Duty. Blood. Honour. Power.

At the time of writing this, we are officially less than a week away from the release of Brimstone, the second instalment in Callie Hart’s Quicksilver trilogy. The wait since the first book’s release has been filled with speculation, fan theories, and a growing sense of anticipation about what lies ahead for Saeris Fane and the world of Yvelia.

Quicksilver ended with high stakes, lingering questions, and the promise of much greater danger to come. As Brimstone approaches, readers across BookTok and Bookstagram are already predicting betrayal, heartbreak, and the escalation of the godly interference that began to take shape in the first book.

Though I am not usually one for theories, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how the series might evolve – particularly after the final chapters of Quicksilver, which set the stage for a war that spans realms.

In this edition of the blog, I’ll provide a concise recap of key events and characters from Quicksilver, along with my predictions for what Brimstone might bring.

Quicksilver Recap

1. The Setting – In a desert ruled by the Undying Queen, water is more precious than gold. Saeris Fane, a twenty-four-year-old thief and secret Alchemist, steals from the Queen’s reservoirs to keep her younger brother alive. When she’s caught, the punishment is swift and absolute: death for her and her family.
   
2. The Rescue and the Frozen Realm – Moments before her execution, Saeris is pulled through a pool of quicksilver by a mysterious man – Kingfisher, the fae known as the Death of the Ajun Gate. He drags her into Yvelia, a frozen realm locked in ancient conflict. Bound by accident through a powerful magical oath, Saeris must use her Alchemist’s abilities to aid Kingfisher’s cause if she ever hopes to return home.
   
3. Magic, Bargains, and the Gods – Saeris’s magic is tied to quicksilver, a living substance that demands equal exchange. Every spell is a negotiation, every bargain a potential trap. The system is intricate, fascinating, and dangerous – and its price is not always clear until it’s too late.
   The story also introduces divine interference: gods who take an active interest in the mortal and fae realms, manipulating events for their own ends. This divine presence suggests that the conflict in Yvelia may be part of a much larger, older struggle.
   To complicate matters further, vampires exist within the fae courts – a surprising addition that deepens the worldbuilding and raises questions about how magic, blood, and immortality intertwine.
   
4. Kingfisher and the Bond – Kingfisher is the archetypal morally grey hero: secretive, powerful, and bound by his own code. Though his bond with Saeris begins as a reluctant necessity, it soon grows into something neither of them fully understands. Their connection (forged in magic, danger, and proximity) becomes the emotional core of the book.
   While the romance develops quickly, it establishes the foundation for the larger power dynamics and moral conflicts that Brimstone will inevitably build upon.
   
5. Themes and Tone – Quicksilver explores power, survival, and the cost of freedom. It embraces familiar romantasy elements, such as bargains, found family, fated bonds, all while introducing an original alchemical magic system and a wider pantheon of gods.
   Though some readers (myself included) found the pacing uneven, the novel succeeds in laying strong groundwork for a multi-realm conflict and leaves plenty of room for deeper exploration in the sequel.

What We Know from the Brimstone Blurb

The official blurb for Brimstone confirms that Saeris’s choices in the first book have far-reaching consequences. Now crowned queen of the Blood Court, she finds herself trapped in a life that no longer feels her own. The very power that secured her throne also makes her a prisoner – her body, once suited to desert heat, can no longer survive it.

Meanwhile, Kingfisher embarks on a perilous mission back to Zilvaren, Saeris’s homeland, accompanied by the ever-unpredictable (and my absolute favourite character) Carrion Swift. Their journey through the Silver City promises hidden dangers, old enemies, and revelations about the realm Saeris left behind.

As darkness spreads across Yvelia, the pair must find a way to reunite before everything they’ve fought for collapses in fire and blood.

Brimstone Predictions

1. The Cost of Power – Saeris’s transformation in Quicksilver is likely to have lasting consequences. Brimstone may explore what happens when power begins to erode humanity.
   
2. The Weight of the Crown – As queen of the Blood Court, Saeris will navigate political intrigue, manipulation, and betrayal. The role may expose her to hidden agendas – especially divine ones. Her fight may become less about survival and more about sovereignty.
   
3. Kingfisher’s Mission – The blurb indicates that part of the narrative will follow Kingfisher and Carrion’s mission in Zilvaren’s Silver City. This offers opportunity to reveal important back-story about the Ajun Gate, quicksilver’s origin, and perhaps why Saeris was brought to Yvelia in the first place.
   Plus, it sounds like this will be the source of comedic relief in the form of Carrion Swift – something I am particularly looking forward to.
   
4. The Returning Darkness – “A darkness falls across Yvelia” likely signals a new, realm-wide threat – perhaps a god’s vengeance, a corrupted gate, or unleashed magic.
   
5. The Bond Tested – Distance, duty, and changing power dynamics will test Saeris and Kingfisher’s bond. What began as survival may now demand sacrifice, and perhaps choice. The question we arrive at: When a binding is no longer necessary, what remains?

Happy Brimstone Reading!

Quicksilver gave us a richly built world of gods, magic and shadows. Brimstone now stands to deepen that mythos, raise the stakes, and ask harder questions about power, loyalty and identity. If Quicksilver asked what happens when a thief opens the gate, Brimstone is poised to ask what happens when a queen cannot close it.

The stage is set for war, revelation and ruin – and I, for one, can’t wait to see how far Saeris and Kingfisher will burn to save what they love.