S5 : Ep 27 - The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent PART 2

Summary

Flights of Fantasy S5 : Ep 27

The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent — PART 2

Episode Date: September 2, 2025
Hosts: Christina, Kim, Anna

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Episode Overview

In this deep-dive episode, Christina, Kim, and Anna continue exploring Carissa Broadbent’s Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk (Book 4 in the Crowns of Nyaxia series), focusing on the second half of the book. The hosts enthusiastically break down major plot developments, character arcs (especially Misha and Asar), world-building twists, and emotional moments, while providing lively banter and critical analysis. The discussion also sets the stage for the next duology, speculating on what’s to come in the Bloodborne-themed fifth book.

Spoiler Warning: This episode contains spoilers for all Crowns of Nyaxia books (except the upcoming Slaying the Vampire Conqueror).

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The House of Night Reunion: Rain, Misha, and Friendship

• [05:08–10:40]
  • The crew discusses the heartfelt reunion between Rain and Misha at the House of Night.
  • Rain’s concern for Misha (“Where the hell have you been? … Do you have any idea the things that we have been doing to find you? … I’m alive. God, I love him.” – Kim [05:28]) draws attention to the depth of their friendship.
  • They praise the way Carissa Broadbent uses Rain and Misha to connect the two duologies, grounding the world and showing character growth: Rain is now the bridge between the books and highlights Misha's transformation into a stronger character.

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Asar & Misha: Romance, Touch, and Recovery

• [11:22–15:30]
  • The hosts celebrate the couple’s long-awaited opportunity for intimacy:
    “We get some sexy time where we can actually touch each other … There’s no sheets—well, maybe there’s sheets—but the skin to skin is happening.” – Christina [11:37]
  • Their sex scene is appreciated not only for heat but emotional resonance: it’s the first time their drinking of each other's blood is about pleasure, not survival.
  • Memorable, validating quote from Asar during post-intimacy heart-to-heart:
    “You are not, never have been and never will be an offering, Misha. … Any of them would be lucky to kneel before you. As am I.” – Asar (quoted by Christina) [14:32]
  • The hosts praise Broadbent’s subversions of the “offering/possession” trope, demonstrating growth and healing in both characters after trauma.

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Music, Shadow Magic, and Dreaming of a Future

• [16:04–18:39]
  • The cello returns as a powerful symbol:
    “He’s like behind her, guiding her hands as they play the music, and they, like, dream together about their future…” – Christina [16:40]
  • Misha’s amplified shadow magic visually paints their hopes and possible futures:
    “Countless dreams for the future encapsulated in a single song.” – [17:40]
  • Kim goes feral for the “precious soul that held the best of both of us” (i.e., baby foreshadowing).

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The Heist, Gideon's Return, and Godly Chaos

• [19:38–24:49]
  • The heist for Alaris’ blood goes wrong—Veil is revealed to be Gideon in disguise, whom everyone thought dead.
    “I did not see this coming at all. I thought he was dead. I thought Asar killed him.” – Kim [20:54]
  • Gideon’s machinations serve as a plot anchor, but the sequence’s lore and symbolism felt a bit chaotic for the hosts. They joke about being “lost”—but appreciate the drama.

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The Sentinel Revealed & Misha's Trials at the Citadel

• [24:26–28:52]
  • The Sentinel abducts Misha yet again, leading to her trial at the Citadel.
  • The rationale behind the gods’ vendetta against the Citadel feels muddy to the hosts—motivation is unclear, but the emotional tension is high.
  • The sequence with prophecy and tapestries is described as “too confusing” and possibly unnecessary for the story.

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Asar's Ascension: Prologue Come Full Circle

• [29:02–33:00]
  • The group celebrates Carissa’s foreshadowing prowess, realizing the prologue described the exact Ascension scene: “The carve your heart out for it is some of the most amazing cool foreshadowing I’ve ever read.” – Christina [31:36] Favorite Quote (Carissa Broadbent, via Asar’s POV in prologue): “Oh, how the shadows shift upon the past depending on the light of the present.” [29:43 — Kim]
  • Asar makes the ultimate sacrifice, bargaining with Nyaxia to save Misha and forgets her as payment—a devastating, romantic twist.

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Nyaxia and Vincent: Morally Gray Motives

• [35:13–43:20]
  • The hosts debate Nyaxia’s role: is she evil, or a tragic, love-driven figure warped by betrayal? “It was the only thing Nyaxia craved more than power. Love.” – Christina [36:46]
  • Vincent returns, providing both levity and complexity. He doesn't get a redemption arc, but tries to do right by Misha and Oreya after failing them in life. Notable Quote:
    “Grief has a way of sanding down all the complicated parts of a person in the eyes of the living. It freezes them to a single moment.” – [41:22] “None of it would erase the things he had done, but at least he was choosing a better future.” – Misha about Vincent [43:02]

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The Sentinel/Sasha and Sibling Relationships

• [43:34–47:04]
  • Some “Sentinel fatigue” sets in, but the final scene with Sasha/Sentinel and Misha brings emotional closure. “How do I feel bad for this fucking Sentinel Sesha?” – Christina [45:51]
  • The messy, real resonance of loving someone you also resent is praised as authentically humanizing.

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Faith, Religion, & Devotion: Thematic Exploration

• [47:08–54:13]
  • The podcast highlights Broadbent’s use of faith as a tool for character development, especially in parallel journeys (Misha and Kyreni). Notable Quotes: “Here in her presence, I knew worship. Misha. I whispered a prayer.” – Asar [52:08] “I wanted to bury myself before her. I wanted to cut myself open for her, let her take whatever she wanted and treasure the scars for the rest of my pathetic life.” – Asar [51:11]
  • The potential for this motif to continue in the upcoming duology with Kyreni as the protagonist is also discussed.

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The Climactic Showdown, Sacrifice Denied, and Shared Heart

• [54:53–61:14]
  • Misha embarks on her own Underworld quest, gathering her “trove items”: the poppy, the bird-skull mask/crown, and the heart.
  • In a reversal of Asar’s earlier sacrifice, Misha refuses to let him go, sharing Alaris’ heart between them so both recover and survive. Emotional Resolution: “I love you, Asar Velari, Warden of Morthran, King of the Underworld, heir of Alaris. I love you. And in this life or the next, worlds mortal or divine, I will never let you go.” – Misha [58:33] “My queen. My light, my darkness, my future. The answer to every question, the ending to every single sentence. … Hello, dawn drinker, I whispered. She smiled through her tears. Hello, Warden. And I kissed her again as the Underworld bowed around us.” – Asar [60:13]

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Epilogue & Next Duology Setup: War, Time Jump, and New Leads

• [67:20–77:46]
  • After the happy ending, the podcast explores the epilogue and clues for Book 5.
  • The gods split dominion: Akasia takes House of Night and Death, while Nyaxia retains House of Shadow and Blood. War looms.
  • Septimus (Bloodborne prince) is the new POV, and the narrative jumps 10 years ahead—a necessity because Kyreni, the new female lead, was a teenager in Fallen. “He could feel that the end was coming. The slog was nearly over. A decade of carefully maneuvered problems. … A decade of making himself so very indispensable.” – Kim quoting epilogue [70:44]
  • Kyreni, now a bounty hunter with a divine sword, will partner with/oppose Septimus—setting up an enemies-to-lovers, revenge-driven, action-packed duology.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Friendship:
  “This is what we’re after. The besties. They’re together, They’ve grown, and it’s beautiful.” – Christina [05:23]

• Romantic Devotion:
  “Don’t just talk about this as if, you know, you were trying to help me get there, and then now I’m there, and now I don’t need you anymore. You can’t be a part of it.” – Christina [08:12]

• Full Circle Prologue:
  “Oh, how the shadows shift upon the past depending on the light of the present.” – Kim reading prologue [29:43]
  “The carve your heart out for it is some of the most amazing cool foreshadowing I’ve ever read.” – Christina [31:36]

• Wedding Ceremony:
  “Your pain is my pain. Your heart is my heart. … I bind myself to you.” – Asar & Misha’s vows [64:40]

• Home at Last:
  “In the Underworld, I found hope. And here in his twin soul, in this love we built together, I finally found it. Home.” – Christina reading from final scene [66:04]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:08] Rain & Misha’s reunion at House of Night
• [11:22] Asar & Misha’s first touch and intimacy
• [14:36] “You are not an offering”—Asar’s validation
• [16:04] The cello callback & dreaming of a future
• [20:54] Gideon’s shocking return
• [29:43] Prologue analysis & Asar’s Ascension
• [35:13] Nyaxia’s motives dissected
• [41:22] Vincent & grief
• [45:51] Sasha (Sentinel) sibling resolution
• [51:11/52:08] Asar’s religious devotion to Misha
• [58:33] Misha’s ultimate love declaration
• [60:13] Underworld bows to the new king & queen
• [64:40] Wedding ceremony scene
• [67:20] Set-up for Bloodborne duology and time jump
• [70:44] Septimus POV and war-worn world

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Looking Forward – Book 5 Speculation

• Title: The Lion and the Deathless Dark (Announced for August 2026)
• Focus: Septimus (Bloodborne prince) and Kyreni (former acolyte, now bounty hunter with goddess sword)
• Tone: Action-packed enemies-to-lovers, curses, prophecies, and possible god-slaying.
• Series Themes Set to Continue: Morally gray characters, romance, faith, and found family.

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode is rich with fangirl excitement, critical nuance, and genuine affection for both the text and its characters. The hosts’ banter is playful yet incisive, as they move fluidly between deep analysis and lighthearted, meme-worthy commentary ("Vinnie!", “Skin to skin!”, “What those hands do, Asar!”).

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Useful Links

• Podcast IG/TikTok: @flightsoffantasypodcast
• Patreon for chapter chats: patreon.com/flightsoffantasypodcast

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This summary brings together both the warmth and depth of Flights of Fantasy’s signature bookish banter and the thoughtful breakdowns that help listeners fully savor—and relive—the second half of Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk before the series' next chapter takes flight.

Transcript

[Christina]

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[Kim]

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[Christina]

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[Kim]

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[Christina]

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[Kim]

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[Christina]

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[Kim]

We save.

[Christina]

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[Kim]

Massachusetts.

[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.

[Kim]

Into the characters, theories, lore and magic.

[Christina]

Behind all your favorite fantasy romance books.

[Kim]

Hello book besties. We are so excited to be back with Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk Part two by our queen, Carissa Broadbent.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

If you have not listened to Part one, please go back and do that. And we are so, so excited to jump in. There is so many amazing conversations and quotes that we are so excited to read. But before we get started we are going to do a little Patreon announcements with Christina.

[Christina]

Yes. Oh my goodness. We are having so much fun over on Patreon. All of this planning and summer lineup is just really paying off. We are having the best time over there. Our Tier one book besties, as always, as a reminder, get ad free access to every episode. They also get that a day early friends.

