tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25830042986036966722024-03-16T18:31:00.866+00:00Reviews from a BookwormA book review blog focusing mainly on young adult fiction.Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.comBlogger597125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-87969966084833891752024-02-17T00:11:00.002+00:002024-02-17T20:31:29.816+00:00Red Rising by Pierce Brown Recap / Summary <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPwBwnmIAG1loqdxsVW1SSqT5IuE3MzwFh-7CDPRKBBSgAvLkhgpWoWRr1LG37iTYSBtRkNlHVK5xa5Tm4w5vo171th1ZaFbjPAk4i3BtzHtcO5m88kVflMPQ1xvmd057OcsLyUkHTXcM5ZrNMaxiQr8l_JdsZgMUgGqjjNFDq7I9bkxR5BooJqZPsaOf/s1000/REDRISING.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="1000" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPwBwnmIAG1loqdxsVW1SSqT5IuE3MzwFh-7CDPRKBBSgAvLkhgpWoWRr1LG37iTYSBtRkNlHVK5xa5Tm4w5vo171th1ZaFbjPAk4i3BtzHtcO5m88kVflMPQ1xvmd057OcsLyUkHTXcM5ZrNMaxiQr8l_JdsZgMUgGqjjNFDq7I9bkxR5BooJqZPsaOf/w640-h154/REDRISING.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Red Rising Recap/Summary</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">I am someone with a beyond terrible memory so I am usually forced to do a complete reread before a new book drops in a series. I've now got in the habit of doing chapter by chapter recaps for myself as I go. I'll be doing this for this series, so they will drop one by one eventually. I hope they prove useful for others but be warned that these were written as I went, with speed, and so some mistakes are expected. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Red Rising Recaps:</u></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/02/red-rising-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">Red Rising</a><br />Golden Son<br />Morning Star<br />Iron Gold<br />Dark Age<br />Light Bringer<br />Red God</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPwBwnmIAG1loqdxsVW1SSqT5IuE3MzwFh-7CDPRKBBSgAvLkhgpWoWRr1LG37iTYSBtRkNlHVK5xa5Tm4w5vo171th1ZaFbjPAk4i3BtzHtcO5m88kVflMPQ1xvmd057OcsLyUkHTXcM5ZrNMaxiQr8l_JdsZgMUgGqjjNFDq7I9bkxR5BooJqZPsaOf/s1000/REDRISING.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="1000" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPwBwnmIAG1loqdxsVW1SSqT5IuE3MzwFh-7CDPRKBBSgAvLkhgpWoWRr1LG37iTYSBtRkNlHVK5xa5Tm4w5vo171th1ZaFbjPAk4i3BtzHtcO5m88kVflMPQ1xvmd057OcsLyUkHTXcM5ZrNMaxiQr8l_JdsZgMUgGqjjNFDq7I9bkxR5BooJqZPsaOf/w640-h154/REDRISING.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Red Rising Recap/Summary</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Prologue: </span></b>Darrow is watching 1200 Golds listening to a man give a speech about how not all men are created equal and that Golds tower above the Colors. He tells them power must be claimed and wealth has to be won, and whilst currently scarless they soon won't be. Warns them only those fit for power will survive. Darrow notes that they believe he is a Gold but he is a Red and that the speaker is wrong because <b style="font-style: italic;">none </b>of the Golds will survive.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part I: Slave</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1: Helldiver</span></b> - Darrow talks about when 'they' came for his father. They televised his arrest and the Golds tried him, he was then hung by Grays - Darrow did not cry once. His older brother Kieran cried. There is little gravity on Mars, so they let the loved ones pull the feet of the hanged in order to break their necks.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow is on his own down a deep tunnel riding atop a clawDrill - he is what is known as a Helldiver. He has been one for three years, since he was thirteen. They are drilling for helium-3. Darrow got married 6 months ago to Eo, who waited for him instead of being married off at 14 like Reds usually are.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He is warned to stop, as they are near a gas pocket. They want him to wait for a crew to come and scan it but it could take hours - wants to do it himself but they warn him against it. His cousin, Loran, tells him to do it himself so they have a shot at the Laurel.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They are in the underground mining colony of Lykos, where they have 24 different clans. They get one Laurel per quarter, which gives them more food than they could want. Gamma clan gets the Laurel every single time. He thinks about how Eo will have to go hungry once again when they don't win, that she might even think to sell herself like others do in order for them to get by. He gives in and goes to take the reading himself.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2: The Township </span></b>- He is trying to get away from the heat when he gets stuck. Manages to get his slingBlade out and cut away at his suit until he can free himself. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow and the others realise they have beaten the Gamma's for once - they have pulled more helium-3 than them. But Dago, the Gamma's Helldiver, warns them that they still won't win. The winner of the Laurel will be announced at midnight.</p><p style="text-align: left;">On Lykos they sing and dance, the one bit of resistance they can manage against the Society that rules them. However, they did make one song and dance punishable by death - Darrow's father danced it before his death. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow and Eo live in his family's home together, along with his mother, sister, brother and his brother's family. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Octavia au Lune is the Sovereign of the Society - she has a crescent scar along her right cheek. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Videos play on holoCans throughout their township from Octavia, who tells them they are mining helium-3 because it is vital to the terraforming process. They are told they are working towards making Mars habitable so the other Colors can join, where Reds will then be held in highest esteem for all their hard work. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Eo works at the Webbery, where they harvest bioSilk. She left early to pick something up but doesn't let him go and see what it is. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3: The Laurel </span></b>- They all head towards the Common to hear the Laurel be announced. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There has recently been a terrorist bombing and the group Sons of Ares are blamed. There are no Sons of Ares in Lykos. He doesn't agree with their cause, believes it only works to delay their progress in making Mars ready for the other Colors. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They live underground on Mars as the surface is still a barren wasteland.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They are not allowed to bury their dead - one of the Society's laws. Darrow's father stayed hanged for two months before he was cut down and his skeleton reduced to dust. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow's father died because he did the Reaping Dance as a peaceful protest to try and increase rations. They also tampered with machinery so they drills wouldn't work. It didn't work and he and the other men who participated were hanged. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow and the others are excited for the announcement of the Laurel but he can sense Eo is not. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They make the announcement - only Mu and Chi did not meet their quotas, so they will receive limited rations. Then they announce that Gamma have gotten the Laurel once again, even thouugh it should have gone to them.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4: The Gift</span></b> - He realises they will never let them win it, they just use it as a way to demonstrate their power. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Eo takes him to the Webbery and shows him an old ventilation tube that they've uncovered and gets him to go through it with her. She shows him that it takes them to a forest, filled with grass and trees and animals. He looks up and can see the sky.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He makes love to Eo under the stars.</p><p style="text-align: left;">She is angry that he won the Laurel but wasn't given it. She is angry that this beautiful place exists but they don't know about it and aren't allowed to use it, but the Grays likely do. She says they may as well be slaves, but he insists he earns what he gets. She calls him a puppet, as he peddles the same lines the Society have fed to them for years. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Eo tells Darrow his father was right but wasn't willing to fight for what he knew was right. Others believe Darrow to be brave but she says he is bound by fear.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Eo says she loves him because he has a brain and she wants him to act, to fight for his father's dream. She says people look to him and will follow him. She says he could lead them to freedom, so they could make Mars theirs. </p><p style="text-align: left;">They argue, neither agreeing with the other. Then they lay together to watch the sun rise but are caught as they leave the vent. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5: The First Song -</span></b> Ugly Dan catches them along with three Tinpots(Grays). They went outside the permitted zones and will be flogged for it. Eo tells him to fight but he doesn't, he surrenders and is ready to take his punishment.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow is kept in a cell for three days until a kinder Tinpot named Bridge lets him out so he can see Eo. She tells him that she loves him and it notes that it feels like a goodbye, even though she should only receive a whipping as punishment. The last thing she says to him is to "Break the chains."</p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow sees that Peerless Scarred Gold has come to watch, the Peerless are one of the highest levels of Gold. He is Nero au Augustus, the ArchGovernor of Mars. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow receives 48 lashings in total. Then they bring Eo up to receive hers but after the thirteenth one she begins to sing. She sings the forbidden song, the one she knows they will kill her for. ArchGovernor encourages any other bold Reds to join her in her song but none do. He orders for Eo to be hanged. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6: The Matyr</span></b> - Timony cu Podginus (a Copper and the MineMagistrate) asks Eo who she wishes to speak her last words to and she picks her sister, not Darrow. The noose is placed around her neck and she mouths to Darrow to 'live for more' and screams out 'break the chains' before the trapdoor beneath her feet opens.</p><p style="text-align: left;">He cradles her legs to help her so she does not suffer, pulling her feet to break her neck.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That night Darrow sneaks out of his home but his uncle sees him. Warns him not to do what he is about to do but Darrow is stubborn. His uncle insists on going with him to the Common. His uncle hugs him, tells him to say hello to people in the vale for him, but especially Dancer and then leaves him alone where Eo still hangs. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Darrow cuts Eo's body down and then carries her to the Webbery and takes her through the ventilation shaft to the garden they found. He digs a hole at the base of a tree and buries her. </p><p style="text-align: left;">When he makes it back to town his brother hits him. He eats a meal before Ugly Dan comes for him. Darrow will be hanged for what he has done. </p><p style="text-align: left;">When he is going to be hanged he calls Dio up to hear his last words and he asks her what Eo's last words were. She says it was that she loved him but he knows she is lying. They open the trapdoor and his uncle shoves Kieran away and is instead the one who will pull on his legs to break his neck, but he winks at Darrow before he does. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part II: Reborn</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7: Lazarus</span></b> - Darrow wakes up and realises he is buried beneath dirt and has to claw his way out. Realises he was drugged by his uncle before he was hanged, so they may have believed him dead when he wasn't.</p><p>A vehicle called a tumbler arrives and a group wearing Octobernacht masks have come to get him. Here he meets Harmony and Ralph, who he realises are a part of the Sons of Ares - one half of Harmony's face is scarred. They refer to Darrow as Lazarus and they tell him the Sons of Ares have a mission for him.</p><p>They bring him to some warehouses and tell him he will now meet Dancer, the person his uncle mentioned just before he was hanged. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8: Dancer - </span></b>Dancer is a man in his forties, with pitviper bites down his neck and a left arm that has nerve damage. Dancer has eight Reds with him, Harmony is the only woman among them. </p><p>Darrow asks why the didn't save Eo and Harmony says that martyr's are easy to come by, which Eo was. Dancer says he can't bring Eo back but they can get justice for her. </p><p>They tend to the wounds on his back from being whipped. </p><p>Dancer tells Darrow that his uncle has worked for the Sons of Ares since before Darrow's father was killed. He kept Darrow a secret from them for a very long time. They gave him equipment to shut off the cameras when he cut Darrow down, meaning he should not be punished for it.</p><p>Dancer says they will play a game and if Darrow wins then he will show him something very few Reds have ever seen. There is a bowl containing two cards. On one is the symbol of the reaper's scythe and the other is a lamb. He has to find the lamb to win.</p><p>Darrow can tell there is more to it than he is saying, and that the game itself is a test. He picks a card and quickly chews and swallows it before pulling the second and shoiwng it is a scythe, declaring himself the winner. But he knows <b>both</b> cards were scythe cards and that was the test. </p><p>Dancer says they call themselves the Sons of Ares because Mars was just the Romans romanticised version of Ares. </p><p>Dancer knows how the Golds came to power - hundreds of years ago they killed any who tried to contest them, calling it the Conquering. They once nuked an entire world - Rhea. </p><p>Dancer tells him Eo didn't die for nothing, as Greens hacked the broadcast and showed her death on every HC on the entire planet, meaning everyone heard her song and saw what happened. They now refer to her as Persephone. </p><p>Dancer asks if Darrow still wants to die, but he says he wants to kill Augustus. Dancer tells him he must set his sights even higher than that. </p><p>Dancer then takes him up in a lift and he suddenly sees that he can see daylight from the actual sun. He looks out glass windows and realises they have been lied to, as he looks out at a city. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9: The Lie</span></b> - He realises Mars is habitable and the city is filled with Golds and Silvers. It must have been terraformed years ago and they have been lied to this whole time. </p><p>Dancer tells him they lied about Earth being overcrowded - humans expanded to their moon, Luna over 700 hundred years before. They set it up as Earth's port so they could launch spacecrafts from it as they went and colonised other planets and moons. </p><p>Mining colonies were set up on Mars as that was where the most helium-3 could be found. That was then used for terraforming the planets/moons. The wealthy on Luna were still being made to pay tax to Earth so eventually rebelled, the Golds and Silvers rose up against Earth and conquered them. </p><p>Reds were first sent to Mars 500 years ago and the other Colors were able to come 300 years ago, meaning they continued to lie to them since then so keep them working. There are HighReds in the city who work in things like sanitation. LowReds are those below the surface like Darrow.</p><p>Darrow says Mars belongs to them, they worked for it. He realises it will take violence to take it back. Asks Dancer what his mission is. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10: The Carver </span></b>- Darrow thinks of his uncle's daughter, Lana, who was married at 15 and in love with her husband. He got a nasty burn in the mines and she had to sell her body to get antibiotics to treat the wound. When he found out, he killed the Gamma she sold herself to and was then killed for it. Lana is no longer alive.</p><p>Octavia au Lune rules on Luna, with her Imperators and Praetors. The Ash Lord reports to her. She has control of 12 Olympic Knights, armies of Peerless Scarred and also Obsidians. Then there are also Whites, Silvers, Pinks, Grays, Blues, Yellows, Coppers. Every Color has a different job/purpose, all working to keep the Golds in power.</p><p>The mission Darrow has been given doesn't seem possible to him, he just wants to fight. But Dancer insists he was brought out for this mission only. Darrow asks how many have come before him and he learns that 97 failed the Carving, and those are the only ones they know about for sure so the number could be higher. Those 97 either died or asked to be killed.</p><p>Dancer and Harmony take him to see Mickey, the Carver. He has tattoos on his body, one is of the Sigil of the Violets. Mickey is an artist, who are as rare as Whites are. They tell Mickey they have a proposition and then hand him a small box. He opens it and is angry, tells them to leave. In the box were two golden wings, which are the Sigils for Golds. They want him to turn Darrow into a Gold. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11: Mad</span></b> - Mickey tells them it isn't possible - that the wings are linked to the DNA of the person they belong to. And that Golds have markings in their skulls as well as datachips attached to their brains. Then there are numerous other things to do, including tracking devices and other things.</p><p>Mickey asks what will happen to Darrow if he can do what they ask. They say he will apply to the Institute and he will excel there until he can become a Peerless Scarred. From there he can train to be anything he wants, and the higher the position he can get to, the better for them. </p><p>Mickey warns Darrow that he won't survive the Institute, as it is a culling of Golds where only the very strongest and smartest make it out alive. Watches with wonder as Darrow solves the puzzle he has been holding the whole time they talked.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 12: The Carving </b></span>- The sigils are attached to each of his hands. He dies while having the datachip attached and they have to restart his heart. The Carving leaves him in a coma for weeks until he finally wakes up in agony.</p><p>He is tested each day to build up his strength and will have to learn to read before he can apply for the Institute. </p><p>Mickey says they will work hard to turn him into an iron Gold. They have to carve him again, to make his bones stronger because Gold bones are 5x stronger than his. </p><p>Mickey talks to him every night and tells him about himself. Tells him he grew up in a circus like culture, in a place known as The Grove. They would give them pulls that would give him fever dreams, and now he carves the things he used to see in them. </p><p>Mickey can tell Darrow was bit by a pitviper as a child, it is why his heart is so strong. It had to change to balance out the effects of the pitviper poison.</p><p>Darrow has to have his eyes replaced with those of a Gold. </p><p>Harmony takes Darrow down to a gymnasium and puts him into something called a concentraction machine. He works out in it, as it resists his movements and helps to build up his muscles quicker.</p><p>Harmony and Darrow grow to understand each other more, especially after he hears her speaking up for him to Dancer and Mickey. He can tell she once lost somebody too. </p><p>Over time and through lots of work, Darrow grows stronger and stronger. He falls asleep listening to different literature, and drinks tonic filled with processing enhancers. He becomes smarter.</p><p>Darrow notes that Mickey gives the girls wings but doesn't let them fly - he says they can't and he can't afford gravBoots, so they dance for him instead. Darrow threatens Mickey, tells him to stop Evey dancing and to give her a life of luxury or he will come back and make him pay.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13: Bad Things </span></b>- Matteo, a Pink sex worker, helps apply cream to Darrow's body that kills the hair follicles - on his arms, legs, torso and private areas too. Matteo threatens to beat the slang from Darrow, because it will give him away. </p><p> Dancer tries to change Darrow's name to Caius au Andromedus but he refuses. His back story will be that he is the son of a family from a far off asteroid cluster who died in a recent shipping accident. He will be the only survivor, who has inherited their debts.</p><p>Matteo continues to teach him the ways of Golds - how to speak, how to eat and so on.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14: Andromedus </span></b>- Darrow learns to dance how Golds do.</p><p>Dancer had hackers gain access to the Board of Quality Control records in order to change Caius au Andromedus's name to Darrow au Andromedus, like Darrow wanted. </p><p>Darrow learns to ride a horse, although is put on a pony first. It bolts and when he jumps off a girl with long golden hair makes fun of him and tells him to stick to the city.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15: The Testing</span></b> - Darrow's test comes two months after he started training his mind with Dancer. The one thing they can't seem to fake for Darrow is the results of his admissions test, he must pass it himself. </p><p>He meets a Gold called Cassius, who admires the way he steals a stylus from a girl next to him who kept tapping it during the test. He invites Darrow out for the evening but he declines. Cassius au Bellona is the son of Praetor Tiberius au Bellona, an Imperator of one of the Society's Fleets. He rivals ArchGovernor Augustus in power and the families despise each other - often killing one another. </p><p>There are 70 Golds in the Testing room with him. They test him in many different ways - getting him to hold his breath as long as he can, seeing how long it takes for him to shiver in a freezing room, seeing how long it takes for his heart to struggle in extreme heat and so on. </p><p>In the locker room afterwards he hears someone whistling the tune Eo sang. The whistling woman turns out to be the Gold he saw when he was riding his horse, she is beautiful. He blushes at her nudity, even though a real Gold wouldn't. But he notices she blushed too.</p><p>Mars has 1,000 cities and a Governor rules each one, with the ArchGovernor ruling over all. </p><p>He asks Matteo about the Institute, but not much is known about it. He tells Darrow that three types graduate - Peerless Scarred, Graduates and the Shamed. Peerless ascend through society, Graduates can as well but not nearly as high, and Shamed get sent to distant colonies to oversee terraforming. He can't tell him how one graduates as Peerless, although it is likely there is a ranking of some kind, maybe a competition.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16: The Institute </span></b>- The results of his tests arrives via a towncraft, brought by a Copper and Three Whites. The Copper is Bondilus cu Tancrus from the Board of Quality Control, who needs to question Darrow. They hook him up to a machine that will be able to tell if he lies.</p><p>They question whether he cheated in any way on his tests. He was an elite scorer, and this is standard procedure when someone scores a lot higher than average. </p><p>His Quality Control results come four weeks later, proving he didn't cheat. But his actual exam score takes two months to arrive and when it does it shows he only got one question wrong. </p><p>Dancer gifts him the knifeRing he once used to slice his finger, having it reshaped in to an L. It stands for Lykos and Lambda. Harmony tells him Evey will come to live with her and Dancer, they will give her a good life. Matteo gifts him a necklace with the sigil of Andromedus. When he whispers Eo's name to it, it unfurls so he can hide a haemanthus petal inside. </p><p>Meets Julian on the shuttle to the Institute, says his brother will already be at the Institute. He is sure his brother will be Primus, which means the leader of his House. The Institute contains 12 houses which are based on personality traits and named after Roman gods. </p><p>Sevro is a small Bronze of a Gold who manages to insult Julian, who challenges him to a duel. Sevro says they will do if after the Passage, which he reveals is the very last test that many don't know about. He says he does as he has inside knowledge. </p><p>They finally get to the institute and come to wait in a marble square. ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus is there to speak to them. There are also Institutes all over different planets and moons. Darrow can see the Sixth and Fifth Fleets in the distance. Sixth is commanded by Cassius's father and the Fifth by the ArchGovernor.</p><p>He talks of how not all men are equal and that Gold are superior. Speaks of how the Colors who mine may be harder than them, but they are not smarter. He speaks of Eo and says she was just a stupid girl who thought singing a song was worth dying for. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17: The Draft</span></b> - Darrow is asked if he wants to request House Apollo as his family were supposedly both House Apollo, but he says no. Most Houses are dominated by powerful families. The three most powerful on Mars are the Augusts, Bellona and Arcos families.</p><p>Has to take another test, it is an immersive game. He has to get a goblet that is on a hill where there are obstacles in the way. He gets it after killing a wizard and enslaving a race of elves. Interviewers then arrive, known as Proctors who are all Peerless Scarred. </p><p>He is interviewed by many of them, including Fitchner who is in charge of House Mars. He punches Darrow in the face and says he will send him home if he punches him back, so Darrow kicks him instead. </p><p>They are all then put in front of the Drafters, who come to choose who will join their House. Two people, a man and a woman, both advocate to get Darrow. The man is Lorn au Arcos, who is the Rage Knight and the third most powerful man on Mars. He signals to Fitchner that he wants Darrow. Darrow is picked tenth out of one thousand. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18: Classmates </span></b>- They now go to the dining hall where each House has a table with 100 place settings. All their names appear above their seats and Darrow has a single bar floating next to his name. The first to get five bars becomes the Primus of their house. A bar counts as one merit, Darrow seemingly got one for his high test score.</p><p>Cassius asks how Darrow cheated to get his high score and he insists he didn't. Cassius tries to say he could have done just as well if he had spent more time studying, Darrow makes out like he didn't study for it at all. </p><p>Julian appears and Darrow realises that he and Cassian are twins. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19: The Passage</span></b> - Wakes up vomiting, while being beaten by a man with extra fingers. He is being dragged out of his room by four men in masks. He thinks he has been found out until he sees golden bracelets on their wrists and realises it is just another test.</p><p>He lets them beat him before they place a bag over his head and drag him away. He is flown somewhere and the bag is taken off when he is inside a barren room, left completely naked. </p><p>Darrow is put in the same room as Julian and he fakes a limp, having already realised what this is - the Passage. Fitchner comes to the door and tells them that while there are two of them in the room, they only have a spot for one of them. They have to fight to kill, whoever lives wins. </p><p>Julian begs Darrow to just go home, says he can survive the shame but Julian wouldn't. All of his family is Scarred, so he has to make it through. Darrow knows what he has to do, but he still cries as he makes his way towards Julian. They fight and Darrow beats him to death. </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part III: Gold</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20: The House Mars</span></b> - Darrow cries over the beaten and dead body of Julian. Julian didn't score high enough on the tests so they put him with Darrow, knowing he would die.</p><p>The door is unlocked and Darrow leaves, following the light up some stairs and down a tunnel. He makes it out of the tunnel and finds the others, those who won in their own fights - people like Roque and Antonia. </p><p>He realises the Passage was the first Test and what it will do to every House is the second. Cassius will know that one among them killed his brother and others will have lost friends and people they care about too. Sevro also survived, which surprises him.</p><p>Cassius finds him and helps pop in his dislocated shoulder, then gets Darrow to do the same for his dislocated fingers. Cassius is sure Julian will arrive soon, says he was trained in the Silent Art of Kravat. He asks Darrow who he had to fight and he lies. </p><p>When all the seats are filled Cassius finally realises Julian must be dead. Others missing are Arria and Priam. Priam wasn't supposed to die. </p><p>Fitchner talks to them, says they need to impress those who picked them for House Mars as they can gain apprenticeships afterwards. If they manage to win, they could be picked to apprentice in the House or with an Elder family. </p><p>Darrow asks what they have to win. He tells them they are in a valley in Valles Marineris. Each House has been given their own castle and the next day they will go to war against each other. They will need to dominate the other Houses and gain control of the valley by any means necessary. </p><p>Antonia asks what happens if you are the Primus of the winning House and he tells them that person will be guaranteed wealth, fame and power. Darrow knows he must be Primus.</p><p>Cassius asks everyone to say who they killed, he killed Nexus au Celintus. He wants to find out who killed his brother, but nobody else speaks up. Darrow hates Titus, finds him unlikeable. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21: Our Dominion</span></b> - Their castle lies atop stone cliff and deerling graze in the woods below. There are sheep and wolves too. </p><p>There is a floating mountain 2km in the sky - it is an artificial mountain (Olympus) where all the Proctors stay to watch what happens. </p><p>Phobos Tower is southwest of their territory, and a mountain range (Deimos) to the northwest, and an eastern river (Furor) and western river (Metas). A bridge crosses the Metas, so enemies would need to cross it to get in to their territory. </p><p>Sevro says that anyone can walk up on them, all they need to do is cross the river. They seem to be easy targets. </p><p>A dropship comes down and sets out a feast close to Phobos Tower, setting a trap to draw people out. Only Darrow and Cassius make a run for the table. </p><p>They see a castle nearby, belongs to House Ceres and they decide to do some spying. But Darrow realises they are hiding in the grass, waiting to attack them. They each grab a leg from the table the food was on as a weapon and then rush towards the enemy. 5 from House Ceres are there and they fight, Darrow steals a slingBlade from one of them. They capture all 5. </p><p>The Proctor of House Ceres comes to share wine with Fitchner as they look down at what has unfolded. Fitchner says it is suspicious her men were already waiting for them, as if they knew the food would be dropped off. </p><p>Girls on horseback appear from the Ceres castle so they run. Titus almost kills one but Ceres zaps him with a stunfist and he pees himself - Sevro and Cassius both laugh at him.</p><p>Titus is angry they can't kill the others, Fitchner says the Passage was to cull the students and that isn't the point of thus. He says people dying by accident is fine, but they can't go around murdering each other. Even MedBots will be dispatched if needed. They are meant to win, not kill. </p><p>They are to show how they can run an army and lead, show how they can win. Killing is easy but conquering is harder. They must take the others as slaves in order to win, which they can do using their standard - Fitchner gives it to them.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22: The Tribes</span></b> - The standard has a howling wolf on it, with a serpent coiled at it's feet. They can use the standard to turn enemies to slaves by touching it to their foreheads. A wolf sigil would them appear there until someone else presses their standard there. </p><p>Sevro comes in with a dead wolf that he has already skinned, says he killed it with his bare hands. </p><p>Cassius says it will be a while before anyone earns Primus so they should have a leader in the meantime. Antonia says they should wait until someone earns enough merits to be named Primus, as no one has earned the right to lead yet. </p><p>The map they were provided on the wall comes to life as a horn bellows. It is announcing the true start of the game. </p><p>They agree to go scouting, to try to find the location of more castles. </p><p>Cassius and Darrow agree that to get their House working together, they must get rid of Titus. Cassius suggests killing him in his sleep, Darrow doesn't like that idea. </p><p>Vixus, Titus's right hand man, appears with a girl that has been captured as their very first slave.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23: Fracture</span></b> - House Mars has fractured into four tribes. Antonia has the MidDrafters, Titus has high and midDrafts. Cassius and Darrow have another tribe, with some high and midDrafts, but mainly the lowDrafts. Sevro has another. </p><p>Cassius and Darrow are out searching for more hidden supplies when they see a ton of medBots coming down from Olympus, followed by the Proctors.</p><p>Darrow found matches, so they're the only tribe that currently has fire for cooking.</p><p>Sevro's tribe is the one with all the information, although it appears he is the only member of it. He runs about dressed in wolfskin. Sevro appears to have a thing for Quinn, but she has a thing for Cassius.</p><p>Roque argues that they need to give the other tribes fire, as they are starving and it is not good if the House is weak. He believes offering them fire will unite the House. Darrow goes to find Vixus but Titus finds him first.</p><p>Vixus tries to threaten him but Darrow is quick enough to attack him first, leaves before he can know for sure whether he killed him or not.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24: Titus's War</span></b> - Darrow is being chased by three boys and one girl from Titus's tribe. Cassandra cuts him off before he can get back to his own tribe. Quinn comes to help him, knocking Cassandra down.</p><p>Titus doesn't go after them, instead he raids House Ceres again, capturing more slaves. </p><p>Cassius knows Titus is lying about killing Priam in the Passage, believes he was the one who killed Julian.</p><p>Titus takes five slaves to the gates of House Ceres and orders four of them to beat the slave girl, and they do. Titus then took the girl back to the gates and hid her beneath a blanket of grass, tied up and gaged. Then he ordered another girl to fake scream, drawing them out to try to save her. But instead their horses trampled over her without them knowing, killing her.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25: Tribal War </span></b>- They hear screaming coming from the castle where Titus is, he is raping the women. Darrow comes up with a plan on how they can get more fighters to beat him.</p><p>Darrow sends Quinn to Deimos Tower to give a formal apology to Antonia. Quinn doesn't return. Darrow goes to find her but finds no sign of her. When he gets back they tell him that Titus captured her on the way back and beat her, then cut off her ear and sent it to them. It was meant for Darrow as they believed she was his girl, but Cassius is the one who cares for her.</p><p>Cassius snuck away while the others slept so he could challenge Titus. Cassius comes back severely beaten, having been tried up and pissed on by Titus and his men. Darrow says they will go ahead with the original plan and Cassius agrees, as long as Titus is his when the time comes. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26: Mustang</span></b> - Cassius says they must get Quinn back before Titus can take her up to his tower. They are far from the castle when he spots the girl from the horse, the one he saw again in the changing room. They call to her and she comes over, he refers to her by the name Mustang.</p><p>She works out that they must be close to House Ceres and figures out the general location of their castle. He tries to trick her in order to get the horse she's riding but she makes a run for it. Cassius throws his pitchfork at her, causing the horse to trip and go down.</p><p>He goes to check she is okay and she whistles, signalling for more of her House to come. He can see 17 horses approaching them with riders on the back with stunpikes. They are from House Minerva.</p><p>Cassius and Darrow have to escape by swimming into the loch and waiting there until the fires are lit, which is part of their plan. House Minerva are under the assumption that their House is weak, with no weapons. Mustang leaves with all of her men except two, who are left behind to watch them.</p><p>They are stuck in the water until they hear screams, as the two men are attacked. They see a black wolf standing over their bodies - it is Sevro in his wolf furs. </p><p>They sent the Minerva's to the castle so they can defeat Ttius. Sevro snuck in first and stole the standard and buried it in the woods so they can't take it.</p><p>Sevro says they have to get leverage in order to get the Minerva's out again once they take Titus down. He says they must steal the Minerva's standard.</p><p>They go to the Minerva Castle on the horses they took from the two men Sevro attacked. They know the password, as Sevro heard it last time he was there. They pretend to be of House Minerva to gain entry. Darrow learns Mustang's real name is Virginia. </p><p>They find the war room and Darrow breaks everything and ruins their map. Cassius sets a fire, which begins to spread. They are spotted and House Minerva turns to chaos as they believe they are being attacked by House Mars. Darrow finds June, who he hears can cook and knocks her out to take back to House Mars.</p><p>They make it out of the castle and steal six horses before lighting their stables on fire. They know of a hidden back gate that leads away from the fortress and they know that is where someone will try to escape with the standard. Sevro comes running, holding the owl standard in his hands and they head back to House Mars victorious. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27: The House of Rage</span></b> - Darrow, Sevro and Cassius meet up with some of their group at Phobos Tower, including Roque. They have stolen eight horses in total. </p><p>Darrow, Sevro and Cassius then cross the bridge across the Metas towards the House Mars castle, meaning a scout can head back to the castle to warn Mustang. Darrow holds the House Minerva standard in his hand, so they can all see it. </p><p>Mustang comes to meet him along with Pax au Telemanus, a giant of a man from House Minerva. She is disgusted by what she found in the Mars castle - that they have been raping and murdering people. </p><p>Sevro sneaks up on Mustang's men and begins taking them down. The Proctors come down to watch it unfold. The begin to fight and Pax manages to get hold of Darrow and squeezes him until he faints, but not before he hits Pax in the balls 4 times. </p><p>After Darrow arrived Roque arrived with the others and fought them off. Mustang and 6 of her men managed to retreat to the castle. They have captured 11 of Mustang's men, and try to negotiate with Mustang by saying she can have them all back if she leaves the castle. She wants Titus but they refuse, so instead she demands they promise he will be punished for what he has done. </p><p>Darrow questions if Mustang would care as much if Titus had raped a Red girl instead - according to law it doesn't count as rape unless the person has the sigil from an elder House. </p><p>Mustang warns there is another in the game just like Darrow, known as the Jackal, who is smarter, crueller and stronger than Darrow is. She tells Darrow he must evolve or he will lose to the Jackal. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28: My Brother </span></b>- Darrow lights a fire in House Mars, pretending he has only just got the matches. House Mars is still not united though because they're all still disgusted by what Titus and his tribe did. Roque says the Proctors haven't stepped in yet because they want to see how they will handle justice. </p><p>Titus is locked in the cellar and Darrow knows he has to be the one to deal with him. Titus's men will never respect Cassius after what they did to him. Titus says Darrow can't judge him, not when he knows he had iodine and matches the whole time and yet let others in House Mars starve. </p><p>Titus says he raped those girls because that's what they did to 'her'. He was made to watch as they did, and when they returned to do it again he killed them. While he is talking, Titus uses bloodydamn, a Red word and that is when Darrow realises he is another Red that has been turned to a Gold and sent to the Institute undercover. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29: Unity </span></b>- Titus is exactly what Dancer didn't want Darrow to become, something who wants nothing but vengeance. Darrow doesn't know how many more Reds could be here, but Titus puts him at risk because of how unstable he is. He cries because he knows he has to kill Titus.</p><p>The next day Darrow drags Titus into the square where everyone can see him. He rattles off a list of his crimes and sentences him to death. Then asks if anybody contests and nobody does. But then Titus contests it and challenges him to a duel instead, with weapons of his choosing. Titus picks straight blades, knowing Darrow is good with a curved one. </p><p>Cassius is not happy about it, as he wanted to be the one to kill him for what he believes he did to his brother and also for what he did to Cassius. He requests being allowed to be the one who fights him and Darrow agrees.</p><p>Cassius kills him, repeating over and over how Titus killed Julian while he does it. </p><p>Roque tells Darrow it wasn't justice and Darrow knows he is right. It did work to make people scared of Cassius again.</p><p>Darrow buries Titus.</p><p>Darrow now has three bars beside his name, needs 5 to become Primus.</p><p>Fitchner comes to see him, and he questions again why they didn't stop Titus but he says the better question is why they didn't stop Cassius from killing him. Titus would have been useful after the Institute. The Board of Quality Control sets a limit each year on how many of them are allowed to die in the Institute. </p><p>Fitchner comments that Darrow is an old soul who is full of sadness, and he can't work out why. Darrow questions why Fitchner doesn't change his appearance, even though he could - it holds him back. Darrow questions why he is only a Proctor and not something higher.</p><p>Fitchner asks what reward he wants for getting the Minervan standard, as Sevro has passed the reward on to him. He asks for matches, weapons and also horses. Darrow tries to touch Fitchner to stop him leaving and something happens to him - realises that he is wearing pulseArmor. </p><p>He asks who the Jackal is and he finds out he is the ArchGovernor's son.</p><p>New horses are delivered and Darrow claims a pale horse that they call Quietus, it means final stroke.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30: House Diana </span></b>- It has been a month since Titus was killed and House Mars has gotten stronger. They outlawed the abuse of slaves. They have stores of food but no water and have to build basins and dig troughs to gather it. </p><p>Darrow has Cassius teach him how to fight with a straight sword. He also teaches him Kravat. </p><p>Mustang and the other Minervans want Darrow, have even tried to make deals with others in House Mars for them to hand him over. </p><p>The wolves follow Sevro because he killed their pack leader. Darrow puts him in charge of the dregs of House Mars. They each wear cloaks made from the fur of black wolves - Sevro, Thistle, Screwface, Clown, Pebble and Weed. </p><p>Darrow thinks they need to form an alliance with another House, they need Ceres as they have water and grain. Darrow thinks they need to destroy House Minerva first before they do that. Cassius wants to go with Sevro and Darrow but Darrow orders him to stay behind. </p><p>Darrow questions why Sevro has no bars of merit yet, despite being the one to take the Minervans standard and also the one who hid the Mars standard so they couldn't get it. Darrow has worked out they picked him because he was the smallest and his scores were terrible. He was supposed to die in the Passage. Darrow knows that Sevro is the one who killed Priam, and that is why they won't give him any merits or allow him to be Primus. Sevro replies that he knows Darrow is the one who killed Julian.</p><p>They go to the woods to speak with House Diana. They are stripped of their weapons and blindfolded before being taken to their castle. Tells them that if they help him take House Minerva then House Mars will help them to take House Ceres. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31: The Fall of Mustang</span></b> - They ride for House Minerva, not hiding the fact they are on their way but House Minerva doesn't realise Sevro is already hiding outside their castle. Sevro's men are known as the Howlers. </p><p>The Minerva castles has a muddy ring surrounding it that the archers will shoot down into if they get too close, beyond that is extremely tall grass that is easy to hide in. Darrow shouts for Pax and Mustang rides out to speak to them. </p><p>Darrow challenges Pax to a duel, the winner will receive all the slaves of the other House. </p><p>Mustang is scared he has men in the grass so makes him push his men back 600m. Then she burns the grass to be sure. Then Pax and Darrow are surrounded in a circle by ten people from each of the two houses. The Proctors fly down from Olympus to watch. </p><p>Darrow uses the mud to blind Pax to gain the advantage. Manages to take Pax's axe from him and take him down with it. Then Darrow sends out the signal, a howl. Then Sevro and his Howlers reveal themselves, cutting themselves out of the bellies of the dead horses that had been shot dead by the arches outside the castle.</p><p>Sevro and the Howlers and men from House Diana manage to get through the gate before House Minerva can close it. They take over House Minerva very quickly. Mustang manages to ride off and escape into the woods.</p><p>Darrow searches with Vixus and comes across Mustang by mistake, but Vixus is talking about how he wants to break her and so Darrow leads him away, pretending as if he didn't see her hiding in the mud. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32: Antonia </span></b>- House Minerva is taken down but House Diana are trying to get out of the deal by locking Mars out of the castle, but Darrow knew they would do that and so that is why he sent Sevro into the castle with them. </p><p>Sevro destroys the food stores that they have. Then he ruins the water supply too before hiding in the cellar with his Howlers. </p><p>It takes four days for House Diana to try and bargain with them and they refuse. When they all try to sneak out on the 5th night, they are captured. Tamara dies falling from her horse and getting trampled to death. They find her saddle had been cut and think Tactus did it. They make all the remaining people of House Diana into slaves.</p><p>Cassius says he think of Roque and Darrow as his brothers now and that he will recommend them to his father, as he will need officers for his ships. They would be Praetors for House Bellona, one of the most powerful families. </p><p>They find a girl called Lilath who has been sent by House Pluto to talk to Cassius, she was sent by the Jackal. She tells Cassius that the Jackal will give him 50 ionBlades in exchange for Darrow. Lilath gives Cassius a pouch that he doesn't open but tucks in his boot, Darrow asks Sevro to steal it from him. </p><p>Darrow finally earns his fifth bar and will be named Primus.</p><p>Roque tells Darrow that he is planning to kiss Lea, having decided he likes her now. Darrow tells him to take her somewhere special for it.</p><p>Lea wakes him up that night, screaming that Roque has fallen into a crevice, broken his legs and can't get out of it. He follows her, taking nothing with him and realises it's a trap. He manages to drop and hide. </p><p>Antonia calls to him from the mist, taunting him. Vixus and Cassandra are with her. They threaten to cut Lea's throat if he doesn't come out. He doesn't think they'll do it but they do. He hides until morning, after they have left. Lea's dead body is left behind but he doesn't find Roques, so doesn't know if he is really dead. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33: Apologies </span></b>- Cassius wakes him up saying that Sevro has found Roque and he is a mess. On the way, he notices that Cassius has brought the two ionSwords that Lilath gave them. He realises this is another trap and that Cassius must know Darrow killed Julian. </p><p>Cassius says he knew Julian was meant to die because he wasn't smart in the way they wanted, but he was kind and empathetic. His family has been in a neverending feud with the ArchGovernor's. Julian was excited when he got accepted to the Institute, and the letter came with the Governor's seal. It didn't make sense to Cassius or his other brother's because they never thought he would get accepted. </p><p>Cassius knows Julian wouldn't have been in the bottom one percent, but they killed him because he was a Bellona. It is illegal to refuse an invitation to the Institute, so he had to go. Cassius didn't look at what the Jackal gave him until he caught Sevro trying to steal it. It was a holo, that showed Darrow killing his brother. </p><p>Darrow notes that the game is rigged as the Jackal would have been given the holo by his Proctor. Reveals to Cassius that the Jackal is the ArchGovernor's son and they are manipulating Cassius to get rid of Darrow for them. </p><p>Darrow tells him they could defeat the Jackal together but Cassius says they are no longer a we now that he knows what he did. Darrow realises that Cassius is going to kill him, as he isn't good with an ionBlade. They fight but it isn't long before Cassius stabs him in his stomach. Cassius leaves him bleeding out and crying in the mud.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part IV: Reaper</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34: The Northwoods</span></b> - Darrow wakes and is disorientated, doesn't see a clear image of who is helping him. Thinks it is Eo, and whispers her name. Darrow hates Cassius, as he chose to do this whereas he had no choice and had to kill Julian. </p><p>He wakes again and realises it isn't Eo who is with him, it is Mustang. She whistles the song Eo sung, tells him she heard it from the HC. </p><p>It has been four weeks since he was attacked by Cassius. Cassius is now Primus. Jupiter and Mars are the two most powerful Houses now. </p><p>Mustang admits she likes to win - she realised you get a merit every time you get your standard back, so set it up for it to get taken over and over again until she made Primus, which only took her a week. </p><p>She says he cries out for a girl called Eo in his sleep. </p><p>He stays with Mustang in the woods, hiding and gaining his strength back. Then Mustang gets sick and he goes out to try to find food. Circles back when he realises people have found the cave she is hiding in.</p><p>Sees two boys inside the cave, eating what is left of their food. One of them sits on Mustang, who has been stripped to her underwear and tied up. When he sees one of them try to touch her he realises he feels more for Mustang than he realised. He attacks both of the boys, but Mustang tells him to let them live. </p><p>She ties them to a tree before lighting a fire to draw others out to find them. But when Mustang falls asleep, he tries to sneak out to kill them so they won't have to move, as he thinks she is too sick. But she convinces him to stay.</p><p>He sings Eo's song to her as she cuddles against him.</p><p>He realises Mustang will die if he doesn't try to go out and find medicine for her. He wears a wolfcloak made from the white fur of a wolf he and Mustang killed.</p><p>Fitchner comes and finds him, he shoots an arrow at Fitchner to confirm he is always wearing the pulseShield. He also knows they wear gravBoots, ghostCloak and pulseFists. </p><p>Darrow asks who gave the Jackal the holo and he says the Proctors did, it doesn't matter which one. He tells Darrow they won't allow him to win, so he realises they want the Jackal to win and are helping him.</p><p>The Jackal/Adrius is meant to win because of who his father is. The ArchGovernor bribed and threatened them all until they agreed. They have to be careful how they cheat because the Drafters won't be happy if they find out, they would kill the Proctors. The Board of Quality Control watches them as well as Senators and other people. There are even biometric nanoCams in the rings that the students wear. He realises he has been being watched the whole time, so Demetrius au Bellona has watched him kill his son.</p><p>Darrow realises he essentially can disappear if he takes the ring off. </p><p>Fitchner says many Drafters like Darrow and want to offer him apprenticeships - including Lorn au Arcos, the Sword of House Mars. Tells Darrow to stay away from the Jackal or Apollo will have Darrow killed.</p><p>Darrow learns that when a House is defeated, their Proctor is sent home. Darrow wants to take down the Jackal and make him his slave. Asks Fitchner for antibiotics, which he gives to him. </p><p>Darrow plans to take House Apollo down first as Apollo is the most dangerous, then House Jupiter. </p><p>Fitchner gives Darrow a package, tells him he was told to tell Darrow that he has not been abandoned by all his friends. Inside the package is his Pegasus necklace with the hidden haemanthus blossom. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35: Oathbreakers</span></b> - Takes Mustang a week to improve enough for them to move. They light a fire to gain the attention of the Oathbreakers. Finally some come and try to sneak up on them but they easily incapacitate them. Darrow speaks to Milia, their leader. Milia is daughter of a Justiciar, Gauis au Trachus. </p><p>Oathbreakers are people in the Game who were made slaves but ran away. Darrow removes the slave marks from them and asks them all to join him <i>willingly</i>. After a week they have added 10 Oathbreakers to their team.</p><p>House Mars & House Jupiter continue to fight, House Ceres stays locked in their stronghold.</p><p>Darrow and the others block off the Metas bridge with trees and then hide. All of Darrow's group now have wolf cloaks. He is hiding beside Mustang when he has the sudden urge to kiss her, which makes him feel guilty and think of Eo instead. </p><p>Cassius sends out some of his people to clear the bridge, a lot of them are slaves but Cipio, a House Mars boy, is among them. Take down the ones on horses in seconds and quickly make the Mars Slaves into Minerva one. Pax is there and they remove his House Mars slave mark. Including Pax, they've added 12 more people to their House.</p><p>That night Darrow sneaks up to House Mars, covered in charcoal so he can't be seen in the dark. He climbs up the wall of the castle. A slave sees him, but let's him go when she realises he is working with House Minerva, where she is originally from. She even helps by giving him a key. </p><p>He moves around the castle, drawing slingBlades on every door he finds so they know he was there. He even draws a skull on Cassius's chair and puts a knife into the back of it - sending a message. While he is in the castle, the others have lit a fire on the hill in the shape of his slingBlade</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36: A Second Test</span></b> - They plan to finally go after Ceres, as they need the food they can get from there. Plan to attack during the day because they are more on guard at night there. They go in pairs and hide in the snow outside the castle, Darrow and Mustang are together. They stay there overnight and come out in the morning - 24 of them in total. </p><p>They carry a large tree between them that they then put up against the wall, making it so they can run up it to reach the top of the wall. Darrow boosts Mustang and Milia up first, who then use rope to get him up. </p><p>They fight their way to the gate and get it open for the others. Takes 5 minutes to take control of it and make the House Ceres people their slaves. Tactus questions Darrow's authority in front of everyone, which he warns Tactus he will make him pay for it. </p><p>Darrow frees the slaves he has that helped get castle Ceres, then tells the newly enslaved people from House Ceres that they will get the same treatment if they help him take down another House.</p><p>Darrow is woken in the night by Mustang, telling him Milia caught Tactus trying to rape a Ceres woman. He has to figure out the right way to punish him. He asks the girl, Nyla, what she wants him to do to him but she says nothing would be enough to make up for what he tried to do. </p><p>He brings Tactus out in front of everyone to question him, but he doesn't deny what he tried to do. He says it is his right as he is stronger than her, but Darrow uses that to trap him - pointing out that he is stronger than Tactus so by his own logic Darrow could do whatever he wants to him.</p><p>Darrow makes sure everyone knows he will not allow rape. Then Nyla confirms again that she doesn't want any punishment given, but Darrow insists on having him whipped 20 times. Then he gives Tactus the whip and tells him to give him the same punishment. He barely manages 5 before Darrow gives Pax the whip instead and tells him to start again. Afterwards he tells everyone that they will all have to do the same to him if they commit an offence. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37: South</span></b> - Darrow now has 56 soldiers, over 1/2 are slaves. He puts Mustang in charge of 6 lots of 3 scouts, and he puts one Ceres in each one. The six squads get one commUnit each that they found in castle Ceres. </p><p>The plan is now to go after House Apollo next, like Darrow told Fitchner he would do. They find castle Juno first, that has been captured by House Jupiter. </p><p>They see 3 enemy scouts in the nearby woods, which they assume belong to house Pluto (Jackal's House). They think Lilath is leading them, a girl on a silver horse. </p><p>Then a small army appears from Apollo. Darrow orders his army to appear weak while he goes to meet a rider from the opposing army, while he pretends to be injured. They talk (He is Novas, the Primus of Apollo) and he offers for Darrow and the others to join him to take down the Jackal and then claim back the North. </p><p>The Apollo army have ionBlades and ionLances, as well as horses. </p><p>Darrow purposefully has them sleep on the banks of the river, meaning Apollo's army would need to try and cross a frozen river to get to them. They attempt it anyway because they believe Darrow and his army are weak. They don't realise they weakened the ice so they'd fall through - taking them out of the game. </p><p>Mustang makes a comment about how he isn't getting enough sleep, and that he slept better when they would sleep next to each other. She asks why he stopped and he says it is because she is distracting, which makes her laugh. </p><p>Tactus asks where they're going and Darrow tells him they will take House Apollo down next. Then Tactus reveals he has noticed tracks in the snow that can only have come from the gravBoots of the Proctors, which means they have been following them while in ghostCloaks so they can't see them. Tactus whispers this, not knowing the rings they wear mean they can always hear whatever they're saying.</p><p>They keep moving, and when small groups of scots from other Houses try to come for them, they easily take them down. </p><p>Pax tells them about himself. His family had a summer home on Earth, in New Zealand. And he was often mistaken for an Obsidian, and would sometimes join them when they did the Nagoge - at night they'd go to steal food and he would fight with them for some. He would always win until he came up against a woman called Helga. </p><p>The next day they find all their horses are gone, it seems the Proctors who were following them have let them go in an attempt to sabotage them. Have also damaged the pots they brought for cooking, as well as ruining the bread they took with them. </p><p>Mustang finally asks why Cassius turned on him, and he tells her the truth - that he was the one who killed his brother. She then tells him she had a brother who died and that it changed her family. She assumes he told Cassius the truth but he tells her the Proctors did by way of the Jackal, and she finally figures out that they are rigging the game to let the ArchGovernor's son win (Jackal).</p><p>When he goes off in the night to pee, he hears Mustang call for him but she calls him by his name and not Reaper, like she usually does so he knows something is wrong. He knows it is a trap and can feel that he is being watched. He runs, climbing up a tree and waiting to see what comes for him. The Apollo Proctor then turns of his ghostCloak and pushes him out of the tree. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38: The Fall of Apollo</span></b> - A giant white bear is waiting on the ground for him, one clearly made by a Carver. Darrow runs and manages to get the bear to fall through a trap in the ground and down onto wooden pikes. But then Darrow is immediately caught in a rope trap, that leaves him hanging upside down. Hours later Sevro finds him still hanging.</p><p>Sevro frees him and they head back to Darrow's camp together with the Howlers. Darrow notes Sevro only has 1 eye now and also has a limp. Sevro gives Darrow back his slingBlade - he took it where it was left in the mud and has sharpened it for him. Darrow tells him that Sevro is a real friend, one that will last after the games have finished.</p><p>Sevro believed Darrow was taken by the Jackal, as that was what Cassius told them. Sevro went to go find him and that is how he lost an eye. </p><p>Sevro tells them that only Apollo, Venus, Mercury and Pluto remain in the game now. </p><p>They ask for the story of how Darrow got in Sevro's trap, so he tells them all to take off their rings first.</p><p>Darrow splits his team into 6 lots of 10. He leads one that includes Sevro and the Howlers. Other 5 leaders - Pax, Mustang, Tactus, Milia and Nyla. They take on Apollo first - destroying their supplies and water, killing their food sources and taking their slaves. They let people from the actual House escape, so that word of what they have done will get to the other Houses. </p><p>Sevro tells them what he knows about the Jackal. His castle is in the low mountains near Vulcan. Vulcan almost took down Pluto and the Jackal, but he collapsed the tunnels they were in to stay in the game even though it killed people in his own House. Left 40 of them in the tunnels with limited food and it took them a month to dig a way out - which means they ate the dead people from their house. </p><p>Proctor Apollo shows up again, putting Darrow and the others in a jamField, so they can't be heard by anyone outside of it. Offers them wine and only Sevro drinks and then walks off to go pee. He tells them to turn back. Then says that Darrow winning won't benefit any of the others because they are not from his original House. Other Proctors have come to watch. </p><p>Darrow asks what will happen when the Drafters realise he has been fixing the game for the Jackal to win. He makes everyone aware that Apollo is the one who tried to kill him with the bear. He says that the Drafters will be angry when they find out the ArchGovernor has bribed him and the other Proctors.</p><p>Darrow then asks Mustang how fast Sevro could run to Apollo's castle. Only then does Apollo realise he fell into a trap. The jamField means that Proctor Apollo couldn't hear the MedBots going towards the castle or Sevro howling from the castle. </p><p>Sevro, Tactus and others from their group are already inside castle Apollo. The Apollo Primus, Novas, has a pulseWeapon that must have been given to him by the Apollo Proctor. Darrow and the others head to the Castle to help.</p><p>Darrow announces that he wants to take Novas down himself and his army should enslave everyone else. He, Pax and the others run towards the enemy and Pax helps to launch Darrow into the air so he can land on the enemies guarding Novas. Then he and Novas faceoff. </p><p>Darrow easily manages to take him down by breaking his leg and then steals his spear too. </p><p>One House Apollo girl manages to get away, taking the standard with her - she is clearly helped down from a high castle tower by Proctor Apollo, which means his House technically hasn't lost yet and are still in the game. But Mustang hunts her down easily and brings both the standard and the girl back. </p><p>Darrow sees Proctors Apollo, Venus and Jupiter all talking and throws the pulseSpear at them and tells Jupiter he is taking his House down next. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39: The Proctor's Bounty</span></b> - Fitchner comes to speak to Darrow, reveals that Apollo hasn't left Olympus. Mustang is there while they talk and only leaves after Fitchner insists and makes a weird jab about her name. Fitchner then gives Darrow back the knifeRing he was given by Dancer. Tries to warn Darrow to stop, says there is a limit to how high people can go - people like Fitchner and his son and Darrow too. Darrow, at the mention of Fitchner having a child, realises he resembles Sevro. Fitchner is Sevro's father.</p><p>Darrow asks him to help them but he refuses. Says Darrow is already falling into a trap, a girls trap but doesn't say who he means. </p><p>Darrow pretends like he is going to shake his hand to say goodbye, but uses it to hold Fitchner in place so he can knock him out.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40: Paradigm </span></b>- Darrow speaks to Mustang, tells her he wants to go after House Jupiter next. They travel to the Jupiter castle in 4 days and surround it. Most of the Jupiter forces have got stuck across the river. </p><p>The Jupiter castle waves a white flag on day 3 and send a boy out to speak to them, called Lucian. Only 7 in the castle, who are starving and they surrender easily under the condition they can stay free and not be made slaves, Darrow agrees.</p><p>They spend the night in the castle and Darrow orders everyone to get drunk on wine, except the 7 people from Jupiter. He then has Lucian follow him, Mustang sees them together but Darrow tells her to leave them alone. He and Lucian talk for over an hour. Then has Lucian show him his hand at the same time Darrow dumps out all the sigil rings he has - ones from Jupiter, Neptune, Venus, Bacchus, Juno, Mercury, Diana, Ceres and Minerva. Doesn't yet have one from Pluto, but then looks up at Lucian who is now looking at him differently, who Darrow knows is really from Pluto.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41: The Jackal</span></b> - Lucian tries to get away but Darrow pins him to the table by putting a dagger through his hand. Darrow introduces himself as the Reaper, and makes it known that he knows Lucian is actually the Jackal.</p><p>Then Darrow's soldiers all get up - had all been pretending to be drunk. Darrow also knew that the Jackal had his men hiding in the castle. </p><p>Jackal makes fun of the Howlers, says they refer to them as Toadstools. He tells the Howlers to kill Darrow and they will be promised great positions in the world once the game ends. Then he changes tactics when that doesn't work, trying to get Darrow to let him win. Tells him his father will make sure he is rewarded if he does.</p><p>Darrow knows that Dancer would want him to agree as it would put him close to the ArchGovernor but he can't bear to let the Proctors win.</p><p>Pax comes in and tells him they found the Jackal's hidden army and that he has left Mustang with them to make them all slaves. Makes a note that Mustang is acting weird.</p><p>Darrow asks if he knows the Proctors are helping him win and he does. Makes an identical statement to one Mustang used about cheating. </p><p>Darrow puts another knife on the table for the Jackal - as it is said real jackals would chew off their own limbs if they are trapped. Essentially he is telling him to cut off his hand if he wants to get free. Darrow is certain he won't do it but he does start doing it. Pax ends up handing him an ionBlade to make it easier. He ends up doing it, cutting off his own hand so he can leave. </p><p>Darrow is so distracted he doesn't realise the Proctors have come to help the Jackal. They throw him a sonic detonator that he picks up and then he sticks the ionBlade into Pax's neck before activating the detonator. Pax ends up throwing his body on top of Darrow to protect him as the Jackal stabs him repeatedly to try to get to Darrow. By the time he crawls out from underneath him, Pax is dead and the Jackal is gone.</p><p>Darrow follows the trail of blood that the Jackal has left, taking the Howlers with him. Darrow realises Mustang knew who the Jackal was, but still believes she is loyal to him.</p><p>They chase the Jackal through snowy mountains but then Proctor Apollo appears in front of them. He has a pulseFist and uses it to send Sevro and 5 Howlers down the mountain. Darrow attacks, stabbing his sword into Apollo's head, but he knows the PulseShield will stop it, which it does. </p><p>Apollo takes him by the air and takes him really high in the air then tells him they have caught Mustang and they will 'ruin her' if he doesn't purposefully lose to the Jackal. Darrow realises that Apollo has turned his shield off to touch him, which means there is one weak spot on his body not covered by recoilArmor. </p><p>Apollo drops him, not realising Darrow wears Fitchner's gravBoots. Uses the surprise he has to bring out his knifeRing and punch the blade through the one weak spot Apollo now has - into his eye socket. He kills Apollo, not what he originally intended. He tells the Howler's that they have Mustang and so they now plan to attack Olympus. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42: War on Heaven</span></b> - Darrow takes Apollo's armor, razor, helmet, pulseFist, shield and boots, giving Fitchner's to Sevro, who also gets the ghostCloak. Reveals to Sevro that he knows who Fitchner is to him. </p><p>They use the gravBoots to lift themselves and all the Howlers to Olympus. Darrow is specifically looking for Jupiter. They find Venus first and tie her to her bed. Juno is found and subdued next. Vulcan is next, who is watching screens that show the Jackal being helped by Lilath in a cave, and that Cassius has been given missiles.</p><p>More of Darrow's army is arriving on Olympus to help them. Only Proctors left to find are Minerva, Pluto, Mercury and Jupiter. </p><p>They find Mercury next and he and Darrow fight, Darrow uses the pulseFist to subdue him so they can tie him up. </p><p>Jupiter finds them, he has a pulseShaft and razor too and has Minerva with him, they begin to fight, making it so Darrow and his forces have to retreat. Darrow and Jupiter then begin to fight and Darrow is wounded. They end up going through a window and Darrow no longer has his boots on, so they fall and crash into a snowy mountain below.</p><p>Jupiter tells him he won't win, that the ArchGovernor will send his men, he will send Obsidians and Golden Legates. Darrow says they won't get away with it, as the Drafters will be able to see what they did. </p><p>Sevro was using the cloak to hide himself, and helps Darrow by putting a razor through Jupiter's thigh. Then take him back to Olympus where they've found Mustang and also found the armory. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43: The Last Test</span></b> - Darrow finds Mustang asleep in a room, her food had sedatives in it that have knocked her out. He had found a blossom on the mountain and wants to give it to Mustang, but he thinks of Eo and feels guilty again.</p><p>Mustang wakes up and he tells her what they have done. Also reveals that the Jackal's army have gone after Mars but that he is hiding in the mountains with Lilath. He says she can take a force and go after him and she asks if he is sure he can trust her. He says he can and then he kisses her. When they leave he tells her to go and find the Jackal and bring back his standard.</p><p>Sevro has found where they send out the footage to the Drafters, which has a delay of 12 hours. Darrow gives him the task of taking out the footage he wants so they see only what he wants them to see. </p><p>They bring Fitchner up to Olympus and Darrow tells him Mustang will take down the Jackal and then they will take down House Mars and then the game is done. Fitchner says it isn't and there is 3 reasons why. But he won't tell Darrow what they are unless he tells him what motivates him.</p><p>Fitchner tells him Cassius will insist on duelling him and that they will have to fight until one of them dies. Darrow in turn tells him rage and love fuel him. Fitchner says the second thing is what has happened here - Darrow killed a Proctor and also has knowledge of all the cheating the ArchGovernor did. Then he tells him the final thing, that he sent Mustang and half his forces to take out the Jackal but Mustang is the Jackal's twin sister.</p><p>Mustang is actually Virginia au Augustus, his twin and daughter of the ArchGovernor. Cassius didn't know who she was because her father kept his children hidden to avoid assassination attempts. Darrow now wants to go to House Mars as he needs the forces, because he is sure Mustang will be working with the Jackal.</p><p>They get to House Mars and see three people tied up on crosses - Vixus, Cassandra and Antonia. Antonia and Vixus are both still alive. He takes the people of House Mars up to Olympus, as they are weak. They then make slaves of all those inside from House Pluto, Jupiter and Apollo. Roque is still alive and so is Quinn and Pollux.</p><p>Cassius is waiting for him. Pollux tells Darrow that what Cassius did to him has got to him and that everyone found out what he did. </p><p>Darrow finds Cassius and apologises for Julian. Cassius tells him that he has won, then gets up and sucks blood from a wound on his hand before spitting the blood in Darrow's face. Tells him they have a blood feud and if they ever wind up in the same place again, they will not leave until one of them is dead.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44: Rise </span></b>- They are readying to fight Mustang and the Jackal. Darrow now has an army of 300. He sends Nyla, Milia and a few others in ghostCloaks to go spy on the Jackal. </p><p>Then Nyla and Milia return with Mustang, who says she has brought him a present. It is her brother - Adrius au Augustus, the Jackal. She realises that he thought she would betray him, but she has brought the Jackal tied up. </p><p>Mustang doesn't blame his distrust, but she doesn't view Adrius as her brother. Her older brother was the one she cared for and he was killed by Karnus, one of Cassius's brothers. </p><p>Dropships arrive on Olympus. </p><p>Sevro heard that the last words Darrow said to Apollo included bloodydamn, but he deleted it from the footage they gave to the Drafters. So Sevro may know that Darrow is a Red, or at least suspect.</p><p>Over 200 people arrive, including the ArchGovernor and Imperator Bellona and Adriatus. </p><p>Director Clintus seems amused by what they have done on Olympus, and most there seem to like Darrow. They will have a proper celebration back on Agea at some point. Darrow is given a badge and then they are told they will soon be allowed to go home.</p><p>The ArchGovernor comes to speak to him, says his wife begged him to help Adrius. Darrow makes it obvious he hid the fact that the ArchGovernor cheated when they edited the footage. ArchGovernor says he will look after Darrow on one condition. Tells him he has many enemies, most from the Bellona family. Tiberius au Bellonas has over 50 nieces and nephews and 9 children of his own, whereas his family is small. His best son was killed by Karnus. </p><p>But if Darrow agrees to become a lancer in the ArchGovernor's household, he will give him whatever he needs. He will get money, power and position if he does that. </p><p>Darrow is sure of the loyalty of his friends but the ArchGovernor warns him they will all go off to different places and join different families and that loyalty will not survive. </p><p>He demands an answer to his proposition, making Darrow have to declare it in front of everyone. And he does. He has to kneel before him and declare that he is forsaking his old family and joining the ArchGovernors (Nero au Augustus). The book ends with Darrow declared Lancer of House Augustus. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Red Rising Recaps:</u></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/02/red-rising-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">Red Rising</a><br />Golden Son<br />Morning Star<br />Iron Gold<br />Dark Age<br />Light Bringer<br />Red God</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-49439117873067739872024-01-28T12:54:00.123+00:002024-02-04T23:55:43.578+00:00House of Flame and Shadow Summary / Recap <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMA7zhYohcnDV18tgsTcE2vFaQJE8yc53Os-AsbS7Lkn_tvXmqQp_z0GnwMBPb1ayCmnWDK5F-laqzxGUw4pNp2FaFy1RZYSKn834kxbkXWM9ucv9aSse8a1-MmCeltzWuNulidsyVtIkpc5H4N8vznXCwzc9CwqZB7Dvz1MOLtbyb0seXIADIkbCS8Ze/s961/House%20of%20Flame.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="961" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMA7zhYohcnDV18tgsTcE2vFaQJE8yc53Os-AsbS7Lkn_tvXmqQp_z0GnwMBPb1ayCmnWDK5F-laqzxGUw4pNp2FaFy1RZYSKn834kxbkXWM9ucv9aSse8a1-MmCeltzWuNulidsyVtIkpc5H4N8vznXCwzc9CwqZB7Dvz1MOLtbyb0seXIADIkbCS8Ze/w640-h198/House%20of%20Flame.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Flame and Shadow Recap</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">As someone with a terrible memory, who forgets way too many details from series before the new book drops, these recaps are made with me in mind. I may add comments in for myself as I go but I'm uploading them as I know there are probably other people who will also find them useful. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I make my updates very detailed because I think short recaps/summaries of books don't help me at all when it comes to remembering what happened. I kind of need a condensed play-by-play of the whole thing. This is also typed up as I'm reading in real time, so please excuse any spelling errors I miss along the way because I am doing these super quickly and mistakes are bound to happen, even incredibly stupid ones, just based on how quickly I will be typing this up as I go. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">This will be updated <b>in real time</b> as I am reading the book when it drops. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Crescent City recaps:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>ACOTAR recaps:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="text-align: left;"></span></u></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Throne of Glass recaps:</u></span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><u><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><u><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></u></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Flame and Shadow </b></h2><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Prologue –</span></b> The Hind/Lidia is kneeling before her masters, wearing a silver torque around her throat. They do not realise that she is not loyal to them. The events from the end of the last book took place two days ago and the blood has been washed away since then. </o:p>Pollux is kneeling beside her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Two Fae kings are pleading with the Asteri. Morven, King of the Avallen Fae, is Cormac's father and he is insisting he did not know of Cormac's treason. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus (an Asteri) is in the body of a Fae teenage boy. Hesperus (an Asteri) is in the body of a blond nymph. They argue that he was close to his son and so there must be decay within the royal household, one which they must now get rid of.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Morven insists he knew nothing and that Cormac will not be honored in death - he will receive no burial or grave and his name will be wiped from the records.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Polaris (an Asteri wears the body of an angel) points out there is no body anyway as he burned himself.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Einar, the Autumn King, argues that Bryce likely lured Ruhn into it. Says neither can call themselves his child any more after what they have done.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They inform him that Bryce is no longer in Midgard, so he assumes she is in Hel. They send both Kings out and warn them to tell no one of what they have learnt.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia has been put in charge of interrogating Hunt, Ruhn and Braxian (the Helhound)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Asterian Guards now stand next to the Gate that Bryce went through.</p><span></span><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Mount Hermon, the one where Hunt and Shahar once staged their doomed battle of rebellion, now houses scores of new Asteri mech-suits. She believes the choice of where to put them is symbolic.</p><p class="MsoNormal">These suits are better than the hybrids as they don't require someone to operate them. They can hold a single soldier if needed though.</p><p class="MsoNormal">In the catacombs there are a thousand sleeping mystics who have all been tasked with locating Bryce. Lidia is smart enough to note that if the Gates really only opened to Hel, then the Asteri wouldn't be wasting so many recourses on trying to track her down.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia and Pollux head down to where Ruhn, Hunt and Braxian are being held. Hunt and Baxian are dangling in gorsian shackles that slow down their healing. Their wings have been cut off, leaving bloody stumps behind. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Pollux has torn out both Ruhn's lip and eyebrow piercing. He looks at Lidia with nothing but hate.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia keeps attempting to speak to him mind-to-mind but he continues to ignore her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part I: The Drop</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 - </span></b>Bryce is being questioned by Amren, with Rhysand and Azriel there too.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren asks why she speaks the Old Language and how she came to posses the lost sword Gwydion (Starsword). Bryce tells them the sword is a family heirloom that was brought there by her ancestors 15,000 years ago, same time the Old Language stopped being spoken in Rhys's world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhysand asks how she got to their world. Explains about the Gates in her world that can open to others. She says they mostly opened to Hel but the one she went through somehow sent her here. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Remembers that Rigelus had told her the star on her chest would act as a beacon to her original world and the home of the Starborn people. She tells them about the prophecy of her sword and the missing knife coming together to reunite the Fae of Midgard. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells them the sword was brought by either Queen Theia or Prince Pelias - Amren seems to react to the names, as though she recognises them. Admits they once lived in this world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren admits there were once rumors about Fae leaving their world. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhysand tells her that he won't look into her mind against her will but that she she doesn 't talk and tell them everything they want to know, then she will be kept locked where she is. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tries to explain to them who the Asteri are, refering to them as intergalactic parasites. They showed up in her world 15,000 years ago and no one knows where they originated from. She says that they chose Midgard as the place to build an empire and that through a giant rip between worlds, called the Northern Rift, many creatures and races came to Midgard.</p><p class="MsoNormal">After the Asteri arrived the known story is that Hel invaded to try to destroy the new empire but the Asteri united everyone and pushed Hel back. They then repaired the Northern Rift and it's location was permanently Hel and nowhere else. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She says the unofficial story is that the Asteri are immortal beings who are harvesting the magic from the people of Midgard, they feed on them. They call this firstlight and it fuels Midgard. They hand it over when they reach full maturity in what they call the Drop - where some of their firstlight/power is given over. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells them of the archive she found that shows that Midgard is not the first place they have done this too. She found only 3 planets/worlds that managed to fight them off - Hel, a planet called Iphraxis and a world once occupies by the original Starborn fae. Bryce believes the world she is currently in, their world, is the third world that fought off the Asteri.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wants to know how they managed to get rid of the Asteri all those years ago but Rhys insists he has never heard of that occurring. She warns them that the Asteri do remember it and that Rigelus, the leader, is determined to find their world again and punish them for what they did. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren tells Rhysand it is in their history but they were knows by another name - the Daglan. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce watches Rhysand teleport or winnow, as they call it. Admits only two fae know how to do it back in her world, but lies and doesn't tell them she can also do it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhysand returns, with the Veritas orb, so that Bryce can show them what kind of weapons the Asteri have and what kind of threat they could pose to his world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They see the guns and the mechsuits, the boats and everything else and are horrified. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhys also gives her a small silver tablet to swallow, that will then allow her to speak their language and also understand it too. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren notes that the words tattooed on her back are in the same letters that are in the Book of Breathings. Azriel demands for her to explain or they will kill her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 - </span></b>Tharion continues to fight in the Viper Queen's ring, has just fought a minotaur and is injured. The Queen has set up a tub for him with water from the river pumped in so that he doesn't need to leave.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ariadne, the dragon, is the Queen's other prized fighter now. Tharion is still bitter that she abandoned Bryce and the others when the deathstalker attacked them, but she insists they could handle it themselves. A comment she makes has him thinking she felt like they expected the worst of her so she chose to be that way. He tells her they didn't expect the worst of her.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She helps him clean his wounds and tells him that he can call her Ari, as everyone else does. </p><p class="MsoNormal">He watches her fight against three lion shifters. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion defected from the Blue Court and now his people view him as a traitor and he can't set foot in Istros or he will be killed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Viper Queen wants to see him - angry his fight only lasted five minutes so Ari has agreed to drag out her fight instead. She offers him more of her venom and he takes it, getting high on it before she takes him to bed.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan, Tristan Flynn, Declan Emmet and his boyfriend Marc are questioning people in the Meat Market to get information on their trapped friends. Ithan wants to try to help Tharion but Tristan doesn't think it is as important as the others, as Tharion chose to defect. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is frustrated he has to watch over Sigrid Fendyr, the wolf mystic. Sigrid didn't seem to know much about her past so he had filled her in. Her father was Prime Apparent until his sister, Sabine challenged him for it and one. He was believed to be dead but must have been exiled instead and that is when Sigrid would have been born. The three fire sprites (Malana, Sasa and Rithi) go everywhere with Sigrid.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Sigrid mentions that the astronomer used to come here and buy from a satyr who sold salts. She wants to go speak to him but Ithan won't let her.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They can't find out any more information about Bryce, Hunt and Ruhn - all they know is that Hunt & Ruhn are being tortured and Bryce has disappeared. They want to try to rescue them but don't know where they could hide them - possibly the mer ship that picked them up in the Ydra. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan wants them to go and speak to Tharion to find out information on the mer ship and how to find it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Sigrid is an Alpha who will also live for centuries because she revealed the Astronomer had her make the Drop in her isolation tank. </p><p class="MsoNormal">They are planning to leave the market when they realise more wolves are on the way.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3 </span></b>- Bryce insists she had no idea what the language was of her tattoo, that her friend had it tattooed on her while she was drunk. Rhys thinks she's lying. They bring Nesta to look at the tattoo, she says it is something Made. They leave Bryce by herself.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Back in the market, Sabine and her wolves are after them. They must run for it, agreeing to meet at the Comitium if they are split up as Isaiah Tiberian will hide them. But they run straight into Sabine, who tells Sigrid she looks just like her father.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4</span></b> - Hunt is in pain and thanks to the halo inked on his brow, he now belongs to the Asteri. But in his mind, he still knows Bryce and she is everything to him. Knows she is his mate and wife. He doesn't think he will make it out alive, but just needs to stay alive long enough to buy Bryce the time she needs.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Pollux comes back in with the Hawk, another members of Sandriel's triarii. Hawk is part angel and part hawk shifter. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hawk tells Ruhn that Cormac's father has disowned him, as has Ruhn's.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt notices a dark shadow moving in the dark, it is something dark and old and it is watching him. He believes he must be hallucinating. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is struggling with the torture. He thought he would handle it better as his own father used to torture him. He hears Lidia calling to him in his mind. She appears before him in his mind, apologising and trying to reach for him but he moves away. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia tries to speak to him, to explain why she is doing the things she is and why she will continue to do them. Can't bear to hear her excuses or have her try to touch him, so leaves the mental haven and goes back to take all the pain they are dealing him instead. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5</span></b> - Sabine says she knew Sigrid's father had lied about how many children he had. Tells her she will kill Sigrid quickly, which is more than what her sister got.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Sigrid went into the tank for her sister and is furious that Sabine has killed her. Sabine leaps at her so Declan and Flynn both shoot at her. Flynn has shot Sabine's face off, but she will recover and heal from the wound - gives them a chance to get away. But then the Viper Queen shows up.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia is with Rigelus, descending a staircase into the earth beneath the Eternal Palace. They get a metal door made of thick lead. Lidia has been here once before. Inside is a withered human-like form - the Mistress of the Mystics. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus tells the Mistress that they need Irithys, who is the Sprite Queen. Lidia wants her to come down to the dungeon where Ruhn and the others are, as she says she needs her fire to be used on them. She thinks it will help convince them to talk. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Irithys has been down here for over a century but Rigelus tells Lidia she can have her for a week.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce can hear hissing coming from the grate in the floor of the room she is in. She opens the grate. She sea Sobeks or something similar in the pit. She notices a rock that she could teleport to in the pit and then see if she can find some way out. She has just enough power in her to teleport to it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Viper Queen brings Ithan and the others down to see Tharion, who is still high. The Viper Queen told them they could stay here for the night. They don't know what she did with Sabine's pack.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is out of power, so can't teleport anymore. The creatures shrink back when she reveals her tattoo. She can see two tunnels, when she faces one her tattoo dims and when she turns to the other it lights up. Remembers Rigelus saying the star reaction to people that were loyal to her. So she decides to trust the Star and follow it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She lowers herself to the ground and the creatures don't attack her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks Tharion what happened to him - he says the River Queen was after him and his choices were death, imprisonment or going to the Viper Queen. He chose the Viper Queen. Ithan explains that Sigrid is Sabine's niece. Also says they were planning to try to free him so he could take them to the <i>Depth Charger</i> and then go save Hunt and Ruhn. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 </span></b>- Bryce continues walking down the tunnel till she finds a doorway built into a barrier of bars. She goes through it and walks for hours, when she finally takes a break she falls asleep. When she wakes up Nesta is there to escort her back but she runs. Uses some of her magic and ends up causing the tunnel to cave in behind them, so now they both need to follow the tunnel to get out.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7</span></b> - Lidia carries Irithys in her crystal bubble but doesn't take her down to the dungeons. Takes her to a room where she has an imperial hag chained up, her name is Hilde. She was arrested when she was found with a comm-crystal on her that is used by Ophion rebels. Hilde insists she was framed. Hilde knew Lidia's mother, who was a witch-queen. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hilde thinks Lidia's mum should have never given her away, as she is a better witch than her sister Hypaxia. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hilde is the one who put the collar on Irithys, that keeps her under the Asteri control, also did it to the Queen before Irithys. Lidia wants Irithys to use her powers/fire on Hilde but she refuses. So Lidia puts her back in her crystal bubble. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia is the one who planted the comm-crystal on Hilde, as she was sure Irithys hated her enough to agree to use her powers. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce & Nesta reach a gaping chasm with a small bridge crossing it with rushing water below. They're halfway across when they hear the sound of creatures above and below them - bat-lizard creatures. A Middengard Wyrm rises from the water/mud and starts attacking the creatures. Bryce wonders if it originated from Midgard. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Nesta explains to Bryce that her ancestor Theia was High Queen of this world before she left.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 </span></b>- Hunt is still being watched by the shadows. He realises it is the Prince of the Pit, Apollion, watching him. He asks Apollion if Bryce made it to Hel and finds out that she didn't. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas, Prince of the Chasm, appears and demands to know where Bryce is. He suspects he might already know her whereabouts but isn't willing to share it with Hunt. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Apollion reveals he is watching Hunt because he wants to see if he can really do what he was born to do - the very thing his father brought him into the world to do. Hunt says he has no father, but it is clear Apollion and Aidas know more about him than Hunt does. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas mentions that the black crown Rigelus put on his brow is not knew and has existed for millennia. They tell him to stay alive before they leave. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion wakes up and finds Ithan and the others in his room. They want to know why he went to the Viper Queen for help and not them, and he says if he had the River Queen would have killed them all. He then tells them Cormac is dead and how it happened. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn says they need to find the <i>Depth Charger</i> and then head to the Eternal City. But the Viper Queen doesn't seem eager to let Tharion go. Then Lidia shows up, telling them to put their weapons away and stay put or she'll kill Ruhn.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9</span></b> - Bryce and Nesta find another two tunnels, and her light guides her to the one on the right - which has drawings of war covering the walls of it. Bryce stops Nesta from entering the tunnels - from her work back home she knows this ancient fae artwork is warning them of traps in the tunnels.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Drawings show a noble fae called Silene. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Nesta uses her silver flame along the wall to activate the mechanisms of the traps and melt them to nothing. They continue walking. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10</span></b> - Lidia sends Sigrid into a different room but asks the three sprites to stay. She tells them that Ruhn, Hunt and Braxian live but she doesn't know where Bryce is. She tells them she is here to help them rescue Ruhn.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She asks Declan for help, she needs him to hack the cameras again. They don't trust her so she tells them she is Agent Daybright. She tells them they have to help her get Ruhn out because if he dies she will destroy them. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Reveals she was the one who got the <i>Depth Charger</i> to pick Tharion up. She tells him she needs his help, needs him to be her ally on the <i>Depth Charger</i> after she gets Ruhn out. Let's them know to be at Ionia's harbor in two days where a skill will be waiting to take them out to sea. Gives them a white stone to throw in the sea to call the <i>Depth Charger</i>. #</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia questions the three sprites about their queen, Irithys. She asks them if she is trustworthy and they say she is. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 -</span></b> Bryce continues to study the cave carvings - seeing a masked queen with a crown on her head and instruments in her hand (Dread Trove). Sees one image that is very close to the one of the male forging the sword that she saw at the Ballet back in Crescent City. Also saw one of a fae King and Queen sitting on thrones in front of a mountain with 3 stars above it. Underneath the couple it showed a Hel like place. </p><p class="MsoNormal">They've reached the flowing river with no way to get across that they can see.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Nesta tells Bryce how she was born human and then turned Fae against her will. Bryce in turn tells her that her mother was human and her father was Fae. </p><p class="MsoNormal">When Bryce dips her hand into the water, it causes her star to shine brighter. It is guiding her to the water so she follows it, jumping in. She follows it to a small pool off the side of it. Nesta says she should have told her before jumping in so they could have got there without getting wet. When Bryce questions how, she shouts to someone to come out - revealing Azriel has been following them this entire time.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells Baxian and Ruhn that Bryce didn't reach Hel. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12</span></b> - Bryce questions Nesta and Azriel about their world. Asks if they have Vanir here - the magical non-humans like Fae, shifters, mer and more. Nesta says their world has Fae, High Fae and lesser faeries and then people like Azriel who are Illyrian. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Azriel's sword and the dagger seem to call to each other and to Bryce. Bryce falls at one point and cuts her knees and hands. Her knees heal but her hands don't. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She asks them about the Daglan/Asteri. Nesta says she doesn't know much about them but tells her about Lanthys, the creature she killed using her sword Ataraxia. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Nesta asks about the star, about if she has a real star in her. Says it is more like starlight. Nesta asks what's different between Bryce and the Asteri, if they also have stars in them. </p><p class="MsoNormal">They talk about how Truth-Teller and the Starsword seem to be calling to each other. Both are carved from a fallen meteor. </p><p class="MsoNormal">They ask about her tattoo and the language it is in. Says she doesn't know how her friend knew because she died before she could ask her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 </span></b>- The Viper Queen finally agrees to meet Ithan. He asks about Sabine - is told she is recovering quickly. He then asks if she plans to hand him and Sigrid over to Sabine, she says it depends on what he can offer her instead. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She agrees to let them all go but only if Ithan agrees to fight in one private fight for her. He agrees.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia is lying about starting her cycle early to get Pollux to go to an event without her. When he leaves she gets her burner phone out and makes a call. Only the second time she has ever had to use it. She tells the person on the other end that she needs all agents ready to go in 3 days. But she is told there isn't anyone to get ready, they've lost too many and even more abandoned them when Agent Silverbrow died. She demands to be put through to Command. She explains the plan she has and where she needs them to be. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Nesta keeps asking questions about the eight-pointed star on Bryce's chest because of the tattoo she once had on her own back that was also of an eight-pointed star. They then come across a massive skeleton of a creature. Then the Middengard Wyrm shows up. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14</span></b> - Bryce had planned for the Wyrm to show up - her hands hadn't been healing because she'd been purposefully reopening her wounds to leave a trail of blood behind her. She apologises and then runs, leaving Azriel and Nesta to deal with it so she can find what the star is leading her too.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She runs but hear Azriel cry out in pain and then Nesta too. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She finds another carved image that shows a battlefield beyond the walls of a city. Shows Fae fighting flying creatures and other beasts. Sees Fae fighting Fae in the images. It makes her second guess herself and she heads back o help Azriel and Nesta.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She sees Nesta's body in the water and rushes to her, only for Nesta to grab her throat while Azriel places his knife at her back. Asks why they shouldn't kill her and she points out that she came back to help them. Tells them to run but they insist they plan to kill the Wyrm. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce realises they lured her back on purpose. They want to use her blood to lure the wyrm back out, as it fled when it sensed Nesta's powers. It appears but when Nesta fires her powers at it, it merely eats it. Nesta puts a mask on her face despite Azriel warning her not to.</p><p class="MsoNormal">(At this point if you haven't read the ACOTAR series, you might be confused by all of this. I have recaps for all series but I am not explaining anything that SJM doesn't herself explain in this book so if you need more info, check out the other recaps linked at the top and bottom)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce hears a voice in her head telling her that she will die because she is mortal. Then repeats Memento mori over and over again. The Wyrm shows up again but is attacked by the reanimated skeleton of the huge creature they found before. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She watches as Nesta commands the creature to hold the wyrm and then she approaches with her sword and runs up the wyrm's body before burying her sword in it's head and killing it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Azriel keeps asking Nesta to take off the mask, tells her Cassian waits for her back home. Then mentions other names she doesn't know - Nyx, Gwyn, Emerie, Elain and Feyre. That is what gets the mask to leave her face. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 </span></b>- Bryce apologises for the trick she pulled with the wyrm. She realises they knew she would go through the grate, had wanted to follow her. Azriel had been the one to cause the cave in so she'd only have one way to go. When she asks why they care, Nesta says it is because she's seen the star on her chest before.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks Ruhn to speak to Lidia and he agrees, sleeping so he can go see her on the mental bridge. He tells her he needs to pass along intelligence. Tells her that Bryce never made it to Hel, even though her plan had been to go there to get help from the Princes of Hel. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells Ruhn that Bryce must be alive because they're are trying to hunt her down. She says Rigelus must be very scared of Bryce if he is using every mystic to look for her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells him that she is trying to help him but he says he doesn't care, is only there because other people are counting on him. She seems hurt by it, which makes him angry. He tells her that she is dead to him. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 16 </b></span>- They reach another large chasm, but the tunnel is narrow so they can't fly across it. She asks about Azriel's shadows and powers, if he could use them to make a bridge. But he can't. However she does realise he may be able to use them to fuel her powers. Asks him to do it so she can use her powers to winnow them all across - it works.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They find another carving, this time of the Cauldron perched on top of the mountain Ramiel. She doesn't know what the Cauldron is, says her world has 5 gods, but no Cauldron. Nesta tells her how being put into the Cauldron turned her into a High Fae.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They tell her about the Dread Trove - three magical objects of immense power, including the mask Nesta wore earlier.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wonders if the Horn was Made by the Cauldron too. Tells them of the 5 gods - Solas, Ogenas, Cthona, Luna and Urd.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She asks where their souls go when they die and Azriel tells her they return to the Mother. She then explains to them about what happens in her world, with the secondlight and them being made into food for the Asteri. </p><p class="MsoNormal">They ask if that will happen to her but she tells them of how she bargained her soul in exchange for her friends. So doesn't know what will happen to her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Nesta returns her Bryce's phone to her after she keeps her word and winnowed them all rather than trying to escape again. She shows them a photo of Hunt, tells them he is her mate.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see Ariadne and demands she not kill Ithan, as he believes she is who he will have to fight. Doesn't agree to it before she leaves.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is trying to explain to Nesta how a phone works and what photographs are. They keep walking until they come across a metal wall with an eight-pointed star in the middle of it. With more carvings showing two females running on either side of the passage towards it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce touches the star and the star wall begins to shift and they can hear locks opening before a door in the wall opens up.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 </span></b>- They go inside and the door shuts behind them and Azriel uses faelight to guide them. Nesta reveals this is the place she saw the star, they are currently in the Prison. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is preparing for his fight against Ariadne. But the Viper Queen comes in and says she is no longer employed by her, as she received an offer for Ariadne a few hours earlier that she couldn't turn down. Ariadne agreed to the deal, and the Viper Queen believes it is because of what Tharion said to her. Tharion will fight Sigrid instead.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Azriel and Nesta think the door they walked through was a portal that brought them to the Prison. Bryce can see an eight-pointed star in the center of an arena like cavern. Tells them to wait while she approaches it as she can sense wards. This is where Nesta found the Harp. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tricks Azriel into looking away so she can rush passed the ward line, which he can't cross. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She studies the carvings on the floor, which show the constellations of Midgard. She asks Nesta about the Harp, and learns that it can move you between worlds/places. It is another Made object and it can stop time.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says the Harp was left there for someone like her to find. The carvings are to tell the story of what happened and to invite someone like her here to find out the truth. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Chapter ends with her stepping on the star. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 </span></b>- Ruhn is attempting to reach for the weapons and torture devices Baxian has left in the room but they're too far. He asks Hunt to bite off his hand so he can reach further. Baxian offers to do it so Hunt doesn't have to.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pollux returns to Lidia's room to tell her that they've <i>'fixed'</i> the Harpy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">When Bryce steps on the star, both it and her chest light up. A hologram of a High Fae female appears - Silene. Azriel notices that she looks like Rhysand's sister.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Silene says she will show them what she learned from her parents. For 5,000 years the High Fae were the Daglan's/Asteri's slaves. Many tried to rebel but nothing worked. They're shown the image of a battlefield strewn with dead bodies.</p><p class="MsoNormal">While the Daglan ruled over them, the High Fae were allowed to rule over the humans. The High Fae paid a Tithe to the Daglan once a year, where they essentially had to give over some of their power in order to feed the Daglan's.</p><p class="MsoNormal">See image of Silene giving her power to an Asteri. They grew to confident thought and didn't realise forces were rising up against them. They then see an image of Theia standing beside the Asteri's/Daglan's throne. Theia is Silene's mother and she served as the Aster's slave for 100 years.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19</span></b> - Rigelus has been healing the Harpy and only needs one more thing before she should should wake up. But if she wakes up she could reveal the truth about Lidia. Pollux makes Lidia come in the shower with him so he can fuck her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan tries to refuse to fight Sigrid but it is the only option the Viper Queen will give them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia used her time with the Asteri to learn about the Dread Trove, which included the Mask, the Crown, the Harp and the Horn. So Bryce has part of the Dread Trove inside of her (<i>I'm assuming this means she will be able to use all 4 to get rid of the Asteri). </i>Theia stole them and took them away to Ramiel with her mate Fionn.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Fionn was the first and last High King, Azriel points out that he is Bryce's ancestor.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia still needed one last Asteri weapon - the Cauldron. They are then shown an image of Fionn pulling the Starsword from the Cauldron. They then used the Daglan's own weapons against them to take them down. Fionn became High King and Theia his queen. The island they are on, which is now the Prison, became Theia's sanctuary.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Fae's powers grew once the Daglan were gone and Theia had the power of dusk/twilight. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia gave birth to Silene and Helena. Fionn was a lot older and fading away but didn't want to leave the thrown to Theia, he wanted Helena to have it. Theia and her general Pelias did not agree, and felt she was too young.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They are then shown how Fionn died. He was thrown tied and gagged into a bog by a creature resembles the nokk Bryce saw in Jessiba's gallery. Theia and Pelius both watched it happen. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Then the creature gave both the Starsword and Truth-teller to Theia. She took them as well as the Trove.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Helena and Silene both had no interest in ruling. Theia still wasn't happy, even with limitless power and no one to threaten her rule. She remembered how the Daglan had spoken about conquering other worlds and wanted to do the same.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Using the Horn and Harp together, she could open doorways into other worlds but most of her court didn't want to do it. She gathered an army of anyone willing and Pelias guided her to a particular world he told her the Daglan had wanted to conquer but hadn't. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Pelias had lied, he had been looking specifically for worlds where the Daglan still resided. One finally answered him and offered Pelias whatever he wanted as long as he got Theia to open a portal to his world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They were in this room with the 8 pointed star when Theia finally did it. Bryce sees a red-haired fae standing beside Theia who looks a lot like Bryce's father. When the portal finally opened, Rigelus was waiting on the other side. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus lies to them, saying he is also a Fae and that they were conquered by the Daglan once themselves. Then all the Fae walked through the portal and into Midgard, bringing the Trove right to them. </p><p class="MsoNormal">But luckily Theia had enough paranoia left to hide the Harp and the Horn. She hid them in a 'pocket of nothingness' where only she could retrieve them. Pelius had already told the Daglan of their existence, so they kept her alive in case she might give away where they were. