Ep 8 Throne of Glass: Ch. 47 – 55

[00:00:21] James: Hello and welcome back to Books, Cats, and Chaos, the podcast where we explore epic tales, sprinkle in a bit of humor, and embrace the life of wrangling cats and all of the chaos that they create every day. While reading books. Yes. My name is James.

[00:00:45] Ka-Ce: And I’m Ka-Ce and we are a husband and wife team, if you couldn’t guess, who love all things books, cats, brews, and the fun chaos in between.

[00:00:53] James: this week we are going to dive into our last chapters of Throne of Glass. It’s the final challenge, the final duel, and we’re going to find out who comes out on top because I guarantee you Things are not going to go the way that you think they’re going to go. as a recap, just so everyone’s on board, we’re going to go right into each chapter, give a little bit of a quick review, and then we’ll deep dive into it, talk about some of the things that we noticed, explore some of the questions that we have, and, you know, we’re just going to take it from there.

[00:01:35] Thank you. Uh, there will be no spoilers or cross discussions with, uh, ACOTAR or Crescent City. No MAAS multiverse, maasiverse, any, any of that stuff. But if you have, you know, theories about what you think is going to happen at the end of the book, hey, throw them over. If, you know, let’s talk about it.[00:02:00]

[00:02:00] Ka-Ce: We do this because husband not finished reading Throne of Glass series and he’s not read ACOTAR or Crescent City, so we didn’t want to spoil anything for him. And this is for you viewers and listeners who also have not read it. Read any of these series. Um, we know that there are other podcasts out there that do do those deep dives into all three, but we wanted to keep this as spoiler free as possible for everyone that is new to this world. So, content reminder, this podcast is actually for adults only, as we do end up cussing quite a bit sometimes. Um, and we also, you know, discuss adult topics and themes, so if you have any little ones running around, please save this podcast for later.

[00:02:46] James: Or, invest in some headphones.

[00:02:52] Ka-Ce: Not

[00:02:52] everyone has that option when watching children.

[00:02:57] James: All you need is one airpod. That’s it.

[00:03:02] Ka-Ce: Alright, so we have quite a bit of chapters in this final stretch. Are you ready to head on over?

[00:03:08] James: Yeah.

[00:03:10] Ka-Ce: Alright, we are starting with chapter 47. The final duels are to be held outdoors, where it’s really freezing, per the king’s random order. Or is it not so random? Perrington and Kaltain slip poison into Celaena’s wine cup, and Out march, the final contestants. Celaena comes out, led by Chaol, dressed in black, looking awesome.

[00:03:33] Cain emerges from behind the clock tower, already dressed in royal guard colors, and has a beautiful sword at his side. Favoritism much? Nehemia came out to support Celaena, and Dorian took up his spot next to the sponsors and council members. For the duel, there is to be no killing, only trapping the opponent in a position of short death.

[00:03:54] The king announces the lineup, mentioning only Cain by name, and announcing the other three [00:04:00] by their sponsor’s name. Favoritism, once again. First to duel is Cain and Renault, then Grave and Celaena. Renault put up a fight, but only lasted about three minutes in the ring with Cain. As Celaena gets ready for her fight with Grave, Chaol starts to hand her his sword.

[00:04:18] But Nehemia interjects, and hands Celaena her staff with the iron tip, and she says, and I quote, Let it be with an Eyllwe weapon that you take them down. Let wood from the forest of Eyllwe defeat steel from Adarlan. Let the king’s champion be someone who understands how the Innocents suffer. Dorian catches this transaction and his eyes darken. Did he realize the symbolism from Nehemia? The king commands the second duel to commence, and Celaena steps into the circle. Dun dun dun.

[00:04:54] James: Off to a great start, really.

[00:04:56] Ka-Ce: Yeah, yeah. So, as much as I liked Nehemia stepping in and being like, you know, defeat these men with this staff, with this wood, you know, and kick their ass and everything, and kind of like this slap to the king. Like, I’m kind of torn because she’s gonna be up against Cain, who is much bigger than what he started out at the start of the competition.

[00:05:28] So wouldn’t the sword be the wiser choice? Like, why bring a staff to a sword fight, when you’re, when you know you have to go up to this monster of a guy?

[00:05:41] James: You know, I can see I can see two different, you know, two different ways with that because obviously yeah, a sword versus a sword is.

[00:05:56] Ka-Ce: A

[00:05:56] sword versus a sword? Oh, yea, no [00:06:00] sorry. I get what you mean.

[00:06:01] James: Yeah,

[00:06:01] Ka-Ce: That was my confusion.

[00:06:03] James: we’re off to a great start.

[00:06:05] Ka-Ce: I need more coffee.

[00:06:08] James: uh, a sword versus a sword seems like an obvious choice because they’re both metal. They’re both, you know, somewhat the same shape, maybe one’s bigger than the other, you know, depending. Um, but there’s always the risk that somebody can wield the sword better. And swords are, can be a bit unwieldy if you don’t have a lot of that upper body strength.

[00:06:36] And a staff traditionally is a two handed weapon and, and the way you fight with a staff is completely different than you fight with a sword. The movements are different, the defense is different, um, You do get put at a disadvantage because if you’re using a wooden staff versus like if you were using a metal staff, right?

[00:07:07] Um, you can’t really block the sword with it like straight on because then it’ll typically, it’ll split the wood eventually. Um, but if you’re good with the weapon, staff, a staff is a great tool for. deflecting attacks. So if you, you know, a person swings a sword down at you, and you’re able to pull the staff in and kind of, I’m trying to figure out how to explain it.

[00:07:36] If you take the staff and kind of run it on the side, and then you can kind of like redirect the way the sword is, you know. Staff is much more fluid of a fighting style versus a sword, where you’re very much like slash, slash, stab, stab. You have to really.

[00:07:53] know what you’re doing.

[00:07:54] So, a staff isn’t necessarily a disadvantage.[00:08:00]

[00:08:00] Um, if you know how to wield it.

[00:08:02] Ka-Ce: I think, yes, I think like, some going up against somebody like Grave or Renault or even, like, Chaol, you know, like a normal, average, everyday person, a staff would be a great Weapon. A great tool if you know how to use it. Um, I just happen to think if you’re going up against somebody like Cain, who has been siphoning, you know, power, strength, whatever, from all these champions and using the wyrdmarks and everything that you would want every advantage you could get.

[00:08:40] James: I mean, there is that, but there’s also Celaena is going into this already knowing that she can’t get hit by him. Sword or not, blocking or not, She can’t afford to get hit full force, so I kind of feel like it wouldn’t matter whether she was using a sword or a staff. Um, because at the end of the day, she is not going to really be able to withstand a direct blow either way.

[00:09:11] I mean,

[00:09:12] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:09:15] James: you know, the staff probably puts her at a disadvantage, but Nehemia probably has a No doubt in her mind that she can, that she can take on Cain. And so it’s kind of like, um, you know, I’m so confident in what, you know, I’m going to do I don’t need a sword to beat you, you know, like insult to injury, sort of like, kind of thing.

[00:09:46] And apparently Celaena feels the same way because she takes the staff and you know, she doesn’t. Fight it, but I think logistically it doesn’t matter, and I think she knows that she just, she can’t afford to get hit.[00:10:00]

[00:10:00] Ka-Ce: Yeah. do you think Nehemia was only thinking about the symbolism of her staff against the King of Adarlan? You think she trusted Celaena’s abilities that much, even against Cain?

[00:10:13] James: I, yeah, I think she did. I think, I think part of it was the symbolism, definitely. But I think, too, that she probably wouldn’t have offered it if she thought it was going to throw the fight against her. Celaena’s favor, but I think that she had that faith that, that Celaena was gonna, it wouldn’t matter if she had the staff, a sword, a dagger, you know, that she would find a way, because, I mean, she fought a Ridderak and lived.

[00:10:53] Ka-Ce: True.

[00:10:54] James: So. Obviously, she knows how to survive, and probably that is exactly what she’s thinking, like, she’ll figure it out. Doesn’t matter what her weapon is, because honestly, none of them are really gonna do her much good anyway, um, so might as well just, you know, let the king and everyone know this is a statement.

[00:11:16] Boom. Like.

[00:11:20] Ka-Ce: I

[00:11:20] wish, uh, we could have gotten a little bit of like Dorian insight here too. Um, when they mention he catches their interaction and he sees, you know, Nehemia give her the staff and she takes it and his eyes darken. Like, I wanna know what his thoughts were like. Oh shit, is my dad gonna do something right now?

[00:11:43] Did my dad see this? And is he taking it as a threat? Or is my dad not even paying attention because they’re beneath him? Like, I, yeah, I would have loved to have gotten some Dorian insight.

[00:11:59] James: [00:12:00] Right?

[00:12:00] Ka-Ce: so it sounded like, and I don’t think we really got any Insight as to where Grave and Renault came out of. I’m assuming probably kind of from the same corridor or doors that Celaena came out of from the castle to their little fight ring.

[00:12:17] Only Cain was mentioned stepping out from behind the clock tower. Do you think there was any, like, meaning behind that? Do you think he was, like, doing his, uh, wyrdmark stuff preparing for, for this?

[00:12:34] James: I wouldn’t be surprised because, I mean, he obviously is, has some connection or fascination or something with this clock tower and, um, it, you know, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was behind there, you know, gathering his strength or clearing his head or, You know, just connecting with whatever dark forces are apparently in league with him, you know?

[00:13:07] So, um, yeah, I think he was just doing classic villain, Cain villain stuff, you know?

[00:13:16] Ka-Ce: Classic villain stuff. I love it. Alright, you want to lead us into the, into the fights?

