Legendborn

After the tour, in the great room, Bree sizes up other established Pages, and misses Alice. Tor comes in and says they will take the Oath of Fealty, which will make them members of the Southern Chapter and grant them Sight. Those who are not deemed worthy will have the experience mesmered away by Sel. There are three open Squire positions. Tor nods to Bree when she snidely remarks about this Page class being the most diverse yet.

Bree goes to the backyard, fuming. Greer says Tor’s comment was messed up, and they talk about the competition. A casting reveals figures in hooded robes, and someone commands the Pages be taken one at a time. The Pages are temporarily blinded, and Bree smells the “cinnamon-smoke scent” (101) of Sel’s magic.

Bree is guided from behind by Nick into the woods. He tells her to not resist the blinding mesmer. Sel starts a sword fight with Nick because he thinks Bree is an uchel: a demon masquerading as a human (it turns out to be Evan who is the uchel). After Sel casts a cyclone, Nick’s dad—Lord Martin Davis—appears and stops Sel. Nick introduces Bree to his dad who thanks Bree for bringing Nick back to the Order.

When Bree’s sight returns, she sees the moon and a clearing in the forest where the Order’s Chapel (altar) sits. There are eight Legendborn and five veteran Pages around Davis.

Bree wants to run but doesn’t. When Sel dramatically enters, she defiantly looks at him. Davis discusses the Order’s body politic. The Page candidates are asked to state their names and families, and Bree thinks she isn’t connected to a Legendborn line (though it turns out she is the heir of Arthur). Davis stifles his disapproval. Pages and their Legendborn sponsors take the aether-lined Oath on the altar.

When Bree and Nick clasp hands, she feels the power of the Oath. However, Nick’s digging his fingers into her arm allows her to resist the magic, which would reveal she intends to break her Oath. During the ceremony, Bree learns that Nick is the heir of Arthur (although it turns out he is actually the heir of Lancelot).

Everyone is excited the ceremony is over, though Sel looks drunk on magic. They chant a pledge, and afterwards Felicity is Awakened by her knight, Lamorak: She screams and speaks in a possessed voice. Davis calls for Sel, who carries her off to the Lodge. Nick asks about the Scion of Kay—who is in another chapter—being called, and they hear the growl of a hellhound.

Davis organizes the Order’s defense against the hellhound, including Evan, whom Bree recognizes as Charlotte’s boyfriend (but later it is revealed that he is a demon in disguise). Evan and two other fighters make weapons and armor out of aether. Nick tells her to run and points the way back to the Lodge.

When Bree pauses in running, she smells a rotten scent and a giant uchel demon picks her up and takes her back to the Legendborn. When the demon calls for Pendragon, Davis says he is Pendragon. However, the uchel demands Nick. Other members of the Order protect him and the demon grabs Davis.

Sel intervenes and gets the demon in a headlock, which causes the demon to drop Bree and throw Davis. Sel and the uchel continue to fight while William starts to heal Davis. When Nick enters the fight, the uchel grabs him and throws him. Bree and Sel attack the demon and behead it.

In addition to Nick and Davis, Evan and Tor are hurt. Once back in the Lodge, Bree watches William use aether to heal and flashes back to the hospital where her mom died. Sel bursts into the infirmary, accusing Bree of being a demon and assisting the uchel (it turns out to be Davis who instigated the attack). Sarah defends Bree, and Sel eventually leaves.

The remaining Order members discuss categories of demons: isels (which are animal-like) and uchels (human-like). They also explain the order of Awakening: Arthur is the last of the knights to Awaken, and only Awakened when Camlann (the great war) starts.

After William finishes his aether infusions, he takes Bree aside in an elevator. He checks on the healing of the acid burns on her arms, and he treats a wound on her cheek. William disagrees with Sel (he does not think Bree is a demon) and is glad she brought Nick back to the Order. William helps Bree get to the bathroom to vomit. Afterward, she reaffirms she wants to be in the Order.

