Transcript
Speaker: you
Speaker: Welcome to the Britannia Library. are your librarians, Brittany and Chandler. Every week we will be recapping and discussing our current read, anything from the latest trends to longtime favorites. Depending on our selection, we'll cover it over multiple episodes, so be sure to stick around to hear the full story. We have started our next read, Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig.
Speaker: This is the final book in the Shepard King duology.
Speaker: Spoiler alert, we will be discussing what happens in the book. If you wish to read along, this book is already broken into three parts. Part one will cover up to chapter 17. You're welcome to read and come back to listen to our thoughts or follow along now.
Speaker: Also, a bit of a PG-13 warning here for some foul language and ritual themes. There's definitely more foul language in this one than ever. Definitely, yes. yes on earth So some trigger warnings for this book include violence, death, mental health,
Speaker: abuse, alcoholism, poisoning, and abandonment. So the book actually starts with a prologue from Elspeth's point of view. And love the way that she does this book. We're getting three different point of views throughout the entire book.
Speaker: Yes, rotating POVs. I love it. So Elspeth is actually floating in an endless sea of darkness. She feels nothing, no pain, no time passing, literally nothing, but a repeating thought of let me out.
Speaker: And even attempting to speak is kind of painful for her, but she says the words over and over for however long she kind of floats there. Yeah, she like forces it once and it like kills her throat, but she just keeps saying it out because that's the and she can say. it's Like the only thought she say. The only word. yeah Literally, it's let me out.
Speaker: Suddenly, a black beach appears and Elspeth is kind of pulled towards it, like the tides like kind of bringing her in, it seems. And a man in golden armor is there watching her. Oh my god. She's only able to yell out, let me out, and begins to sink, but the man pulls her from the water.
Speaker: He addresses her by her name, full name, Elspeth Spindle, and says, we've been waiting for her. Okay, Shepard King. We see you. Okay.
Speaker: So now into part one to bleed. Ooh, ominous. Ominous. And a we start with Raven's point of view. So Raven is actually using the mirror card as he digs in the chamber of the old castle.
Speaker: He couldn't sleep with the memory of Elspeth telling him that the shepherd king was buried underneath there. So he left stone for Castle Yu to check for himself. Yeah. Obviously, I would too. He literally like woke in the middle of the night. like He's like, I rode as fast as possible. yeah over them I'm like, okay, crazy. Right.
Speaker: So after digging a while by hand, he actually cuts himself on something sharp and actually unearths a sword. He examines it and then notices the skeletal remains of the shepherd king, truly realizing the magic of blunder.
Speaker: she's He's like, oh my God, Elspeth was right. Yep. The nightmare is real. Magic is real. I mean, like, obviously knows magic real, but he's like, it's like real, real. It's real, real now. Yeah.
Speaker: So he leaves the room and is catching his breath outside when a voice calls out to him from the tree above. young girl, like 12 years old, with yellow eyes, sits perched on a tree branch. And Raven searches her clothes for like a family insignia because they always have like the branches. They always have the trees. But he finds nothing.
Speaker: She introduces herself as Tilly and he asks what she's doing there. She just says she's waiting and remains silent. When waving when Raven the weather isn't affecting her, she's a ghost. Yeah, like she's sitting on the branch and the wind is like pounding. It's like raining. Nothing. Her clothes aren't moving. Nothing. oh That's creepy.
Speaker: So he used the mirror card too long and asked if she knows who's buried in the room. And she says that she knows him well. He's a strange man. father is wary, clever, good.
Speaker: I mean, come on. Come on. Interesting, though, that the mantra that he has in the books is to be wary, clever, good. yeah And so he's like telling everyone to be like him.
Speaker: So she asks if you've seen him with the card that he promised to find us when he passed through. Okay. She explains that there are others that we...
Speaker: Her mother, I cannot remember how to say. Illick? Illick. That's right. Afton, Finley, Lenore, Bennett, who is not like the others because he didn't die there.
Speaker: um What? Yeah. So like all these kids and the mom are in this place because Bennett didn't die there. He's not. Yeah. That's what's weird.
Speaker: Interesting. It's so the The beginning of this book is very confusing. It is, because you're just like, boom, boom, boom. Things are happening right off the bat.
Speaker: So Tilly then recounts a night when she thought she heard her father's voice. Raven was there, along with Elspeth, who later returned alone. She returned twice, actually, humming while digging at the gravestone and wandering the ruins until dawn.
Speaker: when her eyes would change from yellow to charcoal. Isn't that wild? Like, literally, like, possessed. Yeah. i mean, we knew that, but, like... It was, like, the sleepwalking thing. Yeah. Yeah. But, like, still, the fact that had also been one of the ruins, because we only know the one time she woke up digging there, but she went twice, so there's a whole time she doesn't remember.
Speaker: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Raven remembers that night and his kiss with Elspeth, how she had pulled away. He questioned Tilly on her father's death, but she doesn't know as she was caught first. Yeah.
Speaker: That's so heartbreaking. She's maybe 12 years old. the The only good part that I see about this is that she didn't see any of her other family members die. Yeah, because literally the entire family.
Speaker: Yeah. So at at least she didn't have to experience that. Yeah. So she reveals it was a Rowan that killed her. That they waited a long time for the Shepard King, but will continue until his mission for balance is complete. Yeah, like they're going to keep waiting until he's He's good. And the shepherding wants to right his wrongs, you know, free blunder from the Rowan rule and to collect his due.
Speaker: She's so good at making it sound so ominous at the end of the chapters because it's like, oh my God, honestly. Because also now we have to wait another chapter to get back to Radon's point of view because we switch up and for chapter two, we get Elm's point of view. I love this. I'm so excited to get more from him. Okay. I told you elm was like my yes my favorite character in In one. Yeah. In the first one.
Speaker: And now, we are. I know, here we are Shut up, I'm saying it, okay? So Elm and a few other destructors are actually searching the Hawthorne house for any hidden confidence cards.
Speaker: Gorse, one of the direct... The directriors. I was going to say directors. Gorse, one of the destructors, finds a prophet hidden in a book in the library. Elm searches, but he stops when he comes to Elspeth's room. Yeah, he's kind of looking around. Yeah.
Speaker: But he's kind of stops, ah he stops looking at her room when he sees her looking glass and comb. Ione suddenly appears and tells him that there's nothing left of Elspeth here. who So he turns, actually drawing a blade to her throat before realizing that it's her. And he asks what she's doing there.
Speaker: And she said simply, you know, it's her home. Where else would I be? Yeah. Like, Ione, girl. Ma'am, do you not know danger? Do understand what's going on here? So Elm tells her that he could have killed her, but she quips back.
Speaker: I doubt that. Okay, ma'am. She's so sassy. So after Hoth had been attacked, Eric Spindle and Tiern Hawthorne were arrested.
Speaker: Jesper actually rode to Hawthorne house to warn Aunt Opal to leave, and Elm actually used his sights to compel Miriam and Nia and Demia to leave. So they basically sent all the family That they put a away, you know, to save them in quest, obviously.
Speaker: And Elma's obviously surprised to see that she hadn't run with the rest of her family and that she is actually still in using the maiden card. He tells her that it isn't safe for her to be there and she says her family just left without leaving a note.
Speaker: Hello. And I'm like so confused by this. Yeah, that's so weird. Gorse suddenly appears and she asks why they are here and where Hoth is.
