Ballad of Falling Dragons: When the Moons Fall (Deep Dive)

We're heading back into Sarah A. Parker's breathtaking world to unpack Ballad of Falling Dragons, a story filled with ancient magic, unforgettable dragon bonds, devastating revelations, impossible choices, and enough emotional damage to last us until the next book.

In this episode, we're breaking down:
✨ Our favorite moments
🐉 Dragon bonds
📖 The Book of Voyd and its secrets
🩸 Blood binds, betrayals, and shocking twists
🍸 Four themed cocktails inspired by the story

Grab your favorite drink and come spiral with us on instagram and TikTok @saucyScribespod
🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube
✨ Join our Patreon for the full dust sleeve, bonus content, and more.

⚠️ Remember to always check the triggers | Full book spoilers ahead! ⚠️

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to the Saucy Scribes Podcast. I'm Alex, your resident book psycho. I'm Ashley, your crystal loving cat lady. And I'm Allie, your aspiring author. Today we are returning to Sarah A. Parker's breathtaking world in Ballad of Falling Dragons, the highly anticipated second installment in the Moonfall series. This next chapter expands the world in every direction, drawing us deeper into ancient magic, dragon bombs, forgotten truths, and impossible choices as the threat of the moonfall grows ever closer.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

Because some stories are best unpacked with a drink in hand, on this podcast, we pair great books with even better cocktails. Today we're giving you a quick rundown of the drinks we've lined up for this episode. So keep an eye on our Instagram at Saucy Scribes Pod, where the full recipes drop every Monday. This month, we drew inspiration from some of the most unforgettable moments in Ballad of Falling Dragons: Forbidden Tomes, Ancient Blood Magic, Memory Eating Waves, and Moons Destined to Fall from the Sky. Whether you're joining us with a cocktail, a mocktail, or just a very large emotional support beverage, grab your glass and let's toast to another unforgettable adventure in Sarah A. Parker's world.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

And with our glasses poured, let's dive into our first cocktail. Hidden deep within the high treasury, the Book of Void is the kind of knowledge kingdoms would burn for. The moment Rave steals it, every choice that follows is written in smoke, blood, and dragon fire. Inspired by forbidden magic and the cost of uncovering the truth, this is the Book of Void. Built on smoky mazcal with bittersweet amaro, rich vermouth, and dark berry notes. It's finished with a charred orange peel and a reminder that some pages leave burn marks long after they've been turned.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Every fantasy world has that one delightfully weird little creature, and Ballad is no exception. Borg is a grumpy wave who survives by feeding on memories, especially the painful ones. Khan keeps a very unusual arrangement with him, trading traumatic memories in exchange for information, while Borg happily hums away, enjoying every bite. Borg's Jar of Mist is a light, ethereal mocktail that shimmers with quiet magic. Sweet, refreshing, and just mysterious enough to make you wonder what memories it might be hiding.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

And speaking of painful memories, Sarim's blood bind has been slowly destroying Rave from the inside out, leaving her in relentless agony until an unlikely ally offers her one chance at freedom. Deep beneath the city, Avi performs an ancient ritual using Rave's own blood to unravel the curse and bind it instead to the Book of Void. Inspired by that haunting ritual, Blood Bind is a bright tequila cocktail layered with fresh lemon, cooling mint, and a crimson float of dry red wine. As the wine slowly seeps into the drink, it mirrors the blood magic itself and the moment the curse is finally broken.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

And for our final pour, throughout the novel, the threat of the moonfall looms over every choice the characters make. When the moment finally arrives, the sky itself begins to unravel as the moons crash to the earth, forever changing the world they fought so hard to save. Inspired by that breathtaking finale, Moonfall begins as a bright gin gimlet, but hidden within is a shimmering butterfly pea flower tea ice sphere. As it slowly melts, the cocktail transforms before your eyes, just like the world beneath the falling moons.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

And those are a ballad of falling dragons' cocktails. We hope these drinks bring a little extra magic to your reading experience. If you recreate any of them, be sure to tag us. We absolutely love seeing your creations and hearing which cocktail became your favorite. Cheers, scribes!

SPEAKER_04 3:39

Cheers!

SPEAKER_03 3:40

I'm drinking a blood bind today.

SPEAKER_04 3:43

As am I? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 3:45

Our Patreon is live. If you love the show, consider becoming a first-year scribe for just $5 a month. You'll get early access to our ad-free episodes, a digital cocktail booklet for each book we cover, and an exclusive printable dust sleep designed to mimic the look of vintage leather-bound books. Perfect for dressing up your romanticy shelf. This membership is a way to support the show and help us continue bringing this magical, messy, and swoony content to life. And if you've got a moment, we'd love if you rated and reviewed the podcast wherever you are listening.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Now we enter our villain era. We need to give a spoiler warning. We will be discussing all of Ballad of Falling Dragons, including anything from when the moon hatched and anything Sarah Parker has said in interviews. If we reference another series spoiler, we will give a spoiler sound in the episode so you can skip ahead.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

As we settle in for this episode, a quick content and trigger warning.

SPEAKER_03 4:59

So the prologue starts with the music of the creators suddenly going silent, which is basically the fantasy equivalent of every emergency siren going off at once. Then Slotra literally falls out of the sky. A wounded Faye woman crawls from the wreckage, is immediately captured and thrown into a dungeon where years of torture forge her into a weapon. Meanwhile, the creators are watching, like maybe imprisoning Salis and underestimating the power of love wasn't our best decision. You think? Since this is book two, we realize that woman is Rave. Yes. Then we jump to present Khan, who's visiting the shattered remains of Slotra and vows to put every piece back together because this man refuses to let anything or anyone go. Instead of hearing from Rave, he learns Taros is headed to Bafame with Rexaros, where Khan is pretty sure Rave is also waiting to murder him. Then comes Borg, the grumpy waif living in a jar of mist, we called it, who only trades information for memories. Khan has to relive his father, throwing him into a pit just to learn that Roan is alive, but awaiting execution in Bothame. And because the universe wasn't finished piling on, Lumo has a vision. Multiple moons are about to fall. Ashley, why is one apocalypse never enough?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Why, Alex? Because suffering builds character, apparently. Meanwhile, Kaisari is rotting in prison, convinced she's doomed con, when a paper lark literally flies in and starts smacking her until she pays attention. Honestly, magical male has zero patience. Inside is her old plea for help, with a reply added underneath. Even creepier, the handwriting matches the childish writing carved into her prison walls, meaning someone survived the cell before she did. Instantly, Kaisari goes from I'm giving up to absolutely not. If they escaped, I'm escaping. Then Vea reads Elohim's diary and uncovers one of the biggest twists in the series. Kaisari isn't Tyroth's daughter. She's Khan's. Excuse me? That is not a plot twist. That is a fantasy DNA test. Meanwhile, Rave is trapped beneath the ice inside her own mind. She stumbles into memories of a little girl protecting a dragon egg, bonding with her silver moon plume, and realizes that little girl was her, which absolutely broke me.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

And speaking of broken, Veya cannot catch a break. She goes to meet Rasha, finds Rasha's dragon hanging from a cave wall, watches Rasha get murdered, collapses in the cave, gets speared by Tyroth, and then learns she unknowingly poisoned Eloyn's family because her memories had been magically altered. Girl, you need a vacation. Except, Tyroth leaves her for dead, and Bayron swoops in to save her instead. Meanwhile, Khan and Pyrox sneak into Roan's trial. Roan reveals the Book of Void has disappeared, accidentally tells everyone about the protective runes guarding the Citadel, and the Tricouncil responds by sentencing him to death. Khan's reaction, we're gonna break him out, and I love that energy. But at the same time, Botham is descending into complete chaos as magical parchment larks warn everyone about the coming moonfalls. Rave and Utrus are trying to dispose of Rex's body when Rave spots prisoners being ferried across the underground lake. She knocks Utris out because communication is obviously overrated, rushes back and locks eyes with Khan. Everything stops. Together they rescue Ron from the execution, and only these books could turn a reunion into a near-death experience.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

And because these two have never communicated normally a day in their lives, the second they're saved, Rave puts a knife to Khan's throat. Khan completely unfazed. Of course. Their reunion immediately turns into an argument over who's been more reckless. Pyroc literally has to yell at them to stop flirting through death threats. Meanwhile, the Tri-Council decides the best way to handle mass panic over falling moons is attacking their own citizens. Excellent leadership. While escaping, Rave casually walks through magical runes that should have killed her and discovers the Book of Void, the source of every rune ever written. Naturally, she says, we're gonna steal that. Self-sacrifice is becoming a personality trait. Thankfully, Rai Gun arrives, absolutely demolishes the enemy dragons, and the group escapes by dragonback after Khan burns an entire courtyard to the ground. Congratulations! They're fugitives.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

War has officially begun. While Khan and company flee Bothham, Vea continues having the worst week in fantasy history. Baron carries her north, but he's badly injured and begins falling from the sky. He uses the last of his strength to throw Vea into the snow, saving her before he flies to a distant moon, curls up and turns to stone. Excuse me, while I sob. Meanwhile, Khan and Rave arrive in the hidden mountain village of Bellon, where Chief Sahara offers them shelter, despite Khan now being a wanted fugitive. We learn this is his mother's former town, and these people are very dear to him.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Then we finally get Rave and Khan alone. They're both injured, both exhausted, and still somehow more concerned about each other than themselves. Rave cleans Khan's wounds and tells him she'll destroy anyone who tries to take him from her. They finally kiss, and we get one quiet moment together, until one of Rave's returning memories sends her into a panic and she realizes she's holding a knife to Khan's throat. Again, Khan knows her memories are returning, but when Rave refuses to explain, he doesn't force her. He simply holds her while wondering what Eloyn was trying so desperately to protect him from. Meanwhile, Kaisari is still trapped in her cell, but she's officially done waiting to be rescued. She finds a piece of bone in her food and begins filing it into lockpicks. Honestly, prison crafting queen.

SPEAKER_03 10:44

Then Rave discovers that Leary is alive and absolutely furious with her. The dragon immediately tries to roast her. Raigun has to intervene, and Khan explains that Leary feels abandoned after Rave helped save her and then disappeared. Instead of forcing the bond, Rave decides Leary should be free to choose her, which is probably the healthiest decision anyone has made in this entire book. Unfortunately, choosing Rave requires climbing the enormous stone pillar Leary built as a roost. Then Arkin enters the political nightmare. The Tri Council wants Tyroth and Kadak to kill Khan in exchange for control of the Northern Mines. Arkhan proposes a better deal. Let him murder Khan publicly in the fighting pits, and they recognize him as Kink. Because apparently everyone in this world has seen Khan and thought, how can I make this man's life worse?

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Rave reaches the top of Leary's pillar and finds her asleep. Instead of trying to tame her, Rave climbs onto her back and removes the saddle that's been binding her. She tells Leary she's free and promptly falls off the mountain. Bold strategy. Leary seems to settle into a place in her soul that once belonged to someone else. So Rave does what she always does when something hurts too much. She cuts the feeling away.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Which means when Rave finally returns to Khan, she's acting completely feral. She and Leary kill a giant bar, and Rave brings Khan a slab of raw meat like a proud cat dropping a dead mouse on a porch. Then she tries to seduce him without having an actual conversation. Khan somehow is the voice of reason, and he refuses to let her hide inside the dragon bond and tells her he needs Rave, the person, not just the instinct and hunger. Rave finally says she isn't leaving. She chooses Leary and she chooses Khan. And she makes it extremely clear that Khan belongs to her. No objections from him. Or us as a reader.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

For a little while, these two actually get to be happy. Khan explains the Ulu tradition where a man wears a woman's braid to show he's been claimed. Rave immediately claims him, and it's adorable, but not for long. Veya is stranded in the frozen wilderness, cuts infected stone out of her own shoulder, cauterizes the wound herself, and barely survives another monster attack because apparently this woman is incapable of catching a brick. At the same time, Sareem starts torturing Rave through their blood bind and sends one final assignment. Track down a silver-haired Faye destined to destroy the flourish. Rave refuses until Sareem makes refusing impossible. Knowing she can't keep living like this, Rave decides she'll complete one last mission, free herself from Sareem forever, and dive into her own subconscious to recover the lost language of Boulder. Inside her frozen mind, she discovers every piece of that language is hidden inside memories belonging to her other. So naturally, she reaches for the first one, and you just know nothing good is about to come from that.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

The memories Rave uncovers explain a lot of things she would really rather not know. Back in the present, Roan reveals the Book of Void is basically magical calculus. The runes constantly shift, no one fully understands them, and the Tri Council has secretly been collecting them for war. Then two massive leads appear at once. There's a young rune prodigy named Avi somewhere in Bogoth, and a moon shard hidden beside a deadly dragon nest. Khan's response, we're getting both. Unfortunately, Rave is barely holding herself together. Sareem keeps torturing her through the blood bind, but Rave refuses to tell anyone. Khan notices she's exhausted, barely eating, and clearly hiding something. Meanwhile, Grim heads off on what is essentially a suicide mission to find the great silver saber scythe. Before leaving, he literally carves his name onto the wall of people who never came back. I don't love that level of foreshadowing. Then we check in on Bea, who has somehow been captured again, this time by Arkham.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Meanwhile, Khan, Rave, Roan, and Pyroc arrive in Bogoth, where Rave is slowly unraveling. Then one morning, Rave's eyes turn completely black. That's never a good sign. The other has officially clocked in. She walks straight into the marsh, casually raises a stone path across the water, finds the moonshard behind a dead dragon egg, and gives up part of her own magic to save it. Even the grieving mother dragon recognizes the sacrifice and lets her leave. Then Khan asks the question we've all been asking: What are you? The other simply says, You already know. She tells Khan, Rave loves him more than he realizes, but she isn't ready to remember why. And Khan is shook.

