October is the month of pumpkin spice, ghosts, zombie galore, and now, the greatest series in creation’s seventh and final book release date, Kingdom of Ash. Ever since Empire of Storms’ heart-wrenching plot twist, we fans were left reeling and flipping frantically through the book to see if we’d somehow missed the “real” ending.

To recap, Aelin was taken by Maeve and placed in an iron box with no magic to help her. Rowan, Gavriel, Elide and Lorcan are going to try to save her. Dorian and the 13 are off to rally up the Crochans and Aedion and Lysandra are getting the army ready for battle. They plan to all meet in Terrasan and save the world.

One of my theories for the new book Kingdom of Ash is that Aedion is going to play a much larger role than the previous books. He’s going to be the tie that holds all these different cultures and species together to form the army Aelin created. I have always thought it was weird that he never showed any supernatural capabilities, given that his father is Gavriel. Yes, he’s super strong and smart, but based on the aspects possessed by other half-breeds in the book, I was expecting something more magical than the ability to lead an army and wield a sword. I believe that his magic is lying dormant and will end up playing a major role in the way things turn out in the end of the book.

With Lysandra, her plan to shift into Aelin had one flaw — the brand on her wrist. In past books, it was said that no matter what form Lysandra took, the brand always remained. This is too major of a detail not to be used in the last book, so I think someone is going to discover Lysandra’s deceit and will either demand some sort of payment to keep quiet or just rat her out. Otherwise, things will be too easy, and easy just doesn’t happen in Throne of Glass books.

For Dorian and the 13, bringing the Crochan to join their army may be harder than they expect. As we know, Manon’s grandmother doesn’t have a heart or a soul and is filled to the brim with evil. She’s also super smart and will probably guess that after Manon joins Aelin’s army, she will try to rally up the Crochans to help with their cause. Winning over the Crochans will probably be easy for Manon. The Crochan girl that Manon killed was sent by her own people to help Manon escape her grandmother, though she didn’t realize it at the time. After she wins them over, there will probably be a big bloody fight between the Crochan and Ironteeth witches, one in which Manon’s grandmother will hopefully die. This will come at a cost, though, because everything good comes with a cost in the Throne of Glass series.

As it was said in Empire of Storm, it is expected that Fenris will try to protect Aelin and leave clues for the others to find her. I don’t think it’ll be that simple. Though Fenris hates Maeve’s guts, he loves his brother and will do anything to protect him. Fenris will have to make a tough decision between saving the only family he has left, or the girl destined to save the world. It was unclear from the books which side Fenris’s brother is on, but based on the fact that he was jealous enough of his brother to swear a blood oath to Maeve, I’d say he’s pretty mixed up on which side to join. If anyone is going to die in Kingdom of Ash, it’ll be either Fenris or his brother.

On the subject of death, I don’t think Aelin will die in the end. Yes, plenty of books have opted for the self-sacrificing route, but Sarah J. Maas doesn’t seem like that kind of writer based on her other books. It would be odd if Aelin were to die because that’s what she thinks her destiny is. In the Throne of Glass series, there’s always some sort of hidden loophole no one notices until it’s shoved out into the open and saves the day.

What that loophole may be, I have no idea. Aelin’s in a pretty bad spot. Not only has she been destined to be a sacrificial lamb since birth, but she has two really powerful bad guys who want her dead and is currently stuck in an iron box with no hope of escape. To make matters worse, her magic is completely depleted. Even though the odds seem against her, I know she’ll make it.

One of the most major questions we readers have is whether or not Aelin is pregnant. In the scene right after Fenris is hurt and Aelin heals him, she realizes something so shocking she runs to the bathroom and throws up for hours. When Rowan later questions her, she denies being pregnant. This could be for many reasons. It could be that she’s actually not pregnant and is just so scared of what she discovered that she gets sick. It could also be that the thing that scared her so badly wasn’t enough to make her sick, but being pregnant sort of triggered her gag reflex. It could also be that she is pregnant but knows she has to sacrifice herself and doesn’t want Rowan to lose another pregnant mate. Whatever the case may be, if Aelin is pregnant, then Maeve will either use the baby as a bargaining chip or the baby will be a symbol of new life and prosperity for the Terrasan kingdom.

Kingdom of Ash is coming out Oct. 23, so prepare your tissues and swords, ‘cause things are about to get really messy.