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce finally gets to see the human civilisation that once thrived on Midgard, Parthos. The humans didn't want them there and tried to fight but were easily slaughtered. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20</span></b> - Tharion and Sigrid are about to fight. The Viper Queen wants a fight to the death. Ithan manages to knock her down and Tharion watches as he goes in for the final hit. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Silene continues to talk. They were still killing the humans in Midgard when the door between worlds was opened. More Fae appeared, they were taller and similar to them except for all of these Fae could shape shift. These Fae answered to Rigelus and appeared to know him well. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia began to only trust Silene and Helena, who had the powers of shadow and starlight.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They then see Helena and Silene creeping through the Asteri's palace back in the Eternal City. They spent over four weeks hiding there to find out the truth. Realised Rigelus and the others were not really Fae, but the Daglan who had conquered the world and fed of the magic of its people. That is when Theia told them both the truth of what happened with the Daglan all those years ago in her own world. She had also kept their old star map that she found. She saw a world on it that had once been overthrown by the Daglan. Theia then used the Harp and Horn to open a portal to Hel, where Aidas came through to speak to her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian is currently biting off Ruhn's hand (and I'm trying not to vomit!). They finally bite it off, meaning he is out of one set of chains and able to reach an iron poker. But just as they get it, Pollux, Rigelus, and the Hawk walk in and catch them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan now has to choose between killing Sigrid to save his friends and everyone else or choosing Sigrid. She thanks him for getting her out and he knows he can't kill her, tells the Viper Queen to go fuck herself. Sigrid uses that chance to try and go for his throat, but he manages to block the blow.</p><p class="MsoNormal">He realises she will kill him and he finally fights back, he aims for her shoulder but she moves too fast and his claws punch through her throat.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 </span></b>- Aidas knew of the Asteri/Daglan and communicated with other worlds to keep track of them. Aidas and Theia talked for days, making plans. They needed to go to Parthos to seek help from the humans who survived and were hiding there. They held a meeting there between humans and Fae. Theia explained all she knew of the Asteri. Then the humans revealed the Asteri had contaminated the water they drank with a parasite. These parasites would then warp their magic. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri had created the Drop by then as a way to harness more power than the original Tithe. If anyone refused to take part, the parasite would suck them dry and they'd die. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia managed to get 10,000 Fae together who were willing to fight. Then she opened a portal to Hel so Aidas and the other Princes could come through with 50,000 soldiers. The Asteri fought back, putting Pelias in charge of their armies. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia and Aidas became lovers, Theia told Silene that they were mates. And promised her that one they won the war, she would go to live in Hel with him. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas was back in Hel getting more forces when the Asteri/Daglan came to attack them in the night. Theia refused to open a portal to Hel, saying it was too late. But she gave the Horn to Helena and the Harp & dagger to Silene. She told them to play both the Horn and Harp to open a portal and leave this world. Pelias was planning to try to father children with both of them so they needed to leave. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Before they went, Theia hugged them and plucked the Harp. A star glowed in Theia's chest and then three balls of light drifted from her body, one going into each of her daughters and the third and final one returning back to her own. She'd used the Harp to transfer her magic to them to give them more protection. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The sisters rushed to get back to the place they needed to open the portal, but Fae chased after them trying to escape with them. They quickly played the Harp and Horn and a doorway opened, showing a stone room. Silene played the Harp again but the Horn didn't sound - so she turned and saw Helene watching their people flee from fierce shifter Fae wolves closing in on them. So Helena used the Harp to send Silene to the portal while she went back down the mountain and towards the fight.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Silene watched as Pelias fought her mother, winning before he stuck the Starsword through her head. Silene chose to go through the portal and the close it behind her. Silene then used her magic to carve a map of the cosmos. Then she closed off what this place had once been, except for the lowest parts of it and then trapped a monster here, turning it into the prison it is today. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Silene eventually left to see the world she'd left behind, now divided into Courts. She ended up marrying a High Lord's son who would eventually become High Lord of Night. She brought her first son to the prison when he was born and keyed the wards into his blood. Her son would glow with starlight, which he got from her. She explains to him what she has left here for him, a record of what happened. He is to tell his son who will then tell his son and so on. </p><p class="MsoNormal">This means they are also Rhysand's ancestors, and this is knowledge he should have been told but never was. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 </span></b>- Rigelus offers them a reprieve if Hunt does something for him. Wants Hunt to use his lightning powers. Rigelus says he will have to extract it then. He shows them a quarts in his hand, which he says is a conduit for magic. Asks again for Hunt to offer up a part of his lightning power and he will spare him and the others from the worse of their suffering. He refuses still and so Rigelus tells him to choose if Ruhn or Baxian dies. He knows he means it, so he gives in and lets him take some of his lightning. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia is planning to help them escape but when she shows up Pollux and the Hawk are still there, Ruhn is missing a hang and all three of the prisoners are unconscious. She has brought a healing potion down to inject into Baxian and Hunt to make their wings grow back within days - lies to Pollux & Hawk by saying it is so they can cut them off again, but she just needs them both to be able to fly to aid their escape.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She makes them both leave and then she releases all three of them. She goes to Ruhn and speak to him in his mind, telling him she has a plan in place to get them out but that the Harpy is close to waking up and so he needs to listen. But he passes out again.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Azriel asks her what happened to the Horn, but Nesta has already figured out it is what her tattoo is made from. Nesta distracts her, because she is a threat to them now. She can open a portal back to her world, which could give Rigelus and the others an opportunity to return to their world and destroy it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce realises Silene put her power into the very rock of the prison and she pulls it into her own body. Uses her new power to clock the tunnel to stop Azriel from escaping to get reinforcements. They fight before the ground beneath them all caves in.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23</span></b> - Lidia is hoping Declan got her message and has turned off the cameras, but she can't know for sure. Lidia goes to get Irithys again and tells her she needs her to torture her. She tells Irithys about Hunt and how he befriended a sprite named Lehabah, a descendant of Queen Ranthia Drahl. She asks for her help to free Hunt and his friends. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Says the hag was a test to see if Irithys was as trustworthy as she thought. She asks for Irithys to help her cause a diversion that will help get them out. Irithys asks about the ink that keeps her trapped and Lidia reveals she has bargained with Hilde - if she takes it off for her then she will go free.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks about her needing to torture Lidia and she says it is to make it believable. She seems to agree in the end and Hilde is brought down. She removes the tattoo from Irithys, who then immediately kills Hilde. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Then Lidia asks her to burn her enough that she can convince the others that Irithys overpowered her and Hilde when she brought her down to help torture the prisoners. Then she explains what else she needs from her to free the others. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce, Azriel and Nesta have fallen into a secret chamber beneath the star. Here they find a sarcophagus made from clear quartz and inside lays the body of a female. Realises the carvings all showing evil below may have been pointing towards this. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24</span></b> - The female in the coffin isn't dead, but sleeping - with pale skin, dark hair and red lips (<i>It's giving Snow White</i>). The female opens her eyes to reveal they are blue and glowing. She demands they open the coffin and calls them slaves. They realise the creature is an Asteri/Daglan.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan hadn't meant to kill Sigrid, but he had accidentally beheaded her. The Viper Queen kept her word and let them all go, including Tharion. They leave in a sedan, and the three sprites find them after burning down the Viper Queen's place. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri asks if Fionn sent him. But then she sees the Starsword and instead asks if Enalius sent them (<a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">Check the ACOSF recap for more on him</a>). Theia tricked this Asteri and that is how she ended up trapped here. The Asteri offers to answer Bryce's questions if she lets her out, which she does.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25</span></b> - The Asteri says her name is Vesperus, Bryce asks if she is related to Hesperus, the Evening Star and she says that she <i>is</i> the Evening Star. Bryce asks where they came from - essentially started to destroy their own planet so had to go in search of others. They called those who travelled between worlds Wayfarers. </p><p class="MsoNormal">When they left their own world, their powers weakened as they were reliant on the magic of their homeland - which is why they then needed the Dread Trove to be Made so they could continue to travel between worlds. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She reveals if they destroy the Cauldron they would destroy this world as they bound the Cauldron with the soul of the world. They gave the worlds they went to kill switches like this. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce asks her how she can undo the parasite in the water that takes their power and forces them to give it to the Asteri. Bryce tells her about how Apollion ate Sirius, and that she knows the Asteri can be killed. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Vesperus says the Asteri left some of their power spread throughout this world but they haven't found it. Some places are better than others to hold magic, places where the veil between worlds is very thin. The prison island is one such place, which is why it is surrounded by mist - which makes Bryce think of the Bone Quarter in her world, which is also surrounded by mist and holds secondlight. The Northern Rift is the same, as well as the riverbank she landed in when she came to this world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They realise there is a firstlight core hidden below this mountain. As Vesperus summons the magic into her body, Nesta plunges her sword through her chest.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26</span></b> - Ithan disgusted by what he did.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The sword does little damage to Vesperus, she is already healing. Bryce summons Truth-teller to her, as well as the Starsword. She plunges both into Vesperus, as he magic surges through both blades and meets up. Azriel attempts to use his magic on her but Vesperus absorbs it. Nesta beheads her and then stabs her head over and over again. They manage to kill her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and the others meet the small boat at the dock that will take them to the <i>Depth Charger. </i>Ithan says he can't go on, that he has to go back to the City and make it right. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27</span></b> - Bryce used the magic she has and the quartz of the coffin to open a portal back to what she hopes is Midgard, taking the Starsword and Truth-teller with her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part II: The Search</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><b style="font-size: large;">Chapter 28 - </b>Hunt wakes up to find that his wings are growing back. Aidas begins speaking to him in his mind, he can see him in his cat form on the floor. Hunts asks why Rigelus wants his lightning, he tells him it is for the same reason they wanted Sofie Renast's lightning (From start of HOSAB) - to bring the dead back to life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>Hunt asks why they are trying now, as they have had him enslaved for hundreds of years. Aidas says they may have finally figured out what Hunt's father bred him to be, but doesn't explain what he means.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>Aidas tells Hunt that they plan to kill Ruhn because it will hurt Bryce and him the most. Hunt asks that if he ever sees Bryce again to tell her... He doesn't end up saying what he needs to say but Aidas knows anyway, that he'd tell her to not return to this world. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 29</b></span> - Bryce lands back in her world, in front of the Autumn King in his study and he already has her in gorsian chains so she can't use her powers. He has both the Starsword and Truth-teller and guesses she was in the world he has wanted to find for a long time. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30</span></b> - Autumn King locks Bryce in a bedroom without telling her how long she's been gone or if Ruhn & Hunt are still alive. Makes a deal with her, for every one of his questions she answers, he will answer one of hers. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>Tells him she went to the Fae's original world and he tells her R&H are alive. She tells him the Fae in that world are stronger than they are because they don't have to give up some of their power to the Asteri like they do in Midgard. He reveals she's been gone 5 days.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>She asks why the Asteri are keeping R&H alive and he says it is so they can use them against her. She tells him the dagger is Truth-Teller and the dagger from the prophecy. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>She asks about Ophion and he tells her it is pretty much dead because of how low their numbers have gotten. He also reveals Cormac is dead.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan walks further into the House of Flame and Shadow where he is met by Jesiba Roga (<b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">Check HOEAB recap for more on her</a></b>)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31</span></b> - Jesiba and Ithan sit at a bar in a hall with other creatures including vampyrs and draki. He tells her he needs a necromancer - wants to try to bring Sigrid back from the dead.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King says he uses the orrery (<b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">this came up in HOSAB</a></b>) to search and try to find the reason for why the Fae bloodlines are weakening. His worry is that if the Fae become too weak, others will take their place and they will be lesser than they are now in this world - part of why he and King Morven wanted her and Cormac to marry. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She asks if it is true the Asteri can't get through the mists around Avallen, he confirms Morven believes they can't. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Autumn King adjusts a prism device to send sunlight through the orrery's planets. Ruhn told her the that the AK spends all day looking for patterns and she asks what patterns he is looking for. He tells her that he made Ruhn give him a small piece of his starlight before and it allowed him to use the prism device in a new way.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The device can refract light and his other similar device puts it back into one beam. He is trying to add more light when he puts it back into one beam. Basically attempting to make it more powerful. She guesses this interests him as the Asteri are made of light and feed on firstlight so he could possibly use this against them in some way.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She realises he wants to know if her Starborn light is different to the Asteri light and if she can use it to kill them - if he can turn it into a weapon. He asks if she learned about it while she was away and she tells him if he removes her chains then she will show him what she learned. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells her father everything she learned about the Asteri and about how they feed off of the Fae's firs and secondlight. He guesses they are weakening over time because the Asteri are taking too much from them.</p><p class="MsoNormal">He tells her she will never understand how the Starsword and dagger work but he does, as he researched them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 32 </b></span>- The Hawk returns to the dungeons, followed by Mordac and a few dreadwolves. The Hawk tells them Rigelus wants to see them all. Ruhn knows they plan to kill him and seems resigned to that fact. They lead them out to the elevator and Lidia is inside, her arm in a sling and recovering from a burn.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia only allows two dreadwolves in the lift with them, doesn't let Mordac in either but tells him to meet them upstairs. Once the elevator closes and begins moving up, Lidia pulls her gun out and shoots the Hawk in the face.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33 </span></b>- Baxian is confused, as they hadn't told him Lidia was Daybright. She shoots the two dreadwolves as well and then tells them they have just under two minutes to escape to a waiting car. She releases them from their gorsian chains. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is weak and close to passing out so Lidia has to carry him. They get into the getaway car and she puts Baxian as the gunner, helping to mow down enemies trying to stop them. Declan's voice can be heard over the radio, asking if she can hear him and she confirms she can.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn pulls up in a van next to them, at this point Ruhn is crying. Over the radio different voices can be heard saying they are 'a go' at different places - Alcene, Ravilis, Meridan etc (11 in total). Then Irithys comes on to say she is ready to set fire to the Eternal City.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Every city that they mentioned is a major depot along the railway that moves weapons to the front. Irithys is given the signal to burn the Eternal City down and they hear a blast, followed by more. Each depot is being blown up at the same time.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They make it out of the city. Over the radio Declan tells them that Irithys managed to escape. Mordac and a force of dreadwolves made it out of the gate before it shut behind them and are on their tail. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34</span></b> - Lidia is driving them towards the water but the road is blocked. She asks Hunt and Baxian to carry Ruhn between them and get to the <i>Depth Charger</i>. Lidia says Mordac will go after her so she can buy them more time. She turns into her deer form, nuzzles into Ruhn's neck for a moment before running off - he says nothing the entire time. After she's gone he touches her neck and says her name. Ruhn realises Lidia has no plans to come with them.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Baxian fly them up and Ruhn can see Lidia in deer form being hunted by Mordac and his dreadwolves. Ruhn knows that if they catch Lidia, she'll lose. He demands they put him down but they don't. The higher they get he is able to see that the mountain she's running up suddenly cuts off, leaving a deadly drop to the water below. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35</span></b> - They make it to the Depth Charger and Tharion is there, Ruhn demands he go and help Lidia. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia makes it to the cliff edge and turns back into her human form. Mordac and the wolves have her trapped at the edge, their guns on her. She knows she'll die if she jumps, but it will be a kinder death than the one she will be given if she's captured. She removes the torque from her neck and tells them to go to hel before racing for the edge of the cliff and jumping off to her death. They shoot at her and a bullet goes through her chest as she falls, laughing as she dies. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36</span></b> - Jesiba asks Ithan to tell her everything and he does. Jesiba says she will help him if he agrees to work with her as her assistant. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce talks to her dad, asks him if he ever wonders what could have happened if he hadn't sent people to hunt her & her mother down. His answer is every day. She asks why he did it then. That he hit her mother and still feels about about it to this day and yet still hunted them down and then when she showed up years later he was nice to her for a little while before kicking her out. </p><p class="MsoNormal">He tells her that Ruhn and Hunt have escaped the Asteri dungeon. He threatens the boy her mother and step-father Randall have adopted if she doesn't agree to take him to the Fae world she found. He tells her the Starsword is Made but the knife can Unmake things - together they could merge and be used to create a portal to 'nowhere', whatever that means.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She is the first female to have the Starsword as they banned female from the Cave of Princes so they could never claim it. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37 </span></b>- Ruhn refuses to move from Lidia's side and has also refused any healing potions, making them give them all to Lidia instead. The two times he had left Lidia's room, she had flatlined so now he refuses to. He sleeps in the chair. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion had been able to cushion a little of her fall from the cliff, but by then she'd already been shot through the heart. When he'd brought her onto the Depth Charger, she had been dead and the sight had broken a part of Ruhn. The medwitches on the boat had given her healing potions and Hunt had used his lightning powers to restart her heart. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn tries to get him to sleep but he refuses. Tells him the last thing he said to Lidia was that she was dead to him and he had meant it, and yet she'd saved him anyway. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks Tharion to help him get in touch with the Ocean Queen, sister to the River Queen. Tharion goes to see Sendes to ask for a favour (she's commander of the ship). She tells him the Ocean Queen is coming to the ship the next day, she has been threatened with war by both the River and Viper Queen for hiding him.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38 </span></b>- Ithan has been working for Jesiba for one day, unpacking a ton of her boxes filled with artifacts and other things. Jesiba has told him how Hunt and the others had managed to escape. Ithan asks her about the books she has that are from the lost library of Parthos. Only one ship managed to escape with books when they came to destroy the library, <i>The Griffin</i>. The Ocean Queen had the mer help them escape. He asks why she has the books but she won't tell him, or tell him why she had the Archesian amulets that Parthos priestesses used to wear. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba then reveals her true face/look - she appears a lot younger. She says she was cursed by Apollion who found <i>The Griffin </i>when it was escaping. He wanted to know what was so valuable that so many humans sacrificed themselves to try and save it. He didn't believe her when she told him it was knowledge. Cursed her to live completely unchanged until she'd reveal the truth to him. He still believes that the books are a weapon and she'll reveal the truth one day. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba was a Priestess at Parthos all those years ago. She only got power after Apollion touched her, he had recently consumed Sirius and seemed to accidentally give her some of his magic. She has been alive for 15,000 yet. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39</span></b> - Bryce goes to her father and tells him what happened the night he had his men track down Bryce's mum and Randall. Randall hadn't picked up a gun in years but did that night and killed her father's chief officer. She says he'd only known her mother for 3 days but already knew he loved her and would do anything for her, says she learnt how to love from him. She was distracting him so she could lock gorsian shackles on his wrists. </p><p class="MsoNormal">He realises she arrived at his home on purpose, to get information from him about the swords as she knows he was researching them. She'd got the shackles off because Ruhn hid a key in his room, as he'd use it back when his father would put the shackles on him and burn him. Now thanks to him she knows what the sword & dagger can do together, and also where to go to learn more about it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">She takes him to the basement and makes him get in the closet there. Then she goes back to his office and uses the magic she got from Silene to shoot starlight at the prism, and rather than a rainbow showing it shows white light turning into shadow. May have dusk powers too now. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Then she uses her light on both prisms at once, pointing them at each other so the light meets and then she steps into it in the very middle. Uses it as a battery to fuel her powers even more. Then uses the boost she has to transport herself 'home', which to her is Hunt. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia finally wakes up and when she sees Ruhn is there she wonders if she is dead. She asks where they are and when he tells her they're on the <i>Depth Charger</i> she quickly jumps out of the bed and runs out. She runs until she finds where the classrooms are and finds a door marked <i>Year Nine</i>, where there are two teenage boys - one with gold hair and blue eyes, the other with dark hair and golden eyes. They look like Lidia and Flynn and Ruhn assume they're her brothers, but she tells them they're her sons.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40</span></b> - The Ocean Queen arrives to see them. Hunt, Baxian and Tharion all go to meet her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia wants to meet her children but the director of the school tells her to wait. Her twins are 15 now, called Brann and Actaeon and they have adoptive parents. Lidia agrees to come back at the end of the school day. She faints as she goes to walk away.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ocean Queen tells Tharion the Viper Queen has put a 3million bounty on him, 5 million if he is brought to her alive. And then the River Queen, her sister, is threatening war with her if she doesn't hand him over. She asks why she shouldn't just hand him over, Bryce then appears in the doorway to tell her that if she does she will have a third queen angry at her because Tharion serves her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41</span></b> - Ocean Queen asks who she is and she says she is Queen of the Valbaran Fae. The Ocean Queen says they are all guests on her ship and can't leave until she says they can. Bryce tells the OQ that she went to the Fae's original world. Tells her how the Asteri have poisoned the water. Bryce tells her she wants to fully open the Northern Rift. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells them they need to go to Avallen, as she need to do research in their archives about the sword/dagger but lies and says it is to research the First Wars. The OQ asks if Bryce has thought of evacuating as many as she can back to the original Fae world and then closing the portal behind her forever. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The OQ reveals the mer were here before the Asteri, that they had the sea while humans had the land. She agrees to take them to Avallen but that's it. Believes Bryce will soon realise her plan is the only one that will work - leaving with as many as they can.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42</span></b> - Ruhn comes in, tells them about Lidia having children. Then Bryce explains everything to them about her time away and all she learned. Then she asked them what happened while she was gone. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce reveals she has taken her father's notebook, and will use it to get King Morven to give her what she wants. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43</span></b> - Lidia sits across from her sons and their mer foster parents - Davit and Renki. The boys know who she is and that she has killed people for the Asteri. Brann seems happier to see than Actaen (Ace) who isn't nice to her.</p><p class="MsoNormal">A messenger comes to Lidia to give her a message from the Ocean Queen asking to see her. She tells Lidia she will leave with the others the next day when they reach Avallen, even though she wants to stay there with her sons.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn runs into Lidia, asks a little about her children. She hadn't seen them since they were 18 months old. Tells him everything she has done has been for them. She's angry with Ruhn for only wanting to hear her out now that he knows she has kids. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks her to tell him her story now, but she says he doesn't deserve to hear it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44 </span></b>- Jesiba gets a phone call and then tells Ithan to come with her and bring the Godslayer Rifle - the one Bryce used on Micah. She brings him to the Astronomer. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Bryce tell the others about their cousins, who they refer to as the Murder Twins. They can read minds, and do so without asking for permission. Bryce wants to visit the Cave of Princes while she is on Avallen. They agree that Ruhn, Flynn and Declan will go to the archives while Bryce, Hunt and Baxian </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells her that the caves can be confusing and that there are mists there and carvings throughout.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia tells them she is going with them, that the Ocean Queen has told her if she doesn't continue her work as Agent Daybright then she will no longer offer her twins protection. The OQ wants her to learn how to take down the new mech-suits. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia and Bryce go to talk to the three sprites, they tell them Irithys is now free and ask if they will go find her. Also agree to fight alongside her against the Asteri in the end.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells hunt about the mists in Avallen and <i>thin places</i> that Vesperus told her about, she thinks Avallen might be one like the Prison in the other world was. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Astronomer is demanding Ithan had Sigrid over, doesn't seem to know she's dead. Then Queen Hypaxia shows up, who is the necromancer Jesiba was planning to use to bring Sigrid back.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45</span></b> - The Astronomer demands 10 million marks for Sigrid and Jesiba agrees to pay it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia tells them that Morganthia Dragas and her coven staged a coup and now Hypaxia is no longer queen of the Valbaran Witches. In order to escape being executed, Hypaxia has sworn her loyalty to Flame and Shadow.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia meets up with her sons and one of their foster fathers, Davit. She wanted to see them one more time before she goes to Avallen, as she doesn't think she will make it out alive. Ace clearly hates her, while Brann seems more willing to give her a chance. She takes off her ruby ring and gives it to them - it is a family heirloom from her father's side that is worth a lot of money. She says they can sell it to pay for university or anything else they need. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Morganthia first order as queen was to call for Hypaxia's execution. The other was to undo the animation spell for Hypaxia's tutors, who were all ghosts. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan learns Jesiba is second in command at House of Flame and Shadow. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia has to go to the Black Dock to swear her oaths to the Under-King. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba pays the Astronomer to help look for a way to get rid of Apollion's curse on her. He helps as he thinks figuring it out will mean he can find a way to stay young forever too. Jesiba learnt that the Princes of Hel seem scared of dragon fire, so she attempted to buy Ariadne from the Astronomer but he refused. She tells Ithan that the wolves reached Parthos first and were the ones who started killing and burning the library. The packs were led by Asteri-bred bloodhounds. Jesiba reveals the Fendyr line has been carefully bred over the years by the Asteri. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba believes the Asteri had Micah kill Danika because they couldn't control her they way they wanted. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46 </span></b>- The Depth Charger can't get too close to Avallen, as there seem to be natural wards stopping them from getting too close. When Bryce draws the Starsword is creates a small door in the wall of mist for them to go through. A white boat comes sailing through and they hear the voice of the king welcoming her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion waits till they are all on the white boat and then jumps down after them, despite being ordered not to leave the Depth Charger. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47</span></b> - Ithan goes down to the morgue with Hypaxia and Jesiba, so they can resurrect Sigrid.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and the others are taken to Morven's throne room. The King has the Murder Twins bring out a Fae female, who is Sathia, Flynn's sister.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48</span></b> - Morven says many Valbaran Fae tried to seek shelter in Avallen but only a few have been granted to stay, but that they had to pay a price to do so. Sathia has refused to pay the price asked of her, which is to agree to breed with one of the Murder Twins (Seamus and Duncan) Flynn's parents have been allowed to stay too. Flynn's family had to leave because the Asteri know he helped with Hunt's rescue and they are not wanted. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells him she wants to look through the Archives and Cave of Princes. Also tells him that Sathia will not be forced to marry and will come with them instead. But he keeps refusing, so Tharion says he will marry Sathia.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia resurrects Sigrid but it seems to go wrong in some way, turns her into a Reaper instead. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49 </span></b>- Flynn warns Tharion not to marry her, says she is the worst. Also says the Fae don't divorce, that if he left her then she'd never be able to get married again. But he doesn't listen and they get married.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Under-King shows up in the morgue, who is the one who turned her into a Reaper. Before she goes with the Under-King she tells Ithan that she will never forget that he killed her.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia says there may be a way to fix what was done to Sigrid if they can get a thunderbird. Asks where they can find Sofie Renast's body, as she could still bring her back if she hasn't had her Sailing yet. Jesiba finds out that her body is on Avallen with Morven.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50</span></b> - Flynn says his magic hates Avallen, his sister feels the same way. Doesn't seem to affect anyone else in the same way as them. They are in the Archives, trying to find any information of the sword, knife, the mists, Pelias and Helena, the early days of Avallen and anything regarding the First Wars.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Declan finds a map of Avallen from the First Wars, which shows dozen of islands surrounding it which shouldn't be there. All the islands seemed to disappear 100 years after the First War ended according to other maps they find.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce finally have sex again, their powers seem to flow into each other. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51</span></b> - Bryce, Hunt, Tharion, Baxian and Sathia finally got to the Cave to look for answers. Pelias's tomb and Starsword's resting place should be in the center of the cave.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Morven goes to speak to Ruhn, trying to convince him to marry a female on the island but he walks away. Lidia makes a comment about how Ruhn is a prince and should start behaving like one.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52</span></b> - Bryce tells them about the Mask, how it can raise people from the dead without the need for a necromancer. Walking through the cave they find a carving on a wall of an eight-pointed star. Follows more carvings, and sees Fae hunting down Theia's pegasuses. The ghouls in the caves seem scared of Bryce and her power. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ducan and Seamus come to find Ruhn in the archives. They try to get into Lidia's mind but she protects it with a wall of fire. When they leave Ruhn finally speaks to her. She asks how he turned out the way he did when his father is such an asshole, he says Flynn and Dec are the reason. He asks how it went with her sons before she left and she says terribly, that Ace hates her but Brann might be willing to get to know her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan hears booms above them of loud explosions and goes to Jesiba's office. She's watching a camera feed showing bombs exploding. She says Omega-boats have come to Istros and started firing missiles into Asphodel Meadows.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53</span></b> - Ithan and Hypaxia head to Asphodel Meadows and try to help some of the survivors. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and the others have reached an underground river, Baxian and Hunt fly them all across. Sathia asks what she plans to do with the Fae after this and Bryce says she wants nothing to do with them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Lidia have dinner in silence but he speaks to her before she goes to her room. He asks if she ever planned to meet him that night at the ball. She tells him the Harpy got there before she did. But he asks again if she was going to meet him and she asks if it matters. He steps closer to her, realising how much he wants her. He can tell she wants him too. He kisses her neck, licking up it before she pulls away. He quickly says good night and goes to his room.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54</span></b> - Lidia and Ruhn are having another silent breakfast together when a Fae male comes in to thank Lidia, says she saved his life. Says he was with his unit in Kelun when she came in to warn them the Hammer was coming, giving them time to escape. He says some of the unit are here, as Cormac convinced them to join the cause but never told anyone that she was who saved them all those years ago. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia finds a scroll called <i>The Roots of Earthen Magic</i>. Talks of how the Fae used their earth magic to find the best places to build. They'd find ley lines and build on them. Avallen was chosen as the stronghold for the Fae, so should be in the most powerful area which doesn't make sense if Flynn and Sathia say the place is dead and rotting to them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and the others are in the caves when Morven and the Autumn King find them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55</span></b> - Morven has captured Flynn and Declan, using them to get Bryce to do what he wants. Bryce sends a blast of her power at the cave ceiling, caving it in.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn invites Lidia into his room so they can talk more. Ruhn asks if she knew who he was when they slept together that time and she says she did. He asks about her deal with the Ocean Queen, she says she was scared and young when she made it. She tells him Pollux isn't their father, she basically got pregnant during some sex rite that the stag shifters take part in. She and a male were chosen, but never got to know who each other was.</p><p class="MsoNormal">When she realises she was pregnant she knew she couldn't hand her child over to her father, so she faked her own kidnapping in order to hide the pregnancy. She went to Ophion for help and they took her to the Ocean Queen, who offered protection for her and her children but only if she agreed to turn spy and go back once they were born. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She returned after 2 years, when Pollux confessed his feelings for her and said he'd spent those two years trying to find her. When she goes to leave Ruhn's room, he stops her. Says he doesn't care who she is as long as she is his because he is hers. They kiss and then he leads her to bed. When he pins her hand and she flinches, he realises the things Pollux must have done to her. He asks her to stay with him for the night, but doesn't have sex with her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has cut them off from the kings, Flynn, Dec and the Murder twins. She tells the others to jump into the river. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56</span></b> - Byce and Hunt fight, she thinks he doesn't want to be there and is too scared of what could happen to them. Bryce says she'd rather die trying to defeat the Asteri than not try at all.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce knew where to go because these caves are almost identical to the ones she was in back in the other Fae world. Finds a doorway, right where it was in the other world. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn still can't find Flynn and Dec, and realises Morven and the Twins are missing too. He realises they must have taken them to the Cave of Princes. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and the others have found the sarcophagus in Prince Pelias's tomb. She uses her light powers on the carvings and it reveals a hidden illustration. She moves the sarcophagus and finds a hidden staircase beneath it. She says this place was originally built by Helena.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57 </span></b>- They go down the stairs and find another river below where they find a black ewer (jug) and bowl resting on a carving of an 8 pointed star. Bryce reveals these caves are made from black salt. This place can be used to summon demons and communicate with Hel. She thinks she was using this place to mind-speak with Hel, as Starborn can do that. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tries to drink the salt-laced water alone but Hunt says she can't do it without him. They both drink from it. Both go into a dreamworld where Aidas waits for them, welcoming them to Hel.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58</span></b> - Ithan has spent two days helping in the Meadows. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian, Tharion and Sathia keep watch over Bryce and Hunts unconscious bodies. Tharion tells Sathia how his sister Lesia died the year before. He agreed to marry Sathia because she is Flynn's sister and he wishes someone would have helped his sister if she would have ever needed it. They see Hunt and Bryce's bodies are now covered in frost and know they've reached Hel.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt get on a small boat with Aidas to take them across the river. Apollion is waiting on the other side for them and calls Hunt son. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59 </span></b>- Apollion walks towards them with Thanatos at his side, Prince of the Ravine. They can't be harmed while here, as using black salt means their mind and soul are protected while they are here. Thanatos can smell that Bryce's powers have changed since he last saw her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks them what the crown on his head is, that Rigelus put there. He is told the black crowns were collars in Hel, that the Asteri made so they could enslave them. But the Princes could not be held by the crowns. They thought Hunt also wouldn't be able to be held by them because he was Made by the Princes of Hel.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas tells them how Pelias used the Horn to close the Northern Rift, but it broke before he could completely close it off from Hel. Helena found a way to contact Hel to try and see if they could come back through and attack again, but couldn't do it unless the Rift could be fully opened. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60</span></b> - Ruhn and Lidia are in the Cave of Princes. Lidia apologises for the night before, for flinching when they were in bed together. Says she shouldn't apologise and that they don't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. She tells him she wants to though, that she wants him all of the time. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce shows them Truth-Teller, that she got it from Theia's home world. Aidas asks if she knows what happened during Silene and Theia's last meeting and she asks him to tell her. He says Theia used the Harp to divide her magic in three to give a big to both Silene and Helena. She didn't keep enough for herself though, which is how Pelias defeated her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Because Theia made the sword and dagger, they are keyed to her power. So only descendants of Helena with enough of her starlight power can wield the blades. He believes when she attempted to open the portal to Hel, the swords desire to be reunited with the dagger was stronger and that is how she ended up in the Fae world instead. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce reveals she claimed the magic Silene left behind, which must be the power Theia gave her. Aidas says she has two thirds of Theia's power. The third she got through Helena's bloodline and the third she took from Silene. He wonders what her power would look like if she could get the other third. It would be like the 'laser' power she can now use, what Theia called starfire.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia transferred the last of her power into the Starsword but Helena removed it somehow. The sword and dagger together can destroy everything. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Northern and Southern Rift lie atop a bunch of ley lines, which are where the barrier between worlds is weakest - they are <i>thin places</i>. The mists are a sign that somewhere is a thin place. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce needs the third piece of magic to be able to fully use the two blades to take down the Asteri but no one knows where it is. Aidas says Helena and Theia were World-walkers and so is Bryce, which means they can move through the mists with ease. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas says Bryce needs to use the Horn to open the Northern Rift.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61</span></b> - During the First Wars some of the Princes bred kristallos, a new type of demon that could hunt down the Horn. Aidas tells Hunt he was made by Apollion and Thanatos, to be used as a weapon when Bryce came along - the person who could get the magic and unite the swords. They also made the thunderbirds.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Part of Apollion is in Hunt's blood - his Helfire, which is Hunt's lightning. He says it is capable of killing the Asteri. Apollion used his Helfire to kill Sirius. But Hunt's power is too diluted to be able to kill them. </p><p class="MsoNormal">An angel scientist in the Asteri Archives looked into the origins of thunderbirds and named the project Project Thurr. That eventually led the scientist to the Princes who told him the truth and he agreed to work with them. They used that scientist and Hunt's mother to make Hunt. But the Asteri learnt the scientist had been working with Hel and had him killed, but they didn't know about Hunt's mother or that Hunt existed. His father's name was Hyrieus. Hunt was made to be a power battery for Bryce.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62</span></b> - Bryce and Hunt wake up to find Morven and the Autumn King have already reached them. She sees Sathia, Flynn, Declan, Tharion and Baxian are all trapped in a ring of fire. When Bryce accuses the Autumn King of killing the last Starborn Prince he doesn't deny it, says he did it because he wanted to end the bloodline. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The twins get into Sathia's mind, make her take Tharion's dagger and hold it to her throat. They tell Bryce to drop the blades or they will make Sathia cut her own throat. She drops them. But when she holds her hands out, the swords fly back to her. Then Bryce runs at her father and the others.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The twins try to get into her mind, and she floods their own with her starfire. She melts their minds, killing them. She transports herself to the Autumn King, crushing his hand in hers, melting it. But the Kings use their powers against her at once and the Autumn King has her backed against the wall about to plunge his sword of flame into her chest. But Ruhn has found them, and he drives the Starsword through his father's heart. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells his father that he lied about what the Oracle said to him all those years ago. Reveals that she never told him he would be a fair and just king but that the royal bloodline would end with Ruhn. He assumed it mean his father's bloodline, but now knows she meant all the male lines. He says the line will end with him because he yields the crown to Bryce. Then he uses the Starsword to behead his father. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says the sword and dagger prophecy didn't just mean she would unite the Fae, but rather all the people of Midgard can be united against the Asteri. She then kills Morven, making herself Queen of Avallen. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce now needs to find the final piece of Theia's magic to fully be able to use the sword and dagger to open a portal to 'nowhere' and trap the Asteri there. They think Theia used the ley lines to contain the magic, but that it drained the land of its magic and that's why all the islands surrounding it were destroyed. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce notes that the 8 point star on the floor has two slits, one in a different point. She notices they are large enough for the sword and dagger to fit into, as if they are keys to unlock something. She puts the daggers inside, unlocking whatever lies beneath.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63 </span></b>- Light blasts up, and the ground begins to move. Bryce gets the last of Theia's power. Bryce and the others are being brought up to the ground, bursting up through the hills a little ways from the castle. The land seems to finally be coming back to life, with grass and flowers blooming. All the islands begin emerging from the sea. <div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64</span></b> - Morven's castle has been destroyed, turned to rubble as trees and other things grow from it. Bryce wants to get as many people to safety on Avallen as they can. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia tells them if they survive she will not go back to the Ocean Queen. Her enemies will be dead and the OQ shouldn't need her anymore. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Declan suddenly has phone service, and he tells them the Asteri has made their move. Pollux and Mordoc led an attack on every Ophion base and destroyed every single one. Also dispatched the Asterian Guard to Asphodel Meadows and hit it with ten missiles. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part III: The Ascent</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65</span></b> - Ithan and Hypaxia make it to Avallen but don't know how to get through the mist. But when Hypaxia touches them, they part for her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has contacted her family, they are heading to Avallen. Bryce tells hunt they need to go to Nena so she can open the Northern Rift to let Hel in. Bryce also wants to let everyone know that she killed Micah and Hunt killed Sandriel - to show that the Archangels can be killed. She needs to find Jesiba to get the footage of what she did to Micah.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt & Bryce land in front of Ithan and Hypaxia.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66 </span></b>- Everyone meets up - Ithan, Hypaxia, Bryce, Hunt, Ruhn, Flynn, Dex, Tharion, Lidia, Baxian and Sathia. Ithan tells them he needs Sofie's body. He tells them what he did and why he needs the body. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells him Sofie's body was in the castle, which is now rubble. Hunt tells them how Rigelus collected his lightning to do a similar thing and maybe they could try that, but they'd need crystals to contain the power. Ruhn says Lidia found some in the archives that they could use. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Ithan and Hypaxia everything she's learnt and everything that has happened. Asks Hypaxia if she can find an antidote for the parasite they put in the water. Tells them to head back to House of Flame and Shadow to start working on it right away. They give them crystals with Hunt's lightning in to take with them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67</span></b> - Baxian tells Hunt a little about his childhood. His dad was a captain in Sandriel's 45th and his mother was a Helhound shifter. When he was 8 a mob came for them. His mother was torn to shreds by Helhounds and his father was caught by his own legion and given the Living Death. He died from blood loss from having his wings cut off over and over again.</p><p class="MsoNormal">He was on his own and became known as the Snake. Sandriel heard about him and recruited him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks Baxian to be his second in command and he agrees.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells the others her plan, that she Hunt and her parents are heading the Nena to open the Rift. She tells Ruhn to head back to Lunathion with Declan and Flynn to find Isaiah and Naomi and get them to work with them. Baxian will stay behind to help those who come for refuge, and lead while Bryce is gone.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says she won't give Lidia orders but Lidia says she goes with Ruhn. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Tharion to go to the River Queen to convince her to shelter people Beneath. Sathia says she will go with him. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Lidia talk, she says they went after the Ophion to punish her. She asks how he feels about killing his father, he only worries what his mother will think. She says he will learn to live with it like she did, as she killed her father. She made it look like a rebel attack though. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She confirms she won't go back to the Ocean Queen and he says he is proud of her. She tells him that she sees him, all of him. He leans over to kiss her. But Flynn interrupts to tell them not to fuck next to everyone. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68</span></b> - Ithan is helping Hypaxia by getting her samples of water. He sees a Reaper and is curious if the parasite dies when they do. Hypaxia tells him to get her a Reaper so she can see, as it could help them if they really do lost the parasite when they die.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Helicopter arrives at Avallen with Bryce's parents, Emile/Cooper, June, Fury and Syrinx. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69</span></b> - A Reaper arrives at the morgue where Ithan and Hypaxia are working, sent by the Under-King at Jesiba's request. This Reaper was once in the Aux, he was a lion-shifter. He is a bit of a creep to Hypaxia but leaves when she's done with him. She tells Ithan he was right, the Reaper's don't have the parasite. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury has brought Bryce all the snow gear they will need to survive in the cold temps of Nena. Bryce gives Fury the photo she has of the four of them - Bryce, Juniper, Fury and Danika. Tells her to keep it safe for her. Then Bryce, Hunt and her parents leave for Nena.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70</span></b> - Hypaxia has found the antidote. She used the synth one as a template as it and the parasite had things in common. She had to use all of Hunt's lightning to make it, so that means they can't help Sigrid yet. But the antidote isn't perfect, but will have to do for now. It isn't permanent yet, the effects would wear off. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia says if he takes it, it will mean he is more powerful than Sabine. He could challenge her if he wanted. He quickly takes the antidote before she can stop him. He tells her it worked, he feels stronger. He can now summon snow. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and the others reach Nena, but the sentries that should be there aren't. Hunt takes that as a bad sign. Her parents find the the security footage and hit play. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71</span></b> - Ithan wants to go see the wolves, to tell them about Sigrid and about the antidote and that they have alternatives to being under Sabine's control. Ithan goes to Bryce's apartment and finds the research Danika was doing on the Fendyr line. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72 </span></b>- Bryce, Hunt and her parents get through the gate, after seeing on the feed that the Harpy is there - the weird raised-from-the-dead version of her. The Harpy ate the guards there. They get to the Rift, which has a quartz archway surrounding it. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan makes it to the Den, knowing that only Perry (Black Rose Omega and Amelie's little sister) is on duty at the gates. He tells her he needs to speak to everyone. She lets him in and gathers as many of the wolves as she can in the courtyard. He tells them about the parasite that the Asteri has put in all of them, that reduces all their powers. He then shows off the ice powers he now has and then tells them all about what the Asteri have done. He then tells them about Sigrid, that she is another Fendyr.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Astronomer and Sabine show up, Sigrid with them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 73</span></b> - Sabine tells the crowd that he is a liar and a traitor, and says he is responsible for why her niece is now a Reaper. They say he kidnapped her and turned her into a Reaper. Sabine says she can prove it, has the video footage from the Viper Queen showing him killing her. They lie and say they rescued Sigrid from him. Sabine says Sigrid told her she chose to become a Reaper to help protect her people and has come here to be Sabine's heir.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine says Sigrid has defected to Earth and Blood and will stay at the Den now.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Prime shows up, saying he never approved of any of this. Ithan pulls out the Fendyr sword he took from Bryce's room and kneels before the Prime. He apologises and says he has no plans to try to usurp the Fendyrs. The Prime says what Ithan has told them is true and that Danika was aware of it too, that she hoped they could be better than they have been.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Prime announces that Ithan is now his heir, nobody else and gives him the Fendyr sword. Tells Sabine she is stripped of her rank, authority and title. While Ithan hesitates in taking the sword, Sabine grabs it and stabs her father, the Prime, in the face with it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">When the Prime falls, Sigrid jumps on him and sucks the firstlight from his body. Sabine then tries to kill him with the sword but he shifts to wolf form and bites the sword to pieces.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74</span></b> - Sigrid attacks the Astronomer, ripping out his heart and then inhaling his soul/secondlight. Sabina attacks Ithan again and he grabs a piece of the broken sword and stabs her with it. He kills her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Perry is the first to submit to Ithan as Prime. Amelie is nect. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75</span></b> - Ruhn is with Lidia, back in the city and attempting to sneak through the city as they try to find Isaiah and Naomi at the Comitium. Lidia says she can lead them to their barracks, as she knows where all the cameras are. She notes that he seems nervous, and he says it is his first mission with his girlfriend and he's trying to impress her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion sees imperial battleships in the Istros, and many Omega-boats too. Tharion then calls one of the otters to him to deliver a message to the River Queen that he wants to meet with her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce asks Hunt to give her some of his power so she can open the Rift. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 76 </span></b>- She blasts her power at the gate and demands it open, a small sliver appears. The more lightning Hunt gives to her, the bigger the hole becomes. The same thing that happened at the Eternal Palace is happening now, it isn't opening the gate to Hel, it is opening it to the Fae world. When they look through, Nesta is sitting in an armchair by a fireplace staring at them in shock.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion tells the River Queen he was sent by Bryce, who is now Queen of both the Avallen and Valbaran Fae and that she asks for her to allow the people of Crescent City to seek asylum in the Blue Court. They tell her Bryce has the Princes of Hel as her allies. The River Queen's daughter comes in to shout at Tharion, who has brought his new wife with him.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce opened the portal to speak to Nesta, asks her to give her the Mask. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 77</span></b> - Nesta says no and tells her to shut the portal. Bryce begs, says she will return both the Mask and Truth-Teller to her once she has done what she needs with them. Bryce says she brought collateral to prove her intentions. She has her parents step forward, says Nesta can keep them in her world until she returns the Mask. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce then begs Nesta to take her parents even if she won't give her the mask. She begs her to take them and keep her safe for her. Nesta finally gives in and hands over the Mask, then takes Bryce's parents. Then Hunt uses his wind powers to knock her parents through the portal and closing it behind them.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Harpy sneaks up on them, camouflaged in white.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 78</span></b> - Tharion apologises for what he did to the River Queen's daughter (Does she ever gets a name?!?) He tells her if they take in the people of the city and they manage to bring the Asteri down, he will divorce Sathia and marry her instead. The Queen refuses, says she no longer wants him to marry her daughter.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The River Queen notes he never questioned why she wanted him to find Sofie Renast's body and her brother. She also worries about the Asteri. Her people remember a time before the Asteri and have tried to stop them before, but aren't strong enough. She'd wanted the thunderbird because she thought they might be able to stop the Asteri. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells him the Blue Court will help and take people in. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Harpy has been resurrected but the Asteri didn't use a necromancer, so she has returned with no soul at all. Isaiah, Naomi and the Governor of Valbara (Celestina) arrive. Bryce puts the Mask on and then demands the Harpy stop and kneel, which she does. She then tells the Harpy she can rest now, and she is dead once more.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 79</span></b> - Ruhn and Lidia talk some more. She tells him she didn't feel like she was truly awake until she met him. He kisses her and tells her that he's all in with her, whatever she wants. Lidia then receives a text, saying Pollux has taken her sons.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah, Celestina and Naomi had been tracking the Harpy, that's how they found them. Hunt is still furious with Celestina for betraying them, and tries to take her out with his lightning but the halo stops him from being able to use his full powers. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt then uses his Helfire power to slice through the halo himself, then does the same for Isaiah's before attacking Celestina again. Hunt wants to kill her but Bryce tells him she doesn't deserve to die. Naomi tells him Celestina regrets what she did and has been trying to make up for it. He finally relents and agrees not to.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells them she plans to use the Mask to raise the Fallen, to use them as an Army against the Asteri. Then she says Naomi and Isaiah can lead them. Hunt asks how she can raise them when their bodies are gone, and she points out that the Asteri kept their wings so she thinks a part of their souls will still be attached.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce thinks she can put the Fallen into the mech-suits up on Mount Hermon. Bryce says Celestina will go to Ephraim's fortress and keep him occupied.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt once again blast the Rift, this time opening it to Hel. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80</span></b> - Ithan goes back to Jesiba and asks her to get him a meeting with Under-King so he can speak to his brother. He heard Connor howling to him from the Bone Quarter when he was made Prime and believes he is trying to reach him.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia had given the antidote to the wolves before they left. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba tells him she heard from Bryce, she asked for Ithan to bring the antidote to her the next day at the Eternal City. Asks him to bring wolves with him too.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn calls Bryce, tells her she needs to come back. He explains Pollux found the Depth Charger as it dropped people off near Avallen and he killed a ton of mer before finding Lidia's sons and taking them. He is now holding them at the palace.</p><p class="MsoNormal">He tells her he, Lidia, Flynn and Dec are heading to the Eternal City.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 81</span></b> - Ithan is on the Black Dock with Hypaxia, each holding a Death Mark. They take the boat to the Under-King. He sits on his throne next to a giant statue of who Ithan assumes is Urd, who has symbols running over her skin like tattoos - which he thinks look familiar. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia asks the Under-King why the Repears chose to leave Apollion and join him. Says the Reapers fed on vampyrs in Hel until they left for the real world and so the Reapers followed them. Then they found they liked the taste of the other creatures on Midgard too. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Under-King originally came from the shifter's world. He then points to the statue of Urd and says she was not a goddess but a force. That she was 'a cauldron of life' and while they call her Urd, she used to be called Wyrd in the other world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Under-King gives him 7 minutes to talk to Connor.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 82</span></b> - Ithan realises that Connor can't talk to him. He tells Connor everything that has happened, including him becoming Prime. Connor bows his head at him, a mark of respect to a Prime. Connor shows Ithan that he understands and already knows about the secondlight. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Connor brings a bullet out of his pocket, made of the same metal as a Death Mark. Tries to gesture at Ithan what he wants him to do but the Under-King arrives to say his time is up. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan gets angry and uses his ice powers against the Under-King. Connor steps in his way and then Jesiba tells Hypaxia to 'do it'. She picks up a brazier and hits the frozen Under-King with it, who shatters into pieces. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 83</span></b> - The Under-King is dead and as Hypaxia made the final blow, Jesiba informs her she is now the new head of the House of Flame and Shadow. She tells her to quickly decide what to do with the souls here before Rigelus comes. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Connor tries to talk, Hypaxia orders him to speak which allows him to finally talk. He tells her not to send him and the other souls into the ether. He has them follow him to the Dead Gate and then says the bullet he gave Ithan is one the dead made for Bryce, that can be used with the Godslayer Rifle.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The bullet was crafted to hold the secondlight of the dead. He tells them all the secondlight of the dead can be put in the bullet. He tells Ithan to tell Bryce to make her shot count, then he steps into the archway and fades into light. Ithan captures the secondlight in the bullet. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and Sathia have made it back to land, where the Viper Queen finds them, with two Fae assassins next to her. Sathia recognises one of them, calls him Colin. Before the Viper Queen can harm them, Ithan and Hypaxia show up.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 84 </span></b>- Tharion quickly learns Ithan is now Prime and Hypaxia is now head of Flame and Shadow. The Viper Queen agrees to let Ithan go, then walks away taking her assassins with her.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Sathia explains to Tharion that losing Colin was her Ordeal. </p><p class="MsoNormal">They haven't been able to confirm a rendezvous point with Bryce at the Eternal City. They need to find her before they fight the Asteri because Hypaxia needs to give them the cure for the parasite and Ithan needs to give her the bullet. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 85</span></b> - Bryce, Hunt, Declan, Flynn, Ruhn and Lidia are all in the back of a white van. They are about to start recording something.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They hit record and Bryce introduces herself and then Hunt. And then they say they plan to show them the Republic is not as strong as they've been told. Hunt tells of how he once led the Fallen against the Asteri and Archangels. While they failed then, he tells them it is still worth fighting back. They say what they did to the Asphodel Meadows can't be allowed to happen ever again.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They explain about the parasite in the water to control them and get magic from them because without it the Asteri are nothing. Bryce tells them they can fight back and to prove it she shows them the video of her killing Micah.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They then take refuge in a safe house Lidia showed them. Hunt and Bryce are in bed together. where they say they love each other and he tells her she's his best friend, she says the same to him. Then they have sex and real stars start filling the room around them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 86 </span></b>- Ithan heads back to the Den, but almost all the wolves have left. They don't plan to return for a few months. Perry tells him she dumped the Astronomer and Sabine's bodies in the sewer.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Perry tells him to send word to the wolves, to warn them to find shelter at the Blue Court or find somewhere else to hide. Once the Asteri see him fighting against them, they will go after the wolves as punishment.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion finds a note from Sathia, telling him that she can't leave Colin in the hands of the Viper Queen. Realises she has left him to go save Colin, someone she clearly cares about. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is trying to comfort Lidia, who blames herself for her son's being taken. She tells Ruhn she wants him, needs to be able to touch him and not think for a bit. He goes down on her first before they finally have sex. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 87</span></b> - The footage they filmed is dropped, causing chaos and Declan hacked the imperial network and found out the Asteri plan to meet to discuss it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan buries the old Prime. Then he takes the Godslayer Rifle Jesiba has loaned him and head towards the Eternal City. When he hugs Perry before he leaves, he notes her scent now smells like she never took the antidote at all.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The plan is for them to keep the Asteri distracted with Hel's army so Bryce and Hunt can reach the firstlight core and destroy it. Ruhn and Lidia will try to rescue Ace and Brann, and kill Pollux if they can. Dec's job is to keep the cameras off them and Flynn is the getaway driver.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt need to make their way to the throne room, where the Fallen wings are kept.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 88 </span></b>- Seems too easy for Bryce, Hunt, Ruhn and Lidia to get into the palace. After Bryce and Hunt leave to go to the throne room, Ruhn kisses Lidia and tells her that he loves her. He doesn't wait for her to respond before they set off to look for her boys.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt finds his Umbra Mortis suit and helmet in the throne room and puts it on. Then Bryce puts the Mask on and can see which wings still hold a trace of soul. She gets them to take flight and then has the wings fly out of the throne room. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus finds them in the throne room, the Mask seems to be wary of him. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hel's armies reach the Eternal City. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus is smiling because he knew the moment they opened the Rift and has been waiting for them this whole time. The Asteri Guard are lying in wait in the Eternal City. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 89</span></b> - Rigelus reveals he had watched them through the Harpy when they were at the Rift. Rigelus knew they'd leave the Rift to Hel open, so he sent forces there with missiles to attack it while the armies are in Midgard. Bryce quickly teleports Hunt and her out of the palace.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Lidia have no luck finding the boys, then she remembers the mystics and so goes down to get their help to find them. She shoots the mystic on the front desk before she has the mystics in the tanks look for her sons. She finds out Pollux has taken them down to where the firstlight core is underneath the castle.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn knows she isn't thinking clearly and will end up getting herself killed, and her boys too. He clicks the safety off his gun and shoots her in the leg to stop her. She says she will never forgive him for it. He leaves her there, racing ahead to get to Pollux and her boys.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hel's armies are acting as though the Asterian Guard are managing to push them back, but it is all a ploy. They even have half of Hel's forces at the Rift. Declan whacks all the mech-suits, getting them to stop all at once. Then Bryce uses the Mask to put the souls of the Fallen into the mech-suits. Some even take over corpses on the battlefield. Then the Asteri finally turn up.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 90</span></b> - Rigelus is the only one missing, but the other 5 Asteri are there. Apollion, Aidas and Thanatos are all there. Bryce attacks Polaris and stabs her with the Starsword and Truth-teller. It seems to be slowly opening a portal in her but one that could suck them all in. Hunt needs to stop it, so fires lightning at the blades. Polaris implodes into a tiny black hole the blades created.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn gets through to Hunt, tells him they need them down at the core. They teleport and find themselves in a corridor filled with enemies, not sure how to win but then a blast of water comes towards them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 91</b></span> - Tharion is there, helps them get away and says he will find them when he tracks down the antidotes he dropped in the water.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is a the core with Pollux, but sees no sign of Ace or Brann. Pollux asks about Lidia's whereabouts. They knew they'd be looking for her sons so made sure the mystics told them a lie. Makes Ruhn follow him as he goes to find Lidia, but she has moved.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion is with Lidia, found her while searching for the antidotes he'd dropped. They overhear Pollux talking to Ruhn and Tharion has to stop her giving them away. Tharion gives her one of the last antidotes. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt make it to the core, see the 7 pipes that each represent an Asteri's power level. Two are empty now. Rigelus is beside his, which shows it is filled right to the top. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 92</span></b> - Crystal protects the core, so they need to get through it somehow to destroy it. But first they need to get rid of Rigelus. They distract him long enough for hunt to melt away the crystal to reveal the core. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is running towards the castle, but a blast sends him flying and destroys the antidotes he has on him. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia decides to fight Pollux herself and tells Ruhn to leave, but he refuses. Pollux learned about her boys from a mer that they caught. Pollux plans to make her watch her boys be killed.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 93</span></b> - Tharion hits Pollux with water at the same time he fires his gun, the bullet hitting Tharion. But Pollux still has the upper hand, so Lidia gets on her knees to beg for their lives, will do whatever he wants. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn reveals that Lidia is his mate, and says he will exchange himself for Ace and Brann. Speaks to Lidia in his mind, knowing she hates him for shooting her. He tells her that he loves her and will find her in their next life. Then shuts her out so she can't reply.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 94 </span></b>- Pollud doesn't take the bait, instead unleashes his power on Brann. But Lidia reaches him in time, covering him before she unleashes her magic. She becomes a ball of fire - and says it is from her bloodline (Aelin's bloodline?). Lidia uses her unleashed full power on Pollux, burns him from inside out. Ace refers to her as mom for the first time. She tells Ruhn to help her boys get out and if he does, she will forgive him for shooting her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia always knew she had this special power but had kept it hidden. Danika had been the one to find out more about Lidia's family and her father's ancestors. She'd questioned her about elemental powers. Brann's full name is Brannon, named after a Fae King from another world who is said to be a part of her bloodline (Aelin's too).</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia goes out to fight, easily killing Mordoc when she sees him. She sees all the missile launchers and plans a way to take them out, but it will kill her as well. She sends out a message to Ruhn in her mind, telling him she loves him too. But before she can do it, the fire sprites beat her to it and destroy them all.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Irithys tells Lidia she could sense her fire powers when she met her. They then all join their fire powers together to fight back more of the enemy. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn finds the antidote and takes it. Helps Tharion, who is bleeding. Then two guards show up and Ruhn uses his unleashed powers to behead them with his shadows. Ruhn touches Tharion and realises he can heal him. Ithan finds them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 95</span></b> - Bryce has to teleport them away as she's losing too much strength. But Hunt tells her they only need to hit the crystal one more time to make it all the way through. Ithan finds them, gives Bryce the rifle and tells her about the bullet he was given by Connor. Realises she needs to shoot the core with it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Can't teleport both of them back so gives Hunt the mask and tells him to escape the castle. She will need to shoot down the tunnel at the core, but it will cost her in the end because Rigelus will be able to kill her when she does it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">When she makes it back she finds all 4 of the Asteri still alive are there. Rigelus warns her that destroying the core will also destroy the world.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 96</span></b> - Bryce remembers the Cauldron and what Vesperus said about them making it a kill switch, realises that is what the core is too. He tells her if she doesn't fire the bullet he will let her go and teach her everything he knows. The tattoo is in the Asteri language. She ignores them and takes the shot. </p><p class="MsoNormal">When Rigelus touches her, she uses him the same way she does Hunt and takes his power. His power is all the firstlight stolen from the people of Midgard. She opens a portal and sends the core into it as well as the Asteri. But she is also pulled into it too. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 97 </span></b>- Bryce opened a portal to her own black hole, to swallow the one that came from destroying the core. But it sucked her in too and now she is in space. Watches as Hesperus and Eosphoros get killed by the black hole. Then Austrus is next. Rigelus comes towards her and she grabs him, determined to put them both in the black hole.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 98 </span></b>- Hunt is trying to puzzle out why Bryce gave him the Mask, knows it was for a reason. Realises he can wield it for a bit as a little bit of her went into him after they had sex the night before. </p><p class="MsoNormal">A mech-suit shows up and he realises it is Shahar, who is going to help him get Bryce. He gets inside the suit, his wings won't work in space but the suit will. Goes after her, wearing the Mask. He fires the last missile in his suit and Shahar leaves the mech-suit and guides the missile right at Rigelus, sending him into the black hole. (This scene is 100000% giving that scene in Big Hero 6 - if you've seen it, you'll know)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt grabs Bryce and heads back to the portal, which is slowly closing - which means Bryce is dead and not unconscious but he refuses to believe it. Aidas and Apollion hold it open long enough for them to get through.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Then he sees Ruhn, Lidia and all there other friends there. And he says that love is holding the portal open (And, I'm sorry, but I burst out laughing because <i>what?!?</i>) </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 99</span></b> - Hunt keeps using his lightning to try to start her heart, but it isn't working. Hypaxia shows up and is willing to try too. Jesiba is willing to give up her immortal life and give it to Bryce instead. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sees Jesiba in front of her, in a place of light. She asks if they're dead and Jesiba tells her they are. Jesiba tells Bryce she has to return, that she gave her life for Bryce's. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells Bryce the Archesian amulet is linked to the world itself and it seems to know she sacrificed herself to save it, so Midgard is allowing this trade to happen. (Look, I'm not even going to pretend to be following any of this or that it makes any sense. I'm just gonna nod my head and go with it)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba tells her that she has left all the books and her gallery to her. Tells her to go back.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 100 </span></b>- Bryce wakes up, kisses Hunt.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah finds Hunt, tells him that he could lead the angels now. But Hunt doesn't want it, says Isaiah should lead them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce opens the portal back to Nesta and her parents. She hears that Randall bonded with Rhys because they are both overprotective fathers. Bryce hands over the Mask and Truth-teller. She then gives Nesta the Starsword/Gwydion and says she thinks there was a reason she once had an 8 pointed star tattoo. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 101</span></b> - Ruhn, Lidia and the boys wait on a pier for Renki and Davit to come up from a transport pod. She tells the boys she'd like to see them again. Brann is happy about it, hugs her and calls her badass. Then Brann hugs Ruhn and thanks him too. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce opens the Northern Rift to send the armies of Hel back through it before closing it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to find his wife and finds Ariadne instead.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 102</span></b> - Bryce invites Fae nobility to her father's home, as well as cameras so she can announce she is ending the royal houses. She gets rid of the monarchy completely. She gives away all her father's homes, making his main villa into an orphanage. They will not have royalty, but have a government instead. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn has got him and Lidia an apartment, which is one floor below Bryce's. It has a room in it for the boys. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan, Flynn and Declan are at the Den, as the wolves are making their way back. Flynn seems to be into Perry. Ithan thinks he will enjoy being Prime.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia is still working on batches of the antidote. They are still working on how to keep the power grid going without relying on firstlight/secondlight. Bryce is opening her own gallery, with the books and has the three fire sprites as her assistants. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce plans to set up a Fae democracy with a senate. Baxian calls them to say that about 24 pegasus have suddenly appeared. Her and Hunt leave to go see them. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">And that is the very weird, very anticlimactic end.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">I hope this proves useful to someone other than me, especially since I think we will get more Crescent City books, but following other characters. I wrote this in real time as I was reading, so forgive any and all typos, as I'm sure they were numerous. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Crescent City recaps:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>ACOTAR recaps:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="text-align: left;"></span></u></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Throne of Glass recaps:</u></span></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><u><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></u></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><u><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></u></span></div></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div></div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-70568645934463704692024-01-01T22:10:00.009+00:002024-01-28T13:39:36.265+00:00A Court of Silver Flames: Recap / Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6CrI8rL8KCK04BcXYAA8MHTse_UkZtCidprlByIFxEJdUj39waa2vWoqs4LBCnYYSHB3vcfHum0vjbfgpwhoUZAI0YUmZWJNYZ24Ssnwn6c0W3Xbl-coHz5HPXhcoICe2AMNXz_2ywZW/s500/acosf.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6CrI8rL8KCK04BcXYAA8MHTse_UkZtCidprlByIFxEJdUj39waa2vWoqs4LBCnYYSHB3vcfHum0vjbfgpwhoUZAI0YUmZWJNYZ24Ssnwn6c0W3Xbl-coHz5HPXhcoICe2AMNXz_2ywZW/w260-h400/acosf.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><p><span style="text-align: justify;">I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reviews_from_a_bookworm/">check those out here</a></b><span style="text-align: justify;">. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out <b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/throne-of-glass-full-series-recap-summary.html">here</a></b>. Be warned: I write these with myself in mind so feel free to ignore any personal comments I throw in. These are for me, but I post them as know others may find a detailed recap useful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Court of Silver Flames</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">We get Nesta's point of view of her going into the Cauldron.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part One: Novice</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 1: </span><span>Feyre and Rhys have constructed their river house on the estate Rhys bought Feyre for Solstice and have now moved in. Nesta was offered a room at their old town house but she refused, stayed in her apartment in the slums. Cassian has been sent to get Nesta and take her to see Feyre. She opens the door wearing nothing but another males shirt. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cassian says Nesta looks terrible, last time he saw her was a month ago on an end-of-summer party on a barge. She had appeared to have a fight with Amren that night and no one had seen or spoke to Nesta since then. Nesta and Elain haven't shown any signs of their powers since the battle with Hybern.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta uses sex, drinking and music to help keep her powers at bay. Nesta thinks about her father and how she hated and resented him even as he died for her. She thinks she could have saved him and that it is her fault her is dead. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys has offered her numerous jobs, she has refused them all as she knows he does it out of pity and for Feyre. She gets to their new estate, notices that the walls are covered in Feyre's paintings, has ones up of all her friends and family but absolutely none of Nesta. Nesta notes she was the one doted on by their mother but her sisters were always closer to their father.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta has been using Feyre and Rhys's money to pay for her drinking, had run up a very large tab the night before. Feyre says she tried to give her time but has decided she was wrong and she won't pay for the apartment and drinking anymore. She says Nesta will go to train with Cassian instead.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Chapter 2:</b> Feyre says Nesta is to move to the House of Wind and she will train everyday with Cassian in Windhaven, the Illyrian camp. She says her afternoons will then be spent working in the library. If she refuses then her other option is to be sent back to the human lands. Feyre is having Nesta's entire apartment building condemned, knocked down and rebuilt into a shelter.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cassian notes that Nesta has a full body shield covering her, he can't even smell her scent. She says Rhys is practicing impenetrable shields on her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amren had suggested having Nesta sent to the dungeon in the Hewn City for a few days if she refused. It was Feyre's idea that the punishment be to be sent to the human world as it would be a prison for someone like Nesta. Nesta gets angry, says she can't do this to her and that it is her fault Nesta is how she is (<i>I mean, she's not wrong</i>).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It has been nine months since the Winter Solstice, Feyre says she has given her enough time. Nesta says she won't go, Feyre says she will even if they have to tie her up and drag her there. Nesta says she won't be their prisoner, Feyre says she isn't - she can go where she likes if she can make it down the 10,000 steps to the ground (<i>essentially confirming she is in fact a prisoner</i>).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3:</span></b> Cassian had spent four months with the Illyrian's and smoothing things over with them, making it clear that there would be hell to pay if they rose up. Rhys says he wants to give Cassian more responsibility. He believes the human queens are scheming and he wants him to look into it. Then Nesta and Cassian go to the House of Wind. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta refuses to eat and says she won't train at Windhaven, calls it a terrible place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> Cassian goes to speak with Mor, she thinks they should just send Nesta to the Court of Nightmares as she'd thrive there (<i>In the Court of Nightmares where women are treated terribly, with the kinds of people who would brutalise, s/a and beat their own daughter and leave her for dead - yes, getting drunk and sleeping with people is clearly on that level. What is SJM doing to these characters?</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mor reveals the King and Queen of Vallahan don't want to sign the new treaty. They believe the mortal queens are stirring and there will be a new war, so don't see a point signing when they will need to do another one after an inevitable war. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian wants to go and speak to Vassa about the queens, as she knows them. Lucien has become very close to Vassa and Jurian, they all live together now. Eris has somehow convinced Keir to not visit Velaris yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta wakes in the House of Wind, thinks of her mother. She saw Nesta as cunning and felt she would be able to get a advantageous betrothal from the continent when she was older. Says her mother would hate to know she almost married Tomas, a wood-cutters son. When she broke off their engagement he got angry and laid hands on her, he tried to sexually assault her but she managed to break away from him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5:</span></b> Nesta is refusing to eat breakfast, her and Cassian fight about it. He says she's not the only person who has gone through this and lost people. Nesta thinks about when she once let Cassian lick and nuzzle her throat (<i>I have no memory of this</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta and Cassian head to Windhaven for their first training session, Mor winnows them there and then leaves. Devlon says any weapons she touches will have to be buried - an old superstition. Nesta refuses to participate in the training, even though it humiliates Cassian in front of Devlon and the other Illyrians. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6:</span></b> Mor comes back to get them, speaks to Nesta and tells her she just wanted to dump her in the human lands. Says she knows people like Nesta and that she doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt good people like Cassian give her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta has her first shift in the library, Clotho just has her shelve books for five hours. Asks the enchanted House of Wind to give her wine but it refuses to. She decides to try and make her way down the 10,000 steps. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7: </span></b>Mor winnows Cassian to the human lands so he can go visit Vassa, Jurian and Lucien, they call themselves the Band of Exiles. Eris is also there as several of his soldiers were out on patrol nearby and went missing a few days ago. His hounds found no trace of them but detected a strange scent at the site of their abduction, seemed human but odd. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian asks Vassa what human queen she thinks would be bold enough to do it and she says Briallyn, the one who was turned immortal by the Cauldron and came out old. Briallyn is currently alone in the queen's palace, the others have left. Vassa believes Briallyn is working with Koschei, the sorcerer who imprisoned her and who is also the Bone Carver and Weavers brother. Koschei is known as Deathless as he is truly immortal and can't be killed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eris tells Cassian that Beron has already pledged his forces to Briallyn and her war. Beron went to meet her a month ago and Eris sent some of his soldiers with him, the same ones who have now gone missing. He says that when they came back they were different, seemed strange and aloof. Cassian is annoyed because he realises he will have to ally with Eris.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8:</span></b> Nesta wants to go drinking so she makes her way down the steps but she only manages to get down 111 of them before turning around and going back up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian went to see Rhys and tell him all he had learnt from Eris, Rhys tells him to keep an eye on him. Then he goes back to the House of Wind and sees the door to the steps open and knows Nesta has attempted to leave, waits for her to come back up as he knows she won't get down all 10,000 steps. He makes fun of her when she comes back and reveals she only made it down 111 of the steps. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta tells Azriel she would rather train with him than Cassian but Azriel is being sent to spy on Briallyn. Then Cassian and Nesta head back to Windhaven to train, she still refuses to take part. Instead she decides to head into the village there to visit some shops.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Nesta goes to a shop to try and get fighting leathers, the same shop that Cassian went to in ACOFAS. Nesta tells Emerie, the owner, that she needs warmer fighting leathers. Nesta makes note of her damaged wings. Emeries tells her they were clipped, her father was very traditional and forced her to have it done against her will. Emerie says she can try to find out if she can make the leathers warmer, Nesta then realises she can't pay for it because she is cut off. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta returns back to the Night Court and goes back to the library, continues to put books away. The house keeps bringing food to her and trying to get her to eat. An acolyte overhears her talking to the house and comes to see what she's doing. She brings Nesta some books to put away but she gets mad and says she doesn't take orders from acolytes. Acolyte introduces herself as Gwyneth Berdara, most people call her Gwyn. Nesta finally agrees to shelve the books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10:</span></b> Cassian finds Nesta eating cake, she says the House brought it for her. He asks if she did anything to get the house to start bringing her food, she says no. Nesta has a nightmare that night and decides to once again try to go down the steps so she can go out drinking. She misses a step and goes crashing down the stairs, manages to grab hold of a step and stop herself but has already got quite hurt. Her fingers end up embedded in the stone, she had used her powers and when she takes her hand away she has left behind her hand print in the stone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next day at training Cassian begs her to train with him, says please but she still can't bring herself to join him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11:</span></b> Nesta continues to talk a lot to the house, doesn't always do what she wants and she sometimes even argues with it. Nesta thinks about her father and Vassa, she feels angry that he was willing to do so much to fight and save a stranger but wasn't willing to do the same for them when they were younger. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta and Cassian fight again that day in front of Azriel over the fact she isn't training. She says she will not train in that miserable village. Cassian says she has been given an order by Rhys and she says Rhys is an arrogant, preening asshole and she hates him. Cassian shoots back that Rhys hates her too, that everyone hates her and that he is done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre comes to see Cassian as Rhys had said Cassian was thinking very 'loudly'. She asks if Nesta has said why she won't train, he says it's because she hates him but Feyre disagrees. Cassian asks why her and Nesta don't get along, she says it's always been that way- their mother only ever cared for Nesta, so there was always that divide between them. Cassian seems to get an idea of a way he can help Nesta.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> Cassian brings Nesta to the training area located on the flat top of the mountain at the House of Wind, he realised she didn't want to train at Windhaven with all the male Illyrians watching and judging her. To try and get her to finally train Cassian says he will make a bargain with her. She agrees to a bargain, if she trains with him for an hour then he will owe her a favour of her choosing. The bargain is tattooed on their backs as an eight-pointed star.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They spend 2 hours training - spent only on her footing, teaching her how to stand and balance. Then he helps her with her breathing and a cool down. She asks him about Emerie and why they make females clip their wings in the Illyrian camps. He explains it's a way for them to control the women - technically illegal but has proved hard to enforce that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian tells her he didn't mean what he said when he told her everyone hates her. She tells him that she has never hated him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> Nessian is working in the library when Gwyn finds her again, asks her if she has seen Vol. 7 of <i>The Great War</i>. She works for someone named Merrill who she says is very demanding. She accidentally put Vol 8 in her office and wants to try and find the right one and replace it before she notices. Gwyn reveals she hasn't left the library or her dormitory since she got here, will stay until she is ready to leave - if she ever is. Gwyn leaves and Nesta asks the house to find the book for her and it does.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She finds Merrill's office and finds her in there, tries to distract her so she can switch the volumes without her noticing. Finds Gwyn singing - notes that her hair seems to glow brighter when she sings and her skin radiates light (<i>a hint at powers?</i>) She asks Gwyn what Merrill is researching, she says a lot of things. Merrill is obsessed with theories about different realms/worlds. She says some believe there are 26 realms/worlds with the last one being Time itself (<i>Important later - 26th string of the Harp is Time itself</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She says Merrill is currently writing a comprehensive history of the Valkyrie's, the war 500 years ago wiped most of them out and the rest got old and allowed themselves to die out of shame. They were a clan of female warriors, not a race of fighters like the Illyrians but Valkyrie was just the name they gave themselves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14: </span></b>Nesta trains with Cassian again. Talks a little about herself - that she used to take dancing lessons as a child. That her sisters were her fathers princesses but she was her mother's creature, tells him her mother was a worse version of her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asks him what happened to the priestesses at Sangravah where Gwyn was. Tells her Hybern was looking for the Cauldron and one of the pieces was hidden in a temple there. Sent a unit of their cruelest warriors who killed most of the priestesses for sport and then raped the rest. Tells her Azriel was the one who made it out there and slaughtered the warriors, Mor brought Gwyn to the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian and Rhys go to the Spring Court to meet Eris, he chose to meet there as it is neutral ground. Eris thinks they should go and kill the mortal queens now. Cassian says it will just cause more trouble and wars have been started for less. Eris thinks his father would like war because it could take out some Fae and leave territory open to be claimed. He thinks his father wants the Spring Court. The rumour is that Tamlin spends all of his time in his beast form now and his manor now lies in ruins. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They ask Eris why he wants to be High Lord so badly, he says for the same reason he left Morrigan untouched at the border. They say he left her there to die, he tells them to ask her if that is true, says he thinks she finally knows the answer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15: </span></b>Nesta is on the seventh level of the library, feels like the darkness is watching her and calling her name. Gwyn finds her there, says some of the other priestesses have felt like the dark follows and watches them, that it has trailed them to their doors. Gwyn tells her they should move up higher to her cart on the fourth floor. She is holding a glowing stone, tells Nesta it is an Invoking Stone - similar to the Siphons that Illyrian's wear except the power of the Mother flows through it and they can only use it for healing and protection, can shield them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn knows who Nesta is, that she is Feyre's sister and that she killed the King of Hybern (<i>Not sure why Nesta is getting all the credit, as if she wasn't laying on Cassian's body about to die when ELAIN stabbed him through the throat</i>) She tells Gwyn her and her sister Elain were both forced into the Cauldron and made Fae. Nesta asks why Gwyn doesn't wear her Invoking Stone on her head like the other priestesses do, Gwyn says she doesn't deserve to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She continues training with Cassian. Cassian tells her more about him, how he was born to an unwed fae who was shunned for having a child out of wedlock and forced to give birth to Cassian in a tent alone. He was taken away from her when he was three and she was then worked to death. Wasn't strong enough to go back for her before she died.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The House keeps bringing Nesta more and more smutty romance books for her to read. Cassian asks her how the work in the library is going and she mentions the thing she felt in the dark on the seventh level. He then tells her about the creatures he put into the Prison. There were ancient beings from before the High Fae split into Courts. Says they referred to them as First Gods. Most were hunted down and driven into hiding or imprisonment. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian says when he was 300 one of the First Gods appeared, crawling out of the roots of a mountain. His name was Lanthys and he could turn into wind and rip the air from your lungs or turn into rain and drown you on dry land. He fathered a race of faeries still around today - the Bogge. Says he had to trick him to catch him, managed to trick him in to trapping himself in a mirror made of ash wood and then put the mirror in the Prison. He says Lanthys got out of the mirror in the Prison but is still trapped in there. Also put other creatures in there - Seven-headed Lubia and Blue Annis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He tries asking about her powers and she denies she has any, he knows she's lying. She asks why he cares and bothers with her. He asks why she stayed by his side when they went up against the King of Hybern, she says she was a stupid fool. He asks what she is afraid of and she says nothing, he calls her a liar. Says he can see when her power rises, her eyes glow like molten silver. Realises he riled her up on purpose. She then goes to him and pushes him up against the wall, he tells her he saw that look in her eyes the first time he met her while she was still human. Tells her that her power is a song he has waited a long time to hear. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta can't sleep that night, so instead fingers herself while thinking about Cassian. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> Cassian spent the night wanking while thinking of Nesta, 3 times - <i>do we care?</i> Cassian and Nesta continue her training. They are doing core exercises and he complains she can't do it for long enough. Tells him to show her what he can do then - watches him do the exercises. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asks if it is true there are no female units in the Illyrian armies. He says they tried once but failed. He says it's hard as they would have to complete the Blood Rite. When an Illyrian warrior comes into their full power, usually in their twenties, they have to go through the Blood Rite to qualify as a full warrior and adult. It is usually three or four warriors from each clan every year that take part. Taken to the Illyrian mountains and left there for a weak - the goal is to survive and try to reach Ramiel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ramiel is the sacred mountain and symbol of the Night Court. Takes place when three stars shine above it for one week out of the year. The stars are Arktos, Carynth and Oristes. They are dumped in the wilds without their powers and just their clothes. You have to take part, you aren't allowed to leave. If anyone breaks into the Rite to save you then law declares you are both hunted down and killed, even Rhys is exempt from that law. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian says magic is rare among the Illyrians but some have it, so that is why a spell is in place that renders their wings useless and no magic can be used. Illyrians possess magic on one night of the year, the nigh before the Blood Rite - when the war-band leaders can winnow the drugged novices into the mountains to take part. Says no one knows why (<i>I know... because it's convenient to the plot!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He says barely any warriors even make it to the bottom of Ramiel and almost no one scales it and reaches the top. If someone touches the stone at the top of the mountain then they win and it transports you out immediately. Everyone else left standing is considered a warrior and where you are when it ends sorts you into the three echelons of warrior. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Arktosian - ones who don't make it to the mountain but survive.</li><li>Oristian - ones who made it to Ramiel but not the top</li><li>Carynthian - ones who managed to scale the summit and reach the top.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He says only a dozen warriors in the past 5 centuries have reached the mountain. He, Rhys and Cassian managed to reach the summit and touch the stone together. Only 12 have reached the mountain in 500 years and out of those only 6 made it to the peak. Cassian doesn't want the females taking part in the Blood Rite because of what could be done to them in it. But no female will be considered a warrior if they don't take part in it. Says progress is slow, they used to kill females who touched weapons and now they just 'decontaminate' them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks if Cassian would train the priestesses if she can get them to come to training, he says yes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Nesta asks Clotho for permission to have the priestesses come train, she agrees. Nesta laves a sign up sheet but no one signs up that day. That day at training Cassian teaches her how to punch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elain is in the private library, came to see how Nesta is doing. Nesta recalls how her mother only ever viewed Elain as someone who was pleasant to look at but unambitious. She would be useful to wed off but not much else. Her mother felt Nesta would be worthy of marrying royalty from the continent. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta and Elain get in a fight. Nesta says she sat by Elain's side for a long time while she refused to eat or drink and wasted away. And that no one ever suggested for Elain to be shipped off and sent to the human lands. Elain says she wasn't drinking or sleeping around. Nesta points out that she knows Elain slept with Graysen a month before she was turned Fae. Elain says they did this to Nesta because they love her and tries to mention their father but Nesta gets angry. She suggests Elain is to blame for his death as she took too long to come and kill the King - is trying to hurt her on purpose. Nesta feels Elain has chosen Feyre over her and she can't blame her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elain goes to find Rhysand in the House of Wind so they can leave, she is crying. Cassian then goes to see Nesta to demand to know what happened, they have <i style="font-weight: bold;">another</i> fight. He asks the house to start a fire, which it does but Nesta keeps trying to get the house to get rid of it. He notices how she flinches when a log cracks on the fire. She leaves angrily and tries to make her way down the steps of the house again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18:</span></b> Manages to get down 1,000 steps before turning back and going back up. Cassian is at the top waiting for her. Tries to ask her about Elain but she dodges it, asks what set her off and she says everything. She asks why the priestesses won't sign up, realises it bothers her. She says some of them have been here for hundreds of years and have not been able to come back from what they've endured so what hope does she have. Tries to tell her it took Feyre months but she snaps that she doesn't want to hear about Feyre's special journey or the others. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian says he will tell her about his journey then, that he slaughtered every person who hurt his mother. When he was strong enough and old enough he finally went back to where his mother was and found out she was dead. Refused to tell him where they buried her, a female hinted to him that they'd dumped her off the cliff. So he destroyed all of those responsible, and with Rhys and Azriel's help he found his father and they killed him together. Took him ten years to face what he did to all those people. She asks if he regrets it and he says no. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He tells her he can take whatever she has to throw at him but she says she isn't like them. He says it doesn't bother him and never has, she says it should. They fight and she feels like Cassian feels like he has won the fight so she kisses him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19:</span></b> Cassian kisses her back and she palms him through his trousers and he comes in an embarrassingly short amount of time. Nesta, thinking he regrets it, decides to try to hurt him by commenting that he's "quick off the mark".