C: Welcome back to the podcast and welcome back to Crescent City. We officially survived House of Earth and Blood, although emotionally we're not sure we can say the same about ourselves. But apparently we learned nothing because we've picked up House of Sky and Breath and voluntarily decided to do this all over again. Today we're starting our deep dive into book two. And we're jumping right back into it with Bryce Hunt and the wonderfully chaotic world of Crescent City. We've got new mysteries, new threats, new characters, and hopefully a few answers to the approximately one million questions we were left with at the end of the first book. Of course, this is Sarah J. Maas we're talking about. So we're fully expecting that every answer will probably come with three more questions, at least one emotional breakdown. And a detail we won't realize is important until 400 pages later. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and get ready to return to Crescent City with us. The theories are already forming, the conspiracy board is back, and we're ready to find out what happens next. Let's get into House of Sky and Breath. So this is our first set of chapters for House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas. things ended crazy in the end of book one. Bryce has a crazy amount of power, slightly more than the Autumn King. She has also now come out to the world as another heir to the starborn line, just like Ruhn her brother. Hunt is Free. He is no longer a slave. and we are not sure what he's going to be doing into this book because they also killed Micah and Sandriel at the end of book one. So we don't know who the new Archangel is going to be just yet. we're not gonna learn We're gonna get little hints, but we're gonna get to meet her in our next episode as we jump into those later chapters. But let's jump in. So we actually start with a prologue instead of a full on chapter, and we get to to meet some new characters in this prologue. We do get some names in this prologue, but we also get some code names because this is from the perspective of one of the ophian spies, one of the spies in or one of the rebels for ophian So her name is Sophie Renast. And we find out that she has some kind of crazy power that we do and don't get descriptions on. But Sophie has been surviving in one of the death camps known as Kavala for the last two weeks. she's been there because she's trying to find her brother. and she mentions the dreadwolves had not sniffed her out. We're gonna find out that Sophie is and isn't Veneer. that she had been crammed inside of cattle cars and covered with the scent of them and everything else. And so because of that, the dreadwolves were not able to sniff out the fact that she is vainier. we do get a little bit of information from Sophie that about half of Ophian's rebel bases had fallen at this point. More would soon, but the only two places that exist for her are the here and now, where she is in Kavala looking for her brother, and then also the port of Sir Vast, which is her destination after she frees herself and her brother. 'Cause that is where the getaway boat is to try and take them away from Kavala. Hopefully they're able to escape. she is a rare type of veneer and human mix where she is actually able to switch between human and veneer identities and that it was very rare to be a human who had actually made the drop. Technically made her veneer, but not quite. so we do find out that Sophie has made the drop. She did it under the radar the radar in a back alley, highly illegal drop center, where a satyr had been her anchor, handing over her first light had been the cost of the ritual. And that she spent the years since that learning how to wear h her humanity like a cloak. But now she's happy with the veinier and the powers that she has because she is in the process of freeing herself and six six girls and five boys, as well as her brother from the Kavala death camp. All of them are their or most likely parents. Their parents were rebels who'd either been caught or sold out, just like her parents had been. And she tells us then that. Three years ago, she had been studying at one of the university libraries with her friends and arrived home at midnight to find the windows broken in their home, front door was shattered, and someone had painted rebel stuff on their house. And so she was able to run before the dread wolf guard sniffed her out. And then she read so many reports, joined Ophian and Essentially to find her brother, because that is the last piece of family that she has, finding out that her parents were both dead. So she joined Ophian thinking that they would be able to help her get the resources that she needed to find her brother. And she's been working with them for the last three years, because they've been dangling that piece of information over her head, having her do mission after mission, killing multiple people who are enemies to the rebellion. all so that she can hopefully find her brother. And she's told them that her brother has the same powers that she has in an attempt to get them to put more weight, to put more importance on her brother, hopefully meaning that they would help find her find him faster for her. and she'd finally talked Ophian into telling her where her brother Emil is and he is in the Kavala Death Camp. she does mention Pippa, who is one of the leaders of the rebellion. she's not the top of the top tier. She's not part of command, which kind of overrules the whole rebellion, but she is high up there. And that Pippa values Sophie as one of their top assets. And so Pippa is not going to do anything to jeopardize Sophie because she wants to keep Sophie on their side. and when she went into the Kavala death camp, Sophie was actually able to find out information on the Asteri that is very vital intel. And so sh that's pushed put more and or more importance on her. And so she's hoping that because she was able to find this information out before she went in, that means that Ophian will actually hold up their end of the bargain and that the boat waiting to rescue them is actually going to be there. And be able to take her and Emile to safety. and we don't actually find out in these set of in this prologue what that information is that she learned, but that the blow could end it. End the Asteri so her plan was to get into the camp, find her brother, and then she sent out a little bit of power the night before to tell a friend or another one of the operatives in Ophian where to meet that in 24 hours later. So this is where they're going to be meeting a van to try and take them to the port of Servat so that they can hop onto the boat and escape. so we do get a little bit of information on what Sophie's power is because she comes up to a fence. And it is an electric fence. And Sophie is able to grab that power and kind of bring it into her and it kind of crackles through her, becoming her hers to use as she wished. so just with one thought, she is able to turn the fence's power outward, her fingertips sparkling where they curled against the metal, and the metal turned orange and red beneath her hand, and she's able to slice her palm down. Skin so blistering hot, it cleaved metal and wire. And so she is able to then suck the power from the fence again and then send it out across the camp. And the spotlights ruptured so that all of the the lights and the electric fence, all of it kind of go out so that they're able to escape. This is gonna give them a distraction. And so they go running up over the hill, through the little bit of woods, away from the camp. She does mention that there are dread wolves that are coming after them. They have flashlights, but she pulls the electricity, the first light out of them. so that they can't actually see as well because the dreadwolves are in their human form, they're not in their shifter forms. So the dreadwolves are primarily wolf shifters, and we'll find out a little bit more about them in a couple of pages. but they do get to the van, and that is where Agent Silverbow is. We don't get much of a description on Agent Silverbow, just that his it is he it is a he. he had been waiting for her. And that his hair is slicked back. We don't know what ki what color of hair, how fair his or dark his skin is. We don't get any sort of description on him, because we are essentially she is keeping his identity secret from us. But his hair is pulled back and he's wearing a guard's uniform just to make sure that he blends in. We find out that he is angling for the same promotion that Pippa is angling for, and that he probably shouldn't be here helping her, but he is. We do find out that that is because they have a relationship between them. that they have kind of grown close to close over the time that they've spent together, and it has grown to I don't think she mentions quite towards love, but it's it's in that. That regard. and so because of his feelings for Sophie, he is there to try and help her and protect her. we do find out that Sophie has kind of gone into Kavala thinking that she may not live and her goal is to only make sure that her brother gets out, that she'd prepared for that eventuality, had already handed over her calm crystal, which we're not sure what a calm crystal is, but we can at least guess that it's probably some sort of like walkie talkie, only in a crystal form, that she had handed it over to Command before she went into Kavala. and that that was the sole line of communication to her to their most valuable spy. And she knew that they'd keep the small chunk of quartz safe, just as Silver would keep Emil safe, because he had given her his word. So they are chased in the van by the dreadwolves. They get to a point where they're going fast enough that they can't see them, but they do they are being chased by them. They make that into the town. Of Bodegraven, and