Callie Hart · Fae & Alchemy

Quicksilver + Brimstone

Everything you have heard but never seen written down — spelled out, drilled, and ready for Sunday.

Built for trivia night, Sunday 27 September 2026.

Spoilers are behind doors. You're mid-way through Book 1, so every plot section on this page is collapsed. The names, the vocabulary and the family tree are safe to read right now — they'll help you while you're still listening. Open a plot section only once you've finished that book.

01If you only remember five things

The panic button. Read this in the car park.

  1. Malcolm, Belikon and Madra are siblings. The vampire king, the Fae king and the mortal queen. Three rulers, three realms, one family, working together for centuries. This is the reveal the whole first book is built toward, and it's the most askable fact in the series.
  2. Kingfisher is Belikon's STEPson — not his son. Belikon destroyed Fisher's family. Fisher's mother is Edina. His sister is Everlayne, who is Belikon's daughter. Everyone gets this tangled.
  3. Saeris ends Book 1 as Queen of Sanasroth — the vampire kingdom, later called the Blood Court. Not Yvelia. Not Zilvaren. She is half-Fae, half-vampire, the first of her kind.
  4. Carrion Swift is the secret royal. The comic-relief smuggler and ex-boyfriend is heir to the first Fae line, and it's his blood that poisons Malcolm.
  5. Kingfisher's true name is Khydan Graystar Finvarra, and he is a half-god. Saying that name is how Book 2's climax is won.

The deep dive

Put it on for the drive over and you've done your homework without reading a word.

Quicksilver & Brimstone trivia secrets

50:12

Two hosts talking through both books, generated from this page.

Seventy seconds

The shortest path through both books. If you only give this page a minute, give it this one.

1:10. The pictures are generated, so any words burned into the frames may be misspelled. The tables on this page are the ones to trust.

One picture

Illustrated cram sheet for Quicksilver and Brimstone: Saeris, Kingfisher, the three rival rulers and the terms the host will use.

Tap for full size. Picture-generators can't spell — the pictures are right; trust the tables on this page for the words.

The names, spelled out

You've only ever heard these. Here is what they look like on an answer card.

The ones you'll be asked for

SpellingWho
Saeris FaneSAIR-iss The heroine. Twenty-four, a thief out of Zilvaren, and an Alchemist. S-A-E-R-I-S — the ae is the bit people get wrong.
KingfisherFisher, for short The male lead. A feared Fae commander. Exactly like the bird — no trick to it.
Khydan Graystar FinvarraKY-dan Kingfisher's true name. Book 2 K-H-Y-D-A-N. Starts with a silent-ish K-H.
Carrion Swift Smuggler, ex, secret royal. Spelled like carrion the word. Sometimes given the family name Daianthus.
EverlayneEve, for short Belikon's daughter, Fisher's sister. -layne, not -laine or -lane.
Belikon King of Yvelia. Fisher's stepfather. Sometimes Belikon De Barra.
Madra Queen of Zilvaren. Rhymes with padre-ish. Two syllables.
Malcolm The vampire king. Ordinary spelling — deliberately the plainest name in the book.
Renfis OrithianRen, for short Fae warrior and ally. You'll almost always hear just Ren.
Lorreth Warrior. Trains Saeris. Double R, double T-H ending.
TaladaiusTal, for short also written Taladius Vampire lord. Vampire The fandom genuinely can't agree on this spelling — see the honesty note at the bottom.
Elroy The blacksmith who raised her, more or less. E-L-R-O-Y — one guide writes "Elory" and it's a typo.
Hayden Fane Saeris's younger brother.
Edina Kingfisher's mother. A spirit inside the quicksilver. Book 2
Onyx The fox. Saeris gives up all her magic to bring him back.