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Azriel comes to get them the next day, both are needed at Feyre and Rhys's river house. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20: </span></b>Azriel has been watching Briallyn for a few weeks and knows what her next steps are. The other queens have fled from her. Beron did visit her and pledge his forces to her. Briallyn wishes to find the Cauldron so she can get her youth back. The death-lord Koschei is working with her even if he remains trapped at the lake. He has pointed Briallyn to the Dread Trove so that he can use it to free himself from the lake.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Cauldron made many objects of power and they know of three of them - the Mask, the Crown and the Harp. Some claimed there was a fourth but today's legends only tell of three. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The Mask - can raise the dead and is a death mask molded from the face of a long forgotten King. If you wear it then you can summon the dead and command them. </li><li>The Harp - can open any door physical or otherwise, even those between worlds.</li><li>The Crown - can influence anyone, even pierce through the mightiest of mental shields but you do have to be in close proximity to it for it to initially gain control of you. Could make that person do whatever you wanted, even kill those they love.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were somehow lost years ago. The Trove was made by the Cauldron and '<i style="font-weight: bold;">like calls to like</i>' (<i>This will be said 7 million times by the end of this book!</i>) so she could use it to find the Cauldron. Nesta asks why Briallyn can't just track it herself, as she was also Made by the Cauldron. Thinks Nesta is different as she took something from it, asks what she took. Nesta says she doesn't know, that she just knew she was taking things the Cauldron didn't want her to take. So Amren thinks that it could only give Briallyn the power to track items it Made and not the Cauldron itself. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre asks what a death-lord is. Cassian says he is like Lanthys, they are literally deathless and can't be killed. Says Koschei is the master of his own death. Dread Trove was last rumoured to be in Prythian. Azriel still isn't sure why she would have taken Eris's soldiers, asks Cassian to go and meet with him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre asks why they didn't look for the Trove when they were trying to find the Cauldron in the war against Hybern (<i>I can tell you why... 'cause she's just made it up now, Feyre!</i>) Amren says because the book was easier to find and she assumed the Dread Trove was at the bottom of the ocean. Also apparently the Made objects may have conveniently made everyone forget about them but that Briallyn was Made so the Cauldron probably removed the glamour hiding the Trove from her and that Elain and Nesta are the same. Ask how Azriel was able to remember the Dread Trove and tell them, Amren says maybe it wants them to know about it (<i>convenient!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21:</span></b> Elain says they can use her to find the Dread Trove but Nesta says no, that the last time they tried to do something like that the Cauldron abducted Elain. Amren tells Nesta to look for it instead then. Nesta says she can't, that when she tried to find the Cauldron it trapped her. Her and Elain fight about it and Elain says that she went into the Cauldron to but all Nesta thinks about is what Elain's trauma did to her. Elain leaves, telling them to come find her when they want to begin searching for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks Feyre to look for the Trove instead but she says she can't risk it because she's pregnant (<i>*surprised Pikachu face*</i>) Feyre is two months along, Fae pregnancy is 10 months. Rhys has been keeping the shield around her so they couldn't scent the pregnancy and also to keep her safe - has become overbearingly protective. Nesta agrees to search for the Trove so Elain doesn't have to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre goes to speak to Nesta, wants to tell her before anyone else that she is having a boy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22:</span></b> Cassian and Azriel are back at the House of Wind talking. Azriel asks if he thinks Nesta can find the Trove, Cassian says he hopes so. Azriel says she should try scrying but Cassian doesn't think she will be up for that. They talk about the baby, Cassian asks if Azriel wants kids and he says it doesn't matter what he wants. He asks Cassian the same and he says he definitely wants children. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian goes to Nesta's room to pay her back and make them even for the other night when he came and she didn't. She asks why he came, that he had made it clear the other night was a mistake, that she saw it in his eyes. Says only regrets he didn't get to return the favour. They agree that whatever this is stays out of training and everything else, it is just sex (<i>They've clearly never seen No Strings Attached or Friends with Benefits</i>) So he gives her oral sex before leaving, saying they are now even. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23:</span></b> The next day Azriel can tell what they did. Azriel comes to their training that day, wants to train himself. Cassian and Azriel spar while Nesta watches and thinks about having a threesome with them both (<i>probably the threesome the publishers made SJM cut</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks Gwyn about the Dread Trove, she doesn't know what it is so Nesta tells her all about it and that they must find it. Gwyn agrees to try and find more information on it for Nesta. Asks Gwyn to come to training but she says it is not for her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She goes down the steps as far as she can and back up and while doing it suddenly knows what she must do to convince the priestesses to train.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24: </span></b>Clotho calls Cassian down to the library, says Nesta keeps practicing her training in the library despite being told not to. He goes to find her and sees her messing up what he has taught her so shows her how to punch properly while down there. When they are finished he notices a bunch of the priestesses have stopped to watch. He realises Nesta did it on purpose to have him called down here so she could get them to see what it is he is teaching her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian leaves a book for her to read, <i>The Dance of Battle</i>. Gwyn then becomes the first person to sign up for training. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Two: Blade</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> Gwyn comes to training, that day is the first time she has been outside since coming to the library. Gwyn says she signed up so she never feels powerless again. Then Nesta goes to Windhaven with Cassian and goes to visit Emerie in her shop. A fae male is in the shop when she gets there, he appears drunk and says his father sent him to convey a message. Emerie says message received but the store is hers. His name is Bellius and he is her cousin, his father was Emerie's uncle, her fathers brother. Bellius is due to compete in the Rite this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Emeries says warmer leathers can be made but it won't be cheap, Nesta says she can't afford them. Emerie invites her to have lunch with her. Emerie says it'ss just her, no mate or husband, Nesta says the same for her. Emerie says it is nice to meet another female not obsessed with getting married and having babies. The food is nice, Emerie says it is the spices she uses which are hard to come by in Windhaven. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They talk of family, she tells Emerie that both her parents are dead and other than her sisters has no family except for a cousin of her mothers who lives on the continent. Emerie says her mother died giving birth to her and her older brother died before she was born, her father died during the war with Hybern. Her family keep trying to take the store from her because she's female. Nesta offers for Emerie to come train with them, says someone could come get her and winnow her to the House of Wind, but she says no.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian goes to meet Eris in the Illyrian Steppes, asks him about the Dread Trove and whether Beron knows about them. Eris says his father doesn't know about them yet. He and Cassian exchange a few words, he calls Cassian a bastard and it gets to Cassian. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26:</span></b> Finds Cassian in a chair, drinking a glass of wine and looking miserable; he's in a mood after his meeting with Eris. She asks what happened with Eris, he tells her he intends to help them find the Trove and won't tell his father. That's what they want so she doesn't understand what his problem is and Cassian says he hates Eris and doesn't know how to deal with him as it feels like Eris has the upper hand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta wants to cheer him up so decides to go down on him because there is no easier way to cheer a man up than with a BJ. He plans to sleep with her until Azriel the cock block enters and so Nesta leaves. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Chapter 27:</b> Gwyn hasn't found anything on the Trove yet. Cassian is going up to Windhaven so Nesta gives him a package to give to Emerie filled with spices and tea. Cassian says she can thank Nesta by coming to training the next day but Emerie says it's not the right time. But the next day Emerie is there when Nesta goes to training. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28: </span></b>Emerie struggles at training, her clipped wings cause her issues. Her father didn't have a healer do it, he did it himself and she fought back so he did a sloppy job. Emerie and Nesta bond over the fact they both enjoy reading smutty romances and they also offer to lend Gwyn some. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys comes to collect Emerie and take her back to Windhaven. He sees Gwyn there and goes into Nesta's head and tells her that she is to treat Gwyn with kindness. She tells him to mind his own business. Emerie agrees to come to training the next day as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys watches Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie talking. Cassian has a go at him for giving Nesta a mental warning, that she has only ever treated Gwyn with kindness. Cassian says he is pissed off that Rhys only ever thinks the worst of Nesta</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29: </span></b>Nesta is still attempting to get down the stairs, makes it to step 3,000 this time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian goes to meet with the others without her, Amren says Nesta needs to start looking for the Trove. Amren thinks they should ask Elain, Azriel says there is an innate darkness to the Trove that he doesn't think Elain should be exposed to - Cassian gets mad that they think Nesta should be exposed to it though. They agree to give Nesta one more week before they ask Elain to search for it instead. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn finds Nesta in the library, says Merrill somehow found out she swapped the book out and is coming to find her (Scene is just here so Nesta can stand up to Merrill). Merrill says she is descended from Rabath, Lord of the Western Wind. Nesta isn't scared of her, argues right back and Merrill eventually leaves, calls Gwyn nymph. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn reveals that her grand-mother was a river-nymph who seduced a High Fae male from the Autumn Court, so she is quarter nymph. Her mother was unwanted by the nymphs or the High Fae, so she was sent to Sangravah and raised there. She partook in the Great Rite when she was of age and had Gwyn and her twin sister, mother never found out who the fae was that she slept with (<i>Tamlin?</i>) Three priestesses show up to training the next day - Roslin, Deirdre and Ananke.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta decides to try scrying, tells Cassian she can't ask the priestesses to face their fears when she isn't doing the same. She tries but nothing happens, tells Cassian she thinks the power is gone. But he says he can feel it in her bones, has seen it in her eyes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She has a nightmare that night that the Cauldron comes to find her. Cassian wakes up, heard Nesta scream. Cassian and Azriel run to her room and find her in bed, bathed in the silver fire and screaming. Rhys appears and tries to wake her but can't get into her mind to help calm her. Cassian goes closer to her and calls her name, seems to get through to her enough for Rhys to get into her mind, help her calm down and go back to sleep. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Cassian her scrying brought up memories, her nightmare was of when she was in the Cauldron. He saw and felt it, saw what it took from her and what she took from it. Says he didn't understand her trauma till he felt it himself. Cassian asks what her power is and Rhys says it is pure death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Nesta wakes after the nightmare and finds Cassian asleep in a chair beside her bed. At training she tells Gwyn and Emerie about her nightmare. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Cassian that the baby has wings, Madja the healer told him the day before. Cassian says the baby is only quarter Illyrian so rare for him to have wings but Rhys says Feyre was in Illyrian form when he was conceived. But Feyre can't shapeshift back into the form while pregnant because of what it could do to the baby. Rhys tells them they are forbidden from telling Feyre about it, as Madja only told her there is an elevated risk in labour. The truth is it's very likely Feyre and the baby will die during the labour. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Azriel warns they must prepare for when Tamlin finds out about the pregnancy, not sure how he will react. Azriel says they need to summon Lucien and have him stationed in the Spring Court to contain any damage and to be their eyes and ears. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31:</span></b> Cassian comes back from seeing Rhys with a black eye and bruised jaw from sparring with Rhys. Cassian tells Nesta about the baby having wings and explains that Illyrian women have a pelvis specifically designed for children with wings to pass through. High Fae don't have that so when they try to give birth to a baby with wings it will usually get stuck, killing both mum and baby. Any attempts to cut a child out of the mother has never worked and has always killed the mother. Tells her Feyre doesn't know the full risk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian asks Nesta why she hasn't sought him out after that day when she went down on him but she points out he hasn't seeked her out either. Tells him that when his face is healed, they will fuck.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta wants to attempt scrying again so they head to the river house. She holds Cassian's hand while she tries to scry as a way to ground her. As she is scrying she begins to go ice cold and so does the room. Rhys tries to reach her but he can't get through her shields. Cassian tries to get her out of it, calls her name. She opens her eyes and they are burning molten silver but he still can't get her to drop the bones. So he kisses her and and she eventually drops them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The scrying shows the Mask is in the Bog of Oorid. It was once a sacred place where warriors were laid to rest. But it changed into a place of darkness and filled with such evil that no one goes there. The bog is in the Middle. They have no detailed map of the Middle as it was declared forbidden to map it in detail by an ancient council of High Lords. Nesta, Cassian and Azriel will head to the Bog to try to find the Mask.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> Cassian, Nesta and Azriel arrive at the Bog. She asks what creatures dwell here, Azriel says kelpies but Cassian says they haven't been seen in a long time. Kelpies are an ancient creature, one of the first true monsters of the faeries - shape-shifters who lured people into their arms and drowned them. They haven't been seen in a long time, hundreds of years before Cassian was born. They continue walking and go through a mist, Nesta senses something is there and when they look back Azriel is gone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33: </span></b>Cassian grabs Nesta and flies to find Azriel - sees his blue Siphons glowing and goes down through the mist but finds him surrounded by a dozen Autumn Court soldiers. He flies back up and finds a faraway tree to put Nesta in, tells her to wait there and he will come back for her, then he goes to help Azriel. Goes back to Azriel, the sight of an ash bolt through Azriel's wings angers him and he begins killing the soldiers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta tries to wait in the tree but she gets worried that Cassian could be being killed. She jumps out of the tree and plans to swim across the bog when she sees a creature in it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34:</span></b> A male creature comes out of the water, it is whiter than bone with obsidian hair and black eyes and fingers as long as Nesta's forearm. She realises it is a kelpie, it is so terrifying that she pisses herself. It tries speaking to her but she doesn't understand it. She can hear a female voice in her head telling her to run but the kelpie grabs her before she can and drags her under the water. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian and Azriel have killed all of the Autumn Court soldiers except for two of them, have kept them alive so they can take them back and question them. Cassian notes that they are both vacant and unfocused and that there is something wrong with them. They head back for Nesta and Cassian realises she is no longer in the tree.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> The creature is dragging her through the water, she grabs one of the daggers she has on her and uses it to slice the creature. It grabs her chest and begins pushing her right to the bottom of the water. The creature then kisses her, shoving its tongue in her mouth. It takes all her weapons from her, kisses her and cuts up her mouth with its rows of sharp teeth. She sees a golden object shining underwater and it comes closer and closer to her. She gabs it and realises it is the Mask, she shoves it on her face. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36:</span></b> Cassian is screaming for Nesta. They then notice golden light shining beneath the surface of the water. Spears break the surface and then a legion of dead rise from the water, followed by Nesta wearing the Mask and holding the head of the kelpie. Nesta takes the Mask off, the dead soldiers all collapse to the ground and Nesta goes unconscious. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37:</span></b> Cassian and Azriel have brought the two Autumn soldiers to a place in the Court of Nightmares where even Keir won't go in. It has a hatch in the center of the circular room where the bodies of their enemies are given to the beasts below. Azriel is trying to get answers from them while Cas, Rhys, Feyre and Amren watch. Nesta is upstairs sleeping in Rhys's palace above the Hewn City.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren says they appear to be under an enchantment, their only drive is to harm without reason. These soldiers are likely Eris's soldiers that went missing. They will ask Helion to come to see if he can break the spell on them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They go upstairs and Nesta is awake, sitting in the room with the Mask. Rhys asks how she got into the room with the mask and she says the door was open and she found herself beckoned there. Amren says she is lucky she was able to take the mask off, most who have worn it could not remove it and had to be beheaded to stop them. But Rhys says others couldn't remove it because the Mask did not recognise their power but Nesta is different as she is Made and '<i style="font-weight: bold;">like calls to like.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They believe Nesta can ward a room to keep the Mask in so that others won't be able to get to it, as when Rhys tried the Mask unlocked the door for Nesta. Nesta says she will try if they show her how to do it. Rhys says he will have Helion show her how to do it when he comes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They ask how the kelpie got her, she explains she was worried and went to try and find them and the kelpie came out of the water, begun speaking to her and then dragged her under the water. Rhys asks her to show him, so he can see what the kelpie was saying, then he shows Amren. Amren says it is a dialect that hasn't been spoken in 15,000 years. The kelpie had asked Nesta if she was his sacrifice and that he would take her as his bride before he had her for supper. Kelpies were made and can't reproduce so the kelpie must have been ancient. The Mask flew to Nesta, she tried to call her power but the Mask came instead. Feyre says it is because, you've guessed it, <i style="font-weight: bold;">'like calls to like</i>' and her powers are similar to the Mask. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta plans to spend the night in the palace, she is having a bath in the sunken pool in her room. Cassian comes in to bring her food. She invites him to get in the pool with her but he says she is hurt. So she gets out and goes to him. They agree to have sex but that it is just sex and nothing else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38: </span></b>At training Emerie can tell that Nesta and Cassian slept together. Gwyn tells Nesta of a Valkyrie technique she found called Mind-Stilling, used to train their minds and essentially it is meditation. Gwyn says she will make copies of the chapters on it for Emerie and Nesta. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta moans at Cassian about finally starting to train with weapons. Tells her if she thinks she is ready to train with swords then he should show her. She practices with wooden ones and enjoys it, it makes her feel like she won't be weak again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Nesta makes it down 6,000 steps this time before having to go back up. More priestesses show up for training so Cassian has to bring Azriel in to help. Gwyn keeps looking over at Az, he was the one who found her that day in Sangravah. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn and Nesta decide to practice the Valkyrie Mind-Stilling techniques in the library that day. She finds she likes it, makes her feel utterly settled in her own skin for the first time ever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> Cassian takes Nesta to a blacksmith in Velaris so that she can see a sword being made, as she is learning to use one. Nesta watches him hammering the blades and asks to try it herself. He lets her do it on a dagger, a sword and a great sword. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That day at training she wants to spar with the punching bag they have - a tree trunk wrapped in blankets. Lucien shows up and watches her doing it. She has punched through the blankets and wood, her power seems to have burned the tree from the inside out and when Cassian touches it, it dissolves into a pile of cinders. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41: </span></b>Helion, High Lord of the Day Court, shows up on a Pegasus. He has seven breeding pairs that he managed to keep hidden from Amarantha. Rhys and Feyre reveal her pregnancy to him, to show they trust him. He goes to see the soldiers and says they aren't enchanted but their bodies and actions aren't their own. He can't seem to find any spells on them. They tell him about the Trove and the fact Briallyn must have used the Crown on them. So the only Trove item they need to find is the Harp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They ask him to help show Nesta how to ward the Mask. Helion creates the wards and keys them to Nesta's blood, no one can enter it unless Nesta unlocks the ward. She tells Helion not to tell her the spell to unlock it, says she doesn't' want the knowledge of how to get the Mask in case Briallyn gets her. Helion will show Rhys instead so he can show Nesta if they ever need it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta is reading more books to help her learn about battles, battle strategy and leadership. Says she'd like to lead a small unit of females, like the priestesses. That night Cassian brings her more texts she might enjoy reading. When he goes to leave she asks if the sex wasn't good for him as he left quickly afterwards and didn't seek her out again. Then we get another classic SJM sex scene including classics like: <i>"her pebbled breasts" "silken flesh" "her pink sex" </i>and <i>"her drenched entrance"</i> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42:</span></b> Cassian is called to see Rhys, along with Amren and Azriel. He says the blacksmith Nesta and Cassian visited stopped by and dropped off the three weapons she helped make, he said they were cursed. Rhys says the High Fae were once more elemental and they could imbue weapons with their power. They think Nesta has done that with these even though no one has been able to great a magic sword in more than 10,000 years. The last one created was the the great blade Gwydion, got its powers when the High Priestess Oleanna dipped it into the Cauldron during crafting. Gwydion had belonged to a true Fae High King who united the lands before being betrayed by his queen and his fiercest general - has only been High Lords since. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren says the sword is to be treated as new Trove. The Dread Trove was created by the Cauldron and she has the powers of the Cauldron. Cassian says Nesta could create more, could give them an arsenal of weapons to win any war. But Amren says Nesta is not to know, but Azriel and Cassian are against it. Rhys says Feyre can be the deciding vote. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Azriel and Cassian he can find no answers to help Feyre and the baby. Drakon and Miryam couldn't help as Seraphim wings are more flexible and rounded. Feyre still doesn't know, only knows the birth could be difficult but has no clue it will likely kill her (<i>Rhys seems to have forgot all that spiel in ACOMAF about never hiding things from Feyre just because he thinks he knows what's best for her.</i>) Says he doesn't tell her because he doesn't want to take her joy away. Rhys has asked Helion to check his libraries for any information. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren tells them Amarantha once found a great sword but it would not come to her hand so she threw it in the sea. It was called Narben and Amren heard about her disposing of it from a water-nymph</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren tells Rhysand that with these three magic blades he could make himself High King (God, please no!) He doesn't want it but she says seven courts united under one ruler would be better for any upcoming conflict. Azriel thinks Helion, Tarquin, Kallias and Thesan would all kneel to him. He insists he doesn't want it. Azriel says the seven courts are all weakened but if they were united under one King and Queen, with three magical weapons then their enemies will think before attacking. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys says he will not be High King, will not consider it (<i><b>Okay, sure, we'll see - Sarah Janet doesn't mention anything unless it is gonna come up again</b></i>) Amren says that it can't be coincidence that magic objects that once made a High King have now appeared thousands of years later. She says the Cauldron wanted those weapons made and brought to Rhys. He says he will not entertain the idea. She says it won't be long before the Cauldron offers the chance to someone else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43:</span> </b>Nesta & Cassian go to meet Eris in the Spring Court - tell him most of his missing soldiers are now dead and what happened to them. Tamlin finds them on his land whilst he is in his beast form.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta stands up to Tamlin and says her and Elain were put in the Cauldron because of him. Threatens to kill him if he tells anyone they were there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chapter 44: Cassian mentions at training that he fought with Valkyries in the War. He fought beside them for five battles until the Battle of Meinir Pass where most died to save it, knowing it was a suicide mission. Cassian had a Valkyrie lover called Tanwyn who died in that battle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian asks Gwyn to bring him all the information she has on the Valkyrie's fighting style/techniques so he can teach them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later Cassian goes to see Feyre, Rhys and the others. Elain comments on how Nesta was trained in dance from an early age. The last ball they went to before they became poor was when Nesta was 14. Another heiress there seemed to hate Elain for no reason. So when a wealthy duke came to the ball that the heiress had her sights on, Nesta made sure that the duke asked her to dance instead. The duke proposed the next morning but her father said Nesta was too young.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> Cassian begins teaching Valkyrie methods. He asks Nesta what she'd name a sword but she won't answer, even when pushed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She pushes him to find out why he wanted to know so bad and he ends up telling her about the blacksmith and the three blades she created - the new Dread Trove. Finds out they took a vote on whether to even tell her about it, which makes her angry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She is so angry she makes it down all 10,000 steps and heads to Velaris. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta gets annoyed when Feyre orders her to leave but is too scared to give Amren any orders. But Feyre says Amren is her friend so she respects her. Nesta asks if Amren or the others really respects her when no one has told her that the baby she is carrying will kill her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(<i>One thing to note is that Rhys will have known their baby having wings, while rare, was still a possibility before they ever got pregnant. But never once thought that was a conversation they should have before trying for a baby? Seems important when it could kill her.</i><i>)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre says the boy the Carver showed her did not have wings. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Cassian what Nesta has done and orders him to "<b>Get Nesta out of this city... Before I fucking kill her." </b>(<i>Unpopular opinion time: Nesta did nothing wrong, even if she told Feyre out of anger. Someone needed to tell her and not one of them had any right to keep it from her under the 'guise' of protecting her.)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Chapter 47:</b> Cassian takes Nesta out of the city and takes her somewhere they can camp for the night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre uses her powers to mind speak with him and ask how he is. She tells him Rhys overreacted and she is angry with them all for hiding it from her. And she isn't angry at Nesta, as she was the only one who told her, even if she did it to hurt her at the time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre asks Cassian to come home but he says they will stay for a few days and he will make Nesta hike. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48:</span></b> Start hiking. At one point Cassian makes some off-handed comment that if she doesn't stay hydrated she could faint and fall off the mountain and break every bone in her body, it is in that moment he sees in her eyes that she hates herself enough to not care if that happened, maybe even wants it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49:</span></b> They trek for two more days, barely talk at all. Nesta faints so they rest for the night before hiking again the next day. Finally make it to the lake and Nesta finally breaks down crying. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50:</span></b> Nesta tells Cassian that she let her father die and let him die with hate for him in her heart. She says she was horrible to him and he still loved her even though she didn't deserve it (<i>Nesta, honey, are you forgetting how utterly useless your father was?</i>) Nesta believes she can't fix the horrible things she's done and can't fix herself. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian tells her it wasn't her fault and she couldn't have stopped it. Nesta reveals she can't stand fires now because the cracking sounds they make reminds her of the sound of her father's neck breaking. Cassian tells her she will get through this if she is willing to fight, face it and embrace it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Three: Valkyrie</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51: </span></b>They spent two more days at the lake, either training or fucking. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn ties a ribbon from a beam under Cassian's instructions - tells them it is a Valkyrie test to show whether your training is complete or not. It is only complete when you can cut the ribbon in half. Emerie tries and fails. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They keep trying to cut the ribbon over multiple training sessions but haven't yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks to go to the evening service the priestesses have, as they have music there and she misses it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn reveals she dreads Nesta and Emerie finding out her history as she thinks they won't look at her the same afterwards. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52:</span> </b>Nesta attends the service and listens to them sing while she visualises. She sees herself flying to a mist-veiled mountain and then inside it. There she finds a towering carved gate that she goes through, following a dark path. </div><div><br /></div><div>She drifts down until she is in a cavern, where there is carved black rock with symbols etched into it and on the floor is the golden harp. Nesta realises she has used her own bones and the stone of the mountain as her scrying tools and she has found the location of the harp. </div><div><br /></div><div>The harp speaks to her, telling her to play it and join her voice with it. If she does, it will open doors and pathways so they can move through space and eons together. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian goes to see Rhys with the news that Nesta believes the Harp is beneath the prison. Rhys gives him the great sword Nesta made, tells him to take it with him as Rhys wants to know what happens when Nesta uses it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53: </span></b>Cassian & Nesta head to the prison with the sword. Nesta leads the way and takes him down to where she saw the hidden chamber. There are wards on the chamber but they can't seem to keep her out, only Cassian. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Nesta touches the Harp, she has visions. She sees Briallyn on her throne, wearing the Crown and the queen begins talking to her. Reveals she knows she has the Harp and also that she is friends with Emerie and Gwyn. Tells Nesta she is a fool for keeping a hold of the Harp, as it is answering all her questions and she now knows exactly where Nesta is. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta had opened a doorway between her and Briallyn's mind by touching the Harp while Briallyn wore the Crown. Nesta can't seem to let go of the Harp, it talks to her and asks her if it should open a door for her and she says yes. Asks it to open the wards and it says it will if she plucks the first string, which she does. </div><div><br /></div><div>She tells Cassian what she saw. Tells him she will name the sword Ataraxia, a word she found in a book in the library. She then kisses Cassian's cheek and tells him she thinks he's her friend, he tells her he has always been her friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>As they're leaving he screams at her to run, the door to Lanthys's cell is open - one of the old gods he warned her about. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54:</span></b> Lanthys talks to Cassian and calls him the Lord of Bastards. Nesta realises the Harp is what opened his cell door. Lanthys talks for a while, comments on their scents and says "Based upon scent alone, I would say that you two are-" But Cassian attacks him before he can finish what he was going to say. (<i>He was clearly going to reveal they are mates. I get such ACOMAF vibes in this book - human-turned-fae is dealing with her trauma, believes herself unworthy and pushes away the guy she's clearly in love with and the whole time he knows they're mates but doesn't tell her.</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Cassian throws on of his siphons to Nesta and tells her to run. She starts to but changes her mind just as she sees Autumn soldiers charging towards her, sent by Briallyn. Plucks the harp and tells it to take her to Cassian, and it does. She sees he is losing to Lanthys. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta draws her sword and slashes at him - the sword begins to glow and Lanthys goes from being like mist to being a naked, golden-haired male. She realises he is afraid of her blade. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lanthys asks her what death god she is and she says she is nobody. Lanthys says he has heard of her - that she took from the Cauldron and doesn't even realise what she can do.</div><div><br /></div><div>He says he will show her and they can rebuild what they were before the golden legions of Fae cast off their chains and overthrew them. Shows her a vision of what they could be together - she sees a fourth object on the alter but it is veiled in shadow and she can't make out what it is - only makes out a gleam of age-worn bone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lanthys then shows her a vision of them sleeping together and that he would impregnate her with a child that could rule entire universes and restart the Wild Hunt. </div><div><br /></div><div>She snaps herself out of his visions and orders him to go back to his cell. He says he will escape again and find her to make her his queen. While she's distracting him, Cassian throws a dagger into his chest and then Nesta attacks Lanthys too and she manages to kill him before using the harp to transport her and Cassian to Rhys and Feyre's house.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 55:</b></span> They tell Feyre and Rhys what happened. Explains when she first touched the harp she had a vision of what it was last used for - to trap the people who once lived on the island into the walls of the prison somehow. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta asks what the Wild Hunt is - according to legend the Fae were created by beings who were near-gods (The Daglan). The Daglan ruled for millenia and enslaved both the fae and humans. A Fae named Fionn rose up to overthrow them and was given the great sword Gwydion by High Priestess Oleanna. Then Fionn set himself up as High King.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fionn was eventually betrayed by his queen, a leader of her own territory, and also by his dearest friend, who was his general. They killed him and took some of his bloodline's most powerful weapons. After that seven High Lords rose and the courts have been in place ever since. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta asks what Narben is, as Lanthys commented that her sword wasn't Narben. Rhys says it is a death-sword that has since been lost. The sword could kill anything, including Lanthys. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Daglan took pleasure in tormenting both fae and humans and used the Wild Hunt to keep them in line. They'd gather a bunch of their strongest warriors and grant them free reign to kill as they pleased. The Daglan had beasts that they'd use to chase them before they tortured and killed them. Nesta says the beasts they had looked like the beasts in the Hewn City as Lanthys showed her a vision of what they could be together and those beasts were there, looked like the scaled beasts carved into pillars in the Hewn City. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta tells them about the fourth object she couldn't quite see. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys wants to go after the Crown but Feyre doesn't. Rhys says they need to secure alliances for war then. Reveals Eris is coming to Winter Solstice and they need to remind him that he is important to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys wants to use Nesta - says Elain says she once won the hand of a duke from a dance alone. He wants her to seduce Eris - not to take him to bed, but to show him what he might attain from their alliance. Nesta agrees to do it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta goes with Cassian to the cottage she used to live in and talks to him about her father - how she hated him and how poorly she treated him.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56:</span></b> A month has passed - more training and also Nesta practicing dances with Mor ready for Winter Solstice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mor goes to the library with Nesta and Emerie sees her there - later comments on how beautiful she is. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Emerie says she can hear her father shouting at her, Nesta explains the library is ancient and strange.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn gives them a Winter Solstice gift - she had Merrill write about them in the final chapter of her work about the Valkyrie.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta has a fire lit in the house so she can sit beside it and use her mind-stilling techniques to help her through it. She then finds a trail of evergreen twigs leader her to her open door. She follows it and it leads her down to the seventh level of the library. </div><div><br /></div><div>She is lead to the lowest levels of the library, to the pit itself. Realises the darkness there is the heart of the House and it has been trying to lead the priestesses here as they are just like it - whatever that means. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57: </span></b>Winter Solstice is used as the big reveal that Feyre is pregnant. Rhys gifts Eris the dagger that Nesta made but pretends it is an old family heirloom. </div><div><br /></div><div>Eris & Nesta dance and he urges her not to believe all the lies they tell about him. He tells her Mor knows the truth but has never revealed it because she is afraid of it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian eventually interrupts them and says he wishes to dance with Nesta. Cassian has been taking dance lessons with Mor for weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris goes to see Rhys and asks him what he would want in exchange for Eris to marry Nesta. He tells Rhys he will give him whatever he wishes if he can marry her. Rhys says he will speak to Nesta. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58:</span></b> Nesta & Cassian go to Feyre's to celebrate Winter Solstice. Mor asks to join them at training when she is done at Vallahan.</div><div><br /></div><div>The present Cassian threw in the river the year before was a tiny book - a miniature illuminated manuscript - one of the first printed books in existence. </div><div><br /></div><div>Azriel gifts Nesta a reading light.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian goes to her room that night to give her a present and she apologises for how she acted the year before. </div><div><br /></div><div>He gives her a silver ball that plays music when she taps it. It is a Symphonia - a rare device from Helion's court that can trap music and play it back. Cassian had the musicians from the ball record the songs they played that night. Had musicians from her favourite taverns record music too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta says she can't accept it and that he should return it. Annoyed, he tells it's a gift, not a wedding ring and she responds that she will look to Eris for that. </div><div><br /></div><div>He says he has got a little too close and now she is shoving him away - that she'd rather be with Eris than be with him. She says Eris is a brute and a piece of shit and she would marry him because she is just like him, that she deserves Eris. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta tells Cassian he is too good for her and she doesn't deserve him and everyone knows it. Has wanted him from the moment they met and it terrifies her. Thinks if she let herself have him then he will be taken from her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian tells her that she isn't going to marry Eris and that there will be no one else for either of them and she agrees. Then he kisses her. They have sex and she asks him to stay with her for the whole night and he does.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 59:</b></span> Cassian leaves the next day for the annual snowball fight and then has to go inspect the legions in Illyria for a few days - will be gone for 3 days.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta isn't enjoying her time away from him so invites Emerie and Gwyn over for a magical house slumber party where they make friendship bracelets together. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60:</span></b> Cassian returns after five days. Gwyn finally cuts the ribbon, then Emerie and then Nesta.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The next day Cassian turns the training ring into an obstacle course and that they will work in groups of 3 to complete it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first day they make it halfway through and the next day it has been changed. It changes every night and after two weeks they haven't completed it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn and Azriel have a few moments throughout the book - potentially the start of something.</div><div><br /></div><div>Takes them two months to finally complete the obstacle course. They have technically completed the Blood Rite qualifier and even had Lord Devlon there to witness it - they can take part in the Blood Rite if they want to.</div><div> </div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61: </span></b>Nesta finally goes down the stairs again - last test for herself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta goes with Cassian to the starfall party where she apologises to Amren. Amren says she has seen what Nesta did to the house - that she Made it because when she came there she had wished for a friend.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 62: </b></span>A rare red star is seen blasting across the sky - seen as an ill omen. The Blood Rite is a few days away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta and Cassian receive a letter from Eris - demanding to see them and to meet in the Middle, near the sacred mountain that Rhys was once trapped under. She asks about the mountain and why it is sacred.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are three sister peaks - this one, the Prison and Ramiel. All three are bald and barren. Two of the three have underground palaces carved into them. Illyrians never checked if anything lays beneath Ramiel - meaning something likely does.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris reveals his father visited the continent again and so he believes the fallout is fast approaching. All they are waiting for is Nesta to find the Harp. Eris realises they already have it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris warns them to not go after the Crown - as Briallyn could use it on them, turn them against each other and have them reveal where the other two items are. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta and Cassian go for a walk through Velaris where she asks if it undermines her image as a warrior to be with him. He tells her it doesn't undermine Feyre's to be with Rhys, but Nesta insists that is different because they're mates. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian confronts her on why she is scared to admit that they are mates. They fight about it and she says she can't say that word as she will lose her last bit of humanity and officially be one of them - something she never asked for. He tells her that he didn't get a choice on being shackled to her either, which hurts her.</div><div><br /></div><div>She calls in her favor finally - demands that he leave for the House of Wind and not to speak to her until she comes to talk to him or until a week has passed. He wants to fight the bargain but he can't, has to leave. (<i>Another copy & paste from ACOMAF - a mate reveal and then running away for a week</i>.)</div><div><br /></div><div>She has Mor winnow her to Emerie's and then Mor brings Gwyn too. Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie spend the night there. Nesta wakes up to someone in her room, something wet is placed over her mouth rendering her unconscious. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63:</span></b> Rhys & Cassian head to Emerie's and find them all missing. Devlon started the Blood Rite and had the three snatched from the beds so they can take part. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Four: Ataraxia</span></b></div></b><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64:</span></b> Nesta wakes up surrounded by unconscious Illyrians. </div><div><br /></div><div>The law is that anyone who pulls a warrior from the Blood Rite will be hunted down and executed along with the warrior who they removed, even Rhys can't break the rule. (<i>Awfully convenient for the plot. Also, this book just continues to undermine the idea of Rhys being the most powerful High Fae. WTF can the man even do? He can't enforce any rules on the Illyrians. Can't enforce them on the Court of Nightmares - they could have refused to go to war and he couldn't do anything about it. Rhys rules one tiny city in his own Court and that's about it. What's the point of being High Lord if he has exactly zero power? I know it's for plot convenience, but it makes no sense to me</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris has been captured and taken to Briallyn - Az and Cassian must go to get him back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys reveals he can't go because of the bargain he and Feyre made to die together. They realise that if Feyre dies in childbirth, Rhys will die too. This is the first time the others are learning of the world's dumbest bargain and Amren calls them out on how stupid it is.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian doesn't want to go - thinks they should let Eris die. Feyre argues he poses great danger to them in Briallyn's hands if he is under the Crown's control, as he could tell her everything he knows. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian tells them Eris was worried they'd use the Dread Trove to make a grab at power. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre hopes the Made dagger they gave him may grant Eris immunity from the Crown.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta comes across an awake male fae - they both see a dagger in a tree and make a move for it at the same time. She grabs it as he runs into her and they go down, the dagger buried in his throat. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta takes his clothes as she's still in her nightgown and then she goes looking for Gwyn and Emerie.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65:</span></b> Nesta is far from Ramiel. Hears screaming and begins to run. The charm bracelet she made with the girls begins to glow and she somehow knows it is leading her to Gwyn and Emerie (another convenience right there).</div><div><br /></div><div>Someone fires an arrow at her - realises someone has dumped weapons into the Rite even though they are banned. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta gets caught by another Illyrian.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian is flying around the queens castle.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 66:</b></span> The Illyrian orders Nesta to hand over her weapons. She asks if he saw another female and he says he did, and left her to the others. She realises he saw Emerie.</div><div><br /></div><div>She throws her knife into his groin and steals his bow and arrows before going to find Emerie.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta overhears more warriors talking - Emerie escaped them by jumping in the river. She goes to follow the river and finds Emerie caught on a fallen tree, unconcious.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta rescues her and builds a fire to warm them before setting off to find a cave - she finds another Illyrian. He shows her to the entrance to a cave and asks if she knows who dumped the weapons. He knows she has someone with her who is hurt and tells her to bring them to the cave as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>He knows Nesta is Feyre's sister and he swears an oath that he will not kill her or whoever is with her - his name is Balthazar. They hear creatures throughout the night and find many dead Illyrians the next day. Balthazar goes off by himself after that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian learns that Eris was dragged into the queen's castle two nights ago and will be taken somewhere else very soon. Cassian and Azriel will wait for that to happen and then follow them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie and Nesta collect more clothes and weapons from dead warriors and then head to find Gwyn.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67:</span></b> Nesta and Emerie find a camp full of males and see Gwyn's nightgown. The charm indicates that she is there. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie is grabbed by two warriors and then her and Nesta are taken into the camp. The leader is Bellius, Emerie's cousin. They used the night gown as a trap - they found it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bellius's eyes are glassy, like the Autumn soldiers were. He put the weapons in the Blood Rite and refers to a she - likely Briallyn. Nesta believes he is under the control of the Crown.</div><div><br /></div><div>A creature (part cat, part serpent) finds the camp and attacks the warriors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn appears and the girls run to her while the men fight the creature. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn woke before everyone else and started running. She found a cache of weapons and changed into someone else's clothes. Her charm started glowing - when Nesta made them she had made the wish that they'd always be able to find their way back to each other (<i>At this point I need to ignore how ridiculous the plot of this book is and how deux ex machina coded the whole thing is</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Gwyn had led the beast to the camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68:</span></b> The three spend the night taking shelter in a tree.</div><div><br /></div><div>They ask Emerie about the rite - her family always hated how Rhys, Cassian and Az all reached the peak of Ramiel as that is super hard to do <i>apparently</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie says they will be lucky to make it to the Pass of Enalius in one piece - long ago a war was fought between Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. One of the key battles took place in the mountains here. The enemy was desperate to reach the top of Ramiel for some reason. A young warrior named Enalius found a natural archway of stone and made it his bottlenek. He died in the end but held the enemy back long enough for allies to arrive. The Rite is to honor him. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are a few different paths to the top of Ramiel but the hardest one is through the Pass of Enalius, they call that path the Breaking - the path Rhys, Cass and Az took.</div><div><br /></div><div>They continue moving, but it is slow progress and once they reach Ramiel they will only have one day to reach the top. As the rules of the Rite are that they just have to survive, they could have been smart and stayed hidden until the end and still technically pass it.</div><div><br /></div><div>They find a ravine with a bridge they can cross. They run for it but see 6 males running for it too. They end up fighting and killing all 6 of the warriors - <i>you know, the warriors who are trained since birth for this. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>After four days waiting by the palace, Cass & Az finally see a small caravan leaving the castle. They see Eris riding on a horse with the queen and he has Nesta's dagger still so they assume he isn't under the Crown's control - they believe he has betrayed them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Another group of warriors find the girls and they run for the bridge. Gwyn is shot in the thigh with an arrow so tells them to run across the bridge and cut it to save themselves as she won't make it across. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie and Nesta make it across and then tie rope around a tree and then fire it at Gwyn with an arrow so she can tie it around herself before they cut the bridge. The other warriors fall and die and they pull Gwyn up.</div><div><br /></div><div>They find another tree to rest in and will make it to Ramiel the next day. Nesta reveals only 12 others have ever made it that far. Emerie says they could stay in the tree and wait it out (Because she's smart) because otherwise they'd be going through the Breaking having not eaten in days and with Gwyn injured - which undermines how hard this is supposed to be if they've managed it so easily. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn finally shares her story - a commander from Hybern raped her two years ago as he held her down on a table and laughed the whole time. Hybern attacked during the night and she shared a room with her sister Catrin who ordered her to go and protect the children.</div><div><br /></div><div>She grabbed the children and ran to the catacomb tunnels. She had got the last child through the trapdoor to the catacombs when she heard the soldiers coming. She closed the door and then hid it under the rug before moving the kitchen table over it. The soldiers found her there and then brought in the other priestesses, including her sister. </div><div><br /></div><div>When they asked her where the children were, she lied. The commander grabbed her sister and threatened to kill her if she didn't tell him. She still refused so he beheaded her sister before raping her and allowing his soldiers to do the same to the others. </div><div><br /></div><div>The commander then ordered three of his soldiers to do the same to Gwyn until she told the truth about where the children were. Azriel arrived before they could follow out his orders and he killed them all. Mor healed her and brought her to the library.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn admits she doesn't wear the Invoking Stone like the other priestesses as it is a sign of holiness and she doesn't think someone like her can wear it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Emerie shares her own tragic back story because all SJM women must have one. Emerie was beaten by her father. He beat her mother to death and then made Emerie dig her grave and then told everyone she died of blood loss from a miscarriage. Emerie says she will climb the mountain for her mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Nesta tells her story - sent to the House of Wind because she was going out drinking and sleeping with people. That she saw he father killed and did nothing to stop it. Tells them everything. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta says they will win the whole thing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 69:</b></span> Cas & Az follow Eris and Briallyn - don't know where they are but it reminds them of the Middle. They go to a small lake. Eris sneaks up on Cassian.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie are 2/3 of the way up the mountain now. They see others below them, gaining on them - 7 others in total, including Bellius.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris tells Cassian he is disappointed Rhys never tried to look in his mind but when Eris refers to Mor as the Morrigan that is when he is sure he is under Briallyn's control.</div><div><br /></div><div>The girls make it to the Pass of Enalius but they are too slow and the males will catch up to them soon. Nesta says she can hold them off while Emerie and Gwyn make the climb. Gwyn tries to insist they fight together but Nesta knocks her out so Emerie can carry her up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian and Azriel have to follow Briallyn and Eris to the lake. When the cloaked figure of Briallyn removes the hood it falls to the ground, there is no one inside - it was just an animated kernel of magic. A voice speaks from the lake - an animated shadow floating on the surface in the vague shape of a tall male, he reveals he is Koschei.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta waits at the pass with her sword and shield. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 70:</b></span> Bellius sends his warriors through the pass first and Nesta begins killing them one by one.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71:</span></b> Azriel asks Koschei where Briallyn is but he doesn't say, but says he has spent months preparing for them. Azriel tells Cassian to run as he grabs Eris and takes off but Cassian can't move. Briallyn comes out from behind a tree wearing the crown, telling Cassian she has need of him. Then she tells Koschei to winnow them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta kills ever male until Bellius is the only one left. Emerie and Gwyn make it to the very top of the mountain, touch the stone at the top and it winnows them out. </div><div><br /></div><div>Bellius finally attacks her.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72:</span></b> Nesta decides to fight him in hand-to-hand combat, believing she can beat him because 'her mate taught her well'.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 73:</span></b> Bellius is about to kill Nesta when Cassian appears and kills him. Cassian then hugs Nesta and tells her he is going to slit her throat. Cassian is under the control of the Crown and can't fight against it. Briallyn is there with him. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74:</span></b> Nesta realises that Briallyn is the one who made it so Nesta would be here in the Rite. When Nesta asks why she tells her that Nesta's powers are too strong and being in the Rite has wore her down. She did it to wear Nesta down and have her without magic.</div><div><br /></div><div>Briallyn was waiting for Cassian so she could use the Crown on him. Bellius was also under her control this whole time after wandering into her lands. She had ordered him to hunt Nesta but not kill her. Briallyn says she wants retribution and powers - she wants the Trove.</div><div><br /></div><div>Briallyn says she made sure Nesta knew about the Trove so she could help her find them - knowing the only way she could get Nesta to hand them over is if she had Cassian. Briallyn says Nesta can summon the items to her. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Nesta refuses, Briallyn has Cassian attack her and then orders him to kill her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian gets back some control and rather than kill Nesta, he turns the dagger on himself. Seeing that makes Nesta erupt with the force of the Cauldron, which reduces Briallyn to nothing but ash.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75: </span></b>Cassian is unharmed. Nesta had Unmade Briallyn. Nesta finally accepts and says aloud that Cassian is her mate and they kiss.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor and Azriel appear to come get them. Eris is safe but something is wrong with Feyre. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 76:</b></span> Feyre started bleeding a few hours ago, even though she is months away from giving birth. The baby is wedged in the birth canal. Feyre tells them to cut the baby out of her, even though it will kill her, which will also kill Rhys. Madja agrees to cut the baby out. </div><div><br /></div><div>They get the baby out but it is too small and clearly not alive and Feyre is starting to die.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta knows Feyre is dying - she puts on the Crown and mask while holding the Harp. No one has ever wielded all 3 and lived. Nesta plucks the final string of the Harp - the 26th string.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 77: </span></b>The 26th string is Time itself and Nesta stops it as Feyre takes her last breath. She can feel death around Feyre, Rhys and the baby and she holds it at bay.</div><div><br /></div><div>She can hear a female voice speaking to her - the Mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>She goes to Feyre, covering her body with her own and telling her she loves her. Nesta speaks out loud, saying if it shows her how to save Feyre then the Cauldron can have back what she took from it. Feels a soft, invisible hand brush her cheek in answer to her request.</div><div><br /></div><div>Time resumes and the others hear Nesta whispering "I give it all back" as light begins flowing from Nesta's body into Feyre. Light drifts between the sisters and then one light also goes to the baby in Mors arms. </div><div><br /></div><div>The light then explodes and when it fades there is dark ink across Nesta's back - she has made a bargain with the Cauldron. Cassian swears a luminescent hand prevents all the light from leaving Nesta's body (potentially has some power remaining).</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wakes up, alive and no longer bleeding, she tells Nesta that she loves her too. </div><div><br /></div><div>The sound of a baby's wail fills the room and the baby is now alive and full-term. Nesta also made sure to give Feyre Illyrian anatomy so that this can never happen again. Rhys falls to his knees in front of Nesta and thanks her for saving Feyre. Nesta drops down in front of him and hugs him. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 78: </b></span>Emerie and Gwyn are waiting for her at the house. Emerie and Gwyn were healed by the stone, it healed every wound they hand the moment it took them out the Rite.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Feyre name their son Nyx. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian goes to speak with Nesta, asks if her power is really gone - she says she gave it back to save them but a little remains. She says something else stopped the Cauldron from taking it all. And that she made some changes of her own - changed her own anatomy to so that if and when she wants to have a baby, the same thing won't happen to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>He asks her what she wants and she says all she wants is him and he tells her that she had him from the moment they met. She asks for a very fancy mating ceremony but he says he'll never hear the end of it from Mor and Az. Nesta pulls a biscuit from her pocket and offers it to him instead as her giving him food is the official ritual. He says if it is between that or the ceremony then they'll have a ceremony instead. She tells Cassian she loves him. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 79: </b></span>Cassian goes to visit Eris in the Hewn City to ask him what he told Beron. Beron tortured him to find out about his rescue but he says he didn't tell him anything. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian asks why he really left Mor in the woods that day as he says it doesn't add up. Eris insists that Cassian isn't the one he needs to explain himself to, Mor is. </div><div><br /></div><div>Koschei is still a threat and Beron might try to establish an alliance with him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian tells Eris he thinks he might be a decent male deep down but is too cowardly to act like it. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80:</span></b> Nesta, Feyre, Nyx and Elain go for a walk through the city. Nesta and Cassian's mating ceremony is in three days. Rhys is paying for everything - agreed to let him do it after he wouldn't stop buying her presents to thank her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys gifted her and Cassian the House of Wind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre gives her a mating present - a portrait of Nesta at the Pass of Enalius. </div><div><br /></div><div>They have come to visit their father's grave - this is the first time Nesta has come. She places a small carved rose on the grave and then thanks her father before they go. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-34987564729384903102022-03-30T21:30:00.006+01:002024-01-28T13:43:45.439+00:00Crescent City Complete Series Recap / Summary<p> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMaywJqnj8FpjXCLQRmayKN7-Agv8Y3bkP1aEGUPCGTj4kA-5bo3xbfnM9jiMzPwCLKqmKKNmgApSVL-2eGqDXUospXKfgXlbo116cHHy0qim5LEd0VFTTv9Ze8DkNSzyJRGgoZFn_AhCIIJugPId6Uh1l0YgqxAjUv24gW8feiQD-zEtru8pgDfkVxQ=s1500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMaywJqnj8FpjXCLQRmayKN7-Agv8Y3bkP1aEGUPCGTj4kA-5bo3xbfnM9jiMzPwCLKqmKKNmgApSVL-2eGqDXUospXKfgXlbo116cHHy0qim5LEd0VFTTv9Ze8DkNSzyJRGgoZFn_AhCIIJugPId6Uh1l0YgqxAjUv24gW8feiQD-zEtru8pgDfkVxQ=w640-h214" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood Recap</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I have a really terrible memory and forget way too many details from series when I am reading them, which is why this is a thing. I do it for myself, so sometimes I will highlight thoughts in bold as I am going along-as the main purpose for these recaps is for me to read them over before I get to the next book/also see my thoughts as I was reading. I just upload them here in case they prove useful to other people. But I note down anything I think could be of importance or I know I will forget. Hope this helps someone!</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div><br /></div><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Earth and Blood</b></h2><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Four Houses of Midgard</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>House of Earth and Blood - </b></span>Humans, shifters, ordinary animals, witches, and many others to whom Cthona calls, as well as some chosen by Luna.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Sky and Breath - </span></b>Malakim (angels), elementals, sprites, Fae and those who are blessed by Solas, along with some favoured by Luna.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Many Waters - </span></b>River-spirits, water beasts, kelpies, mer, nymphs, nokks, and others watched over by Ogenas.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Flame and Shadow - </span></b>Daemonaki, Reapers, vampyrs, draki, dragons, wraiths, necromances, and many wicked and unnamed things that ever Urd herself cannot see.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part 1: The Hollow</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 - </span></b>Bryce works at Griffin Antiquities, has been working there a year. She is half-Fae, half-human. Lehabah is a tiny fire sprite who is owned by the owner of the gallery. Her best friend Danika Fendyr (a werewolf) shows up; she needs to leave a sword there for a few hours.</p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba Roga – 400 year old enchantress who’d been born a witch and defected. Joined House of Flame and Shadow and answered only to the Under-King. She is the owner of the gallery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika and Bryce have recently gotten matching tattoos. Bryce’s is on her back. Met 5 years ago as freshmen at Crescent City University.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika’s grandfather is the Prime of the Valbaran Wolves. Her mother is Sabine, Alpha of the Scythe Moon Pack. Sabine is the Prime Apparent of the Valbaran wolves, Danika is second in line. But there are whispers that Danika should take over when her grandfather dies. Grandfather had bypassed his daughrer and given Danika the family’s heirloom sword, the one she's leaving in the gallery.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika reveals Philip Briggs is being released on a technicality. He is part of the human rebellion, and planned to blow up a nightclub. Did it to try to trigger a war between human and Vanir (all creatures above humans). Wanted to overthrow those who oppress humans. Danika and the Pack of Devils stopped the plot and put him in prison a few years ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pack of Devils, one of the most elite shifter units in Crescent City’s Auxiliary and they patrol the Old Square - the pack Danika is Alpha of.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The 33<sup>rd</sup> Imperial Legion are angels who are the Governor’s personal army. Micah Domitus is the Archangel of Crescent City.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Seven Heads of the City (Crescent City used to be known as Lunathion). Each Head controls a specific part of the city. Prime of the wolves in Moonwood, Fae Autumn King in Five Roses, the Under-King in the Bone Quarter, the Viper Queen in the Meat Market, the Oracle in the Old Square and the River Queen in the Blue Court beneath the Istros River. Humans in Asphodel Meadows had no head. Micah Head of the Central Business District rules over them all – Archangel of Valbara, answers only to the six Asteri in the Eternal City, capital of Pangera.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Syrinx, a chimera that Jesiba has purchased is kept at the gallery.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 - </span></b>Danika’s pack – Connor Holstrom is her Second, Nathalie is her Third.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce’s boss wants her to try and find Luna’s Horn; it was stolen from Luna’s Temple during a power outage recently. It is an ancient Fae relic. Archangel Micah offered a hefty reward for it’s return.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Umbra Mortis is Micah’s personal assassin, with the rare gift of lightning in his veins and can eliminate almost any threat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Six enthroned Asteri, with an empty throne to honor their fallen sister.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine has always hated Bryce. Danika is the only wolf in her Pack yet to make the Drop into immortality.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is Bryce’s half-brother and he is also full Fae, but everyone believes he is her cousin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wears a golden pendant – knot of three entwined circles. It is an Archesian amulet that Jesiba gave her on her first day. It offers protection against the influence of various magical objects.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ember Quinlan is her mum, who lives 300 miles away. Step father Randall, who she considers her true father. Made sure she knew how to protect herself, taught her how to shoot. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A gate in the heart of the Old Square, with a quartz archway. There are seven like it in the city, all carved from quartz from the Laconian Mountains. This one is called the Heart Gate as it is at the dead center of the city. Jutting out of the gate there is a dial pad, solid-gold block embedded with 7 different gems, each for a different quarter of the city, insignia of each distrct etched below it. Emerald and a rose for Five Roses, Opal and a pair of wings for the CBD, Ruby and heart for Old Square, Sapphire and an oak tree for Moonwood, Amethyst and a human hand for Asphodel Meadows, Tiger’s Eye and a serpent for Meat Market, Onyx and a skull and crossbones for Bone Quarter. Below that is a small round disc worn down by all the hands that have touched it. Sign reads – <i>Touch at your own risk. Do not use between sundown and sunrise. Violators will be fined.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">7 gates, each set along a ley line running through Lunathion, designed as a quick way for guards in the distrcts to speak to each other. When they’d put a hand to the pad and speak, the voice would travel to the other gates. Required a drop of magic to do so. Plaque above the gates says <i>'The power shall always belong to those who give their lives to the city’</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Danika plan to make the Drop together. The Drop does not give true immortality, Vanir do age and die from natural causes or other methods. But aging process is slow after the Drop. Fae can last 1000s of years, shifters/witches usually 5 centuries, angels somewhere between. Bryce not sure where she’ll fall given her half-Fae heritage.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tests confirmed that once Danika drops, she’ll have considerable power. Way more than her mother. Could become Alpha of all the wolves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika and Bryce plan to make the Drop at 27.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury Axtar, who they met at CCU is one of their friends. Danika thinks she is an assassin. Juniper Andromeda, a faun, is their other friend.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine never told Danika who her father was.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 3 –</b></span> Pack of Devils are at her apartment. Ithan is Connor’s little brother. Briggs was released. Two CCU research students got killed near Lunar’s temple during the blackout last week. It was in Danika's section, during her shift and Sabine blames her. They were ripped to shreds and partially eaten.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has a date with her boyfriend, Reid that night. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce loves to dance – wanted to be a part of the Crescent City Ballet but was told she had the wrong body type. Juniper also dances. Bryce is 23. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Connor comes to ask her out before her date but she says no, says she doesn’t date wolves. Doesn’t want a Vanir male in her business, controlling her because she has <b>DADDY ISSUES!</b> Her own Fae father had seduced her 19 year old mother and got so possessive that when she realised she was pregnant, she ran.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4 –</span></b> Connor sent her messages asking for the date, says he think’s they’re worth it, worth a shot. And that he is crazy about her and doesn’t want anyone else. She knows they've been dancing around this for the whole five years they've known each other.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reid shows up late. He owns Redner Industries.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Vanir crawled through the Northern Rift and overtook Midgard eons ago, an event called the Crossing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reports of territory across the Haldren Sea are grim, war has raged for 40 years there. Humans have more rights now but anyone who messes up goes back to being literal slaves to the Republic. Warrior-angels in the 33<sup>rd</sup> that are slaves are marked by SPQM slave tattoos on their wrist.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Breaks up with Reid at the table. Phones Fury and Juniper and gets them to meet at the The White Raven for a drink. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sends Connor a text agreeing to go on a date. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Different dominant shifter packs in other cities – lions in Hilene, tigers in Korinth, falcons in Oia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury, Bryce doesn’t know what she is or what house she belongs to. Gifts seem to be taking life.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5 – </span></b>Bryce gets drunk and takes drugs, returns to her building off her face. Finds her apartment door crumpled and open and blood outside the apartment. Finds the wolves all murdered, all of them in pieces. Danika’s body is on Bryce’s bed, in bloody pieces. Thorne on one side of the bed in pieces and Connor at the foot of it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce chases after whatever killed her friends. Sees it, doesn’t recognise it. Some feral thing with smooth, near-translucent gray skin, crawling on 4 long limbs and looking vaguely humanoid. Spots it feasting on an angel. Bryce attacks it. Its claws rip open her thigh. Tries to help the angel that lies dying.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 –</span></b> Isaiah Tiberian, looking at Bryce through one-way mirror of the legions holding center. Hunt Athalar (Umbra Mortis), comes to inquire about Bryce.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is given all the information they have on her: Bryce Quinlan, 23. Half-fae, half-human. Blood test confirm she will have an immortal life span. Power rating near-negligible. Hasn’t made the Drop yet. Listed as a full civitas. Found in an alley with an angel, trying to keep his heart from falling out with her bare hands. Cut on her thigh was huge – an artery had been hit. Lucky she survived.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt views her as a spoiled party girl. Notes that she’s Danika Fendyr’s roommate, and Danika was known as the Party Princess.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt couldn’t find the demon that did it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Five warrior team in the triarii, the most elite of all the Imperial Legion units (Micah’s cabal). Micah appointed Isaiah the Commander of the 33<sup>rd</sup>. No one knows where Hunt belongs. Arrived 2 years ago from Pangera.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Philip Briggs has been arrested for their murders, they believe he summoned the demon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Angels have a power that is some variation of the same: rain, storms, the occasional tornado. Isaiah can summon wind capable of keeping a charging enemy at bay. But none in living memory possessed Hunt’s ability to harness lightning at will.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Both Isaiah and Hunt have the matching tattoos of entwined thorns across their brows. Pangeran witches branded them. It is on the brows of nearly all 2000 rebel angels who thought in the rebellion years ago, a sign of their betrayal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asteri created angels to be perfect soldiers and loyal servants. And they had. Until Shahar, the Archangel they’d called the Daystar. Hunt and the others had flown in her elite 18<sup>th</sup> Legion. Their rebellion had failed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They are now eternal servants to those they’d tried to overthrow.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine shows up, wants to kill Bryce because she believes she took Danika’s sword. Viktoria to question Bryce, she's one of the few non-malakim who rebelled with them 2 centuries ago. Viktoria has no body of her own, they don’t know how she acquired her current body. She is a wraith. Now trapped in this body forever as punishment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They don’t know who Bryce’s father it – he didn’t acknowledge paternity but clearly has some standing as he got her civitas status.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah doesn’t understand why Sabine hates Bryce. Bryce only has one crime in her file for public indecency. Danika has 7 huge files but seemed to calm down after she met Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt knows Fury – a mercenary Micah has ordered Hunt to kill twice before, but she has too many high powered allies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Show her the messages she sent to Danika that night , including a video of her doing the drug lightseeker. She also tells Danika she fucked someone in the bathroom and not to tell Connor. Then show her camera footage and audio from her apartment building. You can hear Danika screaming, pleading and begging for mercy. Bryce explodes, trashing the room before puking repeatedly.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They get a call from Naomi Boreas, captain of the 33<sup>rd</sup> infantry, telling them to let Bryce go and not follow her. Ruhn Danaan called, he’s angry the House of Sky and Breath wasn’t notified. Says it falls under Fae jurisdiction.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn Danaan shows up - he is Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae and son of the Autumn King and possessor of the Starsword, the fabled dark blade of the ancient Starborn Fae. Proof of his status as the Chosen One. Sword apparently made from iridium mined from a meteorite and forged in another world, before Fae had come through the Northern Rift. Fire magic is common among Valbaran Fae and wielded by Autumn King himself. But Ruhn’s magic is more like the Fae who ruled the Fae isle of Avallen – power to summon shadows/mist (<b>Az vibes</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn came for Bryce, says she’s his cousin. They keep her parentage secret.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7 –</span></b> Bryce kneeling before the towering ivory gates of the Bone Quarter. Ithan had left her a message telling her she was not welcome at the Sailing the next day (there version of a funeral). Creature comes out of the mist and chapter ends so we don’t find out what the creature is or why she is there to see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 2: The Trench</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 – 22 Months Later </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce Quinlan has just fucked a lion shifter in the White Raven’s bathroom. Leaves him to go attend a business meeting. Maximus Tertian 200 year old vampyr, unwed and unmated, son of Cedrian, the richest of the Pangeran vamps and most monstrous. There to buy a 5000 year old onyx bust of a long-dead vampyr lord.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The firstlight grid’s power is generated by the pure, undiluted light each Vanir emits while making the Drop. Only during the Drop that the flash of firstlight appears – raw unfiltered magic. Captured and bottled, first glow is used for healing and then the rest is handed over to the energy plants to fuel lights, cars, machines etc.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Drop is done in a government center. The Drop is easy, it is falling into one’s power. Once the bottom is reached, the mortal body expires and the clock begins counting down. Mere minutes allowed for the race back up to life before the brain shuts down from lack of oxygen. You have 6 minutes to get back out. Someone has to act as an Anchor, a beacon/lifeline/bungee cord to help snap their companion back so they don’t die.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her and Ruhn had once been close, best friends. Ruhn is there to tell her the Autumn King wants her to lie low, as the Summit meeting is in just over a month. Summit meetings occur every 10 years, a gathering of Valbara’s ruling powers to debate issues.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce pretends she still parties, but hasn’t actually drank alcohol since the night Danika died. Now lives in a fancy penthouse apartment, it belonged to Danika and she left it to Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9 - </span></b>Hunt Athalar is in an apartment in the Meadows, kills the people there. Then goes to the Comitium barracks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel, the Archangel and Governor of the northwestern quadrant of Pangera was Hunt’s former owner before Micah traded with her. Sandriel was his dead lover’s twin sister.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Shahar believed her sister had killed their parents and then framed an assassin for it. Shahar rebelled because of it, she wanted a world free of hierarchies. Sandriel believed Hunt had lured her twin into the rebellion and turned her against her sister. Hunt was in love with Shahar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt needs to pay back every life he took during the final battle. He is blamed for 2217 deaths. So far he has paid back for 82 lives. Micah is the only person who has offered him a chance at freedom. Sends Hunt names in a file with all the information he needs to know and then he kills them for him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10 –</span></b> Hunt and Isaiah show up to Griffin Antiquities. A murder took place on the outskirts of the Meat Market the night before. Maximus Tertian was killed. His injuries were identical to the ones inflicted on Danika and her Pack. Believe Briggs didn’t do it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 –</span></b> Micah comes to the gallery to speak to her and Jesiba via video call. He wants Bryce to find the true murderer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 12 –</b> </span>Micah wants the murderer caught, or at the Summit meeting they will say he doesn’t have control of his city. The new witch-queen will be formally recognised at the Summit. Sandriel is coming and will be Micah’s guest in the city for a month.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel is bringing Pollux Antonius with her – triarii commander, also known as the Hammer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hel has seven territories - the Hollow, the Trench, the Canyon, the Ravine, The Chasm, the Abyss and the Pit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika and Tertian were apparently friends, Bryce didn’t know.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind is Pollux’s lover. The Hammer and the Hind - her real name is Lidia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is put on protection duty, to guard Bryce while she hunts for the killer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 –</span></b> Micah tells Hunt that if he solves the case quickly, he will cut his debts down to just 10 more assignments. Warns him to keep his hands and dick to himself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Last time Hunt saw Ruhn, at the Spring Equinox last year, he had broken his nose.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14 – </span></b>Ruhn has been heading up the Fae division of the Aux for 15 years now. Ruhn one of about a dozen Fae Princes across the planet Midgard but he is the only Starborn among them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce visited and met her father for the first time at 13. The meeting had not gone well between her and her father. But Ruhn would visit her often until they had a fight and stopped speaking.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn received the Starsword from the Cave of Princes in Avallen’s dark heart – he was deemed worthy to pull it from its sheath.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">King wants Ruhn to get married – wants him to marry Hypaxia, the new witch-queen of Valbara. Tell Ruhn to find Lunar’s Horn.</p><p class="MsoNormal">When Ruhn saw the Oracle she had told him the royal bloodline will end with him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 – </span></b>Syrinx, the Chimera, stays with Bryce at her apartment. Hunt is watching her there. Driving each other crazy. Lehabah was marked a slave from birth – the same for all sprites. Bryce bought Syrinx from Jesiba after Danika died and Jesiba tried to sell him. Goes to a nail salon, makes Hunt wait outside while she gets her nails done.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16 –</span></b> Bryce goes to visit Ruhn, lives with his friends Flynn and Declan. Tristan Flynn, son of Lord Hawthorne. Declan Emmett – built a career off hacking into Republic websites and charging them for him to reveal their weaknesses. Asks Ruhn for info on the Viper Queen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 – </span></b>Bryce gives Hunt her list of suspects. Says Danika didn’t know Maximus Tertian. She did some digging and found his girlfriend – his girlfriend works at the nail salon Bryce went to. Girlfriend revealed Danika and Tertian didn’t know each other but both knew the Viper Queen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sneaks out of her apartment that night. Hunt finds her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 – </span></b>They are in the Meat Market. Notes the jacket Bryce is wearing – written on the back is <i>‘Through love, all is possible’</i>. Bryce is there to buy obsidian salt. Hel severed from them by time and space but can be accessed through the twin sealed portals at the north and south poles – Northern Rift and Southern Rift.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Find the satyr who sold Briggs obsidian. They buy some and as they leave the Viper Queen is outside waiting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19 – </span></b>Bought the salt to get the Queen’s attention – only way to get a quick meeting with her. She has alibis for both murders. Tells Bryce to <i>‘Look toward where it hurts the most’ </i>for answers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20 – </span></b>Trying to come up with a list of Danika’s movements in the week before her death. Hunt finds out Bryce bought the chimera’s freedom, can never be sold again. Hunt was bought for 85 million gold marks. Bryce got a deal for Syrix but will still be paying it off until she’s 300.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is 233.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Has Hunt come to ask her questions to jog her memory of the last week of Danika’s life. They went and got their tattoos the week she died. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn texts – asks her to meet at Lunar’s Temple, as there are no cameras there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 – </span></b>Tells Bryce the Autumn King has tasked him with finding Luna’s Horn.Luna’s Horn was a weapon wielded by Pelias, the first Starborn Prince during the First Wars. The demon princes wanted the horn. The Star-Eater bred a new horror to hunt the horn – sees an illustration of it and Bryce recognises it, same demon she saw the night Danika died. Called it the kristallos.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">During final battle of First Wars Prince Pelias and Prince of the Pit fought. Star-Eater struck the fatal blow but not before Pelias summoned all the Horn’s strength and banished the Prince of the Pit, his brethren and their armies back to Hel. Sealed the Northern Rift forever. Horn cracked in 2 when Pelias sealed the Northern Rift, its power broken. It couldn’t be fixed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Think someone has summoned the demon to hunt the Horn, but not sure why if it is broken. Ruhn can hunt the horn because his Starborn power is woven into the horn by Prince Pelias.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says he thought celibacy seemed a bore until Shahar ruined him for anyone else (<b>This man is a mix of Rowan and Rhys - why I'm confident of Hunt endgame</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 –</span></b> Find out that during the big fight Ruhn and Bryce had years ago, he called her a half-breed slut.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23 – </span></b>Jesiba wants her to send over a file from her computer. Godslayer Rifle is dismantled and hung on the wall in Jesiba's office (<b>SJM only mentions something if she's coming back to it) </b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt calls – there has been another murder, by the Gate in the Old Square, victim is an acolyte from Luna’s Temple.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Realises the angel she saved the night Danika died was Micah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24 –</span></b> Her saving Micah was kept secret as it would look bad that the Archangel got his ass handed to him and was saved by a 23 year old half-Fae half-human who hadn’t even made the Drop. Finds out she’s on Hunt’s suspect list and she's angry.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce remembers the day during their senior year, when they’d crashed a stolen motorcycle. The rifle Bryce had was wrenched from her hands and thrown away. Danika had shielded Bryce from the worst of the fall when falling off the bike. Danika told her she loved her and that she was sorry. Bryce had told Danika to close her eyes. Then memory ends before we get more details.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25 –</span></b> Bryce goes to the White Raven, to see Juniper. Hunt follows her. Realises she doesn’t drink, what he thought was alcohol is water.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26 –</span></b> A bomb goes off in the club. She protects Juniper’s body with her own. Juniper hits her, shouting because Juniper has made the Drop and Bryce hasn’t. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Take her to Ruhn’s place, Hunt cleans her wounds why she sits in shock. Sees she never got the scar on her leg healed, and that she limps sometimes because of it and not because of her shoes. Blames himself, as he stapled it like battlefield wound when he found her with Micah the night of the attack. (<b>Again - Rowan vibes with Aelin. The whole I totally misjudged you and I only get it now I’m looking at your scars</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Think the human rebels set off the bomb. Smuggled in through new exploding liquid hidden in a delivery of wine. On the box where the bomb was there was the Keres rebel group symbol and also a symbol of the horn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They want to go and see Briggs in prison.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King knows Bryce is looking for the horn with Ruhn. Now says she needs all day protection, live-in protection. Ruhn volunteered. She says no, says Hunt can do it instead.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn wants access to the library beneath the gallery. She says he can if he puts Declan at her disposal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27 –</span></b> Hunt asks why she doesn’t make the Drop, tells him she was waiting as her and Danika picked a time, two years from now. Hunt tells Bryce about the deal Micah offered him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt knows Bryce’s stepfather – Randall Silago is a legendary war hero and sharpshooter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28 –</span></b> Filler chapter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29 –</span></b> Ruhn meets Hunt and Bryce to go to the library. Declan has sent over the information they wanted; coordinates and locations for Danika’s daily routine. Danika was stationed at the temple the 2 days before the Horn was stolen and during the blackout.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn finds info in a book – Prince Pelias and his bride Lady Helena. Pelias was high general for a Fae Queen named Theia when they entered the world during the Crossing. Helena was her daughter. Queen Theia was Starborn and her daughter possessed the same power. Horn worked only for Starborn, when filled with power. Horn is broken and Fae claimed it can only be repaired by <i>'light that is not light, magic that is not magic'</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30 – </span></b>Takes Bryce with him to his barracks. Goes down his phone, only has 36 photos and all of crime scenes. Takes a photo of herself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She asks Hunt if he is dating anyone, he says no. Tells her he dated someone once but it ended badly – Shahar who was killed by her sister, but doesn’t tell her that. Asks when he made the drop. At 28, as his mother had just died.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31 –</span></b> Sandriel arrives just as they are about to leave. Bryce starts taking photos on Hunt’s phone as a distraction. Micah tries to ask her out for dinner, she turns him down.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32 – </span></b>Hunt sent to kill someone else for Micah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Chapter 33 – Hunt goes to see the Oracle, a Sphinx. Asks her why someone wants Luna’s Horn , she says it is so they can open the doorway between worlds(<b>So series crossover coming soon?</b>) Want to use it to reopen the Northern Rift. Tells him the Horn can be repaired, but she can’t see how. Calls him by his real name, Orion Athalar. Asks if he wants to know what she sees for him, says no. Also says no to finding out what Bryce was told by her. Tells him “<i>You remind me of that which was lost long ago. I had not realised it might ever appear again</i>.” And then tells him “<i>Do yourself a favour, Orion Athalar: keep well away from Bryce Quinlan</i>.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34 –</span></b> Hunt asks Bryce why the Oracle warned him away from her. Tells him the Fae have a custom, when girls get their first cycle or when they turn 13, they go to the Oracle. Boys go at 13. Her period started just shy of 13, mum thought she had shut her off from part of her heritage and sent a letter to her real father. 2 weeks later she was declared a full civitas. Catch was she had to claim Sky and Breath as her House. Went to see her father and meet Ruhn. Went well until her Oracle visit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When she looked in the smoke for Bryce she tried to claw her eyes out, went blind for a week. Father called her a worthless disgrace. Left her bags at the curb that day.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Find image of the kristallos on a vase originally from Parthos. Hunt believes it a myth about the ancient library in Parthos and a pre-existing human civilization.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35 – </span></b>Go to see Briggs. We find out the year is 15035. Briggs says he liked Danika, met with her twice before she arrested him. First time she warned him to stop or she’d bring him in. Second time she told him she had enough evidence that she had to bring him in but he could get off easy if he admitted to the plotting. Third time she came with the pack and took him in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">After Mount Hermon they spent 7 years torturing Hunt in Asteri dungeons. Then his first owner Archangel Ramuel continued it for 2 more years. When Ramuel decided he’d be better suited as an assassin it had been 9 years since Hunt had seen sunlight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt wants to try and get footage from the cameras outside the temple from night the Horn was taken.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36 – </span></b>They go to meet Ruhn and his friends Flynn and Declan at the shooting range. Want Declan to do more hacking work for them. Want him to scour the footage to see if he can see anything despite the blackout. Shows off her sharpshooting skills and Hunt doesn’t run from it (<b>Because apparently every other man is too intimidated by a girl who can shoot a gun</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Get a call that there’s been another murder.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37 – </span></b>Think the victim is a guard from the Temple, on duty the night the Horn was stolen. All deaths took place close to the ley lines, so the person doing it could be using them to get the strength to summon the demon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks if Bryce and Tristan Flynn ever hooked up because he flirts with her. Counters by asking if he wants to tell her about all his hook ups. But he says none of them are worth mentioning as Shahar ruined him for anyone else. He grew up in her territory in Southeast of Pangera. Fell in love with her as he worked his way up her ranks.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says her and Flynn never hooked up. When she visited Ruhn as a teen she flirted with them. Thought her and Flynn would marry one day. Doesn’t tell him Danika went home with him one night in college. Her worst hookup – dated a vampyr for 3 weeks – ended it after he wanted to try eating while <i>eating</i>. She asks if he still has a thing for Shahar, he says he will until the day he dies. Can’t move on from loving her when she gave up everything for him and the cause.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Dec calls – found something in the footage. Someone swapped out footage of the temple during the time the Horn was stolen. Person who headed up the investigation of the video of that footage was Sabine Fendyr.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Three – The Canyon</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 38 - </b></span>They think Sabine might be responsible. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is thinking about tasting all of Bryce's toes (<b>This deserves to be noted because ewww! My guy, Why? Why, Sarah? Why did you write this and then make me read it?</b>)<b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Ruhn goes to see a medwitch to ask about the case. To ask if she could think of any way a magical object might be fixed that people haven’t tried yet. Doesn’t know, says maybe with modern healing technology.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40 – </span></b>Viktoria finds something on the city cameras and power grid. Captured a grainy image of the demon. Demon didn’t attack anyone, but circled Sabine’s territory. Last place it was – The Rose Gate. There one minute and gone the next.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41 – </span></b>They go to the Rose Gate, realise the demon might not be using the ley lines, but is using the sewers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt finds a box of toy unicorns/pegasus that Bryce collects - the whole Jelly Jubilee thing. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42 – </span></b>They go to check out the Istros River. Only one glass sub travels to and fron the Blue Court, the underwater city, every day. Invite only. The mer can shift into fully human bodies for short periods of time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Talk to Tharion Ketos, an old friend of Hunt’s and a mer. He is the Captain of Intelligence for the River Queen. River Queen – part mer, part river-spirit. Daughter of Ogenas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion agrees to ask around for them. Hunt met him when Tharion’s sister was murdered, he was assigned to help investigate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Through love, all is possible</i> – was all the Oracle told Danika.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43 – </span></b>Go to the wolves' Den in Moonwood so they can ask Sabine questions. Amelie Ravenscroft is the leader of the Black Rose Pack. Bryce is treated terribly by everyone, including Connor’s brother. All saw the leaked messages, Connor spilling his heart to her and her accepting a date, then fucking a random person in a club toilet. Sabine lies about Danika being at the temple. They take it as proof she is guilty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Before she leaves Ithan tells her that she never deserved Connor. Tells her Sabine wants her dead.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 44 –</b> </span>Filler chapter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45 – </span></b>Hunt goes out for drinks with the angels. Bryce promised to stay in her apartment, but she lied. Had someone watching her and they call to tell him she left. Goes after her and they get quite flirty just before the kristallos attacks him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46 – </span></b>They manage to kill the demon. But when it bit Hunt it nullified his power. Micah shows up, incinerates the body before they can examine it for evidence. Says it is so no one gets wind of it, can’t have the bad press. They tell Micah their suspicions about Sabine.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47 –</span></b> Land on the roof of her building and almost close to kissing again when Sabine interrupts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48 –</span></b> Hunt has his gun on Sabine, hers is on Bryce. Sabine realises they think she killed Danika. Reveals she lied to protect Danika as Danika was the one who stole the Horn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49 –</span></b> Sabine says she didn’t kill Danika, but if they jeopardise her daughter's legacy she will kill Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50 –</span></b> Ruhns knife was part of a pair, came with a long bladed knife forged from the same meteorite. Lost the knife eons ago. Prophecy is <i>‘When knife and sword are reunited, so shall our people be’<b> (I forgot about this - is the knife Azriels’ knife. Makes sense, plus this world has a whole island of people with the same Fae power as him. Proof of ACOTAR/Crescent City crossover?</b>)<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lehabah says she is a descendent of Queen Ranthia Drahl<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion sent one of the otters to deliver a message to them. Pictures of a body found in a sobeks’ lair, but bites not consistent with a sobek (apex predator that prowls the river).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says the demon isn’t what killed Danika. It didn’t kill them the same way, didn’t try to get to their organs but left them in piles. Think someone could have summoned more than one demon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 51 – </b></span>Brcye wants to summon a demon to get some answers. She summons Aidas, Prince of the Chasm. Bryce says he appeared as a cat the last time she saw him – she was 13 then.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks him questions, doesn’t really get any answers. When she asks what killed Danika, he tells her to run the tests again and find what is in-between. Aidas tells her to make the Drop and find him when she’s done. Tells her the Oracle did not see but he did.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas appeared that day she saw the Oracle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52 – </span></b>Goes to see her father, becuase she found out there were tests he could have run to help find what killed Danika but he didn’t do it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Heads to a bar and starts drinking. Hunt brings her something to help with her leg.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells him about the photo she has of her and Danika. Taken the day they got out of hospital senior year. Danika did her thesis on history of illegal animal trade. Uncovered a real smuggling ring and no one would help her so they decided to deal with it themselves. Operation was run by five asp shifters who caught them trying to free their stock. There was a motorcycle chase and crash. Her arm was broken in 3 places, Danika fractured her pelvis and got shot twice in the leg. Bryce killed some of the shifters and police got the rest.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas visits her in cat form, knows who her father is. Tells her to make the Drop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53 – </span></b>Send off Danika and the others clothes for the testing to try and find out more about what killed them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54 – </span></b>Hunt summoned to see Micah. Bryce is worried when she doesn’t hear from him, comes back covered in blood. She helps him shower. Asks her to stay with him, so she sleeps in bed next to him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55 – </span></b>Wakes up in her own bed, Hunt must have moved her to it. Making food in the kitchen when she wakes up. They have another <i>moment</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba has a nokk delivered to the gallery, a creature in a tank – 8ft long, with too-wide lipless mouth full of needle-thin teeth. Air is lethal to nokks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Viktoria calls them to meet her – has something for them. The Mimir screening (scent test) found small bits of something synthetic, no organic/technological/magic but a combo of all three. Seems to be some kind of drug, known as Synth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt doesn’t know who his father is, he’s a bastard. Mum was a low-ranking angel. He’d send money home to her, but she refused to spend it. Someone found out and broke in to steal from her, killed her and took the money. No one cared or investigated her death as she was seen as lowly. He joined Shahar’s cause after that.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56 –</span></b> Video call with her parents<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57 –</span></b> Doesn’t want to go to a medwitch and get her leg healed because once it stops hurting then it will feel like Danika is really gone.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her mum ran from her real dad before he found out she was pregnant. Went to a temple to Cthona in Korinth and spent the first 3 years of Bryce’s life there. Biological father found out and sent people to track them down. They escaped to Solas’s temple in Oia and pick up their holy guard. He was two weeks away from b being sworn in as an acolyte when they asked him to escort Bryce and her mum to Hilene. The goons found them but they fought and killed them. House of Earth and Blood then deemed her mother a vessel for Cthona and Randall a vessel for Solas and it got them protection.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58 - </span></b>Trying to find the synth, told to speak to the mer. Tharion reveals Danika was spotted doing a deal for synth the day before she died.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59 –</span></b> The drug is synthetic magic – in concentrated doses it can give human's strength greater than most Vanir. Fury answers her call, knew about the drug. Tells Bryce to stay away from it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60 –</span></b> The medwtch wants some venom to test if she can possibly create an antidote to synth.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika’s birthday – she buys birthday croissants to celebrate. Someone has wrote Trash on top of one of them. Hunt knows Amelie Ravenscroft did it. Finds where she is and goes to her. Pins her against the wall by her throat. Tells her she is to leave Bryce alone from now on.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61 – </span></b>They go to see the medwitch Ruhn found – still don’t know her name. Bryce realises they can get the venom she needs for her antidote from Bryce's leg wound. Warns Bryce that it is going to be incredibly painful. During it, Hunt helps keep her calm, talks her through it, gives her a small kiss.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62 – </span></b>Micah summons them both. Get there to find Micah, Sabine and Amelie there. Demands he be punished for it. Will be given The Living Death – where they cut an angel's wings off. They will grow back in several weeks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine went to the Under-King last winter to speak to Danika or what speck of energy lives on in the Sleeping City. But she would not come. The Under-King revealed to her that Bryce had gone and made a bargain for Danika. Given up her spot in the Bone Quarter in exchange for Danika’s, in case she was denied access.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sends Ithan a message to tell Amelie that Connor never bothered to notice her because he knew what a piece of shit she was. Also tells him to tell Sabine that if she sees her again, she will kill her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63 –</span></b> Bryce manages to get into Danika’s account at Redner industries. Finds a file named Bryce. Finds the picture of them – a clue, in the L on the jacket she had hidden a flash drive. Three videos on the drive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64 – </span></b>Videos are from the synth research trials. A human female sat in a room when she is injected with synth. Two Vanir men walk into the room, two slave Vanir. Watch as the human rips them to pieces. <b>(Giving me Six of Crows jurda parem vibes)</b>. Send in two more and she kills them. Same with next 3. Then next 5 they send in. The human girl eventually turned on herself and ripped herself apart.