S6 : Ep 21 — The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker : Part 3

Welcome to "Flights of Fantasy," your romanticy podcast book club. I'm Anna, joined by my book Bestie's Kim and Christina, and together we're diving into the character's theories, lore, and magic behind all your favorite fantasy romance books. Alright, listeners, welcome back to our final episode of "The Ballad of Falling Dragons" by Sarah A. Parker. Over the last two episodes, we have covered a lot. In part one, we dove deep into the other slatra, and the beautiful, complicated relationship between Reeve and Kahn. In part two, we took a little pivot, and we went on some adventures with Veja, Grim, Pairok, and of course, Arkin, and the huge reveal that had us all screaming. Which means today there is only one thing left for us to talk about, and that is the ending. All of those final pivotal chapters, there is so much to unpack here, I cannot wait for us to get into it, especially our silver ribbon theories at the end. So with that being said, let's buckle up, let's dive in, but before we give our official spoiler warning, Christina has some announcements. Yes, listeners, if you are looking for even more "Ballad content" from us, specifically video content from your book festies, head on over to Patreon, where you can find our six chapter chat read-along video episodes. If you're unfamiliar with our chapter chat series, these are videos where we stop throughout our read of the book, and record all of our thoughts, and theories, and reactions, and spirals all in real time as we make our way through. So if you want to experience all of that chaos with us, chapter by chapter, those are waiting for you over on Patreon. And as a reminder, as a tier two patron, you can access to our entire back catalog of chapter chats, where we have covered 11 different books, including when the moon hatched, "Writes of the Starlink," "Crescent City 3," on its dorm, so much more. Also, don't forget this month we are covering "Metalslinger" by Rachel Snyder, exclusively on Patreon. We'll be bringing you a few of Anna's famous read-along videos, followed by a full book chat video episode covering "Metalslinger." And of course don't forget about our Patreon Mass Masterclass series, where we are covering all things Sarah J. Mass and the Mass Verse, leading up to "Akatar 6 and 7." So for all of that plus early access to episodes, add free episodes, and the full video version of every episode, head on over to patreon.com/flightsafinitypodcast. We would love to welcome you into our Patreon family. Okay, Anna, let's do this, spoiler warning time! Alrighty guys, consider this your official spoiler warning for all things when the moon hatched and the ballot of falling dragons. This is our final episode. There is a lot to go into, and my god are we gonna get into it all! So let's dive in! Woo! Alright, we are gonna kick off this episode with "Ovy and the Bloodbind." Now, before we get into some specific quotes surrounding "Ovy's character" and what they could potentially mean going into book three, it's important to remember that "Ovy claims he knows how to break the bloodbind that is tying Sarim to rape." Which is a huge deal considering that bloodbinds are repeatedly described throughout the series as something that is essentially impossible to undo. But "Ovy" being the special little mysterious flower that he is explains that he believes bloodbinds can be unraveled. He says like loosening the threads of a knot, which is interesting. The way he explains it, I'm like, "should that make sense?" Yeah! Cute little nine year old silver eyed boy. The catch, however, is that Rave has to return to the exact location where the bind was originally sewn. Meaning, the group has to travel back across the plains and descend underground to the place where Rave was essentially at Death's door before she bound herself to Sarim in the first place. So, before Christina walks us through that, let's kind of just quickly chat about "Ovy" and we're gonna start with this quote. So Rave finds him, he's huddled in a little makeshift nest with his egg before it hatches and then, of course, gruff and hatches. He's like rattling off thoughts that are in her mind. He keeps saying them out loud and answering her thoughts and she looks at him and she says, "You're a mindweft." And this is his response. They say, "I'm all sorts of things. None of them understand. Not like your other does." Y'all? What? I'm sorry, come again? "Ovy?" What do you mean, "not like your other understands?" Okay, the boy is silver. Silver eyes, silver hair. He hums. He literally has songs inside of him as a direct quote. The parallels. We don't know why it's important, but all these things are vastly important, everyone. Yes. I need to understand. I also think there's something with his lungs. He has really bad lungs. He can't breathe well. It's really giving, maybe he was a little egg that was breathed into and not all the way in an allume wing. It seems like a loom. Exactly. I don't know. Something. He's got silver eyes. He's silver-haired. He is a special little flower who knows all, apparently. Yes. He can interpret things. He knows when things are going to happen. He has a song inside of him. Well, this is a quote. So this is when they've crossed the plains and he's like, "Rave, we've got to go back to deeper underground so that I can unbind you." But he's struggling to talk and struggling to breathe because the air is so bad. Yeah. And she's like, "No, we're done. It doesn't matter. I want to keep you safe." And he says, "You can't change my mind. The song inside me tells me it's right and it's going to be okay." My blood chills. I meet cons on certain gays overshadowed by a heavy frown. And they all go, "What do you mean by that, Avi? What song?" And he says, "It'll make sense one day I promise." Willett. Willett, Avi. We're just saying. There is so much humming and music in this book and Kayless and Kaisari at the end are singing to each other. They're such a weird little love duo. It's so funny. But they're singing to each other. Clearly, there is something here with the silver. Slotra is silver. A loom is silver when she breathes life into a loom. The giant saber sight that Grim has bonded to is silver. The egg that Slotra breathes life to in the molten mow. Now there's going to be a silver molten mow. We've got one of every dragon is silver. Pin it for silver. Just hashtag silver everybody. Alright, Christina, walk us through this bloodbind breaking of it. Oh yeah, the bloodbind. You know, as if we didn't have enough to deal with the bloodbind. We do need to resolve this. So this bloodbind, as you said, to break it, it requires Reav to return to the physical state that she was in right before it was sewn. Which means she is really, really unwell. Guys, after her escape from market, let's go back to that place. I mean, she's like skeletal and covered in burns. And she's been stabbed and she's bleeding out. And it's just really bad. So obviously, Khan is freaking out seeing her like this. And our protective sweet Khan is really, really struggling with this. And even though he is struggling and it is a very dire situation, they still find a way to banter and be themselves here. And he just says, "Reav," and she says, "Sire," he says, "Why are you hiding?" It doesn't count as a question if your voice doesn't hit you at the end. She says, "Voice rougher than usual." Meaning I'm not obliged to answer. I grind my back molars. Why are you hiding? I try again, prepared to give it to her in three other languages if she fucking asks for it. Oh, they're banter. I just, I love them so much. So the bind is broken, but she has to bind to something else long story short. Rave is now bound to the book avoid. Fascinating. That seems really important. I don't even understand