Lore

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Part 3, Chapters 32-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “Deathless”

Part 3, Chapter 32 Summary

Lore and Athena bring the unconscious Castor back to Lore’s apartment, where Van waits. Lore tends to herself and Castor while Athena fills Van in on events since they were last together. In the bathroom, Lore doesn’t know how to feel about her reflection. She’s covered in dust and bruises, and she’s never looked “more like a hunter” in her entire life (270). When she finishes cleaning up herself and Castor, she takes a nap.

When Lore wakes, Castor’s hand rests on her shoulder. She sits in the silence, thinking about how she’ll never have him like this again. Whether they find the origin poem or not, Castor will go back to being a god at the Agon’s end. She leaves him to sleep and goes downstairs, where she overhears Miles and Van talking. The two have gotten over their animosity. Van shares how he cares for Castor and was always jealous of his relationship with Lore, and Miles confesses he stayed with the team because he can’t leave Lore to face everything alone.

The television blares a breaking news siren. Two little girls were trapped inside a bull statue and set on fire to die. The act is Wrath’s retaliation—reminding Lore of how her sisters died. A message is painted on the bull: “bring it back” (277), meaning the aegis. Lore tells the group Wrath believes she has the shield, and Castor suggests they ally with Artemis. Given Artemis wants Castor dead and stabbed Athena, the others are reluctant to agree. The group finally decides to raid the Achillides weapon stores first and then, if nothing else materializes, search for the goddess.

Part 3, Chapter 33 Summary

The raids go off without a hitch, but the atmosphere in the apartment feels oppressive. To get away from the silence and weight of everything, Lore climbs up to the roof. Athena joins her, and Lore tells the goddess about Gil/Hermes. Lore doesn’t understand why Hermes deceived her. Athena is sure it has to do with the aegis and emphasizes again how important it is that Wrath does not get his hands on the shield. Even though he can’t wield it, Athena believes he will use Lore to wield it for him and will “do whatever he must to compel you” (287).

Lore and Athena argue about the evils of the Agon’s world and men. Finally, Athena asks why Lore truly gave up the hunt. Lore reveals how the leader of the Odysseides forced himself on her, which made her realize, as long as she remained in the Agon’s world, she would never be free. She killed him and ran. Rather than judge her, Athena commends her for doing what she needed to do. She tries to convince Lore to rejoin the Agon, but silently, Lore refuses because she doesn’t “want to forget why I had to leave the Agon when it feels so right to me” (293). A bit later, Lore’s phone buzzes over and over. It’s Miles sending text after text that read only “help.”

Part 3, Chapter 34 Summary

The group mobilizes to find Miles—Castor and Athena keeping a lookout while Van runs tracking programs on his computer. They find him tied up at Morningside Park—left there as bait for Lore. At the park, Lore hears dogs howl and realizes “Wrath isn’t the one who set the trap” (300). Artemis is.

Part 3, Chapters 32-34 Analysis

Athena tightens her web of deception in these chapters. She acts proud of Lore and commends Lore’s actions against the Odysseide leader. While Athena’s feelings may be genuine based on her own opinions of men, it is likely Athena only says these things to ensure Lore trusts her. Athena also misdirects Lore’s understanding about Hermes protecting her. Athena makes it sound as if Hermes protected Lore only from Wrath, drawing suspicion away from Athena’s manipulation. As a result of Athena’s ministrations, Lore feels herself being pulled back into the Agon’s world, which makes her realize there are parts of the hunt and the fight that she loves. She can’t completely shed the Agon’s hold on her life, and she isn’t sure she wants to.

In response to Lore cutting off Belen’s thumbs, Wrath orchestrates the murder of the two girls in the burning bull statue. The statue is a modern-day brazen bull, an ancient Greek torture device. The bulls were made entirely of bronze, and a fire was lit beneath it to roast anyone inside to death. The two girls represent Lore’s little sisters. Though Wrath didn’t kill Lore’s family, he uses Lore’s past trauma to deal her a psychological blow.

These chapters also foreshadow a few things. Van and Miles stop treating each other poorly, which represents how they end the book as a couple. It also shows the Agon will end. Van has chosen to remain in the hunt even though the hunters shun him for not wanting to fight. Here, Van accepts Miles, which means he will let go of the Agon and embrace a world without the hunt. The group decides to seek out Artemis, and shortly after, Artemis kidnaps Miles, bringing the group to her. It is not clear if the foreshadowing is irony at work or if Artemis used her godly powers to anticipate the group’s next move.