S5 : Ep 26- The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent PART 1

Summary

Flights of Fantasy – S5 Ep 26: "The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk" by Carissa Broadbent (Part 1) Date: August 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

The Flights of Fantasy crew (Anna, Kim, and Kristina) reunite to dive into Carissa Broadbent’s newest entry, The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk, book four in the Crowns of Nyaxia series. This episode kicks off a two-part deep-dive: they recap previous events, break down the emotional heart of Asar and Misha’s journey, discuss dark lore and worldbuilding, and—of course—enthuse about fan-favorite returning characters. Intensely romantic, raw, and at times chilling, the hosts explore why this is Broadbent’s most romantic (and unsettling) book yet.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up & Spoiler Scope

[03:25]

• The episode starts with a quick recap of events at the end of Songbird and the Heart of Stone:
  • Asar’s mission to resurrect Aloris goes awry; Misha absorbs some of Aloris’ power and kills Atraxas; gods intervene, and Asar (now possibly carrying death god powers) is whisked away.
  • “Misha, she does die. But while dying, she hears Assar pleading, ‘I need her.’ … She wakes up in the Underworld with Vincent saying, we have work to do.” – (Anna, [04:51])
• Spoilers for all Crowns of Nyaxia books except Slaying the Vampire Conqueror.

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2. Opening Quest in Fallen: Stakes, Rules, & a Brutal Journey

[05:04]

• Post-Atraxas’ death: sun is gone, mortal and Underworld are collapsing.
• Wraith Misha’s only hope: Asar must ascend to godhood—to do so, they must collect the mask, the eye, and the heart (the “cores of Alaris’ power”).
• Acacia’s warning: never wield one core without the others. The hosts immediately see the foreshadowing in this “rule that’s sure to be broken.”
• “The goddess of fate is telling you not to do something. You should probably take heed.” (Kristina, [05:51])

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3. Asar & Misha’s Romance: Vulnerability, Pain, and Utter Devotion

[07:02]; [08:18]

• The group agrees: this is Carissa’s most romantic book—raw, vulnerable, leaping past traditional tropes.
• Their relationship starts midpoint of a love story already grounded in Songbird, giving it “deep trust and vulnerability … earned through their honesty.”
• Recurring motif: “I will never let you go.” Driven by impossible stakes—Misha’s wraith state makes physical touch agonizing or impossible, further dramatizing their devotion and forbidden intimacy.
• “You’re the sacrifice I will not make. It’s very, you know, above all else, it’s you, it’s us.” (Kim, [09:08])
• Blood-drinking scenes (God-blood!) highlight their dynamic—sensual yet painful but ultimately healing for Misha.
  • “Leave it to Carissa to make us love this blood drinking scene … sexy and it’s all those things combined.” (Kristina, [11:24])

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4. Major Romantic Moments & Notable Quotes

[08:32], [14:01]

• Reuniting: “Welcome home. The breeze whispered again … I was certain it wasn’t talking about Morthran, it was talking about her.”
• Nicknames (Warden/Dawn Drinker): unexpectedly cute and meaningful.
• Epic scene:
  • “‘Get your hands off my wife.’ Excuse me.” (Kristina, [14:30]) – the group loses it over this protective, possessive declaration.
  • “This felt like Carissa was giving us fan service … we went feral over it.” (Anna, [14:51])
• The hosts theorize on the mystical bond between Asar and Misha, “deeper than the anchor,” (Kim, [16:09]) hinting there are layers of magic still unexplained.

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5. Asar’s Backstory, Trauma, and Ravenhall

[16:14]; [19:03]; [21:07]

• Carissa’s use of fairy tale-styled prologues/interludes (narration: “the tale of a boy who was born within [darkness]”) brilliantly sets tone and mythic scope.
• Asar’s abusive upbringing (isolated island, abused by mother, then Gideon)—weaponization of his magic, instilling a belief he exists only for destruction.
  • “It just breaks your heart, because of course he would feel that way … told, all you’re good for is destruction and death.” (Anna, [21:33])
• They draw parallels with Misha’s own grooming/abuse by Atraxas, exploring how both leads are “saved” by toxic authority figures.

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6. Dark Academia & Rivenhall: A Vibe Check

[22:34]; [23:20]

• Ravenhall (the dark magic academy) is “creepy as fuck … the worst case scenario of dark academia.” (Kim & Kristina, [22:41-22:58])
• Vivid, unsettling world-building: “moments in this book that were basically like a horror novel … your skin is crawling.” (Kim, [23:38])

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7. Moral Ambiguity & Parental Figures

[24:51]; [27:25]; [29:18]

• Deep dive into the mirrored dynamics of abuse and complex loyalty (Gideon/Asar and Atraxas/Misha).
  • “They were both abused by the people who, quote, unquote, saved them. That relationship would be … complicated.” (Anna, [28:54])
• Grapple with forgiving, rejecting, and surpassing their abusers—reinforcing Broadbent’s trademark morally gray character work.

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8. Library Ladder Sexy Scene & Emotional Intimacy

[30:47]; [34:26]; [34:59]

• Discussion of ingenious ways Carissa keeps things sexy when Asar and Misha can’t touch (sheet/toga scene + library ladder, storm, piano).
• “I needed to paint over Gideon’s pain with Misha’s pleasure.” (Asar’s POV, [33:00])
• “Hold on to the bars. They’ll keep your hands where they need to be. Hold on to that library ladder. Are you kidding me?” (Kim, [34:26])
• Raving about the layered writing: physically passionate, emotionally vulnerable, visually cinematic.

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9. The Heist: Malum, Masks, and Rain Returns

[36:34]; [37:54]; [38:49]

• Fantasy quest elements: Malum festival as a House of Shadow echo of House of Night’s Kajari, with magic “world overlay.”
• Cue heist! Asar and Misha attend the festival to steal the mask/crown.
• Rain’s reappearance:
  • “We knew you had been captured by the Shadowborn. Did you really think that we wouldn’t come for you?” (Rain, [38:49])
  • “He gave the best hug. I actually can’t handle this.” (Anna, [39:19])
• Rain’s devastation at Misha’s cold, compelled goodbye—“This could not be worse timing. … [She commands] you will hug Aeya and tell her you love her and stay safe.” ([45:23])
• The hosts delight in theorizing about Rain’s muddled report to Aeya (“She’s married to … someone? I don’t know!” [46:14]), comparing it to clueless husband gossip.

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10. The Quest Escalates: Darklands, Srana, and Worldbuilding Woes

[49:39]; [50:13]; [51:24]

• Darklands: described as “shattered mirror” reality—beautifully written but, hosts admit, “kind of hard to grasp … a lot of work to imagine for not long spent there.” (Kristina, [51:11])
• Major set piece: battle with the spider-goddess Srana (like “Sid’s baby-doll spider from Toy Story”—the hosts’ mental image, [52:13])
• Back-to-back trauma: Misha faces the Sentinel in the forge; Vincent’s ghostly appearance helps her find her power.

