Anya and the Nightingale: Chapters 29–39

by Sofiya Pasternack
Anya, Ivan, and the magical dragon set out on a mission to bring Anya's father home from war, but during their journey, they encounter the Nightingale — a monster who is terrorizing travelers in the forest.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapters 19–28, Chapters 29–39
30 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tendril
    something long, light, slender, and often curling
    As she took steps back, a figure stepped through the tornado, in the same way that someone might walk through a waterfall. Once it emerged entirely, the tornado vanished, dissolving into tendrils of ominous smoke that curled upward.
  2. desiccated
    thoroughly dried out
    It wasn’t just thin; it was desiccated. Anya had seen frostbitten fingers and toes before, back in Zmeyreka when fishermen weren’t careful enough during winter ice fishing, shriveling into black sticks before they fell off entirely.
  3. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    It was wearing a shredded rubakha, dingy and rusty and matted to the thing’s body with some kind of metallic bands like frail armor.
  4. marrow
    network of connective tissue filling the cavities of bones
    The sound parted the air in front of him, a low rumble Anya felt in her marrow.
  5. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    It pointed a gnarled finger at Håkon.
  6. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    Anya scrambled up in time to see Ilya drop toward the creature, the club up over his head, poised for what would surely be a fatal blow.
  7. singular
    beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
    A strand of Anya’s hair floated in front of her face, singularly annoying.
  8. diminish
    decrease in size, extent, or range
    “No time!” Anya said, pushing him back toward the front of the rapidly diminishing bubble.
  9. bail
    remove (water) from a vessel with a container
    Alfhercht was at the rear, trying to push water out so they could move faster. But it was like bailing water out of a boat with a hole in the bottom. Sooner or later, the water would win, and the boat would sink.
  10. turbulent
    agitated vigorously
    Ilya’s light shone out through the turbulent water around them, and Anya searched for the end of the tunnel.
  11. infirmary
    a health facility where patients receive treatment
    “We can take him to the castle infirmary!”
  12. bedeck
    decorate
    They were warhorses like Alsvindr, bedecked in plating and royal standards.
  13. caftan
    a long loose dress or tunic
    Everyone around him was dressed for war, but he wore a deep green silk kaftan and a long fur-trimmed robe rather than armor.
  14. retinue
    the group following and attending to some important person
    Riding beside him was Vasilisa, and behind her were Misha and her retinue of archers.
  15. decree
    issue an authoritative order
    “I decreed the Nightingale be brought alive,” the tsar spat.
  16. manacle
    shackle that can be locked around the wrist
    He set his hands on her shoulders, and she expected him to shove her forward into waiting manacles.
  17. corral
    collect or gather
    But he pulled her back, putting himself between her and the guards. He corralled Ivan and Håkon behind him as well.
  18. fester
    decay with an offensive smell
    You asked us, the bogatyri, to make Kievan Rus’ a holy place. And I’m telling you, it has an unholy boil festering within it.
  19. muss
    make messy or untidy
    Ilya interrupted Anya’s thoughts with a huge hand on her kerchief, mussing her hair.
  20. suppress
    control and refrain from showing
    Anya suppressed a blush and opened the pouch.
  21. swath
    a path or strip (also figurative)
    Håkon moved the bandage back so it covered his entire swath of exposed scales.
  22. pine
    have a desire for something or someone who is not present
    “Only people who have been in love can make fun of my pining.”
  23. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
    “Anyway,” Wielaf said, focusing on Håkon, “we wanted to make sure you three were all right. We thought dragons were extinct. The tsar would turn himself inside out to get his hands on you.”
    “I know,” Håkon said dourly.
  24. superficial
    of, affecting, or being on or near the surface
    Her scrapes and bruises were all superficial, and she cleaned them off as much as she could.
  25. desecrate
    remove the sacredness from a person or an object
    She was suddenly struck with the fear that Lena hadn’t ever meant for her to pick up the ring or the bones, and that she’d just desecrated a corpse for no reason.
  26. sapling
    young tree
    He dug into the dirt again, pulling up another sapling, gathering another thread of magic. Around in a circle he went, drawing up sapling after sapling, until he made a circle out of knee-high trees, with an invisible bundle of magic in his fist.
  27. manifest
    reveal its presence or make an appearance
    Wielaf’s own fears manifested as threads coming out of him.
  28. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    He wove the threads together, braiding them up and around, painstaking in his art.
  29. riotous
    produced or growing in extreme abundance
    She hung them as garlands inside the sukkah while Alfhercht coaxed the birch’s leaves into riotous golds and oranges so the whole top of it looked like the horizon of the setting sun.
  30. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    He meandered up to the sukkah and sniffed at the living leaves.
Created on Thu May 12 14:00:16 EDT 2022 (updated Mon May 23 09:21:26 EDT 2022)

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