#Adored them as humans did. His name is Abraxos Manon said. He is ... different. He and the blue one are mates.

[acourtofquestions]

Kingdom of Ash Chapter 24

"What is this place?" Manon asked Glennis as she found the crone polishing the handle of a gold-bound broom beside the fire. Two others lay on a cloak nearby. Menial work for the witch in charge of this camp.

"This is an ancient camp-one of the oldest we claim." Glennis's knobbed fingers flew over the broom handle. "Each of the seven Great Hearths has a fire here, as do many others." Indeed, there were far more than seven in the camp. "It was a gathering place for us after the war, and since then, it had become a place to usher in some of our younger witches to adulthood. It is a rite we've developed over the years—to send them into the deep wilds for a few weeks to hunt and survive with only their brooms and a knife. We remain here while they do so."

Manon asked quietly, "Do you know what our initiation rite is?"

Glennis's face tightened. "I do. We all do." Which hearth had the witch she'd killed at age sixteen belonged to?

"You're not a cold person."

He arched a brow. "Is that your professional opinion?"

Manon studied him. "You can descend to those levels when you are angry, when your friends are threatened. But you are not cold, not at heart. I've seen men who are, and you are not."

"Neither are you," he said a bit quietly.

The wrong thing to say.

Manon stiffened, her chin lifting. "I am one hundred seventeen years old," she said flatly. "I have spent the majority of that time killing. Don't convince yourself that the events of the past few months have erased that."

"Keep telling yourself that." He doubted anyone had ever spoken to her that baldly-relished that he now did, and kept his throat intact.

She snarled in his face. "You're a fool if you believe the fact that I am their queen wipes away the truth that I have killed scores of Crochans."

"That fact will always remain. It's how you make it count now that matters."

Make it count. Aelin had said as much back in those initial days after he'd been freed of the collar. He tried not to wonder whether the icy bite of Wyrdstone would soon clamp around his neck once more.

"I am not a softhearted Crochan. I will never be, even if I wear their crown of stars."

He'd heard the whispers about that crown amongst the Crochans this week-about whether it would be found at last. Rhiannon Crochan's crown of stars, stolen from her dying body by Baba Yellowlegs herself. Where it had gone after Aelin had killed the Matron, Dorian had not the faintest idea. If it had stayed with that strange carnival she'd traveled with, it could be anywhere. Could have been sold for quick coin.

Manon went on, "If that is what the Crochans expect me to become before they join in this war, then I will let them venture to Eyllwe tomorrow alone."

"Is it so bad, to care?" The gods knew he'd been struggling to do so himself.

"I don't know how to," she growled.

Ridiculous. An outright lie. Perhaps it was because of the high likelihood that he'd be collared again at Morath, perhaps it was because he was a king who'd left his kingdom in an enemy's grip, but Dorian found himself saying, "You do care. You know it, too. It's what makes you so damn scared of all this."

Her golden eyes raged, but she said nothing.

"Caring doesn't make you weak," he offered.

"Then why don't you heed your own advice?"

"I care." His temper rose to meet hers. And he decided to hell with it-decided to let go of that leash he'd put on himself. Let go of that restraint. "I care about more than I should. I even care about you."

Another wrong thing to say.

Manon stood—as high as the tent would allow. "Then you're a fool." She shoved on her boots and stomped into the frigid night.

I even care about you.

Manon scowled as she turned in her sleep, wedged between Asterin and Sorrel. Only hours remained until they were to move out—to head to Eyllwe and whatever force might be waiting to ally with the Crochans. And in need of help.

Caring doesn't make you weak.

The king was a fool. Little more than a boy.

What did he know of anything?

Still the words burrowed under her skin, her bones. Is it so bad, to care?

She didn't know. Didn't want to know.

[ladybookstan]

Kingdom of Ash - Chapter 24

Abraxos and Narene❤️

The dark-haired Crochan was staring toward the ring of wyverns, just where Glennis had said she’d be. Asterin cleared he throat, and the witch turned, her olive-skinned face tightening.

