Lexi (2:49)

Additionally, we are so excited to see you at upcoming live events.

Nicole (2:52)

You can dance the night away with us in just a few weeks at the Fantastique Collections New Year's Eve Drop Party in Denver, Colorado.

Lexi (2:59)

We are partnering with Barnes and Noble for the Onyx Storm Midnight Release party on January 20, 2025 in Glendale, Col.

Nicole (3:07)

We have so much in store as podcast Partners in Romantasy BookCon in LA in February 2025 and in Orlando, Florida in 2025.

Lexi (3:15)

We'll also be featured guests at Enchanticon in St. Louis, Missouri August 15th through 17th, 2025.

Nicole (3:22)

Links to all of these events and more are in the show notes.

Lexi (3:26)

And lastly, if you love Fantasy Fangirls and have been loving this ACOTAR series journey, we're on together. If you want more content, more community, more events, more in the lead up to Onyx Storm and just more all around please our patreon we have three.

Nicole (3:41)

Membership tiers that you can join. Number one is the Valkyries which includes access to our BOP and Discord live Q&As from Lexi and I, a book club, exclusive author interviews, community events, promo codes for live events, plus a 20% off discounted merch store that is all for $5 a month. Or you can join the High Fae which includes everything from the Valkyrie level plus early access to ad free episodes, our full episode outlines and special voting privileges for $10 a month. And last but not least, we have the Inner Circle. By the way, all of these names are about to change a few weeks which is wild. The Inner Circle includes everything from the other two tiers plus more behind the scenes content, a welcome gift, giveaways, private Discord Channel, your name shouted out on the podcast and that is for 25amonth.

Lexi (4:25)

Join the party at patreon.com fantasy fangirls. The link is also in the show notes and really and truly friends, thank you so much for supporting us as we've turned this podcast into our livelihood. It's all because of you.

Nicole (4:37)

And now it is time to kick ass and take some names in the Blood Rite. Dun dun dun.

Lexi (4:44)

To kick off every episode, Nicole summarizes what happens in this stretch of chapters. So gather round friends. We need an inner circle debrief for silver flames. Chapters 65 through 72.

Nicole (4:56)

Chapter 65 after her first blood right kill. Nesta is on a mission to find Emery or Gwen. Ideally both. But she'll take what she can get. But what's this? A flash catches her eye. The Taylor Swift friendship bracelet Valkyrie homing beacon has been activated. Deciding to head north because that's where the bracelet seems to be shouting Run Nesta, run. She remembers she doesn't have food or water or anything, but it's time to smash cut to Cassian. Smash Cassian. Cassian curses Eris for being stupid. That's it. That's the tweet back to Nesta. Chapter 66 Nesta faces off with an Illyrian warrior wannabe. But Nesta tells him what she wants. What she really really wants. Her friend and this Illyrian warrior wannabe. Let's slip that Emery was left at the camp. So Nessa let's slip her into his giant hanging balls. Nesta runs into another set of Illyrians and overhears talk of Emery being in the water. Nesta follows this lead like Sherlock looking for Watson. And she finds her friend who seems to be doing her best impression of Aragorn washing up on shore after the war battle. Before he's waking up by a horsey. Well, not a horsey, but a Nesta jumping into the cold water are not a horse. Nesta pulls Emery out of the riverbank and Emery might be a little bit battered and bleeding, but she lives. As night descends, Nesta grabs Emery in search of shelter. Surprised motherfuckers. An Illyrian male sneaks up on them, but seems to have a plan of being an innocent bystander. A very helpful one who points out a cave where they make up camp for the night. The next morning the sky's awake. So we're awake. And a lot of Illyrians are not. Because they were an all you can eat buffet for the creatures of Illyria. Meanwhile, back to Cassian. He still can't find the red headed wizard and hand me down ropes. AKA Eris. And he's also worried for his mate. But no news is good news. Right again. That's it. Back to the blood rite. Emery wakes up after Nesta gets them both food and clothing from the blood bloodbath of bodies. Now Blossom and Buttercup just need to find their bubbles. Chapter 67 Moving South Emery and Nesta find a nightgown hanging from a branch. Fearing the worst for their dearest redhead, they stalk around the camp. But oh, no. Emery is grabbed by two Illyrian dick bags and back to Cassian. There's still no sign of Eris, but at least there's Azriel to give him the voice of reason. Chill pill. That's it. Back to the blood. Right. Nessa and Emery are mocked for falling for the nightgown trick, courtesy of Belius and company. But as Cousin Dipshit Bellies steps towards Nesta, the Greedy is stopped when Cat Serpent Thing slices his body open. Yummy. While Kitty Cat is pouncing, a female voice calls out to Nesta and Emery.

Lexi (7:30)

It's Gwen.

Nicole (7:31)

How smarty pants that she is. She was also following the magic glowing friendship bracelet and seeing her friends in danger, she led the giant kitty to the douche canoes. Chapter 68 with no caves to spend the night, Angelica, Peggy and Eliza find themselves in a tree. And Emery gives them a bedtime of A Brief History of the Right and Ramiel. Day four of the Right begins and today's task is get to the ravine to cross the bridge and hopefully destroy it before no one else gets killed. Easy. But we can't get too comfy because it's back to Cassian. Cassian is getting salty after four days of spying with Azriel. But alas, the castle is too warded to do anything else but wait. Oh. But something finally actually happens. Someone is leaving the castle. Well, shit. It's Briallyn and Eris with a dagger. Fucking traitor. Back to the Blood. Right. Nesta, Emery and Gwen reach the bridge just as a group of Illyrian males choose to start a race. Nessa and Emery get across, but Gwen is shot down with an arrow to the leg. But have no fear, the Valkyries are here working as a team. They managed to cut down the bridge, sending a bunch of Illyrians into the ravine, but not Gwen. Thanks to some makeshift archery skills, she is now across with her friends. Two days go by and there's a big decision to be made. To climb Ramiel or not to climb Ramiel. The deciding factor? Vulnerability. Each of the three share their backstories, and by the end, they have officially decided they are ready to win the whole damn thing. Chapter 6969 seems like a good time to check in with the Bat boys. Asriel and Cassian follow Eris for three days as the caravan leisurely jaunts across the continent. But there's not a whole lot of time for critiquing. Eris's under the speed limit horse driving, because Eris sneaks up behind Cassian holding a dagger to his ribs. Rude. Back to the blood. Right. The trio is struggling on their climb. But. Oh, what's that below? It's dad. Sick bag. Billy is in company and they're catching up. Back to Cassian. Eris expresses his disappointment and how easy it was to catch these two. To which Asriel threatens his life. Because couple goals. Back to the blood. Right. While Nesta does her best to carry her very injured friend Gwen up the mountain, her knees give out and they fall back to the start of the upward climb. Seeing no way to go on with the three of them, Nesta gives Gwen the ultimate nighty night pat on the back and knocks her out. Back to Cassian. A captured Cassian and Azriel follow the hunched cloaked figure and Eris to a lake. A lake?

Lexi (9:51)

No.

Nicole (9:52)

Appearing out of the shadows is more shadows. Welcome to the stage coast, Jay. You finally fucking made it. And how's that whiplash treating you? Good. Back to the blood. Right. Nesta readies herself for a fight and draws a line in the dirt. Chapter 70 Charging Forward Team cousin Dipshit begins to face off with Nesta. But it looks like she had one hell of a teacher. One by one they fall to their deaths. And as she's slicing each one down, Nesta wonders what it would be like to be wielding Ataraxia at this moment. And we get the official name meaning inner peace. Chapter 71 I love tennis. Especially when it involves going back to Cassian. Coach taunts Asriel and Cassian for how easily they fell for his brilliant beyond brilliant plan. And even though Azriel is able to get Eris and take to the skies infinity and beyond style, something is stopping Cassian from pulling a Buzz Lightyear. Briellen has used the crown on Cassian and these two are winnowed away. Too bad this episode is not sponsored by a neck brace company because we're again back to Nesta. Her sword slick with blood, she turn her only remaining foe. Bellius. But what's that? Her friends made it to the top of the mountain and won the whole thing. Take that, illyrian patriarchy. Chapter 72. All that's left to do now is hold off bellies for a few more minutes until the blood ride is over. Nesta fights for her life in hand to hand combat against this nickel brained numb nut. But how was she so good at this hand to hand? Well Bellius, it's because her mate taught her well. Yeah, he did.

Lexi (11:22)

Being an adult has its high points. You can eat dessert before dinner like I just did on my birthday. Or you can stay up all night reading your favorite spicy book. But it's not all fun. You also have to do your taxes and take out the trash and make doctor appointments. But luckily for that one there is zocdoc, the healthcare app that makes adulting that much easier.

Nicole (11:41)

Zocdoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high quality in network doctors. Choose the right one for your needs and click to instantly book an appointment. We're talking about network appointments with more than 100,000 healthcare providers across every specialty from mental health to dental health, from eye care to skin care, and much, much more. You can filter for doctors who take your insurance, who are located nearby, who are a good fit for any medical need you may have, and who are highly rated by verified patients.

Lexi (12:12)

You can also see their actual appointment openings. Choose a time that works best for you and click to instantly book a visit it. Plus Zocdoc appointments happen fast, typically within just 24 to 72 hours of booking. You can even score same day appointments.

Nicole (12:27)

We at fantasy fangirls use Zocdoc and you should too. Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com FF to find and instantly book a top rated Doctor today. That's z o c-o c.com ff zocdoc.com.

Lexi (12:45)

Ff f f it's time to step into the cauldron and discuss key insights, character analysis, lore, foreshadowing theories, and oh so much more. And once again friends, I sincerely apologize about my voice. This cold is never ending. I probably should book myself a ZocDoc appointment and I'm just trying to keep my voice going. That vocal steamer is working overtime. So thank you very much for your patience and listening to me today and this voice of mine. I know it's, it's, it's a little raspy. Anyway, with this stretch of chapters jumping between Cassian and Nessa's different POVs and situation, today's Cauldron segment is going to look a little different as we focus first on Cassie's time on the continent and then we'll dive into Nessa's POV during the blood right, because we don't want to get whiplash like Nicole had there during the inner circle debrief. Plus, as we do for action packed sequences, this whole episode is going to be very beat by beat as we walk through all that happens between these two POV plot lines. I'm going to see how well I can do my usual battle reenactment.

Nicole (13:43)

Lexi's hanging on by a thread right now, y'all. She's doing so good.

Lexi (13:48)

It's the first day of the blood rite, but Cassian and Azriel are on a mission to rescue Aerys from Briallyn. They have to be very careful not to get too close to the crown, where they're susceptible to falling under its influence. But they also need to save Aerys from Briallyn's clutches because it's a major risk that he'll reveal the fact that the Night Court has the other two dread Trove objects. Little does our crew know that Briallyn already knows this from the bridge between Nesta and Briallyn when she touched the harp back in the prison all those months ago. Go. So step one, check the Queen's one shared palace. Or as we like to call it, their headquarters. Remember how last summer, so approximately nine months ago, the other three queens left this castle after they had all been holed up there. Eerily quiet since the war. We've speculated whether Brielle and may have used the crown on them to get them out of her way before she started making moves with Baron, but we have no confirmation of that. Our two bat boys are flying high above the ground, relying on their heightened fate eyesight to inspect the land below. The consensus is no sign of Erin Eris or his soldiers who captured him and assumably brought him here. However, the next day Azrael will learn from a human merchant on the road from the palace that a red haired fey male had been dragged into the castle two nights ago. That timeline lines up with when Aerys was taken. And yep, red headed fey mail it all checks out that Aerys is indeed inside the palace. The human merchant says that he heard in a tavern that the male was to be taken soon to another site. Quick pause because my first thought was how does he know this? It leads me to believe Briallyn ensured the info leaked so that it would easily get back to Cassian and Azriel. We can't forget this is all her. Setting the trap for Cassian so Brialen can have Koshj winnow her and Cassian to the blood right where she can then manipulate Nesta into doing her bidding with Cassian, trade the trove objects for Cassian's life or force Cassian to kill her. With this new bit of information, Azriel can formulate step two of their plan to rescue Eris, wait until they leave the castle and then trail them from the cloud cover. All the while, however, Cassian's really struggling to stay focused on the mission at hand. And he's barely sleeping. As he constantly worries about Gwen, Emery and most of all, Nesta, he keeps reminding himself that they will survive. He'll allow no other alternative. So it's almost becoming a mantra for him. They'll survive the right. They have to. Otherwise, if he lets his dark thoughts or scenarios linger for too long, he'll get completely swallowed up by them.

Nicole (16:14)

I so feel for Cassian here. It's already hard knowing that his mate is in this situation. But he also knows, almost hour by hour of what's happening in the blood rite, from participating in it and from also being head of the Illyrian army. So there's this extra anxiety of knowing, okay, they're waking up right now. Okay, there's probably a lot of movement to the mountain. Okay, it's night, so all these monsters are coming out. Like, he knows subconsciously that internally he'd have an inkling if Nesta were dead, because a mate always would know that knowledge. But as he's thinking about this, he says, quote, even if she rejected that. That bond, technically, she has not officially rejected the bond, she just rejected the idea of the bond. But I'm getting into semantics here, because poor Cassian is so stressed out, he's just going on negative spiral after negative spiral.

Lexi (17:02)

It also goes back to what we were talking about last episode, where, yes, Nesta is rejecting the concept of mates, not Cassian himself, but Cassian believes the two go hand in hand. So by her rejecting the word mate, mate, he thinks it's rejecting him and what they share.

Nicole (17:16)

He's barely sleeping, not only because of Nesta and worried about her safety, but also because of the. Remember that whole bomb that Rhys and Feyre dropped on them before leaving? And despite not having talked about it yet, Azriel and Cassian are both bogged down by worry, knowing that they only have a few days with their brother left. And again, I would be so pissed if I had just gotten this news. And then I need to go find fucking Heiress, of all people, rather than be with my family, when, quite frankly, family is needed most right now. Our chosen family is needed most.