SPEAKER_03 15:17

Why, hello, Slatra. Meanwhile, Veya discovers the prisoner in the next cell is Kazari. The two of them compare trauma like it's an Olympic sport. Kazari opens up about everything her father put her through, admits she's in love with Salis. Then we cut back to Rave, who wakes up to find Khan and the others already gone. He leaves her a sweet note, Rave immediately ignores it, and heads off to complete Sarim's assassination mission, which turns out to be a trap. She fights through an entire fortress, leaves one terrified guard alive with the message if Khan gets hurt, I'll level your citadel. Iconic. Then she reaches her target and freezes because she wasn't sent to kill a general, she was sent to kill a little boy, Avi, the exact rune prodigy Khan has been searching for. Before anyone can process that, the dragon egg beside him starts hatching. Avi protects it, Rave chops the baby dragon to her chest, throws Ovi onto her back, and the two make a run for it. But just before they escape, Avi delivers the worst possible news. The soldiers Rave fought, they weren't the real trap. The Tricouncil's army is already waiting for Khan.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

So he and Pyroc walk straight into the TriCouncil's trap, where magical spikes shut down their power, stone pillars erupt from the ground, and they're both hanging in nets before they know what happened. Thankfully, Rave comes crashing in like the world's angriest rescue mission. She cuts through soldiers, muffles the sound of battle, and when she realizes over a hundred more enemies are closing in, she just turns the battlefield into a swamp. Entire army gone. Casual power. What? After escaping, Rave finally admits the truth. Sareem has bound her by blood and ordered her to kill Abi. Khan's reaction, not anger, just who's responsible? Relationship goals, like maybe what? Thankfully, Avi reveals he can break the blood bind. Tiny cash. They have to return to the exact cave where Rave made the bargain in the first place. Because healing and fantasy is never convenient.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Meanwhile, Arkin somehow manages to become even more horrifying. He discovers Elowin's hidden diary, nearly beats Kaisari to death, leaves Beia completely broken after more torture, and casually admits he's keeping them both alive because he still needs the other stone. Can someone please kill this man already? While Khan, Rave, Avi, and Pyrock head towards Gore, they discover that the city has become a ghost town. At the curly quill, Rave secretly finds another message from Sareem before sending Pyroc into her old home with one very simple instruction: do not go upstairs. Naturally, he goes upstairs. Immediately, he gets tackled by a woman with a knife to his throat who turns out to be Essie. The second Pyrock tells her Rave survived, she faints. Honestly, that's how we felt about you being alive, girl. While Pyrock stays behind with Essie and baby Gruffin, Rave, Khan, and Avi continue toward the cave.

SPEAKER_03 17:59

Then we finally reach the cave where everything started. Avi warns that breaking the blood bind will force Ray's body back to the condition it was in before she made the deal, meaning almost dead. Great. The ritual begins. Somehow it works. The blood bind is finally gone, and I celebrated for about four seconds. Because then Sareem steps out of the shadows, because of course she does. She admits every bit of the pain she inflicted on Ray was designed to lure Khan here, using his niece as leverage, strip away his magic with a potion and takes him prisoner. Grim finally reaches the silver dragon, expecting to die. Instead, she chooses him. The bond forms, giving Grim hope for the first time in forever. Then we cut back to Rave, who wakes in a prison cell believing Fallon is beside her. But something inside her has changed. A silver light spreads through her soul, and for the first time since the series began, Rave feels whole, which means naturally everything is about to get so much worse.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

We pick back up in Arkin's prison, where Rave has officially been through enough for about six lifetimes. She wakes after another fight in the pits, only to remember that Fallon is dead, but this time she remembers the truth. Fallon didn't die peacefully in the snow, like Rave convinced herself. She died alone in a prison cell. That realization absolutely shattered me. Then Rave realizes the person she's been holding isn't Fallon at all. It's Kazari, barely alive. Faye is locked in the next cell looking completely broken, and before either of them can explain what's happened, the guards storm in. Rave immediately throws Khan's Malmer around Kazari's neck, shields her with her own body, fights off as many guards as she can, and still gets knocked unconscious. Then Arkin invites everyone to what might be the most unhinged family dinner ever. Khan's chained, Rave's chained, and Arkin casually announces, I'm your brother. Sir? As if that wasn't enough, we also learn he's the elding, meaning the flourish, the place Rave believed was her safe haven, was his operation the whole time. Trust issues unlocked.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

And somehow still Arkin gets even worse. He burns Rave's Ulu, tells her she belongs to him, reveals Ovi is being forced to build magical rooms for his army, and announces his plans to steal Khan's throne and Rave. Then he pulls out Eloin's diary. Finally, Khan and Rave learn the truth. Eloin loved Khan, Kaisari was Khan's daughter all along, and Khan's father forced Eloin to lie, convincing Tyroth that the baby was his to protect Khan. Then Arkin delivers the cruelest reveal yet. Khan and Rave's daughter is alive, locked in a cell, and dying because of him. When Argon begins torturing Khan, Rave offers herself back to the fighting pits if he'll spare him. He agrees. But in that moment, Rave finally stops running from Valen's death. She lets herself grieve and unlocks a part of her she had buried for years. Meanwhile, Sareem learns she's no longer useful to Arkin, gets thrown out into the snow, and his elding bird, Clear, erupts out of the mountain behind her. Honestly, couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

SPEAKER_03 20:55

While Pyrock is off being the hero of his own side quest, saving Essie, surviving a molten monhow getting healed by drinking her blood. Hopefully we come back to that later. Meanwhile, Arkin is finally ready for the grand finale. He throws Rave into the arena dressed in silver armor while the crowd chants, fire lark, fire lark. Then he stabs Khan through the lung, patches him up just enough to survive, and gives him one impossible choice fight, entertain the crowd, let Rave kill you. Otherwise, Kazari and Vea die. I know. Arkin gives the signal, Slotcher takes over. She raises both swords to Khan's throat and at the very last second gives Rave control back. Instead of killing him, Rave drops her weapons, kisses Khan, tells him she loves him, and they finally stop apologizing for everything that's happened between them. Then the mountain shakes. Khan realizes the potion suppressing his magic is wearing off, and Rave basically says, Hang on tight, baby. She calls on Ignos and Boulder, tears the arena apart, floods it with magma, brings Arkin's balcony crashing down. And Rygan literally bursts through the ceiling to join the fight. Rave doesn't stop until there's basically no arena left. Meanwhile, Uno leads Veya and Kazari to safety just as the first moon finally falls from the sky. Kazari wakes, rips at the diadem, and the god of Ether himself appears to heal her. Excuse me? Then Khan realizes Arkans survived, cause sure. He tells Rave she has a choice chase Arkin or find Kazari. Without hesitation, Rave chooses her daughter.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

While she races back through the collapsing prison, freeing prisoners along the way, Khan and Rygan take off after Arkin. The chase is absolutely brutal. The elding bird tears into Rygan. Khan is stabbed again, and the three of them crash out of the sky. Khan finally pins Arkin in the snow and kills him, listing every horrific thing Arkin did to their family before taking his head. It's not triumphant, it's just heartbreaking. Meanwhile, Rave emerges into complete chaos as moons crash across the world. Leary carries her to the summit where she finds Kazari standing with Sales as the power between them literally pulls the moons from the sky. Rave fights through the magic, saves Vea from falling off the mountain, and finally reaches Kazari. She apologizes for not coming sooner, and Kazari collapses into her arms. I don't think there was a dry eye left by this point. Then, after everything, Khan finds Rygan dying. He begs the gods for help. Nothing. Rygen breaks their bond, curls around Khan one last time while Khan sings to him, and I was emotionally unavailable for the rest of the book. Thankfully, Ray finds Khan, Khazari, and Abby safe before Slotra calls her into her inner world. There she finally witnesses Kaisari's birth and learns the truth. Elohim loved Khan. Tyroth murdered her after discovering Khan was the father. He stole baby Khazari and used her as a shield against Slotra. Unable to save them both, Slotra poured the silver essence of her own soul into Eloin, hoping mother and daughter would one day find each other again before rising into the sky and becoming the moon. But the book isn't over yet. Sarim takes a piece of Arkin's flesh and puts it in her vial before setting his remains on fire. Ominous. And then Hadian Nivon walks out of the flames alive. And that's where this book has the audacity to end. Audacity. Whew. How dare.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

Sorry, that was a long one, guys, but there was no way to make it shorter. Also, long book. It's a long book. And it's a very jumpy long book. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

And I somehow have more questions now than I did at the start of the book. Same. We got huge answers and somehow even bigger mysteries. So naturally, it's time to overanalyze everything.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

Welcome to Threads of Theory. Yeah. Finally. Woof. Oh, I mean, I guess we gotta start with the prologue, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. An interesting one for sure. It is interesting. They say that the gods know that Khan could tear the world to shreds with his words and his love for Rave. Like they know that their end is coming for what they have done. It's very interesting.

SPEAKER_04 24:55

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

Yeah. They also know that they were wrong for tearing Sales to shreds, and all of it is because of the reasons of love. So I I still feel like I think we theorized this last for when the moon hatched that we're gonna see the gods in more corporeal forms.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:11

Of course.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

I mean, because we've now we've gotten a glimpse. Yeah, of Saless. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:17

Yeah. Um, with Kaisari, which is interesting and unexpected. For sure. Yeah, there's a lot to unpack there.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Yeah, I feel like the whole book is kind of about the difference between love and possession in some way, shape, or form. And it feels like love is the catalyst for literally every major event in the series. So I wonder if Sarah is establishing the idea that like love itself is the oldest and most powerful magic there is. Right. I love that. Like someone really beautiful, you know, like, and the creators didn't cause the catastrophe because of love. They caused it because they tried to control love. Right.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

I like that perspective. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:00

I also feel like there's a huge theme throughout this series so far of like redemption, healing, forgiveness, all of those things. So I am curious if Saless is gonna forgive what's happened to him. You know what I mean? Like, can we kill a god? Doesn't seem likely. So, how are they going to reconcile with Sales after tearing him apart?

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Yeah. Well, maybe love somehow. Maybe love. You know, you know, I don't know. That sounds so kitschy, but it feels like there's so much possession stuff and control stuff as being the thing they're fighting against. And love is the only thing that's really provided anything wonderful, like even Kazari's love for the god and how he saved her and appeared in all these things. The way the even me. The book was used with blood and even knee, even knee. My heart. I need to. Sweet. At the end of the book, at the end of the book, she was knee, knee was put back together, right?

SPEAKER_03 26:55

But she wasn't working. But she I know, I know. We'll get there. Okay. Um so chapter one, I just have to say, in When the Moon hatched our episode, we talked for like 20 minutes about this stupid jar of mist, and we kept being like, this has to be a small detail that like no one else cares about but us. And I just love that in chapter one. Yes, yes, yes, we fixated on it so hard. Absolutely not. Chapter one, it actually was a thing. He literally got out his jar of mist. It wasn't a thing, Borg. And I I texted you guys immediately and was like, the jar of mist is a thing. We were right.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

You were right.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

We could we did not guess it was a pet wave, but we were right. I mean, it's hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

I think it's also so funny that the whole time Borg was like pissed about his jar that he was in, and he's just like, Well, I am deserving of a much prettier jar. Like, oh, it's so good. I love him.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

He's so weird. He's a vessel elite. He's so weird. I love it. And it's it's interesting because it made me a vessel elitist. Um, it's it's interesting because for me it was like he was consuming these memories, right? But is there a world where because clearly memories are being used in some way, shape, or form to manipulate or control or preserve or save, like whatever it is, healing, survival, whatever it is. I wonder if there's a way that this isn't just him consuming the memories, but also preserving them, because we don't really know what the next book will bring. I just it kind of made me think he's also like a keeper of the mist, like a keeper of the memories, you know?

SPEAKER_03 28:36

Yes. I also really love that she introduced this because at the same time, Rave is also getting her memories back throughout the book. So it's almost feels like she's not going through live reliving her past alone, even though they're not talking about it. Like we as making this like beautiful parallel between them of living their past and facing these memories together weirdly, even though they don't realize they're doing it together. Yeah. It's kind of a really cool literary device. I was very into it. Yeah. I completely agree.

SPEAKER_01 29:06

It's also because memory is treated obviously like a form of currency throughout the series, too. It's like the cost of knowledge in this series is always some kind of like personal sacrifice, like Rave recovering her lost memories, Tyroth manipulating memories, Slatra protecting them until the right time, Eloin hiding the truth for like this personal sacrifice of like the greater good, or like believing that the right time will come and everything will fall together. So it kind of does tie in everyone sort of experiencing things at different times because it does all happen in like magical divine timing that it just works out the way that it does. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

Yeah. It's interesting they approach their memories so differently and it says so much about like their characters and who they are as people. Like Khan is willingly offering up these painful memories to relive over and over again. Yeah. Whereas Rave is kind of like, um, I accidentally touched this boulder and I guess I have to deal with it now. God damn it.

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Listen, I firmly believe that Khan is a cancer. He is like the big most evolved book boyfriend of all time. I I agree. But this is also so great because so much of life in general and our lessons as human beings and our process of learning and growing, this happens to us in real life. Like we can block out memories that are traumatic because we need to survive. We do move forward forgetting things that were painful because we needed to in that moment. And they do come back at the most inopportune times, but usually the time where you're faced with this choice of like either I stay the same or I grow and evolve and become more of who I'm supposed to be, or I'll stay exactly where I am in the safety of this like protective thing I have under my icy lake or whatever. So it is such a beautiful, honest reflection of humanity as well.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Yeah, no, I completely agree. And also to your point about like memories resurfacing, Ni is with Kaisari then. And she notices that the handwriting is the same as what is on the cell wall. Which is crazy. Which is so wild. And again, it's like reiterating what you were saying about like memories resurfacing and like things coming back around. I mean, Ni has now lived through like multiple uh versions of life, right? Because now she's had Eloin, she's had Rave, and now she has Kaisari. Um do we think that we will actually see them work this out together in the next book? I think so.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Like I think she has to realize her mom shared the same cell before she did. I mean, she already like realizes it here, but I think there has to be a conversation of healing, of like we went through the same thing. And this is how, even though I didn't get to see you grow up, they have to like have some point of how do we connect, right?

