episode 10

Renna and Marissa are hosting the Fiction Corner and discussing the book "Air of Fire". They are following the journey of Saoirse, Dorian, Adian, and Kael in the crown city. Adian is suspected of being loyal to the king despite his Terrasen background. Hale distrusts Adian and follows him to discover the truth. Adian beats Hale but reveals he is not under the king's control. Hale decides to trust him. The rebel group wants to bring Aelin back to the throne. Adian shares his backstory with Selena and they hide out in an opium den. New men in wyvern uniforms ambush them, revealing the king's secrets. Kale is keeping secrets from his father. Alrighty, let's put a bookmark in it so I can welcome you to the Fiction Corner. We are your hosts, Renna and Marissa, and welcome back. This week we have started a new book. We have kicked it off with Air of Fire. We're going to break this down a little bit differently than we have in the past, just because the characters have kind of split off onto the different paths. We've decided to follow one character through their complete journey for this first part, and then go on to the next one, so forth, so forth. So we figured this would be a little less confusing versus jumping back and forth between all the characters. If you don't like it, suck, suck. We are going to mispronounce names. Apparently I did it last week with Aelyn, so I'm sorry. It's just going to happen. We were just discussing this, and, you know, it is what it is. It's in my mind, so you get to listen to what's in my mind. I love what's in your mind. Thank you, thank you. Alrighty, so we are starting off with Saoirse. I'm sorry if it's wrong. Sucks to suck. And Dorian, and then Adian, and Kael, since they're all in the crown city right now. Marissa, you want to start us off? Yeah, so this started with, obviously, they're back at the castle still. You know, Celaena has already left. So we kind of first get this introduction of Adian. He comes back from, what was it, like the mountains or something? He's like going on missions for the king. And right away, you know, we're like questioning, is he actually loyal to the king? Because he obviously has that terracin background. They mentioned his eyes, and, you know, like he looks very similar to Celaena. And you know, of course, Dorian doesn't catch on right away. Yeah, a lot of people, like, apparently didn't catch on to this, like, oh, they have this very distinct eye color. And it's weird, like, why don't more people know about that? Especially the king, too, like, he obviously, he obviously knows. Yeah, I guess Adian was captured, you know, during, like, the whole when magic left, whatever. But like, you know, but yeah, Kael obviously knows right away. You know, he notices the eyes that are exactly like Celaena's. It's just like, oh, shit. Okay, did no one notice Celaena's eyes? And like, so I just thought that was kind of strange. But yeah, I definitely questioned him originally. Because, you know, obviously, he comes in, he's like, you know, very, like, kind of meant to portray like an asshole, like, you know. Yeah. And he's like, killing innocent people. At least that's what, like, what we assume. Yeah, he's picking on Kael and Dorian, too. And just like, you know, just being a jerk in general. And you're like, okay, well, don't like this guy. But then you're like, okay, well, he's the same heritage as Celaena. Like, is he actually loyal to the king? Isn't he actually loyal? I'm not sure. So yeah, so it was like, definitely kind of a little confusing. I was like, back and forth with him originally. I agree. Yeah, I've started to get on your bandwagon of, I just don't trust anyone. Especially because they mentioned, like, he has the sword of Tarithon that's, like, meant to be Celaena's sword. And that's, like, very, very disrespectful. Yeah, to turn him around and kill his own people with it. Exactly. So obviously, that's not great. And he's very, he's created this persona of, you know, he's a hard-ass that just doesn't care what's happening. And that he goes around killing his own people. That he follows the king very aggressively. But that he, I don't want to call him a punk, but he's just kind of flippant with everything. He's like, I don't really care. I'm gonna, you know, go sleep with a bunch of people and party. Right. Yeah, and we also noticed that he also wears the same ring, that obsidian ring that Kael, like, notices. That, obviously, the king wears and the duke wears. And Kael also does hint at this part, like, that the king controls those who wear the ring. Yeah. We kind of had, like, kind of suspected already. That's, you know, what we thought about for the last book, too. So obviously, that's not great. Seeing that, I was like, oh, shit. Like, so he's just, like, kind of, like, you know, controlling this guy in a way. And we do find out later, I got a little confused on this, I did have to go back a couple points, that he is not full Fae, but he does have Fae blood in him. So he has, like, heightened strength and healing and spell and all of that kind of stuff, which does help him on the battlefield and all of that. Oh, I forget which, I think maybe he's also from Mab or Dianna. Yes, and Selina's cousin, apparently. Yes. But I'm not sure which of the, like, Fae grandmothers. Yeah, I'm not sure. Well, they're cousins. How does this work? Because it's, like, a great-great grandmother. I don't think it's Maeve, though. She doesn't have a line. So it's just Mab, and I'm forgetting the other sister's name, not Maeve. But those are the only two who did mate with humans. So it's got to be one of those two, but I forget. Anyway, it's not important. He's got Fae abilities. That's the gist there. Yeah, very similar to Selina, I guess, too, because, like, Selina's not, like, you know, full Fae either, right? She's, like, somewhat half, not really, like, quarter or something like that. Yeah. The only part that I was a little confused