We made it, friends! It's the final day of the Witches Steeped in Gold readalong!
Today we are finishing the book! That's right, we have conquered this chunky tome and might I say it sure was worth it! One final time please don't read my chapter summaries until you're done and dusted. Come back and discuss the ending once you're caught up! I will randomly be selecting one comment from throughout the week to win a free OwlCrate box. Because this book was a bit longer, I'll give everyone until Sunday, May 30th, to get their thoughts in!
Chapter 49:
Jazmyne: It’s the final task of the Yielding and Javal emerges victorious. Back in Jazmyne’s study they find Ira waiting for them. They plan to release a beast and for Ira to kill the doyenne during the Sole the next day. Once Ira is gone, Jazmyne and Kirdan decide that they will kill Ira. Not very nice!
Chapter 50:
Ira: While being escorted back to the Cuartel, Ira leads the Xanthippe in a wrong direction in the castle before killing them. She finds one of her family's secret tunnels and maps them out for the Jade Guild to use in their raid the next day.
Chapter 51:
Jazmyne: Before the Sole the doyenne tells Jazmyne she knows she is working with the Nameless. Uh-oh! And at the Sole things do not go according to plan! Many sukuyans attack before the Sole can begin, only to be followed by an attack from the rest of the doyenne’s shields. Jazmyne tells the doyenne to flee, but before she can do anything else she herself is dragged away.
Chapter 52:
Ira: In the saferoom, the doyenne reveals that she worked with another Obeah family to overthrow Ira’s. When the doyenne tries to use suppression on her, Ira uses the mirror to reflect the guzzu back on her, managing to control her. With a final relish, she kills the doyenne as she has been acting as a leader since the day she set foot in Cuartel. Blasting the safe room door open, Jazmyne appears with the pirates. They seize Ira for execution. Ira cannot believe she was out maneuvered!
Chapter 52:
Jazmyne: An hour earlier. It turns out the people who grabbed Jazmyne are Roje and his pirates! They take her to her study where she finds Kirdan tied up. Roje reveals that Kirdan isn’t an emissary, he’s in fact the prince of Zesia. He tells her Kirdan’s been working against her since she revealed she would kill her own mother. Roje let’s Jazmyne know that Anya is fine.
Chapter 53:
Ira: Bundled by pirates and bound in the doyenne’s office, Kirdan knocks the door down and dispels with the pirates guarding her. Outside, the Alumbrar are calling Jazmyne doyenne. Revealing that he has been working on her side, Delyse and Shamar appear and are very much alive. Kirdan printed their faces on two Xanthippe.
Escaping through the trees, the party is apprehended by Roje and his pirates. It turns out that all of Kirdan’s weapons are conduit weapons. Ira manages to flee to her ancestral graveyard, where she calls on her ancestors to help them fight off the pirates. They flee. Once back with her party Kirdan shackles her to him, leaving her without her magic and shocking her is she resists. They sift.
Chapter 54:
Jazmyne: Roje reveals to Jazmyne that Ira and Kirdan have escaped. She also comes to the realization that the notebook the doyenne had given her earlier was the Adair Grimoire, which she foolishly dropped in the debris. She suspects that Kirdan now has it, and without it they can’t complete the Yielding.
Ira: In the final chapter Kirdan reveals that he had already formed an alliance with Delyse and Shamar before the Shook Deal between them and Jazmyne. He tells her about once following the Jade Guild after a meeting and seeing they kept monsters not from this side of the veil. The Jade Guild and The Unlit are one in the same. They have been using the monsters to cut off the different islands from each other to make their victory on Aiyca easier. Kirdan wants Ira to either become empress or decree a successor. Finally, Ira proposes they head to the Skylands to win over their aerial army to return and destroy all of the monsters.
Well that was quite the ending! I feel like we got a lot of answers but are left with even more questions! I cannot wait to see what's in store for book two!
Questions:
1. What do you think Jazmyne's next move is going to be now that Ira has escaped and the grimoire is gone?
2. What do you think is going to be Javal's fate?
3. What do you think the Jade Guild is going to do next?
4. Predictions for book two? There is a lot to unpack at the end of this one!
5. And of course, did you enjoy the book? Favourite part?
Thank you so much for joining in, everyone! Until next time!
