#selkie romance novel

[blam-marie]

One Selkie. Two strangers. Three murders.

The small town of St. Adalbert Sur Mer is hiding a dark secret.

Three times during the summer, the lifeless body of a Selkie was dumped into the river. Naked, and with a missing pelt.

Louison is sent by her clan to investigate these murders and catch the killer, but her mission derails when she meets two charming strangers whom everyone in town seems to be falling in love with - including herself. Torn between her rising attraction towards Gabrielle and Adrien and keeping the secret of her origins, Louison must dodge tourists, deadly poachers and wildlife protection agents in a wild quest to find her sibling’s murderer - before he kills again.

Skin Deep is a queer polyamorous story where everyone is hiding something and nothing is as simple as it seems. 

Now available for pre-orders in both ENGLISH and FRENCH

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: Saving the Selkie's Heart

Synopsis: A selkie warrior, a newly transfigured selkie princess…what happens to love when loyalties clash? Ceannas, a selkie warrior, must protect his clan during the Migration, a rite of passage that occurs every 50 years. When he discovers a runaway selkie, the daughter of his Prince, he must figure out a way to divide his duties, especially when keeping her alive demands all his…

[niksfairyland]

chazlyn.yvonne in the romance novel dress by selkie

[wearethekat]

Anticipated New Releases of 2024

**As anticipated by Me. Mostly SFF. Links are to goodreads because that's what I use, sorry. Anything marked "new to me" I haven't read anything by that author before and therefore can't vouch for the quality. I just think the premise is neat.**

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, Heather Fawcett (16 January)

Sequel to the charming novel about the fairy anthropologist.

Exordia, Seth Dickinson (23 January)

Well, it isn't a new Baru Cormorant, but this modern SF about first contact may be the next best thing.

City of Stardust, Georgia Summers (30 January)

New to me. A young woman descends into the underworld in order to break her family's fatal curse.

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (6 February)

New to me. A sherlock holmes flavored duo solves the mystery of the murder of an imperial official in a labyrinthine fantasy realm.

What Feasts at Night, T Kingfisher (13 February)

The sequel to the mushroom horror book What Moves the Dead.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden (13 February)

A ghost story set in WW1 about a woman searching for her missing brother.

The Fox Wife, Yangsze Choo (13 February)

New to me. A detective in 1908 Manchuria investigates a young woman's death in an area full of mythical foxes.

Redsight, Meredith Mooring (27 February)

New to me. Unpowered priestess and Imperial pawn is set on a collision path with a pirate with a grudge for the Imperium (Gay romance).

Sunbringer, Hannah Kaner (12 March)

Sequel about the professional godkiller Kissen.

Jumpnauts, Hao Jingfang (12 March)

New to me. A SF novel in translation from Chinese, with three scientists joining forces to deal peacefully with a first contact situation.

The Woods All Black, Lee Mandelo (19 March)

I liked Mandelo's debut novel very much so I'm excited to read this queer horror novella set in 1920s Appalachia.

Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis (19 March)

New to me. A series of cozy character vignettes on a space cruise ship after a murder has occurred. One of the four (!) space hotel murder crimes books coming out this year.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang (26 March)

New to me. Reincarnation gay romance set in 4 BCE China, the 1740s, and modern-day LA.

Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky (28 March)

Far future space xenoarchaeology by a man trapped on a prison planet.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell (2 April)

New to me. Bizarre lesbian cannibalism monster romance from the point of view of the monster.

The Familiar, Leigh Bardugo (9 April)

Glad to see Bardugo writing more adult fantasy, and this one is especially exciting because it's a fantasy set in early modern Spain with a Jewish main character. Fun to see a more original historical period.

A Sweet Sting of Salt, Rose Sutherland (9 April)

New to me. Lesbian selkie romance.

Death in the Spires, KJ Charles (11 April)

Charles branching out from romance into historical Oxford murder mystery about a group of friends with dark secrets.

Audrey Lane Stirs The Pot, Alexis Hall (22 April)

The new Hall thinly veiled british baking show romcom. Libby says it's releasing in April but I've heard nothing from the author so I think it may be Alecto'd (shifted to next year)

Necrobane, Daniel M Ford (23 April)

Sequel to the dungeons and dragons-esque low fantasy lesbian necromancy book.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep, Sylvie Cathrall (25 April)

New to me. Sweet underwater epistolary academic romance.

How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, Django Wexler (21 May)

New to me. A young hero caught in a fantasy time loop gives up and tries being the villain in an attempt to escape.

