Ep 6 Heat of the Everflame: Chapter 56-64

Summary

---

Fantasy Fangirls – Episode 6: Heat of the Everflame (Chapters 56-64)

Release Date: September 8, 2025
Hosts: Nicole & Lexi
Book Covered: Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole (Kindred's Curse Saga, Book 3)

---

Episode Overview

Nicole and Lexi, sisters and fantasy enthusiasts, navigate chapters 56–64 of Heat of the Everflame, plunging into high-stakes lore, explosive truths, character reckonings, and the arrival of one of the saga’s most anticipated villains: Ophiuchai. This episode is a deep-dive, brimming with spoilery analysis, theory-crafting, emotional character moments, and rich world-building. If you’re not caught up on the series, beware major spoilers. The tone is energetic, playful, and at times heartfelt, as the hosts celebrate Penn Cole’s fairy tale craftsmanship and critique the story’s most frustrating guardians (literally and metaphorically).

---

Segment Guide and Important Timestamps

• [06:45] Royal Advisor Chapter Summaries (Ch. 56-64)
• [12:46] Reach for Our Forging Magic – Character and Plot Analysis
• [28:05] Phone-A-Pen Author Q&A
• [35:05] Behind the Scenes: Taryn & Alix
• [78:51] Major Lore Developments: Ophiuchai’s Arrival & Mark
• [157:31] Sophos Library: The Realm of Monteos
• [164:44] Apple Orchard: Favorite Moments

---

Chapter Recap: Royal Advisor Summaries

[06:45]

• Ch. 56: Diem, Luther, and Aurelie fly back to Lumnos to retrieve Diem’s brother, Teller. Their plan falls apart amid a militarized palace and depleted magic. Forced to abort, Diem reveals Aurelie is alive to Teller before fleeing to Montios.
• Ch. 57-58: The trio endures frostbite and heartbreak in Montios. Tensions flare, attempts at rest are thwarted, and Diem’s guilt over failing her family lingers. An encounter with a mystical grave sets the stage for magic and mystery.
• Ch. 59: Facing Fortos soldiers, Diem is outmaneuvered—then saved—by Montios descended led by a precocious 7-year-old. The group slips into Montios’ hidden city for a Council reckoning.
• Ch. 60: Diem discovers she’s the Monteos Crown. She contacts a mysterious glowing man through her forging magic—Ophiuchai—who leaves her mysteriously marked.
• Ch. 61: Re-empowered, Diem’s party travels toward the Forgotten Lands. Luther’s magic is depleted by the land. Diem and Ophiuchai’s confrontation climaxes with failed assassination—a magical arrow is simply absorbed.
• Ch. 62-63: Overwhelmed, Diem confronts her mother, Aurelie, about decades of secrets and lies, especially concerning Ophiuchai. After a much-needed emotional explosion, Diem seeks comfort with Luther (“finger bang, finger bang”), but Aurelie awkwardly interrupts.
• Ch. 64: The crew prepares for imminent battle and splits up—Aurelie heads to warn the Guardians, while Diem and Luther journey to Sophos. A new political bombshell: The Queen of Arboros is both an ally of the Guardians and secretly half-mortal.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Palace Break-in Disastrously Fails

[13:00]

• Diem charges into Lumnos driven by guilt, intent on reuniting her family. Despite clear dangers—an army presence and lack of magic—she pushes forward.
• Lexi: “She is a Bellator, after all... She refuses to see any other option but making it right with Teller, even when he’s like, ‘Yes, he’s sad, he wants to be with his mother...But he can weigh those pros and cons unbiasedly.’” (13:55)
• Nicole: Luther, the ever-strategic one, pushes for a Plan B—Diem and Aurelie refuse to budge, highlighting their tunnel vision. “This is going to be a theme this episode. It’s called Stop and Breathe for a flipping second... It’s entirely driven from guilt versus common sense.” (16:31)

Impact on Side Characters: Complicated Futures

[21:00]

• Remus, Taran, and Alix are left behind—each faces uncertain allegiances and roles with the occupying army. Rapid-fire predictions abound on possible betrayals, loyalties, and hidden agendas for the next installment.
• Author Penn Cole weighs in: “Remus realized at that moment that he might have bitten off more than he could chew... I do think he’s a really complicated, nuanced character, and... we might learn a little bit more about his influence in book four.” (28:05)

The Monteos Realm: Culture Shock & New Politics

[67:00]

• Montios differs sharply—its culture is built on silence, kindness, and democratic council rule (council elected by the people, Crown as tie-breaker only).
• Lexi: “Have I mentioned how much I love the mountains? ... Monteos is giving us wildly different vibes than DM is used to.” (68:19)
• Montios’ inherent kindness and structure contrast starkly with the autocracy and suspicion Diem faces elsewhere.

Diem’s Third Crown and the Prophecy

[73:05]

• Diem becomes Monteos Crown, inheriting even more responsibility. A cryptic letter from the previous king offers these lines:
  • “11 must fall for one to rise. Share the gift to pay the cost. A dying star will rekindle the spark. What is forgotten is not lost. Remember my sister’s words. Beware my brother’s wrath.”
• The sisters theory-craft: Is the 11th not just the ten Kindred crowns, but also a hidden player? Is Diem herself “the one” to rise? Is “the gift” a magical power? The true nature of the prophecy remains unsolved, setting up the big series finale.
• Lexi: “I do think that it’s Diem, because... Spark of the Everflame. Glow of the Everflame. Heat of the Everflame. Burn of the Everflame. I think that she’s the dying star...” (95:15)

The Ophiuchai Reveal (“This is Not a Drill”)

[78:51]

• Diem encounters Ophiuchai within the forging magic—a chilling, powerful being who brands her with a glowing ten-pointed star.
• Nicole: “Oh God, he’s so creepy. And I love him, he’s such a good villain. But we have to talk about this glowing mark... That ten pointed star. This is not the first time we’ve seen this mark...” (80:38)
• The mark acts as a beacon, a warning, and possibly as protection for Diem (his “sweet liberation”)—she’s now marked as his and shielded from his followers’ aggression.
• The symbolism of ten-pointed star: “It represents the union of opposites and new beginnings.” (82:47 – Lexi)

Aurelie's Secrets—A Mother's Betrayal

[116:04]

• Aurelie’s backstory: Once a spy for the army, she became entangled with Ophiuchai on Kuriel, bore his child (Diem), and later stabbed him with Godstone to save her newborn after discovering he planned to use Diem’s blood to free himself.
• The sisters respond with pain and frustration at Aurelie’s long-term lies, her justification that Diem “never asked the right questions,” and her self-justification as necessary for their safety.
• Lexi: “She drugged her daughter to hide what she was... Orly gaslit her daughter into thinking she was the crazy one for the past 10 years... If she apologized in this moment and was vulnerable... it's on the path to redemption. But no... she turns it back on Diem and blames her daughter..." (139:01)

Luther & Diem: Romantic and Emotional Stakes

[141:08]

• After the confrontation, Diem seeks solace in Luther. Their near-intimate moment is interrupted (again) by Aurelie. The sisters voice their (and the fandom’s) suffering over the relentless “edging” of this book couple.
• The conversation between Diem, Luther, and Aurelie leads (finally!) to Aurelie beginning to accept Luther, even giving him a hug—a moment both healing and bittersweet for “motherless” Luther.
• Nicole: “Acceptance, complete. … I am so here for this mother-son-in-law relationship.” (151:29)

---

Notable Quotes & Fan-Favorite Moments

• “DM is a fixer, and she sees bringing her mother back to Lumnos as fixing a problem and making things right with her brother.” (14:18, Lexi)
• “Both DM and Aurelie… plant their feet in the metaphorical sand. There is not going to be a plan B because failing to land to get to Teller is not an option.” (16:31, Nicole)
• “Arleigh is the walking definition of Mother Gothel’s ‘Mother Knows Best’ song from Tangled.” (42:27, Nicole)
• “You know what is the best distraction from mommy issues? Hand jobs.” (141:08, Nicole)
• “11 must fall for one to rise. Share the gift to pay the cost. A dying star will rekindle the spark. What is forgotten is not lost. Remember my sister’s words. Beware my brother’s wrath.” (84:46, previous Monteos Crown’s letter read aloud)
• “The ten-pointed star symbolizes the union of opposites and new beginnings.” (82:47, Lexi)
• “Acceptance, complete. Pause to think about how much this means to Luther. He does not have a mother ... I am so here for this mother-son-in-law relationship.” (151:29, Nicole)

---

Lore Corner: The Realm of Monteos

[157:43]

• The biggest, coldest realm, formerly two realms merged.
• Governed by an elected council, Crown acting only as tie-breaker.
• Culturally, silence is a virtue; kindness and patience are valued above all.
• Descended avoid the evil, cursed Forgotten Lands—the domain of Ophiuchai and site of the saga’s looming threat.
• Home of the opal-scaled gryvern Remari (now deceased). Burial sites are part of Crown’s magical inheritance.

---

Major Theories & Series-Finale Set-up

• Who or what is the 11th that must fall? Is Diem’s own death foretold?
• Is “the gift” her magical essence, her “heart,” or something deeper and yet unknown?
• Ophiuchai is positioned as both nemesis and dark mirror—powerful, chilling, and connected to Diem in ways still unfolding.
• Lexi’s Theory: The dying star is likely Diem, the spark the restoration of the realm/world through her death (or sacrifice).
• Nicole’s Theory: It’s possible the 11th is Aurelie or another unrevealed Kindred; big twist may await in “Burn.”

---

Fan-Favorite & Memorable Moments

[164:44]

• The “Moon Watch”—the power and symbolism of the nemesis moon.
• Sarai’s moments of freedom (and gryvern tributes).
• Luther’s recurring, adorable goat farmer dream.
• Running gag: Orly’s righteous indignation about Diem and Luther’s pet names and familiarity.
• The hosts’ continual “God F***ing Damn It” (GFDAs) for character blunders—Diem, Aurelie, Remus, you name it.
• Luther’s romantic promise: “This is just a taste... our night is coming, and when it does, I'll be the last first time you ever have.” (142:11, Luther, paraphrased by Nicole)
• Luther’s acceptance hug from Aurelie—a rare moment of healing for both characters.

---

What’s Next?

• Next Episode: Chapters 65–70 – The Battle Episode!
• Upcoming deep-dive series: Quicksilver by Callie Hart (starts October 6th)
• Burn of the Everflame series coverage post-release

---

Closing Thoughts

Nicole and Lexi close out the episode with gratitude for their community, reminders about their Fantasy Fan Club perks, and a shout-out to listeners still piecing together the series' burning questions (“What the heck does ‘11 must fall for one to rise’ mean?”).

If you want the best mix of passionate analysis, hilarious asides, sisterly banter, and genuine love for fantasy storytelling, this episode is a must-listen (or read).

---

For more info, content, or to join the community, visit: fantasyfangirls.com/fanclub
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @fantasyfangirlspod

---

Transcript

[Nicole]

Imagine a world of extraordinary comfort where Boland Branch Bedding wraps you in the softest. Embrace the coziest experience made from the world's finest 100% organic cotton, all so you can sleep better. Start building your fall sanctuary with Bolin Branch's iconic Signature sheets made with a.

[Lexi]

Buttery, breathable weave that gets softer with every wash. Enjoy 15% off your first set of.

[Nicole]

Sheets with free shipping and returns at.

[Lexi]

B O L L& Branch.com with code BUTTERY.

[Nicole]

See site for details and exclusions.

[Lexi]

Did I talk too much? Can't I just let it go? Thank you so much.

[Nicole]

Take a breath. You're not alone.

[Lexi]

Let's talk about what's going on.

[Nicole]

Counseling helps you sort through the noise with qualified professionals and online therapy makes it convenient. See if it's for you. Visit betterhelp.com randompodcast for 10% off your first month of online therapy and let life feel free Better. You know those days where you are fighting for your life because you've got back to back meetings? That's Tuesdays for us here at ffg. Lexi knows exactly what I'm talking about and I always know it's one of those days when all I have time for lunch is my iconic chicken nuggets. But now Factor helps me eat smarter with tasty chef prepared meals that are dietitian approved and delivered straight to my door. And now with more than 65 weekly meals made for how I live and what I like to eat, I've gotten more ways to fit a real meal wherever the day takes me.

[Lexi]

I'm the exact same way when it comes to lunches. Sometimes we don't have time to like make a lunch and I just love how easy it is that I can have a really delicious meal and it feels like I'm treating myself like I'm almost getting takeout right and it just takes two minutes in the microwave. And I'll admit my Factor meals go very, very fast. And my husband, because he also loves eating them, it's like okay, well you better get in there quick because I'm going to eat all of them. I love it so much.

[Nicole]

Eat smart@FACTOR meals.com fantas fangirl50off and use code fantasy fangirl50off to get 50 off your first box plus free breakfast for one year. That's code fantasy fangirl50off@FACTOR meals.com for 50 off your first box plus free Breakfast for one year. Get delicious ready to eat meals delivered with Factor Offer is only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase.

[Lexi]

As a parent, I'm always seeking out the best for my kiddos and that's especially the case when it comes to their food. But I've noticed that these transitions through developmental phases can be a little tricky. That's why we're so happy to be working with Little Bellies.

[Nicole]

Little Belly's organic Pick Me Sticks are perfect for tiny taste buds with gentle age and stage appropriate flavors, shapes and textures to support little ones starting solids at 7 plus months and exploring more flavors at 10 plus months. All the products are lovingly created for just the right stage and age, helping your little ones develop their motor skills at every feeding stage. I love Little Bellies.

[Lexi]

It's so great that all of their options are age and stage appropriate. Plus because they're easy to hold, they encourage self feeding so your kid can explore new kinds of tastes and textures. Little Belly's also offers toddler snacks and so for instance, my kids, they're toddlers now and I am so excited for them to try Little Belly's toddler snacks. I've been eyeing them recently and oh my gosh, my box is coming soon and I can't wait.

[Nicole]

So if you're ready to make those in between feeding stages a little less tricky, Little Bellies is here to help. You can find your favorite organic Pick Me stick products in the baby food aisle at your local supermarket or grocery store Today. Little Bellies do what's natural welcome, welcome, welcome to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast where two sisters dive deep into beloved fantasy lore, character theme, series and more.

[Lexi]

I'm Lexi, older sister and fantasy Lore nerd.

[Nicole]

And I'm Nicole, younger sister and romantic at heart.

[Lexi]

And today is episode six for Heat of the Everflame by Pen Cole, where we are covering chapters 56 through 64. As always, before we begin this heat episode 6, please listen closely to our spoiler warning because all of these episodes have spoilers for book three of the Kendrick's Curse saga, Heat of the Everflame.

[Nicole]

Yes, that includes the ending we meet Ophiuchai this episode. This is not a drill. So get ready for all the lore, all the downloads, all the theories, and if you have no idea what I'm talking about or who I'm talking about, then dear God, please go finish the series. We will be here when you're done.

[Lexi]

Next, we at Fantasy Fangirls are adults who say adult things about adult books. In other words, friends, this podcast is.

[Nicole]

Rated R R. Ellie may be the biggest cock block of them all, but we still get a finger bang this episode, so please be mindful of those little list ears.

[Lexi]

It's so awkward.

[Nicole]

It's so awkward and I love it.

[Lexi]

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

[Nicole]

We will be back at the Dragon Gauntlet in Boyne City, Michigan September 12th.

[Lexi]

Through 13th, then Romanecy Bookcon in Orlando, Florida October 23rd through 25th where we are interviewing Rebecca Yaris again at Disney world. And on March 6th through 8th in Dallas, Texas, we'll be podcast partners at Dreamers and Readers Festival.

[Nicole]

Check out our website or the links below for more information to all of these events, plus discount codes for some of them as well.

[Lexi]

Last thing before we jump into this Heat of The Everflame Episode 6 if you love Fantasy Fangirls and want more events, more content, more community and just so much more all around, please check out Fantasy Fan Club.

[Nicole]

We have three membership tiers that you can join the Descended which includes access to our Boppin Discord live Q&As from Lexi and I, a book club, exclusive author interviews, community events like trivias, promo codes for live events, plus exclusive designs and 20% off all merch. That is for $6 a. Or you can join the Royal Family which includes everything from the Descended level plus early access to ad free episodes, our full episode outlines and special voting privileges. That is for $10 a month. And last but not least, we have our Crowns Council which includes everything from the previous two tiers plus behind the scenes content, a welcome gift, giveaways, private Discord channels and your name shouted out on the podcast. That is for $25 a month.

[Lexi]

Join the party at fantasyfangirls.com fanclub. The link is also in the show Notes. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts as we have turned this podcast into a dream come true. It is all because of you and.

[Nicole]

Now it is time to learn that we are the Queens of Montios.

[Lexi]

To start off every episode, Nicole does us the honor of summarizing this stretch of chapters, so gather round as we consult with our royal advisors to discuss what happens in chapters 5664 of Heat.