[00:13:23] James: Alright, so, um, within two minutes, Celaena has Grave on the ground, staff at his neck, and Um, Shocking everyone, you know, just, Bing, bang, boom. She’s like, I don’t have time for you. Boom. And the king then announces that it’s, it’s basically halftime, right? So he’s like, it’s wine time. And Kaltain hands out the wine goblets to Cain, then to Celaena.

[00:13:58] The king smiles at [00:14:00] Celaena while she drinks. after a dramatic little speech, Kaltain collects the empty goblets and the king announces that it’s time for the final duel and there’s no rest in between. They got to gulp down some wine and then they’re right back into it.

[00:14:15] Um, as soon as she steps into the ring, Celaena is starting to feel dizzy and nauseated. She, you know, musters up, rallies all that she’s got. She goes on the offensive and Cain is able to knock her, her swings aside, like, you know, like he’s toying with a cat, like, um, just like, are you even trying? Like, you know, um, and at some point she hears Kaltain laughing and she realizes that she didn’t just drink wine, she drank bloodbane.

[00:14:51] And of course, Cain knows. And Celaena now realizes that she needs to end this fight now before she starts hallucinating. Because the blood bane is, as we learned in the last one, not good stuff. Um, she tries her best, but Cain ends up breaking the staff in two, leaving her with a piece of wood. And, yeah, what we talked about, the staff, you know, being not a great choice, but, uh, If she had a sword, he would have just knocked it out of her hands.

[00:15:20] Like, she was, you know.

[00:15:23] Ka-Ce: I want to know, like, was there some sort of unspoken rule, since we didn’t get really any rules, is that the contestants couldn’t change their weapon of choice for each round? Like, obviously Cain went up his first round with a sword, and Celaena went up her first round with a staff. Like, why did they have to be locked into those?

[00:15:49] Like, why couldn’t they eye up their opponents and be like, Nah, I need to change tactics, I need to change weapons. Like,

[00:15:57] James: Um, maybe they could, and [00:16:00] just maybe

[00:16:01] Ka-Ce: she wanted to keep with the

[00:16:02] James: Yeah, and I mean, Cain’s not gonna have swords effective. Why would he change? Like It probably just wasn’t worth noting, you know, cause Who knows. Um

[00:16:14] Ka-Ce: I would have been like I made my-I made my

[00:16:17] My notice here with the first round with the staff. Okay. Thank you, Nehemia. Chaol, give me the sword.

[00:16:23] James: Right. Meanwhile, Dorian is watching and knows immediately that something is wrong. She had an opportunity to deal a winning blow and she failed. He battles with himself. He should stop this because clearly now she’s in danger. He should help her, but if he does, the king would probably claim Cain as the victor.

[00:16:52] which kind of feels like everyone is banking on. Um, they’ve already pretty much set him up to be the victor, right? So Chaol’s in distress watching her. He hears Cain taunt Celaena, and as he says, And what would your father say? And keeps taunting her about her parents, about their death, how she woke between them, covered in their blood.

[00:17:13] Celaena forgets about her pain for a moment, gets up to attack, only for Cain to kick her in the ribs, sends her flying back into the clock tower. And, you know, that’s a direct hit that she did not need. Hallucinating or not, or she’s not hallucinating yet, but, you know, drugged or not,

[00:17:31] Ka-Ce: No.

[00:17:32] James: did not need that hit.

[00:17:33] Um, Cain drags her back into the circle. She’s starting to hear voices, otherworldly voices, calling her a different name, a dangerous name. She notes that Cain could have pointed a sword at her at any time calling the duel done, but he didn’t. This is not a duel. This is a game. It’s an execution and no one’s going to do anything about it.

[00:17:56] Cain throws her against the wall of freezing stone. [00:18:00] And that’s when she sees a. Dead man, pale, rotting, red eyes, but then she is thrown back into the circle. Chaol is telling her, commanding her basically, get up, get up, get up. As she starts to, she’s slammed into the clock tower again. Two creatures stared back at her this time, one with wings.

[00:18:22] It came at her, and suddenly, they were all over the place. They’re coming after her, calling for her, trying to drag her into their realm. The clock tower is a portal from what she’s seeing. Cain comes after her and her vision wavers between this dark world and the real world. Um, two sides of a coin. It’s like dark, death, and then sun and life on the other side.

[00:18:54] She throws herself back as Cain reaches. He snags the eye of Elena, ripping it from her neck. The bloodbane fully gets control of her mind, and she’s hurled into the darkness and the army of the dead, and the eye of Elena is dropped to the ground.

[00:19:13] Ka-Ce: Damn.

[00:19:15] James: She’s not having a good time.

[00:19:17] Ka-Ce: No. Not at all. I have to say, did Celaena learn nothing from the poisons test? Like, What kind of assassin is she that she would just drink wine that’s been sitting out without smelling at first? Not, not even with the poisons test, but just as a trained assassin, like

[00:19:40] James: You know, on one hand, I think, I think about that as like, so, So yeah, she should have at least realized there was something in it, right? But at the same time, would it have even mattered if she had? Because I could see her, [00:20:00] if she realized that there was bloodbane in it, then being faced with the choice, do I pretend to drink this?

[00:20:05] And then the king be insulted that I refused the The wine from the king and that’s a whole nother problem or do I at least drink this knowing That I’ve got about 30 seconds before this crap starts versus where you know, she had no idea But I think regardless that poison was going down like.

[00:20:28] Ka-Ce: I Yea. That’s a hard call because

[00:20:34] the king could be like, you insulted me. Cain is the winner. You know, you’re in the dungeons or whatever, or Or, would there have been a way where she could have been like, No, I smell something. I need somebody to taste test this before I drink it. And like,

[00:20:54] James: mean, yeah, then they could have just shifted the blame over to Kaltain and been like Kaltain, you serve the wine. Did you mess with it? And that, you know, could have been a whole thing. Um, and that could have been, you know, but at the end of the day, like it could go one way, it could go the other. I, I do agree.

[00:21:16] I think she should have, she just had that test.

[00:21:20] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:21:21] James: She should have

[00:21:23] Ka-Ce: Stopped.

[00:21:24] James: and been like, this is a little suspicious.

[00:21:29] Ka-Ce: Yeah. And even just, Pretending to take a mouthful and then like choking and spitting it out. Like, oops, sorry. I got a tickle in my throat. It happens. I don’t know. I just, For as trained as she is, like, these little things just kind of bug me. I love Celaena, but like, You should have known better.

[00:21:56] James: Yeah, it’s another one of those things that really makes you question whether she [00:22:00] is as good of an assassin as, you know, you’re led to believe because she keeps falling into these really stupid little things. You know, people sneaking into her room at night, not, you know, figuring out this thing over here, and then the Point like.

[00:22:23] She’s just.

[00:22:24] She’s making rookie mistakes. And you know that if Arobynn was here, he’d be like, you are not the protege that I trained. Like,

[00:22:33] Ka-Ce: Right? I get that she’s been, ya know, a slave for a year, but

[00:22:38] 3 – 4 months like this should be coming back to you. This should be second nature.

[00:22:46]

[00:22:46] James: yeah. And I really want to know what the idea, uh, was behind the poison. Like Cain is already so big and a monster, right. And. They’re going so far to, you know, put him in the royal colors and basically saying Cain’s our dude and this is all formality, right? Going so far as to throw the fight with poison.

[00:23:22] So did they legitimately think that she was an actual threat and that she could win or was this just humiliation because. of who she was and the fact that Dorian picked her as his champion and, you know what I mean, like, I really want to know,

[00:23:44] Ka-Ce: think it was both, because Perrington likes to have all his ducks in a row, and he wants to make sure of his intended outcome. And that’s what it sounded like when he was talking to Kaltain, you know, and trying to manipulate her into agreeing to be the one to [00:24:00] poison her. I think he, he just has to have total control over his situation, and yes, everyone can just take a look at Cain and be like, Oh yeah, he’s the immediate victor.

[00:24:13] no doubt about it, but Perrington is like, no, there’s still that, there’s still that chance, there’s still that percentage. If we poison her, then the odds are even more in our favor. You know, I have to, I have to do this in order to secure who I want to win. And also, probably, like, yes, she is Adarlan’s assassin. You know, she was this young girl taking out all these people for so long. Yeah, let’s knock her down another peg. Why not? We have this opportunity. Might as well drag her down even further before eliminating her completely.

[00:24:59] James: yeah, just completely shatter, like, all sense of anything, and then she goes back to the mines and she’s already broken, again.

[00:25:11] Ka-Ce: Yeah. I want to know, was it intentional for the king to have them duel right away so the effects of the poison could take place while they’re fighting? Versus, like, giving them time to rest, or especially Celaena time to rest, and then something happening before the fight begins, like her hallucinating before the fight begins. Does the king know about the poison, or was he just not wanting to give Celaena any recovery time?

[00:25:36] James: I can’t imagine him not knowing about the poison. Like, he seems so, like, smug about the whole thing,

[00:25:45] Ka-Ce: I mean, he was watching her drink it, so.

[00:25:48] James: yeah, and because if, if he had waited, then the drug would have kicked in before the fight, and then there would have been a reason to postpone the fight.[00:26:00]

[00:26:00] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:26:01] James: like, oh, something happened, what happened?

[00:26:02] Oh, Kaltain poisoned them, and then the whole thing kind of gets thrown off, but if she’s already fighting.

[00:26:10] Ka-Ce: see, he could have also been like, Oh, you can’t be my champion. You didn’t detect the poison in the wine. You just drank it and got poisoned. That’s not good enough for being the king’s champion. Cain’s the winner.

[00:26:27] James: Yeah, I mean,

[00:26:29] Ka-Ce: And then he could have quietly shipped her back off to Endovier.

