Empire of Storms & Tower of Dawn: Part 5

Episode Title: Empire of Storms & Tower of Dawn Tandem Read – Part 5 (Aedion's Pride Party & Maeve Is Queen of the Valg Edition)

Description:

The full crew is back, the Google Meet is titled Aedion's Pride Party in honor of Pride Month and Aedion casually confirming he likes both depending on his mood, and we have spent the first ten minutes exclusively discussing ice cream. Amanda's favorite is black raspberry from a tiny shop called Dribbles that refuses to ship to New York. Rick's is brown sugar cookie dough fudge brownie from Van Leeuwen. Kim's is chocolate from Round Top in Damariscotta, Maine. We also squeeze in Rick's birthday dinner at a Colombian restaurant he thought was Spanish, the World Cup (Amanda went to Germany vs Ecuador at MetLife, margarita not cold enough, would not repeat at current ticket prices), and a note from Jamie — MIA because America eliminated Australia, but Aiden O'Neal and Matt Freeze both play for NYCFC so we can still be friends.

Once we open the books, we are in the final stretch and things are unraveling fast. Empire of Storms delivers a stolen armada, Maeve's fleet on the horizon, and Manon and Dorian's increasingly charged late-night situation. Tower of Dawn gives us the Kale and Yrene slow burn finally paying off, a poolside birthday incident, and the single most earth-shattering lore drop of the series: Maeve is Queen of the Valg.

Key Topics Discussed:

- Maeve Is Queen of the Valg: The Stygian spider queen drops this while Nesryn spins a wildly unconvincing merchant cover story. Maeve is Fae, not Valg, but she is their ruler. The series had been very definitive that she wasn't. Amanda texted the group immediately. Kim notes the big bad has officially shifted.

- Kale Walks Across the Room: Mid-blowup, Chaol takes a staggering step toward Yrene on pure stubborn rage. She clocks it instantly and backs away slowly, luring him step by step in the world's most emotionally charged game of red light green light. He pins her against the wall. Rick calls it a good slow burn. The podcast agrees.

- Yrene Shoves Princess Hasar Into the Pool: Several drinks deep at the oasis birthday feast, Hasar says one thing too many. Rick was reading on his deck and was certain Yrene was about to be executed. She was not. Renia laughed. Hasar walked away. Birthday miracle.

- Ansel of Briercliffe Arrives With a Stolen Armada: The mystery fleet turns out to belong to Ansel, who has sacked Melisandre's capital, liberated Aelin's horse Kasida, and is greeting Aelin with pure hello b**** energy. Rick's favorite SJM move: planted as a throwaway moment books ago, paid off enormously here. Lysandra, mid-nap in ghost leopard form, casually flexes her claws between Manon and Ansel before anyone starts a war.

- Aedion's Bisexual Confirmation: Lysandra raises an eyebrow. Aedion says he likes both depending on his mood. Happy Pride. Kim would third them. Amanda called this pairing episodes ago.

- Sartaq's Spider Pass Confession: Wedged in a narrow gap with a horde of Karan Kui incoming, Sartaq confesses his love and tells Nesryn to run. She is dragged away screaming. The spiders said they'd take them alive. Falcon the mouse is involved in the rescue plan. Rick clocked immediately that Sartaq wasn't dead because SJM kills people on screen.

- Everyone Has a Boo: Aelin and Rowan, Kale and Yrene, Elide and Lorcan, Aedion and Lysandra, Nesryn and Sartaq, Dorian and Manon. Gavriel is doing dad things. Fenrys does not have a boo. These are the facts.

Homework is to finish the tandem read. Kim picked up A Forbidden Alchemy from her indie bookstore The Lofty Pigeon and is a third in and already recommending it. Rick is reading This Kingdom Won't Kill Me and is hooked. Drop your Maeve theories in the comments and subscribe so you don't miss the tandem read finale! ????