Restore Me

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and mental illness.

Juliette Ferrars notes her increased tolerance for violence since winning the war that made her the supreme commander of the Reestablishment two weeks prior, an event from the end of Ignite Me. Even so, she feels persistently filled with “half terror, half exhilaration” as she waits for other governments’ responses (9). When her best friend, Kenji Kishimoto, storms into the room, she assumes the worst. However, Kenji is upset because he gave Juliette’s boyfriend, Aaron Warner, a bad haircut. Warner enters. Kenji calls Warner a “psychopath,” referencing the previous enmity between Warner and Juliette’s allies.

When Kenji leaves, Warner admits his struggles to make friends, though he has been trying to befriend Kenji because Juliette asked him to. Warner and Juliette kiss, which she finds a pleasant, albeit brief, distraction from her struggles with leadership. She is most suspicious because none of the other governments have challenged her. She sees this as their attempt to frame her coup as insignificant. Castle, a former resistance leader and Juliette’s mentor, encourages her to host a summit; Oceania has agreed to attend.