S5 : Ep 23 - ACOMAF: Revisited - Part 4

Summary

Flights of Fantasy Podcast
Season 5, Episode 23: "ACOMAF: Revisited - Part 4"
Release Date: July 22, 2025

Summary

In Season 5, Episode 23 of Flights of Fantasy, hosts Christina, Kim, and Anna delve deep into Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF), the second installment of the ACOTAR series. This episode, titled "ACOMAF: Revisited - Part 4," offers an extensive analysis of pivotal scenes, character developments, and intricate lore, enriched with insightful commentary and engaging banter.

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1. Recap of Previous Events

The episode opens with Kim providing a spoiler-laden recap for listeners familiar with the series:

• Feyre’s Visit to the Summer Court: Feyre has recently visited the Summer Court, leading to the distribution of blood rubies and subsequent bans, except for Mor and possibly Azriel. This sets the stage for the Inner Circle's mission to the Hewn City.

• Objective at the Hewn City: Feyre, Rhysand, and the Inner Circle aim to secure the Veritas Orb from Mor's father, Kier, to prove their integrity to the mortal queens. The quest underscores the political tensions and the delicate balance of power within Prythian.

Notable Quote:

Kim [02:15]: "Feyre had just visited the Summer Court. Blood rubies were delivered to the entire [court]. Basically now everyone's been banned except for Mor and Asriel maybe."

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2. The Mission to the Hewn City

Christina takes the lead in dissecting one of her favorite scenes—the Inner Circle's infiltration of the Hewn City, also known as the Court of Nightmares. The team discusses the meticulous planning required for the heist and the morally gray roles each member adopts.

• Entrance and Atmosphere: The hosts vividly describe the entrance scene, highlighting the atmospheric choice of the song "Unholy" by Sam Smith and Kim Pet evocatively setting the tone ([03:24] Christina). The synchronization of music with the scene enhances the dramatic entry of Azriel and Cassian, emphasizing their formidable presence.

Notable Quote:

Christina [03:29]: "Oh, 1,000% will forever and always be the soundtrack to this entrance of our Inner Circle."

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3. Highlighting Key Scenes and Character Dynamics

A. Mor’s Empowerment

The discussion transitions to Mor’s transformation and empowerment within the Court of Nightmares. Christina contrasts Mor’s current strength and confidence with her past vulnerability under the mountain, illustrating her growth.

Notable Quote:

Christina [04:50]: "I waited for the blush, the shyness to creep in, but I was beautiful. I was strong. I had survived, triumphed."

B. Feyre and Rhysand’s Relationship

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to exploring the evolving relationship between Feyre and Rhysand. The hosts dissect intimate and pivotal moments, such as their interactions under masks and the development of their mutual trust and attraction.

• Masked Dynamics: Rhysand warns Feyre about the challenges ahead, leading to Feyre’s fearless participation in their "sexy game." This dynamic showcases their deepening bond and mutual understanding.

Notable Quote:

Kim [06:17]: "Christina gets another sexy."

• Starfall Scene: The unforgettable Starfall scene is analyzed in detail. The hosts highlight its emotional depth, where Feyre experiences genuine joy and connection with Rhysand amidst chaos.

Notable Quotes:

Kim [12:10]: "It's such a beautiful moment for Feyre to acknowledge that out loud to somebody else too."

Christina [17:57]: "He was very mixed feelings. Like, I think he's so happy to be with his friends, but he also has this great sadness of the years that he missed."

C. Illyrian War Camps and Tamlin’s Betrayal

Transitioning to the Illyrian war camps, the hosts discuss the flawed leadership of the camp commanders, contrasting them sharply with Tamlin’s character. They delve into the backstory of Rhysand and Tamlin’s betrayal, exploring the tragic consequences and the resulting animosity.

Notable Quote:

Anna [21:08]: "Why did he do that, though, Tamlin? Why did he do that? He didn't just do that for no reason."

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4. Mastermind: Foreshadowing and Easter Eggs

In their favorite segment, Mastermind, the hosts uncover hidden connections and foreshadowing elements across Sarah J. Maas’s various series.

• Cross-Series References: They draw parallels between ACOTAR and Throne of Glass, such as the recurring use of the poison Bloodbane and the introduction of characters like Fabane. These connections hint at a broader, interconnected universe within Maas’s works.

Notable Quote:

Kim [44:38]: "Bloodbane is the poison that Celaena can't recognize... it's also the exact same poison that Kelt uses at the very end of that same book."

• Potential Crossovers with Crescent City: The hosts speculate on possible connections between the Bone Carver in ACOTAR and the God of Truth from Throne of Glass, exploring theories about intertwined mythologies and shared lore.

Notable Quote:

Christina [47:21]: "The bone carver is confirmed to be a death God... they both dwell in palaces of bone... gatekeepers of truth."

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5. Conclusion and Teasers for Next Episode

Wrapping up the episode, the hosts express excitement for future discussions, particularly highlighting upcoming topics like Chapter 54 and insights into the mortal queens and the human realm.

Notable Quote:

Anna [57:02]: "We'll see you next week for some very, very exciting Chapter 54."

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Key Takeaways

• Character Development: The episode emphasizes the growth and resilience of key characters like Feyre and Rhysand, underscoring their journey from vulnerability to empowered leaders.

• Interconnected Lore: Through the Mastermind segment, listeners gain insights into the complex web of interconnected stories and hidden references that enrich Maas’s universe.

• Engaging Analysis: Christina, Kim, and Anna provide thorough and passionate analyses, making the podcast a valuable resource for both new readers and longtime fans seeking deeper understanding.

Notable Inspirational Quote:

Christina [27:33]: "That is the high lady of the Night Court right there."

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For More Insights: Join the Flights of Fantasy community on Instagram and TikTok at @FlightsOfFantasyPodcast. Share your thoughts, theories, and favorite moments with fellow enthusiasts!

Transcript

[Christina]

Welcome to Flights of Fantasy, your Romantasy podcast book club. I'm Christina, joined by my book besties, Kim and Anna, and together we're diving into the characters, theories, lore and magic behind all your favorite fantasy romance books.

[Kim]

Hi, book besties. We are back discussing A Court of Mist and Fury, the second book in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. And just a reminder, we'll be breaking up each of these books into multiple episodes so that we can really take our time with the story. And with that being said, and because we have read this series multiple times, we will be discussing each book with the knowledge of the entire series. But before we give our official spoiler warning, Christina has some announcements.

[Christina]

Oh, why thank you. And I do. I do. So first, we want to give a big thank you to everyone who's already rated and reviewed the show. It really makes such a difference for us. If you're looking for a way to support the show, we would deeply appreciate it if you take a moment to rate and review us on your preferred podcast platform. And before we dive in, we want to give a quick reminder that if you love the pod and want even more from your book besties, we have got you covered on Patreon friends. We have two tiers over there. Tier one is just $5 a month and gets you every episode one day early and ad free, plus access to our monthly book chat video episodes. And as for tier two, our book batches, for $10 a month you get all that plus a shout out on an episode, the full, full video version of every episode which is unedited. And you just. If you want to see the chaos, you go see that on Patreon. Our entire back catalog of chapter chat, read along videos and exclusive access to our SJM Deep Dive series where we deep dive characters, couples and scenes from all of Sarah J. Maas series. So come join our patreon [e-mail] fights of fantasypodcast or click the link in our show notes.

[Kim]

Yay.

[Christina]

Okay, Anna, hit us with that spoiler warning.

[Kim]

Yes. All right, listeners, consider this your spoiler warning for every book in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas. Let's go. All right, so where we left off last week's episode, Feyre had just visited the Summer Court. Blood rubies were delivered to the entire. Basically now everyone's been banned except for Mor and Asriel maybe.

[Anna]

Yep, yep.

[Kim]

But the Quorum Nightmares is no longer welcome in the Summer Court.

[Anna]

Right.

[Kim]

We are going to be picking it up at the Hewn City. But listeners, just a reminder. The reason why we were at the Hewn City is because Feyre and Rhysand and the Inner Circle have visited the mortal queens in the human realm and asked them for their help in giving them their half of the Book of Breathings. But the Queen said no. Shant, we need proof that you guys actually are not evil and bad. And so that is why they are on a mission to the Hewn City to collect the Veritas Orb to show them Velaris. And now we will be going into a lot more detail about the human realms in the next episode. But for right now, we are going to pick up at the Hewn City. Christina, will you take it away to one of my favorite scenes?

