⚠️ MASSIVE spoilers for ACOTAR, Crescent City AND Throne of Glass.

Okay.

I've been thinking about this WAY too much.

I have a collection of increasingly unhinged theories about the next ACOTAR books involving Nesta, the Dusk Court, Ramiel, the eight-pointed star, Bryce, Aelin, Manon, Mor, Dorian and the Maasverse.

Some of these are probably complete nonsense.

Some might have a tiny grain of truth.

But I'm writing them down before ACOTAR 6 comes out, because if even ONE of these theories turns out to be right, I expect a medal.

If Aelin walks through a portal, I expect the Platinum Medal of Unhinged Maasverse Foresight.

1. THE THIRD MOUNTAIN — RAMIEL

We have three sacred mountains in Prythian.

Two have extremely significant histories and structures associated with them.

And then there's Ramiel.

Nesta has climbed Ramiel.

She has conquered it.

But she has never really explored what might be beneath it.

And I think that is suspicious.

What if the three mountains aren't simply three important locations?

What if they are connected?

Three ancient structures.

Three seals.

Three gates.

Three pieces of something that existed before the current Court system.

We know the Prison sits atop an ancient location connected to the Dusk Court.

So what if Ramiel is the third piece of that puzzle?

Nesta has already done the symbolic part:

She conquered the mountain.

Maybe the next step is:

She goes beneath it.

2. THE DUSK COURT IS GOING TO BE CENTRAL

This is the part I'm probably most confident about.

Bryce leaves Nesta with Gwydion/Starsword and essentially sends her off to figure out why Nesta has the eight-pointed star.

That feels like an enormous narrative thread to leave dangling.

Nesta has:

• the eight-pointed star
• Gwydion
• a connection to the Prison
• a connection to the Cauldron
• Made weapons
• an affinity with death
• enormous but still somewhat unexplained power
• and now a reason to investigate the ancient Dusk Court

So I don't think the eight-pointed star is merely a cool tattoo.

I think it is a key.

A key to what?

Possibly the Dusk Court.

Possibly the Prison.

Possibly something beneath Ramiel.

Possibly something even bigger.

3. WHAT HAPPENS NOW THAT THE ASTERI ARE GONE?

This is more speculative.

The Asteri/Vesperus connection to the Prison is gone.

But what happens to whatever was sealed, suppressed or bound there?

What if the Prison was never just a prison?

What if it was also a seal?

And now that the Asteri influence is gone, something ancient can wake up.

Something connected to the Dusk Court.

Something that has been dormant for thousands of years.

And Nesta is holding one of the things capable of unlocking it.

4. "QUEEN OF QUEENS" MIGHT ACTUALLY BE FORESHADOWING

This is one of my favourite parts.

Nesta is repeatedly told that she needs to find her own way.

Not Feyre's way.

Not Rhys's way.

Not the Night Court's way.

Hers.

And what does Nesta actually do when she starts finding herself?

She gathers women.

The Valkyries aren't just a fighting group.

They become a sisterhood.

Nesta's strength is partly in bringing powerful women together.

And she has repeatedly been associated with the idea of being a Queen of Queens.

So what if that eventually becomes literal?

What if Nesta isn't meant to rule one Court?

What if she's meant to bring together queens from different courts — and potentially different worlds?

Not an army.

Queens.

5. NESTA TRIES TO CALL BRYCE...

Here's where things get completely insane.

Nesta now has:

• Gwydion
• the eight-pointed star
• knowledge that Bryce has crossed worlds
• a connection to ancient magic

Imagine she discovers that the eight-pointed star is capable of reaching across worlds.

Naturally, she tries to reach Bryce.

But the magic doesn't work quite how she expects.

It recognises:

Fae.

Starborn/ancient power.

A connection between worlds.

A powerful female ruler.

And instead of Bryce...

Someone else answers.

The wrong universe.

The wrong queen.

6. AELIN.

YES.

I KNOW.

