Blood & Honey
“Blood & Honey” by Shelby Mahurin is the second installment in the “Serpent & Dove” trilogy, a young adult fantasy-romance series. Following a near-fatal encounter with the Dames Blanches, protagonists Lou, Reid, Coco, and Ansel become fugitives, fleeing from coven, kingdom, and church. The narrative revolves around their journey to secure allies while navigating escalating dangers, including deadly witches and internal conflicts. The book shifts tone from the first installment, focusing more on tension and survival than romance. Key themes include loyalty, sacrifice, and the struggle between destiny and choice. The novel ends on a cliffhanger, setting up the trilogy’s conclusion. With 528 pages, it expands the dark, magical world of Belterra while deepening character arcs and conflicts.
Old Magic: Lou
byMahurin, Shelby
The chapter opens in Léviathan’s dining room, where the protagonist, Lou, confronts La Voisin and Nicholina, two eerie figures who seem out of place in the mundane setting. Their scarred skin and haunting eyes mark them as otherworldly, and Lou resolves to bring their “horror story” to life. The tension is palpable as they discuss their missing companions and the burning of the Skull Masquerade. Nicholina’s cryptic chanting and La Voisin’s calculating demeanor set the stage for a dark alliance, with Lou declaring her intent to burn Chateau le Blanc to the ground, despite La Voisin’s reservations about leaving her people homeless.
La Voisin and Nicholina probe Lou’s commitment, testing her willingness to escalate their conflict. Lou’s hollow declaration to “kill them all” meets with approval, as if she’s passed a hidden test. La Voisin produces her grimoire, hinting at the dark magic at their disposal. The conversation takes a sinister turn as La Voisin reveals how they tracked Lou through her friend Coco’s carelessness, exposing the depth of their surveillance. Lou’s unease grows as she realizes the extent of their manipulation, and the locked door underscores her growing isolation and vulnerability.
The atmosphere turns overtly hostile as Nicholina physically restrains Lou, her inhuman strength and cryptic references to “mice” and “hearts” heightening the horror. Lou’s revulsion peaks when she realizes they consume the hearts of the dead to harness their magic. La Voisin’s ritualistic preparation of herbs and animal parts—bayberry, eyebright, and belladonna—hints at a spell for “spiritual projection,” a concept that terrifies Lou as she recalls warnings about La Voisin’s grimoire. The chapter’s tension mounts as Lou struggles against Nicholina’s grip, her screams unheard due to the enchanted door.
The chapter closes with Lou’s desperate resistance, kneeing Nicholina to no avail as the latter laughs off her efforts. La Voisin’s grinding of the ritual components into powder signals the impending spell, leaving Lou trapped and horrified. The scene underscores the chapter’s themes of betrayal, dark magic, and the inescapable grip of the supernatural. Lou’s realization of her precarious position—caught between her own rage and the witches’ monstrous plans—sets the stage for a harrowing confrontation.
FAQs
1. What is Lou’s primary motivation in her conversation with La Voisin and Nicholina, and how does this reflect her character development?
Answer:
Lou’s primary motivation is to destroy Chateau le Blanc and kill her mother Morgane and sisters, as shown when she declares, “I don’t want to march on Chateau le Blanc. I want to burn it to the ground.” This reflects a significant shift in her character from someone who might have sought reconciliation or escape to someone consumed by vengeance. Her hollow declaration—”We kill them all”—further emphasizes her emotional detachment and descent into ruthlessness, mirroring the very darkness she seeks to destroy.2. Analyze the significance of La Voisin’s revelation about how Morgane found Lou. What does this reveal about the dynamics between the characters?
Answer:
La Voisin reveals that Morgane found Lou through Coco’s carelessness, stating, “We followed her trail back to Cesarine.” This exposes the manipulative web surrounding Lou: Coco’s loyalty inadvertently endangered her, La Voisin and Nicholina were secretly aligned with Morgane, and Lou’s trust was systematically betrayed. The revelation reframes earlier events, showing Morgane’s “omniscience” was actually facilitated by internal treachery. It also highlights the theme of trust as a vulnerability among witches, where even familial or ally bonds are exploitable.3. How does the chapter use Nicholina’s behavior and dialogue to create tension and foreshadow darker themes?
Answer:
Nicholina’s erratic behavior—chanting rhymes (“Sea of tears and lake of fire”), giggling while inflicting pain, and cryptic phrases like “the mice, the mice”—creates unease through unpredictability. Her physical dominance over Lou (pinning her, resisting injury) underscores her supernatural threat. The revelation that she and La Voisin consume hearts (“We eat hearts”) foreshadows deeper horror, linking to blood magic’s grotesque costs. This builds tension by suggesting Lou is trapped not just physically but in a moral nightmare, where allies are predators and survival may require embracing similar darkness.4. What strategic and ethical dilemmas arise from La Voisin’s plan to use spiritual projection magic, and how might this impact Lou’s next actions?
Answer:
La Voisin’s herbs (belladonna, adder fang) and intent to use “spiritual projection” suggest a curse or possession spell, posing ethical dilemmas about bodily autonomy and magical warfare. For Lou, this could mean forced compliance or manipulation, stripping her agency. Strategically, it mirrors Morgane’s tactics, blurring lines between resistance and becoming what she hates. The chapter hints at this when Lou recalls Coco’s warning about La Voisin’s grimoire containing “curses, possession.” Lou may now confront whether to submit, fight, or adopt similarly ruthless methods to survive.5. Evaluate the symbolism of the locked, enchanted door in the scene. How does it reflect broader themes in the story?
Answer:
The enchanted door symbolizes Lou’s isolation and the inescapability of her heritage. Physically, it traps her with predators who mirror her mother’s cruelty (“They can’t hear you”). Metaphorically, it represents the sealed fate of blood witches—once targeted by the Chasseurs, now hunted by their own kind. The door also reflects themes of betrayal; earlier, Lou sought refuge in alliances (Coco, Reid), but now even those bonds are severed by magic. Its lock underscores that her struggle is no longer external but internal: to resist or embrace the “old magic’s” corruption.
Quotes
1. “With their scarred skin and haunting eyes, they were two creatures of a horror story who’d escaped their pages. I would bring their horror story to life.”
This quote introduces the ominous atmosphere of the chapter and Lou’s determination to embrace darkness. It sets the tone for her transformation and foreshadows the violent confrontation to come.
2. “I don’t want to march on Chateau le Blanc. I want to burn it to the ground.”
This pivotal declaration shows Lou’s complete rejection of compromise and her descent into vengeance. It marks a turning point where she fully embraces destructive rage against her family.
3. “They want death. I’ll give them death.”
This chilling statement encapsulates Lou’s nihilistic resolution. The blunt repetition of “death” demonstrates how far she’s willing to go, representing the chapter’s central theme of embracing destruction.
4. “We eat hearts. The heart is the core of a blood witch’s power, and it lives on after one dies.”
This revelation about the witches’ cannibalistic practices provides crucial worldbuilding. It explains their supernatural strength while adding to the chapter’s mounting horror and moral ambiguity.
5. “Fang of an adder. Eye of an owl.”
This ritualistic chant during the spellcasting scene creates visceral tension. The specific ingredients emphasize the dark magic at work, foreshadowing the supernatural threat Lou faces in the chapter’s climax.