Lovely photo by @cosycoffeereader!
Hello fairies!
Welcome back to day four of our Threads That Bind readalong. Drama is brewing and I don’t think it’ll be slowing down in this section!
Today we’re reading from chapter 22 to the end of chapter 29. Buckle in and let’s goooo!
Don’t forget you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the book. Can’t wait to hear what you’re all thinking!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou from chapter 22 to chapter 29. Please only read on if you have finished this section!
–!SPOILERS!-
I’m really gonna need to know what happened between Thais and Io. This is getting sus and there’s definitely a lot we’re not being told…
I understand why Ava doesn’t want Io involved, but I also see why Io wants to help. Who’s side are you on here? Ava or Io? Any theories on why this is so important to Io? I feel like maybe it stems back to Thais. Maybe she couldn’t save Thais from her demons so she’s determined to save these people.
I do like Amos! Good vibes indeed. What’s interesting though is that they don’t say Saint-Yves is a good guy, just that he was a good lieutenant. Anyway… we’re off to the Hills. We’re finally about to reunite with Thais. This is gonna be fine. Totally great and fine.
So Io is staking out on Thais’s street, but it’s not a discreet stake out cause Thais is there almost immediately and she’s inviting her in. She’s kind of acting like nothing ever happened and it’s putting me ✨on edge✨.
Thais thought Io would be angry with her? But Io thought Thais would be the angry one? Confusion.
Either way Io tells Thais her theories and she’s very quick to shut it all down, as you would if you were told your fiance was evil and behind the silts stranglings. I did NOT prepare myself for Luc arriving with none other than scary phobos-born Aris. Neither did Io…
Aris has definitely recognised Io and Thais has recognised Io’s discomfort. She launches herself on Aris asking why her sister seems petrified of him and it allllll comesssss outttt! Aris says Io would’ve judged him regardless of whether he acted on his powers or not but he still gets an earful from Luc and Thais about how wrong it was… and Luc wants Io to join the Initiative. It’s a bit… culty though, is it not? Is this why Thais is being nice? Just to get her on their side?
After some insight into Luc trying to get Bianca on their side, she’s definitely looking a little more sus in this scenario now. Luc seems genuine but I don’t know if we can trust him or Thais, ESPECIALLY after the insight we get into Thais’s past of weaving threads to make people like her.
Ok… a wraith appearing seems like a pretty good sign that Luc’s not behind all this after all. Raina’s after Thais and Io has no choice but to protect her sister by cutting the wraith’s thread and ending her life. Raina wearing brass knuckles seems like a sure sign that Bianca’s the puppet master here. I thought better of her.
Do you think we can trust Thais? I feel so torn after seeing her comforting Io and helping her out of her panic attack. Io leaves the Hills with a warning from Luc to get her priorities straight and a hint from Thais to come to them as soon as she gets to the bottom of all of this.
Edei is late for their meeting but when Io voices her worries Amos tells her he’ll come – they’ve seen Edei watching her. Was that before they met? Does Edei know about the fate thread???
Io follows the thread back to Edei (can we talk about how useful that would be in real life, I’d never lose my partner in the supermarket again!)
Turns out Chimdi and Nico were taken and roughed up by the police, in the chaos Edei totally forgot they were meant to meet. Edei is hella mad when Io tells him she thinks Bianca is behind all of this and tells Io he doesn’t trust her. Ouch.
After Edei leaves, Io is left with Samiya. She heals Io’s ribs and tells her how Edei ended up with Bianca. Seems like he’s too scared to leave.
When Io is done, Edei’s waiting for her and apologises. She opens up and tells him why Thais left. It was Io. She chipped away at her home thread while Rosa sent her dreams of travelling. It’s her fault she left. She promises herself that she’ll tell Edei about the thread BUT Io we’ve been here before, you’ve been promising that since the beginning!
They have a plan to infiltrate Bianca’s dreams with the help of Rosa. They’ll see her memories and her part in the riots but they CANNOT get caught. V, v, v important. Bet they get caught. 👀
Bianca’s dreams are filled with red air. What is she DOING? The people Bianca is rounding up are the wraiths victims. Sus. This is a blood bath. There are bodies everywhere and then Bianca orders her gang to kill everyone…
What an intense way to end today’s section… This has made me incredibly nervous to see how this will end!
Do you have any theories?
Who do you trust? I really don’t know anymore!
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
See you tomorrow for what’s bound to be a chaotic final section!
Love,
Shannon
I don’t think that Bianca is responsible for the murders. In the past it was a war, I don’t think they should jump to conclusions.