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11. Breaking the Rules: Gods, Power, and Cliffhanger

[42:59]; [43:28]; [55:27]; [56:01]

• Asar ignores Acacia’s instructions—wielding not just the mask, but also the axe/eye—desperate to save Misha.
  • “If Misha is in peril, there are no rules.” (Kristina, [43:11])
• Both artifacts begin whispering to him; the hosts predict disastrous consequences.
• Finale: Asar flees with dying Misha to the only place she’ll be protected—even if she hates it—House of Night (Rain’s territory).
• “At least if she hated me, she would be alive.” (Asar’s POV, [56:28])

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Get your hands off my wife.” (Asar, [14:30]) — the ultimate fan service protective line.
• “Don’t say stupid things … hold on to the bars. They’ll keep your hands where they need to be.” (Asar to Misha; library ladder scene, [34:05], [34:26])
• “I needed to paint over Gideon’s pain with Misha’s pleasure.” (Asar’s POV, [33:00])
• “You’re the sacrifice I will not make. Above all else, it’s you, it’s us.” (Kim, [09:08])
• “She's married. … Who? What has she been doing for the last year? I don’t know.” (Hosts, theorizing Rain & Aeya convo, [46:14])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:25] – Spoiler warning & plot recap
• [05:04] – Fallen opening: world collapse, quest setup
• [07:02] - [11:24] – Asar & Misha’s romance: themes, blood, devotion
• [14:01] - 16:09] – “Get your hands off my wife” scene & theories
• [16:14] - [21:33] – Asar’s childhood, abuse parallels
• [22:34] - [24:01] – Ravenhall: dark academia & horror vibe
• [27:25] - [29:18] – Morally complex, “saved by abusers” theme
• [30:47] - [36:13] – Library ladder sex scene, emotional layering
• [36:34] - [41:01] – Malum heist; Rain returns; painful reunion
• [49:39] - [51:24] – Darklands quest, Srana the spider goddess
• [55:27] - [57:12] – Breaking the artifact rule, cliffhanger: House of Night

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Tone & Style

• The hosts balance intense passion for the series with sarcastic, meme-ifying commentary and down-to-earth emotional processing.
• Their style is conversational, openly “going feral” for beloved tropes, comforted and challenged by Broadbent’s dark turns.
• They are forthright about which scenes made them swoon, cringe, or struggle with worldbuilding, creating a relatable, book-club-at-home feel.

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Final Thoughts

In this first half of their deep-dive, Anna, Kim, and Kristina celebrate and analyze the epic devotion of Asar and Misha, the complex web of trauma they’re disentangling, and Broadbent’s ability to blend swoon-worthy romance with creepy, mythic worldbuilding. Cliffhangers abound; the House of Night and the fallout of Asar’s desperate choices await in Part 2.

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(See you next week for the conclusion and more about Rain, friendship, and the epic showdown!)

Transcript

[A]

Limu.

[B]

Emu and Doug. Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. But now we want you to feel it. Cue the Emu music. Limu. Save yourself money today. Increase your wealth.

[A]

Customize and save. We save.

[B]

That may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings vary underwritten by.

[A]

Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[B]

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.

[A]

Hello, book besties. We are so excited to be here discussing Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent, book four in her Crowns of Nyaxia series.

[B]

We are so excited.

[A]

So, so excited.

[B]

Wow. We are back, baby. Yeah, we're back.

[A]

We're back.

[B]

We're so excited to be back.

[A]

So good to be back.

[B]

You know what else is back, Kim?

[A]

What's back?

[B]

Chapter chats. Chapter chats. Tell us about it happening on Patreon, my friends. To everyone's joy on Patreon, the chapter chats are back. Are very coveted and oh my gosh, much anticipated chapter chats where we take a break every few chapters, get on and discuss our thoughts real time as we're reading. Kim and I had so much fun recording some pretty lengthy chapter chats as we read this book. So if you enjoyed this book and enjoy hearing our thoughts on it as we go real time with theories, please head over to Patreon for that. Also on Patreon. As always, our tier one book besties get early access ad free episodes plus our romance reviews and our tier two book bitches. Whoop whoop doll. Oh my gosh. We've been having so much fun this summ with you guys with everyone on Patreon and our three new series for tier two have just been such a treat. Trending pages where we break down the hottest romantasy books everyone is talking about. So far we have covered Silver Elite and Shield of Sparrows. That has been such a delight over there. Also Cauldron chats which are exclusive for tier 2 where I break down an acotar topic that you vote on. Yeah, that's been really fun. We've done Bat Boys backstories, Jirrian, Miriam and Drakon. Bargains are coming this month. Very exciting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then last but not least, our tier 2 exclusive access to our beloved SJM series where we deep dive characters, couples and scenes from all of Sarah J. Maas's series. So if you want more from us, please come on over and join our Patreon family [e-mail] Flights of Fantasy podcast. We would absolutely love, love, love to have you love it. Okay, and Kim, who else do we want to shout out today? Speaking of Patreon.

[A]

Yes, speaking of Patreon, let's do some Patreon shout outs. So another benefit to being a t to one of our book batches is that you get a special shout out in one of our episodes. So this episode we are going to be shouting out Elise K, Dana G and Bianca. Thank you guys so, so much for supporting us genuinely. If it were not for you guys, we could not continue to do this and we are so, so thankful.

[B]

We are so thankful and so grateful. And we're sending you the biggest hug and we love you.

[A]

Love you.

[B]

Okay, let's go. Okay, guys, let's do this. This is your spoiler warning for all of the Crowns of Nyaxa series thus far. That is Serpent and the Wings of and the Star Cursed King. Not really Slaying the Vampire Conqueror because we haven't read it. No, I'm not going to include that. I am going to include the novella Six Scorched Roses and Songbird in the Heart of Stone, as well as Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk. Let's go, baby. Okay, so where we left off in Songbird and the Heart of Stone. Everyone, a quick refresher before we dive in to Fallen. So Asar's mission per Dayaxia was to resurrect Aloris and didn't go to her liking there. Her husband, Alaris, who is her husband and the God of death. But plot twist, Asar turned out himself was the sole relic needed for the necromancy ceremony because he is a descendant of Aloris. Now, when it comes down to it, Asar is ready to sacrifice himself as he does. But Misha doesn't complete the ceremony fully. And in the process, she absorbs a piece of Elara's power. Misha then kills Atraxas. Woohoo. With the golden arrow. Bye bye sun and the white pantheon gods and goddesses kill Misha, take Asar away. And Asar, who is now carrying Alaris's power and maybe his memories, we don't know. It's a little murky. They're at the end.

[A]

Unclear.

[B]

But Misha, she does die. But while dying, she hears Assar pleading, I need her. It's very beautiful. It's very full circle. But she wakes up in the Underworld with Vincent saying, we have work to do.

[A]

Oh, my gosh. That ending.

[B]

What an ending. To Songbird. Yes. Okay, take us to Fallen.

[A]

Okay, so now as we open Fallen, thanks to Atraxas death, the sun is gone. Both the mortal world and the underworld are on a countdown to collapse. And as a wraith, if the underworld falls, Misha is gone for good. Enter Acacia, who drops our big quest bomb, everybody. So the only way to save both Misha and the underworld is for Asar to ascend to godhood as the God of death. Now, in order to do that, he and Misha will have to collect the three cores of Alaris power, the mask, the eye and the heart. And Acacia is very clear, only once you have all three together should Asar wield them. Let's pin that.

[B]

Let's pin that. Because they didn't. But let's do it ourselves.

[A]

They didn't pin it. Let's all take heed of that. Asar and Misha certainly did not.

[B]

The goddess of fate is telling you not to do something. You should probably take heed. You should listen up. Let's turn our listening ears on, friends.

[A]

Let's put them on.

[B]

And.

[A]

And he says, got it. Totally going to nail it. Not going to do it, but I'm glad that you told me.

[B]

He says, when Misha is about to die, there are no rules.

[A]

The rules go out the window.

[B]

It happens all the time.

[A]

So it happens the entire book. But Acacia also says, oh, by the way, this process is going to be brutal, life threatening and generally awful. But have fun.

[B]

Xoxo.

[A]

Yeah, she's kind of like the cereal, you know what I mean? Like, she kind of drops some bombs and is like, gotta go. Bye.

[B]

Have fun. Y.

[A]

So that's not foreboding whatsoever.

[B]

Oh, what a great way to start off.

[A]

Yeah, I think our. Our quest is like, you might die, it's going to be awful, but here we go.

[B]

You know, I did appreciate that we figured it out at the beginning. It wasn't like we took too long until we figured out the main through line here, like, you know, besides some other stuff. But I really, I loved that we were like, here's the quest. I'm going to spell it out to you.

[A]

Yeah, I'm going to really just spell it out. And then here we go when we're on our way.

[B]

And that is similar to Songbird too. I think in Songbird they had a specific quest to go down. You know, the different sanctums.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which I do. I do enjoy the straightforwardness of that.

[A]

I do too. But let's start off with talking about Asar and Misha's romance, because this was everything, Everything, Everything.

[B]

This really made the book for me.

[A]

Agreed.

[B]

I absolutely loved the romance.