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks him about the kiss and if he meant it. Says yes. Asks is she wants him to do it again, but she says she wants to do it. Hunt tells her to do it and she does. Then he asks what she wants and she replies “<i>All of it.</i>” Fingers her, and plan to do more but she ends up accidentally hurting him so they stop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sneaks out to go to her old apartment – see if Danika left other clues but finds it burning down. Someone has done it to stop her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Gets a text from Tharion telling her about a synth deal going down on the river.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65 –</span></b> Tharion takes her over to the boat, sees the Viper Queen. She’s the one selling it. Then realises the person buying it is Hunt.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66 –</span></b> Bryce goes to confront them, but then Micah appears. It seems the Viper Queen set them up. Hunt, Viktoria and Justinian had tried to get synth, thought it would be a way to regain their power to overthrow their masters.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Finds out Hunt knew about the drug days ago. Found out some leaked from Redner labs two years ago but it ran out quickly. Now someone else has found a way to replicate it. Micah says Danika is the reason it leaked, that she sold it. Hunt says she stole it, sold it and was also addicted to it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They believe she took the drug and killed the two CCU students the night the Horn was taken. Hunt believes Danika took the drug the night she died. Took too much and she ended up slaughtering the pack and then herself. Believe she accidentally summoned the kristallos.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt makes a move toward Bryce when Fury appears, holding a gun to his head. Hunt had figured all this out a week ago and not told her. She tells him she never wants to see him again.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67 – </span></b>Justinian has been punished, being crucified and killed slowly. Viktoria has been ripped from her body and her essence shoved in a glass box. Plans to dump her in the sea to go insane.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 4 – The Ravine</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68 –</span></b> Hunt and the others had planned to take the synth and then kill Micah and the other at the Summit. Then head to the Eternal City to finish it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Autumn King shows up at the gallery to talk to her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69 –</span></b> Sandriel comes to visit Hunt, she owns him again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70 –</span></b> Fury is waiting for her when she gets home – tells Bryce that Micah gave Hunt away to Sandriel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71 – </span></b>Bryce comes, trying to get Hunt back. Says she wants to buy him for 97 million gold marks, has a check from Jesiba Roga. Then takes off the Archesian amulet – it is 15,000 years old and worth 3 million.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Refuse her, melting the amulet away to nothing. So asks them to take her instead. Ruhn appears, telling her to get up. Sandriel reveals that she knows who Bryce really is, that she is the only daughter of the Autumn King. Ruhn claims her as his sister and kin so they can’t take her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt knows she will keep fighting for him so tells her ‘<i>I owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing. Don’t ever come looking for me again.</i>’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She leaves and is attacked by a kristallos demon and tackled into the waters of the river.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72 –</span></b> Bryce is saved by Ruhn, Declan and Flynn. She tells Ruhn he is dead to her, deletes his contact info.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 73 –</b> Hunt is attending the Summit. Realises that Hypaxia, the new witch Queen, is the medwitch who has been helping them. The Asteri appear at the Summit via vidscreen link. Each Asteri holds the power of a sacred star and could level their planet to dust.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion, Ruhn, Declan and Queen Hypaxia are all there. Ruhn reveals he has telepathy, so can talk to Hunt in his mind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia is officially anointed Queen of the Valbaran Witches.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74 –</span></b> Nothing Bryce can do for Hunt, has tried looking and found nothing that will get him out of his enslavement.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75 –</span></b> The mer come to the summit to argue against the building of a canal for transporting tanks, as it will destroy their fishing industry.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 76 –</span></b> Bryce been staying at the gallery so she can look through the library. Has applied for a ton of jobs. Micah shows up at the gallery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba Roga gets a message on her phone at the Summit from Bryce. Has them link her feed of the gallery to the screens so they can watch it. Bryce messages again asking for help. Ruhn orders an Aux unit to be sent to the gallery immediately.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah says a ton of the books in the library could get her executed. Banned titles that disprove the superiority of Vanir and Asteri, from people that it is claimed existed before the Asteri arrived. But were tortured and proved liars according to him. Micah reveals the library she is in is the Great Library of Parthos. Says the Archesian amulet around her neck is what the priestesses of Parthos would wear.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah says during the First Wars, it was at Parthos that a human army made its last stand against the Vanir. Did it to buy the priestesses time to grab the most vital volumes and escape. Tells her to sit so they can be civilised about it when she gives him Luna’s horn.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 77 –</b> Miach knows she figured out what Danika did with the Horn a few days ago, at the same time he did. Micah saw the footage from the Comitium lobby when Sandriel destroyed the Archesian amulet. That’s when he realised and believes she did too. Danika knew she wouldn’t leave the job and would wear the amulet. And once it was destroyed, that was when the kristallos attacked her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Says Danika didn’t give Bryce the Horn, she made her the Horn. Had it ground into a fine powder, mixed with witch-ink and then tattooed it onto her back. The tattoo is in the language of universes and spells out a direct command to activate the Horn through a blast of raw power upon the tattoo itself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah admits that he killed Danika and the pack. Asks him why – says he is an investor in Redner Industries and has access to all its experiments. Danika tracked down the people Redner wanted her to find, including Ophion rebels who experimented with a formula for synthetic magic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They all watch on the screen as Micah attacks Bryce while telling her his whole plot – <b>(The whole trope of the villain monologue to give us info is one I HATE!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah dumped the synth into the streets – not Danika. Knew Danika would try to get it off the streets and he pretended to catch her, told her people wouldn’t believe she was trying to get the drug off the streets. Told her he’d forget about it if she did him a favour – steal the Horn. But Danika figured out why he wanted it and hid it from him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah wants the Horn so he can open a portal and summon an army to decimate the human rebels. (<b>I still don't see how in a world FILLED with powerful immortal beings, they can't decimate the human rebels themselves. Are they not embarrassed?</b>)</p><p class="MsoNormal">He went to Danika’s apartment that night, disabled the Pack with his powers and then injected Danika with synth. Watched as she ripped them apart and then herself. Spent two years hunting for the Horn before realising Bryce was the key to finding it. That <i>the power of her love will bring the Horn to him</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Summoned the kristallos to nudge them along. Injected Tertian, the acolyte and the guard with synth to rip themselves apart to prompt them. And the bomb at the club, to raise suspicions that humans were behind it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce leading him with questions, to make sure they get a full confession from him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah injects her with the synth, to fix the Horn and be able to use it through her. Bryce attempts to fight back – so Micah grabs Syrinx and throws him in the Nokks tank.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 78 – </span></b>Bryce knows Syrinx can’t swim. Micah blasts Bryce's back with power to use the Horn, but nothing seems to happen. Uses one of the books to send a blast of power at Micah, sending him flying back into the bathroom in the library, Lehabah uses another book to blast the door shut, locking him inside.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce grabs a knife and then jumps in the tank after Syrix. Flynn murmurs that this is Bryce’s Ordeal.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 79 –</span></b> She gets Syrinx out just as the nokk grabs her and pulls her down. Manages to escape. But refuses to leave until she gets Syrinx breathing again. Micah is almost out but Bryce won’t leave Syrinx behind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lehabah wants to help her escape. Bryce tells her that she’s free. She traded with Jesiba for her freedom the week before. Lehabah says she knew, saw the papers in her drawer. Bryce tells her she doesn’t have to do this as she’s free. And Lehabah replies ‘<i>Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my friends.</i>’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lehabah summons her powers, burning brighter and brighter. Unleashes her powers as Micah breaks through the door, aims it at the tank to release gallons of water. As she does it she says ‘<i>My friends are with me and I am not afraid.</i>’ (<b>Throne of Glass vibes)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80 – </span></b>Bryce runs to Jesiba’s office and assembles the Godslayer Rifle. Drinks something from her safe too. She shoots Micah in the head.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 81 –</span></b> Bryce has Danika’s sword, she kept it in the gallery. Uses it to slice Micah’s head in two and down through his body. Hypaxia gave Bryce some antidote, it is what she drank. Then she douses Micah’s body in gasoline and sets it on fire so he can't heal and come back. Then pulls out a vacuum and vacuums up his ashes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 82 – </span></b>At the Summit, Ruhn and Hunt worried as they know Bryce will be killed for what she did to Micah. But see the feeds of the city and realise that Micah’s experiment with the Horn didn’t fail.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 83 – </span></b>Micah opened a portal through the mouth of the Heart Gate – unleashing creatures from Hel. Winged, scaled demons are soaring out of it. Bryce goes to her apartment to drop off Syrinx and then grab Hunt’s handguns and rifle along with ammo.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She realises Micah opened a portal in EVERY gate, all 7 are now a doorway to Hel. The CBD is under siege, the 33<sup>rd</sup> are being slaughtered.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia orders the witches to head to the city to help. Sabine says they’ll all be killed – Hypaxia says she’d rather fight like Bryce than watch innocents die while she sits and does nothing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is running through the streets with Danika’s sword and her guns, telling people to get into the shelters - firing at and cutting down demons as she goes. She’s headed for the Meadows, where the humans are.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 84 –</span></b> Micah planned ahead, he has had all the witches brooms destroyed, along with the armory, the helicopters, the cars. Did it so they couldn’t go to help in the city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks for Isaiah’s phone, calls the Viper Queen – reminds her that she owes him a favour.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan defies Sabine’s direct orders – tells Bryce that he and the other wolves are coming to where she is.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 85 – </span></b>Bryce is being attacked by a demon when the Viper Queen’s Fae bodyguards arrive and help her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel comes back and tells everyone at the Summit that they are ordered to remain there, that the Asteri are sending help to the city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The shelter gates automatically begin closing, Bryce helps Ithan as he is injured. Only space left for one to squeeze through the door before it closes. Bryce pushes Ithan through, leaving herself out in the city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 86 –</span></b> Watch as Bryce makes it to the Old Square, sits on the ground. They believe she is giving up, out of ideas. She makes a phone call to Hunt – Sandriel lets him answer it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells him to tell her mum that she loves her, to tell Randall he was the only father that ever mattered. Tell Fury she is sorry she lied and that she would have told her the truth, eventually. Tells him to tell Juniper thank you for that night on the roof, that she stopped her from jumping so she could be there to help today – she’d been close to jumping, Juniper had called and stayed on the phone until she got to her. Then tells him to tell Ruhn she forgives him, forgave him long ago but just didn’t know how to tell him the truth, and hid it because she loves him and didn’t want to take anything away from him. Tells Hunt she was waiting for him (points to her heart) and she forgives him for everything. Then she runs for the Gate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 87 – </span></b>They watch as she approaches the gate and begins to glow. Reaches the gate and says “<i>I am Bryce Quinlan, Heir to the Starborn Fae.</i>”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Flashback to that day with Danika – got Danika to close her eyes and then let out her power to blind the ape shifters as she then used their guns to kill them. The light, her power – her and her parents had kept it hidden for years. It means nothing to her but she knows how much it means to Ruhn..</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thrusts her starlight at the Gate and orders it to close.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 88 – </span></b>Bryce seals the portal in the gate. The Autumn King calls Ember, angry that she lied about Bryce being Starborn for all these years. Her tests showed no power because hers is just a gift of starlight, nothing more.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel makes a phone call – likely to the Asteri, telling them about Bryce, her powers and the Horn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is the only one that can wield the Horn because she is of the Starborn line, it is why Danika inked it on her. If Bryce uses the Horn, she could open a portal into any world (<b>The crossover is coming!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri will kill her before she does it – as she threatens their authority.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia uses her magic to get rid of the halo on Hunt’s brow – freeing him and his power.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 89 – </span></b>Hunt uses his powers to kill Sandriel. They have one helicopter, will take 30 mins to get to the city. Hunt needs to use it as his wings have grown back but aren’t strong enough for flight yet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 90 – </span></b>The Asterian Guard is sending imperial tanks with brimstone missile launchers to blast the city to dust – deal with the demons and Bryce. Brimstone missiles are pure magic. Bryce survives a missile blast, but her foot is trapped under rubble.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt jumps from the helicopter to save her from the missiles – he falls to her and throws himself over her to protect her from the blast.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 91 – </span></b>Bryce survives but finds Hunt injured. His back a bloodied, burned mess. His legs completely gone, same for his right arm. A gaping hole through his body and no wings.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce touches the pad on the Gate – speaks through it and asks for anyone to come to another gate and touch the disk on that side. The Gate is a conduit of power and she just needs one person to be there as her Anchor so she can make the Drop. The firstlight she will generate by making the Drop will spread to all the gates. It will light up everything, send the demons away and heal everything it touches.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Hunt to hold on, tells him she loves him - says she whispers three words into his ear. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She hears Danika telling her to '<i>Light it up</i>' – it is coming from the Bone Quarter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 92 –</span></b> Bryce makes the drop with Danika as her Anchor – the Under-King explains at the Summit conference room that Danika had a small kernel of energy left, a bit of self that remained. But that a dead soul can’t serve as an Anchor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is making an untethered solo Drop. Her powers were classified as low level but the gate isn't – the plaque that says ‘<i>The power shall always belong to those who give their lives to the city’ </i> - the plaque is a blessing. The power of the Gates, the power given by every soul who touched it and handed over a drop of magic. Bryce will get that power.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They all watch as she Drops – going past level after level of power. She surpasses Ruhn’s level. Watch as her power from the gates heals the city, and the damage done to it, and the portals close.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce’s power, just a decimal point above the Autumn King’s (<b>This is a SJM heroine, of course she becomes the most powerful thing ever. Are we surprised?</b>). The King says she won’t be able to make the Ascent, and will die.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her heart flat lines, her mortal body dies. She has 6 minutes to make the Search and the Ascent and emerge an immortal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 93 –</span></b> Danika is there to see her and Bryce says she is not making the Ascent because it is too hard without Danika. Danika telling her to fight, to stay. Says that Hunt still remains. Danika tells her that Hunt is healed from her firstlight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The clock counting down to the end of her six minutes stops at 0.003 – Bryce is running for her Ascent. Danika gave over the last piece of her that remained so that she could make it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They watch on the monitors as Hunt gives Bryce chest compressions. As he does it he says “I heard what you said. What you waited to admit until I was almost <i>dead, </i>you fucking coward. <i>Now come say it to my face.” </i>Uses his lightning power to jump start her heart.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 94 –</span></b> She makes it back alive.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 95 – </span></b>In her apartment. Bryce now has an eight-pointed star now scars the place between her breasts. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt plan to finally have sex, but are interrupted by her mum calling.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One of the Asteri calls Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 96 –</span></b> Rigelus, the Bright Hand of the Asteri has called her. The Asteri have freed Hunt for her, as a show of their gratitude. They hope it serves as a reminder to her and Hunt to stay in the city, to live together in peace and contentment and not use her power or the Horn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury, Ruhn and Flynn come to see them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 97 – </span></b>Looks across at the Bone Quarter- a gift from the Under-King, allows her to see the near-invisible figures of Connor and the other 5 people in Danika’s pack.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Epilogue –</span></b> Jesiba Roga is meeting Aidas in the park. Bryce bears Theia’s light – not the same as her brother Ruhn's.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba asks him about Hunt, Aidas says that he thinks Hunt’s father would have been proud.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba has moved the library. Tells Aidas not to fuck them over this time – says he doesn’t plan to, not when things are about to get interesting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiv16pGYP7v4CBg0EdNjVcH3Aw_JO3uWEi4_nHsAAnWSue4pnFzEGzVtRvAarz7AMmThpyZSXBEjh642XLLLv3bGBvWtgdYGvorEkwbc2oATHBo7eQt86jQJt4vke-67gdFIM0z-0f3DerG07n5y9QazmuQzJOA3jTCB1LJpEKu_pwZQpLxxuBXVWF4kg=s1500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiv16pGYP7v4CBg0EdNjVcH3Aw_JO3uWEi4_nHsAAnWSue4pnFzEGzVtRvAarz7AMmThpyZSXBEjh642XLLLv3bGBvWtgdYGvorEkwbc2oATHBo7eQt86jQJt4vke-67gdFIM0z-0f3DerG07n5y9QazmuQzJOA3jTCB1LJpEKu_pwZQpLxxuBXVWF4kg=w640-h214" width="640" /></a></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Sky and Breath Recap</b></h2><p>This was uploaded and edited as I was reading so some of my updates are from when I was in the process of reading - ignore those!</p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Sky and Breath</b></h2><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Prologue –</span></b> Sofie Renast is in the Kavalla death camps, has been there for two weeks and the guards (dreadwolves) haven't sniffed her out yet. Half of the Ophion rebel bases have fallen, more will soon. She needs to get to the port of Servant. She can switch between human and Vanir identities as she is a human who made the Drop. Technically makes her Vanir and has a long life span. Did it in an illegal Drop center. Trying to escape with five boys, six girls and her 13 year old brother, Emile.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Parents were captured and killed as rebels, her brother taken. She spent years tracking down her brother to this camp and did terrible things to get the intel. Had to convince Command to let her come, they had listened to Pippa, leader of the elite Lightfall unit, who helped her to get approved for the mission.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie has information in her head that could end the war against the Asteri. Agent Silverbow is waitng for her/them – doesn’t know his real name. Reach Servast, find the boat they need – the <i>Bodegraven</i>. But the dreadwolves have arrived. Tells Silver to take the kids, she will hold them off and join him there.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind (Lidia Cervos) has come with the wolves to stop her escaping.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie isn’t human or a witch; she’s part thunderbird. Her great-hrandmother was one and she mated with a human long ago. The gift had resurfaced in her – can use lightning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Silver on the boat – been shot with a bullet with a core of gorsian stone, which stifles his magic. Four imperial submersible warships surround the <i>Bodegraven</i>. Silver is in love with Sofie. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Pippa Spetsos stands aboard the rebel ship<i> Orrae</i>, watching the <i>Bodegraven</i> move towards them. Sofie’s brother has the same power as her and it is stronger than hers (Energy is theirs to command). He uses it to take out all the warships.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie is captured by the Hind, who takes her out on a boat with plans to drown her. Wants to know who Sofie shared her intel with, but she keeps saying she has told no one. She is eventually thrown into the sea to drown.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 1 – The Chasm</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 – </span></b>At the Crescent City Ballet, Bryce is there to watch Juniper, as the star performer. Find a statue of a Fae there that reminds them of Hunt. It doesn’t say who it depicts, just that it is The Making of the Sword. Says it in the Old Language of the Fae. (<b>SJM never mentions anything unless she's coming back to it, so this probably is a hint to Hunt's father</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce now works in the Fae Archives. The attack on the city was 3 months ago.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt still works for the 33<sup>rd</sup>, as second in command.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her mum says that she’s noticed things between them are weird - she says that they are together but not <i>together</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Juniper and Fury live together now as a couple.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They’ve made some weird agreement – friends but also more, but without any sex. <b>But, like why Sarah?!? </b>They have another 4 months before they’re allowed to do anything sexual with each other. <b>BUT WHY?!!?</b> Made a bargain with Hunt that rather than dive into bed together they would wait until Winter Solstice to act on their desires. Spend summer and autumn getting to know each other better. Bryce was the one who suggested it but regrets it. <b>BUT LIKE…. WHY?!?!?!?!?! (Think this was the only way for SJM to somehow keep up the sexual tension but it makes no sense to me!)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The star on her chest flares with light from time to time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 –</span></b> Attending a get together at Ruhn’s house. Declan is dating Marc Rosarin, a leopard shifter. She regrets the deal and wants to break it but knows Hunt will never let her live it down so she doesn't give in. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">New Archangels have been chosen for Micah and Sandriel’s territories – Ephraim to northern Pangera. And Celestina to Crescent City. Celestina has kept a low profile, she oversees Nena, population of fifty. No one has heard anything bad about her. Celestina would be in charge of him and the 33<sup>rd</sup>. Doesn't know if he can trust what they've heard about her, expects the worst as she is an Archangel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3 – </span></b> Ruhn is currently drnk and high as fuck and eating out some faun. Feels slightly bad as he is technically betrothed to Hypaxia Enador. Flynn interrupts, the security system picked up an anomaly, like a storm circling his house. A golden-haired Fae male steps out of the shadows in his doorway and into the party, it is someone Ruhn knows.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4 - </span></b> The Fae is called Cormac, says he was invited. Ruhn knows him but Bryce doesn’t. He says that he is Bryce’s cousin – King Einar is her fathers real name . Says he has come to meet his bride, Bryce. It had been decreed by her father, the Autumn King and his father the King of Avallen Fae. (<b>Keeping it in the family, apparently)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac is the cousin that almost killed Ruhn during his ordeal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce basically says she isn't marrying him and then leaves with Hunt. Goes home to find Ithan Holstrom bleeding in her apartment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5 –</span></b> Tharion is looking for a body, it is Sofie's body. She was tied to lead blocks and dropped into the water by the Hind. It has been two weeks, needs to find her body/what remains of it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion slept with the River Queen’s daughter 10 years ago, took her virginity and swore himself to her. Now they are betrothed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They find the lead blocks, but no one attached to the chains. He notices that the shackles had been unlocked. Doesn’t believe Sofie Renast made it to the seafloor. Queen demands he find Sofie or her brother.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 –</span></b> Perry Ravenscroft, Amelie’s younger sister, and his packs Omega had him brought to Bryce's. Has broken ribs and a broken arm. Ithan got kicked out of the Pack by Sabine, and then they beat him. He talked to a reporter about how he helped Bryce during the attack on the city, defended her after Sabine talked shit about her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan stays the night to recover, sleeps in Bryce’s bed with him. Hunt can’t help but be a little jealous.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Ithan that during the Search, Danika told her Connor and the whole Pack held off the Reapers to buy her time with Danika. They saved Bryce. Ithan tells her that Connor loved her more than anyone and that he thought Bryce was his mate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A shifters idea of a mate is one’s true love predestined by Urd. To Fae it is a bond deeper than marriage and beyond an individual's control. Angels use it more lightly, akin to a marriage and matings can be arranged.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7 – </span></b>Ruhn is arguing with his father about Bryce’s engagement. The King says she will arrive willingly at the marriage altar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King says Queen Hecuba (The recently deceased witch Queen) had two daughers – Hypaxia and the Hind. Hypaxia’s father was a powerful necromancer, and she has inherited his gifts alongside her mothers. Her older sister was sired by a shape-shifting male, a stag. The Hind didn’t inherit any witch gifts and was handed over to her father's family.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 –</span></b> Ithan and Hunt have a little back-and-forth argument. Tells Hunt Connor loved Bryce for 5 years and it took that long for her to agree to go on a date with him. Tells Hunt he is only on month 5, then wishes him luck.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba tells Bryce to think through the advantages of marrying Cormac Donnall before she refuses.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9 – </span></b>Her star glows in Cormac’s presence, he says it is because their union is predestined. Cormac says the Oracle told him he was destined to unite with a princess with a star in her heart. That their mingling would bring great prosperity to their people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina finally shows up – meets with Hunt, Isaiah and Naomi (the last of Micah’s triarii). Half of Sandriel’s triarii is being sent to Crescent City to join theirs. Pollux Antonius and Baxian Argos show up, the Hammer and the Helhound.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 10 –</b> Braxian has a scar snaking down his neck that Hunt gave him 30 years ago. (<b>How do they scar?!? When they can heal and regrow any body part, would they not also heal all scars?)</b> Hunt tackles Pollux to the floor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Helhound is an angel with the rare ability to shift into a helhound.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce goes to get Hunt out of the cell they put him in after fighting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 –</span></b> Tharion hacks into Sofie Renasts email account. Finds an email titled ‘Dusk’s Truth’ where she had said she was working on gaining access. Also another email about Project Thurr. Finds that Danika knew Sofie, and these emails were between the two of them. They swapped emails for 6 months before Danika died.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He finds an abandoned boat abandoned in the Nelthian Marshes, with a life vest from the <i>Bodegraven</i> onboard that smells of a human boy. Believe it is Sofie’s brother. The Ophion had sent Pippa Spetsos and her squadron after the boat/boy. Tharion orders his officers to bring guns and search for the boy and whoever is following him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12 –</span></b> Tharion comes to speak to them, asking if Danika mentioned a Sofie to them. Tells them about his task of tracking down Sofie and her brother. Bryce wants to help the boy, Hunt wants her to leave it alone. The Asteri will kill them if they hear they are involved with rebels.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn’s Ordeal was at 27 – sent to Avallen by his father to meet a Fae female from a powerful family his father wanted him to marry. Cormac wanted to marry her too. Neither married her in the end. King Morven (Cormac’s dad) ordered Ruhn to go and retrieve the Starsword from the caves because Declan bragged that he could. Sent Dec, Ruhn and Flynn. Also sent Cormac and twin cousins to hunt them down in the caves. All got lost in the caves, with creatures trying to kill them. Found the sword and managed to pull it from its sheath.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells Bryce that Ithan can come stay with him rather than her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 –</span></b> Hunt sleeps in her bed that night, rather than Ithan. Hunt asks her why things are weird between them. Doesn't get much of an answer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce meets with Fury, who tells her Ithan always had a thing for Bryce. Tells Fury about Sofie, Emile and everything else. Fury reveals that Danika was a bloodhound, could scent bloodlines and secrets in them. Says Danika learned something big/dangerous about her so she learned something big/dangerous about Danika in return. Doesn't reveal what it is. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14 –</span></b> The Governor has told Baxian to team up with Hunt, have him show Baxian the ropes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan talks to Tharion – says Danika was a history major and told him she was doing research on something that could land her in a heap of trouble.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 – </span></b>Bryce meets up with Ruhn, tells him about Danika being a bloodhound. They get home to find Ithan and Tharion on the sofa with a white cat, they didn't realise it was Aidas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas asks why she hasn’t learnt to use her powers yet. Reveals that her light is the same as the last Starborn Queen, Theia. Says he assumes she has Theia's other gifts too.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas says Prince Pelias was no true prince – he was Theia’s high general and appointed himself prince after he forcibly wed Theia’s daughter Helena. Theai was dead by then, killed by Pelias who stole her blade afterward. Aidas tells Ruhn the sword belongs to her female heir, not him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia’s other daughter got away, vanished into the night and they never learned of her fate. (<b>So she will definitely be showing up at some point</b>) Asks Bryce if she is doing anything to help in this endless war. Says it is the same war he fought 15,000 years ago only renewed and the time is ripe to make a push.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says Hel is their enemy but Aidas asks who wrote the history – the Asteri. Aidas says the Asteri made scholars and philosophers write down their version of events under threat of death. Erased Theia from the record. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas tells Bryce that Hel’s armies will strike at her command. Aidas basically wants her to rebel against the Asteri, work with the Ophion to do it. Says she doesn’t know any Ophion rebels. He tells her that isn’t true, there’s one behind her. They turn to find Cormac Donnall there – he is Agent Silverbow, the one who was in love with and helping Sofie.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16 – </span></b>Cormac demands to know what they know about Sofie Renast. Cormac is also looking for Emile. Tells them he and Sofie were close, helped her free Emile and made her a promise to look after Emile. They realise he was in love with Sofie.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pippa is a fanatic on fast track to promotion into Ophion Command. No lines her and her Lightfall soldiers won’t cross. Was responsible for the leopard massacre a year ago - used Vanir kids and babies to lure out their parents and then killed them all. Pippa views Emile as a weapon. Emile was scared of her and fled.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie was an Ophion agent because the Asteri butchered her family, her human one and her thunderbird ancestors. All she wanted to do was find her brother. Tells them the Hind killed Sofie because she had gathered vital intel on the Asteri – something big and war-changing but he doesn’t know what.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion tells Cormac about not being able to find her body, the possibility she may be alive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac asks about Danika – says her and Sofie knew each other and that Danika set up the safe place for her. Says he knew that and it was why he agreed to marry Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika suspected something about the Asteri and needed someone to go in to confirm it – that person was Sofie. Asked her three years ago but Sofie took a long time to get the information, Danika was dead by the time she did.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce believes Aidas sent Cormac here for a reason – knows Cormac spent years looking up all he could on the Starborn powers, so he can help her unlock her powers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wants to make a deal with him. She wants out of the marriage, but knows if they end it too soon her father will find someone else. So they will team up with Tharion to find Emile, help to find out the intel Danika wanted Sofie to learn. But then he will end the engagement when she says it’s time. And also teach her about her magic. He agrees, but engagement will only be broken once his work for Ophion is done as it is the reason he is here in Valbara.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac wants Ruhn to agree to meet him to hear the offer he has for him, gives him a time and place to meet. Thinks they should want to help make the world a better place, to help the humans. Thought they would after what Bryce, Ithan and the others did during the attack on the city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 –</span></b> Wonders if Dusk’s Truth is connected to the Lightfall squadron, as lightfall is the same as Dusk. And Project Thurr, thunder god, could be related to thunderbirds.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells Bryce he doesn’t know what to do, has seen the horrors on the battlefield. Doesn’t want her spying for the rebels either as he knows what the Hind would do to her if she were caught.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells him she wants to try and find Emile separate from Tharion and Cormac. Tells him about how Fury knew something big about Danika and vice versa. This would be the same for them with the Asteri. If they get the intel Sofie learned, then they have something they can use against them too.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says he wants to see a world without heirarchies and Archangels, but not if achieving it means that they would not live to see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells him she no longer wants to wait until Winter Solstice and then kisses him. They’re in an alleyway though and risk being seen so Hunt stops it. They need her engagement to Cormac to stay in place, so they can't be seen kissing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 – </span></b>Tharion tells Ithan about how Micah and Sandriel died. That Hunt killed Sandriel for threatening Bryce. That Bryce killed Micah for killing Danika and the Pack. Then tells him everything that happened during the attacks. Tells Ithan to come find him when he makes up his mind about helping, could use his sense of smell to help fine Emile.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan finds Danika’s sword and messes around with it. When he jumps on the coffee table just as Bryce walks in it breaks. They realise it had a secret compartment and they find Danika’s old college papers hidden inside.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells Declan and Flynn everything he has found out so far.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19 –</span></b> Bryce and Ithan look at the papers, which include documents, images, newspaper clipping. All regarding firstlights uses – mainly how it was made into weapons. Also about theories on the origin of worlds and what the Asteri are. The only proof they have that they are what they say they are – beings possessing the force of an entire star who are unaging and undying – is their word. One piece of paper is titled Dusk’s Truth but is blank.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to meet Cormac. Cormac tells him Sofie was in contact with their most vital spy in the rebellion Agent Daybright. Daybright has direct access to the Asteri – Ophion wonder if Daybright might be one of them. Sofie and Daybright used codes to talk via crystal-fueled radios. They need someone who can mind-speak to be in direct contact with Agent Daybright as Sofie’s old methods may have been intercepted and her codes cracked.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Daybright has fed them info that has led to successful strikes on supply lines, missions and encampments. The info Daybright would give Ruhn could save thousands of lives.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac linked up with Ophion four years ago. He is technically a field commander for them in the northwestern Pangera spy network. Sofie was one of his agents.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac pulls out a small quartz crystal and tosses it to Ruhn. Tells him to try contacting Daybright by holding the crystal, as Daybright has the sister to this comm-crystal. Has same communicative properties as the Gates. It is how all their radios worked – seven crystals hewn from one rock, six in radios and the seventh in Daybright’s radio. Other five were destroyed, only this one and Daybrights remain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Cormac they suspect Danika might have told Sofie to hide out in the Bone Quarter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When he asks what intel he should ask Daybright for, Cormac says they’ve been trying to coordinate a hit on the Spine (north-south railway that cuts pangera in half, main artery for supplies in the way). Have heard whispers the Asteri are working on a new mech-suit prototype, designed for Vanir pilots.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20 –</span></b> The River Queen’s daughter comes to see him, she has no mer form and is only a fraction mer. Is an elemental humanoid. Came to see if he wanted to have sex – doesn’t understand why, as they haven’t done that in years. Assumed she’d got bored of him, even if their vows kept them bound together. He denies her and instead invites her on a double date with Bryce and Hunt at some point, she agrees.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 –</span></b> Hunt and Bryce are talking in bed. Hunt admits it has been six months since he’s had sex - last time was with a nymph at a bar. She tells him hers was a lion shifter in the bathroom of the White Raven. Then she gives him head. Plan to do more but Ithan overhears them and interrupts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ithan yells out – ‘Please: have sex a little louder! I didn’t hear everything that time!” - and I'm noting it down because I love him.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells her he’s going to fuck her senseless but Ithan shouts – “That sounds medically dangerous” – And so Bryce just goes to sleep instead. (<b>By trying to keep the sexual tension alive, it's like SJM killed it and the chemistry instead.</b>)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is in a place between worlds, being spoken to by Apollion, the Prince of the Pit. He has Hunt tied up and asks why he doesn’t use the gifts in his blood to free himself. Apollion had killed and devoured the seventh Asteri. Apollion says his father was the Void, the Being That Existed Before and Chaos was his bride and Apollion’s dam.Tells Hunt he is wasting the gifts he was given, and that he and Bryce’s powers are more similar than they realise. And that they have no idea just what they could do together. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 –</span></b> Hunt tries to use the crystal that Cormac gave him, gets a response from a female voice. She appears to him as pure flame. He appears to her like a night sky. Gives him the codename Agent Night. Tells him to tell Cormac that safe passage is granted under the cover of the waning moon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Isaiah have been called to a meeting in Celestina’s home. Pollux and Baxian are there – Baxian’s eyes are swollen shut and all of Pollux’s face is bruised. They were at a bar and Pollux says a female was all over him and wanted to fuck him and that she said she wanted to. Baxian says she said no such thing. Pollux took the female to an alley to have sex and says Baxian attacked him. Baxian says the female kept saying no, Pollux says some female say no when they want it. Seems it isn’t the first time Pollux has raped someone. Their fight was filmed and is airing on every news station. Female declined to press charged.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina planned to punish him but the Asteri called and convinced her to give him a second chance. The Asteri want the media to have something else to focus on so Celestina is to mate Ephraim. With two Archangels dead, they need to replenish the ranks. Want them to have their mating ceremony on the Autumnal Equinox.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina tells Hunt she knows about Bryce’s engagement to Crown Prince Cromac of Avallen. Asks how he feels about it, and he says they are taking it day by day. She tells him he is exactly as she thought he’d be. Reveals she was good friends with Shahar. Admits she tried to extract him from the masters who held him after Shahar fell. Tried three times to purchase him but the Asteri denied her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23 – </span></b>Ithan is with Tharion on the river, they find the body of a selkie female. Seems someone may have tortured her for answers before letting her bleed out. Ithan can smell the kid, Emile on her clothes. And a female. Believes the selkie helped Emile on his way to Lunathion. And then a human woman found the selkie and tortured it for info about Emile – he guesses it was Pippa.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Bryce are heading to the Aux training facility to meet Cormac, supposed to begin her training. Invites Ruhn home to visit her parents when her and Hunt go for Winter Solstice and he agrees. Then Ruhn gets knocked out and dragged away from by a Reaper, who takes him into a sewer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24 –</span></b> Ruhn can hear Daybright talking to him in his head, doesn’t have the crystal but she felt something and could suddenly talk to him. Believes he is in grave danger. She’s telling him to wake up – he feels like he knows her voice and her scent.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce goes in the sewer after him – finds Ruhn being dragged by two Reapers, three more with them. They tell Bryce they bear a message – five more Reapers come up behind her. Say the Prince of the Pit sent them. Tells her Apollion is ready to strike, wants a worthy opponent this time. Says he wants to face her at her full power, tells her to train harder as he is waiting. Apollion is also hunting the Bone Quarter for Emile, who may also be a worthy opponent.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac appears, begins attacking the Reapers. Tells her to use her light. He tosses her the Starsword, and when she unsheaths it starlight erupts from the blade. Cuts a Reaper with it and it bleeds, then stabs and kills it. Reaper’s shouldn’t be able to be killed. Cormac appears, grabs her and then disappears with her (<b>winnowing?</b>). Transports them to the Aux training center. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part Two – The Abyss</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 25 – </b></span>The River Queen has summoned Tharion because she heard he invited her daughter out on a date. Doesn’t think she can handle going Above. (<b>Acts like the daughter is super weak and delicate, so I suspect girlie is a wolf in sheep's clothing and I now don't trust her!)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks about his progress with Emile and he says he believes he may have finally reached the city. He will continue to look for him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There are four River Courts, and four river Queens. One for each of the great rivers – Istros, Melanthos, Niveus and Rubellus. The Blue, the Black, the White and the Red.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Tharion that before he asks her daughter on a date Above again, he first needs to witness the disrespect they show the citizens of the Beneath. Punishes him by making him spear trash along the Old Square section of the quay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to see his father to ask about the sword. Tells him he was attacked by Reapers and the sword reacted. Doesn’t tell him it was while Bryce was holding it and that it killed the unkillable. Says it glowed and the Reaper's ran from it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King says it is an ancient sword from another world made from the metal of a fallen star – a meteorite. The Autumn King says in ancient times, Starborn rivals would kill each other. Reminds him that Bryce is more powerful than them both – basically suggesting he should kill her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26 – </span></b>Bryce gets Hunt to meet her at the Black Dock, Cormac is there looking for Emile. Bryce might be able to learn to teleport too, Cormac says he will teach her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce plan to search for Emile using Declan Emmett. Bryce calls Jesiba asks her if she has any Death Marks lying around and says she might – has two they can buy. It is so they can visit the Bone Quarter. Jesiba eludes to knowing info about Danika, asks Bryce to think about why Danika was always poking around the gallery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Having Declan go through the cameras, try to find where the Reaper’s came from. Also look for Emile. And check the camera footage from the gallery from when Danika was alive. Bryce decides to go down to the gym, Hunt goes after her even though a sunball game is on. Ithan says that Connor would have picked the game. Ruhn asks what Ithan would have picked, he says Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27 –</span></b> When Hunt goes after her, she’s waiting by the elevator. Jokes that he’s late. Not actually going to the gym, has somewhere else to go first.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce takes him to the Meat Market to look for Emile. Bryce called Juniper and Fury to meet them there. They are going to split up to search and see if Emile is there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Juniper’s brother was a fighter in the Viper Queens fighting den. Julius – he was talented, the Viper Queen recruited him and promised him riches and everything he could ever want. Then got him addicted to her venom and she put him in a contract he couldn’t get out of. His parents tried everything to get him out but couldn’t. He died in a fight 10 years ago. The Viper Queen’s goons dumped his body on their doorstep with a note that said Memento Mori on it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her and Hunt are in the gym working out together. He kisses her then strips off her work out clothes and goes down on her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Hunt she loves him and then freaks out in her head because she’s never said them to another male and hadn’t even thought them about Hunt, even though she’d known for a while that she loved him. <b> (Did she not tell him she loved him during that scene in Crescent City?!?! I am so confused! It literally said she confessed her last truth to him, three words. It had to be 'I love you' given the way he reacted. Did SJM just forget that happened?!?)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He makes her come then tells her he loves her too. But Hunt also thinks about how no one has said those words to him in over 200 years (<b>But didn’t she say them in book one! I AM CONFUSION!!)</b> Shahar never said the words to him, even if he said them to her. Last person to tell him that was his mother.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They talk about it – she admits she’s never said them to anyone romantically before. Asks what she should call him, as boyfriend sounds too young. He suggests mate. She says it is important amongst the fae, a lifetime commitment. But tells him if he isn’t her mate, no one is. They decide on the term mate – <b>because of course they do, this is Maas.</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28 – </span></b>Ruhn is back on the mental bridge, Daybright still appearing as a body of flame and him as a body of night, stars and planets. Thanks her for trying to wake him up when the Reapers took him. Says she has information to pass on – the hit on the Spine is a go and the shipment is 3 days from then. Will leave the Eternal City at 6am and will travel to Forvos. It will have the mech-suit prototype on it, as well as fifty crates of brimstone missiles, 112 crates of guns and 500 crates of ammunition. Advises them to destroy everything rather than try to unload anything because if they do they’ll be caught. It will be guarded by 100 wolves and a dozen aerial angel scouts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt has booked them dinner at a fancy hotel restaurant and a room – so they can finally have sex. But first they have to go visit the Under-King in the Bone Quarter<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac, Ithan and Ruhn are going to pass along the intel from Daybright to Orphion.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29 – </span></b>Bryce takes the Starsword with her, Ruhn told her to. They stand on the Black Dock and toss their Death Marks in the water. Baxian shows up while they wait, asks who they are going to see over there. Bryce tells him the Under-King, he tells them they’re the stupidest people he’s ever met if that’s true. Then Hunt and Bryce get on the boat that comes to collect them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce talks to the Under-King, tells him about the Reapers snatching Ruhn and that she thinks he may have sent them, not Apollion. Says he did not send them. Says they aren’t his Reapers, he has none unaccounted for. Could have come from many other necropolises. She asks if he knows of two humans hiding out here, he says no. She asks if Lehabah is there, he says no and that fire sprites don’t go there because Lowers are of no use – won’t say for what use.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Under-King feeds on the souls of the dead, those who are worthy and have enough energy. The dead stay there with him for a few centuries and then they are sent through the Dead Gate, their energy used for power/to become secondlight (what firstlight is called when it comes from the dead) The Sleeping City is a comforting lie. Asks why he is telling them this, Hunt realises it is because he doesn’t plan to let them leave alive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30 –</span></b> Ruhn and Ithan watch as Cormac talks to his contact, who is disguised as a beggar. Dreadwolves are now in the city. Mordoc appears close by, a dreadwolf and second in command to the Hind. Ithan reveals that Mordoc is Danika’s father.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce draws the Starsword, the Under-King calls his ten-foot black dog that is blind – so her light will have no effect on it. The dog is a demon, an experiment of the Prince of the Ravine’s from the First Wars – forgotten and abandoned in Midgard during the aftermath and now his faithful companion and helper. Calls it the Shepherd, helps herd the dead to the gate when they don’t want to go.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt attacks it with lightning but it does nothing. Then the dog’s head splits until it has three heads and then splits entirely until it is three dogs. She makes a run for it back to the river but heads back for Hunt. Then she hits the Dead Gate, dropping the Starsword on impact.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan says it wasn’t spoken of, that Danika refused to acknowledge Mordoc. But some of them were at the Den the only time he came to see her when she was 17, she refused to even see him. Mordoc is a bloodhound too. Ruhn tells Cormac to teleport Ithan out of there - he can only take one at a time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Mordoc can smell Ruhn, knows they were meeting with an agent. Doesn’t know who he is but says he will remember his smell.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31 –</span></b> Ithan and Ruhn are in a bar, asked him there so it will look like their meeting there was planned. Asks Ithan to move in with him, Dec and Flynn, Ithan says he will think about it. Then the Harpy shows up with the Hind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is fighting two of the dogs, which merges back into one. Then they hear a scream through the mist and the dog runs off after Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has one dog and two dozen Reapers encircling her. The Reapers are chanting, awakening the Dead Gate and making the crystal of it glow white. Dives for the sword she dropped, but gets scratched by one of the dogs claws.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt drops down by Bryce, wreathed in lightning that has turned blue. It reminds her of the statue she saw at the ballet, of the Fae male posed like an avenging god with his hammer raised to the sky to channel his power. Hunt unleashes his power on the Shepherd but Bryce leaps in front of the blow with the Starsword extended so the lightning hits the sword.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32 – </span></b>The lightning hits the blade, exploding from the metal and flowing up her body. She then attacks the Shepherd, which split into three again. Hits one and the sword pierces its hide as lightning explodes across its body. The beast snaps its tail, hitting Hunt and hurling him into the Dead Gate. He hits the stone and his power fizzes out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The dog she attacks dies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt wonders if he can draw energy from the Dead Gate – Apollion had hinted at it, that Hunt is equipped to handle raw energy. Slams his hand on the brass plaque of the Dead Gate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce watches as light from the gate begins flowing into him and then he sends a bolt of his power at her, telling her to light it up. She funnels the power into the sword, the Shepherd flees. Hunt grabs her, flies with her and then slams into the Shepherd from above. She stabs it with the sword and it explodes into smithereens.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see the River Queen, tells her they found two more Vanir bodies that morning. One left hanging in an olive grove north of the city, drained and shot like the selkie. The other was crucified on a tree next to him, also shot and throat slit. Both had been tortured. Two human scents found at the scene. He believes Pippa is behind the killings – the style is in line with her Lightfall squad. While talking to the Queen he notes the lightning in the distance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion comes to help Bryce and Hunt, he's waiting for them with a wave skimmer to help them get across the river. They are trying to escape but being attacked by sobeks in the water. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Make it back to her apartment. They fill Tharion in on what happened in the Bone Quarter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33 –</span></b> The Hind says they are to play cards, says she’s introducing herself as Ruhn is her half sister’s fiancé. Says they will play poker as that is what he plays on Tuesday nights – showing that she knows about him. Reveals she knows about the faun he fooled around with at his party. She is trying to get to them both.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind knows a lot about them all – says Ithan is lusting after the female his brother loved. Hind reveals she has looked a the messages between him and Bryce. Hind is trying to rile him up – talking about how he pined for Bryce for years, wished he’d met her first and that she’d realise she is meant to be with him. And that he played sunball hoping she’d notice him. But then his brother died and now he hates himself because he wasn’t there but also because of the traitorous thought he had when hearing the news, that the path to Bryce was now clear. Ithan tells her to shut the fuck up, giving himself away just like she wanted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Ithan head back to the apartment and tell Bryce, Hunt and Tharion about their run in with The Hind and the Harpy. Hunt is called in by Celestina to be there for Ephraim’s arrival to the Comitium.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34 – </span></b>Ephraim and Celestina have their first meeting as mates, it is awkward. Hunt notes she is extremely nervous and wonders if she has been with a male before or if she even likes males.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Ruhn and Ithan about the Bone Quarter and about the true fate of the dead. Ruhn wonders if the Prince of the Pit pushed them to go there by sending the Reapers, or having them hint Emile and Sophie might be hiding there. As a way to activate their combined powers using the Gate. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine arrives at the door, calls Bryce a cunt and attacks her. Sabine is angry that Bryce has been harbouring Ithan after he was exiled.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt gets a message from Bryce telling him Sabine is there, so he sneaks out of the event. Celestina sees him, sneak off.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35 –</span></b> Ithan throws it in Sabine’s face about Mordoc, asks if she will sleep with him again now he’s back in the city. Bryce finally finds out that Mordoc was Danika’s father. Bryce asks Sabine if Danika was a rebel and she seems surprised by the question. Bryce says Sabine is worried she will use her new princess title to replace Sabine with Holstrom now she has no heir beyond Amelie. And the Den likes Ithan more than her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt shows up, tells Sabine to get out. Still refusing but then Baxian appears behind Hunt and she finally leaves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan finally accepts the offer to move in with Ruhn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian knew about Mordoc being Danika’s father. After his failed visit to see Danika he returned to Sandriel’s castle and ate a human couple.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36 –</span></b> Ruhn is on the mind bridge again with Day. Tells her they did the intel drop-off and almost got caught by Mordoc, Hind and the Harpy. He says he has had a tough day, she says she has too (<b>is she Celestina? That seems too obvious with all the hints she's dropping)</b> – Says she works with people who make Mordoc seem sweet and that she’s never had a true friend in her life. She says she has a family, a very influential one.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan heads down to the Istros to send a message to Tharion via otter. Ithan wanted him to take him to the Bone Quarter so he can see if his brother is still there, make sure he hasn’t been fed to the Gate yet. Tharion says no because of river beasts. Instead tells Ithan to go get Gold so they can go visit the mystics instead. He can get answers about his brother and Tharion can ask about Emile.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37 -</span></b>Juniper doesn’t get chosen for principal at the ballet again. Bryce calls to speak to Director Gorgyn of the ballet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Harpy comes to get Hunt, says Celestina wants to see him and tells him Ephraim just got done fucking her. Is angry at him for leaving the celebration, as Ephraim saw it as her triarii ditching her to help a Fae. Tells him it will not happen again and says he is to stay in the barracks for the next two weeks. (<b>Hunt didn't even sign a contract when he agreed to stay on with the 33rd so I'm not sure why he listens. Again, seems a weird way for SJM to continue to keep them from having sex for whatever reason)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38 – </span></b>Tharion, Ithan and Bryce are going to see the mystics. The male who answers wears four rings, each one contains a fire sprite that has been enslaved. Follow him in to find three mystics asleep and submerged in greenish cloudy water with breathing masks strapped to their faces. One male, one female and one that is both as it always was (perfect balance).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks the male his name, tells her people call him the Astronomer. Brings up a full holographic replica of their solar system, called an orrery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks about Connor – the Astronomer charges more for the question and has to use bloodsalt. The mystic is searching for Connor, appears to be in Hel. The mystic is talking to Thanatos, Prince of the Ravine, who says Connor isn’t there. Thanatos asks who sent him and he reveals it was a wolf, a mer and half-fae/half-human and Thanatos tells him to let him see them. The mystic’s eyes fly open in the tank.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39 – </span></b>The hologram display now shows Thanatos, who can smell the starlight on Bryce. He says she killed his beloved pet that he intentionally planted in Midgard and it reported to him about all it heard in the Bone Quarter. Tells them Connor remains in the Bone Quarter and an order was dispatched from the dark that he should be left alone for the usual amount of time but can’t say who gave the order. Bryce asks if there is a way to help souls like Connor but he says only the Asteri would know.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thanatos wants to feast on the mystic. Coats all their submersion tanks in ice and cuts off their respirators. Ithan has to jump down to save the three mystics from drowning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Tharion she is done working with him. Mordoc finds the three of them in the alley outside the mystics.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40 –</span></b> Bryce forgives Tharion, tells him he is on probation after what happened at the mystics.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt decides to try with Baxian, gets the impression that he’s lonely. Now stuck in the barracks with him for two weeks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce have phone sex.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see the River Queen, tells her about the Under-King and the truth of what happens to the dead. Asks her if it is true and if she knew, she doesn't confirm or deny it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41 –</span></b> Bryce is with Ruhn and Cormac at the Aux training ring, Cormac is trying to teach her to teleport. Declan calls, his program finally analysed the footage from the gallery and found something on Danika.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Finds footage from 2 months before she died. When left alone in the library, Danika had grabbed a book and started taking photos of it. The book is Wolves Through Time: Lineage of the Shifters. She calls Jesiba to ask for the book – has it sent over to her. It contains a family tree going back to when the Northern Rift opened. Gunthar Fendyr is the latest and last name on it – he was the Prime’s father.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The first of the Fendyr line were Niklaus Fendyr and Faris Hvellen. First one they can find any info on in their family line is Katra Fendyr, no history on any of the ones before her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has to go and talk to the Prime. Ruhn had called Sabine away for a fake urgent matter to get her out of the Den. The Prime still refers to Bryce as a wolf, same thing he had called her as he watched her during the attack. Prime can’t tell her much about the two names they found. But can tell her why their ancestors names were forgotten. Says they did unspeakable thing during the First Wars, and then allowed themselves to be under Asteri rule. Says they’ve lost who they once were, have become tamed by the Asteri. Said Danika might have lead them back to who they once were. She tells him about Ithan being kicked out of the Pack.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac almost got snared by Mordoc at an intel pickup. The hit on the Spine was successful, they attained the mech-suit prototype. Shipping it to the Coronal Island, to a base on Ydra. Realise the Orphion plan to start something in Crescent City.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42 – </span></b>Juniper trying to contact Bryce because she's angry that she called Gorgyn to get Juniper made principal. Now everyone knows she got it because Bryce threatened that the Autumn King would pull his donations. Juniper is angry because it means Bryce is the reason she got it and not off her own talent. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce goes to see Celestina, as she needs Hunt for what is to come with the Orphion. Makes a formal request for Hunt, says she needs him for one night. They need to go to Coronal Islands to convince them not to give Pippa free reign to unleash her weapons on Valbara - doesn't tell Celestina that. She lies and says it is to go home and see her family. Celestina says she can take Hunt with her and then he can stay with her, doesn't have to stay at the barracks anymore.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan gets a call from the Prime. The Prime offers to make Ithan the Alpha of his own pack, says he senses that he has it in him but he suppressed it so others could lead. Ithan heads back to the place where they saw the Astronomer. No answer but the door is open so he goes inside. Finds the female mystic who tells him the Astronomer put the other two back in but didn’t have the part needed to fix her machine so he is at the Meat Market meeting with the Vper Queen. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan realises that she is a wolf – her parents had no pack, roamed the tundra of Nena with her and her ten siblings. Her gifts showed when she was three, and was sold to the Astronomer by the time she was four. Doesn’t know how long she’s been there and doesn’t have a name/doesn’t know her parents names either. Tells her if she ever wants to get out of there to send word to him. Realises she is an Alpha. He steals the ring box with the Astonomer’s rings inside.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion requests an aquatic team of 25 from the River Queen so he can try to capture Pippa. The Queen says no, says he can go alone.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is back on the dream bridge. Tells Day the rebels were successful in their hit on the Spine. Talk for a while when she doubles over, convulsing. He runs for her across the bridge and slams into a wall of black adamant where he feels her left wrist being squeezed by someone wanting her to yield, give herself over to '<i>him'</i>. Teeth scraping over her nipple and clamping down – <b>(Really giving me Celestina vibes but again it seems too obvious)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Realised he was seeing that she was being woken with rough sex by someone. Waits there until she comes back. Asks if she’s okay, says she is. Comments that it didn’t seem like she enjoyed it, tells him it is none of his business. Says she hates the male she's sleeping with and that no one knows it but he disgusts her. They talk for awhile. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43 – </span></b>Hunt, Bryce, Tharion and Ruhn are in a sea cave where the shipment is being unloaded. Cormac had teleported them all there an hour ago. Then Cormac left them to go and talk to Command to convince them to keep Pippa away from the shipment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion had arrived at the apartment that morning just after Hunt, before he and Bryce could sleep together.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac comes back, says Pippa already has her claws in command, the weapons are hers and she’s in charge of the Valbaran front. Pippa arrives as they unload the suit, wants Hunt to analyse it. Pippa denies that she is behind the murders like they think she is.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says the suit is made from metal with the same makeup as gorsian stones. Asteri have been researching a way to make gorsian ore absorb magic rather than suppress it. So the suit can draw firstlight from the ground, from all the pipes of it crisscrossing the land. The suits would draw up the firstlight and turn it into weapons – brimstone missiles made right on the spot and so it would never run out of ammo or battery life. Vanir warrior could climb inside and wear it like an exoskeleton.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says no one should use the suit and that she should tell command to track down the scientists behind it and destroy them and their plans. Pippa says they don’t need Emile now they have something better. Says he is somewhere even Tharion would fear to tread.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pippa looks at the ship above them where the crew have their backs to them (Five mer and two shifters). There is a human Lightfall squadron on the ship. Pippa gives them a signal and they herd the Vanir crew to the rails and then shoot them all. Says the order to put the crew down came from Command.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt blasts the suit apart using his lightning. Then destroys all the trucks there too. Ophion come running towards them and shoot Cormac with a gorsian bullet so he can’t teleport them out. Bryce uses her powers to give them a chance to escape on a boat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce doesn’t want to help them anymore, not after seeing what they do to Vanir. Tells Cormac she wants nothing to do with it anymore, or with Tharion and his Queen. Says she’s done with it all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">See Baxian on the cliffs during their escape, tells them to go northward. Realise the Hind must be close by too.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44 –</span></b> Bryce says Cormac needs to teleport them out, that she will take the gorsian bullet out of him so he can. He tells her she can’t, as they are designed to split apart into shrapnel on impact, to ensure the magic is suppressed for as long as possible. He will need surgery to get every shard out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind is close, has snipers there to prevent them from going airborne.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion finds binoculars on the boat – can see that the Harpy and Pollux are also with the Hind. Tharion orders them into the water, then uses his magic to propel them away just as a torpedo strikes their boat. There are three Omega-boats aiming for them in the water.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Only plan they can come up with is to have Bryce use her powers to blind the people on the boat long enough for them to take it over. But then the Hind leaves the boat, heading towards them in a small boat. She gets close enough to recognise them all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind pulls out a small white stone, says she showed one to Sofie Renast before she died and made the same demonstration she’s going to show them. Then drops the stone into the water.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt’s lightning is wrapping around his head, above the water so he doesn’t electrocute them all. Hunt signals for Bryce to use her powers to blind the Hind. But before she can something hits her under the water, realises she’s now laying on a boat with the insignia of two entwined fishes on it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt’s lying beside her, his eyes are filled with pure lightning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind is making her way back to the Omega-boat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A dark-haired female is signalling to them from a hatch on the boat they are lying on, telling them to get inside. They can see Pollux and the Harpy heading towards the Hind in a speedboat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The ship is filled with mer – their Oracle sensed they’d be needed here and so they came. Then saw Bryce’s light and assumed it was a message for them to come.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt’s lightning is still crackling over him like a second skin, can’t seem to get him to calm down. Ruhn talks to Bryce in her mind, tells her he was like this the day he killed Sandriel. That Bryce was in danger then too. Asks him what that means and he tells her it means they are true mates, in the way that Fae are, in their bodies and soul. It is why her scent is different to him now, because their scents have merged. Tells her to calm Hunt down.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn says Athalar is utterly lethal as a mated male because there’s no mercy in him, he’s gone lethal in a Fae way. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The female who saved them is Commander Sendes, says the mer court she comes from is this one and gestures at the ship they’re on. Sendes says they are on the <i>Depth Charger</i> – one of the six city-ships of the Ocean Queen’s court Beneath.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45 –</span></b> Ithan is being grilled by Declan’s boyfriend Marc about the fact he could be charged for breaking and entering, as well as theft – for what he did to the Astronomer. Marc tells him to return the rings but the box shakes when he does. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Open it to see the four sprites inside the rings. Three of the sprites have female bodies like Lehabah, the fourth one is pure fire and the ring that is rattling. Declan gets a hammer and cracks open three of the rings, then just before he does the same to the fourth one of the sprites shouts ‘<i>Don’t’</i> but they’re too late.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The fourth ring breaks and out comes a human-sized female. Her eyes blaze crimson. She tells Flynn ‘<i>He is going to find you and kill you.</i>’. And he replies, ‘<i>Good thing a dragon now owes me a debt.’</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is still in shock that his sister is mated, as it is rare among the Fae. But the fact it is an angel is even stranger (<b>Hunt is Fae, right? Like, what’s not clicking, guys?!?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandes says they are going into the Ravel Canyon. The ship they are on can camouflage as the Ocean Queen imbued her ships with many gifts from the seas. This one has a squid’s ability to blend into it’s surroundings. Glass of the ship is one way and block the light so people can’t see the lights from inside of it. Also can’t be picked up on radar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They watch as the Omega-boat, the <i>Faustus</i>, drifts right by them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri are not aware of the technology they have. They will give them barracks to rest in and then take them wherever they want to go once the Omegas have left the area.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is still glowing so Bryce asks Sendes if they can go into the bio-dome on the ship for a while. She says they can and closes it off to the public. Then has them clear it and seal the doors so that Bryce and Hunt can have privacy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46 – </span></b>Hunt can only focus on his power and Bryce right now. His mind is drifting, his magic screaming to be unleashed. Had happened as soon as the Hind appeared and he knew he had to take her out to get Bryce to safety. Had even known it didn’t matter if he killed Cormac, Ruhn or Tharion in the process, as long as she was safe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Takes him into the garden and then Bryce strips naked before telling him to do the same. She tells him that she’s his mate and he’s hers, then asks him to fuck her. (<b>Great, we couldn’t get just one SJM series where mate doesn't gets said every two sentences. Miss SJM really said copy, paste and the just change the font!</b>) She knows he needs a way to work off his energy and reassure him that she’s safe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">His lightning and her light merging together (<b>As T.Swift sang: <i>I think I’ve seen this film before</i>. – Again, same story, different fonts!</b>) They fuck, as she comes light blasts out of her. Then Hunt is glowing, he is filled with light and she is radiating the same light too. Their powers seem to merge together.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then they suddenly find themselves not in the garden anymore, they are somehow in the airlock.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn is talking to the sprites who are triplets called Rithi, Malana and Sasa. They’re descendants of Persina Falath, Lady of Cinders. The dragon is called Ariadne. Dragons are Lowers too, as they aren’t true shifters.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The triplets were bespelled by the Astronomer, who is an ancient sorcerer. He bought them and shoved them into the rings so they can light his way when he descends into Hel. About to say how Ariadne got put into the ring but she cuts the sprite off.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks if anything can be done to free the mystics and Ariadne says no. Says the female Ithan spoke to is favoured by him and he will never let her go. She says that he tortures the mystics. He sends them to the deepest parts of Hel where the princes and demons can taunt and scare them. Tells Ithan that what the wolf mystic told him is true, he should find a necromancer if he wants answers about his dead brother (<b>Hypaxia is one but apparently I'm the only one who remembers that</b>).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn tells Ariadne she should shift to her dragon form and run. Reveals she can’t, the tattoo on her means she can’t shift unless he allows it. And even then he can track her wherever he goes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt go to see Cormac in the city-ships hospital – Bryce had managed to teleport them while they were fucking. Cormac thinks she needed Hunt’s power to be able to teleport. Hunt says the Prince of the Pit told him about this, had said Hunt and Bryce hadn’t yet seen what their powers could do together. They think their powers may have merged together.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sendes appears, says Cormac was talking about someone named Sofie Renast in his delirium. They know the name, as they were summoned to rescue an agent from the North Sea weeks ago and it was her. She says they were too late and Sofie had drowned by the time they picked her up.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47 –</span></b> They go to the morgue to see Sofie’s corpse. Cormac tells them about how he met her during a recon report to Command.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion is looking at the coroner’s files on Sofie. He asks Cormac if he knows what a series of numbers and letters mean, he doesn’t. They were found carved into her upper bicep – they believe Sofie did it to herself while she drowned, so it must be important. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion never knew any of these ships existed. Sendes says they’ve had them for two decades. Tharion thinks the Ocean Queen is using the ships as a way to help overthrow the Asteri, as she aids the rebels. The Ocean Queen remembers a time before the Asteri, when leaders were fairly elected and that is what she wants to achieve again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion needs the corpse for the River Queen as she wants it. Sendes thinks she could only want it if she planned to use a necromancer to reanimate it. Could use it as a weapon with no conscience or soul.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Day calls Ruhn to the mind bridge, she heard there was an attack on the rebel base on Ydra and that people were killed, and the suit and shipments destroyed. He informs Day that Sofie is dead. When Day talks about creating a world that their children can be free in, Ruhn reveals he can’t have children. She assumes he means he’s infertile but he tells her the truth – that the Oracle told him he would be the last of his bloodline. So he will either die before he can have a child or he’s infertile.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Notes he seems unsettled, offers to tell him a story. Tells him one about a time before Luna hunted the heavens or Solas warmed Cthona’s body. Says there was a young witch in a cottage deep in the woods, beautiful and beloved by her mother. She grew older and stronger but then a wandering prince passed by her clearing one day and wanted to take her as his bride.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She didn’t want the prince but he chased her through the woods, his hounds following. As she ran she pleaded with the forest to help her and it did. It transformed her into a deer, but his hounds caught up with her. So the forest turned her into a fish so she could flee down the mountain streams. The prince built a weir to trap her. Forest turned her into a hawk so she could fly away, but the prince was a skilled archer and fired an iron-tipped arrow at her. Struck her breast and where her blood fell, olive trees sprouted. When her body hit the earth, she was transformed one last time…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn falls asleep so we don’t hear the end. He wakes up on the couch on the mind bridge, Day asleep across from him, her body veiled with flame. Ruhn knows that story, a princess of fire sleeping and waiting for a knight to wake her. Day wakes up and he asks to hear the end of the story.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She says the forest turned the witch into a monster. One of claws, fangs and bloodlust. She ripped the prince and hounds apart. Then says that's the end of the story. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 3 – The Pit<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48 – </span></b>Ruhn gets Dec to try to find information on what they found on Sofie’s arm, but he finds nothing. They’re back in the city and the Hind doesn’t seem to have told anyone about them being rebels.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>‘The sex on the ship had been life-altering. Soul-altering’ – because of course it was!</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian comes to see them, says he wants in on whatever has them meeting up with Ophion and then blowing their shit up. Bryce lies, says they did it to stop the Ophion before they can do anything to the city. Baxian knows they’re lying, says he is a rebel sympathiser. They continue to lie and refuse to let him join, so he tells them to come find him when they want actual answers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When Ruhn leaves, Hunt demands to know what she knows about Emile. Says Spetsos gave it away with all her talk about snakes - he realised that Bryce sent Emile to the Viper Queen. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 49 –</b> Ruhn goes back to his home, where Dec, Flynn and Ithan introduce him to the sprites and Ariadne.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt follows Bryce through the Meat Market. He’s angry at her, she didn’t deny that she had gotten Emile to the Viper Queen. It wasn’t Pippa killing those people to track Emile, it was the Viper Queen’s lackeys. Bryce had told the Viper Queen to find him using any means necessary, but hadn’t realised what they would actually do to find him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When she’d brought Hunt, Fury and Juniper to the market, she had sent questions to the Viper Queen asking about the search and telling her to stop with the killings. When they told her they still hadn’t found him, she said she knew she had to search the Bone Quarter while the Viper Queen continued searching. Queen ignored her request to stop the killings, killing a few more before eventually finding Emile.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Get to the Viper Queen, Emile is beside her. Bryce gets the Viper Queen to leave so they can speak to him alone. Emile says he doesn’t have any powers, that Sofie downed those ships. Bryce suspected it, but now she is sure. Sofie lied, as she knew the only way Ophion would let her go after her brother was if they thought he had powers and would be of use to them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Viper Queen’s price for helping her was that Bryce would then owe her a favour. Danika had actually intended for Sofie/Emile to head to the Meat Market and the Viper Queen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 50 –</b> Emile has heard of Danika before, Sofie talked about her. Danika found Sofie using her Vanir powers and asked Sofie to do something for her – something Danika couldn’t do because she was too recognisable. Can't tell them what it was as he didn't know.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce calls Fury, tells her they’re ready and tells her to bring the car around. Tells Hunt that Fury is the person she can trust to get Emile to his new home. Bryce tells Emile he is not to go by his name anymore, that he is part of the Quinlan-Silago clan now. He will get new documents including birth certificate and adoption papers. Her parents are taking him in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt get into a fight about it - about how she lied to him about it. She storms off and goes to work.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is called to Ruhn’s – she wonders if she overreacted to Hunt being angry that she didn’t tell him. (<b>Yes, she did. Also, why wouldn’t she tell him?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells her about Ithan going back to see the Astronomer, finding the wolf mystic and then stealing the rings and freeing the sprites and dragon from them. Asks if they know Lehabah, they don’t but ask what clan she belonged to. Tells them she said she was a descendent of Queen Ranthia Drahl and they tell her a sprite wouldn’t lie about their lineage. They say the Drahl line has long been scattered to the winds and they don’t know how many remain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As Bryce was a friend to her and Lehabah’s first and final act was to die to save her, they call Bryce an ally of their people in her honor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They plan to buy them from the Astonomer. The dragon says she is very expensive, more than they could afford. Reveals she was gifted to the Astonomer by an Archangel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The sprites tell Bryce that she should speak to their queen about Lehabah’s bravery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce phones Jesiba to ask if she knows the Astronomer, needs her help convincing him to let them buy the sprites and Ariadne. When she gets back to her office, Jesiba has left an envelope which contains an analysis of dragon fire, dating back five thousand years. Dragon fire is one of the few substances proven to harm the Princes of Hel. It can burn even the Prince of Pit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51 – </span></b>Hunt goes to see Celestina, still upset that Bryce lied to him because he thought they were a team. Celestina gives him a stack of preliminary reports on demon activity at the Northern Rift. Gives no sign she knows anything about what happened with the Hind. Celestina can scent that he and Bryce are now mated.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt then goes to find the Hind, but she pretends like nothing has happened. Then tells him to go see what the Harpy has done near the Angel’s Gate. Hunt finds two Ophion rebels lying facedown on the ground beneath it – they’ve been blood-eagled. The Harpy had sawed through their ribs, cleaving each bone from the spine. Then reached through the incisions and yanked their lungs through them, leaving them as bloody wings draped over their backs. The victims would have been alive while she did it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Queen Hypaxia shows up at Ruhn’s house.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52 – </span></b>Tharion reports to the River Queen, tells her about the fleet of ships the other Queen has. Demands he find out everything he can about the ships. When he goes back to the surface, Hunt is waiting to talk with him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia can shrink her broom down into a brooch for her to wear. She came so she could speak with Ruhn alone. Needs a favour, for him to give her an escort to the mating celebration in a few weeks. She doesn’t trust her coven, as they were chosen by her mother and she inherited them rather than being allowed to select her own. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She was raised away from the coven, her mother summoned three ancient, wise spirits to teach her. One for battle and physical training, another for maths and science, the other for history/reading/languages. Her mother did the magical training. It estranged them from her mother’s coven. Her gifts of necromancy unnerve them and they don’t really know her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The coven might think to replace her with her sister, the Hind. She has no witch gifts, making her nothing but a figurehead and allowing her mother’s general, Morganthia to rule. Her mother’s coven want a closer bond to the Asteri, at the cost of their relative autonomy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn agrees, plans to have Ithan be her guard.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and Hunt are walking through the water garden along the river in Moonwood. Tells him about the demon reports he was given, says he wants to pass them along to the Blue Court. Shows Tharion some photos, one of a deathstalker. Deathstalkers are lethal assassins bred by the Prince of the Pit. One was seen in Nena three days ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells Tharion he knows where Emile is, but says he can’t tell him. Tells him to lie to the queen and be done looking for him. Reveals to him that Emile has no powers. Tharion knows how angry the Queen will be, so decides to continue to pretend to look for Emile for as long as he can.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53 – </span></b>Ithan agrees to guard Hypaxia, but asks if she can use her necromancer powers to contact his brother. She says there is a ritual she can perform but it would have to be on the Autumnal Equinox, when the veil between the realms is thinnest.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn asks if Hypaxia is okay with the dragon joining her too. His lawyer advised him that he’d need a royal, official reason for commandeering the Astronomer’s slave. Protecting his fiancée would be a good reason.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce finishes work and finds Hunt waiting outside for her. Came to use the archives to look something up. He looks at some recently translated Fae texts on ancient demons. The demons Celestina gave him in her reports are bad news – rare and lethal. A hint that the Prince of the Pit or Aidas is planning something.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt thinks that if Hel is building up its armies, these demons could have been sent to Nena to test its defences.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They talk about everything, both apologise – her for not trusting him, and him for getting so angry over it. Asks how she knew the Viper Queen could find Emile, Bryce says she knew the idea that Emile had powers would motivate her. But also Emile’s scent was found in the marshes, which is full of sobeks – and the Viper Queen can communicate with reptiles.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce only plans for him, Fury and Juniper to know the truth about Emile. Her parents are excited, as they weren’t able to have a kid of their own. He will go by Cooper Silago. She communicated with her mum through the postcards in order to plan it all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then Hunt goes down on her in the library. Then they have sex there. (<b>I’ve worked in public libraries, people fucking in them is far too common – the worst is when they do it in the kids play area. Like, are you okay, people?)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is called to the mind bridge by Day. Has intel for him that Pippa Spetsos is planning a big retaliation for losing the mech-suit and everything else. Ophion fully supports her. Then her and Ruhn get into a fight. She says if he is not careful he will wind up dead, his only response is ‘<i>so’. </i>They argue, as she basically insinuates he knows nothing of sacrifice. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54 – </span></b>The Autumn King comes to see Bryce at her job. He can scent that she has mated with Athalar. Says he wanted her with Cormac as he is powerful. And he wants her in Avallen because the Asteri can’t pierce its mists without permission because the magic that guards it is so old.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King learns Bryce believes he killed the last Starborn Prince out of spite. Reveals Bryce doesn’t know what it means to use her household name. She has used the title Princess Bryce Danaan multiple times now. She used his name to get things and can’t undo it. The paperwork to change her official name has already been filed. She will now be an official Fae Princess.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her father sees the numbers and letters that were on Sofie’s arm and recognises them. Says he knows what she searches for because he has been seeking it for a long time. When she asks what that is, he says ‘<i>The truth</i>’.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her proof of name change arrives, along with a new scooter registration and a black credit card that would allow her to use her father’s money.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce got Hypaxia’s number from Ruhn, calls her to meet to talk. Tells Hypaxia about her father’s visit and about how she is now officially a princess of the Fae. Asks for her advice on what she should do. Hypaxia thinks only the Asteri can help Bryce. Bryce reveals she knows about Hypaxia’s troubles with her coven.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia admits she had visions of a future where witches were returning to power and she got to be with the person she wanted to. But says the relationship isn’t possible anymore because the other person didn’t want to continue it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The withes aren’t as powerful as they once were. Their mighty bloodlines have been weakening, their magic too. Her coven doesn’t want to look into why, they just want to become even more subservient to the Asteri.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia’s undead tutors predate the Asteri’s arrival and were long dead before the Northern Rift opened. They remember the time when Parthos still stood. One of her tutors, Palania was born in the city surrounding it. Hypaxia stopped her mother from going to an eternal resting place like the Bone Quarter, knowing what would happen to her if she did. The place where the dead went before the Asteri was peaceful.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is standing guard outside the place they’re meeting. Bryce looks up to see a scaled, gray beast jump at Ithan and attack him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55 – </span></b>The demon has ripped out Ithan’s throat. There is another demon approaching them from behind. Bryce asks Hypaxia to shoot her power into Bryce, needs it to charge her own. She does it, allowing Bryce to teleport to Ithan, grabbing the gun from him and firing at the nearest demon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then Bryce teleports bit by bit until the other demon follows her, so Hypaxia can jump from her broom and slam her knife into its head.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah shows up, Hunt soon after. The demons that attacked them were deathstalkers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia helps to heal Ithan, has him taken to the witches' embassy so she can tend to him until he’s conscious.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Hunt about how she could teleport thanks to using Hypaxia’s powers. Ariadne was supposed to be there with Ithan, but she’d been on the rooftops and has now escaped.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They wonder if Hypaxia’s coven could have sent the demons to kill her, believing that people would think they were sent after Bryce. As Bryce had pissed Hel off during the attack.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn reveals to Hunt that the Autumn King called him, congratulates Hunt. Now that Bryce has been using her royal name, she had now accepted the position of princess. As her mate, that makes Hunt son-in-law to the Autumn King, and Ruhn’s brother.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56 –</span></b> Ithan wakes up in the witches embassy. Hypaxia is in a chair beside him. Tells Hypaxia he heard what she told Bryce about her mum, wants her to do the same to Connor—ensure he doesn’t go to one of the sleeping realms. He tells Hypaxia about the wolf mystic, asks if there is anything she can do.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn, Dec and Tharion come to see him. Flynn and Dec have been coming to check on him often. (<b>Loving the bromance between Ithan, Dec and Flynn. Love Flynn in general!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and Hypaxia had met at the Summit and are now friends. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to Ruhn’s, wants to know if he can stay at his house. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57 – </span></b>Hunt and Bryce make it back to the apartment and he asks if she’s okay about the princess thing, she begins crying. Says she can’t handle being a princess, because now the King owns her. Could sign her marriage documents to Cormac without her permission if he wanted to.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn once again called to the bridge by Day. He is still angry with her, the way she practically said he was worthless and knew nothing of real sacrifice the last time they saw each other. He tells her they’re friends and can forgive her if she buys him a beer. She says she will when she comes to visit. Assumes she’s joking and asks her when, but she says on the Autumnal Equinox.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells him she could attend the ball for the Archangels and then meet him somewhere. Tells her he is also attending, and it is a masked ball, so he could meet her there. Tells her to meet him at the fountain on the conservatory on the rooftop garden of the Comitium at midnight on the night of the ball. If he thinks she’s there, he will call her Day, and she will answer with Night.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58 – </span></b>Hunt is in a tux, getting ready for the Equinox party. Cormac is her official escort to the party. The King has sent her order after order – telling her what she’s to wear, how to behave and what to eat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn agreed to go with Hypaxia as her date to the party. The River Queen’s daughter wishes to meet Hypaxia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce arrives with Hunt and Cormac, ignoring her father’s attempt to greet her and snubbing him in front of everyone. She goes up to Celestina and Ephraim to congratulate them. They extend the same to her. She thanks them and says her and Prince Hunt will be very happy together. She has now made a public declaration that her and Hunt are mates and that he is a Prince of the Fae. She tells them Cormac is with her as a friend that night, nothing more.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri join the celebration via vidchat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59 –</span></b> The Asteri congratulate Ephraim and Celestina. Then Hunt and Bryce, as they somehow already know. Cormac is angry with Bryce, as she broke their deal. Tells her he won’t forget it. According to Fae law, Bryce is now Hunt’s property. Hunt tells Bryce: ‘<i>Everything that ever happened to me, it was all so I could meet you, Quinlan. Be here with you. I’m yours. Forever.’</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Hypaxis dance together, she’s distracted as she is looking for her sister, the Hind. This will be the first time she meets her. Ruhn offers to go with her. Hypaxia tells the Hammer to leave and he does. Ruhn makes his escape to, so he can get to the fountain on time to meet Day. Person he sees is the Harpy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60 – </span></b>Ruhn is confused, but calls the Harpy Day and is relieved when she doesn’t know what it means.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce sneak off to a closet to fuck. It is locked, but they break it open. Inside, they find Celestina having sex with Hypaxia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina had encouraged Hypaxia’s engagement to Ruhn, thought she could marry him in a political sense but hey could continue their relationship. But then she was mated to Ephraim and had no choice but to say yes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia and Bryce leave Hunt and Celestina to talk. She tells him there’s a fine line between mate and slave. Hunt says he knows, but Bryce is worth it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and the River Queen’s daughter (<b>Will this woman ever get a name!?! There has to be a reason she's not telling us</b>) He decides he doesn’t want to string her along anymore. Gets her to dance with one of the guards and then goes to the bar, orders a drink and begins flirting with someone else.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61 –</span></b> Ithan is with Hypaxia, so she can contact Connor. She has arranged seven candles on the ground, using a knife to draw lines between them (a six-pointed star). Tells Ithan that no matter what he sees or hears, he is to stay on his side of the candles.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to see Day on the bridge. Day admits she was at the party, saw him there and the threat of the Harpy and so stayed away. She knows who he is, who he really is. He kisses her; she kisses him back. Tells him she’s sorry and then vanishes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt go back to the apartment. Hunt is out here massaging her feet, kissing them and nipping her toes. (<b>Again, WHY SARAH?!?! JUST WHY?!?!</b>) Asks her if they’re essentially married now, and she jokes she doesn’t have ring. Says he will get her one.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This man says: <i>“These little toes make me think some dirty things, Quinlan</i>’, and she straight up asks if he has a toe fetish and he says no. <b>Hunt, my guy, you’re lying to yourself. You’re lying to Bryce. You’re lying to ME! PUT DOWN THE FOOT!</b> (<b>Again, if I have to know this about him, so do you!)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They have sex again – if you’ve read one SJM sex scene, you’ve read this one. Bryce accidentally transports them to the roof. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62 -</span></b> Hypaxia continues her chanting, says she can feel a presence and that someone is coming. Tells him his brother’s spirit is strong. Light explodes from the star and when it clears they find the Under-King in the center of the star, not Connor.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Under-King says Connor is well cared for, but whether he remains that way is up to Ithan. The King doesn’t tell him what that means, says he wants to play a game with them first as he is curious about Hypaxia’s abilities.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is dreaming, but knows she is really seeing and speaking to Apollion who appears before her. Tells her they are in Parthos, or what remains of it. Apollion says he chose this moment to speak with her as Aidas is busy readying Hel’s armies, as he would not like it if he know Apollion was speaking to her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Apollion tells her that Theia was Aidas’s great love – says that is why he killed Pelias and devoured Sirius (the 7<sup>th</sup> Asteri), did it for his brother. Tells her Theia was allied with them against the Asteri. Bryce asks if he sent the Reapers that time they took Ruhn but he denies it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Apollion says Hel is ready to finish the war, tells her to use the Horn using Hunt’s powers and open the doors to Hel. She refuses. He says he is disappointed and she should come find him once she learns the truth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Came to speak to her tonight because the veil between worlds is thinnest, so that allowed him to. She points out he spoke to Hunt before and he says it is because Hunt was <b><u>bred</u></b> to be receptive to his kind – that is why he is so good at hunting them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia and Ithan are still in the orchard, but the Under-King has vanished. They can hear the hunting hounds of the House of Flame and Shadow.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63 – </span></b>Bryce is at the training center with Hunt, Ruhn , Tharion, Declan and Cormac, telling them about her encounter with Apollion. She doesn't tell Hunt what Apollion said about him being bred. She is practising teleporting using Hunt’s powers. When she does it in front of Tharion he grabs her and kisses her before she can teleport away, as she’s slowing after each time she teleports. Her power drains away quickly.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They believe her teleporting is different to Cormac’s. Her power came from the Gate and so it needs to be powered up. It relies on firstlight or other forms of energy because she’s basically a Gate. But the Gates can store the power indefinitely and hers wears off.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac says he can get over her ending the engagement without telling him, if she promises not to keep things from him again. She tells him there is nothing else she's hiding/lying about, but he catches a look between her and Hunt (as she’s technically lying about Emile). He teleports behind her and holds a knife to her throat. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac demands that she tell him what she’s hiding or he’ll cut off her head. Bryce knows that if he tries to hurt her, then Hunt and the others will attack him. Tells him about Emile, that she found him with the Viper Queen but lies and says the Queen sent him somewhere safe but she doesn’t know where. Tells him the truth about Emile having no powers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan and Hypaxia show up to the training center–explain how the Under-King toyed with them, trapping them in the orchard with his dogs. Took this long for Hypaxia to find a way out of the wards that wouldn’t kill them. Inform Hunt that the Under-King wants to see Bryce at Urd’s Temple and if she doesn’t go, then he will send Connor and the rest of the Pack through the Gate and make them into secondlight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64 – </span></b>Tharion is at the Meat Market, hears people gossiping about Celestina already being pregnant. He is there to keep up the ruse that he is looking for Emile. Tharion had fucked the leopard shifter in the garden at the party, the River Queen and her daughter don’t know yet. He overhears someone talking about the dragon and thinks he could offer her as a gift to the Queen as an apology if she finds out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion gets Flynn to come to meet him, tells him he thinks he knows where Ariadne is. They go down to see the Viper Queen. Ariadne sought the Queen out and asked for asylum and they have reached a bargain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to speak with the Queen in private—sees the Harpy doing drugs. Asks the Viper Queen if she’s heard anything about Ophion or Pippa and what they might be up to. She says that will cost him – tells him she doesn’t own the dragon; she fights for her in exchange for part of the profits. So she needs his help in getting them to say the dragon is fighting as a matter of imperial security, so she can keep her there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Viper Queen warns him that Ariadne can turn him to ashes if he tries to take her to the Blue Court.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He agrees to help her keep the dragon. When he asks her to tell him what Pippa is up to she tells him to call his friends and find out. So he does, one after the other but none of them answer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn tells Ariadne he’s not done with her, will come back for her–angry at her for abandoning them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce, Ruhn, Hunt and Hypaxia head to the Temple–those were the four people the King had permitted to come. The King is sitting on the throne in the Temple waiting for them. He tells them the Reaper’s that came after them weren’t sent by Apollion, but came from the Eternal City.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Under-King tells Hypaxia she did a good job getting through his labyrinth of spells and that the House of Flame and Shadow would welcome her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce asks if he knows what the sequence from Sofie’s arm means, but he doesn’t know. Tells her to ask ‘them’—pointing to where Pippa and her Lightfall soldiers are now entering the temple courtyard.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn blocks the doors to the temple to give them time. The Under-King reveals Pippa came to him when she arrived in the city and knelt before him. He told Pippa about his run in with Hunt and Bryce, says they came to a deal—basically will let Pippa and her soldiers kill them so they don’t know it is him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Hunt to give her his power, and he does. She tells him they need reinforcements. Then she teleports out of there. Then comes back to attempt to teleport them out of there. Hunt tells her to take Hypaxia first, then Ruhn and then him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Takes Hypaxia. Comes back for Ruhn. Hunt left alone as the doors start to cave in under Pippa’s attacks. Just as the doors fly open, Pollux appears and begins killing rebels, along with Mordoc, the dreadwolves and the Hind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce appears beside him, she collapses. She’s tapped out of energy and can’t take another charge right then. Her body can’t take it. Bryce bought them time by using the Gates dial pad to broadcast a report that Ophion was sacking Urd’s Temple, knowing a unit would be sent there to stop them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian appears behind Urd’s throne and motions for them to come before vanishing behind it. Hunt has to pick up Bryce and make a run for it. She’s bleeding from her nose. Realises the back of the throne hides a doorway and stairwell.