it is very quiet. All of the people, as if knowing something's going on outside, all everyone's in their homes, they've stayed in their homes. So they do get out of the van and are running to the dock trying to make it there, where the boat thankfully still is. but Silver stops all of them because they realize that there is someone everywhere around them, and it is the dreadwolves. So they start running again, and that's when Sophie realizes that it is the hind who is there with her elite dreadwolves. And we find out, we found out in the last in the first book that the hind is one of the triari for Sandril, who's now dead, but we also found out that she is like the The rebel hunter, the spy hunter. That is her main goal. And she has excelled at being good at that, at tracking down rebels and getting them to give her information. So Sophie decides to run in an opposite direction. Silver takes the children down to the dock to get on the boat. Sophie runs, like I said, in opposite direction, trying to drag or draw all the wolves away. she mentions that they're in their human forms, wearing their imperial uniforms. And she mentions that they have tiny silver darts glimmering along their collars, a dart for every rebel spy broken. Only one type of dread wolf had those silver darts, and that's the hind's private guard, the most elite of the shifters. Because we did find out that the hind is also a shifter. She is like a deer shifter. and so she draws them into a courtyard and Sophie opens up the fountain in the middle of this courtyard and has water come pouring out. So by the time she makes it up onto the side of the fountain, all the dread wolves have come in and they're standing in a few inches of water. And so she uses the electricity that she can pull from the houses and all of the lights in the little town, pulls it all into herself and then throws it out into the water and completely like is it disintegrates them, electrocutes them, burns them, there are lots of charred pieces of dreadwolves left. And they call her a Thunderbird. And Sophie mentions that she smelled like and could pass for a human, but in her veins lurked an ability that could kill in an instant. The Asteri had long ago hunted most Thunderbirds to extinction. She'd never learned how her great grandmother had survived, but the descendants had kept the bloodline secret. She had kept it secret. And we find out that her grandmother had had it. Or her great grandmother had had it, and then it jumped all the way down to Sophie as the next one in their family who actually has the power. K: So are we thinking hunt is related? C: Are we? K: Does that make him a Thunderbird? I mean, 'cause he was the only one in existence that they knew of that had any kind of powers like that. And now we're we've got this secret bloodline that no one knew about. Or that was forgotten I guess. C: Right? And who was looking into bloodlines in the last book? Danika. So it makes me wonder why she was looking into bloodlines, because now we have mention of another bloodline. But K: Mm. C: it's also so Hunt's power is lightning. K: Mm. C: And K: Yeah, so I guess he can't he doesn't really draw from he just has it. Okay. C: Right. Yes. Cause anytime he mentions using his power, it doesn't mention anything about drawing from like the electricity around K: Mm. C: him or the electricity in the sky, just that he has it. K: Mm-hmm. C: So I don't think so. K: Okay. C: Because Sophie doesn't have the electricity, she has to draw it in. K: Okay. C: so after she kills all of those dread wolves then she does start running towards the dock, trying to make it there so that she can join them on the boat. and then realizes That they are already, the boat is already moving away from the dock, which she says is fine. I'll just start swimming. And then she says, Silver will just be able to come and grab me from wherever I am. So we're not quite sure what kind of power that is. It kind of sounds like winnowing, but we don't know for sure. And then she can see him on the boat, and he does have a a blood coming down from his shoulder. And she realizes that it was a bullet with a core of. Gorzian stone, which is the stone that we saw in Hunt's manacles in the last book, that it actually stifles and cuts off your magic. So because of that, his magic is stifled and he won't be able to use his power to come and save her. So she is not able to get to the boat, to the to the dock in time to join them. They end up sailing away. and then we switch gears and we are from Pippa Hearse perspective. she is on board one of the main rebel ships, and she is watching the other little boat coming from the city of Bodograbin. In the port of Survast. So she is waiting for Emile and hopefully Sophie to actually come on to waiting for their little boat to come to her boat so she can rescue them. but they do realize that Sophie is not on the boat, that Sophie is actually still on the dock. They can see her from their point of view, from the ship. and they notice that there are four omegas. that are following the little boat. That Ancient Silverbow has the Gor Gorzian bullet in his shoulder, so he can't bring them to them. And they Pepper realizes that the Omegas are going to sink the ship. And they realize that they would do anything. Just to keep children from escaping one of their death camps. Like that's how hard set they are on destroying all of the rebels that they can't even let a few children go from the death camps. So it's actually Sophie who saves the day. she draws all of the power away from the Omegas and she manages to do it for all three of them despite being shot multiple times with the Gorzian bullet. And we find out That Sophie's strange gift was not only electricity, but first light power too that she could pull from. Any energy type was hers to command to suck into herself. Her kind had been, again, as we mentioned before, hunted to extinction by these theories centuries ago, because of that mighty, uncontrollable gift, or so it had seemed. And one of the people on the boat is trying to figure out who is knocking out the Omegas, mentions, well, maybe is it an angel? And Pippa is thinking, no, there were no angels among the few veneer in Ophian, which I think is interesting because in the last book we had a couple of angels rebel or start to rebel again. But there aren't actually any angels in Ophian at this point. The final Omega ship does send out a couple of brimstone torpedoes, but Sophie is actually able to pull those, pull the energy from those and wipe them out as well. And we find out that it's actually the first light she had to pull from the omegas and from the torpedoes. And that the first light actually hurt to use much more than the electricity, that it charred her insides even as it left her, craving more of its potent power. So it makes it sound like the first light is also more powerful than the electricity, which makes sense because we saw what kind of power first light had at the end of book one when Bryce's first light healed everyone who was hurt in the city, including the city itself. So the hind at that point does get to Sophie. She does not torture her for information, which is a little odd based on what we've heard about the hind in the past. She just asks Sophie a couple of times, who did you tell about the info? The in the intel that you took in. And Sophie tells her every time that she didn't tell anyone. so the hind is talking to her. The hind assumes that it is actually the brother who took out the Omega ships because at that point Sophie had a Gorzian bullet in her leg. The Hind doesn't realize that it was actually Sophie who was still using her power, still able to use her power, even with one of those bullets in her thigh. And so she's talking to Sophie saying, Since your brother has bestowed such a death upon A multitude of Imperial soldiers. This will be an apt punishment for you. And she is actually going to drown Sophie. But she pulls a white, a small white stone from her pocket, lifting it for Sophie to see, and then chucked it into the water, observed it with her veneer sharp eyes as it dropped down. And then tells Sophie at that depth, you'll likely drown before you hit the seafloor. we do get mention of one of of a name of one of the Heinz dreadwolves, and his name is Mordok. He is the Hines second in command, almost as feared as his commander, especially with his particular gifts. But we don't learn what kind of gifts that is. He is questioning the Hind, essentially saying, We need to keep Sophie alive. We need to torture it out of her. And the Hind's response is, I'm not wasting my time on this. She says she didn't tell anyone, so the intel will die with her. so she then they do attach lead to her feet so that she sinks to the bottom. And then it's interesting because then the Hind stood a phantom chill, a phantom in the chilled mist of the h of the Haldron Sea and watched until Sophie Renast had been wrapped in Ogenes' embrace. And that is the end of our prologue. Then we have part one, the chasm, which is a continuation of our part names from the first book. mimicking the names of the different levels of Hel. So we now have the chasm. And we finally get our first couple of chapters with all of the characters that we met in book one. Bryce, Ruhn, Hunt, and we actually get some interactions, well, some short interactions with her mom and stepdad. but we actually get to start this book with her and Hunt. all dress up fancy along with her mom and stepdad going to a ballet because they are going to see juniper have multiple solos. this is not quite her debut but she has a lot more solos in this one. and this is our first glimpse at the aftermath of everything that happened at the end of the last book. yes, we got a little bit in the first couple of days after what happened, but this is actually a couple of months