[A]

Me too. I think Carissa said before this book came out that this was her most romantic book she's ever written. And I would absolutely agree with that same. It was very different tonally to rain and AA's relationship in a good way. I mean, I love you guys know I love me some Rain, but this was so deeply vulnerable and raw and romantic in just a completely different way. And it's also interesting because obviously when Fallen opens, we are at the midpoint of Asar and Misha's love story. Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think that's why everything works so well here, because we had already laid all of the groundwork in Songbird. You know, there's that deep trust between the two of them that was forged through danger and the vulnerability that they have with each other, which was earned through their honesty. And yeah, I think that foundation makes Asar's single minded drive to get Misha back hit that much harder.

[B]

100%. It made it make sense too.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It was justified. It was very grounding. It made sense.

[A]

Yeah, totally. And I think Fallen really gets to lean into their devotion to each other as that emotional through line, even as the stakes get higher and higher and the danger gets a lot more intense.

[B]

Yes, exactly. And that emotional through line really is what carries us through the romance. You know, we love the romance.

[A]

The romance.

[B]

We love it. And she delivered on that. Okay, so speaking of the romance, let's jump in. They are reunited.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We are back. We have found each other. Asar's just looking at her and he thinks, welcome home. The breeze whispered again. And I was certain that it wasn't talking about Morthran, it was talking about her.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

And then she just whispers, hello, Warden. And he says, hello, Dawn Drinker.

[A]

Oh, you guys does. Why do I love this so much?

[B]

Why did those little nicknames hit so hard? They're not even that cute. Warden and Dawn Drinker. Like, they're not even cute names.

[A]

No, but like, just in that moment, I'm like, oh, my God. Warden, Dawn Drinker. It's so cute.

[B]

And like the whispering, the hello, Warden. And he's like my Dawn Drinker. Okay, so then Asar also goes on to say, Misha Ila, Dawn Drinker or Shadowborn, living or dead, I will Never let you go, guys. The devotion. And he won't. And he won't. He will not let her go. This really becomes this recurring theme between them throughout the book. This. I will never let you go. You're the sacrifice I will not make. It's very, you know, above all else, it's you, it's us. And everything else is these grand stakes. But at the end of the day, all the two of them care about are each other. And we're really laying this from the beginning. Him saying, I will never let you go. And it's hard, you know, because she is a wraith and she's. She's dwindling. So it's, you know.

[A]

Yeah, it's a tricky situation. But he's like, we're gonna figure it out because I'll never let you go.

[B]

I will never. Speaking of never letting go, we do have to discuss a little pickle that they're in because, you know, he. He does have to let her go, unfortunately. Yeah. Because he does go to embrace her.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And hug her and have that reunion moment that we have all wanted. And Carissa said, haha. You can't have nice things. Actually, don't get too excited, listeners, because they can't touch each other. Yeah.

[A]

They can touch through pieces of clothing, but they can't. Their. Their skin can't touch each other.

[B]

Yes. No skin to skin contact sheets. Fine. You know, gloves, have at it. But not skin. So unfortunate.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So. And that is because the living can't touch a wraith without it burning their skin clear off.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that is unfortunate. And it's extra unfortunate because at this exact moment, we're realizing that Asar pulled her through the veil too fast. So she's starting to wither. Like literally. It's like sister sheds a lot. If you listened to our Six Scorched Roses episode, she's just dwindling right in front of her eyes. She's. She's not doing well. And he's just still in agony from touching her. But, you know, again, he refuses to let her go. This recurring theme. So he offers her his blood, which luckily now is God blood, which is just extra powerful. It's the good stuff, you know, that.

[A]

Works out so well.

[B]

And leave it to Carissa to make us love this blood drinking scene every single time. I think she really made us into the vampire girlies to really appreciate the blood drinking scene from the first cave scene in our first serpent book. But oh my gosh, she's saying no because she doesn't want to Hurt him. And he's just saying, like, shh, let me help you drink. And it's so good. And also sexy. And it's all those things combined. But, yeah. So the God blood does help her, which is fantastic.

[A]

It is.

[B]

It weakens him a little bit. But, you know, we're. We're back and forth. It's a pendulum. It's.

[A]

It's a roller coaster, you guys. It is.

[B]

It is.

[A]

This entire book is a little bit of a roller coaster, but we love to see that. So let's jump ahead just a little bit to one of our other favorite moments from the beginning of the book. So, long story short, they're ambushed, okay. And Misha wakes up in the ballroom of the Shadowborn Castle. And Egret, our bitchy bird. Sis. Okay, she's back. She's back. Okay.

[B]

Oh, God.

[A]

Our majestic bird says, egret. She has the floor. Okay? They're at the Shadowborn Castle. She wakes up. They're like, on the dais. Okay. Also, Septimus is there. Septimus with his damn cigarillo and his white suit.

[B]

God, the white suit kills me. Guys, I know it's his colors. I know that the bloodborne have to wear white and red. Which unfortunate that they have to wear white, considering blood.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Stains white, but, you know, fine.

[A]

Sure. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But the smoking.

[B]

And I get it. I think it's to keep him healthy or not dying with his borne illness. But something about the white suit and the smoking together. Isn't smoking really working for me? But, you know, we've seen some fan art.

[A]

Yeah, we have. He's hot.

[B]

We've seen some fan art that is working. Yeah. And, you know, turns out, if you've read Magnolia Parks, we're really thinking of bj but blonde.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Situation for Septimus. So go with us there.

[A]

Go with us there. We're liking what we're seeing. I just. The fashion choices and the smoking choices would not be our personal favorite. But I trust Carissa, I do.

[B]

To get us there with him implicitly. Yep.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Right. But it's fun to see him here. 100%.

[A]

It is fun to see him here. We are definitely clocking him. Everything he's doing, we're making note of. Okay, so Asar is still out cold, and he's still weakened from earlier from letting Misha drink from him. Ygritte and her men are about to kill him. And we really need Angry goddess are here stat. It's DEFCON 5. Okay.

[B]

It is.

[A]

So Misha's like, what? What can I do? What Can I do? She decides to use the same tactic that once pushed Rain to his potential, and that is, of course, putting herself in danger. Okay.

[B]

Of course it does.

[A]

Yeah. She's like, what do? I will sacrifice myself and put myself in extreme danger. And that will work.

[B]

And you know it does. It sure does. Every time.

[A]

And it does. And she knows that Asar will snap into wielding that God power that he holds. And just like with Rain, it works. Just as Ygritte is about to bring down her blade on Misha quote, the room plunged into an eerie static silence. The candle snuffed out. The room fell to slow, ominous darkness. Shadows painting across my vision like bandages winding around and around and around us all. And a voice, quiet and booming at once, said, get your hands off my wife. Excuse me.

[B]

This absolutely killed me. I was not anticipating it, and I was so here for it. And it just. It. I could not have loved this more.

[A]

Agreed.

[B]

This felt like Carissa was giving us fan service. We're like, oh, he's gonna be protective. And then he comes out with, get your hands off my wife. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

[A]

Karissa. You knew what you were doing with that. And honestly, kudos, because we went feral over it.

[B]

We did.

[A]

I mean, who doesn't love that? Get your hands off my wife. Who doesn't love that? Oh, God.

[B]

It's good.

[A]

It's good.

[B]

And also, the wife throw in there was really fun.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I love that he was like. It was just, like, biological. Like, I. I don't even know what. I couldn't even help it.

[A]

I just had to say it. And it's like, of course you did.

[B]

Because she's your queen.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, you know, it's hard because I still think there's something about their connection we're not understanding, which is hard because we're at the end of their duology. Yeah. But, like, I feel like there was a connection at the beginning of Songbird that we still didn't really figure out. Like, I guess it was the anchor that whole time, but I still felt like there was some other bond. There was some other thing between them that was clicking and tying. And before, you know, she would touch him, and it would be like a buzzing. And there were, like, some things. And then there's a point in this book where in his head, it's whispering. It's her. It is her. And it's like it kept saying those three words. And maybe that is because she's the queen, like, of the right of death and of the underworld.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Maybe that's what it was like. She was just destined to be this sure.