Goddess of the River, Vaishnavi Patel (21 May)

Another woman-centered retelling of Hindu mythology, this time based on the river goddess Ganga.

Escape Velocity, Victor Manibo (21 May)

New to me. Evil and toxic private school alumni jockey for position in a space hotel event in an attempt to escape a dying Earth.

The Fireborne Blade, Charlotte Bond (28 May)

New to me. Gay dragon slaying knight novella.

Evocation, ST Gibson (28 May)

New to me but looks very cool. Attorney and medium David attempts to escape his deal with the devil with the help of his ex boyfriend and his ex boyfriend's wife (Poly romance).

Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky (4 June)

In an SF future, a robot kills its human owners and ventures out into a world where human supremacy is beginning to crumble.

Lady Eve's Last Con, Rebecca Fraimow (4 June)

New to me. A con artist seeks revenge on the man who hurt her sister, who's coincidentally also on a space cruise ship (Sapphic romance subplot).

Triple Sec, TJ Alexander (4 June)

An actual mainstream published poly romance (!!) by trans author Alexander.

Running Close to the Wind, Alexandra Rowland (11 June)

Gay! Pirates! Scheming! Alt fantasy world! Monks! I liked Taste of Gold and Iron a lot and I'm very excited for this one.

The Knife and the Serpent, Tim Pratt (11 June)

New to me. Space opera about an interdimensional organization. Also, there's a sentient starship.

The Witchstone, Henry Neff (18 June)

A childhood favorite of mine's adult debut, featuring a demon who suddenly has to shape up at his curse keeper job after eight hundred years of slacking.

Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (18 June)

VERY excited to read more weird queer sff from this author after a fantastic debut. Looks weird. I'm in.

Foul Days, Genoveva Dimova (25 June)

New to me. A witch in a Slavic fantasy inspired world flees her evil ex, the Tsar of Monsters. There's also a plague and a detective.

Saints of Storm and Sorrow, Gabriella Buba (25 June)

New to me. Filipino inspired anticolonialist fantasy novel about a nun who is secretly practicing the religion of her goddess.

The Duke at Hazard, KJ Charles (18 July)

A queer regency with an incognito duke by one of my particular favorite romance authors.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan (30 July)

!!! Very excited to see a new adult fantasy by Brennan. A reader is dragged into a fictional world and finds herself the villain.

A Sorceress Comes to Call, T Kingfisher (20 August)

A retelling of The Goose Girl from reliably good fairy tale stalwart Kingfisher.

Buried Deep and Other Stories, Naomi Novik (17 September)

Collection of Novik's short stories.

Swordcrossed, Freya Marske (8 October)

VERY excited to see a new book by talented writer Marske. A man falls in love with the duelist hired for his arranged wedding. MEANWHILE. details of the fantasy world wool industry.

Feast While You Can, Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta (29 October)

New to me. Small town queer cave horror.

The Last Hour Between Worlds, Melissa Caruso (19 November)

Multiple reality murder mystery spy vs spy type antics, with lesbians.

[bookcub]

Graphic Novel Rec

that have less than 100,000 ratings on Goodreads

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen- If you haven't read this book, please do it now, it is amazing! It is about a Vietnamese American family telling stories to each other alongside the events of their lives.

10/10, one of my favorite books of the year!

Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill- This series is so sweet and the epitome of cottagecore fantasy! Filled with little dragons, found family, and beautiful pictures!

10/10, a feel good book of mine

Sleepless by Sarah Vaughn, Leila del Duca, Alissa Sallah- Has anyone done bodyguard romance this well? No, they have not. A lovely romance at the center and lots with court intrigue.

9/10, a swoonworthy romance fantasy!

Fangs by Sarah Anderson- Who hasn't wanted a romance between a vampire and a werewolf? Low stakes and adorable.

8/10, a super quick ad satisfying read

Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection- A collection of short stories by various writers and artists about the many tricksters from the various cultures.

7.5/10 full of tricks and stories

The Old Guard by Greg Rucka- A little too gory for my taste, but as someone who loved the movie, I really enjoyed seeing the material it was adapted from!

7/10 action packed and emotional

The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag- An adorable sapphic romance with a selkie as the love interest!! Super lovely!

7/10 a darling love story

[roach-works]

hey so I've read After The Storm (... repeatedly) and the Midnight Chicken one, but the next two seemed kinda like PWP one-shots and the porny bits are the ones I was least interested in in AtS so I skipped them (and completely missed the third which seems a bit more plot-like?). Only now I really want to know how Rich got to New York and what he's doing there etc. (I guess that is on me for buying from the erotica section, but it was SUCH good hurt/comfort heavy on the comfort and post-traumatic development and juicy future setting...)