William makes tea and takes Bree to a basement room, revealing a large silver slab: the Wall of Ages. It shows the knights’ bloodlines with engraved names and embedded precious stone marbles. “The Line is Law” is also engraved in Welsh. Bree thinks Alice would enjoy the magical genealogy.

Bree learns that Arthur’s knights were whittled down to 13, and Merlin cast a Spell of Eternity to make these knights of the Round Table immortal. They are the Legendborn, or Chwedlanedig in Welsh. Bree feels outside of and cheated of such long lineages (later, it is revealed someone in Arthur’s line impregnated one of his slaves, which looped Bree into the lines).

There is one Scion (or heir) of each knight in each generation and they must be between 16 and 22 years old. Bree looks at the back of the coin Nick gave her, which has the Pendragon of Arthur. The Order built UNC and the Early College program. William is the Scion of Gawain; Fitz the heir of Bors; Pete the heir of Owain; and Tor the heir of Tristan.

Merlin’s spell is preserved in Arthur’s spirit and his Awakening puts the spell at risk (if Arthur’s Scion dies, the spell is broken). Camlann is the final battle in Arthuriana (where historical Arthur fell), and the last time Arthur’s Scion was Awakened was during the Revolutionary War. Bree sees slashes around Isaac’s marble (Davis’s Kingsmage); this foreshadows that Davis and Isaac are behind machinations to bring about Camlann to Awaken Arthur.

When they return to the infirmary, William and Bree find Nick and Tor are gone. Nick tried to call Bree but got voicemail; this subtly foreshadows that the Wall of Ages hides an entrance to the underground tunnels built by the Order to navigate campus where cell phones don’t work. Evan asks Bree to not tell Charlotte about his membership in the Order (and, it turns out, he also hides his secret uchel nature from Bree).

Sarah gives Bree a ride home in the Order’s Tesla. During the ride, Sarah reveals that she is half Venezuelan despite being able to pass for white. Bree also learns that Awakened Scions don’t usually live past 35 because of a magic drain called Abatement; their Oathed Squires succumb to it as well.

When they get out of the car, Sel stumbles by, aether-drunk, and threatens Bree if she hurts Nick. Sarah intervenes, and Bree dashes away to her dorm room. Once inside, Alice asks what happened because Bree is still a mess.

Bree has a hard time coming up with a lie to cover what happened with the Order. Alice cries, and Bree cries. Alice takes Bree to the shower. While Bree washes her hair, Alice waits outside the curtain. Bree apologizes for convincing Alice to go to the quarry. Alice asks again what happened, and Bree says she can’t say, but to trust her.

When Alice leaves, mage flame covers Bree in the shower. She’s afraid she’s a demon, or her body is responding to the Oath. However, once Bree builds her mental wall, the flames subside.

In the morning, Alice gets Bree breakfast. When her dad calls, Bree finds out Alice has been talking to him behind her back. Bree’s cover story is that her peer mentor, Nick, got her into a cotillion-type student group. Her dad says she has to go to therapy or she’ll be pulled out of Early College; he has arranged for her to see a Black therapist who knew her mom. Bree agrees, hoping for more clues about her mom’s death.

Nick’s voicemail and texts have stacked up; he asks Bree to give up. When she replies that she won’t give up, he invites her to the Lodge for dinner. Her dad-selected therapist, Dr. Patricia Hartwood, texts Bree right before she arrives to class, and invites her to the Arboretum after class.

Bree discovers that her botany class is easy and afterward she heads to the Arboretum. There’s a black granite table, held up by small statues of Black people, covered in mage flame, and Patricia is seated near it. Patricia explains it’s the Unsung Founders Memorial. Bree feels at ease with Patricia and mentions tension with Alice regarding the quarry. When the conversation turns to Bree’s mom, Patricia asks if Bree is a Wildcrafter like her mom.

