Red Queen: Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

Mare follows Maven through the hallways, not worried that she will be questioned in his presence. She thinks he might not be “so bad” if he is going to take her home. He leads her to Cal’s room. Cal is bruised, unshaven, and wearing dented armor. He is surprised to see Mare. Mare realizes that Cal, who has snuck out of the palace himself, can surely sneak her out too.

Once Cal agrees to help Mare sneak out of the palace, Maven leaves. As Cal changes clothes, Mare looks around at his suits of armor and books on warfare. The books contain upsetting notes from Cal on war tactics, and Mare imagines her brothers and Kilorn in the diagrams. When Cal emerges in the plainclothes outfit he wore when Mare met him in the tavern, she thinks of him as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And now,” she thinks, “I’m the sheep pretending to be a wolf.”

Cal leads Mare to what she thinks is a dead end full of hanging sheets concealing some sort of metal. Mare asks if it is more armor and suggests that Cal wear some armor to defend himself against her brothers. He declines, saying that he will be playing the part of a fellow servant. He will also be her ride. He throws back a curtain to reveal a wheeled contraption that he calls a cycle. The king and Colonel Macanthos will not mass produce it for the army yet, but Cal says it is better than a regular transport because it is faster and can go more places. Mare is wary of it. Still, the promise of home is enough to make her don the helmet Cal hands her and climb on with him as the engine roars to life.

Mare feels free on the cycle. When she and Cal arrive at the village, Cal stashes the cycle in some woods. It is well concealed, and Mare says Cal must sneak out often. He tells her he does not sneak out for himself but, rather, because he will be king one day and wants to know his people.

Mare is surprised at Cal’s expression of goodness. She asks what he sees. He says the world is on the edge of ruin; she challenges him, stating that her world is already in ruin. Although Cal protests that his father is doing everything he can to keep everyone safe, Mare insists that, “Your father keeps your people safe, not mine.” Cal says that the bigger picture shows that change would have a great cost, because the other kingdoms would not stand for equality in Norta. Mare says Norta could be the beginning.

Cal offers to stay outside when Mare goes into her house, in case her brothers recognize him. Wanting Cal to see his future subjects, Mare tells him that her brothers would not recognize him, even though she knows Shade might. Inside, everyone is slow to wake and realize that Mare has come to visit. All Mare’s family members are there except for Shade, who she assumes is out.

Mare’s father explains the lottery that supposedly led to the entire Barrow family discharge. Mare can tell that her father does not believe the lottery story, but her mother does. Her mother is proud of Mare’s new fictitious job as she has never been proud of any of Mare’s actual accomplishments. Gisa seems bitter still because of her broken hand. Mare’s brothers tease her, assuming Cal is her new love interest.

Mare’s mother begins to cry. Mare thinks it is because she is worried Mare will leave again, and she will forget her daughter. No one is looking at Mare’s mother, though, and Mare realizes that Shade’s absence must not be incidental. Gisa tells her that Shade died before the discharge, beheaded for trying to run away. Mare knows Shade did not try to run away, but, rather, must have been discovered as part of the Scarlet Guard. Mare is unable to control her power and makes the lightbulbs, fridge, and walls buzz with electricity. The lightbulbs explode.

Someone gets Mare’s attention: Kilorn, she realizes. He looks angry and wants to know if Mare is one of the Silvers now. Mare’s mother comes to her defense, saying that Mare is her daughter. Mare offers to cut herself to show her red blood. Bree says that they all know who Mare is. Having gotten Cal’s silent permission to tell the truth, Mare tells her family and Kilorn everything except the part about the Scarlet Guard and Julian’s discovery that she can generate electricity.

Mare’s mother thinks the turn of events is a miracle for the family and that Mare will finally be someone “special.” When Mare’s mother begins asking questions about Maven, Cal says it is time to leave. Everyone agrees not to say anything, although Kilorn is angry about it. Mare promises that she will try to come back, which she knows is a lie.

Full of rage that won’t be assuaged by Cal’s attempt at an apology, Mare convinces Cal to make a stop at Will Whistle’s wagon. There, Mare meets one of Farley’s lieutenants, who wants to assassinate Cal while he waits in the woods. Mare defends Cal. Still, unbeknownst to him, she decides to join the Scarlet Guard. When she returns to Cal in the woods, she feels as though she has betrayed him, even though she is not exactly sure that she owes him anything. He is friendly to her, telling her that she will have to join him and Maven for training now that her gift has proven so powerful.

Something rustles in the woods, and Kilorn steps out. He accuses Mare again of joining the Silvers and says that she has a bad habit of trying to save him, referring to his release from conscription. Mare holds her tongue rather than tell him in front of Cal that she has joined the Scarlet Guard. As Mare leaves with Cal, Kilorn hints that he is about to do the same. Mare worries for him.