Lexi (17:46)

There's such a feeling of helplessness and stomach turning. I'll call it anticipatory grief. As Cassian and of course Azriel, too, process the possibility of losing both of them, he's holding out hope that maybe Amarant can figure out a way to undo the bargain, or Helium can. But from our experience as a reader, the only person who has that kind of power that we've seen so far was the King of Hybern. Though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Helium didn't try like that hard to undo Feyre's bargain with Rhys when Tamlin begged him. But anyway, I'm still sticking with my belief that Rhys would refuse to undo the bargain. He could not live with himself if he escaped death but lost his mate. Four days later. No one has gone in or out of the Queen's towering gray stone castle. No departing groups, no gates opening whatsoever. In fact, no one's even coming or going from the walled city surrounding the palace. Palace quote, as if the gates had been locked, its people kept within. Cassian speculates that Briallyn must know they're here and wonders if she's waiting for them to make a move. Which, yeah, Briallyn and Koshje are banking on Cassian being an impatient brute who will rush in to try and save Eris. However, I do have a little caveat here. Because they wouldn't even be able to sneak into the castle. It's too heavily warded. Azriel says it's full of magical traps that would trip up even Helion. I'm assuming Kosher's power is at play here with how powerful the wards are. Unless the King of Hybern's old wards that tripped as up and Acomath are still intact.

Nicole (19:13)

What if it's both? Like, what if it's still the King of Hybern and also Koshay's like new reinforced wards. I'll say.

Lexi (19:19)

Because I do believe that even though the King of Hybern is dead, his wards can still be in place there.

Nicole (19:24)

Okay, that's fair. That's fair.

Lexi (19:26)

That's how I understand it from, like, how the high lords can ward their cities and tombs and things along those lines.

Nicole (19:32)

Yeah, definitely. I do also want to point out what's the people situation here? Like, Briellen is a ruling queen over a kingdom. If I was one of those people, I'd be like, do you not care about us? Like, what's. Where's your. For us? You only care about this on Prythian.

Lexi (19:49)

Yeah, there's that whole thing too. But has she been amassing an army? Like, nobody knows.

Nicole (19:54)

No one knows.

Lexi (19:55)

Getting super technical here. This is their shared headquarters. This is not her specific territory.

Nicole (20:02)

That's super true. Now, while Azriel is appearing content ish to be patient and wait for Briellen to move Eris. Cassian is ready to make money moves. He is so fucking done. While Azriel is appearing content ish to be patient and wait out and wait for Briellen to move Eris so that they can make a move. Cassian is like, make money moves now please, can we just do fucking something? I can't help but think about when we were back in Acomaf with the King of Hybern and that infiltration. They. They went balls to the walls and they said, we're gonna do our research, but we're going to charge in and do fucking something. Now that didn't work out very well for them. At least they felt like they were doing something.

Lexi (20:40)

I'll say this. It's a good thing as is more patient than Cassian. Because if they went with Cassian's plan, Briallyn would have captured him and gone to the right well before the seventh day. So Nesta would not have had a chance of getting her power back. And Brialen would have won.

Nicole (20:55)

So you're saying Azriel is the true hero of Silver Flames?

Lexi (20:59)

Yes.

Nicole (20:59)

Yes, actually though, yes. Oh, but sweet. Cassian just has to sit here and stew in his own thoughts. I mean, you and I are both such doers. This would be fucking torture.

Lexi (21:11)

Torture.

Nicole (21:12)

Even if they were just doing something slightly proactive, I'll say yes, sitting and waiting is definitely being productive. It's helpful to the mission. But there's a difference between sitting and stewing. And at least like doing so, there's the distraction of you feel like you're on a mission, but no P is left to sit and wait while anxiety just roils through him. With these terrifying thoughts spinning around for four days, it is up to Azriel to be the voice of reason that has been utterly lost on Cassian.

Lexi (21:40)

Over the course of these four days, we really see the stark difference in Cassian and Azriel's personalities. Yes, they are brothers who love each other fiercely. They are also very, very different people, and we've always known that. But that's on full display here with Cassian being impatient and wanting to jump into action. And we can't forget this is as a specialty, spying and waiting for the right moment, thinking long term and more log. But as does seemingly have the upper hand in thinking strategically because Cassian is beside himself with Nesta being in the right.

Nicole (22:11)

When Cassian asks if Azriel thinks Nesta is still alive, he's voicing a thought that has been haunting his every breath for like 96 hours. So Asriel reminds him that Cassian would know in his heart if she was dead. Now, has Cassian opened up to Azriel about Nesta being his Nate? Not to our knowledge. But I think he absolutely fucking knows just from watching them. And I'm assuming also from the shift of scent and all that kind of stuff.

Lexi (22:34)

Stuff, yes. Well, we also know from as his POV bonus chapter that he knew on winter solstice all those months ago that their mates even before they consummated it. So I think it's just general knowledge. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Nicole (22:46)

Azriel also reminds Cassian that quote, you we trained them well. Cassian trust in that. It's all we can do. Oh, I love Azriel here. He's so good. He's saying, you cannot control anything right now. You have to just trust that she has trained and she is skilled enough to hold her own in the blood. Right. As someone who does have quite, quite a bit of anxiety myself myself reminding myself that like basically, hey, there's nothing you can do here. So stop trying to like white knuckle control everything. It is a pretty surefire way for me to calm the fuck down. I also love this subtle we used here because while Cassian was their main teacher, Azriel did quite a bit of side training with Gwen. He trained her in daggers while Cassian and Nesta went to the human realm to walk through the old cottage. And of course there's the bonus chapter. Asriel's so stone faced. I think there's a lot more anxiety happening underneath the surface because Gwen is becoming more and of a friend to him. And I bet he is very worried.

Lexi (23:41)

Over these past four days, Cassian has also been processing what he would do even if they did figure out some loophole in the laws of getting the girls out of the blood. Right. When these females were first taken, he was ready to charge in and save them. He couldn't bear the thought of what they'd have to endure in the blood. Right. But now, while he still is absolutely terrified, he's putting himself in Nessa's shoes and realizing how important her independence and female empowerment is. Even if he could interfere, he'd be taking this opportunity away from Nesta. Is he as worried as can be? Absolutely. But he also understands that she needs for herself to prove that she's a warrior. She would never want someone, including him, to come in and save her when she is so determined to save herself. Azriel's assurance also seems to be sinking in for Him. He taught her the skills to survive the rite. And it's up to Nesta to decide her own fate and save herself. It's interesting because we don't initially get this kind of thinking from Nesta when she's in the blood, right? In fact, she thinks on the first day of the rite, quote Cassian, maybe he was already on his way to save her. The bubble of hope in her chest ruptured. He couldn't rescue her. He'd informed her himself about the laws forbidding such a thing. So Nesta actually hoped he would come save her before she remembered that he couldn't because of the loss. Again, that was just on day one. And things will shift towards the end, which we will get into next episode.

Nicole (24:59)

I also want to point out that that thought process from Nesta is very old Nesta then being covered by new Nesta. What I mean by that is old Nesta, especially like back in Acowar, she was basically. I think she actually did say, other people can do the fighting for me. And that is very much like, okay, someone else can come and rescue me. Wait, fuck, they can't. I need to take control of this. I need to do this. And boy, does she. So I love that. Again, we always talk about how the healing journey is not linear. So it's almost like the shot of old Nesta, like coming to the surface. And then she's like, no way. I can't do this. I will do this. This instead. So that's really cool. Finally, on the fourth day, Cassian shoots to his feet and notices that someone is leaving the castle. But this is odd. There's no prison wagon, which is what they would assume the captured heiress would be in. No, it turns out that they don't need one. Because riding on top of a white horse in the front of the party sits Eris, unchained and jaunting leisurely. He's also sitting side by side with a small figure, however, with no crown. We think at first that this is Briallyn, but we will later learn this is actually a magical trick, as Kosche made this cloaked hunch figure out of complete thin air.

Lexi (26:14)

So, yep, in hindsight, it makes sense that the crown isn't in sight, because the real Briallyn has it. The Bat boys notice that Eris has his maid dagger on his person, which can only mean one thing to Cassian and Azriel. Eris isn't being controlled by the Crown. Crown? How did they come to this conclusion, you ask? Because if he was under the Crown's, influence. They assume Briallyn would have forced Eris to hand over his extremely powerful magical weapon. So since it's still in Eris's possession, it must mean Eris is acting of his own accord, right? Right. And this also seemingly confirms their suspicion that Eris's possession of the Maid Dagger protects him from falling under the control of the Crown. They are convinced that one made object cannot enthrall another maid object's position. Possessor. This feels like a good opportunity to be like Feyre and simply state like calls to like.

Nicole (27:06)

So if he has the dagger, assuming that means he cannot be ensnared by any made objects, then he cannot be under the Crown's influence. That only means one thing. Our Night Court has been played. Traitor Eris. Well, while this is very easy to immediately assume that Eris is evil and devious and the devil incarnate, especially for Cassian and Azriel, who already hate him and always assume the worst of him, but it turns out that Eris is actually under the Crown's control. The main dagger didn't do deadly squat.

Lexi (27:39)

We'll learn that the reason Eris, who is of course in fact under the Crown's control, has not forcibly had to hand over the dagger. This is because Brialen is not able to sense the other maid object's presence because of the Crown's aura of power. Once again, Cassian is like, let's fucking go. Charge. And tear Eris apart. And as is like, no, no. Patience, patience. Easy boy. If they do what Cassian says suggests and capture Eris now, it'll be hard to break him and get him to spill the beans. But if they follow him, Eris will unknowingly reveal how far his betrayal goes. Like always, as is prepared to play the long game. Meanwhile, Cassian just wants to get this mission over with so he can go back home and be near the right for any news about Nesta.

Nicole (28:24)

To be honest, I can relate to Cassian so hard in this moment whenever I am out and about. Whether that's at dinner or a secret mission where I'm spying on a traitor, I am always trying to get home asap. Maybe it's not because my mates in the blood, right? Hopefully. Brett, you listening? But definitely it's more to curl up with the book that I am reading. And Book of the Month makes finding your next book obsession easy.

Lexi (28:45)

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Nicole (29:17)

With the holidays just around the corner, this is the perfect gift to treat yourself to a subscription or get a gift for your friends and family. Who doesn't love the gift of books? That's Lexi and I's MO and all new members will receive a fun holiday themed sticker sheet when they join that Lexi's children I think Common dated, right?

Lexi (29:35)

Oh yeah. I was actually peeling some off of her sleep sack this morning. I don't know how I got there. Don't ask.

Nicole (29:42)

Right now head over to bookofthemonth.com and get your first book for only $5 using the code Tinsel. It's such a good deal and we cannot recommend Book of the Month enough. It's not just about receiving books, it's about the joy of discovery. That's bookofthemonth.com and use code TINSEL to get your first book for just $5.

Lexi (30:01)

And be sure to let Book of the Month know we sent you by selecting Fantasy Fan Girls under Podcasts in the survey after picking out your book.

Nicole (30:08)

Three days later after the four days so we're on the seventh day of spying. We're still following the caravan eastward and a very sleep deprived Cassian knows the Blood Right is almost over. He is itching to get back to the Night Court, so he's there the second the Blood Right is done. But no going back to his mate for now because we're still following this damn caravan until it finally halts deep in the woods at a small lake. There should be massive alarm bells going off right now, y'all.

Lexi (30:37)

I have some questions about the map of the continent so we can safely assume the Human Queen's headquarters palace is located in the Mortal Lands, south of what used to be the Wall. Coastjay's Lake is not marked as such on any of the maps in the Acotar books, but we can guess it is that big forest area and lake in the middle of the continent's fairy realm. So instead of this being east, this is way more north and then a little bit east of where the Human Queen's palace is. Before the King of Hybern used the cauldron to destroy the Wall, the human queens were already in communication with Koshje to sell Vassa to him. Which means the Wall was more or less inconsequential since they somehow some way worked with Kosche so far up in the fairy realm all the way back at the beginning of Akomat Path. It's not impossible. We know there are holes in the wall and Kosche's power is still vastly unknown. But it's something to point out. And again, our two bat boys say they're going east. They're definitely going more north than east. And based on the map scale and traveling distance from Acowar, it would have taken way more than three days to reach Coast J's Lake from the mortal realms. But I also realized the map skill is non existent. So whatever with all of this to say, I do believe the continent map is purposefully not filled in more as we learn more about it in future books. Like for instance Coast Jay's Lake. It is not labeled as Coast Jays Lake on the third day of following this caravan. So day seven of the right where the next morning at dawn it will end. Our bat boys enter a low lying forest beyond the hills, ancient and knotted and full of hanging moss. Azriel points out that he has never been here before, but it feels like an old place. Indeed, it reminds him of the middle, which we know is rooted in ancient magic, where sounds get swallowed up by the air and the woods feel alive in and of themselves. They come upon a small lake which is a very large lake on the continent map. So again, map scale is unreliable, assuming this is Koshe's lake and forest represented on the map. And the caravan of about 20 makes camp along the shore. Real quick, let's call back to Elaine's vision from Acowar about Kosha. J quote, there is a lake deep in the continent, I think, hidden amongst mountains and ancient forests. Ah, yep, all the descriptions are matching up. Our bat boys don't know it yet, but they are at Koshei's Lake.

Nicole (32:55)

For Cassian, I get it. This has not been super top of mind. His mate's also in the blood, right? He's a little distracted. Asriel, you should have known this my guy.

Lexi (33:04)

Even if he's never been here, it's like he should know this.

Nicole (33:07)

Yeah. Cassian hears a Yoo hoo over here and quickly turns only to see that there is a maid dagger being held to Cassian's ribs by this Red haired traitor. How's that? Really good hearing that. That the Bat boys have. How's that treating them right now?

Lexi (33:26)

Well, Percy Weasley taunts Cassian, who is spitting accusations at him, saying how Rhys is so bland these days because he didn't even try to look into Eris's mind. Okay, yeah, I agree. Our thoughts on Rhys not taking advantage of his power. Yes, I know he has better morals than that and it be an invasion of privacy. And one of the reasons we love Rhys is because he takes the morality high road 99% of the time. But I don't know. I'm inclined to agree that when ensuring peace is at stake, the rules are gray.

