Welcome to Cahlish
Part 3
Chapters 13-18
What the Quicksilver Whispers Today
The Tower shows up when everything is shifting fast. Old assumptions crumble, secrets explode, and the truth refuses to stay buried. That’s exactly where Saeris is right now. Every chapter knocks down another belief she thought was solid.
The Eight of Swords captures the other half of her struggle: feeling trapped, bound, and pulled in directions she didn’t choose. Between the blood oath, the quicksilver’s pull, and her fear for Hayden, Saeris is stuck in a situation that keeps tightening around her.
Together, these cards set the tone for part three chapters: the sense that Saeris is standing on the edge of something she can’t yet see — but can’t avoid either.
Even though the story is told from Saeris’ POV, Kingfisher is very much involved.
The Tower hits Kingfisher just as hard as it hits Saeris, maybe harder. His entire identity is built on duty, legacy, and the belief that he alone must hold the line for his people. These chapters crack that foundation wide open. Cahlish reveals a softer, more human version of him. The truth about the god swords surfaces. His past as a war hero is exposed. And the quicksilver’s hold on him is becoming impossible to hide. The Tower shows the collapse of the persona he’s been forced to wear and the raw, vulnerable truth underneath.
The Eight of Swords mirrors his internal prison. Kingfisher is trapped by birthright, by expectation, by the quicksilver eating at him, and by the oath he forced on Saeris. He’s bound by choices he made and choices made for him when he was young. Even his power comes with chains.
Day 3 of my Quicksilver read‑through drops us straight into the kind of escalating chaos that makes this series impossible to put down. From Saeris nearly stepping into a sentient pool of metal to the shock of Carrion’s sudden reappearance, every chapter piles on new revelations that twist the story in sharper, stranger directions. We leave the Winter Palace behind, step into Cahlish’s unexpected beauty, and watch the blood oath tighten around Saeris in ways she never anticipated, and I’m taking you through every moment.
The Quicksilver Wants Her
As soon as Fisher leaves the forge to get Renfis, Saeris runs straight to the quicksilver pool. She’s planning to try to get home, but the pool is blocked by guards, and then the quicksilver itself starts whispering to her. Guiding her. Calling her. Wanting her to wake it up.
It’s eerie, almost controlling, and it feels like it’s mesmerizing her.
She’s seconds from stepping into the pool when Fisher stops her. He’s furious. Partly because she almost stepped into living metal, partly because she stole his ring during their spicy moment in the forge. He reveals the ring never protected him. He didn’t lie; he told Layne that he was wearing the ring. Nothing more, nothing less. This confirms he’s likely what I think an Oath‑Bound Fae is — unable to lie, but very capable of half‑truths.
Saeris refuses to help with the quicksilver unless she knows Hayden’s fate. Fisher offers a bargain: he’ll go to Zilvaren through the quicksilver and try to get her brother if she agrees to do whatever he asks to help him forge relics. She agrees, and the bargain is sealed with blood. But when he returns, it’s not Hayden. It’s Carrion Swift.
Sir. That is not her brother.
He used her blood to locate her “kin,” which only strengthens my theory that Saeris’s parentage isn’t what she believes. One thing for certain though. It’s clear that Saeris and Carrion are not blood relatives. This has to be some kind of spell they cast to keep Hayden safe when Saeris was arrested and taken to Madra’s palace.
The Blood Oath Takes Hold
Something feels off from the start. Saeris realizes she’s doing everything Fisher tells her to do. The blood oath is already binding her actions.
They’re packing up and leaving the Winter Palace quickly.
Anyone else notice how Yvelia and Zilvaren continue to show themselves as complete opposites.
Fisher keeps asking if Saeris is sure Carrion isn’t her brother. Something is definitely suspicious.
Cahlish and the God Swords
The journey to their destination, still unknown to Saeris is hell on her. Kingfisher tells Saeris he’ll happily kiss every ache better. his mouth has “healing properties,” especially “between a pair of thighs.” Noted Kingfisher. Noted.
They stop at a tavern Fisher knows, and he tells her they’re headed to Cahlish, his childhood home, but stopping to wait for Renfis. We also get a bit of a backstory. Fisher’s father saw through King Belikon’s plan to murder the royal family and steal the crown. He warded Cahlish so Belikon and his supporters can’t enter, and as long as Fisher lives and carries on his father’s line, Belikon will never be able to cross into Cahlish.