how that's possible. The book is a book, but also the Eldingbirds flew back into it and also she's bound to it. And also she's the only one who can hold it and also it can disappear and reappear. Wrote the book. There is so much happening with this book that has yet to be discussed or told to us. Yeah. We only know what is written. There's just too much uncertainty and it's making me nervous. I don't like it. The fact that she's bound to it makes it even more important. And it's going to play even more of a role. Also, I need to remind everyone that Sireem is in possession of the book avoid at the end of this book. So hate that. How? Because she captures Rave at this moment, right? This is when she gets captured. So Rave just gets finished being bound to the book avoid. So Rave shows up with Arkin and his. Well, Arkin's out there, but because they all work together. Yeah. They show up and they capture her and Khan and Abbi and she has the book avoid. Well, that is horrible, dude. I miss that. Yeah. There was so much else going on. Oh my god. She has the book avoid and Arkin is an Eldingbird. This is really unfortunate. Well, it's not boating well for book three. I mean, she's not going to be able to read it. She can't do anything with it. No. I don't know. She is interesting. I don't know what she is. So like we said, Rave, Khan and Abbi are captured. Now, this is a trap that has all been laid by Arkin. He knew they were going to be there. He has his little Michigan who foretold that this is what was going to happen. We get to, as we call it, every book has one, the dinner party from hell. Rave first, of course, has her moment in the cell with Khaizari. He is dragged into this dining room. Khan is bound and gagged to a chair. Arkin is sitting at the head of the table. She is sat down as well. Khan and her iron shackles, they cannot access their elemental songs. And Arkin reveals that he is the head of the fear duof, which is the rebel group that Rave has been fighting for. She has been a part of the rebel group and Serim was her interim person that she would talk to when they would get their orders from the head of the group. Which I remember in chapter 1, we got to the reveal that Arkin had an elder bird. The way you and I were like, hold on. Hold the phone. Are you telling me that the rebel group that Rave has been fighting for, the children and the women that she has been rescuing and sending to the floor is actually run by Arkin? - That, we suspected that, but then to get this reveal here, was brutal. - And brutal for Rave. - It's so twisted. - It tracks for Arcan, but it is so twisted and hard for Rave to grapple with in this moment. - Not only was she working for Arcan, but she actually never escaped. And that's the real kicker, is that she thinks she escaped his oppressive control, but all she did was bind herself to Sereem and Sereem was doing her bidding from Arcan. - Yep. - And Arcan let it happen. - Yeah. - Like that is such a mind fog. - It's horrible. - This quote from Arcan is so well done. He goes, "You should have known better, fire, lard. Truly." - Oh. - He is so evil. - He is such a good villain because he makes us feel these things. - Yeah. - We went into this in-depth last week. Why he's such a good villain? And this is a perfect example in these moments where you are like, he is so twisted and also interesting to read on page because he brings out these feelings. He is so unsettling in so many ways. - When we were doing our dress rehearsal for this, you said he reminds you kind of the Joker. He's just the definition of unsettling. Rave gets this reveal and it breaks her and there's this wonderful quote, her inner model, like she says, "Because I wasn't reborn fearless, it was burnt from me in bits, now caught in the clenched fists of a male who stalks my slumbered terrors." Her worst fear is being realized. Everyone she loves is at the hands of the monster who created the person that she is today. - Exactly. - She is the way she is because of all the torture she endured under Arkin. - Yes. - And there is this really great cinematic moment where Arkin is just the epitome of evil and he's staring at her and he keeps feeding her food and she's not touching it, but she also knows she can't egg him on. She knows how psychologically fucked he is and she's like, "I can't aggravate him. I have to kind of play this very, very carefully." And meanwhile, Khan is across the room rattling in his chair, gagged, wanting to get to rave and she is imploring him with her eyes, like, stop. You gotta play the game. - I played this game for years. I am shifting back into what I have to do and I need you to follow my lead. I mean, it's impossible for him to give in what is happening to rave. - So, Arkin is brought in and rave is like, "I can't let him know that I care about Arvie." So she tenses up and like, "Doesn't make eye contact." And Arkin says, "Well, it's important you know that it was never my intention for the child to die." The Michigan 412 certain outcomes based on the information we provided you and the actions of your binder. It was just a little game, Fire Lark, another song for you to dance to. - Oh God. - And then he goes, "Though I must say, I loathe being forced to resort to such measures to simply and then he screams, get your attention." The way he snaps. - Yes. - So quickly? - Yes. - Like, it's another little song for you to dance to. - Whoa. - It's so unsettling. And at this point, he's like, slapping bits of meat on her plate to the point where blood is like, splattering on her. It is so unsettling. And again, like we've said, it's a Joker thing. It's a villain moment that really sticks with you in a way that was not pleasant, but really well crafted. - So this brings us to the moment at the dinner party from hell. Where Arkin decides to bring out a little family reading time. And he comes out with Eloen's diary. This was so traumatic to read in a way that you have wanted these characters to have this experience of learning this knowledge together. Or at this point, majority of two books. And to have it told to them by Arkin in this really horrible way was so rough to read. It's also a moment that is climactic. We've been working our way here for so long for everyone to understand these reveals, for all the secrets to be like a better word, put out on the table, laid out there. - Yeah. - In true Arkin fashion, he does it in the cruelest way. He is taunting them, reading this diary. And he reveals to them that Kaisari is their child. And then we get this quote from Rafe. "Con finally meets my gaze as twin tears slipped on his cheeks as my own loosen falling. He stares at me with eyes that bear a crushing amount of pain, the pile already sitting on my chest now growing too heavy to breathe beneath. Because I already know the outcome, I already know how this ends." With Con not knowing he had a daughter, now Kais in the same cell I lived in for phases, a beautiful daughter raised by his younger brother in the shades decorated capital, whom I hugged and cradled moments ago without knowing she was mine. - Oh, God. - A daughter born of our undying love into a world that's left her beaten, broken, barely clinging to life in a world that's failed her, just like I've failed her by not listening to Con. Not letting him tell me the important truths I so desperately wanted to avoid by cowering from my past. This is so hard because we've gone on such a journey with Rafe. And her getting to this point and being mad at herself for the journey, being mad at herself for the way she handled her past is so realistic in this moment that she's taking this blame and shining it inward. And we see Con to the same thing when we're later in the fighting pits. He's like, "I failed them, I failed both of them." And it's so hard to read because you're like, "You've