Patricia explains briefly that Wildcraft is a branch of Rootcraft: a type of energy manipulation. When Bree says her mom (Faye) didn’t share information about Rootcraft with her, Patricia is hesitant to share more about the practice, but eventually agrees to reveal a little bit. They talk about auras and Patricia says she asked to practice with Bree’s mom but was rejected.

When Bree admits she knows the word “aether,” Patricia says the “practitioners” who use that word are not her “mother’s people” (167) and refuses to say any more until their next meeting. Bree wonders if her mom knew any Merlins, which foreshadows how Sel and Bree’s moms knew each other.

Back at the dorm, Alice asks Bree to dinner. Bree says she’s going to the student group, saying it’s a secret society. Alice says Bree has a crush on Nick, and the whole peer mentor situation is a rom-com setup. Bree asks if Alice is crushing on any girls, and Alice says she hasn’t found anyone yet.

When Bree arrives at the Lodge, Evan greets her at the door. She asks him how he is able to lie to Charlotte and he says it’s for the right cause (again foreshadowing his demonic nature). Nick arrives and takes her upstairs. On the second floor, they find Russ and Felicity intertwined. After Nick checks in with the couple, he takes Bree to room 208: his room.

When they have some privacy, he hugs her, and they both admit to feeling guilty. Nick asks about Bree’s injury, nearly touching a bruise on her ribs. She asks about his head. They are both healing thanks to William. When Bree asks Nick about his mom, he says he’ll tell her another day. Nick asks her again to forfeit and again she says no. Bree says she’s willing to risk Abatement to learn the truth about her mom. Bree realizes Nick doesn’t want to lead and doesn’t want war (unlike his dad, it is later revealed).

When Bree and Nick go back downstairs, older female members of the Order of the Rose appear. One of them tries to order Bree around as if she is a caterer or servant. Nick intervenes, explaining that Bree is his Page. When the woman starts to make more racist comments, Davis intervenes, entering in a wheelchair and distracting the older women.

After this, Nick explains the Order of the Rose was created for women who can’t Page, Scion, or Squire. Only recently were some women allowed to take these roles; in the past, Nick says, people used to eliminate daughters to force the bloodline to the next male heir. When they get to the dining room, Greer waves Bree over to the Page table and Nick goes to Legendborn table.

Once seated, Vaughn calls Bree a cheat and, like the cop, mentions affirmative action. Bree decides to disregard Nick’s rule about keeping a low profile and calls Vaughn a bigot, bully, careless, and insecure. Vaughn tries to physically attack her from across the table. Carson grabs Vaughn while Sel watches. Greer and Whitty side with Bree.

During the dessert course, Davis shows up with Nick, and announces that the Scion of Kay was Awakened in the northern chapter. Davis’s speech continues; he says attacks are escalating and mentions sightings of the Line of Morgaine. This is ironic because he is involved in instigating attacks with the hopes of starting Camlann and Awakening Arthur (because Davis always wanted to be Called by Arthur).

Davis’s speech concludes with the announcement that the trials are starting that night and ending in six weeks to accelerate the process of selecting Squires for Scions who don’t yet have them. When Davis asks if anyone wants to drop out, three people forfeit.

Nick and Bree walk into the forest for the trial; again, she’s blinded and he leads her. Nick explains the Line of Morgaine is the second enemy of Regents (first is Shadowborn). The Morgaine Line is composed of Merlins who splintered off from the Order of the Round Table, which is why rogue aether users were outlawed. Bree wonders if the Merlin cop she spoke to after her mom’s accident was a Morgaine; this foreshadows the relationship between Sel’s outcast Merlin mom and Faye Matthews.

Bree tells Nick others think she’s using her “feminine wiles” (90) to become his Squire. He flirts, and kisses her hand (twice). He also tells her she needs to decide for herself if she wants to be his Squire. When Nick leaves her to see if the trial site is ready, Sel appears and taunts Bree. They argue about her being an uchel, and Sel leaves as Nick returns. When Bree tells Nick about the exchange, she learns Nick can feel Sel’s murderous rage and Sel can feel when Nick is in mortal danger.