past. I think it's been about three months so Bryce is at this point very well known for having saved the city. people are blatantly ogling her and when she is walking around with Hunt, it just adds to it. and she mentions that something like this had happened every single day since the attack had happened. that some people are happy that they need to come up and talk to her because she saved someone that they were close to. there are other people who hadn't been healed by her, and we find out there were actually 5,000 other people that had actually died that day that she wasn't able to save. And so Bryce as well as her mom and Randall have gotten to the ballet a little bit early. Hunt is hasn't quite made it there. They're all decked out in their finery. And they're walking around the lobby space looking at different tapestries and different carvings. And this is where Bryce is mentioning that she's noticing multiple people are looking at her. Her mom just cracks me up. Sometimes. Other times her mom just annoys the crap out of me. But this part I think is funny because then her mom just says to those who are ogling her, why don't you take a picture? well it's ten gold if you want a picture and fifteen if you want to be in it. So her mom's trying to like M: Yeah. C: pimp her out, trying to get some money for all of this this craziness. but I think it's interesting because as they're walking around the lobby and looking at the different freezes that are up. they are all in I think the ancient fae language, so only she's able to read them. Her mom and Randall are not, but she's just walking around, pointing them out, reviewing them. And then she does come up to one that she sends a picture to Hunt of because Randall says it reminds him of Hunt. And it is a powerful fee male stood poised above an anvil, hammer raised skyward in one fist, lightning cracking from the skies, filling the hammer, and flowing down toward the object of the hammer's intended blow, a sword. And this is labeled unknown sculptor, Palmyra, circle one twenty-five VE. So that would have been 125 years after the veneer got to Midgard. But I just pointed out because it reminds me of Thor so much. And this is not the first Thor reference that we get in this set of chapters. so there is a little back and forth between Ember and Bryce. Ember wants to know why she and Hunt aren't officially a couple. We're gonna find out why that is. we're gonna find out that Ember is asking what her she's upset with the not upset with the job that Bryce now has, but she's upset with the fact that Bryce is now working in the fae archives and she no longer has a job with Jesiba. that Jesiba hasn't gotten rid of her antiquities dealing completely, but she no longer has an actual gallery, that everything is just housed in her warehouse right now. and Bryce only saw Jesiba once. We'll find out in a couple pages that Bryce was snooping around the gallery trying to find some of the old books, and Jesiba essentially caught her and told her politely, don't come back here. They're already gone. You're never gonna find them. No one is ever gonna find them. so they continue walking. Around the freezes. And I think it's interesting because at one point she comes up to one that's part of a larger collection. and that it had been part of a collection that would likely wrap around the entire exterior of the building. So quite a few in this collection. but that each slab was telling a different part of the story. And it makes me wonder what the other freezes say or have as part of the story, because this one says, Thus the seven princes of Hel looked in envy upon Midgard and unleashed their unholy hordes upon our united armies. So at some point, someone was united with the armies of Hel and then they turned against them. And we got at the very end of book one. Jesiba and Adis, Prince of the Chasm, talking. And Jezeba says to him, Don't betray us this time. And he says, I won't. So we're getting little bits and pieces of a story. We just don't have enough to see the whole picture yet. Then we have the discussion between Bryce and her mom talking about the job in the fae archives, that she that there were another openings for her, but this one worked out. we do have it mentioned that she hasn't spoken to the Autumn King in the three months since everything happened, which kind of surprises me a little bit. that he didn't reach out to her or vice versa, but we're gonna find out what his power play is in a couple of chapters. but we do find out that Bryce actually likes her job. That she's in a private wing of the fae Archives that ho housed a trove of ancient artifacts that had been neglected over the centuries and now needed researched and catalogued so that they could be sent on a traveling exhibit next spring. So that is her job. And then her mom turns to another freeze and says, This is JJ, as in Jelly Jubilee that we met in the first book. And it is actually a rendering of a Pegasus. Not quite a unicorn Pegasus, like Bryce's childhood toy but a normal Pegasus charging into battle. An armed figure, helmet obscuring any telltale features, rototoped beast, sword upraised. And this picture is actually of the first wars. so they do make it up to their box, which they are staying in a box for this one. It was given to them. and partially because no one likes to sit behind an angel because she can't see over their wings. Hunt does finally show up in a nice suit. Bryce and Ham are just kind of ogling each other back and forth. This is a very consistent theme over the next couple of chapters. Lots of ogling and nothing more. a waiter comes to actually bring them some champagne, says that it's from Juniper. Hunt pulls out a little white pill though and drops it in because he wants to make sure that the champagne is not poisoned or drugged. and so if the little white pill turns green, then it has been, but it stays white, so she's all good to drink it. She does notice that Fury is sitting in the front row. and that they are doing well. And they officially moved Fury and Juniper officially officially moved in together two weeks ago. We do get some get to see some back and forth between Hunt and Bryce with them kind of teasing each other, flirting. We do find out that they've made a bargain and agreed to not take things to the next level yet, but flirting and kind of teasing each other that's all fair game. that they would be friends a little bit more than friends, but not the physical benefits. He does tell her that she looks beautiful and her response is, I know. Okay. we find out that the reason she chose to make the bond, there are a couple reasons to it, but she wanted to not just jump right into bed together, that she wanted to wait until winter solstice and spend the summer and the autumn actually getting to know each other. without the burdens of the archangels and the demons and everything that they had to go through over the last couple of months. So she's been cherishing these last couple of months with him. She has gone back to dancing with the madam that Juniper set her up with in the dance class. So she has consistently been going to that. And she talks about how her and Hunt have been able to stay up some nights just talking, getting to know each other. becoming closer before they take on that step physically. we do find out that she has a star scar on her chest, right in between her breasts, and it does start glowing at the oddest times. She can't figure out yet why it starts glowing. So it does start glowing at this point after the lights have dimmed to start the performance. But Hunt slides a hand over the scar and is able to cover it for the most part with his palm. after the ballet, Bryce drops her parents at their hotel 'cause she can't stand the questions from her mother anymore. So they go to Ruhn's house for a little a small get together is how Ruhn boarded it. essentially his house is full of people. K: Just wanted to point out it's eight pointed. Yeah. C: It is. Okay. So it is an eight eight pointed star scar that she has on her chest. So they get to Ruhn's house. Bryce goes over to say hello to Ruhn says hi to Flynn and Declan as well. Declan's. boyfriend Mark is also there. He actually calls her princess. And Flynn's response is, Since when do you let Mark get away with calling you princess? And her response is, Because I like him better than you. So only Mark is allowed to call her princess. we do find out that Juniper had received a standing ovation after finishing her performances and that Bryce had never heard the C C B so full of cheering and from Juniper's flush and Joy's face, she as she had bowed, she knew that she d Juniper had realized it as well. so they kind of tease Bryce about her parents, asking how many times her mother interrogated her. Bryce responds with six in the time that they were together. she does get to join Juniper and Fury with Hunt to chat with them as well. Juniper also wants to call her Princess, and Bryce is like, Nope, no one is allowed to call me princess. Of course, then Hunt rock. Hunt walks back over from getting her a drink and immediately calls her princess. So we see only certain people are allowed to call her princess. But for the most part she's not a fancy. and then we do switch to Hunt's perspective as he's observing Bryce chat with Juniper and Fury. He does let us know that there are actually no scars that remain on her body other than the scar star on her chest, and then the thick scar from years ago across her thigh from the Kristallos demon. And then we find out exactly what had been decided. He when the night that he came back from helping Isaiah after Micah was killed, that he had planned to ravish her that night. And she actually put a pause to it, asked if they could take things slow, that she felt like they had tumbled into all of this, and now that things were getting