The places

SpellingWhat it is
ZilvarenZIL-va-ren The mortal city. Desert, walled, water rationed, metal precious. Saeris's home. Z for scorched.
Yveliaih-VEE-lee-a The frozen Fae realm. Starts with a Y, not an I or an E.
Sanasroth The vampire kingdom. Becomes the Blood Court, and Saeris's throne.
Cahlish Kingfisher's warded estate in Yvelia. Silent H after the CA.
the Thirdthe Third Ward The poor, plague-ridden ward of Zilvaren where Saeris grew up.
Ammontríethalso Ammontraíeth Sources put the accent in different places. Either will likely be accepted.
the Ajun Gate The gate to hell. Book 2
the Wicker Wood Where Belikon imprisons Fisher inside a tree. Book 2

The rest of the map

GillethryeBallardRiver DarnOmnamerrin Mountains Irrínthe Winter PalaceBalquhidder Clan Lands WhitecliffsSilver CityGilariaLìssia the Continent

The rest of the cast

Amelia DaianthusRurik DaianthusGracia SwiftIris Fane ArcherAlgatArissanCraveDanya ErethFinranFoleyIseabailJoshin KorrixMalwaeMerelleOriousOrlena Parry VashgidyanZovenathe HazraxCaptain Harron

The gods

ZarethGod of Chaos.
Bal & MithinTwin goddesses. They offer Saeris rebirth.
the CorcoranThe Seven Gods, collectively.

The world in ninety seconds

There are two worlds and a door between them.

Zilvaren is the mortal one: a walled desert city where water is rationed and metal is worth more than either. Queen Madra rules it. Saeris Fane steals to keep herself and her brother alive in its worst ward.

Yvelia is the Fae one: frozen, mountainous, at war. King Belikon rules it, and his war is against the vampires of Sanasroth and their king Malcolm.

The door between them is quicksilver — a living metal that opens portals, forges god-weapons, and slowly poisons the mind of anyone it touches too long. Only an Alchemist can command it, and the magic has been dead for centuries.

Saeris is an Alchemist. That is the whole engine of the series: everyone wants her, because she is the only one who can reopen the doors.

Terms the host will use

TermWhat it means
AlchemyForgotten, long-dead old magic. Requires Fae blood. Three branches: immortality, transmutation, healing.
AlchemistOne who can hear and manipulate metal. Saeris commands all five alchemical metals — that's what makes her singular.
QuicksilverDoes three jobs at once: opens portals, forges relics, and poisons Kingfisher's mind. Trivia loves this.
God SwordsWeapons forged by the ancient Alchimists using quicksilver. Solace is the one Saeris beheads Malcolm with.
The Blood CurseWhat turned Fae into vampires in the first place.
RunesGlowing marks that appear on fated mates.
Blood oathA binding magical agreement. Saeris and Kingfisher are bound by one accidentally.
Lupo ProeliaA faction.
The TriumvirateA faction — and a hint, given three rulers turn out to be siblings.
Balquhidder Witch ClanA faction.

New vocabulary in Brimstone Book 2

TermWhat it means
the rotA supernatural plague corrupting the land and spawning near-unkillable monsters. Roughly 2,000 dead.
brimstoneThe cure for the rot. Found in fire sprites' blood — and in hell. Also the book's title.
true name magicSpeak someone's real name and you hold power over them. This wins the climax.
godwordsMagic words Saeris can create. One example given: redemption.
shadow magicRare. Only half-gods can use it — which is the tell about Fisher.
the dream worldWhere Saeris and Fisher meet mentally.
Iseabail's bloodReverts vampires to their original forms.

Who's who

One line each. If you can say the line, you can answer the question.

