K: Welcome back and thanks for joining us. Last time we left Bryce staring at a betrayal she never saw coming and every clue she spent weeks chasing suddenly feels like one giant lie. These chapters are where the investigation takes a hard left turn, loyalties are questioned, motives get a whole lot messier, and the line between hero and suspect becomes almost impossible to find. Every conversation feels like an interrogation, Every secret has another secret hiding behind it, and the deeper Bryce digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes. So dim the lights, pin another photo to your evidence board, and join us as we investigate chapters sixty six through seventy two of Crescent City. The killer may not be caught yet, but someone is about to make a move that changes everything.

C: Okay, so we finished last episode on a crazy cliffhanger finding out that Hunt is buying synth. Or at least he is one of a party who is buying synth from the Viper Queen. We start this section with Bryce kind of jumping onto the barge. She's not quite sure how she made it onto the boat, but she does get there. And behind Hunt is Viktoria She's the one who just handed over the money to the Viper Queen. And beside her Emerging from the Shadows is Justinian. So we have three out of the five of Micah's Triari. who are in on this deal. three out of the four of the Triari who were part of the fallen are part of this deal. So it doesn't look good. We'll put it that way. She realizes that Justinian had actually painted his wings black so that he was able to conceal himself in the moonlight. she can hear Tharion he has also joined her on the boat telling the Viper Queen that she is under arrest be on behalf of the River Queen and the Viper Queen's response is to essentially just chuckle. And of course Bryce demands what the crap is going on because she needs to know why he's buying synth, what he's doing, what is going on. And it isn't Brunt er Brunt. Bryson Hunt. Brunt. Here we go again. it isn't Hunt who actually answers. There is another cold, deep male voice that comes in behind her saying it is exactly what it looks like. And then Micah emerges from the mists that are all around the boat. Those suspicious mists that are there. He is flanked by Isaiah, Naomi, and six other of their armed guards. And they don't face the Viper Queen, as she is the one selling synth. They actually face Hunt and his companions and aimed guns at them. So we find out that this was a setup. That the Viper Queen got her hands on a or crate of synth. And she was curious Who she could get, who she could lure in if she said she was selling it. And that it would be worth her while to figure it out. and so it is Hunt and his companions that are trying to buy it from her because they want to get it to the rebellion, is what it looks like essentially. and so the Viper Queen, as soon as she figured out who was buying it from her, actually tipped off Micah so that Micah knew it was part of his triari. Hunt's trying to tell Bryce that it wasn't supposed to go down like this, maybe at first, but then he saw the video that she showed him on the human in the trials tearing up the vanir and then tearing up herself. and he's saying that he tried to stop it, tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen. Bryce initially does not believe that they were buying it for the rebel human cause, but then pain flickers in Hunt's eyes that tells her enough. That tells her he is in pain because of her blind faith in him and his innocence, and that it was completely gutting him. But Micah then tells us that it was the three of them that had learned about the synth days ago. Which we talked about it, in last episode that had received an anonymous phone call that he doesn't tell Bryce anything about. and that they were seeking a way to purchase it and to distribute it among their fellow would-be rebels to attain its powers long enough to break their halos and then finish what Shahar started. And the Viper Queen was gracious enough to inform Micah of the plan after Justinian tried to recruit one of the females under the Viper Queen's influence. And the Viper Queen's response to Hunt is I told you I'd figure out your asking price. And so then Bryce turns to question Hunt, that he knew about it days ago and didn't say anything to her. And she realizes that it's her heart that was cracking inside her chest. and Hunt tells her that Micah gave him some some targets, three drug lords. They told me that two years ago a small amount of the synth leaked from Redner Lab and onto the streets, but it ran out fast, too fast. And that they had finally, after two years of trying to replicate it, someone had figured out the formula and it was now being made and would be capable of amping up anyone's power. And Hunt didn't think of it, didn't think it had anything to do with the case until recently. And then he didn't know the truth of what it could do until she showed him that footage. Bryce wants to know how it leaked the first time around. And Micah tells her that it was Danika Fendyr who leaked it the first time around. Bryce, of course, doesn't believe it because she doesn't believe Danika would do something like that. Especially after seeing what the drug did to the human in the trial. Hunt then tells her Danika sold it. It's why she was spotted on the boat with the crate on it that he figured it out nearly a week ago. She sold a formula for it and then sold it. And then Danika used it herself and was addicted to it. And Bryce doesn't believe them, doesn't believe that Danika would do something like that. Hunt