on for him is, and I guess this is more, he doesn't technically have magic that makes him Fae, so that's why he kept these abilities, but it's more, like, bloodline related. Anyways, him and Hale kind of strike up an alliance. So Hale starts to suspect Adian of kind of being a puppet of the king. Like you said, he has this ring. He just doesn't trust him, his base, and so he starts attending these soirees that he's throwing, and at each of them that he goes to, there's no sign of him, but he keeps just disappearing. I'm curious about him because the, you know, his, Adian is actually telling Hale's guards to leave their posts to come hang out with him at his parties. Yeah. Hale gets pissed and is like, what the hell? Like, I want to confront you. And then, yeah, he notices that, oh, wait, this guy who's throwing these lavish, crazy parties isn't even here. And so, yeah, then he's, like, suspicious. Like, what the hell is he doing? Like, where is he going? Yeah, and Hale ends up following him and gets confronted by Adian, the previous old man from when he was captured or kidnapped. The rebel group. Yeah, and the rest of the rebel group, specifically two people from Selina's previous court that we'll get into. But Adian beats the crap out of him. And this is where Hale is like, OK, I'm going to kind of risk this and tell Adian about Selina. And this is also the point that we find out that Adian's ring is a complete fake, that he actually sensed or smelled what was on the ring. And that, again, the Fae's have this heightened ability that he was just like, something is not right here. Something is abnormal. He had a duplicate made and has been wearing that. And now he's like, oh, yeah, I'm great. I'm so smart. That's why I did that. But he is not under the king's control. And so Hale's like, OK, I'm able to trust you and kind of move forward with this. Yeah, I thought that their relationship, that the way it grew, has been kind of cool. Because I feel like we definitely see Hale shifting towards totally going against the king here. Yes. You know, total treason at this point on Hale's end. He was so loyal to the king. And then finding out who Selina was and then the heartbreak with her, I think it kind of opened his eyes a little bit. And then also meeting Aelian and finding out more about the rebel group and being more part of it and being a little bit more involved. It's been kind of cool watching him grow. Yeah. And it's also nice to know the rebel group was, at least the ones that are there now, are not on the side of Archer. They're kind of glad he got killed, that they didn't realize what he was after. Their goal is to just bring Aelin back onto the throne. And so we do see this other side to Aelian, that he is obsessed with Selina, that he is meant to be, that he swore a blood oath to her and is meant to be her sole life-giving protector. So this is just crushing for him. See that backstory. They grew up together and they were really good friends and really, really close. So I think he just feels such a strong kinship to her, too. So I think that's kind of sweet, too, kind of hearing that story, too. Yeah. And he lets on that when magic left, it came in three waves and created this kind of triangle around the continent. But that's really all we know from it. By that point, he was just saying, hey, I know it came from these areas because of tracking birds for hunting. But that's really it, that we're trying to go to these different outposts or points to figure out what else is going on there. But that's all we have. And this ends up leading to his friend getting ambushed. So it leads to him getting ambushed and cut and they have to hide out in this opium den and have these new, I don't want to call them knights or assassins, but this new group of king followers stalk them down. And even Kale is like, I don't recognize them, which is very abnormal. Right. Because Kale's like head of the guard. And so now there's these new men in these new uniforms, which have a wyvern symbol on them, which I thought was, oh, interesting. So, yeah, I was a little confused on that, too. I was like, OK, so obviously the king is keeping secrets from even his closest, so-called closest people, right? So he's not telling Kale everything either. So, yeah, it's going to be interesting to kind of find out more about that, too. I'm sure we'll hear more from that in the second part here. And then I think the only other thing that I can think of for them is that Kale keeps kind of putting off his father, that he's got, what is it, two months now to wrap everything up and then he needs to go home or his dad is going to start basically leaking secrets on him and on Selena. Yeah, overall, I just really liked Kale finally kind of taking a stand here. And he's like full on supporting this group now at this point. He offered Selena's apartment after, you know, they got attacked and were hiding. Yeah. He's basically hiding this rebel group now and is responsible for this. So I like that. I'm glad about that. Yeah, I'm nervous, though. I, yeah. I mean, I'm nervous for him, too, because obviously something's going to happen. They're going to find him out somehow. But I don't know. Hopefully it'll keep on keeping on for a little while. Yeah, he's definitely switched his loyalties. He's unfortunately almost like completely severed his friendship with Dorian. But he's all doing it with the kind of right mindset. Yeah. So speaking of Dorian, we'll jump over to him, because he's, we were saying this before, there isn't much to cover for him and Saoirse. We've kind of combined them that, you know, Dorian has been shut off from Kale, that he does learn what Selena is and Selena's background. And he's very upset that, like, Kale didn't trust him. But he's like, you are still the crown prince. It's not so much that I don't trust you. But there's only so much I can tell you and say. And, you know, she is a queen that could be coming after you. You