[00:26:32] James: yeah, it seems like they are doing everything they can to put her at, at the disadvantage, uh, you know, just knock her down as far as possible so that there is just no way for her to come out of this as the winner.

[00:26:49] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:26:51] James: Um, and I mean, yeah, she’s having, you know, a hard time. And she’s having these. These visions, and, and I’m guessing the way that I, when I was reading this, I was basically figuring it was like, she was reliving the nightmare of when she was a kid. You know, scary, her parents were, you know, were killed, and when you’re a kid, your, your mind doesn’t always, you know, process all that stuff, um, realistically. And that’s kind of the way I was looking at it. It was like, she’s being haunted by her childhood nightmares. And that’s why she’s seeing these things, you know, chasing her demons and the dead people.

[00:27:41] And,

[00:27:42] Ka-Ce: I was thinking it was more of, like, the ridderack since she just battled that, and it had to do with, like, the wyrdmarks and stuff, so I figured there had to be more. So maybe a combination of her reliving her childhood [00:28:00] trauma and everything, and then seeing more creatures of the ridderack, because that would haunt me.

[00:28:07] I’d be

[00:28:07] dreaming of that crap all the time.

[00:28:09] James: Well, yeah.

[00:28:10] And, I mean, it’s worth, you know, pondering, was she, was she, um, simply you know having hallucinations about nightmares and things that were in her mind or does being drugged or poisoned or whatever somehow open up your senses to these otherworldly because you know we go back to Kaltain and she’s just Doped up on the opium and she swears that she’s seeing, you know, things coming around Cain and like, did she?

[00:28:51] just happen to hallucinate that as well? Or does this stuff open your senses up to these creatures that are very much in their world, but kind of imperceptible? Or, I mean,

[00:29:07] Ka-Ce: I mean it kind of sounds like it does open the mind up to being able to see like you know what’s behind the veil sort of thing because I mean the eye of Elena gets ripped from Celaena and the moment it does and it’s no longer touching her the bloodbane like takes full effect so up to this point they’re fighting and she’s fighting the poison and she’s seeing things but she’s still able to fight back But like, the moment it gets ripped from her, the poison is all over her, and, and now she’s seeing all of these monsters and everything, um,

[00:29:47] James: it’s the first real indication that we see that the eye actually does something other than just glow.

[00:29:56] Ka-Ce: um. I just wanted to mention [00:30:00] too, so remember at the beginning of the book when we first meet Cain through Celaena and she mentions like to Dorian and Chaol or maybe she doesn’t mention it to them but she’s thinking to herself like, this guy’s already big.

[00:30:13] James: Mm hmm.

[00:30:13] Ka-Ce: punch from him and I’m gone. And now she’s getting the crap beat out of her and he’s however many times as big now from siphoning, you know, all the powers and everything. How is she not gone after one punch because he’s clearly just like pummeling her and kicking her and, and she’s not, she, she’s still fighting sort of,

[00:30:42] James: I mean, he kicked her hard enough that she flew back into the tower.

[00:30:48] Ka-Ce: yeah. You

[00:30:49] James: and I’m just in my head, I’m imagining, you know, the Spartan kick, like, and she just flew across, you know, um,

[00:30:58] yeah, how she’s even conscious, you know, I don’t, maybe the bloodbane worked in her favor at that point, and it disconnected her from the pain enough that she didn’t, uh, I mean, drugs, you know,

[00:31:11] Ka-Ce: something for that.

[00:31:14] James: I don’t know.

[00:31:16] Ka-Ce: Um, so, I don’t, like, I don’t want to give any spoilers or anything, but for those that are doing the reread or, um, anything, or maybe you can answer this too, since you have read this book and now you’re going back and doing this podcast. the, the demons and stuff, um, that are saying, that are calling, um, her names.

[00:31:42] And they’re calling her a different name, a dangerous name. Did that catch you? Did that flag you on your first read? Or were you just like, oh, they’re demons, they’re just whatever, disorienting her, [00:32:00] trying to, you know? Yeah.

[00:32:04] James: when, you know, when I first was reading through it and I was, it made me curious. I was like, Oh, I wonder, that’s why I was figuring it was nightmares from her past. And I was like, it would not be unlikely that her name would be different now, especially if she woke up between her dead parents. She probably is not. You know, whatever her name is now is probably not what it was when she was eight years old. And, you know, that’s kind of just where I figured what, it was just nightmares, because that was a very traumatic event of being chased out of her home, and So,

[00:32:49] Ka-Ce: So, moving on, the battle continues in chapter 49. Dorian watches with terror as Celaena thrashes on the ground, trying to fight things that everyone else just can’t see. He suspects there might be something in the wine, but again, any interference on his end, even calling out about the wine, would disqualify Celaena and give Cain the win.

[00:33:10] He tells Chaol to stop the fight, but Chaol is frozen, watching Celaena thrash about. Nehemia steps up besides Dorian as Cain attacks and Celaena tries to get away. Dorian notices that Nehemia has said something softly in Eyllwe, and in the folds of her cloak, her fingers are making symbols in the air. Celaena tells herself, I will not be afraid, as she tries to find her way back to reality.

[00:33:35] She would find a way to fight. It would not end like this. A demon came at her, and Celaena screamed a plea. Taken off guard, the demon retreated. Cain motioned it forward again, but before it could advance, um, doors, so many different types of doors burst open, and Elena swept down, cloaked in golden light.

[00:33:57] Cain raises his sword at Celaena, but [00:34:00] Elena, charged through the dead demons. Cain was sent sprawling to the ground, his sword flying. For the onlookers, a mighty gust of wind roared through the veranda, making them shield their faces. This whole scene, up to this point, like, I need to see this as either a live action or an anime. I want to see, like, all these weird doors opening, and then Elena just flying through in her battle gear. And then everybody else is like, what the hell is going on? There’s just wind going. Um. I need, I need like HBO to dump all the money on this. Anyways, Elena in armor, a crown of stars on her head, tells Celaena that she can’t protect her, can’t give her strength.

[00:34:41] Now what is she doing there? But she can take the poison from her. Elena’s fingers tracing Celaena’s brow. Again, something with her brow. The wind continued to whip around, keeping Cain in place. The head of the staff, the iron tip part, came rolling to Celaena through the wind. The Queen continued to trace marks on Celaena’s brow, letting her know that once the poison is gone that Celaena will no longer see her or the demons.

[00:35:08] Cain looks to the King as he retrieves his sword. The King nods. Elena stands between him and Celaena. Another symbol form, blue light from Elena, bites into Cain. Pain replaces the panic Celaena feels. Elena commands her to stand before disappearing and the world suddenly appears. Struggling and shaking, Celaena stands. So now we are, the battle is finally starting to turn a little bit.

[00:35:38] James: just going back through that part, actually, Elena tells her

[00:35:44] Once the poison is gone, she will no longer see her or the demons. So that right there leads you more to believe that being drugged or poisoned makes you more receptive to [00:36:00] the other world.

[00:36:02] Ka-Ce: Yes.

[00:36:03] James: Right?

[00:36:04] Ka-Ce: is why so many shamans end up using drugs and stuff in order to connect to spirit worlds.

[00:36:14] James: Yeah, so, so we’re thinking that Celaena was not just fighting nightmares, but she was actually fighting

[00:36:23] Ka-Ce: Actual

[00:36:23] James: stuck between two worlds and nobody else could see it, you know.

[00:36:30] Ka-Ce: Yes.

[00:36:30] James: could, so could they have harmed her, first of all? Or was it just a, like, was it enough that they could, that she could see them?

[00:36:40] But like, could they actually do her harm? Or was it more of like, she’s so entranced in that that then Cain could have just come up and been like,

[00:36:49] Ka-Ce: Uh, you know, that’s a good question. I mean, Elena was able to knock Cain around and she was in that in between world. Um, so if she’s in the in between world and the demons are in the in between world, I would think the demons could cause damage. Um, I’m trying to read through the notes really quick. I mean, Cain was sent sprawling to the ground. From this mighty wind, but you know, the wind is Elena.

[00:37:26] James: Yeah, I mean, and it’s, it’s a little different when you casting like energy at a person versus like if she had taken her sword and like swiped at Cain, would it cut him or would it just feel like, like a psychic blow? You know what I mean? I’m guessing like physical damage versus mental damage or, you know what I mean?

[00:37:51] Um, Damage is damage, like spiritual, physical, whatever. I’m just curious, like, [00:38:00] how much more danger Celaena was in with these other creatures, or was it more of a distraction so that Cain could get in there and get her without her, you know, really being able to defend?

[00:38:16] Ka-Ce: That’s a good question.

[00:38:19] James: If anybody has an idea about that, please let us know.

[00:38:23] Ka-Ce: Yes. Yes, do.

[00:38:25] I think this was a big risk for Nehemia too, um, even though she kept it quiet, she kept it to herself and her fingers like, hidden within her cloak folds and stuff, but, if the king had seen her, or heard her, or even sensed anything, like, she could have been accused of magic and he would have had, he would have killed her, you know, cause magic’s not allowed, um,

[00:38:51] James: well, yeah.

[00:38:53] Ka-Ce: The wyrdmarks and stuff, so Nehemia gets a bright gold star, but

[00:38:59] James: Yeah, right.

[00:39:01] Ka-Ce: I mean, it took one woman to stand up and try to do something for For Celaena and both Chaol and Dorian are frozen and I get that both men don’t have any magical mystical ties and Uh, that Nehemia does with the wyrdmarks and the wyrdgate and all of that.

[00:39:23] Um, and Dorian politically, hands are tied because his father’s an ass and, you know, we don’t want to give the win to Cain. But, uh,

[00:39:33] James: Even Chaol, though, I mean, he is the guard, the captain of the guard of the king. He can’t just go against the king.