back to normal, she wanted to do this the right way, to get to know him in real time, not while they were running around the city trying to solve murders. But he also knows that it's a little bit more than that, that there's some guilt that she's harboring for those who had died. And that allowing herself to be with him, excuse me, to be with him, to be happy, it was it was too much. She still felt a little too much guilt for it. So because of that, she needs a little bit more time to sort it out. And Hunt's okay with giving her that. We do find out though through all of these chapters that Bryce is actually talking to people about the things that happened, specifically to Hunt. They've gone through a lot of what happened, talked through different things. whereas after Danika died and the pack of devils, Bryce didn't talk to anyone about it. She didn't want anyone to talk about it, whereas now she is actually allowing herself to discuss it and to try and heal after everything that happened. So definite adjustment from the first book to the second book. Hunt wants to know or she asks. Bryce asks Hunt if he actually likes coming to these parties. Does it not disgust him seeing all of these people who don't feel guilty and probably have no idea what Hunt had to go through or what he's gone through as a slave? and his response is, well, no, I don't, it doesn't disgust me. And but he turns it on her then and asks, Well, why do you come to these parties if it bothers you? And her response is, Because I want to feel normal, but then I feel guilty about that. And then I get mad at all of these people who don't care enough to feel guilty. So she's on like this incessant loop. And I think the poison testing pill you no doubt put in my whiskey had some sort of sad potion in it, because I don't know why I'm thinking about this right now. And he's like. Sad potion. Really. And he teases her a little bit and then says, Well, I prefer to think that people are enjoying their lives. You can't assume that because they're here, it means that they don't care. That for all we know, a lot of them lost family and friends this spring. Sometimes people need stuff like this to feel alive again to find that kind of release. we do find out that we have not met the next archangel in the last three months. That Isaiah has kind of been running things and Hunt has been his unofficially p appointed commander, only unofficially because Hunt doesn't want to take on the amount of paperwork that would come with the position, but that the two of them have kind of been running things as much as they can while the Asteri decided who the new archangels are going to be. So they need one archangel who's going to cover over Sandriel's territories, and then another archangel over Valbara, which was Micah's territories. So Hunt does receive an email from Isaiah while they're there at the party with the list of who the new archangels are going to be. And Bryce wants to know who, and Hunt has a very concerned look on his face, and his response is they're not. Bad, and that's the problem. They're not bad archangels like Sandriel was. So we have the name of the first one, and that is Ephraim. He currently shares Rodinia with someone named Jacob. he seems decent enough, but he's going to northern Pangiera to Sandriel's place. Celestina is the archangel who's going to take over Micah's. territory. So he will be over or she'll be over Valbara and Crescent City. Hunt tells her that she stayed out of the spotlight. She oversees Nenia, which is a population of like 50 is his response. She has one Legion under her command. She doesn't even have a Triari and the Legion is literally controlled by the Asteri. All watchdogs for the Northern Rift. She is a figurehead. Everything that Hunt has heard about her, she sounds unusually nice. And Bryce's response is is there a chance that it's true? And Hunt says, Well, based on archangels, I'm gonna go with no, because most of them are not nice. And then Fury chimes in as well and says, For what it's worth, I haven't heard anything bad either. And Hunt can't figure out why the Asteri would appoint her in this area, because she's only handled a small territory until now, and he's thinking that she must be their puppet. Juniper and Bryce are trying to look on the positive side, thinking that so many bad things have happened to us that we might not trust when something actually good happens. And that maybe we got lucky with Celestina's appointment. she is coming the following evening and so Hunt will need to be at the C B D to welcome her. Bryce reminds Hunt because based on the look on his face, she can tell he's he's a little concerned about it. She reminds him that he's free, that Celestina can't do anything, can't order him to do anything. He has essentially the rights of a citizen. that it was he him who chose to re enlist with the thirty third and that if you don't like her, he doesn't have to if he doesn't like her, then he doesn't have to continue working for her. But he just mentioned that Celestinia could make their life very difficult. And Price's responses, I'd like to see her try. I'm the super powerful and special magic starborn princess. That's the new name that she's given for herself. And she tells him, I'll protect you. Don't worry. And we do find out that she's been meeting with Ruhn once a week to explore her magic to learn more about what lay beneath beneath within her veins, fueled by the power of so many. Her magic only manifested as starlight, a purely fee gift, no shadows like Ruhn possessed or fire like her father, but the sheer force of her power came from all those who'd given a droplet of their magic to their gates over the years, all combined to make some kind of fuel to increase the potency of her starlight, or something like that. Bryce had tried to explain it why the magic manifested as a fey talent. But Hunt didn't care where it came from as long as it kept her safe. And then he does mention that the he technically on the power scale outranks both her and her father, but with the horn etched in her back, who really knows the depths of Bryce's powers? nope, go for it. K: So sorry. With her powers, have you guys been when she glows? I know you already know, right? What but have you been trying to figure out if there's something special going on when she glows or if she's like feeling a certain emotion or if it's somebody that's coming around her? M: I've I've been trying to figure out the pinpoint, especially because of what happens in the next couple pages. K: Yeah. M: I've been wondering is it like a like calls to like? Something singing in her blood type of a thing K: I didn't think about that. M: at that you know how that phrasing has been kind K: Mm-hmm. M: of thrown in there something in my blood thrumbing making me so I've kind of wondered if it's something like that. But then 'cause I'm still trying to ignore my brain of which which what what order the series actually supposed to be in? What K: Mm-hmm. M: You know, so trying to ignore that, I then find myself also sitting there going, Well, Fayer lit up. And so I keep tying back to Akawar and Akatar. C: She did. M: Cause she lit up. And then even when the Thunderbird was mentioned, it took me till just now when we were going through the prologue to realize, okay, it was a firebird, I believe, that was mentioned in Akiwar, not Thunderbird. C: Correct. M: because I was thinking for a second, I was trying to tie her to I was trying to tie those together. So I've been my my conspiracy board probably could take up my three walls in my office right now. So yes. I I've been wondering if it's more of the like calls to like or possibly a faded mate type thing that she could deny. K: Well, it threw me off because it happened when she was sitting in the theater and I was you know, and I didn't I was trying to figure out what might have happened. So then I thought it might be more emotion because I don't that specific person wasn't around when it you know what I'm talking about? So I don't know. true, true. C: How do we know that he wasn't in the theater? Because he came that night. K: I like this. C: Because Bryce doesn't know what he M: And C: looks like M: she C: until he meets until she meets him in Ruhn's house. K: true. C: So I did skip over that part. There are fae across M: Because she mentions Flynn's parents, the Lord and Lady, and then I thought she mentioned some people she didn't know. So I kind K: Mm. M: of wondered that one too. C: Uh-huh. M: Especially after the scene when he well, we'll talk about it in a couple of chapters, but since we're talking about it now, when he's at her office, that kind of was tying it together for me. C: So M: So I'm not sure, but I'm wondering if it's something like the sword or K: Also, I know we're supposed to hate him, but I don't think that I do at the moment. So there's that. C: The one we're gonna meet in a minute? Yeah. K: Yeah. M: I'm at a what the heck I want to read further to figure it out. K: Uh-huh. M: Like that's what that's where I'm at. C: I feel like Sarah has taught us not to immediately hate some males right off the bat. Even if they sound like they're being little butts. I feel like she's taught us not to hate them immediately because Eris is like that and we don't hate him. And Rhys was kinda like that and we definitely don't hate him. So I can understand that. M: Well and if we get to chapter eight or through chapter eight today, even with what Quin Lynn says at the tail end of her conversation with Jesiba had me going Okay, is she saying that to appease Jesiba or are those her actual thoughts since she's away from Hunt in a place where he's not gonna know what she's thinking in the And is there a reason she's feeling that way? Is it something like a like call to like pull or something she's feeling like when Farah felt the music when she was