Summer Reign Question (Spoilers)

[Teerlys]

So I’ve re-read Summer Reign a couple of times now, and there’s a part that just doesn’t make sense to me. In the scene where Chris attacks Declan… it seems like all Declan was doing was shielding. He got pretty aggressive earlier on, but by the time Chris is telling him to back down all he’s really doing is keeping shields up between him/Stacia and the horde of guns pointed their way. That seems like the kind of thing Chris and Tanya would have normally approved of and trained him to do. I realize that Chris says he overreacted later… but Declan agrees that what he was doing was out of control. The shielding in that scene really feels in like a measured reaction rather than overkill, so I’m both unsure of why Chris was so aggressive and why Declan agreed. The whole scenario felt really out of character for both protagonists.

Can you explain how that scene was playing out for you so that I can visualize what’s going on there a bit better?

[tarc]

I personally think that they (Lydia, Nika, Tanya and Chris) had been noticing how “wound tight” Declan was, and seeing Stacia being threatened Declan used a larger show of power than he normally would, my thoughts is Chris jumped the gun believing Declan may finally snap (possibly thinking of his own reaction if it was Tanya in Stacia’s position as many people had mentioned how similar Chris and Declan are, including himself) and it was Grim reacting on Chris’s behalf (after Awasos being shot at grim came out with a vengeance) and grim isn’t exactly the best with talking, and with Declan seeing grim instead of Chris, constantly threw up shields, not wanting to harm his friends but not allowing ANYONE near Stacia.

BUT saying all this, that’s just how I saw the situation 🙂

[Lost]

It’s been a while since I’ve read Summer Reign and I wont be able to answer all of your questions. I forget what sparked the confrontation but I believe it escalated because Declan was blindsided by the fact that Chris’ unique aura can shred through magic. So he was reacting on base instinct rather than actively thinking about what he was doing. I think everyone is concerned about the amount of power Declan can wield considering his age. Not to even considering his relationship with Omega. So whenever he acts even a little bit off the response will be huge.

Aaaaand it’s time to re-read the series for the umpteenth time! xD

[Johnruthyoder]

Whew I’m not the only person that was left confused by that encounter. But what really bothered me was the entire fallout. Lost trust, team issue and so on.
The way I explained it to myself was that the black dog was using magic to subtly manipulate Chris and Declan. In a high stress situation both have been known to miss the more subtle aspects of magic use.
Lol anyway it helped me to sleep at night

[Loupy]

The Black Dog’s job was to sow distrust in the group, but I think several of you have it right. Chris/Grim needed to specify what he wanted stood down, especially since he’s the one who taught Declan to keep his shields up. Declan could see what Grim apparently missed or had forgotten, that the feds had backup guns & were reaching for them. Then Grim escalated the situation by attacking Declan, who only defended himself. I think the only reason Declan had for apologizing afterwards was he still, at some level, considered Chris to be older & wiser (the angel part doesn’t hurt either) & presumed he had somehow messed up.
However, Declan is getting wound up pretty tight & reading the two Compendiums, seems to be getting more & more aggressive & confrontational in nature.
He seems to have no issues with throwing power around lavishly anymore & I don’t think anyone but his aunt & Stacia have much leverage in restraining him either.
Of course, almost all those confrontational issues come from defending Stacia in one way or another.

[John Conroe]

Without delving too far into the thought process, many of you have the right direction. Relationships, even long term ones, can change on a dime, particularly under stress and almost always due to poor communication. Our heroes in this series, at least the males, don’t always communicate well, don’t always explain themselves, and (like many guys, myself included) don’t have as much emotional intelligence as their female compatriots. In short, despite being super human, they’re still human and flawed. The super part, would, I think, make things worse in situations like these. Gramps would call the encounter a teachable moment and likely point out the dangers of being boneheaded.

[Author]

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