I only trust Edei 100%! I can’t believe Io did that to her sister, also to Ava who then had to stay. Yes Thais was awful but I feel bad for Ava. Both for Bianca and for what Io did.
Do you have any theories?
I had theories, now I have none! First of all I thought it was Luc, then I got on board with Bianca and now I have no idea! The only theory I have is that it’s someone who’s trying to cause a rift between Bianca and Luc because the evidence has pointed at both of them.
Who do you trust? I really don’t know anymore!
I trust Io because if it was here we would surely know as a reader. That’s it. It literally could be anyone. At one point this book made me feel so distrusting towards the characters that I thought it was Ava! I’ve also considered Thais and Rosa and Edei’s girlfriend to be the culprit but I have no idea what to think anymore! And when I got to the end of the section I swore and slammed the book shut because I didn’t want to stop reading! I may be picking this up later on to finish ready for the final post tomorrow!
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
I think it’s sad that two sisters who were so close had drifted so far apart. It’s a guilt that Io has been carrying for years, and perhaps she shouldn’t have done it. However, Thais asked her to do the same to Ava, so maybe she deserved it? It’s all very complicated, but I do think Io will have to tell Ava at some point so that she can get closure too and stop blaming herself.
All the theories I have thought about have not actually happened so I have no idea what to think anymore. Bianca is no saint but I don’t think she is behind the murders even though everything points to her right now. It was the same with Luc before – everything pointed to him but it seems like it’s not him after all. I think there will be someone else who is behind all this. I’m very interested to read the last part and get to know how everything unfolds.
I still trust Edei, he has been making good choices so far and has been supportive of Io for the most part. Thais is still sketchy, I hope she will come around and make the right choices in the end but it could go sideways. I still trust Ava, she obviously wants what is best for her sisters and wants to avoid confrontation. Not that it is right how she acted perhaps but it’s still understandable to some extent.
I don’t think it is alright what Io did to Thais to make her leave so she should tell Thais about that at some point. Even though I don’t approve I can’t say with certainty that I wouldn’t have done the same if I had been in the same situation – Thais was cruel to Io and it was going on for so long. She had her good moments too but overall this is not the way how to act with your sister continuously.
I don’t know who to trust either! Only Edei <3
I think Io needs to put her big girls pants on and just reveal the truth – to Thais about why she left, and to Edei about the fate thread.
Do you have any theories?
None at all now – maybe it’s not Biana or luc but someone completely unexpected
Who do you trust? I really don’t know anymore!
I only trust Io at this point and have suspected that it could be anyone else
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
Not what I was expecting at all I think it’s a bit of a grey area and if you were in Io’s situation it was the best she could do at the time. I’m thinking though perhaps Ava knows.
I am not sure if it is just me, but I am missing the connection between Edei and Io? I loved to see that their connection got deeper. And i missed some more action in this chapters. I hope we get more tomorrow!
1) Do you have any theories?
Scream learned me that the killer is always someone close. I don’t think Saint- Yves is behind the killing and Bianca will be to obvious. Or Thais is working against Saint-Yves and made there love thread or she is just really in love with him. But what about Ava? What if she has a roll in it? Maybe together with Bianca? Or together with Thais?
2) Who do you trust?
The only characters I trust are Rosa and Edei.
3) What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
It was really not okay that she did that.
The only person I trust is Edei. 🥺 He’s so honest and perfect and would never hurt Io. Everyone else is a suspect! Bianca is super sus and I do NOT trust Thais one BIT! I’ve dealt with my fair share of manipulative family members and they NEVER change. Everything Thais says or does is to manipulate Io and I hate it.
I think it’s kind of valid that Io forced Thais out? Thais was such a manipulative and controlling older sister who cared more about keeping the family together than letting her sisters be happy and follow their dreams. What she wanted to do to Ava was unacceptable. Maybe Io didn’t go about it in the right way, but it was for the better that Thais was gone. I wish she had never come back. 😡 You can say that Io did not act like a good sister, but Thais started it! SHE wanted to cut an important thread first. Is it fair that the same thing she wanted to do to Ava was done to her? I highly dislike Thais. I am an older sister to two sisters myself. I would NEVER act like her. I am disgusted and disappointed. Get lost, Thais!
Oop I caught up pretty last minute tonight, so I’ll mostly just answer today’s questions rather than starting with a whole bunch of my own thoughts first like I usually do lol.
I will say though; I’m obsessed with Io, Thais and Ava’s sisterhood. It’s so tragic and messed up and it makes them so believable.
Do you have any theories?