NameThe one line
Saeris FaneMortal thief from Zilvaren's Third Ward. The Alchemist. Ends Book 1 as a half-Fae, half-vampire queen.
KingfisherFae commander, quicksilver-poisoned, Belikon's stepson, Saeris's fated mate. Really a half-god named Khydan Graystar Finvarra.
Carrion SwiftSmuggler, ex-boyfriend, comic relief — and secret heir to the first Fae line. His blood poisons Malcolm.
King BelikonRules Yvelia. Fisher's stepfather, Everlayne's father, and the man who destroyed Fisher's family. Sibling to Malcolm and Madra.
Queen MadraRules Zilvaren. Secretly allied with the vampires. Sibling to Belikon and Malcolm. Flees at the end of Book 1.
MalcolmVampire king of Sanasroth. Sibling to Belikon and Madra. Beheaded by Saeris with the God Sword Solace.
EverlayneBelikon's daughter, Kingfisher's sister. Kidnapped by Malcolm — which triggers the endgame. Possessed by Edina in Book 2.
Hayden FaneSaeris's younger brother, the reason she steals at all.
ElroyBlacksmith. Her mentor and reluctant father figure.
Renfis Orithian (Ren)Fae warrior. Diplomacy and combat. Explains the Ajun Gate in Book 2.
LorrethWarrior who trains Saeris.
Taladaius (Tal)Vampire lord. Turns Saeris. Poisons the court with Iseabail's blood in Book 2.
EdinaFisher's mother. A spirit living in the quicksilver, speaking in riddles.
OriousBelikon's right hand.
OnyxThe fox. Killed by Belikon; Saeris burns all her power to resurrect him.
Captain HarronMadra's torturer. Killed early — a name that shows up in "who died first" questions.

The family tree

The single most confusing thing in the series, drawn once.

THE THREE SIBLINGS — the Book 1 reveal Malcolm Vampire king · Sanasroth Belikon Fae king · Yvelia Madra Mortal queen · Zilvaren STEP-son only Everlayne His daughter · "Eve" Kingfisher Khydan Graystar Finvarra Edina His mother SIBLINGS FATED MATES Saeris Fane Alchemist · Queen of Sanasroth Hayden Fane Her younger brother Carrion Swift Smuggler · Saeris's ex Heir to the first Fae line Taladaius Vampire lord · turns her siblings stepfather mates
Read it this way: three rulers at the top are secretly siblings. Belikon fathered Everlayne but only married into Kingfisher. Everlayne and Kingfisher are still brother and sister.

Publication facts

Hosts love these. They're the easiest points on the board.

QuicksilverBrimstone
PublishedSelf-pub 4 Jun 2024;
trade 3 Dec 2024
18 Nov 2025
PublisherForever (US) · Hodderscape (UK)
Pages624672
ISBN978-1538774199978-1538774229
POVSingle — SaerisDual — Saeris + Kingfisher
AudiobookPodium Audio, 29 Oct 202424 hrs 30 mins
NarratorsStella Bloom and Anthony Palmini (both books)
Charts#1 New York Times and #1 Sunday TimesNew York Times bestseller

The author. Callie Hart is British, born in Truro, Cornwall. She wrote dark romance before this.

The award. Quicksilver was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award, Best Romantasy, 2024.

The Netflix deal. Netflix bought film rights in December 2024 for a seven-figure sum. Elizabeth Cantillon produces; Hart is an executive producer.

Book 3. It's a trilogy. The third book is expected November 2026.

The comparison every reviewer makes: Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Book 1 — Quicksilver

Open the full plot and ending You're mid-way through this one. This spoils all of it.

The opening

Zilvaren. Saeris Fane, twenty-four, thieves in the Third Ward to keep herself and her brother Hayden alive, hiding an ability to manipulate metal. She steals a guardian's golden gauntlet.

The catch and the gate

Guards take her while she's shielding Hayden. Queen Madra orders her tortured. Mid-assault she instinctively melts a silver dagger and pulls an ancient sword from a platform — and the floor turns into a quicksilver gate. An armoured Fae warrior carries her through. "Don't die," he tells her.

Yvelia

She wakes in snow. The warrior is Kingfisher, whose mind is being eaten by quicksilver poison. King Belikon — Fisher's stepfather — spots her as an Alchemist, magic unseen for centuries, and wants her forging relics for the war against Sanasroth and reopening the portals. He orders Fisher to train her.

The bond

An accidental magical oath binds them. Antagonism turns to romance. Glowing runes mark them fated mates. She learns how far the poison has gone.

The reveal

Everlayne is kidnapped by Malcolm. Saeris follows Fisher into Malcolm's labyrinth — and the truth lands: Malcolm, Belikon and Madra are siblings, three rulers colluding for centuries.

The climax

Malcolm bites Carrion — whose royal Fae blood, as heir to the first Fae line, poisons him. Saeris finds an enchanted coin inside a creature called the Morthil, freeing trapped souls. Malcolm wounds her fatally; she beheads him with the God Sword Solace before she dies.