in the cell? You know, those those things that are just bringing them to the people, or like when Rowan was training and Aylen felt that, you know, just a pull. C: Right. M: So I've kind of tried to tie it to that, but I don't know if it's again overreaching because trying to figure out everything in between too. K: Mm-hmm. C: Yes. So M: And C is just gonna laugh at us. C: I mean Yes and no. So you mentioned let's let's go back because I skipped over it. So while they're at the ballet, she does mention seeing some fey nobility across the crowd sitting in another booth. few boxes across the way. No sign of her father or Ruhn but she recognized a few of the cold faces. Tristan Flynn's parents, Lord and Lady Hawthorne, were among them, and their snobby daughter, Safia. But we don't have any mention of anyone else. We don't know, like just describe anyone else in the box, because then their their attention moves. So we'll we'll get to get to him in just a second. Fury does mention that the war is getting closer. It's getting worse in Pangira, and that Valbara is a key territory full of vital resources and appointing someone who all reports. claims is nice, seems idiotic, but they're thinking maybe they do want a puppet in this area to just do whatever the Asteri says. So when the Asteri says, hey, we need more people, more soldiers to help fight the rebels, then Valbaro's troops will just go over without any sort of resistance. And so they're realizing that that's most likely what the case is, but he would have a meeting with her tomorrow. And Bryce says to him, just go in with an open mind. And he says, you mean don't start a fight. And she says, I mean, don't go in there playing scary butthole. Go in there trying to be an approachable butthole for this time. And he's like, okay, approachable butthole it is. So we do switch to Ruhn. he is some having some fun at his party up in his bedroom. I just love Ruhn. He cracks me up. this is this is very reminiscent of when Bryce walked in on him in the first book when he was high and drunk and doing things. Very similar scene. while he is enjoying himself, he's just kind of thinking through some things that have happened in the last couple of months. He is officially declared betrothed to Queen Hypaxia and Endur. and that they had. barely spoken during the summit or in the months afterwards. And he's wondering if what he's doing right now with another female is crossing a line. And his thought process is, well he respects Hypaxia, but until a high priestess bound their hands at Luna's temple, until that titanium ring went on his finger, he'd savor these last months of free freedom. Because at this point, Hypaxia hasn't given them any sort of indication on what the timeline would be for them to marry. and so I think it's interesting he mentioned the titanium ring, which is a medal we haven't gotten in any of the worlds. So I don't know if it's gonna become something or not, but he specifically mentions that he'll be wearing a titanium ring. but Ruhn is interrupted by Flynn, one of his best friends and roommates, because something has come come to their house and they need Ruhn to help protect. so he comes downstairs, no sign of danger or anything, but there's a prickle at the back of his neck, like a chill wind had skittered over the top of his spine. and that we find out that Deck had spent months designing a system to be placed around their house and the surrounding streets, one that could pick up things like the Cristallo Semen, formerly too fast for their technology to detect. And Flynn tells them that Declan's new security system picked up some kind of anomaly. It's making all the sensors go off, some kind of aura, and it's kind of circling the house. And so Ruhn then mentions the space between the front door darkened exactly as it did when those demons had stormed through the gates. So he's assuming that this is another portal into Hel that is opening up in replace of his front doors. It is not, because a male walks through the door. a figure stalked from the darkness in the doorway, straight out of Hel but not really. And who Ruhn thinks he wasn't looking at a portal to Hel after all, that the shadows that swirled there instead were familiar. They were whispering shadows similar to the power that he has. realizes that the star shaped scar beneath Bryce's t shirt blazed with iridescent light, and that a familiar golden haired fae male strode from those shadows and into the foyer, and Ruhn knew his night was about to make a turn for the worst. So then we switch to Bryce's perspective, the male who appeared out of a cloud of shadows. She might have used the moment to ponder why her star started glowing at the sight of him or at his presence, but she doesn't stop to think about it at this point. She does mention he is ruggedly good handsome good looking or he would be if it wouldn't if it weren't for the complete lack of feeling on his face. He has light brown eyes that are dead and humorless. His thin white sweater over black jeans and combat boots told Bryce he'd come from somewhere much colder. They want to know why he's there, and his response is I was invited. Then he turns to Bryce and says, I don't believe we've met, though I know who you are, of course, because the star was glowing in her chest. And he tells her that you look better than expected. Not that I was expecting much. And then we get a name. Ruhn tells us his name is Cormac. And this is one of rune's cousins. he is the crown prince of the Avallan Fae Bryce does mention that he was powerful and trained in combat from a young age and merciless. He does tell Bryce that he is her cousin. Christ says, I don't have any fae cousins. And Cormac again motions to the star glowing in her chest and says that light says otherwise. And then he tells us that he might be Ruhn's cousin directly through his mother's kin. But her father, King Enar which is the first time we get the Autumn King's actual name, that he is fae, and his line once crossed over with theirs long ago. And Cormac is actually able to. Summon a small amount of flame. Very similar to how Ruhn can summon a small amount of the starlight. And finally, Cormac does answer the question of why he's here, and it is he tells them that he is here to meet his bride, and he is looking at Bryce. Then of course Bryce's response is to just laugh because she doesn't believe him. And Cormac tells her this is not a joke. It has been decreed. Hunt wants to know who decreed it. Of course, it is by the Autumn King, her sire, and the High King of the Avallan fae So it's interesting that we get the Autumn King is the King of the fae in Valbara, but then we have a High King is the King of the Avallan fae I don't know why that's a difference, but that's specifically called out. Cormac says that she is an unwed fae female. That means that she belongs to her male kin until they decide to to pass her to another. The decision has been made. Bryce starts to tell him that she's not his bride, nor is she going to be, and she he can scuttle back to wherever whatever hole he cre he crawled out of and tell her tell his kings to find someone else. But he cuts her off and says, You've got a mouth on you. But he says it that makes and it makes Hunt think that it's more appreciative than it is annoyed that she's talking back. So of course that gets Hunt's hackles risen raised even more. And Bryce's response is to sweetly smile at Cormac and say, I get that you want to play Broody Prince, but don't ever interrupt me again. And Cormac just stares. Hunt's response is to try and hide his spark because of course he loves this. So then Bryce goes on and says, My brother told you to leave his house. You don't want me to have to ask. And her skin begins to glow because she is calling her power up to forcibly remove him. Hunt, because in this whole scenario, we're in Hunt's perspective. He mentions that she had blinded people with her power, and that had been before the drop. With all the magic backing her starlight, he hadn't yet seen how much would manifest and half hoped he'd find out now with this butthole as their test subject. But it doesn't get to that port that point. he then looks to Ruhn, and Ruhn is of course very prideful of his sister as well. That there's pride shining through Ruhn's eyes for Bryce. the prince had been waiting for his sister to step into her power for a while now, and he was honored to have her at his side. So it's a nice little happy brother sister moment for them. So Cormac tells them he wanted to confirm that she had the gift, turns to her and says, Thank you for demonstrating it so nicely. I'll see you at the altar. And then he walks into the shadows that are still roiling in the front door. And Bryce's star winked out the moment he vanished, leaving only drifting embers behind. So let's hear it. M: So I had a thought while you were reading, but I feel like it's already debunked just because of what I've seen online in terms of like reels and all of that stuff. As far as we know, I've seen everybody shipping Bryce and Hunt. They are the couple that stays together through the books, but as far as we know. But in the other two series, you never see the female main character ending up with the first male she's connected to. Didn't happen with Aelin in Throne of Glass, and it didn't happen with Feyre in ACOTAR So Do we know for sure? And this is more not even theorizing, it's just 'cause you can just say yes or no and it'll squash that theory for me and drive us less nuts. But do we know that Bryce and Quinn stay together? C: I was gonna say, do you want an actual yes or no answer? Kayla does not want the okay. I'll text you. No, neither M: Okay. All right. C: one of you are getting the answer. Don't look at ri at reels. Don't look. Technically. M: Alright. Okay. Well I've told you I've skipped past all of since we started