A Court of Wings and Ruin

Eris, Lucien’s oldest brother and presumed heir to the Autumn Court, holds a knife to Feyre’s throat. Feeling their magic returning, Feyre and Lucien make the cave collapse and narrowly escape. They continue through the icy mountains toward the Winter Court.

Huddled with Lucien for warmth, Feyre tries to reach Rhysand through their bond, but her magic is still too weak. Lucien asks Feyre what Elain was like as a human; she was an avid gardener who “acted like a pure-bred lady in every regard” except for her willingness to dig in the dirt (113). Feyre reminds Lucien that Elain is betrothed to a human man, whom she loves. Lucien asks when precisely Feyre stopped loving Tamlin.

Feyre and Lucien cross into the Winter Court. They journey through the snowy landscape and onto a vast, frozen lake. While Feyre and Lucien discuss making a shelter, Eris appears, his “hand wreathed in flame” (117).

Feyre and Lucien are shocked that Lucien’s brothers pursued them across court borders. Feyre’s powers are returning, but she’s shot in the arm with an ash arrow (ash wood inhibits faeries’ healing abilities) and overpowered by Eris. Suddenly, two Illyrians—an infamous, winged warrior breed of faerie from the Night Court—appear: Cassian, Rhysand’s general, and Azriel, Rhysand’s spymaster.

Cassian engages Eris in a sword fight as Lucien and Azriel fight Lucien’s other brothers. The fight is personal: Eris was once betrothed to Morrigan, but he abandoned her to her family’s torture when she slept with Cassian as a way to exercise sexual agency before the arranged marriage; Azriel rescued Morrigan afterward and has loved her for centuries, but she has never acknowledged him romantically. Cassian wounds Eris, and Feyre realizes killing Beron’s sons makes earning his alliance unlikely. She commands the fighting to stop and reveals herself as High Lady of the Night Court. High Lords have superior powers to other High Fae; Rhysand is unique in vesting his wife with equal power.

Azriel and Cassian fly Feyre and Lucien to the Night Court, where they meet Morrigan (“Mor”) in an ancient wood near the border. Rhysand is racing home; he felt the mating bond again as Feyre’s faebane poisoning wore off and sent Cassian and Azriel to find her. The group heads to Rhysand’s town house in the Night Court city of Velaris.

Feyre is emotionally overwhelmed at returning to the Velaris town house and the Court of Dreams: Mor, Azriel, Cassian, and Amren. Amren, Rhysand’s second in command, has a High Fae form but is actually an ancient being from another universe. Rhysand arrives, and Feyre greets him tearfully.

Alone, Rhysand tells Feyre how afraid he was when their bond lapsed because of the faebane. She explains her escape, and Rhysand confirms that the Spring Court is collapsing. They flirtatiously report on their time apart, and Rhys reveals he was spying on the continent. Feyre reproaches him for the risk of going alone. Rhys draws Feyre a bath, and they have sex. Feyre’s homecoming feels complete as they express their sexual, emotional, and spiritual intimacy.

Feyre is eager to see her sisters at the House of Wind, Rhys’s official mansion. She and Rhys find Lucien, Azriel, and Cassian seated awkwardly far apart in the town house living room. Rhys acknowledges Lucien’s shock that the Night Court is not as terrifying as rumors suggest. Lucien confronts Rhysand for “stealing” Feyre from Tamlin. Rhys, furious, sprouts his Illyrian wings and declares that while he would not have interfered if Feyre still loved Tamlin, he was unable to watch her suffer in Tamlin’s captivity. Feyre imagines another painting: “The Clever Fox Stares Down Winged Death” (146). Lucien concedes no one knows all sides to a story. Feyre invites Lucien to visit her sisters.

At the House of Wind, Feyre tells Lucien how Rhys helped her recover her sense of self and agency; she asks Rhys to explain his own troubled history to Lucien as well. Lucien struggles to accept Rhys’s villainous reputation is a ruse, but the tranquility of Velaris persuades him.

Rhys, Feyre, Cassian, and Lucien find Nesta Archeron, Feyre’s oldest sister, in the library. Cassian is visibly tense; he once promised Nesta to defend Elain from harm and feels he failed when grievous injury prevented him stopping the King of Hybern from transforming them. Nesta greets them dismissively. She claims not to care about her previous human life and redirects the conversation to Elain, who “will not eat, or sleep, or drink” (153). Nesta denies that Lucien has any right to see Elain as his mate. Feyre won’t force Elain but insists on offering her the choice. Nesta challenges Feyre on how she will explain everything to their father when he returns from his business abroad. Cassian gazes at Nesta as they leave.

Elain’s pitiful condition devastates Feyre. Elain’s brown eyes are like “grave dirt,” and she speaks woefully of her would-be wedding. Lucien hears Elain’s despair and desire to return to her fiancé from the doorway.

At Feyre’s telepathic urging, Rhysand gives Lucien free leave throughout Velaris on the condition that he never talk to Nesta or Elain without Feyre’s permission. Feyre worries too much contact with Lucien will upset Elain further.

Feyre and her friends gather at Amren’s apartment. Cassian notes Nesta refused his offer of martial training; he understands her abrasive nature as a trauma response and craves vengeance against the King of Hybern. Rhys reminds them all that “[r]evenge is secondary to winning this war” (161). The group discusses possible allies: Azriel tried to contact Miryam and Drakon, but they seemingly abandoned the idyllic island where they lived peacefully with both humans and faeries. Rhys notes Hybern has no “internal conflict to exploit”: Their king stokes anger over the loss of enslaved humans and promotes the war as a return to a “golden era” (164). Rhys and Azriel spread rumors throughout the faerie kingdoms on the continent to keep them focused on each other and out of the conflict between Prythian and Hybern.