[Christina]

I would love nothing more. Welcome to the Hewn City, ladies and gentlemen. Otherwise known as the Court of Sexy Nightmares. Well, just to Feyre and Rhys. All right, so back to our Inner Circle. As Anna mentioned, our crew is here on a mission to get that Veritas Orb from Mor's garbage trash, Father Kier. But it's no simple heist. To succeed, every member of our dream team has to don their masks and play their role. Their sexy, morally gray rolls. And we are here for it.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Oh, my gosh. Even three years later, this entrance is giving the song unholy.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Oh, 1,000% will forever and always be the soundtrack to this entrance of our Inner circle.

[Anna]

But if you guys have not heard that song, go look up Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Pet and then read this scene where they are entering the Court of Nightmares. It will change your life.

[Kim]

So good. It's true.

[Christina]

It's true. We also go in depth in our old Acomath episodes in this. So if you'd like a play by play of our music video in our, you can go listen to that episode as well of the entrance to that song. Okay, so that song is canon. We're making our entrances. Azriel and Cassian prowl in like living weapons, cloaked in shadows and power. There's seven siphons gleaming. All right. And also a friendly reminder here that most Illyrians need one siphon to control their power. And do you know how many siphons both Cass and Azrael have? They each have seven.

[Kim]

Seven.

[Anna]

Seven.

[Christina]

Seven siphons.

[Anna]

If you know, you know from the Friends episode. That's all I'm saying.

[Christina]

My God, it'll never get old.

[Kim]

There's actually. Kim, there's a photo of you and I in the first time we, like, really saw Each other, like, got to hang out in New York City. There's a picture of you and I going like this. It's so cute.

[Christina]

Oh, God, you cuties.

[Anna]

Oh, guys, they're so freaking powerful. It's so sexy.

[Christina]

So powerful. Okay, so Mor also steps into her Persona as the Morgan, radiating IR lethal beauty and our favorite darling guys. God, she looks hot. So she's night incarnate. She's got a diadem on giving high lady vibes already. And her look directly echoes what she wore under the mountain. But this time, it is on her terms. She is not a victim. She is the distraction. Oh, guys, I just. I love this direct comparison that she makes here to when she was in the same scenario under the mountain. Like, then she was embarrassed and broken, and now here she thinks, quote, I waited for the blush, the shyness to creep in, but I was beautiful. I was strong. I had survived, triumphed.

[Kim]

I love it.

[Christina]

Oh, I love it. Just showing where she is now.

[Kim]

Yes. Girls own that sexiness.

[Christina]

Own it. Oh, she's empowered and it's so fun to see. All right, so Rhys does warn Feyre that it's not going to be pretty and that she's not going to like it. Turns out she does. But he does say, you know, this isn't going to be real. We're putting on our masks. We get it. We get it, Rhys. But he does feel the need to really, really tell her this, that he's going to become the monster they believe he is. And he does. He surely does. But it doesn't scare Feyre. Feyre matches him step for step in this sexy game at hand. And just like I mentioned last week, mind speaking to him, quote, this mask does not scare me. I see you beneath it. She understands the game and she's excited to be a part of it. Okay. And then she. We all get really excited.

[Anna]

Christina gets another sexy.

[Christina]

God damn it, Anna.

[Kim]

I love giving these to Christina. They make me so happy.

[Christina]

It's so fun, especially with my, like, sore throat. Sexy phlegm.

[Kim]

You just have a little sexy razz.

[Christina]

Okay. Anna loves giving me. She does the sexy scenes. Okay.

[Kim]

I do.

[Christina]

My God.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

All right.

[Kim]

I love giving you sexy scenes. I love giving scenes that make Kim gag.

[Christina]

Yep. It's a fun time all around. You know, it's so much power and.

[Anna]

It'S getting power hungry.

[Christina]

Making the outlines over there.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

All right, you guys ready for some sexy time? Here we go.

[Anna]

All right, I'm ready.

[Christina]

So, guys, we're on the throne. Everyone is watching them. There's a whole it just like vibe of they are owning this entire room and Feyre thinks quote he leaned forward to brush his mouth against my cheek. It was answer enough and and unleashing. I leaned a bit more against him, my legs widening ever so slightly. Why'd you stop? I said into his mind. Into him. A near silent growl reverberated against me. He stroked my ribs again in time to the beat of the music Unholy, his thumb rising nearly high enough to graze the underside of my breasts. I let my head drop back against his shoulder. I love that imagery. I let my head drop back against his shoulder. I let go of the part of me that heard their words. Whore, whore, whore. Let go of the part that said those words alongside them. Traitor. Liar, Whore. And I just became wow. Okay.

[Kim]

Love it.

[Christina]

Something red hot and edged with glittering darkness exploded in my mind. I dragged a hand down his thigh feet, feeling the say it, feeling the hidden warrior's strength there, funny but also hot. Dragged it back up again in a long idle stroke, needing to touch him, feel him. I was going to catch fire and burn. I was going to start burning right here. Easy, he said with wicked amusement through the open sliver in my shield. If you become a living candle, poor Kir will throw a hissy fit and then you'd ruin the party for everyone.

[Kim]

I love it so much.

[Christina]

God it's so good.

[Kim]

I love the exhibitionism in this. Like it is so much. This was the first time I read this book, like a decade ago or however long ago when it first came out. This was at that point the sexiest thing I'd ever read.

[Christina]

Uh huh.

[Kim]

I read this and I went I new kink unlocked. Like this is very hot.

[Anna]

I'm into this.

[Kim]

I am so into this.

[Christina]

It is perfectly crafted this scene. It is so good. Yes, and she is so into it. There's a part where she just turns around and licks up his neck, his whole throat and he starts kissing the back of her neck and all the while here is just standing there and he's like report. And just like touching her and kissing her.

[Anna]

The idea is so why is it hot?

[Christina]

And then at some point he looks at Kier and he's like go get her some wine. And like God guys, it's so hot.

[Kim]

It's so fucking good.

[Christina]

And like everyone when they walk in, everyone's kneeling, including her. And he just comes and like picks her chin up and is like come with me and takes her to the.

[Kim]

Throne because she doesn't have to Kneel. And this is so great, because the next time they go to the Court of Nightmares in Acowar, he makes a second throne appear. And Feyre walks in and he just looks at them all and he goes, bow.

[Christina]

It's so hot. It's so hot.

[Kim]

Feyre is standing there as his equal.

[Anna]

That's right.

[Kim]

It's so good.

[Christina]

It's so good. And something about that, too. It's so hot that he's like, oh, no one for me to punish. What a pity. Like, all that is hot because we know it's a part he's playing because we know that he's our feminist, supportive, amazing king. So we get to see this bad boy, dark and twisty Reese, without ever having to be concerned about his ethics or morals. It's the best of both worlds.

[Anna]

It really is.

[Christina]

It's Miley Cyrus. It's Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana.

[Kim]

But this is why I love my mafia reads, because they all come in and they're like, so these masks where they're like these big bad guys, and then the door shuts in the bedroom and they. They look at their woman and they're just like, I love you and I hate that person. I have to be out there. Yeah, it's so good. And this is like what Rhysand does with her.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

She's like, I see you beneath the mask.

[Christina]

Oh, God, we love a sexy mask. Okay, so also, another perfect thing about this scene is it's the perfect opportunity for Rhys and Feyre to get out all this hot sexual tension that's been building between their little, like, flirting mindspeaks and the notes and all the stuff. Like, it's been building this tension, and now they get to act on it under this guise of the masks. Like, oh, we have to play this part. It's not me being vulnerable, like, saying, oh, please touch me. I want to lick your throat. It's like, oh, no, I'm just playing the part.

[Anna]

Right.

[Christina]

I'm just, like, in it and I'm a good actress. But it allows them to get to do this and play. And they're calling her his pet and all this stuff, and still he's touching her. And in his mind, he's, like, apologizing. He's like, oh, sorry. Or she, you know, has a reaction bodily, and he's like, it's okay. It's just your body's reaction. Like, God, it's just. He's so supportive at the same time while being dark and twisty. God damn it. How does she do it?

[Anna]

It's so good.