But hear me out.

Aelin has already crossed Prythian once.

At the end of Kingdom of Ash, while falling through worlds, she sees Feyre and Rhysand.

Rhys even uses his power to slow her fall.

This is no longer merely fan theory — the Maasverse connection is canon.

And Bryce later physically crosses into Prythian.

So we KNOW the worlds can interact.

The question is whether someone can deliberately open that door.

What if Nesta is the person who figures out how?

Aelin doesn't need another Throne of Glass series.

Her story is complete.

But she could appear for one extraordinary arc because something has gone catastrophically wrong.

And if Nesta is trying to call Bryce and accidentally pulls the wrong person through...

Aelin.

I would simply die.

7. NESTA + AELIN WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY INSANE

Think about these two women.

Both are:

• queens
• warriors
• incredibly stubborn
• frightening when pushed
• willing to do morally questionable things for the people they love
• deeply traumatised
• willing to sacrifice themselves
• surrounded by powerful women
• carrying enormous amounts of power

But their personalities couldn't be more different.

Nesta is cold, controlled and brutally direct.

Aelin is theatrical, chaotic and constantly manipulating the room.

They would either become best friends immediately or attempt to kill one another.

Possibly both.

And their powers are almost perfect opposites:

🔥 Aelin — fire and destruction

💀 Nesta — death and creation

Imagine those two fighting on the same side.

8. BUT WHAT IF NESTA ISN'T TRYING TO SUMMON AELIN?

What if she is trying to summon Bryce.

And the eight-pointed star doesn't actually work like a telephone.

It searches for a corresponding magical signature.

So Nesta thinks:

>

The magic thinks:

>

And goes:

"Got it."

Wrong answer.

😂

That could be the mechanism that introduces the wider Maasverse without making the crossover feel completely random.

9. MANON.

And this is where I think things get REALLY interesting.

If Aelin appears, I desperately want Manon involved.

But I don't think Manon would simply appear as "Aelin's witch friend."

I think she could have a completely separate reason to become important.

Mor.

Hear me out.

10. WHAT IF MOR IS A WITCH?

This theory has existed in fandom for a while, but I think there are too many little parallels to completely dismiss it.

First:

Mor's power manifested after her first period.

Her power erupted violently around the time of her first bleeding.

That immediately reminded me of the witches in Throne of Glass, whose powers and witch identity are tied to their development and first blood.

That parallel alone isn't proof.

But then we have:

THE RED.

Mor wears red constantly.

Red is practically her visual signature.

And Crochan witches are strongly associated with their red cloaks.

Again, not proof.

But SJM loves visual symbolism.

Then we have the fact that:

We know surprisingly little about Mor's actual lineage.

Especially her mother.

And Mor's true power is strangely underexplored.

She's powerful.

Extremely powerful.

But we don't really know the full extent of what she can do.

Her power is described as Truth.

But what does that actually mean?

And Rhys has described Mor as the person he would call when everything goes wrong.

That phrasing feels very significant to me.

Not:

>

But:

"She's the one we call when it all goes wrong."

That sounds like a last resort.

And that makes me think of the Yielding.

11. WHAT IF MOR'S POWER IS CONNECTED TO THE YIELDING?

This is probably one of my more speculative theories.

The Yielding is essentially a witch's ultimate release of power.

It is devastating.

It is a last resort.

And it costs the witch her life.

Mor's power has never really been fully explained.

Yet we're repeatedly told she has enormous power and that she is the person to call when everything has failed.

What if her "Truth" power is only the surface manifestation of something much larger?

What if Mor is capable of a magical release that is similar in scale to the Yielding?

And what if she doesn't even know what she is?

12. THIS IS WHERE MANON COMES IN.

Imagine Manon meets Mor.

She immediately recognises something that nobody in Prythian has recognised.

She looks at Mor and asks:

>

Mor:

>

Manon:

>

😭

Because if Mor is secretly descended from witches — potentially Crochan witches — then she could have been living in Prythian for centuries completely separated from her people.