done such a good job, Rafe, you've come so far." But of course, she's taking it this way and it is so hard for them also to see each other going through this at the same time. It's not just themselves, they're seeing the other one go through this. - Yes. - While being orchestrated by Arcan. And there's a quote later, where Con admits that he wished that he could tell Kaisari, that he has wished that Kaisari was his every day since she was born. And it's so sad and it's heartbreaking. But again, it leads them to where plot-wise we need to be. We've spent basically the past two years since the end of book one, wanting this moment of Con and Rafe to just go full model there, pop a bear and try to get her back and get to that point where they know this and they're at their full strength. We don't get them at their full strength for a little bit, but we do get these moments of rage in them and this building up of these wildly intense emotions. And we get this from Rafe, I don't roar. Don't speak a single word. Instead, I go deathly silent, a river that just cut a path into the shade and solidified, a quiet ferocity injecting through my veins or perhaps it was always there, waiting, knowing. My essence shifts around it sharpening, forges me into something that should frighten me, given the urges now wrestling with my heartstrings, stretching them long and tight enough to anchor the thumping organ. I'm not frightened. All I feel is cold, blooded rage. Oh, it's good. This part is so well done because Argon slowly unravels this whole truth about the diary and what this is and Rafe is being forced to face memories that she was gonna have to face eventually, but it's just absolutely the last resort of what we wanted. It's right after this, where Argon approaches her and you know that she is about to endure fire torture again. And this is when she tells Khan to close his eyes and not watch. And it's such a reforging moment for her because the other always made sure that she would slip into Rafe's conscience during these points and that she never made a sound and she never screamed or whatever, but Rafe is afraid of fire. I got the impression that the other does not take over at this point. Not at this point, no. I think this is her accepting it. It almost felt like she was taking it as a punishment. Oh. Like I need to feel this because I have a daughter in there who is suffered. Mm. And I need to re-forge myself. I have to be stronger. I have to battle this out because I'm gonna come back for her and I'm gonna save her. Mm. Yeah, I took it as her basically saying, I'm taking this and channeling it inward, but I have something to live for and to survive for in a different way now. Mm-hmm. And only it, not so much as punishment, but as fuel to re-forge me. Yes. Into what I need to be and this ferocity inside her. Yeah. And in that, she is not only strong for Kaisari, she's strong for Khan. And it's this moment where she's like, "Closureize and Khan is the one in that moment where he does." He's like, "I'm gonna let her take the lead here. She's gonna be the strong one and tell me to close my eyes and I'm gonna do it." Yeah. Something about the fact that he actually does it and closes his eyes, just breaks me. But he is breaking in that moment. And she is accepting that she is not going to be broken by this. No. Arcan is trying to break her and she is accepting that I can be fire-lark again and I will. Yes. But it won't break me to do it. Almost like she's taking back the name. Yeah. I feel like it's a full circle moment from our first episode on this coverage where we talk about how rave and Khan are equals and how they both allow the other one to take the lead. Mm-hmm. And I think here she is saying, "I've got this." Yeah. This is my monster and you can sit this one out because I know how to handle this and I'm ready. And because I don't want you to go through watching this happen to me. Yeah. It would absolutely break him. So all of that brings us to, which again, we theorized what's going to happen, the fighting pits. Yes. Arcan said he wanted his fire-lark back and here he is. He's throwing her and Khan into the fighting pit together. And this is just such a major moment for both of them. It's separately Arcan instructs both Khan and Rae that they need to give the crowd a performance worthy of the fire-lark. Essentially a battle to the death, right? He wants, "Are you not entertained?" Yes. It is very much giving the Gladiator movie. Mm-hmm. Basically. The first thing though that happens is Rae enters and she comes into the pit. She is not fully herself. Slotra has essentially taken over her mind and body. So initially Khan is actually not fighting Rae. He's fighting her body. it's slatcha through rave and we learned throughout the book that this is something Slotra used to do when Raeve was originally captured by the Scamager King during those first years in the fighting pits. Slotra would take over Raeve's consciousness as a way obviously to protect her, allowing only Ignos's voice and song to surface when Slotra was controlling Raeve's body, not when Raeve was present mentally. That makes sense and I also think that it was important that we already got on page Con recognizing and understanding that Slotra does present this way through Raeve in ways to protect her. He has now seen this, he's spoken to Slotra through Raeve and I think that was important we got that on page before this happened so that Con can have that sense of peace, that it's Slotra doing this, not Raeve. Yes, exactly. And I think there's something that relieves him about that. Yeah. If it really is a fight to the death, which is what they both believe at this point, that that is the only escape out of there. Con is like, I want it to be Slotra. I don't want Raeve to be the one to kill me. Exactly. So Raeve walks out and Con notes that she's in her fighting armor but more importantly, there's like a fiery yet icy white wings as what it says that seem to be unfurling from her back, which I think are Slotra's moon plume wings. Ooh, I love that. It's in the smoke, it's very theatrical. Again, she's living up to the fire like name. Yes. And Con notes her glittery black eyes. So they're fighting. Slotra kind of takes over. I'm sure Con kind of lets her win because again, he's like, I will not kill you. I can't do it. And so he's on his knees. He looks into her eyes and he's speaking directly to Raeve and he's like, tell her I'm sorry and I love her. And then what Slotra says back is, when you see Raeve, tell her that my heart still beats with hers. Her cheeks fill with a soft melon-colleys smile and that I'm waiting for her to come to me. Con interrupts her, if it then Slotra closes her eyes and those flaming wings sputter before a silver shimmer tingles around both her hands, something I've seen before when we were in buffane. Which is very interesting. Again, the silver thread. Where is that going? It's woven into so many parts of this book, woven. Yes. It's the silver thread. It's everywhere and that tangling around the hands. And we saw this again whenever she was bonding with Leary and the Slotra and those threads specifically around her hands. But then it's the silver thread and silver ribbons are basically in everyone's storylines. Yeah. All the POVs, we see them at some point, I think, maybe besides they is. It's really wild. So I want to pin this quote from Slotra when she says, tell her I'm waiting for her to come to me. I want you guys to pin that for when we get to the ending with Ellowyn's chapter. Yeah. With Ellowyn's diary entry. So Con Falsowyn's knees again. He says, I love you. So Raive comes back. She takes back over her body. And this is interesting. So earlier at the dinner table scene, when Raive is reforging herself, she makes the choice to go into her icy lake and she is deciding to