Beautiful photo by @xenatine!
Hey fairies!
Welcome back to day 4 of our readalong of Sun of Blood and Ruin! Let’s get comfy and get reading!
Yesterdays section finished at a crossroads as we were about to head into battle so I’m nervous for what today may bring!
Today we’re reading from Chapter 28 to the end of Chapter 37.
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares, from chapters 28 to 37. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
She’s cut a raw deal with her armour and her placement hasn’t she? Leonara is forming part of the shield. Doesn’t sound overly promising…
Do we think she can prove her worth?
Almost immediately after battle ensues Leonara breaks the shield because she spots Jerónimo and rushes to protect him. She helps him escape and then… she spots Nabarres.
She shifts into the Panther to chase him and whilst she gets a good injury in on his face, Prince Xico interrupts, charging after her.
She’s badly injured and Tezca wants to heal her but she won’t allow it. It’s apparently not what the curse intended and Leonara says she’s ready to die…
And yet she wakes to live another day. Not Tezca, but Zyanya healed her. I love her. She’s kind of giving Inés vibes. She tells Leonara how her tonalli is lost. That doesn’t sound promising?
Tezca has her sussed by now and knows how guilty she is about, well, everything. AND we learn something interesting, her father was La Justicia. All the revelations are coming out!
Interestingly Martín isn’t illegitimate. He was secretly legitimised but he’s made the choice not to rule. He wants his freedom. Maybe he’s not so bad after all.
Before she can go murder Nabarres Tezca has another chat with her about her guilt/grief and how it’s getting to her. As much as I really want Leonara to listen to him at this point I think she could well be a lost cause. She’s going anyway.
Okkkkkkk, Leonara, ok. I underestimated her. She’s written a confession, stolen Nabarres’ seal and signed it. That’s better than death, that’s proper justice.
Next up, leaving no stone unturned, she’s revealing herself to Jerónimo. I don’t really know what she expected or wanted him to do… but he orders her arrested. She manages to escape but leaves the Sword of Integrity behind.
Amalia follows her and Leonara answers her questions honestly, no matter how brutal. Amalia actually came to check on her. She lied about being pregnant and she wants to head back to Snake Mountain with her. Leonara’s throwing out all the surprises today, she allows it.
They get lost pretty quickly and when they get there… TEZCA ISN’T ALONE. My eye rolls right now know no bounds.
She’s hurt, I think we could all sense something brewing between them even if there’s no exclusivity.
Amalia’s arrival and Pantera’s return causes some… friction. They cannot catch a break.
The star demons are here… is that… the prophecy?
They’re not the only things arriving. OLLIN IS HERE. Omg. After all this time???
Seems like the prophecy is indeed coming true. She needs Master Toto.
Xico and his followers have renounced allegiance to La Justicia and it’s Leonara’s fault. It looks like they’ve lost a considerable amount of their army. It’s always the gods that need placating though isn’t it?
Leonara, as we’ve learnt, does not know how to stay quiet and squabbles back. She hints that Tezca told her something but he won’t speak, just ignores her. This couple. I wanna bang their heads together.
She’s going to find Toto AND that’s not all. After learning Martín is legitimate but just doesn’t want the power, he’s giving up his freedom so they can use his army.
In the armory with Tezca, Leonara and him go back and forth about being real. She says he knows the real her now but she doesn’t feel she knows the real him.
“Ours is a sun of blood and ruin and you give me peace.”
I love that. I wish they’d stop bickering and just be together. La Justicia don’t really know the real him but he’s adamant Leonara does. I’m not sure though, it still feels like he’s hiding something. Darkness is the source of all his power. That doesn’t mean he’s bad though?
Either way, he’s not letting her go to find Master Toto alone.
After a days walking they set up camp together… only one camp? Is that a thing? Can we MAKE it a thing?
She asks him about her father and he tells her honestly. We learn a little more about the black mirror too, it brings death. Ominous.
After they wake and Tezca dispatches the boa constricting around her leg, they’re interrupted.
Her name is… Pantera? Um. Ok. Not sure how much I trust her but they have rafts and Leonara and Tezca need rafts. Leonara senses something’s wrong, you’re not alone!