SPEAKER_04 32:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:03

And like start an emotional journey together. And I think sadly, very sadly, this is something that they can bond over. Yes. They can bond over. I mean, because Sarah really hits the point home towards the end of the book that Rave is just like, we missed it all. Me and Khan missed it all. We didn't get to see Kazari grow up. And it's like, how do you reconcile and become close with your child who you love and you missed grow up? Unfortunately, shared trauma is a way to do that. It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

And also, so is love. And I think that's the other thing. Like they they both had things taken from them. And I think they will find each other through it. And also, we don't know like what's coming next. I think there's also moments where Kazari's gonna really be here for the god, and like what does that mean? And who's gonna support her in that, and who's not gonna support her in that? What about the stone? Like, what about the all of these things? Because now also Rave is is blood bound to the book, and the book is kind of like Saless.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

But the book is owned by Sareem. Sareem has the book at the end of this book.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

She has it, yes, but the book itself was created by Saless, no? Or that's at least what I'm putting together. That's what they think. Yes. Yeah, yeah. And also, like, does that mean that Avi might be, I don't know, like related? Oh, we are so gonna get into that later. Okay, we're gonna say, Okay, okay, great, okay, great. We must, we must. Yeah. All right.

SPEAKER_02 33:26

Speaking of books, though, so at the very end of book one, we get Vera in Tyroth's castle fortress situation, right? But in this book, we get the perspective of Vea, and she has a really interesting conversation with the maid that she had impersonated while she was on that little endeavor to retrieve the journals. And she finds out that obviously the maid is pregnant with Tyroth's child, but she encourages her to leave, but she says that she can't. So, do we think that this maid is going to have a role in the next book? Do we think that this like side character? I mean, obviously she was in book one, now she's in book two. So, like, that's gotta be a thread that we pull on for book three, right?

SPEAKER_03 34:13

So to me. And so later on in the book, Ty Roth says that he has an heir, but he knows that Kazari is not his daughter. And I think this is what he means actually when he says he has an heir. I don't think consider Kazari his heir at all.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

I don't think so either. Yeah, by the way, yes, and after the DNA test and then killing, you know, so I agree. I also feel like this brings up a different point, sort of like love as this overarching theme of and being magical or whatever. I also think there's this theme of legacy that seems to be just as important as like lineage and and blood and all of that stuff. So I feel like between all of these characters, the legacy that they leave is beyond lineage. And so it's interesting because it also gives an opportunity for Tyroth's child to leave a different legacy. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 35:07

I don't think his child is gonna rule anything. I'm gonna be totally honest. I don't think his legacy is going anywhere by the end of the series.

SPEAKER_01 35:14

But the maid, I'm sorry, the maid, there that we're gonna see more of the maid. We must.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

Yeah, I just I think it was pointed that she was in this again, not just this random person Vea came across. It kind of feels like the jar of mist where it was like, oh, this is a small detail that actually is very important.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

Yeah, and why do we think that she can't leave?

SPEAKER_03 35:34

Because she's gonna guess to leave a blood bind or some kind of deal that she's made with him.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

Yeah, like magic of some kind. Yeah, because he clearly uses magic to manipulate for sure.

SPEAKER_03 35:46

Clearly, yeah, he's a horrible, horrible person. I can't wait for him to die.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

I also kind of feel like because what we know about him, he does not like women. So I'm wondering if by the end of this book, she's clearly already had the baby because how can he be so sure that it's going to be an error if it's oh a girl?

SPEAKER_03 36:07

So it has to be a boy. No, so women inherit in this world, though. Even though he doesn't like women, it doesn't mean legally they don't inherit.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

Oh, see, I kind of took it as like he wasn't wanting women at all. Well, yes, because he's an asshole.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

But it doesn't mean that the worlds work this way. So if you look at Eloyn and her family before they died, she was the heir as the eldest daughter, not her brother, even though he was a boy. So, like in this world, as long as you're the firstborn, you're the heir, whether you're boy or girl. And he's gonna manipulate them regardless of their gender. Yes, a hundred percent. I think he just hates women. I don't think it has anything to do with like a matriarchal or patriarchal society, because it seems like that doesn't actually matter in their societies. Yeah. Um, he just is an asshole. Yeah, he's the worst. Just thinks women are weak. Well, or he thinks they're easy to manipulate. So in chapter six, Ray finally starts getting some of her memories back. And I just want to like talk about the pace of this throughout the book in general. So this is the memory of her meeting Slotcher for the first time when she's in the other's den. How do we feel about this pacing? Because I felt like on my reread of doing the outline, I felt better about it. But on my initial read, I kept feeling like it was a little slow for me because, you know, book one, I mean, how many times did we say on our episode that, like, oh my god, can Rave just like get it together and like confront anything? And then I felt like it took so long for her to confront anything in book two still for me.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

It didn't bother me as much.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

Yeah, I didn't really it didn't bother me too much either because I mean, it feels like the slow were pace is frustrating for a reader because we already understand these things and we just like want her to catch up. But emotionally, I guess the pacing makes sense because her mind buried these memories to keep her functioning. So, like they don't return chronologically, they return when something in the present emotionally or physically triggers them. Like it is exactly how it kind of happens in real life too. So, like it makes remembering feel dangerous rather than like automatically healing. And and I think that gets annoying when we want her to get there. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

Because I feel like all through book one, it was just like, oh my god, can she handle anything? Can she confront anything? I think by the end of book one, we were all sitting here kind of just being like, I'm so frustrated by this character.

SPEAKER_01 38:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

And so I think when I went into book two, because at the end of book one, it seemed like she was really gonna confront things. So going through book two and still being like, oh, she's still not really confronting things, like it's kind of forced on her still, felt a little frustrating for me.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

Yeah. Yeah, because first off, every new memory gives her information, but it also destabilizes her and forces her to relive this trauma. And like Slotra's controlling which memory she can access, and like even rearranges like the den to make it like work for them. So it feels sometimes like she's protecting Rave, but also like maybe she's controlling it, or both. Like, is she withholding because Rave isn't truly ready, or because Slotra isn't ready? You know what I mean? Right. Or a combination of the two.

SPEAKER_03 39:21

And then when we get to the end of the book and Rave, it's all spit in her face. She literally has the thought of like, oh my God, what have I been doing? Running into all this, I've been such a horrible mom and horrible person for running from all of this. So it's also kind of like, that's what we've all been saying. Like, yeah, it just a little frustrating for me.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

But it's hard, but it's hard. It is frustrating. But like, you know, her central conflict is she wants to know who she was, but she's terrified of remembering that will destroy who she's become. I think she does. Yeah. I think she kind of does deep down. That's why she has an icy lake, and that's why she keeps an icy lake. She's keeping it separate from her like every day. You know what I mean? There's like a thing in therapy too, right? There's like a whole process for a lot of people who want to remember things that are traumatic. There's like a whole way in which you go through this, like with your with your doctors or whatever. It just feels like, I don't know. Does her healing require recovering every memory, or could becoming whole mean accepting that some parts of the past can stay in the past? Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 40:24

I think for me, it was more that she had to feel a little bit more safe and secure in order to start confronting those types of things. So, like coming off of the heels of book one, I feel like she was feeling more safe and more secure. So she was able to like kind of confront some of those things.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

Totally.

SPEAKER_02 40:41

But I also think that it's Latra that's controlling the flow of those. And it's also hard to confront the like eggs of memory with you're having to battle through that and feeling like you're trapped. And literally and metaphorically, you don't want to lose yourself under the icy lake. So I don't know. I think because it was like a multifaceted thing, it didn't bother me in terms of pacing. Whereas like fury bound. Yeah. Infuriated me on her development and growth. We're all bound to fury.

SPEAKER_03 41:16

I think just like sitting here thinking about it, I'm kind I think the reason why it maybe bothered me just as a reader, even though I can like obviously rationalize that that is like the correct way for someone to heal and that like it is a slow process and all those things. But you're obviously you're reading a book. You're not actually misexperiences. The book is like, yeah. And I think the part of the issue I saw with it is that when she gained all these new memories, we also didn't learn anything new as a reader, which was a little different. No, she learned Boulder's language. Her first memory about that's what I mean. Is like her first memory about her meeting Slacha for the first time, we actually got in book one in a journal entry. That's what I mean. Is like as a reader, her new her new memory she gained. We as a reader didn't gain anything new when she got her new memory. And I feel like if she'd added more details that we didn't get the first time from the journal entries, I would have been a little more excited about them. Yeah. Just as like a reader. It just felt a little like, well, I knew that already. All right, cool, let's move on. Totally. Totally. It's like I I know I can rationalize that, you know, healing takes a long time, that she confronted that at her own pace. I understand all that. But as a reader, it felt just a little stale to me to be like, okay, well, that I feel like I just read the journal entry from book one.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

Again. But then longer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:39

But in her like POV, could we have gotten like a few more details? It's like spoiler for Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yaris goes back and does a POV from a different character's perspective of the same scene. It's like you learn new details that you didn't know before. Right, but you're familiar. Yeah. I wish it had been a little more like that because I feel like every memory we got was a little like, okay. Like I knew that all already. Right, right, right, right. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

Like a little bit more character development, less past reflection on book one.

SPEAKER_03 43:09

Yeah, it felt like a lot of repeat for book one for me personally. That's fair. That's fair. That's fair. So we finally see Tyroth in the story from Vayas P O V. And honestly, I also thought we were gonna see more of him in this book. He sucks hard. I think it was one of like our buds from the last book of like, I can't wait to see more Kadak and Tyroth and like see more of these villains. And then we still didn't really get much of that in book two. Not to go too much into like my thorns and stuff. But um, we do learn that he sucks so much that his own dragon abandons him and saves Vea. Oh my goodness. And like to his death, to his demise. Yes, and dies saving Vea. That's how much Tyroth sucks, is his bonded dragon abandons him to save Vea.

SPEAKER_00 43:59

I can't.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Yeah, that was a really like I genuinely was just like, oh my God, is that happening? Is he saving her? He's saving her. And I was like, holy shit, he's saving her. That's crazy. Yeah. And I mean, I think he was just like, you know what? I've put up with so much shit. I'm gonna do one thing that I want to do. Seriously. Vea was able to continue in the book because otherwise she definitely wasn't.

SPEAKER_03 44:25

I mean, she died like 12 times in this book. Um, yeah. But interestingly, also in this scene, apparently he can read minds. Is he a mind weft? If we did not know that. Yeah. Yeah. He unlocks Vea's memory. I don't like it. I don't like it at all about how she is the one who actually killed Eloyn's family. But here's the thing. I mean, obviously, she immediately blames herself. But when you read the memory of what happened, her dad forced a mindweft to remove all feelings and form of thought from Veya's body. And then he forced Vea to go do this. Like, girl, this is not your fault. Like, no, you were a vessel. You were a vessel. You were you were used, you were a tool. You were a tool, a victim just as much as they were.

SPEAKER_01 45:11

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

It was a complete violation. Yeah. I mean, and I obviously I think anyone in that instance would feel the type of guilt she feels. And obviously she blames herself, but I really hope that's part of book three and the journey of like her coming to realize that that's not her fault and it's her father's fault and Tyroth and Caddock's fault and like their whole horrible family just fucking sucks.

SPEAKER_01 45:34

Yeah, I I don't I don't like it. It feels I mean, it makes me wonder is is he hiding his full abilities from everyone? Because I still don't feel like we actually know what he's capable of, and that makes him even scarier than Arkin in a lot of ways because it feels like it feels like Tyrod represents, yeah, but he also represents weaponized truth. He doesn't just lie, he decides what everyone else is allowed to remember, and it feels like scary that is so dangerous, it's so dangerous, and also it feels like the the most anti-Avi in a way. Like Avi uses memory and knowledge to heal, and Tyroth uses memory and knowledge to control. So, like there's that love and power, love and control thing again.

SPEAKER_03 46:19

Um But I I also I was under the impression in this world that you had to be born into being a mind weft, but he makes it sound like he learned a new skill when he's talking about it. That's why I think it's something else, because reading thoughts is different from unlocking or altering memories. I mean, but it also, I don't know, a mind weft, it sounds like can do those things though, because a mind weft is the one who does those things to Vea when she's gonna be able to do it. Right, right, right, right. So I'm a little like, can you learn to be a mind weft? Or like, did he like discover something in the Book of Void because he's now super chummy chummy with the Tri Council that they like have like unlocked this thing for him?

SPEAKER_02 47:00

Like a rune for him?

SPEAKER_03 47:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 47:02

Yeah, because that's that's definitely my question. Like, how long has he been able to do this? Because if it's been forever, then he had to have known about Eloin and Khan forever ago.

SPEAKER_03 47:14

I don't think it was forever because when Vea originally was forced to go kill them, if he was a mindwef back then, his father would have used him and not the like random person in the castle or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 47:25

I think it's a different thing. I think it's a way to alter truth and memory. I I don't I don't know that it's I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 47:31

I think it's kind of ruined it. I think it's from the Tri Council like gave him this power. Yeah, through the super, they're super buddy buddy. Yeah, I hate it. Yeah, I hate it too. Gross. Let's move it on.

SPEAKER_02 47:43

We hate him. We hate him. So then Rave wakes up to the mess that once was wrecked. Yikes. And she and Utrecht make their way to dispose of his body and both him, which just so happens to be where Khan is off to rescue Pyrox's brother Roan. And this is where we start to see Rave really go for her power that she normally isn't very comfortable, like harnessing, unleashing, utilizing. So, I mean, on one hand, this is definitely like a sign of growth. Yes. Yes, yes. She's feeling more comfortable. She's using the tools at her disposal. She calls on Rain to save them all from the Anthe, which is such a weird ass beast.

SPEAKER_03 48:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

Just as a side note. And Rave and Khan start their almost who can love and protect who more dance. Oh, yeah, yeah. Which is very like back and forth, like, no, you stay there. No, you stay there. Like at the door. While meanwhile, they're both about to die. But neither one of them seemed very concerned about that.

SPEAKER_01 48:55

So interesting. This is a time where it's interesting because she constantly suppressed and avoided her magic. But here she's sort of leaning in, and it feels like it's kind of going alongside her slow shift from surviving things and being a survivor to a protector. And it's like a very different mind shift, I think. Um, yeah. And it becomes kind of like, you know, neither one, uh, she or Khan, they never question each other's love. They just argue over like who gets to make the sacrifice, and that is how they're showing their love. You know, that's so silly. It's so silly. Compared to like a lot of other romanticy couples whose conflict comes from mistrust, yeah. The they they are partners almost immediately, even when they're on opposite sides of an argument. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like their relationship isn't built on needing to be rescued, it's built on two incredibly capable people just continuing to choose each other. And so I don't know. Do you think Rave is becoming more powerful because she's remembering who she was, or is it because she's just finally allowing herself to be who she's always been and to get out of survival mode? Oh. It's like something just unlocked. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:09

Yeah, for sure. But Khan does notice that her bloodlust isn't gone from killing Rec and his heart sinks. And I think it's actually because he thinks that he stole her kill of his father from her and that she hasn't realized it yet. But we all know actually it's because she needs to kill Tyroth now. Yes, absolutely. Maybe one day Vea, if she finds out Vea's the one, but But I don't know. So when we get the whole Vea thing, the dad, their pa says that you know, someone foretold that if Vea was not the one to kill them, then the world would end. So I think that's like a foreshadowing that Rave will forgive her.