[Christina]

Oh, all right. So now, since we already touched upon Kier calling her a whore and the whole fight that happened afterwards in last week's episode, we're gonna pick up after that, after that fight and head into one of our favorite scenes of all time with Anna. Yes, yes, yes.

[Kim]

Starfall. Guys, I'm so excited. We also have an entire deep dive on this on Patreon, but. Oh, man, y', all, it's just such a beautiful moment. It's such a pivotal moment for Feyre and Rhysand. It's the first time they see each other after their fight in the hewn city. They both apologize. Rhys admits to her he wishes that he could take back their kiss under the Mountain, right after he found her with Tamlin. And he's like, I just. I didn't make it good for you. He. He says, like, I didn't make it pleasant. And it's a really sweet kind of. Again, another vulnerable moment between the two of them where they're both kind of being honest and open with each other about their feelings. And they're standing up. They're kind of separate from the rest of the group. He's kind of whisked them away to, like, another level. I feel like there's many, many balconies at the House of Mist.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. So many.

[Kim]

But the spirits begin to fall, like, in the stars. Starfall. Right. The spirits begin to fall across the sky, and one lands softly on Feyre. And. And she laughs. And it's like the first time in a really long time that she experiences true joy, that she feels this joy. Right. Because she started to feel something at the summer court. Right. But it was like this unhappiness that she realizes, I want to be happy again. I don't want to be this shell.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And this is the moment where things start to shift for her.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And she dips her finger into the star. I guess the stars leave a little glowy mess.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

I picture, like, glow sticks.

[Christina]

Yep.

[Anna]

I literally just exploded on your hand.

[Kim]

Exploded on your hand. And she takes. She dips her fingers and she paints a constellation on Rhysand's hand. And it's the first time she's painted since under the Mountain.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And that is a big, big moment for her. And Rhysand notices it, but it's almost like he's, like, afraid to acknowledge it. Like, it's like, oh, if we talk about it, then maybe she'll stop.

[Anna]

Yeah. He's, like, scared to move or breathe because he's gonna. Like, she's like a frightened deer. Like, just stand still.

[Kim]

Exactly. Just stand still. Let her come to you. Yeah, but this is also, again, it's right after the fight, after the Hewn city, and Rhysand had said the line to her about, like, I know how the stories get written that, like, I am the villain who stole the bride or, you know, whatever. And right before Rhysand and her go up to this private balcony by themselves, she's with Amren. And she looks at Amren and she says, the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He, meaning Rhysand. He was the one who let me out.

[Christina]

Oh, yeah.

[Anna]

That's so incredible.

[Kim]

It's such a big moment for Feyre to acknowledge that out loud to somebody else too. Not just like in her mind, but to say it out loud.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

And to Amren, of all people. And Amren's, you know, she's picking up on all that shit.

[Anna]

She is.

[Kim]

But also this is where, when they are on the balcony, her and Rhysand by themselves, this is where Rhysand again opens up and he talks about. It's a very, I would say, honestly, maybe one of the more vulnerable moments that he has with her. And it's a very simple statement that he tells Feyre that every single star fall under the mountain for 49 years. On that night, Amarantha would make him service her. That's the word he uses, service her over and over again. And so to be here with his friends for the first time in 49 years, there is a sense, I think there's. He's very mixed feelings. Like, I think he's so happy to be with his friends, but I also think there's this, like, great sadness of the years that he missed and the loss there. I just always go back to, like, how Rhysand under the mountain and how that shaped him and the male that he is when he leaves versus Tamlin. And how did Rhysand being under the mountain for 49 years basically being. I mean, for lack of a better word. I mean. No, it's not. There's no lack of a better word. He was raped for 49 years.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And he. How did that not break him?

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And then you look at Tamlin and I know we've talked about the mate theory and that makes sense, but, like, how.

[Anna]

I think that too. How did he not break completely? And Tamlin couldn't even survive a few weeks. To me, this goes back to the quote we always bring up from Eris, which is, we are all not as lucky as our friends, as you are, Rhysand, or he's basically saying, like, we didn't all have great friends like you. And I think Rhys having something to fight for, he had a reason to be there. And he was like, if I don't do this, it's going to be one of them. I have to do this. It gave him a purpose that he could hold on to in those moments, and I don't think Tamlin had that.

[Kim]

No, you're right. That's a great point.

[Anna]

I don't think he had anything to, like, anchor him there.

[Christina]

Agreed. And I think to piggyback off that. I think that was probably when he left, too. Like, when Tamlin got back, he didn't have that support because he hasn't allowed himself to. To build that in his own court, where when Rhys got back, the bolstering of his family and being back in Velaris and having that family unit back, I think helped innately pick up the puzzle pieces in a way that he does have this grounding home and this grounding people that I don't think Tamlin has at all. At all, like, ever.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Which is part of the reason why. I mean, listen, we don't like Tamlin right now. If he gets a redemption arc, there are definitely ways that a redemption arc can be written. But going off of that. Tamlin is also. He's broken, too, when he arrives back. We've discussed this, but Feyre and him don't know how to help each other. But somehow Rhysand and Feyre can. Yeah, but I think it's more Rhysand showing her that, look, this is how we help each other. This is how friends are there for each other. This is how what a supportive, healthy relationship should look like. Feyre doesn't have an example of that. Her sisters didn't help. Her father was absent, basically. And Tamlin doesn't have an example of that.

[Christina]

Right. That's true.

[Kim]

Is the blind leading the blind?

[Anna]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Kim]

In that relationship.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

But anyways, to wrap up, one of our favorite moments on Starfall is he shares this vulnerable moment with her. And then Feyre paints and they look at each other. And Feyre asks Rhysand to dance. And she's like, you know, not just alone up here, the two of us, like, let's go down there with our friends and what? Rhys, it's so sweet. Rhysand says, of course I'll dance with you. Rhys said, his voice still raw all night, if you wish. He leaned in, brushing his mouth against my heated cheek. I closed my eyes at the whisper of a kiss. At the hunger that ravaged me in its wake, that might ravage Prythian and all around us. As if the world itself were indeed falling apart. Stars rained down. Fits of stardust glowed on his lips as he pulled away. As I stared up at him, breathless while he smiled the smile the world would likely never see. The smile he'd given up for the of sake. Sake of his people, his lands. He said softly, I am very glad I met you, Feyre.

[Anna]

Oh, my.

[Christina]

Oh, my God.

[Anna]

The smile he'd given up for the sake of his people, his land.

[Christina]

God, it's so good.

[Kim]

Such a beautiful moment.

[Anna]

Oh, that's beautiful.

[Kim]

I am very glad I met you.

[Christina]

Oh.

[Kim]

He has these tender delivery, these lines that he delivers. So, I mean, I say he delivers these lines so tenderly, like, I've actually seen him do it.

[Anna]

He is real. It's fine.

[Kim]

Like, he is real. It's fine. But it's like when he says, be grateful of your human heart, Feyre. You know, he has these moments where he looks at her and he sees her and he just. And it's bigger than just being like, you're beautiful. You're smart, you're sexy. I love you. This is. I'm so glad I met you.

[Anna]

It's such a connection between the two of them that goes so far past, like, physical attraction, anything. It's just. It's truly so beautiful, these moments between them. And I just forget how freaking good they are. Like, when I'm rereading this. Oh, my God.

[Christina]

And like, thinking about the first time you read Starfall, you're like, oh, my God, this is the most magical thing I've ever read. Yes, maybe they are kind of souls and people, but we're just not gonna think about that. But they're, like, raining down and falling on them these glittery things. And, like, it's so gorgeous and amazing. And also when you're reading this the first time, they've just been in a fight. Like, they haven't been talking for days. And she's, like, saying silly things. He's not answering. He's not answering. He's not answering. And then finally, she's like, is this what you do in your court? You just punish people? Yeah.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

We are now in this kind of stakes with them, where then as the reader, when you see him at Starfall and he, like, kind of smiles at her, you're like, oh, God, there he is. Okay.

[Kim]

Oh, thank God, Dad. He's not mad anymore.

[Christina]

And then he's just like, Got this level of sadness, but sweetness in this scene. It's so good. It's a classic for a reason. Like, it's so important. Yeah.

[Kim]

So we have Starfall. We are going to the Elyrian war camps.

[Anna]

Mm.

[Kim]

So, Kim, please take it away, because we have been chatting about these sexy Illyrians, but we have yet to visit the war camp.

