Slay

Three hours before her duel with Dred, Kiera tries to ease her nerves by texting Cicada. Her moderator’s messages are unusually subdued, and Cicada eventually confides that her mother died the previous night, that she was unable to be with her mother when she passed, and that her real name is Claire Chappelle. Kiera reciprocates by sharing her full name.

Mrs. Johnson comes home, and Kiera tells her that she and Malcolm aren’t speaking to one another. She reflects on how her life used to revolve around him and SLAY and how much things have changed since Jamal’s death. Her mother opens an envelope, and Kiera has a moment of panic in which she thinks it may be a letter from Wyatt’s lawyer even though he doesn’t know Emerald’s identity. Her concerned mother invites Kiera to open up to her. Kiera considers telling her about SLAY, but she doesn’t feel ready for her mother to know about the “hardest thing [she’s] ever done, [her] best accomplishment” (246).

Kiera excuses herself and logs into SLAY, wondering if this will be her last time in the virtual world she’s created. During a chat with Claire, she shares that