Nicole (33:57)

He is the definition of I'll do something bad now so that something good can happen in a month or so. Can we remember under the Mountain? He put Feyre under fake drugs every night his mate was drugged and forced to dance on his lap. And he was like, this is fine because it's going to be good in three months. And here he's like, I won't look into someone's mind because right now that's an invasion.

Lexi (34:24)

Eris knows how to shield. We know that about him. He has already proven that he knows how to shield from Acawar. So maybe Rhys would have tried and Eris would have noticed it because of his shields up and he. He's kind of seeking it out and that would have ruined their alliance. Now I gotta defend Rhys. He has been quite preoccupied recently with the devastating news about the baby's wings. So yes, he has been bland these days and not being as strategic as he is distracted by the very real possibility of his mate dying. But let's say he did look into Eris's mind since Eris is actually under the Crown's influence right now, as Cassian will realize momentarily. What would Reese have found? So actually this sounds like Bray Allen fucking with our crew and knowing how to push fantasy fangirls buttons by bringing up Reese's Day. Marty Powers.

Nicole (35:11)

I feel so trolled by Brie Holland right now.

Lexi (35:15)

Just wait until we get Onyx Storm and Rebecca Yarros is literally just gonna poke at us.

Nicole (35:21)

But something is quite off about Eris here. Cassian thinks about how Eris, who never refers to Mor as her formal title, the Morgan I just want to call to attention that I went back to every encounter with Erison Moore. He doesn't call her forever, only Morgan. Cassian anyway, puts two and two together and knows instinctively that this is not Eris at finally using his fucking brain. At least it is not Eris in his right state of mind. Let Eris go, Briallyn. Also, I do want to point out that why Briallyn had Eris use the Morgan is because the only time Briallyn officially met more was back in Acomaf when Mor referred to herself as the Morgan. So of course Briallyn does not know her nickname. Although I will say the King of Highburn did call her Morgan at the end of Acomath when the Queen was present. But still, maybe she was, you know, laser focused on her goal at that point.

Lexi (36:21)

So this hunched and cloaked Briallyn has them follow her to the lake. But ah, the caravan party is gone. Making Cassian wonder if they had even been real. Spoiler alert, they weren't. And they were indeed an illusion. All part of the trap to lure Cassian here. Cassian is terrified of the possibility that Briallyn might already be using the crown on him, or that it'll be used on Azriel. But hey, as still has cold fury in his eyes, so at least that's good. We will learn that at least shortly Cassian will be in the crown's clutches and he won't have realized it. So he very well might be under the crown's influence right now. When Bray Allen draws back the hood of her cloak to reveal herself, there's nothing there. Turns out it's just, quote, an animated kernel of magic. So the only real thing from what the Bat boys have been following these past three days is the crown influenced heiress. Considering how Kostje confined to his lake, it's pretty impressive how he's able to do so much magic from so far away. Again, let me refer you to the map, but it also includes winnowing these soldiers back to the continent, all the way from pythian.

Nicole (37:23)

Speaking of 30ft from the shore of the lake, floating on top of the surface of the water is a shadowy shape of a tall male. The man, the myth, the legend who we've been talking about endlessly. The the guy who sprouted the son of a pine tree Research. He has emerged at last. Kosj has entered the chat, just like.

Lexi (37:45)

Elaine described from her vision back in Acowar. Koshay is shrouded in shadow as she described it, quote, that is all mist and shadow. And he was, quote, some dark who she could not fully see. This shadowy mystery of Kosche, even with him right before us, makes me even more convinced that he's going to be the big bad villain in the next book. We still need him to fully reveal himself. I think it's also such foreshadowing with Shadow magic and as his future POV by how even Azriel's shadows stay tucked behind his wings. Not wanting to be around the shadow of Koshe, I think that the title of the next Acotar book is definitely going to have Shadow in it.

Nicole (38:22)

Absolutely.

Lexi (38:23)

Koshay croons how he spent months preparing for their arrival. And yes, we'll find out that Briellen's plan for a while has been to wait until the right where she'd have the opportunity to take Nessa's powers away from her and use Cassian against her to retrieve the two trove items. Cassian and Azriel's main concern right now is making sure Kosche does not find out about Eris's Bay dagger on him. If Koshay gets in possession of a magical weapon, untold terrible things might happen. Is this foreshadowing for the future? Maybe. So they need to get Eris, who has the dagger on him, away from this very dangerous situation. So Azriel, with an expression of pure terror in the presence of Kosher J, grabs Eris and shoots into the skies with a singular goal of getting the Maid Dagger away from Koshe before he realizes it's even there. I am just so surprised Koshay is not able to sense this magically made weapon because even Rhys and Cassian were able to feel its power anyway. Whatever. But when Cassian tries to launch into the skies too, he physically can't move. He's under the Crown's control, remember? As an errors are meaningless to Briallyn and Kosh Day since they don't know about the main dagger. So they weren't under the Crown's control like Cassian is, who is a pawn in Briallyn's plan. I wonder if the Maid Dagger is not detected by them because of something to do with Nesta's like specific magic. I really would think Briallyn can sense it, or that Koshje is smart enough to sense its power, but whatever, they're free. But my boy Cassian is in deep, deep trouble.

Nicole (39:52)

I want to point out that in what universe would Azriel leave his brother behind so that he could be put under the Crown's control? Yes, I know he's trying to get Aerys and the Maid Dagger away from Coast Day. That is a very fair point. And Asriel was saying I don't want to explain to recent Feyre that you died and I especially don't want to explain to Nesta. He does come back and is like oh no, I can't get you. And then he leaves again.

Lexi (40:17)

I think it actually makes sense for Azriel because again he is so logical and he knows that their number one priority right now for literally saving the entire world is to get this me dagger away from Kosher Jay. I also am going to throw out a theory that a lot of people have been talking about recently is the theory that as an Eris are mates and he might not know it yet, but he feels this pull to save Eris in the situation.

Nicole (40:42)

It's been a minute since we've spoken out about the Azriel and Eris are mates theories because to be quite honest there's not a whole lot of information on the page as we're deep diving that has made us go oh yes, that definitely might be a hint for us. Coach J, almost like he's passing Cassian off, tells Briellen that she can come and take him away because she has plenty of time before dawn when the blood rite is officially over. On the bright side, she's taking him to exactly yes.

Lexi (41:11)

Would just like to point out man it would be so symbolic if it was dusk.

Nicole (41:15)

I know, I thought the same thing. I was like damn it. On the bright side, Briallyn is taking Cassian exactly where he wants to go. Now on the not so bright side, Cassian is officially under the Crown's control, which is really really bad because the Qu has it out for his mate. She knows that Cassie is leverage she can use to get Nesta to do whatever bidding she wants. But we will get into that next episode because we get one final parting comment from Coast J quote, tell my Vassa I am waiting. Hello Book six setup. I really think that Lucian will be one of the POVs next book and part of that will be him and Vassa having to figure out how to get her free. I do think he's going to have to use use some kind of spell cleaning powers to get Vassa free from Kosje which means he'll finally fucking learn about his parentage. And I'm so excited because he's still in the dark. But I could also see Elaine and Azriel being a huge part of this mission because of Kosher being made of shadows like you were saying earlier with that shadow connection, I definitely think that is pairing them together and Elain also having visions of him and his so called black box. So hell, maybe it'll be a foursome that they have to go and they'll all figure their out on this mission. What is wild to me though?

Lexi (42:32)

I don't think that Vassa would get anywhere near the continent or a Kosche unless she has to.

Nicole (42:37)

She's being called back to him.

Lexi (42:39)

There's. There's something else to it because she is somehow out of the realms of their curse right now. But she knows that she has to go back. But it's like is she going to be like forcibly needed to come back to it or. I don't know.

Nicole (42:51)

I think forcibly. But what I want to know know is what deal did Papa Archeron broker so that she could be gone this long? She's gone for almost what, a year and a half? Two years.

Lexi (43:05)

Two years.

Nicole (43:06)

Wow. That is wild. What else is wild to me? This is the only coast J we get this figure who has haunted this book and previous books too. Who we firmly believe is the next big bad villain. Has five lines. That's it. And then he's gone.

Lexi (43:22)

But Cassian's tough predicament is only part of today's episode. Let's time travel back a week and shift our focus to where we left off in Nesta's POV on the day she wakes up in the blood. Right. Quick refresher. Nesta woke up first among the Illyrians at the west location in the blood, right? Turns out someone Cough Cough Bray Allen Cough Cough made sure weapons found their way into the right. Nesta managed to kill a male with a knife and changed into his clothes. Now she is determined to find her friends.

Nicole (43:51)

Nesta knows from Cassian that there are three dumping grounds in the blood rite. One in the north, one in the west where she is and one in the south. If Nesta was dumped in the west, then she can assume that much like the Bat boys, the three Valkyries were also split up into these three dumping grounds. So Nesta, using Cassian's survival skills from their hike, looks at where the moss is on the tree, knowing that where the moss is will always point point north. Fun fact. This is fake as fuck. This doesn't. It's not real.

Lexi (44:19)

Hold on. It's not fake. It is location specific.

Nicole (44:22)

It is location specific and not entirely always true. For instance, it can sometimes favor the north side of trees only in the northern hemisphere because that is where it is shadier. But in the southern hemisphere it also can sometimes grow on the the south side of trees. It really just depends where's the water.

Lexi (44:46)

Fair enough. Since they are in the northern hemisphere, it does apply.

Nicole (44:49)

Nesta knows that she either needs to go pick north or south to go after her friends. But which one? And even if she could get there, would they be gone? Would they be looking for the others? Would they be heading towards Romiel? As Nesta looks around, worried about this completely unwanted situation she's found herself in, something catches her eyes eye. Her small silver charm on her friendship bracelet is glowing, buzzing, as if to say hurry, hurry. But only if she points it towards the north. The south is only a faint glow, and the east, which is not a dumping ground, is nothing. So she trusts her maid gut and knows that the charms are holding their magical power from the wish that she cast upon it a few chapters ago. Remember the wish? She said, quote, may we have the courage to to go out into the world when we are ready, but to always be able to find our way back to each other, no matter what. So Nesta sets off to the north.

Lexi (45:42)

As wonderful and relieving as it is that the magically made charm bracelet works in the right when magic is otherwise banned, Nesta wonders how this magic works when no others do. Since the rite bans magic from wielders and any objects, the power surrounding the rite must not stifle made items. Fey spells apparently like these cast on the right. Again, I'm going to assume the location have to be carefully worded. So whoever had woven the spell for the Illyrians probably never considered the possibility of a maid item winding up here. Which makes us immediately question why Nesta, who is made herself, doesn't have any powers. It's a good question, and one that Nesta wonders too. She realizes that the rite must recognize her as a person and not a thing. As someone who has felt so consumed and scared of her maid magic, this is actually a relief for Nesta. She isn't a made thing. She is a person who channels maid magic. In other words, she is not her power. She is her own person who has power. Well, you know, except for right now, because as a person, that means the magic stifling spell works on her. Now, for me as a reader, I appreciate the symbolism of this and how it fits within Nessa's character arc, but I don't know. This feels like quite the technicality that Nessa's made magic within her doesn't work, but the objects she made do. But we need her to have no power in the right for the plot. So, moving on.

Nicole (47:03)

Cauldron boil me. But before we move on, why don't we take a moment to talk about gifting? It's the holiday season after all. And one of my favorite parts about gift giving, I'm kind of a crazy person when it comes to gift giving. I love to see how specific I can make it to that person. Like almost crazily so. And it's because it's one of my love languages. I love it and it's so great when you can give someone a gift that they wouldn't necessarily give themselves. It's almost like that little bit of luxury that they don't know that they're missing. And for quality gifts at an affordable price, our go to is Quince.

Lexi (47:37)

Quince lets you treat your loved ones and yourself to everyday luxury at an affordable price. One of my personal favorite things that Quince has and I actually wore just the other day. Today I truly believe everyone needs this in their closet is Quince's iconic Mongolian cashmere sweaters, which start at $50.

Nicole (47:53)

Gift luxury this holiday season without the luxury price tag. Go to Quince.com FFG for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com FFG to get free shipping and 365 day return returns. Quince.com FFG running to find one of her friends in her two big boots and not warm enough clothes, Nesta comes face to face with an Illyrian warrior holding a bow with a pointed arrow pointed right to her face. But this is Nesta Archerad we're talking about, so she does not back down. Instead she starts asking him questions immediately, getting the power back in this situation, and he tells her he saw the other female question quote that crippled bitch fucking asshole and that he left Emery to the others in the northern dumping ground. Ah, that hurry, hurry is actually for Emery. Nesta, now armed with this knowledge that she needs to get to Emery asap, bows her head showing complete resignation to this Illyrian douche canoe and then she throws her knife at him where it finds its target right in his balls and she charges at him, then twice twists the blade as deep as possible before pulling it free, grabbing his arrows and bow and then running away. I mean, wow Nesta. Awesome again. Another training callback from Cassian in Acowar, where he showed her a few quick places to hurt a male, one of which being the balls.

Lexi (49:25)

Ouchie miles later, Nesta comes upon a river and a group of warriors at its bank. Hmm, looks like someone also left canteens for the right participants. In addition to weapons. Nesta hides and listens to this group's conversation to see if she can pick up anything about Emery, which yep, she hears a mention how Emery escaped. Nesta correctly assumes her friend must have jumped into the river to escape these males. And as much as she wants to use her newly acquired bow to kill these motherfuckers for what they wanted to do to Emory, she keeps her focus on finding her friend. Sneaking away from this group of males, Nesta quietly slips from tree to tree along the river in search of her friend. And success. Nessa spots an unconscious Emery on the other side of the river, caught on a fallen tree right before the hundred foot plunge down the waterfall. Terrified for her friend in this frigid water, Nested decides she has no option but to take off her clothes, get into this water and cross the river to save Emery. Nesta makes it across the river to save Emery. Huzzah. She drags Emery free of the branches and farther up the bank before inspecting her. First things first. She's breathing. Phew. Her face may be battered, her arm is bleeding, and she does have a head injury, but she is alive. However, she's not waking up. Knowing that they need to get back to the side of the river Nesta came from so they can try to find shelter, Nesta takes Emery and gets back into the freezing cold water to cross again. I love the little detail of Nesta talking to Emery and herself despite her friend being unconscious. It's a small way of not feeling so alone in this really scary situation.

