Heir of Fire Review

Queen vs. Queen (final update)

Two things I didn't see coming in the ending of this book:

1) That the evil creature things were actually the valg. I guess I should've seen that one coming. I mean the whole point of having the wyrdkeys is to control the Wyrdgate and hence the Valg, so obviously the king would want them in his army. Though once I realized once they were I started to wonder why the king would even bother with the Valg princes. They are probably more evil and wicked than the king and that's saying something. Wouldn't it be more reasonable that the Valg would lie to the king in order to get bodies than just kill him and take over? Is there something I'm missing? Do the wyrdkeys make them obedient or something? Why haven't they taken over yet? Maybe they'll try in the next book.

2) I knew that one of the Wyrdkeys was in Terrasen but I had no idea that it was in the medallion passed down through Kings and Queens, generation by generation. When I first found out about the Wyrdkeys back in Crown of Midnight, I thought they were like a Horcrux. I thought they had a negative influence on whoever had them because of the Valg, but that's not the case. The keys aren't inherently good or inherently evil. They are simply power, it's who wields it that determines if the power is used for good or evil. Brannon put that wyrdkey into the Medallion so that his heirs would stand a chance should Maeve ever try to look for the keys or take over the world. Aelin had the medallion on that night when she fell into the river, and that is what kept her alive. But now Arobynn Hamel has it. My question is does he know of its power? Celaena doesn't think he knows and the problem then would be if he traded it because he simply thought it was rare and valuable. Hopefully, since it was a Terrasen Heirloom, he decided to keep in in his stash of other trophies because if he traded it, that would be a mess.  

Aelin's performance in the Marble Castle was phenomenal! She acted like a Queen in that moment and it was everything to me. I have been waiting for it for 3 books now and it has finally come! We learned a lot about Brannon from Maeve in this section. Brannon wasn't royal, he was a discarded child who made a name for himself by being the only person who could hold back the Valg with his immense fire powers until the Fae were able to rally and push the Valg back into their own place. Knowing what the Queen would be tempted to do if left with the power of the keys, Brannon stole them and hid them throughout Erilea. Then came the part that truly made me despise the Fae queen. Maeve forced Rowan to tell her anything that Aelin knew about the wyrdkeys. He disclosed that she knew of the riddle and knew where the third was hidden. Maeve tried to get Aelin to tell her where is was but all she said was Not for all the world would I tell you where the third key is. Then the queen did one of the most despicable things possible. She forced Rowan's companions to whip him until Aelin told her where the key was, knowing it would strike a cord. Not for all the world, Aelin. But what about for Prince Rowan? Ooh, that bitch is going to die. HOW DARE SHE HURT ROWAN! Throughout the whole thing Rowan was so loyal to her, well barring the time he was forced to tell the queen that stuff. He didn't cry out and even went as far as to say Don't, telling Aelin to not give the queen what she wants just becasue he was being tortured. Then Aelin showed the queen just how much of a boss ass bitch she was and lit the whole city on fire and the queen got to see just how powerful she really was. And that was when the Queen was exposed; ulterior motives and all.

You never gave the keys to Brannon. And you didn't journey with Brannon and Athril. Your beloved Athril, dearest friend of Brannon . . . when Athril fought you, you killed him. You, not the Valg. And in that grief and shame, you were weakened enough that Brannon took the keys from you. It wasn't some enemy force who sacked the Sun Goddess's temple. It was Brannon. He burned any last trace of himself, any clue of where he was going so you would not find him. He left only Athril's sword to honor his friend - in the cave where Athril had first carved out the eye of the poor lake creature - and never told you. After Brannon left these shores, you did not dare follow him, not when he had the keys, not when his magic - my magic - was so strong. That was why you abandoned your land n the foothills and left it to rot. That was why you built a city of stone surrounded by water: so Brannon's heirs could not return and roast you alive. That was why you wanted to see my, why you bargained with my mother. You wanted to know what manner of threat I would pose. what would happen when Brannon's blood mixed with Mab's line. Behold by power, Maeve. Behold what I grapple with in the deep dark, what prowls under my skin.

Perfection, that was what this scene was; perfection. Aelin proceeds to pull out the ring Maeve has been searching for all these centuries, unable to find. I was wondering when that ring was going to be brought in, and she used it in the best way possible. To free Rowan. Thank god! HE'S FREE! Then Rowan did something I did not expect; he made a blood oath with Aelin. YES! YES! YES! Oh, that makes me so, so happy. They are going to raise her court again, side by side, soul to soul. 

In the next book, there are a few things I would like to see happen.

1) Celaena needs to save Dorian somehow. I may not ship them but I still really like his character.

2) One of those towers needs to come down asap so that Rowan can join her and she can incinerate the king.

3) Celaena better save Aedion. If he dies I think I'll lose it. 

4) Manon and Celaena need to team up along with the rest of the witches. There simply is no other way. 

5) Chaol goes through a bit of development then joins everyone else in the fight against the king.

THE END

Thank you so, so much for reading this review. I hope you enjoyed it and found something you agreed with in what I wrote. I will be starting Queen of Shadows right after I post this update so be on the lookout for that review. It will either go up tonight or on Monday. Again thanks for reading, see you next time!