Latest / Deep Trope Fantasy & Romance Podcast / The Incendiary Deep Dive (Ch. 1–11): Umbras, Beasties, and Flashbacks, Oh My!

Transcript

The Incendiary Deep Dive (Ch. 1–11): Umbras, Beasties, and Flashbacks, Oh My! · Deep Trope Fantasy & Romance Podcast

• Rachel: Welcome to Deep Trope, where we go deep into fantasy and romance books, one trope at a time. I'm Rachel, romantasy theorist. Kate: And I'm Kate, lover of all things dark and spicy. Rachel: And today is the start of our six-episode deep dive of The Incendiary by LJ Claren. This is book two in the Selvaren series. Need a refresher on The Silversmith? Our episode catalog includes a four-episode deep dive of The Silversmith, an interview with LJ Claren, and a full book summary episode. Kate: And this episode will cover chapters one through eleven of the book from the perspective of two people who have read the full book. So that means spoilers. If you don't know what the last three words of the book are, pause the podcast and come back once you've finished reading. Rachel: We're still a new podcast, so we truly appreciate every like, subscribe, and share. Go ahead, get your friend invested in another unfinished series. Be the chaos you want to see in the world. Our goal is to make sure every romance and fantasy reader has a book bestie to gush over their favorite theories and their favorite spicy scenes. So be sure to connect with us on social media to join in all the fun. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @DeepTropePodcast Kate: And a note on the formatting for these episodes. At some points in this series, we may rearrange the chapters a little bit to complete the entire Gavin POV flashback before moving on. So, for instance, later in this episode, we'll cover Gavin's first visit to the castle in one segment, while in the book, it's broken up into several chapters with Ary's current day POV in between. And then finally, before we begin, be sure to check out the content warnings on the book because All trigger warnings from the book apply to this podcast. We're two unfiltered, opinionated millennials, so maybe grab your headphones if you're around anyone who doesn't appreciate Smyth's dirty mouth as much as Ary does. Rachel: All right, let's dive into it. Each chapter starts with notes between Ary and Gavin, which I loved. It reminds me of the epigraphs in Fourth Wing. And Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: the first letter of the book is just one sentence, I'm still trying to remember, which really sets a stage for the search for Ary's memories throughout the book. Kate: And I noticed in these letters that Ary is listed as Queen Aryella the First. So are they from like a future historical record after there have been other Queen Aryellas? Also, Gavin is listed in the letters as the butcher of Nyrida, which, if these are historical letters, I don't really like the idea that he's only referred to as the butcher in history and not like King Gavin the First. Rachel: That's a really good and disturbing point. I'm going to interpret it as just at this moment in time and using their current names because I refuse to believe that after all of this, he'll always just be the butcher. Like that is just too dark and sad for me. Kate: I know. That would be very sad. So I'm I'm hoping that you are right as well. I just like I was thinking about that and I was like, I don't really like the way that this is being framed. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's a really good point. I mean, that being said, she is Queen Aryella the First currently. Like that is her title. Kate: Right, she she is the queen. So it it definitely could be. I just, you know, 'cause I I I was also thinking about the fourth wing one and a lot of those are like historical record, you Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: know, things. So I was just it was in my mind and I was like, I would hope that if this is the future, that he's not just the butcher. Rachel: Yeah, the only thing giving me hope there that that's not the case is that Fourth Wing has like that beginning that says that it's being transcribed into the modern language. We Kate: Right. They set they set that context. Yeah. Rachel: don't get that here, so hopefully. Kate: Yeah, I hope that you're right. I hope I hope you're right. And I'm just like overthinking this. Which we know we are Rachel: No, that's a really Kate: we are prone to overthink a little bit. Rachel: No, it's a really good point and something we should be scared about. But again, I'm being an optimist, fingers crossed. Kate: My anxiety is warranted, but not confirmed yet. Rachel: So the book starts with Gavin's POV 402 years ago. Gavin and Ary are sharing their first date, dinner at Gavin's apartment above his blacksmith shop. And this apartment really sounds like every bachelor pad. Like you just know he had a blue bedspread. A moment for the fashion, of course. So Ary wears her hair down in curls, a hooded cloak over a sky blue velvet dress with pearls beaded around the neckline. And Gavin, of course, notices her scent, which he mentions throughout the book, and he describes it as strawberries and something soft and good like sunlight. In this scene, we learn that Gavin's adoptive parents, Eden and Isaac, both passed away five years ago. Both. Is this suspicious? Kate: I think it's weird that they died around the same time. I don't think we learned how they died though, right? So I feel like it's pretty vague, but mostly what we know about them is that they cared for him, but they didn't love him. At least according to Smyth. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: Like he doesn't feel like they loved him. They just took him in out of obligation and not because they wanted a child. Like again, they were good parents in the sense that they cared for him and whatever, but I don't know. Maybe there's more to it, but I feel like I'm more interested in his biological mom than his adoptive parents, personally. Rachel: I'd love to learn more about his biological mother's backstory because in this book we know that Molochai raped her and that she died in childbirth. So she has just this heartbreaking end of her life. But I don't know that we learn much else about her. that being said, as we continue to read the book and and uncover some of the details on our second and third reads. I do want to keep an eye out for anything else about Isaac and Eden because we see throughout the book that like Molochai is searching for people with bloodline magic and killing them. So Kate: Right. Rachel: I know that Isaac and Eden didn't necessarily have magic, but I wonder if like he was sensing that they had Smyth in their care. And like, did they come to like a terrible end or did they just die of natural causes? Kate: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like so you think maybe they he sensed Smyth's magic and thought that it was them? Yeah. Because Rachel: Like in their household? I don't know. Maybe. Kate: he didn't know that Smyth was his son. Rachel: Did he? I guess he didn't know. Kate: He well, at least it it seemed like he didn't when Smyth like presented himself to Molochai. So, I mean, I guess we don't know for sure, but it didn't seem like he was like aware of who he was yet. But we'll we'll get to that. We'll get to that. I don't need to jump ahead. Yeah. Rachel: Right. No, you're right. That's a good point. We'll get there. We'll get there. But we'll keep an eye out for it because, you know, maybe it was just natural causes and maybe we're overthinking it. But, you know, Kate: Ha ha ha. Rachel: everything everything is suspicious. Kate: I know. We're like ten minutes into this episode and we've already been overthinking two different scenarios. Rachel: Ha ha ha. So in this scene from Gavin's POV, we know that he's been with a lot of women, none of which have kept his attention, but he cannot stop thinking about Ary. Kate: Was he not interested in other women because his soul maybe knew that it already belonged to Ary? I'm thinking. Like I'm still holding on to my fated mates theory