Graceling Chapter 16 Summary

  • Okay. So first off, Part II is called "The Twisted King."
  • Katsa and Po leave Randa City before daylight, with Raffin and Bann there to see them off. It's an emotional departure for Katsa—she and Raffin have been BFFs since they were kids, and she's not all that happy to be leaving Oll or Helda behind, either.
  • Raffin has prepared bundles of maps and medicines for the pair, they've got plenty of food, and Po, being a prince of Lienid, is well equipped with bags of gold, so they're good to go.
  • Being who they are—an enforcer and a prince, both with dichromatic Graceling eyes—the two are recognized everywhere they go, but that doesn't concern them because no one knows the real motive for their travels. Everyone thinks they're searching for Po's grandfather, when what they really seek is the reason for his kidnapping and the parties ultimately responsible for it.
  • While Katsa is glad of Po's company on the journey (remember—because of her defiance, she had to leave the court, with or without a companion), but every time they stop to rest or eat she finds herself feeling shy and awkward around him. With good reason. If she happens to have a lusty thought about Po—or a rude one—he'll hear it.
  • Katsa suggests that since he always knows what she's thinking about him, he should always have to share his thought about her aloud. To even the playing field, so to speak.
  • Po complies, and some of his thoughts leave Kasha blushing. Ooh la la.
  • Back on their horses, they ride till nightfall then, deciding their first destination will be an inn near Murgon City where they can seek information. First though, they set up camp for the night and Katsa catches their dinner—a fat rabbit, which Po cooks.
  • Over dinner they discuss how secure Po is in his masculinity (he doesn't mind having Katsa hunt and kill his food, win every time they grapple, or protect him when necessary), and Po assures Katsa that she is just as evolved as he is. When Katsa gets down on herself, he says, "I wish you would remember that when we met, you were rescuing my grandfather for no other reason that that you didn't believe he deserved to be kidnapped" (16.85). Good point, Po, good point.