But she didn’t sneer. Didn’t hiss.

Mission done, Asterin turned away. But Manon said to the Crochan, jerking her chin toward the wyverns, “It’s different from using the brooms. Faster, deadlier, but you also have to feed and water them.” Karsyn’s green eyes were wary—but curious. She glanced again at the wyverns huddled against the cold, Asterin’s blue mare pressed into Abraxos’s side, his wing draped over her.

Manon said, “Erawan made them, using methods we’re not quite sure of. He took an ancient template and brought it to life.” For there had been wyverns in Adarlan before—long ago. “He meant to breed a host of thoughtless killers, but some did not turn out as such.” Asterin kept quiet for once.

Karsyn spoke at last. “Your wyvern seems like more of a dog than anything.” Itwas not an insult, Manon reminded herself. The Crochans kept dogs as pets.

Adored them, as humans did. “His name is Abraxos,” Manon said. “He is… different.”

“He and the blue one are mates.”

Asterin started. “They’re what?” The Crochan pointed to the blue mare huddled beside Abraxos.

“He is smaller, yet he dotes onher. Nuzzles her when no one is looking.” Manon exchanged a glance with Asterin. Their mounts incessantly flirted, yes, but to mate—

....

When Karsyn was gone, Asterin remained staring at Abraxos and Narene, scratching her hair.

“You really think they’re mated?” Abraxos lifted his head from where it rested atop Narene’s back and looked toward them, as if to say, It took you long enough to figure it out.

[allhailqueenmaas]

ACOWAR Predictions

Rights to the lovely @abookandacoffee for all of these awesome questions. 

I’m just going to answer all of these bc I need to get it out of my system and I’m about to EXPLODE WITH ALL OF THE FEELINGS I HAVE ABOUT THIS. Also this is going to be fucking long and foul language will occur. And spoilers (duh)

1) Do you want any other POVs besides Rhys or Feyre? Which?

Can I have all of them??? Ummm... I really want all of the Inner Court, Feyre’s sisters, Lucien, and Tamlin (only bc I want to see what the fuck he’s up to). SOOOOOOO basically all of them. 

2) If you could only pick one ship, elucien, nessian, or moriel, to officially become canon (IE declaration of love or, ahem, physical consummation), which would it be?

The thing about Elucien is that it came out of FUCKING NOWHERE, but I know that Queen Maas does everything for a reason and Elucien will come into the light and be important in the plot and be THE MOST adorable couple in ACOWAR. 

Nessian is just all of the angst and hate/love tension and I love it. I love it so much and I don’t know why, but I love it. 

Moriel seems like the most likely one to happen, just based on the fact that they’ve known each other for A CENTURY or some crazy amount of time like that. But they’ve also known each other FOR A CENTURY AND HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING WITH THEIR FEELINGS. THEY TREAD THE LINE BETWEEN FRIENDSHIP AND LOVERS BUT DON’T CROSS IT AND IT PLAYS WITH MY FEELINGS.

I’m torn between Nessian and Moriel, but Moriel feels the most tangible for some reason, so I’ll go with them. 

3) Do you have any theories about what will happen with the war? 

SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE SARAH SAID IT HERSELF AND I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE MOR AND FUUUUCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. My baby Az will not be okay and Cassian’s gonna loose his shit and Rhys will be heartbroken bc they’re close and Feyre will be heartbroken bc Mor was her first girlfriend. AND IM GOING TO BE HEARTBROKEN BECAUSE MORRIGAN WAS GOING TO BE THE QUEEN OF THE COURT OF NIGHTMARES AND SHE WAS GOING TO BE THE GREATEST QUEEN EVER. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

4) Cassian’s wings. Go.

OKAY. I have to be optimistic bc I have no other option. I am going to assume that the frame of his wings will be okay and hopefully there’s some kind of version of that spider-silk shit from TOG (that saved Abraxos’s wings) and that shit will save his wings. MY BBY WILL HAVE HIS WINGS AND HE WILL LIVE HAPPILY WITH NESTA AND EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. OKAY? OKAY

5) Do you think we will see Miryam and Drakon? Do you want to?

