QUICK LINKS: Brimstone Recap by Chapter P–13 | 14–25 | 39–47 | 48–52 // Fae & Alchemy Book 1 Summary
Brimstone Chapters 26–38 Summary
This chapter-by-chapter summary of Brimstone by Callie Hart contains spoilers.
Brimstone Chapter 26: In the End
Saeris runs to the palace crypt and throws herself into the quicksilver pool, desperate to survive the surge of magic threatening to overwhelm her. The quicksilver turns out to be a hostile, thinking presence. It calls her a pretender who deserves death.
Undeterred, Saeris argues she’s worthy and wants peace for her people, not raw power. The quicksilver asks whether she’d sacrifice the person she loves most. Saeris thinks of Kingfisher and refuses.
That refusal is the right answer. The quicksilver tells Saeris that a true Alchemist must have something precious to lose. She’s proven herself and unlocked her magic, but it warns her that this power will eventually kill her. The pool ejects her violently, she slams into the wall, and everything goes dark.
Brimstone Chapter 27: What’s Done Is Done
Elroy explains that his family spent years collecting quicksilver from various metal objects and hiding it away. The pieces finally merged into a single pool after Saeris was taken. He also admits he destroyed all records of the Fae world five years ago to protect her because Saeris’s abilities had become too obvious to ignore.
Kingfisher tells Carrion he isn’t ready to leave Zilvaren. He wants to understand how Queen Madra is moving corrupted monsters and plans to kill her first. Soon after, the quicksilver pool opens far earlier than anyone expected. Kingfisher gives Hayden the protective relic Saeris made and tells him never to take it off.
Convinced that Saeris opened the gateway because she’s in trouble, Kingfisher goes in without hesitation. Carrion and Hayden follow him.
Brimstone Chapter 28: Seneschal
Saeris wakes to find Orious and five Winter Palace guards climbing out of the pool. Orious, a high‑ranking advisor to King Belikon, comes with harsh demands. He wants Saeris as the king’s Alchemist, the return of the king’s daughter, and Kingfisher handed over for public execution. Saeris is stunned to learn that Kingfisher and her friends are already bound to Belikon by magical oaths.
The guards attack with null blades that suppress Saeris’s metal-based magic. She kills two before Kingfisher and the others arrive. Saeris handles the last two herself, activating her quicksilver rune and slamming them into the ceiling with a magical shield.
Kingfisher wants to torture Orious, but Saeris talks him out of it. They send Orious back as a messenger. Kingfisher kicks him into the pool, and Saeris seals the gateway shut. Carrion then walks in carrying an unconscious figure over his shoulder and tells Saeris he brought someone back for her.
Brimstone Chapter 29: Fortunes of the Universe
Saeris checks on Hayden, who’s still unconscious from his trip through the quicksilver. Te Léna says he’s physically fine, but humans often take longer to wake after traveling between realms. She also mentions that her healing magic no longer works on Saeris. Worn out, Saeris heads to Kingfisher’s quarters to rest.
Kingfisher joins Saeris, and they talk about King Belikon. Saeris is worried because their friends are bound by magical oaths to the Winter Palace. Kingfisher explains that the king can’t issue commands from a distance, and the magical wards around their location protect them. He also translates the inscriptions on Saeris’s new swords. Erromar means mercy, and Selanir means honor.
After they spend the night together, Saeris notices some of the ink from her God Bindings has transferred onto Kingfisher’s chest. She stays quiet so he can discover the markings himself.
Brimstone Chapter 30: Leash
Archer wakes Saeris and Kingfisher with news that Everlayne is in trouble. They find her in a violent seizure. She shouts that the gate is open and can’t be shut, then falls unconscious. Kingfisher feels helpless and walks out.
The group finds no clear answers. Kingfisher orders Danya to move the border warriors to Cahlish because the border land is already lost, and he sends Lorreth to find the witch Iseabail to see if her magic can help Everlayne. Kingfisher, Saeris, and Carrion then head to Ammontraíeth for more books.
At the Blood Court, Saeris confronts Zovena, the Keeper of Missives, about the letters sent to Foley. Zovena admits she intercepted and kept them. Saeris orders her to deliver them to the library. Just then, Taladaius appears in his doorway, naked and covered in blood.
Brimstone Chapter 31: Vapor and Smoke
Kingfisher brings Onyx to Saeris’s bedroom and swipes some smoked trout to feed him. As Kingfisher leaves, Onyx surprises him with a small pine cone. Kingfisher keeps it and heads to the library.
Inside, a cat made of shadow rises from Kingfisher’s own shadow and leads him through a secret living space behind the bookshelves and up to the roof, where he finds Foley writing under the stars.
Foley is a vampire living in isolation because he believes he’s dangerous. He’s ashamed that he hunts animals to survive. Kingfisher urges Foley to return to Cahlish and points out that he hasn’t attacked any local Fae in hundreds of years, which proves he still has the soul of a hero.
Afterward, Kingfisher shows Foley a small wooden box holding Joshin. Kingfisher made a deal with the demon to save his life and must eventually free it, but he found a loophole to delay. He asks Foley to keep the box hidden in the library. Foley agrees and asks what secrets the demon told him.
Brimstone Chapter 32: The Thing About Leaning
Saeris and Carrion find Taladaius in a compromising situation. Soon after, Taladaius shows them a null blade from the tomb, finds it repulsive, and wants it gone. Saeris takes the blade, convinced they need to understand its power.
