Seraphina: Chapters 4–7

by Rachel Hartman
After a member of the royal court is murdered, half-dragon musical prodigy Seraphina gets drawn into the investigation and uncovers a plot to destroy peace in the kingdom of Goredd.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–13, Chapters 14–23, Chapters 24–37
40 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. avuncular
    being or relating to an uncle
    For someone who’d never intended to declare himself my uncle, Orma took his avuncular duties seriously.
  2. imposition
    the act of enforcing something
    Ard was the way the world should be, the imposition of order upon chaos, an ethical and physical rightness.
  3. antithetical
    sharply contrasted in character or purpose
    Human emotions, messy and unpredictable, were antithetical to ard.
  4. discrete
    constituting a separate entity or part
    Dragons used meditation and what Orma called cognitive architecture to partition their minds into discrete spaces.
  5. inordinate
    beyond normal limits
    There were seventeen, a nice prime number, which interested Orma inordinately.
  6. denizen
    a person who inhabits a particular place
    As long as I kept these peculiar denizens calm and peaceful, I was not troubled by visions.
  7. dissertation
    a treatise advancing a point of view resulting from research
    Orma claimed it was the most unusual mental structure he had ever heard of; he regretted not being able to write a dissertation on it, but I was a secret, even among dragons.
  8. baleful
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    Pelican Man rolled his eyes at me balefully; he was agitated.
  9. wallow
    a puddle where animals go to roll around
    Newt thrashed about under the apple trees, crushing the bluebells; I led him to his wallow and rubbed mud onto his tender head.
  10. pergola
    a framework that supports climbing plants
    Gazebos and pergolas sprouted all over the garden, gifts from His Loudness, and it pleased me to see them.
  11. caterwaul
    make a shrill and unpleasant screeching sound
    He sat upon the lip of the cliff, took three fish and a lady’s nightdress from his bag—caterwauling all the while—and unfolded them into a bridge for me to cross.
  12. homely
    lacking in physical beauty or proportion
    She was a short, stout old woman in a gabled cap and thick spectacles, homely but not overtly grotesque.
  13. palpitation
    a rapid and irregular heart beat
    It took me a moment to spot her—a moment during which I had panicked palpitations—but she was merely on her hands and knees in the dirt behind an unusually large albiflora.
  14. admonish
    warn strongly; put on guard
    “You need to stay here and not go wandering around,” I admonished.
  15. underscore
    give extra weight to
    “Need I underscore to any of you amateur squawkers that our Queen's hospitality—nay, our entire nation's worth—will be judged by the quality of our performances when Ardmagar Comonot is here?”
  16. miscreant
    a person without moral scruples
    Think that’s funny, you tone-deaf miscreants?
  17. irascible
    quickly aroused to anger
    I gaped at him; I’d glimpsed an excitable young man inside the irascible old one.
  18. veritable
    being truly so called; real or genuine
    He built the Comonot Countdown Clock in the cathedral plaza, too; he’s a veritable prodigy.
  19. brocade
    thick expensive material with a raised pattern
    She loved pearl-studded brocade and was possessed of more confidence than I could imagine having.
  20. deride
    treat or speak of with contempt
    “I know deriding dragons is something of a national sport for us Goreddis, but Ardmagar Comonot is coming soon, and I do not think he would be amused by that kind of talk.”
  21. parity
    functional equality
    “We didn’t defeat them, whatever you may have been told. Our dracomachia gave us approximate parity; they couldn’t win without taking unacceptable losses. It’s not a surrender so much as a truce.”
  22. supercilious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    I disliked her supercilious tone but could not say so.
  23. apt
    being of striking appropriateness and relevance
    “We do not either smell bad!” said Millie.
    “To them we do.” This analogy was proving particularly apt, so I took it to its logical conclusion.
  24. detritus
    the remains of something that has been destroyed or finished
    I beat as much of the stain out as I could and swept the gleaming detritus into the fireplace.
  25. offal
    viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal
    Down near the river, the air was sweet with woodsmoke and rich with someone’s garlicky dinner, then dense with the reek of a backyard cesspit. Or maybe offal—was I near a butcher’s?
  26. pedantic
    marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning
    Even these small dragons were pedantically precise.
  27. histrionic
    overly dramatic or emotional
    “You can’t go into your own cellar but there’s one curled up in a crate of onions,” said Shorty, flapping his arms histrionically.
  28. purveyor
    someone who supplies provisions, especially food
    Behind him, Silas and Louisa chatted at the guards, asking them to mention the Broadwick brothers, purveyors of sturdy woolens, to the Queen.
  29. ethereal
    characterized by lightness and insubstantiality
    I reached out my hands to touch them; they lit upon me, shimmering and ethereal.
  30. petulant
    easily irritated or annoyed
    “On whether you would help me write these songs?" he says, and there is something childish in his voice. Petulant.
  31. surreptitious
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    Servants lit chandeliers and smoothed tablecloths onto sideboards, stealing surreptitious glances at me.
  32. austerity
    extreme plainness
    The Samsamese were known for austerity, but even they outshone me here. Their merchants dressed in browns in town; their courtiers wore expensive blacks, contriving to be simultaneously sumptuous and severe.
  33. beatific
    experiencing or displaying extreme joy or bliss
    The princess gleamed in gold and white, brocade encrusted with seed pearls; she beamed beatifically at the entire room and let a Ninysh courtier lead her to a seat.
  34. regale
    occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
    I turned to see Josef, Earl of Apsig, regaling three Goreddi ladies-in-waiting with a tale...
  35. fen
    low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation
    It was his own dog—a lovely brindle snaphound called Una—who found him, lying faceless and facedown in the nearby fens.
  36. fodder
    soldiers regarded as expendable under artillery fire
    Unfounded arrests would give the Sons more fodder and bring new ones out of the woodwork.
  37. qualm
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    Apparently he has no qualms about receiving the benefits of our mad-Porphyrian-inspired treaty without having to shoulder any of the risks himself.
  38. remiss
    failing in what duty requires
    Have I been remiss in expecting reason and decency to prevail, when I should have rolled up my sleeves and enforced them?
  39. discomfit
    cause to lose one's composure
    The humans in the room looked sheepish; the dragons, discomfited.
  40. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
    Orma had told me that interbreeding violated ard so egregiously that no dragon would entertain the idea that I was possible, let alone utter it aloud.
Created on Thu Apr 28 12:44:21 EDT 2022 (updated Fri May 06 15:58:55 EDT 2022)

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