Speaker: He tells her Elsworth attacked her fiancé and is now in a dungeon. He then tells her it's her family's fault for keeping her infection alive. ah Rude.
Speaker: I only ask what Hoth did to her and Gorse responds, nothing more than she deserved. I'm going to lose my mind. Wicker shows up, and now both Destriers have their hands on their swords. She tells them to back down, but Elm uses his scythe card to send Gorse and Wicker away.
Speaker: He's like, shut it down. Yeah, he's like, never mind, forget she's here. So Elm explains what Elspeth did to Hoth and all the gruesome details, and he tells her he'll have to take her to stone, but she doesn't really seem to care, even when he says that he's arresting her.
Speaker: And he questions her about using the the... maiden card again and she just kind of throws it back at him saying that he would benefit from it because he's got like dark circles under his eyes and stuff and then he asks if he has her charm and she pulls out a little horse tooth that was on a gold chain i think that's so cute yeah she then asks what has happened to the rest of her family and elm goes on to tell her where everyone is yeah She talks about how Elspeth kept so many secrets. She explained that Elspeth would sleepwalk and hum songs and that she would notice the yellow in her eyes. So you said we didn't know about her walking until that one time, but now. But apparently Ione's noticed a lot more than she's let on. let on.
Speaker: Intuitive. Mm-hmm. So Elm quickly says that he doesn't know anything about that, but she accuses him that he does because of the time they've spent together with Raven and Jesper at Castle He's like, come on, how do you not know any of that? She's like, I've seen y'all walking together. like i know y'all are buddies. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: So he suddenly gets a flash of pain, forgetting that he was using the scythe card, and releases the dustriors from the card. Elm puts her on her horse to take them back to stone. He hops on behind her and she leans into him. She doesn't look back at her home as they ride off.
Speaker: Ooh. Man. Again, ominous endings. Yep. And then chapter three, we get Elspeth's point of view again. Elspeth. Elspeth. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: So the man in armor actually introduces himself to Elspeth as, I think it's Amory. Amory? Amory. I didn't listen to the audio book on this part. And it's weird. It's A-E.
Speaker: I think it's Amory. I think it's Amory. Yeah. Which, notice, it's got Amory in there. You bitch. I'm sorry. ah No, that's actually a really good good catch.
Speaker: Keep going. So he introduces himself as Emery Percival Taxes and tells her that she'll remember in this place. So I pointed out Emery and Percival with a Y, Raven and Jesper both felt with a Y. I mean, I know it's probably like just the how they're languages back then but i'm just saying no i'm just making time connections here no i think i think these are just descend from the shepherd king but sorry continue no that wasn't really that was great my mind is just like yeah sorry i didn't mean to say it right there no it's okay it's a good sidetrack yeah
Speaker: So Taxus leaves and Elspeth tests out her name, only knowing it because he called her by it when they met. Yeah, she remembered it from the very beginning when came on the beach. And when he returns, she can't remember anything about him, so he offers to tell her our story of a girl, a king, and a monster they became.
Speaker: Ah, we love that story. Yeah, you know, the story that's at like the end of like six or seven chapters. Yes. yeah Chapter 4, we're back to Raven's point of view. Oh, thank God.
Speaker: Raven arrives at the dungeon and Jesper sneaks up on him and says she needs her help to use their skeleton keys to open the door that leads to the dungeon cells. Jesper warns him about going alone, but he insists on it, saying that the king wants to see Elspeth, but stutters and says he wants to talk about the Twin Elders card. Yeah, he's like, the king wants to see... He wants to see... her ah night they want They want to talk about the Twin Elders card. Yeah, because he doesn't know whether to call her Elspeth or the Nightmare, because Elspeth is gone. No. He's so distraught, baby.
Speaker: So Jesper questions Raven if he's all right with everything that's happened with Elspeth, but he brushes it off. ah But she reminds him that he that she can always... That he can always talk to her and is always right behind him. Yeah.
Speaker: She's like, I've always got your back. Yeah. well Sibling energy. They get to the door and they put both their keys in and then Raven goes forward alone. He tells Jesper to go get a chalice card and to meet her in the king's chamber.
Speaker: When he gets to the cell, he forgets for a moment that the woman he loves is no longer in her body. Yeah. He's like, it's hard seeing her in the cell. She's like laying on the floor flat, staring up at the ceiling, like psycho behavior.
Speaker: So the nightmare actually ignores him for a while, but then questions him if it was wise to come alone. But Raven is confident that he wouldn't hurt him, obviously. And then he uses the nightmare card to try to talk to Elspeth in the nightmare's mind.
Speaker: But the nightmare just asks back in his mind what he wants. Yeah. I'm like so sassy. Well, we already know that. we know He's been 500 years, du He gets he gets a He gets ass at being sassy, all right? Yeah. Okay.
Speaker: So he tells the Nightmare that the king wants to talk to him, but he requests two things before he takes him. He asks if he truly is the shepherd king, and he says that he was called that once, but then asks what Elspeth called him, and she and he says, she saw me for what I truly am, then speaks into his mind, Nightmare.
Speaker: Oh. ominous but in the middle this time that's one of my favorite interactions yeah i mean he asks if he knows where the twin alders card is and if the nightmare will take him to it the nightmare agrees to it but continues to speak in riddles using the quote you ask for the truth truth bends raven you you must all bend along with it if we do not well then we will break one of my favorite quotes mm-hmm He recites more of the old Book of Alders, saying that the card allows the user to speak to the spirit of the wood, how she guards it, and that there will be a price for obtaining the last card. o
Speaker: Raven says he will pay any price and warns the Nightmare that the card will belong to him and not the Nightmare when they get it. Raven's second condition is that he must be on his best behavior so that the king will allow Raven to take The Nightmare as well.
Speaker: The Nightmare asks if this means that the king agreed to his offer of trading his life for Emery's. And he tells him not completely, which is why it's important for him to behave. He's like, yeah, it's why you have your best behavior because he don't trust to you. Exactly. So Raven goes to put iron cuffs on Elspeth's body.
Speaker: And asks the nightmare to pull the sleeves down so that he doesn't injure Elizabeth anymore. And the nightmare responds, she can't feel them now. Like, okay, rude. Yeah. I mean, he still wants to protect her physical body, nightmare. Come on. i'm like, he's just trying to be considerate. And the nightmare is bringing it.
Speaker: a novel but so raven forgets that he is using the nightmare card to reach for elm who didn't answer but another voice answers him and it's his own telling him that elspeth is dead to give up hope and how if he was only there 10 minutes sooner jesus yeah he's got a lot of guilt there yeah he quickly taps the card to unleash himself The Nightmare asks why he uses cards since he's the only one down here, unless he was trying to reach someone one else.
Speaker: Raven asks him if he was there during their intimate moments, and the Nightmare teases him about his memories beginning to rot. Yeah, he's like, hmm, am I tainting your memories? Yep. And it's like, ugh, dude.
Speaker: Yeah. Raven turns and wraps his hand around his throat. And when he realizes that it's actually Elspeth's body, he quickly lets go, saying, you know, everything was a lie.
Speaker: No. It wasn't. She had her own feelings. And he starts to question everything about her, saying, there's no knowing where she ended and you began. And he responds, no knowing at all.