because it would make this like one eighty degree flip from total indifferent fuckboy to obsessive lovesick puppy make a little bit more sense to me. Rachel: Yeah, so I have two thoughts here. I think we see very clearly in this book that Gavin is extremely damaged. He was raised by two seemingly good people who raised him out of a duty to do the right thing, but not necessarily that they loved him or desperately wanted a child, at least from his perspective. And he never knew his father, and he feels responsible for his mother's death. I also wonder if he has. A sort of natural darkness inside of him, stemming from his biological father, Molochai, and their bloodline evil magic, essentially. And to your point about Ary and Gavin being fated mates, I definitely agree. And there are some other clues that we get in this book that we're gonna be pointing out as we go along that I think really give credence to this theory. But throughout both books in the series, Gavin mentions Ary healing him. And I think that perhaps. He has that Molochai darkness inside of him that Ary heals and offsets. So, like when he sees her and meets her for the first time, he's like immediately drawn to that sort of godliness in her. Kate: Right, which again fated, right? Because Rachel: Yes, but I just think it's more complicated than that. I I think. I don't know, Kate: Yeah. Rachel: I could be wrong. Kate: Like no, I mean like his his difficult background would definitely impact his relationships and his like ability to get close to people. That absolutely makes sense. I'm not really questioning his relationships with women before Ary because I get that like Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: I get why he would be kind of aloof in in that way and not get really close to people. but it's just like the that immediate flip of the switch, right, that I'm Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: thinking of that's like, wow, so this is a complete change from how you've interacted with every other woman immediately, like literally on site. And so that's Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: why I'm saying that the fated mates theory has got to be playing a huge role here because otherwise Rachel: Mm. Kate: it's like, how did that happen? Rachel: Yes, so definitely something we're gonna be keeping an eye on as we continue with our deep dive. Ary and Gavin have just a wonderful time talking for hours, and Gavin is blown away by Ary's thoughts on quote, texts both ancient and modern, tales of the gods, scientific theories. And I wonder if this hints of things she previously knew that are relevant to her past and the powers that she has and her sort of destiny to save the world, and something that we'll start to learn as she rediscovers her memories. I mean. Fingers crossed rediscovers her memories. Kate: Yeah, I I think that it def that you're definitely right. particularly the tales of the gods would be, I Rachel: Uh-huh. Kate: think, relevant to her powers and all of that. So and we get a quite a few hints, I think, at the fact that she might be able to get her memories back. So again, we'll we'll get to that. We got a little bit of it in the Silversmith. But I also think that this is why Gavin builds a library because he says that quote, I suddenly wanted to read all these things so I would have more to discuss with her. And so I'm thinking, you know, the library that he built in Tovick, I think was was inspired by this desire to just read everything and connect with her and all the things that she knows and cares about. Rachel: Yeah, and he has four hundred and two years to learn. She he's gonna be blowing her mind. Kate: Yeah, he had he had plenty of time to read a library's worth of books. Rachel: In this scene, we also get a who did this to you trope when Gavin notices bruises on Ary's arm, which are a result of one of her mother's seizures. Gavin immediately recognizes that Ary is incredibly innocent due to her sheltered life, and he stops himself from kissing her and is determined to take things slow, much to our chagrin. When he demands that she tell him if anyone threatens her, he's pleased by the defiant look in her eye and thinks to himself, quote, fight. You need that fight. And this echoes exactly how he treats her in the Silversmith and shows how much was taken from her. She naturally has that fight in her. And we see throughout the Silversmith her journey to rediscover herself and rediscover that sort of innate fight. I mean, so I know that some of the criticism about the Silversmith is sort of her weakness, and this is a totally different Ary in this book, and it's because like that was stolen from her. We also get an InstaLove trope, as we discussed. They only met yesterday, but Gavin is falling for her. Kate: Honestly, I don't think he's falling. I think he fell. I think he fucking faceplanted at her feet. The moment he saw her, he thought, quote, I knew she would be mine. And he says all he can think about is love when he looks at her. Like this is not a man who is falling in love. This is a man who is like 20 feet deep in the well. Rachel: So true. And as we learn later in the book, at this point he literally already made their wedding bands. Kate: Yeah, so again, we we don't actually see Gavin fall in love. We see him go from again, like a indifferent fuckboy to being head over heels, obsessed, crazy, in his own words, crazy in Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: love. Rachel: Yeah, I mean I think that's the definition of Instalove right there. Kate: Yep, yep, yep, yep. Rachel: So then we move to a present day Ary P O V chapter. Ten months have passed since the beginning of the Silversmith, and Ary lives in a cabin with Damond, where they are hiding from Molochai and Gavin. She continues to train and build up her strength, and she can now run for four hours at a time, which was something that Gavin said that she'd be able to do. Gemma, Caz, Finn and Ezra, did make it back safely to the Winterton Caves. Caz Unfortunately lost his leg, but he's able to walk now with a false one. And Elias believes that Ary is dead, but Gemma, Finn, and Caz know the truth. She kept Ezra in the dark because he is so loyal to Elias that she just could not trust that he wouldn't share that information. And we get confirmation here that Ary did die at the end of the Silversmith, which LJ Claren also confirmed in our interview. Kate: Right. So she did officially die, which again, I I think that we got that from the first book, but there was always kind of that, like, you know, was she fully dead and Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: reborn, I guess, or was she just able to regenerate and heal very quickly? But yeah, she did officially die, but her powers didn't transfer to Molochai, which is how she knows that he's still looking for her because we know that that's his ultimate goal. So he knew That he failed to kill her as a baby because he didn't get the powers then either. So I Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: guess he figured that his mistake the first time was just like leaving her heart in her body. I feel like if I was Molochai, I'd have for sure followed the like Zombieland rule of double tap the second time around, at least, because like having waited over 400 years to get another chance at taking her power, he chose to just throw her off a cliff and hope that the job was done this time. I don't know, like That's sloppy villainry. He should have kept her around until the power transferred. Like, not that I wanted him to succeed, but come on, you gotta double tap. Rachel: I hear what you're saying, but I am going to challenge Kate: Yeah. Rachel: you that I think he did double tap because he first ripped her heart out of her body and then he threw her over the cliff for good measure. Mm-hmm. Kate: But the point of double tap is to be sure. And if you can't see the body, if you don't have the power yet and you've gotten rid of her, Rachel: Yeah. Kate: that's not a full double tap. Okay. That's not the spirit of the double tap. Rachel: Yeah, I mean