[Anna]

Yes. So we are going to the Illyrian war camps. And, guys, these people suck. The commanders of these war camps suck ass. Okay. They're terrible.

[Kim]

They're awful.

[Anna]

They make Tamlin look just incredible.

[Christina]

Oh, yeah.

[Kim]

Delight.

[Anna]

A delight. They literally used to clip females wings. Illyrian females wings used to be clipped so that they could not fight, could not train, could not fly, which we see in a. With Emory.

[Kim]

Sweet Emory.

[Anna]

And they show up, and the females are supposed to be able to train. At Rhys's command, he has forced these males to be like, no, the females need to train, too. But the commanders are making them do all these house chores first. That they're exhausted and overworked by the time they get to train. If they even have the time.

[Kim]

Right.

[Anna]

But the important thing here is that Feyre learns the truth about what happened between Rhysand and Tamlin. They were actually friends. And Rhysand saw that Tamlin didn't want to be like his father or his awful brothers, but Tamlin betrayed him. So Rhysand's sister and mother were going to visit Rhysand, and Rhysand was actually away on a training. He wasn't actually there when they arrived. And Tamlin's father and brothers and him all showed up and saw that Rhysand wasn't there and killed his sister and his mother.

[Kim]

Anyways, I, like, can't remind me.

[Christina]

What did Tamlin do? Tamlin told his dad. Like, what did Tamlin do to betray them? He told them where they were.

[Anna]

Well, so, like, Rhysand was training.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

And Rhysand's sister and mom travel to go see Rhys.

[Christina]

And Tamlin knew.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Rhysand had told Tamlin. Got it. Like, oh, my. Because they were friends.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yeah, yeah. No. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Kim]

Yeah, yeah. And he was like, hey, yeah, my sister and mother are coming to visit me, so.

[Anna]

But I think actually that Tamlin's dad and brothers wanted to kill Rhysand.

[Kim]

Yes, they did.

[Anna]

Because the way Rhysand tells the story is, like, I wasn't there for them to kill, but they killed my sister and my mom anyways. Even though it was me that they wanted.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

Just because I wasn't there. They were like, well, we're already here, so we're going to go ahead and kill his family.

[Kim]

This is what he was supposed to to. In the quote that I read last week, he talks about how he'll never forgive himself. It's because he was supposed to be there to meet them halfway.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And then he decided to keep spot training.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And so I read. An interesting fan theory. Well, there is a big fan theory that maybe Tamlin and his sister were mates. But, yes, a big piece of that is that people talk about Tamlin maybe thinking, sure, I can tell my dad, like, they're beating me or doing something terrible. I can tell them that that's where Reese is going to be. Because they only want Rhys. They're not going to do anything to his mom and his sister. You know what I mean? It was his fault, but him, sure. Maybe not thinking they were going to kill the mom and the sister. He may as maybe also shocked by that.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And thought, like, oh, this will be perfect. I'll be like, Reese is there. And then we'll get there like, oh, no, I thought he was supposed to be here.

[Anna]

Yeah, yeah, right. That's very true. And we don't know what Tamlin, you know, knew, like, that's not clear. But he did. He did betray him.

[Kim]

Oh, yeah.

[Anna]

In that sense, that he did tell his family.

[Christina]

Oh, 100%.

[Anna]

So because of that, because Tamlin's family killed Rhys's sister and mom, Rhysand and his father retaliated. They went to the Spring Court, and they were only supposed to kill Tamlin's father, not Tamlin's mother. And Rhysand's father promised not to kill Tamlin's mother.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

But he lied and he did it anyways. And Rhysand was not present for that. Like, his father, like, went and did it. Tamlin comes out of the room, wherever he is, figures out what's going on, sees the blood, smells the blood, and instantly kills Rhysand's father.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

So now, in that moment, both family members on either side are all killed. And Tamlin and Rhysand are left as the high lords. And they have this moment where they look at each other as the High Lord's power, like, fills them, and they're staring at each other and Rhysand just, like, runs away.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

God, I would love to see that visually, on screen or even, like, I don't know, from Tam, some, like, really, really see that moment lived. That would just be fucking wild. Keep going.

[Anna]

Yeah, but it's interesting because Feyre notes like, well, that's funny, because Tamlin was more than happy to tell me that Rhysand killed his whole family.

[Christina]

Exactly.

[Anna]

But when I asked how Rhysand's family died, Tamlin says something like, oh, just a warring court or something like that. Like, he says a very vague thing that's like, blatantly lies to Feyre about.

[Christina]

How Rhysand, because he's a coward and didn't want to admit that he. His own wrongdoing because he's the fucking worst, right?

[Anna]

But he was happy to be like, well, Rhysand killed my family. And it's like, well, why did he do that, though, Tamlin? Why did he do that? He didn't just do that for no reason.

[Kim]

No.

[Anna]

He was a retaliation against you. Rhysand was never going to go kill your family. He thought y' all were friends.

[Christina]

Exactly.

[Kim]

Yeah, exactly. He gave you Illyrian bandoliers swords.

[Anna]

Yeah. And what did you do? You killed a sister and his mother. So, yeah, fuck you. Yeah, absolutely.

[Christina]

Exactly.

[Anna]

Anyways, it's fine. I'm not upset about it at all. So Rhysand is helping to train Feyre's magic. And they go to the woods by the river so that she can practice. And who the fuck shows up but Lucien.

[Kim]

I do love this scene.

[Anna]

I love it, but I don't love it. For Lucien. It doesn't make him look good. I'll just be honest with you. And for everyone that's like, Lucian's my favorite character in the series. I'm like, let's reread this.

[Christina]

Let's reread this.

[Anna]

Let's revisit the scene.

[Kim]

It's a giving a little cult follower.

[Christina]

Yep.

[Anna]

It's giving cult. So Lucian shows up and he is begging Feyre to come back. He's like, tamlin's not himself. We need you back at the Spring Court. And he's like, well, Tamlin, sorry. Okay.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Anna]

Well, too bad. It's too little too late.

[Kim]

Just a little too late.

[Anna]

Exactly. As our Queen Jojo says. He's like, well, you know what? He's sorry, Feyre. Okay? He's sorry. It's like, well, he better be.

[Christina]

Yeah, yeah.

[Anna]

Oh, it's also.

[Christina]

How dare you? You witnessed what happened to me and you're coming here. Like, just come on. Like him. Just come on.

[Kim]

He's like, things are really bad. It's like, yeah, no shit. They were really bad before I left.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Why would I want to go back there? Right? You're not selling it.

[Kim]

You're not buying what you're selling?

[Anna]

No. Not picking up what you're putting down. So he's like, feyre come. And she says, that stopped being my home the day you let him lock me up inside of it.

[Christina]

Oh, yes, yes, Feyre.

[Anna]

And then Rhysand says, little Lucien, didn't the lady of the Autumn Court ever tell you that when a woman says no, she means it? Okay, that's very interesting. That's interesting.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

What does that mean?

[Christina]

Oh, I think he's just saying, like, no means no.

[Kim]

No means no. Like she said, I'm not going with you.

[Anna]

But he's saying like, the lady of the Autumn Court. Like, just saying like, does your mom.

[Kim]

Ever talk about she not teaching manners?

[Anna]

Yeah, it's interesting that he calls her like, instead of saying your mother, he says the lady of the Autumn.

[Christina]

Oh, yeah.

[Kim]

To me it sounds just a little bit more like pointed, like the lady of the Autumn Court. Like that point home.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

You are a high lord, son. And look at the way you're behaving.

[Anna]

Yeah, okay. Interesting, interesting. So Feyre says, this is so sad. And I fully agree with this. She says, you gave up on me. You were my friend and you picked him. Picked obeying him. Even when you saw what his orders and his rules did to me. Even when you saw me wasting away day by day.

[Kim]

That's. Yes.

[Christina]

So the reason that he says lady of the Autumn Court is because I think we don't know her name. I don't think she's ever named.

[Anna]

Oh, it's so interesting how Sarah does that where she purposely doesn't name. She doesn't name certain characters ever.

[Kim]

Yeah, like, and Lucien's last name is Vancera, which you actually never learn until Acowor.

[Anna]

Oh, really?

[Kim]

You never? Nope. It's actually like Cassian or Asriel says it. And Feyre looks at them, she goes, who? And they're like, that's his last name, Van Saren. And Lucian says, I don't go by that name. Lucian is fine.