know, it's just a very tricky situation. Right. Yeah. He even mentions, too, like, even, like, knowing too much about Dorian and his powers and stuff. Like, you know, Kale worries about, like, literally getting tortured by the king and, like, saying something that he knows too much about Dorian, because he wants to protect him. So I think that's pretty honorable of Kale, for sure. Yeah, no, I agree. I get, like, Dorian's very lonely and it's sad. So I do feel bad for him. Yeah. He's shut out. But he's a kind Saoirse, so that's good. So he's been kind of sparring with other guards just to kind of clear his head, try to keep his magic level low, because he's started to realize that, A, emotions do vastly control, you know, how my magic responds. So he keeps getting beat up and going down to the healer's quarters and ends up meeting Saoirse, who, her background is also super sad. She is from, oh my gosh, Ben Harrow. Yeah. Which is where Selina pretended to be from when she was Lillian. And Saoirse is actually from there, pretty much had the backstory of Selina that her parents were murdered. And she decided to come to the kingdom to be a healer, just to do some good that she was like, I had nowhere else to go. I like her, but she's very, you know, sweet and silent. I'm curious how big of a role she's going to play. But yeah, I'm curious on her too. Like, I don't, I don't know. I'm so bad with, like, trusting people. Is she going to turn out to be bad? Like, she knows so much about Dorian now. And I would hope- And everyone. She knows, like, a lot about all of them. Yeah, I was like, she could do some, like, heavy blackmailing here. Yeah. Because she was the one we find out that healed them at the end of the last book, healed, you know, Fleetfoot and Kael and Dorian when they, like, you know, fought the crazy portal demon. Yeah, so like, yeah. I'm curious to see how that's gonna go. But I do like their relationship. I'm glad that Dorian has, like, some friend to, like, lean on. And, like, obviously, she's trying to help him and helps him, like, try to suppress his magic. They find out that there's, like, this- they give him more iron in his diet, which is a little bit- which is cool that they talk about that. They're like, oh, you have iron in your body, like, normally. And, like, the idea of, like, that's how, you know, the gods were able to control the fae, like, people not getting too powerful. I thought that was kind of an interesting little, like, history lesson we get there, too. But, yeah. So she's making little iron concoctions. I know, yeah. Just eat some more leafy greens. But, yeah, Sorceress does find out that Dorian has magic and helps, like, stage an accident in her workshop to continue to help him. And, you know, like Marisa said, they've been making these concoctions to try and suppress his powers just because they're not really sure how to control them. There's no further information outside of that. How is he going to train? It's really just, you know, suppress them as best you can and try and control your emotions. But they end up becoming a little thingy thing near the end of the section that Dorian does kiss her at one point, and she kind of is like a scared little mouse and, like, runs away. And then later she's like, yeah, screw it, and backs up on him. Yeah, and the other thing I had written down, too, like, Dorian does overhear Kale and Adian in the tunnels. So, like, I think that, like, further hurts, unfortunately, and kind of further bridges, like, another gap in their relationship, which kind of sucks. And that's how he finds out, you know, all the stuff about Selena and why she was sent away. But, like you said, it really just, for him, he was like, why couldn't you trust me? Like, this is just, I was your longest, oldest friend, and this is what's now happening to us. I know. And it's almost like I want Dorian to be involved because I feel like he could be helpful. And, like, he already doesn't like his father. So I think that could, like, can't they, like, all figure it out together? I know. I understand Kale's reasoning. But, like, I'm like, ugh. Like, I hope that this doesn't make it worse because I feel like I know why Dorian's trying to hide it right now, but I also feel like he needs to learn control. He needs to learn his magic eventually. So I don't know. So we'll see. Yeah, no, I agree. Because I do think, you know, one, he's going to take over after his father. So if he has this, like, trustworthy counsel, and even if he overthrew his father, like, he's with the rebels to create this better world. Yeah. So, yeah, I agree. So then on to our, one of our newest favorite characters, and Mia Mercer's talking about this. I want to say Manon. I was told that it's Manon. I'm going to say it wrong so many times because it looks like Manon to me, but it is what it is. So Manon, we are introduced as she is hunting down the, I cannot say the witch's name. Offering witches. Thank you. She's basically luring a bunch of these farmers to their deaths. And I was like, oh my gosh, girl, like. This is really dark. Calm down. With the nails. Like, she's got these long ass claw nails, and she slices them open, and then she's licking them. And I'm like, oh my God. And they're like eating their throat. Yeah. Tearing their throats out and everything. I am curious, like, what side she's going to end up on. Me too. I'm very, very curious about that. So like I said, we meet her killing these farmers, and then she's immediately called to this iron witch, not trial, but meeting, a giant meeting with all of the clans. And they meet up with the Duke. And Marissa, I actually loved your notes on this. I had no idea who the prisoners were. Like, I was just like, oh, they smell weird. Um, and then you wrote down that it was probably, um, Rowland and Calpain. And I was like, well, son of a bitch, yes. Oh my gosh, I'm such an idiot. Oh no, I mean, I just assumed, because like, you know, she said