[00:39:43] Ka-Ce: yeah.

[00:39:43] James: He risks

[00:39:44] not only him, but his whole family being, you know, killed in retribution for breaking the rules. So. Like, on the one hand, you sit there and you’re like, come on, one of you guys, like, she’s clearly, this is an unfair fight, do [00:40:00] something.

[00:40:00] But on the other hand, it’s like, they can’t without risking literally everything.

[00:40:08] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:40:08] James: You know, um, and it puts them, I’m sure both of them into a position, oh, we got cat butt. It, it puts them both into a position of frustration because they want to help. But they literally can’t. You cannot go against the king.

[00:40:27] And Nehemia, we see, you know, if she didn’t have the ability to do these wyrdmarks that she apparently has, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything either. It’s not like she could have run out into the middle of the battlefield and been like, no, stop. It was literally because she had this ability. To do whatever she’s doing, you know, we’re assuming some sort of protection spell, you know, or something.

[00:40:57] Um.

[00:40:59] Ka-Ce: I want to know

[00:41:01] if Okay, so Dorian’s hands are tied because he is the crown prince, heir to the throne, and he’s Celaena’s sponsor, so he can’t speak up. You have Chaol, who’s her trainer, captain of the guard, he can’t speak up. But Nehemia’s not anything other than, you know, princess of Eyllwe, She has no ties to Celaena. And she’s there as kind of an ambassador, you know, between Eyllwe and, and Adarlan and everything. Could she have spoken up and been like, I think something is wrong. You know, something needs to be done. I don’t call this, like, I call this an unfair fight. And would she have had political, or what’s the,

[00:41:51] James: yeah, I know what you mean. I don’t think that she would have had any political sway in this because

[00:41:58] even though she is a [00:42:00] guest, quote, guest, she’s basically a prisoner of war, right?

[00:42:06] I could see there being an inherent risk if this person spoke out of place. Regardless of whether she’s a princess of her own land or not, she’s not in her own land.

[00:42:18] And to speak out against the king and basically say something like, you know what, this is clearly an unfair fight. She’s been poisoned or something. That’s almost a direct accusation against the king, in saying. Clearly you didn’t notice this, so are you too stupid to notice this? Or you did notice it, and you chose to do nothing about it, so now you’re questioning the king’s judgment.

[00:42:44] I don’t think, from her position, she couldn’t do anything that way either. Without risking herself, but more than herself, retaliation against her people.

[00:42:56] Ka-Ce: Ok. Yea.

[00:42:57] James: You know.

[00:42:58] Ka-Ce: Fair point.

[00:43:01] James: So, yeah, honestly, the wyrdmark spell thing was literally the only thing that anybody could do.

[00:43:11] Ka-Ce: Makes sense.

[00:43:12] James: From the way I see it.

[00:43:16] Ka-Ce: Princess? Would you like to bring us into the next chapter?

[00:43:22] James: She says, I want to show you my butt again. Um, she got her hair all over my notes. Uh, okay. Through her pain. Celaena stands and squares her, squares her shoulders. It will not be afraid. The mark on her forehead turning a blinding blue, the king sees it and stands Nehemia gasps. As fast as Deanna’s arrow, celaena strikes forward and impales Cain with the jagged staff piece.

[00:43:56] She manages to get him to the ground and hold a knife sharp [00:44:00] remnant of the staff against his neck. If he moves, she’ll spill his throat. Councilmen nervously begin to clap. I imagine everyone’s like, Damn it?

[00:44:12] Ka-Ce: I, I see, I imagine them more like, Holy shit, what just happened? She was gonna die? And she’s the victor. What the hell is going on? Like,

[00:44:28] James: I do wonder how many of the

[00:44:29] councilmen were in on this, or if it was literally just the king and Perrington, and they’re all just there because the king lets them.

[00:44:40] Ka-Ce: I know, um, The couple chapters before when she first walks out to the fight ring, She does, um, Note, she does recognize two of the council members, cause they had both, at one point, um, when she was Adarlan’s Assassin, they had both hired her for killing and stuff, um, in order to advance their careers, and they see her, they also recognize her, and they’re like, oh shit, um, so there’s at least two there that know who and what she is.

[00:45:16] Um. But as far as who’s involved with Perrington and is under Perrington’s sway, we don’t get any privy to that, unfortunately.

[00:45:26] James: Yeah. Um, So, so they begin to clap. The king is forced to name his son’s champion, the victor, which I think probably was grading on him. Celaena manages to stagger away from Cain. Nehemia collapses. Her guards come running towards her. Celaena tries to also go towards her, but collapses. Dorian races to Celaena, murmuring her name over and over, and through the pain, Celaena starts to laugh. [00:46:00] Dorian commands for a healer to be brought. Celaena’s thigh cut won’t stop bleeding. As Dorian glances at Perrington and Kaltain, he misses the look shared by Cain and the king. But guess who did see it? Chaol. Chaol actually doing some good, uh, guard stuff here. Without a second thought, Chaol leaps in front of Cain, plunging the sword through his heart as Cain had come up to stab Celaena in the neck.

[00:46:37] Cain’s blood reeked of death and decay, not coppery as most blood is described as smelling. And yeah, you know. Chaol goes into shock, watching Cain take his last breath. Chaol can’t believe what he’s done. He’s taken a life. Two guards help Chaol away. Celaena starts talking about someone who helped her take the poisoned from her.

[00:47:05] Dorian has no idea what she’s talking about. The mark on her forehead disappears. Dorian wonders what any of it meant. He picks her up and rushes her to her rooms and he’s right now just done with it, done with the politics. He loves Celaena and he would burn the world for her. Kaltain is crushed. She watched Dorian carry the assassin away.

[00:47:26] So her last ditch effort here did absolutely nothing. And she held the empty vial in her hand. What went wrong? Why wasn’t Dorian crying over the assassin? Why wasn’t she comforting Dorian? Pain erupted in her head. So violent, her vision went obsidian and she stopped thinking clearly. She confronts Perrington in front of the king and councilmen, all the while her head pounding, not able to think straight.

[00:47:56] Perrington denies all actions. Kaltain is dragged away by [00:48:00] guards, screaming that she’ll kill Perrington. She looks to the king for help, but he looks away. As she’s dragged away, she sees Perrington grinning at her. All of her dreams shatter. Because girl just got screwed so bad, so hard.

[00:48:23] Ka-Ce: You know, my first read, I thought, thank God, like, she’s finally get what’s coming to her. But at the same time, like, you can’t but help feel bad because you don’t want anybody in Perrington’s clutches. You know, like What she did was horrible, and it could have taken Celaena’s life. but at the same time, like, Oh, nobody deserves to be in Perrington’s Clutches either.

[00:48:55] And she’s been manipulated, like this whole time.

[00:49:01] James: Yeah, yeah, when I, when I read it, I, I was against her in the very beginning when she was just a, you know, vapid court lady. But as soon as it became apparent that That she was trying to get away from Perrington and all of that, I immediately switched and I was like, nope, I, this girl is in it for a bad time, and I only basically, for the rest of the book, just saw her as a victim.

[00:49:31] Like,

[00:49:32] Ka-Ce: Yeah, she is. it makes you wonder. how much of that is from her own personality and how much of it is Perrington controlling her and influencing her. Like, if he didn’t have that power over her, how how far would she have gone just on her own? Would she still have wanted to poison and try to kill Celaena or [00:50:00] I mean, because there are there are people that are, you know, easily susceptible to things like that.

[00:50:05] And, you know, they want power they want, riches, whatever, so they’ll do anything. But how much of it was Perrington and how much was actually her?

[00:50:16] James: I

[00:50:17] I don’t think that was something that she would have done normally, um, because even in her struggles against fighting for clarity of the mind, She was trying to resist that, temptation that he put out there and she was like, no, like, obviously I want my competition gone, but that’s, that’s a little, that’s a bit far, you know, but he was able to persuade her because of whatever control or whatever he’s done to her, you know, um, But I think, yeah, if Perrington hadn’t been in the picture, I think she would’ve, she would’ve been one of those ladies who would’ve been like, Well, I guess I just have to go and find, you know, another prince somewhere, you know, and eventually would’ve given up.

[00:51:06] Um, but she would’ve bitched about it the whole time.

[00:51:12] Ka-Ce: So we know that the king of Adarlan has, um, condemned, like, no magic, no healers, Anything to do with magic gets put, put to death. and when he sees the mark on Celaena’s forehead, he stands. I’m guessing out of shock? Or surprise or something? Do you think he knows what it is? And why do you think he didn’t have her, like, arrested or killed on the spot?

[00:51:44] Like, wouldn’t you think that he would be like, Oh my god, magic. Kill her.

[00:51:50] James: Yeah, I actually honestly don’t understand how that whole scene ended the way it did.

[00:51:56] Ka-Ce: Especially if like, a mighty wind came out of nowhere, [00:52:00] like, don’t you think people would be questioning that? Like, I get it’s winter and it’s freezing, but if there was no wind and then suddenly there’s wind whipping around and holding Cain in place, like, that seems kind of magical.

[00:52:16] James: Yeah, unless he figured that because she was poisoned, there was no way she was the one doing it herself, and that somebody must have been doing it to her. but I still don’t see how that whole scene ended without somebody being executed, because A blue, a blue thing shining on her forehead can’t be anything other than some sort of magic.

[00:52:50] So unless he looked at it and went, Uh, you know, we’re gonna tuck that one away

[00:52:58] for later

[00:52:59] Ka-Ce: hmm.

[00:52:59] James: because we don’t know what he’s up to.

