Latest / Deep Trope Fantasy & Romance Podcast / Fury Bound Ch 40-49: The Tower Trials, Goddess Theory & Stark’s Murder Smile
Transcript
- Rachel: Welcome to Deep Trope, where we go deep into fantasy and romance books, one trope at a time, where your two book besties gushing over plot, characters, Easter eggs theories, and of course, our favorite spicy moments. I'm Rachel, Romantasy Theorist. Kate: And I'm Kate, lover of all things dark and spicy. Rachel: And today is episode three of our deep dive into Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen, book two of the Wolves of Ruin series. This episode will cover chapters 40 through 49 of the book from the perspective of two people who have read the full book. So that means spoilers for both Dire Bound and Fury Bound. If you don't know who dies in the tower yet, pause the podcast and finish reading Fury Bound before joining us. Kate: As always, we're still a new podcast, so we truly appreciate every like, subscribe and share that we can get. Go ahead, share with a friend who needs a little spice in their life. Or apparently a little death, maybe. We'll see. 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 at DeepTropePodcast. Rachel: Let's dive into it. So Meryn Venna, and Saela are in the library with Lucien and Siegrid Therion has just died. The wolves are howling in mourning and all of the riders are absolutely reeling. Even Saela is crying. Through the bond, Meryn confirms Egith is safe-ish and fleeing with a group of survivors. Meryn believes this is Killian's move, not Alistair's. He's trying to force her to join him. Thank God she wasn't going to fall for that. Venna even presses her on it. Is it working? ⁓ it honestly pissed me off that she even had to ask that question. Kate: But like, fair question, right? Like, to say that Meryn has struggled to make the right call in the past when it comes to Killian, I feel like would be a massive understatement. So I don't blame Venna for asking, okay? Rachel: That's so true. Kate: haha Rachel: Lucien agrees to maintain their alliance if Meryn marries him. Meryn is, of pissed. And Lucien says it's because the tears. ⁓ He wants to ensure they will be split evenly between the two countries and that if they get married, neither could conspire against the other to steal them. Kate: Obviously, I understand why Meryn is pissed here. ⁓ But knowing that marriage contracts are pretty much the most binding agreements that you can make in this kind of world, doesn't feel like a completely off the wall proposal from Lucien. I don't know. From his perspective, he grew up royal. He grew up with this idea that marriage is a political move. It's like move to advance, you know, your interests in not just politics, but just, you know, maintaining power in general, things like that. Like it's a contract, it's an alliance, it's not really romantic versus Meryn didn't grow up with that. you know, it makes sense that she has a more romantic view of marriage than Lucien does. So, I don't know, I get where she's coming from, but you know, ⁓ I also see where he's coming from. Like he really, I don't think is thinking of this romantically at all, besides the fact that he's always horny. And I'm sure wouldn't mind getting Meryn in the sack. But she's like, how dare you try to get me to marry you when we don't even know each other. I certainly don't love you. I barely like you. ⁓ he's just like, it doesn't matter. ⁓ not what this is about. Rachel: That's so true. We also don't really get much intel the culture around marriage in Astreona do we? I mean, we know that his parents were married ⁓ and that's it. Like we know that they were married. We don't know what the relationship is like. Is Fredrich married to Ruby or is he just like with Ruby? Kate: No. Yeah, I don't know that they mentioned that they are married. I feel like they've just been like in a long term relationship. But yeah, I mean, it is interesting. I I just, I guess always assume that when it comes to royalty in general, that marriage is never really like romance is not the priority when it comes to marriage. So I'm just assuming that that's the case here as well. But yeah, we don't really get Rachel: Absolutely. Kate: a lot of insight into that. Rachel: Yeah, wasn't even, I was not arguing with that at all. I was more so wondering like in a situation where you... essentially live for hundreds, maybe over a thousand, right? Lucien's a thousand, so maybe thousands of years. Are you viewing marriage the same way? Kate: Yeah, I mean, certainly he's not viewing it monogamously, right? He's like, yeah, I mean, this is a contract and ⁓ go ahead and, you know, happy to share. So don't worry about that, right? If you want to be with Stark, be with Stark. That's not what this is about. But either way, I am kind of curious, though, if there are any other forms of like binding contracts, you know, like maybe facilitated by some sort of magic. Rachel: Right. Right. Mm-hmm. like blood magic. Kate: Like does something like that maybe exist? Yeah, like maybe blood magic. I don't know. Just trying to think of like, is there a way to kind of have this binding alliance that doesn't revolve around marriage? Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's a really good point. That being said, considering she's wearing her thrall bracelet, I don't imagine Meryn would be excited to enter into any other sort of siphon agreement, but I definitely could see something like that happening in the next book. Kate: Yeah, mean, fair enough, she's been controlled enough. I don't think she wants her actions ⁓ determined by... you know, a man forever. Rachel: Right. Meryn and Stark rush to find one another, and Meryn notes that Stark is acting weirdly stoic about the loss of his mother and rush of new powers. He demands that they return home to meet Killian head-on, which Meryn writes off as typical Daemos aggression. Now that we know Stark is possessed by Nocturn at this point in the book, we are going to be on the lookout for any hints that Nocturn is making decisions for him. I reread this several times, and I'm torn about this one. I don't know why Nocturn would want to rush back without all of the tears. And Stark acting stoic about Siegrid's death also doesn't seem out of character. So what do you think? Kate: agree. I mean, certainly Stark being stoic about this is very consistent with his personality. I mean, the relationship that he had with Siegrid was not very maternal, it was not very loving and warm. It was opposite of that. It was cold and distant. And so him, you know, ⁓ being overcome with emotion over her death makes sense to me. ⁓ Rachel: Yeah. Kate: And then as far as Nocturn, I don't know. mean, this is like immediately after Siegrid's death, right? So I'm wondering, there any kind of like a transition period, you know, where like Nocturn's kind of settling into his new digs in Stark's mind and ⁓ before to pull the strings? I don't know. Rachel: think he needs to unpack his boxes first. Kate: Yeah, maybe he has to, you know, put away the dishes in his kitchen or something. I don't know. ⁓ I guess we don't really get it's not like we get any perspective from Nocturn of that transition is like. But I'm just wondering if it's like an instant thing, like, okay, instantly Nocturn is in there and able to command Stark or if he kind of has to like settle into the new mind. Rachel: Right, right. Yeah, that's interesting. Meryn uses foresight and sees that rushing home will end in basically everyone's death. Marrying Lucien will end in his death and also Stark's. But a vague third option appears. Meryn sees saltwater, rocky a dark tower with a female body inside, and a sparkling jewel at the center of a mosaic. We're taking to the seas. So when Sable Sorensen dropped their social trailer, there was a boat scene. So I was pumped when we got this vision. I was definitely hoping for pirate stuff, which it turns out Lucien kind of was too. Kate: He wanted to cosplay. He was like so excited to jump on his yacht and like put on his little captain's hat. Rachel: That's right. Meryn reveals to Stark that Lucien asked her to marry him and he says, quote, if I were a better sovereign alpha, I would tell you, should do it. You should marry someone politically meaningful, especially if it would save our country. But then he also tells her he's not a Then he tells her he's definitely not a better sovereign alpha because he's like, hell no. ⁓ And they both agree that this is not an option. Kate: You Rachel: We get this great stark line. I'd damn every last soul to stay by your side, Meryn. This is definitely some intense foreshadowing. What morally grey thing is Stark going to do to stay with Meryn in book three? Kate: I cannot wait to find out. And I'm sure Nocturn's intentions are sinister, but I wonder if he'll kind of use Meryn as leverage somehow to like keep Stark from fighting back. I mean, assuming that he has any capacity to fight back, like I wonder if Stark would damn Meryn's soul to stay with her. Rachel: Mmm. Kate: Like we already saw him attempt to stay away from her when he thought that he was a corrupting influence on her, like encouraging her darker powers. But I wonder how he'll react now that he truly is inhabited by this evil force that could negatively impact her. Rachel: Mm. Yeah. Yeah, I was. Kate: Like when he says that he would damn every soul, does he mean every soul? Rachel: Well, I certainly think he would damn his own because we also had that quote when he said he would follow Killian into death. Kate: ⁓ well yeah. Yeah, I mean, that's a given. quick to sacrifice for her. how far, does the line end ⁓ at Meryn, Like, is she the one soul that he's not willing to damn? Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: We'll see. Rachel: Guess we'll see. They discuss that Killian's move doesn't make sense. He can't be planning to invade Astreona with depleted forces. Meryn needs to learn what she can, so it's time to head back to the Shadowland. Meryn goes to bed alone, with Stark back in the cuck chair, waiting along with Anassa. Killian is waiting for Meryn in the shadows, and Meryn uses her classic trick of feigning weakness. Meryn pretends to miss him and says she wants to work with him. She claims Stark has been controlling her and now she is a hostage in Astreona. Killian claims it was Alistair who attacked the bonded, punishing those that were loyal to Meryn and serving as a warning to both her and Lucien. Killian says Alistair wants them to stay out of Nocturna while he searches for the rest of the Tears. He also says that he and Meryn can defeat both Alistair and Lucien together. He holds up his hand and reveals he's wearing the High Priestess's Goddess Tear Ring. Meryn continues her good girl game and reveals that Lucien has a second tear, the Necklace, which is new to Kilian, and just the incentive he needs to reveal the power his tear holds. He reveals that his ring provokes worship beyond typical siphon mind control and is how he turned so many to his side. Killian tells her to stay in Astreona and convince Lucien she's on his side. Then he will summon her when he's found more tears and she will need to bring Lucians with her. Meryn asks Killian about her thrall bracelet and he reveals her bracelet is a new kind of bracelet that he worked closely with Alistair to create. one that controls her powers, not her mind. He says he wants her to have autonomy. He wants to be equals with her. How could they be together if they didn't share her power? This sick fuck. In this whole interaction, Meryn compares Stark and Killian, and she loves when Stark calls her a good girl and orders her around because she knows not only are they equals, but she's the one in charge. and she has to beg Stark to use her shadow powers compared to Killian who wants to steal them. Kate: I the fact that his idea of becoming equals with her requires tearing her down and weakening her instead of building himself up to her level is all that you need to know about this fucking guy. And that goes for any partner, by the way. If you're with somebody that feels the need to tear you down to make themselves feel better, stronger, run in the opposite direction. I mean, in contrast, Stark is so turned on by her power, like it gets him off. Whereas it just makes Killian jealous and intimidated, which is the sign of a weak, weak man. Rachel: Get yourself a real man, like Stark. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: ⁓ did Alistair create Thrall bracelets? Or did they exist before and he learned how to use them? Like how is he capable of creating them? Because am wondering if he has some kind of deal with Astreon like the Therians have with Nocturn. Kate: I think he did create them. ⁓ Like when Lucien explained earlier in the book about the bracelets, he said that Alistair discovered through experimentation that he could create a piece of jewelry that worked like a thrall bond, but with none of the natural limits. he, like it, to me, it's sounding more like a scientific invention a deal with a God, just because he like experimented and found this a way to like combine the blood in that stone. which is how it works. So that's just my interpretation. It's feeling like invention rather than God-given gift. Rachel: Okay. Okay, so Alistair is like a siphon Frankenstein, essentially. Kate: Yeah, like a mad scientist maybe. I mean, not that I mean, I still think that it's possible that there are other deals that have been made with the gods. mean, clearly, again, if the Therion line can do it, and get so much power from it, I would be surprised if there weren't other powerful lineages that have made some kind of deal. But I'm not sure if this is one of them. Rachel: Yes Okay, all right, that's fair. The riders plus Saela and their father gather and Meryn reveals everything she's learned. Saela remembers a drawing in their mother's journals. And when she brings them the journals, they reveal drawings of a six-pointed star or geometric flowers. And each point is in the shape of a teardrop with another in the center. So seven total tears. That means there are two more. I'm glad to see them finally connecting the dots with their mother's journals. I would think that the strategos alpha would have analyzed them previously when she realized her mother's visions had been connected to her lack of bonding. But again, leave it to the 12 year old to solve the mystery instead. Kate: I feel like every precocious child trope kind of requires at least a few, like one or two clueless adults, you know? Rachel: Yeah, one or two. But also, she is the Strategos Alpha. This is like one or two... This is one or two like clueless professors. Kate: I mean listen, I've met one or two clueless professors in my time, okay? But yes, I mean, this is another example when we're like, are we sure that she was in Strategos? ⁓ Rachel: That's fair, that's fair. You Kate: I'm just not really feeling it. Rachel: Yeah, maybe Roddert and Daegen were actually brilliant. Kate: and she just doesn't see it in them. She doesn't recognize it, you know. Rachel: Yeah, I mean, because she acts like Izabel was like the brightest bulb on the tree, you know, and I don't know if that was the case. Kate: And I'm just saying we saw her poisoning from a mile away. Rachel: Yeah. Realizing that there are seven tears triggers Noemi to remember a disgusting song that her father loves about a man's unfaithful wife who cheats on him with his brother. He locks her away in a tower where she cries seven tears. If you recall, we heard this song when Noemi and Stark visited the nobles earlier in the book. So let's review the exact lyrics. Kate: I won't be singing it to you, but I will recite the lyrics. Rachel: I was really hoping that you would sing it. Kate: I mean, I could sing it to like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but I don't know what's trademarked. So let's just let's avoid it. Alright. Sweet. I know. Yeah. It kind of works. It kind of works. Alright. Rachel: I started singing it to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in my head and you could see me moving my head to the beat. Kate: Okay, sweetness of life personified my lady love so wondrous fair the marriage not we too did tie my wife who had the roving eye. My brother's mouth upon her thigh her fingers tangled in his hair. My untrue wife just moaned inside. My wife who had the roving eye. Brother this marks our last goodbye my wife with you I will not share. Lock her away and tower high my wife who had the roving eye. Seven tears that woman cried, I laughed to see her deep despair. But ne'er did she apologize, my wife who had the roving eye. Rachel: feel like is an Irish drinking tune. Kate: Yes. Rachel: Like that's what I'm hearing when you especially hearing you recite it like I'm like, ⁓ okay, like this needs to be like an Irishman and a fiddle. And I need to have a Guinness in my hand. Kate: Yeah, everybody like a rousing song in the pub. Rachel: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. It feels like this song, we assume, is from the perspective of Nocturn, right? And the wife is Lumina, and the brother is Astreon Astreon controls the siphons the way Nocturn controls the wolves, does that mean he has thrall powers? And if so, ⁓ he have Lumina in a thrall so she's really a victim of both men? Kate: ⁓ Rachel: I know, because she seems like a great person. ya know I don't know. I don't know if we can call her a person, green haired creator of all things. Kate: ⁓ no. Yeah, ⁓ that is, that's dark. That's dark, but it kind of makes sense. Rachel: I just feel like there has to be more to their story. they didn't, like her just cheating on her husband who also like does not seem like a great guy. Why'd she pick him in the first place? Kate: like Rachel: I don't know. I feel like they're setting up. Who is Astreon Like we don't know anything about Astreon. He has to have like a major role in the next book. Kate: Yes, I mean, I hope so. And I really just can't wait to get more of the the gods backstory, because there's so much ⁓ here. And yeah, I mean, I hadn't thought about Astreon potentially manipulating Lumina into this affair. I was kind of thinking of it of like, okay, Nocturn doesn't seem like a great partner. Maybe she was, you know, looking elsewhere to get the comfort that she wasn't getting from him, but it's so much darker if you think about it that way, where maybe she was just being used by both of them and they're both just terrible men. I don't know. Rachel: I mean, it tracks for just men. Kate: Yeah, and especially, especially powerful men. Rachel: Yeah. Hmm. Well. That's disturbing. Let's go find us a snack because Lucien. Kate: It's so dark. Rachel: Lucien Kate: What a transition! Rachel: ⁓ Lucien is chowing down on one of his scantily clad human snacks when Meryn bursts into his room to update him on current events. This scene is giving true blood. Meryn says she's disgusted and fascinated, but I don't know, I can't help but think she's a little bit turned on too. Kate: we do know that she doesn't mind being covered in blood, so... Rachel: That's so true. You know how we like talked about like was she is she a siphon offspring, which she kind of is but like he wasn't a siphon at the time. We didn't circle back to that in this book, but ⁓ I do think there must be a reason that she's into blood so much. Just saying. Once he's up to speed, Lucien reveals a legend about an island in the Bloodthorn Sea that may hold the tower, but no one has ever been able to reach the island, though they have tried many times, because it would be an ideal way to invade Nocturna. They review a map showing uncharted islands off the coast of Blumenfall. Meryn has never seen these islands noted before on any of the maps she's studied. Apparently, The island is shrouded in impenetrable mist, a la Crescent City. So while they haven't been able to fully reach it, sailors have noted glimpses of a massive tower. Sketches of the tower reveal the four pack symbols etched into the tower's peak. Anassa says the wolves do not know of the tower. And Saela theorizes that the magic of each of the four packs is needed to break through the fog. Because again, of course, the 12 year old figures out the key to finding the tears. When they're reviewing the maps, she also knows the symbols for the territories. I'm sorry, but I stand by my statement that she is the April Nardini of this book. ⁓ she's driving me crazy even if they did desperately need her help. And actually, this makes Meryn Rory Gilmore because she's supposed to be the smartest one, but is she? Kate: Okay, I'm choosing to project any Gilmore Girls thoughts onto these characters because April and Ruri are the worst characters in that show. ⁓ I don't, I don't want to have those feelings cloud my judgment of Saela and Meryn. That being said, I'm also not mad at this point about Saela knowing ⁓ than Meryn. Because this is more of just like, like general knowledge ⁓ of things rather than like the strategy that Meryn has been lacking lately. And the reason that I'm not mad at it, even though Saela is so much younger, is because this is exactly what Meryn wanted for her, right? Like Meryn sacrificed her time and her life to make sure that Saela had access to a great education, right? She made sure that Saela didn't want for anything so that she didn't have to go work and help provide for the family the way that Meryn did so that she could focus on her studies so that she could go to that good school that was more expensive but was a better education. So I'm just saying Meryn wanted Saela to be a smarty pants and gave her the opportunity to be a smarty pants by protecting her education and making sure that she had access to whatever she wanted to learn. also, Saela has not really had anything to do for like weeks except for read. So I'm going to give her this one. She's still a precocious little child, but Meryn wanted her to be this way. She wanted her to have the opportunity to be a precocious little child. Rachel: Okay, you've reeled me in. That's fair. This is Fredrich's fault and I hate him. Okay. Kate: you Rachel: Noemi laughs that Killistair has no chance at accessing the tear since they don't have Strategos or Kryptos but Meryn thinks it's just a matter of time with his new powers. And here we get an update on the pack movements. Meryn communicated with Egith that morning that she is en route to Blumenfall with the remaining forces, and stepmommy Ruby is with them. Aldrich reported that Kilian's forces are en route to Sturmfrost. where there are also retired bonded and those not on active duty that he could sway with his tear This is serious. The worship tear really turned the tides of the war in a way that it doesn't seem like they can beat without the other tears So it's time to go hunting for Horcruxes. I mean, goddess tears. Kate: I mean, at least it's pretty nice that they have such a specific and singular focus, though. I mean, with Meryn struggling to strategize the way that she is, it's convenient that she now has a very clear path forward with no legitimate alternatives. Find Tears attack Killistair. Rachel: Meryn determines that they need to leave immediately, before Killian learns of the tower, and Lucien agrees to give them a boat. But he will serve as captain, and Elias will join as well. They are at a standstill. Right now, they both have two tears, so whoever gets the one in the tower will hold the majority of power between all three players, Meryn, Lucien, and Killian. When Meryn asks what happens then, Lucien again references marriage. Though she doesn't agree to marriage, she does agree to travel together. All right. So we've talked about marriage being sort of a contract for Lucien, but I think that we should do a pro-con on marrying Lucien. Kate: Let's do it. Rachel: Pros, Lucien is hot. It explains the alliance to both countries without having to explain the Killistair of it all to the masses. Lucien has a boat. And Stark loves a cuck chair. Kate: And Lucien loves to share. Rachel: I mean, it seems like a win-win. I know I said that, well, the issue is that, okay, I guess we'll get into cons. Stark hates to share for sure, despite loving a cuck chair, does not want to share. He just wants to sit. Kate: There's some compelling pros there. Yes. He likes the chair. Yeah, he likes the chair. He does not like the lifestyle. Rachel: Right, he wants to sit and scowl at Meryn, but not Meryn with Lucien. ⁓ Also, cons Anassa hates the heat. Kate: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Rachel: Will Meryn have to become a siphon? Can humans and siphons have babies? Meryn loves Stark. And also Lucien might be her cousin. Kate: Now let's let's talk about that for a second because that assuming that Nocturn and Astreon are brothers and Meryn and Lucien are descendants of each respectively, right? Like that's the assumption. ⁓ Rachel: I am basing that on the song, yes. Kate: Okay, and are we, so are we 100 % sure though that Meryn is not also potentially a descendant of Astreon? Like are we totally sure that she is Nocturn and Lumina's child, like descendant? Rachel: I do think that she is Nocturn and Lumina's descendant. And I think that Lucien is Astreon and Lumina's descendant. I think, I don't know. Kate: Cause also I know that you've been, we've been like working under the assumption that Meryn is Nocturn and Lumina's descendant, but are we a hundred percent sure? Like, does it say that or are we assuming? Because again, if Lumina had an affair with Astreon, do we know for sure? Rachel: I don't know. That's fair. I just really think that she is Lumina Nocturn's descendant because he said that the baby would be looked over by his wolves. And why would he want baby to be protected other than you're saying like maybe he he didn't know or he was sitting in the cuck chair. Kate: Yeah, I don't know. mean, and there's also the point that you had made in last episode, I think, that, you know, she has shadow powers, ⁓ would she have those powers if she wasn't descended from Nocturn? So ⁓ get it. I know that there's there's a lot that is pointing towards that, but I'm just not 100 % sure. Rachel: I think that Meryn is descended Nocturn and Lumina, but where I thought you might be going with your argument was maybe Lucien is not a descendant of Astreon and Lumina because ⁓ Nocturn rules the wolves and if Astreon the siphons it doesn't mean that he begot siphons, he just maybe created them with his powers or imbued them with his powers. Like he gave humans the ability to become siphons. Kate: Right. But Lucien... Rachel: Do know what begot means? It's from the Bible. Kate: I'm using context clues. ⁓ But there's also the fact that Lucien has, and like the Brightbane line has goddess tears. So certainly like them being another descendant of Lumina though, like still makes sense because they have the crown. Rachel: Yeah. ⁓ right. Or, or she finger created them like she did all the people in Linsfall Kate: She fingered them into creation. Rachel: Yes, because I don't think that finger creation counts as a begot. Kate: Alright, that sentence... That's a wild sentence. So she fingered them into being, but they're not begot Rachel: Yes. They weren't birthed into being. They weren't birthed into being. Kate: Whatever you say. Right. Rachel: She just snapped her fingers or pointed or whatever she did in Linsfall and they appeared, maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe they had twins. Nope, they couldn't be twins. has to two different baby daddies. Well, I guess in theory. ⁓ man, now we're really spiraling. It is possible. That would be fun. Kate: I mean, scientifically speaking, is technically possible, right? like two separate embryo, like, you know. Rachel: Yeah, two separate eggs. Kate: they're conceived at like the same time, but yeah, it's separate eggs and like, so not actually twins just... I don't know the word for it. I didn't look that one up. Rachel: I didn't know we would end up here today. Kate: I don't think either of us thought we would end up here today, but here we are. Rachel: Alright, well... So, pro-con... I don't know that we've decided on a winner here. Kate: Well, I don't think we did. And I think it's tough because we don't hate Lucien, you know? So like, we don't have any real reasons to be like, well, 100 % not. I mean, besides the fact that we obviously stan Stark and Meryn, but you know, like so far, politically speaking, it does make some sense. You know, like Lucien didn't just like pull this out of his ass and it's not, it's coming from a- Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: sound strategy from his part, I