face all of her fears. Right? She has slowly been relearning all of the elemental songs. But the last one left is Ignos. And we obviously all know why she's been avoiding that one. But this is what she says in her inner monologue. Then I swim to the spot where I last spotted the stone that looked like a lump of coal, knowing what it is, what it contains. Should I just give it substance to feast from? Something I believe my other was protecting me from waiting until I grew ready to face the creator who spent so much time hurting me. Via Arcan's bidding. Something I could have gone an entire lifetime without. Except Con's bird and beaten, chained to a chair, being preyed on by his blood-lusting brother. Except our daughters lying half dead in the same cell that took my fallen. They are mine. I am theirs. And they will see the sky again. Or creators hear me. The world will rupture beneath my fingertips. Oh yes, I love it. I love when we get that main female character energy. And they just unleash. And that is what this is. Exactly. She comes back from under the icy lake, which I think the other took over not just because that's what she used to do for Firelark. But it's because Raive is burrowing into the icy lake, trying to relearn the language. And the other is buying her time. I agree. And so when Raive resurfaces, she doesn't control one, two, or three. She controls all four. And for what we know, she's the only fey and existence who can control all four songs. Yes. Hayas erupts. She uses the magic. She uses fire and boulder mostly to create a bubbling earth like lava and destroys the fighting pits. But this is interesting. So we think Arcan dies. But he doesn't because the elders bird shows up. And he jumps on the Elding birds back and flies off. At the same time, Rhygan shows up. Yes. And Khan jumps on Rhygan's back and flies off to chase after Arcan and the Elding bird. But before those two escape on the backs of their flying animals, there is a really important conversation that happens here. And Christina, can you walk us through that? This is really important conversation. And it really leads to this really interesting parallel of Raive now here in this moment versus Raive at the end of book one. Because at the end of book one, we remember Raive chose to chase her bloodlust. Yes. To avengesy, who was alive. But she didn't know that. Still does it. Yeah. But that was her choice. Remember Khan said chase death moonbeam. Khan also has told her revenge is the loneliest deity of them all. We see her here in this film at the end of book two, not choosing to chase death, but choosing to chase love, not choosing her bloodlust, but choosing love and her family and motherhood. And this thing that she has been so scared to acknowledge. And Khan basically is saying, our daughter needs one of us right now. And he cups Raive's cheek, her jaw tensing beneath my bloody palm. Rhygan will gladly carry you north so you can hunt him down. Talk about Arcan. And she says, I don't want that. Her voice is cracked through becoming stiffer, more sturdy. I just want her. And then Khan thinks the declaration packs me full of compounding relief and deep primal pride. As I realize that this time, she's not choosing to chase death, but life she's choosing our daughter. She's choosing love. I bind her close, press my lips against her forehead and squeeze my eyes shut. Go to her moonbeam. Oh god, this parallel to the end of book one. It's so good. Instead of chase death moonbeam, he's saying go to her moonbeam, go to our daughter. The beautiful arc here, like you said, from where we were in book one. And when she first sees that moon, and he says chase death moonbeam, and I hope it brings you the same piece knowing the feeling that I get just knowing that you exist or something like that. It's just such a beautiful full circle moment that we get. I love it. We needed this. And it does feel like just that full circle moment that was placed here so purposely in the outlining of arcs. This is where we were leading to. So from here, she escapes through the underground city. The fate herder has been leading Vaya and Kaisari out and their little Michigan as well. And they are all about to converge. But first, we need to talk about Khan. Yes. As a juxtaposition to end of book one, Khan also has a juxtaposition here where we leave him at the end of book two. It's very interesting. Like we said, Rave is chasing the blood loss at the end of book one. And here, Khan is doing it for her. I think he's got like a elevated version of it. He's only doing it because somebody's got to go after Argan. We can't let the guy live. Well, also she heard his daughter and he burned his love and he did all these things. I think there's a lot of motivation there from him. Oh, totally. Yeah. I think that he wants to go after him because we can't let him live because he could keep coming after the family. Of course not. So he rides on Rhygan's back. He chases after Argan on the Elding bird further and further south. And just a reminder that saber-cythe dragons do not do well in the cold. Yeah. So this is physically weakening Rhygan the closer they get to the shade. And long story short, Rhygan uses a loss of his strength to tackle the Elding bird to the ground. Khan grabs Argan and for lack of a better phrase beats the ever-loving shit out of him. Oh god, he says you hurt my love. You hurt my daughter. It's a very like yes. We needed this moment. Khan needed to unleash this after everything that was revealed. This is what we've been leading to. We've been wanting this moment from Khan since book one. I do listeners want to make a very important note here that Khan severs Argan's head from his body. I cannot stress that enough for when we get to the epilogue. So please pin that for later. The Elding bird also turns back into a woman with flaming red hair and she crawls over and dies on top of Argan. And again, like we talked about part two with Essie. Red hair, Elding birds, it's all adding up. It is. We've never seen his Elding bird as a woman in her female form. No. So I don't know if that's something he didn't really allow her to do. Yeah, that's interesting to me. We don't know much about this relationship. Besides the fact that we do know this Elding bird saved him when he was burned to his father. Mm-hmm. Really, really sad part here is Rigen's death. Yeah. I'm gonna be honest. Sarah, so far, I don't trust her when people die now. I'm like, but did you die because even when you show me a body, somebody comes back. Yeah. So I grieved Rigen's death, but I totally get through book three. I'm like, is he dead? Kenna Silver, a warber ribbon come down and strike him, who's to say? I'm still hopeful. So Rigen dies though, and it is really sad to read. He doesn't fly up to sky, he doesn't have the energy, he doesn't want to leave Khan, and instead he wraps Khan in his wings, and he seems to solidify in the snow the way he would have up in the sky. And he leaves a little peak in his holding of Khan so Khan can look up. And Khan, I think, thinks he's dying at that point as well. And this is the quote, Something shifts above, a piked shadow so big I'd almost miss it. for Reagan's spirit-soring skyward. We're not for the silver scales glinting from the light of the scattered moon shards. A mighty roar cleaves the silence before a gentle darkness takes me. Listeners, I think that this is grim on his silver saber-side. Mmm. We know that he was flying south after he gets on the saber-sized back. Yeah. And it says, "We're not for the silver scales glinting from the light." Silver. Only other silver dragon that we are aware of. And also the fact that it's a giant shadow that almost reminds him of Reagan. It's literally called the giant silver saber-side. Yeah. So to me, I think this is grim. Also, that allows us maybe some thought