Chapter 23 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ 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
Joan returns to Holland House, expecting to find the familiar tourist site she once volunteered at. Instead, she notices that every staff member—from the ice-cream seller to the costumed guides—has a watchful, military bearing. She spots Thomas the peacock, who seems well cared for, and takes it as a sign that Nick has been looking after the house.
A familiar voice calls out: Astrid, a former fellow volunteer, runs up and embraces Joan warmly. But the hug turns into a trap when Astrid injects Joan with a syringe. Joan blacks out and wakes in a basement prison cell, her hands cuffed and her ankle chained to the wall. Nick is there, questioning her. Joan insists she came only to talk, but Nick is skeptical, believing she intends to kill him. Astrid argues that they need the truth and administers a truth serum disguised as water.
Under the drug's influence, Joan is compelled to answer honestly. She reveals that her father is human, admits she craves time travel but can control it, and then tells Nick the devastating truth she discovered: recordings show that monsters killed his family repeatedly, resetting the timeline each time to craft him into the hero they needed. Nick refuses to believe her, accusing her of lying, and locks her in the cell.
Alone, Joan works on the handcuffs with a bobby pin while the drug forces her to speak. She confesses her feelings for Nick, recounting how she felt an inexplicable connection from their first meeting. She also shares the Liu family story of an original timeline where the hero was an ordinary boy in love with a monster girl, and that the timeline keeps trying to bring them together. Nick listens but remains unconvinced.
Finally, Joan frees herself from the cuffs. She announces that she is not just half-monster but also half-human, and that she can take time from herself. As Nick realizes what she intends, Joan touches her own neck and wrenches time from her own body, screaming in agony. Nick bursts into the cell, but Joan has already given in to the other yearning—the need to travel.
Key Events
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Joan returns to Holland House and notices the staff have been replaced by watchful, military-like individuals.
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Astrid, a former volunteer, greets Joan warmly but injects her with a sedative.
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Joan wakes in a basement prison cell, handcuffed and chained, with her travel token confiscated.
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Nick questions Joan; she insists she came to talk, not to attack.
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Astrid administers a truth serum, forcing Joan to answer honestly.
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Joan reveals her father is human and admits she craves time travel but can control it.
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Joan tells Nick about the recordings showing his family killed repeatedly to craft him into a hero.
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Nick refuses to believe her and locks her in the cell.
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While picking the handcuffs, the drug forces Joan to confess her feelings and recount the Liu family story of an original timeline.
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Joan frees herself, announces she is half-human, and wrenches time from herself in agony as Nick bursts in.
Character Development
Joan undergoes a profound transformation in this chapter. She moves from a position of vulnerability—captured, drugged, and imprisoned—to one of agency and self-sacrifice. Her decision to take time from herself, rather than from another human, demonstrates a moral line she refuses to cross. It also reveals her dual heritage in a way that surprises even her. Her confession of her feelings for Nick, forced by the truth serum, shows her emotional honesty and the depth of her internal conflict: she loves him despite everything he has done.
Nick is confronted with a truth that shatters his worldview. He has always believed he was destined to kill monsters, but Joan's revelation suggests he was crafted—manipulated through repeated trauma. His refusal to accept this shows his rigidity and the difficulty of questioning one's foundational beliefs. Yet his reaction to Joan's self-harm—crying out