[Nicole]

Of the Everflame chapter 56, the Flight Back to Lumnos is well. To say things are tense would be quite the understatement. After sending off the Fortos prisoners with instructions not to go to Vance, dm, Luther and Arlie set off for the Lumnos palace to go get Teller. Do I smell a half baked plan? As the palace grows nearer, the situation becomes more and more clear. Dean realizes that maybe, just maybe, Luther's we should get a plan together was right, but she tries anyway, steering Sarai towards the palace. All hell breaks loose and Luther's magic is fading fast. Attempting to land for the second time, Luther throws up his shields again, but it is not enough and a Godstone spear pierces Sarai. Aboard, aboard, aboard. With no other options, DM orders Sarai to head for Montios, leaving Teller behind with only a single second to see that his mother is alive and well. Chapter 57 Leaving Lumnos our crew finds a whole lot of nothing but snow and ice and cold. Welcome to the the barren landscape of Montios. Still, without their magic, the crew has nothing else to do besides sit around and talk, during which Luther confesses he assumed going back to Lumnos might not be possible. But that's okay. Diem is his home. My heart. Can these two please just sneak away and go get some firewood? Wink, wink, Hint, hint. Please. But no. Aurelie has a lot of cockboking to do and ruining the moment. Leave the fornication to dreams. Only mine and DMs. Chapter 58 the next morning Diem gets up bright and early to sneak away, but gets a little distracted by letting Sarai fly freely through the sky. Circling closer to the ground, they find something quite interesting. A circle of untouched ground with snow. A location where the Montios Gryburn dies, but oh, looks like she's been gone long enough. And the murderous looking mother is watching Diem when she returns to camp like she's sneaking home through the window in the middle of the night. No time for a full reprimand because out walks a group of Forto soldiers and they're here to arrest Diem and drag her back to Lumnos kicking and screaming. Before the soldiers can do anything like kill orally, the ground shakes and out walks a group of monteos descended with a seven year old leading the charge. Lexi, this would be your daughter. Chapter 59 While DM stands there fully shackled, the 7 year old is giving the 4 toes soldiers a run for their money in realm politics. Tired of their bullshit, the Montios descended, turn the ground at the soldiers feet into ice and watch them slide away into the sunset. Following the Montius descended down a slippery slide of doom, DM and co find themselves in the mysterious underground city of Mont. It's time for DM to meet the where have you been? Crowns Council. It's much nicer than a howler, but it's during this conversation that DM learns some very important information. DM darling, you're well on your way to catching them all. Because you are The Monteos crown. Chapter 60 Me. Your crown? Shut up. Things have gotten a whole lot more interesting now that DM is officially wearing three crowns. Reaching into the foraging magic DM's searches. And who does she find? A silvery glowing man just chillin in the Forgotten Lands. And suddenly he grabs her. Oh no. She can't leave Heat. And a ten pointed star is left behind where his hand had been. She did not ask for a mystery tattoo. This is not Vegas. Releasing the foraging magic, DM finds herself back with the Monteos descendant. But there's no time to plan. Moves have to be made now. And DM needs more magic. Chapter 61 after filling up her tank most of the way, it's time to go to the Forgotten Lands. But wait. What's that in the sky? It's a bird. It's a plane. Oh shit. It's a gryvern. Hopping off their horses, DM's feet touch the ground and she instantly is revitalized. Full of energy and magic. But Luther's magic, on the other hand, has been sucked dry. Scouting the area, the crew sees plants and crops and. Oh dear God. It's a pile of shit. Oh, never mind. It's Vance. That's not all. After seeing Ophiuchai walk into the clearing, DM crafts a bow out of magic and lines up her shot perfectly and fires. Shot through the heart. Nope, it's not that easy. The second the arrow pierces his skin, he lights up like a Christmas tree, absorbing the arrow. Chapter 62 well, this is awkward. DM just tried to kill her sire. With her mind spiraling, the only thing DM needs right now is the truth from her mother. And so Orly tells her every last detail. And at the end of their conversation, Arlie blames DM for not asking the right questions instead of being honest with her daughter, Aurelie. Oh boy, you better be ready for some els. This episode. Chapter 63 storming away from her mother. DM needs a distraction. And who's more better suited for the task than my number one book boyfriend, Luther Courvoir himself. And he's happy to oblige. And finger bang. Finger bang. Fingerty bang. I said I get the hell away from her bang. Well this is awkward. Aurelie interrupts at the worst moment possible. Can someone please let these two climax? I'm suffering for them. Dune tries to explain to her mother what's going on, but Aurelie refuses to to believe that Luther is anything but a horrible, horrible man who's just using DM to get to the throne. Listen, I'd sit on that throne with him. It's only after forcing the truth into Arleigh's thick skull that she finally sees the full picture. Luther and Diem love each other, and Luther's only goal is Diem's happiness. I'm not weeping. You are. Chapter 64 After a long night of trading stories and airing out the truth, our crew is finally ready. And all on the same page for the most part. While on their trek to Sophos, Arleigh drops another bomb. Too soon. The Queen of Arboros is working with the Guardians, and on top of it, she's a secret half mortal. Before they go their separate ways, Aurelie pulls Luther aside to speak in private, because even though she trusts him, she still has to make sure he knows she's willing to cut off his balls if he hurts her daughter. Leave his balls alone, Aurelie. After making sure everyone knows their part in what's to come next, Aurelie goes off to the Guardian camp to spread the word about Ophiuchai, while DM and Luther step into Sophos.

[Lexi]

Yay. I'm so excited. Okay, friends, it is time to reach for our 4G magic and unravel key insights, characters, analysis, lore, foreshadowing theories, and so much more. We're going to Monteos and I'm so excited. Last episode, we covered how DM and Luther helped the escaped prisoners from Fortos and get them safely to Lumnos with an informative map and bribery money. So please don't mind as we skip over that part here and turn our attention to Ds return to the Lumnos palace with her mother and Luther on Sarai's back. You know, the palace that everyone told her was a big risk to come back to with her Guardian leader mother that she just broke out of prison. DM used up all of her magic getting everyone out of Fortos alive and healed. And while Luther has pushed some of the little magic he has left into her, she is running on fumes. But the danger of coming back to Lumnos, the risks of being drained of magic, it doesn't matter to dm. She is determined to bring her mother back to Lumnose and reunite her family. She promised Teller after all. I do want to quickly add that I don't believe he asked her to make this promise. In fact, Teller understands the risks of bringing their mother back here better than dm, and he's not asking for that. But I do believe this shows how much DM feels like she owes her brother and is trying to make things right.

[Nicole]

Oh, it's 100%. A guilt feeling that's just eating DM alive. And like she refuses to see any. She's a Bellator, after all. She refuses to see any other option but making it right with Teller, even when he's like, yes, he's sad, he wants to be with his mother. We see that clearly in the scene that we're going to talk about. But he's also intelligent in the way of he can weigh those pros and cons unbiasedly. Yes, exactly.

[Lexi]

It doesn't matter that the army soldiers have already tried to kill DM once here in Lumnos, and Remus ratted them out to the Fortos king and seemingly willing to have them killed. Remus knows about this plan to rescue her mother, but DM is relying on him, hoarding this valuable information to himself within Lumnos, even though he tattled on her to the fortress king. DM has tunnel vision with this mission, as does her mother right now too. A mission she has been on since the first book of the series. Reunite her family, bring her mother home. Quote, after letting my father and brother down so completely in so many ways, this felt like my chance to finally make it right. Exactly what you were saying here, Nicole, about that guilt. Plus, DM thinks Teller deserves to be back with his mother. He needs her. He needs a sense of comfort in the chaos that has unfolded in their lives. He deserves the same answers that Diem so desperately needs, and she doesn't want to keep more secrets from him. Like he said before Diem left to Fortos, he didn't ask for any of this. He is consumed with grief, betrayal, and pain. Diem is a fixer, and she sees bringing her mother back to Lumnos as fixing a problem and making things right with her brother. I personally think she maybe should have let her mom go with the mortals, hide somewhere in Mortal City, and DM would get word to tell her to see her. But that's just me. Though that does prove the point how desperate DM is for her family to be reunited together instead of at the palace and Mortal City. So here's the plan for sneaking Aurelie into the Lumnos palace. Aurelie keeps her hood up while on Sarai's back before they land so no one will recognize her, especially with her signature copper red hair. Then the Plan is for Sarai to land on the coastline where Luther can sneak Aurelie in through the royal dock and Sarai and Diem can take off and create a distraction for the palace. But immediately our crew sees just how much trouble they are in. For one, there are 10 times as many guards as usual around the royal docks. And when they abort that and approach the palace, they realize it is swarmed with army soldiers ready for her. Well, shit. And then the soldiers launch a bolt at Sarai. Double shit. They're really trying to take them out from the sky. These army soldiers are actually trying to take down a crowned Griver. What the fuck? Well, I will say this. As far as they are concerned, the queen who controls the Gryvern is completely rogue and must be stopped. And then the archers are aiming for our crew here. And Diem is struck in the shoulder with an arrow. Triple shit.

[Nicole]

Fairly. Luther is seeing these risks and noting them and actually wondering if they should go to Lumnose at all. It just doesn't really make sense. Luther, before even hopping on Sarai and going to Lumnose, was like, let's create a plan B just in case something goes wrong. Like the triple shits that have happened so far. Because the very reality is that they are not able to land in Lumnos, especially not safely. They have very little magic. Like, remember, they're drained. Basically, Luther has like minuscule amounts. And there's a fuck ton of soldiers in Lumnos from the army, most of them with magic. So he's not saying let's not go. He's simply asking for, maybe we just get a plan B in place because the stakes are too impossible. A plan B be not on a Bellator's watch. Both DM and Aurelie. I think it's important to note that it is both of them, at least at first, plant their feet in the metaphorical sand. There is not going to be a plan B because failing to land to get to Teller is not an option. Nor is waiting for their magic to come back where they'd be able to shield like the entire time rather than just in little spurts or let alone fight back. So I'm sorry, Prince, your logic, it seems, is going to go unanswered. And I am dishing out my first GFDD of the episode. God fucking damn it, dm. Because this is going to be a theme this episode. It's called Stop and Breathe for a flipping second. So you can come up with a smarter plan, or at least a plan B It's entirely driven from guilt versus common sense.

[Lexi]

Luther shields up as Sarai swoops down toward Teller. But the arrows keep raining down. Teller is trying to get to his sister, but he's being held back. Remus is flustered. We'll talk about that more in a second. Alix is mouthing to Diem to go. Go. She sees how dangerous the situation is and she's genuinely worried for their lives. And Elix feels so helpless to stop it. But DM needs to get to her brother. Teller is reaching his hands up, hoping to be grabbed right from the palace and up into the sky. Yet arrows and spears keep clicking against Luther's shield. He doesn't have enough magic to hold it any longer. A Godstone blade rips into Sarai's side. When I first read this, I was like, oh my God. Sending a blast of pain through DM due to their bond together. But don't worry, Godstone is not fatal for a Gryvern unless it is through the heart. And by the way, that foreshadowing makes me extremely nervous for a Gryvern and burn laying down across Sarai's back. And with Aurelie holding his ankles, Luther pulls the spear free from Sarai's side. So it's time to try again, right? Right. DM has to get Teller after all. But sadly, no dm. Even Aurelie recognizes that it's time to cut their losses, and Luther has to give DM the cold, hard truth. If Teller leaves the palace right now, he will also be a fugitive and he will no longer be safe. DM doesn't really want that for him, does she?

[Nicole]

Diem now sees that this is too dangerous to land, let alone anything else. DM doesn't want Teller to become that accomplice for them. He took no part in this. It does not feel right for her as big sister, but she needs to keep at least one promise to her brother, and this is the best one she can think of. So, stopping outside of the soldier's reach, DM finds her little brother desperately trying to break out of Taran and Perth's grip. DM calls out an apology to him, but Teller is like, no, don't leave. And oh my God, it breaks my heart. So, jabbing his elbow into Taran's ribs and twisting Perth's wrist until he lets go. Teller escapes their reach. At least so he's like reaching towards DM and company. He might be an academic at heart, but he is still a Bellator, having trained since childhood with Andre and is easily able to step outside. Two warriors attempts to grab him and hold him back. And he keeps pleading with DM not to go. Not to go, tell her. But as one final offering for her brother, DM pulls Arlie's hood down, giving him a glimpse of her mother before they fly away.

[Lexi]

And by doing this, it fully cements as a fugitive who broke the leader of the Guardians out of prison where she was being held by the Crowns. Tell her we love you. Yes, this was unfortunately the right call, or else dm, Luther, Orly and Sarai, they would have died. Luther's magic was completely gone. They had no way of shielding. There were hundreds, if not a thousand soldiers literally trying to kill them there in the sky. There was no possible way for them to get anywhere close to the Luminos palace safely. But that doesn't stop this from being a gut wrenching moment for Teller. He feels abandoned. And yes, he does have confirmation that his mother is alive and his sister succeeded in breaking her out of prison. Yet now they're off together, leaving him behind again. As Teller will tell DM when they run into each other in Sophos, Teller won't be safe in Lumnos anymore. After everything that goes down here, everyone will know that DM broke their mother out of prison and that Teller's mother is indeed the Guardian leader. He won't be allowed to go to school anymore, not allowed to leave the palace. He will be trapped within the palace and he'll call himself a prisoner there. In hindsight, maybe you shouldn't have come back to the palace, Diem, and sent a message to your brother that your mother was safe instead.

[Nicole]

I hate to agree with Remus here, but he was right. I love DM like, I really do.

[Lexi]

I feel bad for saying this about her, but like, and I understand like her tunnel vision with this. And it is showing she is a flawed FMC in this case.

[Nicole]

But that's what we love about her, is how flawed she is and how she is very realistic in that way. She is steadfast. She is someone who is so mind driven, but not in a logical sense, like in a this is what I see is the right plan and it is my way or the highway. And sometimes that works out really well for her and sometimes it really doesn't. And I'm glad we get to see those times where it doesn't. Even though Teller is is definitely the collateral damage here. Oi. But since this is the last time we see Remus, Taran and Alix on the page, it is Time to do some rapid fire predictions. The last we see of Remus, he is shouting at the soldiers who are actually holding him back and trying to force him inside the palace. What's going on here? We know that Remus called the soldiers to Luminos in order to keep from a war breaking out. We can also assume that this is because he doesn't want to be overthrown by dm, so having soldiers keeping her in line is best in his eyes. But they're working against him here, it seems. Is it because they're trying to kill Luther?

[Lexi]

I was under the impression he wants to be in control of this situation and he's not whatsoever. And he is being pushed against a wall when this is all happening by the soldiers and it's like his authority is not being recognized. So I'm guessing he did not expect this straight up attack. He's a politician. Shooting first is not his usual style. So I think that he was wanting it to be more of like a threat and to take them in and then the soldiers start doing all the shooting and literally trying to kill them. And Remus is a little bit like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, this is not what I said. And the situation was just completely out of hand and he was not in control.

[Nicole]

Daily stress, we all have it. There's no avoiding it. But you can control how you respond to stress. That's why we are so happy to partner with ritual. With ritual's stress relief featuring bio series technology, you can make sure your setting yourself up to tackle whatever life throws your way.

[Lexi]

With all the responsibilities in my life, stress is something that I've really struggled with between work, family and trying to take care of myself. Sometimes it can just be a little bit overwhelming. But with ritual, I know that I'm taking small steps every single day to tend to myself and my needs when it comes to stress.

[Nicole]

Ritual is designed to reduce stress daily and over time with consistent use. And it's HSA FSA eligible with a seamless checkout experience so you can save when you shop with pre tax dollars.

[Lexi]

Stress happens. Don't just grin and bear it. Get stress relief from ritual and save 25% off your first month at ritual.com ffg start ritual or add stress relief to your subscription today. That's ritual.com FFG for 25% off.

[Nicole]

This episode is sponsored by Better Help. As I've gone through life, I've noticed that we all find support in different ways. Some of us lean on our family, our friends, our sisters, our hairdressers. Hey, even sometime I love doing some nostalgic TV show therapy. Gilmore Girls for the win. But sometimes you need that professional in your corner. That's where BetterHelp comes in.

[Lexi]

BetterHelp makes it easy to find the right therapist for you. BetterHelp does the initial matching work for you so you can focus on your therapy goals. A short questionnaire helps identify your needs and preferences and with their 10 plus years of experience and industry leading match fulfillment rate, it means that BetterHelp typically matches you with the right therapist the first time.

[Nicole]

The other day in my therapy session I had quite a the epiphany with my therapist. Yes, I realized working and balance with life needs to be a priority in my own life and it was a huge big deal and a great, great session. I owe so much of my mental health and well being to Taylor.

[Lexi]

As the largest therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of Expertise. Find the one with Better Help our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com ff that's better. H-E-L-P.com FFG.

[Nicole]

Imagine a world of extraordinary comfort where Bolen Branch bedding wraps you in the softest. Embrace the coziest experience made from the world's finest 100% organic cotton, all so you can sleep better. Start building your fall sanctuary with Bolen Branch's iconic signature sheets made with a.

[Lexi]

Buttery, breathable weave that gives gets softer with every wash. Enjoy 15% off your first set of.

[Nicole]

Sheets with free shipping and returns at.

[Lexi]

B O l l and branch.com with.

[Nicole]

Code buttery C site for details and exclusions.

[Lexi]

Monday Sidekick the AI agent that knows you and your business thinks ahead and takes action. Don't get anything seriously. Monday Sidekick AI you'll love to use Start a free trial today on Monday.com with prices going up on just about everything lately, dealing with money can be stressful. Trying to manage subscriptions, track spending, and cut costs can feel overwhelming. Luckily, Rocket Money can relieve some of that stress and help you feel confident in the financial decisions you make. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Their dashboard lays out your total financial picture, including bill due dates and paydays, in a way that's easy to digest. You can even automatically create custom budgets based on your past spending. Rocket Money's 5 million members have saved a total of $500 million in cancel subscriptions with members saving up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com Cancelsubs today. That's RocketMoney.com Cancelsubs RocketMoney.com Cancelsubs.

[Nicole]

That makes a lot of sense. I still phoned A Pen for this because I want. I feel like understanding these little offhanded lines in this battle is going to be really important looking at where Remus's character is going next book. So let's hear what Pen has to say.

[Pen Cole]

Hello, everyone, it's Pen again. I'm so excited to be back for another episode of Phone a Pen and this week, you want to know. When Diem, Luther and Arlie were flying back into Lumnos, Remus seemed flustered and upset that the soldiers weren't answering to him. And can I shed any light onto why? So I don't think it's too much of a surprise that Remus really values power and being in control. And a lot of the reason that he has butted heads with DM thus far is because he thinks he should be in charge and be in control as regent. I think Remus realized at that moment that he might have bitten off more than he could chew, because there are other factors in Amaran who also want to control Diem and to control her realm, and they had their own influences in there. So when you call the Amarian army into your realm and you kind of put them in charge of keeping the peace, so to speak, you might lose control of your realm and you might have some power stolen from you. And I think that that is what Remus was experiencing in that moment that he realized he wasn't in charge at all. The army was in charge and they were doing what they wanted to do, which was to go after Diem and Luther and Arlene. I don't want to say too, too much about Remus, because you'll learn a whole lot more about him and his motives in book four. But I do think he's a really complicated, nuanced character, and there are from book one. Honestly, there have been little things that he has done which you might not even realize he was part of that. Let's just say he's had his hands in the pot controlling some things from the beginning as well, and we might learn a little bit more about his influence in book four.

[Lexi]

Well, then that was like.

[Nicole]

So I thought.

[Lexi]

And then like 10, 10 times. Oh my God, I'm so excited for Burn. Oh, my God.

[Nicole]

Who is Hanson? I don't know.

[Lexi]

God, Pander.

[Nicole]

You're.

[Lexi]

I just have to reread Spark already.

[Nicole]

Well, all of this to say, I feel like between this time now and the beginning of Burn, I feel like things are not going to be so easy peasy for Remus. Like, he is not in control of Lumnos anymore. It is the army completely taking over control. So I feel like we are just really seeing some very interesting power dynamics and that's going to be exploited tenfold, especially with what happens later in Monteos with the Forto soldiers. He does not have as much control as he thinks think I. I'm so excited. What if he's in prison when he goes back? When they go back and he's like in the dungeons and they're like, how'd you get here, dad?

[Lexi]

And they wouldn't let him out either. I. So going back to this about like the Amarian army and all of that too. A big question that we have that we had from last episode and that continues here, is who is going to oversee the Amarian army? When we read the first three preview chapters of Burn, there is a comment about how the Amarian army doesn't have a leader and it's a little discombobulated and all of that. And so I think that it's kind of taking control in and of itself. And they see Lumnos as a place where they really have a tight grip on control there. And there is not really a leader in Lumnose, at least not one that they recognize. And I don't know where all that could go. But yeah, interesting. Very interesting.

[Nicole]

I could see Sophos kind of taking the lead.

[Lexi]

I do too, but I don't see.

