Shadow and Bone

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-13

Chapters 14-16

Chapters 17-19

Chapter 20-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapter 20-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 20 Summary

The group travels to the camp at Kribirsk, with Alina and Mal under guard. The Grisha are waiting for Alina’s arrival in Kribirsk. The other Grisha don’t know Alina ran away. They think she has been “in seclusion, preparing” to cross the Fold “with prayer and rest” (314). The Darkling warns Alina not to share the true reason she was gone, or else he will torture Mal.

Alina is kept in a private, guarded tent as they wait to cross the Fold. Alina dreams of the stag’s death every night. The dreams seem to be a message, although she can’t decode it. After a few days, Genya visits Alina, explaining the King has fallen ill and the Apparat is ruling in his place. The Darkling despises serving the King, and with the King out of the way, the Darkling is more unstoppable. Genya is wearing a new kefta, in Corporalki red instead of servants’ colors. It’s implied Genya assisted in bringing down the King. Genya has heard the rumors about the Darkling’s plans and trusts he is only doing what is necessary. Other Grisha believe this as well, thinking the Darkling knows the best way for peace, regardless of his methods.

Chapter 21 Summary

Alina is led to the Darkling’s tent. He taunts her about Mal and makes Alina beg for Mal’s life. The Darkling talks of doing only what is best for Ravka and how he never wanted to make Alina a slave but “couldn’t take chances” (324). His expressions seem honest and human, though Alina knows enough about his character now to doubt his sincerity. He kisses Alina and suggests he will be merciful towards Mal. Then, the Darkling exposes his plan to let the volcra kill Mal in front of Alina while crossing the Fold. Alina is taken to Mal’s cell for one last visit, where Mal tells Alina he loves her. Alina and Mal spend the rest of the night together, holding hands through the cell bars.

Chapter 22 Summary

The next day, Genya helps Alina dress in the black kefta from the fete before sending Alina to the Darkling. Alina and the Darkling are escorted to a sandskiff while Grisha parade behind them. Alina and the Darkling board the skiff, along with select Grisha and foreign ambassadors. The event is arranged as a great spectacle to reveal the Darkling’s new power to the world. They begin crossing the Fold. As volcra descend upon the skiff, the Darkling calls Alina’s power to send them away. The skiff continues across the Fold until the group sees the shores of West Ravka, where people gather to watch the miraculous display.

The Darkling claps his hands, causing the Shadow Fold to ripple out and expand towards West Ravka. The people watching scream as volcra swoop down to attack. The move is a warning to the foreign ambassadors and Ravka’s King of what the Darkling can, and will, do to those who stand against him. The Grisha cheer as the Darkling promises peace and strength for those who stand with him.

The Darkling sends Mal overboard and orders Alina to pull back her light, leaving Mal vulnerable to volcra attack. Alina fights, but her powers only respond to the Darkling’s commands. A vision of the stag enters Alina’s mind, replaying the moment Alina decided to spare its life. Suddenly, Alina understands her mercy is a strength: “I had spared the stag’s life. The power of that life belonged to me as surely as it belonged to the man who had taken it” (344). Alina is able to take back control of her power. Light shines from Alina as power thrums through her. Alina slashes her hands and splices the skiff’s mast, suddenly able to perform the “the Cut,” like the Darkling.

Alina calls the group to join her against the Darkling. The people do not respond. As guards close in on Alina, she lets go of her light, allowing darkness to engulf the skiff. She jumps off the skiff and runs to Mal. Alina slashes her hands again, splitting the skiff in two to stop the Darkling from escaping the Fold. Using Alina’s power, Alina and Mal escape to West Ravka.

Epilogue Summary: “After”

The narration changes to third person. Alina and Mal are on a foreign ship, where the people speak Kerch. They keep watch for “a ship with black sails” (354). They hear stories of chaos in Ravka, though they have not heard anything about the Darkling’s fate. They sail across the True Sea, away from Ravka, towards a land of hope. Alina and Mal are on their own, “with no true home but each other” (356), the way it has always been.

Chapter 20-Epilogue Analysis

The Prologue and Epilogue, both narrated in the third person, emphasize the novel’s circular structure. Alina and Mal begin the book in the orphanage, before crossing the Fold, where Alina discovers powers in time to save Mal’s life. She is led by guards to join the Grisha. The book’s final chapters mirror these events: Alina and Mal are led by guards back to the Grisha as they prepare to cross the Shadow Fold; Alina realizes she can control her amplified powers just in time to save Mal’s life; and the book concludes with Mal and Alina as “orphans again.” This cyclical structure highlights Alina’s growth, drawing a comparison between her actions early in the novel and at the conclusion. As Alina returns to the Grisha, she sees everything from a new perspective. Grisha tents are luxurious, yet Alina would trade “it all in an instant to shiver beside Mal on a threadbare blanket” (317). While the Darkling’s vulnerability and affection still catch Alina by surprise, she now knows his manipulative nature and no longer falls into his trap.

Images of the stag’s death haunt Alina’s dreams, building to the dramatic climax when Alina decodes the stag’s message. This is a moment of “anagnorisis,” a plot technique in which a character makes a sudden realization, leading to the story’s resolution. The discovery shocks the characters, who all underestimate the power of mercy. The Darkling’s idea of mercy is allowing Alina and Mal to say goodbye before killing Mal. In contrast, Alina views her merciful actions as a weakness. The stag helps Alina realize her personal strengths and the power of mercy over greed: “The stag had been showing me my strength—not just the price of mercy but the power it bestowed. And mercy was something the Darkling would never understand” (344). The Darkling is reveling in his triumph when Alina discovers the truth, heightening suspense and satisfaction when she rises up against him.

A theme of power and corruption tempers the victory of mercy over greed. As Alina takes control of her power, she becomes more like the Darkling. She performs “the Cut,” a vicious move previously only the Darkling could perform. She ruthlessly leaves innocent people in the Shadow Fold to hinder the Darkling’s escape, acknowledging that doing so brings her closer to the Darkling’s evil level. Feeling the strength of her amplified power, Alina edges towards greed: “what I couldn’t tell Mal was that the collar belonged to me, that the stag’s power felt like a part of me now, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to let it go” (352). While mercy and goodness have ultimately won at the book’s conclusion, power threatens to corrupt Alina. The book’s final cliffhanger, which leaves unanswered how Alina will deal with this new power and where she and Mal will go next as they sail on the True Sea, leads readers towards the sequel, Siege and Storm.