says to look at the evidence. from his perspective, he's looking at the evidence the way he sees it is that based on the last messages between the two of them, drugs were something that they did often. So it's not hard to believe that Danika would try something like this as well. and that in small doses it could it was an intense high and that Danika probably used it that day because it was a difficult day with Sabine. And he goes so far as to say that she used it because it gave her powers like what the prime has and gave her that power since she was waiting to make the drop with Bryce. So he's essentially saying that because Bryce and her weren't making the drop, Danika was then looking for other ways to amp up her power. that all signs point to Danika killing the two CCU students the night the horn was stolen because they saw her stealing the horn and she chased them and killed them down. the drug lords that Hunt killed told him that they saw Danika in the meat market talking about Synth and with Maximus and that that's how she knew Maximus and that the girlfriend of Maximus didn't know that he was also an addict like Danika. And so then Hunt turns to Micah and says, I assume we're going, that he's being arrested, yada yada yada. And Micah's response is, Well, aren't you going to tell her the rest? And Hunt tries to stop him from saying it. that it's not necessary. But Bryce wants to know. And Tharion is at this point holding her up kind of by the arms, his grip tightening in warning, because he probably knows what's coming. He's probably put it together in the same manner that Hunt has, and he doesn't want her to have to listen to it. But Micah then tells her that Hunt already knows the truth about Danika's murder as well. And that Danika took the synth that night she died. She took too much of it. It drove her out of her mind. She slaughtered her whole pack and then killed herself. That's why there was never any audio of the killing that it was just Danika pleading there are no other snarls from a Kristallos demon or any other being, but just Danika pleading before she was ripped apart. So then Bryce says, well, the Kristallos demon was there when she got there, and Micah says that's a side effect of the synth. When used in high doses, the surge of powerful magic it grants the user also brings the ability to open portals thanks to the obsidian salt in its formula, which is something that they had considered prior to this. That Danika did just that, accidentally summoning the Kristallos the black salt, and the synth. Can have a mind of its own, And so Micah is saying that this particular amount of obsidian is the same number as the Kristallos demon's number. That's why it had been seen recently. Because the drug was now on the streets. And then it feeds on organs and then d dumps the bodies in the sewers. And the two recent victims, the acolyte and the temple guard, were just unfortunate victims of someone high And the story has enough evidence behind it that it makes sense. So Bryce is finally believing that this is the truth. She's still struggling with Danika's side of it, but she is starting to believe that this is the case. So then she turns to Hunt Because she realizes that he knew for at least the last week and didn't say anything to her. He goes to take a step towards her because she's screaming at him that he knew. And then a gun gleamed in the dark, pressed against his head, and he held it in his tracks. And Fury Axtar steps out of the shadows. Bryce recognizes the handgun before she even steps out. It was an engraved silver wings on the black barrel. And that Fury had arrived without even Micah noticing, or how she even knew to come. Bryce wasn't sure because she hasn't questioned Fury about it in the past. But Bryce does mention Fury Axtar was like liquid night. And she made herself infamous for knowing the world's secrets. So it makes you wonder, liquid night, does that mean like shadows? Like she can hide in the shadows somehow, or kind of pull them around herself like other people that we know. It doesn't actually say shadows, it just says liquid night. So I don't know for sure, but it makes you wonder. What are Fury's powers? and Fury does order the Viper Queen to get out of her sight. She doesn't care where she goes. and Bryce doesn't even have it in her to be shocked that the Viper Queen is actually obeying Fury's orders. So I think it's interesting. I'm gonna point it out now, and I'm gonna point it out a little bit in the future, kind of who listens to Fury because she's at a high enough level with someone we don't know where. But she's at a high enough level that certain people will o obey her and others won't. So we don't know a whole lot about her. We still don't get a whole lot by the end of this book, but there is something with Fury. There's something going on with her that we don't know. so then of course Bryce is still circling everything's circling around in her head. She's yelling at Hunt that he knew all his talk about the synth being a waste of time to look into because you had already realized the truth and you lied because you learned the truth and then realized you wanted the synths for yourself, and when you wanted to help with the Medwitch to find an anecdote, that was just for yourself, so that you could pass it along to the rebels again. And Hunt says at first yes, but it was all just based on a rumor of what it could do. And then tonight I saw the footage that you found and I wanted to pull out of the deal. I knew it wasn't right any of it, even with the antidote, it was too dangerous. I realized