Darker By Four Readalong: Day 3!

Beautiful photo by @lucy.is.reading!

Hi fairies!

Happy Wednesday and welcome to day 3 of our readalong of Darker By Four by June CL Tan. I’m so excited to be reading this one with you, I hope you all love it!

But before we start reading, we have our secret giveaway! What’s that? Oh, just a chance to get your next FairyLoot for free as a reward for reading! Doesn’t really get better than that! And your chances are so good too! We don’t really announce this anywhere else as we truly want the person from the readalong to win! If you’d like to try your luck, all you need to do is follow these steps!

1. Take a photo of our edition of Darker By Four
2. Include the hashtag #DarkFairy
3. Do all of this by the end of May 31st.
4. Mention down below in your comment that you have entered and include your Instagram handle (also super important!)

Good luck!

 I hope you’re all having a fun time reading so far!

Today we’re reading from chapter 18 to the end of chapter 29. Let’s do this!

When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the beginning of the book. Happy reading!

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Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Darker By Four by June CL Tan from Chapter 18 to Chapter 29. Please only read on if you have finished this section!

–!SPOILERS!–

We kick off today’s reading with Rui’s POV and is anyone else a little nervous that Ten is going to pop up at any moment? 👀

Rui receives a text from Zizi telling her that he has been hearing chatter of mages disappearing. Could this be connected to the spell he was asked to create or the revenants? Do you have any theories?

Yiran and Rui’s heartfelt conversation was rather touching. Their growing friendship, strengthened by the spell’s bond, offers them insight into each other’s emotions. I really hope they begin to realise that they do actually have a lot in common. Plus I just find their budding friendship so wholesome!

I absolutely agree with Rui. Mint chocolate icecream does not taste like toothpaste and anyone who says otherwise (I’m looking at you Yiran) is simply wrong.

Ten finally appears before Rui, causing time to freeze. He introduces himself as Ten, King of the tenth court of hell, and questions how she managed such a powerful spell. Ten explains Four’s disappearance and seeks her assistance, initially met with refusal until he coerces her into a deal using his power. He promises revenge by delivering her mother’s killer and ensuring her friends’ safety if she aids him in finding Four.

Ten warns that his brother may be in the form of a human, but it will be someone extraordinary. He emphasizes the urgency of locating him to prevent worsening blight and the surge of revenants.

Ten then instructs Nikai to keep an eye on both Rui and Yiran.

Rui starts her search for Four at the academy, but finds no leads. She then turns to the Night Market, where she discovers a missing mage, mirroring Zizi’s earlier warning about disappearing mages. What could be the reason behind this targeted disappearance? Is it all conncted?

During a night out at a karaoke bar, Rui encounters Zizi, slightly intoxicated, who has news to share. They slip into an alley, where Zizi discloses details about the client who hired him to create the separation spell. The same client has suddenly died which seems very suspicious. Zizi also reveals that other mages where tasked in creating the same spell and have consequently also gone missing.

Amidst their conversation, Yiran appears, embroiled in a confrontation with a drunken man. The man blames people like Yiran for attracting revenants, and that they should be fed to them. A strange woman then comes and steers the man away, sending a shiver down Rui’s spine. I wonder who the woman is?

A while later we learn that Rui hasn’t heard from Zizi since the karaoke night and a few weeks have now passed. I hope he’s not missing!! I’m scared.

For weeks, Rui senses someone observing her and finally confronts the watcher, who turns out to be Nikai. He reveals his origin from the Fourth Court and expresses his desire to assist her. Handing her a small piece of glass, a fragment from the Fourth Court’s mirror, Nikai explains its use for communication. Moreover, he speculates that Four separated his power from his soul, allowing him to linger in the human realm for an extended period.

Rui decides to visit Zizi’s place to search for him, with Yiran offering to accompany her. However, Yiran receives a phone call instructing them both to join his grandfather for dinner. Ooooop.

Upon arriving at Zizi’s, Rui notices signs of distress—the usually tidy kitchen is messy, with unwashed dishes and a half-drunk mug of coffee on the counter. Concerned, she reflects on Zizi’s uncharacteristic lack of communication; he never misses her calls or goes a day without texting her. I am officially stressing. I hope nothing bad has happened to him!

Despite the locked door, Rui manages to access Zizi’s secret room, where she discovers drawings he made of her. I am crying. WHY IS THAT SO CUTE.

Rui recounts the night she saved Yiran’s life during dinner with his grandfather. Later, as they retrieve car keys from Yiran’s room, Rui notices an article about the drunk man they encountered who is now deceased. Suspecting foul play, she links it to the strange woman they encountered, adamant that she was in fact a hybrid and killed him. They suddenly hear a noise from the closet…

You’ll never guess who they find in there? The one and only Zizi. He describes his recent memory loss, only recalling falling asleep under a tree. There are strange black markings on his hands, worsening with each awakening in a different location. He say’s it’s getting worse and is a magic he doesn’t understand. Is this all connected to the other missing mages?

Suddenly Zizi starts to get one of his bad migraines. He mutters something and waves his hand, a number 9 appearing. He then says they’re going to visit his grandmother.

Anyone else think the paintings at Zizi’s grandmothers hotel sound very similar to those described at Zizi’s place? Also suspicious of the fact they seem to depict elements of hell… I may be overthinking but could this be a little easter egg, potentially foreshadowing something?

The hotel is surrounded by magic and it’s clear Zizi’s grandmother is a powerful mage.

Their simple act of holding hands as they accompany Zizi’s grandmother fills me with joy. It’s moments like these that remind me why I adore slow burn romance – the smallest of things mean everything!

Zizi’s grandmother looks at Rui’s palm and says “I see he has chosen well.” Does she mean that in terms of romantic love, or something else? She also tells Rui to stay away from him because “her story will not end well” and that her path is a difficult one. I wonder what she can sense? Poor Rui.

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Well, the ending of today’s reading has me excited (but scared) to continue! This book is so much fun!

Do you have any ideas as to who Four could be, or any theories as to where his powers are?

What do you think is happening to Zizi? do you think it’s connected to Fours disappearance somehow?

Do you think it was a hybrid that killed the drunk man?

I’m so excited to see what will happen in tomorrow’s chapters, see you there fairies!

Love,
Jodie