Kingdom of Ash DISCUSSION Part III

Note: This will be a rant – a positive one. This is a place to talk about your favourite quotes, themes, answer burning questions, or ask some new ones. MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS BELOW. Enjoy!
P.S. All quotes in this discussion series are the property of Sarah J. Maas, and all images are the property of Bloomsbury or their respective authors (links to social media provided when possible).

Note2: Sorry for the long delay since Part II! My intention was to do one part a day in celebration of the book but alas, I had been recently called to Rifthold for a much needed reading session with the king and some girl talk with the wife of the Captain of the Guard. Fun times!

Quotes and Thoughts!

Oh, where did we leave off? RIGHT. At the rising action. Probably some of the most stressful pages and *trigger warning* difficult scenes to read, tbh.

We’re at this point where we’re waiting to see if Aedion’s risk pays off. There’s hope there; the hero rising against the old white grumpy lord (more on Darrow later) and proving to him not his worth but the devotion to his queen and kingdom nobody seems to notice. And then they see the troops and they know they’re screwed. This was a chapter where I really admired Sarah’s patience. Because war can be and is a long, drawn-out affair. And the writing is open enough that it leaves room for interpretation without obvious predictability.

On the other side of the world, Elide is literally taking on the world, putting her acting skills to the test. Although I have to see even I felt her almost freeze when she saw linens ripped from Lorcan’s shirt at the bottom of her bag. For her period. And he didn’t say anything to her because she was still mad at him for his misplaced loyalties at the end of EoS. But again – Queen Maas of show-don’t-tell not telling us that Elide perhaps felt guilty or appreciative…it’s something I felt because I am human just like Elide and understand in some part the emotions she’s going through. Well done! Case in point from Lorcan’s POV:

“…to send Elide into Maeve’s clutches – it had taken all of his will to let her walk away. If Elide was captured…he wouldn’t hear of it…There would be no flash of power, no signal to alert him that she was in danger. But he stayed away…he knew Whitethorn had ordered him to study the southern edge, because it was precisely where she’d emerge. If she emerged” p.210-211

Now there is just so much in this passage I can talk about. I’ve already highlighted the “all of his will” part because, to me, it signified a model. That people who are seeking to comfort/apologize to those who are hurt don’t need to run after the person to prove their loyalty. That, in fact, can have the opposite effect. And the best part is Rowan, who feels angry at Lorcan most of all. I think he saw in this scene a part of Lorcan that he himself saw with Celaena at Mistward in HoF. She was hurting but needed to come to terms with things herself. It’s taking Lorcan all his will to not go to her, but Rowan is there ensuring the window is open, letting him guard the entry to Doranelle from where Elide could emerge, should a conversation be forthcoming. That’s so sweet and mature of Rowan. So kingly 😉

And then this glorious piece of art happened 😀

“‘Why should I believe you?’

‘Because you are wearing Lorcan’s shirt, and Rowan Whitethorn’s cloak’…Essar said softly, ‘Lorcan and I were involved for a time'” p.214

Honestly I wish I could have physically seen Elide’s cheeks go red at basically meeting one of Lorcan’s ancient exes. But what’s also nice about this quote is here is a female character we’ve never met (unless you count the deleted scene in HoF) who is not hostile or sells Elide to Maeve. I think it’s a lesson that we can put our trust in people, and that women can be civil to one another and trust – even if they were both at one time involved with the same individual.

OK. Now here’s something unexpected! Anyone remember the little teaser quotes we got from Bloomsbury about KoA. WELL WELL WELL WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE HEHEHEHE

“They’d walked this dark path together back to the light. He would not let the road end here” p.218

Again. Jesus Rowan Whitethorn Christ. It was his quote all along. And about his and Aelin’s separate journeys to one another. Not giving up when you feel at rock bottom is a theme I personally identify with, and I could tell Sarah wrote this from the heart. Looking over mountains and oceans and wondering what lay beyond, what purpose you have when there’s a certain emptiness. That hope turning into fruition is the best feeling. And I was absolutely thrilled that I got to read about Rowaelin’s journey from Rowan POV. It was so endearing…especially for a character that at first glance can seem so cold and robust. A true King.

And then comes the bulk of this part of the book. The attempt at rescuing Aelin. After Elide’s apparent success trying to act as Cairn’s lover (EWW) in Doranelle and receiving some good karma from her goddess probably, I attached myself to a heart rate monitor that my local clinic was oh so glad to give me.
Point #1: Aelin saw the night sky through the tent flap in Maeve’s army camp. Despite the torture tools and Fenrys nearby, at the horrors awaiting her should Maeve return with a Valg collar (I still don’t know if Rowan should have use that as bait for Maeve), she decided to focus on the night sky (Sprinkle in a little Rhysand why don’t you haha).

“You do not yield” p.233

This might be one of my most favourite lines in the book. So much power in so few words. Determination. Grief. Anger. Jealousy. Love. All bundled into one. I think it’s going to be my new mantra.