Nicole (50:56)

Another huge moment for Nesta here is how far she's come in her own trauma for one. She gets in the water and at first she's taken back to another time in biting cold liquid surrounding her, which was the cauldron. She starts to think in short sentences, her anxiety fighting back towards the surface. And then quote Nesta let the thought pass, willing it to drift by like a cloud, focused. Go Nesta.

Lexi (51:20)

It reminds me of the prologue where she was so consumed by fear in the cold water of the cauldron and did not have have the mindset skills or the personal growth that she has now had to face this fear Number two.

Nicole (51:31)

While she's not consciously thinking about this on the page, I can't help but think about when her father was killed. She felt like she did nothing to stop it. Here she's not only using her training and fighting against her own trauma from the cauldron, she's also immediately leaping into action, knowing that the only option is to save her friend. And then later, when trying to warm up Emery, Nesta makes A fire. And even though her her monologue mentions how it crackles steadily, there is no mention about it being related to her father's neck. It's a beautiful nod to how far she's come in overcoming that trigger of hers. With her mind stilled, she moves from rock to rock to step to step. And she can't help but think about the 10,000 steps. And maybe it was all for this test of sorts. I'm just so proud of her using these moments where she previously would have spiraled down into her own horrors. And now she's thinking of times that she's overcome and succeeded in her own goals. It's almost like she's giving herself a you can do this pep talk.

Lexi (52:27)

Back on this side of the river, with Nesta's dry clothes and a fire going, the females slowly but surely warm up. One friend down. Huzzah. But the first day, the right is coming to an end. And Nesta knows from Cassian stories that there are terrifying and deadly monsters that prowl at night. She knows they need to find safety in a shelter tonight. And near a river means cave systems have been carved out by by water momentarily. Leaving Emery covered in leaves to stay hidden. Nesta stumbles upon someone else in her search for a cave. Why? Hello, Balthazar. Nesta catches a break in this encounter. Balthazar may be another participant in the rite, but he just wants to keep to himself and reach the mountain. He does not want any trouble, especially with the High Lady, Farah's sister. So he's ready to help Nestor and her injured friend share the cave and then go their separate ways.

Nicole (53:16)

And I'll throw this out this. This guy is quite smart. He instantly puts two and two together. Nesta has an injured person with her that she killed, Navias, because Navias is naked and dead and she has a knife that most likely killed him and she's wearing a male's clothes. I will say this, it is definitely very tell, don't showy. But we also have plot to get through and we need to trust this guy as soon as possible. Balthazar is quite the interesting Illyrian because every other one that Nesta has come across cross is ready to shed some blood. Some for the fact that she's a woman, some for the fact that that's just what they do as Illyrians. Some just want to do horrific things to her because she is a female. And those things are not outright killing, unfortunately. But Balthazar has none of that lust or hatred in his eyes that she's come to expect from males. Not that he's entirely selfless and kind. It's more like he's just thinking logically and politically. He represents what Illyrians can become. Especially if the Illyrians weren't so misogynistic. Here is a fun fact, though, because I looked up the meaning of Balthazar and it literally means bel protects the king and is primarily associated with one of the three wise men from the nativity scene. So I do have a question for you, because do you think that this name has meaning not for protecting the king necessarily, but maybe for protecting a future queen potentially?

Lexi (54:35)

I also think that it could be very much in the moment right here too, where, thanks to him. I don't want to say that he's protecting Nesta, but they are allies in this one instance, you know, so I could see that.

Nicole (54:47)

I'd say he's protecting her. He helps her find a cave. And if she was not protected by said cave, the serpent cat thing would have offered her. I do have another question for you, though. Do you think we're done with Balthazar or. Me neither. Okay, good. Yes.

Lexi (55:01)

We rarely meet a character like this and don't ever see them again. I don't think he'll become a big character, but I do think he'll come back to our story and represent that goodness in Illyrians, like you were just talking about, Nicole. And he'll maybe join Cassian's ranks, become a warrior that Cassian can count on who Nesta and the rest of the inner circle can count on.

Nicole (55:20)

I could also see Balthazar being one of the Illyrians who really stands up for females being invited into the Illyrian ranks. Because it's not that he's like, feminism, y'all. It's more like he's just like, it doesn't fucking matter. And I love that so much.

Lexi (55:35)

I definitely think that he will come back in as a smaller side character who might really help Cassie and with his goals for Illyria. As much as I would love for him to join Nest as ranks, if she was to become a queen or something like that, I will say she loves her female empowerment. So while I do think that he will be in support of that and helping her indirectly, I don't see her being being in the queen's court necessarily. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank goodness for Balthazar and Nesta's reluctance truce with him because the cave was essential for surviving the night from the monsters. Nesta doesn't sleep all night and spends her time doing her mind stealing exercises. She knows better than to wholeheartedly trust this male and lower her guard by falling asleep. But it's also hard to sleep with all the sounds of the beast stalking outside and the Illyrian screams. These beasts of Romiel make the blood rite that much more difficult. Not only do you need to put your survival skills to use when making weapons and finding warmth and food for yourself, you also have to be smart enough to stay clear of these beasts. I do have a theory about these beasts that I'll share in Mass First Madness. But overall I have to wonder about the level of training these novice warriors get before entering the right they need a Romiel Beasts 101 class because it feels like many of the participants are so focused on killing each other that they forget about the basic how to's of surviving the night. I wonder if this is SJM's way of magnifying how much of brutes many of them really are where they don't have common sense that these beasts can climb trees. It's also important to note that we'll learn these beasts especially smell and seek out Illyrians. I think there's more to the history with all of this and that the Daglan maybe created and bred these beasts all those thousands of years ago to hunt the Illyrians or their cousins to the hounds from the wild hunt. We know from Cassian and frost and starlight that most beasts were slain by the Illyrians or fled to the steps, which is where Feyre saw them and Acomath. But the most cunning and ancient of them found ways to hide here by Romiel Mountain. So that's who's prowling this terrain at night. As we'll learn soon during the encounter with Belius, at least one type of these large beasts is part cat, part serpent, with all black fur and sharp claws and hooked teeth. That's terrifying.

Nicole (57:47)

I have a lot to say on this animal, but I will save it until that part. The next morning at dawn it is day two of the rites and Balthazar departs with a good luck archeron farewell. Emery's head has at least stopped bleeding, but she is still unconscious. But at least they have plenty of options for clothes today. In fact, lots and lots and lots of options. Because outside the cave, laying everywhere are half eaten winged Illyrian bodies. Yikes. But Nesta manages to find some clothes for her and Emery that are not stained with blood or pre death bodily fluids. Yuck. And Nesta does find a smaller pair of boots for for herself, two canteens of water, another dagger and a half eaten Rabbit. Yay. Stocked up and ready to go. It is time to go south now, where the charm now emits a frantic glow. Go. Hurry. Find Gwen.

Lexi (58:36)

As these two head south in search of Gwen, they uneventfully pass other warriors, all of whom are going east toward Romiel. As night falls, they find another cave, and Nesta is finally able to sleep for the first time since waking up yesterday morning as Emery takes for first watch. All right, now it's day three of the right, and it starts snowing. Even with the extra jackets they've layered from the dead bodies, it is freezing. I love Nessa's little callback. To quote that stupid scarf Cassian had made her wear from chapter one of this book. Again, we're just getting so many. I don't want to call this a full circle moment, but just a nice little callback where it's like I'll never, ever, ever complain about being too hot ever again. All the while, they don't voice their fear that Gwen might be dead. They can't speak it into existence or let themselves dwell too much on it as they try to stay focused on finding her alive. By midday of the third day, they spot smoke from a fire located in the direction that they know Gwen to be in from the glowing charm on both their bracelets. In hopes it's Gwen's fire, they inch closer, but dammit. Male laughter. Which is bad, bad, bad, because they are exactly toward where the charm is telling them Gwen is. Their horrors are confirmed when they see Gwen's nightgown hanging from a branch near the castle camp of males. Shit. This is really bad. Protective of her friend and especially terrified for Gwen, who has already endured such horrors from males, Nesta is ready to go on a killing spree to make them suffer if anything has happened to Gwen. Gotta stay focused and calm. Though. Nesta and Emory both channel their inner Valkyrie to steady their breathing. And Nesta takes the lead to get closer to the male's camp and assess the situation. Ten males, all with weapons, including axes, swords, knives. And the leader of the group looks familiar. At least there's no sign of Gwen, though. Except Hoodie or Emory gets dragged by a few males. This was a trap. The males knew the females would be looking for their friend, so they used the nightgown they'd found to draw Nesta and Emery in. All the while, they were waiting to grab them. But face bellies. Yep. The male that seemed familiar is particularly out for vengeance against Emery. Like a typical Illyrian misogynistic asshole, he believes her Presence here has disgraced their family. Dishonor on you. Dishonor on your cow. So he's here to ensure she doesn't make it out alive. It's notable that Bellies's eyes seem hazy and when asked if he smuggled the weapons into the blood right, he answers quote, I wouldn't call it sabotage. And neither did she. Ah, she. So crown influenced Bellies does seem responsible for getting these weapons into the blood rite on behalf of Brially Allen. Having picked up on that word, she, Nesta begins putting the puzzle pieces together. The glassy eyes sense a scouting trip to the continent. Briallyn must have intercepted him and used the crown to control the Illyrians and break their sacred rule of the right. We are still confused how this includes more than just Belias. But anyway. There's enough hatred to go around though. And Bellious certainly has it out for Nesta too, which we know is thanks to Bri Allen. However, she told him to hunt Nesta, not to kill her. But Bellias apparently has that up for interpretation.

Nicole (61:34)

Belius goes to step towards the 2ft females, but then the guts of his cronies splatter across his face. It's cat, serpent, bear, Manbear, Pig's weirder, scarier cousin. The evil creature that is one of the many roamers of the mountain attacks the group of males, giving Nessa and Emery a chance to run. Valkyries run. And then they hear a different female's voice beckoning them over. It's Gwen. She wears bloodied warrior clothes and her face might be filthy and torn up, but her eyes, they are crystal clear.

Lexi (62:09)

Ah. As they sneak away from the warriors being attacked by the beast, we get the download of what Gwen's been up to these past two nights and three days. She woke up before the others, like Nesta. Seems that it's because she and Nesta aren't Illyrian, which the sleeping concoction is designed for. As she began running, she found a cache of weapons and changed out of her nightgown and into clothes she found from a body she kept to the trees the first two nights, which the beasts don't try to go after her in the trees because they don't smell her like they do the Valyrians. During the day she's learned where the beasts sleep and that they get very angry when woken up, like my son. And then this morning she found these horrible males and realized the trick they were up to with displaying her nightgown to lure Nesta and Emery in. So Gwen purposefully woke this beast up and barely outran it as she led it toward the camp. Gwen comments that her timing was just good luck. But Emery counters that the mother watched over them. Here I am with my fate talk again, because I genuinely believe the mother is watching over over them. The mother serves as a voice of wisdom sometimes in Nesta's head. And there have been noticeable moments where the world responds or is listening to what these females are achieving. I believe that the mother is guiding them on their journey to each other. To save themselves and one another, to becoming Valkyries, to overcoming this challenge together as sisters.

Nicole (63:25)

When Nesta first woke up, her immediate thought was about how terrified she is for her friends, specifically for Gwen. And it makes sense. Gwen has not left the House of Winds since her immense trauma at Sangre Va, which included an invasion both in the keep and in her body by hybrid males. It makes so much sense that of the three of them, Gwen would be the most triggered and terrified in the blood. Right? But I love how Gwen has completely kicked ass and taken names in the blood. Right? And it's such a huge showing for US readers about how far she's come in her own journey. She has become become her own hero. And I just love it.

Lexi (64:04)

Yes, it's so sweet how she's almost in disbelief that Nesta and Emory came looking for her. And Emery assures her that of course they did. It's what sisters do. We'll learn Gwen's whole story very soon and why she doesn't feel worthy. And like Nesta, she feels undeserving of these friends who have become sisters. But she does deserve them. Of course they came looking for her.

Nicole (64:26)

This is such a sweet moment for Gwen. And honestly, these three uniting is such a huge sigh of relief. And today's sponsor ritual can help you get your own huge sigh of relief in everyday life. Start your morning with Rituals Stress Relief. This product uses first of its kind technology to support the body's natural cortisol response so you can take on the daily juggle.

Lexi (64:48)

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Nicole (65:11)

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Lexi (65:36)

Night three in the right and unfortunately no caves are around for safety tonight. So up a tree we go. Gwen shows the other two how she has bound herself up in a tree these past two nights by using rope. Again, one of the things that Briallyn had put in the rite. All three bound together to stay safely up in the tree. Katniss Everdeen style. They can only hope that Emerie's Illyrian smell will be masked by Gwen and Nesta so none of the scary monsters come climbing up after them.