think, but I just don't like the idea of Meryn not being with Stark. Rachel: Yes, same. This chapter closes with Meryn reflecting on the woman's body in the tower. She didn't share this little tidbit of information with her traveling party. Dun, dun, dun! How ominous. On the first read, who did you think the body would be? Kate: I think I just kind of thought it was Noemi because she would have been a loss that would have been sad, but would have like not completely derailed the ultimate goal of their mission. So it's almost like she would kind of have been expendable ⁓ in a way of, you know, since I just, I was assuming that whoever was laying there dead would stay dead. Right? So I was thinking about like who is relatively expendable. ⁓ What about you? Rachel: Yeah, Noemi crossed my mind. I also thought that maybe we were getting a Sleeping Beauty situation with Lumina. Kate: Like they would like encounter Lumina in a Sleeping Beauty type state in the tower. ⁓ Rachel: Yes. Locked away in a tower. which I would have enjoyed. Kate: Yes. Yeah. I mean, I again, I feel like we are just getting the smallest glimpses of the gods here. And there's so much more to learn. I obviously am assuming that that's going to be happening in the next book, but I'm very eager to learn more about them. Rachel: Saela asks Meryn to stay in Astreona and heartbroken, Meryn agrees, but promises to come back to her. This makes sense. Saela is the norm in Astreona and doesn't have to hide who she is. She has a father there who is just like her. And as heartbreaking as it is to see the sisters separated, it really is the best place for Saela. Saela says to Meryn, I can literally wait forever for you, so try not to die, okay? And this got me thinking, do you Meryn and Stark will end up having an extended lifespan or just a normal human lifespan? Kate: So do think that their power and their ties to the gods will extend their life. More so on Meryn's side I think than on Starks though, because she's an actual descendant versus he just has this, you know, shady deal. ⁓ Siegrid's death also proved that the Sovereign Alpha's power doesn't make them impervious to a human death. But I would assume that their power could still extend his life beyond a typical human as long he doesn't get like impaled. beheaded or something. So think for both of them, again, I don't think that they are ⁓ ⁓ I do think that ⁓ immense amount of power that they have, and especially Meryn being a descendant of the gods, would extend their life. Rachel: I think that that makes sense. I do just worry. Like, is that really a happy ending then? Because then... Then, Meryn is really just a blip in Saela's life. Kate: Aww. That's so sad. Rachel: and in Venna's Now everybody that Meryn loves other than Stark ⁓ is a siphon. Kate: what a bummer. ⁓ hadn't thought about that. ⁓ mean, who knows? Again, as a descendant of the gods, mean, maybe Meryn ⁓ have a very long life if she's not, you know, murdered. Rachel: I know. Right. I don't know. I think there's a good chance that her and Stark somehow... I would not be surprised if we go to the underworld in book three and we go there and see it happen. Like not that they just die and disappear and come back to life. Like in this book, I think that I could see us traveling to the underworld. Kate: I mean, I've been doing some research about Hades and Persephone, so we'll get to that. Not in this episode. Rachel: ⁓ okay. ⁓ okay. ⁓ okay everybody. Tune in next week because apparently we've got some Hades and Persephone to tune into. I will say though, I think everything's going to the underworld. That's my theory about Empyrean series too. That's typically my theory once the gods get involved is that we're getting an underworld scene. Kate: I mean, that makes sense. And, you know, we do often feel like we're in hell anyway, so... Rachel: Mmm. Kate: and our fantasy books do tend to mirror current events a little too closely. So I guess we're all going to hell now. Rachel: ⁓ somebody needs to write us a fantasy book about getting the hell off this timeline. Kate: Please and thank you. Rachel: The group gathers in the garden courtyard to depart. Meryn is distraught about leaving Saela with her father, the man who abandoned them, and threatens him that he better be the best father ever for Saela or she'll end him for real. This is so real, and while I don't agree with Fredrich's choices, I am happy to see he gets a second chance with Saela, but only because Saela needs that so bad. Kate: I'm happy for Saela, but I would not begrudge Meryn if she wanted to stay mad at him forever because I think I will. Rachel: Yeah, big same. He begs her to make sure Ruby is safe, and he explains that while the love he had for Meryn's mother was real, his relationship with Ruby is different. Quote, it's written onto my soul. It's a type of love I didn't know was even possible until her. This line is beautiful, but still fuck him. While he clarifies that it's beyond the sire bond, do you really know for sure? That's the issue with these types of bonds. And if a friend shared something like this, I think you would get it and be able to be there for them, but for a parent, it's just... infuriating. I wonder if either of the authors from Sable Sorensen are children of divorce because it reminds me of that dynamic or even parents finding love again after one parent dies. Kate: I'm very fortunate enough to not have any experience with either of those things. But from my perspective, finding love again, or as he describes it, even a deeper love is not nearly as troubling or hard to swallow as the abandonment. That's the point that I keep coming back to. like, feel like Meryn could even get past him ⁓ of moving on from the love that he had for her mother. ⁓ it weren't for the fucking abandonment. It was so egregious, you know? Like it was, just moved on and pretended like they never even existed, not ever checking up on them. ⁓ we talked about before and they were suffering. They were suffering so bad. Like Meryn had to like sacrifice basically to provide for them. She was in fucking Fight Club every night ⁓ providing. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: for the family that he abandoned. Meanwhile, you know, her mom was going mad and, you know, she was just doing everything that she could to keep Saela happy and in school and, you know, so like, that's the part, right? It's not that he found a love that he didn't feel with their mom, to me. I mean, it's like, yeah, I'm sure that that hurts. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: but I feel like it's something that she could eventually get past because there is only so much control that you have over who you love, I think. But you can certainly control who you abandon. Rachel: Yes, that's true. You are being a very and mature person in ⁓ your ⁓ on Fredrich because let's get into it. Quote, he may have been a bad father, but he doesn't deserve to suffer because of it. End quote. Good for you, Meryn. Good for you, Kate. This couldn't be me. I'll tell you that. I think abandoning your wife and children to starve in the cold while you go hook up with some hot young thing in a beautiful warm vacation destination is a reason to suffer. And I hope we get a Fredrich sacrifice at the end of this because it's literally the only way that I'll forgive him. Kate: No, I 100 % agree with you. I'm not saying that he deserves any kind of grace at all. I'm saying that if it was just the fact that he moved on to somebody else, that could be forgivable, but what he did is not forgivable. Rachel: No, no, it would not be for- Okay, my issue is that she's eternally young and every day that I age, I think that this is striking ⁓ home a little bit too closely. Kate: Okay, this is that's a that's a different issue, Rachel. Okay, that Rachel: Like I just, no, like I cannot get over the fact that he left his wife normal, human, aging. I don't know if she was already starting to become delusional at this point, but struggling wife for this woman who looks as old as Meryn, so a 23-year-old, eternal 23-year-old. No, fuck you. Fuck you. Kate: So it does feel like maybe there's some personal emotions coming into your analysis of this, which is fair. Okay, well then fuck you then. I've been going gray since I was 19. Thanks mom for those genetics. Yes. You can see I have my... Rachel: Or my gray hair is showing. Nope, I don't have any, but... Wait, really? Kate: For anybody who's seeing the video, you can see I have a few like Strategos in my hair that ⁓ I've that ⁓ since I was ⁓ about ⁓ And I to dye it for a while, but honestly, like that is an exhausting hamster wheel that you can just never get off. So ⁓ I abandoned that. The way that Friedrich abandoned his family. Rachel: Yeah, and you're rocking them. ⁓ God, we really spiraled on that one. Kate: We're just always spiraling. Okay, that's the whole thing. That's what we do. And sometimes it's more coherent than others. Rachel: Saela gives Meryn the tear necklace. Apparently Lucien gave her a sire blocker in the form of a delicate gold chain that seems to be working. I am not sure that I trust this. This guy has such Eric Northman vibes and though I love him, I also feel like the chain... will potentially let him control her if she if he chooses to do so. Saela also gives Meryn their mother's journals. Hmm, this makes me think they might come into play in book three, likely for the Astreon-Nocturn-Lumina connection. Kate: Definitely. I mean, if the tower and the tears were so clearly illustrated in her journals, there's