It was not a good time for her daughter, Astrid thinks. She'd lost her rank, and while Astrid had never understood ambition, Avery had always dreamed of being Jack, or Queen, or Ace. Jack had been the only one within reach, and now it was out of reach again, because unless the new Jack did a spectacularly bad job, Avery wouldn't challenge her. She'd lost a friend, and at the time there had been no indication that she'd ever be fully functional again.

The only thing she has left to say is something that's hard for any woman to hear. "Avery used to admire you very much," she says. "That's paled recently. Now she thinks you believe her unworthy to be a member of your Suit, and I imagine relations are mostly strained because of that."