[00:53:03] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:53:03] James: Um, or was it something that was written and then, Forgotten about because like, oh crap, we showed magic on the main character, but we can’t have her killed So we’re just gonna quietly not talk about it anymore

[00:53:18] Ka-Ce: I mean, unless his hand was forced, because, you know, Chaol stepped in and killed Cain, so now he’s forced to name her.

[00:53:28] James: That’s true

[00:53:30] Ka-Ce: I mean, he could always have her killed and then make Grave and Renault fight each other, since they’re off on the sidelines.

[00:53:37]

[00:53:37] James: Yeah, the whole scene just seemed a little weird with This king who who doesn’t even like people mentioning magic I mean, we had a singer who sang a song about magic and then she was killed. And this very clearly was magic on a person. So [00:54:00] just an inconsistent action by the king, but, you know, we just, we don’t get any further insight into that.

[00:54:10] So it’s just hard to say, um, yeah, I don’t know. Just seemed odd, honestly.

[00:54:18] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:54:21] James: Um, and then of course, you know, we have, um, we have this whole, this whole thing going on and then Kaltain basically kind of, I feel like she’s unraveling because this was her last ditch effort and, um, It didn’t work, you know, she’s now worse off than she was because there’s nothing standing between her and Perrington and what he clearly wants from her and This particular moment did feel like she was being pushed into Into saying something At least you know You know, before it felt like, like, uh, her headaches and, and her fatigue and everything was being used against her, um, unless, unless at this point she is just so far mentally fatigued and gone that, you know, she’s looking at the vial and she’s looking at Perrington and it’s basically like, you told me that this would work.

[00:55:43] Kind of forgetting where she is.

[00:55:46] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:55:46] James: And I could actually maybe see that, you know, because there isn’t still no real indication that he can control or sway her. But

[00:55:57] Ka-Ce: kind of felt like, like, [00:56:00] when the pain erupted in her head and her vision went obsidian, that was kind of him, like, I just imagine, like, fingers clutching the mind sort of thing, like, that was him grasping control of her. Because it’s It says that she stopped thinking clearly. So I kind of feel like that’s kind of him taking control and being like, okay, now you need to, you need to act and you need to act out in front of us.

[00:56:26] And, and her being a lady of the court, she would have, she would have handled it more discreetly and maybe even in private with Perrington, but with Him kind of clutching her and guiding her. He’s, like, manipulating her like a puppet. Like, you’re gonna come and confront me now, and I’m gonna escalate it by raising my voice, and now you’re gonna look like, you know.

[00:57:00] James: I think

[00:57:00] I could I could see that stance.

[00:57:04] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[00:57:06] James: But I also can see where, where she’s, She’s so, uh, out of her element, and she’s so fatigued, and she’s so This was the last straw, and it was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back. Because the plan was, she would be dead, Dorian would be crying, and she would be comforting Dorian.

[00:57:33] And none of those things happened. And so, I feel like her mind, you know, exploding and seeing obsidian is the same as when people get so angry that they see red. But for her, it was just a matter of, that was the, it was all fractured and that was the thing that split and then she just [00:58:00] lost it because, because she was just at her wit’s end and That’s kind of how I was looking.

[00:58:09] I mean, it could be, you know, he could have helped do it. But I think part of his plan has been keeping her so exhausted and just on edge because she can’t seem to, like, rest

[00:58:25] Ka-Ce: Mm hmm.

[00:58:25] James: and get her opium, you know,

[00:58:27] Ka-Ce: Yeah,

[00:58:29] James: she just was pushed to the brink and, and then she fell off.

[00:58:39] Ka-Ce: you make valid points. I also think I made valid points.

[00:58:44] James: It literally could be either one.

[00:58:47] Ka-Ce: It could be a combination of both. I mean, she was exhausted. She wasn’t getting rest. She had all those headaches. That makes a person easy to manipulate. Mm

[00:58:58] James: And we don’t know if those rings send out any sort of like. You know, pulsing power, or, you know, I mean, just being near him could be enough to, you know, drive her over the edge. Who knows?

[00:59:20] Ka-Ce: Chapter 51. The following day, Dorian stands before his father, wanting to know what was to become of Chaol. hoping that he wasn’t going to be punished or anything for killing Cain. The king sees no reason to rid himself of a perfectly capable captain of the guard. Dorian also wants to know what is to become of Celaena.

[00:59:41] The king thinks he should send her back to Endovier, that she’s a monster. If she had truly been good, she would’ve sensed the poison in her drink and not drunk it. So I feel like we touched on this a little bit earlier, like there’s no winning for Celaena. Like if she’s a really good assassin, she would’ve caught the [01:00:00] poison and not drunk it, but probably would’ve offended the king or. Maybe it would have worked in her favor. She could have been like, no, this wine has been poisoned. Everyone would have looked at Kaltain. That could have spurned the whole Kaltain thing earlier. Um, but who knows?

[01:00:22] James: and, and, why didn’t they try to poison Cain too? Like, why was it just her? Mm.

[01:00:30] Ka-Ce: Dorian is through sitting back from his father. Um, But let’s slip that he truly cares for Celaena.

[01:00:40] King tells Dorian he will send her his contract when he is good and ready, and not to bother him about it again. Dorian further tries to make a stand by telling his father that he doesn’t think they should go along with Perrington’s plan of using Nehemia as a hostage to curb the rebels. The King considers and tells Dorian he will tell Perrington to stop his planning.

[01:01:01] Which is a little surprising, but we’ll take it. Celaena wakes in pain, covered head to foot in bandages and slings. Without the eye of Elena, she has weird dreams of Elena, Nehemia, the demons, and the dead. Who wouldn’t? Nehemia visits, tells her that she saved her life. Nehemia has gifts that allow her to see what normally others can’t.

[01:01:26] The bloodbane poison allowed Celaena to see it too, which we talked about. And, um, so it Instead of hallucinating, there was something in Celaena’s blood that the bloodbane reacted to, and she was able to see this other world, this in between world. Nehemia kept her knowing of the common tongue a secret because people tend to drop their guard and spill secrets when she pretends to not know the language.

[01:01:56] She also wanted a friend in Celaena, hence why she asked for lessons, but her [01:02:00] and her family know word marks. know how to read and use them. It’s been passed down from generation to generation. She was aware of someone using them at the castle and discovered it was Cain summoning demons. This whole time Nehemia had to banish and destroy the demons um and clean up Cain’s messes every time he would portal one in.

[01:02:22] And lo and behold Cain didn’t know how to control the demons. That’s a scary thought. Nahemia also admits to drawing the ward marks under Celaena’s bed. They were for her protection, and without them, the ridderak would have been drawn to Celaena far sooner. Which makes me question, without them, the ridderak would have been drawn to Celaena a lot sooner, so was the ridderak drawn to the champions that he was drawn to for their power, for their strength?

[01:02:57] Nehemia is also the one that Drew opened the portal to Elena during Celaena’s fight. She doesn’t know Elena, but Elena is the one that came to Nehemia’s call. Elena had heard Celaena’s plea far before Nehemia opened the portal. The not ghost ghost queen was both in and not in this world.

[01:03:16] She was in the in between. Like the creatures, she couldn’t fully cross over. Lastly, Nahimi asks if Celaena knows what the wyrdmark is on her forehead, and Celaena doesn’t. Celaena asks why Nehemia is truly here. Is she here to spy? And the short answer is yes. Someday, Nehemia wants to know how Celaena is entangled with Elena.

[01:03:39] She leaves to take Fleetfoot for a walk, and she tosses the Eye of Alayna amulet back to Celaena. So, a lot of, a lot of things being revealed. Some questions being answered in this chapter.

[01:03:55] James: So, one of the questions that I had, actually, was, so, [01:04:00] Nehemia was the one, this whole time, cleaning up the mess, right?

[01:04:05] Ka-Ce: Mhm.

[01:04:05] James: So, does that mean that, literally, if she wasn’t there, that when Cain summoned a ridderak, it would have just been out all the time? Like, it killed a champion, and then it just would have been

[01:04:23] Ka-Ce: Roaming the

[01:04:23] James: Roaming the castle, killing, like, any other person it came across?

[01:04:28] Like,

[01:04:29] Ka-Ce: That’s what it sounds like.

[01:04:31] James: the bloodshed limited to just the champion? So, it’s like every time Cain summons one, kills a champion, and then Nehemia’s like, Oh crap, okay, send that one back through the portal, and then Cain summons another one. So.

[01:04:43] Ka-Ce: Like did Cain not realize

[01:04:46] that he couldn’t control them? Or was he just so, like, I have the power! Kill! Okay, I got the power. La di da, like. Mm hmm.

[01:05:02] James: But that’s not what it seemed like when Celaena happened upon him in the tunnel. he summoned the one because it came through the portal, and there seemed to be an understanding between them. Unless it was just more of like, I’ve come through the portal because you summoned me. Your reward is I’m not gutting you right now.

[01:05:26] And maybe that’s why Cain was like, I’m out. Because he knew if he stuck around that he would also be dinner. Like,

[01:05:34] Ka-Ce: Maybe, uh,

[01:05:38] James: right?

[01:05:39] Ka-Ce: yeah, yeah, yeah. I wish there was more, more explanation to this. Um, I mean, or was the plan to let the demons out, Cain siphons champions powers, and then just to let these demons loose [01:06:00] and cause chaos. But that doesn’t seem. in line with whatever Perrington and the king have lined up, you know?

[01:06:10] Like, it doesn’t fall into what they have planned. So, I don’t know.