[Nicole]

That going so well because they are also. Fortos is also so traditional in the sense that they look at their king or their high commander. That is it. And Sophos, like I love Doriel, Dorial, is extremely powerful. They are not from Fortos, so I don't know. Ah, before I start. Absolutely spinning out. So next we have Alix, who is working here with the soldiers. But it is not because she is suddenly evil and working against our core trio. It is instead because she is doing exactly what D told her to do. Obey Remus's commands. Or at least now it is the Fortose's commands, which sucks for Alix, as if those were orders from DM herself. Now, as much as this part feels like a facepalm moment on especially DM's part. I'm actually going to challenge that because Elix is going to be working now from the inside in the Forto's stronghold of Lumnos to help mitigate any discourse in that realm. I think this is fascinating. I'm so excited. I feel like between now and where we will see her first and Burn, which we can assume is going to be, you know, at some point. I don't know when, but I think Elise is going to be working deep on the inside, and I kind of love that for her. Oh, oh. Remember that first the. She's the one who goes into the camp to strike out the commander. Like, she's the sneaky 11 minutes. That's exactly what's she's not gonna. I don't know. But it's sneaky. It's been foreshadowed for so long. I'm so excited.

[Lexi]

Here I am being like, I'm just so happy that she's gonna be having the Godstone armor made, and I'm like.

[Nicole]

Alix is gonna have her sneaky spy era. I'm so excited for her. Oh, my God. And last but not least, we have Taryn, who is last seen holding poor Teller back. I feel like Taryn, in this time from now and when we will see him and Burn, he won't be necessarily working fully in the shadows kind of guy like Elix, but I'm sure he will be working with Elix in some capacity. But my guess is his number one goal is going to be protecting Zellary from the Hanovers, full stop. Now, does that mean they will still be at the palace, him and Zellary? I would think so. I feel like it would best help DM's mission. We know Luther has not spoken to Taran, at least from the beginning of Burn, because he mentions that and it hurts my heart because I feel like he, like, that's. This is one of the longest stretches him and his cousin have ever gone through without talking. And I want their reunion so badly.

[Lexi]

Oh, me too. I will say this. I'm a little bit worried about Taran's drinking and how he's feeling about Alix having to be high general and take orders from people she doesn't want to. Taryn is not known for thinking strategically in that way. As we learn from Umbros, I do think that he and Eleanor are going to be working together to bring a younger descendant of the 20 houses to their side.

[Nicole]

Though I do think actually his drinking is still going to be less because, remember, in his Bonus chapter when he was around Zellary, he mentions how he makes him want to drink less. So I think that because of Zellary's presence in his life, I have hope that maybe that crutch will not be used quite as much.

[Lexi]

That's a really good point. I hope so as well. I really want our Taryn to have that stability there.

[Nicole]

Yes, I was feeling gutsy, and so I decided to ask Pen if there's anything she'd be willing to share about what's going on behind the scenes with Taryn and Alix between now and the beginning of Burn. And here is what she said.

[Pen Cole]

Given that this is the last time that you see Taryn and Alix in Heat, can I shed any light on what happened to them after the big incident and what they might have been up to in the interim between that scene and Burn? That is an interesting question. I can tell you that they both had very different roles to play after that attack. We saw that DM told Alix to get close to Remus, keep an eye on him, and be loyal to him, even if it meant turning against her. And, I mean, if there's one thing we can say about our girl Alix, she follows orders. So I think she is really caught in a really hard place. Let's say that. That between trying to stay loyal to her queen, but also having to manage Remus, who is now in charge of the realm, and staying on his good side, I guess. So I would not want to be her. She's in a really tough place, and we will see how that really impacts her in book four. Taryn is a very different situation. He's just as loyal, but I think Taryn is loyal in a very, you know, loud, upfront way and not in kind of the quiet, strategic way that Alix is. And so I think Taryn, as we saw in the attack, is really focused on Teller and probably also Lily. And, you know, knowing that DM and Luther are off doing something really important and they love, left their, you know, their most precious loved ones behind. And I think that in his eyes, the most loyal thing he can do is really keep an eye out for them and make sure they're okay, a wrench gets thrown into those plans a little bit in Part three, as you will see. But I. I think that Taryn is both trying really hard to. To do what he can for DM and Luther from afar. But he also has a new guest in Lumnas in the form of Zaleric, and I think that's also taking up quite a lot of his time in a very different way. So we will definitely reunite with them in book four and we will find out more about what they have been up to and how that.

[Nicole]

What.

[Pen Cole]

How what they were up to in the interim impacts their relationship with some.

[Nicole]

Of our other characters.

[Pen Cole]

Something to look forward to.

[Nicole]

I feel like we're onto something. I'm terrified to confirm it, but I feel like we're onto something anyway. After leaving the very distraught Teller behind, Sarai heads straight for the snowy lands of Montios, which, remember, is the realm directly north to Lumnos. And it takes up about the 10 and 12 o' clock clock position. Yes, Monteos is giant. It's almost like it used to be two territories. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Touching down just inside the border in a sunken valley at the base of a towering snow capped peak, Luther, DM and Aurelie settle in for a long night.

[Lexi]

DM has a shoulder wound and without her magic, she can't heal this injury. According to Luther, the stronger you are, the longer it takes to replenish your magic. And seeing at least this rule about the descendant applies to dm. How inconvenient for her. Which makes me wonder, is it possible that Ophiuchai's magic can get drained and he'll be weak enough to be killed? If dm, being as powerful as she is, can drain her magic, maybe his can too. Although I will also say I definitely get the vibes that his aura is way stronger than even hers. And that's really saying something.

[Nicole]

Yeah, I agree. I'm getting those same vibes. With little vegetation to hide from enemies and the weather just being cold and apparently not wanting to build a snow fort, the group resorts to hiding under Sarai's wing for the evening. But thank goodness, Luther is quite the smart cookie. Knowing that there was a pretty good chance they would not be able to go back to Lumnos. This is the Plan B I'm talking about. But note how he didn't tell DM about his own Plan B. Because he would. Never mind. It's fine. Luther packs the Montiose gift from her Ascension ball. A cloth cloak spelled to keep its wearer warm. Perfect. Because they need it. It's freezing. Which is also why he had the map and the gold. But he gave those to the prisoners last episode in Fortos.

[Lexi]

Because that was not part of the plan was to break everybody out.

[Nicole]

Exactly.

[Lexi]

Luther deserves a gold star for just being such a golden retriever with his girl. As our little fugitive group figures out what their next steps are, or unsurprisingly insists they go to a Guardian camp nearby. Now initially I thought that she was talking about the Guardian camp up in the Forgotten Lands because that is the known Guardian camp up north that is often referenced. However, later on in the stretch we do learn that Guardians are, I'll say, like hiding out in the trees and stuff like that. So that Guardian camp is not the only Guardian presence in this realm here. But little does Orly know her ex boyfriend has taken over leadership there. I can't fault Orly for offering this. She has been very out of the loop these past eight months and doesn't really know what's going on between her daughter and the Guardians, right Yet when DM explains to her mother that the last time she was in a Guardian camp she was drugged and chained up and they almost killed her Prince and Gryvern. Like what, they just escaped in Lumnos. But all Orly heard there was DMs Prince and she focused only on her negative perception of Luther, not about her daughter being in danger with the Guardians whatsoever. Oh my goodness gracious. Orly really does not comprehend what her daughter is a Descended Queen. Even if she likes to use DM's power status against Luther, she only thinks of DM as her daughter. She's still living in the lie that she spent two decades crafting. Like DM back in Spark, Orly has convinced herself that DM is normal because that was how they needed to survive. Never forget the Delulu Diem ranking. But now that the cat's out of the bag like Nicole said last episode and DM is a disaster, Ascended queen no less. Time to get with the program here, Orly. Or at least try to open your mind to it. Diem is considered an enemy now to Orly's people. It doesn't matter that DM's mother is the leader of the Guardians. It doesn't matter that DM grew up with mortals and that she was considered a mortal for most of her life. Because the Guardians see a Descended and immediately believe the worst as they live in the black and white. Which Orly may not understand that her daughter is now viewed as the enemy, but she certainly has her own prejudice and does think in the black and white when it comes to Luther. Luther who is a descended, they have their own personal issues in history and they focus on saving the half mortals. But at the end of the day he is still a Descended and ultimately part of the Guardian Immortals. Foundational enemy to Orly.

[Nicole]

Arlie's treatment of Luthor is a choice considering the lengths they both went to as allies to help the mortals. But Arlie sees something in Luther's eyes and she has convinced herself it is a feigned love for dm. All so he can get close to her daughter who, let's be honest, Aurelie still considers to be that naive little girl. And once Luther is then close to DM he can get to the throne. Aurelie and Diem may be similar in their stubborn headedness, we just saw that above. But Arleigh never trusts anyone, not until they go basically above and beyond to earn her trust. And as far as she has seen, Luther has not earned that from her. Also, as she will later put it, Luther had no problem working around Ulther when he was king so why wouldn't he do the same to Diem? Arlie is the walking definition of mother Gothel's Mother Knows Best song from Tangled so how does she deal with this distrust? I'm so glad you asked. Let's start with the small ways by ordering him to take first watch so he isn't alone with DM so her and DM can get some sleep and also not giving a flying fuck with when he keeps watch all night so that they could sleep by reprimanding him for calling his queen by a first name given. She's probably never seen him do that with anyone else in the years she's been working with him. Speaking of that familiarity, when Luther calls DM out on a lie and DM starts apologizing for worrying him, Arleigh is like where's my apology daughter? Massive points for Luther here though because he clips back with a quote. I wonder where she picked up her habit of disappearing on the people who love her with no explanation. Just bravo my guy. But my favorite is the big cherry on top by suggesting her and DM ditch Luther and go to a guardian camp. After all, he's a descended prince. DM totally ignoring like Lexi was saying, the fact that she is a descended queen. Aurelie has been out of touch for a while, but still she is acting like nothing has changed and she alone has the answers and the knowledge and the wherewithal to make decisions and she also knows who to trust. You've been gone for almost a year aurally your daughter is now a queen. Shit has changed and now is my official God fucking damn it Aurally gfda. We have a new acronym. Understandably, Aurelie's diminishing and treating of Luther as an other it fucking hurts. DM who wouldn't want their mother, someone they love and trust, to like the guy you're dating and who you want to spend the rest of your life with. It doesn't help matters that Orly treated Henry like a second son. Especially since his mother had died and Aurelie became that maternal figure for Henry. Well, we can gather now that Aurelie also saw the guardian like fight and fire within Henry. So of course she would like him. He has similar values. He is immortal. Yada yada yada. Luther, he may have similar values, but it's in the shadows. It's masked behind someone who is running the harm on the mortals in the realm. She does not trust his motives. Like I said earlier, remember in Globe of the Everflame? It was a running irritating thought about how DM was jealous of Aurelie and Luther and how they used to work together as allies. She felt like Arlie knew Luther better than she did. And then also in return she felt like Luther knew this totally different side of Aurelie than DM grew up up with. Well, here is where we finally see just how that allyship was professional at best, hostile at worst. And it surprises dm.

[Lexi]

I think Luther also didn't want to outright tell the girl he likes how much he and her mother butted heads. He said they had their issues, but he was protecting DM from the truth of how bad it was and how how much a foes they really were.

[Nicole]

I mean they can barely get through a conversation in these, you know, 10 chapter stretches with out fighting instantly. But mostly this building resentment she's feeling towards her mother is only getting amplified by Arlie's treatment of Luther. I will say this. This is not me condoning Aurelie's treatment of my boy. But DM is not helping matters necessarily by keeping zipped lipped about her and Luther's relationship. It's a fight she wants to hold off as long as she can. And to be honest, it's simultaneously. I don't blame DM either. She hasn't seen her mother in almost a year. She mourned her loss. Arleigh is now having to mourn Andre's death. So she's going through it. And also, DM doesn't want to get her mother back and then immediately hop into a fight. But keeping this information is coming at the cost of Luther in this trio. The truth will have to come out soon enough. But we'll have to wait a second for that.

[Lexi]

The following day, DM takes off on Sarai when she knows Luther's magic is back, so he can protect him and her mother should they need to. Our girl needs some time alone to think, to breathe. It's been a tough few days, okay? And where better to process the shitstorm of the past few days than up with Sarai flying over Monteos, this realm her heart calls to now that she is unknowingly its queen. This is my dream. Flying on my Gryvern over the mountains. Oh, my God. I have chills up and down my.

[Nicole]

Body just thinking about this.

[Lexi]

Ah. DM is grappling with the fact that she is now the Fortress crown, too, and she needs a little space to think. Think. So she can begin planning a war. Kind of hard to plan a war when you're always in reactionary battle, right? Well, I will say this. At least she'll have plenty of time to think and plan this war while she's stuck on Kuriel. There's the silver lining we needed.

[Nicole]

So there's this interesting line. While Sarai is trying to tell DM through the bond about a certain Kindred that sparked this harsh darkness within her Gryburn, we can deduce that this is Omnos. Probably Afiakai. I keep having to remind myself that is not confirmed. They're the same person. But as Sarai is trying to tell her quote, my throat went tight in phantom pains as Sarai strained against the bounds of whatever held her back. So do you think that this is part of when the Kindred wiped the probably Omno Ophiuchai from existence? The tenth Kindred. They also spelled it within the Gryverns against being able to share the information about the tenth Kindred. Yes, absolutely. Oh, for the conference room.

[Lexi]

Right now, I need more information on this whole Omnos thing. He's a really bad guy.

[Nicole]

I'm just pointing out that, again, this is the Kindred controlling the narrative of the story. True, there is this. This element of. I mean, we talked about this endlessly back in Umbros at the library, but burning information out of books or missing pages? Now, we don't know if that was Ophiuch or if that was something else. We don't know. But if they also spelled it against the Guyburns from being able to share anything, like even a warning about a guy who is terrible.

[Lexi]

But they think that he's dead.

[Nicole]

They do think he's dead. Or at least constrained.

[Lexi]

I think that the Kindred did think that they got rid of their brother, and then I think that he came back around the Blood War, and then that is when he got imprisoned, because we have to remember he was imprisoned during the Blood War.

[Nicole]

That's true, that's true. Okay, I can get behind that. But it still does not excuse the at least lowercase L that I'm giving them for yet again controlling the narrative of history. It's just interesting. Very, very interesting. Anyway, as they're flying DMC something again interesting, but this time to the east polling DM to go and quote, claim me, daughter of the forgotten Buckle buttercups. Because here we go. The standard lavender mountains of Monteos abruptly change to a forest set on a series of steep hills. But this is no ordinary forest. The trees are blackened like they've been burned. Burn of the Everflame, or poisoned. Then at the center, in this low valley that she can't really see what's going on at the bottom, there are several columns of smoke rising into the air. We know that this is the Forgotten Lands, Omnos's original realm that has been held by Guardian King Camps for who knows how long. The Crown Council of Montios will mention later about how this is an area of the realm they do not enter because the land is evil. Any descendant who goes there nowadays is found strung up in a tree, tortured dead, with a ten pointed star carved into their skin. And oddly, they've seen this same symbol carved into every adult who was killed in a mirror's fishing village recently. The children you asked from this fishing village, they all vanished.

[Lexi]

I really think and hope that these children will show back up and be okay. Like, what is he doing with them? Their magic isn't in yet, so he can't use them to absorb power. So is he like recruiting them? But no, like he wants to get rid of all descended. I am concerned.

[Nicole]

I am deeply concerned.

[Lexi]

What if for his magic to officially work, he does need there to be some descended out there who have those magics so he can have access to those magics?

[Nicole]

Maybe. I don't know. I'm so scared for those kids. As we will learn, this is Ophiucha's symbol. And as we will talk about more later, because now the Forgotten Lands hold a faction of guardians who are led by Ophiuche Kai. Among them, our dude, pile of Van.

[Lexi]

Guess what? We're all busy. Life comes at us fast. And I know one of the things that I tend to drop the ball on is doctor's appointments. It is just so easy to let those appointments fall by the wayside. But keeping up with our health is so important. Zocdoc makes it easy to find the right doctor right now and it's all online. You might even be able to book an appointment before the end of this ad.

[Nicole]

Read ZocDoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare Compare high quality in network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment. With Sockdoc, you can book in network appointments with more than 100,000 doctors across every specialty from mental health to dental health, primary care to urgent care, and 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]

Once you find the right doctor, you can see their actual appointment openings. Choose a time slot that works best for you and click to to instantly book an appointment. Appointments made through Zocdoc also happen fast, typically within just 24 to 72 hours of booking. More often than not, you can even get same day appointments.

[Nicole]

We 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]

Ff.

[Nicole]

Okay friends, the cozy season it is upon us. And I don't know about you, but when the seasons change and the air gets a little bit crispier, I always have the urge to do a little bit of shopping for my space to lean into that cozy vibe. That's where Wayfair comes in.

[Lexi]

As your trusted destination for all things home. Wayfair's got everything you need to cozify your space this fall, from comfy recliners to warm bedding and autumn decor. Wayfair even has espresso makers makers so you can make that favorite latte at home and snuggle up in your favorite reading space.

[Nicole]

Every single piece of furniture in my office is basically from Wayfair. Brett and I just got some new counter chairs for our kitchen counter and it is so comfortable. They're so stylish. They're so cute. I love sitting there and working on stuff while he's cooking dinner. It's one of my favorite things.

[Lexi]

And best of all, Wafer offers free and easy delivery, even on the big stuff. Cozify your space with Wafer, Wayfair's curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates from comfy recliners to cozy bedding and autumn decor. Find it all for way [e-mail] that's W-A-Y-F-A-I R.com Wayfair Every style, every home juggling my work calendar, my personal calendar and my family calendar. My life is literally calendar overload and inevitably some things just slip through the cracks. But you all I am obsessed with Skylight and my family is too. Our parents are even going to get one here soon because they love of all ours so much. Everything has gone so much smoother. We are obsessed. Every single time somebody comes into our house I point to it and I'm.

[Nicole]

Like look at this same because mine's also right in my entryway, it's my favorite. The Skylight Calendar is here to help keep your family organized. This beautifully designed digital display syncs with your existing calendars, making it effortless to track events, appointments and reminders in one easy to see place. The Skylight Calendar was designed to connect the digital and non digital worlds while bringing families together. It is a wi fi connected digital display that showcases your family's schedule with clarity, colors, different colors for each person. It's awesome and brilliance in either 10 or 15 inch HD touchscreens.

[Lexi]

And the best part is the calendars are only one feature of what Skylight can do. We also love using its meal plan feature where you can literally save recipes straight onto your Skylight as well as our grocery list that we can access through the app while we're at the grocery store to do lists, a routine that includes little emojis so that it's visual for the kiddos as well. And you can also set up rewards so that you can allocate points for certain chores or tasks that you want to do. Oh, and they just also added weather to it as well. And a countdown. So we have a countdown for my daughter's birthday coming up.

[Nicole]

Right now Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendars by going to skylightcal.com fantasy go go to skylightkal.com fantasy for $30 off your 15 inch calendar. That's S K Y-L-I G H T C A L.com fantasy only boost mobile Boost Mobile will give you a free year of service. Free year when you buy a new 5G phone. New 5G phone enough. But I'm your hype man.

[Lexi]

When you purchase an eligible device, you get $25 off every month for 12 months with credits totaling one year of free service. Taxes extra for the device and service.

[Nicole]

This plan online only.

[Lexi]

Did I talk too much? Can't I just let it go?

[Nicole]

Take a breath. You're not alone.

[Lexi]

Counseling helps you sort through the noise with qualified professionals.

[Nicole]

Get matched with a therapist online based on your unique needs and get help.

[Lexi]

With everyday struggles like anxiety or managing tough emotions.