I think he saw her s soup, her body soup, at the bottom of the cliff, but I hear you. He didn't Yeah, yeah. So we Kate: But he didn't have the power yet. So I don't know, I'm just saying Rachel: Yeah, so we learn later in the book that Ary has both her bloodline powers and powers of the Selvaren. So I wonder if the first time he killed her when she was a baby, if because they know Ary's powers are different, Molochai thought maybe that's why they didn't that the transfer didn't work. I don't understand what happened the second time. but I do wonder if maybe because everything is suspicious, if there's sort of alternative motivations for Ma Molochai. Like did he for some reason want her powers to awaken? Kate: Hmm. So he wa maybe he wasn't necessarily trying to steal them? Maybe he did accomplish his goal, you're saying? Rachel: Or maybe he does want to steal them but maybe they need to awake first. I don't know. I don't know. I'm just thinking through to your point why he wouldn't have double tapped, so to speak. Kate: Why he wouldn't have been like so goddamn sure that he did Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: the job this time. Yeah. I don't know. Rachel: Ary has been receiving notes from Simeon. His most recent note says quote, Smyth lied to you. Kate: About what? Rachel: Great question. Kate: Why is everybody so fucking vague? Rachel: Especially Simeon. That's like his MO. We learn one of his powers is making notes appear and disappear, which explains the note Ary found from Elowen to Simeon in her old house at the beginning of the Silversmith. When Ary writes back to Simeon, it disappears, and then it reappears with his responses. Kate: It still seems weird that the note was in the house though. Like if Simeon got the note, wouldn't it have disappeared? Or if he sent the note back with a response, wouldn't there have been a response from him? Rachel: That's a good point, but Simeon is pretty petty and unhinged, so who knows? Like he might have just sent it back to make Elowen wonder if he was going to help her. Because we do see later in the book that he just sends back empty notes sometimes. Kate: that's true. What a petty bitch. I do like this method of Rachel: Ha ha ha. Kate: communication though. It's like texting, but make it magic. I wonder if they use shorthand like we do. Like OMG S, why did you put me in a 400-year coma? WTF. Rachel: Yeah, and like, you know, like maybe he folds it up in those little squares like we did in the nineties and early aughts. Kate: yeah yeah yeah like We're just we're begging for the nineties nostalgia. Rachel: We are. An update on Ary's powers. So Ary has a decent grasp on her elemental god's powers: fire, light, wind, ice, water, and earth. Healing drains Ary just like losing blood. Thanks to Floris, she can extend and control tree branches and vines like extra limbs. And Autumna, goddess of the hunt, allows her to change her appearance just like camouflage. Ary has admitted to herself that she is in love with Gavin and he loves her. She frequently reminds herself of all the evil things he's done and his lies to her, but none of it stops her feelings for him. Quote: Gavin Smyth had buried himself so deeply into my soul, not even all twelve gods could tear him out. Foreshadowing, perhaps? Kate: almost definitely foreshadowing. If all of Gavin's Rachel: Ha ha Kate: flowery monologues and hints about Ary being a god are hints to us that he's telling her that she's a god, then we have to take Ary's words just as literally. Rachel: Yeah, definitely true. Ary plans to travel to the barracks where Elias will train this year's group of fighters to participate in commencement and assess her army Ary still has her nightmares now of her attack by Molochai, and Shera is there to comfort and wake her when she wakes up with night terrors. Next up, we get an Elias POV as he questions Gemma about Smyth. Gemma claims that she didn't question Smyth's intentions and didn't believe him to be the butcher, but she blinks and looks at the wall, which was Eli's cue that she was lying. And this is a sign that he has amazing skills at reading people. I mean, throughout this scene, Gemma's lying pretty well. It's just that one little tell. And generally this scene shows how angry and upset Elias is and his inclination is to punish both Gemma and Finn. But there is one line that gives us hope about his personality. Quote, but I had an inkling my queen would have been merciful to her friend. Despite the fact that he believes Ary is dead, he stops himself from cruelty at just a guess at what Ary's personality is. Kate: I do appreciate his dedication to Ary, even in her supposed death. Rachel: And from there we're back in an Ary POV where she has one last training session with Damond, and we learn she has far surpassed his skills, which is saying something because he was also trained by Gavin. Kate: And he has a line here that I thought was interesting, quote, and even though you possess the power of the gods, as far as I know, you're still human. Is she though? Is she? Rachel: As as far as he knows. Kate: As far as Damond knows, but I think we might suspect something different. Rachel: Mm-hmm. while Ary has learned her elemental powers, there are four god powers she still hasn't tapped into. So she definitely needs Simeon's help to train her magic, unfortunately. She uses Autumna's power to disguise herself before setting off on her journey. She has shoulder length black hair, cerulean blue eyes, and she darkens her freckles. So she is now Vixen Ary. Like anybody who knows her probably would recognize her, but anybody who's only heard about her and her silver blonde hair would not think that this is their missing dead queen. She also could not disguise her scars, so that's another tell. Ary wears her and Gavin's wedding bands on a chain around her neck, and I found this to be a symbolic passing of the yearning torch. In the Silversmith, Gavin wears them around his neck and is the number one yearner. Now in the incendiary, Ary wears them and spends the book yearning after Gavin. Kate: These two are just like so angsty. Rachel: They really are. They really are. Kate: Ha. Rachel: Damond and Ary say a teary goodbye, and Ary's adventure begins. On their journey to the barracks, Ary and Shera encounter one of Molochai's beasts as they journey through the lush woods. So a description of this beast. It's a 50 to 60 foot snake covered in black, impenetrable scales, and it has a hooded, blood-red face. Like this is creepy. So how is Molochai creating and manipulating this these beasts? In this section of the book, we get a few hints. The epigraph for this chapter is a letter from Gavin to Ary, Which says, Molochai's beasts were once instinctive and free, now corrupted with an unnatural darkness they can't understand or escape. My lingering suspicion is that only you can break the bonds that tie them. I know the feeling all too well. Well, this is interesting. So Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: it sounds like when Molochai originally made the beasts, however he did it, they were still free-thinking creatures, but eventually they became corrupted by Molochai's darkness. So I wonder if Molochai and Simeon's bargain for power demanded payment. We know they split. Nyrida between north and south. Is the north barren and cold only because of its location on the map? Or did Simeon exchange the land for power while Molochai exchanged life? We theorized in the Silversmith that someone is essentially eating the souls of the Insidions. And I wonder if this is extending to Molochai's beasts as well. Kate: I think that you are definitely on to something there. I highlighted this section as well when I was reading, and the note I put is beasts and men. So like talking about the bonds and Ary needing to break them, I Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: was definitely thinking like whatever is controlling these beasts is also controlling the Insidions, or at least the ones that aren't evil enough to follow him on their own, which it's possible that there are some of