She would be:

A lone witch.

And Manon is not just a witch.

She's a Witch Queen.

So what if Manon doesn't simply befriend Mor?

What if she CLAIMS her?

Not necessarily romantically.

Not necessarily as ownership.

But in the very specific sense of:

"You are one of my people, whether you know it or not."

And that feels incredibly Manon.

13. WHAT IF MOR IS CONNECTED TO THE CROCHAN QUEENS?

This is where the theory gets even more insane.

What if Mor isn't simply descended from witches?

What if she's connected to Crochan royal blood?

That could explain:

• her unexplained power
• the secrecy around her mother
• the red
• the timing of her power manifestation
• her strange relationship with Truth
• why her true abilities remain hidden
• and why Manon might immediately recognise something in her

And if Mor is a descendant of Crochan royalty...

Then we potentially have:

Manon — Witch Queen

Mor — Crochan bloodline

Nesta — Queen of Queens

And suddenly the phrase Queen of Queens has yet another layer.

14. MANON "CLAIMING" MOR WOULD BE A PERFECT PARALLEL

Manon spent Throne of Glass learning what it means to be a witch, what was stolen from the Crochans, and what it means to be a queen.

Imagine her discovering a witch who has been completely separated from that history.

Mor has spent centuries believing she is one thing.

Manon looks at her and realises:

"You are one of us."

That could be an incredibly emotional reveal for Mor.

And potentially explain why SJM has kept her lineage and true powers so frustratingly vague.

Maybe we aren't supposed to know yet.

15. AND THEN DORIAN WALKS IN.

Because apparently I want to suffer.

Imagine Manon arrives.

Then Dorian walks in behind her.

Feyre sees him.

And something about his face feels...

familiar.

Because what if the Bone Carver's form wasn't actually Nyx?

What if Feyre misunderstood what she was seeing?

What if the Bone Carver showed Feyre the appearance of Dorian?

Not necessarily because Dorian literally travelled through time.

But because the Bone Carver was showing her something connected to Dorian's future, destiny or power.

Dorian's magic is already incredibly strange.

He can shapeshift.

He can manipulate magic.

He can create and destroy.

His power doesn't fit neatly into one conventional magical system.

So why did the Bone Carver choose that particular form?

What if Feyre was looking at Dorian without knowing it?

Imagine Feyre meeting Dorian years later.

She looks at him.

He looks at her.

And Feyre suddenly realises:

>

Dorian:

>

Feyre:

>

😭

16. AELIN AND RHYSAND.

There's another delicious possibility.

Aelin has already seen Rhysand.

Rhysand has already seen Aelin.

Neither of them fully understood what happened.

What if Aelin eventually returns to Prythian and they recognise each other?

Imagine Rhys realising:

"That was you."

And Aelin realising:

"You were the one who slowed my fall."

That would turn what looked like a tiny crossover moment in Kingdom of Ash into a delayed payoff several books later.

17. AND THEN WE GET BRYCE.

If Nesta accidentally opens the door to the wrong world...

Eventually Bryce could still arrive.

Which would give us:

Nesta

Prythian / Dusk Court

Bryce

Midgard / Starborn

Aelin

Erilea / Terrasen

Manon

Witch Kingdoms

And potentially:

Mor

Hidden Crochan lineage

Dorian

King / extraordinary magic

And suddenly we're not talking about a cute crossover.

We're talking about the worlds having to cooperate.

18. THE "QUEEN OF QUEENS" THEORY COULD BECOME THE ENTIRE POINT.

Maybe Nesta isn't supposed to become Queen of the Dusk Court.

Maybe she's supposed to become something completely different.

The Valkyries were her first attempt at creating something outside the existing structures.

The Dusk Court could be the second.

And eventually:

Nesta becomes the person who connects powerful women across worlds.

Not because she's the strongest.

But because she's the one who realises:

>

And THAT would make the "Queen of Queens" title incredibly satisfying.