[Anna]

Okay, okay. So Feyre says that to Lucien, and then he thinks an appropriate response to that is to just try to grab her arm and just take her by force.

[Kim]

No means no.

[Anna]

Okay. But she winnows away straight into Rhysand's arms. And she grows Illyrian wings, which is that shape shifting magic from Talon, which is. I love it because it's an extra fuck you to Tamlin.

[Kim]

Like, look what I took from you, asshole bitch.

[Anna]

Here you go.

[Christina]

I love it so much.

[Anna]

Oh my God. Seeing her like this. And Lucian is horrified because he's truly seeing her. And he's like, she's got the fighting leathers on. She's got the wings, all of it. And he's like, what is wrong with you? Like, what have you done, Feyre? Oh, my God.

[Christina]

Where's your corset?

[Anna]

Put those pearls back on and get the vacuum.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

And we really see Feyre don that same mask that Rhysand does, because she knows that they are supposed to protect the peace and the beauty of valorisation.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

And this iconic quote, she says, when you spend so long trapped in darkness, Lucien, you find that the darkness begins to stare back.

[Christina]

Yes, Queen.

[Kim]

Put it on a T shirt.

[Anna]

Yes.

[Kim]

On a mug. I want on everything. I love it so much. It's such a good line.

[Christina]

That is the high lady of the Night Court right there.

[Anna]

That's right, that's right. And so Rhys picks her up and they're flying away, and he says, you look good with wings. And he kisses her on the forehead.

[Christina]

God, it's so good.

[Kim]

So good. Also, like, when she first winnows and she, like, remembers the mask that she's supposed to wear and says that line, she feels a rippling bond of, like, appreciation, like, come down, you know, the bond or whatever. And it's so good. Rhysanda is like, I'm so proud of you, my little.

[Anna]

God, I love it.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

My little mate. Oh, God. All right, you know what else we love, friends? We love a one bit at the end. We love to see it, folks. We sure do.

[Kim]

The best trope it is.

[Christina]

It's time for everyone's favorite trope. One bit at the end. And they're also gonna play everyone's favorite game. Thought for a Thought with Rhys and favorite. So we got lots of favorites in this scene. Okay, so Rhys's first thought he shares is, quote, I'm thinking that I look at you and feel like I'm dying. Like I can't breathe. I'm thinking that I want you so badly I can't concentrate half the time I'm around you. And this room is too small for me to properly bed you. Especially with the wings. Oh, yeah, it is. Which, let us not Forget, in chapter 42, Rhys tells Feyre, quote, I've never allowed anyone to see or touch my wings during sex. It makes you vulnerable in a way that I'm not comfortable with. Unless it's with your mate, I guess. But, like, I just love how he's already planning on having his wings out. Like, no question, no hesitation. He's just like, well, because the wings will be out.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Let's just be clear.

[Kim]

There will be stroking of the wings.

[Anna]

Yes. And there's not room in this room. So we cannot.

[Christina]

And what? I've always wondered if they're that sensitive. Like, how are they not. They fly. Cassians are always out just in everyday scenarios. Like, I thought that. How are they not just, like, always sexed up? Yeah.

[Kim]

Like, why are they just, like, flying and then like, a little bird wing.

[Anna]

Or like a strong. Like a bug flies in a breeze.

[Kim]

Did they just go, oh.

[Christina]

Oh, God, yeah.

[Kim]

Oh, my God.

[Christina]

Truly. Like, think about that. Sometimes they're flying for miles and miles.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

I mean, Cassian and Asriel's are always out. Like, sitting in a chair. Yeah. Literally. It's as if she literally barely touches it. And he's like, oh. Oh, God.

[Anna]

He's like, I'm there. I'm almost there.

[Christina]

Right? It's wild.

[Kim]

He says it's like the equivalent. She's like, what does it feel like? And he's like, when I do this. And he, like, nuzzles her neck by her ear, and she's like, oh, okay, okay, that's fine.

[Anna]

But that's still tilt.

[Christina]

That's still a lot.

[Kim]

No, no, because he does reach climax in chapter 55. He does when she likes. But I think that's an aggressive stroke.

[Christina]

Oh, she's scratching.

[Anna]

Like, you're right. Because what if someone has to get past someone and they're like, oh, sorry. And they just brush up against a certain part of the wings and it's like, I'm hard.

[Christina]

Like, oh, well, I wonder if it's.

[Kim]

Like, on the inside and, you know, when they fold in.

[Anna]

Maybe you're right.

[Christina]

Maybe it's so. It's like, close to their body.

[Kim]

Like an accordion.

[Anna]

Yes, exactly. I love that visual.

[Kim]

Anna, in case you needed it.

[Anna]

It's a hiding.

[Christina]

Oh. Oh, now they're in. Oh, now they're out. Oh, here we go.

[Kim]

Oh, now they're out. Oh, sex time. Oh. Nope.

[Christina]

Not now. Nope. Okay.

[Kim]

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

[Christina]

All right. So Feyre's thought she shares is, quote, I'm thinking that I can't stop thinking about you and that it's been that way for a long while. Even before I left the spring court, which is. We've been waiting for her to acknowledge this. He's been waiting for her to acknowledge this. And, like, she's acknowledging it to herself. She's letting herself feel it and not feel ashamed and not feel like a traitor or a whore for feeling this toward him. And the sexual tension, you can cut it with a knife. Oh, my God. They're in the one bed. It's conveniently, like, freezing, so they have to cuddle. And his wings are over them for warmth. Sexy blanket. And it's so good. And guys, favor darling. She's feeling feisty tonight. The wings are out. They're available for sexy time. And so she's running her finger along the sensitive edges of the wings, and he looks at her and he says, you cruel, wicked thing, as he nips at her neck. Oh, we love to see it.

[Kim]

I love a little nip.

[Anna]

God, nippy nip.

[Kim]

Sorry.

[Christina]

Okay.

[Kim]

We're so silly.

[Anna]

We're in silly, goofy mood today.

[Christina]

We sure are. So then we're doing the wing touching, and Feyre's all feisty.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And then Rhys, you know, he gives us his best Noah from the Notebook impression again. Yep. And he says, feyre, what do you want? What do you want? What is it you want? And this time, instead of saying nothing, she replies, a distraction. Okay, so do you guys think in the realm of this, if she had said back anything romantic, like if she had said you or like.

[Anna]

Yeah, right, whatever.

[Christina]

Would he have just gone ahead and told her here, or would have you, like, told her something?

[Kim]

Yeah, I think he would have.

[Anna]

I think he would have given that.

[Kim]

The morning after, he is like, I need to tell you one more story.

[Christina]

Yes, right.

[Kim]

I think he was just waiting for that opening.

[Christina]

Agreed.

[Anna]

I really do think he would have said something to her.

[Kim]

Yes, I do.

[Christina]

So regardless, it's not the answer he was hoping for, but nonetheless, you know, no better than nothing. And so he is happy to, quote, distract her right up. Hold my beer. I'm good at this. Let's go.

[Kim]

He got his.

[Christina]

And it's hot. And he, like, makes her beg. Oh. Makes her say please. And then she does. She says, please. And he says, there are those missing manners. Oh, God, it's good.

[Anna]

God damn it.

[Christina]

Oh, Anna. My God. This next line.

[Kim]

Jesus Christ.

[Christina]

This is egregious. Okay, okay, okay.

[Kim]

I love giving them to you.

[Anna]

This is egregious. Do you want me to read it? I can read it.

[Christina]

Oh, I would love to hear Kim read it. Go, Kim.

[Anna]

Okay, go.

[Kim]

Oh, yay.

[Christina]

Kim never has to do this.

[Kim]

I'll take one next time, I promise. Okay.

[Christina]

It's my voice.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Oh, yes, rest.

[Anna]

Your little Christina's voice is going. Okay, so. So she has her turn and she's like, okay, great, it's your turn. He's like, absolutely not. No. And she's like, what is going on? And he's like, no, no, no, no. Because if we know something about The High Lord. We know that he's very powerful. And so he says, when you lick me, he said roughly, I want to be alone, far away from everyone. Because when you lick me, Feyre, he said, pressing nipping kisses to my jaw, my neck, I'm going to let myself roar loud enough to bring down a mountain. I was instantly liquid again, and he laughed under his breath. And when I lick you, he said, sliding his arms around me and tucking me in tight to him, I want you slayed out on a table like my own personal feast.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

And that's some foreshadowing, because that does end up happening.