I do think that Rhysand is going to get as many allies as he can against Hybern (while Feyre is kicking ass and taking names in the Spring Court!!!) and that will include Miryam and Drakon. I wasn’t really interested in them until I read this fanfiction about Miryam being Rowan’s daughter (credit to the author, I’m so sorry i don’t remember your name) and that got me interested in them, so I do want to see them. 

6) Which character (outside of Rhys and Feyre) do you want to see getting the most developement?

Nesta. She needs to redeem herself and apologize to all the people she has given shit to.

And Azriel. He needs to figure out that HE IS WORTHY OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS. ESPECIALLY WITH MORRIGAN. 

7) Tamlin: redemption or death?

Can’t he have both? I want him to redeem himself by switching sides at the last minute and apologizing for everything. And then he dies during battle, but no one is with him when he dies and no one notices until later when Lucien’s like “where’s Tam?” They find his cold body on the battlefield and Lucien broken-hearted and Elain’s comforting him and everyone else is either sad or angry. 

8) Do you think anyone will die in ACOWAR (that we care about, that is)? Who?

LIKE I SAID EARLIER I HAVE A FEELING THAT MOR I GOING TO DIE AND I HATE IT BUT IT’S THERE. 

9) What role do you think the other courts will play in the war?

I want all of the other courts to join the Night Court. I think if that does happen, then the Summer and Spring Court will be the most resistant. OR MAYBE one of the courts will be a DOUBLE SPY!!!! Who knows?

10) Are there any minor characters (e.g. the Bone Carver, the Weaver) that you’d like to see again?

SURI!!! And I want to see Lucien’s brothers and the Court of NIghtmares so justice will be served accordingly.

11) How effective of a spy do you think Feyre will be, really?

Hopefully, her eavesdropping techniques will have improved from when she did it in ACOTAR...

12) Which court do you most want to see in ACOWAR?

DAWN COURT. OH MY GISH I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT. 

13) Lesser fae - do you want to see more of them?

YES!!! I want to learn whether or not there are different types of species of fae or of it’s like humans, where they just have different characteristics but they’re the same species. 

14) How do you think Elain will react to the mating bond with Lucien?

I think at first she’ll be like, “The frick frack diddly dack does that mean?” and someone will have to explain mates to her, but they explain it wrong bc then she’s like, “Oh. It’s like a lifetime best friend. I’ve always wanted one of those.” And then her and Fox Boy will become besties, but she’s still with her hubby who hates fae, so Lucien is like a little secret. ANd he lets her stay with the fae-hater bc he wants her to be happy (and he’s not a fucktard like Tam) And then one day she’s talking to someone (probs Nesta) about Lucien and Nesta’s like, “sounds like your in love...” ANd Elain’s like “Whaaaaaaaaa??.....” But then she thinks about it and she’s like, “oh crapdoodle, I am in love with him.” So she confronts Lucien about this revelation and he’s like, “I’ve always loved you, my daisy.” (he gives her flower related nicknames and it’s the cutest thing ever). And they live happily ever after bc Tam’s dead (see #7) and they rule the Spring Court. 

15) Would you rather Nesta train as a warrior, or more of a strategist? Do you think she’ll actually be willing to help out the Night Court?

Both, but she’s a better strategist than warrior. I think that eventually she’ll trust the entirety of the Inner Circle, prob after one of them saves her life from a training thing or whatever. 

16) Mor’s power - what would you like it to be?

I HAVE NO IDEA BUT SHE’S GOTTA BE POWERFUL AS SHIT BC SHES THIRD IN COMMAND, MORE POWERFUL THAN CASS AND AZ. And we know she has healing powers (from the end of ACOMAF) but isn’t that common?... 

WAIT WHAT IF IT’S LIKE MANON AND ASTERIN AND SORREL WHERE THEY BALANCE EACH OTHER OUT 

Rhys = darkness  Amren = badass monster thing  Mor = light??? 

