Kindling: Part 3

by Traci Chee
Kindlings were children trained as powerful, magic-wielding warriors…but the war is over. Now cast adrift and walking through meaningless lives traumatized, a small group is offered one last battle and must pull together to face their inner demons in hopes of a more peaceful future.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
15 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
    You expect her to say something inspiring. A word of wisdom, a rousing speech. She’s your general, after all, and that’s what generals do. They give you courage. They give you hope. They give you something, anything, platitudes, even, to take with you into battle as you confront your death.
  2. unscathed
    not injured
    He let the raiders into Camas in hopes that the villagers would be left unscathed.
  3. draught
    a dose of liquid medicine
    “I gave them a sleeping draught! I thought they’d be safe! Our people were supposed to be safe!”
  4. prostrate
    lie face downward, as in submission
    You let him fall to the ground, where he prostrates himself before you, groveling in the mud. You shake your head. You back away.
  5. grovel
    show submission or fear
    You let him fall to the ground, where he prostrates himself before you, groveling in the mud. You shake your head. You back away.
  6. embedded
    enclosed firmly in a surrounding mass
    It pains your shoulder, the embedded arrowhead rending your flesh, but down on the road three more invaders slip past Ket and Tana and head toward the terraces.
  7. harry
    make a pillaging or destructive raid on, as in wartimes
    With a pit in your stomach, you race back to the barricade, where the fighting has gotten worse since you left. Arrows whizzing into your ranks while Adren’s horsemen harry your defenses.
  8. unspool
    reverse the winding or twisting of
    At the front of her forces, Adren hefts an iron shield. From the crystal at its center, there’s another blaze of light, but this time it doesn’t strike the barricade. Instead, it unspools before the raiders, settling in front of them in a pale, undulating ribbon of fire.
  9. impenetrable
    not admitting of passage into or through
    The barrier would be impenetrable, but even Shieldbearers have limits, and Adren had left her flank unfortified.
  10. outcropping
    part of a rock formation that juts above surrounding land
    You took off again, leaping and stumbling down the slope, toward the village, until you reached an outcropping where the barricade met the hillside—
  11. vagabond
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    Despite her customary scowl, it’s hard to believe she’s the same girl who approached you in Gateway. No longer a vagabond but a warrior. No longer a stranger but your kin.
  12. roiling
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Years ago, on a mountaintop, with the night sky roiling and bunching overhead and thousands of Vedran soldiers swarming up the slopes.
    You look back, over your shoulder, and there’s Amity on the edge of the garden.
  13. marauder
    someone who attacks in search of loot
    You’re leaping at the next marauder, your blade cleaving through the air as they stagger backward under the onslaught.
  14. valorize
    assign or ascribe value and importance to a person or thing
    If this were the war, she would have been celebrated, valorized. Her coffin adorned in silk and carried on a litter through the capital. Her name remembered, recorded, repeated.
  15. overture
    a tentative suggestion to elicit the reactions of others
    Meanwhile, you’re stuck with Leum, who has no interest in romantic overtures, and Siddie, who’s still recovering from the battle.
Created on Tue Aug 25 18:27:49 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Sep 14 22:28:59 EDT 2026)

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