The ending

The quicksilver itself speaks, asking whether she wishes to remain in Yvelia. She says yes, and is pulled into the divine realm, where the twin goddesses Bal and Mithin, with Zareth, offer her rebirth as a cosmic balance.

She comes back half-Fae, half-vampire — the first of her kind, inheriting Malcolm's throne as Queen of Sanasroth, with Fisher still to be saved from the quicksilver. Madra flees to the mortal realm. Divine intervention hides Saeris's future from fate itself.

Book 2 — Brimstone

Open the full plot and cliffhanger You haven't started this one. This spoils all of it.
Book 2 detail rests on fewer independent sources than Book 1. The arc is solid; scene-level specifics are less certain.

Where it opens

Saeris rules the Blood Court as queen — a Fae-vampire hybrid who can no longer survive Zilvaren's sun. Much of the court resents her claim. Dual POV from here on.

The rot

A supernatural plague spreads through Yvelia, corrupting the land and making monsters. Fire sprites' brimstone-rich blood heals it, but only for a while. Archer is the sprite who matters.

Politics and separation

Ereth, a religious leader, opposes her rule; Fisher kills him. Unable to enter Zilvaren herself, Saeris sends Kingfisher and Carrion — for silver from Carrion's treasury, and to rescue Hayden. Meanwhile she finds Edina, Fisher's mother, alive as a spirit in the quicksilver and speaking through Everlayne in riddles, and hunts a book that explains how to seal the runes on her body. Algat guards the hidden library.

Belikon's demand

Reunited, they face Belikon demanding Fisher's execution and Saeris's servitude. They refuse. Taladaius poisons the court with Iseabail's blood to "cleanse" it, causing a mass transformation.

The Wicker Wood

During the evacuation of Cahlish, Fisher is taken. Saeris tracks him through the dream world and finds Belikon has sealed him inside a magical tree. She fights Belikon and Orious.

The true name

She breaks Belikon's hold by speaking Fisher's real name: Khydan Graystar Finvarra. He is a half-god with shadow magic.

The cost

Belikon kills Onyx. Saeris spends all of her magic to resurrect the fox, and is left powerless.

The Ajun Gate

Ren explains Fisher was oath-bound to the gate as a child by Belikon and forced through the quicksilver — the root of his trauma. The gate has reopened, loosing monsters three hours a day. The two of them go into hell to destroy the brimstone and seal it for good.

The cliffhanger

In hell they meet Arissan, a dragon, and Crave, a demon. Khydan reveals his half-god status and announces that "his son has come to make a trade" — bargaining with an infernal father figure, apparently for a dragon. It ends there.

The easy mix-ups

The two things everyone confuses. This is where trivia nights are won.

People confuseThe truth
Quicksilver's three jobsIt opens portals, forges relics, and poisons Fisher's mind. Questions deliberately exploit the overlap.
Son vs stepsonKingfisher is Belikon's stepson. Everlayne is his actual daughter. Fisher and Everlayne are still siblings.
Zilvaren vs YveliaZ is the desert, Y is the ice. Z for scorched.
Which throne Saeris takesSanasroth — the vampire kingdom, the Blood Court. Not Yvelia, not Zilvaren.
Carrion as comic reliefHe's the secret royal, heir to the first Fae line, and his blood is the thing that poisons Malcolm.
Fisher / Kingfisher / KhydanOne man. The true name is a Book 2 reveal — don't use it as a Book 1 answer.
Who kills MalcolmSaeris beheads him with Solace. Carrion's blood poisons him first, but Saeris lands the kill.
Single vs dual POVBook 1 is single (Saeris). Book 2 is dual.
Brimstone the thing vs the bookThe substance cures the rot; it's also the title.
Who flees at the end of Book 1Madra, to the mortal realm. Malcolm's dead, Belikon's still on his throne.

Self-quiz

Thirty questions. Tap one to reveal, or open them all.

