#wonder how dex would think about it now that brant's dead

[bookwyrminspiration]

juline and dex were cousins by blood, so they have probably interacted before, and he may have even met Brant. there is probably something in the books that contradicts this, but how do you think he would have felt that his kidnapper was his cousin's fiance? and that was the same guy that killed his cousin

As interesting as it would be to see Dex's reaction to something like there, you're right: there is something in the books that contradicts this. In book one Alden explains that "Grady and Edaline lost their only daughter about fifteen years ago" (pg 128, paperback). And since in book one Dex is a level 2, that makes him about 12-ish at the time. Jolie died a few years before he was even born, so they wouldn't have ever had a chance to meet or for him to meet Brant through her.

We could instead look at how it might've felt for Dex to know that he does have some relation to Brant, that if things had worked out differently they would've been family! That a cousin he never got to meet was killed by her fiance, someone he would've come to know. Someone who might've been a role model to him. I mean, Jolie and Brant were a bad match and so are Dex's parents, so that's a significant shared experience the two of them have that they could've bonded over.

Brant was (from what i can remember) really upset with how the system worked, and Dex also held/holds a grudge against it. And yet they somehow ended up on entirely different sides of the battle.

So I think a lot of the shock from the situation would come from him overthinking all the what ifs? What if Brant hadn't accidentally started that fire? Would Jolie have been able to turn him from the Neverseen? Would he have gotten to meet both of them? Would he have been related to Brant through marriage? Would they have spent time together? Would they have shared ideas? If Brant was still in the Neverseen would he have tried to recruit him? What if he'd accepted?

It's a really huge vague possibility, because there are so many things that could've happened but didn't and he'll never know what it would've been. But he and Brant were potentially a lot closer to each other than they ever realized. And now this person who helped in his and Sophie's kidnapping, permanently scarred them, and attacks the people he cares about has a relation to him. A kinda "what could have been" situation. because in a different world they would've been family, they might've even been close, and they're aware that it could've happened but didn't come to fruition, so they have this history that isn't there. Let me see if I can think of a comparison. You know when something happens like you break a glass and shards fly everywhere and you're like "...a piece of that could've gone in my eye," but it didn't yet you still know it could've happened. It didn't happen, but you still know. That kinda vibe mixed with a whole bunch of anger over what Brant's done to them.

While Dex might not have felt the exact things you were describing, it's possible that Juline and Kesler could've, as they were also related by blood to Jolie and could've met Brant. For Dex it's a what could have been situation, but still fascinating to look at so thanks for bringing it up!