Bonded by Thorns Readalong: Day 5!

This fountain scene makes me think of Cinderella meeting her Fairy Godmother, but the vizier is totally creep-tacular. He also knows too much for someone barely allowed in the castle to meet with Keldarion when absolutely necessary. He makes Rose feel like she did with Lucas with all of the horrible things he’s spouting to make her more insecure until he mentions compensating her for her time there because he “always make[s] sure to pay the w****s.” At that comment, Ezryn appears & throws him to the ground. Ezryn refers to Rose as “the Lady of Castletree” & threatens to kill Quellos if he ever speaks to her that way again while assuring him that if Keldarion had heard him, he’d already be dead. Ez leads Rose back to the ballroom where Kel sulks, head in hands, before dancing with her himself. The electricity between them yet another sign of the mate bond. Caspian crashes the party like Maleficent. So, I might’ve gotten Ez & Day mixed up before: Ezryn was the “misused his magic,” Dayton was the “abandoned his realm.” Caspian is ripping into everyone & about to lay their secrets bare to the whole Winter Realm because they’re trying to get him to leave without messing with Kel or Rose. Rose gives Caspian a dressing down before giving him the dance he came for in order to make him leave. During the dance, Caspian tells her the princes are hiding something from her, that time is running out, & that she should trust only herself to get into the High Tower to find out the secret. He also makes it seem as though he can gather Intel though his briars which gives him intimate knowledge of the Castletree happenings. Caspian says to Kel “how long before you break & she belongs to me” while rubbing his thumb over a dark shape on Kel’s wrist above the bargain bracelet. A riot breaks out as the members of the ball try to attack Kel & Rose for being in league with the Prince of Thorns. Ez & Day protect Kel while Farron protects Rose & sends her home to Castletree with his mini magic mirror. Maleficent (Caspian) creates a narrow stairway for (Briar) Rose to walk into the High Tower. Is she going to prick her finger on a spindle (or thorn)? She witnesses a stained glass light show of how the curse came to happen, why they were cursed, & the meaning of the roses in the High Tower. Keldarion finds Rose asking for Castletree & the brambles to help her pour magic into the 4 roses. He starts tearing briars from everything which makes the castle start to crumble. In true Beast fashion, he roars at Rose to get out while the other 3 princes try to protect the roses & pour magic into Castletree to keep it from completely collapsing. She runs from the castle & runs into goblins again, but she hears a voice in her head screaming at her to run: “I’m in a bit of a predicament at the moment. I can’t get to you.” Caspian can’t save her this time. “Stay in the briars, Rosalina,” Caspian says inside her mind, but she’s recognized his voice, so she does the exact opposite. Soon, swarmed by goblins, she runs out into the frozen river in an attempt to get to the rosebush on the other side, but the goblins are faster. Who are “mother & brother” that the goblins speak of? They try to take her Below to “mother” where they want her head on a pike, but Keldarion’s wolf come crashing through the crowd of goblins. Kel is losing the battle after sending Rose away, but she didn’t listen. She stayed on the frozen river, tries to draw the goblins toward her, so she can break the ice & drown them all (even though she has some PTSD from falling through the ice in her teens), but Kel breaks the ice before she can, sending himself & the goblins into the rushing, frozen river. A briar patch dams the river where it narrows, so Rose rushed to find Kel. The insistent tugging from her chest leads her to him under the ice. Using the thorn crown Caspian put on her after their dance & which has transformed into a purple sword, she breaks the ice but can’t lift him out. The briar patch has golden roses, so she uses them (the way she used the ones in the High Tower to help the princes’ roses) to wrap around Kel & lift him out of the water. Kel’s wolf manages to carry her to a nearby cave – 1 of Ezryn’s caches – where she finds supplies to build a fire, treat their wounds, & change into dry clothes. Rose tells Kel about when she fell into the ice & a bit about Lucas before she falls asleep between the heat of his fur & the fire where she dreams memories of Kel’s past. She awakes to a human (naked) Keldarion wrapped around her even though stars are still in the sky. That admit their feelings for each, he says he sees magic in her eyes, she sees his briar thorn bargain bracelet, she says she’s his, he says HIS she’ll stay, then he turns back into his wolf, leaving her alone to suddenly go check that no goblins are regrouping. 🙄😮‍💨 Is the bargain with Caspian that Kel’s mate will be Caspian’s or something? Kel packs up camp & tells her she has to go home – not Castletree, but Orca Cove. He kisses her & then drops her back through the rosebush she arrives in while saying, “this way is closed to you forevermore.” (Live Action Beauty & the Beast “Forevermore”) Then, he freezes & kills the rosebush before she can climb back through. Caspian visits Keldarion in his room a month after he forced Rose back to the human world. Caspian taunts him, teases him, enrages him, & refuses his plea to break covenant binding them before returning to the Below where he confirms that, as soon as Kel gives in to Rose, she’ll be delivered to Caspian’s doorstep. *cliffhanger*
Daily Q&A:
Q:
1.) Do you think the other princes know about the terms of the bargain?
2.) What do you think will happen in the next book?
3.) What did you think of Bonded by Thorns overall?
A:
1.) Maybe Ez? I think they know something but probably not the full extent.
2.) I want to learn about the Enchantress (her mom?), more about their backgrounds, & for her to stand up to Lucas. I also feel like Gaston (Lucas) storming the Beast’s castle is going to take place soon since it didn’t make the cut in Book 1.
3.) I love the Disney parallels (mostly Beauty & the Beast which is my favorite), the writing style, the humor… everything. There was some character growth, but there’s still plenty of room for more. I need Book 2 now.