that they smelled weird, and like, that they were, it was like a male and a female. And it was him. And I knew it's like the last book, we knew that they were taken away. Yeah. And so, with the Duke. So I was like, okay, so I'm assuming it's them. But yeah, they didn't actually, they didn't say. I think you're right, though. I definitely think you're right. Especially because it seems like Manon, compared to everyone else, has a very heightened sense of, like, the obsidian and other things that are just wrong. So what do you think about that? Why is she the only one? I, I want to say it's because she's going to end up being good. But her just pure heart, even though she's like, I definitely don't have a soul or a heart. But yeah, I am curious about that, because she continues to bring it up. And she's like, oh, I should go talk to the 13 and see if they've noticed this too. And then she doesn't. But no one's brought it up to her either, where she's like, I feel like people would. Yeah, because like, they were like, like, some of them were like, going and like, biting. Like, it was like, you know, a whole sexual thing. But like, vampires. Yeah, tasting the blood. But she did it. Was she like, she attacked one of the handlers? Handlers. Yeah. And she like, was so revolted and disgusted. So it's like, how would they have been able to kind of do that without being like, disgusted themselves? So obviously, she's the only one. Yeah. I have some crazy theories on this. I have some too. So we'll get to that. Okay. So they meet up with the Duke. The clans are basically promised, if you be our, I'm going to call them the Air Force, be our evil Air Force, we will give you the wyverns to fly after this is all done, but you get to keep them because magic is still not coming back. So you can't use your brooms, but we will give you these to continue your evilness. So they agree. All the clans go out to this mountainside and start training. And they do not get along. Definitely, definitely do not get along. And the really big things that happen outside of that is, like I said, they don't get along. Ishka and Petra are the other clan leaders. So there's the Blackbeaks, the Yellowlegs, and the Bluebloods, I believe it is. And so during this time, they're finally presented to get their wyverns and Ishka pushes Manon into the ring. And instead of taking Titus, who's this big, crazy wyvern, she ends up taking the bait beast. And they just have like a little cute connection, like they're so evil together. Oh, I know. I love this storyline between her and her. Like, I really like that. Yeah, I love that. And I honestly feel like that's like so unique too. Like, you know, how we talked about, like how she's like has more of a heart. Like, I just feel like why would she have chosen him? Yes, he did beat Titus, but she like saw more in him because of that. Like, he wanted it more. Like, you know, I don't know. So she has like these feelings, which I feel like as a witch, they don't care. She should just be like, oh, Titus needs to kill the, you know, bait beast. I'm going to run and hide until that's done. And then I'll take him and we're good. But no, she ends up sticking around. So it's pretty unique. And so she ends up getting him a new tail, new teeth, all this stuff to kind of help him. And you had mentioned that when she first goes in to kind of inspect him, she goes in with the handlers and they come in with whips. And Abraxas is terrified of this. And this, you know, he's been beaten. I don't want to say senseless, but aggressively by these people. And so when they don't listen to Manon to back off, she cuts one of them and is then, you know, being her witchy self and licking the blood off her nails and like gags on it. Cause she, and I wrote this down specifically that it tastes like decay. Yeah, like decay. Exactly. So I was like, who has been changed or affected or like, you know, how far does this go? Cause it's not mentioned yet that any of these people have rings. But I'm, I'm very curious who has been affected and who hasn't. I don't know if it's like one of those things, like the king, because he controls so much, like he's been giving them power or like little bits of power to kind of like, keep them around and persuade them to stick around and do his bidding. And like, maybe that unnatural power, like literally eats you from the inside. That, or if it's like this mountainside specific, like he's done something to it. So anyone that enters that area or something. Yeah. So I am curious about that. But by the end of this section with her, she is, she has ridden Braxis at least once and she's saddled up to kind of lead the 13 and their first like light as a unit. Cause she wants to be their wing leader. Hashtag fourth wing. And they're going to have war games. Hashtag fourth wing. I know. I thought that was funny, but again, I am curious to see where their storyline goes. And if she ends up being good, evil, you know, all of that. Yeah, I, yeah, I definitely think she's going to be good. She's going to switch sides. I feel like they wouldn't really highlight her character. Otherwise, I mean, maybe they would, I don't know. It was just like a weird, like when I first like was like reading the first couple chapters, I was like, why do I care about her? She seems evil. Yeah. But yeah, then when she like, like the storyline is kind of evolving with her. I definitely like her a lot more. I don't know. I have this theory that she's not fully a witch. And that's why she can sense the magic. I have a feeling that she has like some sort of magic in her and maybe she's somewhat say too. Otherwise, I was like, why? Why can she sense it when, you know, none of the other witches have that ability? Yeah. So I don't know. I don't know if that's going to be true. Or maybe it's just, you know, like you said, maybe it's just like that. She does have like more of a soul. I don't know. In comparison to the other ones, but. Yeah, I