#tpobab

So this teaser for the next Blood and Ash book has been making it's rounds again...

And it got me thinking. Because I also recently reread The War of Two Queens and came across this passage:

This is, of course, Poppy reflecting on the dubious "consent" Ires would have given Isbeth in order to conceive Millicent and Poppy. Dubious because Isbeth had all kinds of power over Ires in that moment, starting with the fact that she was holding Jadis hostage too. The part that stuck out to me the most after reading this passage after A Light in the Flame is Poppy's use of 'the worst sort' to describe Isbeth.

I know JLA has a tendency to reuse the same words and phrases throughout the books, so this could entirely be a coincidence or mean absolutely nothing. But, just in case, just for shits and giggles...

In both A Shadow in the Ember and A Light in the Flame, this same language is used by Nyktos and later Sera to describe Veses, the Primal Goddess of Rites and Prosperity. Who was called 'the worst sort' for forcing herself on Nyktos by blackmailing him into giving up his blood. In the process of that, she liked to 'push limits' and, essentially, sexually assaulted him. Nyktos allowed this in order to protect Sera.

Later in the book, we see exactly how angry and violent this knowledge makes Sera, with Sera threatening as still mostly mortal to kill the Primal Goddess. To make her suffer. Promising herself that she will get revenge for him.

Now...can you imagine how Sera feels about Isbeth? Beyond the two genocides, wars, abuse, and the violent harm Isbeth has caused. Just based on this one situation where Isbeth clearly had power over Ires. And she forced herself on him, one of Sera's own babes, for her own personal gain. And Ires who might` have given in just to protect Jadis.