[01:06:16] James: Well, yeah, I mean, if he had summoned one, and Nehemia didn’t send it back, would he have then continued to summon more and more? Or did he have to keep doing it because she kept sending them back, like,

[01:06:34] Ka-Ce: And would he have known? Like, does one demon just look like the rest to him? Like, they all just look the same and so he didn’t realize that Nehemia was sending them back or dispatching them.

[01:06:50] James: or, yeah, it’s a, interesting question on. what exactly the plan was and how much of it he was told versus just go do this thing and don’t worry about it.

[01:07:12] Ka-Ce: Yeah. I also want to know, so Nehemia tells Celaena that the bloodbane reacted to something in Celaena’s blood and that’s why she was able to see this like in between world and the demons and Elena and everything. So, does a bloodbane do that with everybody? Does it react to everybody’s blood or does it only react to certain type of blood?

[01:07:44] Because it sounded like, because Nehemia also comments further, magic calls to magic. So, if only somebody with a magical bloodline, that would happen? [01:08:00] I don’t know.

[01:08:04] James: it’s interesting because when, when she realized that she took the bloodbane, she knew that hallucinations were going to start. So apparently hallucinations are a well known side effect of the bloodbane. But is that because only people who have magic, you know, in their bloodline have reported that? Or, if you don’t have magic in your bloodline, do you just see, like, regular hallucinations?

[01:08:31] Ka-Ce: You just see colors and trippy things.

[01:08:35] James: You know. Does that mean, is it just a bloodbane? Is it all, like, substance, you know? Like, what’s the deal with Kaltain and her seeing the dark shadows around Cain when she was high on the opium? Does that mean that she also has

[01:08:51] Ka-Ce: Magic in her

[01:08:52] James: magic in her bloodline and the opium gives her an unlocking? I mean, it kind of opens up a question of, like, is it just the bloodbane or is it, like, these things, like you were saying with the, with the shamans, you know, um, is it just a matter of, of if you have magic in your system and then you take this thing that heightens your senses, whether it’s poison or opium, which is kind of a poison anyway, right?

[01:09:24] I mean,

[01:09:24] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:09:25] James: um, is that what kind of unlocks the ability to, to do that? It just, it opens up questions. I’m Where does the, where is the limitation on that, you know?

[01:09:40] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:09:43] James: I don’t know, it’s an interesting thing to think about.

[01:09:47] Celaena awakes the next day and she’s in pain. Rightfully so. I mean, her ribs should be bruised. Cracked, at least.

[01:09:56] Ka-Ce: Broken.

[01:09:58] James: Uh, Dorian visits, [01:10:00] and he can’t face her. He’s been having trouble sleeping. He feels guilty that he couldn’t save her. He carefully lies on the bed next to her as they talk.

[01:10:12] She asks him if he thought she would actually win, and he tells her yes. Ever since he met her, yes. He just wasn’t expecting all the feelings to come in between. Uh, they kiss, even though it hurts. Because they both know, this is just, you know. Um, the king. Strokes his sword, uh, nothong. Nothong? Leaving Perrington kneel before him, waiting.

[01:10:46] He still hasn’t sent the contract to Celaena. She was close to Dorian and Princess Nehemia. It could be a risk naming her the champion. He contemplates sending Dorian to the front lines to wisen him up to make him into a soldier. And unfortunately, Celaena is his best and only choice of champion now that Cain is dead. The king traced a wyrdmark on his glass throne. He knows about them. But he had never seen the one on her forehead. He would have to find out the meaning of her mark, especially since he had felt the dead both attack and protect her. Um, so he felt it, but he didn’t see it. Um, Perrington admits that he had been using power on Kaltain, but had to relax it a bit as she was, as she was showing signs, pale, drained, mentioning the headaches.

[01:11:47] She had been an experiment by Perrington. Both the king and Perrington wear the black rings. Cain proved the physical transformative effects of the power and Kaltain proved the ability to influence [01:12:00] thoughts and emotions. The King wants to further test its full ability. Perrington, despite himself, doesn’t want Kaltain to rotten the dungeon for long.

[01:12:10] The King tells him they will make her an offer she can’t refuse. He also tells Perrington to prepare himself. There’s much to do in Erilea, but to stop pushing his plan for Nehemia, Perrington nods, bows and leaves. So another chapter where we got a bunch of answers to just all the things that we were just talking about.

[01:12:35] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:12:35] James: Each chapter

[01:12:36] unlocks the questions that you had in the other chapter, right? And this goes all the way back to Kaltain in the greenhouse. You know, because if you remember, I was talking about how she’s, so I mean, I was kind of right, but you were also right. Right. Because she is fatigued and she is beaten down and that is making her more susceptible to the influence that Perrington is apparently using on her with his ring.

[01:13:06] So the side effect of, of him using the influence on her is making her so fatigued that it is making her more susceptible to the influence that he is using on her. Um, which also leads me to wonder that because she started getting these headaches, if that’s why she turned to the opium. To deal with it.

[01:13:37] Ka-Ce: And that further made

[01:13:39] James: And then that for, so you see the slippery slope here, where she just, poor girl didn’t stand a chance. Mmm,

[01:13:47] Ka-Ce: So I wonder if Perrington

[01:13:50] sought her out and found her, like, to be, like, Like, there, there must be [01:14:00] something part of Kaltain that made her susceptible to his power. And that’s when he was like, Come to court. I will shower you with dresses and riches and blah, blah, blah. And she was like, Oh, this Duke wants to give me attention and money and he’s willing to take me to court.

[01:14:19] Court is where I can like, try to nab the prince. Not seeing, you know, anything else. And She’s like, yeah, sure. I’ll show you a little something, something, and, uh, you know, I’ll promise you a little something, something if you take me to court. And he’s like, yes, girl. Sure. But already his power is starting to work in on her.

[01:14:43] James: As I say, she didn’t stand a chance from the beginning.

[01:14:46] Ka-Ce: No, no. And you’re right. She, she was a victim from the beginning. Sad to say.

[01:14:54] James: Yeah, and so then we also learned that the king knows about the wyrdmarks.

[01:14:59] And so, him being surprised and standing up when the wyrdmark appeared on Celaena wasn’t so much because he was surprised about the wyrdmark. It was more of he didn’t recognize it. And it was kind of like, Okay, I can feel the legions of the dead, but I can also feel another dead thing helping her? And then this thing appears on her forehead and it’s like, Okay, just what in the hell is going on here?

[01:15:33] wyrdmark

[01:15:34] itself was not even the thing that, like, concerned him.

[01:15:38] Ka-Ce: It was the presence of the dead wanting to kill her and protect her.

[01:15:43] James: Yeah, like everything, else, but he was like, yeah, okay wyrdmark. I need to learn what that one means but

[01:15:51] wyrdmarks are old news

[01:15:54] Ka-Ce: Were

[01:15:54] you surprised to find out that the king knew about the wyrdmarks and the wyrdgate?

[01:15:59] James: No, not [01:16:00] at all. No Um, no when I had made the connection Between the black ring that the king had and the black ring that Perrington had and the black ring that cain had I was like, no The king I Like, I didn’t necessarily think, oh, the king knows about wyrdmarks. Um, but when they were talking about the king knowing the wyrdmarks, I was like, okay, yeah, that makes sense.

[01:16:25] Like, it was not a surprise to me. And, I mean, I caught on fairly early that the king was not the good guy, you know. Um, yeah. His plans are devious and we don’t know exactly what.

[01:16:46] Ka-Ce: Yeah, they go on. Alright, chapter 53. It’s been a week and Celaena is healing up nicely and she is wanting, this girl wants her salary so she can start shopping for a brand new wardrobe. Nehemia and Dorian take turns taking care of her. However, the world stopped when Chaol finally entered her room. Things are strained between them as they ask each other how they are.

[01:17:18] Celaena thanks him for saving her. She also offers her sympathy for his first kill, knowing what it’s like. Cain admits he can’t stop thinking of it. He asks how Cain knew how her parents died and she lies, telling him she doesn’t know. Chaol tells her he is sorry how they died, er, tells her he is sorry they died like that.

[01:17:40] Chaol tries to abruptly leave, but Celaena pulls him. back into a hug. She could have stayed forever in that embrace, but Dorian interrupts them. Chaol pulls away fast and he leaves. Dorian tells her he has news. The king has made the contract and she is to sign it tomorrow in his council [01:18:00] chamber. Four years of servitude and then she’s finally free.

[01:18:05] Celaena looks to the hall where Chaol disappeared wondering if she can catch up to him. Dorian kisses her and she pulls back. She tells him she can’t be with him if she is to be the king’s champion. Dorian says they can still be together, they’re just gonna have to keep it a secret. Because every girl wants to hear that. She wanted him, she cared for him, but a lasting relationship with the crown prince wouldn’t end well. He was the heir to the throne. In four years, she is going to be free, and she’s never been free in her entire life. She wants to know what that feels like. She was disappointed when Dorian said, "As you wish."

[01:18:43] She wants to stay friends, and he tells her, "Always." Dorian leaves, letting her know that Nehemia is on her way to tell Celaena the same news. And Nehemia is going to be mad that Dorian beat her. Celaena looks to the window, hand on her heart, whispering the word to herself over and over, Free. I’m not going to lie, I was sad that Celaena broke up with Dorian.

[01:19:08] Because I love Dorian. I understand why she did it. You know, she’s an assassin, he’s heir to the throne, there’s no future. Um, you know, and plus, like she said, she’s in four years time, she’s gonna be free. And she wants to fully embrace that and experience that and not be tied down. And the relationship with Dorian is, you’re always going to be tied to the throne and expectation of council members and the laws and the people.

[01:19:40] There is no freedom in that. But I was still heartbroken.

[01:19:45] James: And why would she want to spend any minute longer in the castle with the king that murdered her family?

[01:19:52] Ka-Ce: Right?

