A Court of Wings and Ruin

Graysen’s family estate is a fortress designed to deter and defend against faeries, complete with an ash grove for making weapons. The group is not admitted past the gates; Graysen will ride out to meet Elain. In the cramped guardhouse, Nesta tells Feyre she feels claustrophobic after being put in the Cauldron; she hasn’t been able to use a bathtub for months.

Graysen arrives with his father, Lord Nolan. Elain is overcome by emotion and unable to speak. Nolan demands Feyre introduce herself and the others, and Elain begs Graysen to open the gates to humans fleeing Hybern’s army once the purpose of their visit is explained. Looking at Elain’s engagement ring, Graysen says she is lying. Nolan reveals they already know Elain is High Fae and her mate is a High Lord’s son. Jurian enters; he is the one who told them.

Jurian is a double agent. The King of Hybern resurrected Jurian as an emissary to the mortal queens because he thought they would be more receptive to a human and that 500 years of captivity under Amarantha would have destroyed Jurian’s soul and mind. Jurian confronts Mor, who knew him during the war, for believing he really turned. He seduced Clythia, Amarantha’s sister, out of duty but always loved Miryam. Jurian asks Rhys why he never looked into his mind to discover the truth; Rhys admits he didn’t want to accidentally see Jurian’s memories of Amarantha. Jurian wants forgiveness—not vengeance—from Miryam and Drakon. He tells Rhys they must find Drakon’s armies, which may turn the tide of war. He warns them Tamlin returned to the King of Hybern after the war council. Hybern will attack the Summer Court from their position in the Spring Court the next day.

Rhys and Feyre look into Jurian’s mind; he is telling the truth.

Elain insists she loves Graysen, but he rejects her. Feyre demands Nolan provide sanctuary to any humans who need it; the faeries will provide magical protection as well. Nolan wants to offer sanctuary to nobility only, but Jurian rebukes him for betraying his ancestors, who fought for human freedom 500 years ago. Nolan relents.

Graysen demands Elain’s engagement ring, but she refuses. Rhys defends Elain’s right to keep it, and Graysen reiterates that he will never marry Elain. As Elain weeps, Nesta slaps Graysen, announcing he “never deserved her” (500).

Jurian will return to the King of Hybern under cover. He reveals weak spots in Hybern’s battle formations for the next day and then praises Feyre for killing Brannagh and Dagdan. When Feyre insists that she did it for the humans they murdered, Jurian says that’s why he trusts her.

At the Illyrian war camp, the Night Court friends take in the surprise of Jurian’s real loyalties. Mor notes everyone is “broken” in their own way; Feyre thinks of Elain, weeping in her tent, and fears the encounter with Graysen will undo the progress her sister made accepting her new life. Feyre wonders where their father is and how they will explain everything.

After a sleepless night, Feyre finds Rhys at dawn. Rhys laments the lives that will be lost in the battle. Feyre admits she isn’t ready but must find the strength anyway.

The Illyrian forces and Keir’s Darkbringer legions surprise Hybern’s army at the border between the Spring and Summer Courts. The king, Tamlin, and Jurian are all absent from the battle. Feyre watches the carnage, admiring Cassian’s battle prowess. Cassian kills a Hybern commander and the enemy retreats, but Tarquin’s forces slaughter the fleeing Hybern soldiers. After, Tarquin uses his power to drown the surviving Hybern troops. When Rhys and an injured Cassian return, Nesta bandages Cassian’s wound.

Later, Feyre and Rhys have sex in their tent. Feyre admits her difficulty watching the Hybern forces be decimated but feels cowardly for not fighting on the front lines. Rhys calls war “ugly, and messy, and unforgiving” (518), insisting Feyre makes a difference just by being there.

The Night and Summer Court armies remain encamped for five days. Feyre will release Bryaxis only when she knows where Hybern’s main forces are; Azriel, Nesta, Elain, and Amren have all been unable to find where the king hides the majority of his army. Azriel has other news: The Hybern army is marching on the Winter Court. Varian suggests pursuing Hybern’s forces north while maintaining a glamour that their armies remain south.