Nicole (66:02)

The three females decide it's time to make a plan. We've got four more days of this. Do we keep hiding out in trees and caves until this is all over? Well, there's the risk of warriors and of course cat, serpent, pig among the other beasts. The other option is to go towards the mountain, which requires making it up the Pass of Annalius. What is the Pass of a Neelus? I'm so glad you asked. Nesta Archeron Just in case you need a little refresher after Lexi Suriel tea time last episode. While there are multiple different paths to get up to the top of Ramiel, the hardest and most infamous is the one that takes you through the Pass of Annalius. This path is nicknamed the Breaking. The first part is filled with boulders along a rugged path. Then when you reach the Pass of Annelius, which is an archway where Annelius made his final stand, and it's also a little bit of a flat reprieve. But after the pass it is a clear shot to the top if you don't mind climbing sharp rocks that slice you up like a cheese grater. And with their healing slowed to a human rate thanks to the rules of the right, warriors are lucky to even make it to the pass in one piece. I'm not going to lie though, this sounds much better than cat, serpent, bear, pig, whatever thing. Why is it a goal to make it up the mountain in the first place though? Long, long ago. So long that they don't even have a person precise date for it? There was a great war that was fought between the fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. One of its key battles was in the Illyrian mountains. Fey forces were battered and outnumbered and for some reason and long forgotten. That Lexi has a theory about later. The enemy was desperate to reach the stone at the top of Ramiel. Also, if this is not an Easter egg, I don't know what is. I can't wait to learn more about this. A young Illyrian warrior named Aenail held the line against the enemy soldiers for three days. He found a natural archway of stone amongst the tangle of boulders, drawing a line in the dirt, and made that his bottleneck. He died at the end, climbing with his guts hanging out as he made it all the way to the top of Romiel to the sacred stone monolith. But with his sacrifice, he held off the enemy long enough for the Fae allies to reach the battle. The rite is all to honor this Fae, Aenelius. And even though much of his history has been been lost, ACOTAR 6. The memory of his bravery remains and will probably be explored in ACOTAR 6. I think I'm willing to die on this hill. But maybe not a Romiel hill. Maybe just like a nice little like boom.

Lexi (68:22)

Like a spring court hill.

Nicole (68:24)

Like a spring court hill. I might be willing to like the hills are alive with the sound of the spring court. I think I'll be willing to die on that hill.

Lexi (68:30)

I think that we are going to get a connection between Koshay and the continent and Romiel. But I also am, I don't want to say nervous, but a little bit nervous that there are just too many plot opportunities. We also know that ACOTAR 6 is not the last Acotar book either. So what I could also see is one of the plot lines kind of wrapping up and then one of them almost getting like set up where we get some answers, but we get more questions out of it and then that will be explored. In Actor.

Nicole (68:59)

Do you think that Kosti is going to be the end all be all big bad villain?

Lexi (69:04)

Yes.

Nicole (69:06)

Really? I don't. I think he's going to be the next big bad villain. But the end all be all might.

Lexi (69:13)

Be the Dagon like them coming back. Yeah, I do think that's a big possibility. Yep. It's day four of the right, and our trio has a plan. If they're able to spend the next few days heading northeast toward Romiel, it will leave them one day to climb it. There is a massive ravine with a small wooden bridge on their chosen path. And since it hasn't been cut, it must mean no one else has crossed it yet. So they must be the first in order to have a chance to cross it and cut it so no one else can follow the same path toward Romiel. So it's a race to the bridge.

Nicole (69:45)

Oh, we've got company. A group of Illyrian males start running in the direction towards the bridge. Bridge. So our Valkyries only have one option. Elphaba Throp style. Bring them down. Cutting one Illyrian down so he's in the perfect position to be in front of Emery's blow. Nesta ducks from another so that it blows into Gwen's shield. She then uses that to mask her hashing a wound open at his shins, then tossing Nesta her shield so that Nesta can perfectly protect against a blow, knocking a male off balance so then she can take him down. All that training as a unit to get together is fully paying off. All the blood, sweat, tears, determination around the obstacle course where the three of them had to work in harmony, it is now on full display. It's perfectly summed up by Emery saying, her eyes shining bright, Valkyries. To which Nesta answers, hell yes.

Lexi (70:36)

Like I touched on toward the end of last episode, I can understand some of the fandom's frustration at the unrealistic way these females are able to go up against these Illyrians who have been training their whole lives and win against them. And once again I'd like to point out how different their training has been and how unique these females mindsets are. While they battle, the males have relied on their brute strength, while these females have spent months not only learning skills with weapons and building up their strength and endurance, but they focus so much on precision, breathing, harmony and teamwork. They are an embodiment of Valkyries and elite experience. They're the best of both worlds and something entirely new. There's been so much emphasis on this during their training after they succeeded with the foundations, and now it's on full display in a real fight.

Nicole (71:20)

But oh again, as they make it to the bridge, all those Valkyrie 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Sprints are really paying off here they run into another set of males. Apparently it's just party time at the bridge. Now Nesta and Emery make it across the bridge, dodging the arrows from the these males. But Gwen is not so lucky. She hasn't even made it to the bridge yet. And she is down for the count with an arrow protruding out of her thigh and the males are right on her heels. So while running on the bridge, Gwen begs them to cut it, cut it, cut it. Which will lead to her falling into the ravine, but her friends will be saved from the oncoming males. No way in hell is that happening.

Lexi (72:01)

Though my heart hurts for Gwen and how she's willing to sacrifice herself here, she doesn't give it a second thought. She wants her friends to survive and she will give her life in the process. Like someone else we know in a few chapters, knowing what we'll soon learn about Gwen's past, she is haunted by failing to save her sister. And while she doesn't say it, I believe there's so much guilt that she lived and her sister and so many of those other priestesses didn't. So here she is, ready to give her life to help her friends like she wasn't able to do last time.

Nicole (72:30)

Nesta has quite the idea to help her friends friend though, but it involves.

Lexi (72:35)

Using the bow and firing an arrow, which Emery's like we didn't learn archery. Nesta shares that her sister taught her archery a long time ago. Elaine Just kidding. Nowhere on the page, especially in the early books that would have been considered a long time ago, does Feyre teach Nesta how to use a bow and arrow. But in chapter 12 of Silver Flames, Nesta tells Cassian that Feyre taught her how to use a bow. Quote it was only a few lessons and long ago, but Nesta remembered it was one of the few times she and Farah had been allies. So we can gather that Feyre must have taught Nesta while they were in poverty. Considering how strained their relationship was and how little Nesta helped, this is honestly a little surprising for their relationship during those struggling years. It also seems notable that despite occasional times where they had a truce, Feyre put in effort to teach her sister to potentially help her hunt. But it seems Nesta never did. Knowing what we know about Nesta now, I bet she had moments where she wanted to have that kind of skill and she wanted to learn. She is a naturally curious person, but she just so often has her walls up. Bottom line, she remembered those lessons though.

Nicole (73:42)

And apparently remembered them really, really well. She gives Emery the rope and tells her to tie one end to a tree, then tie the middle of the rope around Emery's self and then Nesta ties the end of the rope to an arrow and then Nesta takes her bow and lets the roped arrow fly and it lands perfectly right in front of Gwen's feet. The the priestess grabs the arrow, wraps the rope around her own middle, and then Nesta throws a hand out for Emery's sword and she cuts the bridge's ropes. This causes the Illyrian males to fall into the ravine. But Gwen is halted in her fall by the rope around her middle, giving Emery and Nesta the perfect opportunity to haul her up. Dang.

Lexi (74:23)

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Nicole (74:43)

You know what is my favorite pair of underwear that I would give to every single person on the planet?

Lexi (74:49)

I know because you're always talking about it and I love it.

Nicole (74:53)

Pair of Underwear Underwear. If you do not know, I have a pair of narwhal underwear from the Undies. They are one of my favorite pairs of underwear of all time. So much so that a listener got me a stuffed narwhal at a event and it is Bartholomew. It always makes me think of this underwear because I sing Narwhals. Narwhals living in the ocean. It's not just about the inside joke. It's not just about the narwhals. It's about the unbelievable comfort that these pair of underwear are. I think all of my favorite pairs of underwear are Me Undies.

Lexi (75:21)

Oh, me too. When I run out of my Meundies underwear, I know that it's time for laundry. Like my sign. Yes, Me Undies has a cut for every butt with over 20 different styles and hundreds of different colors and prints, including their new holiday collection. And Me Undies isn't just about underwear either. They also have delicious loungewear. And hey, if you're not happy with your first pair of undies, it's on Me Undies. That's how confident they are in their product.

Nicole (75:45)

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Lexi (76:05)

In Having overcome yet another challenge and coming out alive. Thanks to their perseverance and teamwork, the trio continues toward Romiel. Gwen is definitely injured from the arrow wound, but at least they were able to slide it out of her and bind the injury with an extra shirt from a dead warrior.

Nicole (76:21)

They spend the rest of day four slowly heading toward Ramiel, and they stay the night in another tree. They're out of food, they're down to just water. Gwen's in rough shape and Nesta and Emery's hands are torn from the rope burn, pulling Gwen up from the fallen bridge. Day five, it's more of the same, with one last tree to stay in before the barren slope of Romiel ahead. Now at the foot of Romiel, if they survive the next few days, they will officially be titled Aristian warriors. By just being in this location. Remember, only 12 others have gained this honor. Reaching this point is a feat in itself. A apparently thousands of others didn't know about the damn bridge, but that's fine. I was curious about the origin of the three stars that they're walking towards. The Arctos, Orestes and Corinth stars. So I took to the Internet. What I found was quite the Greek mythology download, so I'm going to really condense this as much as possible. Arctos is Greek for bear, and in Greek mythology, the goddess Arctos is known as the 12th hour that presided over the night sky. Her father was also rumored to be the sun God Helios, AKA Helion. Orestes is the son of Agamemnon and Clytimenstra. I apologize if I'm wildly mispronouncing that. And also the brother of Electra. He goes mad after killing his mother and is pursued by the Enrises, also known as Enris, AKA the daughter of Thanatos, or also known as Furies, which are the goddesses of vengeance. That's all I can say about that here. And lastly lastly, there is Corinth. Corinth is close to Corinth, which is the city founded by a Greek God, Corinthos, who was a descendant from the sun God Helios, similar to Arctos. I tried my absolute darndest to find a through line between these and how they could weave into our story, and I came up woefully short.

Lexi (78:12)

So the next morning on day six, they discussed their next steps. Literally. They can stay here in the tree all day, wait it out overnight and be crowned Aristean the next morning. Or they could even go down a path southward that takes them away from the mountain slope. So they can still be along Romiel's base, but stay out of sight from any approaching warriors heading up the mountain. Nesta and Emery are all for settling at the base and sticking it out till dawn. It's the safest option and they are genuinely concerned for Gwen's survival if they keep pushing forward. But Gwen won't hear of it.

Nicole (78:42)

She pipes up, quote, so we'd come all this way and just hide. Gwen is done hiding. She's taken the safe road for the last few years. She's lived the last few years in hiding. She's been healing deep trauma, yes, but hiding, as she says, and she's tired of it.

Lexi (78:59)

She says, isn't it better to try and fail than to take the safe road? Yes. Emery says, if it means keeping Gwen, who is very injured, alive, they won't risk Gwen's life for trying to win the right. Still, Gwen won't accept this. She doesn't feel like that's truly living. And she is ready to live, to embrace who she has been working so hard to become. She doesn't want to get to the top of Romul for an Illyrian title. She wants to do it with her two sisters, who together are something new and different, who have the ability to triumph over the Illyrians rules and restrictions.

Nicole (79:30)

This will never not give me chills. I feel so seen by Gwen in this moment. I love this. Infinity and beyond. This is one of those beautiful themes throughout stories in both fiction. And I'll even throw in nonfiction as well, that being different, being new, and choosing the brave road will always prevail. For lack of a better term. Gwen has been broken before. She has hid in her own light. But now here she is as a survivor. And she will not let anything, even a mountain, break her again. Which launches us into Gwen's tale.

Lexi (80:03)

Before we get into Gwen's story, I do want to give the trigger warning we mentioned at the top of the episode. Again, Gwen's story involves sexual assault. So please listen at your comfort level. Two years ago, when Gwen was an acolyte at Sangre Vas, the cruelest of hybrids, soldiers broke into the priestess's temple in search of one of the cauldron's feet. Because, as we know, the king of Hybern was on a mission to retrieve all three feet, to bring the cauldron to its full power. In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, Hybern began the slaughter. Gwen shared a room with her twin, Catrin. They woke up when the first of the screaming started. Gwen had always thought of her sister as the strong one, the smart and charming one. After their mother had died, Catrin took care of Gwen and always looked looked out for her. So on the night of the attack, Catrin ordered her to go protect Sangrava's children while she ran right for the temple walls. By the time Gwyn reached the children's dorm. The slaughter was only a few halls away. She gathered the children and ran for one of the catacomb tunnels that was accessible through a trapdoor in the kitchen. She was able to get the last child through the tunnel when she heard the soldiers coming. Knowing they'd find them all if the door was left uncovered. Gwen threw a rug over the trapdoor and then moved the kitchen table. Table atop it. Right as she finished moving the table, the soldiers found her in the kitchen. But the soldiers brought other priestesses with them in their clutches, including her twin sister. Their commander walked in and asked where the rest of them were, including the children. Gwen lied and told them the children took the mountain road to run and get help. But he didn't believe her. So he grabbed Catrin, knowing she must be Gwen's sister, with their sense nearly identical, and using Catrin as cloud collateral. He told Gwyn that if she did not reveal where the children were, he would kill her. And when Gwyn did not give up where the children were, he followed through by beheading Catrin along with two other priestesses, right there in front of everyone. The commander then told his soldiers to go to work on the priestesses, but claimed Gwen for himself. She spat in his face, but he didn't care. And he raped her. She hadn't yet participated in the great rite, nor had she had the chance to lie with the male due to the temple remoteness, and this commander took that from her. Then he called over three of his soldiers and told them to keep going until she revealed where the children had gone. Thankfully, before the horrors could continue, Azriel arrived. He slaughtered all of them within moments, without any hesitation, as gave her his cloak, wrapping her in it when Gwen could barely move or get up. Morgan arrived a few minutes later with Rhysand, and when it was clear some of the soldiers had gotten away with a piece of the cauldron, Azrael headed after them. Mor healed Gwen the best she could before bringing her to the library. She couldn't bear to be at the temple, to see her sister's grave, or to see that kitchen where her trauma had happened. So she stayed at the library. And for the first five months there, Gwyn barely spoke and certainly did not sing. When she went to the priestess who offered counseling to them, she would just sit there and cry or scream, or maybe say nothing. Gwen was a shell of herself who had gone through such horrors and felt terrible guilt that she was the cause of her sister's mur. It was only after she began working with Meryl that she found something to focus on again. The work helped her find motivation to get out of bed each morning. And slowly, very slowly, she began her own healing. Including starting to sing during the evening services. And then Nesta came along. And Gwen saw that something bad had happened to her too, but that she was fighting it, not letting it master her. Which led Gwen to sign up for training. She knew it was something that herself sister would have been the first to jump at. And she wanted to honor her sister and channel Catrin and be that person that she always wanted to be.