Taladaius also tells Saeris she has to attend the Evenlight Ball the next night. As ruler of the Blood Court, she’s expected to open the event, which will also serve as an audition to replace the Lord of Midnight that Kingfisher killed. Saeris hates the idea but agrees and lets the royal tailor take her measurements.
Later, Saeris brings the null blade to the library. Hundreds of stargazers swarm her, and one nicks her cheek to test her blood. Once they recognize her, the birds drop and unfold into written pages that form a single book at her feet.
Saeris realizes the book came from Kingfisher’s mother and was meant for her. Warned to keep it secret, she chooses honesty and hands it to Kingfisher. He reads the note, then immediately returns the book, insisting it was meant for her eyes only.
Brimstone Chapter 33: No Regrets
In Edina’s letter to Kingfisher, she explains that his bond with Saeris would grow stronger if Saeris chose to hand him the book herself. Edina stayed behind as a spirit for a reason and has no regrets. She closes with love and pride and tells Kingfisher to return the book to Saeris.
Brimstone Chapter 34: Very Wrong Indeed
Saeris, Kingfisher, and Carrion head back to Cahlish for some peace and quiet. Kingfisher leaves almost immediately to open shadow gates for Lorreth and Renfis. Saeris and Carrion stay in the forge to study the null blade. Saeris tries to analyze the metal but hits a magical wall, and even Kingfisher couldn’t move it earlier. She insists they keep studying it because every one of Belikon’s guards carries one.
Archer comes in with stew and mentions that the people of Yvelia have spent generations praying for a Daianthus heir to return. When Saeris asks about Edina, Archer’s face lights up. He tells Saeris how much Edina loved the forge, and Edina runs into the snowy courtyard to pick her favorite flowers.
The mood shifts when an infected feeder scales the wall and grabs Archer. Saeris throws the null blade at the creature, but it gets absorbed into its body and seems to make it stronger. Saeris refuses to use her own magic since infected feeders absorb energy.
Archer breaks free and lunges at the feeder. The monster bites Archer’s neck, but the magma-like blood that pours from his throat kills it. Archer collapses with life-threatening injuries, and Saeris and Carrion rush him into the forge.
Brimstone Chapter 35: Brimstone
Lorreth and Iseabail explain that the fluid inside Archer is brimstone, which keeps fire sprites alive. The brimstone can destroy the rot, but the supply is limited and never replenishes. Saeris and Kingfisher realize they can’t use it as a weapon without killing every fire sprite in Yvelia.
Later, Kingfisher takes Saeris to the roof for a drink and tells her about his father. Kingfisher explains that his father once visited a creature called a graven to find a love potion for Kingfisher’s mother. The graven demanded his foot or his shadows as payment. When his father refused, the creature chased him and cut off his pinky toe. Kingfisher says the potion was a fraud anyway, because his mother loved his father for who he was.
To end the night, Kingfisher brings Saeris to a cottage in a dream realm so she can watch the sunrise without the light hurting her.
Brimstone Chapter 36: Would That I Could
Archer wakes Saeris with news that Hayden is finally conscious. She goes to see him, but the reunion is painful. Madra has told everyone in Zilvaren that Saeris is dead, a loyal servant killed by Fae rebels. Most people in the Third District believe it and have turned against her. Only Elroy still defends her, and he’s been beaten repeatedly for it.
Saeris realizes Hayden suspects her too. He brings up her secrecy and the fact that they always had more food than their neighbors. She snaps, punches him, and screams about everything she endured just to keep him alive. The fight stops when Hayden notices a second rune on her hand. It represents brimstone.
Later, Saeris retreats to Kingfisher’s room and opens the book Edina left for her. According to the text, Saeris must choose whether to accept the brimstone power or reject it. Taking on the rune will change her permanently, but it may be her only real chance to save Yvelia.
That night, Kingfisher returns empty-handed from searching for Ren, who’s been missing for over thirty-six hours since leaving a Fae fortress. Kingfisher is certain that something has gone seriously wrong.
Brimstone Chapter 37: Three Minutes
Kingfisher and Saeris prepare for the Evenlight Ball at Ammontraíeth. Both are worried sick about Renfis, so Kingfisher asked Iseabail to locate him through scrying while they’re away. They can’t flip ahead in Edina’s journal because of the rules she set for it.
Wearing a stunning black gown, Saeris shares an intense, private moment with Kingfisher, and he uses his magic to give her a new rose tattoo. Before they leave to meet Tal, she checks the next entry in Edina’s book. Whatever is on the page settles something in her, and she heads to the celebration with clear resolve.
Brimstone Chapter 38: Scion of No One
Taladaius opens the ball by publicly severing his blood connection to Saeris. The act is messy, leaving her vomiting blood into a bucket he had ready. When it’s over, he toasts her as a queen who stands on her own with no ties to a maker.
The petitions for the vacant Lord position begin shortly after. The first candidate is Kavan Dahlish, one of Kingfisher’s soldiers who was supposed to have died in battle. In that moment, Kingfisher grasps the full extent of Malcolm’s cruelty. The king had spent centuries stealing the souls of dying Fae warriors just to make them his subjects.
The next candidate advocates for feeding farms and enslaving the Fae. When Zovena interrupts to demand answers about the food supply, Saeris pins her to the floor by the throat with a heavy metal rod and uses her back as a footrest for the rest of the petitions. When the meetings end, Saeris releases Zovena and warns her never to test her patience again.
Taladaius is ready to move on to the final announcement, but Saeris stops him. She tells the crowd there’s one more petition. Foley Briarstone walks out and kneels before the throne to offer his service to the queen.