And it was rightfully timed, too. Cairn is there taunting Aelin about how he’s going to burn right through to her bones with a poker and this is when I think I truly got to see Aelin cracking. With all that power threatening to burst, she’s being threatened with burning to death, a cruel sentence for a demi-Fae with powers of fire and trapped in a deadly-to-Fae iron coffin. Snow White indeed. And then she said “wait” and my heart broke all over again because she knew what was coming and resolved herself to look at the stars one last time. I can’t even.

***Trigger Warning for terrorizing abuse and torture ahead.***

With phrases like “gripped the back of her head and slammed her face into the edge of the metal table”, “wrapped around her calves and yanked”, “he was over her, raining blows”, and “he hurled her with all his strength against the chest of drawers”…it made me wonder. This is very detailed, and chillingly so. Speaking from personal experience, I don’t see any other way than to say Sarah must have known someone who experience such abuse to have written it so clearly and accurately. Sharp, pointed sentences with just a hint of physicality but the insinuation of so much fear and desperation. I’ll say it again – it’s very difficult to make me cry reading books and watching movies. I’ve only ever cried during The Fox and the Hound if that says anything. Until these scenes in the book. They opened up wounds and made me feel. And then…

“He would not allow it. That final breaking…He defied it. All that the blood oath was.” p.241

Okaaayyy, I can see so much symbolism in Fenrys’ thoughts. And it made me think of some things recently observed in the media near where I live in assaults taking place in high schools and people filming it. I wish people thought more like Fenrys. Taking the stand that everyone says they’ll take at We Day or Leadership conferences or whatnot…Fenrys broke through the evil bystander bias, against all the status quos, and decided to fight…wait for it – for the promise of a better world. It’s right there in writing, this quintessential phrase for the whole finale.

And then we cut to Rowan and the others going to the camp and killing soldiers and counting down the miles to Cairn’s tent, so that Rowan can finally be reunited with Aelin! We are so close and yet…Fenrys has just broken the blood oath to Maeve by fucking force and he can’t survive but Aelin runs and she knows she’ll regret leaving Fenrys to die and…OH LOOK. I’M CRYING AGAIN! whyyyyyy Sarah whyyyyyyyy.

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. And then Lorcan signaled to Rowan that he’d found Aelin and seen her running. And oh my god can you just imagine what it must have felt like not only sending that message but being Rowan in the middle of killing some bloke when his heart suddenly clenched at the words she’s here? HOLY MOTHER OF GODS, am I right?

And, I think this is where we see the death of the assassin. Never since Crown of Midnight do I remember Aelin being so gutless and ruthless. But then again, she and Celaena are in the same position: fighting for their lives and their freedom. And then – and then –

“Aelin was stumbling now…The sob that came out of [her] at the hawk’s bellow of fury cracked Lorcan’s chest […] Fast as a shooting star, Rowan dove for them. He reached them as they passed the first of the trees…Rowan was instantly before her, hands going to the mask on her face, the chains, the blood coating her arms, her body…[She] moaned, ‘Fenrys’ […] Rowan turned from his mate.”  p.25-251

UM EXCUSE ME WHILE I PLAN MY FUNERAL, OKAY? Not only does Aelin nearly die at the sound of Rowan’s cry, all she can think of is Fenrys and how she’s in no freaking shape to save him. And what does Rowan do? He goes to save Fenrys. Because he could feel Aelin’s hurt. You tell me if you were in some bad car accident and your friend was still in the car when your carranam showed up – would he/she/they take you to safety first? Possibly. Likely. But Rowan…it’s not that he’s obedient. He thinks and he knows Aelin so fully he knows what will happen if he doesn’t at least try to save Fenrys and I think that so tough, because he’s just been reunited with Aelin and the bloody gory all over her irons, and he turns from her because…I don’t think love can encompass it. Desperation. Or some extreme form of it with a sprinkle of love and fight-or-flight. This was the most intense part of the book for me, I think. But not as heartbreaking as Rowan finding the tent, the coffin he’d never seen, the blood…

“Her blood sang to him of pain and despair, of utter terror. His Fireheart.” p.255

WHAT ABOUT MY HEART, EH?!?!

Hold up, #1 heartbreak of the book and the single most trigger warning for me:

“Aelin ripped at the immovable mask, either unaware or uncaring of the prince before her. Her consort, husband, and mate.

‘Aelin.’

Take it off, take it off, take it off!

Her screams were unbearable. Worse than those that day on the beach in Eyllwe…Slowly, Rowan knelt before her. ‘Aelin.’ She only tipped her head up to the forest canopy and sobbed…Rowan reached out a trembling hand, the only sign of the agony Elide had little doubt was coursing through him.

Aelin sobbed, her body shuddering with the force of it. ‘Take it off.‘

Rowan’s eyes flickered, panic and heartbreak and longing shining there. ‘I will. But you have to be still, Fireheart. Just for a few moments.’…Rowan ran his thumbs over her wrists…Slowly, her shaking eased…turned inward.” p.260

Holy hells…that was incredibly difficult to read, because it was obviously that no one could do anything for her. But then, when Rowan appeared, when he looked at her and took her wrists. The restraint….I honestly don’t know how the fuck Sarah sat down and wrote that. I was really sobbing. And then I sobbed some more at this:

“She sniffed at the blood pooling in his hand…like the scent of his blood posed some question.