bound to be more godly knowledge to uncover there. Rachel: Yeah. Do you think that Lucien will seize control of Saela? Kate: I don't know. I'm still trying to decide if he is trustworthy or not. And honestly, I'm not sure. I think that he is ⁓ a very man and so inherently I distrustful, but ⁓ you know with his actions so far he has not really given us any reason to believe that he has true malicious intent. So I don't know. I think that it would be a real plot twist to me if he turned out to be really malicious, because going after Saela, you know, she's a kid, and so that would be pretty dark. Rachel: That's true. I think I made that note only on the first read. And then I left it in because I was like, he's so good. Because like I do like him. like him. Obviously, we love Lucien at this point. And I do ship him and Venna. But like, I don't know, I just feel like I definitely don't think his story is over. So I'm interested to see what could potentially happen in the next book. Kate: Yeah, I mean, I want to see more from him, but the fact that we definitely think that he's going to get with Venna, I would hope that they wouldn't put Venna with somebody really sus. So that's another reason that I'm kind of leaning away from him being very malicious. ⁓ He's still clearly manipulative, you know? ⁓ Rachel: Yeah. Kate: But again, maybe not in a super malicious way, just in a like, well, I'm used to getting my way. Rachel: Mm-hmm. I've been getting my way for a thousand years. Kate: Yeah, exactly. Rachel: Lucien appears and he's throwing quite the fit. So let's have a moment for the fashion. He's got on a high neck tunic. You know, they love their high necks and it's black, but with hints of colors in the light and glittery stitching and shoulders that curve upward like blades. I'm not sure what this means. do you think these are like sharp shoulder pads? Kate: Don't hate me. I'm gonna bring up Avatar the last Airbender again. Because I'm not. I'm not kidding. only because it's one of the only references that I have to ⁓ like something that kind of resembles this because they have some like uniforms that they wear in that show that have these like kind of sculpted shoulder things. Rachel: Are you kidding me? Kate: And so that's kind of what I'm picturing with this is they're like very kind of structural shoulder pads that are like kind of swoop up. Rachel: Okay. was thinking that he wants to like cosplay a pirate, like the more we talk about it, I feel like it's like giving Michael Jackson. Kate: You It's very theatrical. Yes, it's very dramatic, very, it doesn't sound very practical, but. Rachel: Yeah. It doesn't seem like something you'd wear on your yacht. Kate: ⁓ but doesn't it? Doesn't it sound like a yacht outfit? It doesn't sound like a pirate ship outfit, but it does sound like a yacht outfit. Rachel: ⁓ like a yacht party. Kate: Yeah, because it's flashy as hell. Rachel: Yeah, that's true. And Elias is in Astreonan leathers, which apparently means that it has gaps in vital places, and a deep blue shirt with billowy sleeves. So Elias is in his assless chaps, and I feel like, you know, he's going for sexy pirate. Elias certainly is with his billowy sleeves, but I just can't stop thinking about the Seinfeld puffy shirt in reference to Elias's outfit. Kate: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Like he's trying too hard and he's trying to make it work. Doesn't really work. Rachel: Venna while Elias rides with Noemi. And Anassa refused to seat Lucien when he initially came to her. This is shocking to me. I would have assumed that the direwolves would never consider letting siphon ride them. Kate: I do think that it's possible our understanding of a direwolf personality is very much crafted by the only two direwolves whose thoughts and emotions we've been given access to so far. Other direwolves possibly ⁓ might not as intense as Anassa and Cratos who are arguably the most powerful and in Anassa's case, oldest wolves in Nocturna. They're very intense, very aggressive wolves. It's possible that other wolves are maybe a little bit more chill. Rachel: Mmm. Maybe, but they're all... they've all spent their entire life fighting siphons. Kate: But they're also very intelligent and they know that these siphons are not going to hurt them. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, that's true. ⁓ This was also Lucien and Venna's one horse or one wolf moment. Kate, we are watching the slow burn heat up. There's this line that Lucien is staring at Venna like he wants her throat under his fangs. And I think this tells us everything we need to know about these two. Kate: I just really hope that we get some kind of POV chapters from them in the next book because I, this is a slow burn, I don't really want to be on the sidelines watching this one. I want to get some of their perspective. Rachel: I know, if we just like find out that they're together and we don't see any of it happen, like if it's like an Izabel Tomison situation, we're climbing poles. Kate: Like I don't want Nevah to tell me about how she's seen Venna's boobs all the time because and ⁓ are getting it on constantly. Like I want to see that. ⁓ Rachel: And Lucien wants us all to see that. Kate: Yeah, he is definitely an exhibitionist. So, you know, I'm just saying I if we're going to get this love story like we think that we're going to, I want it to be out in the open. Rachel: wonder if we're getting different POVs in book three. Like there's gonna be so much happening in Astreona. I wonder if we would potentially get a POV of like Lucien or Venna or Saela Kate: I hope so. mean, I don't really care if we get Saela's point of view, I would like to get Lucien's point of view. Rachel: Their journey with the Siphons is much more pleasant than their way into Astreona. Meryn and Stark unfortunately both sleep poorly and she assumes it's due to coping with Siegrid's death. Or is it the Who that comes with? Kate: Maybe. Rachel: When they make it to the sea, get this moment where Meryn is brought to tears because she's never seen the ocean before and it's endless expanse. And this is a reminder that Meryn grew up poor poor. She was not vacationing during the summer. Kate: I don't remember the first time that I saw the ocean. I just know that I was really young. I mean, we both grew up not that far from the coast, but I'm really curious what it's like for someone to see it for the first time as an adult. Like, I just imagine that to be very overwhelming. And I think that I would be absolutely terrified of the ocean if I had no experience with it and only saw it for the first time as an adult. And especially from Meryn's perspective, like, you know, we have videos, we have photos, like you can get a good sense of the ocean without seeing it in person. I mean, it's very different, but like Meryn, maybe she saw it in a painting, you know, before, but like she has no context really for what the ocean really is and to see it in person and then to have to be on a boat ⁓ ocean. Like, I would be absolutely shitting my pants. Rachel: Yeah, yeah, that's totally fair. Like you said, if you grew up going to the beach and seeing the ocean as a child, it definitely becomes part of like your understanding of the world. Yeah, I could definitely see that being overwhelming as an adult to see the first time. Like even though I've grown up, like you said, seeing it once a year, maybe multiple times a year, I still have moments where I get overwhelmed looking at the ocean and thinking about how I'm just a speck of dust in the universe. Kate: ⁓ yeah, well especially the times where I've been in the ocean and like you can't, you're on a boat and you can't see shore any direction that you look and you're like truly surrounded. That's scary. Okay. Rachel: I don't think I've ever been in that situation. Have you been on a cruise or is that not what you're talking about? Kate: Yeah, I have been on a cruise before. Yeah. And it's a lot to just be fully surrounded by it. So yeah, even pretty comfortable with the ocean as a concept, I guess, I'd still get overwhelmed by the expanse of it. It's crazy. anyway, just saying, Meryn is being super chill about this. I mean, she's crying. Rachel: haha Kate: but it doesn't seem like it's out of fear, it's out of like this awe that I think she feels. So if I was in her shoes, I would be terrified. Rachel: Yeah, yeah. Well, anchor's up! It's time to set sail! And we get some very funny interactions on Lucien's yacht. First of all, Lucien is totally living his best yacht life as we expected. Cratos doesn't mind the boat and is trying to catch sea creatures. Meryn and Anassa are of course seasick ⁓ the ocean really did them dirty. ⁓ now Meryn's tears are for a very specific reason. And there's a moment where Stark uses shade bending to hold Meryn's hair back while she voms over the side of the boat. Kate: you Rachel: During all of this, Lucien, as we said, is like living his best life and driving them crazy. But Meryn won't let Stark try to kill Lucien, so instead Stark just stares at him with a creepy murder smile. And we get this line, Sturmfrost, make him stop that. That made me laugh out loud when I read it. Kate: But as if Meryn has ever been successful ⁓ any Stark's facial she complained for the entire ⁓ first book that was scowling and glaring at her. ⁓ But a murder does not really ⁓ feel like something we've gotten from Stark before. We get scowls, we get glares, you know. Rachel: You Kate: That's usually his MO. So this murder smile feels a little bit more Nocturn than Stark. Rachel: That is such a good point. And I think we get another clue here as well regarding Stark's relationship with Nocturn. When he's holding Meryn's hair back with his shadows, she mentions how he's mastered shade bending in just a week, compared to her, still hasn't and would probably blow them all up if she tried something like this. So not only does it give us a hint that Stark has a special relationship with his powers, and therefore nocturn, but possibly some more insight into Meryn's Why are her powers stronger but more volatile? Is it because Stark has the shadow god in him while Meryn is an unwieldy baby god? Kate: I mean, I think that makes sense, right? Like Stark has, I mean, not only has Stark also kind of been training for this for a lot longer than she has, even if he doesn't have the power, he's at least been prepared to have the power for longer. But, ⁓ but yeah, I mean, it would make sense that Nocturn influencing him and like giving him more of this control because yeah, like ⁓ the control to just pull, ⁓ know, Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: some hold some of her hair back without like yanking her entire skull back. Meryn could never at this point. She would she would rip somebody's head off if she tried to hold their hair. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yep, yep, she sure would, as we saw. Every time she's used her shadow powers. Kate: Yeah, we've seen her do that a few times. Rachel: They reach their foggy destination and a wall of cloud appears to stretch from sky to wave. But on the bright side, Meryn can hear whispers and moisture gathers on her skin that immediately cures her seasickness. This is a sign that it's good magic, right? Right? Not so fast. Because as they are staring at the tower, suddenly Lucien screams, shit, and turns the wheel as fast as he can. Brace. He yells, because massive spiky rocks are sticking out of the water, which were masked by the fog. As the boat abruptly turns, they all go flying very dramatically, but everyone does survive. Since they can't approach by boat, Anassa suggests that they swim and Meryn panics because she's never swam before in her life. Again, she's poor and grew up in constant winter. This poor girl, what a way to go for your first swim. Kate: Again, just absolutely terrifying. Like, I just, no thank you. No thank you. Rachel: ⁓ the wolves riders agree that this is the best way to approach the tower. So, Meryn leaves her crown on the ship, which seems insane. ⁓ Surely you a pocket. But she leaves it on the ship and they jump in. Kate: I I don't understand that either. Her crown gives her added power and she has no idea what they're about to face on this island. Couldn't she have like tied it to herself somehow? Like what is that decision making to leave her one of her most powerful weapons basically behind as they go trek to this mysterious magical island? Like what? Rachel: Yeah, I mean, it would be worst case scenario if it just fell into the water. So like, I do get it, but leaving it with Lucien seems like a terrible idea. Kate: I mean, yeah. It just, you know, again, it just feels like they could have secured it to her somehow, you know. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, somehow. There had to be somehow. There had to be a way somehow. Kate: Yeah. Whatever. Rachel: Doesn't matter, she couldn't even really use her powers on the island anyway, as we'll see in a moment. Kate: True. Rachel: They eventually make it to shore after a near death moment for Noemi when she's separated from her direwolf, Ephyse But Cratos and Stark come to her rescue. On land, Meryn is basically dying of hypothermia and tries to nudge Meryn closer to her concerned. Her lips are blue and she's weighed down by her wet clothes, weak and unable to move. But suddenly the magical sauna turns on and she feels a warmth come over her body. The stones beneath her hands grow warm and she quickly dries. And as the wolves shake their fur, it suddenly becomes light and fluffy. It seems to be a sentient magical island testing and rewarding them. This is fun whimsical magic. Or is it? ⁓ It's time for our magical trials! Let's go! The island consists of a rocky hill up to the tower carved directly into the stone, and as they ascend, something keeps shifting in Meryn's vision and she realizes the stones are moving, which is giving Hogwarts staircases. When they arrive at the tower's door, there is a poem inscribed clearly describing each of the packs. Kryptos, Daemos, Phylax and Strategos. Inside the door, the spiral staircase leads down, not up, and is illuminated from a blue light, seemingly coming from the stones. Kate, is this the moment we are waiting for when the runes finally mean something? No, is not. Instead, it's some kind of pack pack-coded reality TV show version of the Sorcerer's Stone, where each room holds a challenge designed to test the strength of each pack. Kate: At this point, I was honestly getting a little bit annoyed ⁓ by the number of Harry Potter references in this book. Like honestly, I just want to move past that era. I don't feel like we need to keep bringing these same things up that are very, like you said, Hogwarts coded, right? And I think that we can just be more creative than that at this point. You know, let's move on from that, can we? for so many reasons. Rachel: I'm sorry, I can't help but point it out, I'm sorry. Kate: Well, no, I mean, I'm saying it's it's glaringly obvious the references, right? That's why I was annoyed by the, you know, the story at this point, not that you recognize them, because, I saw it too. And it was I was like, Come on. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Well, that's why I'm positioning them as more of a reality TV show. And behind door number one is the Kryptos challenge. Suddenly everyone other than Venna loses their powers. The first room is full of obstacles they need to avoid while remaining silent which they learn because when Venna tosses a button into the room, a stone rips from the wall to smash the button the moment it hits the floor. Good thing they all learn sign language, at least partially. Slowly they navigate through the dark room. At one point, it's too dark to see and Venna manages to manipulate the faint blue light to guide their way. Once they make it out of the trial, she explains to Meryn that it's the opposite of shadow bending, where she repels the light where she wants it to go. Will Meryn be able to do this magic? I'm assuming Venna won't be able to in book three, but there has to be a reason that we're learning this type of power at this point in the book. Kate: assume that there's pretty much no power that Meryn won't have access to in some way. Like your original theory from Direbound, you know, of like she has all of pack powers, that's obviously true. I just feel like she has access to pretty much everything, especially with the goddess tears. Rachel: Well, this will be interesting. Well, I'm excited to see how she uses this power in the next book then, because we only see Venna move a small amount of light, but it would be interesting to see like somehow Meryn manipulate light to make it like... I don't know, like a beacon more than a flashlight, you know what mean? Kate: Yes, and ⁓ you that going to have ⁓ kind of more expanded wielding abilities, if the big in the next book is going to be Nocturn, who's a shadow ⁓ wielder, right? That's like main ⁓ power that he is the shadows ⁓ the key to Nocturn to up the light a little bit. Rachel: Kate, I think that's it. I don't even think it's a light thing. I think it's literally moving the shadows, right? so describes shadowbending as sort of pulling the shadows into her so that she can hide within them. And the way that she's able to bring the light in is that she's pushing the shadows away. So if what you're saying is that Meryn has that power, it's not even about bringing the light in, it's about pushing Nocturn's powers away. That will be really cool to see. Kate: I mean, those dots connect, so put it on our board. Rachel: Yeah. It's on the board. So, okay. Talking this is making me less annoyed about this point in the book because now I'm wondering if it's a tool to teach us about the powers so that we can try to connect the dots between which god owns which power. Because if they're all rent from Meryn and she has both Lumina and Nocturn's powers, I don't know. It's interesting. Or, okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Do all of the powers in the Daemos pack come from Nocturn and all of the other packs powers come from Lumina? Kate: Maybe? But... Rachel: Cause they're more like positive powers. Kate: I mean, I guess so. But the fact that Kryptos has shadowbending... Rachel: But they're bending it. But you're right. You're right. You're right. Kate: Also, you don't want to get me started on bending because guess what the powers are called in Avatar The Last Airbender. Rachel: ⁓ no. ⁓ no, I guess I should guess from the title. Kate: Yep, they're benders. They are benders, Rachel. Rachel: Door number two is Daemos, which of course leads to a classic stark jaw tick. And this room includes a riddle on a timer because the walls are closing in on them. Quote, strength is fire and loyalty light both make the hand that wins the fight. There are fire illuminated symbols on the walls, but which will free them. Stark and the wolves hold the walls back, but Stark is starting to lose, screaming in pain. Meryn realizes his loyalty is the core of his strength. and screams that they need to find a