Chapter 15 Summary: Flight and Violence

⚠️ 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

The chapter opens weeks after Nicholas wrote his flying carpet spell. He hid the book in a desk drawer, but the effort drained him; he feels listless and bored, unable to enjoy outings Maram or Richard propose. Richard eventually discovers the hidden book and confronts Nicholas, then offers to read the spell so they can fly together. At the lake, Richard tests the carpet first, finding it safe, then allows Nicholas to join him. They soar above the estate, joyfully exploring the limits of the wards. Richard warns Nicholas that keeping secrets is harmful, but later Nicholas resents the hypocrisy of a man who keeps many secrets himself.

Back in the present, Nicholas and Collins search Richard’s study. Collins spots a moving image in a mirror labeled “Clinic.” Through it they see a dark-haired woman and a blond woman in a bed with a sling. Tretheway, Nicholas’s former bodyguard, enters and threatens the dark-haired woman with a gun. The blond woman smashes a vase over Tretheway’s head, retrieves the gun, and shoots him. The dark-haired woman then rifles through Tretheway’s pockets, finding a memory‑wipe spell written by Nicholas. She reads it without being affected—impossible, Nicholas believes. She and the blond woman push Tretheway’s mangled body through the mirror, which falls dead at Nicholas and Collins’s feet. The mirror goes dark.

Key Events

Richard discovers Nicholas’s hidden flying carpet book and agrees to test it.
Nicholas and Richard fly together; Nicholas experiences pure joy and a sense of power.
Richard lectures Nicholas about the dangers of secrecy, a lesson Nicholas later sees as hypocritical.
In the present, Nicholas and Collins find a mirror linked to a clinic where Tretheway threatens a dark-haired woman.
The blond woman in the bed kills Tretheway with his own gun.
The dark‑haired woman reads a memory‑wipe spell without being affected, shocking Nicholas.
The two women push Tretheway’s corpse through the mirror into the room where Nicholas and Collins stand.
All mirrors in the room go blank.

Character Development

Nicholas: The flashback shows his childhood eagerness and vulnerability, as well as his growing awareness of Richard’s double standards. In the present, his fury at Richard’s old warning about secrets feels justified when he witnesses the violent consequences of information hidden within the Library.
Collins: Though abrasive, Collins shows empathy for the women fighting Tretheway, cheering for them and hoping they survive. This scene softens his hard exterior.
The dark‑haired woman and blond woman display resourcefulness and courage. The dark‑haired woman’s immunity to the memory‑wipe spell marks her as important, though her identity remains unknown to Nicholas.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Secrets and trust: Richard’s lesson about secrets cuts both ways; the chapter examines how withholding information can poison relationships. Nicholas learns that secrets do not protect but isolate.
Boundaries_ The flying carpet must stay within the estate’s wards, a physical constraint that parallels the emotional boundaries Richard imposes. The mirror itself acts as a boundary between two locations, one that the women deliberately break by pushing a body through.
Power and creation: Nicholas’s spell gives him a moment of pure joy and power, but that same power (the memory‑wipe book) later becomes a tool of control that the dark‑haired woman defies.
Violence and survival: The silent, real‑time violence of the clinic scene emphasizes the stakes of the magical world. The women kill to survive, showing that even those outside the Library’s direct control can fight back.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 15 provides a critical turning point in the story. The childhood flight strengthens Nicholas’s bond with Richard while also planting seeds of mistrust. The mirror scene introduces a new conflict: the existence of allies (the two women) who are resisting the Library from the inside. The dark‑haired woman’s immunity to Nicholas’s memory‑wipe suggests she may share a special connection to his blood magic, potentially involving Joanna (as later revealed). This chapter also shows Collins and Nicholas cooperating in a crisis, hinting at a shift in their relationship. Finally, Tretheway’s death removes an immediate threat but raises questions about who these women are and why they were targeted.

Study Questions and Answers

Question 1: Why does Richard initially disapprove of Nicholas’s flying carpet spell, and what lesson does he try to teach Nicholas during their flight? Answer: Richard disapproves because Nicholas created the spell secretly, behind his back. During the flight he tells Nicholas that secrets are “bad news” and will only make him feel worse. The lesson is about trust, but Nicholas later recognizes Richard’s hypocrisy, as Richard keeps many secrets himself.

Question 2: How does Nicholas react when the dark‑haired woman reads his memory‑wipe spell without being affected? What does this imply? Answer: Nicholas is shocked and says “That’s impossible.” The memory‑wipe spell is designed to ensnare any reader who views its first page. Her immunity implies she has either a rare resistance to blood magic or some special connection to Nicholas’s own power—perhaps because she shares a lineage with the scribe lineage that created similar spells.

Question 3: What is the significance of the women pushing Tretheway’s body through the mirror? Answer: The action demonstrates their determination to remove evidence and possibly send a message. It also physically connects their world to Nicholas’s location, showing that the mirror spells can be used as portals not just for messages but for objects (and bodies). The gruesome transformation of Tretheway’s body underscores the danger of forcing a living being through such a connection.