throwing a glass, but stuff's popping up more now. C: But I I will say technically Hunt wouldn't be her first because Connor would have been. M: shoot, that's right. Okay. So that would go with my theory, C: So I'm gonna debunk it without giving you a yes or no. M: but okay, that's true, cause yeah, okay. Cause Aelin there were three because it was Kale and Dorian before Rowan. C: And Sam. M: But Fayette was only and Sam. And then fae was and then C: Farah is technically Isaac Isaac Hale and then Tamlin. Mm-hmm. M: Am I Mm. C: We'll put a pin in that one. M: Okay. Cause I hadn't thought C: We're gonna learn I'm M: through it till Kay brought up the connection and then now my brain is C: I'm pretty sure you're gonna get more information on Cormac in for our next episode. So after Cormac leaves, there is some discussion. Bryce wants to get rid of her parents sooner rather than later because she doesn't want to be around when her mom finds out that her actual father, her biological father, has betrothed her to the crown prince of the Avallan fae because her mom is going to do go ballistic. Bryce is worried that if Ember is in Crescent City when she finds out that she'll try and do something with the Autumn King and possibly get herself hurt when that happens. We find out that Cormac is the cousin who almost killed Ruhn and Declan and Flynn during their ordeals when they were on Avalin. that it was bad and they all claim came really close to dying, that Cormac had spent his life thinking he'd get the star sword one day, that he'd go into the cave of princes and be proven worthy. He studied all the lore, learned all the lineage. over every accounty account detailing the various or the variations in the power. And it didn't go well when Ruhn got the sword instead. And Flynn thinks, and now his fiancee has claim to the sword as well. And at one point during the discussion, Bryce steps closer to Ruhn and he has the star sword on his back and it starts to glow faintly and hummed, a whining sound like a finger tracing the rim of a glass. And then she takes a step back because she doesn't want to get too close to it. And Ruhn says into her head, it's not going to bite. And they have a nice little conversation in in their heads. She says, it's your sword, not mine. You're as much of a starborn prince as I am a princess. And he says, I'm not the kind of male whose sense of pride is so brittle that I need to cling to a shiny weapon. If you want to use it, it's yours. And she says, Okay, You retrieved the blade and apparently had to deal with Cormac while doing it, the fact alone entitles you to keep it. and then they shift back to talking with everybody. Mark, Declan's boyfriend says that he already has some of the lawyers at his firm researching to see if this is actually legal. they're gonna look through everything that they can. And Hunt Bryce then decides to leave because sh she needs a break. She needs to step away from everyone. He wants to Hunt wants to know why she's being so calm about this. And her response is, which I think is interesting because I'm going to point out the opposite response we're going to get from Ruhn in a couple of pages. But her response is because this is some move in a game the Autumn King is playing. He's anticipating that I'm going to run to his house and fight him. I'm trying to figure out why that would help him and what his end game is. And Hunt's response is connecting the two most powerful fae Royal bloodlines is a pretty clear end game. And you're starborn on top of it. You told me you've got the gifts of one of the first starborn, and you've got the horn. That makes you a massive bargaining chip for more power. Bryce's response is that's too simple for the Autumn King. His games play out over s years and centuries. This engagement is the first step, or maybe we're already several steps in. And she realizes that she needs to. figure out what his end game is, try and figure out how they can get a couple steps ahead of him, realizes that maybe the Autumn King might have timed this for right when Celestina is coming. maybe to rattle them to make them act. She's not quite sure. Maybe the Autumn King thought that Hunt would go after him and it would make Hunt look bad in front of the new Archangel. Or if Hunt did something illegal like killing Corback. Then Celestina might need to, you know, she needs to be she needs to show how she plans to rule. And punishing a powerful angel might be a who a notorious angel who's stepping out of line might be a perfect way to demonstrate her power and thus get her out get Hunt out of the picture for the Autumn King. So maybe the Autumn King is thinking that they're a team and he needs to separate them. We're not quite sure, but they're kind of brainstorming this as they're walking down the street. and Hunt adds that they can't forget that the Avalan has their own angle to this betrothal as well. And they're not quite sure what. But they make it back to the apartment and the door is ajar, and they're not quite sure why. but they smell blood, so they come inside and it is Ithan Holstrom bleeding all over the hardwood floors. then we jump to Tharion Ketos and this is the first glimpse that we have of him. He is our mer that we got in the last book. he works, as we talked in the last book, directly for the river queen, who is over the Istros River in Crescent City. we actually find out that Tharion slept with the river queen's daughter, took her virginity, and before he knew better, he actually pledged himself to the River Queen's daughter. So they're engaged because the River Queen's daughter is pretty much obsessed with him at this point. to the point where anytime pictures of Tharion pops pop up online with other females, the River Queen punishes him because the pictures make her daughter cry. We find out that Tharion has been sent out to part of an ocean by the River Queen, that he had to get there very discreetly so that no one knows that he's there. and he's he's in a small boat with some other shifters with him, other water river people. And they're looking for the body of someone at the bottom of the ocean, mentioning that she had been dropped with tied to lead blocks by the hind. So it's pretty safe to assume that they this is Sophie Renast that they're talking about. And so when they get there, The River Queen has essentially told him that he needs to bring back whatever is left. It takes them a good three and a half hours. Yeah, three and a half hours looking all over to try and figure out where the current may have moved, pushed the body. And they do find the blocks as well as changed chains attached to the blocks, but that the chains were opened. They were unlocked. They weren't actually destroyed. And there is definitely no body left, no pieces of the body. so he does end up getting back to the shore, calls the river queen to let her know that there was no body, but that the shackles had been unlocked. And that he doesn't think she ever made it to the seafloor. And that either someone got there before them or Sophie is alive. And the the River Queen says that's interesting that the waters did not whisper of that as if they were silenced. And currently we don't know anyone who can silence the waters. But she tells Therion that he needs to find her. that Sophie went in looking for her brother and she went to great lengths to free him from Kavala, that the sea whispered that he is gifted just as she is, and so they need to find if they find her, they find him, and vice versa. K: On the subject of Sophie, that white stone that the hind, I think, threw are we obsessing over that at all or was that just C: Do you wanna obsess over it? K: I just I had it noted here. Just I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. It kinda reminded me of wasn't it a white stone that Hunt bought Bryce? Yeah. Yeah. That's the only thing I've tied to that, but I don't know. C: Yes, gave Bryce 'cause it meant joy. Okay. So what would we think the point of her dropping it other than to see the depth of the water there? K: Yeah, see. C: What's the point? K: 'Cause that's the other thing other thing I thought was maybe she was just dropping it as a point, you know, that it's just really deep. But I don't know. C: But if they were just standing on a dock as well, how could it have been really deep there? Unless it's a really long dock. So would it have mattered how deep it was? M: Would it have been a longer dock because of how many ships were able to be in the area of the dock? Like, you know, how longer bays and ports do have a wider, longer dock that may be C: Maybe. M: out a little further. So could it already be in the area where the current picked up and it was just the white with the contrast of how dark the water is? Cause it did specify how dark the water was and how deep. C: It did. Mm-hmm. And with Tharion too we get that this part of the sea was always churning and had storms during that season. Which were what summer now? Yeah, middle of summer. So I don't know. K: Listen here. I don't like the are we obsessing over I don't just I can't take that. Are we obsessing I don't know, are we? C: All right, I'll put it this way, we're not obsessing over it, but foreshadowing. K: Okay. C: That's all I'll say on that one. You guys M: Yeah, you stopped saying foreshadowing, by the way. C: told me I couldn't say it because then you'd know. K: Yeah. M: I mean K: Yeah. Yeah. C: 'Cause I almost did at that point. M: But I miss it. I miss it. K: Okay. Okay. So you're just waiting on us to bring up. Things that we think are gonna Okay. M: you're trying to make our brains work more. Got C: Yes. Yeah. M: it. C: So we will revisit that because the only other stone that well we got the salt. We got lots of salt descriptions in the first book, but you're right, that's the only stone other than like the gems that were on the gates