[Nicole]

Visit betterhelp.comrandompodcast for 10% off your first month of online therapy and let life feel free. Feel better.

[Lexi]

Monday Sidekick the AI agent that knows you and your business, thinks ahead and takes action. Ask it anything Seriously. Monday Sidekick AI you'll love to use. Start a free trial today on Monday.com but back to this moment here with her godhead saying Clay me, daughter of the forgotten for only the third time ever. The other two times being when she got her Lumnos and Fortos crowns and and probably Monteo's Dune. But she was knocked out for that one. This is her other land calling to her, but I don't think it's in the same crown sense as the others. Now we do know that Ophiuchai does have a 10 pointed crown on his head, but he's not tied to the same magical rules as the other kindred were and their descended offspring. This is DMs Home Realm calling to her, waiting for her to claim it, own it. She is drawn more to Omnos Realm because it's her realm. But this isn't all that happens. An Image comes into DM's mind like a memory or a dream. The image is of screaming and bloodshed, of explosions and a blinding light of DM's mother's arms around her and a crushing pain.

[Nicole]

Okay, so before we get into all of that, I have a question about the blinding light comment. Because we know from each time DM gets a new crown, at least where she's conscious, there is a bright bright light. Could this blinding light be the one to rise? Like 11 must fall for one to rise, like the one crown to rise, the one ring to rule them all? Basically. Like is this blinding light like this massive explosion of light of DM becoming the one crown to rise?

[Lexi]

I don't know. But I do think it could be possible of it being when she gets another crown. Especially with the crushing pain she experiences that on her head when she does get a new crown. Diverting a little bit. I wonder if this image of Aurelie wrapping her arms around Diem is foreshadowing for her death in the scene. Yes, like she's saving her daughter. The blinding light could also be Ophiuchai using his power. And this image is right before the main vision we've gotten with DM and Luther. I have to believe it is the same scene as the main vision with the screaming and the bloodshed. Explosions make me immediately think of the Guardians.

[Nicole]

So question. We know that Luther and DM's vision together. She's surrounded by hundreds of dead bodies.

[Lexi]

Yes. Screaming, bloodshed, blinding light. Her mother trying to save her. Explosions. I also wonder if perhaps Orly is saving DM from explosions that the Guardians plant. And she's sacrificing herself for her daughter when the Guardians tried to kill her. That would be very poetic for Aurelie's end. But I really do think that this is right before the main vision burn.

[Nicole]

Is gonna wreck us.

[Lexi]

I know.

[Nicole]

When we get the hotel where we read overnight, we're gonna need to bring tissues.

[Lexi]

We're gonna need it to be like a really calming, comforting, like a lot.

[Nicole]

Of candles or something. Fast forward. Back at the camp, a new danger has arrived for our trio. And Gryvarn, out of the wild vegetation, steps out a group of Fortos soldiers draped in dark cloaks with their hoods pulled low to conceal their faces. These soldiers are the same ones they fought back at the Lumnos Palace. The ones who launched the bolts at the crew with intentions to kill. They are armed with Godstone weapons and the orders of the Regent of Lumna. Now, I have a quick question. I might be giving Remus too much credit, but do they have orders from him? Because they weren't following his orders back in Lumnos. He was losing control. Are they actually following Remus's orders here? Or are they just saying they are so that they can do whatever they want? Later in the council meeting with the Monteos Council, one of them will say how the army used to have an agreement from All Night Crowns in order to act. Then the rule changed to the vote of six Crowns. But as that council member points out, it seems the Fortoes army now does not intend to honor even those rules. Again. It's another moment for that military political setup for next book. I can't wait. But did Remus actually do this? Or is this another version of them going rogue? Or am I giving Remus too much credit?

[Lexi]

I hadn't thought about that. I just assumed that it was him because he does want to get Sarai back and have her be chained up and all of that. That I think that he did tell them, but they took it like three steps further with the Godstone and like that and executing your mother and all that kind of stuff. So I think it's a little bit of both.

[Nicole]

Yeah, I could totally see that. Regardless, as to who promoted this, not so welcome Attack. The orders are simple. DM has to come back to Lumnos and stay in Lumnos, as well as turn Sarai over to Remus, since DM defied the supposed Lumnos crown's orders. Yes, they're calling Remus the Crown of Lumnos. That's my feminism. Start ablaze. Oh my God. DM is to be taken under arrest and brought back by force if necessary. Sadly, and not so surprisingly, from what we know about the misogyny of Fortos, they are calling Remus crown, despite DM literally having the crown on her head.

[Lexi]

I'm gonna be very interested to see what happens when it is revealed that Remus does not not have his magic. That is such a secret right now. And he is considered the crown for his political sway, but he is not strong even in the slightest. He has no magic now, and I don't think that's going to be respected as soon as that's found out.

[Nicole]

Definitely not, especially among the Lumnos descended houses. But not wanting anything to happen to Luther, because remember, these four toast people have Godstone blades. And several days ago, she almost lost Luther to a Godstone wound. Diem begins to comply with the Fortos soldier's demands, sending a command for Sarai to go to Remus and obey his orders as if they were his own. This is not to give Remus more power and like comply with his orders or whatever. This is because DM knows if Sarai tries to work against Remus to get back to dm, she will actually try to do that. She could be injured or killed easily. Also, this is a convenient plot moment. Just have to call it out out to get Sarai out of the picture so Diem cannot use her in the Sophos battle. Next episode with Ophiuchai. But after Sarai leaves here, DM also gives herself up to the Forto's soldiers, agreeing to go with them in order to save Luther. Guess what's back? It's our count. Previously we were at 5 and 6 with DM in the lead, but now DMs taking even a further lead with 7 points. Only after DM is shackled and about to be whisped away back to Lumnos, the Forto soldiers admit the new part of the deal. They will also be executing Aurelie before they leave.

[Lexi]

As the soldiers swarm toward our crew's cave to take Aurelie with them, a huge slab of lavender rock appears out of nowhere, blocking the entrance and keeping her mother inside, away from them. But this Montyos magic was not dm. For once, the Monteos descended have arrived. There are about 20 adults and a little girl about 7 years old who speaks for the group. And they're standing up to these Marian soldiers saying that this is their realm. The Lumnos queen is here uninvited, which makes dm, Luther and Aurelie their prisoners. In hindsight, we can gather that this is for show against the soldiers. They know that DM is their crown and once they're safely away from this danger, our crew will be treated as guests. But they need to take authority in this situation, which poor DM is understandably terrified. She had kind of hoped the Monteos descended would be more welcoming after her exchange with the king back at her coronation. But these Monteos descended are threatening the soldiers and are in this moment the less danger for her crew. But on the plus side, these Monteos descendants are threatening the soldiers more than her and are in this moment the less dangerous for her crew. Plus, Luther has a hunch about something. Since Umbros, since he saw D's crown.

[Nicole]

That is this little girl may have been serving the Fortos army. Some hard needed tooth slaps. But sadly there is one point they have that the Monteos struggle to argue. DM's mother is technically a prisoner of the crown Rounds. She does need to come with them. I will also point out that sort of ish. Technically she has those six votes against her execution from last episode. Luckily, Luther is a fast thinker.

[Lexi]

Because these army soldiers, they're breaking the rules. Oh no. Fortos prides itself on rule following. Except when it serves their goals apparently. How shocking. These soldiers have God's stone weapons pointed at DM and co and they are ready to use it against them. And the rule is that you are not allowed to break Godstone into a realm without its crown's consent. It doesn't matter if their business is legitimate. Like taking Aurelie back as a prisoner of the crowns. Because Godstone is not something to fuck around with. This is a big no no in Omarion. As the law says, anyone brandishing a Godstone weapon without consent is subject to immediate execution. Huzzah for Luther, the keeper of the law. Laws. I'm also curious how this law will play into the bigger war. Will this law even matter anymore? Or will it continually come up as people use Godstone weapons throughout the realms?

[Nicole]

With the execution now flipped and on the soldiers heads, shockingly, they were like, never mind. It was an honest mistake. Well, at least one crisis is averted. Although I definitely Feel like we are not done dealing with the.

[Lexi]

This Forto's army is a big component of Remus's strength. And as Pen has said, you know, like, there really is a battle for control with all of that as well. So, yeah, I don't think we've seen the last of these guys.

[Nicole]

Definitely not. But speaking of people that we have not seen the last of and who we're not done with yet, the Monteos descended group, they were not just here to help. They do want Diem to come with them and meet the council. Right off the bat, Monteos is giving us wildly different vibes than DM is used to. They're quiet, like as in when they get their magic, they either make a vow of silence to the outside world, AKA they don't talk to anyone who is in the Monteos descended, or they vow silence in totality. Like we will see with nectar later. The polar opposite of dm, who has no problem using her words to talk her way out or definitely into trouble. But despite the silence, DM notices a warmness to these people. They're polite to her. First of all, she's welcome in this realm. These higher ups are smiling at her. This kind of treatment DM doesn't even get in her own realm, let alone one that she just waltzed into. While we will learn in a moment that DM is the crown, I really don't think that's the full reason for this kindness. Through the upcoming exchanges, we know that Matias lives by certain virtues. Virtues. One of those virtues includes kindness. They smile and are nice to Diem, literally. Because those values are embedded in their culture.

[Lexi]

Have I mentioned how much I love the mountains? I'm just gonna be so giddy during today's Sofas library. When I think of the Monteos descended bringing dm, Luther and Orly to their headquarters, I will call it. All I can think of is Elsa creating her ice castle with a bridge as she sings Let it go. We will talk a lot more about this realm and its people in today's Sofas Library. Like I was saying. So let's focus on what's happening for our characters in the secluded space. And I will hold off on just admiring the beauty of this area here. Aurelie, in particular, wants to take advantage of this extremely rare opportunity that no other mortal or descendant have had in centuries. Think about how big of a deal that this is that they are being brought to the Montague Monteo's headquarters here. In fact, right before DM is escorted to the area where Only Monteo's descended are allowed. Leaving Luther and Orly behind in what I call the waiting room. She insists that DM needs to pay attention to her surroundings. Search for maps that illustrate their cities, weapon stockpiles, any other ways getting in or out. That sounds like attack plans there, Orly.

[Nicole]

Because.

[Lexi]

Yep, that's right. Orly is giving DM a Guardian mission right here and now. Oh boy. DIA may believe in the Guardian's overarching cause, but she does not believe in its methods. And she learned her lesson in glow. Finally, giving any information to the Guardians. Information like this Orly is demanding from her. It is dangerous. She does not want to help her mother figure out how to infiltrate the space or cause any violence. And we do know that Aurelie is not violence driven like Vance. But that's. They want to know more about this for infiltration purposes.

[Nicole]

Can I just say, yet again, she's putting the Guardians in front of her family. Just pointing that out. Yes.

[Lexi]

If you ask me, I think this moment where DM is disgusted with her mother's request and knows better than to pass along information even to her mother, shows so much growth for dm. I know we've been giving her a hard time recently, but I really do want to give her a big round.

[Nicole]

Of applause right here.

[Lexi]

DM was doing this information gathering back in Spark because she wanted to feel important with the Guardians. She shared information with Henry and Vance to stay in their good graces. And here she is with her own mother rejecting her and therefore rejecting her prior role with the Guardians. She's not their puppet anymore.

[Nicole]

DM goes off with the Crown's Council. And like most other things in Monteos, it is a very different vibe than Lumnos. As the Elder of the Crown's Council, Hepta states, every member of the Council, save the Crown, are elected by the people, the descendant of Monteos. The Council makes the decisions here, not the Crown directly. Oh my God. Instead, the Crown is one of the Council members, but the Crown has the same one vote as the rest of the Council. But should the Council not be able to come to a conclusion, then it is the Crown who holds the decisive vote. Fairness is a virtue indeed.

[Lexi]

I love this.

[Nicole]

I don't have to reiterate just how revolutionary this is, but I'm going to do it anyway. Especially to someone like dm, who has been dealing with the monarch characters in every single realm, including her own. And she has also been adopting that I am the Queen, do as I say attitude herself. So she's not Exactly. Faultless here. I know her and Luther will later talk about this, but I want to bring it up here. Diem adopting this same structure, especially since she's the queen of multiple realms, but with a few amendments. First, from what it sounds like DM will not have a vote and instead she will only make a decision one way or another should the crown not be able to come to a decision. And second, and in my opinion, most importantly, the Council will be made up of half descended and half mortality. Huzzah. I'm doing. I'm so happy. Finally. God.

[Lexi]

Also, back in Umbros, DM read about how the ancient mortals had similar democracies like this before the Kindred arrived. So I also wonder if she will utilize that knowledge and introduce it for this new world. So like taking what she's learned here with the Montiose Crowns Council and the ancient mortal democracies and create something better than all of it? Hopefully.

[Nicole]

Yes. Yeah. I really, really really really, really hope we get to see this by the end of Burn and this new world that they have to create after the big battle after the 11 fall one to rise. We'll get to that in a moment. I also love this because it does check DMs I'm the queen attitude and it snuffs it out and I'm excited about that. And I think she, she kind of needs that a little bit.

[Lexi]

This Crown's council shares that the Monteos King told them about DM and that her arrival, AKA the new crown's arrival, would be full of surprises. But they also have a few questions for DM because there's a lot of rumors flying around. For instance, are DM and her mother Guardians? Well, DM tells them her truth about how she believes in the Guardians mission to end mortal oppression, purposefully leaving her mother out of it. And then we have another question. Did DM kill the Forto's king? Uh, yes. Though it wasn't self defense defense. And lastly, but most importantly, is dm, the powerful descended, working with the Guardians in the forgotten lands? And DMs like, no way Jose. She would never purposefully bring harm to an innocent. I just obsess over the setup that we are getting for the big Ophiuchai reveal. In just a few chapters, we also learn about the Umbros attack three days ago with many casualties, which we talked a lot about during our Umbros episodes. This is the attack that yourself foresaw and wanted DM to stay to help fight against Ophiuchai, even if it Meant letting Luther die. During this discussion with the Crown's council, though, DM feels out of place. This is a Crown's Council meeting. Where is the crown? What is DM doing here with all of them as they are having this meeting? What does the crown want with dm? And that's when we get another big reveal. DM is the Crown of Monteos. She became the Crown. I know. Shocking, right? We haven't been talking about this forever. She became. Became the crown. Uncle Real. During the explosion after the Monteos king was sadly killed by the bombs. We've been getting a lot of hints throughout this book leading up to this big revelation that Diem is the Crown of Monteos, which we've loved, calling out all that foreshadowing in these episodes. But oof. Diem has barely had time to process that she is the new Crown of Fortos. Now she has a third crown. Luther may have suspected this since Umpros when he saw the difference in her crown after the failed coronation, but this is big news for dm. Despite her surprise, she's also not shocked. After all, when DM arrived in Monteos earlier in this chapter Stretch, her soul felt a calling to this realm in a primal way. She recognizes it as the same protective feeling she has for Lumnos and now Fortos. Like a mother for her realm. Unconditional love and need to keep it safe.

[Nicole]

How do they know that Diem is the Crown before DM even knows herself? I mean, other than the fact that that's just so on brand for dm. Earlier, when DM was out flying on Sarai, the two came across Ramari, the Monteos Gryvern's gravesite. A circular patch on a grassy mountainside that was a perfect circle of snowy, unblemished white. A circle that, when DM walked into her crown, mysteriously reappeared.

[Lexi]

Ha. You don't think we weren't going to mention this beautiful and peaceful scene, now, do you? Listen, sinners. Because this moment of solace that that DM had with her, Montes Gryvren that is no longer with us. It just makes my heart so full. And Sarai got to pay tribute to her friend who died centuries ago, who she couldn't save. Just aww.

[Nicole]

Well, and also Ramari helped them from the grave when exactly when Remari shot lavender flames from the ground in the Umbros attack in the skies. Like, I just. Oh God, I love this scene so much. Then a scale tittering sound followed by a creaking noise breaks through the peaceful, snowy, circled Silence.

[Lexi]

Hello.

[Nicole]

Monteos descended, but not really hello. Because they do stay hidden. They're very good at that, after all. But here we learned that they witnessed DM enter into Remari's grave circle. But it wasn't the crown's appearance that automatically came up on DM's head that tipped them off. Only a crown can enter that circle. Their new crown has officially arrived.

[Lexi]

I just love how in the circle only the crown can be there. It's a private space for the Monteos crown and its fallen gryvern.

[Nicole]

I love also that they just so happen to be watching this site like I do. Wonder if there was always a group on watch over Remari's grave site and they're just waiting should their new crown appear. Because remember, they didn't know who their new crown was after the King of Montios previously died. Died.

[Lexi]

True. I've been under the impression that as DM was flying over Monteos, she did say how she thought that they were probably being watched. So I think that the Monteos descendants saw her flying around on her gryvern and noticed where she landed and they went to inspect and that's when they were like, oh, she's the new crown.

[Nicole]

I could totally see that.

[Lexi]

Now that DM knows that she's the crown of Monteos, I have a quick note on how DM describes the forging magic. As she reaches in to bring break Luther from the forging spell so he has his magic back. As she feels is fraying gaps, she's caught between conflicting urges. One to heal and make it whole and one to destroy it. Balance is that you. The one to destroy is probably source from her omnos and godhood. And the one to heal is maybe from like the other kindred crowns that she has. Her omnos Godhood is wanting to destroy the foraging magic that outcasted Omnos. And then the one to heal is from the other kindred's crowns that she is representing that want to keep it heal and whole.

[Nicole]

She also mentions how it would be so easy to burn. Yes. Burn is in italics. Do you think she's going to burn away the foraging magic? Or like maybe the Everflame burns away the foraging magic?

[Lexi]

I think that would be very dependent on the heartstone.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

I know that there's not really any way to like burn the heart stone, but melt it?

[Nicole]

Maybe. I don't know.

[Lexi]

She can't.

[Nicole]

She could do a lot of things.

[Lexi]

She can destroy God stone.

[Nicole]

So probably, maybe, maybe while trying to.

[Lexi]

Figure out where either instinct is coming From DM is drawn to a life form that feels other. Feels like it doesn't belong. Okay, here we go. Remember, we're still in the foraging magic.

[Nicole]

Right here.

[Lexi]

Here. There's darkness everywhere, except in the very center where there's a bright light. As she focuses on this image, the light begins to take the form of a man with his back turned away. But then he senses her presence and turns around with a cold smile. It feels like he's standing right in front of her. Like he can see her and is looking directly into her eyes with his own gray eyes too. Alarm.

[Nicole]

Alarm.

[Lexi]

DM's instincts are telling her to run because. Because while Luther's aura fills her with calm, this man's presence makes Diem want to cower and kneel. Though she also feels this innate connection with him. Like their fates are aligned in an inevitable way. Haha. Yes indeed. Obviously this is Ophiuchai. And the fact that he can interact with her within the forging magic is a big fucking deal. Ophia Kai suddenly grips Dim's wrist hard, like this is not feeling like it's in her mind at all. And he says, says well if it isn't the daughter of the forgotten. So many years I waited for you, my sweet liberation. I will give you the world to show you my thanks. This statement refers to the prophecy about her blood on the heartstone breaking his chains. And because she finally did it, he owes her a thanks for freeing him. So he's being very clear that he wants her to be on his side where with their power they can take over this world together. I do wonder if he knew that DM would become at least one one crown eventually. Like after Orly gets away with her. So he really has been waiting these last 20 years after Orly prevented his first attempt versus giving up that it would never happen.