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian heard about the unit being sent to the Temple, assumed they were there. Researched the Temple and found rumors of this hidden door. Says it must have been used by a priestess recently as he could scent her over the alley and fake wall that leads in there. They’re heading towards the catacombs.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce drops out of Hunt’s arms and aims her rifle at Baxian. Doesn’t know why he keeps popping up, doesn’t buy that he isn’t working for the Hind or the Asteri. He answers ‘<i>Through love, all is possible</i>’ – moves his collar aside and shows that he has that tattooed over his heart in Danika’s handwriting. Tells her that Danika was his mate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65 –</span></b> Bryce calls him a liar but he insists he loved her more than anything. Bryce says he’s lying, that Danika would have told her (<b>Danika was 23, but she was out here hiding every secret known to man, doing the absolute most—did she ever sleep?</b>) Baxian insists he met Danika two years before she died and they had those years together. Bryce still tries to deny it, but then remembers she teased Danika about the fact she hadn’t gone on a date in two years.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt realises that is why Baxian’s behaviour changed after Hunt left. He had met Danika. Tells them Danika changed everything for him. They met after a gathering of wolves, Pangeran and Valbaran. The Prime sent Danika as his emissary. Baxian wasn’t there, but Danika sought him out afterwards because she was researching shifter ancestry and his was unique.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She’d found a family tree from an ancient bloodline that could be traced to him as the last living descendant. Danika wanted to know where they came from, all of them. Believes she was killed because of that research.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Once she met Baxian, she wanted to find a way into a world where they could be together—as Sandriel, Sabine and the Asteri would never let them be together. They could rarely get away, would meet at a hotel in Forvos one every two months.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks him what he knows about Sofie and Danika. Danika learned about Sofie while researching thunderbird lineage. Confirmed what she’d found by tracking Sofie down, as she could scent it on her. He thinks Danika had theories about thunderbirds and their power, isn’t sure what.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce shows him the sequence Sofie carved in her arm and he recognises it—says it’s a system of numbering room in the Asteri Archives. He knows that because he was the one who gave it to Danika.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel would have Baxian escort her on her visits to the Asteri palace. When they took her to the archives, he saw them go through that door. When she came out, she was pale. So he noted down the sequence of numbers on the door and gave them to Danika. He says she obsessed over it—had theories she said would alter their world. She gave Sofie the information and wanted her to sneak in to investigate. Took Sofie three years to get in to the archives and that room. She ran to Kavalla soon after.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Everything in their archives is kept top secret. If any of it is digitised, then it is encrypted—can use Dec to try to find the information.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce go back to Ruhn’s to fill them in and get Dec to help. Dec says he can’t hack the archival system, it is too secure. But can hack the camera system in the Eternal Palace—could confirm if Sofie ever got access to the room.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They find the footage of Sofie at Door Seven-Eta-Dot-Three-Alpha-Omega, she is in there for 15 minutes before she returns. Carried nothing in and nothing out but her face is pale when she leaves. Footage is 2 months old, from just before she went to Kavalla.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says they need to go to the Eternal City and get into the Archives.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks about Tharion and the River Queen’s daughter. Asks if he loves her, and he says no. So he asks why he got engaged to her—Tharion says it is because he was stupid and horny, wanted to fuck her so badly that he swore himself to her with the plan to undo it the next day. But wasn’t able to.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion asks if Ithan is seeing anyone and Ithan asks if Ruhn told him about his past. Tharion says: ‘<i>About you having a thing for Bryce? No´</i> Ithan asks how he knew then and he responds: <i>“She’s Bryce. </i>Everyone<i> has got a thing for her</i>” (<b>Because it isn’t a SJM female lead unless every male she encounters wants to fuck her! Again: Copy & paste!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion warns him to solve any unresolved business he has before they go to the Eternal City, just in case. Ithan leaves, telling Tharion that there is something he needs to do.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66 – </span></b>Bryce goes to see Fury, who tells her she’s a fucking idiot for wanting to get into the archives. Bryce needs her help, as Fury has been to the palace before. Fury agrees to get whatever intel she can, then plans to take Juniper out of the city. Agrees to take Syrinx with her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see the River Queen’s daughter – already knows he wants to end the betrothal. Has always known because if he wanted to marry her, he’d have acted by now. She’s angry, tells him to come Beneath with him but he refuses. Knows he has only about thirty minutes to find some way to stop the River Queen coming for him and dragging him below.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan goes to see the Prime, Sabine is also there. Tells him about the Astonomer keeping a wolf as a mystic. Asks them to help her. Sabine then leaves the room. The Prime asks Ithan what the wolf looked like, he tells him. Then he asks if her scent was of snow and embers—when Ithan asks how he knew that, the Prime reveals Sabine is not the only Fendyr heir (this wolf is one).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67 –</span></b> Tharion goes to see the Viper Queen to tell her he wants to be one of her fighters. Says he will sell himself to her, would rather be a slave to her than be forced to stay Beneath and be used to breed royal offspring. Tells him there is another way-he can defect. Agrees to do that, then she tells him to drink her blood, which he does. Gives her some kind of power/control over him that he can feel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is worried he has put the mystic wolf in danger now because he believes Sabine may know and will want to kill her. Decides he can’t go with them to Pangera, needs to stay so he can guard the wolf.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to see Day, who says she can’t see him anymore. Tells him that kiss between them was dangerous and reckless and can’t happen again. The male who pulled her from the dream bridge would kill Ruhn if he finds out, and would make her watch. Asks Day if she can leave him, but she says no, that his fate is bound to hers. But Ruhn argues that her fate is bound to his.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Day finishes her story about the witch who fell to earth. Says she remained a monster for hundreds of years and forgot she was once a witch. A warrior arrived in the forest one day, and she planned to kill him but he was not afraid of her. The warrior loved her and that love transformed her back into a witch, where they lived in the forest for the rest of their lives.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Decide to have sex (<b>mind sex? Who even knows at this point.</b>).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then he tells her they plan to get into the Asteri Archives because the intel Sofie possessed is likely in one of the rooms there. Tells her they could use a distraction, for attention to be elsewhere while they break in. Just before the male pulls her out of the mind bridge, she tells Ruhn that ‘<i>they know. The dungeons—’</i> but is pulled out before she can finish the sentence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68 – </span></b>Ruhn tells Bryce about Day. Wants to break into the palace not only to get into the archives but also to save her. Tells them he is going with them so he can rescue her, will separate from them to do it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury has dropped off a hand-drawn map of the crystal palace. They need to create a distraction so the Asteri are busy looking elsewhere while they break in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They call Cormac, who comes over with Tharion. Cormac has heard Pippa is planning a raid on the Pangeran lab where the Asteri made the mech prototype. She wants the plans and to get the scientists who created it, so she can build new ones. Need her to move sooner - Tharion says they could initiate the raid, so Pippa and her soldiers will come after then. Then they can blow it up when Pippa, Ophion and the dreadwolves sent after them all arrive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The lab is 20 miles north of the Eternal City.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Declan will hack the security cameras in the palace and turn them away while they are in there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce calls Juniper and leaves a message. Apologises for everything and tells her she loves her. Then takes a photo with her of her, Danika, Juniper and Fury.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69 –</span></b> Ruhn goes and finds Cormac in a bar, tells him they can start over when this is finished. Can decide who they want to be, separate of their fathers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt goes to his room in the barracks to round up all his knives and guns that he keeps there. Also puts on his Umbra Mortis helmet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina is by the elevators. Tells him that she hopes he’ll come to her if he needs an ally, but he notes that she's acting a little weird. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70 – </span></b>Tharion and Cormac are on their way to the lab for the raid. Both wearing imperial uniform. They’d got across the ocean using the <i>Depth Charger’s </i>submersible-pod. Tharion contacted Sendes, and she had sent it for him. Tharion only has 5 hours left before he needs to submerge or be stuck human.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They arrive and Cormac says Pippa, and her team are already there, hiding in the trees. Dec had spent the day before planting information on rebel networks—letting them know that the anti-Ophion rebels who destroyed the shipment on Ydra were now making a move on the lab.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce, Hunt and Ruhn are at the Eternal City. Cormac has studied how to get between the lab and them so he can let them know when the distraction has started, as well as teleport them inside the palace. Then he teleports Hunt into the castle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Before they make their move, Ruhn tells Bryce that he thinks it is time the Autumn King’s reign ends. Ruhn says he will back Bryce in a coup, wants her as Autumn Queen. But she insists he should be King, but he says she has more power and the Fae will respect that.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When Cormac transports her, he tells her Ruhn is right. Realises the Oracle didn’t mean their union in marriage would bring prosperity to their people. She meant their union as allies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is in the palace, brings back memories of when he was trapped there being tortured. Then Bryce and Ruhn are both transported to him and they are ready to set their plan into action. Send Declan the signal and Cormac/Tharion begin their attack on the lab.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt gives Bryce his power, and she teleports into the archives.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71 - </span></b>Bryce finds herself in a stairwell, follows it down until she finds herself in a 70ft long hallway. Only thing in it are crystal pipes shooting upward into the ceiling with plaques beneath them, small black screens beside the plaques.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There are 7 pipes. She reads one plaque and it says <i>Hesperus</i>, the Evening Star. Next one is <i>Polaris</i>, the North Star. Each pipes plaque has the name of an Asteri on it – <i>Eosphoros, Octartis, Austrus, Sirius, Regulus</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sees firstlight shooting up six of the pipes. The black screens come to life and contain reading – one says ‘<i>Rigelus power level: 65%</i>’. Realises that the Asteri feeds on firstlight. The palace is made of the same quartz as the Gates in Crescent City, so it can fuel and harness the firstlight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri are the ones using the power all the people of Midgard give over during the Drop and as secondlight. This is what Sofie had found out. If they prevent the Asteri being able to get any firstlight then they can destroy them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72 –</span></b> Ruhn gets restless, says he is going to make a head start on trying to get to Day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce runs back up the stairwell to the door, ready to teleport back to Hunt, when she notices the door handle gleaming. Goes to investigate first. Finds herself in the main archives hallway and runs through the library, finding door after door. She stops at one that is named <i>Dusk</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt gets a message from Dec telling him Bryce is safe, that she slipped into a room called <i>Dusk</i> and that he will keep Hunt posted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is caught by Mordoc.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac and Tharion make it into the lab, and Cormac begins killing the scientists and engineers that he finds there. Tharion notes Cormac has gone rogue, lied when he said he would try to limit casualties.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then Imperial Vanir reinforcements arrive. Pippa shoots at Cormac, he teleports too slowly and gets hit with a bullet. Cormac tells Tharion to leave; and he realises that Cormac never intended to make it out of the lab alive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce enters the room and finds a round table with seven seats around it. There is a projector in the middle of the table. The walls are covered in star-maps of constellations and solar systems. Looks at one and sees a system she doesn’t know—five planets orbiting a sun. One planet is listed as habitable and is labelled <i>Rentharr. Conq. A.E. 14000</i>. – assumes conq means conquered. There is another note next to it that says: <i>A bellicose aquatic people. Primordial land life. Little supply. Terminated A.E. 14007</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Another star map says <i>Iphraxia. Conq. A.E 680. Lost A.E 720 </i>because the people figured out their methods and they lost people to their unified front and had to evacuate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce reads the notes on them all, of all the solar systems and planets the Asteri have conquered.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then she finds the Midgard map which says it was conquered in A.E 17003. She doesn’t know what A.E. means. Notes on Midgard say it is the most ideal location but indigenous life is not sustainable, but it would be good for colonisation. Notes they have contacted others to share their bounties. All the different creatures in Crescent City had been lured here from other planets/worlds.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She turns on the projector to find a 3D map of the cosmos, marked with digital notes. Finds Hel on the map and a note that it was lost in A.E. 17001. The note for that says it is filled with mighty creatures who saw through their traps. The warring factions of Hel came together to fight against the Asteri. The Asteri weren’t able to beat them so abandoned their world, but were chased because the princes of Hel had learned from capturing Asteri lieutenants how to travel between realms.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hel found them on Midgard in 17002 and tried to warn the people there who the Asteri really were. Then had a war that lasted until 17003 and Hel were defeated. Shut them off from Midgard because they developed attachments to the colonists there–she realises they mean Aidas who fell in love with Theia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce realises Apollion was telling the truth. They rid their world of the Asteri but went after them to stop them from doing the same to another planet. Hel hasn’t stopped trying to save them for 15 thousand years.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is trying to find the origin of the Asteri, their home planet. But she is caught by Rigelus, who says she won’t find it as even they have forgotten where their old planet was.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 73 – </b></span>Bryce asks why they do it and he says they are gods/higher beings. That they can’t be blamed for how they get their source of nutrition. Rigelus says he knew she would come, that he had hoped and planned it. He wants her there so she can reopen the Rifts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells her she is Starborn and has the Horn bound to her. Her that her ancestors wielded the Horn and another Fae object that allowed them to enter this world—says they were stolen from the Asteri.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He tells her Midgard is a base, and they opened the doors to other worlds so they could bring their citizens here. They believed they were coming to conquer new worlds, not realising the Asteri were conquering them. But also opened doors to other worlds so they could continue conquering planets. Queen Theia and her two daughters realised what they were doing though and found where they’d hidden access points in their world. They then shut the gates to stop the Asteri from being able to invade any other worlds, keeping the Asteri trapped on Midgard.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“Look, I already did the whole villain monologuing thing with Micah this spring, so cut to the chase”</i></b><i> – </i>Oh, so SJM now realises how terrible that whole thing was then? Good for her, does that mean we won't get it here?!?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He tells her that Danika had realised that the shifters are Fae, not the same kind as hers though. (<b>Bryce’s Fae clearly came from the ACOTAR world and the shifter Fae came from ToG world</b>)<b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her Fae came from a land rich with magic, and the Starborn bloodline came from a small isle that was a few miles from the mainland. Her isle was in near-permanent twilight (Dusk). But says only a few in her world could shift to an animal form. The shifters come from another Fae planet—all the Fae in that world shared their form with an animal and the mer descended from them. They don’t have pointed ears here because it was bred out of them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Did it so they could lie to them about what they are, make enemies of each other. If they both knew they were Fae then they might unify against the Asteri. (<b>This reasoning is dumb. They could literally still decide to unify against them?!?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Project Thurr – Thurr was the last time someone got as far as Danika in learning the truth. It didn’t end well for them. (<b>Hunt’s daddy?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reveals that he was the one who pointed Micah towards synth and Danika, so Micah would kill her for them. Bryce transports back to Hunt, only to find him on his knees, hands behind his head and bound with gorsian manacles. Bryce is caught the Harpy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 74 –</b></span> Tharion tries to run but is stopped by someone in a mech-suit. Cormac is shot again, Tharion runs. Five of the Asteri arrive. Then Cormac erupts into a ball of fire, consuming Pippa and then the mech-suit. The fire grows bigger and Tharion runs. Tharion is half a mile away when the building explodes, with Cormac inside it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is slumped on the cell floor, having been beaten by Mordoc. Bryce and Hunt are brought in. Mordoc has been following their movements for a long time, Rigelus asked him to, as he has a special interest in them. He says it is because Hunt’s scent is wrong, doesn’t smell like any angel Mordoc has ever met (<b>Because his Fae! Come on guys!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Mordoc leaves and the Harpy goes to torture Ruhn but the Hind appears and attacks her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75 – </span></b>Ruhn finally realises that Day is the Hind/Lidia Cervos. He recognised her scent that first time on the bridge because she is related to Hypaxia. The Harpy and the Hind fight. She gets the Harpy close enough to Ruhn that he can grab her ankle and pull her over. She manages to kill the Harpy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia unlocks Ruhn’s chains, tells him he needs to leave. She had tried to warn Ruhn that she believed Rigelus wanted them to come here, but she was interrupted. By the time she could contact him again she knew warning them off would give her away. (<b>Why would it? If they decided not to come there, why would anyone know it was her?! It would make more sense that they just decided it wasn't worth the risk</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Says she didn’t kill Sofie, she was the one who called the city-ship to save her, but they were too late. Shows Ruhn a white stone, they are calling stones. The Ocean Queen enchanted them and they summon whatever city-ship is closest to them when dropped in the water—that was what she dropped in the water that day in Ydra, and the reason the ship came to save them. Ruhn says Sofie drowned because of her, that people have died at her hands. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hind hears Pollux coming. Tells Bryce they need it to look real, can’t find out she’s a double agent. Bryce then punches her in the face. Bryce is attacking her when Pollux arrives. Ruhn swears he sees the Hind whisper something in her ear before Pollux grabs her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind picks up a sword, uses it to threaten Ruhn to stay back against the wall while Pollux deals with Bryce. All three of them are chained back up and forced out of the cell.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt reaches for Bryce’s hand and realises her manacles aren’t locked. She’s just holding them in place. The Hind hadn’t secured them. Hunt realises Bryce, the Hind and he all know the same thing—Bryce has the information they need and she has to get out. Hunt realises he is holding her hand for the last time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is blocking out all the Hinds/Lidia’s attempts to talk to him via his mind. Pollux notices him staring at the Hind, so he grips her by the throat and kisses under her ear. Ruhn realises that Pollux hurts her, and she endures it time after time because it is the only way she can continue to feed the rebels intel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Being led down a hall with a quartz Gate at the end of it. Then into a throne room where Rigelus sits on his throne. Tells Bryce she is going to pay for killing another angel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 76 –</span></b> Hunt’s severed wings are still mounted on the wall above the Asteri’s thrones. Shahar’s are displayed above his. Baxian and Mordoc enter the throne room to join the Hind and the Hammer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce starts talking—saying about how the Asteri are parasites who trick them into the drop so they can feed off their firstlight. And then do the same to secondlight when they die. He realises she’s saying it out loud so her companions will know – Dec is monitoring the cameras. When she tries to explain about destroying the core of firstlight beneath the planet, he silences her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus reveals he knew Cormac was with them, and that he is now dead—that’s where the other Asteri have gone. Cormac incinerated himself and the lab, killing Pippa as well. Rigelus says he might call the Autumn King there, that he was good at using his fire on Ruhn when he was a boy. That Ruhn has so many tattoos because they hide the scars.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Rigelus she will open a portal for him if he lets Hunt and Ruhn go and agrees to leave them unharmed forever. Hunt finally realises that is why they lured them here, because Rigelus says he couldn’t just snatch them off the streets. (<b>But why not? They’re supposed to be sooooo powerful, so why not?!?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus reveals he came to Bryce’s apartment disguised as Aidas that night he encouraged them to join the rebels. He also sent the Reapers—the Bone Quarter was to test her true power.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tries to lie and say they aren’t rebels and that Celestina can vouch for them. But he says Celestina reported to him that Hunt lied about going to visit Bryce’s family. And also reported about seeing him leave the barracks heavily armed the other night.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus says the star on her chest is a beacon to the world where she came from—and it glows when near Fae who have undiluted bloodlines from that world (like Cormac). Tells her the star will lead them back to that world, where they overthrew his brethren who once ruled it. They want revenge—their initial attempt was foiled by Bryce’s ancestor, who also bore the star on her chest.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Once again says she will help if he lets Hunt and Ruhn go. Says he agrees and tells her to say goodbye. Hunt hugs Bryce and whispers in her ear and then he says: <i>‘I love you. I wish I’d said it more. But I love you, Quinland and… Our love is stronger than time, greater than any distance. Our love spans across stars and worlds. I will find you again. I promise.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt had whispered in her ear, telling him to leave them. Ruhn whispers to her that he lied to the King about what the Oracle saw for him—tells her how she said he’d be the last of the royal line. But maybe she hadn’t seen Bryce. Tells Bryce she needs to live, and she has to be Queen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then tells her to take the Starsword when she goes. While hugging them, she has unlocked both their chains using the key the Hind slipped to her. Ruhn has told Hunt the signal. Ruhn tells Bryce she needs to go to Hel through the Gate and bring their armies back to fight them. Then tell her if Apollion’s cost is too high, she should not return to their world.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn gives the signal: <i>Long live the queen.</i> And then she grabs his sword and blasts Rigelus with her starlight. Hunt hurls his power at Rigelus too.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce makes a run for it, Rigelus is chasing after her. She’s running for the arch so she can open a gate to take her to Hel. As she runs, Hunt blasts his power into her back where the Horn is. She blasts her power into the Gate, but uses a blast right from her star tattoo (<b>Bestie clearly didn’t listen when Rigelus told her it was a beacon to her HOME WORLD – she just opened a portal to the ACOTAR realm not Hel, I’m sure of it)</b> and then tries to transport to it. But there are wards around it. She transports behind Rigelus and then blasts him in the face with her powers before finally running through the Gate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 77 –</b></span> Hunt has a gorsian stone gag and gorsian chains around his wrists and neck. Baxian and Ruhn are also held the same way.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus puts Hunt on his knees before the Gate, then lays a glowing hand on his brow. The Asteri’s putting a new halo tattoo across his brow. Taking away his powers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 78 – </b></span>Bryce has woken up on a grassy lawn and realises she is in a city. A male voice speaks to her in a language she doesn’t understand, but she knows he is essentially warning her not to move. Then she is dragged up by a winged male, who is beautiful. She asks to be taken to Aidas. The male's eyes widen when he sees the Starsword. He has scarred hands – <b>Az!!! </b>Makes her put on a blindfold and then he flies with her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sets her on a chair somewhere. She notes it smells pleasant. He keeps trying to talk to her in a language she doesn’t understand. Continues to ask to see Aidas, and that her world is in grave danger. She finally pulls off her blindfold. The Inner Circle walk in, but Bryce doesn’t know that. They are all speaking the same language that she can't understand.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce uses the one other language she knows—ancient language of the Fae, of the Starborn to once again ask if this is Hel and if she can see Aidas. Amren looks at the sword and speaks to Az, has him draw his knife. It is the twin to the Starsword <b>(I knew it!)</b> As he draws it the Starsword begins to glow with white light and the knife with dark light. The Starsword is Gwydion.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren finally responds to Bryce, saying no one has spoken the Ancient language here in 15,000 years. Tells Bryce she doesn’t know who Aidas is. Tells her she is not in Hel. Then Feyre and Rhys arrive, and Bryce notes Ruhn looks almost exactly like this new male (Rhys) except this males skin is browner.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells Amren she didn’t mean to come here, that she meant to go to Hel. Tells them her mate is in grave danger and she needs to get help for him and her world. Rhysand introduces himself to her. (<b>CC3 is gonna be messy!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Epilogue –</span></b> Ithan is outside the Astronomer’s building, has heard no news about the others. Gets a call from Flynn who tells him Ruhn and Hunt have been taken prisoner by the Asteri, Dec saw it on the feeds. Tharion is now on the <i>Depth Charger</i> pod and called to tell Dec that Cormac is dead. Ithan asks about Bryce, Flynn tells him she disappeared but Ithan needs to come hear it from Dec.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan breaks into the Astonomer’s again, needs to go see Declan but refuses to leave the wolf mystic behind. Pleads with her to wake up. Epilogue ends with the wolf’s eyes opening. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMA7zhYohcnDV18tgsTcE2vFaQJE8yc53Os-AsbS7Lkn_tvXmqQp_z0GnwMBPb1ayCmnWDK5F-laqzxGUw4pNp2FaFy1RZYSKn834kxbkXWM9ucv9aSse8a1-MmCeltzWuNulidsyVtIkpc5H4N8vznXCwzc9CwqZB7Dvz1MOLtbyb0seXIADIkbCS8Ze/s961/House%20of%20Flame.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="961" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMA7zhYohcnDV18tgsTcE2vFaQJE8yc53Os-AsbS7Lkn_tvXmqQp_z0GnwMBPb1ayCmnWDK5F-laqzxGUw4pNp2FaFy1RZYSKn834kxbkXWM9ucv9aSse8a1-MmCeltzWuNulidsyVtIkpc5H4N8vznXCwzc9CwqZB7Dvz1MOLtbyb0seXIADIkbCS8Ze/w640-h198/House%20of%20Flame.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Flame and Shadow Recap</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">As someone with a terrible memory, who forgets way too many details from series before the new book drops, these recaps are made with me in mind. I may add comments in for myself as I go but I'm uploading them as I know there are probably other people who will also find them useful. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">This will be updated <b>in real time</b> as I am reading the book when it drops. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Flame and Shadow </b></h2><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Prologue –</span></b> The Hind/Lidia is kneeling before her masters, wearing a silver torque around her throat. They do not realise that she is not loyal to them. The events from the end of the last book took place two days ago and the blood has been washed away since then. </o:p>Pollux is kneeling beside her. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Two Fae kings are pleading with the Asteri. Morven, King of the Avallen Fae, is Cormac's father and he is insisting he did not know of Cormac's treason. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus (an Asteri) is in the body of a Fae teenage boy. Hesperus (an Asteri) is in the body of a blond nymph. They argue that he was close to his son and so there must be decay within the royal household, one which they must now get rid of.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Morven insists he knew nothing and that Cormac will not be honored in death - he will receive no burial or grave and his name will be wiped from the records.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Polaris (an Asteri wears the body of an angel) points out there is no body anyway as he burned himself.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Einar, the Autumn King, argues that Bryce likely lured Ruhn into it. Says neither can call themselves his child any more after what they have done.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They inform him that Bryce is no longer in Midgard, so he assumes she is in Hel. They send both Kings out and warn them to tell no one of what they have learnt.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia has been put in charge of interrogating Hunt, Ruhn and Braxian (the Helhound)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Asterian Guards now stand next to the Gate that Bryce went through.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Mount Hermon, the one where Hunt and Shahar once staged their doomed battle of rebellion, now houses scores of new Asteri mech-suits. She believes the choice of where to put them is symbolic.</p><p class="MsoNormal">These suits are better than the hybrids as they don't require someone to operate them. They can hold a single soldier if needed though.</p><p class="MsoNormal">In the catacombs there are a thousand sleeping mystics who have all been tasked with locating Bryce. Lidia is smart enough to note that if the Gates really only opened to Hel, then the Asteri wouldn't be wasting so many recourses on trying to track her down.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia and Pollux head down to where Ruhn, Hunt and Braxian are being held. Hunt and Baxian are dangling in gorsian shackles that slow down their healing. Their wings have been cut off, leaving bloody stumps behind. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Pollux has torn out both Ruhn's lip and eyebrow piercing. He looks at Lidia with nothing but hate.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lidia keeps attempting to speak to him mind-to-mind but he continues to ignore her.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part 1: The Drop</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 - </span></b>Bryce is being questioned by Amren, with Rhysand and Azriel there too.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren asks why she speaks the Old Language and how she came to posses the lost sword Gwydion (Starsword). Bryce tells them the sword is a family heirloom that was brought there by her ancestors 15,000 years ago, same time the Old Language stopped being spoken in Rhys's world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhysand asks how she got to their world. Explains about the Gates in her world that can open to others. She says they mostly opened to Hel but the one she went through somehow sent her here. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Remembers that Rigelus had told her the star on her chest would act as a beacon to her original world and the home of the Starborn people. She tells them about the prophecy of her sword and the missing knife coming together to reunite the Fae of Midgard. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells them the sword was brought by either Queen Theia or Prince Pelias - Amren seems to react to the names, as though she recognises them. Admits they once lived in this world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren admits there were once rumors about Fae leaving their world. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhysand tells her that he won't look into her mind against her will but that she she doesn 't talk and tell them everything they want to know, then she will be kept locked where she is. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tries to explain to them who the Asteri are, refering to them as intergalactic parasites. They showed up in her world 15,000 years ago and no one knows where they originated from. She says that they chose Midgard as the place to build an empire and that through a giant rip between worlds, called the Northern Rift, many creatures and races came to Midgard.</p><p class="MsoNormal">After the Asteri arrived the known story is that Hel invaded to try to destroy the new empire but the Asteri united everyone and pushed Hel back. They then repaired the Northern Rift and it's location was permanently Hel and nowhere else. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She says the unofficial story is that the Asteri are immortal beings who are harvesting the magic from the people of Midgard, they feed on them. They call this firstlight and it fuels Midgard. They hand it over when they reach full maturity in what they call the Drop - where some of their firstlight/power is given over. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells them of the archive she found that shows that Midgard is not the first place they have done this too. She found only 3 planets/worlds that managed to fight them off - Hel, a planet called Iphraxis and a world once occupies by the original Starborn fae. Bryce believes the world she is currently in, their world, is the third world that fought off the Asteri.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wants to know how they managed to get rid of the Asteri all those years ago but Rhys insists he has never heard of that occurring. She warns them that the Asteri do remember it and that Rigelus, the leader, is determined to find their world again and punish them for what they did. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren tells Rhysand it is in their history but they were knows by another name - the Daglan. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce watches Rhysand teleport or winnow, as they call it. Admits only two fae know how to do it back in her world, but lies and doesn't tell them she can also do it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhysand returns, with the Veritas orb, so that Bryce can show them what kind of weapons the Asteri have and what kind of threat they could pose to his world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They see the guns and the mechsuits, the boats and everything else and are horrified. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Rhys also gives her a small silver tablet to swallow, that will then allow her to speak their language and also understand it too. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Amren notes that the words tattooed on her back are in the same letters that are in the Book of Breathings. Azriel demands for her to explain or they will kill her. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">This will be updated in real time once the book drops and I start to read so keep checking back</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-45733523699400589652022-02-17T16:28:00.004+00:002024-01-28T13:40:16.679+00:00Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood Recap / Summary<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMaywJqnj8FpjXCLQRmayKN7-Agv8Y3bkP1aEGUPCGTj4kA-5bo3xbfnM9jiMzPwCLKqmKKNmgApSVL-2eGqDXUospXKfgXlbo116cHHy0qim5LEd0VFTTv9Ze8DkNSzyJRGgoZFn_AhCIIJugPId6Uh1l0YgqxAjUv24gW8feiQD-zEtru8pgDfkVxQ=s1500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMaywJqnj8FpjXCLQRmayKN7-Agv8Y3bkP1aEGUPCGTj4kA-5bo3xbfnM9jiMzPwCLKqmKKNmgApSVL-2eGqDXUospXKfgXlbo116cHHy0qim5LEd0VFTTv9Ze8DkNSzyJRGgoZFn_AhCIIJugPId6Uh1l0YgqxAjUv24gW8feiQD-zEtru8pgDfkVxQ=w640-h214" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood Recap</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I have a really terrible memory and forget way too many details from series when I am reading them, which is why this is a thing. I do it for myself, so sometimes I will highlight thoughts in bold as I am going along-as the main purpose for these recaps is for me to read them over before I get to the next book/also see my thoughts as I was reading. I just upload them here in case they prove useful to other people. But I note down anything I think could be of importance or I know I will forget. Hope this helps someone!</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Earth and Blood</b></h2><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Four Houses of Midgard</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>House of Earth and Blood - </b></span>Humans, shifters, ordinary animals, witches, and many others
to whom Cthona calls, as well as some chosen by Luna.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Sky and Breath - </span></b>Malakim (angels), elementals, sprites, Fae and those who are
blessed by Solas, along with some favoured by Luna.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Many Waters - </span></b>River-spirits, water beasts, kelpies, mer, nymphs, nokks,
and others watched over by Ogenas.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">House of Flame and Shadow - </span></b>Daemonaki, Reapers, vampyrs, draki, dragons, wraiths,
necromances, and many wicked and unnamed things that ever Urd herself cannot
see.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part 1: The Hollow</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 - </span></b>Bryce works at Griffin Antiquities, has been working there a year. She
is half-Fae, half-human. Lehabah is a tiny fire sprite who is owned by the owner of the gallery. Her best friend Danika Fendyr (a werewolf) shows up; she needs
to leave a sword there for a few hours.</p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba Roga – 400 year old enchantress who’d been born a
witch and defected. Joined House of Flame and Shadow and answered only to the
Under-King. She is the owner of the gallery.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika and Bryce have recently gotten matching tattoos. Bryce’s is
on her back. Met 5 years ago as freshmen at Crescent City University.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika’s grandfather is the Prime of the Valbaran Wolves.
Her mother is Sabine, Alpha of the Scythe Moon Pack. Sabine is the Prime
Apparent of the Valbaran wolves, Danika is second in line. But there are whispers that
Danika should take over when her grandfather dies. Grandfather had bypassed his
daughrer and given Danika the family’s heirloom sword, the one she's leaving in the gallery.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika reveals Philip Briggs is being released on a
technicality. He is part of the human rebellion, and planned to blow up a
nightclub. Did it to try to trigger a war between human and Vanir (all
creatures above humans). Wanted to overthrow those who oppress humans. Danika
and the Pack of Devils stopped the plot and put him in prison a few years ago.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pack of Devils, one of the most elite shifter units in
Crescent City’s Auxiliary and they patrol the Old Square - the pack Danika is Alpha of.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The 33<sup>rd</sup> Imperial Legion are angels who are the
Governor’s personal army. Micah Domitus is the Archangel of Crescent City.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Seven Heads of the City (Crescent City used to be known as
Lunathion). Each Head controls a specific part of the city. Prime of the wolves
in Moonwood, Fae Autumn King in Five Roses, the Under-King in the Bone Quarter,
the Viper Queen in the Meat Market, the Oracle in the Old Square and the River
Queen in the Blue Court beneath the Istros River. Humans in Asphodel Meadows
had no head. Micah Head of the Central Business District rules over them all –
Archangel of Valbara, answers only to the six Asteri in the Eternal City,
capital of Pangera.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Syrinx, a chimera that Jesiba has purchased is kept at the gallery.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 - </span></b>Danika’s pack – Connor Holstrom is her Second, Nathalie is
her Third.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce’s boss wants her to try and find Luna’s Horn; it was
stolen from Luna’s Temple during a power outage recently. It is an ancient Fae relic. Archangel Micah offered a hefty reward for it’s return.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Umbra Mortis is Micah’s personal assassin, with the rare
gift of lightning in his veins and can eliminate almost any threat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Six enthroned Asteri, with an empty throne to honor their
fallen sister.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine has always hated Bryce. Danika is the only wolf in
her Pack yet to make the Drop into immortality.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is Bryce’s half-brother and he is also full Fae, but everyone believes he is her cousin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wears a golden pendant – knot of three entwined
circles. It is an Archesian amulet that Jesiba gave her on her first day. It offers
protection against the influence of various magical objects. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ember Quinlan is her mum, who lives 300 miles away. Step father
Randall, who she considers her true father. Made sure she knew how to protect
herself, taught her how to shoot. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A gate in the heart of the Old Square, with a quartz
archway. There are seven like it in the city, all carved from quartz from the
Laconian Mountains. This one is called the Heart Gate as it is at the dead center of
the city. Jutting out of the gate there is a dial pad, solid-gold block
embedded with 7 different gems, each for a different quarter of the city,
insignia of each distrct etched below it. Emerald and a rose for Five Roses,
Opal and a pair of wings for the CBD, Ruby and heart for Old Square, Sapphire
and an oak tree for Moonwood, Amethyst and a human hand for Asphodel Meadows,
Tiger’s Eye and a serpent for Meat Market, Onyx and a skull and crossbones for
Bone Quarter. Below that is a small round disc worn down by all the hands that
have touched it. Sign reads – <i>Touch at
your own risk. Do not use between sundown and sunrise. Violators will be fined.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">7 gates, each set along a ley line running through
Lunathion, designed as a quick way for guards in the distrcts to speak to each
other. When they’d put a hand to the pad and speak, the voice would travel to
the other gates. Required a drop of magic to do so. Plaque above the gates says
<i>'The power shall always belong to those who give their lives to the city’</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Danika plan to make the Drop together. The Drop does not give true
immortality, Vanir do age and die from natural causes or other methods. But
aging process is slow after the Drop. Fae can last 1000s of years,
shifters/witches usually 5 centuries, angels somewhere between. Bryce not sure
where she’ll fall given her half-Fae heritage.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tests confirmed that once Danika drops, she’ll have
considerable power. Way more than her mother. Could become Alpha of all the
wolves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika and Bryce plan to make the Drop at 27.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury Axtar, who they met at CCU is one of their friends. Danika thinks she is an assassin.
Juniper Andromeda, a faun, is their other friend.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine never told Danika who her father was.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 3 –</b></span> Pack of Devils are at her apartment. Ithan is
Connor’s little brother. Briggs was released. Two CCU research students got
killed near Lunar’s temple during the blackout last week. It was in Danika's
section, during her shift and Sabine blames her. They were ripped to shreds and
partially eaten.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has a date with her boyfriend, Reid that night. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce loves to dance – wanted to be a part of the Crescent
City Ballet but was told she had the wrong body type. Juniper also dances.
Bryce is 23. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Connor comes to ask her out before her date but she says no, says
she doesn’t date wolves. Doesn’t want a Vanir male in her business, controlling
her because she has <b>DADDY ISSUES!</b> Her own Fae
father had seduced her 19 year old mother and got so possessive that when she
realised she was pregnant, she ran.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4 –</span></b> Connor sent her messages asking for the date,
says he think’s they’re worth it, worth a shot. And that he is crazy about her
and doesn’t want anyone else. She knows they've been dancing around this for the whole five years they've known each other.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reid shows up late. He owns Redner Industries.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Vanir crawled through the Northern Rift and overtook Midgard
eons ago, an event called the Crossing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reports of territory across the Haldren Sea are grim, war
has raged for 40 years there. Humans have more rights now but anyone who messes
up goes back to being literal slaves to the Republic. Warrior-angels in the 33<sup>rd</sup>
that are slaves are marked by SPQM slave tattoos on their wrist.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Breaks up with Reid at the table. Phones Fury and Juniper
and gets them to meet at the The White Raven for a drink. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sends Connor a text
agreeing to go on a date. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Different dominant shifter packs in other cities – lions in
Hilene, tigers in Korinth, falcons in Oia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury, Bryce doesn’t know what she is or what house she belongs to.
Gifts seem to be taking life. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5 – </span></b>Bryce gets drunk and takes drugs, returns to her
building off her face. Finds her apartment door crumpled and open and blood
outside the apartment. Finds the wolves all murdered, all of them in pieces.
Danika’s body is on Bryce’s bed, in bloody pieces. Thorne on one side of the
bed in pieces and Connor at the foot of it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce chases after whatever killed her friends. Sees it,
doesn’t recognise it. Some feral thing with smooth, near-translucent gray skin,
crawling on 4 long limbs and looking vaguely humanoid. Spots it feasting on an
angel. Bryce attacks it. Its claws rip open her thigh. Tries to help the angel
that lies dying.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 –</span></b> Isaiah Tiberian, looking at Bryce through
one-way mirror of the legions holding center. Hunt Athalar (Umbra Mortis), comes to inquire
about Bryce.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is given all the information they have on her: Bryce Quinlan, 23.
Half-fae, half-human. Blood test confirm she will have an immortal life span.
Power rating near-negligible. Hasn’t made the Drop yet. Listed as a full
civitas. Found in an alley with an angel, trying to keep his heart from falling
out with her bare hands. Cut on her thigh was huge – an artery had been hit. Lucky
she survived.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt views her as a spoiled party girl. Notes that she’s
Danika Fendyr’s roommate, and Danika was known as the Party Princess.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt couldn’t find the demon that did it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Five warrior team in the triarii, the most elite of all the
Imperial Legion units (Micah’s cabal). Micah appointed Isaiah the Commander of
the 33<sup>rd</sup>. No one knows where Hunt belongs. Arrived 2 years ago from
Pangera. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Philip Briggs has been arrested for their murders, they believe
he summoned the demon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Angels have a power that is some variation of the same:
rain, storms, the occasional tornado. Isaiah can summon wind capable of keeping
a charging enemy at bay. But none in living memory possessed Hunt’s ability to
harness lightning at will. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Both Isaiah and Hunt have the matching tattoos of entwined
thorns across their brows. Pangeran witches branded them. It is on the brows of
nearly all 2000 rebel angels who thought in the rebellion years ago, a sign of their betrayal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asteri created angels to be perfect soldiers and loyal
servants. And they had. Until Shahar, the Archangel they’d called the Daystar.
Hunt and the others had flown in her elite 18<sup>th</sup> Legion. Their
rebellion had failed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They are now eternal servants to those they’d tried to
overthrow.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine shows up, wants to kill Bryce because she believes
she took Danika’s sword. Viktoria to question Bryce, she's one of the few
non-malakim who rebelled with them 2 centuries ago. Viktoria has no body of her
own, they don’t know how she acquired her current body. She is a wraith. Now
trapped in this body forever as punishment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They don’t know who Bryce’s father it – he didn’t
acknowledge paternity but clearly has some standing as he got her civitas
status. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah doesn’t understand why Sabine hates Bryce. Bryce only
has one crime in her file for public indecency. Danika has 7 huge files but seemed to calm down after she met Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt knows Fury – a mercenary Micah has ordered Hunt to kill
twice before, but she has too many high powered allies. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Show her the messages she sent to Danika that night , including a video of her doing the drug
lightseeker. She also tells Danika she fucked someone in the bathroom and not
to tell Connor. Then show her camera footage and audio from her apartment building. You can hear Danika
screaming, pleading and begging for mercy. Bryce explodes, trashing the room before puking repeatedly.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They get a call from Naomi Boreas, captain of the 33<sup>rd</sup>
infantry, telling them to let Bryce go and not follow her. Ruhn Danaan called,
he’s angry the House of Sky and Breath wasn’t notified. Says it falls under Fae
jurisdiction. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn Danaan shows up - he is Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae and
son of the Autumn King and possessor of the Starsword, the fabled dark blade of
the ancient Starborn Fae. Proof of his status as the Chosen One. Sword
apparently made from iridium mined from a meteorite and forged in another
world, before Fae had come through the Northern Rift. Fire magic is common
among Valbaran Fae and wielded by Autumn King himself. But Ruhn’s magic is more
like the Fae who ruled the Fae isle of Avallen – power to summon shadows/mist
(<b>Az vibes</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn came for Bryce, says she’s his cousin. They keep her parentage secret.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7 –</span></b> Bryce kneeling before the towering ivory gates
of the Bone Quarter. Ithan had left her a message telling her she was not
welcome at the Sailing the next day (there version of a funeral). Creature comes out of the mist and chapter ends so we don’t find out what the creature is or why she is there to see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 2: The Trench</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 – 22 Months Later </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce Quinlan has just fucked a lion shifter in the White
Raven’s bathroom. Leaves him to go attend a business meeting. Maximus Tertian
200 year old vampyr, unwed and unmated, son of Cedrian, the richest of the
Pangeran vamps and most monstrous. There to buy a 5000 year old onyx bust of a long-dead vampyr
lord.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The firstlight grid’s power is generated by the pure,
undiluted light each Vanir emits while making the Drop. Only during the Drop
that the flash of firstlight appears – raw unfiltered magic. Captured and
bottled, first glow is used for healing and then the rest is handed over to the
energy plants to fuel lights, cars, machines etc. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Drop is done in a government center. The Drop is easy, it is falling into one’s power. Once the bottom is reached, the mortal body expires
and the clock begins counting down. Mere minutes allowed for the race back up
to life before the brain shuts down from lack of oxygen. You have 6 minutes to get back
out. Someone has to act as an Anchor, a beacon/lifeline/bungee cord to help snap
their companion back so they don’t die.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her and Ruhn had once been close, best friends. Ruhn is
there to tell her the Autumn King wants her to lie low, as the Summit meeting
is in just over a month. Summit meetings occur every 10 years, a gathering of Valbara’s
ruling powers to debate issues.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce pretends she still parties, but hasn’t actually drank
alcohol since the night Danika died. Now lives in a fancy penthouse apartment, it belonged to Danika and she left it to Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9 - </span></b>Hunt Athalar is in an apartment in the Meadows, kills the people there. Then goes to the Comitium barracks. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel, the Archangel and Governor of the northwestern
quadrant of Pangera was Hunt’s former owner before Micah traded with her.
Sandriel was his dead lover’s twin sister.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Shahar believed her sister had killed their parents and then
framed an assassin for it. Shahar rebelled because of it, she wanted a world free
of hierarchies. Sandriel believed Hunt had lured her twin into the rebellion
and turned her against her sister. Hunt was in love with Shahar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt needs to pay back every life he took during the final battle. He is blamed for 2217 deaths. So far he has paid back for 82 lives. Micah is
the only person who has offered him a chance at freedom. Sends Hunt names in a
file with all the information he needs to know and then he kills them for him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10 –</span></b> Hunt and Isaiah show up to Griffin Antiquities.
A murder took place on the outskirts of the Meat Market the night before. Maximus Tertian was killed. His injuries were identical to the ones inflicted on Danika
and her Pack. Believe Briggs didn’t do it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 –</span></b> Micah comes to the gallery to speak to her and
Jesiba via video call. He wants Bryce to find the true murderer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 12 –</b> </span>Micah wants the murderer caught, or at the
Summit meeting they will say he doesn’t
have control of his city. The new witch-queen will be formally recognised at
the Summit. Sandriel is coming and will be Micah’s guest in the city for a
month.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel is bringing Pollux Antonius with her – triarii
commander, also known as the Hammer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hel has seven territories - the Hollow, the Trench, the
Canyon, the Ravine, The Chasm, the Abyss and the Pit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika and Tertian were apparently friends, Bryce didn’t
know.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind is Pollux’s lover. The Hammer and the Hind - her real name is Lidia.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is put on protection duty, to guard Bryce while she hunts
for the killer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 –</span></b> Micah tells Hunt that if he solves the case
quickly, he will cut his debts down to just 10 more assignments. Warns him to
keep his hands and dick to himself. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Last time Hunt saw Ruhn, at the Spring Equinox last year, he
had broken his nose.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14 – </span></b>Ruhn has been heading up the Fae division of
the Aux for 15 years now. Ruhn one of about a dozen Fae Princes across the
planet Midgard but he is the only Starborn among them. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce visited and met her father for the first time at 13.
The meeting had not gone well between her and her father. But Ruhn would visit
her often until they had a fight and stopped speaking.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn received the Starsword from the Cave of Princes in
Avallen’s dark heart – he was deemed worthy to pull it from its sheath. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">King wants Ruhn to get married – wants him to marry Hypaxia,
the new witch-queen of Valbara. Tell Ruhn to find Lunar’s Horn.</p><p class="MsoNormal">When Ruhn saw the Oracle she had told him the royal
bloodline will end with him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 – </span></b>Syrinx, the Chimera, stays with Bryce at her
apartment. Hunt is watching her there. Driving each other crazy. Lehabah was
marked a slave from birth – the same for all sprites. Bryce bought Syrinx from
Jesiba after Danika died and Jesiba tried to sell him. Goes to a nail salon, makes
Hunt wait outside while she gets her nails done.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16 –</span></b> Bryce goes to visit Ruhn, lives with his friends Flynn and Declan. Tristan Flynn, son of
Lord Hawthorne. Declan Emmett – built a career off hacking into Republic
websites and charging them for him to reveal their weaknesses. Asks Ruhn for
info on the Viper Queen. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 – </span></b>Bryce gives Hunt her list of suspects. Says
Danika didn’t know Maximus Tertian. She did some digging and found his girlfriend
– his girlfriend works at the nail salon Bryce went to. Girlfriend revealed
Danika and Tertian didn’t know each other but both knew the Viper Queen. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sneaks out of her apartment that night. Hunt finds
her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 – </span></b>They are in the Meat Market. Notes the jacket
Bryce is wearing – written on the back is <i>‘Through love, all is possible’</i>.
Bryce is there to buy obsidian salt. Hel severed from them by time and space
but can be accessed through the twin sealed portals at the north and south poles
– Northern Rift and Southern Rift. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Find the satyr who sold Briggs obsidian. They buy some
and as they leave the Viper Queen is outside waiting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19 – </span></b>Bought the salt to get the Queen’s attention –
only way to get a quick meeting with her. She has alibis for both murders.
Tells Bryce to <i>‘Look toward where it hurts the most’ </i>for answers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20 – </span></b>Trying to come up with a list of Danika’s
movements in the week before her death. Hunt finds out Bryce bought the
chimera’s freedom, can never be sold again. Hunt was bought for 85 million gold
marks. Bryce got a deal for Syrix but will still be paying it off until she’s
300. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is 233.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Has Hunt come to ask her questions to jog her memory of the
last week of Danika’s life. They went and got their tattoos the week she died. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn texts – asks her to meet at Lunar’s Temple, as there are no cameras
there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 – </span></b>Tells Bryce the Autumn King has tasked him with
finding Luna’s Horn.Luna’s Horn was a weapon wielded by Pelias, the first
Starborn Prince during the First Wars. The demon princes wanted the horn. The
Star-Eater bred a new horror to hunt the horn – sees an illustration of it and
Bryce recognises it, same demon she saw the night Danika died. Called it the
kristallos.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">During final battle of First Wars Prince Pelias and Prince
of the Pit fought. Star-Eater struck the fatal blow but not before Pelias
summoned all the Horn’s strength and banished the Prince of the Pit, his
brethren and their armies back to Hel. Sealed the Northern Rift forever. Horn
cracked in 2 when Pelias sealed the Northern Rift, its power broken. It
couldn’t be fixed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Think someone has summoned the demon to hunt the Horn, but
not sure why if it is broken. Ruhn can hunt the horn because his Starborn power
is woven into the horn by Prince Pelias.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says he thought celibacy seemed a bore until Shahar
ruined him for anyone else (<b>This man is a mix of Rowan and Rhys - why I'm confident of Hunt endgame</b>) <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 –</span></b> Find out that during the big fight Ruhn and
Bryce had years ago, he called her a half-breed slut. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23 – </span></b>Jesiba wants her to send over a file from her
computer. Godslayer Rifle is dismantled and hung on the wall in Jesiba's office (<b>SJM only mentions something if she's coming back to it) </b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt calls – there has been another murder, by the Gate in
the Old Square, victim is an acolyte from Luna’s Temple.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Realises the angel she saved the night Danika died was
Micah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24 –</span></b> Her saving Micah was kept secret as it would look bad that the
Archangel got his ass handed to him and was saved by a 23 year old half-Fae
half-human who hadn’t even made the Drop. Finds out she’s on Hunt’s suspect
list and she's angry.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce remembers the day during their senior year, when they’d
crashed a stolen motorcycle. The rifle Bryce had was wrenched from her
hands and thrown away. Danika had shielded Bryce from the worst of the fall
when falling off the bike. Danika told her she loved her and that she was
sorry. Bryce had told Danika to close her eyes. Then memory ends before we get more details.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25 –</span></b> Bryce goes to the White Raven, to see Juniper.
Hunt follows her. Realises she doesn’t drink, what he thought was alcohol is
water.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26 –</span></b> A bomb goes off in the club. She protects
Juniper’s body with her own. Juniper hits her, shouting because
Juniper has made the Drop and Bryce hasn’t. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Take her to Ruhn’s place, Hunt
cleans her wounds why she sits in shock. Sees she never got the scar on her leg
healed, and that she limps sometimes because of it and not because of her shoes. Blames himself, as he stapled it like battlefield wound when he found her with Micah the night of the attack. (<b>Again - Rowan vibes with Aelin. The whole I totally misjudged you and I only get it now
I’m looking at your scars</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Think the human rebels set off the bomb. Smuggled in through
new exploding liquid hidden in a delivery of wine. On the box where the bomb
was there was the Keres rebel group symbol and also a symbol of the horn. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They want to go and see Briggs in prison. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King knows Bryce is looking for the horn with Ruhn.
Now says she needs all day protection, live-in protection. Ruhn volunteered.
She says no, says Hunt can do it instead.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn wants access to the library beneath the gallery. She
says he can if he puts Declan at her disposal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27 –</span></b> Hunt asks why she doesn’t make the Drop, tells
him she was waiting as her and Danika picked a time, two years from now. Hunt
tells Bryce about the deal Micah offered him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt knows Bryce’s stepfather – Randall Silago is a
legendary war hero and sharpshooter. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28 –</span></b> Filler chapter.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29 –</span></b> Ruhn meets Hunt and Bryce to go to the library.
Declan has sent over the information they wanted; coordinates and locations
for Danika’s daily routine. Danika was stationed at the temple the 2 days
before the Horn was stolen and during the blackout.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn finds info in a book – Prince Pelias and his bride
Lady Helena. Pelias was high general for a Fae Queen named Theia when they
entered the world during the Crossing. Helena was her daughter. Queen Theia was
Starborn and her daughter possessed the same power. Horn worked only for
Starborn, when filled with power. Horn is broken and Fae claimed it can only be
repaired by <i>'light that is not light, magic that is not magic'</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30 – </span></b>Takes Bryce with him to his barracks. Goes down
his phone, only has 36 photos and all of crime scenes. Takes a photo of
herself. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She asks Hunt if he is dating anyone, he says no. Tells her he dated someone once but it ended badly – Shahar who was killed by her sister, but doesn’t tell her that.
Asks when he made the drop. At 28, as his mother had just died.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31 –</span></b> Sandriel arrives just as they are about to
leave. Bryce starts taking photos on Hunt’s phone as a distraction. Micah tries to ask her out for dinner, she turns him down.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32 – </span></b>Hunt sent to kill someone else for Micah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Chapter 33 – Hunt goes to see the Oracle, a Sphinx. Asks her
why someone wants Luna’s Horn , she says it is so they can open the doorway between worlds(<b>So series crossover coming soon?</b>) Want to use
it to reopen the Northern Rift. Tells him the Horn can be repaired, but she
can’t see how. Calls him by his real name, Orion Athalar. Asks if he wants to
know what she sees for him, says no. Also says no to finding out what Bryce was
told by her. Tells him “<i>You remind me of that which was lost long ago. I had not realised it might ever appear again</i>.” And then tells him “<i>Do yourself a favour,
Orion Athalar: keep well away from Bryce Quinlan</i>.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34 –</span></b> Hunt asks Bryce why the Oracle warned him away from her.
Tells him the Fae have a custom, when girls get their first cycle or when they
turn 13, they go to the Oracle. Boys go at 13. Her period started just shy of 13, mum
thought she had shut her off from part of her heritage and sent a letter to her
real father. 2 weeks later she was declared a full civitas. Catch was she had
to claim Sky and Breath as her House. Went to see her father and meet Ruhn.
Went well until her Oracle visit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When she looked in the smoke for Bryce she tried to claw her
eyes out, went blind for a week. Father called her a worthless disgrace. Left her bags at the
curb that day.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Find image of the kristallos on a vase originally from
Parthos. Hunt believes it a myth about the ancient library in Parthos and a
pre-existing human civilization. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35 – </span></b>Go to see Briggs. We find out the year is 15035. Briggs
says he liked Danika, met with her twice before she arrested him. First time
she warned him to stop or she’d bring him in. Second time she told him she had enough evidence
that she had to bring him in but he could get off easy if he admitted to the
plotting. Third time she came with the pack and took him in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">After Mount Hermon they spent 7 years torturing Hunt in
Asteri dungeons. Then his first owner Archangel Ramuel continued it for 2 more
years. When Ramuel decided he’d be better suited as an assassin it had been 9 years since Hunt had seen sunlight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt wants to try and get footage from the cameras outside
the temple from night the Horn was taken.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36 – </span></b>They go to meet Ruhn and his friends Flynn and
Declan at the shooting range. Want Declan to do more hacking work for them.
Want him to scour the footage to see if he can see anything despite the
blackout. Shows off her sharpshooting skills and Hunt doesn’t run from it (<b>Because apparently every other man is too intimidated by a girl who can shoot a gun</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Get a call that there’s been another murder.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37 – </span></b>Think the victim is a guard from the Temple, on
duty the night the Horn was stolen. All deaths took place close to the ley
lines, so the person doing it could be using them to get the strength to summon the
demon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks if Bryce and Tristan Flynn ever hooked up because he flirts
with her. Counters by asking if he wants to tell her about all his hook ups. But he says none of
them are worth mentioning as Shahar ruined him for anyone else. He grew up in her territory in Southeast of Pangera. Fell in
love with her as he worked his way up her ranks.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says her and Flynn never hooked up. When she visited Ruhn as
a teen she flirted with them. Thought her and Flynn would marry one day.
Doesn’t tell him Danika went home with him one night in college. Her worst
hookup – dated a vampyr for 3 weeks – ended it after he wanted to try eating
while <i>eating</i>. She asks if he still has a thing for Shahar, he says he will until
the day he dies. Can’t move on from loving her when she gave up everything for
him and the cause.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Dec calls – found something in the footage. Someone swapped
out footage of the temple during the time the Horn was stolen. Person who headed up the investigation of the video of that footage was
Sabine Fendyr.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Three – The Canyon</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 38 - </b></span>They think Sabine might be responsible. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is thinking about tasting all of Bryce's toes (<b>This deserves to be noted because ewww! My guy, Why? Why, Sarah? Why did you write this and then make me read it?</b>)<b><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Ruhn goes to see a medwitch to ask about the
case. To ask if she could think of any way a magical object might be fixed that
people haven’t tried yet. Doesn’t know, says maybe with modern healing
technology. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40 – </span></b>Viktoria finds something on the city cameras
and power grid. Captured a grainy image of the demon. Demon didn’t attack anyone,
but circled Sabine’s territory. Last place it was – The Rose Gate. There one
minute and gone the next. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41 – </span></b>They go to the Rose Gate, realise the demon
might not be using the ley lines, but is using the sewers. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt finds a box of toy unicorns/pegasus that Bryce collects - the whole Jelly Jubilee thing. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42 – </span></b>They go to check out the Istros River. Only one
glass sub travels to and fron the Blue Court, the underwater city, every day.
Invite only. The mer can shift into fully human bodies for short periods of
time. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Talk to Tharion Ketos, an old friend of Hunt’s and a mer. He
is the Captain of Intelligence for the River Queen. River Queen – part mer,
part river-spirit. Daughter of Ogenas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion agrees to ask around for them. Hunt met him when
Tharion’s sister was murdered, he was assigned to help investigate. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Through love, all is possible</i> – was all the Oracle told Danika.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43 – </span></b>Go to the wolves' Den in Moonwood so they can
ask Sabine questions. Amelie Ravenscroft is the leader of the Black Rose Pack. Bryce is treated
terribly by everyone, including Connor’s brother. All saw the leaked messages,
Connor spilling his heart to her and her accepting a date, then fucking a
random person in a club toilet. Sabine lies about Danika being at the temple. They take it as proof she is guilty.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Before she leaves Ithan tells her that she never deserved Connor.
Tells her Sabine wants her dead. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 44 –</b> </span>Filler chapter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45 – </span></b>Hunt goes out for drinks with the angels. Bryce
promised to stay in her apartment, but she lied. Had someone watching her and they call to tell him she left. Goes after her and they get quite flirty just before the
kristallos attacks him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46 – </span></b>They manage to kill the demon. But when it bit
Hunt it nullified his power. Micah shows up, incinerates the body before they
can examine it for evidence. Says it is so no one gets wind of it, can’t have
the bad press. They tell Micah their suspicions about Sabine.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47 –</span></b> Land on the roof of her building and almost close to kissing again when Sabine interrupts. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48 –</span></b> Hunt has his gun on Sabine, hers is on Bryce.
Sabine realises they think she killed Danika. Reveals she lied to protect
Danika as Danika was the one who stole the Horn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49 –</span></b> Sabine says she didn’t kill Danika, but if they
jeopardise her daughter's legacy she will kill Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50 –</span></b> Ruhns knife was part of a pair, came with a
long bladed knife forged from the same meteorite. Lost the knife eons ago.
Prophecy is <i>‘When knife and sword are
reunited, so shall our people be’<b> (I
forgot about this - is the knife Azriels’ knife. Makes sense, plus this world has a whole island of people
with the same Fae power as him. Proof of ACOTAR/Crescent City crossover?</b>)<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lehabah says she is a descendent of Queen Ranthia Drahl <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion sent one of the otters to deliver a message to them.
Pictures of a body found in a sobeks’ lair, but bites not consistent with a sobek
(apex predator that prowls the river).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says the demon isn’t what killed Danika. It didn’t kill
them the same way, didn’t try to get to their organs but left them in piles.
Think someone could have summoned more than one demon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 51 – </b></span>Brcye wants to summon a demon to get some
answers. She summons Aidas, Prince of the Chasm. Bryce says he appeared as a
cat the last time she saw him – she was 13 then. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks him questions, doesn’t really get any answers. When she
asks what killed Danika, he tells her to run the tests again and find what is
in-between. Aidas tells her to make the Drop and find him when she’s
done. Tells her the Oracle did not see but he did.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas appeared that day she saw the Oracle. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52 – </span></b>Goes to see her father, becuase she found out
there were tests he could have run to help find what killed Danika but he
didn’t do it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Heads to a bar and starts drinking. Hunt brings her
something to help with her leg. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells him about the photo she has of her and Danika. Taken
the day they got out of hospital senior year. Danika did her thesis on history
of illegal animal trade. Uncovered a real smuggling ring and no one would help
her so they decided to deal with it themselves. Operation was run by five asp
shifters who caught them trying to free their stock. There was a motorcycle
chase and crash. Her arm was broken in 3 places, Danika fractured her pelvis
and got shot twice in the leg. Bryce killed some of the shifters and police got
the rest.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas visits her in cat form, knows who her father is. Tells
her to make the Drop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53 – </span></b>Send off Danika and the others clothes for the
testing to try and find out more about what killed them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54 – </span></b>Hunt summoned to see Micah. Bryce is worried
when she doesn’t hear from him, comes back covered in blood. She helps him
shower. Asks her to stay with him, so she sleeps in bed next to him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55 – </span></b>Wakes up in her own bed, Hunt must have moved
her to it. Making food in the kitchen when she wakes up. They have another <i>moment</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba has a nokk delivered to the gallery, a creature in a
tank – 8ft long, with too-wide lipless mouth full of needle-thin teeth. Air is
lethal to nokks. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Viktoria calls them to meet her – has something for them.
The Mimir screening (scent test) found small bits of something synthetic, no
organic/technological/magic but a combo of all three. Seems to be some kind of
drug, known as Synth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt doesn’t know who his father is, he’s a bastard. Mum was
a low-ranking angel. He’d send money home to her, but she refused to spend it.
Someone found out and broke in to steal from her, killed her and took the
money. No one cared or investigated her death as she was seen as lowly. He
joined Shahar’s cause after that. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56 –</span></b> Video call with her parents<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57 –</span></b> Doesn’t want to go to a medwitch and get her leg
healed because once it stops hurting then it will feel like Danika is really gone.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her mum ran from her real dad before he found out she was
pregnant. Went to a temple to Cthona in Korinth and spent the first 3 years of
Bryce’s life there. Biological father found out and sent people to track them
down. They escaped to Solas’s temple in Oia and pick up their holy guard. He
was two weeks away from b being sworn in as an acolyte when they asked him to escort
Bryce and her mum to Hilene. The goons found them but they fought and killed
them. House of Earth and Blood then deemed her mother a vessel for Cthona and
Randall a vessel for Solas and it got them protection. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58 - </span></b>Trying
to find the synth, told to speak to the mer. Tharion reveals Danika was spotted
doing a deal for synth the day before she died.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59 –</span></b> The drug is synthetic magic – in concentrated
doses it can give human's strength greater than most Vanir. Fury answers her
call, knew about the drug. Tells Bryce to stay away from it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60 –</span></b> The medwtch wants some venom to test if she can
possibly create an antidote to synth.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika’s birthday – she buys birthday croissants to
celebrate. Someone has wrote Trash on top of one of them. Hunt knows Amelie Ravenscroft
did it. Finds where she is and goes to her. Pins her against the wall by her
throat. Tells her she is to leave Bryce alone from now on. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61 – </span></b>They go to see the medwitch Ruhn found – still
don’t know her name. Bryce realises they can get the venom she needs for her antidote from Bryce's leg wound. Warns Bryce that it is going to be incredibly painful. During it,
Hunt helps keep her calm, talks her through it, gives her a small kiss.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62 – </span></b>Micah summons them both. Get there to find
Micah, Sabine and Amelie there. Demands he be punished for it. Will be given
The Living Death – where they cut an angel's wings off. They will grow back in
several weeks. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine went to the Under-King last winter to speak to Danika
or what speck of energy lives on in the Sleeping City. But she would not come.
The Under-King revealed to her that Bryce had gone and made a bargain for
Danika. Given up her spot in the Bone Quarter in exchange for Danika’s, in case
she was denied access.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce sends Ithan a message to tell Amelie that Connor never
bothered to notice her because he knew what a piece of shit she was. Also tells
him to tell Sabine that if she sees her again, she will kill her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63 –</span></b> Bryce manages to get into Danika’s account at
Redner industries. Finds a file named Bryce. Finds the picture of them – a
clue, in the L on the jacket she had hidden a flash drive. Three videos on the
drive. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64 – </span></b>Videos are from the synth research trials. A
human female sat in a room when she is injected with synth. Two Vanir men walk
into the room, two slave Vanir. Watch as the human rips them to pieces. <b>(Giving me Six of Crows jurda parem vibes)</b>. Send in two more and she kills them. Same with next 3. Then next 5 they send in. The human girl eventually turned on herself
and ripped herself apart. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks him about the kiss and if he meant it. Says yes. Asks
is she wants him to do it again, but she says she wants to do it. Hunt tells her to do it and she does. Then he asks what she wants and she replies “<i>All of it.</i>” Fingers her, and plan to do more but she ends up accidentally hurting him so they stop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sneaks out to go to her old apartment – see if Danika left
other clues but finds it burning down. Someone has done it to stop her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Gets a text from Tharion telling her about a synth deal
going down on the river. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65 –</span></b> Tharion takes her over to the boat, sees the
Viper Queen. She’s the one selling it. Then realises the person buying it is
Hunt.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66 –</span></b> Bryce goes to confront them, but then Micah
appears. It seems the Viper Queen set them up. Hunt, Viktoria and Justinian had
tried to get synth, thought it would be a way to regain their power to
overthrow their masters. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Finds out Hunt knew about the drug days ago. Found out some
leaked from Redner labs two years ago but it ran out quickly. Now someone else has
found a way to replicate it. Micah says Danika is the reason it leaked, that
she sold it. Hunt says she stole it, sold it and was also addicted to it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They believe she took the drug and killed the two CCU
students the night the Horn was taken. Hunt believes Danika took the drug the
night she died. Took too much and she ended up slaughtering the pack and then
herself. Believe she accidentally summoned the kristallos. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt makes a move toward Bryce when Fury appears, holding a
gun to his head. Hunt had figured all this out a week ago and not told her.
She tells him she never wants to see
him again.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67 – </span></b>Justinian has been punished, being crucified
and killed slowly. Viktoria has been ripped from her body and her essence
shoved in a glass box. Plans to dump her in the sea to go insane. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 4 – The Ravine</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68 –</span></b> Hunt and the others had planned to take the
synth and then kill Micah and the other at the Summit. Then head to the Eternal
City to finish it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Autumn King shows up at the gallery to talk to her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69 –</span></b> Sandriel comes to visit Hunt, she owns him
again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70 –</span></b> Fury is waiting for her when she gets home –
tells Bryce that Micah gave Hunt away to Sandriel. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71 – </span></b>Bryce comes, trying to get Hunt back. Says she
wants to buy him for 97 million gold marks, has a check from Jesiba Roga. Then
takes off the Archesian amulet – it is 15,000 years old and worth 3 million. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Refuse her, melting the amulet away to nothing. So asks them to take her instead. Ruhn appears,
telling her to get up. Sandriel reveals that she knows who Bryce really is,
that she is the only daughter of the Autumn King. Ruhn claims her as his sister
and kin so they can’t take her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt knows she will keep fighting for him so tells her ‘<i>I
owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing. Don’t ever come looking for me again.</i>’<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She leaves and is attacked by a kristallos demon and tackled into the
waters of the river.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72 –</span></b> Bryce is saved by Ruhn, Declan and Flynn. She
tells Ruhn he is dead to her, deletes his contact info. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 73 –</b> Hunt is attending the Summit. Realises that
Hypaxia, the new witch Queen, is the medwitch who has been helping them. The
Asteri appear at the Summit via vidscreen link. Each Asteri holds the power of
a sacred star and could level their planet to dust. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion, Ruhn, Declan and Queen Hypaxia are all there. Ruhn
reveals he has telepathy, so can talk to Hunt in his mind. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia is officially anointed Queen of the Valbaran
Witches. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74 –</span></b> Nothing Bryce can do for Hunt, has tried
looking and found nothing that will get him out of his enslavement.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75 –</span></b> The mer come to the summit to argue against the
building of a canal for transporting tanks, as it will destroy their fishing
industry. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 76 –</span></b> Bryce been staying at the gallery so she can
look through the library. Has applied for a ton of jobs. Micah shows up at the
gallery. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba Roga gets a message on her phone at the Summit from Bryce. Has
them link her feed of the gallery to the screens so they can watch it. Bryce
messages again asking for help. Ruhn orders an Aux unit to be sent to the gallery immediately. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah says a ton of the books in the library could get her
executed. Banned titles that disprove the superiority of Vanir and Asteri, from
people that it is claimed existed before the Asteri arrived. But were tortured
and proved liars according to him. Micah reveals the library she is in is the
Great Library of Parthos. Says the Archesian amulet around her neck is what the
priestesses of Parthos would wear.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah says during the First Wars, it was at Parthos that a
human army made its last stand against the Vanir. Did it to buy the
priestesses time to grab the most vital volumes and escape. Tells her to sit so they can be civilised about it when she
gives him Luna’s horn.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 77 –</b> Miach knows she figured out what Danika did
with the Horn a few days ago, at the same time he did. Micah saw the footage
from the Comitium lobby when Sandriel destroyed the Archesian amulet. That’s
when he realised and believes she did too. Danika knew she wouldn’t leave the
job and would wear the amulet. And once it was destroyed, that was when the
kristallos attacked her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Says Danika didn’t give Bryce the Horn, she made her the
Horn. Had it ground into a fine powder, mixed with witch-ink and then tattooed
it onto her back. The tattoo is in the language of universes and spells out a
direct command to activate the Horn through a blast of raw power upon the
tattoo itself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah admits that he killed Danika and the pack. Asks him
why – says he is an investor in Redner Industries and has access to all its
experiments. Danika tracked down the people Redner wanted her to find, including Ophion rebels who experimented with a formula for synthetic magic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They all watch on the screen as Micah attacks Bryce while
telling her his whole plot – <b>(The whole trope of the villain monologue to give us info is one I HATE!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah dumped the synth into the streets – not Danika. Knew
Danika would try to get it off the streets and he pretended to catch her, told
her people wouldn’t believe she was trying to get the drug off the streets.
Told her he’d forget about it if she did him a favour – steal the Horn. But
Danika figured out why he wanted it and hid it from him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah wants the Horn so he can open a portal and summon an
army to decimate the human rebels. (<b>I still don't see how in a world FILLED with powerful immortal beings, they can't decimate the human rebels themselves. Are they not embarrassed?</b>)</p><p class="MsoNormal">He went to Danika’s apartment that night, disabled the Pack
with his powers and then injected Danika with synth. Watched as she ripped them
apart and then herself. Spent two years hunting for the Horn before realising
Bryce was the key to finding it. That <i>the
power of her love will bring the Horn to him</i>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Summoned the kristallos to nudge them along. Injected
Tertian, the acolyte and the guard with synth to rip themselves apart to prompt
them. And the bomb at the club, to raise suspicions that humans were behind it.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce leading him with questions, to make sure they get a
full confession from him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Micah injects her with the synth, to fix the Horn and be able to use it through her. Bryce attempts to fight
back – so Micah grabs Syrinx and throws him in the Nokks tank.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 78 – </span></b>Bryce knows Syrinx can’t swim. Micah blasts Bryce's back with power to use the Horn, but nothing seems to happen. Uses one of the books to send a
blast of power at Micah, sending him flying back into the bathroom in the library,
Lehabah uses another book to blast the door shut, locking him inside. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce grabs a knife and then jumps in the tank after Syrix. Flynn murmurs that this is Bryce’s Ordeal.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 79 –</span></b> She gets Syrinx out just as the nokk grabs her
and pulls her down. Manages to escape. But refuses to leave until she gets
Syrinx breathing again. Micah is almost out but Bryce won’t leave Syrinx
behind. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lehabah wants to help her escape. Bryce tells her that
she’s free. She traded with Jesiba for her freedom the week before. Lehabah says she knew, saw the papers in her
drawer. Bryce tells her she doesn’t have to do this as she’s free. And Lehabah
replies ‘<i>Then let the world know that my first act of freedom was to help my
friends.</i>’ <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Lehabah summons her powers, burning brighter and brighter.
Unleashes her powers as Micah breaks through the door, aims it at the tank to release
gallons of water. As she does it she says ‘<i>My friends are with me and I am not
afraid.</i>’ (<b>Throne of Glass vibes)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80 – </span></b>Bryce runs to Jesiba’s office and assembles the
Godslayer Rifle. Drinks something from her safe too. She shoots Micah in the
head. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 81 –</span></b> Bryce has Danika’s sword, she kept it in the
gallery. Uses it to slice Micah’s head in two
and down through his body. Hypaxia gave Bryce some antidote, it
is what she drank. Then she douses Micah’s body in gasoline and sets it on fire
so he can't heal and come back. Then pulls out a vacuum and vacuums up his ashes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 82 – </span></b>At the Summit, Ruhn and Hunt worried as they
know Bryce will be killed for what she did to Micah. But see the feeds of the
city and realise that Micah’s experiment with the Horn didn’t fail.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 83 – </span></b>Micah opened a portal through the mouth of the
Heart Gate – unleashing creatures from Hel.
Winged, scaled demons are soaring out of it. Bryce goes to her apartment
to drop off Syrinx and then grab Hunt’s handguns and rifle along with ammo. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She realises Micah opened a portal in EVERY gate, all 7 are
now a doorway to Hel. The CBD is under siege, the 33<sup>rd</sup> are being
slaughtered.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia orders the witches to head to the city to help.
Sabine says they’ll all be killed – Hypaxia says she’d rather fight like Bryce than
watch innocents die while she sits and does nothing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is running through the streets with Danika’s sword and
her guns, telling people to get into the shelters - firing at and cutting down
demons as she goes. She’s headed for the Meadows, where the humans are. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 84 –</span></b> Micah planned ahead, he has had all the
witches brooms destroyed, along with the armory, the helicopters, the cars. Did
it so they couldn’t go to help in the city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt asks for Isaiah’s phone, calls the Viper Queen –
reminds her that she owes him a favour. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan defies Sabine’s direct orders – tells Bryce that he
and the other wolves are coming to where she is. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 85 – </span></b>Bryce is being attacked by a demon when the
Viper Queen’s Fae bodyguards arrive and help her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel comes back and tells everyone at the Summit that
they are ordered to remain there, that the Asteri are sending help to the city.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The shelter gates automatically begin closing, Bryce helps
Ithan as he is injured. Only space left for one to squeeze through the door
before it closes. Bryce pushes Ithan through, leaving herself out in the city. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 86 –</span></b> Watch as Bryce makes it to the Old Square, sits
on the ground. They believe she is giving up, out of ideas. She makes a phone
call to Hunt – Sandriel lets him answer it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She tells him to tell her mum that
she loves her, to tell Randall he was the only father that ever mattered. Tell
Fury she is sorry she lied and that she would have told her the truth, eventually. Tells him to tell Juniper thank you for that night on the roof,
that she stopped her from jumping so she could be there to help today – she’d
been close to jumping, Juniper had called and stayed on the phone until she got
to her. Then tells him to tell Ruhn she forgives him, forgave him long ago but
just didn’t know how to tell him the truth, and hid it because she loves him
and didn’t want to take anything away from him. Tells Hunt she was waiting for
him (points to her heart) and she forgives him for everything. Then she runs for
the Gate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 87 – </span></b>They watch as she approaches the gate and
begins to glow. Reaches the gate and says “<i>I am Bryce Quinlan, Heir to the
Starborn Fae.</i>”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Flashback to that day with Danika – got Danika to close her
eyes and then let out her power to blind the ape shifters as she then used their guns to
kill them. The light, her power – her and her parents had kept it
hidden for years. It means nothing to her but
she knows how much it means to Ruhn..</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thrusts her starlight at the Gate and orders it to close.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 88 – </span></b>Bryce seals the portal in the gate. The Autumn
King calls Ember, angry that she lied about Bryce being Starborn for all these
years. Her tests showed no power because hers is just a gift of starlight,
nothing more. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel makes a phone call – likely to the Asteri, telling
them about Bryce, her powers and the Horn.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is the only one that can wield the Horn because she is
of the Starborn line, it is why Danika inked it on her. If Bryce uses the Horn,
she could open a portal into any world (<b>The crossover is coming!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri will kill her before she does it – as she
threatens their authority. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia uses her magic to get rid of the halo on Hunt’s brow
– freeing him and his power.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 89 – </span></b>Hunt uses his powers to kill Sandriel. They
have one helicopter, will take 30 mins to get to the city. Hunt needs to use it
as his wings have grown back but aren’t strong enough for flight yet. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 90 – </span></b>The Asterian Guard is sending imperial tanks
with brimstone missile launchers to blast the city to dust – deal with the
demons and Bryce. Brimstone missiles are pure magic. Bryce survives a missile blast, but her foot is trapped
under rubble.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt jumps from the helicopter to save her from the missiles
– he falls to her and throws himself over her to protect her from the blast.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 91 – </span></b>Bryce survives but finds Hunt injured. His back
a bloodied, burned mess. His legs completely gone, same for his right arm. A
gaping hole through his body and no wings.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce touches the pad on the Gate – speaks through it and
asks for anyone to come to another gate and touch the disk on that side. The
Gate is a conduit of power and she just needs one person to be there as her
Anchor so she can make the Drop. The firstlight she will generate by making the
Drop will spread to all the gates. It will light up everything, send the demons away and heal
everything it touches. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Hunt to hold on, tells him she loves him - says she whispers three words into his ear. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She hears Danika telling her to '<i>Light it up</i>' – it is coming
from the Bone Quarter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 92 –</span></b> Bryce makes the drop with Danika as her Anchor
– the Under-King explains at the Summit conference room that Danika had a small
kernel of energy left, a bit of self that remained. But that a dead soul can’t
serve as an Anchor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is making an untethered solo Drop. Her powers were
classified as low level but the gate isn't – the plaque that says ‘<i>The power shall always belong to those who
give their lives to the city’ </i> - the
plaque is a blessing. The power of the Gates, the power given by every soul who
touched it and handed over a drop of magic. Bryce will get that power. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They all watch as she Drops – going past level after level
of power. She surpasses Ruhn’s level. Watch as her power from the gates heals
the city, and the damage done to it, and the portals close. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce’s power, just a decimal point above the Autumn King’s (<b>This is a SJM heroine, of course she becomes the most powerful thing ever. Are we surprised?</b>).
The King says she won’t be able to make the Ascent, and will die.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her heart flat lines, her mortal body dies. She has 6
minutes to make the Search and the Ascent and emerge an immortal. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 93 –</span></b> Danika is there to see her and Bryce says she
is not making the Ascent because it is too hard without Danika. Danika telling
her to fight, to stay. Says that Hunt still remains. Danika tells her that Hunt
is healed from her firstlight. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The clock counting down to the end of her six minutes stops
at 0.003 – Bryce is running for her Ascent. Danika gave over the last piece of
her that remained so that she could make it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They watch on the monitors as Hunt gives Bryce chest
compressions. As he does it he says “I heard what you said. What you waited to admit until I was almost <i>dead, </i>you fucking coward. <i>Now come say it to my face.” </i>Uses his lightning power to jump start her heart.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 94 –</span></b> She makes it back alive.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 95 – </span></b>In her apartment. Bryce now has an eight-pointed star now scars the place
between her breasts. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt plan to finally have sex, but are interrupted by her mum
calling.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One of the Asteri calls Bryce.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 96 –</span></b> Rigelus, the Bright Hand of the Asteri has
called her. The Asteri have freed Hunt for her, as a show of their gratitude.
They hope it serves as a reminder to her and Hunt to stay in the city, to live
together in peace and contentment and not use her power or the Horn. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fury, Ruhn and Flynn come to see them. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 97 – </span></b>Looks across at the Bone Quarter- a gift from
the Under-King, allows her to see the near-invisible figures of Connor and the
other 5 people in Danika’s pack. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Epilogue –</span></b> Jesiba Roga is meeting Aidas in the park. Bryce
bears Theia’s light – not the same as her brother Ruhn's. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba asks him about Hunt, Aidas says that he thinks Hunt’s
father would have been proud. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba has moved the library. Tells Aidas not to fuck them
over this time – says he doesn’t plan to, not when things are about to get
interesting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-18168489639343339222022-02-17T01:08:00.042+00:002024-01-28T13:40:22.953+00:00House of Sky and Breath Recap / Summary <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiv16pGYP7v4CBg0EdNjVcH3Aw_JO3uWEi4_nHsAAnWSue4pnFzEGzVtRvAarz7AMmThpyZSXBEjh642XLLLv3bGBvWtgdYGvorEkwbc2oATHBo7eQt86jQJt4vke-67gdFIM0z-0f3DerG07n5y9QazmuQzJOA3jTCB1LJpEKu_pwZQpLxxuBXVWF4kg=s1500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiv16pGYP7v4CBg0EdNjVcH3Aw_JO3uWEi4_nHsAAnWSue4pnFzEGzVtRvAarz7AMmThpyZSXBEjh642XLLLv3bGBvWtgdYGvorEkwbc2oATHBo7eQt86jQJt4vke-67gdFIM0z-0f3DerG07n5y9QazmuQzJOA3jTCB1LJpEKu_pwZQpLxxuBXVWF4kg=w640-h214" width="640" /></a></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Sky and Breath Recap</b></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">I have a really terrible memory and forget way too many details from series when I am reading them, which is why this is a thing. I do it for myself, so sometimes I will highlight thoughts in bold as I am going along-as the main purpose for these recaps is for me to read them over before I get to the next book/also see my thoughts as I was reading. I just upload them here in case they prove useful to other people. But I note down anything I think could be of importance or I know I will forget. Hope this helps someone!</span></p><p>This was uploaded and edited as I was reading so some of my updates are from when I was in the process of reading - ignore those!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>House of Sky and Breath</b></h2><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Prologue –</span></b> Sofie Renast is in the Kavalla death camps, has been there for two weeks and the guards (dreadwolves) haven't sniffed her out yet. Half of the Ophion
rebel bases have fallen, more will soon. She needs to get to the port of
Servant. She can switch between human and Vanir identities as she is a human
who made the Drop. Technically makes her Vanir and has a long life span. Did it
in an illegal Drop center. Trying to escape with five boys, six girls and her
13 year old brother, Emile.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Parents were captured and killed as rebels, her brother taken. She spent years
tracking down her brother to this camp and did terrible things to get the intel.
Had to convince Command to let her come, they had listened to Pippa, leader of the
elite Lightfall unit, who helped her to get approved for the mission.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie has information in her head that could end the war
against the Asteri. Agent Silverbow is waitng for her/them – doesn’t know his
real name. Reach Servast, find the boat they need – the <i>Bodegraven</i>. But
the dreadwolves have arrived. Tells Silver to take the kids, she will hold them
off and join him there.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind (Lidia Cervos) has come with the wolves to stop her escaping.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie isn’t human or a witch; she’s part thunderbird. Her
great-hrandmother was one and she mated with a human long ago. The gift had resurfaced in
her – can use lightning. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Silver on the boat – been shot with a bullet with a core of
gorsian stone, which stifles his magic. Four imperial submersible warships
surround the <i>Bodegraven</i>. Silver is in love with Sofie. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Pippa Spetsos stands aboard the rebel ship<i> Orrae</i>, watching
the <i>Bodegraven</i> move towards them. Sofie’s brother has the same power as her and it is stronger than hers (Energy is theirs to command). He uses it to take out all the warships.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie is captured by the Hind, who takes her out on a boat with plans to drown her. Wants to know who Sofie shared her intel with, but she keeps saying she has told no one. She is eventually thrown into the sea to drown.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 1 – The Chasm</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 – </span></b>At the Crescent City Ballet, Bryce is there to
watch Juniper, as the star performer. Find a statue of a Fae there that reminds
them of Hunt. It doesn’t say who it depicts, just that it is The Making of the
Sword. Says it in the Old Language of the Fae. (<b>SJM never mentions anything unless she's coming back to it, so this probably is a hint to Hunt's father</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce now works in the Fae Archives. The attack on the city was 3 months ago.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt still works for the 33<sup>rd</sup>, as second in
command. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her mum says that she’s noticed things between them are
weird - she says that they are together but not <i>together</i>.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Juniper and Fury live together now as a couple.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They’ve made some weird agreement – friends but also more,
but without any sex. <b>But, like why
Sarah?!? </b>They have another 4 months before they’re allowed to do anything
sexual with each other. <b>BUT WHY?!!?</b> Made a bargain
with Hunt that rather than dive into bed together they would wait until Winter
Solstice to act on their desires. Spend summer and autumn getting to know each
other better. Bryce was the one who suggested it but regrets it. <b>BUT LIKE…. WHY?!?!?!?!?! (Think this was the only way for SJM to somehow keep up the sexual tension but it makes no sense to me!)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The star on her chest flares with light from time to time. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 –</span></b> Attending a get together at Ruhn’s house. Declan
is dating Marc Rosarin, a leopard shifter. She regrets the deal and wants to
break it but knows Hunt will never let her live it down so she doesn't give in. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">New Archangels have been chosen for Micah and Sandriel’s
territories – Ephraim to northern Pangera. And Celestina to Crescent City. Celestina has kept a low
profile, she oversees Nena, population of fifty. No one has heard anything bad
about her. Celestina would be in charge of him and the 33<sup>rd</sup>. Doesn't know if he can trust what they've heard about her, expects the worst as she is an Archangel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3 – </span></b> Ruhn is currently drnk and high as fuck and eating out some
faun. Feels slightly bad as he is technically betrothed to Hypaxia Enador. Flynn
interrupts, the security system picked up an anomaly, like a storm circling his
house. A golden-haired Fae male steps out of the shadows in his
doorway and into the party, it is someone Ruhn knows.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4 - </span></b> The Fae is called Cormac, says he was invited.