really like her character so far. I was very impressed because I really wasn't sure how I felt about her at the beginning. But by the middle, I'm like, really liking it. I know. I feel bad rooting for her. Because I'm like, I know you're evil, at least right now. But let's be friends. I know. I know. But I like her. And I love Agraxos. Like, I love that scene where he's like sniffing the flowers. I was like, oh, you're so cute. You're like a little, little puppy dog. Yes. And I do like the 13. I like how they have that set up. That it's like this such a tight knit, close unit that they constantly have each other's backs. I feel bad how often they like have to beat the crap out of each other. But I know, I know. It's so gruesome. And they're like, oh, yeah, it was deserved. Yeah. Okay. Well, then. Okay, glad I'm not one of you guys. Yeah. I know. So we will jump on to our last characters then. Selana and Rowan. So Rowan is our huge new character. But we'll start with just Selana because we see her by herself originally. And it is just, it's not going good for her. She is just having a really tough time. Nahania has obviously been killed. And she's gone across the sea to Gwendolyn to try and find out more. And Avenger and, you know, save her city and all of this and her kingdom. And it's just not going well. That she's become basically an alcoholic. She's incredibly depressed. She's given up on trying to get into the kingdom at all. Where the prince there and his family is actually another cousin of Selana's. And she knows that, you know, his people love him. Love, love, love him. And I think this makes it worse for her and pushes her more towards that. Because she's like, Nahania was loved. This guy's loved. They could have created a beautiful world together. And she betrayed me and left me. And I'm just feeling broken. Yeah. And I feel like she just really doubts herself. She's like, what the heck can I do? Like, I don't have that position right now. I don't have people like that that are backing me. I'm completely alone. What the heck am I supposed to do? Yeah, I feel bad. She's like, just feels totally hopeless. I know. She's literally like, all I can do is kill people. And that's not helpful in any way. Right. So she's basically feeling like a vagabond and just dirty, smelly, and runs into Rowan. Or Rowan seeks her out and drags her to officially meet Maeve, who is her aunt. And we find out that their history was her mother, when she had Selena, she was not commanded, but instructed to bring Selena to meet Maeve. And her mom was like, that's not going to happen. I'm not bringing you anywhere near her. I don't trust her. Like, something is kind of off about Maeve as well. And we do see that a little bit in their initial meeting. I want to say she's controlling. But definitely, yeah, I don't know. I just, I get a weird vibe from her, for sure. Yeah, I don't fully trust her. Like, I don't know what her intentions are. Like, you know, why was she demanding like, Selena's mom to like, meet her when she was born? Like, what, like, I know Selena's like, the heir, like the rightful heir, right, to the throne. But like, I don't know if like, Maeve was planning on like, kind of like using Selena in her own way. Like, and that's what I was thinking. Like manipulating her? Yeah. I don't know. Because it sounds like Maeve almost likes to collect, I don't want to say pretty things, but like magic, and that fire and Selena's ability to, you know, switch between, say, in human or very unique gifts. And she just kind of wants these things that I'm not sure, you know, what she can even use them for. But yeah, that's actually a great, great way to put it. She does like to collect, like the best of the best, right? And like, I mean, that's kind of what it seems like she's doing with Dornell, right? That area where all these really special people will go. What they do when they get there, we have no freaking idea. I don't know if this is a huge area or they're like, sent to, you know, basically brought up to rule for her or like, do her bidding. I don't know. It's just very strange. Yeah, and she's very particular about who she lets in, who she doesn't. It's like some secret cult. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like you said, we don't know what's actually in this city. So I'm curious if we'll actually ever make it to the city for this book, or if that will be a different one. But yeah, I don't, I don't really trust Maeve. But everyone, like, aggressively follows her, especially Rowan. He's like, if you even, like, bad mouth her or say Queen Maeve in an unsettling tone, like. Yeah. Yeah. So Maeve basically sets down rules that you are going to train with Rowan. When Rowan decides you're ready, I will give you answers on the word keys and other things like that. And Selina, being very smart, specifically says you need to give me truthful answers. Because the Fae, we learn, like, to kind of manipulate their answers. Yes. Which kind of made me think of, like, djinns or genies that, you know, in Aladdin, they're, you know, obviously nice and sweet. But in kind of realistic terms, they like to twist your words or their words that no matter what happens, they kind of come out on top. That's definitely how they're kind of playing it or having the Fae come off as. So I'm curious on that, if something's going to come back and bite Selina in the butt there. But so Rowan and her start training. It does not go well. Actually, it's pretty bad. It does not. It does not. He is such a jerk. Yes. I was like, holy crap. This guy is angry with the world. Oh, man. Yeah, aggressively so. Everyone. And, you know, we don't find out why yet. You know, obviously, we do find out later and we're like, oh, okay. But I really did not like him. I was like, why does everyone love him? Because I've seen stuff on Instagram and everything. But I was like, I don't know. Yeah, yeah. We just have not gotten to know him. So obviously, he's