‘I am your mate,’ Rowan whispered, as if it was the answer she sought. And the love in his eyes, in the way his voice broke…

‘Show me, Fireheart,’ he said again. Elide could have sworn he shuddered…as Aelin’s metal-crusted hand closed around his….

Aelin lifted her bare hands to her face… ‘I’ll do it,’ Rowan said, his voice still soft, still full of that love.

Not a mark. Not a callus. Not a single scar…As if someone had wiped them away.” p.263-264

The significance of Aelin’s scarless, naked skin is so symbolic, it’s painful. From the day her parents were murdered in their beds, she had scars to remind her of herself, of her journey as Celaena Sardothien the Assassin to the King’s Champion, to Rowan’s carranam, to the Queen of Terrasen. It’s hard not to have scars to remember – to quite literally have all your suffering wiped away. And I think this is the scene where Rowan broke. I think Sarah might have been a page away from having a whole book describing Rowan in pain. I don’t think I would have survived, tbh. Foreshadowing for other parts of Aelin being wiped away…Nice parallel to Dorian trying to find who he wanted to be versus Aelin who was losing the person she knew/had decided she wanted to become.

Side Note: If Aelin is Snow White in this instance, it’s pretty interesting that Rowan didn’t save her from the coffin per say with a kiss…but he did save her from the irons, so…still a Prince Charming, I’d say ❤

BUT WAIT IT’S NOT OVER!

Aelin saves Fenrys by letting him know she wanted to save him by offering the blood oath. Fenrys didn’t have a choice but I doubt he would have refused. Not only is Fenrys so resilient after everything he’d been through, he allows that vulnerability for Aelin alone – not as mates, but as friends who’d undergone trauma together. And then Rowan has to make the happy-tears moment even more sappy by saying “Welcome to the court, pup,” LOL ILU KING ROWAN.

Meanwhile (I know this is getting long you guys bare with me) on the Erilea side we’ve got heartbreak #2 as Manorian are too late to meet up with the other Crochans near Eyllwe. So what do Manon and the Thirteen do? YUP. They dig the grave with their claws. Touching. And very queenly if I may say so myself, Manon Crochan Blackbeak. But is it really queenly to eavesdrop, mademoiselle? Not that I’m complaining that her eyes were probably on Dorian the whole entire time hehe.

“Who do you wish to be?

‘Someone worthy of my friends,’ he said into the quiet night. ‘A king worthy of his kingdom.'” p.286

Interesting that Dorian goes from wishing to be anyone but himself, to wishing to be a worthy king, which, it seems, is exactly what is needed for him to be able to shift. He lets go of his fear. Fear of losing someone like Sorscha, of getting another Collar…And all he had to do was look at Kaltain’s ghost and see that she suffered and actually said that she didn’t deserve the collar or the Key (contrary to what Dorian was thinking about himself and the Collar) to understand what being King meant? Sure. I’ll sign up for that. And then fucking Manon Blackbeak comes around, sees him change into a raven and back and is like ‘lol’ “When, exactly, were you going to inform me that you were about to retrieve the third Wyrdkey?” MA LITTLE BABY GRUMPY WITCH CARES ABOUT DORIAN! Not that I thought they were only fuck-buddies or that Manon didn’t care about the Thirteen (spoiler alert: she really does care about them). I don’t think she would have gone to all that trouble watching Dorian only to reveal herself to him if she didn’t care.

And to finally end this section, how about we put the cherry on the cake with the last heartbreak, eh? Lysandra and Aedion fighting again, after another defeat as they’re being pushed further back to Perranth. Aedion’s upset, I get it. And he’s a dick to Lysandra the whole time, not even wondering how terrified she is that Erawan might know she’s a fake-Aelin.

“Fight back. She should fight back. Rage at him as he lashed at her, needing an outlet for his fear and despair…She managed to stand, her body bleating in pain. Barefoot in the snow, naked beneath her cloak.” p.294

And what does Aedion do? He throws her in the damned snow!! After her hard work during the battle, despite all the pressure on her, she.still.fought. But guess what? She knew that turning into a monster and forcing Aedion to see reason wasn’t going to do anything. Just like Lorcan with Elide, Lysandra was smart and knew that no matter the pain, she would endure it not just for Aelin, but for him, too. For when he understood her reasons. I am not saying that how he’s treated her so far is acceptable. It’s far from that. But Aedion is in a situation where he doesn’t know/want to acknoledge the full story. And he’s not ready to, not yet. That is totally different from someone staying in an abusive relationship. Aedion isn’t unwilling to hear Lysandra and forgive her and Aelin for their rash plan. He’s just so hurt that he’s trying to figure out how to comprehend it. It’s just ironic that figuring out the reasoning behind a battle plan is taking so long for a General to comprehend. It was one of the only upsetting parts of the book for me.

 

One third of the discussion is now done! This one was a ton of emotions! Maybe that’s really why it took so long to post (it was truly life-draining!). If you have anything to add, things to think about in this chunk of the book, comment below! (And subscribe if you want to Keep Up with Kingdom of Ash). Thank you all, and ~ Just Keep Reading

-Talia