Ruhn knows him but Bryce doesn’t. He says that he is Bryce’s cousin – King
Einar is her fathers real name . Says he has come to meet
his bride, Bryce. It had been decreed by her father, the Autumn King and his
father the King of Avallen Fae. (<b>Keeping it in the family, apparently)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac is the cousin that almost killed Ruhn during his
ordeal. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce basically says she isn't marrying him and then leaves with Hunt. Goes home to find Ithan Holstrom bleeding in her apartment. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5 –</span></b> Tharion is looking for a body, it is Sofie's body. She was tied to
lead blocks and dropped into the water by the Hind. It has been two
weeks, needs to find her body/what remains of it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion slept with the River Queen’s daughter 10 years ago,
took her virginity and swore himself to her. Now they are betrothed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They find the lead blocks, but no one attached to the
chains. He notices that the shackles had been unlocked. Doesn’t believe Sofie
Renast made it to the seafloor. Queen demands he find Sofie or her brother. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 –</span></b> Perry Ravenscroft, Amelie’s younger sister, and
his packs Omega had him brought to Bryce's. Has broken ribs and a broken arm. Ithan
got kicked out of the Pack by Sabine, and then they beat him. He talked to a
reporter about how he helped Bryce during the attack on the city, defended her after Sabine talked shit about her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan stays the night to recover, sleeps in Bryce’s bed with
him. Hunt can’t help but be a little jealous.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Ithan that during the Search, Danika told her
Connor and the whole Pack held off the Reapers to buy her time with Danika. They saved Bryce. Ithan tells her that Connor loved her more than anyone
and that he thought Bryce was his mate. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A shifters idea of a mate is one’s true love predestined by
Urd. To Fae it is a bond deeper than marriage and beyond an individual's
control. Angels use it more lightly, akin to a marriage and matings can be arranged.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7 – </span></b>Ruhn is arguing with his father about Bryce’s
engagement. The King says she will arrive willingly at the marriage altar. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King says Queen Hecuba (The recently deceased witch Queen) had two daughers – Hypaxia and
the Hind. Hypaxia’s father was a powerful necromancer, and she has inherited
his gifts alongside her mothers. Her older sister was sired by a shape-shifting
male, a stag. The Hind didn’t inherit any witch gifts and was handed over to
her father's family.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 –</span></b> Ithan and Hunt have a little back-and-forth
argument. Tells Hunt Connor loved Bryce for 5 years and it took that long for
her to agree to go on a date with him.
Tells Hunt he is only on month 5, then wishes him luck.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jesiba tells Bryce to think through the advantages of marrying
Cormac Donnall before she refuses.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9 – </span></b>Her star glows in Cormac’s presence, he says it
is because their union is predestined. Cormac says the Oracle told him he was destined to unite with a princess with a star in her heart. That their mingling
would bring great prosperity to their people. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina finally shows up – meets with Hunt, Isaiah and
Naomi (the last of Micah’s triarii). Half of Sandriel’s triarii is being sent
to Crescent City to join theirs. Pollux Antonius and Baxian Argos show up, the
Hammer and the Helhound. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 10 –</b> Braxian has a scar snaking down his neck that
Hunt gave him 30 years ago. (<b>How do they
scar?!? When they can heal and regrow any body part, would they not also heal all scars?)</b> Hunt tackles Pollux to the floor. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Helhound is an angel with the rare ability to shift into a
helhound.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce goes to get Hunt out of the cell they put him in after
fighting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 –</span></b> Tharion hacks into Sofie Renasts email account.
Finds an email titled ‘Dusk’s Truth’ where she had said she was working on
gaining access. Also another email about Project Thurr. Finds that Danika knew
Sofie, and these emails were between the two of them. They swapped emails for 6 months before Danika died.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He finds an abandoned boat abandoned in the Nelthian
Marshes, with a life vest from the <i>Bodegraven</i> onboard that smells of a human
boy. Believe it is Sofie’s brother. The Ophion had sent Pippa Spetsos and her
squadron after the boat/boy. Tharion orders his officers to bring guns and search for the boy and whoever is following him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12 –</span></b> Tharion comes to speak to them, asking if
Danika mentioned a Sofie to them. Tells them about his task of tracking down
Sofie and her brother. Bryce wants to help the boy, Hunt wants her to leave it
alone. The Asteri will kill them if they hear they are involved with rebels. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn’s Ordeal was at 27 – sent to Avallen by his father to
meet a Fae female from a powerful family his father wanted him to marry. Cormac
wanted to marry her too. Neither married her in the end. King Morven (Cormac’s
dad) ordered Ruhn to go and retrieve the Starsword from the caves because Declan bragged that he could. Sent Dec, Ruhn and Flynn. Also sent Cormac
and twin cousins to hunt them down in the caves. All got lost in the caves, with
creatures trying to kill them. Found the sword and managed to pull it from its
sheath. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells Bryce that Ithan can come stay with him rather than
her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 –</span></b> Hunt sleeps in her bed that night, rather than
Ithan. Hunt asks her why things are weird between them. Doesn't get much of an answer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce meets with Fury, who tells her Ithan always had a thing
for Bryce. Tells Fury about Sofie, Emile and everything else. Fury reveals that
Danika was a bloodhound, could scent bloodlines and secrets in them. Says
Danika learned something big/dangerous about her so she learned something big/dangerous about
Danika in return. Doesn't reveal what it is. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14 –</span></b> The Governor has told Baxian to team up with
Hunt, have him show Baxian the ropes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan talks to Tharion – says Danika was a history major and
told him she was doing research on something that could land her in a heap of
trouble. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 – </span></b>Bryce meets up with Ruhn, tells him about
Danika being a bloodhound. They get home to find Ithan and Tharion on the sofa
with a white cat, they didn't realise it was Aidas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas asks why she hasn’t learnt to use her powers yet.
Reveals that her light is the same as the last Starborn Queen, Theia. Says
he assumes she has Theia's other gifts too.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas says Prince Pelias was no true prince – he was Theia’s
high general and appointed himself prince after he forcibly wed Theia’s
daughter Helena. Theai was dead by then, killed by Pelias who stole her blade
afterward. Aidas tells Ruhn the sword belongs to her female heir, not him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Theia’s other daughter got away, vanished into the night and
they never learned of her fate. (<b>So she will definitely be showing up at some point</b>) Asks Bryce if she is doing anything to help in
this endless war. Says it is the same war he fought 15,000 years ago only
renewed and the time is ripe to make a push.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says Hel is their enemy but Aidas asks who wrote the
history – the Asteri. Aidas says the Asteri made scholars and philosophers
write down their version of events under threat of death. Erased Theia from the
record. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Aidas tells Bryce that Hel’s armies will strike at her command. Aidas
basically wants her to rebel against the Asteri, work with the Ophion to do it. Says she doesn’t know any Ophion rebels. He tells her that
isn’t true, there’s one behind her. They turn to find Cormac Donnall there – he
is Agent Silverbow, the one who was in love with and helping Sofie.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16 – </span></b>Cormac demands to know what they know about
Sofie Renast. Cormac is also looking for Emile. Tells them he and Sofie were
close, helped her free Emile and made her a promise to look after Emile. They
realise he was in love with Sofie. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pippa is a fanatic on fast track to promotion into Ophion
Command. No lines her and her Lightfall soldiers won’t cross. Was responsible
for the leopard massacre a year ago - used Vanir kids and babies to lure out
their parents and then killed them all. Pippa views Emile as a weapon. Emile
was scared of her and fled. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sofie was an Ophion agent because the Asteri butchered her
family, her human one and her thunderbird ancestors. All she wanted to do was
find her brother. Tells them the Hind killed Sofie because she had gathered
vital intel on the Asteri – something big and war-changing but he doesn’t know
what. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion tells Cormac about not being able to find her body,
the possibility she may be alive. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac asks about Danika – says her and Sofie knew each
other and that Danika set up the safe place for her. Says he knew that and it
was why he agreed to marry Bryce. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Danika suspected something about the Asteri and needed
someone to go in to confirm it – that person was Sofie. Asked her three years
ago but Sofie took a long time to get the information, Danika was dead by the time she did.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce believes Aidas sent Cormac here for a reason – knows
Cormac spent years looking up all he could on the Starborn powers, so he can help her unlock her powers.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce wants to make a deal with him. She wants out of the
marriage, but knows if they end it too soon her father will find someone else.
So they will team up with Tharion to find Emile, help to find out the intel
Danika wanted Sofie to learn. But then he will end the engagement when she says
it’s time. And also teach her about her magic. He agrees, but engagement will
only be broken once his work for Ophion is done as it is the reason he is here in Valbara.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac wants Ruhn to agree to meet him to hear the offer he
has for him, gives him a time and place to meet. Thinks they should want to
help make the world a better place, to help the humans. Thought they would
after what Bryce, Ithan and the others did during the attack on the city.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 –</span></b> Wonders if Dusk’s Truth is connected to the
Lightfall squadron, as lightfall is the same as Dusk. And Project Thurr,
thunder god, could be related to thunderbirds.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells Bryce he doesn’t know what to do, has seen the
horrors on the battlefield. Doesn’t want her spying for the rebels either as he knows what the Hind would do to her if she were caught.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells him she wants to try and find Emile separate
from Tharion and Cormac. Tells him about how Fury knew something big about
Danika and vice versa. This would be the same for them with the Asteri. If they get the intel
Sofie learned, then they have something they can use against them too. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says he wants to see a world without heirarchies and
Archangels, but not if achieving it means that they would not live to see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells him she no longer wants to wait until Winter
Solstice and then kisses him. They’re in an alleyway though and risk being seen so Hunt stops it. They need her engagement to Cormac to stay in place, so they can't be seen kissing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 – </span></b>Tharion tells Ithan about how Micah and
Sandriel died. That Hunt killed Sandriel for threatening Bryce. That Bryce
killed Micah for killing Danika and the Pack. Then tells him everything that happened during the attacks. Tells
Ithan to come find him when he makes up his mind about helping, could use his
sense of smell to help fine Emile. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan finds Danika’s sword and messes around with it. When he jumps on
the coffee table just as Bryce walks in it breaks. They realise it had
a secret compartment and they find Danika’s old college papers hidden inside. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells Declan and Flynn everything he has found out so far.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19 –</span></b> Bryce and Ithan look at the papers, which include
documents, images, newspaper clipping. All regarding firstlights uses – mainly
how it was made into weapons. Also about theories on the origin of worlds and
what the Asteri are. The only proof they have that they are what they say they
are – beings possessing the force of an entire star who are unaging and undying –
is their word. One piece of paper is titled Dusk’s Truth but is blank.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to meet Cormac. Cormac tells him Sofie was in
contact with their most vital spy in the rebellion Agent Daybright. Daybright
has direct access to the Asteri – Ophion wonder if Daybright might be one of
them. Sofie and Daybright used codes to talk via crystal-fueled radios. They need someone who can mind-speak to be in direct contact with Agent
Daybright as Sofie’s old methods may have been intercepted and her codes
cracked.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Daybright has fed them info that has led to successful
strikes on supply lines, missions and encampments. The info Daybright would give
Ruhn could save thousands of lives. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac linked up with Ophion four years ago. He is
technically a field commander for them in the northwestern Pangera spy network.
Sofie was one of his agents. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac pulls out a small quartz crystal and tosses it to
Ruhn. Tells him to try contacting Daybright by holding the crystal, as Daybright has
the sister to this comm-crystal. Has same communicative properties as the
Gates. It is how all their radios worked – seven crystals hewn from one rock,
six in radios and the seventh in Daybright’s radio. Other five were destroyed,
only this one and Daybrights remain. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Cormac they suspect Danika might have told Sofie to
hide out in the Bone Quarter. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">When he asks what intel he should ask Daybright for, Cormac
says they’ve been trying to coordinate a hit on the Spine (north-south railway
that cuts pangera in half, main artery for supplies in the way). Have heard
whispers the Asteri are working on a new mech-suit prototype, designed for
Vanir pilots.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20 –</span></b> The River Queen’s daughter comes to see him, she has no mer form and is only a fraction mer. Is an elemental humanoid. Came to
see if he wanted to have sex – doesn’t understand why, as they haven’t done that in years. Assumed she’d got bored of him, even if their vows kept them bound
together. He denies her and instead invites her on a double date with Bryce and Hunt at some point, she agrees.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 –</span></b> Hunt and Bryce are talking in bed. Hunt admits it has been six months since he’s had sex - last time was with
a nymph at a bar. She tells him hers was a lion shifter in the bathroom of the
White Raven. Then she gives him head. Plan to do more but Ithan overhears them and interrupts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ithan yells out –
‘Please: have sex a little louder! I didn’t hear everything that time!” - and I'm noting it down because I love him.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells her he’s going to fuck her senseless but Ithan shouts
– “That sounds medically dangerous” – And so Bryce just goes to sleep instead. (<b>By trying to keep the sexual tension alive, it's like SJM killed it and the chemistry instead.</b>)</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is in a place between worlds, being spoken to by
Apollion, the Prince of the Pit. He has Hunt tied up and asks why he doesn’t use the
gifts in his blood to free himself. Apollion had killed and devoured the
seventh Asteri. Apollion says his father was the Void, the Being That Existed
Before and Chaos was his bride and Apollion’s dam.Tells Hunt he is wasting the gifts he was given, and that he
and Bryce’s powers are more similar than they realise. And that they have no idea just what they could do together. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 –</span></b> Hunt tries to use the crystal that Cormac gave
him, gets a response from a female voice. She appears to him as pure flame. He appears to her like a night sky. Gives
him the codename Agent Night. Tells him to tell Cormac that safe passage is
granted under the cover of the waning moon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Isaiah have been called to a meeting in Celestina’s
home. Pollux and Baxian are there – Baxian’s eyes are swollen shut and all of
Pollux’s face is bruised. They were at a bar and Pollux says a female was all
over him and wanted to fuck him and that she said she wanted to. Baxian says she said no
such thing. Pollux took the female to an alley to have sex and says Baxian
attacked him. Baxian says the female kept saying no, Pollux says some female
say no when they want it. Seems it isn’t the first time Pollux has raped
someone. Their fight was filmed and is airing on every news station.
Female declined to press charged.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina planned to punish him but the Asteri called and
convinced her to give him a second chance. The Asteri want the media to have
something else to focus on so Celestina is to mate Ephraim. With two Archangels
dead, they need to replenish the ranks. Want them to have their mating ceremony
on the Autumnal Equinox. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Celestina tells Hunt she knows about Bryce’s engagement to
Crown Prince Cromac of Avallen. Asks how he feels about it, and he says they are taking
it day by day. She tells him he is exactly as she thought he’d be. Reveals she
was good friends with Shahar. Admits she tried to extract him from the masters
who held him after Shahar fell. Tried three times to purchase him but the
Asteri denied her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23 – </span></b>Ithan is with Tharion on the river, they find
the body of a selkie female. Seems someone may have tortured her for answers
before letting her bleed out. Ithan can smell the kid, Emile on her clothes.
And a female. Believes the selkie helped Emile on his way to Lunathion. And
then a human woman found the selkie and tortured it for info about Emile – he
guesses it was Pippa. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Bryce are heading to the Aux training facility to
meet Cormac, supposed to begin her training. Invites Ruhn home to visit her
parents when her and Hunt go for Winter Solstice and he agrees. Then Ruhn gets knocked out and dragged away from by a Reaper, who takes him into a sewer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24 –</span></b> Ruhn can hear Daybright talking to him in his
head, doesn’t have the crystal but she felt something and could suddenly talk
to him. Believes he is in grave danger. She’s telling him to wake up – he feels
like he knows her voice and her scent. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce goes in the sewer after him – finds Ruhn being dragged
by two Reapers, three more with them. They tell Bryce they bear a message –
five more Reapers come up behind her. Say the Prince of the Pit sent them.
Tells her Apollion is ready to strike, wants a worthy opponent this time. Says
he wants to face her at her full power, tells her to train harder as he is
waiting. Apollion is also hunting the Bone Quarter for Emile, who may also be a
worthy opponent. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac appears, begins attacking the Reapers. Tells her to
use her light. He tosses her the Starsword, and when she unsheaths it starlight
erupts from the blade. Cuts a Reaper with it and it bleeds, then stabs and
kills it. Reaper’s shouldn’t be able to be killed. Cormac appears, grabs her
and then disappears with her (<b>winnowing?</b>). Transports them to the Aux
training center. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part Two – The Abyss</b></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 25 – </b></span>The River Queen has summoned Tharion because she heard he
invited her daughter out on a date. Doesn’t think she can handle going Above. (<b>Acts like the daughter is super weak and delicate, so I suspect girlie is a wolf in sheep's clothing and I now don't trust her!)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks about his progress with Emile and he says he believes he may have
finally reached the city. He will continue to look for him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There are four River Courts, and four river Queens. One for
each of the great rivers – Istros, Melanthos, Niveus and Rubellus. The Blue,
the Black, the White and the Red. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Tharion that before he asks her daughter on a date
Above again, he first needs to witness the disrespect they show the citizens of
the Beneath. Punishes him by making him spear trash along the Old Square
section of the quay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to see his father to ask about the sword. Tells
him he was attacked by Reapers and the sword reacted. Doesn’t tell him it was
while Bryce was holding it and that it killed the unkillable. Says it glowed and
the Reaper's ran from it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King says it is an ancient sword from another world
made from the metal of a fallen star – a meteorite. The Autumn King says in ancient
times, Starborn rivals would kill each other. Reminds him that Bryce is more
powerful than them both – basically suggesting he should kill her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26 – </span></b>Bryce gets Hunt to meet her at the Black Dock,
Cormac is there looking for Emile. Bryce might be able to learn to teleport
too, Cormac says he will teach her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce plan to search for Emile using Declan Emmett.
Bryce calls Jesiba asks her if she has any Death Marks lying around and says
she might – has two they can buy. It is so they can visit the Bone Quarter.
Jesiba eludes to knowing info about Danika, asks Bryce to think about why
Danika was always poking around the gallery. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Having Declan go through the cameras, try to find where the
Reaper’s came from. Also look for Emile. And check the camera footage from the
gallery from when Danika was alive. Bryce decides to go down to the gym, Hunt
goes after her even though a sunball game is on. Ithan says that Connor would
have picked the game. Ruhn asks what Ithan would have picked, he says Bryce. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27 –</span></b> When Hunt goes after her, she’s waiting by the
elevator. Jokes that he’s late. Not actually going to the gym, has somewhere else to go first.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce takes him to the Meat Market to look for Emile. Bryce
called Juniper and Fury to meet them there. They are going to split up to
search and see if Emile is there. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Juniper’s brother was a fighter in the Viper Queens fighting
den. Julius – he was talented, the Viper Queen recruited him and promised him
riches and everything he could ever want. Then got him addicted to her venom
and she put him in a contract he couldn’t
get out of. His parents tried everything to get him out but couldn’t. He died in a fight 10 years ago. The Viper Queen’s
goons dumped his body on their doorstep with a note that said Memento Mori on it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Her and Hunt are in the gym working out together. He kisses her then strips off her work out clothes and goes down on her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tells Hunt she loves him and then freaks out in her head because she’s never said them to
another male and hadn’t even thought them about Hunt, even though she’d known
for a while that she loved him. <b> (Did she not tell him she
loved him during that scene in Crescent City?!?! I am so confused! It literally said she confessed her last truth to him, three words. It had to be 'I love you' given the way he reacted. Did SJM just forget that happened?!?)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">He makes her come then tells her he loves her too. But Hunt also thinks about how no one has said those words to him in over 200 years (<b>But didn’t she say them in book one! I AM
CONFUSION!!)</b> Shahar never said the words to him, even if he said them to
her. Last person to tell him that was his mother.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They talk about it – she admits she’s never said them to
anyone romantically before. Asks what she should call him, as boyfriend sounds
too young. He suggests mate. She says it is important amongst the fae, a
lifetime commitment. But tells him if he isn’t her mate, no one is. They decide on
the term mate – <b>because of course they
do, this is Maas.</b> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28 – </span></b>Ruhn is back on the mental bridge, Daybright
still appearing as a body of flame and him as a body of night, stars and
planets. Thanks her for trying to wake him up when the Reapers took him. Says
she has information to pass on – the hit on the Spine is a go and the shipment
is 3 days from then. Will leave the Eternal City at 6am and will travel to
Forvos. It will have the mech-suit prototype on it, as well as fifty crates of
brimstone missiles, 112 crates of guns and 500 crates of ammunition. Advises
them to destroy everything rather than try to unload anything because if they
do they’ll be caught. It will be guarded by 100 wolves and a dozen aerial angel
scouts. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt has booked them dinner at a fancy hotel restaurant and
a room – so they can finally have sex. But first they have to go visit the Under-King in
the Bone Quarter<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac, Ithan and Ruhn are going to pass along the intel
from Daybright to Orphion.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29 – </span></b>Bryce takes the Starsword with her, Ruhn told
her to. They stand on the Black Dock and toss their Death Marks in the
water. Baxian shows up while they wait, asks who they are going to see over
there. Bryce tells him the Under-King, he tells them they’re the stupidest
people he’s ever met if that’s true. Then Hunt and Bryce get on the boat that
comes to collect them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce talks to the Under-King, tells him about the Reapers
snatching Ruhn and that she thinks he may have sent them, not Apollion. Says he
did not send them. Says they aren’t his Reapers, he has none unaccounted for.
Could have come from many other necropolises. She asks if he knows of two
humans hiding out here, he says no. She asks if Lehabah is there, he says no
and that fire sprites don’t go there because Lowers are of no use – won’t say
for what use. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Under-King feeds on the souls of the dead, those who are
worthy and have enough energy. The dead stay there with him for a few centuries
and then they are sent through the Dead Gate, their energy used for power/to
become secondlight (what firstlight is called when it comes from the dead) The
Sleeping City is a comforting lie. Asks why he is telling them this, Hunt
realises it is because he doesn’t plan to let them leave alive. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30 –</span></b> Ruhn and Ithan watch as Cormac talks to his
contact, who is disguised as a beggar. Dreadwolves are now in the city. Mordoc
appears close by, a dreadwolf and second in command to the Hind. Ithan reveals
that Mordoc is Danika’s father. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce draws the Starsword, the Under-King calls his ten-foot
black dog that is blind – so her light will have no effect on it. The dog is a
demon, an experiment of the Prince of the Ravine’s from the First Wars –
forgotten and abandoned in Midgard during the aftermath and now his faithful
companion and helper. Calls it the Shepherd, helps herd the dead to the gate
when they don’t want to go.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt attacks it with lightning but it does nothing. Then the
dog’s head splits until it has three heads and then splits entirely until it is
three dogs. She makes a run for it back to the river but heads back for Hunt.
Then she hits the Dead Gate, dropping the Starsword on impact. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan says it wasn’t spoken of, that Danika refused to
acknowledge Mordoc. But some of them were at the Den the only time he came to
see her when she was 17, she refused to even see him. Mordoc is a bloodhound too.
Ruhn tells Cormac to teleport Ithan out of there - he can only take one at a
time. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Mordoc can smell Ruhn, knows they were meeting with an
agent. Doesn’t know who he is but says he will remember his smell.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31 –</span></b> Ithan and Ruhn are in a bar, asked him there so
it will look like their meeting there was planned. Asks Ithan to move in with
him, Dec and Flynn, Ithan says he will think about it. Then the Harpy shows up with
the Hind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is fighting two of the dogs, which merges back into one. Then
they hear a scream through the mist and the dog runs off after Bryce. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has one dog and two dozen Reapers encircling her. The
Reapers are chanting, awakening the Dead Gate and making the crystal of it glow
white. Dives for the sword she dropped, but gets scratched by one of the dogs
claws.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt drops down by Bryce, wreathed in lightning that has
turned blue. It reminds her of the statue she saw at the ballet, of the Fae
male posed like an avenging god with his hammer raised to the sky to channel
his power. Hunt unleashes his power on the Shepherd but Bryce leaps in
front of the blow with the Starsword extended so the lightning hits the sword. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32 – </span></b>The lightning hits the blade, exploding from the
metal and flowing up her body. She then attacks the Shepherd, which split into
three again. Hits one and the sword pierces its hide as lightning explodes
across its body. The beast snaps its tail, hitting Hunt and hurling him into
the Dead Gate. He hits the stone and his power fizzes out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The dog she attacks dies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt wonders if he can draw energy from the Dead Gate –
Apollion had hinted at it, that Hunt is equipped to handle raw energy. Slams
his hand on the brass plaque of the Dead Gate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce watches as light from the gate begins flowing into him and then he sends a bolt of his power at her, telling her to light it up. She
funnels the power into the sword, the Shepherd flees. Hunt grabs her, flies
with her and then slams into the Shepherd from above. She stabs it with the
sword and it explodes into smithereens.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see the River Queen, tells her they found
two more Vanir bodies that morning. One left hanging in an olive grove north of
the city, drained and shot like the selkie. The other was crucified on a tree
next to him, also shot and throat slit. Both had been tortured. Two human
scents found at the scene. He believes Pippa is behind the killings – the style
is in line with her Lightfall squad. While talking to the Queen he notes the lightning in the distance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion comes to help Bryce and Hunt, he's waiting for them with a wave skimmer to help them get across the river. They are
trying to escape but being attacked by sobeks in the water. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Make it back to her
apartment. They fill Tharion in on what happened in the Bone Quarter.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33 –</span></b> The Hind says they are to play cards, says
she’s introducing herself as Ruhn is her half sister’s fiancé. Says they will
play poker as that is what he plays on Tuesday nights – showing that she knows
about him. Reveals she knows about the faun he fooled around with at his party. She is trying to get to them both.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind knows a lot about them all – says Ithan is lusting
after the female his brother loved. Hind reveals she has looked a the messages
between him and Bryce. Hind is trying to rile him up – talking about how he
pined for Bryce for years, wished he’d met her first and that she’d realise she
is meant to be with him. And that he played sunball hoping she’d notice him.
But then his brother died and now he hates himself because he wasn’t there but
also because of the traitorous thought he had when hearing the news, that the path
to Bryce was now clear. Ithan tells her to shut the fuck up, giving himself away just like she wanted.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Ithan head back to the apartment and tell Bryce, Hunt
and Tharion about their run in with The Hind and the Harpy. Hunt is called in
by Celestina to be there for Ephraim’s arrival to the Comitium.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34 – </span></b>Ephraim and Celestina have their first meeting as mates, it
is awkward. Hunt notes she is extremely nervous and wonders if she has been with
a male before or if she even likes males.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Ruhn and Ithan about the Bone Quarter and about
the true fate of the dead. Ruhn wonders if the Prince of the Pit pushed them to
go there by sending the Reapers, or having them hint Emile and Sophie might be
hiding there. As a way to activate their combined powers using the Gate. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Sabine
arrives at the door, calls Bryce a cunt and attacks her. Sabine is angry that Bryce has been harbouring Ithan after
he was exiled.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt gets a message from Bryce telling him Sabine is there,
so he sneaks out of the event. Celestina sees him, sneak off.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35 –</span></b> Ithan throws it in Sabine’s face about Mordoc,
asks if she will sleep with him again now he’s back in the city. Bryce finally
finds out that Mordoc was Danika’s father. Bryce asks Sabine if Danika was a
rebel and she seems surprised by the question. Bryce says Sabine is worried she will use
her new princess title to replace Sabine with Holstrom now she has no heir
beyond Amelie. And the Den likes Ithan more than her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt shows up, tells Sabine to get out. Still refusing but
then Baxian appears behind Hunt and she finally leaves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan finally accepts the offer to move in with Ruhn. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Baxian knew about Mordoc being Danika’s father. After his
failed visit to see Danika he returned to Sandriel’s castle and ate a human couple. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36 –</span></b> Ruhn is on the mind bridge again with Day.
Tells her they did the intel drop-off and almost got caught by Mordoc, Hind and
the Harpy. He says he has had a tough day, she says she has too (<b>is she Celestina? That seems too obvious with all the hints she's dropping)</b> – Says she works
with people who make Mordoc seem sweet and that she’s never had a true friend
in her life. She says she has a family, a very influential one.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan heads down to the Istros to send a message to Tharion
via otter. Ithan wanted him to take him to the Bone Quarter so he can see if
his brother is still there, make sure he hasn’t been fed to the Gate yet.
Tharion says no because of river beasts. Instead tells Ithan to go get Gold so
they can go visit the mystics instead. He can get answers about his brother
and Tharion can ask about Emile.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37 -</span></b>Juniper doesn’t get chosen for principal at the ballet again.
Bryce calls to speak to Director Gorgyn of the ballet. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Harpy comes to get Hunt, says Celestina wants to see him
and tells him Ephraim just got done fucking her. Is angry at him for leaving
the celebration, as Ephraim saw it as her triarii ditching her to help a Fae.
Tells him it will not happen again and says he is to stay in the barracks for
the next two weeks. (<b>Hunt didn't even sign a contract when he agreed to stay on with the 33rd so I'm not sure why he listens. Again, seems a weird way for SJM to continue to keep them from having sex for whatever reason)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38 – </span></b>Tharion, Ithan and Bryce are going to see the
mystics. The male who answers wears four rings, each one contains a fire sprite
that has been enslaved. Follow him in to find three mystics asleep and
submerged in greenish cloudy water with breathing masks strapped to their faces. One male, one female and one that is both as it always was (perfect balance).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Asks the male his name, tells her people call him the
Astronomer. Brings up a full holographic replica of their solar system, called
an orrery. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks about Connor – the Astronomer charges more for
the question and has to use bloodsalt. The mystic is searching for Connor,
appears to be in Hel. The mystic is talking to Thanatos, Prince of the Ravine,
who says Connor isn’t there. Thanatos asks who sent him and he reveals it was a
wolf, a mer and half-fae/half-human and Thanatos tells him to let him see them.
The mystic’s eyes fly open in the tank. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39 – </span></b>The hologram display now shows Thanatos, who
can smell the starlight on Bryce. He says she killed his beloved pet that he
intentionally planted in Midgard and it reported to him about all it heard
in the Bone Quarter. Tells them Connor remains in the Bone Quarter and an order was
dispatched from the dark that he should be left alone for the usual amount of
time but can’t say who gave the order. Bryce asks if there is a way to help
souls like Connor but he says only the Asteri would know. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thanatos wants to feast on the mystic. Coats all their submersion tanks in ice and cuts off their respirators. Ithan has to jump
down to save the three mystics from drowning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Tharion she is done working with him. Mordoc finds the three of them in the alley outside the
mystics.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40 –</span></b> Bryce forgives Tharion, tells him he is on probation after what happened at the mystics.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt decides to try with Baxian, gets the impression that
he’s lonely. Now stuck in the barracks with him for two weeks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce have phone sex.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see the River Queen, tells her about the
Under-King and the truth of what happens to the dead. Asks her if it is true and if she knew, she doesn't confirm or deny it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41 –</span></b> Bryce is with Ruhn and Cormac at the Aux training
ring, Cormac is trying to teach her to teleport. Declan calls, his program
finally analysed the footage from the gallery and found something on Danika.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Finds footage from 2 months before she died. When left alone in
the library, Danika had grabbed a book and started taking photos of it. The
book is Wolves Through Time: Lineage of the Shifters. She calls Jesiba to ask
for the book – has it sent over to her. It contains a family tree going back to
when the Northern Rift opened. Gunthar Fendyr is the latest and last name on it
– he was the Prime’s father. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The first of the Fendyr line were Niklaus Fendyr and Faris
Hvellen. First one they can find any info on in their family line is Katra
Fendyr, no history on any of the ones before her. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce has to go and talk to the Prime. Ruhn had called
Sabine away for a fake urgent matter to get her out of the Den. The Prime still
refers to Bryce as a wolf, same thing he had called her as he watched her
during the attack. Prime can’t tell her much about the two names they found.
But can tell her why their ancestors names were forgotten. Says they did
unspeakable thing during the First Wars, and then allowed themselves to be
under Asteri rule. Says they’ve lost who they once were, have become tamed by
the Asteri. Said Danika might have lead them back to who they once were. She
tells him about Ithan being kicked out of the Pack.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac almost got snared by Mordoc at an intel pickup. The
hit on the Spine was successful, they attained the mech-suit prototype.
Shipping it to the Coronal Island, to a base on Ydra. Realise the Orphion plan
to start something in Crescent City. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42 – </span></b>Juniper trying to contact Bryce because she's angry that
she called Gorgyn to get Juniper made principal. Now everyone knows she got it
because Bryce threatened that the Autumn King would pull his donations. Juniper
is angry because it means Bryce is the reason she got it and not off her own talent. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce goes to see Celestina, as she needs Hunt for what is
to come with the Orphion. Makes a formal request for Hunt, says she needs him
for one night. They need to go to Coronal Islands to convince them not to give
Pippa free reign to unleash her weapons on Valbara - doesn't tell Celestina that. She lies and says it is to go home and see her family. Celestina says she can take
Hunt with her and then he can stay with her, doesn't have to stay at the barracks anymore.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan gets a call from the Prime. The Prime offers to make
Ithan the Alpha of his own pack, says he senses that he has it in him but he
suppressed it so others could lead. Ithan heads back to the place where they saw the Astronomer. No answer but the door is open so he goes inside. Finds
the female mystic who tells him the Astronomer put the other two back in but
didn’t have the part needed to fix her machine so he is at the Meat Market meeting
with the Vper Queen. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan realises that she is a wolf – her parents had no
pack, roamed the tundra of Nena with her and her ten siblings. Her gifts showed
when she was three, and was sold to the Astronomer by the time she was four. Doesn’t
know how long she’s been there and doesn’t have a name/doesn’t know her
parents names either. Tells her if she ever wants to get out of there to send
word to him. Realises she is an Alpha. He steals the ring box with the
Astonomer’s rings inside.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion requests an aquatic team of 25 from the River Queen
so he can try to capture Pippa. The Queen says no, says he can go alone.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is back on the dream bridge. Tells Day the rebels were
successful in their hit on the Spine. Talk for a while when she doubles over,
convulsing. He runs for her across the bridge and slams into a wall of black
adamant where he feels her left wrist being squeezed by someone wanting her to yield,
give herself over to '<i>him'</i>. Teeth
scraping over her nipple and clamping down – <b>(Really giving me Celestina vibes but again it seems too obvious)</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Realised he was seeing that she was being woken with rough
sex by someone. Waits there until she comes back. Asks if she’s okay, says she
is. Comments that it didn’t seem like she enjoyed it, tells him it is none of
his business. Says she hates the male she's sleeping with and that no one knows it but he disgusts her.
They talk for awhile. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43 – </span></b>Hunt, Bryce, Tharion and Ruhn are in a sea cave
where the shipment is being unloaded. Cormac had teleported them all there an
hour ago. Then Cormac left them to go and talk to Command to convince them to
keep Pippa away from the shipment. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion had arrived at the apartment that morning just after
Hunt, before he and Bryce could sleep together. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac comes back, says Pippa already has her claws in command,
the weapons are hers and she’s in charge of the Valbaran front. Pippa arrives
as they unload the suit, wants Hunt to analyse it. Pippa denies that she is behind the murders like they think
she is.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says the suit is made from metal with the same makeup
as gorsian stones. Asteri have been researching a way to make gorsian ore
absorb magic rather than suppress it. So the suit can draw firstlight from the
ground, from all the pipes of it crisscrossing the land. The suits would draw up
the firstlight and turn it into weapons – brimstone missiles made right on the
spot and so it would never run out of ammo or battery life. Vanir warrior could
climb inside and wear it like an exoskeleton. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt says no one should use the suit and that she should tell command
to track down the scientists behind it and destroy them and their plans. Pippa says they don’t need Emile now they have something
better. Says he is somewhere even Tharion would fear to tread.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Pippa looks at the ship above them where the crew have their backs to them (Five mer and two shifters). There is a human Lightfall squadron on the ship. Pippa gives them a signal and
they herd the Vanir crew to the rails and then shoot them all. Says the order
to put the crew down came from Command. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt blasts the suit apart using his lightning. Then
destroys all the trucks there too. Ophion come running towards them and shoot
Cormac with a gorsian bullet so he can’t teleport them out. Bryce uses her
powers to give them a chance to escape on a boat. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce doesn’t want to help them anymore, not after seeing
what they do to Vanir. Tells Cormac she wants nothing to do with it anymore, or
with Tharion and his Queen. Says she’s done with it all. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">See Baxian on the cliffs during their escape, tells them to
go northward. Realise the Hind must be close by too.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44 –</span></b> Bryce says Cormac needs to teleport them out,
that she will take the gorsian bullet out of him so he can. He tells her she can’t, as
they are designed to split apart into shrapnel on impact, to ensure the magic
is suppressed for as long as possible. He will need surgery to get every shard
out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind is close, has snipers there to prevent them
from going airborne.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion finds binoculars on the boat – can see that the
Harpy and Pollux are also with the Hind. Tharion orders them into the water,
then uses his magic to propel them away just as a torpedo strikes their boat.
There are three Omega-boats aiming for them in the water. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Only plan they can come up with is to have Bryce use her
powers to blind the people on the boat long enough for them to take it over.
But then the Hind leaves the boat, heading towards them in a small boat. She gets close enough to recognise them all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind pulls out a small white stone, says she showed one
to Sofie Renast before she died and made the same demonstration she’s going to
show them. Then drops the stone into the water. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt’s lightning is wrapping around his head, above the
water so he doesn’t electrocute them all. Hunt signals for Bryce to use her powers
to blind the Hind. But before she can something hits her under the water,
realises she’s now laying on a boat with the insignia of two entwined fishes on
it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt’s lying beside her, his eyes are filled with pure
lightning. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Hind is making her way back to the Omega-boat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A dark-haired female is signalling to them from a hatch on
the boat they are lying on, telling them to get inside. They can see Pollux and
the Harpy heading towards the Hind in a speedboat. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The ship is filled with mer – their Oracle sensed they’d be
needed here and so they came. Then saw Bryce’s light and assumed it was a
message for them to come. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt’s lightning is still crackling over him like a second
skin, can’t seem to get him to calm down. Ruhn talks to Bryce in her mind,
tells her he was like this the day he killed Sandriel. That Bryce was in danger
then too. Asks him what that means and he tells her it means they are true
mates, in the way that Fae are, in their bodies and soul. It is why her scent
is different to him now, because their scents have merged. Tells her to calm Hunt down. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn says Athalar is utterly lethal as a mated male because
there’s no mercy in him, he’s gone lethal in a Fae way. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The female who saved them is Commander Sendes, says the mer
court she comes from is this one and gestures at the ship they’re on. Sendes
says they are on the <i>Depth Charger</i> –
one of the six city-ships of the Ocean Queen’s court Beneath.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45 –</span></b> Ithan is being grilled by Declan’s boyfriend
Marc about the fact he could be charged for breaking and entering, as well as
theft – for what he did to the Astronomer. Marc tells him to return the rings
but the box shakes when he does. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Open it to see the four sprites inside the
rings. Three of the sprites have female bodies like Lehabah, the fourth one is
pure fire and the ring that is rattling. Declan gets a hammer and cracks open three
of the rings, then just before he does the same to the fourth one of the
sprites shouts ‘<i>Don’t’</i> but they’re too late.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The fourth ring breaks and out comes a human-sized female.
Her eyes blaze crimson. She tells Flynn ‘<i>He
is going to find you and kill you.</i>’. And he replies, ‘<i>Good thing a dragon now owes me a debt.’</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is still in shock that his sister is mated, as it is
rare among the Fae. But the fact it is an angel is even stranger (<b>Hunt is Fae, right? Like, what’s not clicking, guys?!?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sandes says they are going into the Ravel Canyon. The ship
they are on can camouflage as the Ocean Queen imbued her ships with many gifts
from the seas. This one has a squid’s ability to blend into it’s surroundings.
Glass of the ship is one way and block the light so people can’t see the lights
from inside of it. Also can’t be picked up on radar. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">They watch as the Omega-boat, the <i>Faustus</i>, drifts right by them. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri are not aware of the technology they have. They will give them barracks to rest in and then take them
wherever they want to go once the Omegas have left the area.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is still glowing so Bryce asks Sendes if they can go
into the bio-dome on the ship for a while. She says they can and closes it off
to the public. Then has them clear it and seal the doors so that Bryce and Hunt
can have privacy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46 – </span></b>Hunt can only focus on his power and Bryce
right now. His mind is drifting, his magic screaming to be unleashed. Had
happened as soon as the Hind appeared and he knew he had to take her out to get
Bryce to safety. Had even known it didn’t matter if he killed Cormac, Ruhn or
Tharion in the process, as long as she was safe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Takes him into the garden and then Bryce strips naked before
telling him to do the same. She tells him that she’s his mate and he’s hers,
then asks him to fuck her. (<b>Great, we
couldn’t get just one SJM series where mate doesn't gets said every two sentences. Miss
SJM really said copy, paste and the just change the font!</b>) She knows he needs a way
to work off his energy and reassure him that she’s safe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">His lightning and her light merging together (<b>As T.Swift sang: <i>I think I’ve seen this film before</i>. – Again, same story, different
fonts!</b>) They fuck, as she comes light blasts out of her. Then Hunt is glowing,
he is filled with light and she is radiating the same light too. Their powers seem to merge together.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then they suddenly find themselves not in the garden anymore,
they are somehow in the airlock.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn is talking to the sprites who are triplets called Rithi,
Malana and Sasa. They’re descendants of Persina Falath, Lady of Cinders. The
dragon is called Ariadne. Dragons are Lowers too, as they aren’t true shifters.
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The triplets were bespelled by the Astronomer, who is an
ancient sorcerer. He bought them and shoved them into the rings so they can
light his way when he descends into Hel. About to say how Ariadne got put into
the ring but she cuts the sprite off. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks if anything can be done to free the mystics and
Ariadne says no. Says the female Ithan spoke to is favoured by him and he will
never let her go. She says that he tortures the mystics. He sends them to the
deepest parts of Hel where the princes and demons can taunt and scare them.
Tells Ithan that what the wolf mystic told him is true, he should find a
necromancer if he wants answers about his dead brother (<b>Hypaxia is one but apparently I'm the only one who remembers that</b>). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Flynn tells Ariadne she should shift to her dragon form and
run. Reveals she can’t, the tattoo on her means she can’t shift unless he
allows it. And even then he can track her wherever he goes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt go to see Cormac in the city-ships hospital –
Bryce had managed to teleport them while they were fucking. Cormac thinks she
needed Hunt’s power to be able to teleport. Hunt says the Prince of the Pit
told him about this, had said Hunt and Bryce hadn’t yet seen what their powers
could do together. They think their powers may have merged together. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Sendes appears, says Cormac was talking about someone named
Sofie Renast in his delirium. They know the name, as they were summoned to
rescue an agent from the North Sea weeks ago and it was her. She says they were
too late and Sofie had drowned by the time they picked her up. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47 –</span></b> They go to the morgue to see Sofie’s corpse.
Cormac tells them about how he met her during a recon report to Command.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion is looking at the coroner’s files on Sofie. He asks
Cormac if he knows what a series of numbers and letters mean, he doesn’t. They
were found carved into her upper bicep – they believe Sofie did it to herself
while she drowned, so it must be important. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion never knew any of these ships existed. Sendes says
they’ve had them for two decades. Tharion thinks the Ocean Queen is using the
ships as a way to help overthrow the Asteri, as she aids the rebels. The Ocean
Queen remembers a time before the Asteri, when leaders were fairly elected and
that is what she wants to achieve again. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tharion needs the corpse for the River Queen as she wants
it. Sendes thinks she could only want it if she planned to use a necromancer to
reanimate it. Could use it as a weapon with no conscience or soul. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Day calls Ruhn to the mind bridge, she heard there was an
attack on the rebel base on Ydra and that people were killed, and the suit and
shipments destroyed. He informs Day that Sofie is dead. When Day talks about
creating a world that their children can be free in, Ruhn reveals he can’t have
children. She assumes he means he’s infertile but he tells her the truth – that
the Oracle told him he would be the last of his bloodline. So he will either
die before he can have a child or he’s infertile. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Notes he seems unsettled, offers to tell him a story. Tells him
one about a time before Luna hunted the heavens or Solas warmed Cthona’s body.
Says there was a young witch in a cottage deep in the woods, beautiful and beloved
by her mother. She grew older and stronger but then a wandering prince passed
by her clearing one day and wanted to take her as his bride. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She didn’t want the prince but he chased her through the
woods, his hounds following. As she ran she pleaded with the forest to help her
and it did. It transformed her into a deer, but his hounds caught up with her.
So the forest turned her into a fish so she could flee down the mountain
streams. The prince built a weir to trap her. Forest turned her into a hawk so
she could fly away, but the prince was a skilled archer and fired an
iron-tipped arrow at her. Struck her breast and where her blood fell, olive
trees sprouted. When her body hit the earth, she was transformed one last time…
<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn falls asleep so we don’t hear the end. He wakes up on
the couch on the mind bridge, Day asleep across from him, her body veiled with
flame. Ruhn knows that story, a princess of fire sleeping and waiting for a
knight to wake her. Day wakes up and he asks to hear the end of the story.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She says the forest turned the witch into a monster. One of
claws, fangs and bloodlust. She ripped the prince and hounds apart. Then says that's the end of the story. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part 3 – The Pit<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48 – </span></b>Ruhn gets Dec to try to find information on
what they found on Sofie’s arm, but he finds nothing. They’re back in the city
and the Hind doesn’t seem to have told anyone about them being rebels.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>‘The sex on the ship
had been life-altering. Soul-altering’ – because of course it was!</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baxian comes to see them, says he wants in on whatever has
them meeting up with Ophion and then blowing their shit up. Bryce lies, says
they did it to stop the Ophion before they can do anything to the city. Baxian
knows they’re lying, says he is a rebel sympathiser. They continue to lie and
refuse to let him join, so he tells them to come find him when they want actual
answers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Ruhn leaves, Hunt demands to know what she knows about
Emile. Says Spetsos gave it away with all her talk about snakes - he realised that Bryce sent Emile to the Viper Queen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 49 –</b> Ruhn goes back to his home, where Dec, Flynn
and Ithan introduce him to the sprites and Ariadne. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt follows Bryce through the Meat Market. He’s angry at
her, she didn’t deny that she had gotten Emile to the Viper Queen. It wasn’t
Pippa killing those people to track Emile, it was the Viper Queen’s lackeys. Bryce
had told the Viper Queen to find him using any means necessary, but hadn’t
realised what they would actually do to find him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When she’d brought Hunt, Fury and Juniper to the market, she
had sent questions to the Viper Queen asking about the search and telling her
to stop with the killings. When they told her they still hadn’t found him, she
said she knew she had to search the Bone Quarter while the Viper Queen
continued searching. Queen ignored her request to stop the killings, killing a
few more before eventually finding Emile. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Get to the Viper Queen, Emile is beside her. Bryce gets the
Viper Queen to leave so they can speak to him alone. Emile says he doesn’t have
any powers, that Sofie downed those ships. Bryce suspected it, but now she is
sure. Sofie lied, as she knew the only way Ophion would let her go after her brother
was if they thought he had powers and would be of use to them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Viper Queen’s price for helping her was that Bryce would
then owe her a favour. Danika had actually intended for Sofie/Emile to head to
the Meat Market and the Viper Queen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chapter 50 –</b> Emile has heard of Danika before, Sofie talked
about her. Danika found Sofie using her Vanir powers and asked Sofie to do
something for her – something Danika couldn’t do because she was too recognisable. Can't tell them what it was as he didn't know.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce calls Fury, tells her they’re ready and tells her to
bring the car around. Tells Hunt that Fury is the person she can trust to get Emile
to his new home. Bryce tells Emile he is not to go by his name anymore, that he
is part of the Quinlan-Silago clan now. He will get new documents including
birth certificate and adoption papers. Her parents are taking him in. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt get into a fight about it - about how she lied to him about it. She storms off and goes to work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is called to Ruhn’s – she wonders if she overreacted to
Hunt being angry that she didn’t tell him. (<b>Yes, she did. Also, why wouldn’t she tell him?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn tells her about Ithan going back to see the Astronomer,
finding the wolf mystic and then stealing the rings and freeing the sprites and
dragon from them. Asks if they know Lehabah, they don’t but ask what clan she
belonged to. Tells them she said she was a descendent of Queen Ranthia Drahl
and they tell her a sprite wouldn’t lie about their lineage. They say the Drahl
line has long been scattered to the winds and they don’t know how many remain.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As Bryce was a friend to her and Lehabah’s first and final
act was to die to save her, they call Bryce an ally of their people in her honor.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They plan to buy them from the Astonomer. The dragon
says she is very expensive, more than they could afford. Reveals she was gifted
to the Astonomer by an Archangel. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The sprites tell Bryce that she should speak to their queen
about Lehabah’s bravery. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce phones Jesiba to ask if she knows the Astronomer,
needs her help convincing him to let them buy the sprites and Ariadne. When she
gets back to her office, Jesiba has left an envelope which contains an analysis
of dragon fire, dating back five thousand years. Dragon fire is one of the few
substances proven to harm the Princes of Hel. It can burn even the Prince of
Pit. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51 – </span></b>Hunt goes to see Celestina, still upset that
Bryce lied to him because he thought they were a team. Celestina gives him a stack of
preliminary reports on demon activity at the Northern Rift. Gives no sign
she knows anything about what happened with the Hind. Celestina can scent that
he and Bryce are now mated.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt then goes to find the Hind, but she pretends like nothing
has happened. Then tells him to go see what the Harpy has done near the Angel’s
Gate. Hunt finds two Ophion rebels lying facedown on the ground beneath it –
they’ve been blood-eagled. The Harpy had sawed through
their ribs, cleaving each bone from the spine. Then reached through the
incisions and yanked their lungs through them, leaving them as bloody wings
draped over their backs. The victims would have been alive while she did it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Queen Hypaxia shows up at Ruhn’s house. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52 – </span></b>Tharion reports to the River Queen, tells her
about the fleet of ships the other Queen has. Demands he find out everything he
can about the ships. When he goes back to the surface, Hunt is waiting to talk
with him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia can shrink her broom down into a brooch for her to
wear. She came so she could speak with Ruhn alone. Needs a favour, for him to give her an escort to the mating celebration in a few weeks.
She doesn’t trust her coven, as they were chosen by her mother and she
inherited them rather than being allowed to select her own. </p><p class="MsoNormal">She was raised away
from the coven, her mother summoned three ancient, wise spirits to teach her.
One for battle and physical training, another for maths and science, the other
for history/reading/languages. Her mother did the magical training. It
estranged them from her mother’s coven. Her gifts of necromancy unnerve them
and they don’t really know her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The coven might think to replace her with her sister, the
Hind. She has no witch gifts, making her nothing but a figurehead and allowing
her mother’s general, Morganthia to rule. Her mother’s coven want a closer bond
to the Asteri, at the cost of their relative autonomy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn agrees, plans to have Ithan be her guard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and Hunt are walking through the water garden along
the river in Moonwood. Tells him about the demon reports he was given, says
he wants to pass them along to the Blue Court. Shows Tharion some photos, one
of a deathstalker. Deathstalkers are lethal assassins bred by the Prince of the
Pit. One was seen in Nena three days ago. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tells Tharion he knows where Emile is, but says he
can’t tell him. Tells him to lie to the queen and be done looking for him.
Reveals to him that Emile has no powers. Tharion knows how angry the Queen will
be, so decides to continue to pretend to look for Emile for as long as he can.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53 – </span></b>Ithan agrees to guard Hypaxia, but asks if she
can use her necromancer powers to contact his brother. She says there
is a ritual she can perform but it would have to be on the Autumnal Equinox,
when the veil between the realms is thinnest. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn asks if Hypaxia is okay with the dragon joining her
too. His lawyer advised him that he’d need a royal, official reason for commandeering
the Astronomer’s slave. Protecting his fiancée would be a good reason. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce finishes work and finds Hunt waiting outside for her.
Came to use the archives to look something up. He looks at some recently
translated Fae texts on ancient demons. The demons Celestina gave him in her
reports are bad news – rare and lethal. A hint that the Prince of the Pit or
Aidas is planning something. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt thinks that if Hel is building up its armies, these
demons could have been sent to Nena to test its defences. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They talk about everything, both apologise – her for not
trusting him, and him for getting so angry over it. Asks how she knew the Viper
Queen could find Emile, Bryce says she knew the idea that Emile had
powers would motivate her. But also Emile’s scent was found in the marshes,
which is full of sobeks – and the Viper Queen can communicate with reptiles.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce only plans for him, Fury and Juniper to know the truth
about Emile. Her parents are excited, as they weren’t able to have a kid of
their own. He will go by Cooper Silago. She communicated with her mum through
the postcards in order to plan it all. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then Hunt goes down on her in the library. Then they have
sex there. (<b>I’ve worked in public
libraries, people fucking in them is far too common – the worst is when they do
it in the kids play area. Like, are you okay, people?) </b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is called to the mind bridge by Day. Has intel for him
that Pippa Spetsos is planning a big retaliation for losing the mech-suit and
everything else. Ophion fully supports her. Then her and Ruhn get into a fight.
She says if he is not careful he will wind up dead, his only response is ‘<i>so’. </i>They argue, as she basically insinuates he knows nothing of sacrifice. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54 – </span></b>The Autumn King comes to see Bryce at her job.
He can scent that she has mated with Athalar. Says he wanted her with Cormac as
he is powerful. And he wants her in Avallen because the Asteri can’t pierce its
mists without permission because the magic that guards it is so old. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Autumn King learns Bryce believes he killed the last
Starborn Prince out of spite. Reveals Bryce doesn’t know what it means to use
her household name. She has used the title Princess Bryce Danaan multiple times
now. She used his name to get things and can’t undo it. The paperwork to change
her official name has already been filed. She will now be an official Fae Princess.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her father sees the numbers and letters that were on Sofie’s
arm and recognises them. Says he knows what she searches for
because he has been seeking it for a long time. When she asks what that is, he
says ‘<i>The truth</i>’. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her proof of name change arrives, along with a new scooter
registration and a black credit card that would allow her to use her father’s
money. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce got Hypaxia’s number from Ruhn, calls her to meet to
talk. Tells Hypaxia about her father’s visit and about how she is now
officially a princess of the Fae. Asks for her advice on what she should do.
Hypaxia thinks only the Asteri can help Bryce. Bryce reveals she knows
about Hypaxia’s troubles with her coven. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia admits she had visions of a future where witches
were returning to power and she got to be with the person she wanted to. But
says the relationship isn’t possible anymore because the other person didn’t
want to continue it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The withes aren’t as powerful as they once were. Their mighty bloodlines have been weakening, their magic too. Her coven
doesn’t want to look into why, they just want to become even more subservient to
the Asteri. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia’s undead tutors predate the Asteri’s arrival and
were long dead before the Northern Rift opened. They remember the time when
Parthos still stood. One of her tutors, Palania was born in the city
surrounding it. Hypaxia stopped her mother from going to an eternal
resting place like the Bone Quarter, knowing what would happen to her if she
did. The place where the dead went before the Asteri was
peaceful.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is standing guard outside the place they’re meeting.
Bryce looks up to see a scaled, gray beast jump at Ithan and attack him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55 – </span></b>The demon has ripped out Ithan’s throat. There
is another demon approaching them from behind. Bryce asks Hypaxia to shoot her
power into Bryce, needs it to charge her own. She does it, allowing Bryce to
teleport to Ithan, grabbing the gun from him and firing at the nearest demon. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then Bryce teleports bit by bit until the other demon
follows her, so Hypaxia can jump from her broom and slam her knife into its
head. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Isaiah shows up, Hunt soon after. The demons that attacked them
were deathstalkers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia helps to heal Ithan, has him taken to the witches'
embassy so she can tend to him until he’s conscious. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Hunt about how she could teleport thanks
to using Hypaxia’s powers. Ariadne was supposed to be there with Ithan, but
she’d been on the rooftops and has now escaped. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They wonder if Hypaxia’s coven could have sent the demons to
kill her, believing that people would think they were sent after Bryce. As
Bryce had pissed Hel off during the attack.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn reveals to Hunt that the Autumn King called him,
congratulates Hunt. Now that Bryce has been using her royal name, she had now
accepted the position of princess. As her mate, that makes Hunt son-in-law to
the Autumn King, and Ruhn’s brother. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56 –</span></b> Ithan wakes up in the witches embassy. Hypaxia
is in a chair beside him. Tells Hypaxia he heard what she told Bryce about her
mum, wants her to do the same to Connor—ensure he doesn’t go to one of the
sleeping realms. He tells Hypaxia about the wolf mystic, asks if there is
anything she can do.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Flynn, Dec and Tharion come to see him. Flynn and Dec have
been coming to check on him often. (<b>Loving
the bromance between Ithan, Dec and Flynn. Love Flynn in general!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and Hypaxia had met at the Summit and are now friends. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to Ruhn’s, wants to know if he can stay at his house. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57 – </span></b>Hunt and Bryce make it back to the apartment
and he asks if she’s okay about the princess thing, she begins crying. Says she
can’t handle being a princess, because now the King owns her. Could sign her
marriage documents to Cormac without her permission if he wanted to. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn once again called to the bridge by Day. He is still
angry with her, the way she practically said he was worthless and knew nothing
of real sacrifice the last time they saw each other. He tells her they’re
friends and can forgive her if she buys him a beer. She says she will when she
comes to visit. Assumes she’s joking and asks her when, but she says on the
Autumnal Equinox.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She tells him she could attend the ball for the Archangels
and then meet him somewhere. Tells her he is also attending, and it is a masked
ball, so he could meet her there. Tells her to meet him at the fountain on the
conservatory on the rooftop garden of the Comitium at midnight on the night of
the ball. If he thinks she’s there, he will call her Day, and she will answer
with Night. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58 – </span></b>Hunt is in a tux, getting ready for the Equinox
party. Cormac is her official escort to the party. The King has sent her order
after order – telling her what she’s to wear, how to behave and what to eat. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn agreed to go with Hypaxia as her date to the party. The
River Queen’s daughter wishes to meet Hypaxia. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce arrives with Hunt and Cormac, ignoring her father’s
attempt to greet her and snubbing him in front of everyone. She goes up to
Celestina and Ephraim to congratulate them. They extend the same to her. She
thanks them and says her and Prince Hunt will be very happy together. She has
now made a public declaration that her and Hunt are mates and that he is a
Prince of the Fae. She tells them Cormac is with her as a friend that night, nothing more.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri join the celebration via vidchat. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59 –</span></b> The Asteri congratulate Ephraim and Celestina.
Then Hunt and Bryce, as they somehow already know. Cormac is angry with Bryce,
as she broke their deal. Tells her he won’t forget it. According to Fae
law, Bryce is now Hunt’s property. Hunt tells Bryce: ‘<i>Everything that ever happened to me, it was all so I could meet you,
Quinlan. Be here with you. I’m yours. Forever.’</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn and Hypaxis dance together, she’s distracted as she is
looking for her sister, the Hind. This will be the first time she meets her.
Ruhn offers to go with her. Hypaxia tells the Hammer to leave and he does. Ruhn
makes his escape to, so he can get to the fountain on time to meet Day. Person
he sees is the Harpy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60 – </span></b>Ruhn is confused, but calls the Harpy Day and is
relieved when she doesn’t know what it means. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce sneak off to a closet to fuck. It is locked,
but they break it open. Inside, they find Celestina having sex with Hypaxia. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Celestina had encouraged Hypaxia’s engagement to Ruhn,
thought she could marry him in a political sense but hey could continue their
relationship. But then she was mated to Ephraim and had no choice but to say yes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia and Bryce leave Hunt and Celestina to talk. She
tells him there’s a fine line between mate and slave. Hunt says he knows, but
Bryce is worth it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion and the River Queen’s daughter (<b>Will this woman ever get a name!?! There has to be a reason she's not telling us</b>)
He decides he doesn’t want to string her along anymore. Gets her to
dance with one of the guards and then goes to the bar, orders a drink and
begins flirting with someone else.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61 –</span></b> Ithan is with Hypaxia, so she can contact
Connor. She has arranged seven candles on the ground, using a knife to draw
lines between them (a six-pointed star). Tells Ithan that no matter what he
sees or hears, he is to stay on his side of the candles. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to see Day on the bridge. Day admits she was at
the party, saw him there and the threat of the Harpy and so stayed away. She
knows who he is, who he really is. He kisses her; she kisses him back. Tells
him she’s sorry and then vanishes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce and Hunt go back to the apartment. Hunt is out here
massaging her feet, kissing them and nipping her toes. (<b>Again, WHY SARAH?!?! JUST WHY?!?!</b>) Asks her if they’re essentially
married now, and she jokes she doesn’t have ring. Says he will get her one. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This man says: <i>“These
little toes make me think some dirty things, Quinlan</i>’, and she straight up
asks if he has a toe fetish and he says no. <b>Hunt, my guy, you’re lying to yourself. You’re lying to Bryce. You’re
lying to ME! PUT DOWN THE FOOT!</b> (<b>Again,
if I have to know this about him, so do you!)</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They have sex again – if you’ve read one SJM sex scene,
you’ve read this one. Bryce accidentally transports them to the roof. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62 -</span></b> Hypaxia continues her chanting, says she can
feel a presence and that someone is coming. Tells him his brother’s spirit is
strong. Light explodes from the star and when it clears they find the
Under-King in the center of the star, not Connor.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Under-King says Connor is well cared for, but whether he
remains that way is up to Ithan. The King doesn’t tell him what that means,
says he wants to play a game with them first as he is curious about Hypaxia’s
abilities. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is dreaming, but knows she is really seeing and
speaking to Apollion who appears before her. Tells her they are in Parthos, or what remains of it.
Apollion says he chose this moment to speak with her as Aidas is busy readying
Hel’s armies, as he would not like it if he know Apollion was speaking to her.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apollion tells her that Theia was Aidas’s great love – says
that is why he killed Pelias and devoured Sirius (the 7<sup>th</sup> Asteri),
did it for his brother. Tells her Theia was allied with them against the
Asteri. Bryce asks if he sent the Reapers that time they took Ruhn but he denies it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apollion says Hel is ready to finish the war, tells her to
use the Horn using Hunt’s powers and open the doors to Hel. She refuses. He
says he is disappointed and she should come find him once she learns the truth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Came to speak to her tonight because the veil between
worlds is thinnest, so that allowed him to. She points out he spoke to Hunt
before and he says it is because Hunt was <b><u>bred</u></b>
to be receptive to his kind – that is why he is so good at hunting them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hypaxia and Ithan are still in the orchard, but the
Under-King has vanished. They can hear the hunting hounds of the House of Flame
and Shadow. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63 – </span></b>Bryce is at the training center with Hunt, Ruhn
, Tharion, Declan and Cormac, telling them about her encounter with Apollion.
She doesn't tell Hunt what Apollion said about him being bred. She is practising
teleporting using Hunt’s powers. When she does it in front of Tharion he grabs
her and kisses her before she can teleport away, as she’s slowing after each time she teleports. Her power drains away quickly.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They believe her teleporting is different to Cormac’s. Her
power came from the Gate and so it needs to be powered up. It relies on
firstlight or other forms of energy because she’s basically a Gate. But the
Gates can store the power indefinitely and hers wears off. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cormac says he can get over her ending the engagement
without telling him, if she promises not to keep things from him again. She
tells him there is nothing else she's hiding/lying about, but he catches a look between her and Hunt (as
she’s technically lying about Emile). He teleports behind her and holds a knife
to her throat. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Cormac demands that she tell him what she’s hiding or he’ll cut off her
head. Bryce knows that if he tries to hurt her, then Hunt and the others will
attack him. Tells him about Emile, that she found him with the Viper Queen but
lies and says the Queen sent him somewhere safe but she doesn’t know where. Tells him the truth about Emile having no powers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithan and Hypaxia show up to the training center–explain how the Under-King toyed with them, trapping them in the orchard with his
dogs. Took this long for Hypaxia to find a way out of the wards that wouldn’t
kill them. Inform Hunt that the Under-King wants to see Bryce at Urd’s Temple
and if she doesn’t go, then he will send Connor and the rest of the Pack through
the Gate and make them into secondlight. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64 – </span></b>Tharion is at the Meat Market, hears people
gossiping about Celestina already being pregnant. He is there to keep up the
ruse that he is looking for Emile. Tharion had fucked the leopard shifter in
the garden at the party, the River Queen and her daughter don’t know yet. He
overhears someone talking about the dragon and thinks he could offer her as a
gift to the Queen as an apology if she finds out. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion gets Flynn to come to meet him, tells him he thinks
he knows where Ariadne is. They go down to see the Viper Queen. Ariadne sought
the Queen out and asked for asylum and they have reached a bargain. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to speak with the Queen in private—sees the Harpy doing drugs. Asks the Viper Queen if she’s
heard anything about Ophion or Pippa and what they might be up to. She says
that will cost him – tells him she doesn’t own the dragon; she fights for her
in exchange for part of the profits. So she needs his help in getting them to
say the dragon is fighting as a matter of imperial security, so she can keep
her there. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Viper Queen warns him that Ariadne can turn him to ashes if
he tries to take her to the Blue Court. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He agrees to help her keep the dragon. When he asks her to
tell him what Pippa is up to she tells him to call his friends and find out. So
he does, one after the other but none of them answer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Flynn tells Ariadne he’s not done with her, will come back
for her–angry at her for abandoning them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce, Ruhn, Hunt and Hypaxia head to the Temple–those
were the four people the King had permitted to come. The King is sitting on the
throne in the Temple waiting for them. He tells them the Reaper’s that came
after them weren’t sent by Apollion, but came from the Eternal City. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Under-King tells Hypaxia she did a good job getting through
his labyrinth of spells and that the House of Flame and Shadow would welcome
her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce asks if he knows what the sequence from Sofie’s arm
means, but he doesn’t know. Tells her to ask ‘them’—pointing to where
Pippa and her Lightfall soldiers are now entering the temple courtyard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn blocks the doors to the temple to give them time. The
Under-King reveals Pippa came to him when she arrived in the city and knelt
before him. He told Pippa about his run in with Hunt and Bryce, says they came
to a deal—basically will let Pippa and her soldiers kill them so they don’t know
it is him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Hunt to give her his power, and he does. She tells him they need reinforcements. Then she teleports out of there. Then comes
back to attempt to teleport them out of there. Hunt tells her to take Hypaxia
first, then Ruhn and then him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Takes Hypaxia. Comes back for Ruhn. Hunt left alone as the
doors start to cave in under Pippa’s attacks. Just as the doors fly open,
Pollux appears and begins killing rebels, along with Mordoc, the dreadwolves
and the Hind.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce appears beside him, she collapses. She’s tapped out of
energy and can’t take another charge right then. Her body can’t take it. Bryce
bought them time by using the Gates dial pad to broadcast a report
that Ophion was sacking Urd’s Temple, knowing a unit would be sent there to
stop them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baxian appears behind Urd’s throne and motions for them to
come before vanishing behind it. Hunt has to pick up Bryce and make a run for
it. She’s bleeding from her nose. Realises the back of the throne hides a
doorway and stairwell. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baxian heard about the unit being sent to the Temple,
assumed they were there. Researched the Temple and found rumors of this hidden
door. Says it must have been used by a priestess recently as he could scent her
over the alley and fake wall that leads in there. They’re heading towards the
catacombs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce drops out of Hunt’s arms and aims her rifle at Baxian.
Doesn’t know why he keeps popping up, doesn’t buy that he isn’t working for the
Hind or the Asteri. He answers ‘<i>Through
love, all is possible</i>’ – moves his collar aside and shows that he has that
tattooed over his heart in Danika’s handwriting. Tells her that Danika was his
mate. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65 –</span></b> Bryce calls him a liar but he insists he
loved her more than anything. Bryce says he’s lying, that Danika would have
told her (<b>Danika was 23, but she was out
here hiding every secret known to man, doing the absolute most—did she ever sleep?</b>)
Baxian insists he met Danika two years before she died and they had those years
together. Bryce still tries to deny it, but then remembers she teased Danika
about the fact she hadn’t gone on a date in two years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt realises that is why Baxian’s behaviour changed after
Hunt left. He had met Danika. Tells them Danika changed everything for him.
They met after a gathering of wolves, Pangeran and Valbaran. The Prime sent Danika
as his emissary. Baxian wasn’t there, but Danika sought him out afterwards
because she was researching shifter ancestry and his was unique. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She’d found a family tree from an ancient bloodline that
could be traced to him as the last living descendant. Danika wanted to know
where they came from, all of them. Believes she was killed because of that
research.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once she met Baxian, she wanted to find a way into a world
where they could be together—as Sandriel, Sabine and the Asteri would never
let them be together. They could rarely get away, would meet at a hotel in
Forvos one every two months. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Asks him what he knows about Sofie and Danika. Danika
learned about Sofie while researching thunderbird lineage. Confirmed what she’d
found by tracking Sofie down, as she could scent it on her. He thinks Danika had
theories about thunderbirds and their power, isn’t sure what. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce shows him the sequence Sofie carved in her arm and he
recognises it—says it’s a system of numbering room in the Asteri Archives. He
knows that because he was the one who gave it to Danika. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sandriel would have Baxian escort her on her visits to the
Asteri palace. When they took her to the archives, he saw them go through that door. When she came out, she was pale. So he noted down the
sequence of numbers on the door and gave them to Danika. He says she obsessed
over it—had theories she said would alter their world. She gave Sofie
the information and wanted her to sneak in to investigate. Took Sofie three
years to get in to the archives and that room. She ran to Kavalla soon after. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Everything in their archives is kept top secret. If any of
it is digitised, then it is encrypted—can use Dec to try to find the information.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt and Bryce go back to Ruhn’s to fill them in and get Dec
to help. Dec says he can’t hack the archival system, it is too secure. But can hack the camera system in the Eternal Palace—could confirm if Sofie
ever got access to the room.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They find the footage of Sofie at Door
Seven-Eta-Dot-Three-Alpha-Omega, she is in there for 15 minutes before she
returns. Carried nothing in and nothing out but her face is pale when she
leaves. Footage is 2 months old, from just before she went to Kavalla. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce says they need to go to the Eternal City and get into
the Archives. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithan asks about Tharion and the River Queen’s daughter.
Asks if he loves her, and he says no. So he asks why he got engaged to her—Tharion says it is because he was stupid and horny, wanted to fuck her so badly
that he swore himself to her with the plan to undo it the next day. But wasn’t
able to.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion asks if Ithan is seeing anyone and Ithan asks if
Ruhn told him about his past. Tharion says: ‘<i>About you having a thing for Bryce? No´</i> Ithan asks how he knew then
and he responds: <i>“She’s Bryce. </i>Everyone<i> has got a thing for her</i>” (<b>Because it isn’t a SJM female lead unless
every male she encounters wants to fuck her! Again: Copy & paste!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion warns him to solve any unresolved business he has
before they go to the Eternal City, just in case. Ithan leaves, telling Tharion
that there is something he needs to do.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66 – </span></b>Bryce goes to see Fury, who tells her she’s a
fucking idiot for wanting to get into the archives. Bryce needs her help, as
Fury has been to the palace before. Fury agrees to get whatever intel she can,
then plans to take Juniper out of the city. Agrees to take Syrinx with her.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tharion goes to see the River Queen’s daughter – already
knows he wants to end the betrothal. Has always known because if he wanted to
marry her, he’d have acted by now. She’s angry, tells him to come Beneath with
him but he refuses. Knows he has only about thirty minutes to find some way to
stop the River Queen coming for him and dragging him below.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithan goes to see the Prime, Sabine is also there. Tells him
about the Astonomer keeping a wolf as a mystic. Asks them to help her. Sabine then leaves the room. The
Prime asks Ithan what the wolf looked like, he tells him. Then he asks if her
scent was of snow and embers—when Ithan asks how he knew that, the Prime
reveals Sabine is not the only Fendyr heir (this wolf is one).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67 –</span></b> Tharion goes to see the Viper Queen to tell her
he wants to be one of her fighters. Says he will sell himself to her, would rather be a slave to her than be forced to stay Beneath and be used to
breed royal offspring. Tells him there is another way-he can defect.
Agrees to do that, then she tells him to drink her blood, which he does. Gives her some kind of power/control over him that he can feel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithan is worried he has put the mystic wolf in danger now because
he believes Sabine may know and will want to kill her. Decides he can’t go with
them to Pangera, needs to stay so he can guard the wolf.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn goes to see Day, who says she can’t see him anymore.
Tells him that kiss between them was dangerous and reckless and can’t happen
again. The male who pulled her from the dream bridge would kill Ruhn if he
finds out, and would make her watch. Asks Day if she can leave him, but she says
no, that his fate is bound to hers. But Ruhn argues that her fate is bound to
his. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Day finishes her story about the witch who fell to earth.
Says she remained a monster for hundreds of years and forgot she was once a
witch. A warrior arrived in the forest one day, and she planned to kill him but
he was not afraid of her. The warrior loved her and that love transformed her
back into a witch, where they lived in the forest for the rest of their lives. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Decide to have sex (<b>mind
sex? Who even knows at this point.</b>).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then he tells her they plan to get into the Asteri
Archives because the intel Sofie possessed is likely in one of the rooms there.
Tells her they could use a distraction, for attention to be elsewhere while
they break in. Just before the male pulls her out of the mind bridge, she tells
Ruhn that ‘<i>they know. The dungeons—’</i>
but is pulled out before she can finish the sentence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68 – </span></b>Ruhn tells Bryce about Day. Wants to break into
the palace not only to get into the archives but also to save her. Tells them
he is going with them so he can rescue her, will separate from them to do it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fury has dropped off a hand-drawn map of the crystal palace.
They need to create a distraction so the Asteri are busy looking elsewhere
while they break in. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They call Cormac, who comes over with Tharion. Cormac has
heard Pippa is planning a raid on the Pangeran lab where the Asteri made the
mech prototype. She wants the plans and to get the scientists who created it, so
she can build new ones. Need her to move sooner
- Tharion says they could initiate the raid, so Pippa and her soldiers
will come after then. Then they can blow it up when Pippa, Ophion and the
dreadwolves sent after them all arrive. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The lab is 20 miles north of the Eternal City. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Declan will hack the security cameras in the palace and turn
them away while they are in there. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce calls Juniper and leaves a message. Apologises for
everything and tells her she loves her. Then takes a photo with her of her,
Danika, Juniper and Fury. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69 –</span></b> Ruhn goes and finds Cormac in a bar, tells him
they can start over when this is finished. Can decide who they want to be,
separate of their fathers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt goes to his room in the barracks to round up all his
knives and guns that he keeps there. Also puts on his Umbra Mortis helmet. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Celestina is by the elevators. Tells him that she hopes
he’ll come to her if he needs an ally, but he notes that she's acting a little weird. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70 – </span></b>Tharion and Cormac are on their way to the lab
for the raid. Both wearing imperial uniform. They’d got across the ocean using
the <i>Depth Charger’s </i>submersible-pod.
Tharion contacted Sendes, and she had sent it for him. Tharion only has 5 hours
left before he needs to submerge or be stuck human. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They arrive and Cormac says Pippa, and her team are
already there, hiding in the trees. Dec had spent the day before planting
information on rebel networks—letting them know that the anti-Ophion rebels
who destroyed the shipment on Ydra were now making a move on the lab. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce, Hunt and Ruhn are at the Eternal City. Cormac has
studied how to get between the lab and them so he can let them know when the distraction has started, as well as teleport them inside the palace. Then he
teleports Hunt into the castle.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Before they make their move, Ruhn tells Bryce that he thinks
it is time the Autumn King’s reign ends. Ruhn says he will back
Bryce in a coup, wants her as Autumn Queen. But she insists he should be King,
but he says she has more power and the Fae will respect that. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Cormac transports her, he tells her Ruhn is right.
Realises the Oracle didn’t mean their union in marriage would bring prosperity
to their people. She meant their union as allies. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt is in the palace, brings back memories of when he was
trapped there being tortured. Then Bryce and Ruhn are both transported to him and
they are ready to set their plan into action. Send Declan the signal and
Cormac/Tharion begin their attack on the lab. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt gives Bryce his power, and she teleports into the
archives. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71 - </span></b>Bryce finds herself in a stairwell, follows it
down until she finds herself in a 70ft long hallway. Only thing in it are crystal
pipes shooting upward into the ceiling with plaques beneath them, small black
screens beside the plaques.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are 7 pipes. She reads one plaque and it says <i>Hesperus</i>, the Evening Star. Next one is <i>Polaris</i>, the North Star. Each pipes
plaque has the name of an Asteri on it – <i>Eosphoros,
Octartis, Austrus, Sirius, Regulus</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sees firstlight shooting up six of the pipes. The black
screens come to life and contain reading – one says ‘<i>Rigelus power level: 65%</i>’. Realises that the Asteri feeds on
firstlight. The palace is made of the same quartz as the Gates in Crescent
City, so it can fuel and harness the firstlight. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Asteri are the ones using the power all the people of
Midgard give over during the Drop and as secondlight. This is what Sofie had
found out. If they prevent the Asteri being able to get any firstlight then
they can destroy them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72 –</span></b> Ruhn gets restless, says he is going to make a
head start on trying to get to Day. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce runs back up the stairwell to the door, ready to
teleport back to Hunt, when she notices the door handle gleaming. Goes
to investigate first. Finds herself in the main archives hallway and runs
through the library, finding door after door. She stops at one that is named <i>Dusk</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt gets a message from Dec telling him Bryce is safe, that
she slipped into a room called <i>Dusk</i>
and that he will keep Hunt posted. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is caught by Mordoc.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cormac and Tharion make it into the lab, and Cormac begins
killing the scientists and engineers that he finds there. Tharion notes Cormac has gone rogue, lied when he said he would try to limit casualties. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then Imperial Vanir reinforcements arrive. Pippa
shoots at Cormac, he teleports too slowly and gets hit with a bullet. Cormac
tells Tharion to leave; and he realises that Cormac never intended to make it
out of the lab alive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce enters the room and finds a round table with seven
seats around it. There is a projector in the middle of the table. The walls are
covered in star-maps of constellations and solar systems. Looks at one and sees
a system she doesn’t know—five planets orbiting a sun. One planet is listed
as habitable and is labelled <i>Rentharr.
Conq. A.E. 14000</i>. – assumes conq means conquered. There is another note
next to it that says: <i>A bellicose aquatic
people. Primordial land life. Little supply. Terminated A.E. 14007</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another star map says <i>Iphraxia.
Conq. A.E 680. Lost A.E 720 </i>because the people figured out their methods
and they lost people to their unified front and had to evacuate. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce reads the notes on them all, of all the solar systems
and planets the Asteri have conquered. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then she finds the Midgard map which says it was conquered
in A.E 17003. She doesn’t know what A.E. means. Notes on Midgard say it is the
most ideal location but indigenous life is not sustainable, but it would be good
for colonisation. Notes they have contacted others to share their bounties. All
the different creatures in Crescent City had been lured here from other
planets/worlds. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She turns on the projector to find a 3D map of the cosmos,
marked with digital notes. Finds Hel on the map and a note that it was lost in
A.E. 17001. The note for that says it is
filled with mighty creatures who saw through their traps. The warring factions
of Hel came together to fight against the Asteri. The Asteri weren’t able to
beat them so abandoned their world, but were chased because the princes of Hel
had learned from capturing Asteri lieutenants how to travel between realms.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hel found them on Midgard in 17002 and tried to warn the
people there who the Asteri really were. Then had a war that lasted until 17003
and Hel were defeated. Shut them off from Midgard because they developed
attachments to the colonists there–she realises they mean Aidas who fell in
love with Theia. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce realises Apollion was telling the truth. They rid
their world of the Asteri but went after them to stop them from doing
the same to another planet. Hel hasn’t stopped trying to save them for 15
thousand years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce is trying to find the origin of the Asteri, their home
planet. But she is caught by Rigelus, who says she won’t find it as even they
have forgotten where their old planet was. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 73 – </b></span>Bryce asks why they do it and he says they are
gods/higher beings. That they can’t be blamed for how they get their source of
nutrition. Rigelus says he knew she would come, that he had hoped and planned
it. He wants her there so she can reopen the Rifts. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tells her she is Starborn and has the Horn bound to her.
Her that her ancestors wielded the Horn and another Fae object that
allowed them to enter this world—says they were stolen from the Asteri. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He tells her Midgard is a base, and they opened the doors to
other worlds so they could bring their citizens here. They believed they were
coming to conquer new worlds, not realising the Asteri were conquering them. But also opened doors to other worlds so they could continue conquering planets. Queen Theia and her two daughters realised what they were doing though and
found where they’d hidden access points in their world. They then shut the
gates to stop the Asteri from being able to invade any other worlds, keeping
the Asteri trapped on Midgard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>“Look, I already did the whole villain monologuing thing with Micah
this spring, so cut to the chase”</i></b><i>
– </i>Oh, so SJM now realises how terrible that whole thing was then? Good for
her, does that mean we won't get it here?!?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He tells her that Danika had realised that the shifters are
Fae, not the same kind as hers though. (<b>Bryce’s
Fae clearly came from the ACOTAR world and the shifter Fae came from ToG world</b>)<b> <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her Fae came from a land rich with magic, and the Starborn
bloodline came from a small isle that was a few miles from the mainland. Her
isle was in near-permanent twilight (Dusk). But says only a few in her world
could shift to an animal form. The shifters come from another Fae planet—all
the Fae in that world shared their form with an animal and the mer descended
from them. They don’t have pointed ears here because it was bred out of them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Did it so they could lie to them about what they are, make
enemies of each other. If they both knew they were Fae then they might unify
against the Asteri. (<b>This reasoning is
dumb. They could literally still decide to unify against them?!?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Project Thurr – Thurr was the last time someone got as far
as Danika in learning the truth. It didn’t end well for them. (<b>Hunt’s daddy?</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reveals that he was the one who pointed Micah towards synth
and Danika, so Micah would kill her for them. Bryce transports back to Hunt, only to
find him on his knees, hands behind his head and bound with gorsian manacles.
Bryce is caught the Harpy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 74 –</b></span> Tharion tries to run but is stopped by someone
in a mech-suit. Cormac is shot again, Tharion runs. Five of the Asteri arrive.
Then Cormac erupts into a ball of fire, consuming Pippa and then the mech-suit.
The fire grows bigger and Tharion runs. Tharion is half a mile away when the
building explodes, with Cormac inside it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is slumped on the cell floor, having been beaten by
Mordoc. Bryce and Hunt are brought in. Mordoc has been following their
movements for a long time, Rigelus asked him to, as he has a special interest
in them. He says it is because Hunt’s scent is wrong, doesn’t smell like any
angel Mordoc has ever met (<b>Because his Fae! Come on guys!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mordoc leaves and the Harpy goes to torture Ruhn but the
Hind appears and attacks her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75 – </span></b>Ruhn finally realises that Day is the
Hind/Lidia Cervos. He recognised her scent that first time on the bridge because she is
related to Hypaxia. The Harpy and the Hind fight. She gets the Harpy close
enough to Ruhn that he can grab her ankle and pull her over. She manages to
kill the Harpy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lidia unlocks Ruhn’s chains, tells him he needs to leave.
She had tried to warn Ruhn that she believed Rigelus wanted them to come here,
but she was interrupted. By the time she could contact him again she knew
warning them off would give her away. (<b>Why would it? If they decided not to come there, why would anyone know it was her?! It would make more sense that they just decided it wasn't worth the risk</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Says she didn’t kill Sofie, she was the one who called the
city-ship to save her, but they were too late. Shows Ruhn a white stone, they
are calling stones. The Ocean Queen enchanted them and they summon whatever
city-ship is closest to them when dropped in the water—that was what she dropped
in the water that day in Ydra, and the reason the ship came to save them. Ruhn
says Sofie drowned because of her, that people have died at her hands. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hind hears Pollux coming. Tells Bryce they need it to look
real, can’t find out she’s a double agent. Bryce then punches her in the face.
Bryce is attacking her when Pollux arrives. Ruhn swears he sees the Hind
whisper something in her ear before Pollux grabs her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Hind picks up a sword, uses it to threaten Ruhn to stay
back against the wall while Pollux deals with Bryce. All three of them are
chained back up and forced out of the cell. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt reaches for Bryce’s hand and realises her manacles
aren’t locked. She’s just holding them in place. The Hind hadn’t secured them.
