The inherent misunderstanding of Ianthe's character as the constant second fiddle.
I see many posts about how Ianthe must be oh so devastated to always be number two. I also see so many posts calling Ianthe pathetic and a lot of them don't sound ironic about it.
Did anyone else here notice how every single character in the books who thought Ianthe was pathetic at some point has either converted to thinking she's probably one of the most dangerous lyctors to have ever existed or is just straight up dead now? What a coincidence. Or maybe, just maybe, having the common sense to survive until the end of Nona and realising Ianthe is to be handled with caution go hand in hand.
Even Pyrrha Dve says that Ianthe freaks her out.
Ianthe could have ended the jig with Corona at any point, proven the world that she is the golden child, not her sister. But why would she? She would have given up a good portion of her control over Corona for a little appreciation from people she doesn't care about. She would become the "crown princess of Ida as she never wanted". Having Corona see her as the only reason she ever manages anything is simply so much more valuable to her.
Harrow called Ianthe a boot licker and asked her how she isn't ashamed of groveling to Augustine like that. The woman straight up told her she simply understands that "being ashamed is a privilege". A couple hundred pages later Augustine dies by Ianthe's choice and Ianthe takes his place at God's side. Weird. Another funny coincidence. Or maybe Ianthe just understood that sticking close to Augustine no matter the cost would open a gate to promotion eventually?
Asides Alecto waking up, this Woman has thus far achieved every single one of her goals or is still on her way to doing so. She did not suffer a single major setback. The only people who ever managed to give her minor setbacks were people who understood exactly how dangerous she is and how serious she is to be taken as an adversary, people who understood that her main if not only weaknesses are a) that she cares too much about the people she loves and that the gaslighting is simply a desperate attempt to make sure they never leave her. (see Coronabeth and the gun) b) she has no patience and gets bored easily, thus will take short cuts whenever she can rather than doing a job correctly from the start.
I firmly believe she'll either suffer a terrible fait in Alecto or take god's place. Or both.
If you are looking for something to fill the void in your book-loving heart while waiting for Alecto, I have a book for you. The vibes are different, but I think you will enjoy it because it has:
- Kids raised in a place more fucked up than the Ninth and child soliders
- Science magic
- Empires, theocracy (but with numbers to back it up), space facisim, (de)radicalization
- Mass murder
- Queer people, various levels of happiness
- Strong... Lebanese...
It's a dark story, an exploration of authoritarian systems, humanity, gender roles, and family, but it isn't hopeless. Or in other words: fascist teen girl learns the power of friendship and spacetime manipulation