[Kim]

Yeah they do.

[Christina]

And romance reviews which has been such a fun little delight to record and write. And all of that for you guys.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And Tier two, our book, y'. All. They get everything that Tier one gets. Plus three new series. For Tier two, we have trending pages where we break down the hottest romantic books. We've done Shield of Sparrows. We have done Silver Elite. Yep, lots of fun times over there. Also Cauldron Chats where yours truly breaks down an acotar theme that you guys vote on. Also we have our SJM series where we deep dive couples, characters and scenes from all of SJM's series.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

And last but not least, we have our beloved and Our coveted chapter chats.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Over on patreon for tier 2, where at least two of us pause every few chapters as we're reading a new release. We cover theories, we cover all of our thoughts in real time.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And if you're interested, we have four, count them, four, fallen chapter chats.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

They are lengthy and they are fun. So if you want to hear our unhinged, unedited, fun, real time thoughts on this book, check that out over on Patreon. Exclusive for Tier two. Yes. So if you want more from us, please come on over and join our patreon [e-mail] Flights of Fantasy podcast. We would absolutely love to have you. Okay, Kim, speaking of Patreon, let's do some shout outs.

[Kim]

Let's do some shout outs. So another benefit of being one of our tier 2 book batches is that you get a special shout out in one of our episodes.

[Christina]

So.

[Kim]

So in this episode, we are going to be shouting out Lisette P, Jessica Willis and Lindsay Dowel. Thank you guys so, so much for supporting us. Truly. Say it all the time, mean it all the time. We could not do this without the support of our patrons. You guys make it possible to keep doing this podcast. And we are so, so endlessly grateful for all of you for supporting us. We love you.

[Christina]

We truly, truly are. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. We love you.

[Kim]

Yes. Okay, so this is your official spoiler warning for all of the Crowns of Naxia series so far, minus Slaying the Vampire, because we haven't read it yet, but we will be reading it this fall over on Patreon. But that is Serpent and the Wings of Night, Ashes and the Star, Cursed King Songbird and the Heart of Stone Fallen in the Kiss of Dusk, as well as a little bit of Six Scorched Roses, the novella, potentially, just to be safe.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

What? Oh, guys.

[Kim]

Oh, wow.

[Christina]

Where did we leave off, Kim? Where did we leave our friends? They were about to journey somewhere very special. And where was that?

[Kim]

They sure were. And that would be the House of Night with my sweetest baby angel, Rayne, and. Oh, Raya. Oh. Oh, wow. We're back.

[Christina]

Was everything. We could not be more back. And I'm so happy, like we said last week, that this is how she used the House of Night, that it wasn't just rain's gonna show up. We have to command him to leave. We go, we have the combos, we get the special time. It was everything we wanted. Oh, so good.

[Kim]

I was so happy because I was.

[Christina]

A Little bit worried when I was.

[Kim]

Like, that's it with Rain. Like, that's it. That's all we have him for. I don't love that. I needed to be more clear. And Carissa was like, hold on. Let's practice patience.

[Christina]

Hold those horses.

[Kim]

And here we go. And it paid off, and it's incredible. But I want to pause here and discuss Rain and Misha for a minute, because there were so many sweet moments between them in this section, and it just warmed my heart. This is what I wanted. I wanted the best friend vibes.

[Christina]

This is what we're after. The besties. They're together, They've grown, and it's beautiful.

[Kim]

Yeah, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. So he. This is Rain talking to Misha. Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea the things that we have been doing to find you? You couldn't send us a letter? A few fucking sent is saying, hello, Rain, how's the weather? I'm alive. God, I love him.

[Christina]

You know what's extra sad about that is, like, she's not technically alive.

[Kim]

She.

[Christina]

She is dead.

[Kim]

She's like. Not to interject, but I actually was kind of dead.

[Christina]

I actually couldn't send you that letter because I was not alive and I am not still.

[Kim]

Yeah. I don't even know if I could hold a pen. So I actually wasn't. I don't know that that would have been available to me, but I get where you're coming from. I just, like, technically, I wasn't alive, but I wasn't fully dead. It was. Right. There was a lot going on. It was a very confusing time. There were things suspended in gelatin. There wasn't time.

[Christina]

The gelatin. Oh, God.

[Kim]

He's like, come again? Things suspended. You know what? Never mind. I don't need to know.

[Christina]

You know what? Oh, God, I love this. I love this. And also, I love here that he's like, do you have any idea the things that we have been doing to find you? It just really shows us this little snapshot into what him and Oreya have been feeling and doing the last year. I just have this, like, headcanon of Oreya trying to make sure Rain's okay, because he's just frantic about Misha all the time. And it's just. And in that headspace, then, yeah, they find her, and then she commands him to leave. And then Asar just shoots down from the sky, holding her. And, yeah, you know, they're like, what did you do to her? I didn't do anything. To her. You can believe me or not. Just save her.

[Kim]

Right?

[Christina]

And then he's like, what the fuck is going on?

[Kim]

Yeah. Rain's like, I'm going to have a panic attack.

[Christina]

I'm at capacity. I don't understand. Understand?

[Kim]

Yeah. It's so sweet. And so they're having a conversation, and Rain's like, you know what pisses me off is that you felt like you had to do that, that you had to compel me. You had to command me. I've known you for nearly a century, Misha, nearly a hundred goddess damned years. Haven't I earned your trust? The words cut, but it was the look on his face, genuine, vulnerable beneath the rough edge of his frustration that pierced my heart.

[Christina]

It's so beautiful and heartbreaking and real.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

He's like, what, are you kidding me? I thought above all else that we trusted each other. Like, I thought that was. That was a given.

[Kim]

Yeah. Yeah. So Misha shares with Rain that it's not about trust, that it was about protecting him. She didn't want her death and her Atroxas trauma or her wraith hood to stain the good life that he's finally building for himself. And then, sweetest baby Angel, Rain says to her, quote, you are a part of that life, not just a stepping stone to get to it.

[Christina]

Oh, God.

[Kim]

Shut up. That's beautiful. Shut up.

[Christina]

It's beautiful and it's so real. He's like, hold on. This beautiful life I'm building, you are.

[Kim]

A part of that. Yeah.

[Christina]

Don't just talk about this as if, you know, you were trying to help me get there, and then now I'm there, and now I don't need you anymore. You can't be a part of it.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yeah. It's so good and beautiful.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Oh, I love them so much.

[Kim]

I know. You know, they're talking and Misha's like, it's you and me, right? That was their mantra, right? It was. It's you and me. Right. When they were two broken people keeping each other alive. Nothing else did. And. And we really see their friendship in this scene pivot from enabling each other and enabling those demons and that shame and the trauma and the guilt to really healing. They are both on a healing journey, and it's so, so beautiful to see. And I think it's really interesting how Carissa used Misha in Rain's story and then how Rain is used in Misha's story. So I think, going back to Serpent, Misha is really used to humanize Rain and to make Us trust him. Because when you meet Misha and Serpent in the wings of Night, you instantly trust her. Instantly. You're like, okay, this is Sunshine in human form. She is an angel. Like.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Therefore, you know that Rain can't be evil because Misha wouldn't be his friend if he was. Right.

[Christina]

Yes, 100%. It really, really makes you trust Rain without even thinking about it.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

Or makes it feel like there's more to him than you are seeing than.

[Kim]

Like you're seeing on the page. Absolutely. And then I think Rain is used in Misha's story to remind us where she came from and to remind us how far she's come. Because the Misha in Serpent is a vastly different character to the Misha we see here in Fallen. And Rain even tells her he sound different, stronger. Oh, she is, because she is.

[Christina]

And she's on her own journey and she's living her own life and finding her own power.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And that's then him recognizing that and seeing that. And I do think those moments from him do remind us, like you said, that she is stronger now and that we are seeing that she has had all this growth.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Since the first duology.

[Kim]

Yeah, absolutely. I also do think that Carissa uses Rain here to kind of help tie the two duologies together. And I think it really helps grab around us in the world and reminding us that it is the same world. Because these books feel very, very different to Serpent and Ashes for me.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Wildly different. Like, is this the same world? This feels so different. We had the Descent and now we're in the Underworld, and it was just. It felt tonally very different. And so I think Rain is a really great bridge to remind us of, like, hey, this is still the same world. He's still here. They're still best friends. They still have that connection. And it really does help ground you to be like, okay, yes, Rain and Oreo, I remember them. I remember their story. And it really helps kind of tie.

[Christina]

The whole together, I think, 100%. I think that's perfectly said and so effective that Carissa did that and bridges those gaps. Because, like you said, I mean, there's moments of this duology that felt almost sci fi that I feel like was not something we thought or said at all about the first duology.

[Kim]

No.

[Christina]

So I think, yes, bringing this together, reminding us that we are all in the same world, was hugely helpful with Rain and Oreya and also with our trip to House of Night. We're back with In House of Night physically, as a reader, as well, which was really helpful.

[Kim]

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Oh, but what is another great thing that happens when we're at the house of Night? Christina, who I'd love to tell you.

[Christina]

Okay, so a very important, pivotal, if you will, part of our trip to the house of night is that, friends, we get some sexy time where we can actually touch each other.

[Kim]

Hallelujah.

[Christina]

There's no sheets. Well, maybe there's sheets, but the skin to skin is happening. Okay.

[Kim]

Yeah, that's right. Skin to skin.

[Christina]

Whenever I say skin to skin, I think about, like, a newborn baby. It's like, really just not sexy. Okay, Right.

[Kim]

It's fine.

[Christina]

All right. But here is very sexy.

[Kim]

It's very sexy.

[Christina]

Oh, my gosh, guys. And let me tell you, this was worth the wait. Friends, listeners. Oh, my goodness. Was this good?

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So, okay, so we start out. Misha is mad at Asar because he wielded both the eye and the mask to save her, and she's scared for him. And of course, in true, Asar, he's just doubling down that her safety is all that matters. Which, you know, we love a protective kink.

[Kim]

We do.

[Christina]

But they're in the throes of this argument, and then all of a sudden, without thinking, Asar just reaches for her hand and he grabs it, and he can touch her and she can feel him, and Tis a miracle. Tis a miracle. Miracle. And I love that it does kind of feel like this miracle, because even in this moment, Misha is like, how? What happened? How can you touch me? How can I feel this? And Asar just keeps saying, I don't care. I don't care. Like, I. I don't even care. This. This is all that matters.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And I love that so much. 1. It felt as a reader, I was like, oh, yeah, how does this happening? But you're right, Asar. It doesn't matter. Just. I don't care. I don't care either.

[Kim]

This is not an important question. Let's move on.

[Christina]

It's really not. And I also love that Asar and Nisha are so inquisitive, and really so much of their personalities are wanting to figure out the answers to everything.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And then at this moment, it doesn't matter.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

And all that matters is they can touch each other and they just don't care about why.