those. Rachel: Yeah, yeah. Well, and even the fact that Gavin wrote that note to Ary and says, I know the feeling all too well, like he too is controlled by Molochai, at least occasionally. Kate: Right. Yeah. And like, you know, he he made a specific bargain with Molochai. It's definitely possible Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: that a number of the Insidions did that as well. But when you have the beasts being controlled by him, clearly the beasts didn't come to Molochai to make a deal, right? So there's also Rachel: Right. Kate: gotta be there's kind of like two ways that Molochai might be able to manipulate and control people. It could be, you know, through these blood oaths, like Gavin, but also Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: some unconsenting control that he's just able to kinda assert on them like he did with the beasts. Rachel: I definitely think that he is asserting control over the Insidions. Like to your point, maybe some of them chose to join him for whatever reason. But I think the majority of them are being controlled by him unwillingly. Like I think he is he's taking over. Kate: Yeah, which again, we like you kind of hope for that, right? Because then at Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: the end result of this war becomes a little less divided, I guess. You Rachel: Yeah. Kate: know, like if you can defeat Molochai and he has people under his unwilling control, then when he goes away, you hope that those people can then like, you know, become part of the society again and not just another group of dissent and conflict. Rachel: Well, and that's that that will make a very interesting story because if you kill Molochai, do you kill the Insidions too? Or if you defeat Molochai, if he already ate their souls, they might just be bad people now. It might just be an unfortunate sacrifice Kate: Mm. Rachel: that they're gonna have to take them out as well. Kate: Yeah. Like it you might have permanently corrupted them. Aww. Rachel: Yeah. Kate: We'll see. Rachel: That'll be interesting to see. I love when there's like that element where it becomes a moral debate and also like sort of like a political analogy, I guess. Kate: Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's it's setting up something complicated and and interesting. Rachel: Mm. We see Ary's power in full display in this exchange with this beast. So Ary could easily burn or drown the beast like we saw in the Silversmith, but Shera attacks first, wanting to protect Ary. And while she puts up a good fight, ultimately this massive beast bites the Umbra with his venomous fangs before Ary commands it to stop. Now we know Soltum's powers of communicating with animals extends to Molochai's beasts, which is great news. So Ary's God-given powers, in theory, are stronger than Molochai's. When Ary moves to heal Shera, a few drops of her blood drop onto the Umbra, immediately healing her wounds. I'm sorry, what kind of power is this? This seems like something far greater than Viridian's healing powers. She's not reaching into the spoke to pull the power and force it into her blood. It's just naturally part of her Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: blood. And in fact, Shera says it's not surprising because Ary is made with a capital This seems huge. This seems like the big reveal. Kate: Yeah. Shera, what the fuck do you know? Can you like bring us in? Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: Tell us what you know. Because yeah, at this point I was thinking made of the gods, made by the gods. Like I Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: just know that Shera is holding on to so much more information. Like of Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: everyone in Ary's circle keeping things from her, and there are a few. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: I feel like Shera is hiding some of the biggest bombshells. And if you're not going to elaborate, like don't tease us with those three words that could change fucking everything. Rachel: Truly, Shera is such a tease. And I know she's magic, but where is she getting her tea? Because she's only a few months old at this point. We also see later in the book that the beasts know things as well. Like, why do these animals know more than the humans? Where are they getting their information? Kate: Do they have like a do they have like a collective consciousness that she's just like innately able to tap into and she gets like all of the historical Umbra knowledge? Rachel: Hmm, that's interesting. Kate: I feel like that's the only way because like her entire life, she says that she says at another point that she doesn't remember like her much of her life before Gavin rescues her and brings her to Ary. So it's not like she had a lot of time to like gather information. So Rachel: Right. Kate: she must be just like tapping into some kind of collective history. I don't know. Rachel: Yeah, yeah, some kind of like a hive mind situation. Hmm. Kate: Yeah, yeah. Which w would make sense because, you know, she's able to she has that mental connection with Ary, so there's nothing Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: to say that she might not have a similar connection to other Umbras, at least. Rachel: Or other animals in general. Yeah. Kate: Right. Rachel: By the way, surprise! Shera can talk to Ary Kate: Ha ha Rachel: and hear her thoughts. And I just love a magical animal bond, especially when they're snarky. And of course, Shera is snarky. They have a deep connection too. So Shera shares that she doesn't remember much from before Gavin found her. Just that she was hungry and cold and likely dying, which Ary really understood. That's what her life was like too before Gavin found her. And Gavin directed Shera to keep Ary safe and make sure she ate, a job she takes very seriously. Kate: So I love that Shera's origin story is so similar to Ary's. I feel like that's such a special like connection and understanding that they can have between them. but also do you remember in our Silversmith coverage when I was like kind of half joking that I was wishing that Ary could talk to Shera like this? Like I'm so glad that it actually happened. I love a smart, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: sassy animal companion. Rachel: Yes, yes, great call. I mean, it makes sense. She has those powers. Why wouldn't she be able to talk to her pet as well? And of course, Kate: Right. Rachel: with her being magic, it's like a very deep connection. Kate: Yeah. Yeah. But also, Shera, like stop keeping things from us. Tell us what you know. Rachel: Seriously They arrive at the barracks, and it's a wooden fortress, which seems like a poor choice, that's located between two mountains, Cyrus and Childir. And do you know what they are named after? Two of the alleged children of Sussurro. So we learned in the last book that Sussurro loved to fuck and had a ton of kids. What's interesting here is this is described as only legend because it's forbidden for gods to mate with humans. We theorized in our coverage of The Silversmith that Ary and Gavin are demigods, and this little nugget gives me a feeling that we might be on to something. Kate: Yeah, right. Because it's it's like it's totally forbidden, right? Of course. This is only legend. This is all hypothetical. Like, okay. but because just because it's forbidden doesn't mean it's impossible. Clearly it's not. Clearly. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: There's so much truth to these legends. I also want to note, though, a lovely quote from Gavin that we got that has Some more flowery language, or may provide some foreshadowing to Ary's true identity. He says, You are light and life and air and warmth. You are everything natural and inevitable. You are pure breathtaking majesty, which is gorgeous. But the part that really stood out to me was when he says, You are everything natural and inevitable. What do you think that means? Rachel: I mean that is a lovely quote. It could back up the theory that they're fated mates. Kate: It could. I feel like it could also maybe back up the theory that she's a god. Like calling her everything natural and inevitable sounds godly to me. Rachel: Mmm, interesting. I mean th natural and inevitable sounds like literally the definition of a fated mate. Kate: I mean inevitable, certainly. Rachel: That was why my right. And natural, like it it it's comes naturally. Like that's why that's why my mind went there. But yeah, certainly it sounds godly as well. It's great quote. I think Kate: It's quick. Rachel: literally every single like you said, every single flowery quote from Gavin is pretty much a hint at Ary's true nature or foreshadowing some terrible future for both of them. Kate: It's gotta have yeah. I know. It's beautiful but deadly, maybe. Rachel: Yeah. When she arrives at the barracks, Ary can sense the wards protecting the barracks from Molochai. So despite the fact that it's literally like a wooden house of cards, it does have powers that are protecting it. And while they shield against his magic, the wards do not work against the power of the gods. So there's nothing protecting there's no shield between Ary's magic and the barracks. Kate: So that means that Molochai's power is not of the gods then, right? So Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kate: they're unnatural and corrupted and not a power of the gods. So again, where did they come from? Who did he make a deal with to get his power if it's not a god? So, like, did he make a deal with the devil? I guess that doesn't count as a god. Rachel: That's a great question. And also, we know the wards are failing. So we know he has these corrupt powers. I'm still not convinced he didn't somehow kill a god. I don't know how he would have killed a god, but I'm not convinced he didn't. And that's why the wards are starting to fail. Like he doesn't have all twelve powers, so they sort of work, but I don't know. Kate: Yeah. But yeah, it does it makes me this this made me think more about like where does his power come from? Rachel: Mm-hmm. plans to request an audience with Elias. With his queen dead, he'll be even more desperate for fighters. Shera hides in the distance while Ary fights and disarms three very large guards using the skills she learned from Gavin. Things seem to be going pretty well until she suddenly finds herself facing ten guards, all pointing their swords at her. The guards take her to Valda, who is Appalled that Ary managed to take out three guards. And it turns out that they were Otis Stoll and both Sharpe brothers. Sound familiar? As a reminder, these were the creeps that Finn, Caz, and Ezra told Ary about in The Silversmith. They hung out with the super creepy Alec Gerard, who dated and may have done something untoward, to Elias' sister, Helena, just before ho her death slash disappearance at the hands of his Insidions. So Ary gives them a fake name with meaning Fera, meaning fire, which Shera, whose magical hearing allows her to listen in on the convo loves. Elias is searching for Ary's body again, which to Ary means he hasn't given up on her. So of course Ary says she'll wait for him and begrudgingly gives up her weapons, including the dagger from Gavin. At this point, what do you think about Elias searching for Ary? Kate: I mean, it's not surprising, given that he has been planning for Ary's arrival pretty much his whole life. So the fact Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: that he's still trying to find her, still trying to confirm the details of what exactly happened to her, it makes sense. if he Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: gives up and just accepts that she's gone, then he has to completely rethink his entire future, which we see him, you know, starting to kind of grapple with that inevitability, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: as we we see more of him in the coming weeks. So like that's a tough thing to wrap your head around. So I'm not surprised that at this stage he's still like, Well, maybe there's some hope. Maybe we can still figure something else out here before going to the okay, she's never coming back. What the fuck do I do with my life now? Rachel: Yeah, yeah. Commencement starts the first week of Rainar. So Ary has a few days to convince Eli to let her participate. They take her to a cell guarded by a pair of guards at all times, and she seems to get off on flirting with them and making them uncomfortable. And this is a whole new Ary than the one we met in the Silversmith. I mean, I said it before, but who is this girl? Because she's confident, she knows she's beautiful. even with her altered fe features, and she realizes that that's another weapon in her arsenal. Kate: I love it. Like, I honestly, I completely understood why she was so weak and vulnerable originally. Again, I know some people struggle with, you know, having such a weak FMC, but it it made sense. Like she was literally starving Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: to death. But I'm very happy to see this strength and confidence from her and this like playfulness too. I love that part of her personality. Rachel: Yeah, I agree. I agree. She's like a complex character and it's really a pleasure to read about. I mean, I somebody Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: I saw in one of the reviews described her as strong and powerful and fiery, but still soft. And I think that's such a great description. Kate: Yeah. Yeah. She's very much in touch with her emotions, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: but she like this strength and this like spitfire nature is Rachel: Yeah. Kate: awesome. Rachel: Yeah. Finally, Elias arrives, but not before one of the Sharpe brothers empties a cup of water onto Ary's face. Jerk. The conversation is thick with tension. Ary goads him in the same way she does the guards, and Elias pushes back. He doesn't believe that she fought his guards on her own, but since she only incapacitated the guards and didn't kill them, is willing to at least hear her out. When he tells them to unchain her, but lock her up until he decides what to do with her, Ary spits back at him, quote, Is that what you do with women you wish to control, Commander? Lock them up until you're ready for them, like your queen. This immediately earns her a backhand to the face. And reading that, all I could think is, Eli is really going to regret that one day. Kate: Yeah, I mean, like you said, she is goading him, but hitting a woman he just accused of not being strong enough to fight his guards is a very bad look. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: it immediately made me kind of not like Eli. And I'm not denying that he has some very positive moments in this book, but first impressions are basically telling me that he doesn't respect women that aren't his queen. Rachel: Hmm, yeah, yeah, I hear you. I mean, she really hit him where it hurts, to be fair, but yeah, like it's not, it's not a good look. And here we really see the brilliance of Ary's plan. If she can manage to join the army before they attempt to kill her, she'll be able to assess every single person's actions and intentions when they have their guard down. It's like the concept of seeing a person's true personality based on how they treat a waiter at a restaurant. Kate: Which is such a good way to get a read on someone. That and the shopping cart theory, and maybe someone's most played songs on like Spotify or something, will tell me pretty much everything that I need to know about someone. Rachel: what is the shopping cart theory? Kate: So the shopping cart theory is it basically says that you can learn a lot about someone's moral character from whether they return their cart at the store or not. So when you're returning your cart, like there's no reward for doing so or penalty for not doing so, unless you shop at Aldi and don't care about your quarter. So that means that like the only reason for doing so is for the common good of other shoppers and workers. Like it's a small thing, but you do it because you care about other people in some small Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kate: way. So supporters of the theory argue that choosing to do the right thing when there's no enforcement for it and there also is required like a small, very small inconvenience to do so, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: it reflects civic responsibility and moral fortitude. And so obviously there are like nuances here, but in general, I do think that it's a pretty good gauge for whether people are decent humans. Rachel: That's really good point. And I would also add to this that those people that just throw them into the parking lot, like let them freely wander, also don't give a fuck about anybody else's car. Like Kate: Right, right. Well, exactly. Right. So that's the thing. It's like to do to take the tiny inconvenience of putting it where it belongs Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: is just you saying, I respect other people enough to not then inconvenience them with my inaction here, right? But nobody's Rachel: Yeah. Kate: going to arrest you for not putting your shopping cart back. There's no enforcement, right? But you do it because we live in a society and you have to respect other people. Rachel: Yeah. Kate: So again, that that's the shopping cart theory. It's just like kind of a basic test of if you care enough about other people to be mildly inconvenienced. Rachel: I bet you those people who leave their carts just willy-nilly throughout the parking lot are the same assholes that see somebody like halfway backed out of a parking spot and speed past them so that they have to slam on the brakes because like, like technically I have the right of way. No, you're an asshole. Kate: Exactly. Exactly. So yeah. So that's why I I love the shopping cart theory because it's such a like simple thing, but it really does tell you something about somebody's character. but also in this scene, we also get another hint of Ary's missing memories here. So in her cell, she says that she feels, quote, unattainable memories floating behind the veil that Simeon used to cloud her mind. That's very interesting. That's very interesting visual to me of like this veil that she can sense. So she Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kate: says that she's felt these memories more strongly since Molochai ripped out her heart, you know, when her magic awoke, like you were saying before. And I just I can't wait to uncover more of them. It seems like they are attainable. You know, there's this veil here. Can we lift the veil? They're not it like it just says it doesn't seem like they're gone. It just seems like she's disconnected from them. Rachel: That's really interesting. That's such an interesting way to describe it, like you said. And it makes me think about like later in the book how Simeon claims that the memories are gone, which he could just be lying. Or he could believe that they are gone, because if that magic is used on a normal person, they would be. But she also has the power of the gods. And if the power of the gods were awoken through her death and resurrection, Maybe it's that power of the gods that's gonna reveal the memories. Kate: Right. Because also we've already seen her have some of these memories, right? Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: Like the glimpses that we've gotten in nightmares that are absolutely memories, right? Like there's really no doubt in my mind that that's what they were. And so if Simeon was right that all of them were gone, we wouldn't have gotten even that little glimpse, right? So Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So from here we're back in a Gavin flashback, but first, the epigraph, which is unsent correspondence from Ary to Gavin, telling him that she can talk to Shera in her head and wishing she could talk to him that way, too. Two interesting things here. Ary is writing letters to Smyth with the intention of delivering them, or more like a personal diary. Also, Is this foreshadowing that one day they'll be able to mind speak like so many of our favorite fated mate pairs? Kate: I think that having that mental connection with Shera absolutely opens the door to there being a mental connection between Smyth and Ary. Again, assuming Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: they're fated mates, as of course we are, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: then like maybe they'll be able to forge the mental connection through that bond. Right. Like Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: there's some other mentions of when Ary hears Smyth in her head, right? Like Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: she hears him say, Breathe, Ary, or you know, like just these little moments when she's either needs that extra boost of strength or she's like freaking out about something. She hears him in her head and it's soothing. And she's just like, yeah, like I'm imagining him, or I'm just like wishing that he was here. I questioned that. I'm wondering whether some of those moments are actually her hearing him without realizing it. Maybe some like Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: He's getting through that bond a little bit. And some of those are actually him talking to her. Rachel: Yeah, maybe. So, in this Gavin POV, it's the 23rd of Aesta, 402 years ago. Ary has been visiting once or twice a week for a month to train with Gavin, and he is totally falling for her. As you said, he fell. So he knocks out a royal guard, steals his uniform, and sneaks into the castle to visit Ary. I love that they fell in love with the he trains her. First of all, you know, it's my favorite trope. But second of all, it's also how they fall in love the second time as well. Gavin just wants her to be strong and capable, and that is what he leads with, always with Ary, is empowering her. Kate: I love it. Rachel: He's horrified to discover that her beautiful opulent room has bars on the window. Simeon is literally keeping Ary locked in a cage. Gavin refers to Ary as my queen, so trope alert, and she corrects him that her mother is the queen. So then he says, A goddess, then, to which I say, Hello, foreshadowing. Kate: One hundred percent, yes. Rachel: Mm-hmm. We meet the OG Shera, a gray or silver-haired stray that Ary rescued from the kitchens, and she's named after the word for silver in the gods language. Ary has always preferred silver to gold. I could not relate. When Ary takes Gavin to her second favorite place in the castle, we learn just how small her cage is. As she stands on the edge of the roof, much to Gavin's absolute horror. She points to a tree line on the edge of the city. that is the farthest she has ever travelled with her mother before Simeon decided she should never leave the castle. Kate: And this is tough because obviously it is torturous to be confined to such a small life. But with someone as powerful as Molochai intent on murdering her, as Simeon knew that he was, I do kind of understand the desire to keep her in like an easily protected radius. Because how do you protect someone from the likes of Molochai if not by keeping her somewhere you know that you can keep her safe? You know? Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: So like I am the last person that is a fan of Simeon. I hate him. But I do wonder like what what were the alternatives? What were the other options to keep her safe from Molochai rather than kind of confining her to an easily guarded area? Rachel: Yeah, I mean, and that's what makes it an interesting story, right? That it's this sort of philosophical question, moral question. There's politics at play. Like, how do you protect her with only so many people being aware of her existence, even? And Kate: Mm. Rachel: morally, what's the right thing to do? Like, does she get to have a life? Or are you essentially going to sacrifice this one person and her? emotional well being for the good of the world. Kate: Right. Which again, you know, it's it's like the the trolley problem. Because Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: it it is a tough moral dilemma, but Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: I don't I don't know what I would do. Rachel: Yeah. On the roof, we learn the origin of Gavin's coin for your thoughts line from the Silversmith. It was actually something Christabel used to say to Ary when she was lost in her thoughts. We learn here that Ary visited Gavin's shop because she wanted to choose something, someone for herself, and that her greatest dream is to live in a cottage by the sea with someone of her choosing where no one is looking for her because she holds no important position. She's just her and loved and wanted, not for her crown or her name, but just because she's her. Now that he's seen her second favorite spot in the castle, Ary takes Gavin to her first favorite spot, the library. And we get Gavin and Ary's first kiss, very romantic. After a month of dating, they finally kiss, and it's absolutely swoonworthy. After Ary even giggles and thanks him for giving her her first kiss in the library. And it's just so sweet. I mean. This is the most romantic place ever, especially for bookworms like us. Especially considering it's Ary's favorite place though. Kate: I know. And making out in a library, it's just always a great scene because it blends the like cozy privacy of a library and being like, you know, tucked away in the stacks. But you also get like a just a hint of the public danger of like technically s Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: anybody could come along and see you. And I like that that blend. Rachel: Yeah, I'm gonna add that to the tropes list, actually. That's a really good point. we get a few additional favorite tropes here. So we get an internal "fuck it" from Gavin, a verbal "mine" from Gavin, and a reference to Gavin cumming in his pants if they don't stop, which unfortunately they do. Kate: So I think there's also another nod to their bond here. When he stops them from going further, much to my dismay, he does internally question what quote satisfying that connection would do to them both. So I wonder if there's like a part of their bond that would be solidified only when they fuck. Rachel: Hmm, interesting. I mean, I will say I think that he was right to stop things. I do not believe that Ary was ready yet. And I think she communicates later that she wasn't, but Kate: No, no. Rachel: great point that yeah, I wonder, I wonder. And we don't get their first time together in this book. so maybe that's a reveal that we get later. We don't get it. Kate: Don't don't we? Rachel: No, he describes but we don't actually see like a POV scene with them the first Kate: huh. Rachel: time in this book. Kate: Well, I certainly made one up in my head then. Rachel: We get like descriptions of what those ten days are like and what she's like with him, but we do not get the actual POV scene. So I think that that's gonna be a reveal later. I think there's a reason that LJ's withholding, besides that she just loves to watch us suffer. Kate: Which we know she definitely does. Rachel: Yeah. Gavin is compelled to protect Ary, physically and emotionally, and he mentally commits to waiting until marriage before bedding her. But don't worry, he already made their wedding bands the night he made her dagger. Kate: Yes, as we said, that's a that's an insane move though. Rachel: Ha ha ha. Kate: Alright, in the next chapter we get another important epigraph moment. So Gavin writes that he gave Ary his soul shortly after he gave her his heart, which as we know was fucking immediately. so does that mean that like whatever part of his soul isn't being eaten by Molochai went to Ary? Like is she protecting a part of his soul that Molochai can't get to? Rachel: I like that theory. I like that a lot. I'm gonna write that down. Kate: Saved by the power of love. Rachel: No, I really like the idea that she owns part of his soul so he can't become an insidion. I mean this I don't want to spoil anything, but this is hints for a major series and some of our theories there as well. I really like that idea. Back to Ary's present-day POV. They've been keeping Ary locked in a cell where she exercises as much as possible to maintain her strength. Since Fera said she was from Brinnea, Elias comes to her cell to question her about what she might know about Ary's disappearance, since that's the last place that she was seen. Again, the conversation is full of tension, and we start to sense a bit of a love triangle brewing. Sort of. More of a deeply in love with one man, but slightly attracted to yet loathing this other man. Triangle. Kate: And I think Simeon just did his job pretty well here. I mean, grooming Elias into someone molded just for Ary. Like, even with her very strong, like inescapable feelings for Gavin, she's still drawn to Eli, which Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: again, I think is just a nod to the craftsmanship, I guess, because he Rachel: Mm. Kate: is like exactly the kind of person that Rachel: Ken doll. Ken doll. He's a Ken doll. Kate: Yeah. He's a Ken doll. And she's like, listen, I gotta admire the dedication Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: here. I appreciate it. I don't know if I can love you, but I appreciate what's happening here. Rachel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well and the word craftsman is very interesting because maybe he did more than groom him, but that's a theory for another episode. Elias leans in close and we learn he smells of juniper and mint, which of fucking course. I feel like this is the pretty boy scent. Like you know he had all of the fanciest toiletries. Kate: Mm-hmm. I do love a mint scent though. Like it smells very clean, which again is perfect for the pretty boy. Like he Rachel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kate: is groomed and polished as Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: opposed to the like rugged, woodsy man scent that Gavin has. Rachel: Yes. Ary tells Elias she was in the forest that night and saw a woman with light hair riding south alone on a brown horse, looking scared. But she was traveling on her own volition. And obviously she needs to give him something here. But this line is so heartbreaking because even now Ary is looking for some way to clear Gavin's name. Elias returns the next morning, clearly having just fucked someone, and looking horrified that one of his spies corroborated Fera's story. he asks Fera why his queen would give herself up to Molochai, and Ary just tells him she's sure your queen had her reasons. Ary seems pretty horrified that Elias fucked someone. And while it's obviously a weird move when you're mourning your betrothed, To be fair, he never met her. Also, it's sort of weird that Ary cares when she's pining over Smyth. Kate: Agreed. That is weird. Like, I don't think it's fair for her to be keeping so much from him and also holding him to some unnecessary moral standard of like saving himself for a woman he's never going to meet and has has never met. Like Rachel: Right. I mean to Ary's point though, I get it. Like I criticize, but I get it. For instance, I imagine all of my exes will be single and pining after me for all of eternity. Kate: And I I hope that for you as well. You deserve you deserve that kind of devotion. But but these are not exes. They're not exes. They never even met. Like Rachel: No, I know I know. I know. It's not the same, but yeah. Elias reveals that he's going to give her a chance. He's certainly in no position to turn down trained fighters, but he still doesn't trust her. So plot twist, while everyone else will compete in teams, Fera will compete on her own. Cadets will arrive tomorrow for eight week training, and they've been made aware that an outsider will be joining them. Simeon and Ary exchange notes and he begs her to stop, telling her it will do everything. Irreparable damage to her people and her betrothed. This creep can see what she's doing at all times. I hate that. Kate: agreed. I hate a surveillance state that's creepy as fuck. Rachel: Simeon's got flop cameras all over Nyrida. Kate: Ugh, tear em down. Rachel: Ary is freed from her cell