that we could bring Reagan back because of the silver ribbon attached to grim. So, yeah, that's what I'm thinking, too. We'll see. But yes, he is rescued. And it's really hard to read. Con is prepared to die there with Reagan. And they are both preparing themselves to die. And they're just feeling guilty that Reagan is not able to go up to the sky and that they're gonna do it together. And it's really so devastating to read. I was never actually scared the commas gonna die here. I was like, "There's no way we've done all this and we're not gonna get to see him be a dad." No. But I did think that at first read, this was leery saving them for some reason. I actually did, too. I think that I was confused with the silver. And I know she's more opalescent. But I do think that grim makes sense. Really quickly, something that struck me on both reads is that when Reagan is dying and Con is wrapped in his wings, Con just seems to be okay with going into the afterworld. He's not like, "I need to fight to be with my daughter and rave." I don't know if it's just because Reagan, in a way that their bonded is so intense. It's almost like you can't live without the other one. That pain we see grim is in a very dark place, all of book one, after his dragon's death. So, I don't know if that's just simply the issue is the way you bond it changes you. I was like, "Okay, Con, let's not go bye-bye yet." Right, let's fight a little harder. That to me spoke to how dire his wounds were. Yes. That is what made me think, "Oh, he doesn't have time to get to a healer." He's not doing well. We're gonna die, you know? Got it. That's probably what it was. We'll go with that one. Let's move along here. Pretty much, as I said, the Michigan and the Fatehurt are show up to help Vaya and Kaisari escape. And long story short, here, they end up outside in the snow on this rocky cliff. And Uno, our cutie little Michigan, tells Vaya, "We better go hide, because the god of ethers about to be unleashed once they remove the iron shackles from Kaisari." And Vaya's like, "No, I've got this." No, you don't, sweetheart. Kailas shows up, and it's because Hurricane Force wins, and Vaya is thrown about to just like, "Oh, I see what you meant. Now you could have been clearer, Uno." Yeah. But basically, here is how this is described. A striking otherworldly male draped in a silver cloak that's frayed at the hymn, pin that, "Gusting with the pulsating waves, he boasts a swath of pitch black hair, ebony skin, and startling silver eyes that glint like distant suns, a light with equal amounts of fury and devotion. They sweep over Kaisari, inspecting every bruise, cut and speck of dirt she's marred with. Those silver ribbons continue to sketch out the shape of hymn as with the gentleness of a rising aurora. He eases Kaisari into his arms, his mouth also moving in silent verses. We're singing, we're singing. Words I can't hear, but can feel etching against my skin like runes. He curls his arms, brushing her limp body against his barrel chest in such a way that I picture bolder hugging rain, trying to keep her in one piece, even though it's hopeless. An ooze of silver light seeps from the being into Kaisari's mini wounds and eye gasp looking up, meet those unbridled silver eyes. Guys, if you are not watching this video on Patreon or on YouTube, you are missing out. Anna is losing her mind while I read that quote about theories here. Okay, it's true there's lots on pack, but just to finish the section, I sob realizing it's all in vain because amidst the heavy gloom, the two have shifted. Kaisari's no longer limp, lifeless and crushed against the male's chest. No, she's on her feet with her hands flat on his chest, her white hair, billowing her skin unblemished and lit with a healthy luminous glow. So all this talk of silver, breathing life back into Kaisari, she is healed. Mm-hmm. And not only that she's glowing, she hath risen. She's luminous. It is Easter, she hath risen. So is Kaisari now like Slotra? Is she gonna have some otherworldly kind of power? I don't know if she's gonna have otherworldly power, but similar to how when eloen dies and Slotra brings her up to the sky and she threads the silvery thread into the mortal wound that Tyruf gives her, I think that is very similar to what happens here. Yes. The silver thread is life giving force. Yes. I would bet everything on that. I think that is what's happening. And I think then whether or not Kaisari and Raive can share that life force with others. I don't know. We know Slotra can, we've seen her do it. That's very interesting. What's interesting is that the giant saber sight did not do it for her young. Well, she couldn't yet, right? No, she was already silver. She's already been struck by the silver Aurora ribbons. That was my understanding. And then her tail just flickers along it as they're going through because the silver Aurora ribbons say that they gifted it to her. I was a plea and then she accepted it phases ago. Oh, I thought that was current. Okay, I understand. Hmm. That was my understanding because that's why she's the giant silver saber sight. She has this in her already. Okay. Hmm. Interesting. And then this is Vea. Still singing. Kaisari melts into the embrace, looking more at ease than I've ever seen her, more at home. And I realize how stupid I was to doubt her when she told me her heart already belonged to a creator. It all makes perfect sense now. This is him, the god of ether, to perfect parts of a whole. I'm so enraptured, breathless from the blunt force of their catastrophic love. Wow. That I don't notice some of the moons jiggling from their lofty purchase and plummeting toward the snow covered planes until the first one strikes. Yep. Wow, there's a lot here. One, the moons are falling. Two, the perfect parts of a whole. Hmm. And their catastrophic love is very telling language. Also, we're singing. We're so much singing and silver. There's so much going on in this little section. The fact that first of all, Kais is somehow able to come out of the stone and that doesn't seem to have ever happened before. I don't know if that just has to do it through love all as possible. And he is coming out of the stone because Kaisari is who Kaisari is and she's able to sing his elemental song and nobody else can. And I just am very curious to get into this more in book three because there's not a lot we can go off of here. But it is very interesting and I am nervous about this catastrophic love if the prophecy of the collou and Kaisari is the daughter of the collou if somehow the way that we tether the moons permanently to the sky is that Kaisari has to tether herself with Kais. Somehow and tether herself to the sky because then there would be whole. That's what I wonder. I do think it's interesting the note that he has come out of the ether stone and I think the fact that we haven't seen him out of the ether stone. He comes out of the ether stone to save her life because that to him is worth anything. But I think that happening at the same time that the moons are falling to me means that him being out of the ether stone is why the moons are falling. Oh, yeah, for sure. And therefore that's why they're a catastrophic love because she's gonna die. They can't be together. And so he was like, "Well, then nothing else matters. I will come out untethered the moons to save her." That's what's gonna keep happening. I agree. I think that's what catastrophic love means that there's no way for them to be together without the world ending. Yeah. And I think what that means though is that possibly the only way they can be together is almost like her unbinding herself in this human form and having to like bind herself to him and like tether themselves. That's what I am worried. It's going to happen. Interesting. Or to make him whole somehow. The ribbons are trying