[Kim]

Oh, it's so good.

[Christina]

Oh, it's so good. And they have sex, and it's so good. They have, like, the good, sexy times, everyone.

[Kim]

Yeah, it's fantastic.

[Christina]

And it's so hot. And it's like Everything we wanted. And they both drink from each other in a sexy way. Which was really cool to see.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Because it wasn't about saving the other one.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

It wasn't about them being in grave danger. It was only pleasure and only this vulnerability. Yes. Which was really neat and really fun to see. So after that, they're cuddling and they're laughing and they're being so adorable. And Misha just says that she didn't know that sex could be like this, that it could be fun. And Asar kind of stiffens and he says it wasn't fun before. And Misha says, of course it wasn't fun. It was, you know, an offering. Oh. You know, as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. His face hardened. You are not, never have been and never will be an offering, Misha. I was already laughing off, already turning away. But he caught my hand. Look at me, he said. There was no compulsion in the command. But I obeyed anyway. Asar's stare was steady and yet so painfully gentle. He always had seen too much of me, even on that very first night. You are not an offering. Not to Atraxas or any other God. Any of them would be lucky to kneel before you. He pressed his mouth to my bare shoulder. As am I. Oh, God.

[Kim]

As am I.

[Christina]

It's so good. It's so good. And I just love this. He needs her to look at him. You are not an offering.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And then I just love that they would be. Not for Atrax or any other God. Any of them would be lucky to kneel before you.

[Kim]

Before you. Which is flipping it being like, no, not only are you not an offering to a God, but they should be kneeling before you. Because I want to kneel before you.

[Christina]

And I am also a God.

[Kim]

And I am also a God. God. And I'm going to kneel before you. And it's so sad, because that's what she's been told her whole life, is that she is an offering for Atraxa. She exists to make him happy, for his pleasure. And it's not about her. It's never been about her. We saw that in Songbird.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

And so for him to be like, no, you are not an offering. Absolutely not. Don't think that about yourself.

[Christina]

Oh, it's beautiful. Something about the lucky. They would be lucky to kneel before you. Oh, my God. I just love it so much.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

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.

[Kim]

Customize and save. We save.

[Christina]

That may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty, Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings. Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts. Okay, something else. We love, love, love about this section.

[Kim]

Oh, my go.

[Christina]

This cello moment. I cannot believe Carissa brought back the cello. I can't. I can't believe it. We are just dying that this cello got brought back. I mean, also, you know, shout out to our Songbird episodes, but we were like, yeah, let him play your cello.

[Kim]

Play your cello, girl. What those hands do. Usar.

[Christina]

God, it was good.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And it's just this precious little callback to when he told her in Songbird that he'd always wanted to learn how to play the cello. And that was such a really interesting piece of him that really brought out more of his backstory, like, made us understand him more. It really was another interesting layer.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So she gives him a cello. They end up playing it together. He's, like, behind her, guiding her hands as they play the music, and they, like, dream together about their future, like, this hopeful future, which is so beautiful and amazing that either of them are even allowing themselves to hope for this future. And we'll get to more of that later, but Misha then is using her shadow magic around them to paint the picture of what they are, are feeling through the music.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Also, girl Shadow magic all of a sudden is tenfold incredible.

[Kim]

Like, it's level advanced.

[Christina]

Asar level.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So I'm guessing at this point, she has somehow, the reason her Shadowborn magic is all of a sudden amazing is because she is already the Queen somehow of the Underworld. Like, some of that is already, like, maybe because he claimed her as wife or something. I don't know. But I think she's like, without having to practice or try, she just all of a sudden has King, Queen, God level magic.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So anyways, yeah, it's kind of crazy. Little Heavenly Fire. I'm fine with it.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

Okay. So she uses that magic to paint this picture with the shadows around them. And she paints Morthran and Lucy, and it's so beautiful. And then quote, us before the hearth in the Library. Us in the mournful beauty of the Descent, restored to what it was always intended to be. Us in a field of poppy foreshadowing. Ooh, us cradling a precious soul that held the best of both of us. Oh. Oh, God. Oh. Oh, God. Oh, my God.

[Kim]

Oh, God.

[Christina]

A precious soul that held the boss to both of us. That is all that we ever speak of. Children. And still I am just feral for the idea of a tsar with a baby. Okay.

[Kim]

Oh, love it, but okay.

[Christina]

And then it just says, countless dreams for the future encapsulated in a single song. I love how she uses music here.

[Kim]

Me too.

[Christina]

It's so unique and beautiful, and I feel like I'm hearing it with them.

[Kim]

Yes. It's so vivid, this.

[Christina]

Countless dreams for the future. Ah. God, I love it.

[Kim]

Oh, it's so good.

[Christina]

And then Asar looks at her, and he just says, oh, God, I have never wanted anything so fiercely Don Drinker. Not ever. Oh, it's so beautiful.

[Kim]

Oh, your heart just breaks for him because he's. His life has been so hard and so devoid of joy and hope and. And positivity and light. And now, yeah, like you said, they're allowing themselves to hope, and he's opening up to her and being like, I have never wanted anything so fiercely.

[Christina]

Oh, than this future with you. Than what you're showing me. And him saying that he's the scary prison shadow prince, Death warden.

[Kim]

He's the wraith warden. Yeah.

[Christina]

Like, he's the wraith warden. And him, you know, you think of, like, oh, he's the battle. He's, like, fierce. He's, like, killing these monsters and whatever, and he's like, no, I have never wanted anything but this beautiful future, like, so fiercely. Like, this is so fiercely what I want.

[Kim]

Oh, it's wonderful.

[Christina]

Wow. Okay. All right. So that was really fun, but now we have to go back to our heist.

[Kim]

So, yes.

[Christina]

Back to the mission at hand. Here's where we are. Okay, so our crew needs the refined blood of Alaris to guide or, like, anchor them to find the heart. Yeah, we found that out from Vincent. Thank you, Vinnie.

[Kim]

Yep. Vinnie.

[Christina]

Why have we never called him Vinnie before? That's fun.

[Kim]

I don't know, but I think we should.

[Christina]

Because it's. Because it's not a great nickname, that's why.

[Kim]

No, it's. It's not. But it's funny.

[Christina]

But it's funny because I think he would hate it.

[Kim]

Oh, he would absolutely hate it. No, no, you're not gonna call me that. And we're like, okay, Venny. He's like, okay, then, then. Then.

[Christina]

Okay, so Venny came up with this plan.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

All right, so they need the refined blood of Eloris. Okay. Turns out that our friends at the House of Night are already Working on that. Okay. So Veil goes to get it. Lilith is involved. If we remember from Sarah, six scorched roses that they work with the blood not to spoil that. Okay. But then Veil, he returns with the blood. All right. He's like, I'm back finally.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

A lot of things have happened to soul eaters. Come. There's been a big battle. Yeah, just that happened. Okay.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

But Veil comes back, friends. He's got the blood.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Turns out, though. Oh, he's not fail.

[Kim]

It's not Vale. Who is he?

[Christina]

Kim?

[Kim]

It's Gideon, guys.

[Christina]

Gideon.

[Kim]

I did not see this coming at all. I thought he was dead. I thought Asar killed.

[Christina]

I thought he was dead. Dead 1 trillion percent.

[Kim]

Right?

[Christina]

And I do remember asking you this in a chapter chat. Like, you did, but did he die, though? And you were like, yeah, I think he died. And we like went back and looked and it was like, oh, no. He brutally tortured his mangled body. Like, it like, very much seemed like he was dead.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

Maybe he put him. Oh, no, he put him back in the bed. And he was like, oh, the maids will find him, but they hate him anyway.

[Kim]

Like, but like that to me was like, oh, they'll find his body because he's dead.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

But it was vague enough to be like, okay, he could survive that somehow. I was shocked by this insane.

[Christina]

I was absolutely shook. Also, fun little tidbit. I was traveling, traveling to Texas when I read this bit. And Kim picked me up at the airport. It was a very rare time where I was traveling without my husband and my son. And she pulled up to the pickup place at dfw and I'm standing outside reading this reveal. I started reading on the plane, thinking I was also going to edit. And I couldn't stop reading.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So I was just like, oh, my God. Oh, my God, it's kid. What? I had already experienced a random nice woman stopping me as she walked past and goes, honey, are you all right? Are you okay? That was because I was making sense. Such wild faces.

[Kim]

I literally pulled up and I see Christina and she has her Kindle and she's like, she doesn't know I'm there. Like, she's not doing this to be like, Kim's here. I'm get like, she can see me. No, literally, she's like, I am dying laughing. I get out of the car and I'm like, hey, girl.

[Christina]

And you're like, it takes her, like, getting out of the car, walking to me. Like, I didn't even clock that she had parked. No and usually, like, the second, you know, I mean, I'm a normal, nice person, the second someone comes and picks me up at the airport, I see their car, like, hi, let me get my suitcase. It took until she was literally directly in front.

[Kim]

I mean, yeah. I was like, hey. And you were like, oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. I literally think my first words, like, what chapter are you on?

[Kim]

Where are you? And I was like, I don't know. Not where you are, though, because I'm not that stressed out.

[Christina]

Wow. I love this. I loved everything about it. What fun storytelling, Clarissa. Okay.

[Kim]

Yes, yes.

[Christina]

So let's break down this Gideon thing. So turns out, yeah, Gideon, purposefully. Okay. I still get a little lost here, but fine.

[Kim]

Ditto.

[Christina]

Turns out, Gideon. Gideon purposely put that extra glyph in his head, knowing that one day, Asar would come looking for it. So that extra glyph was actually an anchor that Gideon used as a tracker to, quote, lead him to all the treasures he himself couldn't claim. Okay. And then also luring the gods to them using the blood that he went to get from Vale and, like. Like going around the House of Night so that it would be bait for the gods to come down. I'm still unclear why. Yeah, he wants this and what this did for him, but, you know, who's to say?

[Kim]

Not us. Not us.

[Christina]

It should be us, because it's our job. But, you know, we're not here to say it.

[Kim]

It is our job. But there was a lot going on. Okay. There was a lot happening.

[Christina]

There was a lot going on. And I appreciated the comparison to Farnell. That story that we heard of through Gideon.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

But the use of the bait and the lore and the stuff here got a little messy for me.

[Kim]

It did.

[Christina]

And it continues to get a little messier when we get to the citadel. But the main point is the gods are descending. They're very upset. He smashes the vial of. So the main point here is that Gideon smashes the vial of blood and the gods descend.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

It is chaos. It is war. And along with those gods is this fucking Sentinel.

[Kim]

The fucking Sentinel.

[Christina]

Guys, this was. Was at time 212 that the fucking Sentinel showed up. Yep. And we were like, why is the Sentinel here? That seems wrong. Don't worry. We're about to figure it out. But the fucking Sentinel takes Misha and just shoots into the sky. Just.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

Whoop, there they go.