crown, but not the one that shows someone squeezing the crown so tightly that it will draw blood. They find one that looks like a hand open holding the crown like an offering. And when Meryn chooses it, the walls stop and the door flings open. This was interesting. I don't think we've ever seen the Daemos strength depicted like this. I thought of them as warriors, but not necessarily just brute strength. The combination of strength and loyalty really makes them seem just like mindless lunks. Kate: or like giant angry dogs like wolves perhaps. I mean dogs are very loyal. Rachel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kate: And so if you just kind of amp that up a little bit, I feel like you just get the wolves. Rachel: Yeah, yeah. So are you saying that the Daemos pack is the most closely connected to the wolves? Kate: I mean, if you're that Daemos is with Nocturn, that would make sense. Rachel: Okay, interesting! Interesting, I like that. Kate: I'll let you spiral about that one for next time. Rachel: Room number three is Phylax, which is just a massive chasm disappearing into the fog. They stand on a ledge and across the room there is another with a very narrow strip of stone between them. And we're crossing the parapet, but it's unstable and Noemi will need to reinforce it with her Phylax magic. She makes it across and demands Stark, the heaviest, go next while she's strongest. Though they beg Meryn to go after him, she demands that Venna cross first. It shifts precariously while Venna is on it and Noemi falls to her knees, but she manages to hold it and Skaia Venna's wolf, leaps to safety followed by Meryn and Anassa. Is this foreshadowing Venna's death? Kate: Maybe, but I mean, as we know, we're still gonna get a beautiful, well, as we hope, I guess, we're still gonna get a beautiful love story between her and Lucien, so. Rachel: I meant Venna's death in this book. Like, is it foreshadowing? Kate: ⁓ her like, her like, kind of her death before resurrection again. ⁓ yeah, maybe. Rachel: Yes. And the last room is Strategos It's an empty room other than a stone altar in the middle with a dagger on it. A poem reveals that one of them needs to die or they all will as gas fills up the room. Venna offers herself, but Meryn refuses. after conferring with Anassa, Meryn drives the blade into her own heart. When Anassa realizes Meryn's intent and tries to stop her, sending her images of her mother and father killed for the throne, her lonely years, her yearning for Meryn, and telling her that Nocturna needs her, that was emotional for me. As much as I love Anassa, I was kind of excited for this book to take a Ned Stark turn. Like, what if they were setting up Saela to be the last Sturmfrost? finally uniting the two nations. But like, also didn't really believe it, you know? Kate: Yeah, I mean, this was one of those moments where, knowing exactly how much of the book that I had left really influenced what I thought was going to happen, because there was just too much book left for me to feel like Meryn was actually about to die, because I feel like if she was truly going to die and it was going to be like a Ned Stark moment, that would be like an end of book cliffhanger in my mind. But Rachel: Mm-hmm. No, I know. didn't really ⁓ it either. ⁓ was just the part with Anassa that kind of got me that I was like, ⁓ ⁓ maybe, because I'm very sad right now. Kate: So it would make sense if they just piled it on and killed the main character. Rachel: Yes, because I was not sad when Izabel died, like at all. I thought that it was like, like it was on page, but I almost felt like it happened off page with how it was written. Like it wasn't, it just happened. I don't know. Kate: I know, I really didn't care. I also, I mean, we talked about this before, I just didn't really have very strong feelings toward Izabel in general. So like even from the first book, just, yeah, she just wasn't a character that I was that invested in. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, no, I know what mean. And I guess I shouldn't say that it happened off page. Like it happened on page. We watched every single thing happen. I just, there was something about the way that this was written with Anassa's story that just got me. I don't know. Maybe it's cause she's a dog. Kate: You do have a soft spot. You have your own at home. Rachel: Yeah. Well, and they always like, if a dog dies in a movie, it's like sadder than a human. Like that's like a thing that people say. Kate: Well, and also just, yes, which I've experienced, it's true, but it also just like the kind of impact of how many years Anassa spent alone. it was, there was a lot of impact there, I think. Rachel: Exactly. Yeah. and we're thrown into a Stark POV, confirming that Meryn did in fact sacrifice herself, as foreshadowed in the chapter where he became Sovereign Alpha and he wondered what it would feel like if Meryn died. He watches the blade in Meryn's chest light up and then disappear, and he feels Cratos' as Anassa dies too. Stark's vision slips and Cratos' whine is all he hears as he lies down in Meryn's blood next to her. But what? We're somehow in Meryn's POV. Although she now considers Meryn Sturmfrost a stranger. my God, are we getting a trip to the underworld? Kate: Like I said, I am very interested in this potential underworld. I'm starting to dig into some of the mythology around Hades and Persephone, specifically because it's one of the instances of a god imprisoning another god. So I might have some more myth-based theories for our next episode. Rachel: Well, we're not going there now Meryn hears Stark and she forces herself somehow to breathe. And then she says, hi. Hello, resurrection trope. ⁓ Kate: you Rachel: And everyone is mad at her. Welcome back from the dead, friend! can't believe you offed yourself without talking to us. But, Meryn says, this was Strategos' role to be the strategist and leader, sacrificing themselves when necessary. They're in the same room, but not the same location. They're surrounded by windows on the top of the tower, and Noemi explains they fell up when Meryn died. I like this kind of magic. This is fun. Kate: I like it too. I like magic that's not just in the context of combat or like people, ⁓ you know, just defying the laws of physics kind of magic fun. ⁓ Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's it's whimsy. Like nothing makes me happier than a teacup stirring itself. And this is like the same vibe. Kate: I mean, except for the giant pool of blood in the middle of the room. Rachel: Well, yeah, yeah, that. ⁓ They search the room for the tear and after scrubbing away her blood, Meryn finds the mosaic from her vision, but it's different from what she saw. There's no goddess tear in sight. Her friends look at her distant and she feels hopeless. So taking a page out of Stark's book, she lays down in the blood and cries. And with every tear drop, the blood clearing the floor and revealing a beautiful, colorful mosaic. Finally, as all the blood clears, she sees the opal is there. Meryn uses a cloth to pick up the opal, not feeling strong enough to withstand a vision. The fact that Lumina was not in this tower like Meryn expected and that Meryn's tears revealed the goddess tear really makes me think that she is now Lumina. Like, Lumina is inside her. What do you think? Kate: mean that was our theory from last book, right? That Meryn is the faceless goddess. I feel like it's still valid. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, it's time to leave the tower and they depart easily. There are steps to take out of the tower and all of the fog has cleared. Back on the boat, they debate their next move as tensions grow between Stark and Lucien. Meryn absentmindedly grabs the tear in her pocket and when she does, shadows fly out of her hand, uh-oh, toward the tower. As they travel, the shadows turn to fractals of colorful light. And when they hit the tower, a bell rings out hurting everyone's ears. And then suddenly plants bloom into life. This tear has the power of creation. And suddenly, Meryn remembers her vows from her coronation, and she realizes they were a list of the tears. Each time she was anointed signified how many tears there were. With my power, I shall rule for all, twice for two crowns. I will keep my people first as I create. This is the new tear. And destroy. Uh-oh. My heart will aim to protect instead of harm. Twice, the two necklaces. The final tear is destruction. So they need to find it before Killistair or they're all doomed. Now we have essentially all of the information of the types of tears. What are your thoughts on these types of magical battery packs? Kate: Honestly, at this point, I was just so curious about the origins of the tears and just how that's connecting back to the backstory of the gods. And again, I'm just circling back to I want to know more about these gods because I love mythology. That's the vibes that I'm getting here. I want to hear all about their messy infighting and like all of the drama between the gods. So. I was just thinking about how, you know, these different visions that they're getting that are kind of hinting at the tears, but also just some general kind of, I don't know if their memories or, you know, just the visions of the gods. I just want more of that right now. And I want to fill in all of these gaps that we have. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. They head to their rooms and Stark is livid, ignoring Meryn as he goes to his own room. As she lays in bed, Stark suddenly enters surveys her messy room. shirt and tosses it into mess and then gets into bed with her. Despite being livid with her, Stark needs to sleep with Meryn to ensure she doesn't end up in the shadow world with Killistair. Accepting and adding to the mess feels important as well. He's accepting who she is. They fall asleep as Meryn mentally thinks loving thoughts to Stark. And they wake in the middle of the night when she realizes the boat has rocked her on top of him and she's rocking back and forth. She moves to roll off of him, feeling that it's wrong to hump a sleepy man, but he wraps himself around her. Well, I like that Meryn is pro-consent in every way. Kate: Yes, that's the right thought to have. Rachel: When Meryn confronts him that he's angry with her, he urges her to open their connection and heartbreak rushes in. Meryn sees Stark's memories and experiences his perspective of the day's events. She realizes that what she thought was anger was actually fear and heartbreak. Stark feels like he failed to protect her, even though Meryn insists that he did nothing wrong and the choice was hers to make. And then... Spicy time! Kate, do you want to break down our spicy scene for us? Kate: I'm going to shock you here, but actually, no, I think I'm going to save this for our next episode. I hate to be a tease, but this upcoming scene is my favorite spicy scene in the book, maybe even one of my favorite spicy scenes from any romantasy that I've read. Honestly, it's very good. It's very good. So I want to give it proper time and attention. think I'll just give you a few glimpses at what we're in store for. So they maintain their mental connection that allows them to see and feel through each other's eyes. And that is what makes the scene so special because you're getting this very unique experience through both of their perspectives and that shared connection. And then Meryn initially thinks that this connection and having all these additional perspectives of everything from Stark is weird, but Stark says, don't deny me the chance to show you how you look, how you taste, how you feel to me. And Meryn's like, okay. And we get a fuck it from Meryn. And I'll leave it there for now. I can't wait to get into all the juicy details next week. Rachel: Okay, all right, leaving us with a little cliff hanger, a little, what did you tell us it was called last week? Kate: ⁓ yeah, I'm you guys blue balls. ⁓ Epidydymal hypertension is the medical term for what I just did to you. I'm sorry. Rachel: All right. Alright, Kate is hyper diddle middle epher temple us Nope, that's not right. Kate: Nope, no you got it. I think that's it. Rachel: All right, well, if we're not getting spicy time, I guess we can at least get some tropes. So should we count them down? All right, we've got magical trials times bazillion. Kate: Go for it. you Rachel: We've got Fuck It, we've got Precocious Child, and we've got the Resurrection trope Kate, I think we have a little bit of time. ⁓ We played a game in a while. So now that we've seen more of the pack powers in practice, I'd like to know which power would you rather have? ⁓ And pack do you think you'd belong to? Are they the same? Kate: So I think that I, I think that I would be in Strategos mostly because I overthink everything and I'm very, I'm like a pretty anxious person and I feel like that fits a little bit more with Strategos. Also like, like I said, I already have the hair streak so I feel like it fits and I just love kind of getting into all the strategy and that kind of stuff. I'm definitely more of a strategist than I am like a warrior, you know? So I feel like that would work. And I like the ⁓ the foresight that they get with strategos. So I think that my the power that I want would also align with the pack that I would end up being in. ⁓ Because again, I feel like that foresight would help Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: ease my anxiety sometimes. Potentially. What about you? Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm jealous that you have a pack and you've already been chosen and you even have your streak, like you said, to prove it. ⁓ I would like foresight. I agree that I would like foresight. we know that it can be unreliable. And so I think that I would want a more practical power. So. I'm going to start with what pack do I think I belong to. And while I have said that I begrudgingly work out and do not claim gym girl, I do think that I might be a Daemos based purely on the rage. Kate: Hahaha Rachel: because I think I do have Daemos rage. And I will pick a battle. It's just not a physical one. Kate: ⁓ yeah, you. I see that. You do when they say, when they say pick your battles, Rachel says, I pick them all. Rachel: Oil? I'm loyal though. So I feel like that fits. ⁓ But you know what powers I would like? ⁓ I want Kryptos powers I am nosy. Kate: Yeah, that tracks. That, yeah. That would be fun. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: to be able to be super sneaky. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, that would be fun. And also apparently, like, shine flashlights in people's eyes. now that we know it works that way. Kate: So you just, you just want to be, you just want to be an annoying sneak with rage problems. Rachel: Wait a second, now that we know that Venna can do that, I know we're assuming that she's gonna lose her powers, but if she doesn't lose her powers, I feel like she's going to just torture Lucien with them. Kate: Again, that would be fun because he could he could use being brought down a peg, you know. Rachel: That choice of words also made me think of something else that he could use. Kate: Another kind of peg. Rachel: And hopefully we get a Lucien POV or no, hopefully we get a Venna POV, think. Kate: Are you saying you want to get a POV of Venna pegging Lucien? Rachel: I didn't say that, but if you insist. Kate: She won't turn it down. Rachel: You Kate: on that note. ⁓ Let's wrap this up. ⁓ What you reading this week? Yeah, think people ⁓ people would us to leave. So ⁓ what are you reading? Rachel: We've overstayed our welcome at this point, I think. Well, I'm in between books because I just finished one and now it's time to start another and I am going to be starting. can you see this? Finally, There's by Arsyn Quinn. So ⁓ this a book ⁓ that friends over at Ax Harlston sent me and I will also be sending your way as soon as I'm done. But yeah, they picked this up at Apollycon and thought of us and our dark ways, so. Kate: Yes. Rachel: they know we like a nice spicy book. They know we like them dark and they said, know what, Kate and Rachel need these. I also got some fun art along with it. Kate: Show us, show us the art. Rachel: All right, if you have not been watching us on video, this is your sign that maybe you should. So this first picture shows a woman in a chair, all sorts of bloody, with three men standing around her, and I assume she's gonna do it with all of them. Kate: That's a fun assumption. I hope you're right. Rachel: One man has a knife, one man has a knife, one man has a mask, and the one in the back seems like he probably likes a cuck chair. I don't know, that's a guess. I haven't read the book yet. He's just giving cuck chair. Kate: you Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Rachel: I can't show you the next picture. don't think it's a little, well, let's see if I can. I'm going to try to strategically, I was going to say strategosly. I'm going to try to strategically cover up some things, but there's three people here. Kate: You Oh wow, that's quite a long finger you have there. Rachel: And finally, ⁓ Finally, we have this picture, which for those of you not watching, shows a man choking a woman. And what I have behind it, I cannot show you. But he's choking her, he's shirtless, he's got jeans on, and she has a dress on. Behind it is the same thing, but the clothes are gone. So. Kate: ⁓ damn. Rachel: Ax Harlston really treated us to not only some books, but some fun ⁓ art goodies to go with it. Kate: We love bookmail. Rachel: And we love gifts. I said, how many times? I love a little treat. And it's so nice that we have friends that send them to us. Kate: Lovely. Alright, so again, that book was finally theirs. Rachel: Finally, There's by Arsyn Quinn. Kate: And it's a why choose, I'm assuming, from the artwork that came with it. Rachel: Yes, it's a why choose dark romance. Kate: Awesome. Well, look, definitely interested to hear what you think of that one. ⁓ yes, I will be borrowing that one when you're done. So I just finished Hunted by the Fae Duke by Kris K. Haines, which is a book that we've been talking about for a few weeks now, and I just devoured it. Like, it's so good. I mean, Rachel, you know this. You also loved it. Rachel: Mm-hmm. obsessed. It's new book boyfriend, right? New book boyfriend. Kate: Yes, yeah, Lachlan. Cannot wait for you guys to meet him. ⁓ The book comes out on June 4th, so mark your calendars for that. ⁓ And then we have a special interview with Kris that will be dropping on June She was kind enough to sit down for a little chat with us. ⁓ that'll be coming out June 11th, and then we will be following that with a single episode deep dive of the book. So mark your calendars. We're very excited about that. This book was very good. And also, I do love a standalone sometimes, you know, you don't have to commit to an entire series for this one, one and done, and it's great. Rachel: So as Kate said, put it on your calendars. All right, should we get out of here? Kate: I think so Rachel: See you next week. Kate: Bye.