[A]

I totally see that too. Yeah.

[B]

Yes. So I loved your hands off my wife. And I do think when he says that it's just biological. It is. That there is something there between them. This bond that I do feel like is deeper than the anchor.

[A]

Agreed.

[B]

But I think that's what he's innately playing on when he says it's biological.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Okay, now, so before we go on our scavenger hunt, everybody, yeah. We do want to chat about our sweet Asar and what we learn in this book, specifically through the prologues and the interludes and our trip to Ravenhall. So let's start out with the prologues and interludes. We have said it once, and we will say it time and time again. Carissa is the queen of prologues. It is always gorgeous. It is always this fairy tale, omniscient voice that makes it feel intimate and epic at the same time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's chef's kiss, truly. Every single time. So here is the first line of the prologue quote. This is the tale of how a fallen one ascends. Long ago, I told you a tale of a chosen girl who fell to the darkness. Now I will tell you the tale of a boy who was born within it.

[A]

I. Shut up.

[B]

I can't handle this. It's so good.

[A]

How does your brain come up with that? Like, it's gorgeous.

[B]

And I love that it's just the prologue and the interludes. I do think this writing style might be a little much for me. If it was the whole book, I think I might get a little lost in it. And so I love that it feels like just a little treat, like a little taste of it. And it also gives us backstory, and it also gives depth to the whole lushness of the book. I just. Just loved it. And the boy who was born within it.

[A]

I think her doing that, changing the writing style differentiates it so that the flashbacks do feel different, and it's not just the same writing, but in a different. Like, you go back in time. I feel like the way that she did that really differentiated it in a really fun way and elevated it and made it feel so different and special.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then you go back into the regular story and you're like, okay, now we're back to this writing. But getting those little tastes like you said.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Just felt. Felt so special and magical and truly like a little fairy tale.

[B]

Yeah. And almost fun to solve the kind of mysteries of being like, oh, okay. So this Is a saar. Okay, so he's on the island. Oh, that must be Gideon. Oh, he's taking him to Rivenhol. Like, we're kind of figuring it out in the fairy tale aspect.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which reminds me of a certain way that Sarah A. Parker wrote in when the Moon Hatched. And I also think all this prose kind of reminds me of One Dark Window, Two Twisted Crowns, like. Like fairy tale prose. And it's just. I love it. Love, love, love it, love it. Okay, so we also get a lot of backstory in their interludes. The same kind of fairy tale omniscient tone here. And like you said, the perfect way to flesh out his character and how brutal his childhood was, because just getting a flashback of that, I think wouldn't have the weight. And Asar, while he is so vulnerable with Misha here. And I do think he would eventually, in real life, because these are real people.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Tell her these memories. We, as the reader, getting them real time. We don't have time him to tell her these things right now. We've got other priorities, but we need to see them. So this was the way to do it.

[A]

Totally.

[B]

And we see him at 8 years old. So he was raised on this desolate island, quote, off the marshy coast of the vampire kingdom. He could one day come to rule. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. We're setting up. He's a prince. It's so interesting. He's a prince, but he has to, like, survive on the blood of these, like, fish and squirrels. And his mother is just, like, slurring at him, saying, like, you could be king from my blood, not his. Like, like, it's just so sad.

[A]

It's very weird.

[B]

It really paints a picture.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then Gideon arrives. So he is sent by the king to retrieve Asar, and he takes him to Rivenhall to study magic and really to prove his usefulness. And it is very much ingrained in him. If you are not useful, if you do not come up with a key, then you will be tossed away. You will not be here anymore. We won't have use for you. So Gideon then proceeds to spend all of Asar's childhood systematically abusing him and conditioning him and weaponizing the deaths of Lucy and Ophelia to mold him into the weapon that he and the king want. And really just reinforcing this idea that Asar is only good for destruction. And it isn't until he is sentenced to Morthran that he realizes that his gifts can be more than just this blade used for killing. Like, he can mend and heal Morthran and the underworld and, like, help the. These souls pass on. And it's so sad that despite that, Gideon's brainwashing still convinces him that he's inherently bad and unworthy of goodness or love or happiness. And that's something that. We see him carry both books, this entire duology.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

And we see Misha, you know, kind of start to break down those walls. But seeing the backstory makes it make sense. It really makes that vulnerability in him make sense.

[A]

Yeah. It's so sad. And Carissa has a way of writing things that are almost hard to read. They're so real and so vulnerable and raw, and you just kind of feel like, oh, my gosh, your heart just breaks for this little boy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who was conditioned from 8 years old. I mean, that's probably all the memories. He barely probably has any memories at this point of his time with his mother. His whole childhood was essentially being abused, like you said. And it just breaks your heart because of course he would feel that way. Of course he was told, yes, from day one, like, all you're good for is destruction and death. And so this little Chop child is like, okay, you're right. Like, I don't deserve anything nice. And it's like, oh, you do a. Sorry, but you do.

[B]

You sweet, sweet boy.

[A]

You sweet man. Okay, well, speaking of Rivenhall, we're gonna take a very quick little trip back to Songbird. If you remember when they reached secrets, the level in the sanctum, and we learned that the landscape looks different to everyone that is there. Now, Misha sees the Citadel, and Asar mentions a castle, but when she asks if he means the Shadowborn castle, he gets really weird. And this is what he. He blinked, momentarily confused. Oh, the. Yes, the Shadowborn Castle. And we immediately were like, okay, well, he's not seeing the Shadowbourne Castle.

[B]

Okay, he's lying. So he's lying. That's a lie. I think even Misha in her head was like, wow, he was a terrible liar. Okay, moving on.

[A]

Yeah. Not gonna push it. But that was blatantly a lie. And I'm pretty sure we asked Karissa about this in our interview, and she said that you do figure out what he saw. So to us, it's obviously Rivenhall. Has to be.

[B]

Has to be Rivenhall, because we know he said Castle also in Songbird. And Misha, when describing Riven hall, describes it as a castle. I think he definitely saw Rivenhall.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that taking him aback in Songbird, seeing she sees The Citadel. He sees Riven Hall. I mean, oh, my God.

[A]

And those are the places for them. That's where they were raised. That's where they were abused. Yes, but Riven Hall's creepy as fuck. I'm gonna be so honest with you. I'm just gonna say it straight out. It's fucking creepy and I didn't like it.

[B]

I'm gonna say it right here. It was the worst case scenario of dark academia. It was just bad news bears.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I would not want to be in this little school. Nope. I would not not think this is magical.

[A]

Hard pass.

[B]

Hard pass. It was so creepy, and it was storming. It was so stormy.

[A]

So stormy. So ominous. From the get go, you picture it. They're like, on this rowboat, and then, like, the waves are everywhere, and it's like dark, and it's stormy and it's ominous, and it looks creepy as hell. And she's like, we're going. This is where we're. Okay, we're going in here. Okay. No, Fantastic.

[B]

That place of nightmares. Fantastic. Let's go.

[A]

Oh, I love that. I would love nothing more. Let's go in there. And there's birds slamming themselves into the windows and then the floor. And then Gideon comes out and like, picks the bird up and it's like, eh.

[B]

It was a lot.

[A]

Just so unsettling from the get go.

[B]

Unsettling, great word. Yes.

[A]

I just feel like Carissa really pushed the envelope here. And I felt like there were moments in this book that were basically like a horror novel.

[B]

Yeah, I could definitely see that.

[A]

Like, not fantasy, past fantasy, but a little bit of horror. Like with the birds, and he grabs the. It's just like, very unsettling, which is a the hallmark of a horror novel. Like, you just feel like your skin is just crawling.

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

And that's how I felt in Riven Hall. Gideon, from page one on page, I was like, I don't know. I don't like him. I don't like him 1 trillion percent.

[B]

He just, like, strolls in, down the stairs. And creepiness to Misha, I was like, oh, alert. This is not a good person. Yeah, you should go. Misha. Go find Asar. Go get him. Go get him.

[A]

Save yourself. Quickly. Like, is Lucy here?

