Lore

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Part 3, Chapters 29-31Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “Deathless”

Part 3, Chapter 29 Summary

The knowledge that Gil was Hermes nearly breaks Lore. All the years she thought she was free of the gods, she lived with one. Hermes protected her because she knew where the aegis was, and Dionysus only figured it out because he could see something was missing in the house, which meant Hermes had “turn[ed] you invisible to all us gods” (246).

In the middle of their argument, an arrow strikes Dionysus in the throat. Kadmides attack. Castor disables them, and Athena kills the mortally wounded Dionysus. Outside, Lore sees a hunter drop from the roof and run. She follows, trying and failing to not think about Gil. After a chase through Central Park, the hunter unmasks himself. It’s Belen Kadmou, Wrath’s bastard son.

Part 3, Chapter 30 Summary

Belen hasn’t changed since the last time Lore saw him—he’s still blindly obedient to Wrath. The two grapple in the park, Lore eventually gaining the upper hand. She goes in for the killing blow but pauses, realizing that killing him “would do nothing but bring Belen glory” (257). Instead, she cuts off his thumbs so he can’t wield a weapon.

Castor arrives and chastises Lore for what she’s done, telling her she isn’t a killer. Confused and unsure, Lore kisses Castor, which turns into something wild between them. Castor pulls back, leaving Lore even more confused, and goes after Belen. Lore joins him and they track Belen for several blocks. Castor tries to aim a blast of power at him, but there are too many bystanders. Belen has no such reservations. He unleashes a drone that releases “a wave of pressure and heat that devoured everything in its path” (262).

Part 3, Chapter 31 Summary

Lore falls as an explosion goes off, bracing for an impact that doesn’t come. She finds herself at the center of fallen debris, but it’s kept away from her by “a circle of intense, crackling light that surrounded her like a protective barrier” (263). Castor struggles to hold the aura, which burns away an enormous slab of concrete that’s right above Lore. Finally, the concrete cracks and falls away, and Castor passes out.

Lore drags Castor out of the debris, and they meet up with Athena, who holds debris out of the way so victims of the explosion can get to safety. As they flee the scene, Lore tells Athena about Belen and the fight. Unlike Castor, Athena understands Lore’s choices. Lore thanks Athena for saving people after the explosion, to which Athena responds, “I shall always do what must be done” (267).

Part 3, Chapters 29-31 Analysis

These chapters up the stakes of the book. Up until this point, the hunters have worked to maintain a low profile during the hunt. They clean up their destruction and hide their activity because, as powerful as they are, the outside world getting wind of them could ruin their world. The explosion in Chapter 31 shows the Kadmides no longer care about keeping the Agon’s world secret. Wrath plans to expose himself as a new god and demand allegiance, which means he doesn’t need to keep quiet about who he is. Lore also amps up her game in terms of fighting the Kadmides. Rather than kill Belen, she takes his thumbs so he can’t wield weapons and easily achieve kleos. She plays right into the Agon’s games, hitting the hunter in the way that will hurt him the most, rather than doing the smart thing and just eliminating him or questioning him.

Athena takes action to cement her deception in these chapters. She knows the world will be destroyed and remade, but she helps in the wake of the explosion by holding debris up so victims can escape the explosion site. Her actions make Lore think the goddess sympathizes with and cares for humans, which isn’t strictly true. Athena’s claim that she will always do what must be done is two-sided. She has always done what needs to be done because it is her nature, but here she also means she will do what must be done for her plans to be achieved. The line also foreshadows Athena giving up her life so Lore can ascend and save the city.

After burning away the entire block of concrete threatening to crush Lore, Castor passes out. The immense power and concentration needed to perform the task drains him, showing he has limits. It’s never made clear what brings these limits about. It may be that he is weaker than the other gods, as shown by how he couldn’t manifest a physical presence between Agons. It could also be that all the gods are weaker during the Agon but that we don’t see the others exert themselves quite so much.