Hunt realises Bryce, the Hind and he all know the same thing—Bryce has the
information they need and she has to get out. Hunt realises he is holding her
hand for the last time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn is blocking out all the Hinds/Lidia’s attempts to
talk to him via his mind. Pollux notices him staring at the Hind, so he grips
her by the throat and kisses under her ear. Ruhn realises that Pollux hurts her, and she endures it time after time because it is the only way she can continue to
feed the rebels intel. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Being led down a hall
with a quartz Gate at the end of it. Then into a throne room where Rigelus sits
on his throne. Tells Bryce she is going to pay for killing another angel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 76 –</span></b> Hunt’s severed wings are still mounted on the
wall above the Asteri’s thrones. Shahar’s are displayed above his. Baxian and
Mordoc enter the throne room to join the Hind and the Hammer. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce starts talking—saying about how the Asteri are
parasites who trick them into the drop so they can feed off their firstlight.
And then do the same to secondlight when they die. He realises she’s saying it
out loud so her companions will know – Dec is monitoring the cameras. When she
tries to explain about destroying the core of firstlight beneath the planet, he
silences her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus reveals he knew Cormac was with them, and that he is
now dead—that’s where the other Asteri have gone. Cormac incinerated himself
and the lab, killing Pippa as well. Rigelus says he might call the Autumn King there, that he
was good at using his fire on Ruhn when he was a boy. That Ruhn has so many
tattoos because they hide the scars.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce tells Rigelus she will open a portal for him if he
lets Hunt and Ruhn go and agrees to leave them unharmed forever. Hunt finally
realises that is why they lured them here, because Rigelus says he couldn’t just
snatch them off the streets. (<b>But why
not? They’re supposed to be sooooo powerful, so why not?!?</b>) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus reveals he came to Bryce’s apartment disguised as
Aidas that night he encouraged them to join the rebels. He also sent the
Reapers—the Bone Quarter was to test her true power. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt tries to lie and say they aren’t rebels and that
Celestina can vouch for them. But he says Celestina reported to him that Hunt
lied about going to visit Bryce’s family. And also reported about seeing him
leave the barracks heavily armed the other night. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus says the star on her chest is a beacon to the world
where she came from—and it glows when near Fae who have undiluted bloodlines
from that world (like Cormac). Tells her the star will lead them back to that
world, where they overthrew his brethren who once ruled it. They want revenge—their initial attempt was foiled by Bryce’s ancestor, who also bore the star on
her chest. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once again says she will help if he lets Hunt and Ruhn go.
Says he agrees and tells her to say goodbye. Hunt hugs Bryce and whispers in
her ear and then he says: <i>‘I love you.
I wish I’d said it more. But I love you, Quinland and… Our love is stronger
than time, greater than any distance. Our love spans across stars and worlds. I
will find you again. I promise.”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hunt had whispered in her ear, telling him to leave them.
Ruhn whispers to her that he lied to the King about what the Oracle saw for him—tells her how she said he’d be the last of the royal line. But maybe she
hadn’t seen Bryce. Tells Bryce she needs to live, and she has to be Queen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then tells her to take the Starsword when she goes. While
hugging them, she has unlocked both their chains using the key the Hind slipped
to her. Ruhn has told Hunt the signal. Ruhn tells Bryce she needs to go to Hel through the Gate and
bring their armies back to fight them. Then tell her if Apollion’s cost is too
high, she should not return to their world.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ruhn gives the signal: <i>Long
live the queen.</i> And then she grabs his sword and blasts Rigelus with her
starlight. Hunt hurls his power at Rigelus too. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce makes a run for it, Rigelus is chasing after her.
She’s running for the arch so she can open a gate to take her to Hel. As she
runs, Hunt blasts his power into her back where the Horn is. She blasts her
power into the Gate, but uses a blast right from her star tattoo (<b>Bestie clearly didn’t listen when Rigelus
told her it was a beacon to her HOME WORLD – she just opened a portal to the
ACOTAR realm not Hel, I’m sure of it)</b> and then tries to transport to it.
But there are wards around it. She transports behind Rigelus and then blasts
him in the face with her powers before finally running through the Gate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 77 –</b></span> Hunt has a gorsian stone gag and gorsian
chains around his wrists and neck. Baxian and Ruhn are also held the same way. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rigelus puts Hunt on his knees before the Gate, then lays a
glowing hand on his brow. The Asteri’s putting a new halo tattoo
across his brow. Taking away his powers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 78 – </b></span>Bryce has woken up on a grassy lawn and
realises she is in a city. A male voice speaks to her in a language she doesn’t
understand, but she knows he is essentially warning her not to move. Then she
is dragged up by a winged male, who is beautiful. She asks to be taken to
Aidas. The male's eyes widen when he sees the Starsword. He has scarred hands – <b>Az!!! </b>Makes her put on a blindfold and
then he flies with her. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sets her on a chair somewhere. She notes it smells pleasant.
He keeps trying to talk to her in a language she doesn’t understand. Continues
to ask to see Aidas, and that her world is in grave danger. She finally pulls off her blindfold. The Inner Circle
walk in, but Bryce doesn’t know that. They are all speaking the same language that she can't understand.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bryce uses the one other language she knows—ancient language
of the Fae, of the Starborn to once again ask if this is Hel and if she can see
Aidas. Amren looks at the sword and speaks to Az, has him draw his knife. It is
the twin to the Starsword <b>(I knew it!)</b>
As he draws it the Starsword begins to glow with white light and the knife with
dark light. The Starsword is Gwydion. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Amren finally responds to Bryce, saying no one has spoken the
Ancient language here in 15,000 years. Tells Bryce she doesn’t know who Aidas
is. Tells her she is not in Hel. Then Feyre and Rhys arrive, and Bryce
notes Ruhn looks almost exactly like this new male (Rhys) except this males skin is browner.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She tells Amren she didn’t mean to come here, that she meant
to go to Hel. Tells them her mate is in grave danger and she needs to get help
for him and her world. Rhysand introduces himself to her. (<b>CC3 is gonna be messy!</b>)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Epilogue –</span></b> Ithan is outside the Astronomer’s building, has heard no news about the others. Gets a call from Flynn who tells him Ruhn
and Hunt have been taken prisoner by the Asteri, Dec saw it on the feeds.
Tharion is now on the <i>Depth Charger</i>
pod and called to tell Dec that Cormac is dead. Ithan asks about Bryce, Flynn tells him she disappeared but Ithan needs to come hear it from Dec.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithan breaks into the Astonomer’s again, needs to go see
Declan but refuses to leave the wolf mystic behind. Pleads with her to wake up.
Epilogue ends with the wolf’s eyes opening. </p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-90121925527977480782021-09-26T19:28:00.001+01:002021-09-26T19:28:15.257+01:00Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zoCiRRU9a6SPp0IjI4V0UuJbc0fV3HJsr9WJGOug2LSmWikIFYd7b4FS0cb0Zq0gyhmVKDFo-wXXc8Q7Zf5jAqMwJ_cEpEv1YEPo2WhS2I2s65Y67-8lSK1OsHtAx2F-AsebIfQEMaTb/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1355" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zoCiRRU9a6SPp0IjI4V0UuJbc0fV3HJsr9WJGOug2LSmWikIFYd7b4FS0cb0Zq0gyhmVKDFo-wXXc8Q7Zf5jAqMwJ_cEpEv1YEPo2WhS2I2s65Y67-8lSK1OsHtAx2F-AsebIfQEMaTb/w266-h400/image.png" width="266" /></a></div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Title: Hook, Line, and Sinker<br />Author: Tessa Bailey<br />Source: Edelweiss Plus</span></b><p></p><i><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">King crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he's a guaranteed good time--in bed and out--and that's exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. She's immune to his charm and looks, but she seems to enjoy his... personality? And wants to be </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">friends</span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">? Bizarre. But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.</span><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Now, Hannah's in town for work, crashing in Fox's spare bedroom. She knows he's a notorious ladies' man, but they're definitely </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">just friends</span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">. In fact, she's nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westport's resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker's eye... yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">him </span><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can't deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost.</span><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now she's walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life and... and... man overboard! He's fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Fox can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah he's all in, she'll choose him instead?</span></blockquote></i><br /><br /><br />Okay... WOW! I recently read It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey and really enjoyed it. It was a four star read for me and became a top read of the year. But I was really drawn to the side characters in that book, Hannah and Fox and was hopeful they'd get their own book. So as soon as I saw they were in fact getting a companion novel - I HAD TO HAVE IT! And luckily for me I got approved for an eARC and quickly devoured it in one sitting.<div><br /><div>This was the <i style="font-weight: bold;">perfect</i> friends-to-lovers romance that I needed and was just everything I could have asked for and more. I was in love with this book from the very first page when we got to see some text conversations between Hannah and Fox. I loved their friendship so much and how they communicated through songs. It was just perfection.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>But what truly cemented this as a five star new favourite was how beautiful the slow build up of their romance was. This is the kind of slow burn I love, which kind of has you wanting to reach into the book and force the characters together. These two had <i style="font-weight: bold;">sooooooo</i> much chemisty and sexual tension building throughout the novel. I can't remember the last time I was this heavily invested in watching two characters get together, and feeling so nervous for the conflict that would inevitably come between them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I feel like It Happened One Summer was a great book and I loved it, but I will definitely say that this book blew it out of the water for me. This was just perfect from beginning to end and I so wish I got to have more of these two together. And yes, I most definitely wish we had got a few more spicy scenes between the two because those scenes were incredible.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TkLJ_MjJE-3tzw7FmWv2mBNgXPVf0g7fS7Gqj4uW8vEOeQnR36PxIEi4xQptKObdXGYXo3tJfmA5TbsNfkXxLdaaJLzojcuIbdmG6u7dihzkLE9nLzuPjSSP_p9ExwIuvDaLNzYSJPer/w400-h80/5-butterflies.png" width="400" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b>5/5</b></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-78020820872747928382021-02-20T14:24:00.002+00:002024-01-28T13:40:30.183+00:00A Court of Frost and Starlight: Recap / Summary <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQYRIENPg-J_p1JNiwCk4djbRwoIjvJjnspwh5QoLOVdU9NoN300R73ikaf26ZizC_0_eBSkE7rOFSOoYLdhnnJKjcWvpXdfWU3_u09KuQ629WrI8sv2W_U4zRaKusTjHAi6JqKSPUGw4/s1500/acofas.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQYRIENPg-J_p1JNiwCk4djbRwoIjvJjnspwh5QoLOVdU9NoN300R73ikaf26ZizC_0_eBSkE7rOFSOoYLdhnnJKjcWvpXdfWU3_u09KuQ629WrI8sv2W_U4zRaKusTjHAi6JqKSPUGw4/w640-h214/acofas.png" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="text-align: justify;">I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reviews_from_a_bookworm/">check those out here</a></b><span style="text-align: justify;">. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out <b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/throne-of-glass-full-series-recap-summary.html">here</a></b>. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Court of Frost and Starlight</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 Feyre: </span></b>They are a week away from Winter Solstice and Feyre's birthday, she spent the last one in the Spring Court. They will all be exchanging gifts. Rhys is currently at Devlon's camp with Cassian.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 Rhys:</span></b> Still fighting with Devlon about the women training. Rhys is mainly thinking about fucking Feyre. Dissension is brewing in the Illyrian camps, unhappy at how many of their warriors died in battle. Cassian and Nesta now don't speak t all. Nesta moved into an apartment in a slum part of Prythian and refuses to see anyone but Feyre.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3 Cassian:</span></b> Cassian goes flying and goes past Ramiel, the sacred mountain that the Blood Rite takes place on, has a shiny black stone at the peak. Cassian flies to the place where his old village had been, it was completely destroyed years ago. When he'd come back to find his mother they refused to tell him where they had buried her body. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4 Feyre: </span></b>Her and Rhys host weekly open audiences at the House of Wind where people can come and ask for things they need. She goes for a walk through Velaris and sees a fae woman she remembers seeing the day Hybern attacked Velaris, Ressina. Ressina shows Feyre the studio place she works in and invites Feyre to come and use it whenever she was. She tells Feyre everyone remembers how she came and fought for them the day Hybern attacked. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mor comes to join her, Feyre is trying to find a present for Amren. Mor says her, Rhys and Feyre are going to heading to the Hewn City that night, a tradition to visit for Solstice. Mor has heard that Eris will be there and she wants to see how close he and her father are. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5 Feyre:</span></b> Rhys comes home exhausted and Feyre brings him food. Then we get a pointless lesson on fae periods - they get one every 6 months. Feyre once again thinks about children, says she meant what she said when she told Rhys she didn't want kids anytime soon. Rhys is mad at Nesta for not helping Feyre when they were human. Feyre points out he has forgiven Elain and he says that Elain is Elain but Nesta is different (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Nope, I wish people would stop making excuses for Elain like she is a child! If you hate on one sister for not helping, hate on Elain too!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 Mor: </span></b>She goes to the Hewn City to see Keir and Eris. She remembers the day Eris found her and left her for dead in the Autumn Court. He told all the guards with him that day to not touch her, said if they did then she became their responsibility. Then he leaned over her and asked her if she was correct, that she did not want to live in the Autumn Court and he could read in her eyes that she didn't. Eris then told the guards to leave her, that she had sullied herself and her family chose to deal with her like garbage. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seems Eris's father wants to expand his territory into the human lands. Eris tells them to speak to Tamlin as he'd be the one giving him permission to do it as the Spring Court borders the human land. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7 Rhys:</span></b> Azriel has brought a list of clans where dissent is spreading. Jurian and Vassa both still in the human lands. Lucien is spending solstice with Tamlin in the Spring Court. Rhys needs to go visit Tamlin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 Cassian: </span></b>Goes to see the clothier Proteus, finds his daughter instead, Emerie. He buys all her winter clothes and tells her to give them to those in the village who need them most.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9 Feyre: </span></b>Goes to Ressina's stuidio space to paint. She is too scared to go in so instead winnow into an abandoned gallery and paints in there instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 10 Feyre:</b></span> Painted how she looked in the mirror, the beast that she saw.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 Rhys:</span></b> Goes to the Spring Court, the estate is completely run down and empty. Tamlin has destroyed almost every room in the estate. Rhys and Tamlin fight, Tamlin is feeling sorry for himself and Rhys tells him he deserves everything that has befallen him. Rhys tells Tamlin he hopes he spends the rest of his life alone. Then Tamlin leaves and goes to buy Amren a Solstice gift. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 12 Feyre:</b></span> Feyre and Cassian get drunk together while decorating for Solstice. Nesta told Elain she won't come to Solstice, doesn't want to see them at all. Feyre goes to see Nesta that night but she doesn't open the door. Feyre finds her in a seedy bar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 Feyre: </span></b>Nesta goes out drinking most nights and brings home men to sleep with. Feyre tries to get her to agree to come to Solstice but she keeps refusing. Feyre goes to say it is what their father would want but Nesta gets very angry at her for bringing him up. Feyre says she will only pay for Nesta's rent if she comes to Solstice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14 Rhys:</span></b> Tells Mor he needs her help with treaty renegotiations with the other courts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 Feyre: </span></b>Feyre buys a tapestry and thinks about how she'd like to teach others to paint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16 Rhys: </span></b>They all have a drink together on Solstice Eve, Nesta doesn't come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 Feyre:</span></b> She wakes up and Rhys gives her some birthday presents including a sketchbook, scarf and satchel for her paint supplies. Feyre wants to draw him nude. He leaves her to go off with Cassian and Azriel for a Solstice day tradition, doesn't tell her what. Lucien shows up for Solstice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 Feyre:</span></b> Lucien has been spending time with Jurian and Vassa. Mor takes Feyre to see Rhys, Cassian and Azriel - the tradition is a snowball fight. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19 Feyre:</span></b> At the Solstice celebration they give Feyre a birthday cake to celebrate her 21st birthday. They then start exchanging gifts when Nesta finally shows up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20 Feyre:</span></b> Nesta is silent the whole night, takes her rent money from Feyre at the end of the night and leaves. Cassian goes after her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 Cassian: </span></b>He has a gift for Nessa that it took him months to find. She says she wants nothing from him. But he remembers how she was willing to die for him in the battle. They have a fight and he ends up throwing her present into the river.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 Feyre:</span></b> Rhys reveals the dresses that he gifted Feyre to wear were all made by his mother, she was a seamstress. Feyre tells Rhys she wants him to change the eye tattoos on her hands, wants him to make it the same as the tattoos on his knees - a mountain crowned by three stars. Then Feyre gives Rhys her gift, that she wants to get pregnant and have a baby. Then Rhys gives her another present, has bought an estate for them where she can build a house.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23 Rhys:</span></b> Goes to visit Tamlin, has asked the Summer Court to provide him with soldiers to protect his borders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24 Mor:</span></b> Mor goes to her estate, she has owned it for 300 years and kept it a secret.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25 Feyre: </span></b>The closed gallery she has been doing her painting in belonged to a woman called Polina. They have gifted Feyre the studio.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26 Rhys:</span></b> Rhys is watching the females train at a camp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27 Feyre:</span></b> She is now working with Ressina and have opened her studio up to teach children how to paint, it will be free.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28 Feyre: </span></b>The first class ends and then she goes flying with Rhys.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite honestly the most pointless novella I have ever read. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-63649410471861677182021-02-18T01:41:00.006+00:002021-02-23T23:56:40.500+00:00A Court of Silver Flames - Video updates as I read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQYRIENPg-J_p1JNiwCk4djbRwoIjvJjnspwh5QoLOVdU9NoN300R73ikaf26ZizC_0_eBSkE7rOFSOoYLdhnnJKjcWvpXdfWU3_u09KuQ629WrI8sv2W_U4zRaKusTjHAi6JqKSPUGw4/s1500/acofas.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSvo6OkIcg_eEaPW91ttswaKl3InKwXr8E-h3RQUZ5Tx-OGnlIMbf__SAwtMd8c15M-UG0NvDvwmQuJUaXdWvFEzNTSovbTvjY8FKugxbw1C69uq-ONV9luCOk3UFLIUKdZXXfFuwRJMh/s1500/acosf.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSvo6OkIcg_eEaPW91ttswaKl3InKwXr8E-h3RQUZ5Tx-OGnlIMbf__SAwtMd8c15M-UG0NvDvwmQuJUaXdWvFEzNTSovbTvjY8FKugxbw1C69uq-ONV9luCOk3UFLIUKdZXXfFuwRJMh/w640-h214/acosf.png" width="640" /></a><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I usually post my video updates to Instagram as I read but don't want to risk spoiling the book for anyone! So instead I'll upload videos here as I go. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Be aware that I struggle to say what I enjoy about a book as I am reading it so this will mostly be about the plot itself and the things that stick out to me/bug me. Yes, I will sound like a moody, miserable bitch and you have been warned. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Chapters 1 - 21</span></u></b></p></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/519bvrWVUH8" width="320" youtube-src-id="519bvrWVUH8"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Chapters 22 - 31</span></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GKF5XacpCH0" width="320" youtube-src-id="GKF5XacpCH0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 32 - 56</span></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/54rQwwhMWy4" width="320" youtube-src-id="54rQwwhMWy4"></iframe></div><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 56 - End</span></u></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GqvLAzig3oQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="GqvLAzig3oQ"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Reread Thoughts</span></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XUPJv5Ni0Ig" width="320" youtube-src-id="XUPJv5Ni0Ig"></iframe></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-41417302615662540922021-02-14T02:57:00.009+00:002024-01-28T13:41:37.650+00:00A Court of Wings and Ruin Summary / Recap (ACOWAR)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOpiKURuU-jwL-33SNCiC-uECh8Mwif7TjEyLIxQlqQ5iiOGl5B9jiMQ_JgFy2T1vAZzCCV5Ncw_3NLMnDQYi0tzF7Fu6u9A4T-WasgXQoh-mpSBKodnoI7AaMGQHGGSjy_c4nTez9Ku9/s1500/acowar1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOpiKURuU-jwL-33SNCiC-uECh8Mwif7TjEyLIxQlqQ5iiOGl5B9jiMQ_JgFy2T1vAZzCCV5Ncw_3NLMnDQYi0tzF7Fu6u9A4T-WasgXQoh-mpSBKodnoI7AaMGQHGGSjy_c4nTez9Ku9/w640-h213/acowar1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: <b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reviews_from_a_bookworm/">check those out here</a></b>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out <b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/throne-of-glass-full-series-recap-summary.html">here</a></b>. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Court of Wings and Ruin</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Rhysand: Two Years Before the Wall</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys is making his way across the killing field, during the war between human and Fae. The field is field with the corpses of fallen Fae and humans. They had managed to hold the lines against Ravennia's legions for three days. His is making his way across the field and checking any Illyrian he sees to make sure it is not Cassian.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part One: </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Princess of Carrion</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1:</span></b> She is in the Spring Court, painting a picture of flowers and trying to pretend she is okay. She still has both of her tattoos but she is using a glamour to hide them. Ianthe is coming to explain to Feyre why she gave up her sisters to the King of Hybern. Feyre has a new bedroom at the manor, her old one was completely trashed by Tamlin. She now stays in a room just across from Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien keeps asking Feyre where Rhys would take Elain, says he needs to find her- he is worried what is happening to her there. He doesn't believe Feyre when she says that Elain will be fine there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ianthe says she is sorry and that she acted on a desire to give Feyre what she thought she wanted but did not dare voice - to have her sisters with her forever. She says Hybern's forces are too great to stop anyway. Tamlin says part of his bargain with the King was that he guarantee the people of the Spring Court will not be harmed. But he has told a lot of his court to relocate to the East for the time being just in case. Jurian and the first delegation will arrive the next day.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2:</span></b> Jurian and two commanders are coming to survey the wall and test for the perfect spot to rend it once the Cauldron has restored its strength - turning her sisters in to Fae has drained it. Feyre needs to find out where they plan to strike and how long the Cauldron will take to get back to full capacity. Feyre has only spoke to Rhys once down the bond since she got there - can't risk using it too often. She told him she was okay and asked about her sisters. He told her he loves her and that they are safe and healing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jurian arrives with two commanders, male and female twins both with the same ruddy hue and inky black hair - Prince Dagdan and Princess Brannagh who are the nephew and niece of the King of Hybern. The twins say they will share a room.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre and Jurian have a little back and forth, she warms him not to threaten him in her own home. She is putting on a performance, working to convince Tamlin that she loves him and loves the Spring Court. Feyre notes Dagdan seems to yield to his sisters every wish and order, she notes they seem to be able to communicate silently and believes they are daemati, like her and Rhysand. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day Lucien and Feyre will escort the twins and Jurian to the wall to show them where the holes are located. Lucien is asked where he got his mechanical eye from, says a fiend at the Dawn Court crafted it for him. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre has been trying to locate the wings that belong to Rhys' mother and sister but hasn't found them so far. Jurian tells Feyre he fought with Rhys in the war and asks her where Miryam is, she says she is dead. He says he knows she isn't because he had tried to use the Cauldron already to resurrect her and it didn't work as she is still alive. Feyre says she doesn't know and she was told she was dead. Feyre realises Jurian is trying to distract them at dinner while the twins infiltrate their minds, she uses her powers to shield her mind and others from them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3:</span></b> Feyre has inherited a curse-breaking ability from Helion, High Lord of the Day Court. They go to the wall and find the first hole. Lucien says he doesn't know how they were made, some just appeared over the centuries. He says there are three holes in total and then one off the coast. Can't travel easily to them all, as they can't winnow directly to them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks what side of the first war Lucien would have fought on if he was alive back then, he says he would have fought on the human-Fae alliance. Lucien tells her that he beat Tamlin back to the manor the day she left. He found no trace of her except for the melted ring, he got rid of it before Tamlin could see it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre makes a note of the fact the twins showed no interest in Ianthe at breakfast that morning. She seems to think they may have an incestuous relationship (<i style="font-weight: bold;">I feel bad for male/female twins in real life, they're forever having to deal with twincest plots in fiction</i>) The twins question Feyre about the Night Court and she gives them a lot of false information about it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Lucien about Ianthe and if her and Tamlin slept together while she was gone. He says no, says Tamlin also refused to take part in the Rite and had Lucien do it in his place (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Why didn't he do this in book one?</i>) Ianthe insisted that Lucien take her to the cave on Calanmai - he said he did his duty.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis tells Feyre she was there the day Morrigan came for Feyre, she begged for Mor to take Feyre out - lied to Tamlin about it and said Mor abducted her. Alis says people say Feyre came back different/wrong but she thinks she came back right. She tells Feyre she has a cousin who works at the palace at Adriata and that she told Alis Feyre visited and was healthy and happy. Alsi says that whatever Feyre has planned to leave her boys out of it. She tells her to take whatever retribution she desires but to spare them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> Summer Solstice arrives and Ianthe makes them go to an alter that morning for a ceremony. Feyre had worked with Ianthe on what prayers they should perform, so that it would mean the twins, Jurian and Tamlin would help and then her and Lucien would be left on the other side watching them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As the sun rises, Ianthe raises her hands expecting the light to hit her but Feyre has moved the stone Ianthe uses to mark where she stands. And instead Feyre uses her light power to make herself glow to make it seem like she is the one being blessed. She grabs Lucien's hand and then he kneels before her, the others follow in his lead. She allows a little of her glow to spread to Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She speaks to Rhys down the bond to check everyone is okay, they are and he asks when she is coming home and she says soon. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 5:</b></span> She wakes from a nightmare that night and goes across to Lucien's room, is in a lacy nightdress. She tells him about her nightmare, throws her arms around him and begins crying. He is comforting her when Tamlin finds them like that. Feyre had set it all up, faked the nightmare and went to Lucien's when she knew Tamlin would find them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6: </span></b>A set of keys to the estate grounds have gone missing. Ianthe says the land around her temple is dying and that it reeks of the naga, says she believes they are planning to attack. Ianthe makes a comment about Tamlin returning Rhys' mother and sisters wings so that he might leave them alone. Tamlin says he burned them long ago. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien, Feyre, Jurian and the twins head to a different hole in the wall. Feyre asks Lucien if there is any way for Tamlin to get out of the deal he made with Hybern. He says no, the King crafted the bargain too clearly and magic would strike Tamlin down if he doesn't allow them on his lands. He says it will claim Tamlin's power or his life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks how bad it was when she left, he says Tamlin trashed the manor and killed the sentries who were on guard that day. They find the next hole in the wall and three Children of the Blessed are on the other side.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7:</span></b> Feyre is trying to scare them off because the twins are trying to get them to come across the wall. Feyre gets in to their minds to scare them so they will leave. Jurian thanks her when the others can't hear and asks her what happens to humans who come across the wall - Feyre says she doesn't know, only knows that they never return.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jurian says he has unfinished business because everything he did during the war was for Miryam and then she betrayed him. He wants to draw her out of hiding and regret what she did. Jurian says he knows Rhys, he fought with him. Rhys risked his legion to save Miryam and that was how Miryam captured him. Rhys knew it was a trap for Prince Drakon so Rhys defied orders and marched his whole legion to get Miryam out. Jurian says everyone insists Rhys is a soulless monster but the Fae he knew back then was the most decent of them all.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien and Feyre have to share a tent and they wake the next day and can smell blood. The twins went through the wall and hunted down the three Children of the Blessed and tortured and killed them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8: </span></b>Tamlin is having a go at Feyre, saying the twins are their allies. She argues that the twins butchered three innocent people. He says she should have left it for him to deal with rather than retaliating. Lucien and Feyre had sent the Bogge after the twins. Her and Tamlin fight and she angers him until he explodes again. This time she doesn't shield herself, allows herself to get flung across the room and hurt. Allows his guards to see her hurt by him. Lucien comes and take her away.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys sends word down the bond, asking if she is hurt. She says she is okay and they talk for a while.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day she goes out for a ride with Tamlin's guards Bron & Hart, the two who heard her fight with Tamlin and saw her hurt. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That night 7 naga break into the estate and they're found with the estate keys that went missing. Their attack was halted thanks to a vision Ianthe supposedly had. Tamlin plans to whip the guard who fell asleep while on duty, the same guard who lost his keys. The guard insists that Ianthe stole his keys. It is all true, Ianthe set up the naga attack so she could be the one to save them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ianthe says the guard is lying but Feyre says she will hear him out. Ianthe insists they don't - the other guards note how dismissive she is being and know she set the guard and the attack up. She is playing in to Feyre's hands. She knows Tamlin's need for control and not to look weak will make him ignore that and punish the guard anyway - which he does. This angers his sentries, who believe he is picking Ianthe over them despite all they have risked for him over the years - like being sent across the wall to be killed to break the curse.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Feyre stays after to help the healer patch him up. Bron and Hart personally escort her back to the manor afterwards. They apologise to Feyre for not stopping any of it - everything that has been done to her in the Spring Court. Feyre's plan is working.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis tells Feyre that when her and the others head to find the third hole in the wall the next day, she is leaving with her nephews and heading to the Summer Court. Feyre wishes her well and Alis says she will always have one friend in the Summer Court.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day they go to the third hole and Feyre suggests this is the best one and the hole they should use. She gets them to reveal that Hybern has an army of 200,000 including help from Vallahan, Montesere and Rask. She asks why they need the Cauldron and they say it will wipe the world clean again. They will need to use this exact spot in the wall as a person/object of mighty power passed through it and the Cauldron will study the work they've already done and magnify it until the warn collapses. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre notes they have given her everything she needs to know - numbers, specific locations, names of foreign territories. She has a pack on her with the supplies she needs to escape and get back to the Night Court. She has set the Spring Court up to fall from its own internal warring. Her plan is to go before the other comes back, she has planted it in the sentries head to say they saw her being nearly killed by the twins and how she ran for her life when when Tamlin & Ianthe refused to intervene.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As she leaves she overhears Lucien telling Ianthe to back off, hears him telling her not to touch it - she remembers what Rhys showed her about Ianthe. She sees that Ianthe has him shackled around the wrists with the same blue stone chains she once saw used on Rhys that immobilised his power. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre uses her power to get into Ianthe's head. Makes her unshackle Lucien and then makes her pick up a rock, put her hand on a boulder and then smash the rock into it over and over again. Feyre tells her she will never touch another person against their will. Tells her she won't remember what happened here, she will tell others that she fell. Tells her she can see a healer to set the bones but not erase the scarring. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien is in shock at what she has done. They're caught by the twins before they can leave, they tell Lucien that Feyre is daemati. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10: </span></b>The twins reveal they have been plotting too. Ask if Feyre has noticed her headaches - which she has. And how things seem muffled in certain mental bonds - something else she had noticed when trying to speak to Rhys down the bond. Her powers have also been tiring easy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They tell her they gave Ianthe crushed faebane stone ground so fine that Feyre wouldn't notice it or taste it in her food. She ate an apple an hour ago that was grown in the King's personal garden, which was fed water laced with faebane. They say it has enough to knock her powers out for a few days.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre attacks - winnowing to Dagdan and distracting him by using her fire powers on his sister, giving her time to stab him. Lucien beheads Brannagh and then when Dagdan goes to attack Lucien, Feyre stabs him in the eye and through his skull, killing him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The apple is starting to take effect, taking away her powers. Lucien knows she is planning to go back to the Night Court. He says he is going with her as she won't make it on her own. Says he is going with her so he can get his mate back. Lucien realises his magic is gone too, they must have used the faebane on them all. They leave through one of the caves that leads to the Autumn Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Two: Cursebreaker</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 11:</b></span> Feyre and Lucien arrive in the Autumn Court - still don't have their magic. Lucien takes her to a cave her used to stay in before he left the Autumn Court. Lucien says he knew she was lying when she unleashed that light in Hybern - his friend in the Dawn Court has the same powers. She asks why he didn't tell Tamlin and he responds that it felt like kicking him while he was down. He also knew if he did then she would find a way to make sure Lucien never saw Elain again. Feyre gets angry, says he is only helping her to get what he thinks he is owed and not because it is the right thing to do.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien asks what she had planned to do with Tamlin - she says disembowel him. She says she debated it but letting his court collapse around him seemed a better punishment. Lucien says his father will hunt her for taking his power and kill her for using it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They hike through the Autumn Court for 5 days. Lucien reveals he wasn't liked in his court. He was the youngest of 7 so he got to study for longer. Says the bloodshed that would be required to get his fathers crown was never worth it to him. He warns her that his people would sell them out if anyone spots them because of what happened to Jesminda. Jesminda, the girl he fell in love with, was one of them and when he didn't protect her it was a betrayal of their trust. When he was fleeing his brothers none of them would help him. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They finally make it to the mountains that lead to the Winter Court. She falls asleep and wakes up to hand gripping her face - Lucien's brothers have found them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> They say the rumour is that Lucien & Feyre ran off together, that they were cuckolding Tamlin. Eris is there, the man who abandoned Mor in the woods to die all those centuries ago. Feyre can feel that her powers are slowly returning. Feyre uses her fire powers to attack them, separate them from her and Lucien and then brings the cave down on his brothers so they can run.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her powers haven't fully returned so they find another cave to rest in. Lucien asks her about Elain - tells him she loves gardening and that she is engaged to a human Lord's son.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They pass the border into the Winter Court. They are making their way across the thick ice of a lake when Eris and two other brothers catch up to them. Eris is using his fire powers to melt the ice they are on.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> Lucien & Feyre begin running across the the ice. As she runs she can feel Kallias's power in her, the Winter Court High Lords power, she uses it to turn the melting ice back to solid ice. Eris and the other brothers appear in front of them. An arrow is fired at Feyre, it cuts her face and slices her ear. Eris winnows in front of her and hits her across the face. Lucien is fighting with his other brothers. Eris wraps his flames around her wrists and ankles.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cassian and Azriel show up, they're both completely healed from what happened in Hybern. Cassian tells Eris to drop his lady. Feyre breaks free from Eris so Cassian can fight him. Feyre tells Eris that he and his brothers deserve to die but she will spare their lives. She takes the glamours off to show her tattoos and reveals she is High Lady of the Night Court. Then she tells Cassian to take them home. He flies with her and Azriel takes Lucien. She finally learns Lucien's last name is Vanserra.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They get back to the Night Court and Mor is there waiting for them. Rhys is far away but racing home. Rhys picked up on the bond minutes ago and sent them because they were closer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14: </span></b>They all return to the town house. Amren is there, Lucien seems to know who she is and bows to her. Lucien asks where they are and she tells him it is Velaris, the City of Starlight. Rhys arrives and he and Feyre are finally reunited. Rhys tells everyone else to go somewhere else for a while. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys reveals that when the bond went dark he thought she might have died. By the time he got to the Spring Court she was gone and he couldn't find her. She tells him about the faebane and why she couldn't contact him. Rhys reveals whatever she did in the Spring Court worked as Tamlin's sentries have abandoned him. Over half of his people refused to appear for the Tithe. She asks about Ianthe and Jurian - Jurian has returned to the King of Hybern.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She asks after her sisters and he tells her they are at the House of Wind. She asks where Rhys was and he says he was doing some of Az's work. He was in the human world, flying above the human queens palace. Feyre has a bath to clean all the dirt and blood off. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then we get another Feyre and Rhys sex scene filled with them saying you're mine to each other over and over again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15: </span></b>Her sisters haven't left the House of Wind since they arrived in Velaris. Lucien is being a pissy little bitch with Rhys about Feyre. Lucien and Rhys have it out and Rhys warns him to stop looking at Feyre with disgust and disdain - threatens to rip out his throat.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre, Rhys, Cassian and Lucien head to the House of Wind. Feyre tells Lucien about how Rhys saved her life on Calanmai and explains everything that's happened since. Lucien is in shock, says he hasn't realised he'd been the villain in her narrative, she says he wasn't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They find Nesta in the library reading. Cassian teases her and Nesta is being particularly unpleasant, she is very short with Feyre. Nesta says Feyre shouldn't be worried about her but should be worried about Elain. Elain won't eat, sleep or drink and she doesn't stop crying. Cassian has offered to train Nesta but she keeps refusing. Feyre notes Cassian looks at her sister with sorrow and longing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She goes to see Elain and find her pale, thin and lifeless. She was supposed to be getting married in a week, all she keeps saying is she wants to go home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> She tells Lucien to give Elain time. Tells him he can go visit the city if he wants but can't take her sisters or enter their floor. Then Rhys, Cassian, Mor, Azriel and Feyre head to see Amren. Amren tells Rhys that he should kill Beron and his sons so that Lucien can be High Lord of the Autumn Court. Cassian goes to the House of Wind every single day to see her sisters.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Book of Breathings has been known to speak every now and again since being put back together. They say if Hybern is really working with Vallahan, Montesereand & Rask then they have little chance against him. They tried to get help from Drakon and Miryam but went to their island of Cretea and found it completely abandoned and in ruins. Rhys says Miryam died in the last battle but Drakon knew of a sacred, hidden island where an object of great power made by the Cauldron that could resurrect her and make her immortal. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Their plan is to convince the other territories to not join Hybern. Rhys went to Hybern and says the people are hungry for change. The King has let them fester and their resentment has grown. Mor says many High Fae believe humans are property and that many in Hybern long to have their slaves back. Hybern's people are for the war and the wall coming down. They also want Prythian to be made an example of for defending the Treaty. They've been working to plan information in the other territories, playing them against each other. They hope this keeps them too preoccupied protecting their own lands to be able to come and fight with Hybern. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mor says something might be wrong with the Cauldron if they need to use an existing hole in the wall to bring it down, as the Cauldron should be able to do it on its own. They are currently looking to find a way repair the holes in the wall. Feyre might have the power to repair the holes as she has the power of the High Lords. Amren notes her sisters might have a better chance of doing it but Feyre doesn't want to involve them. Amren says she sounds like Tamlin and so Feyre finally agrees to ask them to help but she won't force them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys says he will send a message out to every High Lord to attend a meeting in two weeks as they need to get allies on their side.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Feyre speaks to Cassian about Nesta and how she felt a difference in her when Nesta came out of the Cauldron. Asks if he has seen any hint of power from Nesta and he says no. Feyre asks what is going on with him and Nesta and he says he doesn't think Nesta will ever forgive him for what happened to Elain. He had made a promise to protect her and did not keep it. She asks him why he bothers with Nesta and he says he can't stay away.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They all have dinner together, except for Elain who won't leave her room. Mor tries to make an effort with Nesta and compliment her dress and Nesta just insults her in return. Nesta asks Amren why her eyes glow and Amren says it is the one part of her the containment spell could not get right. Says it is a glimpse of what lurks beneath. Amren asks what is beneath and Amren says that her and Nesta are the same. She says Nesta did not fit the mold they shoved her into. Amren tells Nesta that when she erupts to make sure it is felt across the world. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien asks if Feyre will go to the meeting with the High Lords and she says yes. Ask if she will hide her powers while she is there, says his father would join Hybern if she thought he stood a chance at getting his power back from Feyre by killing her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18:</span></b> Rhys needs to have a meeting in the Court of Nightmares to ask Mor's father Keir to fight in the war, as he has his own aerial legion. But he can't force him to join and he can say no if he wants to. Feyre reveals she wants to learn to fly, as she can use her shapeshifting power to give herself wings. Azriel offers to teach her, as he also had to learn later than most Illyrian's. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre goes to see Nesta and tells her about the wall, the holes and the fact Nesta may be able to close it. Amren offers to show her how to do it. Nesta says she wants the King and the human queens dead by the end of the war and if they promise her they'll kill them all then she will help to fix the wall. Feyre asks Nesta to go to the High Lord meeting and tell them what was done to her but she refuses. She refuses to grovel to High Fae and tell them her story. Says if they even ask Elain she will rip their throats out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her and Rhys go for a walk and then agree that they will put on a united front together and not undermine each other in public as High Lord and High Lady. She tells him to be careful working with Keir because if he doesn't play it right he could really hurt Mor. Rhys tells her the meeting between all the High Lords will occur with a binding spell that forces them all into a cease-fire. If someone breaks it the magic would demand a steep cost.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19: </span></b>Cassian is angry with Feyre when they train, says her and Rhys lied to them and let them go into Hybern blind. They didn't tell them that she was High Lady and if he had known it would have changed everything. He says Hybern was a disaster and as High Lady she belongs to all of them and they would never have put her in so much danger if they had known. Cassian is angry that she gave herself up for them and didn't see herself as essential. She argues she isn't essential, that the rest of the Inner Circle have a duty and are vital but she isn't. He says they were all terrified for her the whole time she was in the Night Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta appears so Feyre leaves to train with Azriel. She gives herself Illyrian wings and Azriel instructs her on how to make them more accurate. Trying to fly proves very painful and she realises she needs to strengthen her muscles. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20:</span></b> Feyre talks to Rhys about libraries, tells her the Fae burnt some rather than let humans gain access to them. They were scared humans would find spells to use against the Fae. Feyre says that humans don't have magic but Rhys says that some do, probably because they have distant Fae ancestors. Some half-fae and half-human children existed when the wall went up and they weren't treated well on either side of the wall, some were even killed. Some stayed in Prythian, deemed lower than lesser faeries and many had to find work selling themselves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys takes her to the library in the Night Court. She meets Clotho, a priestess, who she realises can't or won't speak. The library has a gaping hole that goes down and down, has level after level of books. Feyre asks what is at the botton and Rhy says he once dared Cassian to fly down there to see and he came back up terrified and has still never told Rhys what he saw. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Clotho takes them to a table where she has laid out books they might find useful. Feyre notices her hands are bent and twisted. Rhys explains that Clotho was attacked long ago by a group of males who cut out her tongue and smashed her hands. Rhys looked into her mind to see who did it and then allowed Mor to hunt them down. He says all the priestesses in the library have stories like Clotho and that the library is a refuge for them. Then Rhys tries to come on to Feyre and sleep with her in the library. But they agree to do what they came here to do, try to find more information on the wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One piece of information they find is that the wall was never made to last. Feyre asks Rhys if he could win a fight against the King, says he doesn't know the extent of the King's powers. Feyre says Hybern might have the numbers but they could get monsters. She wants to get the Bone Carver on their side, says they can find out what he'd be willing to give to go back home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21:</span></b> Goes to see Amren and Nesta during their first lesson. Amren is showing Nesta how to shield her mind as they will be going to the Night Court with Rhys when he goes. That night Feyre has a nightmare of being UTM and her sisters being tortured while Amren takes Rhys to bed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22:</span></b> Rhys, Feyre and Cassian head to the prison. Rhys has to leave her and Cassian there. Mentions that Cassian once put someone in the prison. Feyre asks Cassian about the Carver and he tells her there was life before High Fae and they would call them the old gods. The legend is that the Carver is one of them. He tells her the Carver is dangerous and they'd have to find a way to bind him to obey them before they let him out. No one knows how he ended up in the Prison.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre goes in and still sees the Carver as the little boy and she realises he is showing her the son her and Rhys could one day have. She gives the Carver one of the Attor's bones. The Carver says he can smell his sister on Feyre, the Weaver is his sister. The Carver says the rock, darkness and sea all shuddered in fear at what happened on in the island across the sea when 'she' emerged from the Cauldron, they assume he means Nesta. He says the wind moans Nesta's name. She tells him they got the Book of Breathing and that they may find a spell to send him home.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23:</span></b> The Carver says he doesn't want to go home, his cell is where he wants to be. The Carver says he allowed them to trap him there. He says the Weaver is Stryga and his brother was Kosche. A long ago Fae warrior tricked Stryga into diminishing her power and becoming confined to the Middle. Kosche was confined and bound on the continent. He says that Fae was clever but her bloodline is long gone now but a trace still runs through some human line. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The warrior couldn't kill his siblings, they were too strong. He has already made his way to the Prison to hide from his siblings. He says they are all death-gods. Both of his siblings are stronger than him, says his sister found a way to eat life itself to stay young. The Bone Carver doesn't want to leave the Prison and remind his siblings that he is alive. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Carver knows they are going to the Hewn City to ask Keir to fight with them. He tells her his sister had a collection of mirrors in her black castle. There was one mirror, the Ouroboros, a window to the world where all could be seen and told through its surface. He says Keir possesses it, it is now an heirloom of his household. He says if she brings him the mirror than he will be hers to wield if she finds a way to free them. Nesta could be like the Carver, either she is Death or her power comes from it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24: </span></b>Elain is struggling to deal her her new fae senses, she finds it overwhelming. She is talking in half riddles. Lucien comes in to where they are and Feyre gets into his mind so she can hear his thoughts, as she is worried for Elain. Elain asks who he is and he tells her his name. Elain says he betrayed them in Hybern, he says it was a mistake. She tells him she is supposed to be getting married in a few days. She tells him that she can hear his heart beating through the walls when he is sleeping.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien tells Feyre they need to get her sister out of the house. Feyre says she will send her to the town house. Lucien asks what Nesta is, what her power is. Nesta says she made the Cauldron give something back to her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre notices how Azriel and Elain get on. She asks Feyre why Elain and Azriel aren't mates when they are better suited, what determines it. Rhys says the mating bond can be rejected. Says it is easier for the females but the males it can drive mad and some believe they are entitled to the female. Will see her as belonging to them and challenge the male she chooses, which can end in death. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> Amren, Nesta, Rhys, Feyre, More and Azriel go to the Court of Nightmares. Rhys puts Feyre on the throne and tells everyone to bow to her. Nesta and Amren go off to find ancient objects for Nesta to practice on. Keir says he knows they are there to ask for his Darkbringer forces to join their army. Keir says he can sympathise with Hybern's cause. Keir says he has a price for joining them, he wants Feyre. Rhys reminds him that he can kill him. Rhys says he knew he'd be hesitant to join them so asks for someone to bring 'him' in - Eris walks in.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26:</span></b> Mor looks hurt and betrayed. Eris is willing to offer Keir an alliance in exchange for his help in the war. Keir says it is not enough, wants out of the mountain. He knows about Velaris after Hybern's attack on it and now he wants access for him and his court. Rhys says there would be conditions and restrictions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre tells Keir she needs the Ouroboros mirror. He laughs and says it can be their mating present if she can take it. He says to claim the mirror you have to look into it, any who have tried have gone mad or been broken beyond repair. Feyre asks how Eris came to be a part of this, he knew Rhys would come to see if he had told his father about Feyre and her powers. Rhys couldn't get into his mind to make him forget so agreed to work with him to protect Feyre. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mor asks what he wants, another bride to torture. He says he doesn't know who fed her those lies and she says he never showed any evidence to the contrary and left her in the woods to die. He says there were forces at work she never considered. Feyre asks about Lucien and how Eris and his brothers hunted him down and helped kill his lover. Eris says she has no idea what happened. Eris says he wasn't there when they killed Lucien's lover, he refused. He reveals he was punished by his father for that and he was the one who stopped them killing Lucien and got word to Tamlin to get to the border to get Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Eris says his price for helping them is for them to support his bid to be High Lord of the Autumn Court. He also says Rhys can kill his father now and he will join them. Eris tells Mor he wouldn't have touched her if they'd got married. But after she slept with Cassian he knew why she did and so gave her the freedom she wanted by ending their betrothal. He says he regrets it. and says one day he might tell them why and what it cost him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27:</span></b> Mor confronts Rhys about Eris and not warning her about the fact he was working with him. She is also angry that he has agreed to allow Keir in to her home as she believes he will destroy Velaris. Rhys assures her he has taken precautions - no business will serve Keir or anyone from the Night Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amren finds out they went to see the Bone Carver again. They ask Amren how she got out and she says she had to give herself up to get out. Had to become something else entirely that the Prison would not recognise - so she bound herself in her Fae body. Amren says one day a rip appeared in the sky in her world. Her brother and sisters fled but she was curious and wanted to look. That was how she got trapped here.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She says they will need to do the same for the Carver to get him out - would need to make him Fae and she does't think he will agree to it. They ask if she can be unbound and she says not by her. Amren says if she ever is unbound she won't remember any of them. Says she was originally a messenger and soldier for a wrathful god in a young world. Amren isn't even her real name, she doesn't remember it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Elain appears, said she could hear something, says she can hear <i style="font-weight: bold;">"her"</i> crying, that everyone thinks she is dead but she's not, she is changed like Elain. She says she saw old hands withered with age, a box of black stone and a feather of fire land on snow and melt it. She says it was angry that something was taken so took something from them as punishment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Nesta what happened in the Hewn City with her and Amren. Says she took her to a room full of treasure and had Nesta look for weaknesses in their defenses but she failed at every time. Lucien tells her to get a healer to see Elain, she agrees. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys come to see Feyre, he regrets his choice to work with Keir and Eris, regrets hurting Mor and that he made a bad call. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28:</span></b> Start getting responses from the High Lords. Helion agrees to come. Thesan says yes but only if it is a neutral and safe location. Kallias wants to bring armed guards. Spring, Autumn and Summer haven't replied. Mor says she has spoken to Rhys about Eris and Keir. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A healer comes to see Elain but finds nothing wrong with her. She says she can't enter Elain's mind as she is Cauldron-made. The healer suggests getting Lucien to help because if anyone can sense something amiss than it is a mate. Tells him to sit with her and see what he senses and picks up.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29:</span></b> Lucien tries to do what the healer suggested. Elain tells them <i style="font-weight: bold;">"Twin ravens are coming, one white and one black."</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">All the High Lords have agreed to the meeting except Tamlin, they just need to pick a location. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre is training with Az, still learning to fly. Azriel tells her that Cas and Rhys taught him to fly, he learned late as he was locked away for most of his childhood. He tells her that Rhys once brought a story back from a visit with Miryam and Drakon that he told to Azriel as a gift.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When Miryam freed her people from the Black Land, she led all 50,000 of them across the desert to the shore of the Erythian Sea with Drakon's aerial legion providing cover. The ships they'd arranged for transport had been destroyed. Drakon's people, the Seraphim, are winged like Illyrian's but theirs are feathered. Their women lead, fight and also rule. The Seraphim are all gifted with magic of wind and air. They cleaved the sea in two and made a path through the water.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They ordered the humans to run and Miryam insisted on remaining behind until all the humans had crossed. Halfway through crossing was when the enemy army reached them. The Seraphim fought the vanguard and during the bloody melee they did not see Miryam skewered by the queen. Drakon thought she had made it out so he ordered the parted sea to come down on the enemy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A young Seraphim cartographer named Nephelle saw Miryam go down. Nephelle's lover noticed her and Miryam were missing. Nephelle reached her in time, just before the sea came crashing down. Nephelle was a cartographer because she'd been rejected from the legions fighting ranks because her wings were too small and the right one was malformed. Drakon let her try out anyway but she failed as she could barely carry her shield. So she became a valuable cartographer instead and Miryam's dearest friend.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nephelle found Miryam bleeding out. Miryam told her to saver herself but she would not leave her. She picked her up and flew. It defied all logic and training but Nephelle managed to fly her across the sea floor, her small wings made her able to make it through the labyrinth of jagged rocks. Nephelle's lover made Nephelle her wife that night. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys, Cassian and Azriel adopted the Nephelle Philosophy - that your greatest weakness can sometimes be your biggest strength. And that the most unlikely person can alter the course of history. Every year in Cretea they would host the Nephelle run to honour her and Nephelle crowns a new victor every year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Elain says to Cassian <i style="font-weight: bold;">"he snapped your wing, broke your bones"</i> and he says it will take more than that to kill him and Elain responds <b style="font-style: italic;">"No, it will not." </b>(Cassian dying confirmed?)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre takes Nesta to the library. Nesta tells Feyre she didn't realise Feyre never learnt to read. Feyre asks why Nesta pushes everyone but Elain away but before she can answer they feel a ripply and tremor. She grabs Nesta to winnow when two High Fae appear in gray jackets, they are Hybern's men. They blow faebane dust on Feyre, stopping her magic. Feyre notices one of the fae is dark haired and the other has light hair and they say they are the King's Ravens, his far-flying eyes and talons. They say they have come to take Nesta back. They say she took something from the Cauldron and the King wants it back, it is why he can't shatter the wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31:</span></b> Feyre tells them they made a mistake coming there. She grabs Nesta and runs for it, heading down instead of up to whatever creature lies below. The Ravens talk to them as they hunt for them, tell them about the mortal queens. They say the youngest queen was the first to go into the Cauldron but the Cauldron knew something had been taken from it and it was angry. The Cauldron gave the queen the immortality she wanted but it took her youth. She came out of the cauldron a withered crone. Now the other queens won't go into the Cauldron. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre realises that Elain has been trying to warn them, had seem this or sensed it -they were the ravens she spoke of. She gets Nesta to run for it and blocks the path she took so they can't follow Nesta out. Feyre is in the dark and begs for something to help her. She hears a voice asks if she is High Lady and when she says yes it asks what she will give it. She asks what it wants, it says the stone and wall hear all and speak all. It heard of her desire to wield the Carver, to trade with him. It says that it knew the Carver long ago. She asks again what it wants and it says for her to send it company to tell it about life, she agrees. It then asks her if it should kill the two fae and she says yes, it tells her to close her eyes. Cassian comes for her, tells her not to look as she takes her and Nesta out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> Rhys turns up and is covered in blood. Feyre notices she has a new tattoo to show her bargain with the creature. Rhys asks Nesta what she took from the Cauldron, she says she doesn't know. The wards on the library prevented Feyre from contacting Rhys. They only knew she was in trouble as Clotho rang the spelled bell in the library that went out to all of them, Cassian got there first.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys shows her what happened, Cassian found Nesta first who told him where Feyre was and told him Hybern soldiers were there. Amren is preparing to hunt that night, check the city for others. Elain says the queen might come, the one who was cursed. the one with the feathers of flame. Azriel realises that the Cauldron made Elain a seer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33:</span></b> Elain says the sixth queen is alive, the one they lied and said was ill. She says they sold her to some darkness, some sorcerer lord - she says she can't see what he is. Says he possesses an onyx box. He keeps other girls like the queen, by day she is one form and at night she is human again - a firebird by day and a human by night. Elain says the queen is near a lake, deep in the continent, hidden among the mountains and forests. He keeps all the girls at the lake. But the other women are different, they have white feathers. The sixth queen is young, mid twenties and is known as Vassa. She must pose a threat to the other queens if they turned on her. If they can find her she may be vital in convincing the human forces to fight. Lucien offers to go and find the sixth queen, says his eye can see things that others can't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34:</span></b> Amren spent the night hunting in Velaris but didn't find any other Hybern assassin's or spies. Lucien leaves that day to try and find the sixth queen. Amren rushes in and says Hybern has attacked the Summer Court and is laying siege to is as she speaks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> Prince Varian sent Amren a warning to prepare their defenses. Rhys says they can't leave Tarquin to face them alone. They are going to take their Illyrian legions to the Summer Court.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They arrive and realise no other courts have come to help. Mor and Feyre head to the palace to fight.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36: </span></b>They begin killing Hybern soldiers, saving lesser fae in the castle. They completely clear out the castle of Hyberns soldiers. She tries to get into Rhys's mind and see what he is doing, he is hunting whatever is causing a dampener on his powers. He locates the ship it is coming from, the King of Hybern is there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37: </span></b>Rhys knew it was a trap to see which High Lord would come first. Feyre is in Rhys's mind, telling him to kill the King and be done with it. Rhys says it isn't that simple. The King is angry about what Feyre did to Brannagh and Dagdan. The King says it will take everything Rhys has to try and stop him and it won't be enough. He says he will take Feyre as she mourns over Rhys's corpse. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The King tells Rhys that there was room for everyone at the table - humans, High Fae, lesser fae, half-breeds in Rhys's world but only if they thought like him. But the King says Rhys looked down his nose at the loyalists. Says he has no interest spending another 500 years bowing before humans. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys tries to attack the King but he is just an illusion, didn't actually come. The King says this is just a taste of what is to come. The King disappears and as he does so does the dampener on his magic. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38:</span></b> Feyre is out of Rhys' mind and is now vomiting. They head to the palace. She goes to see Tarquin, he thought they had come to help Hybern finish them off. He says he has heard what she did to Tamlin and the Spring Court, destroyed his territory and left the door wide open for Hybern, who docke in his harbour. He orders them to leave. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 39:</b></span> Feyre falls asleep, wakes in a tent in their camp in Adriata where their wounded soldiers are being healed. Rhys says the King knows about them and their histories, that he picked the library because of what it meant to Rhys. Feyre tells Rhys he needs to stop playing his role with the High Lords and tell them the truth, especially as Velaris won't stay a secret for long now the King knows about it. They decide to keep Feyre's powers a secret, except for the ones she got from Rhys. Then in a war tent, while Feyre talks about the cries of soldiers outside laying dying or injured, she decides that's a great time to give Rhys head. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They head back to Velaris, Nesta asks about Cassian and seems worried about him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> Feyre has Rhys take her back to the prison, tells the Carver to pick a different object. He says he wants nothing else. Rhys finally learns that the boy she sees is their future child, she shows him what he looks like. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41:</span></b> Meeting to take place in the Dawn Court, every High Lord has responded except for Tamlin. Amren says Nesta is close to figuring out how to seal the holes in the wall. Feyre is dressed for the meeting, has a crown she got the night before when Rhys took her to a room filled with the Night Court's treasures inside. Nesta tells them she has changed her mind and wants to come to the meeting. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42: </span></b>Nesta says she will come and giver her story to the Lords, doesn't want to be a coward. Rhys offers Nesta a job as his emissary to the human world, she says she will consider it. Nesta and Cassian have a moment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They arrived at the Dawn Court for the meeting with the High Lords: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Helion - High Lord of Day Court </li><li>Kallias - High Lord of Winter Court</li><li>Thesan - High Lord of Dawn</li><li>Beron - High Lord of Autumn</li><li>Tarquin - High Lord of Summer</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Still not sure if Tamlin will come or not. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43: </span></b>Thesan has an aerial legion of Peregryns, they also have wings but they are feathered. They are distantly related to Drakon's Seraphim. One of the male Peregryn's is Thesan's lover. Feyre meets Kallias's wife Viviane, who Mor is good friends with. Viviane was childhood friends with Kallias, he had loved her his whole life. He managed to save her from being Under the Mountain. He got her to protect his people while he was gone. The day he returned from Under the Mountain he proposed, they were married and the mating bond snapped into place. Tarquin, Cressedia and Varian also come. Beron arrives and brings four of his sons and his wife. Tamlin winnows directly into the meeting room.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44: </span></b>Tamlin tries to blame Rhys for him making a deal with Hybern. He says if he hasn't stolen Feyre he wouldn't have had to go to desperate measures to get her back. He says he planned to find a way out of the deal once he had Feyre back. He then tries to humiliate Feyre by asking Rhys if he has noticed the noise she makes before she climaxes. Tamlin finally realises that Feyre is High Lady.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin asks the High Lords how they can think of working with Rhys after he stood by Amarantha's side for all those years. Tamlin says he is there to help against Hybern, has info on his movements and plans. Says that is why he let him into his lands. Gives them info on Hybern's armies, ammunition, stores of faebane and more. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin once again tries to insult Feyre and calls her spoiled goods and a whore. Rhys uses his powers to take away Tamlin's ability to speak. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> Tarquin rescinds his blood rubies, says there is no debts between them. Eris says Mor dresses like a slut - Azriel blasts through his shields and tackles him to the ground, strangling him. Feyre manages to get him to stop. Azriel whispers something in Eris's ear and then goes to sit next to Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Helion looks at the info Tamlin has brought and says they should destroy the King's supply of faebane first. Thesan brings in Nuan, his most skilled craftspeople - she was the one who made Lucien's mechanical eye. Nuan has found a solution to the faebane, has created an antidote, a powder that grants immunity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin blames Feyre for turning his armies against him and leaving his land defenseless. He says the village she wanted to help rebuild is now just cinders. Tarquin offers to take Tamlin's people into his court so they can evacuate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre gets into a fight with Beron, who talks about Rhys being with Amarantha while him and the other High Lords were fighting to protect their families. Feyre loses her temper and fire shoots out of her and straight at Beron. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46:</span></b> Feyre sends more fire at Beron, and then water to. She is trying to kill him but Rhys finally gets her to stop. Beron tries to leave the meeting but Nesta speaks up and asks why he refuses to help against Hybern. Nesta says she went into the Cauldron and she saw the King's heart. She says he will bring down the wall and butcher those on either side of the wall. Beron says he will consider helping them and then he leaves. Viviane and Cresseida say they will fight with them - Tarquin, Kallias, Helion, Thesan and Tamlin all agree to join them too. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47:</span></b> Helion comes to visit them that night - is playful and flirty. Had put on an act at the meeting. Rhys explains that Helion likes males and females, he keeps trying to convince Mor, Cassian and Azriel to go to bed with him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Helion believes Beron will choose to join them, says his people and wife remember the games he played in the first war that cost him dearly. His wife's sisters were butchered during the first war. When Hybern forces attacked their estate her sisters bought her time to run. She ran and was caught and trapped at a ravine. Helion saved her from them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why Helion saved her. He says she was too young when she married, that it was an arranged marriage. Mor says she heard rumours that she delayed her wedding to Beron as she was waiting for a Fae she met at an equinox ball. But her family wanted internal ties to power and sold her to Beron. Feyre realises that Helion had an affair with Beron's wife, on and off for decades. She realises that Helion is Lucien's father and not Beron - she realises Helion doesn't know. Feyre thinks Beron and his sons may know, which would explain why they detest Lucien so much. Also explains why Eris doesn't want him dead, as he isn't actually a threat to his claim to the throne.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta comes to get Feyre, she says they need to leave, that something feels wrong. Rhys and Az winnow away to check and find no sign of trouble and so they stay. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mor seems to be flirting with Helion and takes him to her room that night. Feyre asks Rhys why she does it and he says: <i style="font-weight: bold;">"They have had plenty of opportunities to confess what they feel."</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre remembers to tell Rhys that Tamlin burned his sister and mother's wings years ago.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48:</span></b> Feyre heard Mor and Helion having sex all night. The next day they go to another meeting, Nesta suddenly starts vomiting. Nesta says something is wrong, not with her but with the Cauldron. They feel a sudden shudder through the land. Rhys reveals the King had used the Cauldron to shatter the wall. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49:</span></b> Elain says they could evacuate their estate in the human lands and take them to Graysen's estate. His father has been planning for something like this for years. It has high walls, supplies and ash weapons. She asks Rhys to glamour her to appear human so she can go to Graysen and ask.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian gives Nesta a dagger and advice on what to do if anyone tries to attack her. Feyre goes to see Amren to ask about the creature under the library. Amren tells her it is Bryaxis. She tells Amren she wants to make another bargain with it, needs her to examine the wards holding it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50:</span></b> She takes Amren with her to talk to Bryaxis. Amren confirms she can beak the wards trapping him here. She asks if he will fight in the war for her if she frees him. He says the library is his home, he doesn't want to be free but just wants a window so her can see the sky. They agree to the deal. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Three: High Lady</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51:</span></b> They all head to the Illyrian mountain camp site where Lord Devlon is. Devlon thinks Nesta is a witch, witches amass power beyond their natural reserve and use spells and archaic tools to harness more power to them and use it as they desire. Mor glamours Elain and they then head to the human lands. She tells the guards at Graysen's estate to tell him that Elain Archeron begs for sanctuary.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52:</span></b> They are taken to the guardhouse to wait for Graysen. It is a small space, which gets to Feyre and Nesta notices - she explains she has problems with small spaces now. Nesta reveals she hasn't been able to get in a bathtub since the Cauldron, she uses buckets instead.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lord Graysen arrives with guards and his father Lord Nolan. Lord Nolan notices Nesta is Fae, tells him how she was kidnapped and turned against her will. They tell them about the Cauldron and the wall coming down. Elain begs them to open their homes to humans. Graysen said he'd believe her if she wasn't lying to him, he has already heard she is Fae too and that a High Lord's son is her mate. Jurian comes in, he is the one who told Graysen about Elain.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53:</span></b> Jurian has been pretending to be mad, pretending to be working with Hybern. Tells Rhys to look into his mind and see he is telling the trut - Rhys has conveniently not thought of doing that once this whole time. He says he wants to find Miryam and Drakon so he can apologise, also so they can ask them for help. Jurian reveals Tamlin rank back to Hybern after their meeting and Hybern now plans to attack the Summer Court the next day. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54:</span></b> Jurian reveals they didn't kill Vassa, they found a death lord with a penchant for enslaving young women who cursed her and stole her away. Elain tells Graysen her heart belongs to him but he says he doesn't want it, he demands his engagement ring back and says he will never marry her. Nesta slaps him round the face and says he never deserved Elain.</div><div><br /></div><div>They do agree to allow humans to shelter on their estate. Jurian says he plans to go to the continent to sow seeds of discord amongst the queen's courts. He also tells them to hammer the left flank the next day as Hybern has put his untrained nobles there. Jurian congratulates Feyre on killing Brannagh and Dagdan. She says she did it for the Children of the Blessed that she killed and he says he knows, that's why he chose to trust her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55:</span></b> They head back to the war camp to prepare for the attack the next day.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56: </span></b>They fly the Illyrian army to meet Hybern's forces on the border between Spring and Summer. Rhys cloaked all their and Keir's forces so they could surprise Hybern. They end up making Hybern's forces retreat, right to where Tarquin's forces are waiting. They surrender and Tarquin uses his powers to drown them all</div><div><br /></div><div>They move the Illyrian camp to the border of the Winter Court. Cassian comes back with an injured wrist, which Nesta wraps for him. </div><div><br /></div><div>They are digging a trench around the camp, have been there for 5 days. Hybern's forces have skirted them completely, heading for the Winter Court border. Varian wants them to march north but have Rhys glamour the camp to make it seem like they are still there. Feyre helps him with it. </div><div><br /></div><div>They go to meet Hybern's forces but they're better prepared this time and they start to lose. Feyre realises she needs to find the Suriel to find the location of Hybern's true army. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57:</span></b> Feyre goes to Elain to ask her to find the Suriel for her, she says the Suriel is in the Middle, near the Weaver's cottage. She winnows there and finds the Suriel. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58:</span></b> She asks the Suriel where Hybern's army is, says it doesn't know and that the King is using the magic pf the Cauldron to cloak it. Suriel says she can use Nesta to track the Cauldron down as 'like calls to like'. Tells her that she can scry with bones to find it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why the Cauldron did not react when she joined the Book and then spoke the spell. It says Feyre did not hold on long enough. Feyre says it was killing her and the Suriel says there is a cost to use it, so it would have drained the life from Feyre. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks if there is another way, is told she would still need to get to the Cauldron to do it. She asks if nullifying the Cauldron would be enough to win, Suriel says it will be if they survive long enough to </div><div>battle afterward. Feyre asks if the Bone Carver will make a difference but the Suriel says she can't see him because he is not of this earth. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells the Suriel that the Carver wants the Ouroboros and she asks if looking into it will drive her mad and break her, the Suriel says only she can decide what breaks her. Suriel tells her to tell Amren the answer lies on the second and penultimate pages of the Book and that together they hold the key. </div><div><br /></div><div>Suriel is about to tell her what she needs to do to stop Hybern when an ash arrow suddenly bursts through her throat. Ianthe is there with two Hybern soldiers.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59:</span></b> Ianthe says she can't use most of her hand thanks to Feyre. Ianthe heard from Tamlin how Feyre caught the Suriel so she tried her methods but the Suriel would not tell her anything. So she gifted it a robe with a tracking spell on it that would be triggered if Feyre came to see it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Suriel lays dying and tells Feyre to run. Feyre runs, getting them to chase her and she leads them </div><div>to the Weaver's cottage. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60: </span></b>The Weaver knows she has seen her brother, can smell him on her. She asks Feyre who Feyre has brought to her, she says dinner. Feyre leaves, trapping Ianthe and the guards in with the Weaver. She runs back to the Suriel and it asks Feyre to stay with it while it dies. The Suriel came even though it knew about the tracking because it says Feyre is kind and fought her fear. Suriel says she told her to stay with the High Lord, she meant Rhys. She tells her to stay with him and she will see everything righted. The Suriel tells her to leave the world a better place than she found it. The Suriel dies and Helion finds Feyre there. She uses his cloak to cover the Suriel's body and then Helion takes her back to the camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61:</span></b> Cassian has been hurt, has a wound from his navel to his sternum and it will take him a while to fully heal. Rhys is angry as he gave Cassian an order to wait and he ignored it. Mor is angry at Feyre for leaving to go see the Suriel and not telling anyone. They start fighting about it and Mor has a go at her for lying and Feyre hits back, saying that Mor lies every day. She asks why Mor has never made a move on Az or why she took Helion to bed even though she didn't enjoy it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62:</span></b> Amren arrives with the book and also bones and stones for Nesta to scry. Amren tells Nesta to pick them up and then think about the Cauldron. Nesta grips tighter on to the bones and they can't seem to get through to her. Feyre looks into her mind and sees Hybern's forces, huge and endless. She sees the King standing over a war map. The King has amassed his army at the edge of the human territory, close to their family estate. Varian shows up in the tent and kisses Amren.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63: </span></b>Feyre dreams of the Cauldron. She wakes and feels like something is wrong. She thinks her and Nesta opened a door and that the cauldron is watching them through it. The Cauldron knows where they are, they an hear it. Amren, Nesta and Feyre can all hear it as they were Made. They realise the Cauldron lured Elain away from the camp by showing her Graysen calling to her, promising he loves her. The Cauldron has taken Elain to the Hybern war camp. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64: </span></b>Azriel says he will get her back. Feyre says she will go with him. Feyre shifts to look like Ianthe and says she will walk right into the camp. Rhys can't go with her. Az and Feyre winnow near the camp, Az hides himself using his shadows and Feyre walks right in. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65:</span></b> In the camp they find a Children of the Blessed girl hung up on a rack, they've been torturing her. Jurian finds her and realises she isn't Ianthe but is Feyre. He tells her that Elain is safe and untouched for now. He says she is chained in the King's tent with steel and a spell from the book. Jurian says he will make a distraction so they can get her out. Feyre asks him to also get the Children of the Blessed girl for her. They grab Elain and run. </div><div><br /></div><div>They run for the cliff Jurian told them to escape to and they find the Children of the Blessed girl there. They are close to the edge when Feyre is hit by an ash arrow. Two of the King's hounds are about to attack her when Tamlin comes to help her escape. Azriel tells her she will need to fly. He takes off with Elain and the other girl but one of the beasts jumps and injures his wings. Feyre manages to fly with a help from a breeze Tamlin creates for her. She looks back and sees Tamlin leap off the cliff and winnow away.</div><div><br /></div><div>They all make it back to the Illyrian camp, both her and Az are injured. The girl they rescued is called Briar. Nesta appears, throws her arms around Feyre sobbing and thanks her. She is healed and then her, Elain and Nesta lay together like they did back in the cottage.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66:</span></b> Kallias's army has joined them at the camp. Azriel has been healed but he won't be able to fly for a while. Mor and Feyre talks, she tells Feyre that she was right, she doesn't love Azriel. She says she loves him like family but does not love him the way he loves her. She says she can't love him as she prefers females. Says she finds pleasure in both but prefers females and connects with them on a soul-deep level. </div><div><br /></div><div>She never told her family as LGBTQ+ people are reviled by people in the Hewn City who only care about breeding. Says she slept with Cassian as she knew it would mean little to him, didn't pick Az as she knew how he felt about her. She says when Az found her that day with the note nailed to her womb he tried to confess how he felt and she panicked and just walked out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor says she sleeps with men as she enjoys it but also as it stops people looking too closely. She says the bar Rita's is owned by someone like her. Mor says she has continued to hide that part of her because she is terrified her family will find out and shame/hurt her about the one thing that has remained wholly hers. </div><div><br /></div><div>She says she took her first female lover during the first war, a female queen named Andromache. She was beautiful and she loved her. The queen had to continue the royal line so Mor left. When she realised her mistake and went to go back the wall had already been built. She tried to cross it for three years, by the time she did the queen had married a man and had a daughter. She ended up having five children and died an old woman. Says she has taken male and female lovers since but none has felt the same as Andromache. </div><div><br /></div><div>She says Azriel is marvelous but if she ever slept with him he would think it was the start of their happy ending. She says she loves him enough to want him to find someone who can truly love him. Feyre promises to keep her secret until she is ready to tell. She asks why she slept with Helion, she says she did it to remind Az that she's not interested. Says she knows she should tell him (<b>Yes, it has only been <u>500</u> fucking years! She could literally just tell him she loves him as a friend but nothing more</b>) </div><div><br /></div><div>Hybern's army is on the move, marching east. The King is planning to march on the human lands to spite Feyre and her sisters for what they've done. They plan to winnow to the human lands and winnow out as many humans as they can to Adriata. Amren comes in and says they need to face Hybern in battle and distract him so that Amren, Feyre, Nesta and Elain can get to the Cauldron. Elain has found a way to stop his whole army. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 67: </span><span>They need to get to the Cauldron and touch it together. They can then use it to bind the King and his army and wipe them off the earth. They go to winnow the humans out and Feyre and Rhys go to her old village. Feyre knows she needs to get the Carver, so she winnows to the Court of Nightmares to face the mirror. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68:</span></b> She climbs a winding staircase of a thousand stairs that leads to the mirror. She looks into it and sees just herself until she notices a massive beast behind her, slowly inching towards her. Describes it as a beast of claws, scales and fur. It jumps at her and then disappears. When she looks back in the mirror she sees it and realises it is her, a reflection of what lies beneath her skin. She faces it in the mirror. </div><div><br /></div><div>She brings the mirror to the Carver. He says he will uphold their deal and fight for them. He says he didn't need the mirror but she did. He wanted to see if she was worth helping and says it is rare to find a person who can face who they truly are and not be broken by it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69: </span></b>Hybern has marched through the human lands, destroying as they go. They find Feyre's family estate destroyed. Azriel gives Elain his blade, Truth Teller. Az's wings are injured and Rhys has ordered him not to fight. Rhys says it is the first time he has seen Az let someone touch his knife. Rhys then gives a moving speech to everyone (<b>but I'm dead inside and feel nothing!</b>)</div><div><br /></div><div>They go to face Hybern but are very outnumbered. Feyre reveals she got a tattoo as a mating gift to Rhys, it is down her spine and shows 4 phases of the moon.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Hybern's shield around his forces comes down, Feyre lets her glamour go - it was hiding the Bone Carver and Bryaxis. The ink on her spine is the bargain. Suddenly the Weaver shows up, Rhys sent Helion to bargain with her. They will break her containment spell if she fights with them. All three creatures begin attacking Hybern's forces.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70:</span></b> The fighting starts and it is bloody. A horn sounds and three armies appear - Beron's, Tamlin's and Graysen's human army led by Jurian. Tamlin made Beron came, dragged him out by his neck. Eris's brothers work to destroy Hybern's stores of faebane.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amren, Feyre, Nesta and Elain need to make their way through the battlefield to find the Cauldron. Nesta realises Hybern is rousing the Cauldron, Nesta begins screaming for Cassian. The King uses the Cauldron to completely destroy the Illyrian armies in the sky, turns them to ash. Nesta called for Cassian knowing he would come, saving his life. The King uses the Cauldron again, this time hitting and destroying the Carver.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71:</span></b> Feyre realises she and Amren will have to go to the Cauldron alone, without her sisters. Another horn blasts and an armada of ships appear on the horizon, more of Hybern's army. But then <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">another</u> horn blasts and they see thousands of winged soldiers heading towards them. And another armada is coming, with way more ships than Hybern's. They realise it is Drakon's legion and the ships are filled with Miryam's people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Drakon appears and says they heard rumours of the war and jokes that Rhys could have asked for their help. When Rhys says he couldn't find them, Drakon explains they put a glamour on the island 300 years ago, anyone approaching would just see a ruin and be inclined to turn around. They had been on Cretea the entire time. Drakon reveals most of the armada isn't his, they met up with it on the way. He says it is led by a queen named Vassa, that Lucien is with her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises it was their father that found Vassa. Apparently he discovered the queens were traitors months ago and has been fathering an independent human army to face Hybern. He found Vassa and rallied an army. He told Drakon he had three daughter that he had failed for years and he would not fail them again. He named his three ships after Nesta, Elain and Feyre (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks SJM for the character redemption no one asked for/cares about!</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72:</span></b> Vassa is flying as a firebird. Nesta tells Feyre she can use her as bait to draw the King out. She says that it works both ways and the King doesn't know how much she took from the Cauldron and if she makes it look like she is about to use its power the he will come running to kill her. Cassian says he will guard her, Rhys is convinced they will both die. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 73:</span></b> The Weaver is still alive, hidden near Hybern's forces and was waiting for Amren and Feyre to arrive. She creates a diversion for them by killing the King's guards. The King walks up to the Weaver and snaps her neck and throws her to two naga hounds. The King can sense Nesta's power and heads towards her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre and Amren reach the Cauldron and Feyre puts her hand on it. She realises that Amren has lied to her about whatever is about to happen. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74:</span></b> Amren says she is sorry for lying. Feyre can't let go, can see the Cauldron as it searches for Nesta. She sees Rhys fully shift into the beast he can become, says it is a thing of nightmares. Helion runs towards Rhys and shifts too. She sees through the Cauldron as it locates Nesta. The King winnows to them but Nesta doesn't unleash her power because the King is holding their father and has a knife to his throat. Her father tells her he loved her from the minute he held her as a baby and he is sorry for everything. She begs the King not to kill him, he asks what she will give and she says she will give back what she took. The King kills their father, snaps his neck.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian begins fighting with the King but he is losing. Nesta tells the King she is going to kill him. The King brings his foot down on Cassian's wing, snapping bone. Nesta's power explodes out of her and at the King but he winnows away. Nesta grabs Cassian's sword and turns to the King but he quickly disarms her and strikes her across the face. She sends another bolt of power at the King, sending him flying back (<b>I wish this man had a name!</b>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta tries to get Cassian up, is sobbing at him to get up before the King comes back but he can't. Cassian tells her to go but she says she can't. Cassian says he has no regrets other than that they did not have more time together. He kisses her and tells her he will find her in the next life. Nesta covers Cassian's body with her own as the King returns. As the King goes to kill them he suddenly stops, Nesta looks up to see a blade is through his throat. Elain has stabbed him with Truth Teller. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75:</span></b> Nesta gets up and goes to the King, grabs the blade and twists it into his beck - eventually she beheads him. Nesta then lifts his head up and stares at it. Feyre realises that even with the King dead, his armies will still overwhelm them. Amren is telling Feyre to fight against the Cauldron.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amren reveals the Suriel gave her the message for Amren but it was for the spell that would unbind them. Once she is in her real form she can wipe out Hybern's armies. Varian appears and tells Amren not to do it. Feyre reminds her that she will be gone if she does it, she won't remember them once she is freed. Amren says there were humans in her world to and she used to watch them. She things being sent here was a gift, her time with them was a gift. She tells Varian she thinks she learned to love with him. Amren gets into the Cauldron and tells Feyre the spell she needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Cauldron shatters into three pieces and then they see Amren, describes her with great, burning wings and a crown of light floating above her flaming hair. She begins destroying Hybern's forces. She wipes them all out but she fades away, her power spent. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Chapter 76: Feyre feels the Cauldron, looks inside the ruins of it and can see a void, a growth. The fissure inside the Cauldron is growing and will destroy everything. Rhys tells her she needs to remake the Cauldron, to forge it anew. But Feyre says her power is spent. Rhys says she can use his power. She takes his hand and grabs the Cauldron. She uses the spell Amren gave her and with Rhys's power she begins to forge, weld and bind the Cauldron. She keeps needing more of Rhys's power and he gives it to her and tells her he loves her. She heals the Cauldron, but can feel his power start to sputter. She manages to finish it but when she turns around she finds Rhys sprawled dead on the ground (<i style="font-weight: bold;">We all try to act shocked/devastated and like we don't already know she will bring him back</i>)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 77:</span></b> She realises he knew he was dying and it was why he told her he loved her, he was saying goodbye. Feyre shouts at the High Lord's to bring him back like they did her but they say it is not the same thing as she was human. She says she doesn't care, tells them to do it. Tarquin goes first and then the others. Thesan explains to Feyre how to do it herself, so she does. Then Tamlin comes and she begs him, she says she will give him anything. He tells her to be happy and then drops the last kernel of power into him.</div><div><br /></div><div>She holds Rhys and tells him about how she fell in love with him. Rhys finally comes back to live, makes a joke and tells the High Lord's they'll be happy to know his power remains his own and didn't gain any of theirs. Rhys tells her there is another surprise and tells them to get Amren out of the Cauldren. She was there while the Cauldron was sealing and going wherever the dead go, so Rhys reached out a hand to her to see if she'd come back. Feyre realises what Amren has given up to come back to them, she is now just a normal High Fae.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 78:</span></b> Elain. Nesta and Feyre go to their father and say a prayer then burn his body. Lucien comes, says he has a lot to tell her. Reveals her father struck a deal with Vassa's keeper so she could come temporarily. She is still cursed though so is only human at night. Feyre notes the queens are still out there, Lucien says not for long if Vassa has anything to do with it. Elain invites Lucien to come to Velaris with them. Feyre goes to her tent and finds Rhys inside with Drakon and Miryam. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 79:</span></b> Drakon and Miryam fought with Jurian but Mor convinced them not to kill him. Feyre asks them if they can hide the Cauldron in Cretea and they agree. They then have a giant meeting between all the High Lord's, princes, humans and fae. Feyre finally gets to see Nephelle, the legendary warrior Azriel told her about. She meets Vassa, who tells her their father was a great man and she will owe him as long as she is alive. She asks if Feyre can break the curse on her and she says she will try. Feyre has called them all together to renegotiate the Treaty.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80:</span></b> She tells them all her story, then Miryam and Drakon and then several others. They don't agree anything yet. Jurian comes to speak to Feyre, says Vassa offered him a place in her court. They finally head back to Velaris. Nesta is now back to being quiet and not talking to any of them. Feyre gave Lucien a note for Tamlin to say thank you and to wish him happiness to, asks him to give it to him if he ever sees them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 81: Rhysand's POV:</span></b> Just him listening to all his friends talk and laugh. (<b>Thanks Sarah, just what this 700+ page book needed was more pages of </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">nothing</u>) </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 82:</span></b> Feyre goes to find Rhys on the roof, in the red lacy underwear they once joked about her buying. He tells her he heard her in death and it made him hold on. They make a bargain that when it is time to go they go together. He tells her Bryaxis has vanished, they will have to hunt him down at some point and return him to the library. Then her and Rhys go flying over Velaris together. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The End</span></b></div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-28951775452582189242021-02-14T02:57:00.008+00:002024-01-28T13:41:34.191+00:00A Court of Thorns and Roses Complete Series Recap / Summary <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2Pelhm1iccwtLsmFCVz_QvihYJ2ysISrscI_aWWOfSv0EnUsYf2ODF5sPAymutvQTd3J9xySpYOFj3vYs95qK8B0a-XY0I0ckhz-X39CkNF8hVw7pBXZWnOLSUwMY8AnNicymvyYjZna/s672/acotar01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="672" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2Pelhm1iccwtLsmFCVz_QvihYJ2ysISrscI_aWWOfSv0EnUsYf2ODF5sPAymutvQTd3J9xySpYOFj3vYs95qK8B0a-XY0I0ckhz-X39CkNF8hVw7pBXZWnOLSUwMY8AnNicymvyYjZna/s16000/acotar01.jpg" /></a></p><br /><div>I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: <b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reviews_from_a_bookworm/">check those out here</a></b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out <b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/throne-of-glass-full-series-recap-summary.html">here</a></b>. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and I apologise for any spelling mistakes or slight errors.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A Court of Thorns and Roses</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1:</span></b> Feyre is out hunting in the woods, has gone further in than she would usually go as she is quite desperate. Feyre mentions she has been sleeping with a guy named Isaac Hale. Sees a deer enter the clearing, this could feed her family for at least a week. Then she sees a wolf approaching, she notes it is enormous, around the size of a pony and unnaturally stealthy - she thinks it could possibly be a faerie. She says that fae hate iron but it is ash wood that slows down their immortal healing powers and makes them easier to kill - she has one ash wood arrow on her. She waits for the wolf to take down the deer and then she shoots and kills the wolf. She skins the wolf and then carries the pelt and the deer home.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2:</span></b> Elain and Nesta are her older sisters - Feyre is 19, Elain is 20-21 and Nesta is 22. All three are described as having gold-brown hair. Nesta is described as cruel, whilst Elain is described as sweet. Neither seems to really help Feyre, she is the one who keeps the family fed. Her fathers leg is injured, creditors once broke his knee when he lost his wealth and couldn't pay them. Nesta resents their dad, believes he could work and help them more if he wasn't so ashamed. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta is described as quite mean, judgmental and unappreciative of all Feyre does for them, without Feyre they would all starve. Their mother died years before, Feyre describes her as a cold woman who did not love her children and only loved their father. On her deathbed she made Feyre promise to look after her family, Feyre was the youngest child and only about 8 at the time. She still doesn't understand why her mother made her promise and not her father.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tomas Mandry, a woodcutter's son, wants to marry Nesta but Feyre does not approve of it.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3</span></b>: Elain, Nesta & Feyre head into the village so that Feyre can sell the wolf and deer hides. They are stopped by a member of the Children of the Blessed - those who still worship the fae. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre approaches a woman mercenary who agrees to buy the pelts and overpays for them. She tells Feyre that someone once did the same for her and she believes now is the time to repay that. The mercenary warns her that she should not hunt close to the wall that separates the humans from the fae world.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Fae had once been the humans overlords and had kept them as slaves. But the humans had rebelled and a war had ensued. It took 6 mortal queens crafting a treaty for the slaughter to stop and the wall to be constructed - the North for the fae and the South for humans. More and more creatures seem to be coming past the wall and into the humans land. </div><div><br /></div><div>We learn Feyre has been sleeping with Isaac on and off for two years - uses it as an escape but doesn't have feelings for him.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> A monster has broken into their home, the creature is as big as a horse with golden fur and a wolfish head. He demands to know who killed the wolf. Feyre thinks about lying but she has heard that fae can't tell lies and she is also worried they might be able to detect them too. Feyre notes that Elain might be able to escape because Nesta would give her time to run, Nesta would go down swinging to protect Elain. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre admits that she was the one who killed the wolf, which was actually a faerie. The monster informs her the treaty demands a life for a life. He tells her it demands he claim her life but that doesn't mean he has to kill her. He tells her she can either be killed by him or she can go with him and spend the rest of her life in Prythian, the fae world. Feyre agrees to go with him and live in the fae world.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre gives her father advice on how to survive now that she won't be there to hunt for them. She tells Nesta not to marry Tomas - says that his father beats his wife and none of the children do anything about it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before she leaves her father tells her she was far too good for them and if she ever manages to escape she should not come back to them, instead she should go off and make a name for herself.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5:</span></b> Feyre goes with him, is scared about how she will be treated. He tells her the treaty forbids the fae from keeping human slaves. High Fae rule Prythian, it is divided into 7 courts and each is ruled by a High Lord of unyielding power. The beast uses his magic to knock Feyre out and keeps her unconscious for days until they arrive at his estate.