[B]

Exactly. And that's really reinforced when Asar comes back and he's like, don't talk to her. Don't touch her. Don't even look at her.

[A]

So another interesting part of our trip to Riven hall, as we confront all of this childhood trauma with Asar, is The parallels that come to light between Asar and Misha's past. And this is what Misha says as they're walking into Rivenhall. The way he wilted as we pass through these doors. I imagined that I might do the same if I ever stepped foot in the Citadel again. Oh, sweet Assar. And we know, like Christina said, that as children, they both had to fulfill their function and be found as useful, or else they would have been thrown away.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Literally. They both were like, well, if you don't do what we say, we. We saved you as children, and if you are not useful, then we'll kill you.

[B]

It's so sad. And when we first meet them in Songbird, they feel like very different people. And then I love that by the time we've gotten here, we really understand that they had such similar traumas, and they just kind of grew out of it different ways. But at the end of the day, they are very similar, and that's how they bond. It's just so beautiful.

[A]

Absolutely. So I want to spend just a second talking about Asar's complicated relationship with. With his mentor Gideon in this book and how that mirrors the complicated relationship that Misha has with Atraxas. And the parallels that Carissa has drawn here are nothing short of incredible, because in Songbird, we saw how much shame Misha has after being turned into a vampire against her will. And afterwards, it caused her physical pain to try and wield Atraxas magic. We know she was covered in those burns, right? And those physical scars, to me, were a representation of her pain and shame and guilt over something that she had no control over. She was turned against her will. It wasn't her choice. Yes, but she's still feeling immense guilt and shame because of it. And we obviously touched upon this in great detail in those episodes. But Misha really bore that emotional weight of not just the loss of her mortality, but also the loss of her divine love with Atraxas. And she never saw that she was being manipulated and abused by Atraxas because she was told over and over again how lucky she was to be chosen by him and how he quite literally saved her and her sister.

[B]

It's. I can't. I didn't miss him in this book. I'm not gonna lie. It talks.

[A]

You know, it's so similar. And then we see this play out so similarly with Asar and his mentor, Gideon, because Gideon came to that small island that Asar lived on with his mother and, quote, unquote, rescued him by Taking him away to train and learn all about his powers and what Asar could be capable of. And Gideon took advantage of Asar from the beginning. He was in a position of power. He had the upper hand. Asar was eight years old. And even now, as an adult, we saw Asar immediately shrink in Gideon's presence. And he feels so uncomfortable with him. Yes, but in the same way, he can't seem to bring himself to fully hate him after all that they've been through together. And we know that Gideon, like Christina said, tortured and abused Asar in the name of training him. And of course, that's going to create a very fraught dynamic between them. And I just think that these complicated relationships really play on Carissa's love of morally gray characters, and that no one person is. Is fully good or fully evil. And I think that she plays with the nuances of that so well.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I'm not going to lie, it is difficult to read at times. There were scenes that kind of made me feel a little bit uncomfy. But I just think that goes to show how incredible of a writer she is to bring out these visceral emotions in her readers.

[B]

100%. I love how you phrase that. Yes, I totally agree. And this is Carissa at her finest with these morally gray characters also having messy relationships.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Just all of those dynamics at once that all make sense. And they might be uncomfy, but they're so interesting. And no one is the villain in their own story. And the parallels between Misha and Asar here. And when you guys interviewed Karissa last year, Kim and I did an amazing job interviewing Karissa last year. And there's a special extra spoiler songbird interview available over on Patreon.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And in that conversation, you asked her about the scars and always stuck with me. Chris's response of the scars that Asar bears from trying to resurrect Ophelia and the scars that Misha bears from trying to reach out to Atraxas and trying to call to him when she can't anymore after being turned, are the two of them trying to bring something back that they can't, Trying to bring back a past so viscerally instead of just accepting who they are and moving forward. Yeah, and. And it's that weight as well.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

And them both having that. It's so interesting.

[A]

It's so interesting. And it's so interesting that they were both abused by the people who, quote, unquote, saved them. And how complicated would that relationship be for Both of them, you know?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

It's so interesting. It's such an interesting choice for Carissa to do that. And it's really something that ties the two of them to each other. And like you said, Christina, they are so different in so many ways, but they really are so similar when it gets to down to it.

[B]

They are.

[A]

And it's just.

[B]

They are.

[A]

We love it.

[B]

We love to see it, especially in that moment where he's about to torture Gideon and torture the glyphs out of him. And he has a moment where he looks at him and seeing Gideon not be able to get up and kind of being crumpled on the floor and struggling to get up. And there was a moment in Asar's head where he struggled with the fact that this man, to me used to be like my superhero. Nothing could touch him. He was so powerful to me. And it was that this interesting flip, you know, of a child seeing a father, seeing a grandfather that is now all of a sudden too old to get up and to jump up and do the things and like, understanding that there is a flip.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I am now kind of the parent. And struggling with that at the same time that he's like, okay, but you're awful and I'm going to torture you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's in the same breath that he's feeling these feelings of. Of this is my only parental figure. And it is sad to see him aging and not who he was.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But also, then you are awful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I hate you.

[A]

And I hate you.

[B]

And I will torture you and it will be justified.

[A]

Yeah. It's so interesting how she does that.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

I mean, just the complexities, which. Don't we all. I mean, I think all relationship have a level of complexity to them, you know, especially when you spend so much time with somebody, of course there's going to be these complicated feelings that are warring with each other. And at the same time, I think she just handled that so well.

[B]

Me too. Me too. You know what else she handled well? Kimberlyn? You know what else?

[A]

What else?

[B]

The sexy time, guys. This piano sheet. Sexy time. I can't even tell you. I was so impressed with the creativity. Carissa.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I have to say, I thought this was so surprisingly effective.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

At first I was like, what are we. Why is she in a sheet? Oh, because. Oh, well, we can't touch skin to skin. I'm going to tell you right now. I. I didn't even care. Didn't even bother me by the end of this scene.

[A]

Didn't Care one bit. I forgot. I actually forgot that she had a sheet on. I was like, where is it? I don't know.

[B]

Does it bother her? Doesn't bother us.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

Doesn't bother me. Oh, I just loved it. So great. Fantastic work, Carissa. Truly. Also, the use of the library ladder was so fun. The bell.

[A]

Library ladder.

[B]

Just shut up. Yes.

[A]

Shut up.

[B]

I loved it. So. Shut up.

[A]

I loved it so much.

[B]

And so Asar. This is after Asar has just brutally tortured Gideon.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And. And he's back here in this horrible place of his childhood. So, like, he's clearly struggling.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he stumbles upon sweet Misha, just out exploring and looking at books. Yeah. And she's just drawn to the place where he would always go when he needed, like, solace. And she's wearing a sheet because her clothes were wet. And, like, what is she to do, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I just made a toga. It's fine.

[A]

I just. I'm being creative. Sorry.

[B]

You know, my clothes are wet. I mean, I didn't have anything.

[A]

I can't be dep.

[B]

So I love how that's. Asar's mindset is he's in this dark place. And we've seen this trope before with our main male characters where they're feeling dark and twisty after a mission. Yeah. And I can't be around a female lead because I'll just, like, taint them with my darkness. Like, they are lightness and I am evil. And, like, you can't see me like this. And I love, love the way that she flipped that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In a way, it was still there. It was still present. Yeah. But instead, we saw Asar using her pleasure and her happiness as the antidote to his darkness here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Instead of not allowing it because he was too dark.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And this quote, he says, quote, that was what I needed tonight. Not my own satisfaction, but hers. I needed to paint over Gideon's pain with. With Misha's pleasure.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

I loved that incredible idea that he's like, this is what I need. I need to inflict pleasure on Misha, and it will take the place of the pain I just inflicted on Gideon.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm sure that something's wrong with me that I find that so romantic and sexy, but I do.

[A]

It's deeply romantic. It's deeply, deeply romantic.

[B]

It is deeply sexy. And.

[A]

Yeah. And we love it.

[B]

We do.

[A]

Sue us, but we love it. Okay.

