'Silver In The Bone' Book Club Readalong Day 5!

Welcome to the fifth day of our book club readalong for OwlCrate's April book, Silver In The Bone by Alexandra Bracken. 

This month I will be running our book club in tandem with our amazing Nest moderator, Amber, who is hosting our club readalong of Silver In The Bone on the Official OwlCrate Nest discussion group. You'll be able to chat with other readers there, access way more chapter by chapter questions, and get some  AMAZING fun extra activities to go along with the discussion! Check it out HERE.

Readers who participate in the Nest's readalong will be in the running to win an OwlCrate box and one randomly chosen blog discussion participant will win a shop gift card!

Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 29-38 of Silver In The Bone , so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.

Find your discussion questions below!

I am mostly full confident our heroes can find a way out of this snafoo...

Chapter 29:

Tamsin is reading in the library when Emrys enters visibly upset and tells her he's found something. Tamsin, Emrys, Neve and Cabell go with him to the armory. 

Inside is a platform that lowers into a tunnel beneath the great hall. They search it and discover Morgan le Fay's tomb as well as a platform overlooking a section of the tower's moat. They find twisted cages with a pile of silver bones Emrys suggests that someone has used this space to experiment on the Children. There are sigils on the ground that Neve recognizes, marks of druid magic. 

Everyone debates about who could have been responsible for this and Tamsin has another vision of the unicorn and Children. 

Just then the group are attacked by Children Of The Night. 




Chapter 30:

The group run from the Children but come back to the tower's courtyard to find a raging battle between the denizen's and the Children. Cabell is triggered into turning into the hound. Cabell pleads with Tamsin to keep him from hurting anyone, begs her to end him before he loses control. Cabell attacks Caitriona, but she drops her sword as Cabell slams into her. He rips into her neck and shoulder. Just then Bedivere grabs Cabell and pulls him off Caitriona. He shouts for Cabell to master his curse. At that moment the courtyard fills with Neve's light spell, incinerating the Children. 

Chapter 31:

Caitriona is unmoving and Flea weeps over here. Cabell stands up in human form, ragged. 

Bedivere and Tamsin attempt to comfort a devastated Cabell. Tamsin goes to Bedivere to explain that Cabell didn't mean to turn. Bedivere assures her that he will help and continue to help Cabell with his curse. Tamsin goes to Emrys and let's him know that Cabell is all right. Emrys tells her that they have to burn the bodies which will mean that some may not be reborn to the Goddess. 

Neve and Olwen tend to the wounded. Caitriona is not dead, but gravely injured by Cabell. She does not hold Cabell's transformation against him. Caitriona gives Neve back her wand. 

Chapter 32:

Tamsin keeps her visions to herself and assists in cleaning up the tower after the attack. The next morning Tamsin tells Emrys that they have to escape. He agrees and they flirt...



and then come up with a plan to catch the hooded figure they'd seen in the chamber of bone sculptures. On the third night of their searching Tamsin arrives in the great hall to find Emrys missing. She follows a scant trail to the hidden door. She goes down in the dark without a flashlight, stepping carefully over roots until she finds Emrys. 

They find a part of the Mother Tree that seems super...off. It speaks with a mans voice and tells them unhinged riddles. 



They demand that the tree tells them who or what it is when they are discovered by Bedivere. 

Chapter 33:

Bedivere asks Tamsin and Emrys what they are doing sneaking. Just then Olwen steps out and tells him that she will handle speaking to Emrys and Tamsin. 

Olwen gestures toward the tree and tells them that the entity that had spoken to them was Merlin.

Emrys tells them that after Merlin fought Morgan and was almost fatally wounded, he tied his life force to the Mother Tree because he knew Morgan would not harm it. 

They discuss the things that Merlin rambles about and Tamsin asks Olwen if she is sure Caitriona isn't the one behind the Children. Caitriona asks them to follow her and they find Cait singing a lamenting song. Olwen assures them that Caitriona would not be capable of it. Emrys and Tamsin then ask about the chamber of sculptures and the cauldron of silver. 

They go to find Neve in the infirmary with Flea and Caitriona. Olwen grabs a clothed item from the shelves and places it in front of them. It's an inverted skull with an array of thin bones fanning around it. It is the preserved skull of Viviane and they use it to see her memories. 