Speaker: Like, yes. Yes, you do. Stop. So the nightmare does admit that she does admire him and that it was completely one-sided. Right?
Speaker: Of course. And Raven questions him again about him being there when they were together. The nightmare describes the dark shore that he shares with her, a place forged to hide things I'd rather forget. Interesting.
Speaker: And he would go there during their 11 years together to give her a break from him. And he says that, most recently, to spare myself the particulars of her rather incomprehensible attachment to you. yeah I'm obsessed. It's so fun. That quote is so good. It's just so...
Speaker: So sassy. I can't get over it's er one it's taent it. behavior. So Raven asks if this place exists in his mind, and the Nightmare explains that he created and put all his pain and memories of his previous king life in this, like, resting place.
Speaker: Raven questions if this is where Elspeth is and why he can't hear her with the Nightmare card. The Nightmare explains that as soon as she touched the card and he came into her mind that her days were numbered because he was her degeneration. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Raven asks how he can reach Elspeth, but the Nightmare says he would rather watch Raven suffer. ah But Raven threatens him and says he will tell him how to reach her, and then the Nightmare responds with his riddle about keeping secrets.
Speaker: Lord have mercy. Long have I kept them long, may they keep. That was good, right? I have evidence. So Raven takes him to the king's chamber, and the king isn't there.
Speaker: He tells the Nightmare to wait there and goes to find the king. Philik, Willow, and three other physicians, are they he goes to another room, and they're all watching over Hoth.
Speaker: The king was with Jasper next to the hearth, and the king had been drinking since the incident and was currently drunk. And apparently he'd been drunk for three days straight.
Speaker: And he was like using his nightmare card to try and reach Hoth, like get him to wake up. But the king never received a response. And they even used the scythe on him to try to like will him to back. Like they did with Emery, they willed him to feel the warmth of the fire to warm him back up, but they can't do anything to bring him back. Yeah.
Speaker: oh it's not looking good and the quote hoth had been destroyed ha ha ha well you reflipped your soul and raven starts to kind of regret bringing the nightmare there to the king after all this he's like i just brought the monster that destroyed his son literally yes ah Yeah.
Speaker: Oops. The king realizes that Raven is there and asks if she is there waiting for him, know, back in room. well And if anyone has a chalice card. Jesper obviously pulls hers out and they head to the chamber.
Speaker: They sit with distance between them and start the inquest. The king first asks how she knows where the twin elders card is hidden. He tells him that he was there when the card disappeared.
Speaker: The king can't believe it. And the nightmare responds. Magic is a strange, fickle thing. And he asks her if magic is having his knowledge of the twin elders. The nightmare smiles slightly and says, you could say that.
Speaker: Jesper asks where the card is hidden, but he says, deep within a wood, a wood with no road, but to those who smell the salt, it beckons. I love him. Always the riddles. I love him, but I hate him.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. The king looks at Raven, then asks the nightmare if Raven knew about Elspeth's infection. And the nightmare says that Raven didn't find out about her full magical potential until it was too late.
Speaker: So Raven notices that it was the truth, only slightly twisted. understanding that the cards did not affect the shepherd king but they did affect elspeth so he's kind of figuring out he's beating it the king asked who knew about her infection and the nightmare responds that his magic was always kept hidden in even from eric spindle so no one knew man literally into those last couple days you no one knew yep He asks if he can see Providence cards, and he says he can. When the king asks he will help him find the last card, the Nightmare agrees as long as Emery is released to his parents.
Speaker: Way to keep on her work, right? Being with the U's on their side. The king promises to release Emery if the Nightmare tells him where the Twin Alders card is The nightmare gives a riddle describing the three barters that must be passed to find the card.
Speaker: The first barter comes at a dark mirrored lake. The second barter comes at the neck of a wood. The third and last barter waits in a place with no time. A place of great sorrow and bloodshed and crime. No sword there can save you. no mask hide your face.
Speaker: You'll return with the twin alders, but you'll never leave that place. Dun dun. Ominous ending. Every chapter has an ominous ending. What are we talking about? well of course. It's too good as reading more, but also on the radio.
Speaker: I know. You don't need to hook me more. I know. Okay. We switch back to Elm. So Elm tries to ignore Ioni being kind of so close to him. So we're like back.
Speaker: Where are they now? They're on the road. They're literally like just still leaving Hawthorne's house. They're on the horse together. And, but he realizes that she doesn't have shoes or a cloak to protect her on the road in this storm. And she asks,
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. and elmer towards that she's worried about hath but she doesn't seem concerned yeah she askeds about the inquest and elle wars her to be afraid of the tali he continues to watch her and thinks of all the times he' glanced at her before how he learned her openness wouldn't fit in at the king's court yeah He also thinks about how she was beautiful even before the maiden card. But now she seems much colder. Yeah.
Speaker: Unfortunately, he's too busy kind of admiring her looks to notice that some highwaymen had blocked the road ahead. Really? Come on. You're a highwayman. you Don't keep an eye on our highwaymen. He was looking at her tits.
Speaker: Like, I'm sorry. Fair. That's a fair distraction. yeah They tell him to put his hands in the air to prevent him from using his scythe card, and Ione sneakily reaches into Elm's pocket for the card.
Speaker: One of the highwaymen approaches them and kind of starts, like, gropily touching Ione's leg. So gross. When Elm tells him to leave her alone, the highwayman demands Elm's providence cards.
Speaker: Ione then uses the scythe card to command the highwayman with a bow, There's three of them. One is a bow. To fire his arrow, which was originally pointed at her. He tries to resist, but it fires and kills the man that was touching her.
Speaker: Oh, she also does say, kill me. If you can. Mm-hmm. As the man falls to the ground, he pulls Ioni and Elm off the horse. Elm runs to the third hoverman and throws his knives at him, not doing much damage.
Speaker: He then uses his black horse card to enhance his fighting and beats the man basically unconscious. Yeah. The man with the short bow comes up and faces Elm and demands the scythe guard, not believing Elm when he claims not to have it.
Speaker: Elm tries to tell the man to leave them, but he just drops his weapon and kills himself with his arrow. At Ioni's command. Okay, who's this bloodthirsty Ioni?
Speaker: Girl. Where's she coming from? For real. So Elm hides the bodies and demands his scythe guard back from Ioni. She wants something
Speaker: She wants something in return though and Elm tries to kind of gauge her but can't read anything from her face. Yeah. When he claims that it's his card she claims that she saved his life and there's a cough.
Speaker: She uses the card on him to make him stop and explains that she wants his help getting free reign of the castle. And Elm is like panicking at this point oh yeah wanting her to stop so he agrees despite the difficulty of her request i mean clearly she's headed to an inquest how does he think he's going to get her free reign in the whole castle exactly but he is freed from her control he grabs the card and tells her to never use it on him again ione doesn't care about elm or his card though she just wants balance for him to save her life since she saved his
Speaker: Fair. Always about balance. Yep. And then we go to Elizabeth's point of view. So Elizabeth starts to kind of remember fragments of her life. A voice in her head tells her to get up and she reaches for the voice in her mind.
Speaker: Taxis then tells her that she is remembering and that she will be safe here. When she questions where is here, he responds, a place to rest, to recover. She says she doesn't want to and wants to be let out.