[01:19:54] James: Like, that’s not an option. Oh, he’s going to be your father in law. Yeah, [01:20:00] excuse the hell out of you.

[01:20:04] Ka-Ce: Not to mention, like, that, that would be a horrible father in law. But whoever Dorian marries, like the first expectation is when are you getting pregnant, you need to produce an heir. And that would just immediately, like, there goes her freedom. Bye.

[01:20:19] James: Yeah, there’s no freedom with, and that’s the whole thing is there is, there is no freedom with Dorian. Unfortunately, it’s, he would have to give up his title

[01:20:35] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:20:35] James: would the king even let him do that? I mean, he’s got a younger brother, but

[01:20:39] Ka-Ce: But I mean, even Dorian can look at his younger brother and be like, oh no, that little shit should not be heir to the throne. He cannot be crown prince. So it’s hurtful, it’s heartbreaking, especially for Dorian because he has truly come to love her and I think respect her despite, you know, her being the assassin and everything.

[01:21:06] Um, but yeah, he has an obligation to the throne and to the people and you, throughout this book, what little side stories that we got with him, We see that he wants to be a good king. He wants to be a good person and he wants to do right by the people. He just doesn’t know how yet. He’s getting there.

[01:21:29] James: He can’t yet. I

[01:21:35] Ka-Ce: feel like there was a, uh, a language writing change through this. Like something happened within that battle with Cain and now Celaena is seeing Chaol, like, in a whole new light because the, I feel like the language in this chapter of her watching Chaol and seeing Chaol, her eyes going to the [01:22:00] hallway to see if she could catch up to Chaol, like, her heart is already chasing after Chaol and has already shut the door on Dorian.

[01:22:08] As much as she loves Dorian. Mm

[01:22:13] James: think with Dorian just not being an option, she knows it, he knows it, whether he wants to accept it, you know, that’s a whole thing. You know, and, and despite the hardship that Chaol and Celaena have been through, right? With their constantly seeming to, like, miss each other, with their, um, the way that they communicate, and, and everything.

[01:22:47] Chaol, he, he showed up. He, you know, they had this battle. She collapsed, and Dorian was there, like, you know, let me, what, how can I help you? But Chaol, was watching her back because he just, you know, for whatever reason looked at this entire thing and went, you know, whether that’s instinct or training or whatever, but he is the one that had her back and, and stepped in at that moment where she would have died.

[01:23:26] And, you know, Dorian was holding her and she would have died in his arms and killed. Didn’t let that happen because he was so focused on, um, like, protect mode and keeping her safe.

[01:23:41] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:23:42] James: And I think that said a lot to her, that despite everything, the ribbing and the insults and the, you know, everything, when it came down to it, had her back.

[01:23:54] And, you know, that says a lot.[01:24:00]

[01:24:00] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:24:01] James: So.

[01:24:01] Ka-Ce: does. Especially since she hasn’t had that in quite a long time.

[01:24:08] James: Yeah, I feel like that was a very, um, Sam kind of thing.

[01:24:16] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:24:17] James: You know, just, that’s all I’m saying about that. Go read Assassin’s Blade. Um, but, you know, yeah, it’s, you do, you see the shift and I think part of that is because, uh, Dorian is just. Not an option, being the prince. And, you know, Chaol showed that he cared, and he cared so much that he was willing to put himself in the way. I mean, if he had misstepped, he would have been killed.

[01:24:55] Ka-Ce: true.

[01:24:55] James: he didn’t even, didn’t even think about it.

[01:24:57] He stepped right in and just, boom.

[01:25:01] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:25:01] James: So,

[01:25:05] Ka-Ce: Do you think Dorian’s, as you wish, is in reference to the princess bride?

[01:25:10] James: definitely. Especially when he’s going down the hill. As you wish. Yeah,

[01:25:18] Ka-Ce: I saw those 3 words and was like OMG Princess

[01:25:22] Bride. And then my heart broke even more because she broke up with Dorian. I’m like,

[01:25:28] James: Poor Dorian.

[01:25:33] He’ll be okay though.

[01:25:36] Ka-Ce: Or will he?

[01:25:37] James: Eh, well, you know. So, uh, going in chapter 54, several hours later, Chaol is in search of Dorian, and he finds himself back in Celaena’s dining room. How the hell did that happen, Chaol? He can’t stop thinking about the fact that he killed Cain [01:26:00] and the king still hadn’t mentioned anything about it. Celaena informs Chaol that Dorian isn’t there and to not expect him any longer because she’s ended things. He tells her he was wondering when she was going to come to her senses. She invites him to stay for dinner and he accepts. Later Celaena finds herself in the tomb and knew right away that she was dreaming. Although, based on past, uh, experience, maybe she wasn’t, who knows?

[01:26:35] Ka-Ce: Dreamwalking?

[01:26:37] James: yeah, Celaena often visited the tomb in her dreams.

[01:26:41] Elena leans against the tomb, and, back in her regular gown. She tells Celaena that she could be great, greater than her even. History has forgotten a lot, like the fact that she was a warrior and she fought at Gavin’s side. But Celaena, that Celaena could rattle the stars. Elena tells her that from the king’s side, she’ll be able to see what needs to be done.

[01:27:08] Her friends need her, and when Celaena’s ready, she will hear the others. The others that cry out and need help. As Celaena leaves, she thanks Elena for saving her life. Elena responds in a whisper, blood ties can’t be broken.

[01:27:27] Ka-Ce: Our ghost, our not ghost, ghost queen is still leaving some riddles.

[01:27:32] James: Riddles, um, but one of the things I did, I did really want to address Or, just, I guess, make a note of, um, make note of, is, um, Celaena is very, not Celaena, uh, Elena, is very pointed about this thing that history has forgotten. [01:28:00] Over time, it has become, you know, Gavin did this, and Gavin did that, and Elena was his queen. And

[01:28:10] Ka-Ce: She was a damsel in the tower with the amulet that needed rescuing.

[01:28:15] James: And, and Elena, in her own right, was a warrior queen. She helped Gavin carve out this kingdom. Um, and it’s just, you know, so often we hear about that, I mean, just in our real life. know, how often do we hear these stories, particularly nowadays when people are really talking about things about, you know, the women who discovered Bluetooth, the woman who discovered Wi Fi and Bluetooth and, um,

[01:28:49] Ka-Ce: woman who wrote Frankenstein.

[01:28:52] James: Yeah, exactly.

[01:28:53] History

[01:28:54] forgets the accomplishments of these people and

[01:29:01] Ka-Ce: these women.

[01:29:02] James: Yeah, of these women and It’s just, um, a tie in, I guess. Just, you know. You have to remember that Elena was, in her own right, a warrior. And, you know, she didn’t need no man to save her.

[01:29:26] Ka-Ce: No, no she didn’t. Yeah, it is interesting. History has forgotten a lot. People have forgotten a lot. And not just with our own women and men taking credit for them, but I think even now we can see in our political landscape people forgetting our history even 50, 60, 70 years ago, 100 years ago, and we’re starting to repeat all of this, um, crap again, but[01:30:00]

[01:30:02] James: Yeah.

[01:30:02] Ka-Ce: sucks.

[01:30:03] James: It’s, uh.

[01:30:05] Ka-Ce: But, I mean, I’m glad Elena came back in the dream state and is continuing to guide Celaena whether Celaena wants the guidance or not.

[01:30:20] James: I’m just glad that our not ghost ghost queen was actually helpful.

[01:30:24] Ka-Ce: For once.

[01:30:26] James: We went the whole book without her doing anything except being all, like, spooky and like, Ooh, watch for this and watch for that.

[01:30:34] Ka-Ce: but she, she did say, look to your right during the poison test, so.

[01:30:39] James: I mean, well, she didn’t actually say during the poison test. She just said, look to your right.

[01:30:45] Ka-Ce: Okay, fine.

[01:30:49] James: So, yeah, spooky, hoo, hoo, and in here, she came out guns blazing. She was like, I got my sword, I got my armor, y’all better back the hell up.

[01:31:02] Ka-Ce: Yeah, she did do a lot during that scene, and she helped draw the poison, um, in Celaena.

[01:31:10] James: Um, yeah, so do you think that her blood ties can’t be broken? And do you think that that means anything in particular? particular

[01:31:25] Ka-Ce: I thought the first read, I thought, oh, that’s an interesting, an interesting sentence, um, what does she mean by that? Like, will we get any more of that, um, re reading the books, um. It makes more sense. You’ll, you’ll see why later on in the books. It makes more sense. Um, and it’s also kind of fucked up. So without giving spoilers, I will leave it at that.

[01:31:56] James: When I first read it, my initial thought was [01:32:00] Is Elena trying to tell her that she’s like a descendant of, like, the bloodline? Like, without really saying it, you know?

[01:32:09] Ka-Ce: Like, Grandma came here to save you.

[01:32:11] James: Yeah, I mean, that’s literally That’s literally what I was thinking, like Is Elena being cryptic and saying, like I came to your aid because your blood is my blood and those, you know, bonds can’t be broken because of whatever whatever.

[01:32:29] Um, but she’s so vague about it, it, I mean, it might not have even been about her,

[01:32:36] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:32:37] James: Then it’s like, oh, was there a, you know, a blood bond between her and Nehemia? Like, or, like, just,

[01:32:45] it could be literally anything. Um. Yeah.

[01:32:52] Ka-Ce: Kinda

[01:32:53] sets up for future future books.

[01:32:56] up Like, what, what is their tie besides this? Like, why did Elena come to Celaena in the first place? Other than Celaena goes snooping around in secret tunnels. Um,

[01:33:06] James: Right.