[Nicole]

I don't know. I don't know.

[Lexi]

I don't know either. I don't know. And then with his palm on her collarbone, he brands DM with the mark of a small glowing ten pointed star and tells her to come find him. And that if she ever spies on him like this again, he will kill her.

[Nicole]

Oh God, he's so creepy. And I love him, he's such a good villain. But we have to talk about this glowing mark because there it is again. That ten pointed star. This is not the first time we've seen this mark in our story so vividly. We've seen it on the floor of the Kindred Temple from Aurelie's POV in The final chapter of Spark of the.

[Lexi]

Everflame, which when Orly will see this mark again, she'll recognize it, but not be able to pinpoint where she saw it before. It was at the Kindred's temple.

[Nicole]

And we also see them in everyone he's attacked. We know they are in Umbros, we know they are in Meros. And in the top of Burn, we know that they're carved into Fortos as well. But what does this Ten Pointed Star do necessarily? Number one, we know it glows brighter and hotter whenever Ophiuchai is close. Quite convenient for DM and his other followers to know where to find it him. Number two, we can also strongly deduce that he can find them through that mark. It's not confirmed, but it's quite convenient for him to be able to find his followers. I really wonder if this magic will work on Koreel and if Ophiuchai will be able to find DM using it. Or heck, if he can't find her, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out via process of elimination where she is. Because he can't find her own on the Amarian soil. And number three, because all his followers are marked, that means they can avoid hurting or killing each other or diem. Now that she has been marked as well, we will see this next episode during the battle in Sophos.

[Lexi]

So, yes. So this is his symbol. And if you have the mark, you are considered on his side. Or if you're dead, conquered by him. He is power hungry and not afraid to tell everyone he is here and ready to take over. This is both Ophikai's calling card to his enemies and a symbol of camaraderie with his supporters. So I looked up the meaning of the Ten Pointed Star. And while it has quite a few religious connotations in general, it represents. Are you ready for this, Nicole? The Ten pointed star symbolizes the union of opposites and new beginnings. The union of opposites.

[Nicole]

Like balance.

[Lexi]

And how much do we talk about the world getting remade by the end end of the series? New Beginnings. You are so good. Pin Cole.

[Nicole]

Oh my God. But this all does boil down to one question. Other than just praising the ground Ben walks on. Why would Ophiuchai do this for dm? Call me Dulude. Especially after I just praised him for being such a good villain. I don't think he wants to kill her.

[Lexi]

That's not his plan A. That is his plan B.

[Nicole]

So he's Luther and he comes up with plan B. Is his what? You're saying? I think this mark. Not even. I think. I'm 99.99999% certain this mark is his way of protecting her. So that when, if they are on opposite ends of the battlefield, like they will be in Sophos, his followers will not kill her. And then when he wins the battle, the ultimate battle at the end, because he definitely believes he will, every villain does, she will still be alive to rule with him. So it's like he's almost sparing her for a longer, calculated move. Now, this also could be a different kind of calculated move where he would be able to find her at the drop of a hat and mark and track her down. To be honest, it could be both. It helps his plan A and his plan B. He's a very calculated thinker. He's also.

[Lexi]

He's had a lot of centuries to think about it all on his own.

[Nicole]

We still don't have that confirmed.

[Lexi]

I agree. He is marking her as his, so to speak, because. Because he really does try to appeal to DM multiple times to join him. So he wants to give her that chance. But dm, not knowing this man is her father yet, is like, well, gotta go kill this guy before he hurts more people. In DM's eyes, this powerful and strange descendant has proven he is guilty, and it's time to serve him justice to save innocent lives. That word justice keeps on coming up here whenever it comes to DM and how she has to dish out what doesn't come naturally to. To her. Okay, back to being the Monteos crown and the scene at hand here at the Crown's council headquarters.

[Nicole]

But how convenient is it that the previous Montios crown has left Diem a letter? And you bet, listeners, we're about to go line by line through this sucker, starting with quote, to my heir, if you are reading this, you now bear my crown. Blessed mother Lumnos has spoken to me of our fates, and I am at peace with the sacrifice I must make. Oh, there's that word again that keeps coming up. Sacrifice. We know that Diem will have the same sacrifice coming her way too, as the crown states, quote, I pray you find the same peace with yours, considering his sacrifice was dying for the cause is being compared to whatever sacrifice Diem must make. It's just one more instance of DM dying foreshadowing. This one's very direct at this point. Point, I'm gonna be honest. I'm kind of kicking myself for not starting a count. And we probably would have started it at episode. Actually no, we would have started at episode one of Spark of the Everflame. But alas because I do think we would be like in the 15s or even 20s right now. The late crown note is being left for two reasons though. One as a plea for her to guard the people of Monteos well, which.

[Lexi]

Is very sweet besides the whole scribe like demeanor they have to adopt in order to be virtuous. I fucking love Montyos more than any other way realm. They would probably banish me though with all of my un virtuousness I'd be like thank you. I did do a job well done. I appreciate that. The late Montios king is offering DM advice to teach his people and learn from them which I really see this happening in. Burn with her encouraging the Monteos descended to fight for this world and not kind of be holed up in their mountains so to speak and them teaching her about their fair ways and virtues. Not like to make her more like them, but about that honesty, fairness and the counsel and things like that.

[Nicole]

Patience. Patience is a big one too.

[Lexi]

I think she might be a lost.

[Nicole]

Cause on that one. But there's a second reason for this letter that sends our deep dive brains spiraling. Because the late king says that he doesn't really know what this message means. But Mother Montes told him it's. It is essential his error. Heed these words. I'm quoting the full thing first and then we're going line by line. 11 must fall for one to rise. Share the gift to pay the cost. A dying star will rekindle the spark. What is forgotten is not lost. Remember my sister's words. Beware my brother's wrath. This is a fucking sonnet at this point. This is gorgeous. But let's go through this line by line. 11 must fall for one to rise. Let's just start off with the head scratcher. I swear this line is going to be the death of me. If it was 10 must fall for one to rise, this would seem easy because 10 realms, 10 kindred. 10. 10.

[Lexi]

10 easy.

[Nicole]

Easy's 10. What is this 11th nonsense? I cannot help but assume it's the mortal religion, like the Everflame religion as a whole. Whole. And then with those 11. So the 10 realms and the mortal realm being like the collective of the Everflame. If they fall, then one Amarian will rise like no longer divided.

[Lexi]

So theoretically it could be like the red haired man who symbolizes the Everflame and the mortals there.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

What if Orly is a descendant of him and she is his representation. There is is also the possibility that diem is the 11th because we've been talking so much about her sacrifice and her needing to die. This could be directly related to that or another possibility. Maybe a little bit more of a crack theory. What if the MO from Montes diary that cut off that we've been thinking was Mother. What if that was the 11th in like more the Kindred circle here and all of them must fall for Diem to rise and that breaks the curse.

[Nicole]

You are whipping out an 11th kindred theory right now. I did not have this on my bingo card.

[Lexi]

Don't know. Like I don't obviously, I don't know. I say that like obviously none of us know. But Pen has told us. We've asked her questions of like poking holes about the Kendrick's curse and all of that. And she has been very clear that there is a huge piece to the puzzle that we do not know yet that has not been mentioned yet that will happen. Have a huge factor. And it's kind of one of the reasons she's been chuckling about all the theories and stuff like that. Because we do not have a main element yet. What if this was the main element?

[Nicole]

Maybe I really like this idea that it's Arlie and that's not just because she's going to be collecting elves like their Pokemon cards this episode. Like I, I like you said that. And it's like my whole body got chills and something in my gut was just like, I think you're right. So now I'm almost closing my mind up to any other possibilities because I'm like, I need that certainty.

[Lexi]

Okay, so let's lay it all out here. So we have nine known Kindred, or in this case the crowns of their realms. They are representing the Kindred. This is already starting to play out with them falling and the crowns being given to one person. Then there is omnos, the forgotten 10th kindred. So it's only the 11th that it's truly the big mystery for us. And I do agree that it is one. One Amarian to rise versus it being one person. So I think that the 11th it might be DM who represents both of these worlds and that balance and all of that. I kind of think it's a little bit of a crack theory with it being orally but sure. Like, do you want to make a.

[Nicole]

Bet right now by going, okay, here's, here's my. I'm not going to make a bet this specific. But this is where my Mind is just like, trailed off to. While you were just explaining. Explaining that. So every one of the crowns will die in this case. So that means, you know, which is kind of sad. Like, I like Doriel, sort of. They're pissing me off by the end of this book. But still, like, it means all of the crowns will die. Ophiucai will die. Aurally will die for one Amarian to rise with DM as the balance of it. And then my brain saw her hair, like, transforming from white to that brilliant red to, like, represent her mother. And like, all of this stuff, like. Like, I could so see that happening by the end. And she is the balance. But I've also. But there's so much her death foreshadowing that she has to die and then be deemed worthy enough to be the balance. So then it would make sense that she's the 11th because she would have to fall, quote, unquote.

[Lexi]

I am definitely leaning toward DM being the 11th here as the representation of both worlds yet. Yet. That's a good point. What if she is still the one to rise?

[Nicole]

Yeah. Because she's the balance.

[Lexi]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Huh.

[Lexi]

All right.

[Nicole]

I'm not willing to make a bet yet, but I'm. I need.

[Lexi]

We are a little. Yeah, we're a little all over the place with this right now. So we'll. We'll keep going through everything. We haven't even been to Sophos yet. So this line, though, it really is something we've been talking about for so long. And it's like, it's here now. And it's like, oh, my God. I think it's dm.

[Nicole]

I think it's DM too.

[Lexi]

But I also love that. I do think that the one to rise is Amarian.

[Nicole]

I agree. I. I agree that it's Amarian because.

[Lexi]

That just feels right. Yeah.

[Nicole]

Like one united Amarian. But I love this idea that it's a curveball, that it's Arlie because she's the representation of the Everflame. I think that those are my two options, but I'm. I'm leaning aurally, I think.

[Lexi]

Think not. The Kindred Mother.

[Nicole]

I've already forgotten that. Then we have the next slide. Because we've only scratched one. Share the gift to pay the cost. Okay, this. This is probably the thing that Pen is referencing because there's this gift that we have no idea what it means. And I'm assuming this is one of the big things that she's like, you guys don't know. So we know that this Is referring. Referring to Lumnose's message from Spark. Quote, give him our gift, daughter of the forgotten. When the end has come and the blood has spilled, give our gift to my faithful heir and tell him this is my command. Now it's sounding like DMZ11. Then she has to die. Oh, my God. So when she. DM does give this gift to the faithful heir, which we all strongly assume, it's Luther, but now it's all pointing to Luther so clearly where I'm like, are we being. Being gaslit right now? Are we supposed to look this way? Is it actually orally? I don't know.

[Lexi]

I don't think it's orally.

[Nicole]

I don't think orally is a faithful heir. That's a great point. Actually.

[Lexi]

Those are not words that I would ever describe with her. I think it's pretty clear that it is Luther.

[Nicole]

I think. I think so too. But is it too. I'm. I'm Rebecca Yarrow sing myself right now. Like, it's the gift part.

[Lexi]

Just focus on the gift part right now.

[Nicole]

That's my question. It's shouting into the void. What the hell is this gift?

[Lexi]

We should make a bingo card for our Kindred's curse coverage. And one of the boxes be a spiraling over what this gift is. Because it happens like every other episode. We're just driving ourselves crazy with curiosity. I also think about what Lumnos said to Luther in his bonus chapter at the temple in Ambrose. Earlier on in Heat of the Everflame. Quote, an ancient wrong must be made right, and all must pay itself price. This here is that very similar language with paying the cost. I just keep coming back to DM herself being the gift. Or the gift. Is this magical spell of sorts that I mentioned a few episodes ago, something tied to magic. Or you know what? Like you said, maybe this is one of the big puzzle pieces that we just don't know yet.

[Nicole]

I also could see it being that her. It's her heart. Like, give my gift to your. To the faithful heir. Like it is. Give. Give that mating bond to him. I.

[Lexi]

So how would that fit into share the gift to pay the cost?

[Nicole]

You know, when you're someone as independent as DM and you mate yourself off to someone, it comes at a cost. You're giving up half your soul, technically. Or you're. You're making.

[Lexi]

This is a little bigger than a mating bond.

[Nicole]

Okay, the next line is quote, a dying star will rekindle the spark. Okay, hear me out. So because this star could be connected To Ophiuchai, especially given the Ten Pointed Star symbol. What if that is the dying star? He is the dying star. So in order to rekindle the spark that starts the ever flame, the Star of Ophiuchai must die. Like, he's only almost. No, The Star of Ophiuche must die.

[Lexi]

Okay, so then how would you work that into the titles of all these books? Because I really do think that it's dm, because Spark of the Ever Flame. Glow of the Ever Flame. Heat of the Ever Flame. Burden of the Ever Flame. I think that she's the dying to. Yes, because it feels so pointed that the spark is directly tied to the Everflame. We both agree on that. Which brings it back full circle to, again, the title of the first book, Spark of the Everflam Flame. DM is a spark. That is when everything sets in motion. And that's not yet when Ophiuchai is around yet. I'm really getting into relying on the titles of these books, but I do think that those are a big hint that dying start just doesn't sound good for our girl. And when I think of a dying star, I think of a bright light collapsing in on itself. That is literally what a dying star is. And I keep coming back to that word of bad balance, where it's like it implodes in on itself. Like, this opposition's just like. Yeah, I don't know. You're giving me a very scared look right now.

[Nicole]

Because I'm. I'm picturing this.

[Lexi]

I'm not meaning literally implode.

[Nicole]

I just. No, but what happens in the visions?

[Lexi]

Exactly.

[Nicole]

So what if that's. Oh, no, because it wouldn't be Ophia dying, because he's still standing there in the visions. But, like, I mean, Auralie's, like, holding Diem.

[Lexi]

Like, that's why I think that it is literally right. That image is right before the main vision with that blinding light. But here's a question. It seems strange for both this line and the one about sharing the gift, to pay the price allude to the same things. So if the dying star is dm, then I definitely don't think the gift is DM or the gift is DM and the dying star is like, you're saying Ophiuchai. Because I agree. That feels so on point with the symbol of the Ten Pointed Star. But then when it comes to rekindle the spark, what. What if his death somehow brings DM back to life and then she rekindles the Spark of the Everflame?

[Nicole]

I Can get behind that. Or what if she dies is deemed like, you know, when she's judged, she's not deemed worthy. Because when you're worthy, that means you're. You're meant to pass through the gates of.

[Lexi]

She'd be deemed worthy in a different way.

[Nicole]

Yes. So she'd be deemed worthy basically to go back to Amari end Ophiuchai. Because maybe she'll have some extra power. She'll end Ophiucai. And that is how the dying spark rekindles. Excuse me? The dying star Ophiuchai in that moment, rekindles the spark.

[Lexi]

The timeline doesn't work there.

[Nicole]

Why?

[Lexi]

Because the dying star is what?

[Nicole]

Oh, I see what you're saying. It would be two dying stars, so it'd be the dying star Z rekindle the spark. So, yeah, maybe that doesn't work anyway. But then we have the next line. What is forgotten is not lost. We've talked about this a lot, so I'll keep this one brief. I again, I can't help but going back to those two. Forgotten. The forgotten 10th Kindred is not lost. Although he is very much found this episode. And of course the red haired man under the Everflame Tree, he is very much lost.

[Lexi]

So I also think about what is forgotten is not lost in of terms of history. Because we think about what the Kindred intended with the world that they created. With yes, the descended protecting the mortals, but both of the peoples really living in harmony. And now that sentiment has been forgotten over the generations. And this is why the Kindred are so upset and they are wanting this big change. That is what DM is on this earth to do. So I think that this. What is forgotten is not lost is directly relating to what is forgotten. What is the purpose of this world that the Kindred left for that the Kindred intended? It is not lost. And it is being refound here. And it will be, in so many words, reset in a new and different way.

[Nicole]

Oh, I love that. Yes, yes, yes. I have nothing to add. That was perfect. Next, Remember my sister's words. Beware my bride Brother's wrath. Honestly. Thank God, this is the easiest one of them all. Because this is Lumnos's words, as she's the only sister who has spoken to Diem directly. And the brother's wrath, at least at the moment, DM and Luther believe is Ambrose because of what happened. And honestly, that's a very fair assumption. But as we know, we, or at least we can strongly assume this is instead Omnos, AKA Ophiuchai. Again, I seriously don't know a world in which omniscient Omnos is not Ophiuchai. If that happens, I'm gonna need Taylor my therapist assistance. Okay, this is now the second time Diem's patience gets in the way. After she went into the foraging magic and got the mark from Ophiuchai, Diem is like, I have to go kill him now. Which is a fair statement, but remember, she has no magic. Luther just got his uncle locked, but he's still drained. They are not equipped for this.

[Lexi]

But she does say, give me your magic to the Montios descendant, so she knows she needs to get the magic now and then go get him. Though you are right with that, like, hurry, hurry, hurry attitude. But I don't fault her for this one.

[Nicole]

I. Yeah, that's okay.

[Lexi]

I totally approve of her hurriedness here.

[Nicole]

So I'm gonna keep going and we'll see where my stance lands. As Counselor Hepta states, they need to come up with a plan together to discuss this. Counselor Hepta is like, where's my plan B? I need my plan B. The Council of Monteos. They are used to making decisions together. And just by the vibe of Monteos, I also feel like they are not hurry, hurry, hurry people. They are very patient. They do take time to think about things from all stands. And Diem is in her I know what's right attitude right now.

[Lexi]

I think that the Monteos, because this is all kind of happening in their realm, they feel a sense of responsibility with it. And Diem has been on this mission completely separate from Monteos. So for them to be like, hey, we got to talk about this together. She's like, what are you talking about? I've been on the solo mission for a long time now. I have new information. Now I need to go.

[Nicole]

So on that same note, I guess my stance lands in. I can't necessarily get mad at dm. I am just going to just, with a neon sign, point out that she is again, in that I know best, it needs to happen now attitude. Ophiuchai's attacks have killed hundreds just thus far, maybe even thousands of people. Especially when we include Umbros. And DM is unwilling to wait any longer than she has to, because he could attack on another realm instantly without a second thought. So luckily, DM and the Council find a compromise. For a whole day, the descendant of Montios all pour their magic into DM until everyone in Monteos is drained. And the coolest part, she's not even filled yet. That is insane. Then DM and company wait another day. Should Montios get attacked so that they could defend a city? That makes total sense. And luckily it didn't happen. But damn, DM's patience is waiting.

[Lexi]

Also, we have to think about the timeline with the story though. Only three days ago, he attacked a Umbros. When she was in Umbros, she was learning more about the Miros attacks and things like that.

[Nicole]

Was it three days ago?

[Lexi]

Yes.

[Nicole]

Jesus.

[Lexi]

So everything in this story is happening so flipping fast, and so I can sense I would be the exact same way, sensing, oh my God, like, it's literally like you wait a day and he will attack another city.

[Nicole]

That's true.

[Lexi]

And so I. I would have that exact same. I call it impatience. But I don't think of it so much as impatience. I think of it as stressed out and anxious. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Because time is literally running out.