Nicole (83:35)

I love this moment so much. Because during that time we were in Nesta's POV and she was thinking she was a monster, she was a waste of life, she was this total failure. And meanwhile, someone else. Gwen was looking at her as an inspiration. And it really just goes to show that there are so many times in our lives where we. We might be really down on ourselves and thinking the absolute worst, but someone else might think we're the strongest person in the room.

Lexi (84:01)

Gwen has not believed that she's worthy of wearing the hood or the invoking stone that is standard for priestesses. She had said so much to Nesta a long time ago. They are a sign of holiness. And Gwen believes that she let her sister die, which is absolutely not true. But she believes that she let her sister die, making her unworthy of such an honor. My heart just breaks for Gwen as she has the courage to finally share her story with her sisters. She has expressed before that she has been scared of telling her story because she doesn't think her friends will want to be her friends anymore. That they will think that she is also unworthy. It goes to show how much these friends were meant to find each other. How much they needed each other. Because Nesta has felt the same way with her own tale. And let's be clear. Nothing that Gwen did was her fault. She was protecting the children and stood her ground. And the hybrid soldiers were awful and did unspeakable things to her, her sister and the other priestesses. She was a victim. And yet she has carried this blame and guilt for two years. And still she has come into her own strength to heal from her trauma. So no male can ever lay his hands on her like that again. And she can take back control and sense of self that was horrifically stolen from her. Gwyn is such a bright light in our story and in these characters lives. The way she sings and exudes this innocence, but also determination and strength of a warrior. It's so admirable and now we learn what kind of inner demons she has been battling all the while and it makes me admire her even more that she has found the way back to living and loving after what happened to her and her loved ones.

Nicole (85:44)

Being so overcome and moved by Gwen's vulnerability and sharing her own story and wanting her friend to know that she is not alone in her suffering, Emery launches into her full backstory. And before I dive into this, please note that I will be talking about death of a parent, child loss, domestic abuse, abuse by a parent, both physical and mental. So please, please, please listen to your comfort level. Emry's father was a terrible person. Understatement of the fucking century. One time beating her so badly that he broke her back. And then she was forced to stay in bed for weeks while her father told tales and lies of those who asked, saying that she was ill when she was actually recovering from his abuse. This is just one of many evils, and a lesser one at that, as Emery puts it, which puts into perspective just how bad it was in her household. He wasn't just abusive to her though, he was also abusive to her mother, who attempted to shield her daughter from from his rage when she was alive. But one day, during one of his many beatings on her mother, he took it too far, hurting her so badly that she couldn't recover and she passed away from injuries. And on the new moon after her passing, Emery was forced to dig her mother's grave again. Her father told twisted tales, using his charm and charisma to lie, saying that she miscarried a baby and died of blood loss. Remember earlier this book? This was the story that Emery shared with Nesta about how her mother died giving birth to her. It just shows how deeply these lies live in Emory. Even though she doesn't believe them because she knows the truth, she's still telling his lies. Everyone believed her father like always. They told Emery how lucky she was to have such a good father, although no one saw what he did behind closed doors.

Lexi (87:26)

And if it wasn't for the scars on her wings to remind her of the truth, she would have wondered if if she imagined all the bad parts. She thinks she should have told everyone what he did to her, but she saw how they turned the other way when her wings were clipped. And plus, she knew he could just lie his way out of it. This reminds me back in Frost and Starlight when Cassian met Emery and he thought how he knew her father by name, but he didn't know much about him beyond being Surprised that her father joined the ranks during the war and that he only had one daughter. But even this, I'll call it a neutral perspective of her father, by casting Cassian shows how well it was all hidden. Because, you know, if Cassian got a whiff of her father's true nature, he would never have had that kind of response. And, yeah, and it's just again, like this narrative. It's. We've seen it already. So much.

Nicole (88:16)

And anyway, so when he died, she was expected to mourn him for the sole fact that he was her father. But she did not. In fact, she was happy. So incredible, incredibly happy. But Emery can still feel the phantom pain from her father's abuse, from the horrific physical things that he did. But not just the physical abuse, because he never gave or allowed her to earn money. She wasn't allowed to eat more than he deemed appropriate. This, he wormed his way into every area of her mind, so much so that she still hears his voice when she looks in the mirror or makes a mistake. Remember when she was in the lower levels of the library and she heard her father's voice screaming at her? So to overcome this inner voice she logically knows is not hers, she started going to training because she knew her father would have forbade it. This is also such a fun nod to her being a business owner and how protective she is over being a business owner because she knows her father would have forbidden it. She went to training so she could know how to stop a male if one ever put their hands on her again.

Lexi (89:17)

Emery has exuded this steely independence since when we met her. And here we're finding out she is haunted by decades, not just a few years, but decades of physical and psychological abuse. It makes me so proud of what she's overcome and created for herself. Her father never allowed her to earn money. She never had any sense of independence until he died. And then she stepped into her own as a business owner, overtaking the shop, especially, like you said, when he would never have wandered her too, and standing strong in her right to be its owner, having to continually live among misogynism and be looked down upon by not only her family, but just even people who would be her customers otherwise. And she continues to hold her head up high, even though she hasn't been able to stop hearing that inner voice that is her father. Training has been to truly take that voice back and be that strong, independent female that she knows she has in her. And now it's Nesta's turn to share her story and tell her friends the worst of her. So her friends know that if they decide to risk climbing the mountain with her, they will do so with their eyes open to who she truly is. Because neither of her friends failed anyone, they aren't to blame for the horrors that have happened to them. And yet Nesta feels that she is the cause of so much of her own rock bottom. Even now, Nesta is scared of their reaction actions, bracing herself for their disappointment and disgust of what she's done and the person she's been in the past. But she doesn't cower from it. She doesn't hide from her past as she offers full transparency to these friends who deserve to hear it. After Nesta shares everything, Emery speaks up that Nesta did not fail anyone either. And Nesta needed to hear that so badly to hear acceptance from her dearest friends who have become sisters who don't turn away from the broken pieces. Deep inside, they have a shared understanding together that they won't turn away from each other. They never have and they never will because they are in this together, all of them. They have found one another when they needed it most and found comfort and connection to heal together from each of their individual trauma.

Nicole (91:25)

In each of these females sharing their stories, they realize that they will make the climb, but not just for themselves. For Gwen, she will also climb for her twin, who would have been the first to sign up for training, who was killed long before she had the chance to climb her own mountain, and who lives within Gwen even though she is gone. For Emery, she will climb for her mother, for the woman who never had a chance to leave her marriage, whose bravery in trying to protect her daughter from her husband's cruelty was imparted to Emory. And she will climb as two women who won't let the cruelty of a man break them down. And for Nesta, she will climb for those she feels like she's failed her father, who she wasn't able to save. The inner circle whose generosity she feels like she abused. For Cassian, who she hurt with her words and her choices and of course, for herself. Quote, we win. To prove to ourselves that it can be done. We win the whole damn thing.

Lexi (92:20)

So with the decision made, our trio begins the climb. And hours later, it still feels like the peak is no closer. But on the plus side, they haven't seen or heard anyone else true to the path's name, the breaking this hike feels like it's bringing up every fearful and wretched thought for each of these three females. They're haunted by their horrors, but they keep going one step in front of another. I want to note that by this point in the story we aren't getting the full inner monologue from Nesta as she narrates what those thoughts are that circle through her own head. For one, we readers have been on this journey with her for hundreds, hundreds of pages. We know without SJM needing to repeat herself what those thoughts are. And secondly, I also like to think that it symbolizes that while this mountain is sending her mind spiraling into her fears, the fact that these thoughts aren't on the page reflects how Nesta isn't giving them more attention than she has to. She's not able to calm her mind and she certainly is haunted by her thoughts. But it's like for us readers, her narration is able to keep these thoughts from fully materializing and sending her down, down, down, down like they have in.

Nicole (93:28)

The past as they started climbing this mountain. Though I have a question and this is a very Colorado question that I have for you, Lex. How tall do you think Romiel is? Like, do you think it's a 14er? Do you think it's higher, lower? It takes them over a day to climb, which some people can climb a 14 or in a day. I am not one of those people. These females are also injured and hungry, so they're definitely moving slower. Do you think it's like a 13er? A 12? A twelver? I don't think that's a term, but you know what I mean.

Lexi (93:54)

Like it's one of the highest peaks, so I would imagine it is probably closer to a 14er.

Nicole (94:00)

For those of you who don't know, a 14er is a 14,000 foot mountain and we have numerous of them in Colorado. I have never touched one, probably will not ever. And that's a okay with me.

Lexi (94:13)

By nightfall. Emory notes that they are about 2/3 of the way up. The moon is shifted shining and they can see the three stars above Romiel's peak. It is the final night of the rite where they are perfectly aligned above Romiel. However, between Gwen's leg injury and a recent twist of Emery's ankle. They are moving so slowly though and Gwen needs to rest again. Nesta reflects that dawn is about four hours away and with dawn will be the end of the right. As of now they are already Aristian, but they want to reach the peak and win so badly. Nesta does have to wonder if it matters if they win or don't win. They would have come so far, gotten so close to the top, but doesn't matter even though her thoughts will be interrupted. I like to speculate because I think the answer is both yes and no. Yes, it does matter if they don't succeed in winning after making a pact to make it happen. These three females don't give up when they set their minds to something and they are on a mission to prove to themselves that they are capable of winning. So if they fail, even though they got so close and still survived, the fact that they didn't achieve this will always feel unfulfilled. But on the other hand they will have achieved the impossible already. They survived the blood rite and became aristean, which only 12 others in at least the past five centuries have managed. That is a feat in and of itself and something to be proud of and celebrated, but they would always be haunted by that. We almost won to their surprise, but Face Bellies and his group who survived the beast are on their tails. Knowing that at least Belius is under the crown's influence, I wonder if Brielle and used its power to guide them here and catch up to the females, make them push through to get them here. We know Bellies is on a crown influenced mission to hunt down Nesta after all, so I think that they got the extra oomph from Brialen. Knowing that these assholes are on their tail, the three females push on with Gwen on Nesta's back, determined to gather their strength and keep going. They need to win this I love the language during this part where it's like the wind and the mountain are trying to help our Valkyries by urging them on. Even when Gwen was declaring that they are something new and that they should take this road from earlier in a previous chapter, the wind was blowing as if it's quote whispering, murmuring this land is alive and listening to them making history, encouraging them on their journey as it gets a front row seat to them writing their own story. I also can't help but think about the mother where towards the end of this book there is going to be wind language associated with her too. So I just, I feel that so much. Two hours later they get to the pass of a Neelius and while the males are still behind them, it seems they'll reach them before dawn in two hours.

Nicole (96:56)

I can only imagine this moment for Emery, who has heard legends of a Neelius at this pass, none of her ancestors have gotten this far, but she has through her own hard work and determination. Take that Illyrians.

Lexi (97:10)

As they keep going past the historical archway, Nesta's legs buckle and she falls, rolling with Gwen back down to the passive analias. It's such a notable detail that as Nesta collides into the archway stone, it feels warm and alive. I really, really think that there is more to this archway than we currently know. And it'll tie into the history of Ramiel and an alias that is shrouded in mystery right now.

Nicole (97:34)

I remember the prison being described as the land feels alive. So because this is another sacred mountain. I don't remember the under the mountain feeling like it was described this way. But that was also before Feyre really knew about this kind of magic. So I 100% think that this is some, like, sacred mountain shit.

Lexi (97:51)

Oh, definitely. After their tumble, Gwen is still alive. But Nesta realizes she can't keep carrying Gwen. And the males are getting dangerously close.

Nicole (98:01)

Knowing that if the three of them stay put, the males will definitely catch up to them. And if they climb, the males will still probably catch up to them. With how quickly they are moving. Nesta knows that she needs to do something to slow these down. And Emery and Gwen will have to keep going. Number one, because these two are far too injured to fight and survive to tell the tale. And two, because neither Nesta is, I'll say, content to sacrifice herself so that her friends can make it. She believes that in doing so, she will be repaying a debt to these two women who were her friends, who never judged her, who were kind to her even when she believed she didn't deserve it.

Lexi (98:38)

But Gwen won't hear of this. She has already lost her twin sister in the worst way possible. She won't fail again with Nesta, especially because she feels a sense of responsibility. She can't walk herself and Nesta can no longer carry her. So this is Nesta sacrificing herself for Gwen and Emery too. And Gwen can't relive this horror again after how far she's come, how much she's healed and come into her own strength after she broke the last time.

Nicole (99:05)

Gwen is sobbing in her arms and Gwen makes Nesta promise that they will face this battle together. Nesta promises and holds onto her friend, calmly calming her down, soothing her back. And then she pinches her just in the right pressure point, calling back to chapter 29 of this book, when Cassian showed her this exact pressure point during training. And Gwen goes down completely unconscious. I love that moment where Emery's like, she'll never forgive you. Which, like, damn sure I would be pissed if I was Gwen. Be furious. Emery is unsurprised by this maneuver and reluctantly, reluctantly agrees to carry Gwen up the mountain. I love this moment here because it's really getting to see how similar Gwen and Emery are. Does Emery like this plan? No, she wants Nesta to come with them. She hates the thought of her sacrificing herself. But Emery is also very logical and data driven and she knows that this is the smartest plan for the highest chance of survival.

Lexi (100:01)

And Nesta doesn't do this lightly. She loves Gwen, but she will do when whatever it takes. Even if that means Gwen will never forgive her. So that Gwen can at least have a future ahead of her.

Nicole (100:12)

So eyes brimming with tears, the two turn to go in the opposite directions. Notably not saying goodbye, not willing to accept the finality of that one word.

