"The quest is over, but the curse has only just begun."
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Book starts with Ophelia and the gang living in Damenal. The Rapture is happening, aka the meeting with all the leaders of the clans (minus Kakias) to vote on whether or not they accept Ophelia as the Revered.
Remember there are 7 territories:
Starsearchers
Soulguiders
Engrossians
Mindshapers
Bodymelders
Mystiques
SeaWatchers
Ophelia must get the majority to agree that she is the new Revered of all. Mystiques obviously all in favor, Engrossians aren’t there, so that leaves 5.
Brigiet of the Bodymelders votes no.
Aird, Mindshapers, votes no.
Ezalia, Seawatchers, votes yes.
Meridat, Soulguiders, votes yes.
Titus, Starsearcher, votes no, but maybe. He wants to do a trial.
It is suggested that everyone leave delegates behind to be able to report back to the heads what they think of Ophelia ruling. They stay until Daminus, a holiday in the summertime, then they revote. Aird flat out refuses to even do that.
Titus also tells Ophelia that he has consulted with the stars and he sees death and destruction and he sees Ophelia involved with all that. He agrees to leave Vale behind as his delegate.
Meridat leaves Erista. Brigiet leaves Esmond.
Mal is hurting. Bad. He takes it out on Ophelia and barely talks to anyone else. Tolek is there for her, helping her, advising her, when Mal makes her question everything she is doing. Mal knows that Tolek has feelings for Ophelia, even though she has no idea, and he makes a point to kiss/touch her in front of him.
Ophelia is doing some digging into her ancestors, specifically Annellius. Who died from blood loss (that doesn’t sound important, but it is).
Mal had a spear but in the first book, it appeared to Ophelia, and it is rightfully hers. She named it Angelborn. Her and Mal are sparring and a piece of it breaks off. Ophelia tries to touch it but it burns her, Mal can touch it no problem.
Tolek, Cyph, Ophelia, and Jezebel get the Bond tattoo. It hurts Tolek, which the tattoo artist mumbles “interesting”. Mal leaves the shop and Ophelia takes off after him and runs right into Aird. Who was supposed to have left days ago. He says “I’ve found what I needed” and leaves.
Damien appears to Ophelia with a prophecy:
“Born again through the shade of heart, the Angelcurse claims its start. Seek the seven of ancient promise. Blood of fate, spilled in sacrifice. Strive, yield, unite, or follow the last’s lost fight.”
He tells her only she can know, and she must unite them. He appears to be fighting to tell her that much and then he disappears.
She has Angelblood..possibly. Annellius did. She takes the broken piece of her spear and puts it in a necklace. So blood of fate…Angelblood. Annellius died of blood lost .. Spilled in sacrifice? And Damien did tell her she wasn’t afflicted by that curse in Book 1 so maybe its this curse?
She asks Rina to look into curses for her but doesn’t tell her why.
The Engrossian heir (Mal’s brother) Barrett shows up with his boyfriend, Dax. Barrett says he is there to give information on his mother, Kakias, and to help fight her. He tells them that he doesn’t know much but he is willing to share what he knows because he doesn’t agree with what she is doing. He tells them that there is an Engrossian Warrior camp in their southern territory. Ophelia doesn’t trust him, doesn’t really believe him, but she knows she has to go check it out.
Mal goes into his dads office for the first time, has a little breakdown, and destroys it. He is so broken. He is sad because his dad is dead. He’s sad because his dad never wanted him, never loved him. But he’s also mad as hell. He also feels betrayed by everyone because he wants to just kill Barrett and Dax, he doesn’t trust them, and he can’t understand why he’s the only one who feels this way. Ophelia, Cyph, and Tolek tell him that they don’t believe Barrett, they don’t trust him, but they have to go check out the situation and see if he is lying. They know it might be a trap, or it might be the truth.
Barrett tells Ophelia that his mother is after something but he doesn’t know what. He went through her things and she had information on ancient Mystique lore and a lot of information on Ophelia.
Barrett wasn’t lying. The Engrossians were there. Ophelia leaves Barrett and Dax at camp with some Mystique warriors watching them while they go check out the Engrossians. They are fast. Faster than they should be, and stronger, and quiet. They are different..like supe’d up.