SPEAKER_02 50:54

I think so too. I think so too. It's not her fault. If anybody understands being used as a tool, especially after this book, it's Rave. She was literally manipulated into so many things in this, which obviously we'll get into, but like everything good that she thought she was doing ended up being a complete lie. And so I think somebody who was literally memory-wiped and manipulated into killing someone's family. Yeah, she's gonna be pissed, but I don't think she's gonna blame her for it. No, also, brother is alive, so what happened there? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:30

We'll get to that eventually. Yeah. I mean, but there's also that moment, you know, obviously huge character growth. She chooses Kazari over revenge. So she literally leaves Arkin and Khan, her significant other, to save her daughter. So it suggests that her bloodlust doesn't actually have to end in death. She learns that choosing love over vengeance can actually satisfy the part of herself that was like previously driven by rage. So I wonder if her bloodlust was actually about killing and just more about like a very heated need for justice and feeling avoiding to like very different things.

SPEAKER_03 52:10

Like Khan says revenge is lonely, like it doesn't end in anything good. And you know, I think that's part of the themes in the story of like they think bloodlust can only end in death, but it can also end in forgiveness and different and healing.

unknown 52:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

And I think we're gonna see that with the whole Vaya storyline. I think that's the whole point of it.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

Yeah, yeah. I I agree. And right, because if she didn't do that, then the world would end. Yeah. I mean, right. There's so there's so many things.

SPEAKER_03 52:37

That means if someone else had killed her parents, Rave is capable of destroying the entire world. Yeah. Which we've kind of seen in this book already. She is one powerful motherfucker.

SPEAKER_01 52:48

She is, but we don't have any information about why if Thea wasn't the one to do it.

SPEAKER_02 52:53

Yeah, I mean, I guess it is just like, are we a hundred percent sure that Vaya did do it? What if that was just like a mind weft thing making her believe that to manipulate her to feel bad for it? Like, what if she didn't what if she actually wasn't even the one?

SPEAKER_03 53:06

I don't feel like that's true. I feel like that she did it. And yeah, because I mean we all know from book one that like the bangle or whatever was hiding a memory and all that stuff. Yeah, I just yeah, I just feel like this, yeah, that it really happened.

SPEAKER_02 53:20

Also, they invested a little too much into it for me to think that it's like that far of the speculation. Like right.

SPEAKER_01 53:27

But hypothetically, hypothetically, maybe the reason why it had to be her was bec because she was the only person who could do it and then be reneged for yeah, right, yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_02 53:40

So then we bounce back over to Rave because the story does so much back and forth between the storylines, which honestly keeps it kind of interesting.

SPEAKER_03 53:49

It does, but it's also a thorn for me. Yeah. Let's let's continue though.

SPEAKER_02 53:54

It wasn't as good as Shield of Sparrows with the uh layering of the stories. Yeah, but it is interesting that they survived the ant and then Rave was able to find the Book of Void. Do we have any theories as to why she was able to find it?

SPEAKER_03 54:08

I think it's because she has silver ribbon in her.

SPEAKER_02 54:11

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_03 54:13

I agree.

SPEAKER_02 54:13

From being in the moon, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:15

So and Slotra gave her a piece of silver ribbon, and we think that the Book of Void is tied to Saless and it's his book, and all the silver ribbons basically belong to him and are him. So that would be my guess on why she has all these like weird special abilities, even that seem like different from when she was Eloyn.

SPEAKER_02 54:33

Like she can't hear all the creators, right? In the spaces where you're not supposed to, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:41

And she also understands things that people have never taught her before. Yeah, so plugged in.

SPEAKER_03 54:45

She's very plugged in, and I do think these are new powers than like Elowin had.

SPEAKER_02 54:50

I also really love that she had like a legally blonde moment to where she was like, what? Like it's hard. Like, what do you mean? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:59

I I do love her sass so much. Like I love her one-liners so much in this book. Like that, where you're just kind of like, oh, you're funny.

SPEAKER_02 55:09

Yeah, her sassiness is very all of the comedic timing just was so good. But anyway, anyway. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:16

So we randomly jumped to Grimm here. And because his storyline is so spread out throughout the book and quite short, let's just talk about his whole storyline now. There's like four chapters of it, which is hilarious because I know I was texting you being like, Sarah Parker gave an interview that the most exciting part of the book for her to write was Grimm's story, and I can't wait to read it. And then it was like four chapters, and I was like, what the fuck is she talking about? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:40

I also I agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 55:41

I also feel like it very easily could have been just like one little chunk. It could have been at like the last three quarters, and it would have been perfectly fine altogether. There was no reason for it to be these like two or three page chapters that just were like, and now I'm in a cave.

unknown 55:56

Bye.

SPEAKER_02 55:57

Yeah, and from the dragon.

SPEAKER_03 55:59

Like it was like so weird. Honestly, and this is really like a cut. I almost feel like you could cut his entire character and have given this journey to Pyrock and still had Pyrock's other journeys in this story, and it would have all still been the same. Like, I don't even understand why this character is here. Like, I understand that the silver saber scythe needs to bond to someone because they have an important like arc in the story, but Grimm has zero background.

SPEAKER_02 56:27

It was at the end where he came in and like saved them. But like again, all of the all of the chapters could have been collected and moved to the very end. Anyway, this is just bordering on Thorn territory, but it was.

SPEAKER_03 56:40

But his story. Like it's it was just a little like, I don't care about Grim. I also am confused why he, out of all the people in this story, is the one who's like special and bonding the silver saber scythe when we know absolutely nothing about him.

SPEAKER_02 56:55

Also, in book one, didn't we basically like ship Vea and Grimm being together?

SPEAKER_03 57:01

Yes, but they literally are not on the page once together in this entire book.

SPEAKER_02 57:05

Not even remotely.

SPEAKER_03 57:06

Not even remotely.

SPEAKER_02 57:08

So I guess basically, in summary, he bonds a dragon and he lives. And so like it's so random. Yeah, I'm really curious as to her interview.

SPEAKER_03 57:23

I kept coming back to her interview and just being like, what? Like, what? Like, please, please explain more, please.

SPEAKER_02 57:31

Yeah, we definitely texted back and forth about that a lot because we're like, I don't see it.

SPEAKER_03 57:36

I don't see it. I mean, maybe we're gonna get this fabulous backstory on Grim, but I feel like to wait for it for book three feels a really long time for a major character, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

We shall see. Because also, if it was her favorite story to write in this, then like all four chapters. All four chapters. All four chapters, I I can't wait to hear it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:56

Well, they escape Botham on Rygan's back and immediately paint a target on their own, but they make it to the small village of Balloon. And his aunt is the chief disser. And seeing Khan with Corey was just oh my god. And he would have been such a good dad. And every moment she they had a moment on the page together. Yes, my ovaries exploded. Like and even obviously Rave has the thought of Khan would have made such a good dad, not knowing she has a child with him. And you're just like but she was so triggered by it. She like ran off too. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 58:30

When he, you know. My God.

SPEAKER_03 58:32

But Khan and Rave get their first moment alone together, and yay, we get confessions of feelings, and I'll kill anyone who hurts you, et cetera, et cetera. And the mini love fest, before Rave starts very unfortunately getting her memories back, but not by going in her icy lake of having the time she had to sleep with Tyroth to fake Kazari's conception major yokes. And Khan realizes for the first time that Eloyn left him to save them both, not because she didn't love him. Which also, duh, my guy. Duh, my guy, yes. But he doesn't push Rave. He doesn't push Rave to keep digging into these feelings because he knows she isn't ready and he really is the best book boyfriend ever.

SPEAKER_01 59:16

And also that's the thing, like it's even, it's even displayed in the way that he cares for Corey, too. It's like his greatest strength has never been his dragon, his magic, his lineage. It's his capacity, even though he has it, it's a yes and it's his capacity to nurture. And I think Sarah keeps showing us that the qualities that make him a great king, a great boyfriend, a great ruler, all the things are the exact same qualities that would have made him an like incredible father. And then all of those things, it's just like, oh, it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 59:50

Also, again, he truly is he he's the best book boyfriend. Like he just really is.

SPEAKER_01 59:56

Yeah. He she doesn't have to explain anything, he doesn't demand more explanation, he doesn't need any details that she's not ready to share. And here's the big one he doesn't make her comfort him while she's reliving her own trauma. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

He also sets boundaries, Ashley. And I can appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

Yes, absolutely. All off of the level of emotional maturity is very refreshing, especially in romanticy, because he lets her decide how and when she wants to remember his love is never transactional. He also doesn't need all of the answers to believe her either. Yeah. And that's huge. He just believes her. And he's true for her. Yes, and loves her. Yes. He's not projecting. He's not projecting, even though he knows more of like he's really truly just allowing her. And I also love that Sarah's letting him grieve quietly. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like I think everything he thought about Eloyne leaving him was obviously wrong, but he doesn't make that revelation about himself. He focuses immediately, shifting back to Rave, and he's the best.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:09

I mean, let's literally continue the common love fest by getting to their first and only sex scene in the entire book when she bonds with Leary. They have their like whole thing and she becomes this like feral beast, and he's all like, come back to me, my love. Hello, use your words. Use your words.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:28

Use your words. Don't speak to me in that tone of voice.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:31

Again, like I said, he knows how to set boundaries with her. And he's like, You will be human, Rave. Loving boundaries.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:39

You will be human. You will be human. I can't, I'm sorry, I don't understand. Say it again.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:44

I do love too that he was even like, This is the biggest mistake I've ever made, letting her do this because she was not emotionally ready to do this.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:52

And I mean, oh my God, what how many men can you count on your hands that wouldn't just like seize the opportunity?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:58

I mean, no, I mean bonding with the dragon, not banging it out. But yeah. I also love that he's like, um, no, I'm not just about to fuck you. We need to have a conversation first. Like excellent.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:10

Because it's also such a stark contrast between every other controlling relationship in the series, like everything else, like the binding, like Sareem binding and Arkin possessing and Tyrop controlling and all of those things. She gets freedom with him in a way. And like, God, who knew? A woman's right to choose anything. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:31

That was a fantastic summary of all of the men, by the way. Just one really one. Was it nailed it?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:39

Yes. I was like, he's possessing, nailed it. I mean, that's yeah. And also the dragon bond, too, itself is built on trust, not ownership, too.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:49

Yes, which I love that she like gives Leary that opportunity to be like, I need you to choose me again, even though I fucked up.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:55

Like, yes, and Leary already had like massive, massive issues before because so much abuse. And Rave had saved her from that situation with Wreck, and then basically abandoned her. And I don't blame her for feeling abandoned. And so it was on Rave. And again, this goes back to like her emotional growth. She was like, I have to present myself to her, and if she kills me, she kills me. And like, and I deserve it. She thought that I fucked up.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:24

Yeah. And I think we talked about it in our coverage of book one. We were like, and why didn't she take Leary with her to go kill Rec? Like you were like, you just wrestled.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:32

Why did you kill your dragon?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:33

Yeah. What's wrong with you?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:35

Like, why do you leave it?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:37

Yeah, you cared. She she she laid on you. Like, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:41

You nursed her back to health, and then you were just like, bye, bitch.

unknown 1:03:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:45

And I need to say, like, of course, Leary choosing to catch her is a real excellent moment that their bond forms. But one of my favorite funny things, I think we mentioned it in the summary, when she brings him like raw meat, like a cow. Slab of meat. The slab of meat. It's so funny to me because it's like Mozart. Yeah. It's like she becomes almost too much dragon and she's like, look what I got you. Oh yeah. She loses herself. I will bring you meat.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:14

It's so funny. And uh, can I have Rave Back, please? Oh, yeah. And then we do get like such a good sex scene. Like, oh my God, it's incredible. And thank God it's incredible because it's the only one in the entire fucking book. Yeah. But it helps, but it feels so earned.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:32

It's so good.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:32

And it's hard. It's very earned. But it's earned. This is why, while it is a sex scene, it's also a really romantic scene. And sometimes we don't get those things at the same time. All the time. And it means something. And it means something. Like they've spent two books choosing each other over and over again. So by the time they're like finally together, it feels like a payoff rather than just chemistry.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:58

Yeah. As a writing tool, I think it's a really brilliant choice too. Because in book two, it's like, okay, you guys have already had this relationship. How can we keep this like romantic and keep that storyline going forward? And this was a really good tool to do that because she lost herself again. And then she's like having to refind herself and come back into her human form. Yeah. Yes. Choosing con again. And that's really cool. And it's beautiful and it's romantic and it's yearning and it's ugh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:29

As much as I complain about like it's the only sexy in the book, I actually really almost appreciate it more because there are so many romantic novels out there, fantasy novels, where it's just like, um, you guys are kind of like in the middle of the war. Should we be fucking right now? Yeah. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:47

Like a metal slinger.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:49

Yes. Um in a lot of books. Okay. A lot of books. Yeah. Yeah. And I kind of like that she was like, there's a time and a place, and I'm sorry, but for the rest of this book, there's no time. Time and place, and that's fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:01

But I also think that has a lot to do with the whole idea of choice in this novel, and also she's being super intentional with the writing to reflect the whole idea of choice and relationships being a choice because they are constantly choosing each other despite the circumstances. They are making the choice to choose each other or choose to like, you know, whatever their their intention is in that moment. They're not like just saying, like, yeah, let's bang. Because you're here and I can't keep my eyes off you. No, I I feel these things. I want to be with you, but I don't I now's not the time because I'm being intentional. But it's reflected also in the dragon bonds, too, because I think Sarah is making a statement again that love and dragon bonds both can't be forced. They have to be freely chosen over and over again by all parties. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:50

Completely. You know who doesn't like choice?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:53