all of this was the wrong path, but that you and me, you are where I want to end up a life with you. You are my path. And then he says I messaged Justinian and Viktoria that it was over, but they got spooked, contacted the Viper Queen and insisted it go down tonight. I came here only to stop it, to put an end to it before it became a disaster. And then she grips the white opal from her pocket that he had given to her a couple chapters ago and throws it at his head, manages to throw it hard enough that it actually makes his temple bleed, as if the halo itself were bleeding. then Isaiah steps forward, has the Gorsian stone manacles gleaming like amethyst fire, and he wraps them around the wrists of Viktoria, Justinian, and Hunt. Hunt does say, I'm sorry, I couldn't bear the thought of you. And then he gets cut off by Fury that you've said and done enough. She's done with you, all of you. Then she says to Micah, She's done with him as well. If you bother her again, I'll pay you a visit. Directly to the governor. She is essentially threatening to kill the governor if he ever goes near Bryce again. So then Bryce does leave the boat with Fury they're kind of moving away on their wave skimmer hunt. says to her, Your heart was already so broken, and the last thing I ever wanted to do was but he gets cut off again and she does not look back. Fury has called Ruhn so that he is in the apartment lobby waiting for them by the time Fury drops her off. Fury then leaves because she wants to go make sure that the Viper Queen doesn't get any of the synth. Ruhn as well as Declan and Flynn are there. Declan and Flynn are on the rooftops guarding her block. with their long range rifles and Ruhn goes up to her apartment with her to kinda keep her company. Fury has at least filled him in on enough that he doesn't question Bryce about anything. she gets into her apartment, throws up everywhere because she can't believe that this had happened. And then Ruhn picks her up, puts her on the couch. Of course she's trying to stay away from the section of the couch where Hunt's blood was because that's where they were kissing and enjoying themselves. And then it's a little bit later that Fury comes back and she and Ruhn are talking in the kitchen. but Bryce is still able to hear them. Fury says that Hunt is actually in a holding cell under the committee. Justinian was crucified, and that he is still bleeding out in the lobby of the committee. They gave him something to slow his healing so that. He would die a very slow, painful death. And then Viktoria Micah ripped her soul from her body and then shoved her essence into a glass box and put that box at the base of Justinian's crucifix. and rumor has it is that he is going to dump that box into the Melano Trench, which is like the deepest part of their ocean. So that she'll essentially go insane in the isolation and the darkness. And Ruhn wants to know what Hunt's punishment is going to be. And Fury's response is, I think Micah came up with a different punishment for him, something worse. And there are a lot of things that are worse than that for Hunt. So then we go into part four of the book, which is called The Ravine, the Next Level of Hel it is Hunt's perspective. He is in one of the holding cells in the comitium like we just heard from Fury there is a television screen just outside of his the bars of his cell, and it is a constant streaming feed of the comitium lobby where Justinian is crucified, so Hunt can watch everything happening with Justinian and Viktoria. and Hunt's essentially waiting for the other shoe to drop. What's gonna happen to him? He does mention that Justinian the crucifixion is exactly like it is in biblical references, that it was iron spikes or nails driven into him and his body is attached to a cross so that it can affixiate over time, which pretty much just means he's gonna suffocate because of the way the position of his arms. Isaiah comes to see Hunt at one point. He wants to know why. Why Hunt chose to do this. Hunt's response is it has to stop at some point. Isaiah's response is, yes, it stops when you're dead and when everyone you love is dead. And then he asks he points to Justinian Viktoria and asks, Does y this make you feel like you're on the right path? Was this worth it? And he realized that when he had climbed into bed with Bryce the night before, that no, it was not worth it. And he had realized that, but he kinda realized it too late. Hunt does tell him that he was working to get his hands on an anecdote so that it could help offset the powers of the synth. and then in the end he did try and stop it that he was on that barge because he had realized he cuts himself off because he says it doesn't make a difference at this point. But he does try. And Hunt then says, You might be able to accept the bit in your mouth, but I never will. And Isaiah says, I don't, but I have a reason to work for my freedom and I thought you did too. As in Isaiah has someone else that he's working towards his freedom for, and he thought that Bryce was that for Hunt. And Hunt says, Bryce had nothing to do with it. And Isaiah's response is, of course she didn't. You shattered her heart in front of everyone. It was obvious she had no idea. Hunt wants to know if Micah is going to go after her as his form of punishment. And Isaiah says, No, you're lucky. He thought about it. He thought about crucifying her as your punishment, but he knows that you tried to stop the deal, saw the messages between Hunt and Justinian, and that's why they're in the lobby, dying, we're going crazy, and you're here. so he does say that