to make other things whole to then make him whole. There's something there with making things whole. He's always been this empty space is what it's described. Yeah. And so I am really curious and he's made of stars. His skin is almost like a milky way is described. Is the way I thought of it. But here it's almost like he is very tangible. Like they are holding each other, you know? They are, but his skin is like a moving star of stars. Oh, interesting. He's not physical the way Kaisari is. He's not flesh and bone. Ah. I'm like, but could he, is there a way to bind him into a human form? That would be really interesting. We're going to have to see it go one way or the other, I think. So one of the other really impactful important things here at the end right in this section is Kaisari and Rave. Yes. Rave now has all the knowledge of the diary and everything from her past. And she does what we said. And she goes to get her daughter. And this is what's happening. She escapes with the fighting pits and she follows the trail that Uno, actually the Michigan left very cleverly behind. And she follows out and she comes into the hurricane force wins. Veya is holding onto a rock and she sees her daughter. She's in the embrace of this unknown otherworldly man and Rave's initial reaction is an overprotectiveness like who is this person holding my child. And then it goes and I realize quite suddenly that our daughter found her great love before we even found her. That in the time I've been gone or lost in the unknowing in the time Khan has spent believing Kaisari is the daughter of his brother. She's outgrown her youth. We missed it every little bit. That line as a parent. There's a couple worst fears I have with my kids. But the idea that I would miss out on things with them that I would I won't be here to experience it is honestly unfathomable. - I mean, I was sobbing for like an hour because I had a real family thing I had to do for my grandmother and I missed muffins with mom. I cannot imagine this idea that she just missed all of it. And in that moment, she realizes that we missed it every little bit. That was so well crafted to stab us in the heart and it was effective, Sarah. My God. - I'm gonna read some of these quotes together because it's really important and beautifully well done and it's also the first moment that we see. Rae, be able to approach her daughter. So she's trying to make her way slowly to Kayless but it's the winds and everything and Kayless is very protective of Kaisari at this time. She says, "It's like being unpackaged from a box, everything lifted, peered through, bound in a soft cloth and set back down again. And although I should feel intruded on, too seen, neither of those feelings come. Because as he's reading me, he's also feeding me versus of himself, of aloneliness more endless than the sky, of a crushing, missing hacking pain like nothing I thought imaginable. And if you guys remember in the prologue from Book One, Kayless has always felt unseen. He's always felt alone. And for various reasons, the other creators bound him into the ether stone because they blame him for the first moonfall that happened millennia ago. And he's just always been lonely. And I think that's why when Kaisari screams, it says it was a scream of loneliness, of feeling all utterly alone and with no power. And that's why Kayless answers her call. And that's why I think what they bond over. One of the things. Yeah. So when she finally gets to Kayless, she says, "I dip my head in silent gratitude, but don't let the moment linger, fearing that if I do, he'll change his mind, decide I'm unworthy and toss me off the mountain." And then she walks up into Kaisari's arms. She gasps, tipping her head to look at me, startling blue eyes that catch my heart and cradle it, hauling a whimper up my throat. She stops singing, stops breathing. Doesn't so much as blink as Kayless plumes back into the stone eradicating the strange clamor. God, it's so beautiful. Despite it, I hold her with every ounce of my being. One hand flat against her shoulders, the other coming up to touch the side of her face, mended, healthy alive. And then Kaisari goes, "You're here." She croaks. Oh, oh my God. But it's so great. Searching my eyes was such frenzy. I'm sure she's hunting for something in them. I just wish I knew what, wish I knew her tells and quirks anything about her. You came, she says. Oh God! I open my mouth, close it. Struggle to find the right words to speak to this beautiful, grown female who's looking at me like I shaped the world, hand in hand with the creators. I didn't. All she had for me is a lark telling her to shore up when she no doubt needed me the most. And then she takes Khan's malmer and she puts it around Kaisari's neck and she has this inner malign where she's like, "She's grown and we missed it. We missed it all." And all she says back is, "I wish I got here sooner." And then Kaisari falls and she catches her and she like cradles her. Yeah. Wow. It's so beautiful and so impactful and gorgeously written. And I love this understanding moment between Kaelis and Raive. I think that was so interesting and so well done and tells us a little bit about Kaelis' character and his protectiveness and his ability with people to sense their intentions almost. Yeah. It was really beautiful and I loved this moment from Raive. And that he trusted Raive and that first part of the quote that I read, he's looking into her and she says, "He's unpacking me. He is making sure I'm worthy of my daughter." Yes. Because I wasn't here. I didn't know she existed but I still wasn't here. Yes. And he was and now he said, "Okay." Yeah. That's really, really beautiful. One quick note before Christina walks us through this final elo and diary entry is Raive makes this note towards the very end of the book about the Aether Stone and she says, "It's supposed to be some great honor to guard the Aether Stone but I can't shake the feeling that this is no honor at all." But despite everything I saw atop that mountain, bearing the diadem's weight is somehow hurting her. I tried to move the feeling aside but it continues to gnaw. Yeah. And I really think this is foreshadowing something again with Kaelis in book three and where we are possibly going with the Aether Stone and the God of Aether and Kaelis and all of that. So I'm excited. I totally agree and I think that's important and gonna be interesting to unpack here. This idea that she's like, "I have to get this off my daughter. This is a parasite on her. What are we doing?" Yeah. But also she loves the man in it. So it's very complicated. Okay. And then full circle with this diary you guys, we get elo and diary again. Now this is so beautiful. It's so well done. Raeva's lying between Khan and Kaisari. They are both healed. They're next to her and she has a moment with Slahtra. Anna, you had talked about this earlier kind of pinning this idea that in the fighting pits when Slahtra had said, "Tell her I'm waiting for her." Yeah. "This was your call out that you think that this is what she meant." Yeah, I think what she meant wasn't a final goodbye. When I first read that, that's what I thought. But I think it was her saying, "I'm waiting for her in that she's about to be ready to face some of the darker memories and I'll be there." Yeah. "And I'm ready to walk her through them and to show her the final moments of her life." And I think that's what this is. And that's what Raeva does here is she goes to Slahtra and she says, "I'm ready. Let's do it." And it's beautiful. It's a gift for a gift. And she realized that Slahtra showing her the moment she met her daughter. We all finally learned the truth that Tyra did use the blood lace. And he knew that Kaisari was not his daughter. And he knew that if the news ever got out, that he would lose claim to his throne. And