[Kim]

I was like, are you actually kidding me right now? This is easily the fifth time that she's been grabbed by Something and taken somewhere in this book alone. And we were. Yeah, 60% into the book at this point. I don't even know. I was like, we are. Are having a rough time.

[Christina]

The second everything gets bad, I'm like, well, the Sentinel's got to show up now. Where's the set? Oh, there. There she is.

[Kim]

There's the Sentinel again. I was like, of course, yeah. I mean, sure.

[Christina]

Why not?

[Kim]

Like, at this point, you know, absolutely logical. Logical.

[Christina]

Okay, what happens next?

[Kim]

Okay, so next, Misha wakes up and she's back at the Citadel.

[Christina]

That's just wild. Okay, why? So I think that Seisha brings her here because the Sentinel being Sasha.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Makes sense to me why Sasha brings her here for, like, justice and for all this.

[Kim]

It makes sense for Sasha, but not.

[Christina]

It does not make sense for Nyaxia and the House of Shadow. It does not make sense for Naxia and the vampires to be attacking.

[Kim]

Yes. Okay, so let's run through it. So Misha is bound and about to be killed or quote, unquote, saved with everyone watching. We're going to get to the Seisha Sentinel. Like, break that down here in a minute. But okay.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

So knowing that piece, it makes sense, like we just said. Okay, so the Sentinel's so focused on Misha being brought to justice and why they brought her to Atroxas Temple to do it. Right. That all makes sense with it being Seisha.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

So what we're really unclear about is why Nyaxia's reckoning is specifically against these people in this Citadel. Like, why Atraxas Temple specifically? We know that Nyaxia has it out for the entire White pantheon, but it feels very pointed in this moment to, like, Misha and the Citadel. And the Citadel's people specifically.

[Christina]

Exactly. And Atraxas specifically. At some point, she mentions that they are here to get the humans to use them as resources, like an army of the undead. Or they're here to take the humans and the knowledge and all the things we have here at the Citadel as resources. But then there's also a whole piece where Misha and Asar are realizing that actually this, the House of Night, was the bait and the distraction and this was the whole plan all along, because this is Nyaxia's reckoning. And, like, I just don't understand why the whole big thing was all bait and lore leading up just to them taking the Citadel. Like, I didn't understand the motivation.

[Kim]

Agreed. It didn't make sense to me. It didn't make sense that it was. Was, like, we had this big Gideon reveal, and it was chaotic and crazy. And then we get to the Citadel and it's chaotic and crazy. And then they realize, like, oh, no, it was actually the House of Night that was bait. And you're like, wait, hold on.

[Christina]

What?

[Kim]

Wait, what? I didn't even understand what was going on there in the first place. And now you're telling me that that was bait and not even a real thing, and this is the real thing, but I don't even understand.

[Christina]

But what's the thing?

[Kim]

Why is Naxia target. Is it because Atraxas was the one that actually killed Alaris? Like, he was the one that actually, like, stabbed him. But they were all in on it together.

[Christina]

They were all there.

[Kim]

I don't know.

[Christina]

Yeah, like, it was confusing to me.

[Kim]

We were confused. If you guys have any clarity on that, do. Let us know.

[Christina]

Let us know.

[Kim]

We tried, guys. We read it multiple times. We reread it. And I still am a little unclear, but regardless, surprise. The House of Shadow is here and they start killing everybody in a very gruesome and dramatic fashion. It was a lot. I did have to skim over it a little bit because I was like, carissa, I've seen what you do in these scenes, and I just. I don't. I love you, but we know what's coming. We know it's coming, and I don't want to do it. Something else that we don't really understand is that Misha is on the beach and then rises above herself and sees herself as from below. And she says that she's seen this in prophecies and. And tapestries.

[Christina]

There's tapestries involved. There are tapestries, there's prophecies. And she's like, so this was what was going to happen all along. This is what was meant to be all along. Like, this is what was going to happen no matter what. Like, everything was going to lead to this no matter what. It was like. Well, hold on, though.

[Kim]

So what do you. What do you mean?

[Christina]

What do you mean? And what. What she saw is like, the girl kneeling on the beach while the Citadel's on fire from Night Flame. But what. Like, I just. This piece was.

[Kim]

It was too confusing.

[Christina]

I didn't need it.

[Kim]

Yeah, we didn't need it.

[Christina]

It could have been really interesting, layered world building and, like, oh, this was all meant to be. And you are meant. You're like the prophecies. And somehow it just felt like too much. Much to me in this moment.

[Kim]

Absolutely agree. We didn't understand it. I Don't know what it added to the story.

[Christina]

Yeah, I feel like that was my confusion.

[Kim]

Yeah, I don't really know what we added, but it's fine.

[Christina]

It's okay.

[Kim]

Okay. So, guys, let's discuss a SARS ascension.

[Christina]

Oh, Nelly.

[Kim]

Oh, my God. This blew my mind when Christina sent this to me and we realized what Carissa did. Okay, so we know Karissa is a genius. And in that genius fashion, we're going to take you back to the prologue.

[Christina]

Prologue?

[Kim]

When Gideon comes to to save a star and take him away as a little boy. This is the prologue, you guys. So tell me, young prince, he said, what is the next step in our dance? Some moments remain permanently ingrained into one's memory, even over the centuries of a vampire lifespan. The boy would remember everything about this one. And yet. Oh, how the shadows shift upon the past depending on the light of the present. That is maybe one of my favorite lines I've ever read in my entire life. Sorry, I just have to pause here and say, gorgeous.

[Christina]

It's so gorgeous.

[Kim]

Wow.

[Christina]

The shadows shifting on the light of the present.

[Kim]

It's. She's saying, Hindsight is 2020 in the most. But instead of saying Hindsight is 20 20, she's saying, oh, how the shadows shift upon the past depending on the light of the present. Wow.

[Christina]

Shut up. You're right. That is the most gorgeous version of hindsight is 20 20. That's ever lived, that's ever existed.

[Kim]

It's ever lived, and that ever will live or exist. Okay.

[Christina]

That ever will.

[Kim]

So it says. For years, the boy, the man, the prince, the king would look at this as the night he was saved. Only centuries later would he understand the truth. He had thought the sacrifice came in the form of blood and gu. The pleas that he would never be able to scrub from the inside of his skull. He had thought the sacrifice came in the form of the permanent marks on his body and the invisible ones on his soul. He had been wrong. He realized it many years later when he felt the power of the gods course through his veins. And finally, finally, he received the very thing that his mentor had promised him that night. Illumination into every dark corner of the world. Power beyond anything he ever could have imagined. And he cared about none of it, because he was losing the love of his life. Carve out your heart. Heart for it. In that moment, he would hear his instructor's words. He would think of that little boy, turn away. He'd beg his past self. But the boy takes the man's hand every time. Death, after all, is Inevitable. This is the tale of how a fallen one ascends. He does it in countless cascading decisions over years, over centuries. He does it with the desperation of a starving soul willing to sacrifice anything, everything, for a single chance at redemption. But in the end, he loses her every time.

[Christina]

Oh, my God.

[Kim]

She is literally describing Asar's Ascension in the prologue.

[Christina]

You guys, in the prologue, this is the exact scene. This is the exact ascension. The carve your heart out for it is some of the most amazing cool foreshadowing I've ever read. Yes. When I realized that she's literally just describing the Ascension scene in the prologue, in this moment.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And you're like, oh, my gosh. Yes. And he's like, he cared about none of it because he's losing the love of his life. This is exactly what's happening.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

But the carve your heart out for it. And then that's exactly what he. He does.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

He's like, take my mortal heart out and puts Alaris and gets Alaris's. It's incredible. It's incredible, Carissa. And also then the, like, desperation of a starving soul willing to sacrifice anything, everything, for a single chance at redemption. And it's that through line of the sacrifice. He is not the sacrifice. She will never sacrifice him. He will never sacrifice her. But he, in this moment, will sacrifice.

[Kim]

Himself to save her.

[Christina]

He is sacrificed. He wants will make to save her. And he will sacrifice anything. Everything.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And in the end, he loses her every time, because that's what he did. He sacrificed anything, everything, for the chance of redemption when he brought back Ophelia and he lost her. And then he's sacrificing himself again to save Misha, but he still has to lose her in the process.

[Kim]

Yeah. Because he forgets her.

[Christina]

It's so gorgeous.

[Kim]

Yeah. It's incredible.

[Christina]

I'm. It's. It's. I. I have no words. I have no words.

[Kim]

It's truly. I mean, this is some of the best storytelling.

[Christina]

It is some of the best storytelling. And also in our interview with Carissa, she says this. She says, oh, I like to put a little bit of the end of what's going to happen in the prologues.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And that's exactly what she did here.

[Kim]

It's exactly what she did.

[Christina]

I love that she told us that. And then now we just can see it so vividly. It's so cool.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

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. Customize and save. We say that may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com. liberty Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings. Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates.

[Kim]

Excludes Massachusetts. So basically, yes. Asar carves his heart out, and then Nyaxia puts in Alaris heart that Nyaxia ate. I think. So How I read it was Asar is seeing a flash flashback to the moment when Nyaxia is holding Alaris's heart after he's dead. And she realizes what he gave her and, like, what she has to do with it. She has to use it to, like, become who she's supposed to be. And she eats pieces of Elaris's heart.

[Christina]

Like, ingests it and, like, eats it. Like, we see the biting and, like, if there's adjectives. I didn't care for that.

[Kim]

Again, we're really going with the horror in this book, Carissa. Like, there was some very horror adjacent things in this book.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

So that was gross. We didn't care. Care for that. But okay, so he sacrifices himself. He promises Misha he wouldn't do it, but it's for her. So what have we said? The rules don't apply.

[Christina]

Rules don't apply with Misha's face, with death. I just. That's, you know, how he operates. Oh, God. And then. Yeah, he makes the deal with Nyaxia.

[Kim]

Yeah. Which he says he wouldn't do, but he does. He sacrifices himself to give her what's left of Aaris and to spare the people of the House of Night and the Citadel. He basically says, like, let's walk away from here, let's leave them alone, and let's play a longer game. And he's doing it to save them.

[Christina]

Yeah. And to save Misha. And he, like, looks down at the dying girl on the beach, and then he forgets who she is. He doesn't know her name. And it's so sad. And I, like, I get it. I knew this was probably where we were going, but still, for some reason, reading it was so deeply sad. And also deeply romantic, which is just the theme of the book, you know.

[Kim]

It'S sad, but it's romantic. And it's romantic, but you're gonna be sad at the same time.

[Christina]

It's balance.

[Kim]

Yeah, it is.