So I guess my real question here is: what's the porn:plot (in the loosest sense which includes fluff and parties and character development and world building stuff) ratio in all of these? Should I get them for the plot or would I end up skimming most of them...?

my co-writers should probably chime in on this one but in my opinion:

-learning the ropes: rich learns more about boundaries and limitations. almost entirely sex scenes with a few pauses for negotiations. like 90% sex.

-the art of boytoy maintenance: a look at rich's near-future recovery and a cozy domestic fic during storm docking. almost entirely sex scenes with breaks for recovery and cuddling, 80% sex.

-cross my heart: mitch gets in on the action. mostly sex scenes with breaks for negotiations and heartfelt confessions and so on. 80% sex.

-a taste of new york: a meetcute fic with very frequent sex scenes, interspersed with tourism, meal breaks, some entertainment and misadventures. 60-70% sex.

the sex in this series isn't ever pwp: we do our best to make it a central, crucial part of the story. it's pretty vital for the development of everyone's feelings and characters, though in the first novel you can skim it and you definitely don't HAVE to read the novellas. but still, this is a romance/erotica series, and the novellas (minus the kiddie adventure one) are extremely steamy by design, and employ sex as the main driver of action and progress.

if you don't care for the sex scenes in after the storm that's perfectly fine and im glad the story stands just fine without them! but most of the novellas aren't likely to be to your tastes. the new york fic is the most likely one to have any story left after you skim all the smut, but i genuinely can't guarantee it would be worth it.

the upcoming mega-sized novels we're working on will have much more non-sex story per story, tho! but you're going to have to be patient because they're like more than 200k each and that takes so much editing.

we also have a few more novellas in the works and in planning, one of which is a road trip with katrina and selkies! that one's likely to be gen. ditto the one with a pair of detroit cult escapees, and there might be another young thena story too. all of these are a long way from publishing tho, and we get stuff done in a pretty random order, so. look forward to those! but very, very far forwards. orz

[stormblessed95]

The Girl From The Sea

This book, a graphic novel, was SO FREAKING GOOD. It was adorable and I teared up and I loved it.

It's a queer coming of age romance story, featuring a Selkie and with a subplot for environmental activism. Literally what's not to love?? Including the ending that made me cry! It's too short. I needed more. It's for young readers though, so you get what you expect and it's a little predictable, but honestly my enjoyment level was top notch. And the art style was BEAUTIFUL

Its Pride Month. Read a Sapphic book 😭😭😭 these kids!! I'm rooting for their happily ever after I swear 😭

[blam-marie]

A Selkie is sent to land to investigate a string of murders... but she finds herself under the charm of two mysterious strangers that everyone seems to be falling in love with. 

SKIN DEEP comes out March 18th, and you can pre-order it now!

[Image ID:  Book quote overlaid on a blue water texture. It reads: Well, now. Adrien saying her name, out loud, in his gravelly voice. It was going to haunt her dreams. Of all the names she wore, it wasn't even the one she was the most attached to. It was ridiculous to suddenly be precious about it. And yet. She wanted to hear it again. She wanted to offer him her other names, just to see if they all sounded to illicit when he was the one saying them.]

[choiceofgames]

New game! Atlantis Academy by Dorothea Sparrrow

New game! "Atlantis Academy" by Dorothea Sparrow is now available on Steam, iOS and Android. It's 25% off until Nov 16. Please reshare this with friends! https://www.choiceofgames.com/atlantis-academy/

Can you and your friends master the ocean's magic and save your school?

“Atlantis Academy” is a 250,000-word interactive underwater fantasy novel by Dorothea Sparrow, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

You have spent your life on the border between land and sea, with a water dragon as your closest companion. Your sea nymph mother died, leaving you with a mysterious legacy; your human father disappeared before you were born. Now you are finally eligible to learn magic at the Academy of Atlantis, alongside sea nymphs, selkies, sirens, and other denizens of the deep.

Navigate the cliques and clubs of this undersea school: will you join the Followers of Amphitrite in their pursuit of tide magic, become the Headmaster's protegé, or just work on making the school dance the best it can possibly be?

As idyllic as your magical underwater haven might seem, Atlantis is not safe from the dangers of the world above. Oil wells and human garbage pollute the seas, and earthquakes shake the ocean floor. Nor is it protected from inner conflict: there are deep secrets buried in the Academy's past that threaten to overturn its order and leaders.

