More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Elise Kova
Read between
December 21, 2022 - March 28, 2023
The family that had traded her away in a political deal.
unwrapping the silken scarf to reveal a small, silver necklace. “A locket?”
“Just said it was my mother’s.” And that alone was reason enough for Vi to keep it close to her heart.
acquiescence
Awaken here, where it’s safe.”
Daughter of Emperor Aldrik Solaris, regarded as one of the most powerful Firebearers alive.
Interesting note on how firebearers magic works
Vi gritted her teeth, clenching them so tightly her jaw popped. She dropped her eyes to her own flame and willed it to grow.
I’m so rooting for her. Believe in yourself Vi!!! So excited for her glow up
Why was he doing this? He had never been like this in any of their lessons before. Vi stared at him, anger singeing her chest.
Foreshadowing that something is coming that she’s unaware of but Jax knows
wouldn’t yield anything but hoping against hope it did.
Grammatical error? “Hoping it hope it did….?
Without warning, the wall had been broken down within her. This was the power she’d longed for,
That happened… fast?
She was no longer in Soricium, but in a stone passageway she’d never seen before. It was akin to what she’d imagined the dungeons of Solaris to look like—damp, dark, unembellished, rough stone. But there were no cells, just a long tunnel that continued stretching into the darkness in both directions.
World building
The woman across from her looked hardened, far more toned, and the natural tan hue of Vi’s skin was deepened even further on her cheeks. The large cowl hood that covered the majority of her head cast further shadow.
Character description of Vi
The woman’s clothes were drab and threadbare. Her hands were wrapped up to her elbows, like bandages, or the wrapped knuckles of a brawler. She stared into the darkness, watching, waiting.
Character description of Vi
He had a tousled mess of black hair cut at odd angles that ultimately ended at his shoulders. No… not quite black. It was another hue—a deep plum color off-set just slightly by the light. A wicked, sickle-shaped scar ran down his left cheek and beneath the high collar of his intricately embroidered jacket. It brought her attention to a pair of piercing green eyes. He stared from underneath long lashes, fixated on the woman.
Character description of unknown male
Looking down, she saw a shimmering glyph hovering above it—weak, frail, and flickering. As soon as her eyes landed on it, the symbols shifted and changed, spiraling in concentric circles.
World building… ish… descriptive languaging
She’d never expected to see the future.
I KNEW SHE WAS VI FROM THE AIR AWAKENS SERIES
There were four affinities that commanded the four elements: Windwalkers for air, Firebearers for fire, Groundbreakers for earth, and Waterrunners for water. Yet each of those four affinities could, sometimes, tap into a deeper, more mysterious magic called an affinity of the self. For Firebearers, that was future sight.
World building / info on the elemental magic & its abilities
As if she was one breath away from burning them all alive.
Foreshadowing?
Why did something that seemed like it made so much sense also terrify her in equal measure?
Out the main door was a serpentine walkway, wrapping around the tree, tunneling back into the trunk as it spiraled down. Two different rope bridges connected across to other structures, and walkways that were really massive limbs with railings or twisting stone bridges. High above her, the buildings stretched into the leafy embrace of the most ancient trees in the world. Far below her, the buildings grew up from the ground to make a living fortress that looked like more of a magical treehouse than the strict definitions of castles
Descriptive world building
He had cerulean eyes, a square-cut jaw lined with pale stubble, and a mess of wavy golden hair.
Character description
hazel eyes
Jayme; character description
Romulin rarely spared details,
Vi's twin, Romulin; character description
“I’m saying that some say the crown may no longer be needed. That the Senate can represent the people alone.” “What?” Vi hissed. “They have no right.” “They don’t. They don’t, alone. But if they make the people believe the future of the crown is unstable—if you are unstable—then…” Jayme paused, letting the rest go unsaid. “The people are a powerful force if they unite behind a banner, and getting Andru on your side may be the only thing that could prevent such a tide from rising.”
Plot point
Ice blue, Vi decided, his eyes were ice blue and void of all warmth.
Andru; character description
Silence can be control, her father had told her once.
Aldrik mention <3
long bangs of his otherwise short blond hair tossed to one side.
Andru character description
tangle and curl of her mother’s hair, the soft smell of fresh eucalyptus in the perfumes she wore.
Vhalla mention
Only Vhalla Solaris could pen a letter that was equally beautiful and sorrowful.
Vhalla mention <3
My darling daughter,
Aldrik <3 letter to Vi
V— Forgive my brevity. I’m sure you’ll understand. I had to send something ahead and there’s no time. Andru is more important than you could possibly know. Please, be on your best behavior. R.
Foreshadowing!!! Must reread when it unfolds. Theories: Andru = enemy to friends to lovers OR enemy
Her green eyes had turned hard, cold even
Sehra character description
towering trees of the castle and into the wooded city of Soricium. The trees were smaller, but still large enough to fit whole homes within and, thanks to the magic of the Groundbreakers, the people of Shaldan did just that. Soricium, overall, was much like the fortress. It was a mix of stone and foliage. Groundbreakers bent earth and plant alike to make dwellings that came alive right alongside their residents. Doors appeared from solid walls and branches arced over the streets to create pathways for the confident footfalls of the magically inclined. Rooftops were covered in mosses that kept
...more
World building
“They always change the landscape. I must update my maps!” The fishing town was a nomadic ground that traveled along the coast. They used their abilities as Groundbreakers to terraform the land for better fishing. Living in a region full of those with the power to manipulate the earth itself was both a delight and nightmare,
World building
burnt stretch of earth that ringed Soricium—a holdover from the Empire’s siege during the war well before Vi’s birth.
World building
“Everywhere is paradise, just a different kind.”
Awesome quote
Ellene had manifested early, was Awoken quickly, and moreover had an ancient power in her that was said to have descended right from the Goddess herself. The Northerners called her a Child of Yargen.
Ellene character description
She didn’t want a vision here and now.
Vi's second vision
Firebearers could only be burned by the flames of stronger Firebearers, levied with the intent to harm.
World building - fire bearers
Fire. She had to make fire. Surely they were close enough now for the watchers to see a warning.
KILL IT WITH FIRE WTF
Her power was light itself, and all the possibilities of the world stretched within it—the code of the universe writ large. Just like the glyphs she’d seen winding around the man, and around her watch—this was her magic.
Description of Vi's magic
She had killed her friends.
No freaking way.
landed on Sehra clutching tightly to Ellene, with Jayme standing awkwardly off to the side.
OKAY
“Why do you think it is that you have struggled so much with your flames?”
Important moment
“You, Vi Solaris, are a Child of Yargen.”
A Child of Yargen, like Ellene and Sehra. One who could harness a strange and mysterious power. A power very few possessed—a gift rarer even than Windwalkers like Vi’s mother.
“I was visited by a traveler. “She possessed the magic of Yargen, unequivocally, and knew the words of the Goddess, drawing the future from them. She told me of the Emperor’s impending downfall, the violation of the caverns, and the rise of the Mad King. She also told me that Vhalla Yarl must wed Aldrik Solaris, for they would give birth to two children. One would bear his forefather’s position in the capital of the Empire. But the other, the first to be born, would be a girl, a Child of Yargen—a daughter imperative for the future of our world.”
“No child chooses the circumstances of their birth. Rich parents, poor parents, high and low. We are all handed the starting point. What you make of every step thereafter is what defines your life.”
If Vi should ever meet that traveler, then she too would know the full extent of Vi’s agony.
The traveler is Vi LOL