[Christina]

You know who else is deeply sad and deeply romantic is Nyaxia.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

So let's just chat about Nyaxia for one second here because.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

Usually we can understand kind of the chart, the overall flow of what Carissa's doing with the character, especially four books in with a character. We've seen every book.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

But this is our second duology, and we're still kind of. I think we're still kind of figuring out what we're doing with Nyaxia, because, you know, we do have another duology. Nyaxia is still very much a part of the conflict at hand.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And. And let's not forget the series is called the Crowns of Nyaxia.

[Kim]

That's correct.

[Christina]

So I don't. I think we haven't seen her full arc yet, but it's just interesting to discuss if we think Karissa is ultimately going to make her a villain or make her a little more morally gray, because it seems like, yes, she is the villain. She is our antagonist in a lot of ways.

[Kim]

Sure.

[Christina]

But no one is the villain in their own story. And Carissa really, really thrives on these morally great characters.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And the little clues we get to Nyaxia in this book, book specifically, are when we see a flashback or we learn something about what happened with her and Alaris, we get comments of, she must be so lonely and she must be so angry.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And then in this moment where Asar makes the deal with her, he says, quote, I could offer you that whatever's left of him, and we can walk a longer path together. It was the only thing Nyaxia craved more than power. Love. I think that is her deeper motivation. I almost. Almost like she's been warped into this, like, Sasha, twisty version of herself, maybe.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

I feel like she was always. She always had gumption. Like, she was always a fierce little, little lady. But I don't think. I don't know if she was this evil before.

[Kim]

No. I think she's been warped.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

By the betrayal of the other gods. And then they tortured her. It wasn't just that they killed the love of her life. They tortured her.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And it was this huge betrayal. And I think it changed her irrevocably, as it would.

[Christina]

As it would. And I just. Yeah, I feel like there's clues here. Like, we see we. Not heartbreak on her face. And if we think about it in the context of a grand love story, she spent so long all this time trying to resurrect, like, her Asar and her reign, you know, she has been working to get a piece of her person back. And so I feel like Carissa, being the writer she is, I feel like she might use that as a Motivation as a tool for us to understand there's more to the story when it comes to her. And. And I am curious how she's going to do it, because at this point, she's done some pretty terrible things.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

But leave it to Carissa, though, to have a character do terrible things, but us, at the end of the day, not understand where we sit with them. We can't fully hate them, you know?

[Kim]

Yes. Which, speaking of, the perfect example of this is Vincent.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

I mean, talk about a master class in morally gray. I've always had very conflicting feelings about Vincent. I think it was very clear that he loved Orea, but I didn't agree with a lot of things that he did. Did. And I wasn't fully on board with him.

[Christina]

Well, yeah, he tortured Rain. Like, how could we forgive him for that, you know?

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And he really abused her as a father sometimes. But then he was such a beautiful father sometimes. Like, it was Carissa. Oh, my God.

[Kim]

I mean, truly, again, a master class. So, first of all, we have to know what Carissa said. When we interviewed her last year, we asked her about bringing Vincent back in this book, and she said, he's a tricky line to ride because I didn't want to undermine the story or the closure that he already had with Orea, which is very interesting. And I. I think she did this perfectly. And it's. It's really interesting to think about how she used him in this book through the lens of what she says. And I think it was so effective because it doesn't undo anything that Arya went through with him.

[Christina]

No.

[Kim]

There's no backtracking. There's no. She really didn't try to redeem him.

[Christina]

No.

[Kim]

Fully, like, there was no. Aurea. Wasn't, like. Didn't have these feelings of, like, oh, maybe, you know, it wasn't really about that.

[Christina]

Yeah. I loved that we. There's a quote in a minute, but we got these things about him that could be a little bit on a redemption arc of he's trying to be better now. But I think what stopped it from being a full redemption arc is that we did not see Oreya forgive him. We did not see that redemption happen on Paige. We just got clues that, like, maybe he was trying. And I think that was a perfect way to incorporate and add a new layer without it taking away from what already happened. Yes.

[Kim]

I completely agree. I also love that she used him as. As this source of levity. I mean, if you would have told me.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Going into book four, hey, Vincent's going To be, like, kind of funny, like a grumpy, funny kind of grandpa. I'd be like, no, I don't think.

[Christina]

No way.

[Kim]

I think you're confusing him with somebody else.

[Christina]

Absolutely no way.

[Kim]

He was so funny. He kept popping up to help her, and he was still, like, his grumpy self. And they're in the underworld and they're walking, and he says, dark mother, help me, girl. You never stop. I blinked. That's not true. I'm just. It is relentless.

[Christina]

I love this. I love this so much. It is relentless. My good gods, please stop talking.

[Kim]

It is so funny because you see Misha, like, through somebody else's eyes besides Asar, because Asar loves her. And so, yes, like, he's not really that bothered anymore by her talking all the time. But Vincent's like, I'm not in love with you. And, like, shut up. Like, actually, just shut up and stop talking. And she's like, I'm not. I don't talk all the time. He's like, it is relentless.

[Christina]

I loved it. I absolutely loved it. And that's exactly a perfect example of, like, this levity.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

That she uses Vinnie for. Vinnie? What?

[Kim]

Vinnie?

[Christina]

Who could have guessed it?

[Kim]

I know. And we do have a really beautiful conversation between Misha and Aurea, and they do talk about Vincent. And Aurea kind of brings him up as like, okay, so you were down there with Vincent, like, basically asking, did he apologize? Did he say anything? And Misha's kind of like, no, not really. And Arya's like, it's stupid. I shouldn't even. I don't even know why I care that he apologized. And this beautiful quote, grief has a way of sanding down all the complicated parts of a person in the eyes of the living. It freezes them to a single moment. It's so beautiful. And I love how we get. In this book, like we've said, it doesn't undo anything. It expands upon it, and it adds another layer, which is so real. And I think that quote is so accurate. It's such an accurate depiction of grief.

[Christina]

It's such a beautiful, accurate depiction of grief in real life, in everyday reality. Of. It's so hard to change that lens in your mind of not glorifying certain things and of putting things on pedestals after the fact and changing what was reality in certain ways.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Because of your grief. Because of missing them so much. And I love that she brings these real, realistic feelings and emotions and struggles into the vampire world.

[Kim]

Right into a fantasy world. It's so good. I Also really love this quote from Vincent towards the end where he admits to Misha that he failed the woman that loved as well as his daughter. And he owns that. And that's what was fueling him the entire time to help Misha. He says, I didn't protect either of them in life, not the way I should have, but I will be damned if I don't protect them now.

[Christina]

Oh.

[Kim]

Oh, God. Like, why does that make me emotional?

[Christina]

See, this is what I'm saying. It's so complicated.

[Kim]

Damn it, Carissa.

[Christina]

So complicated. Because exactly. This is what we're saying. Like, it is not a full redemption arc, but, God, I'm like, vincent, this.

[Kim]

Is what we love from you.

[Christina]

It's so complicated. But then in the same breath, it's like. Like, yeah, you do deserve to be upset about this. Yeah, they deserve better from you, and you didn't do that in life. But it doesn't take away from it now. Oh, God, it's so good. It's so good.

[Kim]

I know. And. And Misha says none of it would erase the things he had done, but at least he was choosing a better future. And it's like, that's all you can do sometimes, right? You mess up. You don't do things the right way. You don't handle things the right way, and all you can do is grow from it and look back and say, I didn't handle it the way that I should have, but I'm doing the best that I can now. I'm making the best decisions that I can. Can now. And I love that.

[Christina]

I love that.

[Kim]

To sum up, Vincent, I think he is one of her most. Maybe will forever be one of her most impressive, morally gray characters. And he really still continued to surprise us in this book and resonate with his character in new ways while still being someone who's hard to fully root for and forgive.

[Christina]

It's just.

[Kim]

It's so complicated, but in, like, the best way.

[Christina]

Yes, in the most beautiful way. It's so cool and so impressive. This is one of our favorite things she does is more really great characters.

[Kim]

I agree. So speaking of another complex character in relationship, let's kind of briefly touch on Sasha a little bit.

[Christina]

Sentinel.

[Kim]

The fucking Sentinel, you guys, I'm gonna be honest. We grew weary. We grew weary of the Sentinel, as we've kind of said. We could have done with it a little less. I loved this final scene with them, but I think we could have cut a few of the cameos.

[Christina]

I think she could have popped up a little less. I think Maybe, like, a few real pivotal moments would have been cool.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

But it felt like a lot like the Sentinel just was always there. And I guess maybe that was the point. I felt like something didn't click with this Sentinel.

[Kim]

To me, it felt like I thought we already did this with Seisha at the end of Songbird. Like, I thought we already had this scene with them. And then so for her to come back, it kind of just felt like. I don't know. To me, it felt a little bit like I thought we had kind of put a beautiful bow on that and we had kind of been done with that whole really sweet moment. I don't know. To me, it felt a little bit.

[Christina]

Like we already did that.

[Kim]

Dredging things back up with Seisha. We already did it.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And basically, we realize Misha realizes that Seisha is seeking justice for her. That Seisha thinks of Misha as a warped, tainted thing that stole her sister. Which is interesting because that's the way that we view Seycha.

[Christina]

Yeah. It's really wild because she says things like, did you think that you could escape justice? And she's telling her to repent. And she's like, tell me if you can be saved. If there's anything left in you to salvage. And when we're getting these clues, we're like, this sentinel is unhinged. Like, what? Oh, my God. We're really seeking justice here. Like, what's happening in chapter chats? I thought that the Sentinel was somehow Atraxus. I was like, some things were very justice oriented.

[Kim]

Well, I think you were picking up on that personal connection to Misha. You were like, this is somebody that, like, knows her. This isn't, like, a complete random stranger. And you were right.

[Christina]

Exactly. Something about the. Tell me if you can be saved. Did you think you could escape justice? She's like, oh, did you think you could escape? Did you, you warped vampire creature, think you could escape the justice. Justice from me for taking my sister from me?

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Like, I think she doesn't think her sister's even in there.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

She thinks this thing is possessing her.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

And, like, that's how we see Seisha. And so it's so. It's really wild.

[Kim]

It's really interesting. But it was so beautiful seeing Misha help her pass on. And ultimately, Misha realizes what Seisha needs to hear. And Misha says, I failed you, Seisha. You deserved so much better. No one had ever told her that in life, that she deserved better. Everyone had always acted like she was lucky to have whatever she was given. She was never the chosen woman one.

[Christina]

Oh, my God, again, how do I feel bad for this fucking sentinel Sesha?

[Kim]

I don't know.

[Christina]

I don't know. The no one had ever told her that in life moment. I read that and was like, oh, God, this sweet girl.

[Kim]

Yeah. And she was never the chosen one. She was always the sister of the chosen one. And what must that have been like for her to not be chosen, but to still have to live this life and try to help her sister as much as she can while knowing she.