Lexi (100:22)

With Emery carrying Gwen up the straight chute of the mountain to reach the top, Nesta stands at the pass of a Neelius and does her mind stilling while she waits for Bella Elias's group quote. She was the rock against which the serf broke. These males would break against her too. Nesta draws a line in the dirt in front of the archway marking it as her final stand. She is the last line of defense for her friends, ready to buy them time to survive and win the right while she meets their enemy. Interestingly, Nesta does not even realize the parallelism of how Annalius also drew a line in the sand when he was the last line of defense against his his enemies all those 15,000 years ago. It's so symbolic that she is mirroring both the first Illyrian warriors last stand and the Valkyries last stand as they defended to the death a pass 500 years ago. Here Nesta is choosing to fight not for survival, but for those she loves and for what they have given her a sense of self worth and fulfillment in this life. She is being directly connected to legacy which she's admitted a small part of her wants. She's embodying this legendary sense of courage, determination and heroism. This final battle with Bellies group is the culmination of her strength, resilience, ability to openly love and her own self assurance.

Nicole (101:38)

As Nesta meets these warriors she notes that Bellious stays behind. A move designed to wear Nesta down with the lackeys and then he can come in and finish the job which.

Lexi (101:48)

Will almost work by the time she faces off with Belia is she is so so tired.

Nicole (101:53)

But despite these odds not looking so good. There are no hateful voices in her head. Instead only love lies in her heart. She knows her friends are behind her she knows their determination lives inside her.

Lexi (102:06)

And while Nesta may not have her great sword in hand, she reflects on Ataraxia and why she chose this name from the old Fade language that hasn't been spoken in 15,000 years. Oh, that's another interesting parallel with the Stand. Like an aliases from 15,000 years ago, Nesta finally reveals the meaning of Ataraxia at the climax of her self journey. As we've talked about at length, Ataraxia means inner peace, which is exactly what this climactic scene represents for Nesta. She is finally embodying her own inner peace, which has felt so out of reach for most of this book. Like Nicole said, her heart is full of love. Nesta has found her own inner peace as she looks death in the face, feeling at peace that she is guarding her friends and saving them like they have saved her.

Nicole (102:52)

Nesta takes down all of the males, one after the other, until only one stands in her way. The final boss. But Face bellies.

Lexi (103:00)

These warriors had thought they'd find an untrained, helpless female, but instead they found a skilled warrior again, showing how. How they can't even comprehend that a female is capable like they are.

Nicole (103:13)

She stands in her own resolve, but an inner part of her starts to quake at the death surrounding her. She's exhausted, she's beaten down, she's starving, she's dehydrated. And that's just four of the myriad of things that she's feeling. She reminds herself though, quote, Valkyrie, you are a Valkyrie and once again you are holding the pass. If you fall, it will be saving the friends who saved you, even when they didn't know they were doing so. Oh God, that's a beautiful line. The Valkyries are extinct because so many of them died to save Meniere Pass. But even though they knew that was a suicide mission, there was a sense of peace within their own deaths. And Nesta is having her own version of that tale right now.

Lexi (103:55)

Right after Bellius goes on about how his crippled cousin is disgracing the sacred place of Romiel, there is a fluttering of light from from the summit that washes over his features. Which can only mean one thing. Emery and Gwen have won the blood rite. The light must have shown when they touched the onyx monolith and the ancient magic instantly whisked them away from the top, back to the safety of wherever they are needed most. Which we will learn is at the River House where Thera is in trouble. But we will get to that next episode. I love the symbolism of Emery winning The right. As Bellious says, she shouldn't be here. Proving once again the book's theme of female empowerment and ability to overcome these mistakes. Misogynistic beliefs. I'd also like to take a moment and give the biggest, loudest huzzah. Huzzah. Huzzah for Emery and Gwen. They did it. They made it to the top and became Corinthian warriors. Against all the odds. They survived the breaking. They have overcome their trauma and reclaimed their sense of self and self worth. And they were able to do it because of their sisterhood, including with Nesta and their love and support for for each other. This isn't just an individual achievement. It's a testament to their strength together and belief in one another. They are an inspiration for future generations of females. Proving that females are capable of this triumph. Not only are they Valkyrie. They just proved that they are the most elite Illyrian warriors. Now I would like to take yet another moment and point out that again I get that some of the readers are like this is not really realistic. And again I am going to argue why this is good storytelling. The whole book has been leading up to this as it centers around female empowerment and overcoming impossible challenges both mentally and physically. It's also a fantasy book where we have to give these stories some grace as realism needs to take back seats sometimes. And I'll also say this. You know what's even more unrealistic? The fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione went through the professor's trials in the Sorcerer's Stone when they were a little 11 years old.

Nicole (105:59)

I argue Hermione. It makes sense how she survived that. Rod and Harry would have been in the potion section if it wasn't for her money.

Lexi (106:08)

Before that they would have gotten eaten by the Devil's snare. But the point is 80% of everything else that Harry accomplished at the climax of every book including the Basilisk and all of that kind of stuff. It's good storytelling. It's not realistic. Realistic. Bottom line, let's just enjoy the story. Okay, friends? And I say that as a nitpicky deep diver. How many calls are storytelling? Yeah. But when it works for the storytelling. I excuse it. And this is absolutely a great example of it works well for the storytelling. I'm not going to blink an eye.

Nicole (106:40)

At it as Nessa throws it in his face. It looks like you didn't win. He did become a Rinthian though. And I do have to throw this out here. Do you think one of the reason that only 12 people have become Aristean is because they keep killing each other at the passive. An alias. And they keep dying. So it's like actually more like, you know, 60 to even like 100 plus. People have become Aristian. They just.

Lexi (107:02)

It doesn't count if they die.

Nicole (107:04)

Exactly. But I'm like, they just died. So. Yes, absolutely.

Lexi (107:08)

But that's the whole thing is that. Well then you don't get it because you're dead anyway.

Nicole (107:12)

As Nesta taunts him, he admits that he never wanted to win the right. He just wanted, wanted to give this, aka Nesta to Briellen. This is 1000% the crown talking. There's no way Butt face Bellious wasn't like, I'm gonna win the damn thing because I'm a man and I could do manly things. Especially this is the Crown talking, because he's described as having, quote, such blind, driving hatred without reason, without end.

Lexi (107:39)

Well, it's interesting because we'll find out that Briellen told Belly to hunt Nesta down. But she did not say to kill Nesta. Because remember, she needs to have Nesta, whether it is to get her to get the trove or for Cassian to kill her. Now Briallyn will speculate that she wasn't precise enough in her wording, as Belius does indeed try to kill Nesta. So I will take this as Bellious unfounded hatred for Nesta just as much as for his cousin channeled from Brielle and. But hunting down can still equal killing. So here he is, influenced by the Crown, on a mission to hunt down Nesta. And the exact definition of hunt down is for interpretation. As this fight with Bellies begins, Nesta knows she only has to hold him off for a few minutes until dawn is here and the rite is officially over. Which means she will automatically get her power back. So while Bellies might have the upper hand in this fight because she is so worn down, Nesta knows she is certainly the more powerful one. How to use that power?

Nicole (108:40)

She.

Lexi (108:40)

She doesn't know. But at least she'll have that unique and deadly weapon soon. So soon.

Nicole (108:46)

This is such an epic battle scene because it's on top of a mountain, there's thunder booming, there's lightning flashing. Like this is a moment in Whenever we get the Acotar TV show, I'm going to be like, it's going to be so beautiful.

Lexi (109:00)

Also, another quick foreshadowing thing. Here is the thunder and all of that. That is the Crown controlling the weather, which we'll talk about next episode.

Nicole (109:11)

Oh, I forgot about that. In this moment, Nesta, exhausted, shaking, legs trembling, her body is so ready to just stop, sit down and fucking die already. It's Nesta's mind though, that keeps her upright. She knows her friends are safe, alive and well and fucking thriving. They just won. Her task is complete, but she wants to keep living life with them after this horrible day.

Lexi (109:36)

Rather than being willing to sacrifice herself, she's embracing her life and how wonderful it is and that she's not ready to go yet. She's still got fight in her and she's not going to let this asshole take her away from those she loves and this beautiful life she has created. Instead of looking death in the face and accepting it with love in her heart like earlier, now Nesta is looking death in the face and with love in her heart and she's determined to conquer it.

Nicole (110:03)

Quote she wanted to live and live well and live happily. Wanted to do it with this moment, this thought. It is what finally makes her look.

Lexi (110:13)

At bellies and say because my mate taught me well. As we all know, Nesta has so far refused to accept the concept of mates because of what it represents in the fake culture. But like she thought the night before the right at Emory's house, she is ready to live this life with Cassian, which also means she is ready to embrace the fact that he is her mate. She's accepting the depth of their bond and is not afraid of letting love in like she used to. She recognizes that she is worthy of love and as independent as Nesta is, here she is saying, my mate taught me how to take you down. She is identifying that her strength is not diminished by leaning on someone else. In fact, it is empowering her because she is loved enough to receive this teaching and support instead of how she, like, questioned whether their relationship would make her look weak as a warrior. Back at the Citra, Nesta is claiming this life of being a Fae, this full, wonderful life that she is fighting to live for with her friends and with her mate. She isn't afraid anymore because while she might not be human, she is in control of her future and her identity. I love it, especially as she makes this declaration moments before the Big Shake showdown. Which we will get to in our next final episode of our Acotar Deep Dive. Let's turn our full attention to foreshadowing important moments in the rest of this book. Like the next few chapters, as well as any speculation for what's next in the series.

Nicole (111:44)

Emery hopes that she will be able to refer to her cousin Butt Face Bellies in the past tense after all of this is done. Correct. She will. Because Bellious will be killed by Cassian. Good fucking riddance, my guy.

Lexi (111:56)

When Nesta is thinking about how Cassian. Cassian's name will go down in history like an alias, a small part of her wishes that her own name will too. This isn't the first time she's hoped she will also be remembered in history. And I feel like it's got to be foreshadowing. She will go down in history as a warrior who resurrected the Valkyries and leads this female force. Maybe also as a queen in her own right. High lady of the Dust Court, maybe? As you all know, we think so. So many possibilities. As Nesta waits for dawn in this battle against Bellious, quote, her power would return. And she could. Nesta didn't know what she'd do, but at least she'd have that weapon. Well, she might not know how to use her power, but she will end up channeling it in a big eruption that will kill Brielle and make her in the final Face Off.

Nicole (112:44)

I also love that here she's leaning on her power, like, we'll talk about that next episode. But I just love how she's like, I can't wait to have my. My power back when before she was like, get it away from me. Yes, it is time to sip some tea with the cereal. Every episode, Lexi will sit down with cereal, rip and walk us through a world building topic that helps us better understand this world and the people in it.

Lexi (113:04)

Today's surreal topic is Romiel, one of the three sacred mountains in Prythian. First and foremost, Romiel is a symbol of the Night Core and Illyria's sacred mountain. It's the heart of not only Illyria, but the entirety of the Night Court. It appears on the Night Court's insignia. It is where the Illyrian blood rite takes place. As Cassian describes quote, Romiel had always felt alive, somehow awake and watchful. So let's go through Romiel's geography. Romiel is located in the center of the Illyrian region in the Night Court. And again, it is regarded as the holy mountain of the court. As it rises higher above the other peaks. It is mighty wide and can feel endless for those flying over it. Like Cassian, the mountain is covered in jade rock that, quote, slices you up like a cheese grater. Like the other two sacred mountains, Romiel is bald and barren. Not even much snow graces its sides. It's like the wind whipped it all away. Or Storms avoided the peak entirely. I'm personally convinced there is ancient magic at play here. Especially since no snow touches the onyx monolith. Cassian feels unable to resist the mountain's ancient summons. And this mountain feels so different from the terrible presence of the sacred, sacred mountain in the middle. I find that really interesting how it feels awake and ancient in a good way. While the mountain in the middle feels terrible and scary. At the top of Romiel is that onyx monolith, A shining black sacred living stone that juts from its top. If you touch it during the right, you win. And an ancient magic not only transports you away immediately to wherever you are needed most, it also heals you completely, which I have some theories about. Surrounding Romiel Mountain are common conifer forests and ravines, which our Valkyries became familiar with this episode. Ancient cunning, terrifyingly large beasts prowl these lands, feeding at night. Also as our Valkyries learned this episode. Now it's time for a history lesson. Long ago, so long ago that they don't even have a precise date for it. But we know it's 15,000 years ago. A great war was fought between the Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. The Daglan. One of its key battles was here in these mountains. And I know we've already mentioned this several times between today's episode and last week. So here's the Tldr. Illyrian forces were battered and outnumbered. And for some reason the Daglan's forces were desperate to reach the stone at the top of Romiel. I think that definitely has to do with the onyx monolith and its ancient powers. No one has ever been taught the reason why. Though indeed it seems to have been forgotten over the course of history. But what we know is a young Illyrian warrior named Annelius held the line against enemy soldiers for days. He found a natural archway of stone amongst the tangle of boulders and made that his bottleneck as he defended the line. He died in the end, but he held off the enemy long enough for his allies to reach them. The first ruler of the Night Court made Romiel his court insignia, which of course is the mountain depicted with their three holy stars on top. Illyrian warriors who are ready to partake in the right aim to reach the top of Romiel and touch the onyx monolith. Monolith located there in honor of an alias and his bravery. No one is allowed on Romiel any other time of the year. Only this one week of the rite. No one knows how the onyx monolith at the top of Romiel came to be there. Legend says it existed before the Night Court formed. Before the Illyrians migrated from the Myrmidons, which are the mountains that divide the Night and Day Court. Before humans even walked this world. Romiel has two sister peaks. The sacred mountain in the center of the middle, Amarantha's under the mountain, and the mountain where the prison is located underneath. Each of these three mountains has an underground palace of tunnels carved into them. With markings carved into the walls that depict unknown stories and symbols. No one knows who carved them, and apparently the Illyrians were never curious enough to see if any secrets lie beneath Romiel. As you all know, we are convinced there is something very important also beneath Romiel. Now, let's talk about the paths up the mountain. While it's mentioned that there are several paths up up the mountain, we are only told the name of one. The Breaking. The worst of Romul's three routes to the top. Not only is it difficult physically, but it is its own mental challenge too. Nesta, Emery and Gwen can feel their worst feels swirling as insistent thoughts. Their horrors haunting them as they climb the Breaking. And Nesta speculates that there's something more to this area that tests you mentally and truly does try to break you. It's the truest test of will and courage to climb when you have nothing left. It's when the Breaking uses usually occurs. It's of course the route the Bat boys took, as well as what our Valkyries take here today too. The hardest path, the most infamous, is the one that takes you through the Pass of Annales, through the Archway of Blackstone, where Annales held the line. And that, friends, is what we know currently about Romiel. One of the three sacred mountains of Brythian and the location of the blood rite.