19. THE THREE MOUNTAINS COULD BE THE MECHANISM.

This is my biggest structural theory.

What if the three mountains are connected to three ancient points of power?

One associated with the Prison.

One associated with the old Dusk Court.

One beneath Ramiel.

And what if the eight-pointed star is the key that connects them?

Perhaps the mountains aren't merely sacred.

They're locks.

Or gates.

Or anchors.

And Nesta has already done the one thing nobody else could:

She conquered Ramiel.

Now she has to discover what it is protecting.

20. KOSCHEI COULD BE THE BIGGER THREAT.

Koschei is still unresolved.

If the next ACOTAR arc expands beyond one Court, he is a perfect threat to do it with.

He is ancient.

He isn't neatly contained within the current political structure.

And if the Dusk Court, the Prison, the mountains and ancient magic are connected, Koschei could be part of something much older than the current Courts.

Which could explain why defeating him might require more than the Night Court.

Maybe Prythian can't handle what's coming alone.

Hence the Queens.

21. THE ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED VERSION

Okay.

Here's the version I'm putting my name on.

Nesta discovers something beneath/within Ramiel.

The eight-pointed star activates.

The Dusk Court awakens.

She realises the star can connect worlds.

She tries to reach Bryce.

Instead, she accidentally opens a door into another universe.

Aelin comes through.

Manon follows.

Dorian is with her.

Feyre sees Dorian and suddenly remembers the Bone Carver.

Manon looks at Mor and immediately recognises something witch-like about her.

Mor insists she isn't a witch.

Manon disagrees.

Bryce eventually arrives.

Rhys recognises Aelin.

Aelin recognises Rhys.

Nesta realises she hasn't simply opened a portal.

She has discovered a way to connect the Maasverse.

And suddenly the "Queen of Queens" isn't a poetic title.

It's her role.

MY OFFICIAL PREDICTIONS — WRITTEN BEFORE ACOTAR 6

Here is the list I'm putting on record so I can't change it later:

1. Ramiel/the third mountain has an unexplored ancient secret beneath it.
2. The Dusk Court becomes central to the next ACOTAR arc.
3. The eight-pointed star is a key/mechanism, not merely a symbol.
4. The Prison's ancient magic changes now that the Asteri influence is gone.
5. Nesta's "Queen of Queens" role becomes genuinely important, potentially literally.
6. Nesta discovers a way to deliberately reach another world.
7. She initially attempts to contact Bryce.
8. Something goes wrong and she reaches the wrong world/person.
9. Aelin appears in Prythian again.
10. Manon appears.
11. Mor's hidden lineage becomes important.
12. Mor is secretly descended from witches, potentially Crochan witches.
13. Manon recognises Mor as a witch.
14. Manon "claims" Mor as one of her witches in some form.
15. Mor's true power is substantially greater/more unusual than we currently understand.
16. Mor's power has some connection or parallel to the Yielding.
17. Mor may have some connection to Crochan royal blood.
18. Dorian becomes relevant to the ACOTAR plot.
19. The Bone Carver/Dorian connection is real in some form.
20. Aelin and Rhys eventually recognise/reconnect with each other.
21. There is another major Maasverse crossover.
22. The three mountains have a deeper shared purpose.
23. Koschei is connected to the larger threat.
24. The wider conflict ultimately requires cooperation between multiple worlds.

AND IF I'M WRONG?

I have no defence.

I have spent an unreasonable amount of time connecting:

red clothing → witches → first bleeding → Yielding → Mor's unexplained power → Manon → Crochan lineage → Queen of Queens → Dusk Court → Ramiel → Bryce → Aelin → Dorian → the Bone Carver

So I fully accept that Reddit may diagnose me with something.

But if Manon walks into Prythian, looks at Mor and says "You're a witch"...

I WANT MY MEDAL.

And if Aelin walks through that damn door?

PLATINUM.

No discussion.