Speaker: Texas says he is leaving her and she will be let out soon. He walked away, leaving no footprints. Then she remembers more. The names of her family members and their relation to her. The walk with Ioni, the riddle of Ioni, the yellow girl, and how she won't be queen. And meeting the two highwaymen later that night.
Speaker: Getting those memories back. Then we go back to Elm's point of view. So Elm and a frozen Ioni arrive at Stone. Because it's been storming. They've been riding back this whole time.
Speaker: And again, she didn't have shoes or a cloak. She was just in a tiny dress. Crazy. So, and before Elm can kind of sneak her away to warm her up, they run into Lyndon, who's the closest person to Elm, like, considered. That considers a friend. Yeah.
Speaker: Who gives Elm a hard time about not seeing cloth. Then Lyndon sees Ioni and seems... glad to have caught another of El's relatives. But Elm kind of dismisses Lyndon and rushes Ione his room to avoid the physicians and kind of warm her up.
Speaker: Yeah. Ione questions if Hoth will survive and Elm doesn't seem to care her. He's dripping off his soaked clothes and takes some wine to Ione need to help her warm up.
Speaker: Wary of him, she hesitates to drink it until he drinks it himself. She needs help getting out of her soaked dress. Okay. And I'll sell him for it. But he can't. So he cuts the knots away.
Speaker: He claims his difference from his brother and lets Ioni take clothes from his trunk. He's like trying to keep his distance. He's so considerate. She grabs them for the both of them and his hands rip up some of the ties. Like as he's trying to put his clothes on.
Speaker: And Ione then offers to help dress him and he admires her as she's like so close to him. Like, you checking her out again? The tension. Mm-hmm. Suddenly, Raven enters his mind via the nightmare card and wonders where he is.
Speaker: And Raven plans to join him in his room to talk before Elm can tell him that Ioni is there. yeah Elm then offers Ioni some warm socks before she has to go to the dungeon. He's like, it's going be cold there. So the enough shoes, at least put warm socks on. Yeah.
Speaker: Ione is surprised at the lack of women's clothes in Elm's room, as Hossram had plenty strewn about. Okay, disgusting. Right? Claiming that he doesn't have the time, he tries to get a cloak for Ione as well.
Speaker: They stop when they hear a noise at the door. Raven bursts in, knocking over the chair Elm had used to lock it, and is surprised to find Ione there. I also want to point out here that he can't lock his door because he lost his personal key. Yeah.
Speaker: But also as the second prince, it's his job to have the keys to the entire castle. And he's like, I just don't care to be bothered with that. So Raven has them. It's great. He's just like, i don't really care. obsessed.
Speaker: you So we switch to Raven's point of view. Raven comes in. Looks at Ione and is shook that she is there because he knows she's most likely going to die. Elm explains, saying that she was at Hawthorne House and Gorson Worker saw her, so he had no choice but to bring her there.
Speaker: Raven notices the bloodstains on her dress and yeah and Elm's bruised knuckles, and he tells him about the highwaymen who attacked him on the forest road. Ioni tells him that the blood isn't theirs.
Speaker: Elm reiterates this, saying, you know, he's fine, before questioning Raven where he has been. Raven says that he was at Castle U digging up the grave and that everything is true. Raven then goes on to say that they've begun the inquest and how they just saw the prisoner and now want the others.
Speaker: He chokes up here again. Yeah. I'm like, Maybe. Mm-hmm. Linden shows up and explains that the king has asked him to use the chalice. When Elm says it's Jesper's job, he explains that she's putting the bitch back in her cell.
Speaker: And Raven is seething. I would be too. I'm sorry. No one talks about my girl like that. For real. Linden says that he saw Elm and Ioni arrive and came to summon them, not knowing that Raven was already doing so.
Speaker: Elm tries to bite back at Linden about being eager, but Raven cuts in saying that she is kin of the infected and will have to go through the inquest with a chalice card, just like her father and uncle. He's got to keep up those appearances. Yep, he's the captain of the Death Readers.
Speaker: So on their way to the King's Chamber, Raven uses his nightmare card to talk to Elm. He asks why didn't Ioni leave with everyone else, and Elm tells him she must not have been in Spindle House, but he compelled them with the scythe.
Speaker: Raven then asks why he didn't use it on her today, but he says he couldn't with Gorson Wicker. Because they saw her. he can't just be in a despair. They're going to like, where'd she go? And then Raven then asks about the road again, in which Elm tells him it was Highwaymen again. He's like refusing to believe the story. Like, come on. Just believe it.
Speaker: um raven then recognizes the way that elm is intuitive and how he could kind of pick up on people's energy and like kind of he's really good at reading people he kind of compares him to like what was it a fox yep yeah and so and then he starts to kind of think how elm had warned him about elspeth and he didn't listen and maybe they wouldn't be in this situation if he had Yeah.
Speaker: elm Like, Elm is actually kind of smart. Maybe my cousin knows something. So Ione actually looks back at Elm, and there's, like, a moment between them. And Raven immediately questions him about this. And Elm explains how she saved his life using the scythe card that he couldn't reach. Yeah. And Raven is like, she killed them?
Speaker: Yep. What? Yep. So they reach the chamber and Raven tells Elm that he can't do anything for her now. But he questions if she knew what she was signing up for. Raven says Ione knew Elseth was infected and he needs to gain his father's trust if he wants to be able to leave find the twin alders card so he can't lie for her. But Elm says that he will.
Speaker: Raven warns him not not to saying she hasn't earned your kindness but he says it's not kindness it's balance. But you know, balance is a big theme here. That's one of my favorite books too.
Speaker: You have a ton. I know, but this book is still good. i was enraptured couldn't run it. But we'll talk about it later. Raven explains that she will never leave this place. She will either be a prisoner or be sentenced to death and to not be turned by her beauty.
Speaker: But he quips back saying, oh, because you've never been turned by a beautiful woman, have you, Captain?
Speaker: The snark. So snarky. I love it So we switch back to Elm's point of view. Raven and Elm kind of head to the throne room where the king is waiting.
Speaker: Raven takes his usual place as captain of the Destriers and Elm is summoned to the king's right side, which is normally reserved for Haw. Yeah. The king comments on Ioni not being chained and she comments that he's different from his brother.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. one of the dashs lining the walls steps forward and chains ionee's risk though lindon then grabs a droplet of wine and the chalice card as eric pendle and tiran hawthorne are brought in chained as well the king speaks about the charges against them for harboring elspet who also killed oreth and almost killed the prince so she's got multiple charges yeah The king commands them all to drink with the use of his scythe card, and they do with only Perrin fighting it. Like, Destreyrs have to hold his mouth shut to make sure he's swallowed. What a child. Oh, my God. Like, get over it. Like, clearly there's no getting out of it, but just face it like a man. Yeah.
Speaker: Tieren tries to deny knowing about Elspeth's infection and is slapped before he finally confirms. Erik and Ione both deny knowing of Elspeth's ability to see the cards, but the king continues to question Erik about Elspeth's combat ability.
Speaker: Erik didn't train her, though, instead blaming Tieren, since he was the one who raised her. Tieren doesn't know where his wife and other children are, and then the king calls out Ione for still using the maiden card that was given to her.