[Kim]

He absolutely does lay her out like a feast.

[Anna]

He does. And he does bring down a mountain.

[Kim]

So he does make mountains.

[Anna]

He makes mountains tremble.

[Christina]

He sure does. Wow. Oh, thank you, Kim. What a beautiful reading.

[Kim]

Oh, my God.

[Christina]

He wasn't lying.

[Kim]

He was really trying to protect everybody, honestly. He was like, listen, these little mountain folk, they don't know what's coming.

[Christina]

No. No.

[Kim]

And it's me. It's going to be me.

[Christina]

It's going to be Babe. Oh, God.

[Kim]

We are on one tonight. Today. Tonight. What time is it?

[Anna]

It's noon.

[Kim]

It's noon for drinking energy drinks. These aren't white claws.

[Anna]

Yeah, believe it or not.

[Kim]

Okay, guys, so we have the morning after. Oh, man. It's not quite a walk of shame, because I don't think anyone regrets the events from last night. But it is the next day, and Rhysand is carrying Feyre while they are flying. And, guys, this is where he starts to say, there is one story left that I want to share with you. But that is all he's able to get out because, oh, dear. He is shot down from the sky.

[Christina]

Oh, dear.

[Kim]

By Ashwood arrows.

[Christina]

Really not good.

[Kim]

Hybern's forces have been tracking his magic, and they were able to find him because he had used just a teeny, tiny bit of that magic when Lucian had showed up earlier. Because, of course, Rhysand, our high lord and savior, can't just hear in his Illyrian fighting leathers. He has to be in his full velvet jacket and clothes, and he has.

[Christina]

He has to pick the lint, you.

[Kim]

Know, he has to pick the invisible lint.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

So he had used a little bit of that magic the day before when Lucien had showed up. And, of course, Hybern tracked that little.

[Christina]

Moment, which is super inconvenient, you know, because, like, really, the reason they're flying and not winnowing in the first place. Right, Is to not use magic. So they're not tracked.

[Kim]

Yes, exactly.

[Christina]

So, like, that was a wasted effort. You should have just winnowed.

[Kim]

You know what? That wasn't a smart tactical move. Rhysand no like, no. Oh, I guess he didn't want to see the wings. But is it magic required to hide the wings?

[Christina]

That's what I thought.

[Kim]

Yeah. And like, a lot of people outside the Night court don't know that he has wings.

[Christina]

Right. He never shows them.

[Kim]

So maybe that's why he also had to use the magic. Okay, that makes sense.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

All right, so anyways, we're gonna kind of go through this little part where Rhysand gets shot down with the Ashwood arrows. But basically, Feyre uses her amazing little tracking skills that she has, you know, from her human ears.

[Christina]

The huntress.

[Kim]

The huntress, yeah. And she finds Rhysand in a cave being held hostage. He's trapped with magical cuffs that are impeding his ability to use magic and heal from the arrow wounds. Also important to note that these magical cuffs are similar to what Ianthe uses on Lucien in the beginning of Acolor.

[Christina]

Oh, no.

[Kim]

Right. When Feyre is trying to escape the Spring Court, she finds Ianthe pinning Lucian against a rock, a boulder. His hands are cuffed with these glowing magical wrist cuffs, and he can't escape. And it's disgusting what Anthea is planning for him.

[Christina]

She probably got the wrist cuffs from Hybern because they're besties.

[Kim]

She absolutely did, because she is in league with them. Yes. Okay, so not only was he shot down with Ashwood arrows, but there was also Bloodbane poison on them. Okay, guys, so not only is he handcuffed with magical wrist cuffs that are impeding his magic, but so is the blood being poison that is running through his system. Feyre kills everybody in the cave. All the bad people she like. Winnow strikes. Winnow strikes. It's like a little movie sequence. It's great. But she takes them to a cave, another cave. She winnows she doesn't have a ton of magic left, so she can only take them a little bit a ways away. But she safely gets her and Rhysand to a cave, and she realizes, okay, shit, I don't know how to cure this blood vein. You know, I don't know what the antidote is, but I do know who might know.

[Christina]

The Suriel, my gossipy friend.

[Kim]

My gossipy friend, the Suriel. So she treks through the woods and she's like, rhysand, you stay put. Just stay right here. Don't move. And he's like, I won't Because I can't.

[Christina]

Literally can't.

[Kim]

I am dying.

[Christina]

It's very Katniss and Peeta in the cave.

[Kim]

It is very Katniss and Peeta. So she goes into the woods and she sets a snare and she captures a Suriel. And guys, this is the moment where the cereal spills all of the tea. God, I just remember reading this for the first time. I was literally Feyre. So she asks for an antidote and the cereal gives it to her. And what the cereal says is, if you wish to speed your mate's healing, in addition to your blood, a pink flowered weed sprouts by the river. Feyre goes, cool, thanks. Starts to turn away and then she goes, I'm sorry, double take. What did you say?

[Christina]

What?

[Kim]

My what now? And the cereal looks at her, like, tilts its head and it goes, the High Lord of the Night Court is your mate. X.O.X.O. gustard girl.

[Christina]

Gusto girl.

[Kim]

Feyre's like, the cereal starts to try to explain things. And Feyre's like, that, he can tell me. I'll let him tell that story. But it's just hilarious to me to, like, picture the Suriel in this moment being like, oh, I'm so sorry. Was my stay with the High Lord not clear enough?

[Christina]

Did you not hear me? Did you forget? Oh, sweetie, I told you we talked about this.

[Kim]

Yeah. Oh, you thought it was Tamlin. Oh, dear.

[Christina]

Oh, okay.

[Kim]

Well, you are an illiterate 19 year old, so I don't know what I was expecting. You know, context clues are not your strong suit. But anyways, Feyre is pissed. And if you remember from the Attor attack in the Human Realm, where Rhysand kind of uses Feyre as bait, she had made Rhysand promise her that they wouldn't keep secrets from each other. She wants full transparency. She was like, I dealt with this in the Supreme Court. We're not doing it here. You need to tell me what's going on. So she's pissed at him for that reason that he didn't share this with her.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

So she returns, she gives him the antidote. It's kind of funny to think of her, like, shoving her wrist in his mouth, being like, drink.

[Christina]

And he's like, I. Okay.

[Kim]

Like, why are you so mad? Like, why are you being so aggressive with me? I'm dying. And she's like, I'm saving you, but I'm pissed at you.

[Christina]

Yeah. Because also in his head, he must be like, oh, fuck, you know, because you're giving me your blood like a Mate, Vampire. Yeah, but I didn't tell you, so, like, who told you? Also, I'm dying. There's a lot going on.

[Kim]

Also, I'm dying. Yeah. He's like, one thing at a time, please. But there is a really good conversation between them because. Yes. Could Rhysand have told her sooner? Sure. But this is his rationality. What he tells her is, you were in love with him, you were going to marry him, and then you were enduring everything and it didn't feel right to tell you. And she says, I deserve to know. And his response is, the other night, you told me you wanted a distraction. You wanted fun, not a mating bond. And not, to someone like me, a mess.

[Christina]

Oh. Which is so rough. And it just really shows whenever she lashed out at him earlier at that fight last week that we talked about after Hewn City, and she said that to him, knowing it would cut. It did. And he is festered and let it sit there. He thinks about it like, that I'm a mess. That she thinks I'm a mess.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And why would anyone want that? And then the distraction. Exactly. Like we just talked about. I think that was his opening to see if he should tell her.

[Kim]

Yes, that was exactly his opening there. And instead she said, I wanted a distraction.

[Christina]

Right.

[Kim]

It's like, what do you want? What do you expect him to do? You know?

[Christina]

Right. Like, in that scenario, he didn't know this was the one time to talk to her. He was like, all right, I'll talk to her tomorrow. I'll give her what she needs, what she wants. This is huge. She's even asking me.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

For this sexy time at all. This is the first time we've done anything like this. Let's let it be about, like, her pleasure.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So I don't blame him.

[Kim]

It's only been a few months.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

That they've been in the night court.

[Christina]

Yeah, exactly.

[Kim]

So it hasn't been that much time.

[Christina]

I don't blame him. I understand her being pissed.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

But, like, I think his reasons are valid.

