Second Son Read Along: Chapter 10

Happy Monday, dear Reader! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Did you see the eclipse last night? I missed it due to a time-zone confusion... and am totally bummed out about it. But, reading always cheers me up, so let's do that!Rhoyan's escapeDru apparently wasn't lying when he told Rhoyan not to worry about how they would get out of their chains. As our two escapees head off into the night, they bump into Calla, who is also apparently running away.Back in LlycaelonThe king has taken ill, and Jhasen, the court physician, is at a loss for how to help him. He has done the best he can, but he confides to Seamas that whatever is ailing the king is more than just physical. The loss of his son (and the partial loss of his wife) has extracted its toll.Seamas is bearing a burden too heavy for him to bear. Too heavy for anyone to bear. Rhoyan's death has left him as the only heir to the throne, but the queen's madness and now his father's illness have thrust to the surface the hurts and jealousies Seamas has been harboring in the depths of his heart. Perhaps if Rhoyan had not been lost at sea, but returned as he was meant to, Seamas would not now be struggling beneath this burden alone."I can give him neither, and he has not the strength to forgive me for it." Here at the end of this scene, we see more starkly than ever before how deeply Seamas is internalizing all that has happened. Because of his visions in the Corridor and the jealousy and suspicion he has brooded over, he feels responsible for the difficulties that have befallen his family... despite the fact that he has had no part whatsoever in their occurrence.Heading into the cityCalla informs Rhoyan and Dru that they are in the kingdom of Yochathain and we find out a little bit of Dru's backstory. Hopefully this did not come as a huge surprise after seeing his skills earlier in the chapter!Rhoyan also tells Calla a little of his own story, though he closely guards his true identity.I swear... I wrote about the Ramblers calling Yorien "the Avenger" several years before the first Iron Man movie came out (and, yes, I know the Avengers are older than that, but I didn't know they were a thing until the movies started being made... growing up, I was a fan of the Justice League (mostly Batman and Superman) and had never heard of Iron Man or most of the Avengers until they started making the movies)).Towards the end of the chapter, Rhoyan and Dru learn that their Rambler companion has also been hiding something from them... she is not quite what they thought.Discussion Questions:1. There were a couple of surprises in this chapter. Did you see them coming?2. What do you think of Jhasen?3. We see both Rhoyan and Seamas facing internal struggles in this chapter (Seamas: feeling guilty about his brother's death and struggling beneath the expectations he believes everyone has of him. Rhoyan: trusting people and holding a double standard when it comes to honesty). Which of these struggles do you identify with more?