Speaker: But she also doesn't know where her mom and siblings or aunt cousins are. Yeah. Yeah. The king then talks about how he's discussed in Ioni keeping the truth of Elspeth's inspection despite being engaged to the prince. Mm-hmm. She's equally disgusted by the arrangement. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Yes. But Hoth never asked her about her family. Like, hey, he never asked. Oh, I know why. He never talked me about it. Love this. Ione wasn't with Elsbeth when Hoth was attacked, and the king demands to know why she was even alone with him.
Speaker: And Tyrn then admits to his culpability in bringing Elspeth to Hoth, and Elm realizes this is his chance to save Ioni. So, unable to force Ioni to lie and risk harming her due to the chalice's influence, Elm uses his scythe card on Tyrn to convince the king that Tyrn just wanted to save his daughter's reputation. He's, you know, blending truth with lies, knowing Because he knows the king's insecurities. And he does it all to make it a lot more believable. Right. He, you know, if Ioni is harmed, there will be rumors about Haas injuries causing blowback on the king since he's the one who orchestrated the engagement in order to get the nightmare card. Exactly. Everyone is shocked and Elm begins to feel pain from using his card.
Speaker: He releases the power before his nose bleeds and gives him away. Right. Eric suddenly launches himself at Tearn, strangling himself, strangling him with his chains. I'm obsessed. I'm like, okay, protective papa, come in. Protective dad, come in. Lyndon tries to get Eric to stop his attack, but is disarmed and held at knife point instead.
Speaker: Eric demands to know where Elsteth is, and everyone rushes in. Destriers, Raven, and Elm. Like, it's chaos. It is chaos. And I'm like, okay, protective papa. Okay.
Speaker: obsessed that he is still like that he's this defensive of her because obviously he wanted to protect her by her not turning her in when she was infected but there was never really any and kind of indication that he really cared aside from you know the flowers and his like semi-sweet moments with her in the first book call card yeah also yeah but also yeah ah Yeah, nothing to this extent before. He's just like, where is she? Yeah.
Speaker: The room is suddenly plunged into darkness and Jesper yanks Eric back. who goes to slash her and actually gets Ioni instead. Oh no. Cutting her palms.
Speaker: She's caught between some destriers and Tehran at this point and she's kind of like struggling. Palm calls for her and she reaches for him, but he grabs her chains to kind of pull her to him. He's like, the floor is slippery with blood. Yeah. Hands are slick.
Speaker: Can't really get a hold of anything. So he just grabs her chains and yanks, which, you know, kind of hurts. So he presses her hands to his chest to kind of stop bleeding as they're kind of of deep cut. Helm then uses his scythe to freeze the room and everyone in it except Raven of course because the card doesn't affect them causing his nose to bleed I mean that's a pretty powerful thing and he was just using it for a minute with Tyr and so I'm obsessed But also, grows the whole world. Helm is the best. I'm sorry.
Speaker: So chapter 10, we get Elspeth's point of view again. Elspeth starts to remember Raven and all her newer memories of him. She whispers his name and then hears giggle. A little girl sitting next to her in the sand and Elspeth immediately noticed her yellow eyes. Elspeth asks who she is and she smiles and says, you know who I am I'm your Tilly.
Speaker: Elspeth introduces herself. And then she giggles. Tilly asks her to s swing from the tree like she promised, but Elspeth doesn't see any trees around. She sighs and says she will wait in the meadow then, walking away, leaving no footprints.
Speaker: Hmm. When she looks up again, she notices more children. However, these are all boys with yellow eyes, besides the tallest who had gray eyes. interest They walk over to her.
Speaker: Again, leaving no footprints. When the gray-eyed boy looks at Elspeth and says, you're with us, but you're never really here, are you, father? So question, do we think this is the ghost visiting him or his memories of them?
Speaker: don't know. well they keep saying about how they're talking about the waiting still, so I think it's their ghosts. That would make the most sense. How are their ghosts visiting him, though? I don't know. Crazy.
Speaker: I don't know, but I think that Tilly is going to be able to get messages in between Elspeth and Raven. That'd be pretty cool. Like, if Raven is like... If Tilly mentions Elspeth... That's only as long as Raven's at Castle U, though.
Speaker: And we know they're not going to be much longer. no But i had a I had a brain blurb. Still. Fair. Fair. I like that idea. I mean, I thought that too at first, honestly, because like as soon as I was like, Tilly's in both places. What?
Speaker: Like, Raven, tell Tilly to go tell Elspeth, like, hey, we're fighting for you. Yeah. Philip chastises Raven from, oh, sorry.
Speaker: We're in chapter 11, Raven's point of view. And Filic is chastising Raven for moving while he's stitching him up in the king's chamber. The king is giving Raven grief for being injured by Eric. He's like an old man who's been in the dungeon for days. Like, really, you couldn't beat him? Some unbeatable captain of the district.
Speaker: Honestly. And then he turns on Elm for not using his scythe's dinner. When Elm points out that the king has one as well, the king explains that it's the prince's duty to use the card to spare the king the pain of using it.
Speaker: Okay, baby. Right? Jesper returns, letting them know Eric and Tyr are returned to their cells. The king shoves some wine goblets to the floor and complains about Hoth, Oryth, and his closed circle kind of lying to him.
Speaker: Yet, he's the one that has to compromise. He blames Raven completely for not sensing Elspeth's deceit during their time at ken at Castle U. He's like, you should have known, basically. Yep.
Speaker: Jesper tries to kind of diffuse the king's anger after he threatens to kick them and Elm off the Destriers. Yeah. Raven berates himself for not getting back to Spindle House sooner and then and then explains that the infection caused all of this as that's what made her a liar. The king kicks everyone out to speak with Raven alone and asks if he values his place as captain. When Raven says it doesn't matter what he wants, the king simply agrees.
Speaker: Rude. Right? Why ask? The king actually agrees to let Ioni remain in the castle to prevent gossip. He also claims that he'll agree to Elspeth's offer and use her to find the twin Alders card.
Speaker: He then orders Raven to follow her and return with the card. if they are If they try anything, he'll take Emery back and keep him in a cell. But when they return, he'll use Elspeth's blood to unite the deck and lift the mist.
Speaker: Yep. Raven agrees and says they'll leave immediately. the king won't let Elm go with Raven. What? Yeah. As his last heir, he needs to keep him close by and out of harm's way. Okay, fair.
Speaker: When Raven explains that Elspeth wouldn't hurt Elm, the king doesn't believe him. He's like, honestly, i don't think you believe that either, bud. Right? Meeting someone, you know, at his back to support him, Raven then requests Jesper to join.
Speaker: The king reluctantly agrees and orders Gorse, another British destrier, to join the group on the mission.
Speaker: And as Raven leaves, the king says he'll relieve Raven of his command when it's all over since he's been such a disappointment. And Raven actually just takes this as a compliment.
Speaker: I mean, he's he's like, from you, uncle, high praise indeed. Yes, genuinely. And then we switch to Elm's point of view. So Elm actually catches Filig before he leaves and asks him if he knows where they are keeping Ioni.
Speaker: He says that she's actually on the servants' floor. Elm then asks Filik if any physicians have checked in on her and Filik tells him there wasn't anything wrong with her. Huh.
Speaker: Huh. What? Elm says that Eric sliced her palms open, but he assures him that she was fine when he left her. Elm can't believe it. And Felix says it was probably just someone else's blood and that you know Elm needs rest. Yeah. He's like, i think you're kind of going crazy there, bud. Yeah.