It is ironic though that she thinks because she calls herself Pantera she must be hiding something…
Leonara ends up trapped in her own bamboo cage after trying to free someone else from theirs. Pantera riles her up about how she spent the night with Tezca. I hope that’s not true.
The man of the hour appears in jaguar form just in time to free Leonara and they’re off again.
He did bed Pantera, but it seems he wasn’t of sound mind. He was in a trance. Gross move from Pantera.
I wish they would just admit they like each other. They’re dancing around it all and it’s so frustrating!
Leonara realises too late that they’re standing on a frozen lake, Tezca falls in and she screams for him, tells him she needs him but then suddenly someone appears and she seems… somewhere else.
Wait. No. Surely he’s not dead???? He can’t be???
Leonara though seems quite certain he’s died a warriors death. Popo hasn’t been kind to her. She cries herself to sleep and now she has to face going the rest of the way alone.
Do you think Tezca is really gone?
What do you think will happen when she finds Master Toto?
Leonara has been through a lot in this book, do you think she’ll give up?
I am NOT OK. I’m halfway between thinking Tezca can’t really be gone but also thinking this wouldn’t be the first time the author has killed off one of my faves in this book!
See you tomorrow for our final section where hopefully, we’ll get somewhere!
Love,
Shannon
So many things are happening in this book in a row, like give us a break for a sec please 😀
Do you think Tezca is really gone?
No. It is a possibility, but I’d like to think that he’s not really gone. He has all that power so he possibly could’ve survived because we still don’t know a lot about him.
What do you think will happen when she finds Master Toto?
I kind of hope that Leonora gets her tonalli back, continues her studies and reaches the potential she has. Hopefully Master Toto will not be as rude as he was to her previously and won’t bring her down. But I think it’s more likely that he will just help her find the tonalli, kick her out again and she’ll go back to La Justicia.
Leonara has been through a lot in this book, do you think she’ll give up?
Even though she has been through a lot and feels kind of down and insecure, even though she feels like she can’t go on, she is still strong and I don’t think she is able to give up. She probably feels like she has more to give and some life to live so no, at least not yet. Or if she feels like giving up Ollin will talk some sense into her.
I really liked the battle scene in this section where Leonara spared her brother. In fact, her relationship with her brother is by far the most interesting part of the story to me.
Do you think Tezca is really gone?
Nope, I don’t think anyone with a love interest is going to die in this 🤷♂️
What do you think will happen when she finds Master Toto?
I’m HOPING she figures out how to restore her power by herself because I think that has way more impact than him giving her the solution.
Leonara has been through a lot in this book, do you think she’ll give up?
No, of course not. If ive spent this whole book getting annoyed at her actions then the least she can do is follow this through thought lmao
1. Do you think Tezca is really gone?
No, I think he is still alive. While he might’ve gone through the ice, maybe the door opened for him at that time and he is waiting for Leonora on the other side!
2. What do you think will happen when she finds Master Toto?
More training to get back what she lost!
3. Leonara has been through a lot in this book, do you think she’ll give up?
No, she is to string to give up! And she’ll only get stronger from all the times she’s hit rock bottom!! I fully believe she’ll emerge stronger than ever!
I also am a bit confused as to where Ollin has gone😅😅 I thought he’d go with Leonora to return but after that small cameo he was just gone…
Tezca can’t really be gone, he was too powerful and they spent too long on the character and her feelings for him for it to just go nowhere.
I am really not sure how it’s going to go down with Toto. He seems like maybe a bit of a jerk? Like, he isn’t wrong I’m assuming but he must know how hard it is for her to master herself when she feels so divided.
I’m really not sure how this is going to end? Like, will it be a cliffhanger ending? I am not sure how it can wrap up satisfyingly in the last pages but we’ll see 🙂
Do you think Tezca is really gone?
He can’t be gone, they wouldn’t write him off that easily. I think he’ll come back soon!
What do you think will happen when she finds Master Toto?
He’ll give her more riddles because that’s his thing. I think she’ll have to really search for an answer but she’ll figure out how to get her powers back or be able to stop the demons.
Leonara has been through a lot in this book, do you think she’ll give up?
She’s been given a poor hand in many situations but I don’t think she’ll give up. Too much is on the line for her and she’s not the type to back down.