[Christina]

Had to process, prostitute herself.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Like, help them survive. And no one had just told her, like, you deserve better than that, than the cards you've been dealt. Yes. And hearing that is what helps her be able to move on. Like, that's what she's been wanting to hear. And no one could really give it to her besides her sister, even to, like, understand that. To give it to her. God, God, these messy relationships. I can't.

[Kim]

The messy relationships. And Carissa said in our interview when we were talking about Sasha, that said, you can love someone and still really present them. And I thought that was such a powerful and true. Again, Carissa puts these real life, raw, vulnerable aspects of real life, human relationships into these fantasy books where you're like, I know I'm reading a fantasy and I know we're in the underworld and there's race and there's sentinels, but, like, this is so real. And I can connect with this on a visceral level, you know, and it hits you.

[Christina]

You read it and you're like, oh, you feel it. Yeah, it's beautiful.

[Kim]

It's so well done.

[Christina]

I also just really love how she uses faith in this duology, specifically in this second half. In this book, we just see such interesting conversations around faith. We see it used in such an interesting way. And particularly Misha has a really layered, beautiful, insightful conversation with Selena about faith and grieving, the faith that betrayed them and how to reconcile that. Because if we were, remember, Selina was an acolyte to Akasia. Yeah. And much more on that, I'm assuming, in Slaying the Vampire Conqueror.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

However, in this conversation here, you know, they do have that conversation and they bond over grieving of the faiths. And how do we reconcile this complicated feelings.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And Selina, in this wise, sage statement, pretty much says that she now knows that there's no single truth. Like multiple things can be true at at once. Their gods did lie and betray them in a way, quote, quote. And still their faith gave them this solace and this community and these important things that they wouldn't have without the faith. The complexity of that, and both things being true is such an interesting thing to navigate and to explore. And then we also see that complexity in this moment with Kyreni. Okay, we're gonna pause.

[Kim]

We gotta talk about it.

[Christina]

So for friends, we're gonna chat about this. So we read this, as I'm sure. I don't want to assume, but I'm sure most of you read the name K Y R E N E as Karene. Kyrene.

[Kim]

Kyrene.

[Christina]

We have since listened to the audible and have learned that it's Kyreni Kim. What. What did that first make you think of? What text did you send me this morning when we realized that?

[Kim]

So Christina sent me the clip of the audience audible being like, okay, here it is. It's Kyrenie. And I'm like, Kyrenie, like Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World? Is that what we're. Is that how we're pronounced? That was like Kyreni, like Feeny.

[Christina]

Correct. That is the phonetic spelling. Kyrenie, like Mr. Feeny. So that's it.

[Kim]

Is it our favorite name? No.

[Christina]

Nope. And, you know, we'll get to this in a few minutes, but we will maybe possibly struggle in the next duology, given that she is our leading lady.

[Kim]

She sure is.

[Christina]

But, you know, who knows? Maybe he'll call her Kai.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Or something. It'll be cute. Cute.

[Kim]

He'll have a fun nickname for her. I know he will.

[Christina]

But for right now, back to Faith and Kyreni. Okay, but during the attack on the citadel in this book, Kyrene, she's begging her goddess to save her, exactly like Misha did in Serpent and the Wings of Night. It is literally such a parallel. She was begging Atraxas to save her. We see Kyrene here begging her goddess to save her.

[Kim]

And.

[Christina]

And it's a really interesting play on this theme of faith, because Misha sees herself so vividly in Kyreni here, and notes quote, faith could be such a beautiful thing. It had saved me once. Perhaps it had saved Kyreni once, too, and I hated that right now. I pitied her for it.

[Kim]

Oh, God.

[Christina]

Because it's. It's both. Both can be true. Faith can have saved Misha once, and she can be thankful for that. But also she can pity this young girl in front of her, who's still wrapped up in this blind faith that Misha now knows is that Kyrenie has to save herself. Yeah, Kyrinie hasn't gone through that journey yet, but Misha has. And both can be true. It's just. It's so beautiful. Also so beautiful and amazing is Carissa's use of Asar in this tie in with religion, specifically in a romance setting. His use of faith and religious ties while talking about how devoted he is to Misha is such a chef's kiss. Delicious delivery here. He believes in her like a religion, like his reverence to her. Yeah, he worships at the Misha altar.

[Kim]

He sure does.

[Christina]

He is the head acolyte to Misha. He loves her so much, and he is devoted to her in this religious, deep way. And the way I say that, it sounds weird and creepy and too far, but it's not. It's romantic, guys. I promise.

[Kim]

No, it's not. It's super romantic.

[Christina]

It's really good. I promise. So, okay, here's a quote. Once, the side of it would have brought the collector in me to my knees. But when my knees hit the ground, now, it wasn't for the eye. It was for her. I wanted to bury myself before her. I wanted to cut myself open for her, let her take whatever she wanted and treasure the scars for the rest of my pathetic life. Oh, my God.

[Kim]

Oh, my God.

[Christina]

Oh, my God.

[Kim]

Incredible.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. Also. Also the kneeling. Kneeling's not good enough. I need to be under the soil. I want to bury myself before her.

[Kim]

Wow.

[Christina]

It's incredible. Okay, another one quote. I had walked the path to divinity. I had walked the path to death. And yet here in her presence, I was overwhelmed. Here in her presence, I knew worship. Misha. I whispered a prayer. Oh, my God.

[Kim]

Here in her presence, I knew worship. I mean, this is incredible. This is. I love this so much.

[Christina]

I love it so much. And it was such an interesting choice by Carissa to have her female lead be so devoted to a God. Like that whole almost romantic. There was no room for romance because everything was supposed to go to her God. Like, that's kind of what an acolyte is. That was such an interesting choice for her to make her female lead so devout and kind of that religious piece of her. She didn't have room for romance because she was devoted to Atraxas, you know, and so to have that choice be your female lead, that was going to be tricky to navigate, no matter what.

[Kim]

Absolutely.

[Christina]

And then to have her use religion in the tie ins throughout the whole thing and somehow then incorporate. Incorporate it into the romance in this way where our male lead is so devout to her. And he loves her with this kind of intensity. And it's just. God, it's so good.

[Kim]

It's so good.

[Christina]

Okay, and then bringing us back to the plot here, where we kind of are in chapter 64, again, we see faith in an interesting way, because Asar is looking down at Misha and seeing her fight to save the people who were just going to kill her. He sees Misha's faith in goodness, in fighting for the innocent, no matter who they are, her hope, her ability to be relentlessly kind. And he then, in this moment, realizes, like, in that moment, ultimately, that's what drives him to ascend, to sacrifice anything and everything, even himself, for her, because of the faith and hope and everything she represents. And his faith in her, really, that she. She is the one who deserves this power that is better than everyone, including himself, truly.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yeah. But it's just so cool how she uses this in this. I love it.

[Kim]

Yeah. I just have never read religion or faith being used in this way in a book ever, much less a fantasy book. It's just so fascinating to me to see how she plays with the concepts of faith and religion. And I thought it was done so incredibly well.

[Christina]

Me, too.

[Kim]

And I think we're going to get more of it in the next duology, too, because obviously Kyreni was an acolyte.

[Christina]

Yes, I think that's going to be fascinating.

[Kim]

Yeah, for sure.

[Christina]

And I think maybe she's kind of setting that groundwork here, you know, a little bit, where, yes, we're going to see Kyreni also go through her own journey. Well, actually, we'll get there, but it's been 10 years. She's probably already gone on it, maybe. And we're going to pick up.

[Kim]

We're going to pick up, like, I bet we'll still hear about it. Like, I think.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Who knows where she is on her journey, though, you know, who knows?

[Christina]

Exactly. And that journey of faith and of complexity, there. Multiple things can be true. True at once.

[Kim]

They absolutely can. Okay, so let's move on. We are going on a second scavenger hunt, friends.

[Christina]

We sure are.

[Kim]

We went on the scavenger hunt for Asar's trove items, and now Misha needs her own trove items. So we're gonna go through the underworld and get some trove items for Misha. So first up, we're gonna get a poppy. And the poppy quote acts like an eye, and it allows her to see the underworld as it could be. So. So this is her version of the eye that is an axe. Okay. Next up is the mask. Okay. Which is a bird skull that was at the Songbird. That was in the underworld that died. It was a fallen guardian. Now it's a skeleton head. And Misha finds it, and she puts it on her face. And that is the mask that then also becomes a crown because she takes it off of her head when she looks at a sar, and it kind of becomes a crown. Crown.

[Christina]

I'm not gonna lie, friends. I didn't care for the skull.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

The. The bird skull wasn't my favorite. I wish it had been, like, just a crown, maybe of, like, some twisty thorns.

[Kim]

Thorns.

[Christina]

I didn't love that it was a skull.

[Kim]

Same.

[Christina]

And, like, then it had to go on her head. It just, like, it creeped me out a little bit.

[Kim]

Yeah. It was like the whole skull was what I did. Like, she puts the whole thing on her.

[Christina]

It's almost like we're at Disney and we're, like, in one of those character costumes. But, like, it's a skull. Like, it's on her. I know. Like, her eyes cut out.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

In very similar fashion to Asar's. Like, one eye. That's not all, but I didn't care for the skull imagery.

[Kim]

I didn't love it. It wasn't my favorite thing that we did. But that's fine. It is the mask that then is the crown.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Okay. And then we have the heart, which obviously we have the very touching, beautiful scene with little boy Asar, and he gives her the heart, and he's like, it was supposed to be yours. Like, I'm supposed to give this to.

[Christina]

You, and it will always belong to you anyway.

[Kim]

It will always, always belong to you. It was very, very touching, very sweet. I did really quite enjoy that. I was nervous because, as we know, I get nervous when Carissa has children on Page. I just. You never know what she's gonna do with them.

[Christina]

This was a good example, though. I liked that we had a flash to little boy Asar, and it was just kind of sweet and sad.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

It wasn't scary. It wasn't a manipulation. It was sweet. I enjoyed it.

[Kim]

I agree. I agree. So then ultimately, ultimately, Asar tries to command the dead to rise up and fight for him in Axia. But they've got a new queen in town. They sure do, and they say no. So then Asar goes to Moren to handle the traitor, AKA Misha. He wrecks More through, and he's fighting Misha, and she's clad in her puppy and her bird skull, and her heart. And I can't picture it, but, like, I trust. I trust, Carissa, that they're all there. Okay?

[Christina]

They are.

[Kim]

It's very stressful. It's very sad. But then she lifts her. Her masks and looks at Asar, and he's flooded with these memories of her. And he remembers her name. And it says, just for a second, he was whole again.

[Christina]

Oh, but he sees her. He's whole. It's beautiful.

[Kim]

Oh, you guys, this part is so, so good and so. Okay. He begs her to take the heart and to take his power. And he says, do it. Do it right now. Take the power. Take the heart. It was always meant for you.

[Christina]

Oh, good Lord. Lord.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

So good.