Olwen shows them the High Priestesses memories which show her to be honorable in the memories that are left in it. 

The group continues to debate about who could be behind the curse and the Children. Caitriona and Olwen assure the group that they only use the chamber with good intentions but Tamsin and Emrys ask why then that the cauldron was filled with silver. 

This shocks everyone as it is not. Only Emrys and Tamsin saw silver in the cauldron. Neve asks why the Priestesses have not attempted a ritual cleansing of the island but they are interrupted by the arrival of Bedivere. 

They admit that they have, Olwen has found a spell ritual that may break all curses affecting those on the island...not just the curse of the Children Of The Night. 




Chapter 34:

Tamsin asks why the Priestesses have not attempted this ritual and they reply that it's because they don't have enough Priestesses, that they need nine as well as an athame, as an old athame relic has been lost. Neve asks them why they don't just ask her as her lineage traces back to the Priestesses of Avalon and use a new athame. 

They all agree to try the ritual as long as the Goddess accepts Neve. Tamsin speaks to Cabell about his curse and the cleansing ritual they are going to attempt. They also speak about Bedivere's history and reminisce about Nash. 



Chapter 35:

Tamsin returns to her and Neve's room and falls asleep. She has a vision of falling into water and bones before finding a fiery sword. She wakes at Bedivere's soft knock at the door. 

He admits that he knows where the true athame is and that he pulled the High Priestesses bones from the fire as the others slept and buried them in the place where all High Priestesses are born back to the Goddess. 



Tamsin asks him if he's going to go get it and Bedivere answers yes. She tries to convince him that she should be the one to go recover it as no one will notice her missing. 

He eventually agrees and Tamsin readies to leave the castle. 


Chapter 36:

Tamsin leaves the tower through another hidden passage. She and Bedivere walk down an old fairy path that has been taken by decay.  He tears a space through thick spider webs. Tamsin asks Bedivere about King Arthur and he responds that he was vainglorious but a good king. 

He then tells Tamsin to be quiet because the Children will hear them. 

They continue on in silence until Bedivere stops her and gives her directions to the burial mound where she will find the athame. He tells her that he will close the path after three hours and to be careful. 

Tamsin travels along the path she is given until she falls into mulch and sees slithering Children around the riverbank. The Children have made it their nest. She slowly makes her way through dead trees and spots the burial mound in the center of a slimy island surrounded by a small lake. 

She finds a small rowboat and uses it to get to the island. Tamsin gets out and hears the water gurgle behind her before looking back and straight into the white eyes of a Revenant. She notices that on it's finger is The Ring Of Dispel and melded as a wrist on the other hand is the athame. 

The creature strikes Tamsin arm and they both stumble into the murky water. 



Chapter 37:

Tamsin inhales icy water and remembers to herself that this has all happened to her before as black blood floods the water. Feeling around the bottom of the ground she grasps the hilt of a flaming sword. 

Tamsin slices into the creature and kicks her way out of the water. As she's struggling to stay conscious, a hot arm grabs her up out of the water. It's Emrys. He comments on her new sword.



They notice that the Children have climbed up the bank and are crawling toward them. 

Emrys uses Tamsin's new sword to keep them at bay. The Revenant High Priestess screeches to the Children and scales the rocky hill of the opposite bank, fleeing into the woodland and the Children all pull back to chase her. 

Emrys drops the sword and falls to a crouch, worried for Tamsin as she passes out. 



Chapter 38:

Tamsin wakes up to Emrys tending to her. He explains that they're in a watch post with fires burning to keep the Children away. He tends to Tamsin but she pushes him away as she thinks she's a monster. He assures her that there is nothing dark about her. 

Tamsin tells Emrys that the High Priestess has the Ring Of Dispel and passes out, again. 



Til tomorrow, friends! You won't want to miss this epic ending...

 Questions:

1. 👀Are you surprised that Cait forgave Cabell? 
   

2. 🕯️ Well Merlin as part tree was surprising. Do you think there is truth in what he says?
   

3.  🍃 Do you think Emrys will go for the ring without Tamsin?

4. 💫 What do you think will happen when they break the curse?

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