Welcome back to day 6 of our book club read-along for OwlCrate's June book, Sisters of the Snake!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 31-36 of Sisters of the Snake, so make sure you read these chapters before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box!
The story so far...
Ria:
With her new freedom, the palace allows Ria and Saeed to visit the orphanage Ria grew up in. After bribing a staff member, they are able to see the room where Mama Anita used to live. It looks nearly the same as it did before Mama Anita was killed. Looking for some evidence of who she is, Ria finds a half burnt birth certificate - her birth certificate - under a floor board. When they hear more people coming, potentially Charts, Ria and Saeed jump out the window, climb over the now locked orphanage fence, and flee before they are seen.
Back in Saeed’s room after their adventure, Saeed seems to come to the realization that someone hurt Ria with the healing mark on her face, but before he can say anything they hear a girl scream. Aditi.
Rani:
Again camping for the night, Rani decides to bathe in the nearby creek and comes upon Amir. He confesses he is starting to have new feelings for her, but soon sees that she is missing her birthmark and scar he saw just recently. Cornered, Rani admits who she is.
Ria:
Ria rushes to the courtyard where two Charts are holding Aditi on Amara’s orders. Unable to stop them, the Charts whip Aditi’s hands three times before taking her to the servant’s infirmary. After Amara and the Charts have left, Ria confirms the mark on her face was from Saeed’s mother.
That night Ria checks on Aditi in the infirmary. Aditi asks why she went to the orphanage that morning, and when Ria tells her about Mama Anita, Aditi reveals that she also used to live there, and knew Mama Anita.
Rani:
They finally find the Glass Temple, but in order to get access, they first must convince the sandtiger that they have good intentions. Using her snake magic, Rani is able to convince the sandtiger who then slowly turns to sand and leaves her with a compass that is a talisman of the Fire Master. As the temple doors open they are greeted by descendants of the Fire Master, flametalkers.
Ria:
Aditi tells Ria that she grew up in the orphanage until she was five before being taken to the castle to be a servant and that she used to write to Mama Anita before Amara took over looking after the palace mail. When she was arrested, Aditi snuck in to see her before she was killed, and Mama Anita told her she was originally sent to the palace posing as a midwife to be a Kaaman spy. When it was discovered she was Kaaman the king sent her to the orphanage with a child born in the palace who was said to have a terrible prophecy, but she didn’t actually know who the child was. The orphanage also serves another purpose - the king created it to house children suspected of having magical abilities. So the king knew magic was returning but was trying to repress it. When the palace found out Mama Anita was trying to encourage the children to accept their magic, that is when she was taken in to be killed.
Aditi and Ria agree to sneak into Amara’s chamber the night before the truce ends, as Aditi thinks she might be hiding something incriminating in her closet. Saeed and Shima join them on the night they enter Amara’s rooms, and they climb a staircase hidden in her closet to what looks like a sort of shrine filled with Saeed’s fathers things. They find letters that appear to be current written to Saeed’s dead father, and a page from a book of magic about a potential seventh Master - the Master of Souls - who could control the living and the dead. Saeed’s father’s sword starts to glow and stepping towards it into the shrine Saeed disappears. Rani follows and they see what seems to be the final moments of his father’s life, fighting bravely. Back in the room with the shrine, Rani thinks that perhaps Amara is looking to get the Bloodstone for herself and find the Master of Souls to bring her husband back to life.
Rani:
Inside the Glass Temple the leader of the flametalkers explains that they are should still able to communicate with the souls of the Masters through their statues. They offer the compass to the statue of the Fire Master, and he wakes up. Speaking to Rani, he explains that the Snake Master used to also have goodness inside him. He tells her that the Bloodstone is hidden “deep in the narrowest point in the waters between kingdoms” and that she must turn to her magic to find the location. They deduce that the stone is hidden in the Var River, where the truce was once signed. They are invited to rest for the evening before heading to find the stone, but Rani has other plans and tries to sneak off on her own to find it and prevent any more harm comin to her friends. They don’t let her go alone.
Questions:
- How do you think Amara is going to contact the Master of Souls?
- Why do you think Amara hid the nature of Saeed’s father’s death?
- What do you think that the group will find at the Var River?
- Any predictions for the last section of the book?
See you again on tomorrow as we discuss Chapters 37-End!
