Brimstone by Callie Hart

Here is a summary with spoilers for Brimstone by Callie Hart

Fisher is content being next to his mate Saeris Fane. While Saeris is in a meeting, he momentarily leaves her side because there is a commotion outside. A skirmish takes place with vampires, as they are still trying to come to terms with Saeris being their queen. After Fisher takes care of the problem, Carrion comes running out and tells him that Saeris’s fox, Onyx, is running through the spreading rot. Carrion and Fisher run outside to save the fox because Fisher will do anything for his mate.

Meanwhile, Saeris is adjusting. She is now queen of the Blood Court, newly turned vampire, and has found out that Fisher is her mate. Luckily, by her side is Taladaius, or Tal, the vampire who helped turn her. Tal has been helping her adjust, but it has still been a lot for her. The time for Saeris to claim her crown has come, and many are not happy about it. This includes a group who want Zovena to have the crown. There is also another group who follow Ereth, one of the religious leaders, who also does not believe that Saeris should have the crown. Fisher can no longer stand by silently and ends up attacking and killing Ereth for the words he says about Saeris. Fisher is asked to leave so Saeris can finish the coronation.

Fisher goes to visit the war camp and his old friends to check in on how things are going. They are attacked while there, along with the rot that continues to spread. The fight is brutal and the beings infected by rot cannot be killed. Fisher finds out that fire can kill them, and he is able to do so. He brings back pieces of them to Saeris to find out more about them. Afterward, Saeris and Fisher are finally able to have a moment to themselves, and they are both content to be with each other. They find solace in being able to forget everything else when they are together.

Saeris cannot sleep well now, and she decides to visit Fisher’s sister, Everlayne, who has been sick and in a coma-like state for some time. When Saeris touches Eve, she feels the quicksilver in her and it talks to her. As it talks to her, Everlayne wakes up, but when she speaks it is not her voice. She says her name is Edina, and that it has been centuries since she has been in the world. Edina speaks in riddles. She tells Saeris to tell him that she is sorry but she would do it again. Edina also tells Saeris that she needs to find a book, not tell Fisher, and figure out how to seal the runes on her body. As Edina leaves and Everlayne returns, Fisher walks in and wants to know why Saeris said Edina, as that is his mother’s name.

Fisher decides it is time to tell everyone what happened to Saeris and what happened before she was turned into a vampire. Saeris was taken by the gods, specifically Zareth, who warned her that their universe is not worth saving. Many of the gods want to create a new one and move on from the current one. Zareth wants to put his faith in Saeris and Fisher, believing they can save their world. To prepare for that and begin solving the rot, they now have two missions. Fisher and Carrion need to go back to the human realm and get all of Carrion’s silver, and Saeris needs to stay back, train, and get a hold of her court. Saeris is very sad that she and Fisher have to be separated, but Saeris’s old home has two suns, and she would be in constant pain there if she went with them. Fisher also promises to bring back Hayden, her younger brother.

Saeris opens the quicksilver portal for Fisher and Carrion, then goes to train with Lorreth. While training with him, they get a little closer and decide to go to a bar to talk and then Lorreth can forget. Their night of fun turns into a fight, one which Taladaius has to rescue them from. While she is being scolded, she starts to feel immense pain, which Tal knows about since they are somewhat connected. Saeris tells Tal about the runes on her and that she needs to figure out how to close them. Tal promises to help, but he also mentions he wants to disavow her, as he is her maker and it connects them. He promises to still be there for her, but he feels that leaving their connection behind will be better for her and Fisher. Tal then offers to take Saeris to a guarded library, protected by an old woman named Algat. Saeris decides to continue studying as much as she can in the hidden library. They are interrupted when a vampire arrives. His name is Foley, and he claims to be a brother to Lorreth and Fisher. He also claims he can help Saeris with her runes.

Fisher and Carrion arrive and are immediately thrown into the chaos of the Silver City. They could not bring the gods’ swords, worried that if they were caught, they did not want Madra to gain more quicksilver. They then start their trek into Carrion’s treasury. When they get there, it is a trap, and they are both attacked by a man named Joshin, who can control scorpions. Carrion and Fisher are brutally attacked and even poisoned. By tricking Joshin, they are able to get a small antidote and escape to find a place to heal.

Foley refuses to help Saeris until she sleeps, and she finally does. She wakes in a dream world where Fisher is as well. They share a moment together, sleep together, and share what has been happening since they separated.

Carrion and Fisher wake up, Fisher fully healed thanks to his time with Saeris in the dream world. They finish getting the silver, then go look for Hayden. While searching, they find posters of themselves with a very large bounty on them, enough that they realize they cannot wander through the city. They find Hayden, who is hesitant, as he last heard that Saeris was dead and that Fisher killed her. They prepare to return, but Hayden tells Carrion he should stay a bit longer, as his last living relative, Gracia Swift, has recently passed away, and he can go grieve for her. It is a devastating moment for Carrion, and Fisher, in a rare moment, offers some comfort. After the funeral service, they find shelter with Elroy, Saeris’s old friend and boss, who Hayden promises will not give them up for the bounty. They wait until they find a time to run to the quicksilver and wait for Saeris to open the portal.

Saeris is excited to be reunited with Fisher, opens the portal, but is sucked into the quicksilver, which takes her to a different world. She is confronted by Orious, King Belikon’s right hand man. Orious has a message from the king. He can offer safety from the rot, but in exchange he wants Fisher imprisoned and publicly executed, and he wants Saeris to be his alchemist. Saeris refuses and a fight breaks out. She uses her training and power to fight them off, and finally gets help when Fisher comes through the portal and finishes Orious. Fisher sends Orious back to Belikon and tells him they will never bend the knee to him. They return to the castle, where Saeris sees Hayden for the first time, though he has passed out due to his travel through the portal.