[B]

What can we say? Okay. Another quote. So Misha also has just been feeling a little insecure, you know, She's a wraith. She doesn't know he can't touch her, so she doesn't know how he's feeling. And, yeah, they've had a lot going on. He hasn't had time to, you know, build her up, really. And so she says, quote, I thought you didn't. That maybe you. Her words were weak and choppy. This is an asara's pov. I lifted my head. Through my haze of lust, I had to blink incredulously at her. What? You. You thought I didn't want this? She smiled meekly. When I'm like this. This. Incomprehensible. Is the next sentence. Incomprehensible? Just that she would think I would ever not want her.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then it says, quote, don't say stupid things. I jerked my chin to the ladder against the bookshelf. Hold on to the bars. They'll keep your hands where they need to be. Hold on to that library ladder. Are you kidding me? They'll keep your hands where they need to be.

[A]

Shut up. Shut up.

[B]

I'm.

[A]

I love it so much.

[B]

It's so good. Okay, also another one. Quote, bars, I commanded. I'm not finished with you. Her honey eyes slipped over me, seeing, as always, every complexity I didn't reveal, but she didn't push. Her fingers closed around the ladder. Good girl, I said, and I set back to work, painting over the bloodstains with her gasps of pleasure as the storm wore on and on and on.

[A]

There's so much to break down even in. Just like, you've got the sexiness of the good girl. But it's like seeing me, as always, seeing every complexity I didn't reveal, but she didn't push. And then as the storm wore on and on and on.

[B]

Oh, my God. And then painting over the bloodstains with her gasps of pleasure. And it's just. Just painting this picture that's so sexy and so romantic.

[A]

Oh, God, it's so romantic.

[B]

And now all of a sudden. I love the storm.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

I hated the storm. I was like, oh, it's so scary. Oh, my goodness. And now I'm like, oh, yeah, the thunder and the rain on the windows.

[A]

Because you can picture it, right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yes, I can actually picture. And sometimes there were parts in this book where it was very hard to imagine what Carissa was putting on the page. Okay, we struggled with that a little bit in this book, but this scene, you can see it. They're in the library. It's storming. There's flashes of lightning that illuminates the scene.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And Misha's holding on to the ladder. And they're on the piano.

[B]

Like, you can see she's also on the piano. Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's so beautiful.

[A]

So beautiful.

[B]

I loved this.

[A]

I absolutely loved this. Their relationship and romance in this book was absolutely incredible. And I feel like Karissa just keeps raising the bar and keeps taking it to another level with the romances. And I'm like, agreed. I don't know how you do it.

[B]

Girl, but because this does feel like a different romance than Orea and Rain. They're just different characters.

[A]

Totally.

[B]

They're different vibes. They need different things. And the way they speak to each other is different in their vulnerable moments. It's so beautiful to see these two couples that she's created that I feel like are real couples in different ways. And they're so vulnerable by the end of their duologies together. It's so cool. I love it.

[A]

It's really, really sweet. Okay, so we're gonna start our little journey. We're gonna go find a mask. But it's also a crown, though. It's also a crown. It's a mask that's also a crown. Because why? Because.

[B]

Because fantasy, you know, because fantasy, nothing can ever be straightforward, especially on a quest. So here we go.

[A]

Okay, so let's do a little lore rundown first. Okay. So we have Malum. And Maloom is a celebration that happens when the boundary between past and present is thinned and you can access a deeper well of power. Let's think of it in our heads as like a big party type event, very similar to what the Kajari was in the House of Night. But this is the House of Shadow version. Okay. Turns out it's perfect timing for Malum because the mask that's also a crown is in the Phasia, which is the House of Death, AKA Elys old stomping grounds. And Vathesia during Malum overlaps with the present day House of Shadows. So on Malum, there's like a film that goes over the House of Shadow and it's Vathasia. Okay, stay with me here.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And that enables us to go get the mask. We're going on a heist. Christina. We are going on a heist.

[B]

Let's go on a heist.

[A]

We love a heist.

[B]

We haven't been on a heist in a while. I'm so excited. We love it.

[A]

I know. We love a good heist. So we're at the big Malone party at the House of Shadow. Everyone's dressed up. Asar and Misha are dancing, and we are about to be all systems go on that heist plan. But who shows up? Who shows up?

[B]

Kimberlyn. Who says it? Kimberlyn. You say it. Who's here?

[A]

My baby. Rain. Rain is here, you guys.

[B]

Rain is here. This made our life. We knew Carissa told us Rain was coming in this book, and we believed her. And we were, like, patiently waiting. Y. And we got 20 chapters in, and we were like, where's our baby? And he was here. He arrived at the party. At the party. Oh, God. And she's. Oh, the dynamics.

[A]

My God. We're so excited to see Rain. We're like, thank God. Okay, we're gonna go in depth on him and their friendship later, but for now, we're gonna focus on this moment. Rain shows up. He's so worried. Oh, he's so worried for his bestie. Okay?

[B]

Panicked, panicked.

[A]

Clearly been panicked. They've been scared for her. And Rain thinks he's rescuing her, that Misha needs rescuing. Okay? So when he finally gets to her, and her response is, you need to leave, he's understandably, our baby is distraught. He's like, I'm sorry, hold on. He goes, we haven't heard from you for nearly a year, Mish. A fucking year. We knew you had been captured by the Shadowbor. Did you really think that we wouldn't come for you?

[B]

Oh.

[A]

And then he says, misha. Oh, God. He says, misha, if you're being forced into something. I'm not, I said quickly, we will burn this kingdom to the fucking ground. I don't care what wars we. Rain, stop, please. You don't understand. I said to Rain, you need to leave. Then help me understand. He stepped closer, and I jerked away. Hurt flinched over his face. A physical reaction, like I'd slapped him. I couldn't remember the last time I had greeted Rain with anything other than a hug. Gods. He gave the best hug. I actually can't handle this.

[B]

God.

[A]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[B]

I can't.

[A]

I was reading this, and I was like, karissa, when I said I wanted Rain back, this is not what I meant. I needed to be more clear.

[B]

Clearly, this is not what we meant. No, we wanted Rain back in a. In a hug way, in a happy way.

[A]

We meet across the ballroom. We're crushing into each other. He's grabbing her face. He's like, misha, oh, my God. We were so worried about you. She's like, rain, I missed you so much. That's what I Wanted. And instead, she was like, oh, you need to leave. And he's so hurt.

[B]

He's so sad. He's so sad. And like, it's a physical reaction. Like she'd slapped him when she jerks away. Oh, my God. Her saying that he gives the best hugs.

[A]

Best hugs.

[B]

I can't.

[A]

Shut up.

[B]

I can't.

[A]

Okay, so it's even worse because she basically has to leave him in the ballroom. She's like, G2G. TTY. We have to go get the mask. Okay. And he's like, hold on. Wait, What?

[B]

She's like, I. I'm so sad that you are here right now because this could not be worse timing. Worse timing? No, especially because, like, I. I truly do have to go. Because we only have a little bit of time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So toodaloo.

[A]

I. Toodaloo. Yep. She's like, okay, hold that thought. I may be right back. I don't know. We've gotta go get the mask.

[B]

Can you just imagine in Rain's head? He's like, what the actual fuck is going on?

[A]

He's so lost.

[B]

I finally find you. This is a huge deal that I even got here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We've been working for a year. We got here, here. And then Asar is like, oh, I'm her husband. And he's like, hold on. And then she's like, I have to go. He's like, I don't understand.

[A]

He's like, you need to leave. He's like, what the fuck is going on right now? You have a husband. You're telling me to leave? Come again?

[B]

What is happening?

[A]

Bless his little heart. God, he's so confused. But we do. Unfortunately, we have a heist. Okay. We've got to complete the heist.

[B]

You know, it's important.

[A]

We just have to. So we have to use our glyphs that Asar tortured out of Gideon, including the extra ones. Pin that for later. Okay? We've got to get past the Guardian. Oh, guys, what is it? What is the Guardian? It's a shark in water. Yay. This is my dream scenario.

[B]

It's Kim's dream.

[A]

Truly.