Micah hasn't decided or declared what he's going to do with Hunt yet, but currently he's going to stay in the cell and Isaiah just came down to say goodbye. And just in case they can't say it later. And Hunt realizes that he'd accept his fate. He'd tried and failed yet again, and he would have to accept whatever fate he's given. then we switch to Bryce, who is at the gallery with Lehabah Lehabah's watching the news, trying to figure out what is going on with Hunt, because at this point it's been three days, and they still haven't announced what's going to happen with him, or even that he was a part of any kind of conspiracy or rebellion. Bryce did receive a note and a delivery from the Medwitch, and it is actually the antidote. that the Medwitch was able to find a way to make the antidote without her having to be present. And so she sends some to Bryce and Bryce puts it in in the safe in Jesiba's office right next to the six inch gold bullet for the God Slayer. And she thinks life and death, salvation and destruction now entombed there together. So that's gonna come into play later on, but we're not there yet. Bryce then has to go answer the door because the Autumn King has arrived at the gallery, and this is the first time he's ever been there. It's the only time he's ever deigned to show up to her place of work. He tells Bryce that Prince Ruhn deemed it necessary that the Autumn King be told of what happened since Bryce might be in peril. And so the Autumn King, her father, tells her that he's come to tell her that her security has been assured and that the governor knows you are innocent in the matter and he will not dare harm you, even to punish Hunt, which is not true, but like I said, we'll get there. Bryce kind of snorts at that because she doesn't think Hunt's feelings for her were strong enough that punishing her would be enough to punish Hunt. and her father then says, You're incredibly foolish if you think that would not be enough to break Athalar at last. But Bryce is too much in her head, thinking that Hunt lied to her too much, and that she was so blinded by hi her feelings for him. and the fact that he had let her around when everyone else had warned her about him, even he had warned her that he would love Shahar until the day he died. It was too much and it gutted her to know. that he'd chosen the archangel and their rebellion over her, over them and the life that they could have had together. But she hasn't been able to talk to anybody about it, because if she does, then she will completely lose herself. He wants to then know if she is still looking for the horn and her response is, Well, what does it matter? And he says, Well it's a deadly artifact. Just because you learned the truth regarding Danika and Athalar doesn't mean whoever wishes to use it is done. And so she says, Well didn't Ruhn tell you Danika stole the horn on a lark, probably while she was flying high as a kite, and then she summoned a demon, got herself killed, and who knows where she put the horn. And her father tries to tell her, even if no enemy seeks it, it's still worth ensuring the horn doesn't fall into the wrong hands. But she isn't really interested in talking about it. Unless he can think of where Danika would have put it. She's not interested in moving forward. So he does kind of take a minute to tell her that he loved her mother very much. And her response is, yeah, so much that you hit her and left a scar on her face. And she could have sworn he flinched. And he says, Do not think I have not spent every moment since then regretting my actions and living with the shame. And then he goes so far as to say that Bryce is so much like her more than she knows that she never forgave anyone for anything. So pretty much Ember holds a grudge, which is kind of the path that we're seeing Bryce go on as well. And then the Autumn King goes on to tell her that he would have made her mother his queen. He had the paperwork ready and everything. Ruhn does talk about how many other women that the Autumn King has slept with and that his mom just didn't really care because she had safety, which is all she needed. But it's interesting that the Autumn King is telling Bryce that he would have made a human woman his his queen. And Bryce's response is she would have said no because she would have hated being queen. And he says, I think she loved me enough to have said yes. Bryce doesn't believe that Ember loved him enough for that. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. We don't know for sure. But her response is then and you think that somehow erases what you did, and he says, No, nothing will ever erase what I did. and then he says, I came here after all these years to tell you that you may be like your mother, but you are also more like me than you realize, and it's not a good thing. And he's not warning her about it, but he's kind of telling her the same shortcomings I have, I am seeing in you and just be careful with those shortcomings, that kind of thing. So he leaves and we switch back to hunt. That it's been well over a week because the seven full days that Justinian's body was gonna be there have come and pass. that Viktoria's box had already been dumped into the trench. but it is not Micah or Isaiah who enters the space outside of Hunt's cell. It is Sandriel. And we find out that Micah has finally decided what he's going to do with Hunt, what his punishment is going to be. And it is selling him back to Sandriel. And so when Sandriel walks in, Hunt is observing her, comparing her to Shahar, noticing that there was no difference between the two of them