Hybern’s plan to exploit holes in the Wall suggests the Cauldron’s powers are somehow diminished; Amren is searching the Book of Breathings for a way to patch the Wall. All are hesitant to try to “nullify” the Cauldron, as that almost killed Feyre in their last encounter with Hybern. Amren suggests Nesta and Elain could withstand the Cauldron since they were transformed within it. Feyre insists that her sisters not be forced to contribute. Rhys plans to call all seven High Lords of Prythian to a war council.

Cassian flies Feyre to the House of Wind for dinner. He thinks helping in the war could be good for Nesta. Feyre notes how Nesta’s previous “steel and fire” have become “magnified” now that she is High Fae (174). Cassian fears Nesta will never forgive him, but he is unable to stop trying to make amends.

Lucien and Nesta join the dinner. Nesta is exceptionally beautiful—even for High Fae—but rebuffs Mor’s attempts at friendly flattery and Cassian and Azriel’s playful teasing fails to charm her. Amren earns Nesta’s attention with her confrontational attitude. Nesta questions Amren about her true nature, and Amren celebrates Nesta’s bravery, declaring their similar sensibilities.

Lucien cautions Feyre not to reveal her inherited powers at the upcoming council; he guesses the High Lords will try to kill her to reclaim them. Lucien offers to tell Azriel everything he knows about Beron’s court.

Content Warning: This chapter summary references child abuse.

Still at dinner, Rhysand announces he will meet with Keir, Mor’s father and the Steward of the Court of Nightmares. Velaris was a secret city for generations. In the previous novel, Rhys revealed its location to earn the mortal queens’ trust; they betrayed Velaris to Hybern, though the Night Court repelled Hybern’s invasion. Most of Prythian believes Rhys’s primary court is the Hewn City, a subterranean metropolis that lives up to the Night Court’s dark reputation. Rhysand must make a diplomatic visit to secure use of Keir’s Darkbringer Legions.

Feyre, who can grow wings through shape-shifting powers, wants to learn to fly so she can fight with the Illyrians. Azriel offers to train her. He was abused as a child and only learned to fly as an adult; he knows how to tailor Feyre’s lessons for her age, though he cautions it will not be easy.

Feyre asks Nesta to try to learn how to repair the Wall via her connection to the Cauldron. Amren offers to train Nesta and offers her the “killing blow” when they find the King of Hybern. Feyre also asks Nesta to share her story at the council and pushes back when Nesta refuses. Nesta threatens violence if Feyre tries to force her or Elain to talk about what happened.

Later, Feyre and Rhys walk through Velaris. Feyre regrets pressuring Nesta. She asks Rhys how he balances being “High Lord and family” with his close-knit court (191). Feyre suggests they never challenge each other’s authority in public, but Rhys invites her to disagree with him openly, as his “equal.” Feyre notes seeking Keir’s help will upset Mor; her family tortured her when Eris broke their engagement. Rhys insists Keir’s army is necessary. They speculate who will attend the war council, and Feyre asks if Rhys trusts Lucien. Rhysand tells her that deciding who to trust is “all part of the game” of war (195). Feyre promises to fight for their life together and for Velaris.

At their training session the next morning, Cassian confronts Feyre for concealing her status as High Lady. He implores her not to underestimate her importance. Cassian thinks Feyre and Rhys are too willing to sacrifice and unable to delegate.

Nesta arrives, and Feyre sends a telepathic plea to Rhys to save her from Cassian and Nesta’s bickering. Azriel soon arrives at Rhys’s command to begin Feyre’s flying lesson. Feyre recoils as she uses her shape-shifting power because she inherited it from Tamlin. Azriel is amazed at Feyre’s accurate morphing of Illyrian wings; he calls her “attention to detail” her nature as an artist (207). Flying is extremely difficult, and Feyre worries the lessons are futile.

Content Warning: This summary section references sexual assault.

Feyre visits the Velaris library with Rhys to research the Wall. Rhys reveals that half-human, half-fae offspring were murdered when the Wall was built. He promises sanctuary to humans if the Wall falls. The library is a sanctuary, staffed by priestesses who have experienced trauma and now exercise full agency over who uses the library and when. Rhys came to the library to heal after escaping Amarantha’s sexual enslavement. The library shelves spiral deep into the mountain; Rhys says Cassian once flew to the bottom on a dare but was too terrified to report what he saw.

Feyre and Rhys flirt telepathically from different parts of the library. They learn that the Wall was never intended as a permanent solution; the plan was for humans and faeries to eventually live together.

Feyre asks if Rhys could defeat the King of Hybern in single combat. Rhys is unsure but willing to take the “brunt” of the king’s power. Feyre won’t allow Rhys to sacrifice himself. She suggests a deal with a new ally: the Bone Carver, an ancient and powerful god of death who lives in the infamous Prison off the Night Court coast. They previously sought his help to find the Book of Breathings.

Feyre finds Amren training Nesta to shield her mind in preparation for their visit to the Hewn City. Feyre asks Amren about her experiences in the Prison, careful not to reveal her plan to go there; Amren was an inmate there while in her original physical manifestation and fears re-incarceration.

That night, Feyre has a nightmare: Amarantha tortures her sisters as she is bound to the floor; Rhysand looks back as Amarantha leads him away. Rhysand wakes and comforts Feyre. Feyre regains control of her thoughts: “[m]emories repainted” (229). She resolves to “never again” allow anyone she loves to be hurt.