Light power (like alina!!!) makes sense bc she’s upbeat and cheery most of the time. idk

17) What do you think the dynamic between Lucien and Feyre will be like in the Spring Court?

I feel like Feyre will use Elain against Lucien to get info or to keep him from telling Tam about her spying (that’s terrible, but...) 

Or maybe Lucien will stop being so gray and he’ll side with Feyre bc they’re besties and so he can be with Elain and then he’ll be a spy alongside Feyre and he can get info that Feyre can’t. 

18) How do you think the Cauldron might come into play in the war?

One of the sides is going to use it to win the war with the immense power it has. I saw something in a post by someone who caught this thing they saw in a book: apparently Cerridwen (one of the twins in the NIght Court) means “keeper of the cauldron” or something like that. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So hopefully that’s prevalent. 

19) The mortal queens: do you think they all survived taking a Cauldron bath? What would you like to see happen with them?

Nope. I would like to see them die (except for the lion one) NEXT

20) Amren: what is she, really? Would you be ok if she got to go home?

SHE IS A BADASS MOTHERFUCKER AND IM SO EXCITED TO FIND OUT HER OTHER SELF. If she’s happy going home, then I’m happy; but she will be missed *insert sad face*

21) Jurian or the King of Hybern or Ianthe: who needs to die more?

Jurian is a jealous bitch and the King of Hybern is your typical dramatic evil dude but IANTHE NEEDS TO DIE THAT MOTHERFUCKER NEEDS TO DIE A TERRIBLE DEATH BY THE HANDS OF FEYRE. Just... WHAT A BITCH!!!!

22) What smut scenes would you like to see in the book?

ALL OF THEM???? Mostly Moriel (around the middle of the book, after Azriel comes to his senses) and Nessian (not until the very end, before the war, when she has apologized for all of her horribleness)

23) Babies - yea or nay? If you had to pick one couple to have a mini, who would it be?

None of the Inner Court bc none of them are stable enough to have a child. Also Feysand themselves said that they wanted to wait A WHILE before they did (ACOMAF, end of Chap 55). Not Elucien bc they’ve only met once and that would be messy. 

I think it would be hilarious if Tamlin and Ianthe had a one-night-stand baby. OOOHHHHH and then Elucien would adopt the bby (bc those other bitches are dead) and he grows up all good and pure and he’s a part of the whole big family. 

24) How do you think Nesta and Elain will react to being thrust into the Night Court after going for a swim in the Cauldron?

Sidenote: I love how this question is worded.

Nesta will, of course, resist it with every fiber in her being and then, with convincing, slowly accept it. 

Elain will be uncomfortable with it, but she’s an optimist, so she’ll come round a lot faster than Nesta will. 

25) How quickly are you going to read this book, exactly? Do you want spoilers? Or are you going to avoid tumblr like the plague?

Okay. My friend, who is also an avid fan of ACOTAR, and I have agreed that we will wait until the summer to read ACOWAR, so one of us doesn’t finish before the other and psych the other out, which is what happened with ACOMAF. So from May 2nd until after we finish Lord of Shadows, my friend and I will be avoiding social media like the plague. My friend doesn’t do social media, so she’ll be fine be fine with this. I, however, have a sort of relationship with Tumblr darling. so this adjustment will be.....interesting. 

26) What are three things you do NOT want from ACOWAR?

In no particular order: babies, death of the Good Peeps, and Feylin sex scene (won’t Calamai happen while Feyre is in the Spring Court?)

27) What are your top three wishes for ACOWAR that you would metaphorically (or literally) kill for?

Also in no particular order, CASSIAN’S WINGS TO BE SAVED, MOR’S POWER (WTF IS IT), THE INNER CIRCLE BEING BADASS MOTHERFUCKERS KICKING HYBERN ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[acourtofquestions]

"Your wyvern seems like more of a dog than anything."

It was not an insult, Manon reminded herself. The Crochans kept dogs as pets. Adored them, as humans did. "His name is Abraxos," Manon said. "He is ... different."