because they were that that much identical twins, but their eyes were different, that Shahar's eyes were warmth and Sandriel's eyes had death in them. And so Sandriel pulls out Hunt's phone because now that she's bought Hunt, all of his possessions now belong to her. And she starts flipping through the photos on his phone. She puts them up on the screen so that Hunt can see them as well. Hunt realizes that he never actually looked at those photos after they were taken. but there is a pattern because Sandriel has them look at it once and then she puts them on a slideshow and lets them just kind of loop around. And Hunt realizes that the first photos are them kind of being annoyed with each other, giving faces at each other because they're not thrilled having to work with the other, but they're pushing through because they have to. and then the photos start to change. They start to smile at each other or they start to smile when the other isn't looking. And by the end of it. Hunt is realizing the differences in how he's looking at her in the last photo compared to the first. it is essentially with love that they are looking at each other by the end of the photos. And he realizes watching all of these photos that this was these photos were from someone who had a life and a good one at that. And he's realizing what to an extent he gave up in making this deal, in trying to buy the synth. And he can also see in the photos how much Bryce changed during her time with him, that there wasn't a lot of light in her eyes, but that brightness came back, kind of started showing more and more the more time they spent together. And that by the end of it she was near glowing with joy, and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And then Sandril taunts him a little bit and says, Is this really what you wanted in the end? what whatever would Shahar say in such a basic life that you've chosen for yourself? And Hunt realizes that Shahar's name doesn't clang through him like it has in the past and that the guilt he thought would sear him didn't do so much as Sizzle. So he's realizing that he's maybe not getting over his love of Shahar, but realizing that he could love Bryce. Even if he still loves Shahar. So Sandriel does leave after telling him she has now bought him and that they would be leaving the following afternoon. And she leaves the photos on a loop as a form of torture for him to realize and remember the life that he might have had if he hadn't wasted it. if he would have been patient and smart, then he could have had this life with Bryce. Bryce goes to see Ruhn, and she is struggling because there is no longer a bodyguard behind her, and she is struggling with the lack of a brooding male presence guarding her back, like a phantom limb. So again, we have the term phantom, but not on a phantom wind, on something else. Bryce is there because she wants to thank Ruhn in person. She wants to thank him for helping her not get over Hunt, but for helping her after all the stuff that went down with Hunt on the barge. Ruhn, of course, starts looking up at the tiled ceiling. And Bryce is like, What? What are you doing? And he says, Well, I'm just looking to see if the skies. The sky's falling because you're actually thanking me for something. And then he goes on to say you could have called or messaged and she said, Well, I wanted to do this face to face, be an adult. he wants to know how she's holding up and she says, Well, I've been better, obviously. I feel like an idiot. Half a dozen people warned me, including you, Ruhn, to be on my guard with Hunt, and I laughed in all your faces, and I should have seen it. And Ruhn's response is in your defense I didn't see this in Hunt either. I didn't think he was still this ruthless. I thought that his priorities had shifted lately as into her and not the rebellion. And she says, Yeah, you and dear old dad had the same thoughts. And his response is, He visited you, really? And she says, Yep, told me I'm just as big of a piece of crap as he is, like father, like daughter, like calls to like, whatever. Which is interesting that she just throws that phrase out there, like calls to like, because that's such a big phrase throughout most of Sarah J. Maas's books. Like calls to like. But she throws it out there as if it's nothing. Then Ruhn goes to asks ask if she wants to come over and watch a sunball game in a couple of weeks. She says no, and he tries to kind of talk her into coming. And her response is, Why? Why keep bothering to try and have a relationship with me? And his response is, why keep pushing me away? So he's realized that she pushed him away on purpose and is Purposefully held him at arm's length. And her response is, because you were my best friend before Danika. And she starts to say something, but then says it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe we could start over on a trial basis only. and we're gonna find out in a couple of chapters that she is hiding something else from him that Ruhn and everybody essentially doesn't know about. And that's kind of what she started to tell him and then decided against it because she's still keeping it a secret because she wants to put Ruhn first. and like I said, we'll find that out in a couple of chapters, but she says maybe we can start over on a trial basis and he says, Okay, great, so then you'll come to watch the game and she says, Well, I'll see what Juniper is doing that day and maybe we'll come. So when Bryce gets home, Fury is actually sitting in her home, which we've seen more from Fury in the last couple of pages than we have in the