Speaker: But when he looks down at his shirt, he sees the bloody hand fritz. I mean, he's wearing black, so it's hard to see, but he can still tell. Yeah. Yeah. He goes to the servants' quarters where she is staying and guards are blocking the door.
Speaker: He knocks, but she doesn't answer. And when he knocks harder, the guards explain that it's locked. He sends them away and then unlocks the door. He goes in and shuts the door only to be bombarded by Ioni asking, what the heck was that? You could see her get mad even with the maiden card masking it. She accuses him of using the sides to make her father say those things during the inquest.
Speaker: And he admits that he did and that it was the only way to kind of get leverage with the king because he doesn't want people to talk bad about him. He goes on to say that he also spared her the dungeon and she is still welcome at court, free to roam the castle with the guarded escort.
Speaker: He also says that if the king changes his mind, you know, about killing her, that he will help her escape out of stone. And then he tells her, you know, they're even.
Speaker: But she says that this isn't what she wanted. That she wanted to get what she needed out of the castle and to disappear. Even saying, trees, I thought you were clever enough to understand that.
Speaker: yeah Love it. I love her. So sassy. So sassy. He tells her that she had her opportunity to escape on the forest road, but didn't.
Speaker: Now realizing she needs something in the castle that she can't leave behind. He asks to see her hand, but she is resistant. He asks, please. And he sees her go stiff, almost expecting him to force her hand open. Yeah. He immediately drops her hand.
Speaker: Elm starts to blush and she uncurls her fingers, showing her unblemished hand. Elm looks at it, you know, kind of going crazy a bit. Right. But Ione tells him that he isn't crazy and that there was a deep cut.
Speaker: He asks how, but she tells him that he can guess. Yeah. And then he goes, ah maiden. hello so was yeah He realizes it's a maiden card killing her. And she responds, seems you are clever on occasion.
Speaker: I'm upset. Elm, kind of overwhelmed with all of this information, sits down on the edge of the bed. He realizes that for 500 years, maiden cards have been overlooked and not taken seriously. i mean, it was always given to the ladies as like a gift.
Speaker: So she tells him the maiden card doesn't appear to have much use for men, but women discovered long ago that it, you know, heals the user. And maybe they kept it secret for a reason. I mean...
Speaker: Yeah. As a woman, I totally would keep that a secret from the men. If they literally think it's all about just making us more attractive, the men aren't going to care about that. Absolutely. I'm going to keep that a secret. But if they find that it heals you, they're going to steal all those away. Oh God, I'm hoarded.
Speaker: Oh God, this is crazy.
Speaker: Elm asks where her maiden card is and realizes that she left the card somewhere in the castle and that's why she came back. He asks where it is in the castle, but she responds back with a question.
Speaker: She asks if he will use it to heal Hoth now that he knows, but he doesn't really answer her. She kind of warns him about what he would do if he does come to, but Alma's fully aware.
Speaker: He thinks to himself about how he got himself into this situation and makes a mental note to tell his children don't ever strike bargains with beautiful women. Fair. and Fair.
Speaker: So he says their best option will be to keep the maiden's magic secret for the time being. Again, fair. He tells her that they're going to go down to the dungeons. And when Ioni asks why, he tells her it's to see Elspeth or what is left of her cousin.
Speaker: Baby. We get another chapter of Elspeth's point of view, though. Yep. Elspeth's memories are coming back in pieces and kind of seem to overwhelm her. She runs the length of the beach and tries to swim away, hoping to be let out, but can't escape. The children return and Elspeth gets to know them, realizing that they don't seem to notice one another despite speaking with her.
Speaker: The boys come to ask their father to watch, but know he's busy. And the twins, Illick and Afton, remind her of her half-sister's. Yeah. in a place without time all elspe can do is remember and her memories begin to kind of spiral she worries over her family's fate in the mission's success since she killed oris their plan sacrifice despite all the negative thoughts though els withth still holds on to some bright you know her fond memories with ion he and aunt opal and raven's hug
Speaker: o the sweet memories yeah And then Bennett actually arrives and asks her to come to dinner. And Ellsworth realizes that they're not talking to her, but to the shepherd king.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. She thinks about his riddle about keeping his secrets and thinks about how this beach is where he keeps them. She turns to Bennett and tells him that she must leave. And she walks off the beach and swims as long as she can until she sinks into the darkness.
Speaker: Oh, Lord. And then we go to Raven's point of view. So Raven approaches Emery's room, but first uses his nightmare card to tell Jesper that they will be leaving to recover the twin altar's card at dawn.
Speaker: She then asks, what does he need now? And he just says, Emery. And she's like, on my way. next He then goes to Emery to get him ready to take him home to Castle Yu, as the king promised.
Speaker: Raven notices that there's barely anything left of Emery. like He's like skin and bone. Yeah, he's literally wasting away. And Emery asks what's going on and Raven tells him it's time to go and that arrangements have been made.
Speaker: Raven kind of continues to notice how the degeneration has Emery on the brink of death. In the quote, and his eyes. His brilliant gray eyes were shadowed, dim, lit only by the deathly omen of what has what was to come.
Speaker: Can I point something else out now? Emery has gray eyes. Bennett. The one kid that was different had gray eyes. So again, another connection to the Shepard King and the youth family. Well, Raven has gray eyes too.
Speaker: Yeah. so I know. yeah I'm just saying. Yeah. Another one. yeah another Another one. So he goes to lift his little brother and accidentally touches his skin.
Speaker: Emery's eyes glass over, shivering, and he grabs Raven's hand and as his eyes roll back. Emery won't let him go and then tells him, the dark bird has three heads, Highwayman, Destrier, and another, one of age of birthright.
Speaker: Tell me, Raven, you, after your long walk in my wood, do you finally know your name? I think I do. I think do. I think you do.
Speaker: Raven rips his hand away and Emery returns to normal. Emery asks what happened, but Raven tells him nothing. Emery had always been an outcast because of his ability to read person's deepest thoughts, their fears and desires, their shadow-laden secrets, and their futures. Hmm.
Speaker: And so like every time Emory used his magic, he would degenerate quicker and Raven feels awful for the extra degeneration he just caused his brother. Like it's an accident, but like,
Speaker: Yeah. So Raven finishes getting him ready to leave when Emery questions where they are going again because he forgot. And Raven tells him he's going home, then carries him down to the foyer.
Speaker: Jesper arrives, shocked to see how little Emery is. Like, she's got tears in her eyes. Yeah. And he tells her to get Emery to castle you. Raven looks back at Emery's room, acknowledging that the room didn't deserve a farewell, but he gives one anyway.
Speaker: Fuck you. Yeah. It's the, I love that ending of that chapter. It's so good. Mm-hmm. In the next chapter 15, we get Elm's point of view again.
Speaker: an exhausted Elm and Ioni sneak down to the dungeons, trying to avoid people in the halls. He asks her about feeling pain with the maiden card, and she tells him that it takes a minute to heal her, but it feels great when better.
Speaker: feel like that could be bad or addictive. No, yeah. she and The way she describes it, it's like a drug. it She literally says it's you for it. Yeah. So I'm like... Hopefully that doesn't lead to self-harm just for the euphoria. Oh, that would be bad. Right? oh So when Ioni is surprised that Elm hasn't used a maiden being a Rowan and intending to take what they want, he points out that all he wants is sleep. spell He also points out that they're visiting Elspeth since she can see cards. Hmm.