Isn’t Cahlish supposed to be a war zone?
Ren joins the party, and he gives up more of Kingfisher’s backstory. We learn Fisher has stolen Solace from the king, and it’s a god sword. There are other god swords, but they’re all dead except for one other, Nimerelle, but it’s magic is corrupted. Solace belonged to Fisher’s father.
We also learn Fisher is a war hero and revered outside Belikon’s corruption at the Winter Palace.
The Quicksilver’s Damage
Ren tries to get Saeris to understand that Kingfisher is the way he is because of the quicksilver. He’s been forced through it twice without the pendant’s protection. He’s constantly fighting it.
Carrion tells Saeris Hayden is alive. He moved him from the third ward to the seventh. Hayden is working as a store clerk, has triple water rations, and a room above the shop. He’s trying to rescue Saeris.
I wonder how Carrion is taking in his new surroundings. Saeris noticed that he hadn’t touched the food or water that was left for them in their shared rooms. I would think that he would be eating and drinking his fill.
Madra hasn’t unleashed her terror yet, but her actions are suspicious. Why hasn’t she made a move?
Cahlish Is Not What She Expected
Cahlish is not the war encampment Saeris imagined — it’s a beautiful and warm home.
She notices an intricate black rune on the back of Fisher’s neck. No explanation yet, but it’s clearly important.
Fisher keeps telling Saeris he’s willing to put her through hell if it means saving his people. She’s seen glimpses of who he is outside the Winter Palace, but she’s still struggling to truly see him.
She’s determined to get back to Yvelia, and Fisher says something hard to argue with:
“The task is my birthright. It became one the moment I drew my first breath. You’re just one of hundreds of thousands of people who live in your city. Why shoulder the responsibility of saving them when they refuse to save themselves?”
Chapter 18 — Dinner, Silver, and Monsters
Renfis is furious Fisher backed Saeris into a blood oath. He tells Fisher the only way to make it up to him is to get to know Saeris, starting with dinner. He begs, and Saeris agrees. Better than going back to her shared room with Carrion.
We learn silver is more valuable than gold in Yvelia and is in short supply. Other realms have plenty. They want the quicksilver and relics working again so they can resume trade.
A small consistency note which I will add into my CAWPILE review: during their conversation at dinner, Saeris is talking to Fisher about how the fire sprites treat him. Saeris says “they treat you like you hung the moon,” which doesn’t fit. she grew up in a place with no moon. Saeris would never use this turn of phrase, and she hasn’t been in Yvelia long enough to start talking like them.
We finally learn how Fisher “confused” Carrion for Hayden — Carrion smelled like Saeris’s pheromones. Rage. I am getting more red hot rage that Carrion smelled of Saeris’s pheromones. Lol
Then the windows explode inward as Sanasrothian foot soldiers AKA Feeders, burst into the dining room, intent on killing Fisher and Saeris. They are foul, horrifying creatures — and silver is the only thing that can kill them. And Saeris is down again. Poisoned by one of their scratches.
Questions for you:
• What do you think the quicksilver wants from Saeris
• What’s your theory about her parentage
• Do you think Fisher was truly confused about Carrion
• How do you feel about Hayden’s turnaround
• What do you think the rune on Fisher’s neck means
Who Are You Side‑Eyeing the Most Right Now?
• Kingfisher
• Renfis
• Belikon
• The quicksilver itself
• Carrion (sir, why are you here)
Closing Thoughts Before the Next Disaster Hits
By the end of Chapter 18, the world of Quicksilver feels bigger, darker, and far more dangerous than it did just a few chapters ago. The blood oath is reshaping Saeris’s choices, Cahlish is revealing pieces of Kingfisher’s past, and the truth about Saeris’s own bloodline is inching closer with every clue. Silver shortages, god swords, corrupted magic, and Sanasrothian monsters crashing through windows; the stakes are rising fast, and every answer only opens another door. If this is where the story leaves us today, I can only imagine what the next chapters are about to unleash. Read on with me as we dive deeper into the quicksilver’s pull and the secrets waiting on the other side.