The gang are holding their own, but two of them get Mal cornered. Ophelia is too far away but she tries to get to him. And then Barrett and Dax are there. Still chained but there, defending Mal.
After they get back, Ophelia goes to find Jezebel, and walks into her suite, and finds Jezebel and Erista getting it on.
Cyph sees a scar on Vale that brands her as being a slave which means she belongs to one of the temples. Cyph questions her and she says she is NOT a slave, that she was, but that Titus saved her.
During a festival/celebration event, Ophelia invited Barrett and Dax, and did not tell Mal. When they showed up, Mal was pissed.
Then they have THE fight. Where they both just let it all out and Ophelia says she can’t do this anymore. Mal is shocked but also not. He wants to argue with her but he knows she’s right. They aren’t the same people anymore, so much has changed, they’ve both been emotionally (and in his case physically) traumatized and they aren’t handling their emotions well. This chapter (21) is so damn sad.
Damien POV - They need her and “the boy”. Damien says Ophelia controls his fate “in her veins”.
Ophelia sends letters to the leaders, explaining that the Engrossians had moved into Mystique territory, and she is looking for allies. Aird writes back and was basically like fuck off. Mal suggests that someone go talk to him and persuade him. Tolek volunteers to go.
Before Tolek leaves, Ophelia breaks up a fight between Mal and Tolek. Mal is pissed at Tolek for having feelings for Ophelia, even though he has never acted on them and she has no idea. Her and Mal have a good talk, albeit a sad one. Then Ophelia goes and talks to Tolek. He tells her that he has had feelings for her since the first time he watched her train when they were 13. That was also the year that Mal and Ophelia confessed their love for each other so Tol decided he would never tell her, he would be her friend, and as long as she was happy, he’d be happy for her. They also have a good talk, not as sad.
Before Tolek leaves to go to talk to Aird, Ophelia gives him her grandma’s pin.
A week later, a box shows up on their doorstep. A box full of blood, with Tolek’s dagger and Ophelia’s pin with it. The note states “Ophelia, you ferocious, wicked little thing. Remember, sacrifice is a skill we must conquer. Will it be your blood or his that coats the altar?”
Ophelia wants to immediately take off to go rescue him but everyone else wants to wait, knowing that she might be walking into a trap. Jez talks to Ophelia, doesn’t really tell her to go after him, but kind of does.
Ophelia leaves in the middle of the night without telling anyone.
With Ophelia gone, Mal is kind of forced to step up. Which is good for him. He is suspicious of everyone, trusts no one, but he does get a feeling about Vale, he feels like she is lying about something. Cyph tells him he needs his own weapon since Ophelia now has his spear. Poor Mal… he makes me so sad. He is haunted by the ghost voices telling him he isn’t good enough, he isn’t strong enough, and mockingly calling him Warrior Prince, like they did when he was held.
While Ophelia is in the forest, she encounters Nemaxese (large cats), and they also seem off. Just like those Engrossian soldiers.
Tolek’s sister, Lyria, shows up at the castle because Mal had written to her about Tolek’s capture. She also brought her friend, Mila. Mal is intrigued by her because she is also covered in scars, like he is.
Ophelia is at an inn and a StoryTeller starts talking. She tells a story about how there used to be “seven altruistic beings who roamed” the land. “They were one people, the seven of them. Immortals, but more person than myth.” Then the magic started eating at them, taking over, until the warriors were born. Five of the seven beings “received unique designations from their power” and the other two got supernatural strength. The differences in power became a tension between the seven until they divided into seven territories. The seven felt lonely without each other, they started talking to their magic, which ended up giving the magic control. Which corrupted them in a way. Then when they died, they ascended to the Angels we now know.
Someone in the audience asks how did they ascend? And the Storyteller says “through the power of that who surrounds us. The great creator of it all..”.
Some people at the pub tell Ophelia that they saw a camp set up just a few miles from town, she leaves to go check it out, hoping Tolek is there, when the Fae (Lancaster) from the first book follows her. He says he has been looking for her and he wishes to help. She questions why and he tells her not to ask questions she really doesn’t want the answer to. He says he will help her get into the camp but he wants to make a deal. He helps her now, she helps him when he calls for it.