[Kim]

I'm just gonna read this. I have to do it. Sorry. Audiobooks. With Kim. Because this had always been the only option, the only happy ending he could offer her, the only good he could do in this world, sacrificing himself to hand her the power to be greater than he ever could be. She already was. She always had been. But Misha leaned her forehead against his. Her gold eyes shone with the light of the underworld. Their song played on mournful painting the ghost of a life they could not have. I love you, she whispered. I love you, Asar Velari, Warden of Morthran, King of the Underworld, heir of Alaris. I love you. And in this life or the next, world's mortal or divine, I will never let you go.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. It's so good.

[Kim]

What?

[Christina]

So many. What? So many things here. I love that she's saying to him, I will never let you go. Because he said it to her countless times in this book. Guys, it's so good.

[Kim]

It's so good.

[Christina]

And he is ready to make that sacrifice. And she's like, but I won't. I won't let you.

[Kim]

Yeah, it's so good, Right? So now it's a reversal. Like, he is a sacrifice that Misha will not make. Okay, yeah. So she takes out.

[Christina]

We're confused on these logistics, friends.

[Kim]

We're a little confused on the logistics. I'm not going to lie to you. But she takes out Alaris's heart from a sword.

[Christina]

Are part of it.

[Kim]

Part of it?

[Christina]

Yeah. Okay, like a half.

[Kim]

Maybe like half. And then I'm gonna be frank with you. We're unclear what happens to the other half, but we think it goes inside of Misha at one point.

[Christina]

I think that she ingests it somehow, and it's now in her little heart pocket. I'm picturing, like, a polo Shirt with a little pocket. Tee.

[Kim]

Little pocket.

[Christina]

And, like, she puts it in there.

[Kim]

And then we.

[Christina]

Because we think that there are clues to us that they both share Larisa's heart. Later. They have a twin heartbeat.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

You know, and Nyaxia is very upset seeing that or sensing that Misha now has a piece of Elara's heart. So we know it somehow goes in her little pocket. Tea heart. But the only way we've seen this happen is from Naxia physically eating a heart. So we're going to hope either that happened off page. Thank you, Carissa.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Or she was able to do it in a different way.

[Kim]

Agreed. But moral of the story is she takes Asar's mortal heart and puts it back into Asar. He has his mortal heart. He comes back to himself.

[Christina]

Oh, it's beautiful.

[Kim]

That's all that matters. Okay, I'm going to read this. Here we go.

[Christina]

This one's so good. Oh, my God. Read it, read it, read it.

[Kim]

We did not speak. We did not have to. Moran played the final notes of our song to the rhythm of our shared heartbeat. And I knew this was true. Ascension, my queen. My light, my darkness, my future. The answer to every question, the ending to every single sentence. She broke the kiss to draw in a shaky inhale. I pressed my forehead to hers. My thumb traced the path through her freckles. Hello, dawn drinker, I whispered. She smiled through her tears. Hello, Warden. And I kissed her again as the Underworld bowed around us.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. So good. Bravo, Carissa.

[Kim]

Bravo. So many things.

[Christina]

Oh, and there's songs playing. And the Underworld bows because they're the rightful king and queen.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

The ant answer to every question and the end of every sentence, like, oh. Oh, my God.

[Kim]

Oh, my God.

[Christina]

The most romantic thing.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And he's just. The way. He's. I cannot handle it. I can't handle it. It's so good, this love declaration here. And the Dawn Drinker and the Warden and.

[Kim]

Yeah, this was beautiful. So full circle. It was beautiful.

[Christina]

So full circle.

[Kim]

What else is beautiful?

[Christina]

Oh, what else is beautiful? So I love this, and I love the full circle. Ness. And I love that we get to see Asar and Misha have this happy ending. This wasn't the end. The Underworld bowed around us. Could have been that. Could have been, like, the last. Like, we're done here.

[Kim]

Sure.

[Christina]

But I love that we, as the reader, got to see and experience a little bit of their happy ending, you know? And I love that happy ending the way it's used throughout this book. We See, Misha talking to Rain, and Rain is like, so, like, are you down bad for this Asara guy? Like, what's the gist?

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And pretty much, she says, he makes me want a happy ending. He makes me hope for a happy ending.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And. And even what you just read about Asar saying we were never going to get that happy ending, this is the closest we could come to it, is me giving her this, and he tells her he wants to give her that happy. It's just. It's so beautiful. It is the happy ending that neither of them thought they were going to get because they thought they didn't deserve it. They accept that they deserve it with each other. They're the sacrifice they want to make. And we get the happy ending. Yay.

[Kim]

It's so good.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. We also get to see Rain and Oreya. Come visit them. Yeah. And Misha, like, gives Raine a toy. And it's so funny because.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Isn't it gorgeous? Isn't this amazing? And he's like, it's something. Wow.

[Kim]

Wow. It's a vibe. For sure. It's a vibe. Yes.

[Christina]

Didn't anticipate it being like, so. Yeah. Wow. I'm so happy you're happy.

[Kim]

There's ghosts. I love this for you. I love this journey for you. I truly do.

[Christina]

Really. I also love Esme. We get to see Esme, guys.

[Kim]

Wow, Carissa.

[Christina]

I was indignant as a consumer. I'm not going to lie. I was like, you told us we were going to get more esme. It is 98%.

[Kim]

Yes. I was like, so we're just not going to see Esme? Like, she just lied and then she swoops in at the end. I was like, oh, Karissa, that was a close call.

[Christina]

It really was. I also love that she was like, I'm Lady Esme now. Like, call me Lady Esme.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And as I was like, what?

[Kim]

What? I mean, okay.

[Christina]

Oh, it was just such a fun little snapshot, I feel like, into what's going to be their everyday kind of life, you know?

[Kim]

Yeah. Yeah, totally. Okay. So another beautiful, beautiful moment is their wedding. Oh, my gosh. You guys. They have a wedding ceremony. I did not think we were going to see this.

[Christina]

Me either. Carissa. What a gift. I really didn't think she was going to give us this. When do we actually get on page? Wedding ceremonies? I know. And then we were like. And she made necromancy romantic. Carissa. How does she do it?

[Kim]

How does she do it? Okay, so I'm going to to read this beautiful scene. Okay, so this is a sar. This, he said, is a bath. Asian wedding ceremony. Misha Ilie. Asar Valdari. His fingers fell over mine just as they had over the bow of a cello. The night we dreamed of a future together. I give you my body, he said. I give you my body, I repeated. In the first position of the circle, together we drew a glyph. Then he lifted our intertwined hands and drew the same one over my palm. And then his. It burned there, mingling with my scar. Ours in his, my airmark in his, as if it was always meant to be there. I give you my breath. I give you my psych. I give you my secrets. Which, if we remember, is the levels of Hell. It's the descent to the Underworld. Breath. Psych. Secrets. This time we spoke together. I give you my soul. The final glyph we drew over my heart and then his. Our poor, wounded, stitched up hearts. Human and vampire God, immortal, alive and dead. From this night, he murmured, until the end of nights. I finish. Your pain is my pain. Your heart is my heart. And then together, I bind myself to you.

[Christina]

Oh, my God, it's so romantic.

[Kim]

Are you kidding me?

[Christina]

I love it so much. Oh, so many things here and like the God and mortal and from this night. And your pain is my pain. Like, it really encapsulates their whole story so well. And I just love it so much. Oh, it's so beautiful.

[Kim]

We're gonna continue because it's just beautiful. And we. When you have Carissa broadband level writing, you just sometimes have to do audiobooks with Kim.

[Christina]

Okay, this is what you do.

[Kim]

So to fully wrap up this epic love story. Here we go. Later, Asar and I would throw the big chaotic party he had once promised me. I would wear a beautiful dress. Lucy would carry a wreath of poppies. Rain would get drunk and try not to cry. Oreya would watch with her quiet, reserved amusement. Esme would lead us through song after song after song. And Asar would oblige and we would dance. And until our mortal fallible bodies collapsed in exhaustion. And when it was all done, Asar would take me back to our room. He would play one final song for me. A song that sounded like me and like him and the future we once had thought would only belong to the ghosts. Later, but now, my husband, my partner, my ally, kissed me again, deep and soft and full of hope. As the lines of our spell dissolved into our kingdom. He lay me down in the poppy field. And here, in this moment, I understood what it was to feel complete. In the darkness, I found solace. In the Underworld, I found hope. And here in his twin soul, in this love we built together, I finally found it home. Oh, my goodness.

[Christina]

Truly. Shut up. That is so gorgeous. I finally found home.

[Kim]

Shut up.

[Christina]

Oh, it's so beautiful. I love that. And it's such a perfect little ending. I love that we were like. And rain got drunk and dream Tried not to cry.

[Kim]

Yeah. And Lucy with the pup. Lucy's there.

[Christina]

Oh, God.

[Kim]

So good.

[Christina]

And I love that she says, as their spell dissolved into our kingdom, it's this perfect. In this love we built together. Like, they did it.

[Kim]

Yeah, they did.

[Christina]

They did this. They helped each other realize that they could hope and that they could have this happy ending.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And they've both just come so far. And it's so exciting to get to see them live in it for a minute, you know, like, be happy.

[Kim]

Right?

[Christina]

And know that this is going to be their kingdom. And they're just the sweetest little king and queen of the Underworld there ever was.

[Kim]

I'm so happy for them. They so deserve this.

[Christina]

They do. They really do. We love it. What a beautiful duology. Love, love, love. Our sweet babies. Misha and Assault. And I'm so excited then to get to see them 10 years later. Yeah, we will get there. But in the epilogue, the amazing rulers and people they've become. Maybe they have a baby. I don't know.

[Kim]

I don't know.

[Christina]

I don't know. Okay, so other important things that happen, though, to set up our next duology. Let's move on to that. So, yeah, important things to note here. So the gods have a fight, as they do.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And pretty much now, the House of Night and the House of Death are under Akasia's jurisdiction. She has taken ownership of. Of them. Custody. She now has custody of House of Night and House of Death.

[Kim]

Custody.

[Christina]

Nyaxius still has custody of House of Shadow and House of Blood. And Shy Kit is mad because. Of course she is. Yeah. And we get this line from her. You expect us to simply allow this? To which Akasia says, no, Shy Kit. I expect that we will be at war. Inter war times. The war times have happened. Oh, my gosh. Here we go. Epilogue from Septimus. When I saw this, the joy that I had, I was like, she's giving us a Septimus epilogue. It's so fun.

[Kim]

Oh, my God. So exciting.

[Christina]

She has teed this next duology up for it to be a home run, ladies and gentlemen.

[Kim]

I'm so pumped.

[Christina]

Okay, walk us through highlights of this epilogue.

