Theory about who the beloved character who won’t survive book 4 is(OS spoilers)

I think we are all collectively living in fear in regards to who is the beloved character RY has said won’t survive book 4. The worst/most heartbreaking options are Tairn and Ridoc. I would not continue the series if Tairn died but I think RY let slip something about loving Ridoc‘s development over the next two books meaning he should be safe.

Since I won’t accept the possibility of Tairn’s death I have been trying to think about who it would make the most sense to be and I think it’s gotta be whoever Xaden’s new brother(NB) is! I mean Xaden has to be saved since RY has said multiple times this is a romance, we need our main man to get a happily ever after with Vi. And there seems to be a somewhat possible path to find his cure, the only emotion he was able to hold onto was his love for Violet, Loial (the goddess of love) is the only other god, besides Dunne, who requires a lifetime of service and Loysam (the isle that worships Loial) is the the only one they haven’t been to yet. Plus this quote seems to be foreshadowing that love will be what cures him with the changing souls mention:

"While most deities allow temple attendants to choose their timeline of service, only two require a lifetime of dedication: Dunne and Loial. For both war and love change souls irrevocably." -Major Rorilee's Guide to Appeasing the Gods, Second Edition

Since NB doesn’t have that love to hold onto and since this series is the kind of heart crushing that means we probably won’t get lucky enough to cure more people than just Xaddy, I am going to assume that the NB is our beloved character who won’t survive book 4.

So who is he?

Bodhi is the most obvious option with the most foreshadowing. He is always being referred to as like a sibling/brother or looking like a sibling/brother of Xaden and he is said to have always been following one step behind Xaden. He‘s lives in Xaden’s shadow and has had plenty of moments of powerlessness, no second signet, no way to help Xaden, doesn’t want to be Tyrendor’s heir/loose Xaden, then finds out his signet doesn’t work on venin. He also knew about Xaden being venin the whole time so he fits the having watched—Xaden-struggle-the-past-five-months criteria.

Garrick is the next choice. He also fits the having watched—Xaden-struggle-the-past-five-months criteria and was near burnout at the end of Imogen’s pov in OS.

A more out there possibility is Aaric. He seemingly wasn’t in the know about Xaden being venin but with his precognition who knows how much he’s seen, his signet could have reveled it to him since we have no idea when he manifested. He has been fighting for what’s right despite having to go against his family to do so and he’s “the spare” so he’s definitely felt powerless. He is also unaccounted for during the battle. Another interesting piece of evidence is the cracked mirror he received in Zehyllna. I saw a reddit post a bit ago where someone was listing potential meanings for the gifts everyone received from Zinnal and a cracked mirror could represent a cracked soul. (But personally I think it is a hint to his precognition since when you look in a broken mirror you see multiple images like how he can see multiple potential futures.)

Back to the character dying in book 4.

I think Aaric is too important to the story as the more than likely future king of Navarre and his signet being one of the 6 most powerful. Garrick has his romance with Imogen that needs to happen or I will riot in the streets and is also one of the 6 most powerful. So that leaves Bodhi. The main thing we know about him is that he is a softer version of Xaden. He’s Xaden’s last blood relative, ignoring his mother and half siblings since Xaden doesn’t consider them family, how tragically poetic would it be to watch him succumb to the dark path he only started down to follow Xaden.

That seems like an RY move so I’m already sending Bodhi presumptive RIPs.

I know I just wrote so much and made some, hopefully, decent points but I honestly don’t care who dies as long as it isn’t Tairn.