[Kim]

So Farah is like, I don't care. I don't want to hear it. Like, I'm pissed at you. And so she insists they go back to the Illyrian war camp. Rhysand is strong enough, so he winnows them in they land, y'. All. Cassian and more come running out. Feyre and Rhysand do not look well. And Rhysand especially is, like, on death's door, lying in the ground, crawling, yelling Feyre's name. Cassian looks at Feyre and he's like, kate, you look like you're in one piece. My High Lord does not look good. I'm going to go check on Rhysand.

[Christina]

This imagery, he's also crawling and slipping in mud. There's a part where he's like, Feyre, slipping in mud.

[Kim]

Feyre.

[Christina]

This High Lord, Rhys is crawling to her, slipping in mud. Just be like, feyre, Feyre. And she's like, nope, nope. Not even looking back.

[Kim]

She goes right up to Mor and she's like, I need to be someplace else. And Mor kind of looks over her shoulder at Rhysand and she's like, okay. I. Yeah, all right. Okay. He looks like he'll live.

[Christina]

Cassian's got it.

[Kim]

Cassian's got it. So, sure, why not? So she, like, winnows them away. So Mor takes her away to, like, the winter cottage. All right. And this is really important. I'm going to pause here because this is the opposite of what Lucien would have done, right? So far, from what we have seen from Lucian, right? Feyre is upset and she needs space. And Mor is like, I will grant you this, even though Rhysand is calling your name and he needs you and wants you. I trust Rhysand enough, and I know him well enough to know that, like, it's okay for me to take you away and, like, give you space. Clearly something happened. I don't know the details. I don't need to know. But she takes her somewhere where she can feel safe and secure and, like, process her whatever it is that she's going through. But they arrive, and Mor's like, so, like, is he all right? And this is such a parallel. Till after the Weaver. And Feyre's only response is, he'll live. And she, like, stomps away in the snow. It's so savage. And it's like, such a parallel to the Weaver moment. I love it.

[Christina]

It's amazing. I love it. He'll live. But did you die? But did you die? No.

[Kim]

But did you die? He actually didn't because I saved him with my magic blood.

[Christina]

My mate's vampire blood. Oh, my goodness. Well, what a place to leave it.

[Kim]

I know. So this is where we leave off. Mor takes her to the House of Mists. It's the Rhysands family cabin, and it's worded to only allow family members in, including, though, his mate, Feyre. And this is where we're going to leave off this part of the episode we will pick up here next week with chapter 54. Guys. So excited. We'll also be talking about the human realm and the mortal queens. Guys, there is so much more to discuss. We are only, like, two parts into this book. We still have an entire and the ending to get to eventually. But we've got a lot to discuss. So anyways, Kim, will you lead us to our favorite section?

[Anna]

Okay, book besties, welcome to our favorite little corner of the episode, Mastermind, where we peel back the curtain on all the brilliant foreshadowing plot threads and Easter eggs Sarah J. Maas has been planting across all three of her series since page one. A quick spoiler warning from here on out, in addition to Acotar, we will be referencing the entire Throne of Glass and Crescent City series. So if you haven't finished those yet, cheers and happy reading. We'll see you next time. And if you're all caught up, let's dive in.

[Christina]

Let's do it. Anna, kick us off.

[Kim]

Yes. Okay, so we have just experienced Bloodbain. Right, guys? That was the poison that was on the Ashwood arrows that shot down Rhysand. And this is interesting. So this is a little tie in back to Tog. Bloodbane is the poison that Celaena can't recognize. In one of the trials, there's a whole poison challenge. They're supposed to be able to identify different poisons, and she doesn't identify this one. It's also the exact same poison that Kelt uses at the very end of that same book, the first Throne of Glass book. And she poisons Celaena with Bloodbane before Celaena goes into the final, like, challenge, duel against Cain. So I just thought that was interesting. And then, of course, in Acowar, we also get introduced to Fabane, so I don't know if, like, the Blood Bane, it's been interesting because I actually thought that I, like, misread that when I was reading Acolor, but there's a new poison that we will be introduced to in Acolor.

[Anna]

Interesting.

[Christina]

Okay.

[Kim]

Yeah. Okay, guys, I want to talk about when they go to visit the prison and we see the bone carver for the first time, we get this line so much. Yeah. This is so exciting. And when we were reading Crescent City after Hosep, this was, like, one of the things that we were the most excited about. And we were so happy when we got hofast and we were proven correct that our theory was, yes, the Dust Court is the prison. They are one in the same. Yep. So this is the first little, like, kind of hint that SJM plants that there is going to be some sort of possible crossover. She's planning the seed. Of course, Crescent City hasn't been written yet. But what Rhysand says is the prison is law unto itself. The island may even be an atheist court. So that's the first little indication that we get.

[Christina]

Rhys Sands dropping surreal bombs casually. My God, I know.

[Kim]

It's such a little surreal moment. So then it's in hosab, right? When Bryce is going into the asterisk palace and looking for Dusk's truth. She has this convo with Regulus later, and he says, danika realized that the shifters are Fae. That was like, the first thing that Danika realized. And Bryce goes, I'm sorry, come again? And what Regala says is not your kind of Fae, of course. Your breed dwelled in a lovely verdant land rich with magic. If it's of any interest of you, your starborn bloodline specifically hailed from a small isle a few miles from the mainland. And while the mainland had all manner of climbs, the isle existed in beautiful, near permanent twilight, AKA dusk.

[Anna]

Dusk.

[Christina]

I love dusk.

[Kim]

There we go. I love it.

[Christina]

Me too.

[Kim]

And if we needed any more confirmation, there's also this line which is. Which is very clearly referencing the Illyrians. But what Regilla says in that same conversation is our people who built fearsome warriors in that world, meaning Prythian to be their army. All of them prototypes for the angels in this one. And all of them meaning the Illyrians were traitors to their creators, joining the fae to overthrow my brothers and sisters a thousand years before we arrived on Midgard. And that's when the Illyrians joined part of the Night Court. And they overthrew. Well, they all overthrew. All the different courts.

[Christina]

Love the history.

[Kim]

I love this tie into the eighth court and the dust and like that. Sarah was already planting seeds so early on.

[Anna]

Oh, yeah.

[Christina]

Laying that groundwork.

[Kim]

Yes. And then we get the official confirmation in hofast when Bryce is on one of her many spelunking trips. Because one was obviously not enough.

[Anna]

No, it wasn't.

[Christina]

We splunked a lot. I think it was just one. It was just 65 chapters.

[Kim]

Doesn't she go back? But then in the. They go into the cave and they go to Lazzamore at the end of the book.

[Christina]

Oh, that's in hell.

[Kim]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But they go in the.

[Christina]

Yeah. Oh, you're right. That does count as a splunk.

[Anna]

Splunk.

[Kim]

I hate that word. Why is that the word cave divers. That's mouthy, I guess. Wordy.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Okay, but what Celine says when we get the official confirmation in hofas, it's that my father became High King and my mother his queen. Yet this island on which you stand, this place, the prison, my mother claimed it for herself. The very island where she had once served as a slave became her domain, her sanctuary. The Daglan female who'd ruled it before her had chosen it for its natural defensive location. The mist. And the prison is shrouded in mist. The mist had kept it veiled from others. So, too did my mother. But more than that, she told me many times that she and her heirs were the only ones worthy of tending this island. And then that's when Nestor turns his Azriel. And she says the prison was once a royal territory. And it's like, yep, it was the eighth Court.

[Christina]

Yeah, sure was. And perfect place. I'm gonna piggyback off that a little bit because I found it really, really fascinating when we talked about the prison last week with the bone carver, about just looking into reminding myself what the prison really was. And the reminder here that what that actual prison is, is so Selene made it. So after fleeing with the Trove and shutting the gate on her people, trapping them like a coward, because she is awful, she needed to hide the Dread Trove. So she hid it where they lived, like, where her mother ruled, where they were. But there was still a, quote, terrible ancient power that hung in the air there at that place. So to conceal it so people wouldn't then feel that and think that it was the Dread Trove, she, quote, hunted monsters, the remaining pets of the Daglan, until many of the lowest rooms were of full, filled with them. Until my once beautiful home became a prison.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

Yeah. So, like, really, it was just very interesting, like, she actually made it into a prison by putting monsters there because thinking the monsters would conceal the, like, dark, ancient magic of the Trove. And it just, like from there, from generations, became this prison. And a lot of the creatures in the prison, where they're like, we don't even know how they got there from when. It's been millennia. Like, she hunted them down and just put them in there.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Which is wild. Okay, now, another thing to note on here, why Rhys's blood is key to the mates. Let me tell you, friends, it's because, surprise, in case you forgot, Celine's mate ends up being the High Lord of the Night Court.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

So it's running in the family. Yep. This is a quote from Celine. Quote, when my first son was born, when the babe screamed and the sound was full of night, I brought him to the prison and keyed the Word wards in his blood. No one knew that the infant who sometimes glowed with starlight had inherited it from me. That it was the first light of the evening star, the dusk star.