They engage Hybern’s forces near dusk at the border of the Winter Court. Hybern’s army is better prepared this time, and Feyre realizes this “scrambling” is not sustainable. Mor, Feyre, and Nesta watch as Keir’s forces are broken. Cassian single-handedly tries to repel the Hybern forces to allow the Darkbringer legion to regroup, ignoring Rhys’s order to stand down. Feyre realizes who can tell her where Hybern’s army is: the Suriel, a dangerous, truth-telling faerie she has summoned twice before.

Feyre tells Mor to join the battle, sensing her eagerness to help. Feyre does not tell Mor she plans to seek the Suriel, knowing Rhys tasked Mor with keeping Feyre safe. Mor winnows to Azriel’s side and helps him assist Cassian. Feyre plants the image of the Suriel in Elain’s mind and asks her to track it. Elain points to its location on the map, just south of Stryga the Weaver’s cottage. Feyre winnows there, and the Suriel, a raggedly robed, corpse-like faerie, greets her.

The Suriel admits that even it cannot see Hybern’s army because it is concealed by the Cauldron’s magic. The Suriel tells Feyre to have Nesta use scrying bones to locate the army since she is connected to the Cauldron, and she confirms that the spell to nullify the Cauldron will likely kill whoever tries to do so. Feyre asks if the Ouroboros mirror will destroy her; the Suriel says only Feyre “can decide what breaks [her]” (530). It advises that Amren seek a spell on the second and penultimate pages of the Book of Breathings. Suddenly, an ash arrow bursts from the Suriel’s throat. Ianthe and two Hybern soldiers appear.

Ianthe tracked Feyre through a spell on the Suriel’s robe; the King of Hybern placed shields around Ianthe’s mind to protect her from Feyre’s powers. The Suriel indicates for Feyre to save herself. Feyre taunts Ianthe and then flees, drawing the priestess and her guards through the woods toward the Weaver’s cottage.

Feyre enters the Weaver’s cottage, keeping one hand on the doorknob. Feyre announces she has brought Stryga “dinner,” as Ianthe and her guards pursue Feyre into the cottage. Feyre whirls around the door, shutting Ianthe and the guards in with Stryga. She runs away as the screaming begins.

Feyre returns to the dying Suriel. It knew about the tracking spell but wanted to help Feyre, who is the only person who showed it kindness. The Suriel repeats what it told Feyre the first time they met: “[S]tay with the High Lord” (538). Feyre thought it referred to Tamlin but then discovered it referred to Rhys. The Suriel tells her that she has not yet fulfilled the faithfulness his message refers to; there is still some future event she must stand through with Rhys. The Suriel asks Feyre to make the world “a better place” (539) and then dies. Helion finds Feyre in the woods. He magically cremates the Suriel and then winnows her back to the war camp.

Feyre weeps with grief in Rhys’s war-tent as he holds her. They head into camp; the Prythian forces secured a narrow victory. Cassian is grievously wounded but will survive. Mor furiously asks where Feyre went. Unable to speak, Feyre allows Rhys to view the events in her mind.

Feyre apologizes for disappearing. Through their bond, Rhys assures Feyre he doesn’t think she’s “reckless”; they just need to keep each other appraised of their plans. As Cassian regains consciousness, Rhys scolds him for endangering himself. Cassian retorts that Rhys isn’t the only one allowed to sacrifice.

Mor insists she wouldn’t have interfered with Feyre’s plans; she is furious and hurt Feyre didn’t trust her. Feyre angrily replies that Mor constantly deceives herself and her friends by denying her feelings for Azriel. Mor demands Feyre leave. Amren arrives, noting that disaster strikes every time they leave her behind in Velaris.

Amren warns Feyre against pushing Mor and recommends time to cool off. They join Rhys, Azriel, and Cassian in Rhys and Feyre’s tent. Amren brought scrying stones for Nesta.