1What are Malcolm, Belikon and Madra to each other?
Siblings.Three rulers of three realms, colluding for centuries. The central Book 1 reveal.
2How old is Saeris Fane at the start of Quicksilver?
Twenty-four.
3What is Kingfisher's true name?
Khydan Graystar Finvarra.Revealed in Brimstone. Saying it breaks Belikon's control over him.
4Which realm is the frozen one?
Yvelia.Zilvaren is the desert.
5What does Saeris steal at the very beginning?
A guardian's golden gauntlet.
6Name the two audiobook narrators.
Stella Bloom and Anthony Palmini.Both books.
7What weapon kills Malcolm, and who wields it?
The God Sword Solace — Saeris beheads him with it.
8Whose blood poisons Malcolm before that?
Carrion Swift's.He's heir to the first Fae line.
9What relation is Kingfisher to King Belikon?
Stepson.Not son. Belikon destroyed his family.
10Which throne does Saeris hold at the end of Book 1?
Queen of Sanasroth — the vampire kingdom, later the Blood Court.
11What are the three branches of Alchemy?
Immortality, transmutation and healing.
12Who is Everlayne's father?
King Belikon.Which makes her Kingfisher's sister by marriage-in.
13What does Kingfisher say as he carries her through the gate?
"Don't die."
14How many alchemical metals can Saeris control?
All five.That's what makes her singular.
15Which streaming service bought the film rights, and when?
Netflix, December 2024, for a seven-figure sum.Elizabeth Cantillon producing.
16Who is Elroy?
The blacksmith — Saeris's mentor and reluctant father figure.
17What is Kingfisher's estate called?
Cahlish.
18What is the plague in Brimstone called, and what cures it?
The rot — cured by brimstone, found in fire sprites' blood.
19Which two goddesses offer Saeris rebirth?
Bal and Mithin, the twin goddesses.Alongside Zareth, God of Chaos.
20What is Saeris after her rebirth?
Half-Fae, half-vampire — the first of her kind.
21Who is Onyx, and what happens to him?
Saeris's fox. Belikon kills him; she spends all her magic resurrecting him and is left powerless.
22Which ward of Zilvaren is Saeris from?
The Third.
23How does Book 1's POV differ from Book 2's?
Book 1 is single POV (Saeris). Book 2 is dual — Saeris and Kingfisher.
24What is the Ajun Gate?
The gate to hell. Reopened, it looses monsters three hours a day.Fisher was oath-bound to it as a child.
25Where is Callie Hart from?
Truro, Cornwall, England.
26What are the Seven Gods called collectively?
The Corcoran.
27Who flees to the mortal realm at the end of Book 1?
Queen Madra.
28What creature holds the enchanted coin?
The Morthil.Freeing the coin releases trapped souls.
29Whose spirit lives inside the quicksilver?
Edina — Kingfisher's mother. She speaks in riddles.
30Who does Brimstone end with, in hell?
Arissan the dragon and Crave the demon — with Khydan announcing "his son has come to make a trade."

Everything else

The slide deck is here to keep. The mind map, flashcards, quiz and reports are interactive, so they live in NotebookLM and this page links out to them.

Fair warning: whoever opens the notebook still has to be signed in to some Google account.

Where this came from

This is an unofficial, fan-made study aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Callie Hart, Forever, Grand Central Publishing, Hodderscape, Podium Audio or Netflix.

Nothing here was taken from the novels themselves. It was assembled from published recaps, summary sites, fan wikis and publisher records, then cross-checked between them. Publication facts are solid. Plot detail for Quicksilver is corroborated across several independent sources. Plot detail for Brimstone rests on fewer, so treat scene-level specifics there as less certain.

Where the fandom genuinely disagrees

  • Taladaius vs Taladius — properly split. Both are in circulation.
  • Ammontríeth vs Ammontraíeth — sources place the accent differently.
  • Elroy vs Elory — "Elroy" is near-certainly right; "Elory" appears once and reads as a typo.
  • Carrion's full name — "Carrion Swift" is universal; "Carrion Swift Daianthus" appears in one guide.
  • Renfis / Renfis Orithian / Ren — the short form dominates in the text.

One thing deliberately left out: the English Wikipedia article for Brimstone carries a deletion notice for suspected AI-generated content, so its plot prose was not used. Its publication data was — that matches publisher listings.