In the tournament trial, Bree is paired with Sydney—who is out to win—and so cooperates with her. They have to move mannequins from one side of a cleared field to another while avoiding hellboars made of aether created by Sel. Bree chooses a staff as her weapon and Sydney has blades. Other teams are selected to go before them, and Bree watches; everyone in round one gets their mannequins across and kills the aether hellboars.

In the next round, Ainsley and Tucker fail to complete the trial in the time allotted. Then, Bree and Sydney are up. Sydney stabs a boar as Bree carries a mannequin. Her original task is delivery (while Sydney fights), but while moving the second mannequin, Bree trips over a dagger, and has to fight a hellboar with it. Bree yells at Sydney to get the mannequin and hides from the hellboar by climbing a tree. When the angle is right, Bree jumps on the hellboar, killing it with the dagger, and runs to the other side. Meanwhile, Sydney grabs the last mannequin. Bree and Sydney are the only team from their round to pass the trial.

After the trial is over, the Legendborn head towards the Pages. Sel comes over, and Tor shouts, trying to find Nick. A huge serpent appears holding Nick in its coils. Sel climbs the demon snake and puts his arms in its eyes, killing it, and releasing Nick.

Back at the Lodge, Bree goes to Nick’s room to check on him. She sees that he seems to be sleeping and starts to leave, but Nick calls her creepy, and she stays. They talk about how the attack appeared to be planned (later the reader learns it was orchestrated by Davis). Nick tells Bree that Davis is taking a day off and then going to the Northern Chapter, and Sel will be in charge while he’s gone. Bree feels guilty that Sel’s fixation on her distracted him from watching out for Nick.

Nick asks Bree to sit on his bed, and they flirt. Bree fixes his hair, and he holds her hand, saying he’s glad she’s still here, and touching her jaw. They sit together and eventually doze off.

Bree is awakened by the Lodge’s front door slamming. Nick asks Bree to stay. She agrees, and texts Alice to let her know she’s okay. Nick talks about his mom and his childhood: His mom tried to leave the Order (and Davis) with Nick because the Lieges were being unreasonably rough on Nick during training. A Merlin found her during her flight, separated her from the Order, and mesmered her to forget Nick. This is why Nick was so interested in Bree being able to resist and break mesmers.

Sel was adopted by Nick’s family after Nick’s mom was taken away. Nick was angry at his Arthurian legacy and left the Order. When he left, he was not sure if he’d hear Arthur’s Call; this echoes a concern Sel voiced to Bree, as well as foreshadows that Nick will never hear Arthur’s call because he is actually the heir of Lancelot.

In the morning, while Nick is showering, Bree discovers he left toiletries on the nightstand for her. She goes downstairs to a hall bathroom, and after she cleans up, Nick says he’ll walk her back to her dorm. On the way, Nick says she’d be incredible as his Squire, and directly admits he likes her. He asks for consent before kissing her, and they have an incredible first kiss. Russ and Evan interrupt their romantic moment, and eventually the boys leave. Nick asks if Bree’s okay and she tells him she is.

Alice and Bree talk on the phone as Bree walks to meet Patricia in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery. The best friends talk about Nick, who is texting with Bree all the time, and an upcoming Order outing that night. When Bree reaches the cemetery, Patricia says she’ll teach Bree about root in the Black section where there are at least 500 unmarked graves.

They sit and Patricia sets out crystals, food, and tea. When Patricia explains these are offerings for ancestors, Bree tells Patricia she doesn’t know the women on her mom’s side of her family (because of slavery). They talk about the metaphysics of root: It is the ancestors who must share root with the living, and the living only borrow root (they don’t own it). When Patricia and Bree hold hands and begin the practice, the world disappears.