The others guide Nesta to probe for the Cauldron as she casts the scrying stones. Cassian assures her she is safe. Nesta closes her eyes and makes psychic contact with the Cauldron but becomes too afraid to release the stones. Feyre enters Nesta’s mind, finding intense darkness. She sees the enormous Hybern army and Nesta’s spirit-self watching the king by the Cauldron. Feyre feels the Cauldron sense Nesta’s presence and cries out for her to drop the scrying stones. Nesta releases the stones, and she and Feyre return psychically to the tent. The stones land in a perfect circle around the location of the Hybern army.

At the next strategy meeting, Rhys and Cassian lament the size of the Hybern forces and that their position puts the Prythian forces at severe disadvantage. The gathered High Lords resolve to find a solution. Varian arrives and kisses Amren.

Exhausted, everyone departs to their tents for the night. Feyre dreams of the Suriel dying and the Weaver eating Ianthe alive. She dreams of Graysen coming for Elain, saying he can undo her transformation. She dreams of the Cauldron becoming aware of Nesta and Feyre searching for it.

Feyre wakes Rhys, worried they’ve established two-way communication with the Cauldron. They head into camp; Nesta and Amren are also awake and felt the Cauldron’s presence. As they sense it leaving, they realize Elain is missing. The Cauldron kidnapped Elain, disguised as Graysen.

Cassian vows to rescue Elain, but Nesta points out his injury makes that impossible, and Azriel volunteers. Remembering how Elain once bought her a set of paints when they were very poor, Feyre insists on going with him. Feyre shape-shifts into Ianthe; she will impersonate the priestess to infiltrate the camp, assuming news of Ianthe’s death hasn’t reached them yet.

Rhys cannot accompany them because the King will immediately recognize his power. Rhys emboldens Feyre, reminding her of her power and the justice to be done. Azriel swears to Rhys that both Feyre and Elain will return with him. Azriel and Feyre winnow to the edge of the Hybern war camp.

Disguised as Ianthe, Feyre walks into the camp with Azriel, who conceals himself with shadows. The camp is disgusting and chaotic with violence. Feyre sees a human girl, another of the Children of the Blessed, suspended on a rack near where the King of Hybern sits on a dais. Before she decides what to do, Jurian greets her as Ianthe, recognizing her disguise. Jurian instructs Feyre to pretend to seduce him; the real Ianthe pursued him for weeks. Jurian confirms Elain is unharmed but chained in the king’s tent. Feyre begs Jurian to liberate the human girl.

As Ianthe, Feyre asks to visit the Cauldron before retiring with Jurian. She and the concealed Azriel slip into the King’s tent, where they find Elain bound and gagged. Azriel picks up Elain, uses his power to blast through the tent, and conceals them in shadow as they flee. Feyre hears a din from the camp and knows the king is aware of what’s happened.

Vicious hound-like faeries pursue Azriel, Feyre, and Elain. Hybern soldiers shoot at them with ash arrows, but they cannot winnow until they get beyond the camp’s magical wards. Feyre sees the human girl near the edge of a cliff; Jurian freed her. As Feyre tells Azriel to get Elain and the girl out, she is struck by an ash arrow. The king arrives and stalks toward her as his hounds attack. Suddenly, Tamlin appears in his beast form and throws off the hounds. Feyre flees, ripping the arrow from her shoulder.

Azriel insists they need to fly. Gathering her courage, Feyre shape-shifts into her wings. She hears Tamlin roaring in pain as the hounds break loose again. Azriel makes a running leap with Elain; she screams for the human girl to grab them as they pass. Azriel gets airborne with Elain and the girl, but Elain must kick away a hound dragging them down. She succeeds, though Azriel’s wings are badly injured. Feyre struggles to fly as the king closes in. At the last moment, a “warm wind, kissed with lilac and new grass” lifts her (579). She uses Helion’s power to tear through the wards and they get through; Tamlin makes a terrific leap and escapes as well. As they winnow away, Feyre knows Tamlin sent the wind that saved her.

Feyre, Azriel, Elain, and the girl (called Briar) arrive back at camp. After Feyre is healed, the Archeron sisters fall asleep together.