See, for nearly all today and yesterday’s section I was CONVINCED Thais was the puppet master behind things. She could have woven a thread to make Saint-Yves love her and implicitly believe her own ideals, and she could also weave threads between him and his followers which is why so many people follow and defend him without question. I even had the thought that maybe she’s weaving threads on already-dead women, which is why the threads lead nowhere and why they’re able to be controlled as if they’re like actual Puppets.
But then I was thinking… Ava is also moira-born, and we know next to nothing about her powers. Plus she’s clearly been hiding things from Io… I’m honestly getting mighty suspicious over how quiet she’s been whilst staying present in the narrative.
Who do you trust? I really don’t know anymore!
Edei. Probably Nico and Chimdi. That’s it. I don’t even know how much I trust Io anymore lol.
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
I wasn’t entirely surprised by it, but it’s still so sad. That said, I really like that Kika isn’t shying away from giving her characters genuine immoral moments and guilt over their actions, and not in the usual ‘offed someone to stay alive and feels bad about it’ you see fairly often in protagonists, but in a premeditated, manipulative and genuinely mean-spirited way. And more importantly, even though what Io did was objectively horrible, I also completely understand how she was driven to it. She’s very genuinely morally grey, which makes her supremely interesting.
All in all this is looking to be maybe my favourite book of the year if it sticks the landing tomorrow! It’s already incredibly close between it and Greenwild by Pari Thomson for me. It’s just totally ticking all my boxes.
Oh, also; this section mentioned Io’s spectacles fogging up. Has she just been wearing glasses this whole time? Did I miss that completely? It’s not a huge deal and obviously there’s no reason she hasn’t been taking them off, but it’s not on the cover, boards, endpapers or art print so it completely threw me lmao
She has glasses but they’re not consistently mentioned haha.
Naw. I cant possibly end my reading there! I need to know!
At this point, I’m now just here for the ride, so I’m all theoried-out. I also trust NO ONE. Maybe except Edei and Rosa. I love them. They’re the best.
Honestly, the revelation about Thais didn’t seem as horrible as I thought it’d be. What Thais wanted Io to do to Ava was much worse, and I literally gasped with shock at how brutal that turnaround was. Io refusing made me respect her even more.
Alright. Now excuse me while I try to figure out what the heck is happening in this dreamscape from hell.
Ahhh the ending of this section! I’m behind but I might manage to catch up today.
1) Do you have any theories?
I think that “rogue gang” is the Furies attacking Other gang members. I think they came to Alante to stop that first gang…… but then kept killing and killing in the suits to enact their justice. I think Bianca wiped them out, and now the wraith murders are the Furies’ revenge.
2) Who do you trust? I really don’t know anymore!
No one haha. But I don’t think any of the main and secondary characters introduced so far are the culprits.
3) What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
It was sad, but also a very teenage thing to do, you know? And not so surprising considering Io cut one of her best friends threads when she thought she’d crossed sides.
I really don’t like Thais. Io’s methods were a bit morally gray but I can see why she did that.
I accidently read two chapters ahead so I won’t speculate what happens next.
1) My theory is that it’s going to be something completely unexpected LOL.
2) I’m really shocked that I actually kind of trust Luc. At least he wasn’t such an obvious fake good guy that I was expecting him to be. I don’t think Bianca is behind it either at this point but I definitely don’t trust her…she has her own motives.
3) Actually less traumatic than I expected. But does that mean Thais could see what Io did?
I’m terrible at coming up with theories so I do t really know how this could end.
The only people I really trust right now are Io, Edei, Nico and Chimdi
I suspected that Io did cut one of Thais’s threads but I wasn’t too sure about that because I didn’t know what would be important enough to make her leave so I wasn’t surprised by that but in a way it was still shocking to see it actually written down and confirmed and I hope that soon Io will tell Thais what happened.
I can’t believe there’s only one more part to read!
OMG I am so confused!
Honestly I cannot even imagine who is the real villain! Everyone seems suss!
Thais knowing about Io stalking her from the start but waiting for her to show up is such a older sister power move, I cannot help but stan as a older sister myself!
Honestly maybe I will seem naive, but I really like the Initiative, I agree with Luc about the importance of coming together, and it seems like the only one willing to do something about it. He could of course still be the villain, being attacked by the Wraith is not a proof of innocence for me, but if I to blame someone I think maybe Thais could be the big villain? I mean, she is a weaver, maybe she is creating life threads on dead people and that’s why the wraiths are so strange? On the other hand I don’t see Thais as this powerful being able to hide for the Muses, so I don’t know…
Io’s confession about what she did to Thais shocked me. I can understand her pain, and Thais was totally out of line in asking her to cut Ava’s tread, but I cannot justify something bad just because of pain. I just don’t like people being unable to make their own choices, and Io’s behavior with Thais and Edei is just that, in a way she is manipulated them with cutting treads or not making them aware of them.