Arkin.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:54

Arkin.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:55

Yeah, possessive motherfucker.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:57

That possessive motherfucker, who is also manipulative as hell. He has the tricouncil people at his little fight ring, which also was questionable. And basically he mentions that he did not, in fact, lose rape when she left. So do we think she left? Like, do we think he let her escape on purpose? Do we think he knew she was escaping? Do we think that was actually something? Or do we think that he was just like trying to save face and say that he didn't know I'm just like I don't think he let her escape.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:32

I think so too.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:33

Because he's so manipulative and has such a long game, and he wants to smash Khan, and so it's just like and Sream showed up literally in the same cave, and even Khan says it later in the book.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:43

Like, how did someone who knows how to do a blood bind just like randomly come across you?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:48

Boom. Exactly. In this random ass cave. Exactly. It was such a good point. He needed Rave to become who she was always meant to be. Because if she had stayed in the flourish, she never would have found Khan. She never would have reunited with Leary. She she never would have recovered any of her memories. She never would have become powerful enough. And he needed the complete version of Khan.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:10

I mean, yes and no to bring her home with Khan. No. No, I don't think he knew her and Khan were like in love. I don't think he's like that all-knowing. Um I don't think it's that. I don't think it's that. I think he did know that she was Eloyn. And I think that he knew she was tied to Ty Roth. And he wanted some kind of like political. He wants Tyroth over her. He wants Tyroth. He wants all the realm.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:36

Marry her, rule with her.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:37

And I think all of the con stuff ended up being icing on the cake because later in the book, he's like, oh my god, this just fell into my lap. The creators must be wanting me to do this.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:47

Yeah. Um.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:49

Yeah, major ick.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:50

And then that fucking motherfucker goes to Kaisari's cell and rips Ni. While Ni is like trying to snuggle and stay safe right after Kesari said, I'll protect you, I promise.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:05

The the emotional devastation that was tied to a piece of a piece of paper is insane. And I've just fully invested in Ni. And I was in the first book, and I was like, and this was so sad. Me too.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:21

So sad.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:22

This was so sad. And sure, she put her back together in the end, but I just but she doesn't work in the end. I want her to work. I can't. I can't. Maybe not yet. Maybe can help. Maybe can help. Wait.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:35

Maybe say maybe, though, maybe as Rave and Kazari mend their relationship, me mend. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. We have to move on before I cry. Okay. So Auntie's giving birth. Pirate comes in and they all play a game to distract themselves. And as a prize, one of them will be crowned a white wreath with red buds, which Khan says is an irreplaceable family heirloom that's been passed down through generations for so long they have no knowledge of where it came from or what it even is. And oh my God, this is the new jar of mist. I was about to say, this is the new jar of mist. It looks the new jar of mist. What is this? It is such a weirdly specific detail.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:23

It is very detailed to have nothing at all supporting or surrounding it.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:32

I literally was like, oh my God, it's the new jar of mist. It's the new jar of mist. My whole body's tingling. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:37

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:38

So obviously, I had to Google what a white wreath with red buds means. Absolutely. It is a heartfelt balance of peace, purity, and enduring love in the language of flowers. The pure white blooms represent reverence and eternal peace, while the vibrant red buds embody deep affection, courage, and respect for the departed. This flower arrangement is used a lot at funerals, also representing Jesus Christ. So what do we think it means in the story?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:05

I mean from going back to that love facet. Yeah, uh kind of what you said. But it's a family heirloom. It's interesting because white makes me think of silver, purity, creation, salus, perhaps.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:19

I think it's a unity of something.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:22

We also get a lot of tidbits, like very, very small tidbits, so you have to really be paying attention. That Khan's mother's side of her family is like this ancient clan that has almost like secret information about Boulder and they're like extra powerful and like ancient. Ancient. That they're this little hidden village of like secrets and that's like false family. There's something special about basically the mom side of the family that we don't totally know what it is yet. And it has to do with being very strong in Boulder's language.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:55

I think it's interesting to point out, too, because this whole scene happens like during the birth, right? So like the white bitty is brought out while new life is entering the world. And we have to also think about organized religion, right? So this is oftentimes used at funerals, you said. Yes. Now think about what funerals used to be a celebration of life, and then your transition to the next life and what happens after that. So like it's a moment of renewal, of rebirth, of growth, of like, you know, teaching. Also, white is with like weddings too. And absolutely, absolutely. And also, so yeah, and red also could be blood, sacrifice, life, like giving life and taking life, rebirth, all of those things.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:39

So what if it's like is very mother earth?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:42

Like I know we give a masculine energy to Boulder, but he is technically Earth, which normally is Mother Earth. Yes, right, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:52

I agree. I agree with you. And Khan's mother, everything was green. Yeah, she had like the greenhouse, yeah, and like the giant gardens and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:02

And she was a gentle soul. I don't know how she ended up with his asshole of a paw. Well, he says that his ma thought that she could change his paw, and that did not turn out well for her.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:14

Ladies, you can never change him. Can you remind me? Did Saless think that he could change the other creators too? That has not been part of the story. Okay, no, I was just I'm trying to find parallels to to Saless because it feels uh like related somehow. But yeah, yeah, definitely the next jar of mist.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:30

It's already I feel like it's gotta be like a unification, like somebody puts that on during a wedding or something. Like that's the vibe that I get.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:38

It's definitely like giving coronation. It's giving coronation. It's giving coronation, it's giving blessing, it's giving ceremonial, full moon ceremony. At this point, Sareem, that bitch, that bitch finally figures out that Rave is alive and starts internally torturing her and sends a meathead essentially after her. Yeah. Yeah. Rave says something about his voice seeming familiar and that it makes her skin crawl. Now, now that we know Arkin is the Elding, do we think that she remembers his voice from the pits? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:12

Is that like she says she doesn't recognize his face and he has a memorable face, but I bet anything that she was like unconscious being tortured and he was talking for some reason, and that's why she remembers him. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:26

Yeah, because I don't think it's any tie with like Tyroth because he's tied to the Elding and not right. Yeah. So it has to be from the pit days.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:36

Yeah, I think it's supposed to be our first clue that it's gonna later be revealed that Arkin is the Elding. Well, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:43

And this situation, she was just like, sorry, uh, I'll I'll just get out of here now.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:50

But it is interesting again that her body remembers the body keeps the score. And she couldn't place it, but she was like, Ooh, not right. I know this. I've like, this is not not it. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:03

The definition of heebie jeebies.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:05

Yeah. Leary comes to her rescues and eats him because she's a really good dragon. She's a good baby. But Saharna interrupts this message and eating and whatever's going on. Yes. And we find out Zior, her husband, never told her where he was going when he disappeared. And I feel like this is one of those details, once again, that feels oddly important, even though there is nothing in the book surrounding it. Yeah, we're absolutely gonna see this guy again. We have to. There's no way he's dead. No. He went somewhere, obviously very important, that we don't have any idea why or what's happening. Yeah. And I can't wait to see where that goes. That's that's you know, a bud for when we get to our roses section.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:51

There we go.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's definitely not dead. He's coming back. No way. Nobody's dead. Does he return with there was nobody's or cover? There's nobody. If nobody's dying on the page, dead, uh checked multiple times, they're alive.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:06

And if they talk about him too much for him to be dead, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:12

It's like Ryan, Ryan cannot be dead either. Sorry. We'll get there. So after her combo with Saharna, Rave finally starts to come into her power and decides to learn Boulder's language. Halfway through the book, but like not bad. But I do wish it was like a little bit sooner. Come on. And I do love that Slotra rearranges her den so Rave has to learn more to reach the info she wants. Like such a push from someone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:44

I I get like the Slotra, like giving her time and space, but like she clearly needs a push. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:52

And this is I'm gonna make you so uncomfortable that you have to face it. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:56

Yep. Good job. She's like, I know what you want. You gotta look at these first. Yep. Yeah. It's also this whole situation with like the nest of the memories. I feel like it gives like the R2 D2 projection. Oh, for sure. Like that's what I thought. Call me Obi-Wan Kenobi.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:14

You are my only hope. Anyway. So Ron and Khan decide they need to find this prodigy child that Tyroth traded to the Triety Council. Okay, and here we go. This is like the biggest theory on Reddit, guys, that we're going into. Okay. Okay. Oh, I know what this is. This is very important that Tyroth traded Ovi to the Tri Council in exchange for their favor. So the theory online is that Ovi is Khazari and Salis's love child. Yes. That's what I immediately thought as well. Yes. Because he's very silver. He can read the book very easily. That's apparently Salas' book. He hears Salis' song in his heart. He his parents are dead, but he has no idea who they are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:59

And But wouldn't Kazari have known if she was pregnant?

SPEAKER_03 1:18:02

Right. Let's discuss the pros and cons of this theory. Because the how. So when you throw into the part that Tyroth can manipulate memories and he hates Khazari, his not daughter. His not daughter. Wouldn't he steal her child for his own gain and erase her memories? Because I think he would. Absolutely. I think he would as well. I think he would.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:21

But then why would he give Avi away?

SPEAKER_03 1:18:25

Because he wants favor with the Tri-Consul.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:29

Also, we're forgetting that Christianity is based on the idea of immaculate conception. So perhaps it's also an immaculate conception.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:37

So this, yeah, this is where the theory gets murky because, okay, so it it does seem plausible to me that Tyroth would take her child away and trade him away because it's not really his grandchild. What does he care? And he was a good bargaining chick.

unknown 1:18:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:52

And we know he could manipulate memories, so he wiped Khazari's memory, which is why it's not part of the story yet. Yeah. But how could it be Saless's child? So Kazari says after the chancellor raped her, Salis did come to her for a little while. But I doubt that's what would happen between them during that time, because I'm sorry, someone who just got raped by a chancellor would not be like, ooh, let's jump into bed with someone else. Right. Totally. Unless the the child is technically the chancellor's, which is unfortunate. So that could be a possibility.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:26

Could he also be like, he isn't the child of like two people, but he's like the child of a healed world. Like when Salis begins putting himself back together, he's like a puzzle piece. I don't know. That sounds weird.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:37

Um I I I get kind of what you're saying. So, like my thought is also to like say Salis did come out of the diadem after because he seems to be able to appear to Kazari when she's in a lot of pain or when she's dying. Right. So after being raped, obviously that would be a time I feel like where he would be able to appear to her. I agree. And, you know, maybe she was pregnant, and because he's a god, he could have like done something to make this pregnancy a positive thing, or like, you know what I mean? Like he has all these like powers. He's the he's the god of other, he's the god of like the force, essentially. So, like, could he have made it his child or blessed him with his silver ribbons in some way that makes him Khazari's and Saless's? Like, maybe it was technically the Chancellor's child, but because he blessed him with silver ribbons, maybe it's really Khazari and Saless's child. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:32

I mean, look, I I keep going back to Immaculate Conception too. It's like God said to Mary, like, listen, chick, I know you're 12 years old, but like your kid is gonna die, but to save the world. So, like, here's a child you're pregnant. Like, obviously, this child is saving the world in a lot of ways, right? So, like, and a symbol of you know, why why he's so uniquely tied to Sales's magic and all those things. So, I feel like it could be so many different things, but clearly very intimately connected to Kaisari and Salis. Finally.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:06

I mean, to add potential merit to it being Kaisari's child is the fact that in book one it was said, like, oh, it's not uncommon for Kaiser to run away or disappear or things like that. But maybe she wasn't actually running away. Maybe Tyros was disappearing her, or she was hiding, or maybe she was pregnant, so she was like sequestered.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:29

Yeah, which would be my point in against of like, if she was pregnant, how would Khan not have known she was pregnant? And that's the answer.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:36

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:37

Right?

SPEAKER_02 1:21:38

Well, and I think my only problem with like the Immaculate Conception thing is like I feel like I have a really hard time that an author would write that, though I like the idea of it. I do too. So maybe that's the whole thing to where you're saying, like, maybe it could be like he like tried to take away her pain or something like that. And so he has silver ribbons, also, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:22:02

Yeah, I think technically, because she tells this very specific story about when she was given to the chancellor, that that's when Sales appeared to her. And I feel like this book does everything on purpose, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:20

Could Sales have like taken the place of the Chancellor in that moment in some way to make it whatever for her? It doesn't sound like that's what happened.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:29

Um I think the only way that would happen is if it were like the mind. Yeah, not the body. Yeah, yeah, that's what I think.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:37

But I do think Sales could have blessed him with silver ribbons, which is why we think of him as Salis and Kazari's child versus Kazari and the Chancellor's child. And why Sales might even consider him his child, essentially, is like I blessed him with these ribbons.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:53

Um I think you're right. I think I would, now that we've said all these things, I would bet that his connection to Saless is like magical rather than biological for sure. He's the child like transformed from pain and control and possession and all of the bad things, transformed by Saless's restoration, like chosen to wield this ancient magic, like descended from this lineage, whatever.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:17

Which Kazari also potentially has silver ribbon in her.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:22

So I think it represents the future of a healed world. Yeah. Like healed through pain, because her her experience obviously with the Chancellor was horrific and terrible. And this was it's you know, I think maybe Sarah's building towards the idea that Avi represents the future of the world, not like simply the child of two important characters, like the explanation.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:45

I I also just had like a moment where I realized in the next coming books, Rave, and if that is true, that means Rave and Kazari could bond over if they both lost their children and weren't able to raise them, which is so sad.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:00

Yes, and the dragons, and the dragons too.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:03

Yeah, it's such a point of bonding, though.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:05

Like which also Slatra lost her baby. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:09

Also, so that's another parallel to it too. And there was a moment when Leary also was like, You miss your family. Remember, she had that moment when she was watching other yeah, I mean it's everything connected like this theory a lot.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:23

I'm not gonna lie. Do I feel like it could easily also be something else because this world is magical? Absolutely. You think it's very pointed that they say his parents aren't around or that they're dead or that they're missing. Um, and I also think it's also very pointed that it is pointed out that Tyroth specifically is the one who traded Avi to the TriCouncil. So I feel like all of that is obviously connected. And I I don't know, I just like the theory. So yeah, no, I think it's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:49

I think it's magical rather than biological for sure. And I think it's a metaphor. I think it's like rebirth. It's all the things. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:57

I actually do love it. Yeah. So Khan and Pyroc are discussing Avi and like, oh, we need to go find him. And during this meeting, Rave comes in with raw meat, aka She's Slaughter. And Khan really starts to figure out the whole other part of Rave. I love that she calls him mate of her precious one. Yes. It's so good. Excuse me? And he's like, excuse me? What did you just say?