Most perilous of all is the ancient evil that is rising from the deep: the monster Proteus, who sank Atlantis beneath the waves long ago. What will happen when it returns? Can you save the school—and the city—from a second destruction? • Play as male, female, nonbinary, or genderfluid; gay, straight, or bi. • Befriend a talking walrus, hatch a hydra, swim with humpback whales, and immerse yourself in the wonder of phosphorescent coral. • Romance a cheerful selkie, a mysterious tide mage, or a bold siren. • Deepen your bond with your water dragon and try to reunite him with his family. • Choose your magical specialty: storm magic, animal communication, or tide magic! Or focus on defending yourself with your spear, or searching for buried treasure. • Uncover the secrets of your own past to find the father that you never knew.

The magic of the ocean is yours to command!

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

4.25/5. Releases 4/9/2024.

Vibes: sapphic fairy tales, selkies, feminine rage, small magical towns by the sea

Heat Index: 2/10

As the village midwife, practical and prickly Jean lives a lonely existence--until the night she finds a young woman by the sea, hours from giving birth. Her name is Muirin, and after Jean helps her deliver a son, their connection seems natural. Less natural? Muirin's relationship with her odd, domineering husband. As Jean becomes convinced that Muirin is in danger, she hatches a plan to help her escape--not realizing that there is much more to her new love's presence than a bad marriage.

I love selkies--always have. They're very much a part of my childhood, which is why it's so frustrating to see them, very frequently, done wrong... And it's such a relief to see them done right. This is a lyrical fantasy romance rooted in history (think a nineteenth century fishing village) and folklore. It's queer--and not just in the sense that it's about two women falling in love--and longing is braided into the narrative.

Along with a heavy dose of rage against men who would trap and control women. Which. Is something I think a lot of us can relate to.

This is the kind of story that sucks you in, to the point that you can feel the sea salt, the stolen kisses and unraveling secrets. It's simple, but lovely--and I'd like to see more of its type.

Quick Takes:

--There's something delightfully whimsical and angsty all at once to Muirin and Jean's romance. Like, the framing is obviously angsty. They meet when Jean delivers Muirin's baby, so it's clear from the jump that Muirin is married to a man she doesn't want to be with. The novel doesn't shy away from subjects like domestic violence (though you see very little of it on the page), marital rape (though it's only alluded to), and homophobia.

Yet for all that, this isn't a story about suffering. It's ultimately a story about love--not just Muirin and Jean's though that's a gorgeous, sweet romance that feels like it's as much solace for Jean as it is for Muirin. it's also about the love between Jean and her found family, like the midwife who mentored her, and her friend who happens to be a gay fisherman. (The queer found family vibes are stroooong in this one.) It's also a story about reclaiming agency and throwing off oppression, and that is so deeply, deeply satisfying. "Satisfying" is literally how I would describe this narrative. Towards the end, I was just nodding along like "YES".

--Going back to the romance aspect... Yes, there's caretaking, there's solace found, there's catharsis. But there's also a lot of playfulness to it. Muirin is super flirty and openly interested in Jean. While Jean is understandably hesitant to engage at first, Muirin is just inherently endearing. You definitely get a bit of grumpy/sunshine here. Jean is never grumpy towards Muirin, but she's so guarded and frosty towards the world in general (with good reason) and Muirin is just so bright and charismatic and desperate to connect with her on every level.

And there is such a deep... womanliness to this romance. Like, this is obviously a book about two women falling in love. But it goes into the societal roles of women in this book's world. The midwife, the wife, the initial meet cute being a labor scene. There's a very real depiction of the kind of husband who is inherently afraid of his wife just like--making friends with another woman. Because even if Jean and Muirin weren't falling in love, Jean would represent an alternate life, options and a path beyond him.

--Another aspect I found immensely compelling was the midwifery of it all. You don't ever get the sense that there's anything twee about birth, but it's also not a ridiculously melodramatic horror show. It's a fact of life, and Jean's good at her job, and she treats it like a job. She cares, but she's also as practical as ever. Her practicality--and the way it melts away as she falls in love with Muirin, and really as soon as she becomes emotionally invested in her--is so endearing.

--Obviously, a baby is born almost immediately in this novel. Sutherland keeps the baby in it enough for him to be cute, but not so much that he takes away from the story. He adds to the stakes--he is not the only part of the stakes. What is happening to Muirin isn't just important because she has a baby. The baby is just another person impacted by what is happening to her.

