Chapter 20: Chased – Summary and Analysis
Spoiler Notice: This page analyzes Chapter 20 of Enchantra (Wicked Games Book 2) in detail. It reveals key plot events. If you have not read through this chapter, proceed with caution.
Summary
After two hours confined in Grave's bedroom with Rowin, Genevieve has exhausted every distraction she can invent—rearranging the closet, folding paper swans, fixing her hair. Their game of truths yielded details about Rowin's brothers, his tattoos, and the revelation that Grave is their mother's favorite, but the conversation ended abruptly when Genevieve asked about his mother.
The fragile stillness shatters when Rowin senses Grave approaching. He cuts away the crinoline of Genevieve's gown so she can move silently, then deploys his Familiar, Umbra, as a decoy. When Grave enters, Umbra bolts into the hallway, and Rowin follows to draw his brother away. Genevieve's whispered comment alerts Grave to her presence, and she flees through the corridors with the hulking pursuer gaining behind her. She takes refuge in the dining room, using the long table as a barricade, but Grave simply vaults over it. As his Hunting Blade descends, Genevieve impales an apple from the floor onto the dagger's tip, slowing his strike just enough to survive.
Rowin finally appears, leaning casually in the archway, before springing into action. He punches Grave, traps him in a chokehold, and sustains a stab through his bicep when Grave retaliates. Rowin wrenches the blade free and hurls it through a window. As glass rains down, four bells toll through the house, and Genevieve grins—the first switch has arrived.
Key Events
- Genevieve passes two hours in Grave's room by playing a truths game with Rowin, learning about his brothers, his reading habits, his tattoos, and his mother's favoritism toward Grave.
- Upon sensing Grave, Rowin hacks away the crinoline from Genevieve's gown so she can move without rustling, then sends Umbra out as a diversion.
- Grave enters; Umbra and Rowin draw him into the hallway, but Genevieve's whispered complaint alerts him to her presence, triggering a chase.
- Genevieve races through the foyer and into the dining room, placing the table between herself and Grave.
- Grave leaps onto and over the table, shattering a ceramic fruit bowl.
- Genevieve grabs a fallen apple and jams it onto the tip of Grave's descending Hunting Blade, buying herself a crucial moment.
- Rowin intervenes, punching Grave and choking him until his face turns blue; Grave retaliates by driving the blade through Rowin's bicep.
- Rowin pulls the blade from his own arm and throws it out the window, shattering the glass.
- Four tolling bells signal the first switch of the Hunt.
Character Development
Genevieve: Her resourcefulness shines in this chapter. Faced with a two-hour wait, she invents tasks—color-sorting Grave's identical black clothing, origami from desk paper, restyling her hair—echoing the self-entertainment skills she cultivated as a lonely child while her sister Ophie was in lessons. During the attack, instinct drives her to weaponize a fallen apple, a quick-thinking move that keeps her alive. Her inner monologue reveals a dry humor and a realistic terror, but no passivity; she runs, she dodges, she uses her environment, and she does not wait for rescue.
Rowin: His enigmatic nature deepens. He participates in the truths game but withdraws when the topic turns to his mother, suggesting unresolved pain. His tactical mind is on full display: he anticipates Grave's arrival, devises a layered diversion with Umbra, and positions Genevieve for escape. Yet his delayed entrance to the dining room fight raises questions—was he testing her, or simply confident in his timing? He absorbs a blade through the arm without flinching, but hiss when touching the Hunting Blade hints at a supernatural sensitivity. Calling her "trouble" has become an endearment.
Grave: As pursuer, Grave is physically imposing—"two hundred pounds of pure muscle"—and almost gleeful in the hunt. His toothy grin and casual banter ("Consider it my wedding gift") position him as a predator who enjoys the sport. He moves with surprising agility for his size, leaping onto the table. His comment about splitting his brothers' gambling losses reveals the siblings wager on one another's outcomes. The scar he leaves on the mahogany table and his dismissal of their grandmother's wrath paint him as indifferent to family heirlooms and authority.