[Nicole]

As someone who lives most of her life in that state, despite not going up against Afia Kai, I can see where you're coming from.

[Lexi]

Yes, I am very surprised that maybe Crap you're giving DM here when you are as bad as she is. This week, week alone, I have had to call you out on not having to send something that was not due for another week. And even with all that magic getting pumped into dme, it still isn't enough to fill her magic. Which is going to be a problem considering Luther is also not at full power yet. It brings me back to this realization that DM has so much magic here, but Ophiuchai has more. Like, wow. While this is frustrating for dm, it's also a lesson she needed to learn one way or another. Nicole, do you hear that? You need to learn this lesson too. Being new to magic, DM is inefficient and sloppy, burning through her magic too quickly. She needs to learn how to pace herself and not burn out and make her magic last longer for this war ahead. Like the marathon of life. I love you. I don't have to be done, but.

[Nicole]

I can be done done. If you are wondering what kind of plan DM has concocted in these near 48 hours that she had to wait back in Montios, the plan is go kill Ophia guy. That is the plan. Oh dear.

[Lexi]

Okay, well, here I am defending her again. She doesn't know the situation she'll be walking into. Like neither do the Monteo's Crown's council either. So I do agree that she is not able to form a more concrete plan in this instance. This descended man is Just very much of a mystery. And step one is to figure out like just how to make this happen. And they have to go approach it too. And then once when they do get there, they do start figuring out how to target him, how to do all of that. So, yeah, but let's talk about these mysterious forgotten lands and its magic. The second that DM dismounts her horse, a rush of energy surges into her body as she steps foot on her home realm soil for the first time. Now note, there is no special magic here because she already has that within her. Very, very different from the other realms here. But of course that makes sense because Omnos was not part of the foraging magic that created all of these rules that the descended magic adheres to. DMs Godhood is going wild. It likes this bleak, gloomy place. The voice of the realm is demanding, claim me, daughter of the forgotten. And DM Dim can feel how this land remembers the wrongs done to it, and it's waiting to claim its due. It makes me think about these ancient wrongs that must be righted, that has been mentioned. And beware of the Kindred Brother's wrath. But while DMs magic is growing stronger and bolder, feeding off the land itself, Luther can feel the land sucking his magic out and down into the soil. His aura is sputtering as if the Forging magic magic is fighting to bring it back within its grasp. It's like the land is fucking with Luther and Diem. She can even hear a low, distant chuckle in her ear. Oh my God. I bet this is Ophiuchai recognizing that they are on his land and he's making the forging magic attack Luther and he's literally just getting a kick out of it. Right. Okay, so question. Do we think all the Kindred could absorb magic originally? And this is a byproduct of Omnos's realm not properly being part of the foraging magic. With how DM is able to absorb the magic and how it is draining Luther's magic. Or was this magic stealing, as Doriel will call what DM and Ophiuchai can do only something Omnos had, and this is very specific to this realm in particular. So if it was like this, I think about how Omnos would have been able to absorb the magical abilities of his brothers and sisters, hence why he alone was called Omnos, meaning all in Latin. I'm just so curious about how dm, him and this land are able to steal magic and magic. And I am leaning toward it Being an Omnos thing, like maybe that is his magical power.

[Nicole]

I think I'm right there with you. I think the more and more we learn about this kindred silvery light, because the silvery light is kindred that. That. I feel like we've gotten almost confirmed. Have we forgotten about the Godstone breaking last episode where she shined in silvery light and then it was. Was like the balance. But this is different because she doesn't glow silver. Well, no, she does glow silver when she steals magic though. I don't. I don't know.

[Lexi]

Okay. Since Ophiuchai can absorb magic from the land like Diem, I bet this is how he is getting so much power so fast. He's recharging from his own land. I also wonder if DM will be able to push her magic back within this land and bring it back to life. Like I could see that happening in Birth Burn. Or maybe she will heal this land and it will eventually be where some mortals choose to build their lives. Like, I do believe that there will be a lot more integration between the mortals and the descended. But I could see the mortals kind of carving out this area here for themselves. But when DM dips into the forging magic here in the Forgotten Lands, it feels abandoned and decayed. And while it's within Monteos borders, it's angrily disconnected, as if rejecting the realm and trying to rip itself from free. But it's too late to turn back now. There's too much at stake. And they don't really have anywhere else to go either. They can't go back to Lumnos. And DMs pissed off most of the other crowns, so hiding out with them is not an option. So they creep up toward this Guardian camp, which seems pretty well established and settled in. And there's a common theme about the Guardians who are here. They did not like Orly's way of things and wanted more violence against the descended. Yep, checks out. And of course, fucking Vances here. Despite everything DM has told her mother about Vance, Orly is still surprised to see him here. While they may have had their disagreements, the two of them worked closely together for decades. And the Guardians remember that they started right around the same time. Orly trusted Vance enough to put him in command after she left. But once she disappeared from leadership, he had no problem stepping in as Father Vance and taking charge his way. And Orly is now only catching up to this truth, now that she can see it with her own eyes as he gives his speech about hate and violence.

[Nicole]

Then a glowing man walks into the clearing and suddenly there's a spike in his aura. Even for dm, she's barely able to manage a struggling breath with his magic saturating the air.

[Lexi]

Yep, this is definitely the man from their visions on the newspaper image. Alright.

[Nicole]

And the cocky bastard isn't even shield building, leaving DM a clean shot from where they are standing.

[Lexi]

Do you think he's glowing because he's consistently absorbing magic? Or is he always glowing? Especially now that he's back at full strength? And so when he had no strength, that was why he was all gray, like Orly saw in the Kuriel prison chamber.

[Nicole]

I'm leaning towards the latter.

[Lexi]

Yeah, yeah, me too.

[Nicole]

Because if he's always absorbing magic, we're fucked. That's true.

[Lexi]

Although when he will be like absorbing the shield around Sophos, he will be glowing brighter. So I think that it is a direct implication about his strength in that moment. But it doesn't have to constantly be absorbing it.

[Nicole]

I agree. I agree. A strange kind of coldness takes over DM as she crafts a bow and arrow made of shadow magic.

[Lexi]

Oh, so cool.

[Nicole]

Not the callous numbness that she felt back in Fortos last episode when she killed the King or the Commander, but instead something more bizarre. She says it feels like an anticipatory regret. Regret like some part of her is already grieving this choice and its consequences. It's a nice little nod to us readers about how she's literally about to try to kill her father. But DM is certain in this choice, again unknowing who this man is to her. Alfea Kai has killed hundreds, if not thousands, in no regard for guilt or innocence. And that is not including whatever he did with these missing children. Where the fuck are they? Because they're not here in the same scene anyway. He's just.

[Lexi]

What? What if they are? Where the Gryvern has been all this time.

[Nicole]

I think that's so sweet that you. So you're.

[Lexi]

They're not dead, I don't think. These children.

[Nicole]

I don't think they're dead. I don't think they're. Well, I don't think they're in great standing. So, with his back to dm, she knocks an arrow and lines up her shot, aiming to hit his spine just right below. Below his nape. And her godhood stirs. It's not supportive nor judgmental. It's more just watching, holding its breath, waiting to see if DM can prove her mettle once and for all.

[Lexi]

She may have this anticipatory grief. But she is also certain in her choice of what must be done. This man deserves to die. He has killed hundreds, if not thousands, and will continue to do so if she does not stop him here and now.

[Nicole]

Now. So right as DM releases the arrow, Arlie's like, stop dm? No. But it's too late. Carried by a burst of her power, the arrow flies straight through to the soft, vulnerable spot on the back of his neck. He's dead. All the problems are solved. Book over. No, it's not that easy. After the arrow impales Ophiuchai, it simply disappears. It doesn't bounce off or fall to the ground? Nope. He fucking absorbs it. Causing. Causing his supernatural glow to flare brighter and his aura to pulse with new strength. Seeing this man's skin glow brightly with a new magic, Luther knows exactly what that means. How many times does he see Diem's skin do the exact same thing when she absorbs magic?

[Lexi]

And she recognizes the truth of it too, by seeing that he is just like her. It's like the puzzle pieces are falling into place even before Ophiuchai addresses her. But she's just like, no. This is not possible. No way.

[Nicole]

But Luther sees this for exactly what it is. He's like, it's time to get the fuck out of here. As Lexi said, DM and even Aurelie are both completely frozen in place. Which gives the man an opportunity to address them first. He has not seen Aurelie in 20ish years. Unless he did indeed register her presence on the island of Kuril when she she was going back into his cave just to tell her brain that he was indeed dead. Remember when we asked Pen during our final episode of Spark if he knew Arleigh was there? And she said he was basically on the brink of death, so it's really a toss up. But the last time he really interacted with Aurelie, she stabbed him with a Godstone blade and then ran away with his one and only salvation, Diem. A salvation that he now finally gets to meet. Diem, his daughter, the forgotten blood that fell on the Heartstone, thus rescuing the him he can finally say hello. But that's it. Luther, seeing both Diem and Aurelie in states of shock, knowing that there's no way in hell they'll be able to fight their way out with this guy, practically throws Aurelie on her horse, shoves DM onto his own, takes both reins and rides away. My dude, well done. He knows they need more of a plan. Just period. End of Sentence that is Luther's whole state of being. This third party defeat, this power that this man has that only he seemed DM have. This is a game changer. Previously to this moment, DM has been so out of this world, powerful in every sense of the word. But now there's this new player who makes DMs I win every round streak not look like it's going to continue.

[Lexi]

And not only that he is her sire, but in the hours after she will thank a kid tried to kill my father. That difference between father and sire are really big, especially to DM in this moment. She has to consciously remind herself that he is her sire, not father. Like she has corrected so many people previously when they're referring to her birth father. She's like, no, that is my sire. Now she is stuck in this mindset of father. And then she's having to correct herself. But now that she knows that he's alive and he's just like her, she can't help but feel a kinship with him and still recognize that she's the only one who can go up against him and has to be stopped. Unless she can change his heart. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. After safely outrunning the Guardians, yay for being on horseback and changing direction to head towards Sophos instead of going back to Monteos to regroup, it is time for Orly to finally open up. She's in just as much of a state of shock as dm because she really did think that she killed Ophiuchai. She was not lying there. She stabbed him through the heart with a Godstone blade. And now a truth that she has held onto for 20 years is not true. Remember back at the epilogue of Spark when she was, like, really nervous and she crept up and called down into the chamber and she's like, no, no, no. Like he's dead. Like he's dead. It is really this thing that has haunted her for so long. And that is a truth that he is dead that she has been able to cling to as fact. And now, with this new revelation, Dia needs to know all the secrets. She needs to know the whole story. She has needed to for a long time. Time. But now more so than ever, with Ophiuchai in the mix, this information has never been more important.

[Nicole]

All right, sit down, friends. It's story time. Aurelie served many, many years in the army before Diem was born. This is when she trained not only to be a healer, but also be a spy. They recruited her very young. But Orly wanted to do something important with her life. And the army convinced her that she could do just that by serving the the crowns. She saw this as the chance of a lifetime to get a poor mortal girl out of poverty. During her time as a spy, Orly spied on the Guardians mostly, but occasionally would be sent to a powerful descendant's house with a fetish for mortal women. Or a well connected family who needed a mortal healer for their children. But even when she was spying on Descended, it always led back to the rebels in the end. What I would give for this novella. This is fascinating when DM confronts her on breaking her healer's vow. Though Arleigh agrees that yes, it is sacred, but she never spied on a patient. I don't know about that. And that the healer's vow is to always save as many lives as they can. And that's what's been her guiding moral compass. She believes that she did just that at the palace and it was all in service of that vow. Arleigh acknowledges that she may have have made mistakes. That's putting it mildly. But she's always done what she believed was right at the time. Especially in a world where right and wrong are not always so easily distinguished.

[Lexi]

And DM certainly has her own opinions about that. Because as we saw in Spark, she agonized over breaking her healer vows In a similar way, she was not spying on the patients themselves per se, but she was still breaking their trust. Like when we think about House Bennett, she was not spying on the the little girl, but she used the little girl to go get information. I bet you anything her mother was doing all of that. And here her mother is like, well, that wasn't a problem. And DM was so upset with herself and was so disappointed in herself and what her mother would think. And now we find out. Or Lee does not feel the same moral dilemma. Despite everything she has taught DM over the years. That is really key what she has taught DM over the years. And now she's essentially going back on that, but still trying to to explain it within those boundaries. And DMs like, no, this is not how this works, Mom.

[Nicole]

Arlie's told herself a lot of things that she has believed and made herself to believe as truth in order to justify doing certain things.

[Lexi]

Yep.

[Nicole]

That sometimes require her bending quite a bit of truth. And we will be talking about that more in a second. Arleigh was good at being a spy to the point that she earned the notice of the Fortos king. But she was also Simultaneously building relationships with the Guardians as she began to agree with their ideals. So one day, she broke down and told the Guardians the truth. And the leader at the time asked her to use her position in the Amarian army to spy on them instead, which she accepted. She kept the Guardians ahead of the army's movements and passed along false information to waste the king's time. She wasn't concerned about the king finding out, because honestly, there was. She was doing a lot of things that could get her killed. This was just one of them.

[Lexi]

This is quite the revelation for dm. Oh my gosh, I've been saying that.

[Nicole]

Word so many times this episode.

[Lexi]

I apologize. And as surprised as DM is, she's also seen how much sense this makes about her mother. In hindsight, and jumping ahead a little, Orly explains that when it came to her relationship with Andre, she never told him about the Guardian or about her past as a spy. The two of them focused on their future together instead of on the past. They had this unconditional trust in each other and understood that there were things that they could not tell the other. So I absolutely agree with this. Up until the Guardian leader part, both Aurelie and Andre, they led tough lives in the Amarian army. And we can only imagine some of the things that Andre has had to go through. He does not want to relive that. He does not like to glorify the old days. And Aurelia, Orly obviously doesn't like to share about her past either. So they have this agreement, and I actually really do admire that in them. It's once when Orly is the leader of the Guardians for the past 10 years, that's not looking in the past, that is the present and risking their future as well. Well, I can absolutely see why she did not tell her husband. After all, the Guardians don't even tell their family members, as we've learned. I do think it was a lot of Orly holding on to their agreement of not needing to tell the other of their pasts. She used their old rules and agreement to benefit her in the present. Though, to be fair, we have to look at Andre's side of things here. Orly believes that he had his suspicions, so he could have brought it up with her at any time, no matter what. At the end of the day, these two loved each other dearly. They did not dwell on the secrets or lies, whether it was in the past or the present, because all that mattered in their relationship was their love for one another. This secretive mindset of Orly's hasn't just applied to her marriage. It's how she's approached her entire life that she has built. She has kept these secrets from her family to protect them. She says everything she does is for her family, and I do think she believes that. But it's a web of secrets and yes, lies, as she has this viewpoint of knowing best. She used to be a spy, she's now the rebel leader. Secrets are second nature for her, and their necessity makes her find comfort in them. But back to Arlie's backstory. One day the Fortos King approached Aurelie for a mission of the high highest secrecy. You see, he heard rumors that the rebels had found a way onto Kuriel, and he wanted her to hide there alone for one year to find out what they were doing. One year. Because like Luther, the King of Fortos snuck Aurelie onto the island on Forging Day, and he returned one year later for the next foraging day to pick her up. Orly knew from her Guardian connections that these rumors were false, but she couldn't turn it down without raising suspicion. Plus, this was a priceless opportunity since no mortal has been allowed on the island for some centuries. And I definitely think it's where she got the idea to go to Kuril for the Guardians and have Luther take her on Foraging Day. She knew it was possible because she had already done it. At first she thought it was just some loophole in his authority. The King of Fortos smuggled her onto the island and did not want anyone else to know that she was there, including the other Crowns. So she was ordered to stay hidden from the army's ships patrolling from the sea. He even gave Arlie a godstone knife to take with her. And that's when she was realized. He suspected a crown was helping the rebels and that he hoped she would catch them in the act and kill them. Pause. Because do you think maybe the Arboros Queen was helping the mortals? And that is how this rumor started.

[Nicole]

Now I do. Now I do.

[Lexi]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Yeah. Actually, wait. I love that. That's so good. Oh my God. When Orly got to the island, she began exploring and stuck stumbled upon a hidden door near the temple. It was nearly invisible, grown over with weeds. And to this day, she does not know why she did what she did next. Arlie called out and asked if anyone.

[Lexi]

Hello? Is anyone there?

[Nicole]

But why would anyone be inside? Especially if this is the most secure place in Omarion. And especially because the door had looked like it hadn't been opened in generations. Even if Someone had been there. There was no way they would still be alive, right? But then a voice answered back. He sounded so scared. And when she told him she was immortal, he began weeping. Side note, this is yet another reason why Arleigh's trust is near impossible to gain. I think after this experience of being played by Ophiuchai and then him massively turning that around, it just. I get why she's so distrusting of people, especially Luther. Like, I'll. I'll call that out. So Ofia Kai claimed that he had been imprisoned for helping the rest the of rebels. Don't know if I believe that. And was left there to die. But he managed to survive on rodents and rainwater, and he begged Aurelie to help him escape. And she stayed. She couldn't walk away. But the hinges were rusted iron, so she was able to break them open. The man she found on the other side barely looked like a human. He was frail, thin, and his skin was gray, not pale gray, like his body had been drained of color. Again, this is me waving my hands. This is very important.

[Lexi]

Important. Oh, real quickly. Do you think that dm, while she is on Koreal her skin will start to drain because she does not have access to her magic in the same way? Or do you think that was specifically because he was within the Godstone temple?

[Nicole]

I'm leaning specifically because he was in the Godstone chamber that they created and.

[Lexi]

They did not make her do that. That was like.

[Nicole]

That was the name. That was like, yeah, you got it right there.

[Lexi]

And DMs like, please, no. And okay, but you still have to stay on the island.

[Nicole]

I'm really glad that that didn't happen. I think it was because he was both inside the Godstone, because. Godstone, yes, he's probably able to destroy it, but because he's on Kuriel, maybe he can't.

[Lexi]

We know that when DM touches Godstone, she feels this sense of temper and things like that. And I'm not saying that. That he's like this because of the Godstone, because we know that's not true.

[Nicole]

But I'm amplified it.

[Lexi]

Yes.

[Nicole]

And then he learned to feed off of that anger and energy for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. So no wonder he's traipsing across the continent. That does not excuse his actions. But I. Oh, this is what I love about a villain backstory. It gives you their reasons behind being the way that they are. And. And I think it's so important. Ophia Kai was locked up with Godstone Chains. And nothing Orlie did could break them open. But she had one year ahead of her so she kept trying. In the meantime she brought Ophia Kai fresh food and water and kept him company. Ophia Kai was unlike anyone she'd ever met. The simplest stories would fascinate him. Makes sense. He hasn't been outside this room in like hundreds of years and.

[Lexi]

And he is getting information about the Marian National.

