

Cal comes to see her and apologizes for getting her into this mess. She recognizes his voice as the person who stopped her from escaping. She blames him, but he explains all the reasons she’s better off where she is; the queen would have hunted her down and likely killed her family. Mare doesn’t like it, but she agrees.

Later, Mare goes to a banquet, where the royal family will formally debut her. On the way, she meets up with the queen, who clarifies Mare’s cover story: Her father was an oblivion—able to blow things up—and her mother could control the weather, which resulted in Mare’s ability to harness lightning. The queen reminds Mare of the precarious line she walks and enforces that Mare must lie because “your life depends on it, little lightning girl” (95).