Ophelia was right, Tolek is in there. She fights her way in and saves him. He is happy but mad because it's a trap, which she knew it would be. Aird comes in the tent. Tells Ophelia that Kakias has offered him more than she could imagine, and when he moves, its with that supernatural speed and stealth that the other Engrossians moved with. He said Kakias removed his weaknesses and he questions why she wants Ophelia so badly. What makes her blood so special? He attacks Ophelia but Tolek comes up behind him and strangles him with his cuffed hands, not enough to kill him, just to render him unconscious.
Tolek and Ophelia head back to the inn for the night. One horse…one bed… But nothing happens except talking and one kiss. Ophelia isn’t sure how she feels, or how to proceed. Tolek is her best friend and she doesn’t want to ruin anything. Plus, it's only been a few weeks since her and Mal called it off.
Barrett tells everyone that the pools in the Dark Valley feed on power, the magic has become sentient, and they will barter with you. They will deal with you, take something and give something in return, but that type of power can change you, and not for the good.
Barrett also tells everyone what Ophelia has been hiding from them - Kakias really badly wants her dead.
Mal remembers seeing something in his dads office when he destroyed it. A piece of paper with his dad’s handwriting with the phrases “Chosen Child”, “blood of the Chosen will grant the wish”, and “sacrifice her”.
Ophelia had asked Rina to research curses. Rina found a book that discusses the AngelCurse, that it's mostly folklore but there was rumor of a Mystique Warrior who was tasked by the Angels, “There is no cure, but blood for seraphs kissed by the Angels. Death is the ultimate sacrifice.”
Ophelia and Tolek are running from Engrossians and take shelter in some caves. They stumble upon an underground theater with seven weathered statues circled around an eighth who was larger. When she touches it, it burns her. But when Tolek touches it, he's fine.
Sapphire, Ophelia’s horse, leads them through the caves for days until finally, they exit onto a street in Damenal. She led them home, just in time for the festival of Daminius.
Upon her return, she is greeted by the gang, who are upset with her that she has withheld information such as Angelblood, Angelcurses, Kakias needing her blood and needing her dead. She finally tells them what Damien told her the last time she saw him.
We get a Damien POV - honestly, have NO idea what is going on. Clearly, he has a master, who keeps him on a tight leash, but he can’t kill Damien because he needs Damien to help with Ophelia. They have Angelglass that might show the future…or just predictions of the future?
Bant says “he has -” and blood pours from the image. “The stars can’t tell her” Valyrie says. They see two opposing threads, statues destroyed, a dagger is seen, then the glass goes dark and starts smoking.
Mal and Tolek have a discussion since the last time they saw each other Mal was punching him. They have a good talk and Mal tells Tolek that he and Ophelia aren’t right for each other anymore, they’ve grown into two different people while he was away, and she deserves someone who can love her the right way.
Tonight is the festival. Some gather at the castle for Ophelia to do a ritual, while the council heads to the Sacra Temple to wait.
Ophelia has a lovely heartwarming moment with Jezebel, her dad, and with Danya (Master of Weapons and Warfare). Then she apologizes to Cyph and Rina for keeping secrets. She is heading over to Mal to talk to him when the person leading the ritual announces it's time for the Revered’s dance. This dance is supposed to be between the Revered and their partner. A few weeks ago, it would have been Mal, no questions asked. But now, what?
Mal smiles at her, but he said it wasn’t a smile to say I’m on my way, it was a smile to set her free, and he sends a reassuring boop down their glitchy bond.
And then Tolek appears and saves her. Just like he always does.
After the dance, everyone heads to the Sacra Temple but Tolek and Ophelia head off to a bathroom to “talk” aka make out. She tells him that she may be broken but she wants him, in every way. But before they can do the deed in the bathroom up against the door, the mountains beneath them start shaking.
Kakias blew up the Sacra Temple. Where the council is - including Ophelia’s dad. There is chaos in the streets - Engrossians have arrived and it's outright war. Tolek and Ophelia are fighting side by side when another blast happens and Tolek shoves her backwards and out of the way, while the building falls on top of him.