SPEAKER_01 1:25:22

I do love that Sarah doesn't make it feel like possession. It feels like protector. Protector, like the guard, like the uh gatekeeper, literally. It's like two souls who are very different but have a deep shared love, like learning how to coexist, I think. Yeah. And Khan tries to understand, not fix it. I just love that.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:45

Yeah. So in this combo, they tell her about the moon shard that they find or found um thanks to Borg. And also in the next chapter, Veya confirms that we think the rest of Slotter's moon shards are in Arkans throne because she wakes up in Arkans territory and she sees the throne made of moon shards.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:04

And we know later that Rave destroys his mountain. And I'm curious, does that mean his moonshard throne is also destroyed? Because they kind of need those pieces. I'm sure there's rubble. I kind of feel like in the next book there's gonna be a convenience plot point where they're just like, oh, we found the shards, or they're not dust. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:26

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:28

Yeah. I don't know. Because like she melts that mountain.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:32

It's also kind of set up because some how Arkin got out so clearly. Not everything was completely destroyed. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:41

Yeah. But that was also like, how did he survive? Like what? Right. That also felt a little bit plot convenience there. They need the shards to put Slaatra back together. So, like, that's like a big theme in this book, though, that they say multiple times from different characters who can talk to Saless that putting Slaughter back together like means something. Like something's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:01

Yeah. I mean, did she have just freed the moon shards? I don't think she said destroying them. There, like, I don't think she was really thinking about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:09

Or maybe Slaughter took over and like she snatched those up. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:14

No, I guarantee there's gonna be like this scene where they're like, oh, we're going through the Rebel of the Mountain, and miraculously the throne is still intact.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:22

Look what I found. Exactly. Or by breaking the throne, you broke the spell and then the shards were freed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:28

Okay. So during this, Veya also sees that he has an elding bird named Clear. And oh my gosh, let's discuss the Elding Bird thing. Are they a dragon? Are they a Phoenix? A vampire, a shapeshifter, all of the above. Like, does Arkin know that Clear is also a woman? Like, I have so many questions. I don't know. It's intelligent, it shifts. I love that she's like invented this new creature that doesn't have a lore. Like, you drink blood, apparently, we lose. Learn later in the book, and you become you can become an Elding, but they also rise again from fire and ashes, so they're kind of like this like vampire, phoenix, but they also seem to, when they're a bird, be very similar to the dragons, but they also turn into humans.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:16

Are they able to like resurrect? Yes. Because that's also very phoenixy. Yes, that's why Essie's alive. Yes. Yeah. That's right. That's right. Yes. So Essie is also an elding bird, right? So they can share their life force and their blood to heal other people. Right. Which can also regenerate.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:40

Like a vampire.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:42

So does that mean that they can also tether other people's lives to their life?

SPEAKER_03 1:28:47

I don't know. So like we don't know any of the specifics. And I'm just curious if Arca knows that in this point of the story. Like, does he know Cleara is also a woman? Because when she dies, she turns back into a woman and dies with him. And I kind of weirdly think he must know because later on in the book it is insinuated that he is also an elding bird. Um and if he knows he can transform into a man and become a bird, I would assume that he knows that she can transform into something else.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:18

Right. Do we know if they have free will? Did he have some sort of power on her that prevented her from shifting? I don't think so. So she had free will. So like who saw she saved him.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:28

It's very clear in the story that she saved him and not the other way around.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:31

And they both died together. So life force bonding. Which means Pyrock and Essie and Essie are now bonded.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:46

Yep, yeah. Yeah. 100%. Oh. Also during this, we learn the whole story from top to bottom between Arkin and their paw.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:56

But for some reason, even though their pa was like the evil one who like burned him almost to death or to death because the elding bird saved him, he's somehow mad at Khan about the whole thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:08

What the fuck? Oh my god, dragons and daddy issues. Dragons and daddy issues. This man needs therapy.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:16

We're back. And that's that on that. Very interesting that he places all the blame on Khan of like, well, you took my place in the family. It's like, um, excuse me, this is all your dad's fault. Like, not Khan's.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:33

Also, Khan's like, I never wanted this.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:35

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:36

I didn't even know who you were. What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 1:30:39

Truly.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:40

You don't even go here.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:41

You don't even go here. But here's the thing it's not about Khan. It's about rejection, abandonment, feeling less than Khan becomes the physical representation of everything that Arkin wanted to believe was stolen from him. So it's like envy. It's envy disguises hatred. Yeah. And so when Khan repeatedly tries to to reach him in a way, like he refuses it. Because if he forgives Khan, he has nowhere left to put his pain. So it's a scapegoat, which is tragic. Because Khan is, I'm sure Khan is mourning the brother that he could have had, and Arkin mourns the life he thinks that Khan stole. I don't think so.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:15

I mean, I think he rips Arkin's head off at the end. I don't think he's mourning.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:18

Yeah, because of what he because of his actions. Because of his actions. Yeah. Which, but also he kept a tally. So that means that he was pained by all of those things. He's like, you did this and this and this. I hate you. But when someone says they hate you, you know what I mean? Like he probably was like, You didn't have to do this, you fucking asshole. You need to go to therapy.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:36

Yeah. He's like, we could have just talked about this. Right. I think, yeah, dragons and daddy issues. Dragons and daddy issues.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:43

So we're back with Rave and Khan. Slotra takes over and goes and rescues her shard from the molten mall nest. She says they won't hurt Rave because she's already passed. And Slothra confirms what Khan already knows, who she is, blah, blah, blah. And Slaughter says he one day will learn all the truths that Slaughter knows. We can infer that she means that Tyroth killed Eloyn, his daughter, etc. But if Rave is already past, does that mean if Slaughter ever leaves her, she might die again?

SPEAKER_02 1:32:10

I felt that that wording was also very interesting. Yeah. Well, well, what do you mean she's past? Right. Or like, is she a woman person? Is she is she part God?

SPEAKER_01 1:32:27

Is she part immortal? Like, right. And is this why she hears the creators? Why she finds the book? Why dragons respond to her differently? Why Slotra can exist inside of her? Like, is she something totally different? Yeah. I don't know. Is she a third option? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:41

She's a third option C. Yeah. Obviously, I don't think this series is gonna end with her being dead because that would be ridiculous. Let's all remember divergent. So I don't think that's gonna happen. But it is interesting phrasing that I'm not so sure about.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:57

Yeah. Yeah. That one's weird. Yeah. I can't wait. That that's a bud. That's a bud. I'm trying to think of anything else to add onto it because I I don't know. It's just it's very layered, and I don't know what to do with it because it doesn't make sense, but it's a real interesting phrase.

SPEAKER_03 1:33:11

It is and there's a lot of phrases in this book that are very interesting that we cling to.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:16

Yeah, I mean, yeah. I think I think throughout both books, Sarah keeps moving like general themes towards integration, not separation. So Slotra becomes less Slotra, Rave becomes more herself. They begin trusting each other, they like finish each other's intentions. So my prediction would be that the final resolution isn't one or the other. It's a fully integrated the dark, the light, the shadow. You know what I mean? Like all of you one. So like maybe she's already passed, isn't it foreshadowing her dying again? It's foreshadowing that she's already crossed like a threshold that no one else in this world has about the crown. Like maybe the renewal, like on to this next chapter where you've like leveled up or something.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:59

Right. Or maybe like Eloyn is now gone. And the more that Rave becomes Rave, she can put Eloyn to rest.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:07

Or they just accept all of them. They're just integrated. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:11

I'm also interested, they all have these silver ribbons, but it's very much a thread throughout this book that the silver ribbons are trying to be put back together to put Sales back together, and they all have this purpose, they all have this thing. The silver ribbon is what is keeping Rave alive.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:24

Yeah, so that's why I say integration. Like but not anymore. Why not anymore? Because she's now tied to the Book of Void. That's true. She is tied to the Book of Void.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:32

But the Book of Void is who we think, we think Sales. No? Yes, but in a different way than the silver ribbons are. Yep. I like it. I like it, Allie. I like it.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:44

So speaking of people being integrated together, so then we move on to where Vea is with Kaisari. And here we get the truth of Kaisari's life, her love for Saless. And Vea gives her the diary. So I mean, for one, it's really powerful that she gives her that diary. Do we think it's her place? Do we think she was coming from a place of like, hey, if we both die, you should know this? But also kind of a weird step, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:35:11

It is hard because it's kind of like, ooh, were you the one who really should have told her that? It's morally gray. It's getting morally morally gray. But at the same time, if they both died, she was she had she had to know. She had to know. Like she had to know. And I guess technically Elowyn is the one telling her because it's her diary, but still it's very messy. It's very messy.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:37

Right. I think I think she just made an impossible choice. Yeah. She had to choose between respecting Rave's privacy or giving Kaisari the one thing that might keep her alive.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:48

Yeah, that's giving her a grain of hope too for survival. And I mean, at this point, Rave doesn't even know about this journal. No.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:56

No. But also, like, think about later fast forward. But fast forward, like, if Kaisari hadn't read this, how would she have learned it? Yeah. Yeah. She would have learned it from that asshole. I also think it's interesting because they spends that the entire series keeping secrets because she thinks she's protecting people. And I think it's interesting that this is the first time when she tells a secret and she chooses truth instead, regardless of who it might protect or who it might hurt, because it was like an impossible decision. But she just, you know, she chose what she chose. I think that's character growth for her. Yeah, I definitely agree. I mean, if it feels like the diary doesn't really belong to Rave anymore. Obviously, Eloyn wrote it, but she wrote it to her daughter.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:34

Okay, now we're bouncing around again. Rave and Clun separate to go on their own missions, which are really the same mission. And once more, if Rave was not keeping a secret, they would have just been on the same mission. Sure. But Rave gets there first, learns that the Tricouncil knows Khan is coming for Avi and that they're lying in wait to capture him. So obviously now Rave is having none of that, but she kicks ass and then she gets to meet Avi, and he says no one understands what he is except for her other. That's big Sales vibes.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:06

I agree. This is major, like son of Sales.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:11

I love it. He's basically saying that he is an other also.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:16

He is an other also, yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:18

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:19

But maybe he has this crazy backstory we have no idea about where like he's like Slotra, where he's just been like encased in ribbons. I don't know. But he it's giving son of Salis by.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:29

It's giving son of Salis and it's a big bud.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:32

I love him. I love him so much. I know. And he has the little baby dragon. I love the baby dragon. But obviously, Rave saves the day because she's a badass and they escape. And when they come to rest, we get another Borg memory of Khan killing his pa and my god, it was much gorier than I thought it was going to be. That was that was brutal. And yes, Khan declares his crown will one day go to Vea, who has sworn herself to the creators. And I kind of think that's where the story's gonna end up. I think Khan is gonna end up with Eloyn in the shade, and Vea is gonna be the ruler of the burn. I love that. That's my my foreshadowing. Yeah. I love it. And then Pyrock and his sister and his family are gonna reclaim the fade. That's what I'm thinking is gonna happen. Yep. Wouldn't be shocked. Well, because Khan doesn't really want to rule the burn. Like he's a great ruler, but he did it out of necessity, not because he wants to be king. He just wants to be with Ellen. But she loves her people. She really wants to probably be queen of the shade. So I feel like he will end up being with her, and they can't rule both kingdoms like that. And so I feel like this is foreshadowing that Vea really will be the queen of the burn.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:46

Step into your power. Yeah. Yeah. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:49

I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it. I'm calling it now. Vea Queen of the Burn.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:53

At the end of Vea Queen of the Burn.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:55

I love it. Honestly, it's a great name.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:57

I love it. Uh and with Grim maybe as her consort. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:03

Sure. I mean, the interesting thing with the Avi situation, too, is that this sweet little boy is like, well, I can get you out of your blood bind, right? And so then they kind of devise the plan to help Rave sever the ties from Sareem, which is who's been torturing her this entire time. And obviously now they're not killing Avi. Obviously.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:24

Obviously. Obviously.

SPEAKER_03 1:39:31

Well done. Well done, you. You're so proud of yourself.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:37

They go on their little montage journey to Gore, and Avi says that he has to do this because the song inside him is telling him that it's what he has to do. This song is a little bit more than a little bit. We've got the other song. We've got the songs that he can hear. And also maybe Rave is not so crazy with hearing all of these voices that she was just like, I have to turn it off. She's hearing songs too, I think. What if the song is creation? The creators.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:06

Like the creators.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:07

It is creation itself.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:08

But it's Saless's song. That's the thing, is no one hears Salis's song in this world because he's Shredder Dribbans, except for Kazari and this child for whatever reason. Okay, great. Great. Yep. Oh, and so this is my favorite part of the book, to be totally honest. We finally start getting Pyrock and his POV and his story, and Rave tells him to go lay low in her former apartment and tells him not to go upstairs. So obviously he does. And he runs into SC.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:38

To be fair, I also would have gone upstairs.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:40

Hearing someone banging around 100%. Yeah. Totally. I'm sure that's fine. Yeah. But I'm obsessed because, first of all, we find out Pyrock is the Prince of the Fade. That was like the only frame from the book that I was like, oh my God, finally a new piece of information. New info. To a question we didn't even ask, which I loved. I love that. And I loved the immediate, like, oh, Pyrock and Essie are gonna be a thing. Obsessed.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:08

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 1:41:09

Also loved that there was a reason Essie was in book one because when we were doing book one, we were like, why is this character here? Yeah. Because it was so short-lived. It was so like, why, what was the purpose of this?

SPEAKER_02 1:41:22

Which also the apartment fire, which if she's an elding bird, then she can survive a fire.