M: Ha ha.

C: f whole other half of the book. Fury is there 'cause she has some news and she wants to tell Bryce, but she wants to make sure Bryce isn't going to do anything stupid. So she says, I'm gonna tell you this, but I want you to promise me first that you won't do anything stupid. so she does tell her that Micah did sell Hunt to Sandriel, that everything was put in place this afternoon. that Micah knew giving Hunt back to Sandriel was the biggest punishment than publicly crucifying him or anything else. Bryce response is, Well, thanks for your concern, but why do you think I need to know? And Fury's response is, Because I just thought you should know. I thought you would want to know. And her response is, Well, I don't. I'm not he dug his own grave. And Fury says, Well, you two weren't and Bryce cuts her off and says, No, because they didn't actually make it to that point. But Fury's response is, Well, his scent is is on you. And Bryce says, Well, we lived in this apartment for a month together, I would think that'd be the case. And she goes on to tell Fury that Hunt is a liar. He lied to her. Fury's response is, Well, Danika did some messed up stuff. You know that. You always knew it and you laughed it off. You looked the other way. I'm not so so sure Hunt was lying about that. So Bryce just says, Well, I'm over it. And Fury wants to know what she's over. She's over what? Bryce just says, All of it. Why don't you go back to Panjera and ignore me for the next two years? And Fury says I didn't ignore you. And Bryce says you did. You talked to June, but you wouldn't talk to me. You dodged my calls and you didn't reply to my messages. And Fury then tells her that's because June is different. And we find out. that June and Fury have something special that's goes beyond friendship. very similar, kind of to what Danika and Bryce had, but it is an actual love relationship, partners wise. and Fury tells her that Bryce was nearly killed that night. Danika was killed. And Fury's still struggling because she's the one who gave some of those drugs to Bryce that night. And so she's struggling because bad things happened after something she did. And that she and Danika were Fury's friends, and she she describes them as two stupid puppies that came bounding into my perfectly fine life, and then one of you was slaughtered, and I just couldn't deal with it. And we find out that Fury was going through a lot on her own and that she's been dealing with it. June's been helping her, and that she's been working through a lot of it, but that she was more. screwed up than even Bryce knew. And we don't find out in what way. Just that there was some th there are multiple things that Fury has gone through in her life that have been difficult for her that she's had to work through. so Bryce's response at this point is whatever. She's done, she's over it, she doesn't want talk to people, she just wants to be left alone, go back to being by herself because when she was by herself, then there was no one around who could hurt her. Fury then asks, Do I need to call Juniper? Is this a repeat of two winters ago when Bryce almost jumped off of the top of her building? She says, No, that's fine. Have fun at the summit. I'll see you in another two years. But Fury does say, I'll be back in a week. We're gonna hang out then, maybe without screaming. And that's when she realizes that she is not going to lose another friend, especially not Hunt. So she says to Syrinx, I promise Fury not to do anything stupid. I didn't say I wouldn't do anything smart. So she thinks she's being smart. She's not. She's just being self-sacrificing. Like, come on, don't be a Rhysand Don't sacrifice yourself or your friends just to make yourself feel better because you don't want to lose another person is what it comes down to. So we switched to Hunt's perspective. he puked all night because now he knows he's going back to Sandriel. but the next day Pollux then comes to the golden haired commander of Sandriel's Triari, waiting to escort Hunt to the summit. They're heading out to go to the summit a couple of days early. and As they're escorting him from the comitium they make it into the lobby and are leaving the lobby to get into the waiting vehicles. And that's when Bryce comes running up yelling at them to wait. And then she starts begging Sandriel to sell Hunt to her, not to take him away. Sandriel says, Well, he was gifted to me. The papers were signed yesterday. And then she holds out a piece of paper and asks. if she can buy him. and that she will pay twenty seven million gold marks, which is But I think the last time Sandriel sold him, it was for eighty million. And so now she is looking to pay an another seventeen million gold marks over that. and the paper she's holding up is proof of funds. It's a check from the bank made out to Sandriel for that amount, and it is from Jesiba Roga. So Bryce has essentially agreed to remain in debt to to Jesiba longer. So that Jesiba will buy hunt. And that's when he brunt realizes that he didn't deserve her. Not for a heartbeat. Not for a thousand years. But it doesn't matter to her. She is trying. She'll do anything that she needs to. So she pulls the Archesian amulet that she's been that's been around her neck for the last three years. She pulls it off her neck and hands it to her. Says this is another three million gold on the markets. take this on top of the extra marks. So the Sandril takes the necklace, grabs it from Bryce's hands, glances between them, and then a snake smile curves across her mouth because she can read it in Hunt's face that he does not want Sandril to agree to this. So she burns the Archesian amulet, melted into streams of gold on the floor. And something erupts in Hunt's chest at the devastation that crumbled on Bryce's face. And he tries to tell her to get out because he does not want anything bad to happen. So her backup plan, because Sandriel is not agreeing to sell Hunt to