so he does stab and kill Eloen Slahtraeva. And we also learn that Kaisari is the middle name of Eloen's mother. And we get this quote that again is so heartbreaking, absolutely utterly gut-wrenching, where Eloen in this moment realizes, then I realize I never told Kaisari I love her. And my soul shatters like a fallen moon. My heartstrings fraying. Oh, God. I hate that. So we see Slahtra collect Eloen's body, fly her up to the sky to purge as a moon. And then this quote is incredibly important. Except she doesn't give herself to death. Instead, she unbinds that silver ribbon, tangled through the fibers of her soul, gently unwinds every loose thread until it's a restless spool, surging with the very essence of existence. Then she shifts it from behind her ribs, plants it deep in Eloen's chest, though it disappears swallowed by the terminal chasm within her precious little one. She finds quiet peace in the hope that it will take root, that it will grow and surge and pulse with life. So Eloen has the chance to come back to her own precious little one. So she has the chance to tell her that she loves her. Ooh, can't wait to unpack that in a minute. Wow, wow, wow. So that happens, Rae wakes up from this memory, and she thinks, "Tai Roth, Fagor murdered me." Ripped my newborn daughter from my breast, planted the diadem on her brow, a burden that belonged to me. There is not a force in this world that's great enough for him to hide behind. I will have vengeance for Khan, for Khaizari, for Slotra, and for my fucking self. Yes! I love this. God, what a good way to end the book. Woo! What a final great quote for the book. It's so good. Well, we then have the blog, but this is the final moment with Rae, and wow, what a beautiful way to end it with Rae, and just bringing all of the history of Eloen, but into her as Rae and the badassery, and getting that revenge in book three. Wow, it's gonna be amazing. All right, so we have finally reached the part where we are going to go through our silver ribbon, chapter and theory. I know the book is technically ended at this point, but we needed to save it for the end because we needed to get through all of the silver bits, and there's so much silver. We have the silver chapter. It's literally, I think, like a page long in the book. It is so short. Remember, this is from the POV of the silver Aurora ribbon. Yes. An inanimate, yet living object, very interesting. So in the silver's ribbons POV, it says, the saber-sife doesn't jolt or even so much a slash her tail at its presence already so innately familiar. For it was she who the ribbon gave some of itself to so many phases ago, not that the saber-sife seemed to mind. She gleaned the gift for what it was, a plea for help. What that plea is, we're not quite sure, but moving on, the ribbon may be pretty ever orbiting the world that does not spin, helping folk track the passage of time, but it's not there by choice. It's shackled to the sky for the ribbons were once part of something more, something whole, and threading the many lost pieces of Kayla's back together could not be done without solid entities to do the stitching. The ribbons know that. Have been doing their part to make things right, slow-going as it is. Okay, so really quick here. We have said, and I feel like this is kind of canon from the prologue that the silver-error ribbons are Kayla's cloak because it was not fully destroyed and the cloak is silver. Yes, so in order for Kayla's to be whole again, he has to be sewn back together, but he needs physical entities to do that. Is that somehow also tied to why Slotra needs her moon to be whole? There's a lot of talks of things being whole. Yeah, something about this part of something more, something whole, threading many lost pieces back together, but they couldn't do it without solid entities. But then also it's saying that the ribbon was a plea for help. Yeah. It helps stitching us back together. I think that's what it is. Yeah. I think it's okay for help and though dragon recognize what that was. And maybe that's what Slotra means when she says everything is temporary, once the stitching is done, she won't have access to this life giving force anymore. Is that what it means? I don't know. [BLANK_AUDIO] everything is temporary until this endeavor is complete. - But then does that mean if you're touched by silver and you're a solid entity that is helping them become whole, then you also disappear when Kales becomes whole? - I don't even know if it means you disappear. Because what Kales wants more than anything is to not feel lonely. - Right. - Is him possibly weaving parts of himself into physical entities his way of not feeling alone so that when he is stitched back together, maybe there are parts of him that live in other things because he's jealous of the fact that everybody can see rain, physically feel rain and see bolder and the five senses are evolved with all of the other creators, but not him. - Okay. - Yeah. - And I don't know if there's like a part of him that has always missed that. - I like that. - And if maybe the physical entities can live outside of him if he is stitched back together, he can be incorporated into this, he won't be alone. - I like that theory. I think that makes sense. I think there's still something about the giving life and the humming and the thing that I just don't understand. - Yes. - But I do agree that that makes sense to me when we think about the prologue in Book One especially. - Yeah. - And the last sentence of the Silver's POV chapter, it says, "The Silver Ribbon Hopes Grimm Understands. If not now, then eventually, that everything has a place, a purpose and some things they were always meant to be." - That's just real big. Also, the Silver Ribbon Hopes Grimm understands, makes me feel like something's gonna happen to Grimm, he doesn't want to happen. I hope he understands. - Yeah. - That feels negative. - You don't like that. - I don't know if this is important, but Grimm has white hair. His eyes are considered like shards of ice, which to me is blue. He's very oddly similarly described as Kaisari. - Yeah. - So I don't know if he's a member of the Nevin line and from the shade, and we didn't know it or something. - Oh, interesting. Okay. - Oh, no. I was gonna say he'd rather eat their stone. - Oh, maybe. - I don't know. But anyways, I wanna quickly run through things that are silver. - Okay. - Great. - There's a lot. So two Silver Moon plume, Slotra and Alum, there's also the Silver Saber Scyth, which Grimm is now riding. Slotra turns silver when the award ribbons splashed against her, quote, casting her hide silver. That was done. I don't know how old dragons are, but very, very long ago. - Yes. - In a other POV flashback, it says, "Not for the first time, she considers that Silver Ribbon "spashed against her all those rises ago, "both a bounty and a curse to be bonded "with the ebb and flow of a fate. "The flies in one direction never slowing." Because these opportunities are precious view, and they won't always fit together as they do right now. - Yes. - Nor they always have each other, but they do have this moment, this now. And so the other binds tight. Again, this whole talk of temporary, and that things are fleeting. This is when Ellyn is still alive and she's young, and if this is just the other somehow having foresight, that she won't be able to hug Ellyn the way she does right now, because maybe she knows the future, she could change, and that she might not have Ellyn the way she does right now, I don't know. The book of white, Rowan says that the book of white melted into a, quote, "cloud of silver particles" and then prowled out the door. Then we have this quote about the book of white. That silver sheen coils around the black plink in the center of the room, as if the fate herder just talked around itself and