[Kim]

Love it so much.

[Christina]

Fucking amazing.

[Anna]

Incredible.

[Christina]

I love this. So, yes, that is why Rhys's blood is keyed to the prison. Also, it's in his jurisdiction as a night court, but, God, I love it so much. Love it. Okay, let's talk about another tog possible theory, guys. This one's really fun. Okay, so is the bone carver somehow connected to the God of Truth from Throne Hofglass? All right, let's talk about this. So what do we know about the God of Truth? So the God of Truth, his temple is located deep beneath the shadow market of Rift Hold. We find this in Queen of Shadows. Now, this temple, guys, is made entirely of bones. All of it. The walls, the ceilings, the floors, all bones. All bones. Specifically, bones with people's sins written on them. Okay, so people came here to confess or give their darkest truths to the God. Adeon says, quote, seems like this God of truth was more of a sin eater than anything. Okay, now let's consider the bone carver, all right? Bony C, he lives in a prison cell made of bone, all right? Surrounded by carvings of life and death. He demands truth in exchange for truth. Rhys even warns Feyre, never lie to him. Okay? He also collects significant bones, like the memento that Rhys brought back from his time under the mountain. And he even promises to carve Feyre's death into the bones. Okay, so both of them, they dwell in palaces of bone. They're gatekeepers of truth. They both kind of seem to consume or, like, ingest or take in people's confessions. Like, their truth. They, like, want it somehow in them. Yeah, and the God of truth collects sins etched in the bones of the dead. The bone carver carves fates and deaths and truths into bone. Now, are they one in the same? I don't really know. I just think it's a very interesting parallel. Yes, the bone carver is confirmed to be a death God. But we also know that legend states that when the world was born, creatures from other worlds walked through the rips in the fabric of realms. But then they were trapped when those rips closed. So could that have happened to the God of Truth from Tog? And could they just be calling him and the Weaver and Koshy siblings and all, quote, death Gods? Because they were all trapped here together at the same time? And actually, we don't know anything really about them. They're not siblings. They Just like all showed up at the same time and they're all different gods from all different realms. Yeah, I do think that's a possibility.

[Kim]

I mean, who's to say that they're not all just like this one big family? And some of them ended up in Tog and some of them ended up in, you know, who's to say? It's just really fun to think about.

[Christina]

Exactly.

[Kim]

Yeah, yeah.

[Christina]

And to piggyback off that as well, some people also think that the weaver is connected to Throne of Glass. There is a lot to be said here with the mother, maiden and crone connection. The weaver, she very much has varying like ages where she's described of her look and her voice and all these things. She kind of seems to embody all of those things.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

A loom is very important to the weaver. She weaves. And the loom of the three faced goddess is a very important, pivotal thing in the witchery. Witchcraft of Tog.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Also this has always haunted me. The bone carver draws three overlapping circles when talking about himself and his siblings. This symbol of the three overlapping circles is also the symbol of the three faced goddess in Throne of Glass. It's a witch symbol that's also used in the eye of Elena. So that all coming together is very fascinating. Three stones are used in scrying for, quote, the faces of the mother. Just an interesting. Another three, what you think. And also this symbol of the three faced goddess with the circles that the bone carver draws is very similar to the symbol on the Arkesian amulet that Bryce was given by Jesiba. Yep. So it's just all very, very interesting and really like makes sense to me that she could be tied to witchcraft, to witchery and maybe specifically from Tog. Yeah, also from Tog. A lot of people think that the weaver and her siblings are all Valk. A lot stems from the fact that the weaver's blood is black. We see her bleed black blood.

[Anna]

Yep.

[Christina]

That is really a telltale sign, Sarah. Why else makes someone's blood black?

[Anna]

Right.

[Christina]

But also very interesting to note that the weaver's name is Striga, which is very similar to the Stygian spiders. Yep. Also she's a weaver. You know, the spiders weave with the silks. They got the silks. Also in Acowar, in the battle against Hybern, it is noted that the weaver quote is leaving husks of corpses in her wake. And there are multiple references in Tog, specifically in Era of Fire to the Valg leaving bodies as husks.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So Very interesting. I don't know if they're connected at all, but it's so much fun to look at the parallels there.

[Kim]

Oh, I love it. Well, that's what the mask verse is.

[Christina]

That's what it's all about.

[Kim]

Yeah. Yeah, that's so much fun. And okay, so one of our favorite scenes is Starfall, obviously. And the reason being is because it's also one of Sarah's very first times that she kind of does this little crossover. And it was even before Crescent City happened. So, you know, just like we had discussed in our episodes, the star are falling. And what Rhysand says is they're like souls. Like, they are souls trying to find their way.

[Christina]

There has to be a reason that Starfall unsettles Amren.

[Kim]

Yes, exactly.

[Christina]

Everyone's like, I don't know about this.

[Kim]

I don't know about this one.

[Christina]

I feel like she is like, those are people.

[Kim]

Yeah. So we're going to work backwards here. So in Kingdom of Ash, when Aelin is giving up her power and she's putting the locks back into the word gate, this is what happens when she is falling through the sky. Right. To get back to Rowan, she says she passed through a world of snow capped mountains under shining stars. Passed over one of those mountains where a winged male stood beside a heavily pregnant female, gazing at those very stars. Fae, they were Fae. But this was not her world. She flung out a hand as if she might signal them, as if they might somehow help her when she was nothing but an invisible speck of power. The winged male, beautiful beyond reason, snapped his head toward her as she raced across the starry night. He lifted a hand as if in greeting. A blast of dark power like a gentle summer night slammed into her. Not to attack, but to slow her down.

[Christina]

Oh, amazing.

[Kim]

Oh, it's Rhysand. And we get confirmation later that Rhysand sees this, like, red star falling. And it's Aelin.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

And also, I think what's really interesting about this is right before Aelin starts to fall, it goes, Mala only held out a hand. In it lay a kernel of white hot power, a fallen star. I would love to know if, like, these gods are the ones that are sending these people these stars on Starfall.

[Christina]

Oh, interesting.

[Kim]

Like they're giving a kernel of light. Because then what it says when she says, when it's done, like the seal the gate and think of home. The marks will guide you there. And this is really what happens with Bryce later. She is the starborn power in her. And what they say is like, think of where you want to go when you jump through the gate, Think of home. And she ends up. She's trying to think of, like, Hel and whatever, but where she ends up is in Prythian, because that's where, obviously, she needs to be.

[Christina]

Well, and that's the home of her starborn power, because that's where thay is from.

[Kim]

Exactly. So I love this idea of, like, the stars that are falling on Starfall. It's unsettling to Amren for probably a lot of different reasons, but is it also like, this idea when Mala gives Aelin the drop of power and, like, it will guide you Home. Like, think of home.

[Christina]

Ah, I love it.

[Kim]

And then she falls through the sky.

[Christina]

Beautiful.

[Kim]

I love it.

[Christina]

Oh, man, I love that. That was a great little tie in.

[Anna]

Okay, I think that wraps it up for this week, and we will see you next week for some very, very exciting Chapter 54.

[Christina]

Chapter 54.

[Kim]

Yay.

[Anna]

Just like the most iconic chapters in all of romance history, but no big deal.

[Christina]

Yeah, we're easy breezy. Okay, love you. Bye. Bye. Bye.

[Anna]

Well, friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy podcast. Don't forget to join our book club community on Instagram and TikTok Talk at Flights of Fantasy Podcast, where you can share your thoughts, theories, and favorite moments with us and fellow listeners. We'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us spread the magic of Romantasy to even more book lovers. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep reading, and remember, every good story deserves to take flight.