Nicole (117:42)

It is time to close out our Acotar. Only part of the episode with our Fae moments. Oh, I almost only get to say that one more time. Oh my God.

Lexi (117:51)

At least until ACOTAR 6, that's which. We have no idea when that is. So we're just gonna soak this up for however long.

Nicole (117:59)

A few highlights from Cassian's adventure. He is so over Eris. And I find that just delicious. He wants to kick his ass and he's saying fucking Eris. It just always makes me giggle. Also how he and Azriel keep to the skies so that they look like large birds flying overhead, but they can perfectly see ground with their Fae eyesight. First off, I'm slightly confused how the science of this works. Because wouldn't the fae on the ground also be able to see the people in the skies? They are in the human part of the continent. So that's maybe why that is there. But also, excuse me. As every large bird that I see outside my window now I think is a large bat boy. And I will run and chase them down.

Lexi (118:38)

Should I teach my daughter? Because right now she always points to everything and says plane. Should I have her please? She already says black man. She loves her Batman.

Nicole (118:47)

So Jake will never forgive you. And please make that happen. I love this. This is also just such a small thing. I love that in addition to the weapons being included in the blood rite, she also includes canteens. This is my headcanon. She did not tell Bellius to include canteens and the blood right? Only weapons. Because she is a chaos agent. She wants the weapons. But getting water in the wild has always been bellious. Doubtless fall. So he selfishly put canteens in the blood right. To make it easier for him.

Lexi (119:18)

Oh my God. Are you in my brain? Because I think I wrote down that almost exact same thing in my notes. I literally wrote. Part of me wonders if Brielle and only had weapons to go in to cause chaos. And the Illyrians under her influence were like, okay, but we could also use canteens and rope. And took the opportunity to help themselves out more. Or here's another idea. It was Brielle and really making sure her minions had what they needed to stay alive and further ensure Nesta would be worn down real quickly. So we have wondered like, oh my gosh. If it seems so easy for them to get to the base of the mountain. Like how have they only been 12 before? They do have a big advantage this time around. So we got to take everything with the nasty. Except for their winning. Because we're definitely not taking that away from our ladies.

Nicole (120:00)

Absolutely not.

Lexi (120:02)

But I have another crazy theory.

Nicole (120:04)

Okay.

Lexi (120:04)

What if Brian even let there be canteens and weapons, et cetera. Besides just the weapons to help Nesta at least stay alive. So Briellen would have better odds of getting to her before Nesta died on her own in the right.

Nicole (120:18)

Honestly, I could totally see that. That is some Brielle and logic right there. Is what that is. But okay. Crazy. This does make me wonder. Like I'm taking Emery and Gwen out of this because they deserve every second that they get on top of that mountain. But this blood right was fucking rigged. Did it still count?

Lexi (120:35)

Well, so. So we do know like later on they'll be speculating like, oh, yeah, the Illyrians are gonna be mad about this for decades. And I actually could see it being a real debate, especially among the Illyrians in ACOTAR 6. Ultimately, yes, it will still count. And when we say count, it will be about Emery and Gwen winning, because that's all they really care about, I think. And. But, for instance, they're gonna race hell.

Nicole (120:58)

About it, which is infuriating.

Lexi (120:59)

I think so too. Yeah. But then, like, I think about, like, people like that Balthazar, who I really hope he did become a Wristian. We didn't mention this, but it's like, I love that he's like, I want to become a Wristian, which is like the mid level. You know, it's like, I don't need to reach the top. I'm good. I just want to be better than all these other guys here. But I could see, like, him being an advocate for the females and for accounting for them. So.

Nicole (121:20)

Yeah. Anyway, I really hope Balthazar comes back also, just so we can keep saying the name Balthazar, because what an epic name.

Lexi (121:28)

I once knew a guy when I was growing up, like, in high school and such, and his name was Balthazar. And did he go by Balthazar? Yes, he did. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, I. I don't know how to stay in contact with him, but I hope he's doing well out there in the world.

Nicole (121:43)

Wherever you are, Balthazar, we're rooting for you, my guy. I have one last little tiny thing that I love, and that is the Illyrians calling our Valkyrie trio. And Emery says, oh, shut up. Find something new to call us. I just love that little feminine rage in her. So good.

Lexi (122:01)

Me too.

Nicole (122:03)

All right, friends, we are about to begin our mass first madness for the day.

Lexi (122:08)

But first, we'd love to give the biggest warm welcome, welcome, welcome. To our newest inner circle members.

Nicole (122:14)

A huge welcome, welcome, welcome. And thank you so much for joining the inner circle to Sarah S. Louisa, Rebecca B. Clinton, Courtney D. Gen P. And Darla. I will never hear the name Darla and not think of the little rascals. So just think. Just know that that's what I'm thinking of. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Lexi (122:34)

And if you're like, hey, I want my name shouted out on the podcast, I had to be showered with love, too. Join the patreon party@patreon.com fantasy fangirls. The link is also in the show notes.

Nicole (122:44)

Today's Mask vs Madness will include spoilers from Crescent City, all three books, and a world building part of Throne of Glass. However, no plot spoilers. So if you have not read Crescent City 3 and if you want absolutely no spoilers for Throne of Glass, this is where we part ways. But before you go, remember reminder that next episode our last Acotar Deep Dive will be covering Silver Flames chapters 73 through 80.

Lexi (123:10)

I just can't believe this 11 month journey of Deep Diving Acotar is almost at its end. We started ACOTAR Book 1 in February. I just can't believe it. We will have one more Acotar episode after that to wrap up our series coverage which will be an Ask Us Anything with all of you. So please submit your questions using the form in our show notes. We will get to as many of your Acotar questions as possible on our final Acotar Ask Us Anything episode. Also, friendly reminder that episode will air on Monday, January 6th so there will be no Fantasy Fangirls episode on December 30th as we take a holiday break.

Nicole (123:50)

We're taking breaks now. I'm so proud of us and I.

Lexi (123:54)

Know a lot of you are too. You are so supportive of our our mental well being and we appreciate you so much.

Nicole (123:59)

God, thank you so much. In case you missed the exciting news, we have officially announced the book series that we will be covering after Onyx Storm. This is going to be the Kindred's Curse Saga by Pen Cole shouts to you Pen. We love you girl. Starting with book one spark the everflame in April 2025 right after we finish up our Onyx Storm Deep Dive link in the show notes to get this delicious, delicious, delicious book. Luther, I'm coming for you my guy and friends.

Lexi (124:27)

If you're not following us on Instagram and slash or TikTok, what are you doing? Give us a follow@Fantasy Fangirlspod. We are now going to enter our Masters Madness segment of the episode where we call out series crossover references and discuss theories. Today we are discussing concepts that give spoilers From Crescent City 3 House of Flame and Shadow and just a little world building building reference from Throne of Glass. No plot spoilers there, so please only continue listening. If you've read all of Crescent City and however you feel about Throne of Glass spoilers, I'm not going to tell you about that one. First, a little more about Romiel for our serial tea time that we learn from House of Flame and Shadow. In the caves beneath the prison, Nesta points out a carving of the cauldron perched on top of Ramiel with the three stars stars above it. And we learned from Selene's download that The Daglan apparently kept the cauldron at the base of the monolith at the top of Romiel. So you know how Aenelius defended the past to ensure the Daglan's forces couldn't get up Romiel. I think he was making sure the Daglan couldn't get back to the cauldron. So the Fae forces had gained control of the cauldron, which the Daglan originally had control of the cauldron. And so Annelius was risking his life to protect the greatest asset of all. Perhaps the top of Romiel is also the original location. Location of the cauldron, in fact. Also from Selene's download, we see a visual of Thea standing on top of Romiel with Theon. So I think the made objects like Whiteian were dipped into the cauldron from this location. I'm leaning toward the Onyx monolith being made too, since legend says it has been around since before the Night Court. Well, all this history went down well before the courts were established. And it was here too. Maybe that the Daglan warped the cauldron. Perhaps that is somehow connected to the sacred mountain being barren. We also know about the Onyx monolith, that it immediately heals anyone who touches it. As Emory and Gwen will tell us in the next episode. And it takes them to where they are needed most. Previously we had thought that it just takes you to the camp. I'll just say, kind of like to the Illyrian safety area. But they are taking to the river house. So I also think that maybe it wasn't only the cauldron that the Dagon needed to get up to the top four. Maybe they were wanting to get to the monolith so that they could transport to another realm. Perhaps. One more thing here, because I can't stop talking about Romiel. Vesperus also hints that the Asteri Daglan hid pockets of their power beneath sacred mountains. Which might also have to do with these mysterious tunnels and underground palaces too. Yes, I absolutely think so. Vesperus also says that their magic draw all sorts of creatures. So I am convinced that these ancient and cunning beasts gravitate toward Romiel because of the Asteris magic. Magic that is hiding within it. And the Asteri. Are these beasts original creators?

Nicole (127:16)

There's a few other Romiel theories that I want to throw out there as well. There are quite a number of theories that couldn't find the original poster about this. But Romiel is a possible entrance to hell. So maybe that's also why the Asteri were trying to get to the top. Because they want to get to hell and really show a poly.

Lexi (127:33)

And what's possibly that also makes sense with these beasts.

Nicole (127:37)

Yes, exactly. Exactly. Oh my God. Yes, exactly. It's almost like how the northern rift connects Midgard to Hel and other realms. This is almost like the northern rift of Prythian. So maybe Romiel is also a thin place too. There's no mention of mist, at least that I found. But you know, that might just be oversight. This also might be how Thanatos keeps getting in and out of the fucking world because he is mentioned in Acowar, how Thanatos daughter is giving him him, you know, problems. This from Kir in the Court of Nightmares, but we know Thanatos is the prince of the ravine, AKA the fourth Prince of Hell. Also, Aristes, one of the three stars on top of the mountain, is connected to the Greek God that is being chased down by Enris, AKA Fury, AKA Thanatosa's daughter. I'm still so convinced that Fury is Thanatos's daughter. And then her.

Lexi (128:27)

Wow, this is like a flash from the plasma man. We haven't talked about this in months.

Nicole (128:33)

I lay awake at night literally saying Thanatos daughter is Fury.

Lexi (128:37)

Thanatos daughter's Fury.

Nicole (128:38)

I'm so convinced. Sierra Darling on Reddit also takes us a step further, wondering if Anelius is now one of the princes of Hell too. We have seven levels.

Lexi (128:48)

Wait, real quickly, because we also know that Annelius needed to get to the top of Romiel and his guts were hanging out in the. That's where he died. Well, the onyx monolith literally heals anybody who touches it. So maybe two options here. One is he tried to get to the top so that he could be healed and he did not make it. You know, to. To actually touch it. Or he did touch it and he didn't actually die right there. And. And he's in hell now. This is also 15000 years later. So I don't think an Illyrian would still be alive. But. But.

Nicole (129:22)

And Apollyon are still alive and they were there 15,000 years ago with Thea.

Lexi (129:27)

True, but they. But Aenelius is an Illyrian.

Nicole (129:30)

True, but what if he's like an Illyrian Plus, I don't know.

Lexi (129:34)

I mean, what. They do call him a warrior God, so.

Nicole (129:37)

Exactly. Exactly. So we know that level seven is the pit, AKA Apollyon. We know that level five is the chasm, which is governed by Aidas, with Thanatos right above him as level four, the ravine. There are still levels one through three, and then four. This is the hollow, the trench, the canyon, and the abyss. Could an alias be any of these princes? I tried to figure out if there was any that we could connect to, like his name, and I couldn't find any. But there's also a theory that the monolith on top of Romiel is a word gate. And this is why a lot of people think that you can literally touch it and then you're transported out of the blood, right? A la Portkey style. If that is the case, a huge part of actually Macatar 6 might be discovering this word gate. And it might be a possible way to connect to the tog world again. I will never, ever, ever forget the fact that Rift hold is called Rift hold, like the Northern Rift. So maybe this is somehow to connect it to Dorian. And then Dorian's just going to come on top of Romeo and be like, what's up?

Lexi (130:38)

All right. Oh, my gosh. We could literally go on and on and on about the top of Rome. Romiel. What's underneath Romiel, the onyx monolith, all of this. So we will leave it here today. Thank you so much again for joining us today. Next Week is episode 11, and it is covering chapters 73 through 80 of Silver Flames. It will be the last Deep Dive episode of our Acotar series coverage. I still can't get over it.

Nicole (131:01)

And don't forget, we still have our Ask Us Anything Acotar episode, so we will not be saying goodbye to Acotar next episode. Just the Deep Dive part of Acotar, which is wild. I can't believe that's real. Thank you as always to our content researcher, Brooke, and of course, our executive producer, Hayden, AKA our sanity manager. We truly don't know what we would do without you all. Do not forget also to share this episode with your fellow Silver Flame friends. If you want to envision a cat, serpent, bear, pig thing, this is a great one. And if you send us drawings, A plus extra points.

Lexi (131:34)

Thank you everybody, so much. We will see you next week. Bye.

Nicole (131:38)

Side note, I went to an ice show in Denver a few days ago, and there was an entire nativity scene made out of ice. And it was beautiful. It was so cool.

Lexi (131:46)

If my children were there, they totally would have licked it like they did.

Nicole (131:49)

Sculptures, and then they would have been escorted right out of there.