her, her backup plan is to offer herself instead. So she says, then take me and terror rocks Hunt. So violently he had no words when Bryce looked up at Sandriel tears filling her eyes, and said, Take me in his place. And Hunt does not want her to give this up. She's already given up her eternal resting place in the bone quarter for Danika. He couldn't let her trade her mortal life for him. And then thankfully Ruhn shows up before anything bad can actually happen. and even though the night before they had kind of come to a tentative truce, he throws it out the window to protect Bryce. Because Sandriel starts to say to Bryce, you offer your life under no coercion or no force, because this is all part of their ancient laws. What needs to be said to accept Bryce offering herself instead? So Hunt lunges forward instead. Sandriel kind of holds him off, Sandriel then says, everyone here would call me a fool to take this bargain, to take a half-breed with no true power in exchange for the freedom of one of the most powerful malakim ever to darken the skies. The only warrior on Midgard who can wield lightning. So the only person who can wield lightning, and like this isn't a common thing. It isn't like they have one every so often. It's like this is rare to the point where Hunt is the only one. Similar to how Rhys was the only one with his level of power. Hunt is the only one with this kind of power. So it just makes you wonder why. What's special about Hunt that gave him this power? Sandril then says, But I know your secret, Bryce. I know what a prize you are. And then she says, The only daughter of the Autumn King. And Tristan and Declan are also there because they came storming up with Ruhn. They did not know, so they're shocked as much as everybody else. And Sandril says, Yes, what a prize it would be to possess this only daughter of the fae King, the Autumn King. And so Sandriel tells them that her spies are the best, that they found out what could not be found. And whom it it exposed as her father, even though he had paid steeply to bury it. And so that's finally when Ruhn steps up and says, Yes, she is a female member of the fae royal household and a full civitas of the Republic. I lay claim to her as my sister and kin. And Hunt realizes that this is ain't that these are ancient words from laws that had never been changed, though public sentiment had. And Bryce whirls on him, telling him that he has no right to do this. But Ruhn continues, based on the laws of the Fae, as approved by the Asteri, she is my property, my father's, and I do not permit her to trade herself in exchange for Athalar. And Hunt almost drops to his knees in relief that. Bryce is not going to be traded for him. Ruhn then says, You are a faith female of my bloodline, you are my property and our fathers until you marry. And so Bryce's response is, I will never forgive you. for doing this. So Ruhn is able to grab Bryce. He and his friends kind of fall into formation and haul her away before she's able to do something stupid. but she is still kind of fighting for him and Hun is realizing that no one had ever fought for him. No one had cared enough to do so. And she is still yelling that she will find a way to save him. And he realizes as they're leaving that she's never going to stop fighting for him, would never give up hope. So Hunt then says something to try and get her to stop. And he says, I owe you nothing and you owe me nothing. Don't ever come looking for me again. Of course, she sees through that as BS and it doesn't stop her. Ruhn then drags her away, tells her she's an idiot because Pollux would have loved torturing her, pulling her apart, then putting her back together again, that Hunt would never want her to give herself up like this. and so then she of course walks off. Ruhn then is accosted by his two best friends because they're upset that they did not know Bryce was his sister, because with her being their princess, their princess, not just a princess, but their princess, she's someone that they should have protected more than they did. And Ruhn's response is she's not a princess, the autumn king has not recognized her, nor will he ever, because she is a bastard child and because he doesn't like her. And then he couldn't tell Declan and Flynn and risk his father finding out because his father would have hurt him or hurt Bryce if he found out that Ruhn said anything. So Bryce ends up at the river. thankfully Ruhn ends talking to with his friends by saying that he needs to go talk to Bryce and follows after her. But she ends up at the river, kind of scanning the mists across the Istros into the bone quarter. And so it's because of that that she does not see the Kristallos demon leaping out of a bush behind her and tackling her into the waters of the river. She is not and I think it's so interesting because she talks about as soon as they hit the water that there are claws and teeth everywhere ripping at her, snapping at her, dragging her down. The river was pitch black, and there was no one, no one at all who'd seen or would know. So she has no power, no weapons on her at this point. Nothing that she can do other than try and kick loose of the Kristallos demon who literally has its claws in her arm, like into her arm. And it isn't until Declan jumps into the water to get her, and Ruhn is shooting at the Kristallos Demon Same with Flynn. While Declan is trying to drag her back to shore. and that Declan actually has the rare healing gift of the fae and it's not as powerful as the Medwitch was, but it was still a very valuable strength. And so he is able to kind of sew her arm, the gash on her arm back together. And they want to know what she's doing, why she's there. She's just there just to kind of hang out and think through things. and Flynn says, I've known you're you were a princess for an hour and you're already a pain in my butt. She and Ruhn at the same time say she's not a princess. Declan's response