She is digging through the rumble trying to find him when Aird grabs her from behind. He says he is taking her to the Queen and she will come quietly. Clearly he doesn’t know Ophelia. She doesn’t like to be told what to do. She ends up killing him (good fkin riddance) and takes off for where he mentioned Kakias is at. Kakias has some supernatural/force powers now, able to throw people around the room without touching them, she cuts her own hand but Ophelia’s starts bleeding. Kakias tells Ophelia she had had a child when she was 18, with a man who she loved but he only loved her crown, he took her child and “fed it nothing but darkness to survive” (whatever that means) and the child died. She lost what mattered most, so she traded her soul for immortality. But she isn’t immortal yet - she needs to drink Ophelia’s Angelblood and then she has to kill her. Kakias admits that she is the one who planted the curse within the Mystiques, not some sorcia.
Meanwhile, Mal is struggling. Remember how he was tortured for 2 years by the Engrossians? Yeah…he’s having some PTSD. He fights with Cyph but he has some panic moments where he can’t breathe or swing his sword again. Vale shows up, demands that Cyph and Mal come with her to a temple because she needs to communicate with the stars or spirits or whatever she does. And Mal is like umm right now? She says maybe she can see how they can win the war and then she tells them that this entire time she has been sabotaging her own readings, that Titus told her too. They head to a temple in the Sacred Quarter where Vale can do her thing.
While there, Cyph and Mal wait outside, where some Engrossians approach and shoot Cyph. Mal starts to have a panic attack but snaps out of it and then Mila shows up to help him. Cyph had crawled to Vale but was losing blood fast, Mal sees this and starts to panic, which Mila helps him control (this is not the first time). Mila and Mal work on removing the spear and then Mila stitches him up so that the mountain can use its magic to heal him. Vale comes out of her trance and tells Mal she figured it out, she knows how to defeat Kakias and she knows more than that too. (Side note: We find out a little later that it was Vale that saw the prophecy of Ophelia mentioned in the first part of the book, not Titus. Titus has been having her lie to them but they are unsure why.)
Barrett shows up, tries to talk some sense into his mom to not kill Ophelia. She calls him weak, says he lacks the ability to be emotionless. Kakias holds her dagger to Ophelia’s throat and Opehlia’s necklace shoots out a hot, burning, blinding light. It burnt Kakias so she dropped Ophelia and Barrett grabbed her. Her blood hits his ring and another burst of light shoots out of it. Kakias was screaming and then tumbled off the balcony, but when they checked, there was no body. Ophelia and Barrett go back out into the chaos (even though Ophelia really needs to be healed) to find Tolek. They are battling and Ophelia feels like this is it, they are all going to die. When help finally arrives. The SeaWatchers and some Bodymelders came to help.
Barrett grabs a struggling, bleeding Ophelia and heads back to the castle. He finds Mal and Mal takes Ophelia from him. He starts to get pissed at Barrett but Ophelia is awake enough to tell him that it was Kakias that did this. Mal is watching them work on Ophelia and thinks, “She may not be mine anymore, but I will always protect her.”
A few days later, Mal and Barrett are talking. He says thank you for saving Ophelia. Barrett says “You truly love her, don’t you?” He admits he will always love her in some way, but then he thinks of Mila. He’s got a little crush on her (and thank goodness because we want Mal to be happy).
Ophelia thinks that her necklace, the piece of Angelborn that broke off that burns her and only her, is one of seven pieces (one for each Angel) she needs to unite. She believes a piece of Damien’s power lives within the broken piece. Another piece is Barrett's ring. She doesn’t know what they are for but she knows she needs to unite them.
Damien shows up, with a brand new scar on his face which he tells them is from his own actions. Then he gives her another prophecy: “The time is near, Cursed Child. Paint the shards with vengeance. Awaken the answering presence.”
The book ends with Ophelia checking on Tolek, he’s alive…thank the gods…but he is not awake. His right side was smashed by the falling building and he was bleeding internally.The healer says he should be fine, but he still isn’t waking up.
Book 3 - Trials of Ophelia coming soon…