[01:33:07] Ka-Ce: without trying to give any spoilers, And I don’t think you would pick this up on your first read, but maybe you did. Um, Celaena mentions a couple of her dreams that she’s been having.

[01:33:22] Like, being trapped inside of Elena’s sarcophagus. Which is It’s hella scary, scary and disturbing, um, and also to face a featureless young woman with golden hair and a crown far too heavy for her to bear. do you think these, like, are a setup, or do you think they might be letting us know maybe what is to come?

[01:33:45] Did those trigger anything for you? I’m just curious.

[01:33:48] James: I mean, not in particular. And honestly, I’m not even sure if it’s really triggering anything now, even though I’m halfway through Queen of Shadow. [01:34:00] So now I’m like, shit, did I miss something?

[01:34:03] Ka-Ce: No, not yet.

[01:34:06] James: Oh, so I, okay. But, I, I figured they were probably just, um, I don’t know.

[01:34:12] Ka-Ce: Dream

[01:34:13] James: Just dream references for, you know, because she spent so much time in the tomb, and she has made reference that even though Elena’s spirit is out and about, that her body is in the tomb, and

[01:34:27] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:34:28] James: does she rest in there, or does she rest somewhere else? You know, um, and, you know, yeah, I mean, the whole, like, golden hair crown thing You know, that could maybe be a reference to her childhood, since we just don’t really know,

[01:34:50] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:34:51] James: know, um, Or it could be a reference to, well, it could be a reference to anything. I mean, she’s dealing with the king and Dorian and, you know, just a lot, you know. So I didn’t, I didn’t pay any real special attention to. Much of that, other than just putting, you know, oh, just She’s been through a lot and she’s just having whacked out dreams.

[01:35:20] Ka-Ce: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, to be honest, yeah, my first read, I didn’t pick up on that. I was just like, oh, yeah, that’s, that’s some weird ass dreams. I would be dreaming weird ass stuff too after going through all of that.

[01:35:31] James: hmm.

[01:35:33] Ka-Ce: and then as a reread and then reading this, you know, to make show notes, I was like, oh, yeah.

[01:35:37] Oh, okay. I might be the only one,

[01:35:46] James: will I get it when I get there?

[01:35:49] Ka-Ce: if you remember, yes, maybe. I could be the only one just pulling this, you know, out of my hat. But to me, it like, it was like a trigger, like, Oh my God, [01:36:00] is this setting up? Is this, but you wouldn’t get it like on your first read because it didn’t really pop out at you and it didn’t pop out at me the first time.

[01:36:09] It was just rereading it now that I was like, oh my God. Like

[01:36:13] James: okay.

[01:36:14] Ka-Ce: so We’ll ha we’ll see. We’ll see if like when you come to certain points, maybe you’ll be like, oh my God, and you’ll have to let me know. Let us, let us all know if, if you got the same like aha moment.

[01:36:28] James: Okay.

[01:36:29] Ka-Ce: Alright, so, our very last chapter of Throne of Glass.

[01:36:33] The following day, Celaena is in the glass throne room, ready to sign the contract that would bind her to the king, to be the king’s champion for four years. As she’s about ready to sign, the king threatens her, because of course he does, letting her know that there is to be no questioning him, no rebellion on her part.

[01:36:52] If she were caught, she will deny connection to him. If she ever fails to complete a mission or forgets to return, he will kill Chaol. Then he will kill Nehemia. And then he will kill their siblings and their parents and anyone related. And she’s like, Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. As soon as she signs the contract, the king orders her out and to await his command.

[01:37:17] Chaol accompanies her out and tells her he likes the sound of Celaena Sardothien, the king’s champion. And when he asks if she wants to know about her first mission, she says no. Tell her tomorrow. And that, my friends, is the wrap up of the first book of Throne of Glass.

[01:37:38] James: Woooooooow

[01:37:42] Ka-Ce: so I feel like, um, there were kind of mixed things from the King. Like, he wants to know, you know, that glowing blue mark on her forehead. He wants to know what that wyrdmark was. And he wants to know why the dead both attacked [01:38:00] and wanted to protect her. But at the same time, he’s like, If you look at me wrong, you’re dead.

[01:38:06] If you think about fleeing, you’re dead. And your friends are dead. If you try to question me on a job I give you, you’re dead. So like, what does he want more? Does he want her dead more? Or does he want to know about the mark and the, all the other stuff that happened during her battle with Cain?

[01:38:29] James: I think he’s being very pissy, like, because he didn’t get the champion he wanted. And, as we, as we know, and as we see very much later, the king gets what he wants. And this is a thing that he didn’t want. And he’s still gonna use her to, you know, to, to his end. But Cain would have been,

[01:38:56] Ka-Ce: A yes man.

[01:38:57] James: A yes man, unyielding, and, uh, not unyielding,

[01:39:03] Ka-Ce: Unquestioning.

[01:39:04] James: unquestioning, with just, whatever, King says go kill this person, Cain would have been like, with pleasure. And even though Celaena also acts like that, you know, just from her character, you know how she is, and she’s gonna question, and she’s gonna,

[01:39:24] Ka-Ce: Rebel

[01:39:24] James: rebel in her own way, Because we, we know that that’s how she operated when she was in the Assassin’s Guild. When she, you know, she was very clear that, that she

[01:39:38] Ka-Ce: it. Yeah.

[01:39:39] James: was able to, to question Arobynn on, you know, the um, the missions and she had rules that she wouldn’t break and the king is not, on that level you don’t question and say well yeah but that’s a child and the king says and is there a problem with that? [01:40:00] You know um so it’s going to be a very interesting dynamic i think between the unyielding king and the now champion. What does she do four years there’s a lot of stuff that that somebody can make you do in four years.

[01:40:21] Ka-Ce: Uh,

[01:40:22] Yea. Oh Yea. And

[01:40:25] he is ruthless and,

[01:40:27] James: yeah.

[01:40:28] Ka-Ce: you know, she, she has her morals. Even for an assassin, she has her morals.

[01:40:35] James: Which means

[01:40:35] nothing to a king hellbent on conquering everything. So

[01:40:43] um, yeah, so I feel like the king was just not super happy with the way that things ended, you know, but he is going to just make minor adjustments. And he’ll figure it out.

[01:40:59] Ka-Ce: Yeah.

[01:41:00] James: So. And then, yeah. And I love how she’s just like, Yeah, I’m not dealing with this today. Tell me tomorrow.

[01:41:12] Ka-Ce: Yeah. Yeah. She’s like, nope.

[01:41:18] James: So. So yeah, that, everybody, is Throne of Glass. We made it through the entire book, and, Yeah, I mean, this is a great ride. Ups and downs, questions and theories and just, you know, were there twists in there that you weren’t expecting? Were you like me, where you pretty much looked at it and you went, you know, something’s gonna happen with this, but I don’t quite know what it is, but I know who it involves.

[01:41:55] And that’s how I’ve been through most of the rest of the series, as I’ve been reading [01:42:00] through it, I’m pretty good at spotting when things are going to go down, but I don’t always figure out exactly what is going to go down, or who’s involved. So it does make for some nice surprises. Next week, we will be going over the two bonus scenes of Throne of Glass.

[01:42:26] One takes place before Throne of Glass, and one takes place between Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight, which is what our next one is. We will post links so that you can read them, and we will also be refreshing ourselves on them. Um, we want to say thank you to everyone who has, uh, been listening and enjoying our podcasts on Spotify and Apple and YouTube and If you like it, please subscribe. We love it.

[01:43:02] We love seeing just people interacting with with our stuff and again, let us know if you’ve got, you know, thoughts, if you disagreed with anything that we said. Do you think we missed something that was worth talking about? Um, cause we can only cover so much and I’m sure there’s probably tons of stuff in there that, that we just didn’t even see.

[01:43:29] Um, cause everybody reads the story differently. Let us know in the comments or you can email us at hello at bookscatsandchaos. com

[01:43:39] Ka-Ce: Please remember to like, subscribe, and comment. Your ratings and likes really do mean the world to us. And if you like what you hear so far, share with your friends and family. You can also check us out on several social media platforms, TikTok, Instagram, Threads. I signed us up for Tome, so that should be coming [01:44:00] out like on the 28th, and just all the social medias.

[01:44:04] Um, as we head out.

[01:44:07] James: we’ll have stuff up on Goodreads, too, I think, right?

[01:44:10] Ka-Ce: Yes. Yes, we will have a Goodreads account. Um, and if you are interested, let us know if you’re interested in us doing, uh, something on Fable and maybe doing like a, a monthly book club read together or something. that can always be an option. As we head out, please don’t forget to give some love to our friends over at K911 ResQ.

[01:44:34] They have been working around the clock to post and share and help as much as they can about the animals, uh, rescued from the recent LA fires. And we would also like to give a shout out to Pasadena Humane Society who, oh my god, they have just been working so much and so hard. They’ve been, you know, rescuing, treating.

[01:44:56] all of the animals from the recent LA fires, Pasadena fires, and they’re trying to recruit, recruit, sorry, they are trying to reunite animals from these LA fires with their family. You know, they’re trying to find, I, I hate to say this, but any remains, scanning microchips, you know, trying to bring as much closure as they can.

[01:45:20] They do need your help. They do need donations. So we will actually drop both of their links in our show notes below. So K911 ResQ and Pasadena Humane Society.

[01:45:32] James: Alright, sounds good. So we will plan to see you guys next time, as we go through the bonus chapters.

[01:45:41] Ka-Ce: yep,

[01:45:42] James: And then immediately we will start, um, Crown of Midnight.

[01:45:49] Ka-Ce: yep.

[01:45:49] James: So start reading.

[01:45:52] Ka-Ce: Happy reading, everyone!

[01:45:54] James: See ya [01:46:00] later.