[Kim]

Okay, so let's run through this. So the first part of the epilogue seems to be very soon after the events and Fallen. Septimus and Egret are talking to Naxia, and she is seething at the betrayal of Asar in the house. House of Night. And she wants them to wage war on the human kingdom and create her an army. Oh, that's not going to go well for the humans. But right away, we see how Septimus is scheming in his head and clearly has his own agenda with all of this. Outwardly, he presents as a faithful servant to Naxia, but inwardly, he is full of rage and vengeance. He says it felt good to be needed. It was just a few steps away from being trusted. And being trusted was just a few steps away from one's throat. Whoa. Hello. Dark and twisty.

[Christina]

Wow. Dark and twisty and scheming. And it's really giving. Sexy, morally gray situation.

[Kim]

Yeah. You know, and you know, Carissa loves it and, you know, we love it. So very interestingly, it skips to 10 years later in the middle of the epilogue.

[Christina]

Shocking. I did not anticipate this at all. Was this shocking to you?

[Kim]

I didn't either. Yeah. Oh, so shocking. But then Christine. The more Christine and I thought about it, the more we realized, like, no, this actually needs needed to happen. Because, yeah, Kyreni in Fallen is like a teenager. Misha refers to her as the girl. Multiple times.

[Christina]

Yeah. I was actually, fun fact on Kim's couch when we realized that the next lead was going to be Kyreni. And I was like, isn't she a child? Like, in my head, she was a child because she keeps saying the girl.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

And we went and looked and we were like, oh, gotta, gotta, gotta. She's a teenager. That's why we're having the jump.

[Kim]

The jump.

[Christina]

Honestly, Fine with it. That's great.

[Kim]

I'm great with it. Totally fine. And honestly, I'm happy that we've skipped 10 years of war times. Like, I just think that's a lot of war times to get through.

[Christina]

Agreed.

[Kim]

We don't need to be present for all of that.

[Christina]

Agreed. And we know that from our War of Lost Hearts series. Like, she loves a battle. She loves a war. And, you know, that's not what we're doing here, hopefully. No, we can be action packed without just having a bunch of battles. Like, now we're at the end of the war. I like it. I like it.

[Kim]

Exactly. So Septimus is in the Human nations, and it's a war zone. And bodies are piled everywhere. And this. Okay, this makes me excited. It had been a long, hard decade, but he could feel that the end was coming. The slog was nearly over. A decade of carefully maneuvered problems. A decade of sweet, pathetic loyalty. A decade of making himself so very indispensable. Somewhere here in the shit pile that remained of the human nations was an answer. A sword gifted by a goddess of justice and a wielder who perhaps might be desperate enough to let him aim the strike. Septimus very much, much liked to be the solution to a problem. He flicked the cigarillo into a pile of burning corpses and slipped into the night.

[Christina]

Okay, well, besides the burning corpses, I love everything about this.

[Kim]

Loved it. But just minus the burning corpses. You know what I mean?

[Christina]

It's like picture like a burning a bush. Bush. It's a bushel.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

So I absolutely love this though. It's really giving this. I have to do the hard bad guy things to set myself up to then be able to do the ultimate good guy thing.

[Kim]

That's right.

[Christina]

I've had to be morally gray and do the hard bad guy thing and be perceived as this bad guy so that I'm in position to do the ultimate good guy thing. I'm wondering. Yeah, I love this. Oh my God, I'm so excited. She made me so excited.

[Kim]

Oh, you know, we love that. You know we love it.

[Christina]

Oh, even more exciting.

[Kim]

Yes. So here's everything we know about the next book between when Christina and I finished reading this and when we are recording today. Carissa has officially announced the title of book five in the Crowns of Naxia series, which is the lion and the Deathless Dark. And it's coming August of next year. So our patron Erica actually went to this book chat where Carissa announced the title and Carissa was like, oh, did you guys notice that all of the guardians of the Underworld were the Serpent, the Songbird and the lion?

[Christina]

Yes. I love it.

[Kim]

So the first book in each duology is the title of the Guardians of the Underworld. Cuz the lion was one of the beautiful. Was one of the guardians that we met. So that is so interesting.

[Christina]

I love that. That is really, really fun. Are you glad that it's not the shark?

[Kim]

I'm thrilled. I am. I'm thrilled because I'm going to be honest with you, I would have a hard time picking that up. It was the shark and the deathless dark.

[Christina]

I'm really happy for you because, you.

[Kim]

Know, I don't like sharks and I don't like the dark and I Don't like when you put them together.

[Christina]

So that would have been.

[Kim]

That would have been tough for me.

[Christina]

A tough read. But the lion. Great. Give me a Witch in a wardrobe.

[Kim]

Great. We love it. Obviously. Obviously. This will be the Bloodborne duet, and it's going to follow Septimus and our gal, Kyreni.

[Christina]

Kai.

[Kim]

Kai. I can't wait to see what nickname he gives her. And we're just going to call her that nickname. Okay. Because we all know she's going to get a nickname, and we will just go based off that nickname. Okay. But I'm going to read the blurb that Carissa posted on her Instagram.

[Christina]

Oh, please do. It's everything, guys.

[Kim]

This has me so excited. So.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Under an eternal night, the world has been ravaged by 10 years of war between humans and vampires. Kyreni scrapes by and a bounty hunter bearing a blessed sword from the Goddess of Justice. But in the wake of a devastating loss, Kyreni commits a crime that makes her a target for mortals and gods alike. And she is still desperate for vengeance. Her only chance at survival and revenge is making a deal with her enemy, the Silver tongue vampire prince Septimus, who offers her one final job. To slay the gods themselves. Together, Kyrene and Septimus must hunt the ultimate marks, all while not navigating a web of prophecies and curses. Septimus is calculating and mysterious, masking secrets bloodthirsty enough to consume them both. Yet most dangerous of all, Kyreni finds an unexpected kinship in him. But their growing attraction is deadly in a world where the only currency is blood. And Kyreni will stop at nothing to fulfill her ultimate goal, to kill the goddess of vampires, even if it means sacrificing love for revenge.

[Christina]

Oh, my God. This is gonna be our ultimate enemy. To lovers. I'm obsessed with everything here.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Also the tie in that she's the one that wields the sword.

[Kim]

The sword.

[Christina]

I bet it's like, only she can use it or something. Like something. She has to use it. Wield it. Something wielder. Yep. I'm so into this. And, like, the only currency is blood and. And their blood and navigating prophecies, curses, prophecies and curses. I'm so excited.

[Kim]

I'm so excited. Also, Carissa said this is by far going to be the most action packed book so far in the series, which is absolutely thrilling.

[Christina]

Wow.

[Kim]

And I think I can speak for both of us when I say that I think we're excited to kind of see something a little more action packed.

[Christina]

Versus Agreed.

[Kim]

I loved Asar Misha's story. Of course we did. We loved it. But it was very character driven rather than like plot driven and action driven. And so I'm excited to kind of get back to our roots of Serpent. I felt like Serpent was really action packed, but we were also in one place, so it felt very grounded in the world and I could really get a sense of the world.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

So I'm excited to go back to that, potentially.

[Christina]

Agreed. I think this is going to be hopefully. Hopefully we're staying in this one locale and maybe we jet off a little bit. Yeah.

[Kim]

We can do a day trip.

[Christina]

But like you said, like Serpent, like Ashes and the Star Cursed King. We have a home base.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And that's different than Morthran in that we're not jumping around to different quite as much.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Locales as much. I think that's going to be really great. And maybe we're going to trade that a little bit for some more action packedness.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Another thing that I think is going to be really interesting here is to harken back to our interview with Kirk Carissa. We were talking a little bit about Septimus and she said that. Yes, Septimus and Orea kind of have an interesting bond. She was talking way back in Serpent and was saying that that's why he kind of bets on her. That's why he helps her out a little bit. Because the bloodborne vampires are very similar in their outlook, in their beings to the humans. They have a connection that the other vampires don't have with the humans because they are not. Not immortal.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

They will die one day and they have the lifespan that's similar to a human's.

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

I think it's a little longer, but it's still like they're not immortal like the other vampires.

[Kim]

They're not immortal. They will expire at one point, so.

[Christina]

Exactly. And Carissa noted how those two, the bloodborne vampires and the humans see some of each other in each other. They have an interesting bond, they have an interesting dynamic. So I wonder if she was already setting that up and knowing. Knowing that.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

Knowing the dynamic that's going to be.

[Kim]

In this duology, because Kyreni is a human and Septimus is a bloodborne, and so he's going to have this curse. The bloodborne are cursed by Nyaxia.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

And so that's going to be super interesting because his days are numbered and her days are obviously numbered. She's a human. And so are they going to bond over that?

[Christina]

But he's, like, kind of mortal, kind of not right? Oh, oh, wait, sorry. That makes total sense why he wants to kill Nyaxia. If he kills Nyaxi, then the bloodborne vampire, the curse, are not cursed anymore.

[Kim]

Could be lifted, Right?

[Christina]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Oh, my.

[Kim]

My God. I bet that's what it is.

[Christina]

I bet that's what it is. Fascinating.

[Kim]

He also does mention, though, that Diaxia killed his brother. There's like, a line in the epilogue about this goddess who has waged war and killed so many of his people and, like, killed his brother specifically, which. That's very interesting. I want to hear more about that.

[Christina]

Because Septimus is a prince. He's the seventh son. He's the seventh child, seventh prince, seventh in line. So, like, that's, you know, seventh in line. So that's interesting. I'm curious which brother? In what fashion, Tina?

[Kim]

I bet you're so right.

[Christina]

But, yeah, I bet that he's trying to lift the bloodborne curse. Yes, that would be fascinating.

[Kim]

I feel like we're going to have some really interesting conversations about mortality.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Because like you said, the other vampires have a completely different view of life. They don't really care about their children.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

They will kill them without even thinking about it because they're like, I'm immortal. This means nothing to me. They're almost like a God, where they look down and they're like, who cares about. About any of this?

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

But the bloodborne don't see it that way. They do care about their children. They don't just kill them off. That's why Septimus is still alive to this day.

[Christina]

Yeah. Oh, I think it's gonna be really interesting.

[Kim]

Oh, my God, I'm so excited.

[Christina]

And having Kyreni a part of that. And also, they've been at war with the humans for 10 years. And, like, Kyreni's probably seen him do bad things. Like, he's gonna have to be like, no, I was actually good on the back end. I promise. Like, I looked like a bad guy, but I was still good. I promise I can care about the humans. He's gonna have to convince her. Like, it's gonna be so good. I'm so pumped.

[Kim]

I'm so freaking excited. We cannot wait.

[Christina]

We cannot. Well, thank you so much for being on this fallen journey with us. Be sure to check out our chapter chats and we will be back with our next episodes covering the Wolf King and the Night Prince, our little Scottish wolf shifter romance that we have just been eating up all summer. We can't wait to cover cover those next. But we absolutely have loved going on this journey with you guys. And cheers and happy reading. Thanks for listening.

[Kim]

Well friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy Podcast. Don't forget to join our book club community on Instagram and tick tock 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 so 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.