[B]

I read this, and I was like, oh, wow, Krissa, you really did Kim a number here. The idea of a shark swimming in water. You can't see the bottom is actually her nightmare. I mean, put that with some height lights. We're just checking off all Kim's boxes.

[A]

I literally. We joked in a chapter chat when Misha has to climb that rickety, perilous ladder to get up to a saar, and I was like, oh, this is my dream day. You just add a shark into it with dark water, and it's truly my perfect day. Well, guess Karissa was like, oh, perfect. No, that's what I'm gonna do. I am gonna add a shark in dark waters.

[B]

Don't worry. It's coming. Just keep reading. I got you.

[A]

Keep reading. You got it, girl. They're standing in the water, and the shark starts like, guys, absolutely. I'd have been like, a SAR far. It's been lovely. I actually can't physically stand in this water. I'm not gonna be able to help. I'll stand right here. You've got this. Okay?

[B]

I'll cheer you on from here, baby.

[A]

You're doing great, baby. You look so hot in your outfit. I cannot get into the water, though. The way I was like, God damn it, Carissa. Why do you do this to me?

[B]

Why? Oh, God. Oh, it's so.

[A]

But it's fine. They don't care about the shark.

[B]

No, they're not.

[A]

Not upset by that at all. So basically, there's a crack into the underworld. A Soul Eater comes in, grabs Misha. She pretty much dies again, question mark or more than she already died before.

[B]

It's unclear. You know, who's to say death is? Who knows?

[A]

Not us. We tried. It was a little unclear. There was a lot going on. Okay. It was a little chaotic.

[B]

Yeah. She dies a few times. It's fine.

[A]

She does. It's a very back and forth, up and down kind of situation. So Asar is like, well, I must wield the mask. Christina, what was acasia's one rule? What was acasia's one rule to Asar?

[B]

We don't wield the objects until we have all three. You only have one.

[A]

One.

[B]

You have the UNO object. You need to wait till you have the trace. Okay? That is our rule.

[A]

And he says, what?

[B]

And he says, well, as I've said, if Misha is in peril, there are no rules. So, yeah. Oh, what can I do? Let's put this mask. Mask on my face. Feel it burning into me. On my face.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And. Oh, we now have a new friend.

[A]

We have a new whispering friend in our head. And without spoiling anything, guys, this really reminded us of a certain part of the War of Lost Hearth series. And if you know, you know, I was like, oh, God. Oh, we're back. Okay. Wow.

[B]

Ptsd. It's happening. It's happening again.

[A]

Very ptsd. So now he has a little friend whispering in his head. Okay, that only gets worse. So let's just keep that in mind. That's fun. Now they do. He brings Misha back. Okay. They run back into Rain. And ultimately Misha has to command him because she can do that now, guys. She can compel people.

[B]

She can do a lot of things now.

[A]

There's no training. There's been no time for training. She's been dead half the time.

[B]

She's been literally dead in the Underworld.

[A]

Yeah, she.

[B]

She kind of mentions at some point, oh, yeah, Asar trained me on Shadowborn magic a little bit, but I didn't get to that level. Like, she kind of mentions that he trained her a little bit back in Songbird, but she can all of a sudden do lots of things. She can mind speak, she can command compel people. And she can make pretty shadow pictures. She. We've leveled up, you know, girls really done well for herself and her. Self taught. She self taught?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We don't know when that happened. Maybe when she. In the interim of dying and Vincent waking her up, maybe we.

[A]

Maybe there was some personal development happening that we didn't know about. She took some personal development classes.

[B]

She went to some courses.

[A]

Yeah, she took some courses. Yeah. Got some certifications. And she can now compel Rain, who, by the way, is the King of the House of Night. Just need to be clear. Very powerful man.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Vampire.

[B]

She can command him.

[A]

She can command him. Yep, she sure can.

[B]

Well, she is the Queen of the Underworld, so maybe, you know, she.

[A]

She is the queen of the. Yeah, that's true. We're both royalty, so she.

[B]

But do. Does she.

[A]

She. No, she doesn't know that. She doesn't know that yet.

[B]

Has it happened yet? I don't know. I don't understand.

[A]

See, that's unclear. I don't.

[B]

When did she get that power? Like, has that happened yet? I don't know. Okay?

[A]

We don't know.

[B]

Well, we'll get there.

[A]

We're confused. But they run back into Rain, and Misha has to command him. And she speaks into his mind. She says, you will leave right now. You will go back to the House of Night. You will not come back here looking for me. You will hug Aeya and tell her.

[B]

That you love her.

[A]

And you'll. You'll stay safe. All right?

[B]

You will go. Stay safe. I can't. Guys.

[A]

This is so heartbreaking. This was so devastating to read. And Rain is holding his hand out to her, and then he just pulls his hand back and looks at it like he doesn't remember why he had it outstretched to her.

[B]

It is so heartbreaking. And it breaks her too. She's just. This absolutely breaks her that she has to do this.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And Asar senses it too. She is distraught.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But the go hug a Raya and tell her you love her and, and stay safe is so real and beautiful and honest and I just. God, we'll get to their friendship next week. But it is so well done.

[A]

Oh, it's so, so good. I also like to imagine that Rain went home and oh, Ray is like, oh my God, how did it go? And Rain's like, she's married. And ay is like, what? What do you mean? What do you mean? He's like, I don't know. She's married to who? I don't know. When did they get married? I don't. I don't know. Who. Who, who is he? Like, like who? What has she been doing for the last year? I don't know. What do you mean? What were you doing over there? Like what? It's like every husband comes home with the tea and then there's no follow up questions asked. And array is like, damn it, I should have just gone. I knew I should have just gone. Rain, you can't do anything. Exactly.

[B]

Why did I send you? Why can't I just do it myself? God damn it, Rain.

[A]

I would have gotten all the information from Misha.

[B]

It is exactly. It is. All our husbands are like, yeah. Oh my God, they got engaged. Where were they? Oh, I don't know. Well, what'd you say? Did they cry? I don't know. What's the ring look like? I. I don't.

[A]

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

[B]

When are they getting married? I don't. I don't know.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

What do you talk about? What? Yeah, what was said and why were.

[A]

No follow up questions ever asked ever about anything. Get it together.

[B]

I love this headcanon. And it is fof canon. Now.

[A]

That's fof canon. Now that. That is the conversation.

[B]

I love this so freaking much. The idea that Aurelia was like, like what? So, so what did you say? So what? But what happened when you left? Like, so when you left though?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Did she say, was she okay? Like, I don't really, like, remember leaving. So I don't know. Actually, it's unclear. What, what do you mean? What do you mean? Like, did you say come with us?

[A]

Yeah, I actually can't remember.

[B]

You know.

[A]

I don't actually know. She's like, what are you. What's going on right now?

[B]

Like, you know What I would have loved. I would have loved, loved his use of, like, their ghosty friend, Jessamine. Isn't she ghost?

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's who that is. Jessamine.

[B]

Jessamine. Am I conflating this? Another series?

[A]

The Ghosty Girl. Yes. I was wondering who that was.

[B]

Yeah. I would have loved the use of her. Where then Rain could be like, I sent her, though, to follow them.

[A]

Great idea.

[B]

Secretly or something.

[A]

Yes, Christina. Yes.

[B]

That would have been helpful for Rainy. But it's not Rainy's story, so. You know.

[A]

That's right. This is Misha's story.

[B]

Maybe he did, and we don't know. Know.

[A]

Yeah. Okay, what's next?

[B]

Okay, so next up, we're going to go get an eye, which turns out is not an eye, it's an axe. So, you know.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

We venture to the Dark Lands. Turns out they're not really that dark, but, yeah, you know.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And we need some new friends for this mission. We're going to meet Septimus's cousin Atreus and Selena. Hey, guys. Welcome to the crew. Yeah, fun fact, actually, friends, these are the leads of Carissa's little, little spin off series. I think it's 2.5 in the series order on Goodreads called Slaying the Vampire Conqueror. The two leads of that book are Atreus and Selina.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which really, we should have put together.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because this is our job. One, but two, because we have looked at that cover so many times and noticed the guy with the horns and been like, why does he have horns?