--The selkie lore is great. One scene in particular towards the end had me clutching my face. it was just so beautifully done. Apparently, this all kicked off with an ancient Tumblr post I'm pretty sure I saw back in the day? Huh! Who knew? Yet another thing Tumblr has contributed to society. I do kind of wish that the lore side of the story had unfurled a little faster, but I get why it played out the way it did.

The Sex:

There is sex; it is entirely closed door. I could've done with some stuff on the page (always) but I didn't feel robbed.

At last, those crying out for a lesbian selkie story have found their hero. Read on any day, but especially a day when it's storming outside, or you're close to the sea, or both. Keep your eye out for mysterious seals who may or may not be beautiful women in disguise.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Preorder here:

Amazon

B&N

Bookshop.org

[sainamoonshine]

Hi all, help a self pub writer out?

Hugo voting season is upon us. While I know that the public reputation of the awards is Big Yikes these days, I still want to take this time to inform everyone that I do have one work eligible for best novel, which is my book Skin Deep!

Please, if anyone has some space left over on their ballot, think of me! And if you like queer supernatural romantic suspence in general, check it out at https://blanchetmarie.com/en/books/skin-deep/

It’s got:

- Selkies

- A hot couple that saw you across the bar and like your vibe (in a poly way)

- Mysteries

- A murder investigation

- Magic

- Bi yearning (tm)

- Closed door romance

- Excessive romanticization of the St. Lawrence River

- AND it’s available in either french or english! (Both were written at the same time but I consider the french version the OG because, among other things, I could do more interesting stuff with character voice in french AND in french the St. Lawrence gets a special word to indicate it’s not a mere river, it’s a fleuve. Justice for the St. Lawrence!)

Also, if anyone else has a novel that is eligible and would like some publicity, I have some space left on my own voting ballot AND I have access to the giga excel spreadsheet a decent amount of the votership uses to track what books are eligible, so I could totally add yours on there :) :) self-pub solidarity heck yeah

[amaiguri]

Before Page 1 Tag Game

Thanks to @maiemorrae for the tag and prompt! The premise of this one is:

What's one of the most interesting things that happens before Page #1?

Coincidentally... I made a giant post in my Discord the other day about the hypothetical prequel novel to Yssaia. I may or may not ever write it so someone else should just do it for me :P JK jk... unless... 🥺🥺🥺

Let's pass the tag on to @anyablackwood @zebee-nyx @cee-grice @whitherwordswither and @olive-riggzey -- But it is, of course, open to anyone who wants to infodump about their backstories!

Without further ado, an entire novel in bullet points under the cut:

THE HYPOTHETICAL BACKSTORY NOVEL

A Story, loosely follows Arlasaire and those around her as a metaphor for Thuille -- A country that was falsely repurposed, abused, and ultimately betrayed. A tragic treatise on the failures of individualism.

1. Arlasaire's Adoption + Gil's refusal of the call + His resolution to do better than his father

2. Einharde's Rise to Power + Romance to Gil's mother. He pisses off THROWAWAY BADGUY HOUSE that'll be dismantled by the end of the story.

3. Lucienne's Mother's Death as a Trigger for her Father to start abusing her

4. Gil and Arlasaire Training and bonding as he tries to protect her and fails

5. Diacaius starts operating Kalliopeia with Sipestro

6. Lucienne and Gil's Engagement from Lucienne's Perspective

7. Arlasaire's first kill -- choosing of her own volition to protect Gil from House dBad Guy and their plan to infect her family with Flavoneite

8. Diacaius and Kalliopeia bonding without Sipestro and she decides to be a girl and his daughter

9. Lucienne's dad starts acting a bit crazy around her and shows the dynamic put on her sisters and her. She is forced to hurt them.

10. Gil and Arlasaire spy on House Bad Guy she gets captured. Gil comes to save her -- finally protecting her for once.

11. They work together to take down Lord d'Veltre when he goes insane.

12. Lucienne Borthday party after dad dead, angsts about Gil, learns about the Dusters and the newfound Puppetmaster

13. Diacaius meets Nurelese

14. With the North united under dMagnia and dAramitz and dRomonach, they decide to free the long occupied Selkies and head South

15. Arlasaire and Gil go to thr Demonlands, but get in trouble. Ymver saves them. He's a legend and it's wild that he's returned. Gil immediately secures their future help through careful negotiarions --tho Ymver tells him to rely on Arls more.