to signify the different areas. I don't even remember. What was the gate what was the stone for the There was no water gate. So there wouldn't have been a a stone for that. So the only other stone we've gotten in this book is the stone like walkie talkie thing that Sophie mentioned she gave back to command. That's M: But she said that was quartz and not C: Correct. M: all quartz has the white hue 'cause you can have various shades of quartz. So we can't even necessarily say it's the C: Right. That's just the only other type of stone that we've had mentioned so far. Okay. We then switch back to Bryce with Ithan Holstrum in their apartment. his skull is fractured. He has a broken arm, multiple broken ribs. he is bleeding internally because he has blood gushing from his mouth. And we find out that it is actually Amelie and Sabine and the others who did this to him. and in a minute we're gonna find out why. But I want to point it out because I think it's really funny. We're starting to see we started to see it in the first book. Bryce and Hunt feeding off of each other, but this instance, as well as when they're in front of Ruhn, I feel like Ithan and Ruhn both pick up the same kind of things. that Hunt and Bryce their humor is very similar. So they feed off of each other. So they're just talking about Ithan as he's laying there. And at one point saying, Bryce is I'm sensing some hostility and a good dose of male pride and Hunt's response is throw in some stubbornness and I'd say we've got ourselves a classic case of stupidity. M: Mm. C: And Ithan or Ithan is just looking back and forth between the two of them, what is wrong with you two? And it's just them. And Bryce even mentions that they are their humors are so similar and they're so good at picking up different things from each other. And he can realize when she needs a little bit of a distraction and he helps to pull her out of her head, which is pretty much what every girl needs. so we find out why Amelie, Sabine and the rest of the wolves beat up Ithan and it has become some because a reporter wrote an article and then it came out that morning. and it is because Ithan was defending Bryce because Sabine had written a nasty quote about Bryce. that Sabine's quote was something along the lines of Bryce is nothing but a spoiled party girl. she was just conveniently at the right place at the right time when the attack happened, and that it was the wolves who saved the innocents, and Bryce is just a pathetic fame chaser. And Ithan's response to that statement by Sabine is that the wolves only went to Asphodel Meadows because of Bryce. She got she was the one who called for help and held the line until they could provide the backup. She saved the city. She's a hero as follow as far as Ithan's concerned. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Especially people who weren't even in the city during the attack. So he is pretty much right out calling Sabine Who is pretty much the prime because the prime is so old that he's i he's struggling to be the prime of the wolves. M: See, what bothered me here though was at the end of the last book, Sabine saw, and Sabine was the one that called out C: Mm. M: it was Danika there, through Love, all was possible. Maybe, you got the the undertone that she was thinking maybe Bryce doesn't suck as much as she originally thought. C: Right. M: to layman's terms it. But then to see this turn right away when the prime had said she is a wolf, a wolf at heart. She's out there with the sword, she's demonstrating it. And then they're saying wolves don't talk bad on other wolves. Isn't that contradictory of their own policies? And she's just taking advantage of her standing with the community right now? C: Right. M: And if so, why didn't Amelie, who was already not liking Sabine at the I'm gonna call it the conference, even though the summit, she was already pulling away from her and, you know, denying her trying to go outside of her rule. Why would she be back under her now? So I went C: Exactly. M: there and I was like, what? happened in those few months on the wolves side that we haven't seen to get them to this point. Why is she still holding such a grudge, so to speak, now that we have the truth? And she got to see at firsthand of what Danika was doing that Bryce wasn't involved. And Bryce actually does have a good heart and is, for being a human not so sucky. C: Right. M: Again, layman's terms. Like C: Exactly. M: that frustrating me so much in this and I didn't think about it first time I read it but this ten chapter reread has really hit for me because you know we get so emotionally invested now going through the podcast with it all but I'm like what else is going on that we don't know from C: Right. M: the wolves yet. C: Yes, because we don't see since Bryce isn't really a part of them, we don't see what's happening there. We just get now what Ithan is telling us. and it's at at this point it's not much. He doesn't give us a lot of information as far as what's happened. just that things have been normal ish for the last three months. They're just cleaning things up. And then the article hit that morning, and that's why it's been three months since. that he's being kicked out of the wolves. And he's essentially being kicked out of his pack as well as the wolves of Valbara of Crescent City. so Bryce decides that he is staying there. and then there's a little bit of a discussion and argument on where he is going to stay, because Hunt and Bryce have not taken things to the next level with their physical relationship, but he is still a little possessive of Bryce and does not like the idea of Ithan being near her, but he also doesn't trust like it's not just that he's possessive of Bryce. It's also that he doesn't trust Ithan yet. because Ithan ignored her and let Amelie be mean to her for the last two years. and we're gonna find that and just feel like find that out in just a second. so Hunt says that or Ithan says he'll sleep on the couch. Bryce says, Nope, you're gonna sleep in my room. And Hunt says, Well, I'll sleep on the couch, he can sleep in my bed. And she's like, No, my it's fine. My bed's big enough for both of us. And Hunt's response is, then you can sleep on the couch and Holstrom can take your bed. Because he is not interested in them sleeping in the same bed. And Bryce's response is with my back problems? No, I'm too tired. I don't want to argue. Conversation over. And she just cuts them all off. She's like, Nope, we're done. This is what's happening. And then it's Hunt laying in bed staring at the ceiling. frustrated because Syrinx is the only one in bed with him, whereas Ithan is in bed with Bryce. and he doesn't trust Ithan because she he'd been nasty to her for the last two years and like I said, let Amelie torment her. The reason Bryce wants Ithan close is because she doesn't want Sabine and Amelie to come back and officially kill him. So that's why she wants him in her room so that she can look after him and protect him while he's healing. She does tell him about what Danika had told her during the search that Connor and the whole back the pack of devils were holding off the Reapers to buy Danika time to help Bryce. And she essentially says, Connor, all of them. helped save me. And we find out that Ithan tells her Connor loved her for the five years that they knew each other, that he thought Bryce was his mate in the wolf sense. And then we get a small description on what mates are in this world that for a wolf, mate is your one true love. It's predestined by Erd. For the fae, it's similar. A mate was a bond deeper than marriage and beyond an individual's control. Which is very similar to what we got in ACOTAR but for the Malakim that it was akin to a marriage and matings could be arranged like breeding. the next morning hunt does kind of give Ithan a little bit of a hard time. Bryce is able to get her parents to leave on an earlier train. But Hunt bets her that five gold marks that her mama's going to be calling before noon to scream at her. But then we do get Hunt warning Ithan off of not Bryce because he doesn't think that he's actually interested in Bryce romantically, but in she doesn't want Ithan to bring trouble to Bryce's door. and because Hunt doesn't believe Ithan is forgiving Bryce for the right reasons. but Ithan's response is Danika showed up for her, and my brother and the rest of the pack showed up for her this spring. If they're not holding a grudge, then how can I? And Hunt's response is so you needed permission from your dead brother to be nice to her. And Ithan actually goes on to tell us that Bryce was his best friend. that she had Danika, but he only had her outside of his brother and that he's known Bryce for years, for five years, whereas Hunt's only known her for a few months. So Hunt or Ithan is essentially telling Hunt that he doesn't know crap. and Ithan goes on to tell him that Connor was in love with her for five years, and by the end of it, he'd only managed to get her to agree to go on a date. And Hunt's like, so. And Ithan's response is you're month five. So good luck to you. Which I think is funny that he Ithan is taunting him a little bit about this, but I also think that this is. completely different situation because Connor may have thought Bryce was his mate, but Bryce definitely didn't think that back. Otherwise she may have agreed to date him sooner than after five years. Whereas with Hunt, yes, she wants a little bit of space to figure stuff out because she's healing from so much, but I think she's already to the point where she's realized that Hunt is more we ha saw in the first book, that they are so alike. They're mirrors of each other. I'm gonna jump back now. we switch to Ruhn's perspective, and he is actually confronting Cormac and his father in his father's study. that they live in a modern city in modern times, and