Chapter 35 Summary: The Weight of Grief and a Denial

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Kidan wanders Adane House, where each room triggers a different emotion: anger at the front door, longing in the kitchen, grief in the hallways. She sits outside Susenyos’s room, feeling the absence of hatred toward it. Susenyos finds her and sits beside her. He denies harming or killing June, stating he doesn’t know how June’s bracelet ended up in his drawer. Kidan struggles to believe him. She has a severe panic attack, clawing at Susenyos for support. He remains calm and tells her she must control her emotions because they affect the house and him. Kidan recalls the house law about Susenyos endangering Adane House and the house stealing something of equal value. She wonders what Susenyos values most. The chapter ends with Kidan clinging to Susenyos as a reprieve, though she knows he may be a monster.

Key Events

Kidan explores Adane House, feeling heightened emotions tied to specific rooms.
She sits outside Susenyos’s room, recalling June’s voice and the house law.
Susenyos arrives and sits next to Kidan despite her protests.
Susenyos plainly denies killing, harming, or taking June; he says he does not know how June’s bracelet got in his drawer.
Kidan experiences a vivid hallucination of June bleeding and the shadowy man.
Kidan suffers a panic attack; her screaming affects the house’s lights.
Susenyos guides Kidan into his dark room and helps her breathe.
Kidan claws Susenyos’s forearm, but he remains still and solid.
Susenyos warns Kidan that her emotions are affecting the house and himself.
Kidan reflects on loneliness and her inability to cry since Mama Anoet’s death.

Character Development

Kidan: Shows deep vulnerability and unresolved grief. She cannot cry but panics violently. Her suspicion of Susenyos begins to waver despite her trauma.
Susenyos: Offers a rare direct denial of guilt, insisting he has spent his life being accused. He demonstrates patience and physical steadiness during Kidan’s attack, hinting at a protective side.
June (memory/hallucination): Appears as a spectral warning, reinforcing Kidan’s guilt and fear.
Mama Anoet (deceased): Her absence hangs over Kidan; Kidan’s inability to mourn her mother is presented as a source of shame.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Grief and emotional overwhelm: The house amplifies Kidan’s feelings, turning spaces into emotional traps.
Denial and truth: Susenyos’s denial of June’s murder stands in tension with the evidence Kidan has seen, forcing the reader to question his reliability.
The house as a living entity: Adane House responds to Kidan’s panic, flickering lights and growing shadowy tendrils—linking emotion to supernatural environment.
Survival and isolation: Both Kidan and Susenyos echo the idea that those who should protect us often fail, and we must survive on our own.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a turning point in Kidan’s relationship with Susenyos. For the first time, he gives a clear, personal denial of involvement in June’s death. His willingness to physically support Kidan during her panic attack shows a crack in his otherwise cold demeanor. The chapter deepens the mystery of the house law and what Susenyos values, while highlighting Kidan’s unresolved trauma. It also emphasizes the psychological cost of living in Adane House and sets up a fragile alliance between the two protagonists.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Kidan struggle to believe Susenyos when he denies harming June?
Kidan has built her suspicion on months of evidence: June’s bracelet in his drawer, her foster mother’s accusation, and the stories of many women killed in his room. Even if Susenyos speaks plainly now, Kidan’s trauma and June’s ghostly warnings make trust nearly impossible.
What does the house law reveal about Susenyos’s possible vulnerability?
The law states that if Susenyos endangers Adane House, the house will steal something of equal value to him. Kidan wonders what he values most—hinting that Susenyos may have already lost something precious or that the house has leverage over him.
How does the house affect Kidan’s panic attack, and what does Susenyos’s response tell us about him?
The house amplifies Kidan’s emotions, causing the lights to flicker and shadows to move. Susenyos remains calm, leads her to his room, and physically anchors her. This suggests he has experience controlling his own emotions in the house and may be more protective than Kidan assumes.