Chapter 35 Summary: Healing Waters and Hidden Scars
⚠️ 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
Rae and Kaan fly Rygun toward a mountain range near the River Ahgt. Kaan trusts Rygun to navigate a narrow gorge, landing at a hidden pool fed by a waterfall. Kaan insists Rae bathe, then tosses her into the water. While he undresses to wash, Rae sees the extensive scar tissue across his back and front, as well as a constellation tattoo featuring a moon she recognizes—the same wonky moon she once watched from her window. Kaan removes the iron pin from Rae’s shoulder using prongs, explaining that the water has healing properties. He reveals that he spent his adolescence in the Johkull Clan, sent there by his father after it was discovered he could only hear certain dragons. Kaan admits he later beheaded his father and fed him to Rygun, motivated by revenge for someone he loved named Elluin, who died. After extracting the pin and speaking Elluin’s name, Kaan leaves Rae alone in the pool.
Key Events
- Rygun flies Rae and Kaan toward a mountain range; Kaan notes the River Ahgt below.
- Rygun navigates a narrow gorge on his own, landing at a hidden plunge pool fed by a waterfall.
- Kaan throws Rae into the pool and tosses her a bar of soap.
- While bathing, Rae sees Kaan’s heavily scarred body and a tattoo of multiple moons on his back, including a small moon she recognizes.
- Kaan removes the iron pin from Rae’s shoulder using prongs, explaining the pool’s healing properties.
- Kaan reveals he was sent to the Johkull Clan at age nine because he could only hear the dragons Ignos and Bulder.
- He confesses that he killed his own father and fed him to Rygun, motivated by revenge for a woman named Elluin.
- Kaan finishes the task and leaves abruptly, saying Elluin died.
Character Development
- Rae: Begins to see Kaan as more than a tyrant. She feels a strange pull toward his vulnerability, noting the familiar moon on his back and sensing the weight of his scars. Her instinct for self-preservation warms with a drop of empathy, though she remains wary.
- Kaan: Displays layers of pain and accountability. His admission of killing his father and his quick departure after mentioning Elluin show that he is still raw with grief. The tattoo on his back—featuring a moon Rae recognizes—hints at a shared history or cosmic connection.
- Rygun: Acts independently, knowing the route without verbal steering, suggesting a deep bond between dragon and rider.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Scars as Memory: Both Rae and Kaan bear scars from violence—Rae from the whip, Kaan from battles and burns. These marks chronicle their pasts and raise questions about what shaped them.
- Water as Cleansing and Healing: The pool gives physical healing (removing the pin) and symbolic cleansing: both characters wash and reveal hidden truths.
- Moons and Connections: The tattoo of familiar moons, especially the “wonky” one Rae loves, suggests a celestial bond between Rae and Kaan that predates their meeting. The mention of the fallen moon Orvah ties to world lore.
- Trust and Vulnerability: Rae yields to Kaan’s help for the first time, removing her “armor” briefly. Kaan exposes his scars and his past, showing that mutual vulnerability can create tentative connection.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in Rae and Kaan’s relationship. It shifts their dynamic from pure captor/captive to something more complex, where trust begins to be tested. Kaan’s backstory—abuse by his father, his time in the Johkull Clan, and the loss of Elluin—provides crucial motivation for his present actions and deepens the novel’s emotional stakes. The tattoo of the familiar moon strongly hints at Rae’s unknown history and ties to the world’s cosmic events, setting up major plot revelations to come.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Kaan refuse to untie Rae’s hands earlier in the chapter?
He says he is not in the mood to suture himself together after the flight, implying he knows Rae would attack him if freed. He also believes she cannot remove the iron pin from her own shoulder because it is lodged too deep in the bone. -
What does Kaan reveal about his past when Rae asks about the healing pool?
He spent most of his adolescence as a warrior in the Johkull Clan, which nested near these mountains. He would sneak to the pool to heal after battles. His father sent him there at age nine after discovering Kaan could only hear the dragons Ignos and Bulder. -
How does the tattoo on Kaan’s back connect to Rae?
The tattoo features a constellation of moons, including a small, wonky moon that Rae recognizes as one she used to watch from her window. This suggests that Rae and Kaan share a cosmic bond, possibly indicating Rae’s origin or a link to the fallen moon Orvah.