Of course in real life nothing is as easy as it seems, life is complicated and messy, and I think Io encapsulates this perfectly, she is a good person who sometimes makes mistakes, bad things, and I cannot help but love her as a character, and hope that by the end of the book she will be happy.
So, the rival gang is the Furies, right? That’s what I’m getting from this? They just went totally power mad and started killing everyone? Like, at one point the must have been just but they lost the plot and so Bianca has led the charge to wipe the out?
Now, there back somehow… Maybe one was born elsewhere and has only recently come to the city to get vengeance?
I trust Edei and that is pretty much it. Ava being involved would be a good twist. I also think Thais deserved to be driven away from Io. Have little sympathy for her. Perhaps that makes me a morally grey person like Io? Oh well.
Do you have any theories?
I really have no idea. At first, I thought it was her sister, but it started twelve years ago so I don’t know. I just know I have to finish this book right now because I really need to know what happens.
Who do you trust?
At this point, I trust no one.
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
I think Thais was hurting Io and Ava, and that was the way she found to protect herself and her sister. I mean, she wanted to take away the thing her sister loved the most, and she was getting out of control, so Io did what she thought was best without actually hurting her.
Do you have any theories? I had a bunch but now I’m not sure 😅
Who do you trust? I trust Edei, Io and Rosa- everyone else seems to have at least one thing suspicious about them they makes me not trust them
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out? I wasn’t expecting that at all, I thought it was something else that happened
I think Bianca may be a red herring. The planting of the brass knuckles feels too easy.
I only trust Edei. Please don’t let us down, Edei!
It is sad what happened, but Io was setting boundaries on Thais’s toxicity when she tried to sabotage Ava.
Although I am not ruling out that Ava is hiding something as well.
I don’t really have any theories on how this book will end or who is behind it all.
My crazy out there theory is that Rosa’s grandma is the big bad
But here’s a few things I’d like to l know
Are we about to find out what happened to Io’s parents?
Are we finally going to find out if Edei is actually in a relationship?
I don’t have any theories, I just think that maybe Bianca is not involved with the creation of the wraith. I have a feeling that maybe she knows something but she’s not the mastermind behind everything. Before reading these chapter I was CONVINCED Thais was the puppet master behind things. I still think she has something to do with it though. I still trust Edei, he has been making good choices so far and has been supportive of Io for the most part. I think is validate that Io forced Thais out, she was a super manipulative sister and wanted to hurt Ava, so I think that what Io did is justifiably. Maybe Io didn’t go about it in the right way, but it was for the better that Thais was gone.
Do you have any theories?
I don’t really have any theories. Again, it’ll be someone we don’t expect.
Who do you trust?
I don’t trust any of the characters.
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
This part was so sad. But, Thais was toxic. And this is how Io handled that.
Do you have any theories?
Something is not quite right with Thais, I think that she may have believed she was doing the right thing when she started, but she then just liked the power and the way it made her feel. I want to know why she wanted to cut Ava’s music thread, and I think Ava knows more about what Io did then she lets on.
Who do you trust? I really don’t know anymore!
I know I trust Edei, that’s about all I can trust at this point. Amos seems like a good person too so I think I trust them but they haven’t been involved in much. I think that Samiya knows something about Edei and Io’s thread, even if it’s just a feeling, and that’s why she is being so kind to Io and telling her to be gentle with Edei’s feelings. (IT’s a roundabout way of giving permission!)
What do you think about the revelation that Io forced Thais out?
I think this was a huge revelation but one that makes sense for how Io was feeling at the time. I think she was so overwhelmed and anxious whenever her sister was around (why did she only have a panic attack when she killed the wraith at Luc’s house but not when she killed the wraith in the apartment when we first met Edei? Suspicious about how Thais inadvertently makes her feel).
I think Io cutting her thread was a way for Io to set up a boundary with Thais, in a roundabout way, she couldn’t get through to her and Io herself couldn’t leave, so she had to get Thais away somehow. I think that now she realizes that there were other choices she could have made but she wasn’t strong enough at that point in her life.
I also am very intrigued by this mysterious gang, I want to know who they were and why no one will talk about them. I have a feeling that Bianca might have skewed the story to make her look better, but I could be wrong.