Umbra: The bat-like Familiar executes Rowin's commands precisely—belly-crawling under the bed, nipping Genevieve's ankles to spur her forward, and becoming an active participant in the escape strategy.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
The Ruined Dress: Rowin's deliberate destruction of the gown's crinoline layers is both a practical necessity and a symbolic act. Genevieve's "heart ached watching such a beautiful dress get destroyed," marking a severance from ornamental constraints. The dress, a remnant of the earlier ball or ritual, represented a role she is now literally shedding to survive.
The Apple: When Genevieve impales the apple on Grave's blade, the fruit becomes an improvised shield. In a story steeped in mythic undertones, the apple evokes temptation narratives—but here, it is a tool of preservation rather than downfall. Grave's subsequent hammering of the blade to split the apple on the table underscores the fragility of her defense.
Shattered Glass: Rowin's act of hurling the Hunting Blade through the window introduces a breach between the enclosed game space and the outside world. The "cool draft" and ringing toll of the four bells immediately follow, linking physical destruction to a change in the Hunt's rules or phase.
The Four Bells: The tolling marks the "first switch" of the game. Genevieve's grin at the sound indicates this is a favorable turn—perhaps a rotation of hunters and prey, or a relocation to new territory. The bells function as a clockwork motif, imposing structure on the chaos.
Sibling Rivalry and Alliance: Rowin and Grave's dynamic is competitive yet bound by the game's rules. Grave mocks their grandmother's favoritism; Rowin corrects him. They fight violently—choking, stabbing—but the conflict reads as an expected, almost ritualized part of the familial Hunt. Rowin's intervention for Genevieve's sake introduces a fracture in sibling loyalty.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 20 is the first true physical confrontation of the Hunt, transforming the game from a tense waiting period into a lethal chase. It establishes stakes: Grave is genuinely trying to kill Genevieve, and the Hunting Blade is a weapon that can injure even the brothers (Rowin's pained hiss suggests it carries a particular venom). The chapter also marks a pivot point with the four bells, signaling that the initial phase has ended and a new configuration begins. Rowin's choice to protect Genevieve—at the cost of his own flesh—deepens their uneasy alliance and sets up future complications. This chapter answers the question of whether the brothers' game is deadly serious, and the answer is unequivocally yes.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What survival instincts does Genevieve display during the chase, and how were they foreshadowed earlier in the chapter?
Genevieve shows quick environmental awareness by diving through the dining room archway and positioning the table as a barricade. When Grave corners her, she instinctively grabs a fallen apple and jams it onto the blade's tip, a creative defensive move. These instincts are foreshadowed by her earlier self-entertainment tactics—rearranging the closet and folding paper swans—demonstrating a habit of using her surroundings actively rather than waiting passively. Her childhood spent entertaining herself during Ophie's lessons cultivated this self-reliance.
2. How does Rowin's behavior complicate the reader's understanding of his loyalties?
Rowin orchestrates a careful escape plan and ultimately saves Genevieve's life, yet he delays his intervention in the dining room, watching casually as she evades Grave. He only steps in after she pleads for help. This mix of protection and detachment suggests his loyalty is neither pure nor simple. He may be testing Genevieve's worthiness or adhering to some unspoken Hunter's code. His willingness to absorb a blade through his arm for her complicates any reading of him as purely self-interested.
3. What narrative function does the four-bell toll serve at the chapter's conclusion?
The four bells signal the "first switch" of the Hunt, a structural mechanism that changes the game's conditions—likely relocating players or rotating hunter-and-prey roles. Narratively, it provides a cliffhanger ending that propels readers into the next chapter. Thematically, the bells impose order and timekeeping on the otherwise chaotic violence, reinforcing that this brutality operates within a ritualistic framework. Genevieve's grin confirms the switch is advantageous to her survival.