that there are lawyers by the dozen who'd have endless resources to challenge this betrothal, and that Courts might actually be amenable to setting a new precedent that protects the rights of fae females. The Autumn King's response is Bryce will arrive willingly to the altar. Cormac tries to taunt Ruhn with his marriage or possible marriage to Hypaxia Enador. and goes on to start giving us a little bit of information, which I was so excited that we got this information so early in the book. But he says that this, of course, is an unorthodox marriage, considering the bride's family and bloodline. And we're starting to get the sense that bloodline is super. important in this series. At least in how often it's being mentioned. Cormac then goes to say, asks the Autumn King, Well, you didn't tell him. And the Autumn King says, well it didn't seem necessary. My order is law. He needs to obey no matter what. So very Tamlin type type of thought process. So Cormac goes on to tell Ruhn that the late Queen Hecuba had two daughters. From different sires. Hypaxia's sire was a powerful necromancer from the house of shadow and flame. Hypaxia seems to have inherited his gifts alongside her mother's. So Hypaxia can raise and speak to the dead. And Ruhn's response is okay, cool, I can live with that. But then Cormac goes on to tell us that the older sister, however, was sired by a shape-shifting male, a stag, and that Hypaxia's half sister is better known as the hind. She didn't inherit any witch gifts and was handed over to her father's kin. The crown naturally went to Hypaxia, but it seems that since Hypaxia has been crowned queen, the question of her necromancy has become an issue for the witches. Ruhn's response is, Well, that has no bearing on this conversation. It doesn't matter, Necromancy or not. And Cormac Well, my father has issues with her background. She thinks that it's problem problematic. And the Autumn King steps in and says, Then it's a good thing your father is not the one marrying him. And goes so far as to say, Ruhn will marry Hypaxia and Bryce will marry you, Prince Cormac, and there will be no more debate. Ruhn tries to bring up the fact that Bryce and Hunt are together. The Autumn King pretty much tells us that his he's been spying on them and discovered that they have not actually slept together because she does not smell like him. and then Cormac cups cuts in and says one day she'll be queen of Avallan. She'd be a fool to throw it all away on some bastard angel. And then Ruhn's response is, Well, you need her more than a lot more than she needs you. She is starborn. And the Autumn King's response is if Bryce wished to remain free of our household, then she should not have been so brazen about showing off her power. And that's when Ruhn realizes or thinks that he's realized that the Autumn King is only doing this because he feels like she showed him up, that she has more power than him, and that the Autumn King needed to put her back in her place. and the Autumn King responds with, Regardless of her human lineage, Bryce is heir to the starborn line, more so than Ruhn. We have not seen any starlight with such force for a thousand years. I do not take handing her over to Avallan lightly. and the Autumn King's only value that he puts on Bryce is her breeding potential. Both of the royal houses will benefit from the union and a continued commitment to the allegiance between their peoples. And this is all against the weakening of magic in the royal bloodline, as recent generations have demonstrated. So again, we have mention of their power weakening over the last couple of generations. And that they're doing all of this to ensure that the fae retain their power and their birthright. And that Bryce can imbue her starborn gifts into her offspring with Cormac. Cormac then teases, taunts Ruhn a little bit and tells him that the starborn used to intermarry brother, wed, sister, aunt, married nephew, and so on, all to keep the bloodline pure. Since you seem so heavily invested in who shares Bryce's bed, perhaps the old traditions could be revived for you too. And Ruhn's response is just get out. And we actually get some not camaraderie between the two of them, but Cormac just mentions that they are both crowned princes to the different fae kingdoms and that their fates are the same. No matter he he doesn't come out and say, but he hints at no matter what they would want themselves, their fates are the same. They have to marry who they've been betrothed to. And he says, and I know which one of us is going to rise to meet this challenge. But Cormac does leave and Ruhn is stuck on what the Oracle told him years ago, that the royal bloodline shall end with you, because he still thinks it means in his death. he asks the Autumn King why he's doing this, and I think it's interesting the Autumn King's response is that you have to ask shows me you're not a true son of mine. Whereas Bryce knew. Maybe not completely or what the end game is, but she at least has an understanding of why the Autumn King is doing this and making these decisions. Whereas Ruhn does not, because Bryce got that part of their father and Ruhn didn't. And we do find out that the Autumn King was abusive to Ruhn, and that part of why he has the tattoo sleeves on both arms is to cover up the scars that the Autumn King had given him. and the Autumn King's last words to Ruhn are that Cormac has always been the son I should have had rather than the one I was burdened with. And then we get one extra little section with Bryce, where she is in the fae Archives working on cataloging the different pieces of art that she has. she does kind of mention that she's thought through everything that happened in the gallery with Micah, trying to find a way to see if there's something else she could have done to stop La Haba from dying. That she's talked through it with Hunt. And then he pointed out all of the options she brought up would have either resulted in Bryce's death or La Haba's death, or both of them anyway. so she does end up calling Jesiba which is one of the few times that she is interacting with Jesiba since everything happened. that Bryce is telling her she has a nineteen thousand year old Rhodinian bust of Thur, which is spelled differently than Thor, but it sounds very similar. Again, this is basically a broody male who He's a nearly forgotten minor storm deity. All that remained of him in their culture was the behemoth of a planet name af named after him. And Thursdays. Thor Thursdays. Thurs. Bryce had already sent a photo to Hunt with the comment Bryce Quinlan posset presents the original Alpha Hole Smolder on this little bust. she does mention that Jesiba since she's still aligned with the house of flame and shadow, lurked around Lunathian, but Bryce hadn't seen her in months. Jesiba does mention the betrothal to Cormac and that she will be the future queen of Avallan. Bryce wants to know how she knows, who told her. And Jesiba says the people I've turned into animals have remained in my employ. They tell me when they overhear things, especially the sewer rats who hope to regain their true forms one day. And Bryce again mentioned she's not sure if Jesiba is telling the truth or not. but Bryce does mention to Jesiba, I don't suppose you know why the Autumn King is doing this, and Jesiba responds with males will always try to control the females who scare them. Marriage and breeding are their go-to methods. And Bryce is surprised that Jesiba thinks her father is scared of her. And Jesiba says, Why not? It's been months and you've done nothing with your new power or your new titles or the horn in your back. He grew tired of waiting. I wouldn't be surprised if he did this just to learn how you'd react. And Jesiba does mention that she was worried that Bryce would take the chosen status and become, a snooty fae royalty, but that she's happy she's following in the footsteps of Ruhn, that he was strong enough to shun what he is. she does tell Jesiba that she was told by the Asteri to lie low forever. And Jesiba's response is how terribly boring for you to obey them. But she does end by saying a word of advice think through the advantages of a marriage to Cormac before you decide to be a cliche and refuse. Any other thoughts? M: I mean, like I said, I said it earlier, the last line where Bryce says, Who says I'm not? C: Uh-huh. M: She's thinking about something with it. Don't know what but something. C: But is she actually thinking about agreeing or is she just trying to figure out what the Autumn King and the Avalan fae are up to? What is their thought process? Why are they agreeing to all of this? M: I don't know, because Bryce is starting to strike me a little more on the Aelin side of you never quite know what she's about to do. I'm getting more of that from her. So I'm not sure. C: We're seeing her be a little more M: I just have a lot of questions at this point. C: Yeah. And we're seeing Bryce be a little more strategic in her thought processes. M: All right, and that's the start of the book through chapter eight, and already the red flags are trying to do a parade. Bryce has a surprise fiance, Hunt has a serious case of please don't make me deal with my past. Ithan has shown up bloody and broken, and Ruhn just discovered that his family tree is somehow more complicated than we all believed. and remember Sophie? Yeah, the body is missing. So we've got arranged marriages, secret powers, questionable family members, a suspicious missing corpse corpse, and enough political maneuvering to make Thanksgiving look relaxing. And we're only eight chapters in. So make sure, as always, you subscribe, like, follow us, make sure you're tuned in for the next episode because the secrets are going to be getting bigger. The stakes are getting higher and somebody is definitely lying. and we're about to uncover who. See you guys then.