[Nicole]

This guy's so creepy. And he spoke of his dreams to change their world for the better. He was charming. And she was lonely. It wasn't long until Orly started developing feelings for him. And she fell fast and hard with no way to make the contraceptive tonic on the island. Aurelie tried her best to resist but he was so eager. And within a few short weeks they were already bang bang, banginity banging. And soon after Aurelie began became pregnant. Ophiuchai was extremely happy about this pregnancy. It was all he could think about. He would lay for hours with his head against Arlie's belly listening for DMs heartbeat or feeling her kicks. He told Auralie that he had been dreaming of DM for years. Yes, years of being trapped in the prison with only dreams of someday being freed via this forgotten blood. His now offspring's blood. But his personality, while he was happy, it changed immensely. He became obsessed with the revenge. He spoke of killing off the descended and instilling himself as king. This is concerning. And he became extremely possessive of orally. When she left the cell, he would make her vow on DM's life that she would come back. He was so paranoid that she might leave for good no matter how much she reassured him that she wouldn't. As we get into this next section, please note that we are going to be talking about domestic violence. So please listen to your comfort level.

[Lexi]

One day when near the end of her pregnancy, Orly tried to go outside against his wishes. And Ophiuchai became violent refusing to let her leave. But she was able to escape. For weeks Orly slept outside in the cold listening to him plead to her to come back. He apologized and said his captivity made him unwell. And he swore that he loved her and he would never do it again. But Orly stayed away. Away. She was afraid of him. And yet she was more scared of what might happen if she tried to give birth on her own. And all of this stress sent her into early labor. And then when the blood sun rose at dawn, it felt like a sign that if she made the wrong choice, she might lose Dm. Forever. I want to pause real quickly because blood, sun, divine intervention, sort of, or at least like a divine sign saying that today's the day for the one one that they've been waiting for to enter this world. And also, Orly says that she prayed to the old gods. She was praying to the old gods on Kuril, where the Everflame used to be, where her daughter was to be born. I don't know if this has extra.

[Nicole]

Weight to it, but maybe, maybe she prayed to the old gods to protect them both before she went back down into the cell and told Ophiuchai that Diem was coming. After hearing this, Ophi Ophikai became just like his old self again. He made no demands and he did everything. Auralie asked, can you imagine walking someone through your own giving of birth? Like, no. Sounds terrifying. When Diem finally made her appearance, Ophiuchai was overjoyed. And Arleigh really believed he had changed.

[Lexi]

Yay. Baby Diem is born. And it seemed like Ophiuchai loved his little family. And he insisted that Ori Orly leave the chamber to get some fresh air. Once when she was healed enough to walk, though, right after she left, Orly knew in her heart that something was wrong. So she crept back into the cell and oh my God. She saw Ophia Kai holding the Godstone blade over DM's tiny heart bat. Bap. This is bad. So she confronts him to, you know, stop the blade from hurting her newborn.

[Nicole]

That's when Ophiuchai tells her something very interesting. He tells her about the Heartstone and how he needs DMs blood to unlock his chains.

[Lexi]

What an excuse for how she got red handed. Which, like, I'm not surprised that she's like, yeah, and he was saying these crazy things and yeah, yeah, I would.

[Nicole]

Also be like the you are. I don't believe any of this. Now we don't know exactly what tone he told her in. Like was it evil villain mod monologue style? Or was it desperate man trying to explain himself? Like, call me crazy, but I do really feel like it matters if it was evil villain style. I absolutely see Ophia Kai meaning to fully kill Diem and pour her blood on the stones. How he would get there because he's chained up, I have no idea. But I don't think he was really thinking clearly, not when his freedom was this close. But if it was a desperate man trying, trying to explain himself, like, then maybe he wasn't fully going to kill her. But I also feel like over her tiny little Heart is not looking like a little nick of the wound.

[Lexi]

Yes, I agree with that too. There is another factor that I hate to say because I swear I'm not defending Ophiuchai, but this is also Aurelie's story and if we know anything about books, characters are not always a reliable narrator. So this could be her in the interpretation as a terrified mother with a knife near her baby. I don't think that is actual situation, but I have to point it out. So what if Ophiuchai tries to explain himself to Diem? If she confronts him about trying to kill her and he's like, no, I just wanted to use your blood and break free so we could rule the world together. Okay, so as I say that rule the world together. Saying it out loud, he told Orly how he wanted to be king and rule over everyone. I do not see him letting there be someone else in existence. Existence as powerful as him or almost as powerful as him. He needs her blood. That's what he needs from her. Unless he thought DM was not a threat because she didn't look like him when she came out of the womb. So maybe he didn't know that she would have all this power. I don't know. Like, I think that in his mind he was doing what he had to do to get enough blood. Or maybe once when he broke free, he expected to heal baby dm, though he still wouldn't have had his own magic on the island. So yeah, never mind. I think he was prioritizing getting blood and not whether he was killing or not killing his child.

[Nicole]

I think you're right. I definitely think you're right. But luckily Aurelie didn't stick around to find out. Nope. She grabbed Diem, stabbed Ophiuchai in the heart. Honestly, you're about to get a lot of Ls aurally I give you a W for this. And then she runs away believing that he died from the Godstone wound, which, honestly, fair. Yes, that makes a lot of sense.

[Lexi]

How interesting that somebody gets stabbed in the heart with a Godstone blade on Kuril, on Kuriel, and then survives it.

[Nicole]

How fascinating.

[Lexi]

Together with DM's information about the stone in the Kindred's temple that the Crown shed their blood on for every ritual and that something went wrong with her coronation. This mother and daughter realized that Ophiuchai was trapped in the Godstone 2 chamber for these past 20 years. Which means, like we talked about in our final episode of Spark, that Orly and Ophiuchai were Indeed on the island at the same time. Most recently, she even gathered up the courage to call out to him, though she of course thought that he was dead. No one answered because we know from our phone pin that he was barely alive and not really cognitively there. This is a terrifying and eerie realization for Aurelie, her second time living for a year on this island, haunted by his ghost. It turns out that he was alive, trapped down there the whole time. I would be so traumatized both on the island when I was there and feeling that ghost of him. And now with this realization of him being alive the whole time.

[Nicole]

Yeah, yeah. So now we know Arlie's whole backstory. Which means it's time to get into it. Why? Why, oh why? Why did she keep this monumental secret from DM for so long? For this next section, I am going to do my absolute best to put on my Aurally hat. I don't have a full blown clown. Get up. I'm so sorry. And see things through Arleigh's point of view. And try. Emphasis on try to really look through her eyes as she explains her reasoning. Because fairly so. Dean confronts her mother about why she didn't tell her or tell her and she kept these secrets and put her family at risk. Let's start with the biggest, most obvious reasons that we've been discussing on the pod. Everything Auralie would have told them about her role as a spy. DM's true nature. Just a Feoki in general. If anyone discovered those things, they would be in danger. And not even just danger dead. They would be killed on sight. So her ultimate why for keeping the secret from them is to keep her family safe. And like we've mentioned, it makes sense. We get it. Especially because of another reason about why she kept them in the dark. Arlie doesn't trust people. Again, understandably, given what happened with Ophiuchai and just her having spent so much of her life as a spy, she's so used to secrets, it's the first option of her mind way before she thinks about telling someone the truth. But neither of these reasons are what Arlie gives here. Here instead, this is her reasoning for not telling DM number one. Dm. You didn't want to know. After all. There were so many moments when Aurally obviously slipped. I do wonder if this was an obvious slip though. Only to her, AKA an ex spy and not to the normal person. When those slips happened, DM just looked the other way. So Auralee told herself that subconsciously her daughter didn't want to know Ergo Errolie wouldn't tell diem something she didn't want to hear. The second reason she gives. I can't fucking believe we're talking about this again. DM never asked questions. And I'm actually going to amend that statement. She never asked the right questions again. When Aurally slipped, she was ready for DM to ask these right questions and demand answers. But her daughter never did. Which actually Diem points out isn't true. True.

[Lexi]

Exactly. I don't think Orly would have ever admitted to it unless the evidence was literally right there in front of her. In fact, DM even had to convince her to tell this story. Now after she is queen of three realms and just came face to face with her father. And she did ask questions throughout her childhood, just apparently not the right ones. Ow. Ow. I can't hold it in.

[Nicole]

Ow. Oh my God. I don't think think for a second.

[Lexi]

That Orly would have shared it even if DM ever asked the supposed right questions. We even got a glimpse into Orly's POV about her secret keeping in her glow epilogue where she admitted to herself that someday the truth would have to come out because DM was not going to age and it would become obvious she was not immortal. But in the meantime, Orly was so dead set on gotta keep drugging her and gotta keep her in the dark at all costs, she's gaslighting her daughter right here, and I do not use that word lightly. And I think she's convincing herself that she would have shared the secret under the right circumstances. When everything we know about orally says otherwise. I'm gonna give her another L here.

[Nicole]

We're just gonna.

[Lexi]

That's two freely be given the L's.

[Nicole]

Yes. So let's talk about this early reasoning. Because when Diem did ask, apparently not right, but question about where her mother was going or what she was doing, aurally gave her easy, sometimes insensible answers. And DM just accepted them. So in Aurelie's mind, she sees that as yet again that reaffirmation that DM doesn't want to know the truth. And if she did want to know, DM would keep asking questions. And aurally, according to her, was prepared to fess up another L third L in two minutes. Basically, because if I am putting myself in her shoes, this logic makes no sense. It makes absolutely no sense. So instead I'm going to call out at least what I believe her logic is. And I think Lexi, you kind of touched on it. But I want to Lay it full bare. For years, Arlie had to justify keeping the secret from her family. The truth is, they did deserve to know. And as she will learn, they paid the price. Price for just how in the dark Aurelie left them. But by justifying her own choices, by putting responsibility on unknown parties for not asking the right questions, it lessened, I'm sure, some of the internal guilt she held on from holding onto the secret. I am holding in so much anger right now, like I'm. This is mild compared to what I used to do. But it can all be boiled down down to this aurally three L's. I'm giving you a smiting L for how you handled this conversation. Exactly.

[Lexi]

I don't fault Orally for trying to keep DM's real heritage a secret as a whole. Because it would mean her daughter's death. Absolutely. And that was her number one priority as a mom. I completely get that. We would do anything to protect our children. How would. However, her daughter did ask her questions and Orly chose to continually lie. She drugged her daughter to hide what she was, even from herself.

[Nicole]

Yeah, that's something we barely touched on. She also does not admit to like, yeah, I drugged you for 10 years. That wasn't very like. I can't even imagine if that was also part of this conversation when DM.

[Lexi]

Was 10 years old and even a few years after that. I can see why Orly would want to withhold the truth. Her daughter was not ready. She was too young. But this is your 20 year old adult daughter who Orly still treats like a 10 year old with calling her her little girl and treating her like she's so naive and innocent and doesn't know anything and let the adults handle this even when she is a descended crown. So yes, Orly should have told her at least a few years ago. Especially because DM has asked a million times about the flame route she had to take and who her real father was and about the illness that she had and all of those kinds of things. Or they gaslit her daughter into thinking she was the crazy one for the past 10 years and now she is still gaslighting DM when the truth comes out. If she apologized in this moment and was vulnerable about her fears, it's not quite forgivable, but is on the path to redemption. But no, Orly is literally digging her heels in the sand and turning it back on DM and blaming her daughter for all. All of this. Which DM does not put up with.

[Nicole]

Thank God.

[Lexi]

Good for you girl. Because she's like, if I did look the other way all those years, it's because I trusted you as my mother. We talked so much about DMs trust in orally all throughout our Spark coverage. It was one of the first things we referred to for why DM was so delulu. It was why I gave her such low ratings on the DULU scale. Because of how conditioned she was and how much she trusted her mother to believe what she was being told about herself and about her life. Why wouldn't a daughter believe what her loving mother told her? Especially for these two who were so close? Her mother taught her to be a healer, like they were very, very close. And DM looked up to her so much. Orly took advantage of her daughter's trust and love. And now telling DM it's her fault for not thinking beyond what she was told is honestly a slap in the face to her daughter. So understandably. Furious with her mother and niece needing some space, DM runs into Luther at a nearby tree. Aw, she just needs her boy to cheer her up in more than one way.

[Nicole]

You know what is the best distraction from mommy issues? Hand jobs. DM and Luther crash into each other. Luther pinning her to a tree, his fingers going right into the deep end. But in this carnal distraction where both of them are basically edging each other into oblivion, just like Pen has been edging us for two whole books. With each start of that clenching crest of an orgasm, their movements would slow until their breaths calmed down just to get them worked up again. Jesus. Until finally, DM can't take it anymore. She needs him. But Luther is like, no. And given what just happened a few moments ago, I think that's rather smart. But his reasoning is much more romantic. Romantic? Their first time together will not be against a tree where DM just needs a distraction because he will not just be another fuck for her. Instead, quote, this is just a taste of what I have planned for you. Our night is coming. And when it does, I'll be the last first time you ever have.

[Lexi]

Oh, it's so cute.

[Nicole]

I love this man. The realization isn't just like giddy kicking your legs up in the end air while hand fucking each other. It's also a reminder for dm, because maybe she thought she needed a distraction from her anger at her mother, but what she actually sought Luther out for was a reminder that she wasn't facing this problem alone, not anymore. DM is incredibly independent. It makes sense why she originally thought shouldering this all by herself, she would trudge over to Luther to get a distraction. But this is a partner and I love that she's seeing the best parts of what this type of leaning on one another truly is. Truly, that is one of the best parts about finding your person. The other best part? Orgasms. Which literally DM and Luther are seconds away from achieving together. One more stroke and get the hell away from her. I'm gonna flip a table. I swear to God.

[Lexi]

This is awkward. Okay, I going to put ourselves in Orly's shoes here. She specifically told Luther when they work together that he better not ever talk or get close to her daughter. I'm guessing it's because he would figure out she was half to send it. And there's what Luther has thought she might be worried her daughter would be taken with him and he's a descended prince. And that was a big no no when she shielded DM from knowing anything about the descended. We also can't forget that Luther has threatened Orly and her family before. Yes, the threats were empty, but still, Orly innately does not trust the descended, even him who she worked with. Plus DM still has not told her mother about her and Luther. They've been traveling for a little while now and several comments that are playful have been made, but Orly doesn't have that context to know that they are jokes. She does not trust Luther's intentions, plain and simple. She thinks that he wants to be the crown. He was supposed to be the crown. Orly is thinking exactly what Dee thought about Luther for most of glow, so I can't fault her for that. And of course she still thinks of her daughter as her little girl who is supposed to marry Henry. Orly is, in other words, living in the past and has not played catch up yet and again, is not willing to.

[Nicole]

I'm just gonna throw in another GFDA here. But anyway, Arlie hears the three words she never wanted to hear. I love him.

[Lexi]

Him?

[Nicole]

No, also L for you orally. Because your second words out of your mouth are but what about Henry? This is literally the fantasy version of you're dating someone and the parent is like but what about that Fallon girl? I loved her shouts to my Gilmore Girls friends, but no. But then she brings up how much Henry has been in love with DM for years. Again, this is all Farley's mother Gothel Mother knows best and that everything's the same as it was when she left.

[Lexi]

Almost a year ago and that DM being descended doesn't change things when it changed everything between her And Henry never forget Henry tried to draw a dagger on dm. Oh my God when he first saw her as a descended queen and he sort of kind of openly admitted that everything changed after she did become the descended queen.

[Nicole]

He said she's dead to him. Yes, last episode.

[Lexi]

But of course Orly does not see DM like that and she cannot imagine her and Henry as anything but the.

[Nicole]

Closest of close way to make Luther also just feel terrible. Like I know that's not even a thought in her mind right now, but my poor guy is just getting dunked on so hard this episode. Now Aurelie believes deep down that Luther is working against against DM for the crown, making her fall for him and swoon for his own gain. Sounds a hell of a lot like Ophiuchai. So she believes in that Aurelie knows best way that she is actually protecting DM from making the same mistakes she did with the descended man. Descended in air quotes there. But she also believes her daughter who has always seen the best in people is naive and doesn't know what Luther is truly like.

[Lexi]

Orly, you have the excuse of having to play catch up from the past past eight months, but you are refusing to see what is right in front of you because you are living in.

[Nicole]

The past and after all DM Arlie is your mother and family always comes first.

[Lexi]

Oh dear. Before getting into DM's very valid response, I want to highlight why Orly is saying that family comes first and her job is to protect dm. From her perspective she thinks that what she's doing is for her family. I don't even know know how to defend her with that though. Kind of like Henry with this mindset of being part of the Guardians and the bigger purpose is to create a better life for the mortals, for their loved ones and their futures. And yes, they absolutely do believe that is their whole drive with being part of the Guardians. But Orly has put the Guardians first over her family time and time again. We'll find out from Teller in the Burn preview chapters that she'll say she put Teller in the Descended school for him and for the Guardians and for Diem. But let's be honest, we know what that driving factor was. It was for the Guardians and collecting information against the Descended. Yet when she was on the island she kept thinking about her family and missing them. She's had eight months to focus on her family and convince herself that what she's been doing was all for them and for a better life. Orly had to do this for her mentality for her drive. This is what she has held onto as her truth, as warped as it is. And yes, the lies that she has peddled to her daughter all her life have been told protect dm like we've all said and what we know. She has shielded DM from the world and the truth and shielded the world from DM to keep her alive. But DM has grown up. She's facing reality now and it is in a far more difficult way than whatever would have happened before if her mother had told her that she was descended.

[Nicole]

But these words of it's my job to protect you and family comes first. They do DM in. She explodes on her mother with a quote and you failed. Shouts to Amanda Dolan, who does that part in the audiobook perfectly. Arleigh may have said that she takes her responsibility for her secret keeping and what that did over the years, but she does only to the point of justifying that it was the right thing to do. In the past year, Aurelie could never have imagined what went down with her family. But the truth is she hasn't been trying to understand stand. She's only kept that same mother knows best attitude. If this is a drinking game at this point, you're very hydrated. Until this moment though, until DM lays it all out candidly, very candidly, telling her mother just how much those lies not only hurt dm but hurt Teller and caused a destruction in the Bellator family so acute it would be a long time before it's ever fixed. I am going to say this. Three fucking cheers for DM. We have been building up to this outburst for three books from DM's inner monologue, almost being a copy and paste of what Orly wanted her to believe. Again shouts that Delulu Diem miss that game. Then to start to challenge those thoughts, realizing just how in the dark she was. And now to this budding and overflowing resentment that has finally led us to this moment.

[Lexi]

DM's words are like a knife and in the heart to Orly, but it's a necessary one. Orly wasn't there for DM and her family at their absolute lowest, but Luther was. DM went through hell and back and she needed her mother. And now here her mother is and Orly is being so stuck in her ways and not recognizing her daughter as the woman she is. And this is how we see a shift in Orly. She's finally ready to listen and open her mind to catching up and living in this new painful reality that DM is in that dm. DM is begging her mother to look at and understand and even just recognize when we'll be reunited with Orly. In the Burn preview chapters, we will see this shift in her as her priority does become her family. Specifically getting DM back to the point that she is starting to lose credibility in the Guardian camp with how she and Cordelia butt heads as the two leaders. Orly will be determined to rescue her daughter and put everything that the Guardians are working toward at risk for DMs freedom from the island. Which is exactly what the Crowns will rely on to turn the Guardians against Orly. But now I'm getting ahead of myself. Point is, she really does take this to heart and I am proud of her for that. We've given her many, many an El, and here we do see that evolution and that change and a very pivotal shift in her character and I'm really looking forward to exploring that more in Burn, and I think she will get quite the redemption arc.