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So then the second that here, Asar was like, huh? Ah, he has horns. We should have been like, is that horn man?

[A]

Is that horn man? Yep.

[B]

Turns out it is. And also turns out we will be reading and chatting about Slaying the Vampire Conqueror over on Patreon in the next few months. Shout out to Catherine Rae for choosing that as the book for us to read. We're very excited about it.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Especially now. Like, we are so pumped. So.

[A]

Agreed.

[B]

Stay tuned for that on Patreon.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Okay, so, friends, here. Here's our description of the landscape of the Darklands. Okay, go with me here. Quote, there was no sky, only upside down terrain hanging overhead like a shattered mirror in which each shard offered a glimpse of another world. White dunes, lush forests, majestic mountain ranges. In one shard, I recognized a glimpse of the House of Shadow. In another, a sliver of Vostas, Misha's homeland. The fractures between them glowed with ethereal gold, like bursts of light, streaking back and forth like shooting Stars.

[A]

You lost me.

[B]

Okay, okay. You lost. Now, while. While that is gorgeous, while that is lush and gorgeous storytelling, this was also one of the times that the world building felt a little much to us because, again, don't get me wrong, they are beautiful. And I'm sure people are out there like you dum dums. That is just, you know, read the sentence over and again and you'll get it. It's not that. If we don't get it, it's not that we don't grasp it. Sure. It's just that we spent so much time describing the complex landscape. Landscapes and then not sitting in them for very long.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It felt like maybe our locations could have been a little less complex or we could have spent more time there. Yeah. Like all of the Dark Lands could have looked the same to me. We did. I didn't need to have one little section of Dark Lands look like this. And then all of a sudden, it's another really complex description. And I feel like a lot of time was spent on the complex descriptions, which, again, is gorgeous fantasy storytelling. But when we're on a quest and they're changing so often, it felt like. Like a lot to work to grasp them and then have to start over.

[A]

Agreed.

[B]

I. I felt like it was kind of hard to grasp.

[A]

So I agree with that for sure.

[B]

Although they are gorgeous. They are, yeah. Today, gorgeous. But yes. Anyway. Okay, so major takeaway from our time in the Dark Lands is our showdown with Srana.

[A]

Wow, guys, this was intense.

[B]

Oh, Nelly, was it intense? Okay, so. Oh, there's a lot of clicking, a lot of ticking. Oh, God. So, okay, so a quick reminder. Serana is the goddess of machinery, knowledge, and science. She is a member of the white pantheon. And most notably, she does. She. She does appear as a. Like a spider robot creature.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

She's got clockwork eyes and, like, metal skin and knives for fingers. And pretty much, she is not that spidery Frankenstein toy of Sids from Toy Story. You know, that kid across the street that, like, Frankenstein's his toys, and one of them is, like, the doll head on the little spider body? That is how we will forever be picturing Sirana. And that's s. To us, it's canon. Okay.

[A]

Yep. Absolutely.

[B]

That's her.

[A]

So if you were also struggling to picture Sirana, it's a baby doll head on a mechanical spider leg body. Okay.

[B]

There you go. And one eye is a clock. And she's got no hair because it's been cut off.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And she's got of, like, been drawn on yes. And she just clicks and it's very creepy and unsettling. It is very unsettling. It is very stressful. So pretty much we find out that Serana has been hiding out here in the Darklands, using the God power from the site of Elys death to fuel her forge to create a little army of scary machinery, spiders. So of course she turns on them because you know, what is one to do, right? And wait, oh, guess who else is here. Here. The Sentinel. Guys, this is time. Probably the 12th. It feels like the 12th time we've seen the Sentinel. Thus far. We haven't mentioned the Sentinel yet because we couldn't emotionally. The amount of times that the Sentinel.

[A]

Came up, it was too much.

[B]

But I'm going to tell you that from now on we're going to be calling this Sentinel, this Sentinel.

[A]

The Sentinel.

[B]

The amount of times that the Sentinel shows up, we are aware it's Sasha, but like up until then we're going to call it the Sentinel. Okay.

[A]

It was too much.

[B]

So the Sentinel arrives and the Forge explodes. And Atrus and Selina use the last of the snow magic to peace out. Which like, I don't really blame them. They are in love. Atreus is like, I gotta save her. She's also blind, right? She's blind. She's like feeling around. She can't see side cuz she can't see. Cuz usually she can see from like lines of fate or something. Again, we'll learn in slaying the vapor conquer. But she which you can't see in the forge and it is a flame and horned man. Atreus is like, well, I'm going to use the last of this snow. I promised to get you here. I didn't promise to get you out. Don't make deals with the fae, you know, boom.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

But okay, the Forge explodes, there's fire, there's the Sentinel. Of course there's another crack in the underworld because you know, of course. And there's wraiths there. And Misha and the Sentinel followed the Forge into the fire and the wraiths down there are helping her, which now makes sense. Sense.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And Vincent's face like pushes through all the wraiths.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

It's like the most clear of the like wall of wraiths. And his like pushes through and he's.

[A]

Like, yeah, listen to me, wield the axe.

[B]

Okay. So he convinces her to wield the ax.

[A]

Oh God, the imagery of that is hysterical. It wasn't when we read it.

[B]

You know how in Casper there's the ghost. It's almost like that old school Disney ish. You can kind of see their hands coming through the. The wall in, like, the Haunted Mansion or something. And just picturing Vincent's face really popping forward, he's like, like, we've got to go, Misha.

[A]

You got to do this.

[B]

Listen to me. Wield the ax. Okay. So he reminds her that she has a little bit of Alaris power, too.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So she can wield that ax. So, girl, you pick it up and wield it.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

She does pick it up. She does fight the Sentinel again. But she reaches out a hand to save the Sentinel, which. Okay, fine. But then she is godlike because she's wielded this axe, and the axe is. The eye is kind of talking to her and is like, ooh, you're new. What's. Ooh. Interesting. Who are you? And it's really creepy. And she just, like, scales out of the forge like a little goddess spider. And she saves Asar because he's not doing too well with Srana's army of machines.

[A]

No.

[B]

And she gives him the axe. Axe.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, but, oh, no. The gods are coming.

[A]

Uh oh.

[B]

And without the Eye Axe power, Misha is dying again. Or dying more. Or it's not good.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

So Asar then is like, well, what do I do in these scenarios? I wield my trove.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And now there's two. Well, best wield them both. And so he wields the mask and the Eye. Both of them.

[A]

Yeah. Even though. Again.

[B]

Again.

[A]

We're not supposed to do that.

[B]

Acacia Simmer being like, oh, my. Oh, my God. Oh. Oh, my God.

[A]

Again. What did I say? Why does nobody listen to me when I speak to them?

[B]

I am the Goddess of Fate. If there's anyone to listen to. Tis I. I understand she's about to.

[A]

Die, but, like, I just feel like we weren't listening.

[B]

I feel like we should have pinned it, you know? Listen to the fof, girlies. Your book bestie tells you to pin it.

[A]

Yeah. You should have pinned it.

[B]

So anyways, he does wield them both.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And he thinks this quote. I needed to take her somewhere safe, somewhere we could hide, if only for a little while. I had seconds to decide. And when I arrived at our only answer, I knew she would hate me for it. But at least if she hated me, she would be alive. And where does he take her, Kim? Where does he take her?

[A]

He takes her to the House of Night. To be with rain.

[B]

Yes. Oh, my God. It's good. Yes. I loved this because again, we saw rain. We were like, is this the only thing we get of rain, Carissa? What a tease. I wanted to see them together.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And then in this moment, this is the cliffhanger of that chapter, and you're like, oh, please let him take her to rain. That's the safety. And we knew she'll hate it because she wants to keep them safe, but please go, oh. And he does. And, God, it's good.

[A]

Oh, it's so good. It is so good.

[B]

And that's actually where we're gonna wrap it for today. We're gonna pick up next week at the House of Night and end everything that happens in this epic ending of this book.

[A]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so we will see you next week. Bye.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

Bye. 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 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 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.