The rot keeps growing and killing more people, reaching about two thousand deaths. Saeris spends her time looking for the book Edina told her to find. One day, there is an attack and a fire sprite, Archer, is almost killed. When his blood spills, it heals the rot next to him. Fisher tells them that sprites’ blood is made of brimstone, but they will not give it to help cure the rot, as their blood does not replenish like human blood does. They still need to find a cure for the rot.

Eventually, Saeris finds the book, and it has detailed instructions thanks to Edina’s seer sight. She is not supposed to tell Fisher, though she does anyway. His advice is to trust the book fully. Hayden finally wakes, and the siblings are reunited, though it quickly turns feisty as Hayden does not believe Saeris is working for the good side. When she returns to her rooms, she finds Fisher, who mentions he wants to find his friend Ren, who has been missing for days.

It is time for the ball, during which Tal will also disavow her so they are no longer connected. Since Saeris is queen of the Blood Court, she gets to choose her five lords. She chooses six, and the sixth is Foley. She does this because Edina’s book told her to, but by choosing Foley, a riot breaks out because Foley was kicked out of the court long ago. While Fisher and Saeris are outside getting fresh air, chaos erupts inside. When they return, the vampires are all in pain. Tal had an agenda. He poisoned all the drinks with Iseabail’s blood, which turns them back to their normal selves. He claims he did it to cleanse the Blood Court, as many were evil and it was time for a change. He did it in hopes of making Saeris’s life easier. Tal also tried killing himself, though Saeris is able to stop him and he slowly begins to heal. When things have calmed down, Saeris wonders if drinking the blood would turn her fae or human. She does not want to try it, especially when she realizes she missed the warning in the book not to drink the blood. As Saeris continues to read, she tells Fisher about a passage regarding the whitecliffs. Fisher tells her that is a sign they should evacuate.

While evacuation preparations are happening, Carrion talks to her and says he knows he is acting strange but feels a slight pull to his throne, which scares him. He also shows Saeris that some of his powers are returning and he is gaining new ones. There is no time to dwell on it, as it is time to evacuate Cahlish. Saeris goes through the portal first, and Fisher and Foley are to follow. Right before Fisher goes in, he hears someone say hello dog.

When Saeris walks through, it is not to the new town. It is an ambush where she and Foley fight. Afterward, she discovers Fisher is not there, and she consults the journal, which has no helpful information. They continue on to their town to regroup and think. While there, Saeris creates a godword for Tal, which he names redemption and promises to do good with. Saeris then has an idea for contacting Fisher. She goes to Danya, one of the fierce warriors, and asks her to punch her hard enough to knock her out. When she does, Saeris wakes in the dreamworld, and Fisher is there but unresponsive. Another voice appears, the Hazrax. Saeris tells the Hazrax to leave. He says she has one minute to reconsider. She looks through Edina’s letters, then agrees. The Hazrax can stay and watch her for one year, but he must transport her to the Wicker Wood. The Hazrax does so, and Saeris is greeted by King Belikon and a massive tree slowly covering Fisher.

Saeris fights both King Belikon and Orious, and they try to make her bow and swear an oath. Saeris then pulls out Fisher’s real name, which even he never knew, and commands Khydan Graystar Finvarra to fight the king. By speaking his true name, he is no longer bound to the king. Saeris manages to impale the king and Orious with an iron sword, meaning they cannot use their magic. The king believes he can still control Fisher now that he knows his true name, but Saeris already used her magic and Belikon cannot harm Fisher. As he is impaled in the ground, he promises that once it is removed he will come for them. Out from the trees comes Onyx, the tiny fox that Fisher has fallen in love with and Saeris’s favorite animal. They do not know how Onyx made it to them, but he gets too close to the king and is killed. Fisher grabs his sword and they leap through portals with Saeris and little Onyx. When they are finally far enough away, the two grieve Onyx. Saeris refuses to accept his death. She summons the Hazrax, who is upset that she did so, and asks him about death. He warns Saeris that if she does what she is about to do, she will never be able to do it again. Saeris uses all her magic and pours it into Onyx to bring him back to life.

Saeris used all her magic and passes out. When she wakes, Fisher is carrying her and Onyx to the Ajun Gate, though they are being chased by the king and the rot. Upon arrival, Ren greets them. He tells them that he was summoned, which is why he has been missing. Fisher then tells Saeris a story of how, when he was eleven years old, his mother died and King Belikon oath-bound him and forced him to go into quicksilver at the Ajun Gate. It damaged Fisher mentally, so they closed that pool. But Ren was summoned because it opened again, and things are escaping from it and killing people. As Ren has watched it, he noticed that it opens for three hours each day, and each time a terrible monster comes through it. He wants Fisher to go into it, destroy the brimstone inside, and close the gate. As Fisher talks, Saeris no longer sees her mate Fisher; she sees her mate Khydan, and she loves him even more.

Khydan and Saeris decide to journey to hell together. They immediately run into a dragon, Arissan, who is not happy with Khydan because Khydan recently killed Ereth, a Lord of Midnight who worshipped the dragon. As they go further in, a man named Crave shows up and wants to harm Fisher and make Saeris’s life miserable. Fisher uses his shadows to attack Crave. Crave is shocked; shadow magic is rare and only half gods have that power, and they should not be able to use it in hell. When Crave asks who he is, Khydan looks to Saeris and asks her to trust him, promising he will still love her. Khydan announces he has come for his dragon and tells Crave to summon their father and tell him that his son has come to make a trade.