SPEAKER_03 1:41:27

Exactly. But Rave wouldn't know that because they never fully trusted each other. Yep. But he says that her ears are more pointed than a normal Faye, and she looks like a portrait his family had in their library. And that means the royal library because he was the prince of the fade. The prince, correct. Does that mean the Elding are the true former rulers of the entire world? I think they might be. I think yes. I think yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:55

Okay, so going back to the crown situation, Elding birds are red. Yes. I think the crown is a like marriage unity for Elding between the Elding creators and between the Eldings and their family.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:12

I love that so much. That's cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:14

That's what I think. And somehow someone has corrupted, someone has broken, someone has divided that. Okay. I mean for that. Uh we love Pyrox chapters, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 1:42:25

I love him so much. He's my he's like my whole reason for reading this book. Like I loved this book. Don't get me wrong. I loved so many facets of it. But like I said earlier in the episode, it just felt like we were getting a regurgitation of a lot of information we already knew, which was a struggle for me. And his chapters were like, my God, yes. Like new relationship, new information. Somehow I did not see coming that he was the prince of the fade, but it absolutely makes sense that he would seek shelter in the burn with Khan if his family, you know, with everything that happened. So I was just like frothing at the mouth for these chapters. And I wish there were more of them. And I was like a fresh new story. Cause like a lot of even Khan and Rave's story was just a lot of like, okay, we knew where this was going. We knew these conversations they were gonna have. Like it just while it was really good and it was excellent writing, a lot of it just felt a little not fresh to me. It was a lot of like repeat of what we got in book one.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:25

I definitely agree. Like once we finally hit his chapters, it felt like, okay, we're moving. We're grouping. We're grouping. We're like, we like this.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:33

What's happening now? What's Pyrock up to? Like, yeah, exactly. And we all knew he had this tragic backstory, we just didn't know what it was.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:41

Him with the little dragon baby carrier. I can't. I died. It was so good. I'm just like, I love you. Like somehow you got better. Yes. I loved you to begin with, and somehow that's adorable. And that made you so much cuter.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:58

And while Pyrock is doing his Pyrock thing, they break the blood bind, huzzah, it works. You can really feel uncomfortable, and they're all happy for like literally two seconds. And it was a trap because duh. And then this is super random. During all this, we get a very random chapter. It's the only chapter in the entire book, chapter 77, from the view of a silver ribbon. I mean it's a sentient. But we didn't know it was sentient until this chapter. Correct. So correct. There we go. And it's been slowly stitching Salus back together and writing wrongs. And so, I mean, this is why anyone touched by ribbon knows the songs, right? But like also, why is this chapter in here? It's so random. And honestly, when I was reading it, I was like, I don't feel like I learned any new information. So what do you guys think?

SPEAKER_00 1:44:49

Yeah, I mean, it was a weird one.

SPEAKER_03 1:44:52

Yeah. It was a weird one. This felt like an not to dive into our roses, but if I had to edit something from this book, it was weird. And it didn't really add anything.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:02

I don't think it added anything, is the problem. I don't feel like it was like a story-changing chapter that I was just like, oh, this gave me so many more details. Who knows? Maybe we'll look at it in the next book and be like, holy shit, it was right there the whole time. But like at the moment, I don't see it. And so therefore, why is it here?

SPEAKER_03 1:45:22

Right. Because there's so many other points in the book where they talk about his ribbons, and you know, Kazari says, like, she has to put Slatcher together again and do what needs to be done. There's a lot of Avi talking about doing what he needs to do with the songs, and it just felt like a little unnecessary, yet she titled it with this like all-knowing view of a silver ribbon. Like it was like this super important thing. And I just felt like, especially on a reread, I was like, wait, why is this here?

SPEAKER_02 1:45:53

Yeah. No, I I don't disagree.

SPEAKER_03 1:45:56

Yeah. It's kind of an odd choice. Maybe when we get the next books, we'll be like, okay. Or maybe there's gonna be in the next books lots of chapters of silver ribbon, but I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:08

Each ribbon has its own chapter.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:10

Each ribbon has its own chapter. Oh my goodness. Or is somehow the silver ribbons tied to the silver saber scythe? I mean, it definitely does.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:22

The silver saber scythe is silver because it has a silver ribbon just the way Slotra has a silver ribbon.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:26

Right. So now was Grim gonna help the silver ribbons tie back together with his silver saper scythe? Probably. Say that again five times faster.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:36

Seriously. So then we get the awful, most awful family dinner of all time. All time. Oh all time. Yeah, that's that's not right. It's not good. And it's one of the hardest scenes to read in the entire book. It's painful.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:50

Yeah. Because also it's it's like how do you where are we going from here? Like it seemed really blue.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:57

We're going down.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:58

We're going down.

SPEAKER_03 1:47:00

Yeah, exactly. I mean a lot happens in this scene. And I think I texted you guys when we were discussing this episode of just like if this book was made into the movie, this scene would gut me. Like if actors were doing this scene, it is rough. Like, yeah. Beyond rough.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:21

Um, I mean, Khan is bound, Rave is bound, everyone is bound. Arkin' just toying with everybody. He's like making Rave eat, which is somehow so creepy. Like so creepy.

SPEAKER_03 1:47:37

It's just and we find out that Arkin is the elding, the flourish isn't real. So Rave has this like whole crumbling like ideology of like everyone I've been sending to safety, I've been sending them to torment. And we find out Arkan wants to marry Rave when he takes over the bird and have babies with her.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:58

I want to marry you, so let me light you on fire so that I can throw you back into the pit. Seriously.

SPEAKER_03 1:48:05

And then, worst of all, he's the one who reveals all the secrets out in the open. Khan finds out Kazari's his daughter, and that Eloyn always loved him, and that their paw knew, and that's why Eloyn loved him. And also, Rave is finding out all of these things for the first time that she has a daughter. And oh my god, it's with Khan. With Khan. It's it's brutal. It is so brutal and not the way I thought that this was gonna happen when I picked up book two. Yeah. It was I won't I won't say it was disappointing because this scene is really tragic in a beautiful, obviously, way. Like the storytelling is great, but I also was like, Oh, this is how they find out. So fucked up, it's so messed up, but it also obviously creates great emotion when you're reading it. Like it's beautiful writing in the most terrible way. Um it forces Rave to confront her past, and she even finally says, like, I fucked up by not confronting it sooner. Like, this is not how I basically should have found any of this out. And we've all been screaming that for two books.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:49:14

It's it's just awful.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:16

It's rough. Nothing about this family dinner quotes family dinner was good.

SPEAKER_03 1:49:24

No, and I think I was actually like, have you reached the family dinner from hell yet? You'll know what I mean when you when you get there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:33

And my mind immediately went to like, oh my god, is it gonna be like the Christmas dinner and the bear? It's worse. No, no, it's not like that at all.

SPEAKER_03 1:49:39

It's so much worse. It's like the red wedding on crack. It's the red wedding. Yeah, it's the red wedding. But weirdly enough, then we move to a different type of family dinner meeting between Arkin and Sareem. And it's super interesting because she thinks they have this like grand relationship where they're kind of in love, and he's like, I don't care about you at all. Yeah. Crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:02

Like she thinks that she's going to be like this almighty ruler. And he's like, bitch, you played your role, and I'm done with you.

SPEAKER_03 1:50:10

Get out. And he literally makes her get out and throws her in the snow, and then is like, My Elding Bird is gonna chase you down and kill you. He pulls the paw. He pulls the paw. He does, he pulls the paw.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:23

He pulled a paw. He pulled a paw. He pulled a paw.

SPEAKER_03 1:50:26

And not a cute one. So we're a little whiplash here because the the chapters jump so much. But we're back to Pyrock. And we know he goes after Essie because she's out on a mission. He's like, Where'd she, where the fuck did she go? And he almost dies. And she saves him by having him drink her blood. We know she's an elding bird. So does that mean that Pyrock is gonna be an elding now?

SPEAKER_02 1:50:52

It's either that or their lives are now tied to one another. I think it's both. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:50:59

I don't think you can like drink the blood of an elding without being an elding yourself. Like you know what I mean? Like a vampire. Like a vampire. But it's very vampire vibes. But it is. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:11

Which is super interesting.

SPEAKER_03 1:51:14

Like that's a whole nother layer to the story of Pyroc being now an elding bird.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:18

Yeah. What?

SPEAKER_03 1:51:22

Yeah, king of the fade. Yeah. But he does say that he gave up all of his rights to the throne. But if everybody's dead, and well, and we know that it's not really necessarily a patriarchal or matriarchal society, and his sister is the ruler, and she married Caddock. Yeah. Willfully? It kind of seems that way from his description. He makes a comment about how, like, the day they met eyes across the ballroom was the worst wife or something.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:51:51

And so I do feel like it was maybe willfully, but who knows? Maybe later on we'll find out that she was manipulated, which seems likely based on all of the other kingdoms the Vagars take over and how they took them over. So it seems likely that she was manipulated, especially because she also is now secretly going against him and helping people escape. So yeah, yeah, it's a whole thing. But yeah, just you know, interesting. He might be an all-powerful Elding now.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:20

Can't wait. I can't wait. Luckily, SE saved Pyrox life because then they go into the final battle and Rave and Khan fight in the pits. Chaos. Which is so crazy because I mean, obviously, Khan has the disadvantage on all all fronts. Uh he's already had his heart ripped out, metaphorically, and then it gets stabbed, and then he's like, hey, so you gotta go get murdered by the love of your life. Or um, I'm gonna kill you myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:50

Right. I mean, but here's the thing it's like the coolest thing he could have done, but he completely misunderstands them because he thinks that they're gonna choose survival. Instead, they immediately choose each other. Yeah, because I think I think Arkin can't conceptualize love.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:04

No, he can't.

SPEAKER_03 1:53:06

Ray even says he's not a sexual being. Like there's a moment when he when he's torturing her during the family dinner, yeah, where she thinks that Khan assumes that Arkans is going to sexually take advantage of her.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:19

On the table.

SPEAKER_03 1:53:20

Yeah, she says that's what get Arkans off. He's not like a sexual being at all. He gets off only on pain. So he literally doesn't understand any concept of like needing another person in any way. He doesn't, he doesn't comprehend love. Exactly. Love in any, like, not even lust. Like he doesn't get it at anything at all, like human contact. But while all of this is going on, Uno and the fate herder. I love that Uno. Uno comes back in the story. Yes, Uno, okay, and the fate herder, an unlikely duo. They say Via and Kizari. Like, okay. It was a little convenient because obviously there are premonitions in this world and it's happening throughout the whole story, and they know that they need to save them, but like, okay, sure. There is a moment though where there's a glint, a glint in the other stone when the fate herder arrives, and it's kind of insinuated that Saless sent the fate herder. And that they might somehow be connected. I agree, I like that. I do. And at the end of the story, Avi adopts the fate herder, which is also giving major son of Sales, Fate Herder, connected to Sales vibe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:54:39

It's a it's a lot of hand-known. This is like a funny note too. I love that uh Rave constantly calls the Fate Herder like that bitch. She's like, of course, that bitch would show up and lead me the wrong way.

SPEAKER_03 1:54:52

Of course. I love the fate herder weirdly. I do think he's a little bit of a plot convenience, but I also like love him.

SPEAKER_02 1:54:59

It's also a really well done plot convenience.

SPEAKER_03 1:55:02

Much better than some other books, I'll say.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:04

It's also just like with the writing, there's little notes in it that I think are so like not cheeky, but it's just very like funny because it in book one, we obviously see that Uno wears like that little sweater. And like in this, she's in her little sweaters and she takes the button off. And then everyone's like, that seems unnecessary and weird, but all right, let's go. And then obviously Rabe finds it, which I think is so cool because she's like, How? Oh my god, it's Uno. And it's just like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 1:55:32

I love that she's like Uno, that little minsk like it's so cute.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:38

And I think these are also the moments of levity in these like really, really intense scenes that kind of help move the pacing as opposed to just like, oh my god, we're trudging through all of this trauma. It's like these moments of levity just give it so much personality that are awesome. And I really love that.

SPEAKER_03 1:55:55

I agree. But eventually, Khazari, you know, they get out in the snow and whatever, and she unleash unleashes Saless. And I think it's probably because she's so close to death that the diadem isn't working as well, essentially. And she speaks some words and then he appears because she can speak his song. I'm just curious, do you guys think does she have to be close to death or in mortal pain to do this? Do you think she can always do this? I don't think she can always do this. I think it has to be certain circumstances, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:30

Like collectively we agree. An alignment. Collectively, we agree.

SPEAKER_03 1:56:35

Yeah, it would just pop up and be like, hey, baby.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:38

Yeah, I think it's a collective thing. Like he's responding to her being free, Ray becoming whole, like all the latras returning, the moon shards are being reunited, the ribbons are. Silver ribbons are around him. Literally, I think it's like the final key. Like everything's aligned. I don't know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:56:54

I will say I do love because there was a question in book one, and we talked about it on our episode of like, is Salis genuinely in love with Kazari? Is the risk ship real? Is he manipulating her or whatever? And this answers those questions of like, he looks at her with devotion. He loves her. He loves her.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:13

I think he is truly the one that's like, you have to choose this, you can't force this. Love is a choice, and everybody has their own agency. It's all the other gods that fucked it up.

SPEAKER_03 1:57:23

I kind of hope because there's so much memory play in this series, that next book we get memories of them falling in love. That'd be true.

SPEAKER_02 1:57:30

I mean, I hope so because that would also give us a lot of answers.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:33

It might be another series, though. It's a good spin-off.

SPEAKER_03 1:57:37

I don't think it's a little spin off. I think it's five books. I don't think it's three. Oh, is it? Whoa. Yeah. So yeah. That's a lot of that's a lot of pages. It's a lot of pages. So I do, I kind of hope we do get that backstory because it would help make a lot of things make sense. And it would just be like nice to have because I feel like right now they feel very detached from the story, even though they're so important. Right. And their love story seems to be really important, but we have no idea why or how they fell in love, which feels a little like isolating as the reader. Yeah, totally. Yeah. So we're back with Rave and she collapses the mountain, etc. And of course, Arkin somehow survived because sure plot convenience. Um, but we do love Rave chooses not revenge, but her daughter, and she goes to her and she leaves Khan. It's also like the ultimate like level of trust, right? That she leaves her revenge for Khan to take care of. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:32

It's actually choosing partnership. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:58:35

It's choosing love, partnership, trust, all of those things that she has been ignoring for like two bucks.