readyed for slumber, except it doesn't appear, instead a small silver book no bigger than my hand manifests into existence, thicker than the height of my thumb. Then it says this about the book of white. It's bound by a black belt hooked in place by an urgent saber longer than my finger, blended at the tip, a saber my eyes narrow on. I'm sure I've seen teeth like that before. Now, Argent is another word for silver. So the book of white is silver. It's held like a lock by a saber tooth. Yes. And then, Argentina has a silver saber tooth in her icy lake. Oh, right! That rave sees when she's down in the very first POV chapter in the beginning of the book. Yes. So I don't know how one of Slotras teeth ended up bound around the book. Do they lose their teeth like humans do? I don't know. It's very interesting, though. There's a lot of silver. Also, we can't forget what Sarah said to you in our interview. I asked her, I was like, am I going kuku for crazy puffs over the like silver thing and she goes, no, you can plant your flag on the hill is what she said. Bam! So, let the spirals continue. We don't know what it means, but we know it's important. Yeah. So really quickly, the last thing about this silver is that in Pirax POV, he notes that Essie is studying a bunch of rocks. And I want to read this quote, a lump of glittery black stone catches my eye. Split in half, it's core, a marble of swirling silver. Like it's liquid, but not. Now, this is really important in the first prologue of book one. What it says is, "Minssen Kayla says essence into pieces small enough to trap in a cage of ebony crystal." That is what the etherstone is. Ebony crystal crystal sparkles. And here she is studying a glittery black stone. Oh my god. And he's trapped in an ebony crystal. And we know Essie is obsessed with the book of void. Kayla supposedly wrote the book of void. I'm just saying, I think Essie is onto something that we don't even know about yet. Essie's going to figure it out. Wow. I'm really excited to like, discuss more of silver. And maybe we'll do another theories episode of book three. Or-- Yes. When book three comes out, but we are on silver watch from here on out. Oh my gosh. Absolutely. Last quick thing to run through here is the ethyl log where, surprise, surprise, it's from Serim's POV. I hated this. I was not expecting it. And at this point, I was like, I have so much in my brain I'm ready to work through Sarah. I don't understand what to do with this. The main takeaways for me were Arkin being turned into an Eldingbird and Haydien is back. So Haydien is back. It's literally a blip of a sentence. And it says, just like the Michigan foretold, she knew she had to be there. We do know that his moon fell. I'm thinking because she's having to dig him out of snow. And the fact that it seems like Haydien has been walking for quite a ways that this is maybe a couple of days later. Oh. Because he's already wrapped in a cloak. How did he get a cloak? He would have just fallen. I think he's been walking a little bit. Oh, interesting. So I just wanted to note that just timing wise. I don't know if that means anything when we get the next book. A couple other things is the Eldingbird, the female, is dead, dead, I think. She says she purposely does not light her on fire. She's like ensuring that she does not rise from the ashes is the direct quote. Yes. So then she cuts off a piece of Arkin's finger and blood binds it. She puts it into a stopper that she wears around her neck just like she did for rave. So she says, better safe than sorry. I think she wants to make sure that no matter what she controls Arkin. She literally says there is no fury like a female scorn. She is pissed. Yep. She keeps calling him like a piece of shit. She tosses a wield on top of Arkin's body and it erupts into hissing, spitting fire. Oh, God. It says, "Sereem watches him burn from a safe distance away for the wonder that re-gifted Arkin's life so many phases ago to grip him by the throat and transform him into something that will never turn on her again." Yep. And she talks about having other worldly devotion, exactly like she deserves. And then out of the flames begin to rave and surge, thrashing with a hatch of ruddy, ruddy means red, ruddy, gold-tipped plumage that makes the male's eyes bulge like Hadeon sees this happening. So that's a fire, bird. So Arkin's turning into an elding bird. He's an elding bird. Yeah, but his head was taken from his body off of his body. Is there like a timeframe here? But how soon do you need to get to the body? Turns out you don't need to have your head attached to be turned back in Genolian bird. So pretty much what she's saying is that when the elding bird brought him back to life or saved him, he has since then had the elding bird gene in him, but he just hasn't been set on fire yet. And so now that he's set on fire, he's becoming an elding bird. So that to me means did his elding bird that saved him, that woman that just laid down and died next to him? Did she give him her blood the same way? I see gave pyroch her blood. Therefore pyroch isn't gonna be an elding bird unless he's set on fire. The same way that Arkin wasn't an elding bird until he was set on fire. There's so many different ways we could do this, right? Pyroch set death store. Does that mean that if you're at death store and you're given the life force of an elding bird and then you're lit on fire, right? I mean, I don't think she's gonna light him on fire while he's alive. So then he won't turn into a bird until the next time he dies. And till he's lit on fire, right? Yeah. So we're just waiting around for people to die and then you get turned into a bird. Like assie. Yeah, so then maybe the first time you shift, then you're able to shift back and forth, Willi and Lily. Right, like assie. That would be interesting. I like that. And this could go toward my theory from last week of the devotion because she is saying that she's setting Arkin on fire. Therefore he's gonna be devoted to her. She could also mean the blood bind. But if it's the person who sets you ablaze, that is rave to Essie. Mm. You control. Which is maybe why all the elding birds wanted to escape back into the book of Void and why they were hunted to extinction. It's like a genie in a bottle. Yeah. If you're the person who lights them on flame, then you're the one that gets to control them. Oh, you're right. So then does that mean rave controls Essie? I don't know if it's control. It's like devotion is the word, right? It always struck me strangely, the smelling and the frenzy about rave that Essie has. In a way that does feel like devotion. Yeah. Very interesting. So much to unpack. This was so fun. Wow. What a journey. And thank you for being on it with us. Yeah. Really, thank you all so much. This wraps up our Ballad of Falling Dragons coverage. It has been a whirlwind. It really has. And if you haven't already, if you've just finished the book, please go listen to our interview with Sarah Aparker. She was an absolute delight. And it was so fun to kind of pick her brain about how she created this book and the story. characters and the reveals. It was just wonderful to talk to her. And with that, we'll see you next time. Cheers and happy reading. Bye bye. Well friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy Podcast. Don't forget to join our Book Club community on Instagram and TikTok at Flights of Fantasy Podcast, where you can share your thoughts, theories, and favorite moments with us and fellow listeners. We'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed today's episode, please write and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us spread the magic of Romanticity to even more book lovers. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep reading, and remember, every good story deserves to take flight.