Speaker: This surprises Ione and Elm explains how it'll help her, realizing that she doesn't know what her maiden card is, hence needing access to the castle. And he kind of teases her a bit and she seems unaffected, but ready to be rid of Elm.
Speaker: So they discuss his reputation, including what women say, and that seems to get a reaction out of Ione. She kind of blushes and Elm watches her, kind of curious about what she'll react to as he enjoys, like we said, figuring people out. He likes to read people.
Speaker: Oh. Ione questions why he's so busy since he seems to avoid his duties yet looks like on the go every time she sees him. Thinking of his actual activities, he answers, flirt to me instead. love She doesn't want him to pretend to flatter her, but he claims that he isn't pretending.
Speaker: Thinking that he makes her feel something, she coldly says she feels nothing anymore. oh Baby girl. So they're slipping down the icy steps to the dungeon and then stop at the bottom where they can see their breath.
Speaker: Elm realizes he doesn't have a key, but the dungeon door is actually already open. Again, he doesn't have the keys because Raven has them all. right Ioni goes in and Elm follows, directing her to Elspeth's cell.
Speaker: He's startled by her touch and she asks about his free about him like freezing the throne room And she was surprised since, you know, Rowan's tend to like violence. Yep.
Speaker: He didn't. He just froze everything. Didn't hurt anybody. Yep. Yep. Elm points out that he never uses this knife for violence, specifically to disappoint his father and brother. i love it. Ione stops him to search his face for something, but then they hear clacking coming from Elspeth's cell. Elm tries to warn her about Elspeth, but isn't able to say much before seeing her.
Speaker: Ione approaches Elspeth, but recoils upon touching her face. The nightmare greets Ione, and she realizes that it isn't her cousin anymore. Hmm. He talks about Elspeth being good and grips Ione's face.
Speaker: Elm worries that he'll hurt Ione when she demands to speak with Elspeth. He claims she's resting but will be freed when his work is finished. Hmm. How so? if You're giving up your blood, but okay. Right.
Speaker: The Nightmare finally acknowledges Elm, making him remember that every conversation with Elspeth around the Nightmare was pervy to as well. Oop. He complains about cleaning up the Nightmare's mess. Like, he's like, dude...
Speaker: You may know everything, but then you knew everything that I had to clean up. Yep. Elm continues to explain that Ioni is missing her maiden card and requests the Nightmare's help with finding it.
Speaker: The Shepard King asks Ioni if it's what she wants or to stay safe with the card's help. He also shares that Elspeth envied Ioni's gentle heart and general sincerity, but that is exactly why she ended up caged by Tien and the Rowans, and that her use of the card is the only reason she doesn't feel shackled.
Speaker: She doesn't feel anything, so she doesn't she's not aware that she feels super trapped. Yeah. Ioni explains that she's lost herself to the maiden, much like Elspeth with the nightmare and wishes to be free. So she does realize she's trapped. Got it. Yeah.
Speaker: The Nightmare can't free her, though, but Elm asks if he can see any maiden cards in the castle. The Nightmare sees three cards, but can't explain where they are before retreating to the shadows and claiming he has plans for Elm.
Speaker: um ominous what's going on as they leave the dungeon elm stops i only to ask if it's truly important to her to free herself from the maiden card she doesn't care about beauty she just wants her choice back she tries to release elm from helping her but he points out he's supposedly the woman that keys to the castle she explains that his debt is repaid but elm wants to help her in order to be better feels badly for mistreating elspeth oh
Speaker: This causes Ionia to grab his face and stare into his eyes, searching him again, as she asks why he wants to be better. And he says he doesn't care what others say about him, as long as it's that he's nothing like his brother. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: I mean, fair. Yeah. Understood. I would never want to be like Hob. Mm-mm. Piece of shit. Honestly. Last chapter is Raven's point of view.
Speaker: So Raven is using his mirror card and is watching Elm and Ioni leave the dungeon. He notices how Elm is acting around her, realizing that Elm has feelings for her. The Nightmare teases him, asking why he doesn't approve.
Speaker: Raven explains that if the king kills her, he will be devastated. But the Nightmare says he probably thinks the same thing about him and his body I currently occupy. So Raven snaps, telling him to say her name when he talks about her and that he won't get his hands on Elm.
Speaker: The Nightmare questions why he thinks he would hurt Elm. And Raven states the obvious, you know, Elm is the descendant of the man who stole his throne, killed his kids, and he's had time to exact a revenge plan.
Speaker: Yeah. Like... Do you not understand that? kind time What turn there? who The Nightmare says that he could have hurt him, but you know, any time before this, but he didn't. That he sensed him and understands that there are monsters in this world and that his claws would find no purchase in a Rowan who is already broken.
Speaker: Like, that's just heartbreaking. and then the Nightmare goes on to tell Raven a riddle about the elm tree. And I'm going to spill it for you. Okay. Share it.
Speaker: Above Rowan and you, the elm tree stands tall. It waits along borders, a century at call. Quiet and guarded and windblown and marred, its bark whispers stories of a boy prince once scarred.
Speaker: And so, Raven you, your elm I won't touch. His life strays beyond my ravenous clutch. For a kicked pup grows teeth and teeth sink to bone. I will need him one day when I harvest the throne.
Speaker: oh I literally chills. Literally chills when I read it, when you read it again. I love it. I loved that little. So good. So Raymond starts then prepare for the trip and he sends three notes after he talks with the king.
Speaker: One to Gorse, who obviously was a chosen spy by the king. yeah The second note he sent to Felic telling him where the castle keys are and to make sure that Eric Spindle and Tyrn Hawthorne don't freeze to death. That's sweet.
Speaker: I don't care so much about Tyrion. Eric, I appreciate that he cares about Eric. You can you can let Tyrion know. Yeah. In the last note, he sends to Elm, telling him that he would see him soon.
Speaker: Aww. He then takes out
Speaker: He then takes the Nightmare to another room to prepare for their trip. When he comes out of the room, he looks like Elspeth the night they dress as the Highwaymen. The Nightmare asks who will be joining them, and Raven tells him Jesper course ah jessper and Gorse will be going with them. He also tells them they'll be going to Castle U first to make sure that Emery is safe and ask Ivy Brothers to join them.
Speaker: The Nightmare then says that that's good because they will need at least one spare. um Raven questions this, but the Nightmare shifts and asks him if Gorse can be trusted.
Speaker: um No. Duh. No. He literally, clearly was a, for sure, selected by the king spy on Raven. po ra Yeah. So Raven tells him no, but the king made him bring him and he doesn't really care what happens to him.
Speaker: Raven notices that the nightmare cut Elspeth's hair, but he explains like it was tangled with blood. Yeah, and they're not letting her shower down there. Yeah. And Raven's obviously pissed and is actually noticed by the nightmare.
Speaker: And the nightmare kind of is like- Sassy? Not sassy because he's like, he's actually remorseful because he sees something in Raven's face. Oh, you're right. You're right And he goes, it'll go back.