SPEAKER_00 1:58:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:58:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:58:46

It's the ultimate growth, which is it is so good to finally see. She finally chooses something greater than her revenge and her survival.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:55

And also on top of that, like I think it's also her letting Khan actually take care of her because yeah, he also has stake in the game of like taking out retribution. You know what I mean? But also it's like, okay, I'm gonna let you do this for me so that I don't have to do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:13

Right. And also it's opens up book three to not have to end with Rave murdering Tyroth either. Sorry, Arkin. Justice doesn't always mean revenge. Yeah. Which we talked about earlier.

SPEAKER_03 1:59:24

It's it's like really beautiful to see that because bloodlust is such a physical thing in this world, that it can be solved in another way. Because there are definitely questions about other characters, as we discussed, like Bay, like, is that bloodlust gonna be a problem, or is she gonna want to all of a sudden kill Khan because he killed her paw and all that stuff? And it's like, I don't think so now that we have this answer. Well, Khan won't have bloodlust because he chases Arkin and cuts his head off because he's off with his head. Someone's gotta have a five-second win in this book. But in the process, Ry Gun dies.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:01

Question Mark? No, no, he does not.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:04

I it is very purposely confusing. It's supposed to be a question, but the whole point, I think, of Grimm in the his four chapters is because we see the silver scales glinting from light of the scattered moon shards, and I think that was Grimm rescuing them. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:23

I 100% agree. Like that's how I took it.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:26

That's how I took it, even though at the very end she says Khan is still adjusting for his feelings and Rygon and all that stuff. I think it's just because he was close to death and they lost so many other things, and Khan found out he has a daughter and all this other shit.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:41

And also it's transformation.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:43

Yeah, I think Rygon's gonna be silver in the next one.

SPEAKER_01 2:00:45

That's what I was gonna say. That's why I think the silver scales are transformation, and I think that's probably why why Khan is feeling something different because it is different. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:00:53

Now their bond is severed, so yeah, he's definitely gonna feel weird.

SPEAKER_03 2:00:57

I think Rygon maybe survived, but their bond is severed because he severed it before he died.

SPEAKER_01 2:01:03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:01:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:01:05

But she did not give us a final farewell, so it's not they do have that moment of peace.

SPEAKER_03 2:01:10

They are in the cottage over with Avi, and they're all laying in the bed. And Avi adopted the fate herder because adorable. And, you know, she gives knee back to Kazari, but she writes like words of strength under what she wrote before. And it's just a full circle. It was a really good ending. I love it. Before Rave dives into her memories and finds out how she died, which we know Tyroth murdered her. See, and this is like one of the things I said earlier, though, that's kind of a thorn for me in the book is all of book two, we've known that Tyroth murdered her. It was so obvious. So, like this for me wasn't really a reveal at the end of the book. It was a little lackluster to me. It's like, okay, so you're telling me something I kind of already knew. Mm-hmm. Just the how. Yeah, it's one of those memories, once again, that I'm like, I wish I had found out more real new information because I knew all of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:02:08

Yeah. I mean, I'm glad I found out in like full written. Should have been earlier.

SPEAKER_03 2:02:17

It should, and it also should have been like more to it or something. Like, I it just kind of felt like all the reveals along the way in this book were things I already knew from the first first book that were so heavily done in terms of foreshadowing that it wasn't even like foreshadowing, it was just almost like telling the reader. Right. It wasn't little drops of hints, it was like obviously the other is slotra. Like, I know we've quote unquote theorized it in book one, but it was so obvious that it was slotra. Yeah. Like, yeah, you know, so this was one of those things where it was like, okay, yeah, I knew that. Cool. Yeah, yeah. I I totally get that. Yeah. We do get the epilogue though, and this is like one of the only actual twists in the book is crazy. Sareem goes to Arkans body, and if you're not really paying attention, you don't also Sareem is alive. Well, Sareem's alive, yes. She apparently escapes Clear. Sure. Duh. How? I honestly didn't catch this on my first read. So she is the Book of Void, first of all. Don't know how she got it. Second of all, she puts Arkin's blood in her blood-binding vial and she says, Better safe than sorry. And then she lights him on fire and says that she knows he will rise again, but bound to her. And unfortunately, but we didn't know that until this epilogue. Right. And that he's gonna kneel to her. But the way it's like phrased, if you're reading it quickly, you're kind of like, okay, she's lighting him on fire and moving on. Like really, she's regenerating him.

SPEAKER_00 2:03:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:03:46

She doesn't want to be, yeah, she's like, he will never betray me again. And he's gonna be bound to her.

unknown 2:03:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:03:51

And she says, for the wonder that re-gifted Ark in life so many phases ago to grip him by the throat and transform him into something that will never turn on her again. So he's definitely an elding bird, which is interesting that he never transforms into an elding bird in the story when there are definitely moments that it would make sense for him to.

SPEAKER_02 2:04:12

And also that's why he likes fire so much.

SPEAKER_03 2:04:15

Yes. Oh, totally good point. But the reason she's also there is because of the moon falls, Hadian and Aloom fall from the sky, just like Raven Slaughter did, and he walks out and is alive. And for those who don't remember, there is part of this book where Slaughter says that she gave some of her silver ribbon to Loom, and that's why she's alive. So Aloom probably gave her silver ribbon to Hadian, and the only reason he hasn't shown up until now is because they haven't fallen out of the sky until now. Right. So now, yes, he is just like walking out, ready to be manipulated by Sareem, and that's where the book ends.

SPEAKER_01 2:04:54

But but also what does that mean? What does that mean for our thing?

SPEAKER_03 2:04:57

I think she's gonna they're both gonna manipulate him, but at the end of the day, he loves his sister, like loves her. They were like best friends. You can't you can't break that, right? Or at least I would hope not.

SPEAKER_02 2:05:10

No, I it's love. Well, I think the most interesting facet of it is like what is what's Vea gonna think? Yeah. Cause she's like, You're dead. I killed you. Right.

SPEAKER_03 2:05:22

She's probably gonna be relieved that he's not dead. Yeah, right. Seriously. But is he going to have the uncontrollable itch to kill her? Good question. We'll find out next time.

SPEAKER_02 2:05:38

Yeah. It was a good ending. It was a great book.

SPEAKER_03 2:05:41

Yeah. Yeah. So we've survived the moonfalls, prison breaks, dragon-sized emotional damage, and enough heartbreak to last several lifetimes, which means it's officially time to hand out some flowers and maybe a few thorns.

SPEAKER_01 2:05:52

Welcome to Roses, Buds, and Thorns, our chance to celebrate our favorite moments, lovingly roast the things that made us scream into the void, and shout out what we are most excited to see next.

SPEAKER_02 2:06:03

Because the Ballad of Falling Dragons gave us soaring highs, devastating lows, and at least 17 moments where Sarah A. Parker looked at us directly in the eyes and chose violence. So let's start with the roses before we inevitably spiral into emotional ruin.

SPEAKER_03 2:06:20

I mean con. Conference. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. As a human being or a fang. Just like just con. Yeah. Just as a whole. I do love on this book tour. Her husband was with her a lot, and he's so literally, he's literally con's description, and everyone's just like, oh, so we get for the info for Khan. It's so good. Uh there it is. I'm also like, is your relationship like this?

SPEAKER_01 2:06:47

Tell me more. Love it. I mean, I feel like it for me, it's similar. It's just the emotional payoff that they're, I mean, I have to say, I think I said it before, but their relationship is built on trust and choice and sacrifice. And like Khan might genuinely be the best book boyfriend we've ever read. Yeah. And to watch Rave finally stop running from herself and choose love over revenge was like also really satisfying. And I don't think she'd be able to do that if she didn't have him by her side and all of just like all of the all of the things, like the emotional payoff of everything was like really well done in this one.

SPEAKER_03 2:07:21

Yeah. Yeah. I also think the fantasy elements of this book and series are so well done.

SPEAKER_04 2:07:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:07:28

The world building. The world building, the the magical creatures. I mean, yes, when you first pick up book one, does the dictionary and all of the things intimidate you? Absolutely. Um, but I didn't forget any of it going into book two. So it was like such an easier transition to be like, oh yeah, I know what all that where the fade and the shade and all that is. Yeah. Yes. Did I have to maybe remind myself who some of these very minor characters are that she's just like, oh yeah, Rave is with so-and-so, killing Rexaros. And I'm like, who is that guy again? Yeah. Yeah. But I felt like the fantasy, like this was this is a fantasy series. This is not a romanticy series. No. It is so just well done in that manner. I mean, she she makes up her own languages. Like, come on.

SPEAKER_02 2:08:15

Yeah, I think it's a testament to how good the writing is, though, that you don't have to like revert back to a dictionary or anything constantly. I mean, she even has her own, like they measure time differently. And like, there's it's just the world building is so good. And the writing is fantastic, and it is very detailed and very flowery writing. But overall, like the characters are really deep and nuanced, and the themes are really complex and beautiful, and the comedic timing of everything is fantastic, and the characters like pie rock are just incredible.

SPEAKER_00 2:08:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 2:08:50

Uh there's a lot of roses, and while I do think that we do have some thorns, I think overall it was a really rosy book. Yeah. And a buddy book. And a buddy book, yeah. What are do we want to do thorns first or buds first?

SPEAKER_03 2:09:03

Thorns. We always like to leave it on a good note. Let's hit these thorns because there are some. I don't need to hit much of mine because I discussed it during our Threads of Fury, is the pacing for me. It just felt a little off, and not in terms of moving the story along, in terms of answering questions from book one for the reader and introducing new information for the reader to have questions about felt really off to me. And I know we talked about this in our coverage last time. This was supposed to be one book, and I kind of felt that reading book two because I didn't learn anything new. Well, interesting. I forgot about that. Like it kind of felt like a reiteration of the same story almost because I was just getting her memories of the diary entries I read in the first book. So like it was just like, okay, I'm not really learning anything new about her. She's learning new things about herself, but me as the reader is not having the same experience, which is different. And that made the pacing feel really weird to me because I kept almost waiting for something to happen. Because even though stuff was happening, it was stuff I already knew.

unknown 2:10:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:10:13

So it just felt like nothing was happening for a while.

SPEAKER_02 2:10:16

Which also kind of leads into one of my thorns for it is like, why did Vea have to have just like trial after trial after trial after trial? Like it was just like that girl, a break. Okay, like I get it. Also, like three of those didn't need to happen at all. It was a little why is Vea even here for her just to be like, oh, and now I'm down again. I'm crawling through. BPB on again. Now I'm down again. Like, got it. Got it.

SPEAKER_03 2:10:44

And we discussed it earlier too. The grim storyline felt a little like I don't understand why it was happening. Like what why was this the most exciting storyline when the way you've written him, unfortunately, feels like a throwaway character?

SPEAKER_02 2:10:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:10:59

I have no attachment to him whatsoever.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:01

Like I think just in a general sense, like it could have been edited a little bit better in terms of where things landed in the story. Because again, like even when we were doing our threads of theory trying to go through it, it's just like whiplash because it's like, okay, and now we're here, and now we're back here, but now we're back here. And it's just like oh, that wasn't done.

SPEAKER_03 2:11:20

I mean, old thing to say, but I kind of feel like if it was one book, her memories when she was remembering them could have been the journal entries. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, and it would have flowed a little bit better and felt more like good reveals for everyone, not just the reader and not just the character. Because in book one, now looking back on it, it's like as the reader, you you get all the reveals as the reader. The characters get no reveals until the very end. And then in this book, it was like the characters get all the reveals and the reader got no reveals.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:11:53

Yeah. It just felt like they did kind of actually need to be put into one book.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:57

Isn't it a very long book that has like the journal entries that like give you kind of backstories? I think that would have been the way to do it. Epigraphs in the story. Yeah. I think that would have been a better way to do it. And then, or even like her diving in and like learning the memories with Slotra. I don't know. For the most part, I can't complain a ton about the book because I really liked it.

SPEAKER_03 2:12:19

Same. And it makes it sound like I didn't like it. I really enjoyed it. It just felt like it needed an editor, which is what we said about book one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:28

I think book one is the only book we've ever chopped chapters out of.

SPEAKER_03 2:12:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:32

Yeah. But also, because of all these questions, we have so many buds. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:12:37

The thing about my buds, though, is I feel like I have the same buds as book one because the characters didn't evolve as much or we didn't get as much of certain characters that I thought we would. Like Khazari's still a bud for me because I feel like we still barely learned anything about her. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:53

She's a bud for me too. But instead of Jar of Myth, we have a wreath.

SPEAKER_00 2:12:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:58

In terms of Kaisari, I'm excited to see where it goes with Sales. Yeah. And like learn more about the Sales side of things. I'm also really interested about the Book of Void and what that means for Rave being bound to it. And also the white wreath. Sareem having it. I'm confused how she got it. I don't like it. That doesn't make any sense to me. Did she run away with it? Did she come back? Like, did you sneak back in? I don't know. It's a weird one. I love Avi and I want to know more about him. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 2:13:27

I want to know more about the Elding whole situation. I'm so this is my favorite part of the whole series so far is the whole Elding bird thing. She's like created this new lore, essentially. And I just I want to know everything about them. Right. And the new jarish? The white reef. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:13:42

All of these people in the flourish. Where are they going? What are they doing?

SPEAKER_03 2:13:46

Who are they with? Yeah. All of those. Yep. All right. I think that wraps up our deep dive into the Ballad of Falling Dragons. And what a ride. We laughed. We cried. We questioned everyone's decision making. And we're somehow leaving this series even more emotionally unstable than when we started.

SPEAKER_01 2:14:04

As always, thank you so much for hanging out with us. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to leave us a rating and review. Share the episode with your favorite book, Bestie, and come join us over on Instagram, TikTok, and Patreon for even more romanticy, fantasy, chaos.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:18

Over on Patreon, you'll find our drink home featuring every cocktail and mocktail inspired by the Ballad of Falling Dragons, along with our vintage-inspired printable fantasy dust sleeve for today's book.

SPEAKER_01 2:14:29

And next month, we're returning to one of our favorite worlds. That's right. We're diving into Lightwielder, the highly anticipated sequel to Metal Slinger. If the first book taught us anything, it's that absolutely no one is safe. Every chapter has us questioning everything, but we are more than ready for whatever comes next.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:47

So grab your copy, start your reading, and come suffer right alongside us. We cannot wait to break down all of the twists, theories, betrayals, and inevitable emotional damage together. Until next time. Saucy subscribe. I love you guys.

SPEAKER_03 2:15:04

Love you.