just in time for commencement and given her bag back, but not her knives. She claims a top bunk, then takes a shower, using one of the private stalls where she practices her magic, but gets distracted by the noise of laughter nearby and sprays the entire room. Oopsies. She seems to have a strong control of her healing magic from Viridian, and she heals her wounds just enough that they won't get infected. But not enough to seem suspicious to anyone. Kate: She also mentions here how she wishes that her powers were strong enough to dim the sun itself. And I immediately thought, like, maybe they are or will be. Like, we don't know, but Rachel: Mm. Kate: we don't know the extent of her powers, but I'm not ruling that out. Rachel: Yeah, great point. Ary joins the other recruits in the mess hall, where Elias addresses the crowd, revealing that while in the past commencement was optional, now all able-bodied people between 18 to 30 must fight since Molochai ripped out the queen's heart and let the butcher dismember her body. The crowd is shocked, either to learn that their queen is dead or the gruesome details. And yet again, here we see just how dire their circumstances are. They skipped right over the draft and made it mandatory for literally everyone to fight. As they resume their meal, Ary hears people saying awful things that the butcher fucked her dead body and ate her remains. Kate: Like Jesus Christ. I don't know how she didn't reveal herself at this moment. Like hearing people talk that way about somebody that I loved would send me into a feral rage. Rachel: I mean, there's so many moments like this in this book, and she truly shows how strong her willpower is. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: But on the bright side, it does give her the opportunity to make her first friends. A girl with red hair, Mina Reed, points out how vile these people are, and her rakish twin brother, Mavic, or Mav for short, cuts in to flirt with Fera. Mavic is impressed and glad that Fera took out Otis Stoll and the Sharpe brothers, which is our first indication that Mina and Mavic are good people. Kate: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It is a solid way to start a friendship, honestly. Rachel: Truly. That's how some of my best friendships have started. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: Mav is quite the gossip, and we learn here that Caz is their brother-in-law. His wife Marin is their sister, and he boasts about how Caz knew both the Queen and the butcher. During this entire exchange, Elias is staring at Ary across the room and scowling. Kate: We are going to get a lot of jealous scowling stares from Elias in this book. Rachel: Yes, yes, and you know what? I'm marking that as a trope. Kate: Fair play. Rachel: After dinner, the twins select their bunks, choosing the same cabin as Ary, and it's feeling like she may have just met her newest found family. Kate: Another great trope. Rachel: Truly one of my favorites. That night she can't sleep, so she pulls Gavin's black sweater out of her bag and puts it on for comfort. Wearing your boyfriend's hoodie? Classic. Kate: Honestly, I'm putting that as a trope too. You can't stop me. Rachel: Good point, good point. Ary wakes up in the middle of the night from a nightmare, thinking about the fact that Gavin will poison himself if Molochai gives him her name, and she commits to finding a way to help him. Perhaps she can find a library at the barracks. And that is where our coverage ends for the day. So, Kate, do you want to count down our tropes? Kate: Yes, I do. And I do think that I captured some of the ones that we added at the end there, but feel free Rachel: Perfect. Kate: to jump in if if I miss anything. Okay. So we've got InstaLove, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: Who Did This To You, Rachel: Mm. Kate: A First Kiss in the Library. We've Rachel: Yep. Kate: got My Queen. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: We've got the fuck it. It was internal, but it was on the page. Rachel: Mm. Kate: We have a mine. which was spoken out loud, and a reference to cumming in some pants, which didn't actually happen, but it was referenced. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: we've got wearing your boyfriend's clothes, the potential love triangle, Rachel: Mm. Kate: a war training or trials setup, found family, and sexual tension fueled scowling. Rachel: Yeah, I think that one is not talked about enough. Specifically described that way. I know. Kate: But we I mean how many how many books? How many books do we see with that? It's it and it's good, right? It sets up that Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: tension. Rachel: It's Xaden Riorson's favorite move. Kate: how many did we get from Stark? Rachel: Yeah, yeah, Stark. Honestly, probably more than anybody from Stark. Kate: That was his like only form of communication for quite a while. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Okay, w should we round up some of our theories as well, just to kind of remind us this what we covered this episode? Kate: Yes. So we actually had a few theories from the Silversmith that we are already getting some more clues about even in this first section of the book. So I'm just gonna cover some of those. So the Fated Mates, obviously we talked about Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: that quite a bit. Gavin and Ary are fated mates. they share an intense bond that I think we think goes beyond just normal love. We also theorize that this bond creates potentially even a mental link between them that might allow them to communicate through their minds. like for instance when Ary hears his voice telling her to breathe. another theory, Ary is a god or demigod. So Rachel: Mm. Kate: we already know about Ary's godly powers, but we get a few extra hints in this section, like where Shera is telling Ary that she is made. That was a big fucking hint. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: also the mention of the legends of the gods mating with humans to create forbidden demigods. maybe Gavin's letter calling Ary everything natural and inevitable, or him calling her a goddess. Like there's a lot of little hints here about her true identity. And Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: then finally, Molochai stealing souls. So Molochai's Insidions, we believe, are compelled by some kind of magic to do his bidding. and a big hint that we got in this section was. the interaction with the beast and how you know, we heard from Gavin that the beasts are corrupted, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: and that they were free thinking and are now like kind of bound to do his bidding by this darkness. So again, we theorized before that maybe he's stealing souls to accomplish this, or somebody is stealing souls to to feed this this bond. So we saw some some more hints at that and we'll be on the lookout for more clues to back up all of these theories. Rachel: Yes, and adding to that that perhaps Ary is protecting Gavin's soul. All right. Well, that brings us to the end of the first episode of our deep dive into the incendiary. At this point in the book, we see that Ary is smart, capable, fiery in both words and power, and down so bad for Gavin. I love that LJ managed to introduce trials and a sort of war college during the second book in the series. This is something we typically see in book one. And this book is so full of action, so buckle in for the rest of our deep dive. Next week we'll see Ary's first trial and the best birthday Gavin ever had. Kate: And it's a busy week here at Deep Trope. Very exciting. But last night was our Threshing Day virtual release party with our friends Avorie and Xavier Harleston, along with Claire from Runing Books. We will be spending the day reading the newest book in the Empyrean series because on October 1st, just a few days away, they are going to be joining us for our Threshing Day reaction episode. So if you're a fellow Fourth Wing fan, we've got you covered on Threshing Day. Rachel: Alright, see you soon. Kate: Bye.