Speaker: Yeah. You know, like he says it like- it's okay it's not the end of the world it's just here yeah but then raven storms past him and like rips down a tapestry like full destructive anger just gotta to destroy but i get it man like that's his woman like he just did it so willy-nilly but i understand that the nightmare recognizes yeah that he messed up but also not yeah So Raven approaches the Destriers and tells them that he is leaving and to keep up with their training and patrols. When they ask who to report to, Raven tells them to report to Elm or the king. It's like specifically, you know, whoever will we'll respond to them. yeah
Speaker: The Destrier questions this, but he confirms that Elm is not going. As they start to leave stone, Raven steals one last look at at the castle and sees the king in gold and Elm in black as they ride away.
Speaker: When the nightmare looks back, he says, neither Rowan nor you, but somewhere between. A pale tree in winter, neither red, gold, nor green. Black hides the bloodstain, forever his mark.
Speaker: Alone in the castle, Prince of the Dark.
Speaker: So good. oh good Oh my God. And that's how it ends. That's how part one ends. That's how part one ends. Ominous. What a cliffhanger. So good.
Speaker: All right. Let's get, let's get to our questions so we can go ahead and start reading the next part. Honestly. Okay. So who was your favorite character for this part? Honestly, we have the same one again.
Speaker: But it's a surprise for me. Yeah, it is a surprise you. Elm. Yeah. Elm is my favorite. Because I love that we are getting to see a lot more of him. we are actually getting to see that he's not just the, you know, kind of stuck up douchey friends that I was dealing with.
Speaker: But I'm also definitely intrigued by whatever Ione's got going on. Yeah. He's calculating. She's smart. I really like, Ion is definitely one of my second, I also really like Raven in this part too. I like the way that he is so, you can, because we get his point of view, the way that he is so distraught over the fact that he can't talk to his love. Yes. Like, I love that. That can't reach her. It's so concerning to him and he really hates it. That turmoil just, I really like.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Um, so I was gonna ask you this, but we both had the same answer anyway. So what was your favorite twist? It's the maiden card, being able to heal people. Like, what?
Speaker: Like, I'm sorry. think that was the biggest twist out of this whole thing. I mean, we knew, like, I mean, the Nightmare had said something back in One Window about the maiden card, which was, like, really? Like, I am these things to be so beautiful before? And he goes, ah, you know, it's an underestimated card. Yeah, no shit. It can heal you. Yeah, I'm That kind of blew my mind a little bit. i Honestly, everything else in this part, it wasn't like super shocking.
Speaker: Uh-huh. Like, i yeahp obviously it was good. i mean, again, it's still setting up for the rest of this book. It's a lot of, you know, building of what's going on. And we've read a little bit ahead and I'm already, I'm like shocked even more just by what I've read. um I know. Because I'm a little bit ahead of you. I know. So what was your favorite quote or quotes from this part? So again, i kind of mentioned it earlier. I was so caught up in the book that I didn't really get a ton of quotes down. So I was just, I read it all in one sitting. That's fair. um
Speaker: But I, my favorite quote probably was, I don't care. Give her back to me. That was Ione talking to the nightmare. And I just love that she was fighting for our girl because like,
Speaker: She doesn't feel anything with his maiden card, but but she's literally like, give her back to me. Like, yeah. She ready to throw hands for a girl. I love it. yeah And then also it's not a quote from the book. It's the dedication. I almost put the dedication as my favorite. I literally, I, that was the very first thing I wrote i cracked open the book and I read the dedication. was like, this is too perfect. It says anyone who's ever felt lost in a wood, there's a strange sort of finding in losing. It's
Speaker: I love it. It's so good. I have so many quotes because honestly, while I was reading, i was just like ah highlighting everything. And then when I was listening to the audio book in the car, I would hear something and then I would literally pause it and go in and to my Kindle and highlight it So go through your list.
Speaker: I have a couple. So this one is Elm kind of talking about Ioni. And he says, perhaps there were some things not even magic could erase.
Speaker: And I like that. The next, another, another Ioni quote, and he's describing her eyes. And he says, vibrant hazel. They were the color of a green field, punctuated by autumn leaves, amber sap, slipping over moss, heat and life and anger.
Speaker: So much anger they flared, even in the darkness of a shadow. Which, i mean, if for someone who can't feel anything, your eyes Sure show you feel something. And i love, that's why I love that quote so much And then the next one it's, they looked like mirrors of each other. If one of the two had been dipped in ink.
Speaker: When Elm's comparing Ioni and Elspeth and the spell. I just thought that was So good. and i have two more. i know. And this one is, again, Elm. Why are all of mine about Elm? Because you're obsessed. I am.
Speaker: He says, let's just say I've never had anything like that. I was too concerned with losing him to note that Elspeth was losing herself until it was far too late. I did love that one. I will say when I saw the of l one, I was like, oh yeah, I figure forgot about that It really good.
Speaker: That one is so good. Because he also truly realizes like he messed up. He was so focused on himself that he's like, I didn't see a bigger picture and I'm sorry for that. Yeah. And then the last one is he understands far better than you, Captain, that there are monsters in this world.
Speaker: All right. Well, you know, we got them. What's your biggest question or theory? My biggest question is probably what's going on with the Nightmare on Elm.
Speaker: The fact that he's setting up all this stuff about the Elm tree and you know saying that Elm is the Prince of Darkness and all this stuff. like I don't know. There's something connected there. like I don't know. There's a plot.
Speaker: There's something, something's going down. And then like my biggest like theory kind of was I have a feeling that someone's going to have to kind of sacrifice or trade their soul to kind of hit the twin alders card or kind of like the bartering parts of their journey, which is why the nightmare says it would be good to have some extra guys. See, I agreed with that. I got like that they need the extra bodies for something that happen on the barter. I disagree though on someone trading their soul to get the twin alders card because that was what the king gave up to get the nightmare card. Yeah, but he says someone will be left in that place.
Speaker: Well, he said, he said, you know, you'll, he he says you will leave with that card, but you will never leave that place. So so I'm just wondering if it maybe it's just the trauma of it or something. I don't know. Yeah, i don't know. i don't know.
Speaker: but I was taking it literally. Yeah, but I have further thoughts on that I'll explain in second. So I am betting that Hoth wanted Ioni to hide her card and forget where it was so that she couldn't stop using it and it turns her heart or that he followed her whenever she hid it and like re-hid it himself. Something like that.
Speaker: Because he doesn't want a compassionate, caring wife just to cycle like him. 100%. Yeah, I think that's right. Yeah. um So my theory on the whole Twin Alders card is I think that Raven is going to use the Twin Alders card to summon the spirit and save Elspeth, assuming she's the one that's sacrificed. But then also my second theory is that
Speaker: Raven's not going to let Elspeth be his sacrifice. No. He's going to sacrifice himself instead. Oh my God. He literally already said he would pay any price. No, don't.
Speaker: You're right. because Because also, you know, in the first book, they keep saying the only cards he can use are the Nightmare the Mirror and maybe the Twin Alders. So he has one to be one who uses it.
Speaker: hate you. I'm sorry. This is not good. I'm sorry. This is why I want us to keep writing. Oh my God. It's so good. It's so good. It's so good. So good. Okay, well, we will be back next Thursday with part two.
Speaker: Yay. Bye. Well, I know we are looking forward to the rest of the book. Thank you for listening and tune back in next week for part two. And if you have a story you want us to tell, you can let us know on one of the platforms listed in the description. And while you're there, you can like and follow to stay up to date for the next story.
Speaker: Thank you for stopping by for our tale. The library is now closed. Bye-bye.
Speaker: you