just like putting off this really hard front. And yeah, he just he has no sympathy for Selina at all. And I think it's just he has his own like, you know, tragedies in his own past. So he just assumes that no one could ever have the same or more tragedies as him. So I think he just doesn't care about her and care about her feelings. Yeah. I mean, this is yeah, that first training was rough. I mean, he calls her a coward, which is obviously her like breaking term. Yeah. Yeah. She obviously completely shuts down. She's like, okay, well, I'm not gonna fucking respond to that. Um, and then he makes her face the white, or thinks that she's gonna face them. I don't know. He's not that way. I think that's correct. But the white, that's what I'm going with. I had to Google this too, because I was like, I don't know what the heck this even is. Like, they don't really explain it. And there's like so many different things on Google. And when you Google what I saw, undead grave spirit. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Um, I, I want to say they like are mentioned in the Witcher series. And that's how I kind of got them that they're kind of an undead being or something that just kind of lurks in graveyards and likes to go after living things, even though it's dead. Yeah. But it's just kind of creepy. Yeah, super creepy. Yeah, but she ends up facing a different being that ends up making her like, relive her parents' death and her mother's death. And that was brutal. That was like, horrible to read. I know. Yeah. And when it touches her too, I was like, Oh my God, this is super creepy. And how she describes it, it's like human except for its eyes, which are completely black. And the other kind of terrifying thing is that Rowan does not know what this is at all. That basically, she gets suddenly shrouded in darkness after seeing this creature. She's made to relive her memories. And it basically feeds off of this. It's like a Dementor. It just feeds off these terrible memories. And so she's able to break out somehow and gets back to Rowan. Rowan being himself was like, I told you to cross the field, but I also said to face the lights and you didn't. So she's like, God damn it. Literally, I know. And she like vomits, pees herself, literally everything. She's like, scared shitless. And he has literally no sense of face. Yeah, he's like, fuck it, Rowan. Yeah. So, you know, she goes back, she works in the kitchen. Not a ton has happened really in the kitchen. She's just kind of learning about Emery, I believe his name is, is how you say it, Luca and then Malachi, you know, kind of seeing their bond and their family and seeing what she doesn't have, which is very sad for her. Listening on the stories and just kind of, you know, bonding with them a little bit up until she kind of cracks. And so, you know, she's continuing this training then and ends up kind of, like I said, cracking when Rowan has a friend come in. And this buddy, she brings up food while he's with him. And Rowan yells at her and basically tells her what a piece of crap she is. And I think this is the point where it says, like, her flame, like, went out after this, that something just kind of broke in her. Yeah, this is like towards the end of their, like, their storyline. Yeah, like, you know, she sees him, like, tattooing, like, some dude in his room. Yeah, I'm dumping all over the place. Oh, my goodness. Oh, no, you're good. Yeah. And yeah, no, she totally, like, kind of shuts down. Because yeah, this whole time, like, he's just trying, like, get her to switch into her Fae form. And like, you know, every, like, method he's trying on is just he, he just doesn't care. And it just doesn't work for Selena, right? Like, I need someone just a little bit more supportive. She needs a friend. That's what she really needs. Yeah, kind of complete this stuff. And he, it just isn't doing that for her. Yeah, which he, he does. It's not necessary that he finds a way. But Selena ends up leaving. And I think this is before the tattoo guy. But she ends up leaving at one point, just completely upset. It might actually be like, right after the white. So she's just like, I can't, I'm done with this. I'm not doing this. And ends up coming across the skinwalkers. Yeah. They are disgusting. Yeah, it's very Hannibal Lecter up in here that they basically capture anything that has skin, peel it off, and then sew it into little pajamas for themselves. Just gross. So creepy. And they smell terrible, which is the worst part. Yeah, yeah, Selena does leave. And then, yeah, obviously Rowan finds her, helps her. And then she is able to, like, essentially turn into her Fae form at this point. They do run away. She does release fire too. She's able to control. Yeah, Fae ability, which is kind of fun. Like her and Rowan start to trust each other, maybe a little bit at this point. It seems like they get along a little bit more. And yeah, so at this point, it's only been really, like, fear and anger that's been able to kind of transition her to this, like, Fae form. Yeah, but then obviously, you know, Rowan goes back to being a jerk. Yeah. Aggressive falling out. I know, it's like, there was like a little bit of nice, because like he takes her to the Taurus as me, which is like a girl back from Assassin's Blade, which we, I thought we were going to meet that one healer that she met. I was like, oh, are they going to bring that back? And then they didn't yet. So yeah, but they, you know, they go to this town. Oh, shoot. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I completely left out that he shows that he's starting to trust her by taking her to investigate these bodies. And I do think it's the same thing that attacked her in the graveyard. That's like draining these people. But the weird thing is no one is saying anything about them, that these people aren't missing. So I don't know if like people are having their memories wiped, or like, it's just very odd that they're finding all these bodies that no one's like, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know if it's because people are afraid, maybe. And maybe this thing told them, like, if you tell anyone about this, I will come for you. Yeah. Like, I'm not sure if like they're making deals with this thing or not. But yeah, there's just some weird, creepy creature that's leaving bodies. And it's obviously very purposely leaving them out in the open. Like they mentioned that a bunch of times. They're like, literally, this thing could just dump it in the sea, and no one would know. No one would know. Yeah. They leave it purposely placed in like areas where people will find these bodies. And I don't know if it's just like a threat, or if maybe these bodies are from somewhere else. Oh, that's a good point. Like it's getting them from somewhere else, and then kind of like bringing them there. That's why no one knows that they're missing, because they're like, well, they're not actually from around here. Right. But yeah, so they have this kind of building of trust after the skinwalkers, after these body investigations, going to the town, going to the healers club. And then, like I said, got ahead of myself that Selena brings food while Rowan is tattooing another fae. And Rowan snaps at her and basically tells her, I don't care what you do. I don't care about you. I don't care what happens to you. You know, you literally are of no significance to me. And, you know, she was just starting to rebuild these relationships. And so she just kind of dies inside. It's like, okay. I know. Yeah, that was terrible. I was so mad when I was like, I know it is so obvious that she just wants someone, a companion, someone totally alone. She has no one like he's the one that she's been spending the most time with. Just give her a little something. Yeah, she really just wants a friend. I know. And it's just I felt so bad for her. And so she, like you said, just kind of breaks after this, that she yells at Emery, yells at Luca, Malachi. I like Malachi. He's like one of my favorite characters and he's like barely there. I just love that Emery's like, look at my new little blade. And she's like, I don't care. It doesn't matter. And Malachi's like, I just love you. Why do I like you so much? But so all of that happens and she storms out. Rowan kind of comes looking for her. Emery like lays the smack down on Rowan. I was like, good for you, old man. Like you little Demi Fae creature. I know. And so Rowan goes looking for her. Oh my gosh, I don't know why I'm blanking on what happens there. Oh, no. Yeah, I think she was just like crying. She was just like crying. And I think he basically apologized without really apologizing. But not really? Yeah, I was like, all right. I guess it makes it all better. Like an awkward pat on the shoulder. Like, yeah, it's okay. And then, yeah, then he basically is like, I think I understand you now. And he's like, dude, you definitely do not. And then they go and eat stew together. And then they go, yeah, he captures fucking Luca. It's like, I know now how to get you to transform yourself. I was like, you moron. You ass moron. I love Luca in this part. Oh, me too. He's so funny. Why did you agree to do this? And he's like, well, he told me I would have food or something. I'm hungry. Come and rescue me already. I was like, this is me. This is me. Is there food? I'll be there. Yep. So this is kind of wrapping up the end of this section. But they, Rowan has taken Luca, gets them all chained up at the middle of this deserted lake under bald mountains and freezes over the lake. And he's just like, hey, you just have to turn into a fae. Because if not, you won't get to him in time. The ice will crack. And you have to get him out using a controlled fire. Because that's what they've been working on. So those two big things. Um, so, you know, she shimmies across the ice. Everything's fine. She starts burning away the ice that's around his shackles and, you know, gets those up. And she gets Luca up and looks down. And there's like a single red eye just like staring at him. So we don't know pretty much anything else about this creature except that it then starts, you know, attacking the ice and trying to get at them. Um, so they're, you know, trying to get back to the other side. Rowan throws this blade to Selena, which she specifically mentions there's a ruby in it. And she mentions this again a couple times. But that also like a ring falls out of it or near it or. Yeah, it sounded like there's like a ruby in the hilt of the sword. And then when he tossed it to her, the ruby came out and a ring popped out of that area. And so she just like grabs the ring, puts it in her pocket, grabs the sword. And we didn't really know. Like, we just see that, you know, Rowan grabbed it from the wall of the cave. Like, I don't know if it appeared to him. Or then when they saw this, they encountered this beast. Maybe when the beast is awakened, that's like the sword that like. Yeah, but it eats people whole. I just picture a giant whale. I don't know. Yes, I love it. So they get back across the ice. I thought more was going to happen. I thought they were going to battle it. But they get to the other side of the ice. They get back to the keep. And they're like, hey, it won't come in because the gates are, you know, magically protected. But Selena keeps thinking about it. I do think it's going to come up later. One, I think the actual beast is going to show up because she keeps mentioning like, oh, it can like. Something about the night or I don't know. But we find out more of its backstory from Emery that there was, you know, multiple people who went under the Bald Mountain, kept getting trapped. And then this specific fae, I think, went under there and fought the beast, cut out its eye, which I think the eye is the ruby. I think that's what that is. Because like I said, one of the eyes is missing that the ruby. Yes, the ruby they talk about. They're like, it's not really like something's off about it. And I think the ring will give away some more about that. But then he trapped the beast under Bald Mountain as long as the mountain is there. So I do think this guy is going to end up being important in some way when we find out who he is or what he is. And then, like I said, I do think the beast is going to come back in some way. But, you know, he might not. Who knows? But he's on there. I don't know. I was like, thinking I was like, is the sword or the ring like a word key, maybe? Because I was like, I'm talking about this beast also being like a word key as well. So I was like, I don't know if like someone brought him here and used a word key. And then. Because they had one in like a volcano and a volcano is like a mountain. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Maybe, maybe. That was like what I thought of. But I was like, it's probably not right. That's a good one, though. That would be because we don't know what the word keys look like. They like we don't know if they're actual keys or like items or, you know. So that's a good guess. That would be cool to see. So I am I'm intrigued to see that. I know. You're smart with the eye, though, too. I didn't think about that. That was a good one. And the snoggin. Everyone gets all mad at them. It's like, you guys just leave at least leave Luca out of it. Come on and stop beating each other up because they get into like a whole fight, which is good because it shows Selena does actually care about these people. Like, she hasn't completely died off, you know. Yeah, I think it does. It does help her. I mean, like, it helps her learn a little bit more control with her magic, too, and because she's like fighting for the people that she loves. Yeah, I guess. Yeah, I guess Rowan's not completely an idiot. But yeah, that's where her power comes from is the people she cares about. And so it ends with the most depressing story possible, which I did not want to feel bad for Rowan because, like I said, was not a fan of him. But come on, Sarah. Why? Rowan's backstory is that he did have a mate. It was 200 years ago, like 30 months. He knows the exact, like, down to the minute when he lost her. But he fell in love or mated with a Fae that Maeve did not feel was worthy. And so he then felt that he needed to constantly prove himself to Maeve and take pretty much these—take everything as a challenge, that he would do all these very aggressive wars and battles and everything. And so— Your typical, like, high school or college kid. Yes, like, ugh, dude. Super aggressive, yeah. Yeah, like, people are like, I dare you to do this. And he's like, okay. And so he leaves his mate that he specifically mentioned, like, hey, they lived in the mountain pass. He leaves his mate to go off to this battle, come to find out the battle was just a distraction, that they sent, kind of, not necessarily scouts, but, like, a separate group to infiltrate the mountain pass and kill everyone there to get through, and that his wife or his mate was one of them. And not only was it his mate who was killed, she was pregnant and didn't tell him at the time of when he left. And we don't know how long he was gone or how long the Fays, you know, are pregnant for, but he lost literally everything, his whole world. So he had a very similar experience to Selena, that he just goes into this absolute darkness, depression, just everything that he wanted to die at this point, but just couldn't do it. And so Maeve eventually calls him back. He's like, here's some stuff to help you, not necessarily get over it, but just kind of power through. Yeah, keep him busy. Yeah, and ends up leading him to then meet Selena. And so their final, kind of, words are that they're going to help each other heal together. So I sense a little romance. Oh, yeah, for sure, for sure. I remember when I introduced him, I was like, okay, like, hot Faye tattoo guy. I was like, all right. Well, yeah, of course, of course. And then he bites her, that one, like, strangely sexual bite. Yeah. Wait, what is happening? Are they about to make out? Like, I don't know. Yeah, because then he literally is like, oh, yeah, I won't do that again. And she's like, well, why not? And you don't fight another, you know, male's, I don't want to say property, but territory. Yeah. We're like, oh, okay. And she's like, I'm not. Hey, by the way, we broke up before that. We think that's super broken up about it. I don't know. Yeah, that was great. Also, like, something to like, I thought, obviously, just kind of furthers the probably the romantic relationship with her abilities are like fire. All right. And his is like ice and wind opposite. I was like, oh, oh, yay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I'm excited. I'm excited to finish the book, which that's what we'll do. This upcoming week, we'll finish off the book. Marissa, any last minute thoughts or predictions? No, I'm really excited, too. I'm super excited to hear more from Manon and her story. And Abraxas, I love those two guys. I know, I'm weirdly most excited about their story. I know, me too, me too. I'm really excited. I feel like she's going to become a bigger thing. So I'm excited to hear more from her. But yeah, overall, I'm excited. I like that they've introduced some more characters in this book. I think she does a great job kind of like going back and forth between the two. So I thought, like, when we moved away from that last book, I was a little nervous. I was like, oh, man, everyone's in different locations now. Like, how do you do that? It's going to get really weird. And I definitely like the shorter chapters going back and forth. So you don't, like, forget about what happened to the previous characters. Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. Perfect. Well, like I said, we will finish off the book this week. And with that being said, go read my little bookworm.