M: Mm.

C: is, whatever. We should have realized you're the only one who even comes close to getting under Ruhn's skin. As easily as his father does, so we should have realized that you were related. So then they start talking about the Kristallos demon. that they don't know where it came from because it just came out of nowhere. And so they don't know if it's officially gone or if it's actually dead or drowned in the river. So Ruhn says, you're gonna stay with me so for for your protection to make sure it doesn't come after you again. And her response is over my dead body. Like really, you literally were just about to die, and the only reason you're not dead is because people saved you. And your immediate response is I don't want to be saved. Like what the crap, Bryce? What the crap? And she's like, Thanks for rescuing me and thanks for royally screwing me and Hunt and the bargain I was trying to make but you know what? You're dead to me and then she walks off again.

M: It was such a sister moment for her to grab her phone and show him deleting the contact though. Like that was something. If we had cell phones when we were in high school, that is something I would have totally done to my older brother, been like, yeah, you want to go from big brother to deleted? Watch. Like I felt like that was such a that era for us as we were growing up. Like, little kids, you're not invited to my birthday party. Like it was such a

C: Right.

M: when you get her childish But her real feelings and they come out so relatable. But that one I was just cracking up being a younger sister. I was like, my gosh, that was still something I'd do.

C: Yes, it's I feel like Bryce was trying was finally starting to get to get past some of that stuff with Hunt. And now it's like now all this stuff that happened with Hunt, she's just like right back down there. Making these stupid decisions again. So she makes it back to her apartment just fine and is kind of examining herself in the mirror after pulling her clothes off and realizing that the Archesian emulet amulet is no longer there, even though she'd worn it for the last three years. this is the part where she is this is the moment where she's starting to piece things together. What actually happened or what what things we don't know yet. She is piecing them together at this point. We're gonna find that out in a couple of chapters. She mentions When she was standing here looking in the mirror, that's when she started figuring some of it out. But she does decide everything was nonsense. The tattoo, the jacket, losing the amulet, losing Danika and the pack of devils, that she tried and failed to rest herself out of the cycle of dark thoughts, but they just kind of go around and around. that's it. We're done with this set. What the crap? I came up a lot faster. I don't wanna end. I wanna keep going.

M: Right.

C: but that's where we're gonna end for this episode.

M: Come on, we could do another seven or eight or ten.

C: Right.

M: You know.

C: Okay. And that brings us to the end of chapters sixty six through seventy-two. If your heart rate is elevated, your emotions are all over the place, and you're questioning every single theory you've had so far. Welcome to the club. Sarah J. Maas has officially entered the No One is Safe and Everything Hurts phase of the book. And we're just trying to hang on for dear life. The tension is through the roof, the pieces are finally, slowly but finally starting to come together, and we can tell the finale is about to hit us like a freight train. Thanks so much for joining us as we worked through these chapters. We'd love to hear what you're thinking at this point in the story. Did you see any of these twists coming, or were you as blindsided as we were? Join us next time as we tackle the next set of chapters, bringing us Ever so closer to the big finale. Until next time, keep reading, keep theorizing, and we'll see you back in Crescent City.