Serpent & Dove

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019

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Part 3, Chapters 33-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3

Part 3, Chapter 33 Summary: “Hell Hath No Fury: Reid”

Coco arrives and explains to Reid that she and Ansel already knew that Lou was a witch. Before Reid can process this, Coco tells him that she’s meeting the prince, Beau, at The Bellerose and that someone there can help them. Once there, Coco gets ready to perform a locator spell. Reid registers that she’s the witch from Tremblay’s townhouse, Cosette Monvoisin. Instinctively, he reaches for his Balisarda until Ansel reminds him that she’s helping. Coco’s spell reveals that Lou is in the La Forêt des Yeux, but as a Dame Rouge, Coco can’t find the forest—only a Dame Blanche can. Hélène arrives and announces that she is a Dame Blanche.

Hélène explains that this war goes back hundreds of years, starting with Angelica and the holy man Constantin, who forged the Balisarda. Constantin was the “knight” Angelica fell in love with, and with his approval, she was the first Dame des Sorcières. However, he grew jealous of her magic and tried to possess it. When he couldn’t, he had his soldiers march on Belterra and slaughter its people. Both Angelica and Constantin died by suicide, but the blood feud continued through the ages. To ensure the witches regain power, Morgane conceived Lou, knowing that if she ended Lou’s life she could also annihilate the king’s line.

Hélène confesses that she tipped off the Archbishop to the theft at Tremblay’s knowing that he could hide Lou in the Chasseur Tower. Realizing why Hélène is so desperate to stop Morgane from killing the royal family, Reid exposes Hélène’s love for King Auguste. She doesn’t deny it and explains that she didn’t tell the king she was a witch or that she’d become pregnant. However, she did confide in her closest friend at the time, Morgane. Once her child—a boy—was born, Morgane stole him. Even though Hélène searched for years, she never found him. Reid, who previously noticed a ring on Hélène’s finger that resembled the one he had been with, realizes he is the child. However, he can’t accept a witch as a mother. Deflecting, he determines to find Lou, using Hélène to get into the Chateau. All the others—Ansel, Coco, and Beau—volunteer to assist. They have a fortnight to reach Lou.

Part 3, Chapter 34 Summary: “The Soul Remembers: Lou”

Paralyzed, Lou wakes in Morgane’s arms. Morgane confesses that she persuaded Monsieur Bernard to give her one of the priests’ vials: Morgane has perfected their poison. Lou sees that Morgane has stolen Angelica’s Ring, which if worn by Lou during the sacrifice would have saved the Lyons. This, along with Reid’s rejection, makes Lou give up hope. Morgane lets Lou know she’s in control and that Lou cannot escape. She urges Lou to make peace with her role in the ritual. Morgane assures Lou that she will have her body healed from the bruises caused by Andre and Grue so she’ll appear as fair as “the Maiden” for the ceremony. When Lou tells her she’s not a maiden, Morgane expresses disgust that she had sex with Reid and says she hopes Lou is not pregnant, although she might have enjoyed killing the witch-hunter’s child.

Lou loses consciousness. When she next wakes, they are at Chateau le Blanc. Lou’s old friend Manon brings her jasmine, the symbol of love. Manon will be her guard at the Chateau and sees this as sisterly time. Lou wonders aloud if Manon “often tries to murder [her] sisters” (427). Morgane tells Lou to stop being tiresome and suggests that the Chasseurs have corrupted Lou. She enumerates the witches they have murdered whom Lou knew. Lou still urges Morgane to make peace with the Chasseurs: While neither group can change the past, they could forge a new path. Morgane dismisses this and speaks only of revenge. When Lou asks if Morgane ever loved her, Morgane dismisses the notion, describing Lou as a product of Morgane’s enemy. Morgane warns Lou that she’ll kill Reid if Lou attempts to flee. Lou wonders if her soul will remember Reid after she dies and concludes that love is irrevocable and that Reid will always remain a part of her.

Part 3, Chapter 35 Summary: “Harbinger: Reid”

The rescue team camps in the forest. There’s snow on the ground and everyone is cold. Hélène tells the group they will be cutting close to the deadline, as they’ve had to take a different route to avoid Morgane’s spies. Both Coco and Reid hear something and see a squadron of Chasseurs, including Jean Luc. A cat, which has been trailing them, startles the squadron, and they head in a different direction. When told, Hélène regrets not contacting them, thinking there’d be strength in numbers. Reid tells her Jean Luc knows Lou is a witch and isn’t trustworthy. Even to swell their numbers, an alliance with the Chasseurs is not worth the risk.

Part 3, Chapters 33-35 Analysis

Reid faces many surprises in this section: Coco is a witch, Ansel knew about Coco’s identity and Lou’s, Hélène is Reid’s mother and a witch, the king is his father, and Beau is his brother. However, he only reaches for his Balisarda once and doesn’t use it—neither does he slink back to the Chasseurs. While he is not entirely accepting of all this new information, he doesn’t reject it outright. This shows how much Reid has grown; he is willing to find allies among people he once regarded as enemies.

Mothering styles are contrasted as Morgane explains that she never loved Lou, only conceiving her to ruin the king’s line. In fact, she makes it clear to Lou that she sees any love as a weakness, berating Lou for pointing out her hypocrisies as well as Manon’s false love. Morgane is happy to exploit this “weakness,” threatening to harm anything Lou loves, even a potential unborn grandchild. She also stole Hélène’s child, demonstrating a disregard for both her friend’s maternal love and Reid’s right to know his mother. Despite not having had the chance to raise her child, Hélène becomes a maternal foil to Morgane in these chapters. While Hélène is wounded by Reid’s resistance to her, she doesn’t belabor it and instead steps up to support his rescue team. Although she still hopes for eventual communion with her son, she does not force Reid to connect with her before he’s ready, which shows the depth and selflessness of her understanding and love.

The backstory Hélène provides on Angelica and Constantin invokes the theme of Opposites Attract and invites parallels to Lou and Reid’s situation. Like her descendant Lou, Angelica was a witch who hid her true nature for the sake of love. The couple’s tragic fate is another example of the star-crossed lovers motif and seems to bode ill for Reid and Lou. However, while Reid is (via the current king) a descendant of Constantin, he is also the son of a witch. Likewise, Lou is the daughter of a witch and a Church leader. They each embody the opposing sides of the feud, hinting at a possible reconciliation.