The Legendborn Cycle, #1
Legendborn
by Tracy Deonn
Contents
Chapter 41
Overview
Bree tries to sever herself from the Legendborn by blocking their messages, hiding Nick’s necklace, and retreating into schoolwork, but Alice recognizes the withdrawal as unhealthy rather than healing. Bree’s father comes to campus and reframes Faye’s opposition to Carolina as grief and fear, not proof that Bree was unready. Faye’s private Bible note becomes a major emotional revelation, helping Bree understand her mother’s pain and offering a new way to carry loss.
Summary
Bree spends the next day and a half rejecting contact from the Legendborn. Nick, Sar, William, Greer, and Whitty all message her, and Bree blocks them one by one. Bree removes Nick’s necklace, hides it in a drawer, and decides that because Faye did not pursue the Order’s war or share Rootcraft, Bree should follow Faye’s example by forgetting the Legendborn world.
Bree forces herself into a rigid routine of classes, library study, meals with Alice, and sleepless nights. Alice notices Bree’s strange behavior, especially Bree’s poor English grade, lack of sleep, and sudden refusal to attend the gala. When Alice pushes Bree to go, Bree snaps, and Alice calls Bree a zombie who needs homeostasis, but Bree leaves rather than explain the truth.
That night, Bree lies awake and imagines the gala she has chosen to miss. Thinking of Nick in formalwear makes Bree grieve the relationship she has lost, and Bree recognizes that her pain is feeding on sorrow rather than seeking truth. Bree knows Alice is right that Bree has no emotional balance, but Bree still feels trapped by grief.
On Friday morning, Bree’s father unexpectedly drives to campus after Alice alerts him that Bree is not acting like herself. He takes Bree to Waffle House, where Bree struggles not to lie but also feels unable to reveal the Order. Bree’s father initially thinks Dean McKinnon has frightened Bree into overworking, then asks what is really hurting Bree.
Bree asks whether Faye ever talked about Bree’s grandmother. Bree’s father explains that Faye carried deep grief over losing her mother young, and that Faye’s fear intensified as Bree grew older. He says Faye became anxious, controlling, and afraid that she might leave Bree too early, and that Faye’s final fight with Bree about Carolina was rooted in Faye’s own pain, not Bree’s unreadiness.
Bree’s father gives Bree Faye’s pocket Bible, where Bree finds a note from Faye praying that Bree is stronger than Faye was and asking for strength to let Bree go. The note helps Bree understand that her grief echoes Faye’s, making Bree feel closer to her mother. Bree’s father then gives Bree Faye’s charm bracelet box and tells Bree to live her life in the world, making that life about love rather than loss.
Who Appears
- Bree MatthewsWithdraws from the Legendborn, struggles with grief, and receives new insight into Faye’s pain.
- Bree’s fatherComes to campus after Alice’s concern and comforts Bree with truths about Faye.
- Alice ChenNotices Bree’s unhealthy withdrawal, argues about the gala, and alerts Bree’s father.
- Faye MatthewsBree’s late mother; her grief, anxiety, Bible note, and bracelet reshape Bree’s understanding.
- Nick DavisAbsent but emotionally central; Bree blocks his messages and mourns losing him.