Jay’s Reviews > A Chill in the Flame > Status Update

Apparently, the guy Tarkhany captured isn't actually the one responsible for Caris' murder, though he did technically do it. He was just (allegedly) hypnotized into doing it.

Ophir starts developing a relationship with the kingdom of Tarkhany. They apparently have Berinth, the sister killer, in the dungeons and ready for execution by Ophir's hands. Harland tracks her down finally, and Tyr and Dwyn are in the process.

Ophir travels solo through the desert to reach Tarkhany, where Berinth supposedly is. Because everything is too hot for her and her (dog shaped?) companion, she creates a dragon to fly across the desert. Then she makes a somewhat intelligent humanoid to take the dragon somewhere hidden because she doesn't want to kill it.

Ophir is still keeping Dwyn and Tyr company but at a distance. At this point, she likes Tyr more than Dwyn. Harland found them at some point, but Dwyn knocked him out, and they fled soon after. Now, the kingdom is requesting help from Caris's supposed-to-be-husband's kingdom. He does NOT like Ophir.

Ophir found one of the men who aided in killing her sister and wrung some information out of him regarding her death and what the group's goal was. She learned they're aiming to reach godhood b using blood magic and royal organs. She learned that this cult was the same one associated with Dwyn and Tyr and that Dwyn was keeping secrets about her blood magic. After killing the guy, she confronted Dwyn.

Harland sees Ophir after being almost drowned and severely chastises her for being so reckless. Tyr stays hidden but agrees with him after he leaves and announces himself a bodyguard of sorts since Ophir gets into so much trouble. Ophir cares for none of it and turns to Dwyn for comfort despite knowing she might not be all she seems.

Tyr finally makes himself known to Ophir after invisibly following her (and everyone else) around the castle for a little bit to find out information. She went to her secret cave to test out her manifestation powers and succeeded until the tide came in and basically started drowning her. And Tyr saved her! Now they're uncomfortably talking to each other in her room.

The Blood Pact clan finds Tyr after he leaves the church in search of ways to gain more power. Most of them are former Reds who also left the church, all in search of the same thing. Soon, basically everyone learns that the key is the princesses in Aubade, who are descendants of the royal bloodline and may be able to wield the power to manifest. This is why Caris died from Berinth's pursuit of that power.

We focus on Tyr's backstory, finding out he abandoned the church of the All Mother after he saw Dwyn suck the life out of someone for the first time. She had more power than she should, and Tyr wanted to know how she got that since he was looking to gain new powers as well.