16. Arls and Gil meet the Demon King, who tests them but then agrees to be their allies

17. They seize control of the selkie isles near Telethens with the help of the Demons and the Iceni. The Iceni Queen fights the most fiercely and invites them back for a victory feast

18. Diacaius is there, Einharde plays super dirty and beats him -- Einharde makes Arlasaire hogtie the man's wife and skin him for information about how to win which is how it happens

19. They are in Togen Oyer when Diacaius strikes back by organizing assassins killing the King and dragging one of the other Hall's queens off. Arls and Gil are sent home, out of the danger. Gil had to fight to get Arls to go home with him.

20. Gil starts habitually messing around, Arls gets worried. Einharde returns unexpectedly. Arlasaire has to cover her Gil at a dance as he's messing around with girls he isn't supposed to--fucking the middle girl and then also, Lucienne. Arls gets in trouble.

21. House Bad Guys come after Einharde as he's trying to get the funding in Court and he loses it. He beats up Arlasaire over it. Gil tries and fails to protect her.

22. To try to make up for it, they go out on the Yuletide and get her that infamous necklace.

23. Arlasaire and Gil get the assignment from the Demon King to retrieve his daughter and Ymver helps.

24. Arlasaire and Gil retrieve Astaroh, who tearfully parts from Solveng.

25. Gil and Astaroh hook up. Arls gets jelly and she and Gil fight.

26. Gil and Arlasaire drop off Astaroh, she meets her father, Arls wonders if she will ever be loved like that by Einharde. She decides to confront him about it, demand to be loved or she won't help him pass his legislation to defund House Bad Guys.

27. Einharde dies of a heart attack, Gil doesn't let Arlasaire comfort him and turns to Lucienne immediately.

28. Lucienne invites Arlasaire to join her and Gil. It's an awful relationship for all of them. She sends Derecina to spy.

29. Derecina goes to the Puppet Master but gets seduced. He feeds her info that leads Lucienne and Gil to destory House d Bad Guy.

30. Lucienne and Gil and Arls destory House d Bad Guy, house Romanach gets their place formally.

31. Romanach befriends Arlasaire but Arlasaire rejects her a little.

32. Diacaius and Nurelese alter Kalliopeia with her permission, Kalliopeia is a little scared

33. Telethenians attack the isles, Arlasaire and Gil fight Diacaius for the first time alone. They have to retreat to Togen Oyer.

34. Arls and Gil make up and try to promise to face things together. But Gil doesn't trust her. And she has to convince herself to trust him.

35. Telethenians try to head North to Saegenheim. Arls and Gil manage to stop them by killing everyone on one of the ships and misleading it. Kalliopeia is in this battle and is blamed for the failure.

36. Sipestro and the Senate is annoyed that Diacaius changed her without permission and also that Diacaius is taking so much credit. Supestro blames Diacaius' changes for the failure. Diacaius shrugs him off. Sipestro gets Senate to vote to have that part of her removed or to have her dismantled and reexamined.

37. Gil spies on the South and finds out what's gonna happen to Togen Oyer. He starts acting sus but Arls chooses to trust him.

38. Lucienne has a meltdown over Gil being out there with Arlasaire after flashing back to when Arls said "At least he loves me"

39. The Battle of Togen Oyer begins. Gil sees the signs on the wall and seeks to turn traitor. Diacaius tells Gil he has to kill Arlasaire if he wants the rest of his house spared.

40. Senate votes to recall Kalliopeia in the middle of battle. Diacaius convinces Kalliopeia agree they need to use the nuke to prove their worth to the people.

41. Arlasaire and Gil fight. Arls kills Gil. Distraught. She vanishes from the Island with Ymver as Kalliopeia destroys it.

42. Epilogues:

A. Kalliopeia promises never to get dismantled to Diacaius and Nurelese, who promises they'll do anything to protect her.

B. Lucienne realizes that she's fundamentally broken without Gil and that she loves Arlasaire but is horrible to her.

C. And Arlasaire despairs that nothing matters without Gil and that she was never anything more than a symbol. With that, she holds her head high for Ymver crew and becomes the symbol that they need her to be in the face of defeat.

💜-------------------------💜

WOW! Did you actually read all that? Incredible! Thank you so much! I'll love you forever 🥺🥺🥺

[bebemoon]

I love this! My favourite colours are iridescent pale blue and powder pink <3 <3 <3

les néréides paris “perfume rue paradis” eau de parfum . selkie “the garden roses: romance novel” floral gown . mgn silver “vanishing” ring w/ opal and pink sapphire stones