Welcome back to day 2 of our book club read-along for OwlCrate's June book, Sisters of the Snake!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 7-13 of Sisters of the Snake, so make sure you read these chapters before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box!
The story so far...
Ria:
Inside the palace Ria promptly knocks over and smashes a vase she way trying to hide behind, so she dashes into a room that just so happens to be laden with jewels. Excellent. After stuffing some in her pocket she peers out to find a servant girl being berated for the broken vase. After the Chart yelling at her leaves the girl tells Ria it’s okay, but again this girl seems to think Ria is someone she’s not, bowing to her and telling her she needs to get ready. Deciding to go with it, Ria follows the girl to a bedroom. After being left alone Ria here’s footsteps approaching and in a panic hides in the closet, accidentally gasping when she realizes it’s Princess Rani. Rani comes to the closet and as their eyes lock once the closest door is open they both fall silent. They are mirror images of each other.
Rani:
Rani asks Ria who she is only to be told that she has been an orphan her whole life. They must be sisters to look so identical. At a touch of Ria’s hand, memories take over.
Ria:
Ria and Rani seem to share a memory of their mother talking to them as twin babies. Shocked and not knowing how it happened, Rani hypothesizes that their magic was feeding off each other's emotions. Rani hatches a plan, in exchange for promising Ria and Amir free passage out of Abai, Ria will pretend to be Rani as she goes out and tries to find the stone Tutor mentioned in order to prove herself to her family. Ria agrees, needing to know about the family she never had.
Rani:
Rani flees the palace and ends up before the Fountain of Fortunes. At first she sees herself standing beside Amir, but that image quickly changes into a girl with bright hair and a star-shaped birthmark on her cheek. A voice tells her to seek the place of stone and glass. Hearing the march of her father’s soldiers, Rani hides in a bush to make a plan.
She frees three of her father’s stallions, causing the nearby Charts to go on the chase and cause a large distraction. Jumping on another horse and hiding beneath her cloak, Rani flees the courtyard and jumps into the jungle. No more Charts in sight.
Rani is quickly intercepted by a boy - Amir - and she decides to pretend to be Ria. She convinces Amir that they need to get to the Mailan Foothills, part of the Hidden Lands, to find someone who can help them escape. In reality that is where the plant in her notebook and ring grows. Amir knows someone who might be able to take them there - the light haired girl Rani saw in the fountain.
Ria:
Left on her own after Rina flees, Ria is quickly transformed by two maids into Rani. Downstairs at the party, her parents, the king and queen, announce her AND her betrothal to Saeed. That's unexpected. And Saeed just so happens to be the boy she saw in the Fountain of Fortunes. After the Diwali party Ria really questions how long she can pretend to be a princess.
Rani:
Rani thinks about Saeed and the fact that he only feels love for her because he is duty sworn to do so. When Amir mentions stealing more food, Rina asks why they can’t rely on people to help them, which certainly makes Amir a bit suspicious. They get some sleep.
In a town the next morning Amir parts ways with her, expecting her to steal food for when they meet up. Instead, Rani asks about the light haired girl and is directed to her, but before she can talk to her the girl flees into the crowd. Amir appears with some stolen apples, and they are soon accused of being thieves. Although Rani tries to use her snake magic to spin a tale, it doesn’t work, AND Amir drops one of the apples which also is not helpful. Using her snake magic they run and Rani follows the scent of the girl to a run down tavern. Inside, they find her, but she again flees. The girl, Sanya, is Amir’s sister.
Ria:
Ria awakes with a jolt and a scream as she encounters Shima the three foot snake for the first time. Shima is easily able to work her way into Ria's mind and speak to her, although Ria would rather the snake not. Shima tells her of her snake magic, for which she seems to have an affinity. Amara interrupts them and pulls Ria to Saeed, where she is instructed to follow Saeed to her lessons and attend a fitting for her engagement party. She decides that perhaps she can manipulate Saeed into helping her discover what happened to her.
For her lesson, Saeed takes her to the terrarium, and Ria requests history as her first lesson. Saeed tells her the history of Raja Arnav, but Ria interrupts and and disagrees with the narrative. This is what Saeed wanted her to do apparently. He says that he knows she wants to break off their engagement (news to Ria), but even so they must continue their lessons. Before she can leave the room he reveals that he's been having strange dreams, including foreseeing her wanting to break of the engagement.
Questions:
- Do you think Saeed's dreams are actually prophetic?
- What do you think happened between Amir and his sister?
- Why do you think the king and queen hid Ria's existence?
- Who do you think will be discovered for not being who they claim first? Do you think that will happen at all?
See you again on Monday as we discuss Chapters 14-19!