[Nicole]

Well and I want to just point out that this is one of the things that Pen does so masterfully. And one thing that I'm really going to keep at the front of my mind in Burn is being having this open mind that people can change in this way, especially when it comes to people like Eamon or Henry. And I really encourage listeners to have that mindset. Mindset as well. This shift in Aurelie doesn't just go to dm, though. It also extends to Luther. Maybe not in the same way of immediately taking him under her wing. She does spend the night grilling him endlessly on the wrongs she's assumed he's done, but then she's waited and listened as he explained away each one. Again, that growth is there.

[Lexi]

Yeah, we're getting somewhere, Orly, all right.

[Nicole]

But there's one final test for this man she's starting to guess will become her son in law. Aurelie pulls Luther away to talk to him solo. Also side note, ways to piss off DM101 this right here. But after a long time of just Luther talking, what we will learn later is him saying how he loves DM's kindness and her heart. Auralie pulls him into a big mama hug. Acceptance, complete pause. Pause to think about how much this means to Luther. He does not have a mother, and while him and Arlie have a ways to go, I do see this being the beginning of a very solid friendship. I guess we don't know how long it's been since Luther's been hugged in this way. Even though we don't see these two on the page for the rest of the book of this book, we do know in Burn that Luther has been with her and the Guardians for about a month. Are they super warm and fuzzy with each other? Other, not necessarily, but they're also definitely not hostile and it's very clear that they're on the same team. I am so here for this mother son in law relationship.

[Lexi]

Before they head to Sophos, the crew comes up with a new plan. Orly is to meet up with nearby Guardians. Obviously not Vance's Guardians, but the others in this area, with the goal to send warnings to all of the cells about Ophiuchai and what he's doing and planning. Which, by the way, it seems Orly has known that Guardians are around them for a little bit now. I assume the Guardians were, I'll say, following them for a bit. We know from the Burn preview chapters that the Guardians end up moving their Montios camp to Arboros in an attempt to limit the amount of rebels Vance can recruit to Ophikai's side. And they will send out a call to all the Guardians to join them in the Arboros as well.

[Nicole]

While Aurelie goes to the guardians, D.M. and Luther are off to Sophos for about a million reasons. But let's talk about the main two two Number one, DM needs to finish her coronation and who's in charge of the rituals on the island. Doriel, Crown of Sophos. So they need to go talk to them, hope that, you know, Doriel doesn't kill her on sight for entering their realm, and then talk to them about forgetting about the wanted sign over her head and get them to agree to finish the ritual. What could go wrong? DM is also having to trust that Aurelie, while she goes back to the Guardian, is getting the Guardians to agree to leave the temple on Kuril so that they can finish the coronation. But then there's also reason number two, Diem needs to unlock the last of the Kindred's magic. Sophos magic of thought. Basically like a photographic memory on steroids. And secondly, because all Kindred realms have two magics spark, which is basically like she's a big old battery pack. So it is off to Sophie, which we're going to get to next episode. Battle Episode baby.

[Lexi]

In this magic field segment of the episode, let's tap into our Umbros magic and turn our full attention to important foreshadowing moments for the rest of this book, including speculations for book four, Burn of the Everflame. I'll start it off here. Orly makes a comment that not even the descendant heal this fast. And yep, DM is definitely not like most ascended.

[Nicole]

Nope. Arlie also says, and, and I quote, it was a Godstone Dagger to the heart. Dm. No one survives that, mortal or descended. Well, Ophiuchai did. And we're gonna strongly assume DM does too.

[Lexi]

DM thinks about how she hates being a pawn in the Kindreds games, and she wants to make a choice that is hers and hers alone. Even if it led me to ruin. Could this be a factor to why she proposes the bonded bargain with Dory? Or we will see her make a choice that really does go against the Kindred, because it's hers to make and that leads to extra bad things.

[Nicole]

So Luther points out that in Ophiuchai's camp there are lemons, potatoes and wheats. Oh my. But how is this possible in winter? I think that this is our first glimpse at him being able to use all the magic of the Kindred, because we have been going back and forth on that. AKA this is Ophising using Arboros magic. And there's even a mention of stone Fortresses as well, which is Montyos magic. When Diem learns Ophiuchai's name, she immediately thinks about the names that have been erased from history. Ah. While she's talking about the mortal history, I just want to bring up again that we know the Kindred had their own names in their home world, and those are lost to history. Just another Easter egg. That Ophia Kind could be Omnos's real name.

[Lexi]

DM thinks about how she doesn't know if she would be able to stop herself from intervening if Luther tries to kill Ophiuchai. She grapples in this passage about what she has to do and who she has to kill. And I really, really don't think she will be able to follow through with killing her father. Well, maybe. The only way I can see this is maybe in the final battle when everyone is dying. And it will have to be the highest of high stakes for it to even be a possibility that she lets this happen.

[Nicole]

Well, let's not forget what she says to yourself. Everything. I am willing to give everything. And that make I could see this so clearly. Like she has this internal battle with herself and it's like, don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him. And she's like literally about to strike the blow, and then she remembers that promise she gave to yourself. And that's when she likes like pulls the trigger basically.

[Lexi]

I could see that.

[Nicole]

I could see.

[Lexi]

Oh, I also think we've gotten a few mentions. I don't know if we've seen it already, but we will definitely see it in the coming chapters where she's wondering, well, maybe he's not all bad. And Luther's like honey, honey dearest. So I could also see Ophiucai giving a glimpse of the of a good person. Kind of like how Orly experienced with him. He was charming, he was loving and all of that kind of stuff. He knows how to manipulate people and I think that he is going to prey on DM and her weakness.

[Nicole]

Oh God, yeah.

[Lexi]

And she is going to really battle with like. But maybe he is good. And then he's gonna go and kill a lot more people and it's like, oh, maybe I do need to kill him after all. And yeah.

[Nicole]

Oh God, I hope you're wrong. Now it's time to enter the Sophos Library where each episode Lexi guides us through a world building topic to help us deepen our understanding of this world and its magic.

[Lexi]

Today's Sophos Library topic is Monteos. Aren't we all just learning so much about the realms of Omarion in this deep dive? This is my map dream right here. The other realms know little about the reclusive druidic residents of Monteos as they are rarely seen and refuse to speak to outsiders. But luckily for any us, we get a sneak peek into the secluded realm. So let's dive in. Alright, so let's go through the basics as always. Montios is the realm of stone and ice. Its descendants eye color is purple, but more precisely lavender. That's how they always refer to it. Their two types of magic are the ability to control rock and slash or ice and snow. Montes Sigil is a trio of snow capped mountain peaks. Night Court, is that you? Moving on to its geography is the largest realm in Omarion. And this is because it was once two realms until it was redrawn into one very large realm. And only one half of this realm is used by the Monteos people. The other half is the Forgotten Lands and it is largely ignored. But more on that in a bit. Montios is located northwest in the Amarian continent circle. So like Nicole said earlier, it takes up the 10 to 12 on the clock with Lumnos as its southern neighbor and Sophos as its eastern neighbor. The endless lilac slopes stretch the length of the horizon and while it's beautiful. With all its mountains, the Monteos terrain is desolate, too harsh for most life to survive Due to the snowy winter like conditions, there's little vegetation within this realm. That's not to say there isn't any vegetation or wildlife, because there are absolutely streams with an abundance of animals. Matos also has a very specifically rare herb that only grows here. And this is the herb that would have been the cure for Henry's mother's illness that we learned about back in Spark. At least one of the cities in this realm is underground. To get to this underground city, you have to enter through the caves which opens up to a cliff that disappears into a deep ravine. Using their ice magic, the Montius descended are able to create spiraling bridges that go down into the ravine. You all. I. I can't stop grinning right now. As you go down the bridge, you enter a tunnel of carved stone which has a room for visitors. You know, like their waiting room right there. Since no one but Monteos descended are allowed past this point. With a Monteo descendant's touch. On a huge rock slab, a doorway appears with the Montiose sigil etched into it. Then you're in the atrium with the high ceilings crafted entirely of ice. This icy ceiling lights up the space. But it also keeps their location unknown from the outside because it helps keep this area hidden. Right. The atrium has towering stone columns of violet torches. People are all around here. It's a quiet but busy area. And at the center of the room is a statue of Mother Montios. I love it all. Alright. So now shifting into the politics and Mantios society, the Montios ascended are extremely isolated from the rest of Omarion. Once their magic comes in, they do not speak to outsiders. Some of them even choose to never speak again, ever at all, even to those in their own realm. This practice is because Blessed Mother Montios made these mountains her home. Because she believed being isolated and spending time in silence enhances the mind and opens them to higher truths. So the children, before their magic comes in, can speak to outsiders. As we experienced in this stretch of chapters with the young girl speaking for the group of Montios, until only Monteos descended, including Diem, were present in the space. These descendants also dislike weapons, preferring to use their magic instead. And it governs itself differently from the other realms. Their council, not their crown, makes the decisions for the Monteos realm. The crown is a member of the council, but the rest are chosen by the people of Monteos. The crown has the same voting power as the rest of the the Members, with the exception of when they can't come to an agreement in which the crown then gets to make the final decision. So I'm guessing that the council is made up of an even number and then the crown is the odd number there. The council is elected by the realm's descended people. King Renmai was the late Monteo's crown rip. He was an old frail looking man and used a walking stick, and just like the rest of his realm, he refused to talk to anyone who was not from Monte. He was the only other crown that was alive during the Blood War along with Yersel. So he was one of the Blood War crowns that put Ophiuchai in his prison. Considering how old he was in our story when we met him at the end of Glow, seemingly much older than Yersel, who is only described as mature, but still in her prime, I'm guessing he was middle aged for a descendant even back then. The Monteos Gryvern was Ramari, who was a female and as we've talked about is sadly deceased now. She was the oldest of the Gryverns, pure white from tongue to tail with scales like opals, and she was friends with Sarai. Unfortunately, Ramai was killed centuries ago during the Blood War when the Igneos Gryvern took on three at once and the other crowns were trying to force Igneous into joining. He gravely wounded the Monteos Gryvern and that's why she was weak enough for the guardians to ultimately kill her. The area that the Monteos Gryvern fell is expelled, so that only the Monteos crown is allowed to step foot inside the spot where she died. The snow falls continuously above a perfect circle of an unblemished grassy plateau. Let's talk about the mortal relations in Monteos. Because mortals are banned in this realm, which was done for their own protection, the mortals cannot survive the climate here as well as the descended can. And the descended were finding the mortals corpses on the mountain, dead from hunger and the cold, and they didn't want to see any more lives lost. The descendant originally reached out to the mortals to offer help, but the mortals did not trust the council. This is because the council is only filled with descended and the mortals were not even allowed to vote on its members. So as fair as Montius is, it still held that prejudice against the mortals that the descendant always knew better and the mortals were not involved in any decision making at all there. Even though the mortals mortals are technically forbidden, it's easy for them to still access the realm as there isn't any magical restrictions like Igneous has. Because of this, mortals can just waltz into the realm and hide out like the large Guardian camp in the Forgotten Lands, as well as other guardians too. I say hide out, but the Council does know that this camp is here and they just decide to turn a blind eye to it because it's in the Forgotten Lands and the descended avoid going there. And then we have the Forgotten Lands, which is part of Montios. However. However, the Forgotten Lands is actually the lost realm of the tenth Kindred Omnos. But no one except Sophos Crown knows that to the Monteos descended, this is an area of the realm where they don't enter. They say the land is evil and cursed. Very few descended are willing to even go in the first place, and most who do are never seen again. Dun dun dun. When the Lavender Mountains end, a dark forest set on a series of steep hills form. Its true trees are blackened and gnarled like they've been burned or poisoned. At the center is a valley so deep you can't see the bottom. Though it is within Monteos borders, this land feels angrily disconnected, like it's being rejected by the realm itself. And there you have it. That's what we know about Montios, one of my favorite realms.

[Nicole]

Let us close out this episode with skipping around the apple orchard. I even have my apple orchard shirt on today to discuss our favorite moments from this stretch of chapters.

[Lexi]

The running joke about titles continues. And as frustrating as Orly can be, it is very funny when she chastises Luther for being so familiar with Diem. Wait till she finds out that DM told all of the Courbois family and others to only call her dm.

[Nicole]

Oh God, we got another moon. Watch as they are flying into Lumnos. DM notes how the moon quote always my mischievous Nemesis. Nemesis illuminated them too much, making their arrival near impossible to go unnoticed. What does this mean? I don't know. I'm just waving my hand saying moon.

[Lexi]

Watch the way that Sarai gets to fly and be free. I just love you Sarai.

[Nicole]

I love this line quote quote. Had I held myself back all these years because I didn't want to give my heart away, or had I simply never found someone worthy of giving it to. Oh my God, I love that line.

[Lexi]

It's one of my other low key favorite lines because it summarizes a feeling of commitment and love so, so well, absolutely.

[Nicole]

I do not care how many times we say it, every single episode. I freaking love magic in this world. Dean notes how she learned from her training with the leaks that when a wielder is more familiar with an object, it is easier for them to create it out of magic. Which is why it is so simple for DM to create shadow or light weapons. But when DM is trying to create an ice flower for Remari's grave site, it is much more difficult for her to do such intricate magic. Allow me to state diem in a sentence quote. Perhaps I'd come closer to danger than I thought. We get our first Luther and Diem goat farmer's mention. At last. Favorite moments finally makes sense. We don't get fully to the Taran Junior and right now they only have one goat. But if they don't get their goat farm at the end of this book, at the end of the series, I'm gonna be so sad.

[Lexi]

Also, just the fact that Luther really likes goats is so cute and so random and he's like, I seem to have a weakness for very cute troublemakers, you all. I used to have a goat. They are mean and kept escaping all the time and then we would spend the entire day having to chase after them. And I hope they enjoy their goat farm because I don't want to have. No offense to God.

[Nicole]

Forgot about when the goats were on the ranch. Oh my God. And last but not least, Luther saying he hopes he's proven that no matter what sword he's working with, he can get the job done. And DM looks below his belt and says not yet you haven't. Iconic. One more full episode. One more I hope you're ready for the final episode of Heat of the Everflame for just being me. Taking the mic for 30 minutes, walking us through a sex scene.

[Lexi]

I know. That was literally how we helped break.

[Nicole]

Up the last two episodes.

[Lexi]

Cuz it was like we don't want to have it during this because it'll be too much.

[Nicole]

All right.

[Lexi]

All right everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this. Episode 6 of Our Heat of the Everflame Deep dive.

[Nicole]

Next Monday, September 15th is our second to last episode of Heat of the Everflame where we are covering chapters 65 through 70. It is a battle episode, baby. Aha.

[Lexi]

So exciting. In case you missed it, the next series we're covering after these eight Heat of the Ever Flame episodes is Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Yes, it will include spoilers for the whole book and episode one begins on October 6th. We will deep dive Quicksilver in the lead up to the sequel Brimstone and then cover that through the end of the year we will cover the fourth and final book of the Kindred's Curse saga, Burn of the Everflame as soon as it releases. More details on the schedule. When we have a release date, we'd love to give the biggest warm welcome, welcome, welcome to our newest Crowns Council members.

[Nicole]

Members, thank you so much for joining Katie AKA Deet and Caitlyn.

[Lexi]

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

[Nicole]

We are so appreciative of you both and thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting the show.

[Lexi]

And if you're like hey, I want my name shouted out on the podcast and be shout with all the love and attention to join our fan club@Fantasy Fangirls.com Fan Club Link is also in the show notes.

[Nicole]

Thank you as always to our top SOFO scholar. It's time to finally go to your realm, AKA our content researcher Brooke and of course our Executive producer AKA our sanity manager Hayden. We truly don't know what we would do without you both.

[Lexi]

We are very active on social media with weekly trivia and lots more. So please be sure to follow us on Instagram and slash our TikTok at fantasy fangirlspod. And if you're watching this on YouTube or want to watch on YouTube, please hit that subscribe button to keep following along.

[Nicole]

While you're pressing buttons, please do not forget to press that five star rating and reviewing button. It is one of the most helpful things that you can do, not just for this podcast, but for any and all podcasts you love. And if you're feeling extra generous, writing a little love note in that review section is really, really does wonders. And last but not least, don't forget to share this episode with your fellow Ever Flame friends. If you all need a little bit of cathartic orally talk, this is a great episode to send to the group text.

[Lexi]

Or if you're wondering about what the heck 11 must fall for one to rise means, join the episode too.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

Thank you all so much. We're gonna go ahead and get offline and literally go jump in the car to go hang out with Ben. Bye.

[Nicole]

This is a what is refrigerator? What are those poems that are like hot hot? Never mind, don't worry about it.

[Lexi]

It's James and Fuhad from Shits and Geeks Podcast and we're here to talk.

[Nicole]

About Boost Mobile offering reliable nationwide coverage.

[Lexi]

Backed by a 30 day money back guarantee. Love your service or get your money back.

[Nicole]

No questions asked. Brav. You know how it goes. Obviously I'm on one provider, you're in another provider.

[Lexi]

Sometimes times I have good signal.

[Nicole]

You have bad signal. You have bad signal. I have good signal and I get.

[Lexi]

Stressed and I think shall I change? Is it worth changing?

[Nicole]

Is it going to make it better?

[Lexi]

I don't know.

[Nicole]

I've been with my provider for a long time.

[Lexi]

Same. It's anxiety inducing and I don't want the hassle.

[Nicole]

Well guys and girls, here's the twist.

[Lexi]

Boost Mobile gives you the same nationwide.

[Nicole]

Coverage and network speeds that you're already.

[Lexi]

Used to for way less money.

[Nicole]

That's right.

[Lexi]

Boost Mobile gives you unlimited plans starting at just $25 a month. No price hikes, no contracts tracks, no multi line faf.

[Nicole]

Just solid coverage and proper value. And if you're sitting there thinking bruv.

[Lexi]

This sounds too good to be true.

[Nicole]

Don'T worry, you've got a 30 day money back guarantee.

[Lexi]

Try it risk free and if you don't love it, you get your service fees back.

[Nicole]

There are plenty of benefits when you.

[Lexi]

Switch to Boost Mobile.

[Nicole]

Together with their roaming partners, boost mobile covers 99% of the US population 5G.

[Lexi]

Speeds not available in all areas. So whether you're scrolling, stream streaming or just lost in a group chat, you're covered. Bottom line, Boost Mobile gives you the freedom to save money without sacrificing coverage.

[Nicole]

And no one's locking you into anything.

[Lexi]

Visit your nearest Boost Mobile store or.

[Nicole]

Find them [e-mail] that's boostmobile.com Reliable service, proper coverage and no stress. Imagine a world of extraordinary comfort where Bowland Branch Bedding wraps you in the softest. Embrace the coziest experience. Made from the world's finest 100% organic cotton, all so you can sleep better. Start building your fall sanctuary with Bolen Branch's iconic signature sheets, made with a.

[Lexi]

Buttery, breathable weave that gets softer with every wash. Enjoy 15% off your first set of.

[Nicole]

Sheets with free shipping and returns at.

[Lexi]

B O L L& Branch.com with code BUTTERY.

[Nicole]

See site for details and exclusions.