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6:</span></b> Feyre notices it is Spring where they are and not winter like it should be. The beast takes her to a dining room, with a table filled with food and drink. The beast sits down and as he does he transforms into a golden-haired, green-eyed fae male - she realises he is a High Fae. His nose, cheeks and brow are covered by an exquisite golden mask - this is Tamlin.</div><div><br /></div><div>A red-haired male fae enters - also wearing a mask. She learns the fae she killed was called Andras. She notes the red-haired fae is missing an eye and has a carved, golden orb in its place. Also has a scar running from his brow to his jaw. His name is Lucien. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin asks his maid Alis to take Feyre to her room, where Alis tries to get her to change into a dress but she refuses. She is instead given trousers and a tunic - thinks it will be easier to fight/escape if she is wearing this and not a dress.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7:</span></b> Tamlin looks close to Feyre in age but fae are immortal and so she doesn't know how old he actually is. She asks Tamlin what he wants with her and he says nothing, tells her she can do what she wants with her life in Prythian. She begs to go back to her family, says they will die without out. He assures her that her family have been well taken care of.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why Andras was in the human realm, he tells her there is a sickness in Prythian that has been there for almost 50 years now. He says the blight is slowly spreading through Prythian and it makes magic act strangely. He tells her the masks they wear are a part of it - the result of a surge of magic that happened during a masquerade 49 years ago and they are now unable to remove them. The magical blight could eventually spread to the human world.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8:</span></b> Feyre is still desperate to get back to her family despite Tamlin assuring her that he taking care of them. Feyre reveals her mother died of typhus when she was 8. She steals a knife from dinner that night. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Feyre wants to speak to Lucien, believes he might help her get back to the human world as he hates her being there as she killed his friend. Lucien asks Feyre to go with him on patrol. He tells her he knows why she asked to speak to him and that if it was up to him she'd already be gone but there's no way out of the treaty. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tries asking Lucien about the blight, doesn't say much but does mention an elusive 'she' that they all seem frightened of. He explains that Tamlin can shapeshift but not the other people in his court, he can however turn them in to other creatures which is why Andras was a wolf when Feyre saw him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien also mentions a creature called the Suriel which will answer any question you ask of them if you trap one. He tells her the Suriel are old and wicked. Lucien then suddenly tells her to stay still, look straight ahead and no to react at all.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10:</span></b> Feyre can feel that a creature is near her, it tells her how it will kill her and is shouting at her to look at it. She can sense that she shouldn't do as it asked so she ignores it. The creature is the Bogge, once you look at it it becomes real and can kill you. Tamlin goes to hunt it down. Whilst waiting for him to return, Feyre looks out her window and sees her father in the garden.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11:</span></b> Feyre thinks her father has come to rescue her. Tamlin catches her before she can go to him, he tells her it isn't her father but a creature that can turn into anything she desires in order to lure her in and kill her. She tells Tamlin again that she wants to go home, she tells him about the vow she made to her mother. He explains she hasn't broken her vow as her family are now very well cared for. Tells her the creature that tried to lure her outside was a puca. That night Feyre dreams of killing the wolf, it transforms back into a fae as she kills it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> Feyre begins to make a map of Tamlin's estate, she can't read or write but can draw the map. Tamlin comes back, he has killed the Bogge but he is hurt. Feyre helps patch him up in the infirmary.</div><div><br /></div><div>She then overhears Tamlin and Lucien fighting. She isn't sure what they are arguing about but Lucien accuses Tamlin of not even trying. He also says to Tamlin that <i>"For someone with a heart of stone, yours is certainly soft these days."</i> Tamlin says he can't stomach 'it' after what his father and brother used to do to humans.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Tamlin comes to talk to Feyre, he asks her if anyone has ever taken care of her and she says no. Tamlin reveals that he knows she took a knife at dinner. He then takes Feyre to his study. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> She tells Tamlin she can't read because her mother neglected her children's education. She is currently trying to teach herself to read, has been keeping a list of all the words she doesn't know. Tamlin offers to help her write a letter to her family if she wants. </div><div><br /></div><div>She finds a mural in his study that shows a cauldron held by female hands that is tipped over and has words spilling out of it, forming their world. The mural depicts the war between fae and humans. It was shows the seven Courts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day and Night.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre goes to see Lucien to try and find out how she can trap the Suriel. He says they have a weakness for groves of young birch trees in the western woods and also a weakness for freshly slaughtered chickens. He says they wouldn't notice a double-loop snare rigged from the grove that would pin its legs. Says she would also need a bow, quiver and knife and to run like hell once she frees it. Tells her to run across a river once she has freed it. Tells her he might even be close enough to hear her scream if she needed help.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14:</span></b> She sets up the trap and captures a Suriel - describes it as a tall, thin, veiled figure in dark robes. She asks it if there is any way for her to go home, it says not unless she wants her and her family to be killed. Asks what the Suriel knows about Tamlin and it asks her to be more specific as it knows a lot about the High Lord of the Spring Court - Feyre finally realises that Tamlin is High Lord.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks what can be done about the blight and the Suriel tells her to just stay with the High Lord. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Suriel tells her that across the sea is the faerie world of Hybern that is ruled by a powerful King. No humans exist there anymore as they were all killed. The King has a throne made out of human bones. The King of Hybern is unhappy with the Treaty. 100 years ago he sent his most loyal commanders to Prythian to wage war against the humans. They infiltrated the High Fae courts for 50 years but then one of his commanders betrayed him - they are now known as the Deceiver.</div><div><br /></div><div>Suriel says they aren't alone, it tells Feyre to free it and run back to the manor and stay there. Tells Feyre the naga are coming, faeries made of shadows, hate and rot. Feyre goes to free the naga when four naga appear.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15:</span></b> Feyre screams to alert Lucien that she needs his help. She frees the Suriel and then fires an arrow at one of the naga and then runs. She is eventually surrounded by the other three naga and is attacked by one that she then stabs in the neck with a knife. Tamlin arrives in time to save her and kill the naga.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> Alis tells Feyre about her family: her sister and her ssister's mate were murdered almost 50 years ago and left two children behind and she raised them. Lucien reveals to Feyre that faeries can in fact lie, iron does nothing to them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin once again offers to help Feyre write to her family and tells her they are fools for not seeing how much she did for them. Tamlin reveals that some faeries used to be close to humans and actually fought on their side during the war, which was how the humans survived so long and were able to get the Treaty. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin reveals that Feyre's family have absolutely no memory of the day he came for her. He glamoured their memories and so they believe a long lost aunt called Feyre away to care for her as she was sick. Also made sure they believe they heard a rumour of a threat from Prythian so that they know to run if they need to. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Tamlin for some paints and tells him she enjoys paining. He tells her he has a gallery in the manor that is closed up but he will show it to her once it is cleaned.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Feyre is woken up by screaming. Tamlin comes in carrying an injured faeries that has had its wings cut off. The faerie is from the Summer Court and was dumped on their border. The faerie says <i>'she took my wings'</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre helps hold the faerie down while Tamlin tries to heal him but it is no use. The faerie bleeds out and dies. Feyre then apologises for killing Andras, tells Tamlin she regrets that there was so much hate in her heart at that time. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18:</span></b> Tamlin and Lucien take Feyre to a beautiful glen in the Spring Court. Tamlin shows her a nearby pool where the water is starlight. He tells Feyre a little more about Lucien.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien is the youngest son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court and he is one of seven brothers. He says the Autumn Court is cut throat, like in every other Court the person who inherits the Court is the strongest and not the oldest. Lucien never cared to rule or fight for the title.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien fell in love with a faerie woman that his father did not approve of so he had her executed and made Lucien watch. Lucien left, abandoning his title and Court and went to the Spring Court. Three of his brothers went after him to kill him but only one came back alive, Lucien killed one and Tamlin killed the other. Tamlin claimed Lucien as his own and named him emissary for the Spring Court. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre decides to go swimming in the pool, a response to Tamlin teasing her. Tamlin asks Feyre about her family and how they lost their fortune. She tells him her father was known as the Prince of Merchants, a name he inherited from his father. Says it was all a lie, a good name that masked three generations of bad debts. </div><div><br /></div><div>Her father found an opportunity to pay off his debts. 8 years ago he sank his whole wealth into 3 ships that were to sale to Bharat for invaluable spices and cloth. But all the ships sank and they were left for nothing. Creditors came and when he couldn't pay them they broke his knee while Feyre watched and screamed at them to stop.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien admits to Feyre that he heard her screaming and hesitated for a few seconds before trying to come save her. He gives her a jeweled hunting knife. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19:</span></b> Tamlin takes Feyre to see the gallery, she cries. Feyre then spends weeks painting but feels guilty about it, Tamlin tells her not to. She cuts her hands on the thorn of a rose and Tamlin kisses the wound so it heals. Tamlin tells Feyre that he finds her human joy fascinating. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre goes for a walk in the woods and feels like someone is following her, so she sets up a snare and captures Tamlin. Tamlin gives her some poems he has written, reads them out to her - they use all the words she wrote down that she didn't know how to read. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Tamlin about his parents, as he tells her they were mated rather than married. He tells her that faeries do get married but if they are lucky they meet their mate, who is their equal in every way and the bond is so deep that marriage feels insignificant. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin tells her that his father and two brothers were even worse than Lucien's. They all kept humans as slaves and they treated them terribly. But his mother loved his father and wouldn't have said a bad word against him, despite everything he did. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin joined his fathers war band when he was old enough to, his power kept growing and growing over time. He says his whole family was killed by a different High Lord and this left Tamlin to become High Lord of the Spring Court. Many courtiers weren't happy about it as he hadn't been trained to be High Lord and so they defected. </div><div><br /></div><div>They come across bonfires that are being built. Tamlin tells her this is for Calanmai (Fire Night) which is a Spring ceremony where they create magic to help regenerate the land for the year ahead. Tells her they create the magic with a ritual.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin tells Feyre to stay hidden no matter what she hears. She watches as Tamlin and Lucien talk to someone who is invisible to her. Hears the thing say <i>"Though you have a heart of stone, Tamlin... you certainly keep a host of fear inside it." </i>The creature is the Attor.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20:</span></b> It is now Calanmai and Tamlin says he must partake in the Great Rite. He tells Feyre to go to her room, lock the door, set a snare and not to come out until morning. But she gets curious and heads down to the bonfires.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is grabbed by three faeries who say they will have their fun with her. Someone grabs her shoulders and says they've been looking for her. The fae who pretends to know her seems to scare the other three away very easily. She turns to him and says he is '<i>the most beautiful man I'd ever seen'</i> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21:</span></b> The High Fae who saved her has black hair and deep blue/violet eyes. He saves her and then leaves. Lucien finds her and tells her she has to go. He quickly runs her back to the manor and explains that the crops in the Spring Court rely on the magic regenerated on Calanmai. He tells her that all seven High Lords perform the Great Rite every year.</div><div><br /></div><div>He tells her Tamlin will allow a great and terrible magic to enter his body and soul. It will turn him into the Hunter and fill him with the sole purpose of finding the Maiden and their coupling will release the magic. While he is under the spell of the magic he will only think of finding the Maiden.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin first needs to hunt down and kill the white stag and then he will go to the sacred cave where all the females will be lined up and waiting for him to choose one of them as his Maiden. Feyre mentions that there were loads of male fae there too - Lucien says that Tamlin isn't the only one who gets to perform the rite. Lucien says she is lucky he found her because if he hadn't then Tamlin would have claimed her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Later that night Feyre leaves her room to go and get her snack. Tamlin finds her and pins her up against the wall. He says he smelled her at Calanmai and tried to find her. Says that when he wasn't able to find her the magic made him pick another fae to sleep with. Tells her he would have been gentle with her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin bites her neck to keep her pinned to the wall and tells her to not '<i>disobey</i>' him again. Feyre has the realisation that she wants Tamlin.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22:</span></b> Feyre wakes up and has a bruise on her neck from where Tamlin bit her the night before. They fight at breakfast that day. Tamlin then brings her roses and apologises. Feyre finally puts on a dress for dinner that night because she wants to impress Tamlin. Tamlin tells her she looks beautiful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre takes Tamlin to see all the paintings she has gone. She did a painting of the glen and the pool he took her to. Also has paintings of parts of her life - the cottage she grew up in, of her and Isaac, of her dad having his knee broken. He asks for the painting she did of the woods she used to hunt in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Tamlin if there is anything she can do to help with the masks and whatever is happening to their magic. He says there is nothing she can do, nothing he wants her to do. He says: <i>"I want you here, where I can look after you - where I can come home and know you're here, painting and safe."</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>She goes to bed that night and doesn't lock her door for the first time.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23:</span></b> Feyre and Tamlin are laying in the grass together. Tamlin tells Feyre he has a way to allow her to see the world as the fae do, says he will do it for a kiss. She agrees and he then kisses her eyelids. Sees the world as they do, it becomes richer and clearer. She tries to take off Tamlin's mask but of course she can't. Then Feyre falls asleep in the grass.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24:</span></b> Feyre wakes up and can now see way more fae in the Spring Court, ones that look less human than the fae she is used to seeing. Tamlin had glamoured them before so she couldn't see them as he thought they'd frighten her. Alis looks different to her now, has skin like tree bark.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre finds the head of a High Fae on a pike on a fountain statue in the gardens. The head has been branded with the Night Court sigil. They tell Feyre the Night Court is filled with sadistic killers. Tamlin tells her this is probably the High Lord of the Night Courts idea of a joke and a way to tell them he is waiting for their wards to break more.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> It is now Summer Solstice, another celebration and Feyre puts on another dress for the occasion. It is a day filled with celebrating, singing, dancing and drinking. Feyre drinks faerie wine, despite Tamlin warning her not to. Tamlin finds her and takes her to see the Will-o-the-wisps. They then dance together and then kiss. They then sit and watch the sunrise together and then kiss again.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26:</span></b> Lucien receives a letter from someone in the Winter Court - it says the blight took out two dozen of their younglings, it burned through their magic and broke apart their minds. Every Court is affected by it except the Night Court.</div><div><br /></div><div>Suddenly Tamlin has Lucien hide Feyre in the corner of the room, Lucien stands in front of her. The fae she met on Calanmai appears - Tamlin calls him Rhysand and also calls him Amarantha's whore.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises that Rhysand is the High Lord of the Night Court and he refers to the severed head as a gift. Rhys notices Feyre's plate on the table and realises they have glamoured him. He gets rid of it and can now see Feyre, asks who she is. Lucien lies and says that Feyre is his betrothed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand calls Feyre mortal trash and uses his powers on her to look into her mind. He tells Tamlin that Feyre thinks about him in a sexual way. He also tells Tamlin that she would have been the one for him but it is too late. He says that Amarantha will enjoy breaking her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin begs him to not tell Amarantha about Feyre, Rhysand makes Tamlin beg on his knees. Rhysand asks Feyre for her name, she lies and tells him it is Clare Beddor - the name of a girl from her village. Rhysand then leaves.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27:</span></b> Tamlin tells Feyre that he is sending her home, tells her there are people who will want to hurt her because of what she means to him. He tells her she won't have to leave forever but she doesn't believe him. She says life will be easier with her gone because she is <i>'covered in thorns'</i>. Feyre then kisses him and takes him to bed where they have sex. Tamlin tells Feyre he loves her '<i>thorns and all</i>'.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28:</span></b> She gets ready the next day and she notes that Lucien seems very angry with her about it and tells her he thought she was smarter than this. Before she leaves Tamlin once again tells her he loves her but she doesn't say it back.</div><div><br /></div><div>The carriage she is in takes her to a fancy chateau that she notes has servants. She finds Nesta and Elain there. Elain asks her about aunt Ripleigh, the long lost aunt they believe she was helping. Feyre pretends that she died and left Feyre her fortune.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elain reveals to Feyre that a week after she left a stranger appeared and asked their father to invest him money for him. He gave them a trunk of gold just for agreeing. Her father doubled the mans investment in a month. Their fathers ships were also suddenly found too - Feyre realises that Tamlin did all of this. Now her family have their wealth back. Feyre notices that Feyre is watching her a lot and is very quiet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre feels like she made a mistake by agreeing to leave Tamlin. She remembers that the Suriel told her to stay with the High Lord.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29:</span></b> Tamlin had sent Feyre back with a trunk filled with jewels. She also finds out that Tamlin found a way to get a magic salve to her father that has helped make his injured leg better and improved his limp.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elain says that when they got their fortune back and begun attending balls and parties again, people acted as if they'd never been gone. She tells Feyre that Nesta didn't finish the seaason, stopped attending all the balls and wouldn't talk to anyone. She also tells Feyre that Nesta went to visit Feyre and was gone for a whole week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre has a lot of money now so she takes some of it with her and sets off for the village they used to live in.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Feyre goes and hands out bags of gold to the poorest families in the village. She overhears Tomas Mandray talk about a house that burned down a week before with the family trapped inside. She sees Isaac with his new wife, they smile at each other and Feyre notes that she feels nothing for him and just wishes him well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre's father plans to host a ball in her honour. Nesta comes to talk to Feyre and asks why she is bothering to stay with them. Nesta reveals that the glamour didn't work on her, it only worked on Elain and their father.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta says she went after Feyre, she trekked for two days to the wall but could not find a way to get through it. Nesta had paid the mercenary from the village to take her to the wall so she could go after Feyre. She reveals she gave up on Tomas Mandray when she realised he wouldn't go with her after Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre notes that Nesta shrouded the grief of losing her mother and everything else that happened in icy rage and bitterness but she had still loved and cared for Feyre. Feyre tells Nesta everything that happened while she was gone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta says that she hates their father for never doing anything to help them, for doing nothing as they almost starved to death. She also hates him for allowing their mother to die - says he could have gone to the fae for a cure but he didn't. Nesta says Feyre would have gone to the ends of the earth to save her High Lord and Feyre agrees.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31:</span></b> Feyre's father mentions that he hopes to buy the Beddor land when it goes up for sale. Feyre asks what happened and finds out that their house burned down with the family inside and they all died. Apparently every body was found except for Clares. Clare Beddor was the name that Feyre gave to Rhysand when he asked who she was. She doesn't think it is a coincidence, thinks the fae came for the family.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells Nesta that she thinks something might be happening in Prythian, warns her to hire guards for their home and to run if they need to. Nesta tells Feyre to not come back from Prythian, tells her the family can take care of themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre makes it make to Tamlin's manor and sees the gate has been ripped open and the manor has been trashed and Tamlin and everyone else is gone.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> It seems as if a fight took place in the house. Feyre finds Alis still in the house, she tells Feyre that Tamlin and Lucien are still alive. She tells Feyre that they have been taken to Amarantha Under the Mountain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alis explains that Amarantha is the High Queen of Prythian. Prythian used to only be ruled by the 7 High Lords until Amarantha arrived 100 years ago as an emissary of the King of Hybern. She was the King's most lethal general and she fought on the front lines in the war against humans.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha had a younger sister called Clythia who fell in love with a mortal warrior called Jurian. Clythia didn't realise she was being used for information and that Jurian didn't actually love her. Jurian betrayed Clythia and he tortured, butchered her and crucified her with ash wood. Jurian and Clythia had a final confrontation where she killed Jurian and she has despised humans ever since.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once the Treaty was made, Amarantha killed all her human slaves rather than free them. She slowly began to bring her forces to Prythian and planned to take it for herself, build her power and then destroy the human world.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Lords all hosted a ball in her honour and she slipped a potion she made using the King of Hybern's spell book into their wine. When the High Lords drank the wine it made it so Amarantha could steal their powers. It left them all with only the basest elements of their magic. She took control of Prythian and has now ruled it for 49 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alis says there isn't actually a sickness or blight on the land, the blight <i style="font-weight: bold;">is</i> Amarantha. She tells Feyre she could have been the one to save them all if she hadn't been so blind to her own heart. Reveals that Tamlin was cursed by Amarantha. She reveals that Amarantha and Tamlin had known each other for a long time because his family had ties to Hybern. The Spring Court also aligned with Hybern in the war against humans and Tamlin's father was close to the Hybern King.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha wanted to be with Tamlin but he refused. Lucien was sent to her as Tamlin's emissary to try and keep the peace between them but she refused. Lucien insulted her and she took his eye as a punishment, she carved it out with her own nail.</div><div><br /></div><div>She then hosted a masquerade ball Under the Mountain with all the Courts present. She had all of Spring Court wear animal masks to honour Tamlin and his shapeshifting ability. She then told everyone that peace could be had if Tamlin agreed to be her lover and consort. Tamlin told her he would rather be with a human than be with her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha then said she would give Tamlin one chance to break the spell she put upon him to steal his power. Told Tamlin he had seven times seven years (why she couldn't just say 49, I'll never know!) before she claimed him and he would have to join her. If he wanted to break the curse than he had to find a human girl who hated faeries who would marry him.</div><div><br /></div><div>The human also had to have killed one of his men who he would have to send across the wall like a lamb to slaughter. And the girl could only be brought to Prythian to be courted if she killed one of his men in an unprovoked attack.Tamlin lied to Feyre about the treaty, she could kill as many faeries as she wanted and the treaty wouldn't mean she would be punished. The spell could have been broken if Feyre had told Tamlin she loved him and meant it.</div><div><br /></div><div>About the masquerade masks being a part of the curse she says: '<i>Amarantha knows humans are preoccupied with beauty and thus bound the masks to all our faces, to his face, so it would be more difficult to find a girl willing to look past it.'</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha made it so they could not tell anyone about the curse and so the fact Alis can tell Feyre now must mean it is over for Amarantha. Tamlin used to send one of his men to the human world every single day but they would end up being killed by someone who wasn't a young girl and so he stopped.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alis says some High Lords fought back 40 years ago, three High Lords were executed along with mostof their families. Day, Summer and Winter were the three Courts that fought back and as punishment Amarantha now keeps their entire courts Under the Mountain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alis used to serve the Summer Court and her sister was killed when Amarantha invaded. She took her nephews and fled. Tamlin hid her nephews and allowed her to stay and work for him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin spent decades refusing to send anyone across the wall but finally decided to have one last attempt. He started to send his remaining men over the wall, it was three days after that when Feyre killed Andras. Alis reveals that Tamlin only had three days left to break the curse when he sent Feyre away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Alis if Tamlin could kill Amarantha if he got his powers back, Alis says that she isn't sure. Feyre then demands that Alis take her Under the Mountain.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33:</span></b> Feyre arms herself with a bow, arrows and two daggers. Alis warns her not to drink wine while she is there and to not make deals unless her life depends on it. Tells her to not trust anyone in there - not even Tamlin. She says her senses will be waiting to betray her. Alis says there is still one part of the curse that she can't tell her about. Feyre tells Alis that if she needs to escape Prythian then she should go and find her sister Nesta. Alis takes her to an entrance to a tunnel in the Spring Court that will lead her Under the Mountain.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34:</span></b> The Attor finds her in the tunnels and takes her to the throne room. Tamlin is seated next to Amarantha and acts unmoved by Feyre being there. She tells Amarantha that she has come to claim the one she loves, Tamlin. She notices a ring on Amarantha's finger, it appears to be a real human eye encased in crystal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha shows Feyre the tortured body of Clare Beddor - the girl they all believed to be her. Tamlin tries to lie and say that he has never seen Feyre before. Amarantha talks to her ring, calls it Jurian - Feyre realises it is his eye that is trapped inside it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha tells her that she can have Tamlin back if she completes 3 tasks of her choosing. Feyre says she will complete all three tasks if it means that Tamlin's curse will be broken and all of his Court can leave there and remain free forever. Amarantha agrees and says she doesn't even have to complete the three trials if she can successfully answer a riddle. If she gets the answer to the riddle correct then his curse will be instantly broken. Says she can answer the riddle at any time but if she gets it wrong then she will end up like Clare.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha says Feyre will complete one tasks every month at the full moon. Feyre agrees to it and then Amarantha has her beaten.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> Feyre awakes, badly beaten and in a prison cell. Lucien comes to see her and tells her she shouldn't be there. Lucien helps to fix her broken nose and heal her but doesn't heal the bruises, this way others can't tell he has healed her. Lucien tells her all the other High Lords have been summoned Under the Mountain and aren't allowed to leave until Feyre has completed her trials.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien tells her about Amarantha and Jurian's final fight. He says she beat him and then spend weeks torturing him. He says Jurian is now kept alive forever through the ring.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha has Feyre brought to her and she asks for Feyre's name, she refuses to give it. Amarantha then calls for Rhysand and asks him if this is the girl he saw at Tamlin's manor and he says that he thinks it is. Amarantha asks him why he said that Clare was the person he saw and he just says that all humans look alike to him. Feyre doesn't believe his excuse, thinks he knew Clare wasn't the right girl.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha drags Lucien out and tells Rhysand to torture him for Feyre's name. Feyre caves and tells them her name. </div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha then gives Feyre the riddle:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>But I bless all those brave enough to dare.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>When I kill, I kill slow...</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>(Can we all agree that the answer to this riddle was ridiculously obvious? I will forever judge Feyre for not immediately knowing the answer!)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36:</span></b> The full moon arrives and Feyre is taken to Amarantha and a labyrinth of tunnels and trenches. The other High Lords and fae are there to watch the task. The Attor drops Feyre into it. Amarantha frees a giant worm to kill her, it has rows and rows of sharp teeth. Feyre realises the worm is blind and relies on its smell.<div><br /></div><div>Feyre finds the worms den that is filled with the bones of its kills. She begins breaking the bones in half to get sharp bone shards and begins sticking them into the mud with the sharp end pointing up.</div><div><br /></div><div>She overhears Rhys telling the other High Lords that she is building a trap. Feyre then covers herself in mud so that the worm can no longer smell her. She then tracks down the worm and cuts her hand open so it can smell her blood. The worm begins chasing her and she leads it back to its den where it falls for her trap. It ends up impaled on the bone shads and is killed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre then throws one of the bones at Amarantha. Amarantha notes that everyone else in her court bet that Feyre would lose except for one person. Feyre realises she has hurt her arm, a piece of bone is now embedded in it.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37:</span></b> Feyre is in her cell and no one has come to see her or heal her. The wound is still bleeding and she is getting worse every day and knows she is dying. Rhysand comes to see her and says she made him a lot of money, she realises that Rhysand was the only one who bet on her winning.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand says he can heal her arm in exchange for her. He asks for two weeks every month that Feyre will have to come and live with him in the Night Court. She says no but he points out that she is dying and he is her only chance. She still says no and so he grabs the none and twists it causing her immense pain. She bargains with him for one week out of the month and she agrees. She shakes his hand and falls unconscious.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wakes up and finds that she is completely healed. Her left arm is covered in a tattoo of swirls of blank ink and a large eye tattooed in the middle of her palm. He tells her it is customary for deals to be permanently inked on the body.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38:</span></b> Feyre is told to clean a floor but is given dirty water and is unable to do it. The Lady of the Autumn Court comes in and thanks Feyre for giving her name to save Lucien and then she uses her magic to help Feyre clean the floor.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next day she is taken to a room and told to get spilled lentils out of the ash in the fireplace. Rhysand comes in to the room and asks why she is in his room - she explains what she has been told to do. Rhysand talks to Feyre more, reveals that all High Lords can shapeshift, he says he prefers wings and talons. Shows her how he can partly shift to give himself wings.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks Rhys if he knows the answer to the riddle (Feyre, I think anyone with a brain knows the answer <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">except</u> you!) and he tells her they have all been forbidden from telling her the answer. Rhysand orders the guards to stop giving Feyre these random tasks and to stay out of her cell or they are to take their own daggers and gut themselves. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="The Mummy Returns Anck Su Namun GIFs | Tenor" height="131" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/919bb3f36a819532d1527ea701fdf896/tenor.gif" width="200" /></div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Two female fae show up in her cell and take her to a room where they bathe her and then begin painting her entire body. They then put her in a dress that barely covers her. Rhysand comes to her and tells her he needs her to attend a party with him. He had her painted so that he will know if anyone else touches her (I think Rhys has mistaken Feyre for Anck-su-Namun - and if you don't get that reference you are missing out!) And he tells her he doesn't like his belongings being tampered with.</div><div><br /></div><div>He takes her to the party - Amarantha sees her tattooed arm and asks he what he has one. He reveals their bargain and the fact Feyre now must spend a week with every month for the rest of her life. He then gives Feyre faerie wine to drink.</div><div><br /></div><div>She wakes in her cell and vomits, doesn't remember much of the night. Lucien comes to see her and says that Rhysand spent the night touching her just to get a rise out of Tamlin. He says Rhysand had Feyre dance for him all night and then had her sit in his lap. Every night following Rhysand has her doled up and taken to the throne room where she is made to dance half naked for entertainment while she is drunk on faerie wine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand visits her in her cell and tells her that the second trial is the next day. Rhysand tells her that <i>"Taunting him is my greatest pleasure"</i> in reference to having Feyre dance and sit in his lap in front of Tamlin. Rhysand says that through saving Feyre's life he has saved Tamlin's but won't tell her what he means.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha has a High Fae from the Summer Court that was caught trying to escape from Under the Mountain through the tunnel that leads to the Spring Court. Amarantha tells Rhysand to look into his mind and find out what he was attempting to do. Rhysand says he wanted to escape through the Spring Court and in to the human world and he says that he had no other accomplices.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha then tells Rhys to shatter the fae and he kills him, Amarantha is angry because she wanted him to shatter his mind and not kill him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre notes that the other fae refer to Rhys as Amarantha's whore. Feyre also believes that Rhys lied about what the fae was doing when he escaped but she doesn't know why.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> It is time for the second task and Feyre is lowed into a pit. She sees Lucien chained to the floor in the pit, separated from her. She has to answer a question by pulling the correct lever - there are three of them and each one is linked to an answer. She has a time limit, giant spike encrusted gates will slowly lower onto her and Lucien as she tries to solve it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The question and three potential answers are writing on the wall but Feyre can't read it. She thinks she will just have to guess and goes to grab the 2nd lever but her hand suddenly hurts her. She tries to pull it again and the pain returns. She realises Rhysand is doing it, he is trying to show her which one to pull. She pulls the third one and wins the trials.</div><div><br /></div><div>She hears Rhys talking to her in her head, telling her not to cry and to stand and stare Amarantha down. She goes back to her cell and immediately breaks down. Rhysand comes to see her and begins licking the tears from her face. Rhys gets her worked up and mad before he leaves. Once he is gone she notes: <i>"It took me a long time to realise that Rhysand, whether he knew it or not, had effectively kept me from shattering completely."</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 41: </span><span>Feyre is being escorted by Rhysands two servants when they suddenly hide her behind a tapestry so they can spy on the Attor and overhear what is being said. She hears a voice ask the Attor if the High Lords will contribute their forces, the Attor says they will do what they are told. They say the King of Hybern is unhappy with Amarantha about the situation with Feyre and the deal she agreed to. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Back in her cell Feyre can hear music being played, she finds it incredibly moving and beautiful and it makes her cry.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 42: </span><span>Feyre is at another party, covered in the body paint and a dress when she is left to her own devices in a corner. Tamlin finds her and signals for her to follow him. They go in to a room and immediately start kissing and try to undress each other and have sex (rather than talk and try to formulate any kind of plan).</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Rhys catches them and tells Tamlin to fix his clothes and leave, which he does. Rhys calls her a fool and asks if she realises what Amarantha would have done if she had found them. Rhys suddenly looks at the door and then turns back and kisses Feyre - could hear Amarantha approaching. Amarantha opens the door to find them kissing, she has Tamlin with her. Rhys then sends Feyre back to her cell.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>That night Rhys comes to visit Feyre in her cell, tells her that he needs peace and quiet away from Amarantha. Says he is made to serve her in her bedroom like a harlot. Rhys says that if Feyre wins and Tamlin gets his powers back he will be so filled with wrath that he will be able to destroy Amarantha. He says this is why he is doing all this with Feyre, so he can work Tamlin into a senseless fury (not sure why Amarantha repeatedly trying to kill Feyre wouldn't be enough for that but given how useless Tamlin has been UTM I can see why Rhys thinks he needs some motivation.)</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Rhys says there is a reason that he has only ever touched Feyre on the arms and waist - so that Tamlin has reason to not fight him. Rhys worries for his territory and people, Amarantha has them all enslaved and could kill them all if she wanted.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why Amarantha targeted him to be her whore and he says it is because his father killed Tamlin's father and brothers and she was close to them. Amarantha was punishing Rhys for that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises that Rhys has been keeping her alive while Under the Mountain (duh!). Feyre says Rhys didn't have to bargain with her to heal her arm, that he could have demanded she spend every week of her life with him and she would have said yes. He smiles and says he knows that.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43:</span></b> Feyre is called to the third trial, Amarantha is sitting on her throne and once again has Tamlin beside her. Amarantha asks her if she has any final words and she tells Tamlin that she loves him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three figures are brought in, two male and one female who all have sacks over their heads. They are brought in and then forced to their knees. Three servants then come in and each of them holds a pillow that has an ash wood dagger resting on it.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is told that she must stab each of the fae in the heart and if she does that she will win. Amarantha has the hood removed from the first one, a pretty fae male who begs her not to kill him, she can even hear someone sobbing for him in the crowd. Feyre stabs and kills him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then the hood is taken off the fae woman, who says a prayer. Feyre stabs and kills her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then she moves on to the last one, the hood is taken off to reveal the third fae is actually Tamlin. Feyre looks up at the one next to Amarantha and it transforms back into the Attor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre remembers Alis telling her there was another part of the curse that would help her, she just needed to remember what she had heard. And she suddenly remembers Lucien and the Attor saying that Tamlin had a heart of stone and so she realises she can't actually kill Tamlin if his heart is made of stone. She tells Tamlin she loves him before stabbing him in the heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44:</span></b> Amarantha doesn't free them all, she says that Feyre wasn't specific about when she had to free them if she completed the tasks, says she only said she'd free them all immediately if she got the answer to the riddle.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha then says she is going to kill Feyre, begins to attack her. Tells Feyre to admit she doesn't actually love Tamlin and she will let her live, she doesn't. Feyre can hear Rhysand yelling her name from the crowd. Rhysand comes and even tries to stab Amarantha but she stops him. She begins hurting Rhys and Feyre begs her to stop. The bond between her and Rhys, caused by the tattoo, means that she suddenly can see through his eyes and then snaps back into her own.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin is begging Amarantha not to kill Feyre. As Feyre is being tortured to death she finally realises the answer to the riddle is love (DUH!). Says the answer just before Amarantha breaks her spine and kills Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> Feyre is dead but can somehow still see through Rhysand eyes because of their bond. Tamlin and the others now have their powers back. Tamlin very quickly kills Amarantha by stabbing her through her head with a sword and ripping her throat out. Then he comes over to Feyre and sobs over her dead body.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Lord of the Autumn Court approaches Feyre's dead body and open his hand, a glittery spark falls from it and enters her chest. He is followed by the High Lords of the Summer, Winter, Dawn and Day Courts who all do the same thing. Then Rhysand comes over and does the same thing, he says: <i>"For what she gave... we'll bestow what our predecessors have granted to few before." </i>And he says that this makes him and Tamlin even.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin then says he loves her and places his hand over her heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46:</span></b> Feyre wakes up, her body no longer broken. She realises she has become High Fae and is now immortal. Her and Tamlin immediately have sex.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is woken up by Rhys summoning her through their bond. She asks him why he fought so hard to save her from Amarantha. He said he didn't want her to fight alone or die alone. He asks her what it feels like to be fae now and she says that while her body is fae, it feels like her heart is still human. She says she wishes it wasn't, still feels terrible for killing the two fae even if it meant she saved everyone else. He tells her: <i>"Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all."</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand says goodbye to her but just before he leaves she notices he suddenly goes rigid, looks at her in shock and then disappears.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha's body has been burned but Jurians eye and his finger bone that Amarantha kept has somehow gone missing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Her and Tamlin then return back to the Spring Court. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I hope you have found this useful! I will also be uploading chapter by chapter recaps for ACOMAF, ACOWAR and ACOFAS and will also upload them for ACOSF at some point in the future too. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQp0VgUurW3vR0E1O_IQIgmPg8lKK7okf21zWJQmPS4018wUe5s0R0pelZAxBSI97wpULrnLnvZqeYXujZHND1E6pwXXKysKE1qSP9qBdABBVRfPxWDFez4vSFUxdwzJVJ8yWnzJvNyWI/s1500/Acomaf1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQp0VgUurW3vR0E1O_IQIgmPg8lKK7okf21zWJQmPS4018wUe5s0R0pelZAxBSI97wpULrnLnvZqeYXujZHND1E6pwXXKysKE1qSP9qBdABBVRfPxWDFez4vSFUxdwzJVJ8yWnzJvNyWI/w640-h213/Acomaf1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A Court of Mist and Fury</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Prologue</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Feyre is having repeated nightmares about the fae she killed Under the Mountain. In one nightmare she stabs one fae who turns out to be Feyre herself.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part One: The House of Beasts</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1:</span></b> Feyre wakes up from a nightmare and runs to the bathroom to vomit. It has been three months since they left Under the Mountain (UTM). Feyre it still trying to adjust to her new immortal body. She is struggling to believe it is real that she has escaped, part of her worries she will wake up to find herself back in her cell UTM. Feyre hasn't heard from Rhys once in that time, hasn't tried to come get her as part of their bargain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin never wakes up or comes to check on her when she wakes up from her nightmares and is vomiting. She thinks sometimes that he does wake up but pretends to sleep. She notes Tamlin also has nightmares too but he also doesn't talk to her about them. Sometimes he awakes from a nightmare, shapeshifts into his beast form and will guard the room.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2:</span> </b>Lucien and Tamlin go out a lot to hunt down Amarantha's creatures that are still around and on their land. Feyre wants to get out of the manor and go to visit the local fae village that is trying to rebuild. Tamlin tells her no and won't allow her to go.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre and Tamlin are now engaged, he proposed two months ago and now they're currently planning their wedding. They recently celebrated Winter Solstice, although Feyre didn't enjoy it. It took place on her birthday but she didn't tell anyone. They will be getting married in two weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien hunted down 5 naga the day before and was injured, lied to Feyre and said he fell from his horse. Tamlin tries to justify controlling where Feyre can and can't go by saying he can't concentrate on what he needs to do if he is worrying about her. Tells her to just stay in and paint, Feyre notes that she hasn't been able to paint since she came back from UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is being made to dress in bright dresses rather than the tunic and pants she prefers - he says her wearing that attire sends a message across the lands. She keeps her dagger on her at all times, Lucien gifted her a belt she can keep it in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ianthe is the High Priestess and a childhood friend of Tamlin. She is there to help Feyre plan the wedding and Feyre finds her a good distraction and has been helping Feyre adjust to life in the Court. Feyre notes: <i>"I was too watched - too monitored and judged". </i>Ianthe and her family managed to escape the horrors UTM by fleeing to Vallahan 50 years ago. Ianthe is obsessed with the message the wedding sends and says every detail is important even though Feyre doesn't care about any of it. She has to wear a hideous dress that neither Feyre or Tamlin like because Ianthe thinks it sends the best message. Ianthe has set her sights on Lucien but he is not interested in her, seems angry at her that she fled all those years ago. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre and Tamlin have sex, afterwards he apologises for not letting her go to the village, says he needs her to be all right. Feyre asks what she will be called when they're married, as she assumes she will be a High Lady. Tamlin says there is no such thing as a High Lady, she will just be known as Lady of the Spring Court. Tamlin says High Lords only take wives/consorts and there has never been a High Lady.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 3:</b></span> The next day Lucien takes Feyre to the nearby village. She asks why he lied about his injury from the naga and he says Tamlin ordered him not to tell her how he got hurt. Lucien says Tamlin is <i>"giving you as much free reign as he can"</i> and that she has no idea how hard it for Tamlin to even <b>let</b> her off the grounds. Feyre responds that she didn't realise she had become a prisoner (agreed!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien says Tamlin is worried people will try to use Feyre to hurt him but she says he can't expect he to stay locked in the manor forever. Lucien responds: <i>"Isn't that what all human women wish for? A handsome faerie lord to wed and shower them with riches"</i> And he tells her that as Tamlin's wife there are traditions and expectations she must uphold.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien tells her that Tamlin is calling for the Tithe for the first time since the curse was broken. The Tithe is collected twice a year, usually near Winter and Summer Solstice and every single member of the Spring Court must pay a Tithe to Tamlin. This is used to keep his estate running and pay for sentries and servants. In exchange Tamlin protects and rules them. She will be expected to sit beside him while he collects the Tithe and punishes anyone who doesn't pay.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien excuses Tamlin's controlling behaviour by saying he had to watch Feyre die and so of course he wants to protect her now. They arrive at the village and offer help but no one will accept their help. Lucien explains that Amarantha kept the fae of the Spring Court in camps underground with no light for 50 years, they have suffered a lot.</div><div><br /></div><span></span><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> Guests have started to arrive for the wedding that is going to take place in the next few days.The night before the wedding she has another nightmare, Feyre has been struggling with being inside the manor and can't enter certain rooms as they are too enclosed and it gives her panic attacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is getting ready for the wedding and notes how much she hates her dress. She makes her way down the aisle to Tamlin but catches sight of red petals scattered around and they make her think of blood and what she did UTM. She begins starting to panic and feels sick. She begins begging in her head over and over again for someone to help her, to save her and to get her out of there, to end this. Ianthe tells her to come and be joined to her true love and Feyre is about to refuse to marry Tamlin when Rhysand suddenly appears.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5:</span></b> Rhysand says he needs to call in his bargain with Feyre after giving her three months of freedom. Feyre begs Tamlin to not let him take her but he just lets him take her. Rhysand takes her to the Night Court, she was terrified to go there as she had been told that UTM had been inspired by the Night Court. When she gets there she notes it is the most beautiful place she has ever seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is angry but Rhys says she is welcome for him coming to save her when she asked. She says she didn't but he says he could hear her begging for someone to save her and her getting ready to say no to the wedding - could hear her thanks to their bond.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells Rhys he knows nothing about her and he asks if Tamlin does. He asks if Tamlin has asked why she vomits every night, why she can't go in certain rooms or see certain colours. He says she sends all of this down the bond to him. Rhysand says they are in his private residence, his court is beneath the mountain but it mainly rules itself. Feyre gets mad at him and throws a shoe at his head.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her room is big and open, windows have no glass or shatters. The next day the two handmaidens who helped her UTM appear - Nuala and Cerridwen. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains the Night Court is one of the three Solar Courts that have night, day and normal seasons. The Seasonal Courts are linked to their High Lords magic and that keeps them in their eternal winter/summer/spring/autumn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys notes that Feyre has lost weight. She asks him how their bond words and he says to think of the bargain as a bridge between them and either end has a door to their minds. Rhys talents allow him to slip into anyone's mind anyway. He tells her that sometimes she has a shield up in her mind and when she's worked up it vanishes and it can feel like she's shouting her thoughts at him.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks how often he rifles through her mind when her shields are down and he says only when he can't tell if her nightmares are real threats or not. Tells her he could get through when her shields are up if he wanted to but he can train her how to shield against someone like him. She asks what he wants with her now she is here and he says he is going to teach her how to read.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6:</span></b> She doesn't want him to teach her but he insists he will teach her to read and also shield her mind while she is there. Feyre accidentally folds her folk at dinner and Rhys asks if anyone has told her that she is rather strong for a High Fae, she says they haven't. He asks if she is curious if any of the High Lords powers transferred to her when she was resurrected, she says she isn't. She tells him she refuses to learn with him and he asks if it is out of spite and that he thought they moved past that UTM. Feyre gets angry and tells him not to get her started on what he did to her UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>A blonde female fae appears and Rhys introduces her as Morrigan/Mor, his cousin. Feyre notes they don't look much alike and he says they are cousins in the loosest sense of the term but that they were raised together and she is his only remaining family. Mor wants to be Feyre's friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys begins teaching her to read, first thing he gives her to read is a note that says '<i>you look absolutely delicious today, Feyre'. </i>Then he begins talking to her inside her mind and showing her what can happen when she leaves her mind open, he tells her to shove him out. She eventually does by visualising a big wave coming to sweep him out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks if she will be bound by their bargain for much longer. She says that after what happened UTM she doesn't feel like they owe each other anything. She says she thought he was different but now he is keeping her here. Rhys says they had Feyre wrapped up like a present for Tamlin on their wedding day, as if she was his reward. Her only response is<i>"so?"</i> which angers him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand takes her up to the top of the tower they are in and shows her a large map of Prythian and Hybern and tells her that war is coming.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7: </span></b>Feyre begins begging him not to invade, as she thinks he is the one who wants to invade the Mortal Lands. He tells her the King of Hybern has been planning his campaign to reclaim the Mortal Lands for over 100 years. He says Amarantha was just an experiment. Rhys says he will aim to take out Prythian first and then invade and conquer the Mortal Lands.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks if Rhys fought in the first war and he says he did, on the side of the humans just like his father did. Rhys is warning her because Tamlin has ties to the King of Hybern and he needs to know if he will fight with Rhys and the others against the King. Rhys also says Feyre has skills that he needs, mentions that she caught the Suriel. She says it wasn't hard to do but he notes that he has tried twice and failed. He says he requires her tracking skills to help him find what he needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys believes she has more power than a normal High Fae and that she is showing signs of being as powerful as a High Lord. He says she could hold her own as a High Lady and she tells him there aren't any. Rhys tells her there can be High Ladies. He says she might be able to wield the powers of the seven High Lords at once and that could make a big difference in the upcoming war. She says that Tamlin won't allow her to train and help Rhys. Rhys notes that Tamlin isn't her keeper and Feyre says she is his subject, Rhys responds that she is no one's subject.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys says Feyre has a choice - she can be a pawn, someone's reward and spend the rest of her immortal life pretending she is less than Tamlin. Rhys says he doesn't believe she is fine being a pretty trophy for <i>"someone who sat on his ass for nearly 50 years, then sat on his ass while you were shredded apart"</i> He says she can do that or she can master whatever powers she was given and make it count.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys leaves her alone for the rest of the week - just sends her more phrases to read and instructions to continue to practice shielding her mind. She overhears Rhys and Mor talking, she tells him about an attack that took place at a temple in Cesere, She says almost all the priestesses were slaughtered and the trove looted. They don't know who did it. Rhys asks what Azriel thinks and she says he and Cassian are angry and believe it could be a rogue Illyrian war band trying to win territory. She tells him Cassian and Azriel are waiting for him and then Mor disappears.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Rhys how the disappearing works - he says it is called Winnowing and allows you to go from one place to another instantly. She asks what Illyrian war bands are and he says they are a warrior race within his lands and that some supported Amarantha but he has been hunting those ones down.</div><div><br /></div><div>She wakes up at the end of her week there and immediately asks to be taken back. Tamlin checks her over to make sure she isn't hurt. She notices that Tamlin has trashed his study and he tells her he has trashed half the house.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tries to immediately have sex with him but instead Tamlin wants to press her for information about the Night Court. He wants to know the layout, who she saw, what she heard, if they had weapons and what powers she saw. She feels like she is being interrogated but she tells them everything, including the fact Rhys thinks she might have the powers of the High Lords. Lucien says that if that is true then some High Lords may wish to kill her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin doesn't want her to train and learn how to use her powers. He says he can protect her from anything (<b><i>O</i></b><b style="font-style: italic;">f course, you did such a stellar job of it UTM!) </b>Tamlin says there will be no training (<b><i>Feyre doesn't tell him to f off, a real shame!</i>)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8:</span></b> The Tithe is taking place, Feyre sits and watches as emissaries come to give their Tithe. A grey skinned fae woman approaches wearing no clothes, she says she comes on behalf of the water-wraiths. She says there are no fish left in the lake and she has nothing to give. Tamlin says she is still expected to pay and has three days to do so or they must pay double on the next tithe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why he even needs the tithe, as he has more than enough money and most of it is things like baskets of fish and bread. He says he can't make exceptions or everyone will expect the same treatment. She insists they don't need any of the stuff but he says it is the way it is, how his father did it, how he will do it and how his son will do it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre goes after the wraith and gives her jewelry to sell in order to pay the Tithe and also buy food. The wraith thanks her and says she will not forget it and neither will her people.</div><div><br /></div><div>At dinner that night Tamlin is angry she gave her jewelry to the wraith and says she makes him look weak, calls the wraith a <i>gluttonous faerie</i>. Lucien tries to side with Feyre but Tamlin gets angry at him, Feyre is annoyed as she knows that her and Lucien are in the right. Feyre accidentally enters Lucien's mind and sees through his eyes for a second, she also notices she has left burn marks on the wooden table.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Tamlin gives Feyre a present to apologise, it is a travelling painting kit - despite the fact she hasn't been able to paint for months. Feyre tells him she can't live with these restrictions forever, especially now she is a fae and is faster and stronger. He says his family was too but they were still killed. She tells him he should find someone to marry who will put up with it. He asks if she wants to marry him and she says she does but she is drowning and the more he does this to her it feels as if he may as well be pushing her head under the water. Tamlin gets angry and his power blasts through the room, breaking windows, furniture and the gift he gave her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10:</span></b> Feyre managed to put a shield around herself so that she wasn't hurt. Tamlin says he is sorry (<b><i>I'm bored of this man and his apologies!)</i> </b>and will try to be better but he can't control her rage. They continue their trend of just having sex rather than dealing with their problems.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wakes up and hears Tamlin arguing with Rhys. Rhys spots Feyre and she notices he gets angry, he asks if she is running low on food there. Feyre notes that going back to the serene place within the mountain in the Night Court is better than being trapped in the Spring Court. Tamlin tells Rhys that he will give him anything he wants if he ends their bargain now, Rhys tells him he already has everything he wants and takes Feyre with him. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11:</span></b> Feyre puts on her Night Court clothes and realises they are now really loose on her, she must have lost quite a lot of weight. Rhys asks her to sit and eat with him and she says he must have more important things to do, he says he does but will always make time for her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys says he felt a spike of fear through the bond while she was in the Spring Court, she realises it was from when Tamlin lost control of his powers. She refuses to talk to him about what happened but he already knows and seems angry about it. Rhys says she has got better at shielding and sometimes he hears nothing from their bond and can't even feel her sometimes but he did during that moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys asks if she considered his offer and she says she will not work with him because she thinks he only wants her to help him to piss off Tamlin. Rhys says he needs her help and says <b><i>"I was a prisoner in her Court for nearly fifty years. I was tortured and beaten and fucked until only telling myself who I was, what I had to protect, kept me from trying to end it. Please - help me keep that from happening again."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>Feyre still refuses, says she won't jeopardise what her and Tamlin have and says Tamlin is trying. Rhys asks her to tell him what he can do to help her. He asks if anyone else asks what is happening to her, if Tamlin even cares. She says he does but he is just giving her space to sort it out, she notes she can feel Rhys' rage. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys takes her back to the Spring Court, Tamlin once again tells her he will find a way to end the bargain and continues to be ridiculously protective despite Feyre telling him it is making her worse. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> Feyre notices claws appearing on her hand, realises that is Tamlin's power. Lucien notices and talks to Feyre about it. Lucien tells her these powers will manifest whether she trains or not but that he will try to talk to Tamlin about it. She overhears them talking with Ianthe later, she notes some High Lords will want to kill her because she has their powers and others will want to take her to have children with, as the children will also get those powers. They are discussing assassinating Rhysand to get her out of the bargain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien begs Tamlin to let her train so that she will stand a chance if the High Lords do come after her. He says no because her training would make the other Lords aware of her powers (<i style="font-weight: bold;">not if you do it away from other people!)</i> Tamlin has yet another angry outburst and that night Feyre locks her door and doesn't eat at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin and Lucien are heading out the next day and Feyre asks to go with them. Tamlin says no, she begs him. She reminds him that he promised to be better, tells him she needs to get out of the manor. Tamlin says he can't risk it as her <i style="font-weight: bold;">"untrained abilities render your presence more of a liability than anything"</i>- (then maybe you should have let her train!<b>) </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells him she is going whether he likes it or not and he says she isn't. She tries to go after him but he has put a magic shield around the manor so she can't leave. Lucien tells her he has shielded the entire house so that Feyre can't leave. Feyre begins to panic, Tamlin has locked her up and trapped her in the house. She tries to winnow, to do anything to escape. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wraps herself in a cocoon of darkness, fire and ice - it melts her engagement ring right off her finger. She feels someone picks her up, thinks it might be Amarantha for a moment but then realises it is Mor. Mor tells her Rhys was able to shatter the shield around the house with half a thought, tells Feyre she is free now. She takes her to Rhys and Mor tells him she did everything by the book.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> Feyre wakes up in the Night Court, Rhysand is in a chair next to her bed. She asks him what happened, says he could hear her screaming. She terrified Tamlin's sentries when she suddenly wrapped herself in darkness. Rhysand couldn't come and get her due to law and protocol, which is why Mor had to be the one to go get her and then carry her across the border where Rhys was waiting for them. If he had been the one to get her then Tamlin would be allowed to march his forces into the Night Court to reclaim her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her that because her presence there is not a part of their monthly bargain, he is not required to take her back. Feyre says she has nowhere else to go and he says she can stay with him for as long as she wants. Rhys asks her again to work with him and help him. He says he has work to do and tells her to rest but she asks to go with him. He says if she goes with him there is no turning back and she won't be allowed to speak to anyone outside his court about what she sees because if she does people will die. If she goes with him she will have to lie about it forever. She asks to go and promises to keep it a secret. He tells her they will be going to Velaris, the City of Starlight. He winnows with her and she finds herself in the foyer of a town house in the middle of a city.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Two: The House of Wind</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14:</span></b> She is in Rhys' home, says this is his home that is just for him and his family. Tells her that only he and Mor can winnow directly into the house. The houses is warded and shielded and only those he and Feyre wish to enter can. He tells her she will be safe there and anywhere in the city, tells her the walls of Velaris haven't been breached in 5,000 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre hears people at the door, two male fae, Mor and another female fae. She goes upstairs to bed rather than meet them. She asks Nuala and Cerridwen who the guests are and they tell her they are Rhysand's Inner Circle. She asks them how the city didn't fall to Amarantha but they say that what Rhys did to keep the city hidden is his story to tell. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wonders if never returning to the Spring Court would be a fitting punishment for what Tamlin did to her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15:</span></b> Feyre and Rhysand go for a walk through the city, she says it is beautiful and not the dark place she imagines. Rhys points to a mountain range and the middle peak. Feyre notices it has windows and he tells her that is his second home in the city, known as the House of Wind and that they will be having dinner that night.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is angry that he kept Velaris safe and nowhere else and he tells her that every other city is known to the world but Velaris has been a secret beyond their borders for millenia. Amarantha didn't know it existed and neither did the other courts. He says it is kept secret thanks to wards and spells. She asks why he didn't open it up as a refuge when Amarantha came and he says he had to make tough decisions. </div><div><br /></div><div>He takes her around the city and some of the market palaces: Palace of Bone & Salt, Palace of Thread & Jewels, Palace of Hoof & Leaf. Velaris is known for its artists quarter, known as the Rainbow of Velaris - there are theaters, galleries, supply stores and much more.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks Tamlin who will be at dinner - he says Mor, Cassien, Azriel and Amren. Tells her Amren is his Second in command and Mor is his Third. He tells her Amren looks High Fae but is something else, she is older than the city itself, is vain and likes to hoard jewelry. He warns her Amren has a temper and even though he is the most powerful High Lord in Prythian history even he doesn't mess with her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre thinks about how it might be nice to be killed and Rhys tells her not to think like that. When he touches her she suddenly enters his mind and sees herself through his eyes - realises how gaunt, starved and sad she looks. Rhys doesn't know how she got through his shield. Tells her people who can slip into others minds are called daemati and she must have got that power from Rhys.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre once again gets angry that if the King of Hybern does come he will not know to attack here and these people will be safe while others die (<i style="font-weight: bold;">like that is a bad thing?)</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells Feyre he can't winnow in to the House of Wind so he will have to fly her in, she argues but eventually agrees. He tells her he used to sneak out of the House of Wind as a child to go flying and his mum would come with him sometimes. Rhysand notes that he spent 50 years UTM and felt he would never see this place again and that he wishes he had been the one to kill Amarantha. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre says she feels like a fool to have allowed herself to not be shown more of the Spring Court and that she might have spent the rest of her immortal life as an ignorant pet. She thinks she was just a lonely, hopeless person who fell in love with the first person who showed her a hint of kindness and safety. She says it worked for who she was before but it doesn't work for who she is now.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> Cassian and Azriel arrive, she describes them as dark-haired and tan-skinned males. She notes Cassian has shoulder length black hair and that Azriel is the most classically beautiful of the two of them but notes he has burn scars on his hands. Both wear gauntlets on their hands with stones in them - Azriel's are cobalt and Cassian's are red. Azriel is Rhysands spy master and Cassian commands his armies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amren arrives - short with chin length black hair, tan skin and silver eyes. Amren tells Feyre that they are like, two people born something else and now trapped in new, strange bodies. She says there is a third like them, named Miryam but that she was granted a long life but not a new body. It is noted that Amren doesn't eat normal food.</div><div><br /></div><div>Azriel explains the stones they were are called siphons and they concentrate and focus their power for battle. Rhys says the power of stronger Illyrian is more of a killing power so siphons filter that raw power into something more varied - like shields and weapons.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains that Cassian and Azriel aren't lords, Mor is the only person in his Inner Circle who has a title. Tells her that even he isn't considered High Fae because he is half Illyrian - his mother was Illyrian. None of his Inner Circle were UTM as Amarantha didn't know they existed. She realises they all feel very guilty for whatever Rhys had to do to keep them safe.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks how they met. Cassian and Azriel are both bastards - Azriel was the bastard of a local lord and Cassian was the bastard of a war-camp laundress and a random warrior. They say that Illyrians hate bastards. Az was sent to Cassian's camp when his father realised he was a shadowsinger - they're rare and coveted by courts for their stealth and predisposition to hear and feel things that others can't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian was sent to the camp as soon as he could walk and his mother was worked to death. Rhys tells her Illyrians are backwards and brutal - especially when it comes to how they treat females. They cripple them so they keep them for breeding. They perform an incision when females come of age so they can't fly but his mother loved flying so managed to get to 18 before she was taken to be clipped. She tried to flee and was caught but just before she could be clipped, Rhys' father arrived at the camp and the mating bond clicked in place. He killed the guards holding her and took her to the Night Court where they married.</div><div><br /></div><div>His mother tried for years to convince his father to stop the practice of clipping the wings of females but he refused. Rhys says his parents were wrong for each other, even though they were mates. His father was cold and vicious, his mother was soft and beloved and she eventually came to hate him.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Rhys turned 8 his mother took him to an Illyrian camp to train. He was banned from using his magic at camp because he was too powerful. He was put in the sparring ring on his first day and Cassian beat him up. Cassian had nothing, bastards are made to find their own shelter and good. Even if they are picked for a war band they still remain bottom ranking forever.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Rhys found out about Cassian and the fact he had nothing, he went to get him and brought him to his home at the camp. His mother allowed him to stay and tutored him. Rhys notes that he and Cassian hated each other until Azriel came to the camp a year later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian notes that he does't have any powers like Rhys and Azriel but all three of them are incredibly powerful. When Rhysand's father visited the camp after 20 years he found Rhys' power was starting to rival his own and that he had allied himself with the two deadliest Illyrians in history. He was worried they could one day turn against him so he separated them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys was given a legion of Illyian to command, Cassian was put in a different legion as a foot soldier and Az was kept as his personal shadowsinger. They barely saw each other over the seven year war and then Rhys was captured. Rhys then cuts the story off.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once Rhys became High Lord he appointed Cassian, Azriel, Amren and Mor to his Inner Circle and told his fathers old court that if they had a problem they could leave and they all did. The nobility of the Night Court then fell into 3 categories - those who hated him but tolerated him and those are the ones who currently reside beneath the mountain in the Hewn City. They stay there and rule themselves in what is known as the Court of Nightmares. Velaris is known as the Court of Dreams. Mor says she was a dreamer born in the Court of Nightmares who managed to get out. </div><div><br /></div><div>They ask for Feyre's story and she tells them. Cassian says he can teach Feyre to fight and Feyre finally realises how ridiculous Tamlin and Ianthe's arguments were about why she shouldn't learn to fight. </div><div><br /></div><div>She tells Rhys that she will work with him and he says they will start the next day. He says the King of Hybern is about to launch a war and that he wants to resurrect Jurian to do it. Rhys says he doesn't know why yet. He says the killings at temples are connected somehow. The Kind raided a temple in Sangravah three days ago and is clearly looking for something.</div><div><br /></div><div>He believes the Attor escaped with Jurian's eye and finger and took them to the King of Hybern. He isn't sure how they can resurrect him with just an eye and finger. Amren says he needs to go and talk to the Bone Carver. Amren says the only person he might talk to is Feyre as she is an immortal with a human soul. Rhys says the choice is hers and she agrees. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Feyre tells Rhys she felt him again at dinner - asks if she got through his shield and he says no. He says the bond is a living thing, an open channel between them shaped by what she needed when the deal was made - he says she needed to not be alone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre notes he let Amarantha think he was delighting in ruling a Court of Nightmares but it is all a front. He tells her he loves his family and people and to not think he wouldn't become a monster to keep them safe. She asks what the cost was to keep them safe UTM and he says she already knows - being Amarantha's whore. When she tricked the High Lords out of their powers he was still left with more scraps than the others. He managed to alter the minds of every Night Court citizen she captured - made a web between them all and actively controlled their minds every single day - so they'd forget Velaris and his Inner Circle. If Amarantha knew who he cared for she would have tortured and killed them.</div><div><br /></div><div>He only had enough power left to shield and hide one place, one city and he chose Velaris. Anyone who came near the city would see barren rock and find themselves suddenly changing their mind if they thought about trying to explore it. She thinks it is a shame others in Prythian don't know what he did to protect his people and why he was with Amarantha, he says it doesn't matter as long as those he cares for are safe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Has another nightmare of Amarantha torturing her UTM - Rhysand wakes her from it. She has claws of flames coming from her fingers, has destroyed her bedding. She runs to the bathroom to be sick, Rhys helps to hold her hair back and talks to her, tells her stories while she is being sick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tells her he has nightmares where it is Cassian or Azriel beneath Amaranth, she's pinned their wings to the bed with spikes and makes him watch, makes him see how he failed them. Feyre says he didn't fail them but he says he did terrible things in order not to, she says she did terrible things to. She asks where the flame powers come from - he says it is the Autumn Court.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys winnows them to an island in the Western Isles, they are going to the Prison to see the Bone Carver, the prison is inside a mountain. The Prison was made before even High Lords existed - home to the foulest and most dangerous criminals and creatures. Amren used to be a prisoner there. Will have to walk into the prisoner, into another mountain. Feyre can't make herself do it, Rhysand doesn't ask any questions and takes her back to Velaris.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18: </span></b>Amren comes to visit Feyre, gives her an amulet that she says got her out of the prison, she tells Feyre if she wears it in then they can never keep her.Says she doesn't give the amulet lightly and she can borrow it for the Prison and then return it, or Amren will hunt her down.</div><div><br /></div><div>They go back to the prison, Rhys has a sword with him. Feyre asks if Cassian could beat him in hand-to-hand combat and he says yes. Cassian is the best warrior he has seen. She asks about the scars on Azriel's hands - Rhys explains his father had two legitimate sons, both as cruel as their mother. Azriel lived with them for first 11 years of his life, kept in a cell with no windows or light. He was let out for an hour each day. When he was 8 his brothers decided to see what happened when you mixed an Illyrians quick healing ability with fire and oil. Asks if the brothers were punished - he says eventually.</div><div><br /></div><div>Asks what Mor does - says she is the person he will call in when his armies fail and Cassian & Azriel are dead.As is Third she is the court overseer, looks after the dynamics between the Court of Nightmares and the Court of Dreams, runs both Velaris and the Hewn City - says she would be considered a Queen in the human realm. </div><div><br /></div><div>Amren as his Second is his political adviser, walking library and doer of dirty work. Asks what Amren will do in the event his armies fail and all the others are dead. Says he would find a way to end the spell on her and unleash her on the world, will ask her to end him first.</div><div><br /></div><div>They enter the prison. He says the Prison is a law unto itself but it falls under his jurisdiction and so his blood is keyed to the gates. He can't free the prisoners, once they pass the gates they belong to the Prison and can never leave. She asks how long Amren was in here, he doesn't know - records show she was in there before the Courts were even formed. Was imprisoned for at least a few millennia. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>She asks where Amren came from. He says there are stories that when the world was born there was rips in the fabric of the realms. Creatures were able to come through to their world and were trapped there when the rips closed. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks what the Bone Carver is, he says he doesn't know as he appears different to every person. Feyre will see him as one thing and Rhys will see him as another. Rhys opens his prison door and they go in. He appears to Feyre as a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes. Rhys gives him a bone, the calf-bone that made the final kill when Feyre killed the Middengard Wyrm in the task UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys told her not to lie to the Bone Carver, also instructed her that for every question the Bone Carver asks she should ask one - a question for a question. Says he will answer her question if she tells him where she went when she died. Says she heard the crack of her spine but was gone before she could feel more than the first lash of pain. Says it was dark but she saw a tether, a thread that she yanked on and then suddenly she could see. Explains she could then see through Rhys' eyes. Knew she was dead but a scrap of her spirit was left thanks to their bargain. When she was Made anew, she followed the thread back to her body.</div><div><br /></div><div>Asks if she saw anything else, anyone else or a portal to somewhere else - she says no. She asks him if there was nothing but a bit of a bone, could that person be resurrected and given a new body. He asks if their soul was preserved and she says yes. Says there is only one way. Says long before the High Fae there was the Cauldron - all magic was contained in it and world was born in it. It fell in to the wrong hands and was used to do terrible things but was stolen back. The Cauldron could not be destroyed so it was hidden. Only the Cauldron could reforge something dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys asks where they hid it - says it was hidden beneath a frozen lake in Lapplund but vanished a long, long time ago. Doesn't know where it was but notes the three feet of the Cauldron were cut off to try and fracture some of its power. The feet were hidden in three different temples - Cesere, Sangravah and Itica. If the feet have been taken then he says it is likely someone has the Cauldron and wants to be able to use its full power. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys asks who has it - Bone Carver asks him to promise to give Rhys Feyre's bones when she dies but says he knows he wouldn't do that. Feyre suddenly tells the Bone Carver there was a choice in death. She chose to cling on a little longer but knows if she wanted to she could have faded away and maybe there was a new world waiting for her but she wasn't ready. Bone Carver confirms the King of Hybern has the Cauldron.</div><div><br /></div><div>She realises he is waiting for another truth - Feyre says if the third faerie UTM hadn't been Tamlin she was planning to put the dagger in her own heart after she killed them all. Says she couldn't come back from what she did and only wanted to break their curse before turning the dagger on herself. Says she only chose to live after Amarantha killed her and she realised she hadn't finished whatever she was born to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Carver tells them the King could do other things with the Cauldron - including shattering the wall. Also tells her the Cauldrons power can be depleted. She asks if there is a way to stop it. When it was made the last of the molten ore was used to forge a book - The Book of Breathings. In it is the spell needed to negate the Cauldron's power or control it completely. Book was split in two pieces after the war -one piece to the fae and one piece to the 6 mortal Queens. Book was seen as useless as only someone Made can speak the spells and summon its power - so Feyre could use it, but so could Jurian if he is Made.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Lord of Summer has one piece of the book - it is guarded and protected with spells using blood-spells keyed to the High Lord of Summer. The mortal queens half the other half and used faeries to bind the book so that if it is ever stolen it will melt into ore and be lost. Tells her if she reunites both parts of the book she can nullify the powers of the Cauldron. They go to leave - Bone Carver says he will carve Feyre's death into the bone he was given.</div><div><br /></div><div>They leave and she asks what Rhys saw - the Bone Carver appeared to him like Jurian the last time Rhys saw him alive.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19:</span></b> Return to Velaris and Rhys tells the Inner Circle what the Bone Carver revealed. Azriel offers to ask his contacts at the Summer Court for the location of their half of the book - Rhys declines, doesn't trust anyone else with the information. Rhys thinks they will need to infiltrate Hybern to get the Cauldron or nullify it. Rhys thinks Feyre might be able to detect the book and help them find the half in the Summer Court. The boo is spelled to the individual High Lords power - but Feyre got a piece of power from all 7 of them. Rhys believes she can use that piece from the Summer Court High Lord to track the book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys says there is a way to test this theory - wants her to try and find a valuable item of his that has been missing for a very long time. Wants to take her to the Weaver - see if she can identify the object of his in the Weaver's trove. The others think he is out of his mind, say the Weaver is an ancient, wicked creature and he should find another way to test her. But Rhys lets Feyre decide if she wants to go or not and she says yes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys also asks if Feyre wants to be emissary for the Night Court to the human world, they haven't had one in 500 years. Rhys says the humans need to be prepared for war. He warns her that as she is an immortal fae now humans will want to hunt her. She will need to set up base in neutral territory - decides on her sisters manor house. They need Feyre to convince the human queens to give them the book. Feyre realises part of the reason he wanted her to learn to read was so she would be able to read the book as he had already suspected they would need it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys gives her a belt of knives, says she can't take a bow, arrows or sword but the Weaver won't notice if she brings knives. He tells her not to make a sound while in the Weaver's home. Tells her to only touch the object that belongs to Rhys. The Weaver is blind but her other senses are lethal. Rhys can't grab the item himself because the Weaver knows him but also the High Lords are not allowed to interfere with her. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20:</span></b> Winnow to a wood in neutral territory that divides the north and south. Cassian tried to convince Rhys not to take Feyre. She asks why, says he isn't sure but that Cassian is probably more interested in sleeping with her than saving her. Rhys says that if she was looking for someone to sleep with to help her move on then Cassian would be willing. It annoys her and so she tells Rhys he should tell Cassian to come to her room that night. She once again realises Rhys is attempting to wind her and make her angry to distract her from what she has to do. </div><div><br /></div><div>They reach the Weaver's cottage and she can hear her singing inside. She goes inside and sees it is filled with items. The Weaver is sitting at a spinning wheel but isn't spinning wool, she is instead spinning a part of some creature into thread. She has a ton of woven thread in there, and also a loom. Feyre starts searching and finally feels the object. She finds a ring of twisted strands of gold and silver, flecked with pearl and set with a stone of deep blue. She grabs the ring and as she does the Weaver suddenly stops singing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 21:</b></span> She tries to leave through the door but it slams shut and there is no handle to open it. The Weaver asks who is in her house. The Weaver turns towards her and she sees her skin is gray, wrinkled and sagging. Feyre grabs a candle and throws it at the thread, which immediately begins to burn. Feyre runs for the fireplace and begins to climb up it, is struggling and realises just how weak she is now, how weak she allowed Tamlin to make her. Feyre gets stuck and begins to panic, hears a voice telling her to stop and think.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre remembers she has gifts now and she uses her strength to begin breaking bricks loose - she hurls one at the Weaver's face. The fireplace is sticky with fat and it sticks to her. She escapes on to the roof, which is a hatched roof made from hair. The hair sticks to the fat on her. Feyre runs until she finds Rhys. He grabs her and winnows her back to the House of Wind. Feyre vomits when she thinks of the fact she is covered in the fat and hair of people. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells Rhys she could have used her help but he tells her she survived and found a way to help herself. She realises he knew she panicked and almost allowed it to get her killed. She'd be no use to him while looking for the book unless she can get that under control. Realises he was testing her in more ways than one. Feyre asks Cassian to teach her to fight, he agrees. </div><div><br /></div><div>The ring belonged to Rhys' mother and she gave it to the Weaver for safekeeping so he wouldn't waste it. Rhys tells Feyre she will train with him to learn to use her other powers. Rhys tells Feyre he hates Ianthe, says she is a perversion of what the High Priestesses once were. Feyre asks why and he says if she can use her gift to get past his mental shields then he will show her.</div><div><br /></div><div>She attempts to get through but can't, he shows her anyway. Sees Ianthe naked on his bed in the Court of Nightmares. He tells her to get out but she wants to be with him because he is powerful. She tries to touch him anyway and he grabs her hand and tells her to never touch him or any of the men in his Court. Ianthe tells him he will regret it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then he lets Feyre out of his mind. Tells her to never go into someone's mind without holding a way open to get out, as a daemati could trap you inside and make you their slave.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 22:</b></span> Mor tells Feyre that female are prized in the Court of Nightmares and their virginity is guarded and then they are sold off to the highest bidder. Mor was born stronger than anyone in her family. Her first bleed was at 17 and her power awoke in full force. Every ruling family saw her as a prize mare and her family were happy they could have their pick of an alliance. Says the rest of her story is long and awful and she will tell her some other time. Cassian and Rhys get her out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre, Rhys, Cassian and Azriel are heading to the mortal world - to her family's estate.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23: </span></b>She rings the doorbell while Rhys uses a glamour to hide him, Cassian and Az. Feyre takes her hood off and shows her sisters her ears and the fact she is Fae. Tells them she died but was remade. She tells them everything that happened Under the Mountain, about Amarantha, the King of Hybern, the book and the mortal queens.</div><div><br /></div><div>She explains she needs more High Fae to come to the estate as well as the queens of the realm. Nesta tells her to find somewhere else. Says they will lose their standing in society if people find out and that it will threaten Elain's upcoming wedding. Elain is due to marry in 5 months to a Lord's son, the Lord has spent his life hunting Fae. Nesta says there will be no fae in her house, including Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elain comes in and talks sense - says their will be no wedding if they don't help Feyre. She says they can keep it a secret, send all their servants away whenever the fae need to use the house. She says Feyre gave for years and now it is their turn to help.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Nesta if the Lord's son is good. She says that Elain thinks he is but the father has built a wall of stone around his estate so high that the trees don't reach it - she says it look like a prison. Says the son Graysen is kin enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta notes that Feyre went through all that she did to save Tamlin but now they aren't together. Feyre says the Lord build a wall to keep fae out and her lord wanted to keep her caged in.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24:</span></b> Feyre thinks of Tamlin, says he had been good and given her everything she needed at first but once he got what he wanted he had stopped.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian, Azriel and Rhysand come in to meet her sisters. They all sit down to eat and Nesta is as hostile as ever. Cassian tells Nesta she allowed her sister to risk her life every day hunting while she did nothing. Tells her Feyre died to save his people and is willing to do so again to protect Nesta from war. Tells her not to expect him to sit and watch her sneer at Feyre for a choice she didn't get to make - of being fae. Elain tries to excuse it, says they grew up hearing stories about the fae and also that Clare was recently taken by the fae and her whole family murdered. </div><div><br /></div><div>They plan to send a letter to the queens the next day, so will spend the evening there. They will share rooms, Cassian & Azriel in one and Rhys & Feyre in another.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys makes comments about her sister and she responds by saying his friends have just as much melodrama. Says he must have noticed how Az looks at Mor, or noticed how Mor also looks at him and defends him. Rhys says it was hard to sit at dinner with her sisters - it made him realise just how young Feyre was and how they did nothing to protect her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys reveals she gets a salary for working for him - is being put in a bank for her back in Velaris. Asks when her birthday is, she tells him it is on Winter Solstice.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> Rhys takes Feyre out to train the next day, he has a candle he wants her to light, douse with water and then dry the wick using powers of fire, water and air. She can't concentrate with him there, tells him to leave. She gets distracted writing magical notes back and forth to Rhys when a hand suddenly grabs her and covers her mouth - the Attor.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 26:</b></span> Rhysand appears and binds the Attor to a tree with his powers. The Attor was sent to get Feyre by the King of Hybern. Tells them the King is in Hybern and his army will be coming soon. Says his army is endless as he has allies in every territory. </div><div><br /></div><div>Azriel comes and takes the Attor away. They want to kill him, will use him to send a message to the King of Hybern. Feyre realises Rhysand used her as bait, he knew someone wanted her. They start fighting, he tells her she forgot again about the fact she has strength and power, she stopped fighting again. She keeps trying to hit him but he keeps winnowing away from her, she finally manages to winnow to him and tackle him into the snow.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27:</span></b> She tells him to never use her as bait again. He apologises and says they should go home, she tells him Velaris is not her home. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 28:</b></span> They tortured the Attor for information, Rhys asks Feyre how much she wants to know and she says she wants to know everything. Shows her what they did. They asked how he found Feyre, says the King sent word of where she was, doesn't know how he knew.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Attor tells Rhys <i>'Good luck trying to keep her' </i>as it is common knowledge that he took her from Tamlin, says tamlin has shut his borders. Rhys tells Az to break the Attors legs, shred its wings and then dump it off the coast of Hybern.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Rhys about the Spring Court - Rhys tells her nothing is happening right now but that she should know just how far Tamlin would be willing to go in order to try and protect what he thinks is his. Feyre writes a letter to Tamlin to say she left of her own free will, she's safe and grateful for all her did for her but she is not coming back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Amren at dinner about when the Tithe will take place in the Night Court. She says that the city dwellers pay taxes but they have no Tithe there. She gives Amren the amulet back that she gave her to wear to the Prison. Tells Feyre to keep it, there is no magic to it, she just knew Feyre needed something in order to believe she would make it out of the Prison.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29: </span></b>They all go for dinner that night in Velaris. The cook brings Amren blood and Feyre realises that is what she eats. Rhys and Feyre walk home together. She asks Rhys if he buys Amren jewelry because they're together. He says he did once invite her to bed but she laughed at him. Asks why he isn't married - he says he has had lovers but no one he wanted to spend his life with. Also says anyone who married him would have a target on their back and so would their children.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her the Night Court was once ruled from the Hewn City and it really was a Court of Nightmares. An Ancient High Lord had a different vision, staged a coup and eliminated the worst of the courtiers and predators. He then built Velaris. He says darkness eventually grew again and now there is a divide in the court. He allows the Court of Nightmares to continue as it helps to hide Velaris.</div><div><br /></div><div>She hears music as they walk through Velaris and realises it sounds familiar. She recognises it as the music she heard in her cell UTM that made her cry. She realises that Rhys sent the music to her, says he did it to stop her breaking. She says when she heard the music she saw the Night Court, he tells her he didn't send those images to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>They spend the next day sending flirty notes back and forth.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Cassian and Feyre are training together while Az and Rhys spar next to them. She makes a note of the fact they all have the same kind of tattoos. They tell her Illyrians get them when they're initiated. Cassian asks when she is going to talk about the note she sent Tamlin telling him she is not going back. She says she will talk about it when he talks about how he teases and taunts Mor to hide what he feels for her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises she hasn't really thought of Tamlin at all and she notes <i>"he's probably trashed the manor in his rage"</i>. She then begins to get angry thinking about Tamlin and all she did for him in the name of love. She thinks of how he just sat next to Amarantha UTM while she suffered, how he made no move to to help her, hadn't risked being caught until that last night when he'd tried to fuck her rather than help her. She is punching sparring pads that Cassian holds as she thinks about it all. Thinks of how Amarantha killed her while he sat and begged but nothing more. She gets really angry and she ends up burning through the sparring pads.</div><div><br /></div><div>She begins to cry thinking of what she did, thinking of the fae she killed and says it should have been her. Rhys tells her she will always feel like that, he knows he does but she can learn to live with it like he has. He tells her he only has two types of nightmares - the ones where he or his friends are made to be Amarantha's whore or he dreams of Feyre dying over and over again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tells her the fire power is from the High Lord of the Autumn Court, Beron. She tries to summon darkness like Rhys but can't do it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31: </span></b>Has spent four days training with Rhys and Cassian. The Summer Court has finally responded to Rhys' request to come visit, they said yes. Feyre, Rhys and Amren will go. Feyre notes that she finds her and Rhys' flirting a fun distraction.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> They head to Adriata, the castle city of the Summer Court. The High Lord of the Summer Court is Tarquin described as having <i>"rich brown skin, white hair and eyes of crushing, turquoise blue"</i>. They meet Cresseida, Princess of Adriata and Varian, her younger brother and the Prince of Adriata.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells them of the imminent war with the King of Hybern.Tarquin notes he is worried Tamlin might go to war himself to try and get Feyre back. Cresseida notes the law states that as Tamlin's bride if he wanted to ask Tarquin to return her to him then he would have to do so. Rhys says if anyone sends word to Tamlin their life will be forfeit.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33:</span></b> Rhys asks her to try and steal the book without being caught as he likes Tarquin and the Summer Court. Rhys tells her to do anything to get the book - she asks what he would do if she slept with Tarquin to get it, he says she can do what she likes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tries to use her fire powers to light a candle but douses it with water instead, being near Tarquin seems to make her water powers easier to access. She asks Rhys if Tamlin would really go to war for her - he says he doesn't know. Feyre says she would go back to him if it came to that but she doesn't want to. Rhys tells her Tamlin knew how valuable Feyre was and wanted to keep her for himself. She says Tamlin did love her but sometimes love can be a poison.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin's cousin Nostrus was High Lord before him but he rebelled so he and his family were killed by Amarantha, making Tarquin the High Lord. The Summer Court managed to hide their treasures from Amarantha, she asks to see his collections and he agrees.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin asks Feyre about the mortal world and she says class lines aren't as blurred there as they are in the fae world - you are either rich or you're poor. He says some feel the lines aren't blurred in the fae world and that some believe they should get rid of the High Fae, Explains that the lowers High Fae servants have more rights than the wealthiest lesser faeries. Tarquin agrees and would like to see more equality among the fae. She tells Tarquin he would be easy to fall in love with and easier to call a friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre spots Rhys flirting with Cresseida and she realises she is jealous. Suddenly realises she feels unhappy but at least it is an emotion, as she hadn't felt anything in so long. Rhys and Cresseida disappear off together that night.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34: </span></b>Tarquin takes Feyre to a hall of jewels where some of their treasures are kept. Makes note of a beautiful necklace of rubies and one made from black diamonds. Tarquin gifts her the one made from black diamonds as a gift for what she did UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin tells her he could be an ally to the North, says she has sway over Rhys and she could also be his emissary to the Night Court. He tells her his cousin Brutius was gathering forces in their cities to storm UTM but he was caught trying to escape - he was the Summer Court fae caught by Amarantha UTM and killed by Rhys. Tarquin says he knows Rhys saw what he was really doing but lied to Amarantha about it. Says he believes Rhys was Amarantha's whore to save the rest of them from her attention.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin notes he is new and inexperienced and he is not sure how to act as a High Lord. He is only 80 and one of the youngest High Lords. Tarquin asks if it is true she left Tamlin because he locked her in his house, she says yes. He asks if it is true the Night Court saved her from her confinement and she says yes. He then says he will not tell the Spring Court she was there. She is given tours of all the Summer Court troves but doesn't find the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>She comes back to find Rhys lounging on her bed. She tells him Tarquin is a good man and he should just ask for the book. Feyre gets mad at her for sleeping with Cresseida but he says he didn't even kiss her. She says it gets under his skin that she shut him out but lets Tarquin in. He says it gets under his skin that she smiled at Tarquin, Feyre realises he is jealous. He says he heard her tell Tarquin that he'd be easy to love and he knows she meant it. He says he is jealous of that because he is not that sort of person for anyone.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> Two days have passed, still no sign of the book. Feyre spots a building that is only revealed when the tide is out - believes the book could be kept there. She mentions the building at dinner and can tell by the way Cresseida and Tarquin react that she is right and the book is there but they say it is just a temple ruin. She uses her powers to get into Tarquin's mind and cool his worries about why she is asking. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Amren come to her room that night. Rhys knows what she did with Tarquin's mind, tells her it is impressive as it takes some daemati years to master that. They plan to try and get into the temple that night. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36: </span></b>Amren and Feyre go to the temple while Rhys keeps watch. They begin digging down into the mud until they find a lead door. Feyre manages to shift into Tarquin to trick the door into believing she is him and the door unlocks to reveal a spiral staircase. They go down and find another door to unlock. They find a dais inside and a lead box atop it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre feels like she can hear the box asking her who she is, she lies like she did with the door and says she is Tarquin. But when she grabs the book it calls her a liar and the door slams shut, locking her and Amren inside. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37: </span></b>Amren uses her power to blast through the door but water comes flooding in. They try to escape but the door at the top of the staircase seals shut. They are unable to get it open and are close to drowning when the door is ripped away, she sees water wraiths. The wraiths rescue them both and say that their sisters debt is now paid - the wraith Feyre helped back in the Spring Court.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys couldn't get to every guard so the alarm has now been raised, he winnows them all back to Velaris. The box talks to her as she tries to unlock it, calls her a liar and asks if she will read it, she says no. The book tells her <i>'like calls to like'</i>. The book is on metal plates bound by three rings of silver, gold and bronze. Written in an alphabet she doesn't know. Amren says it is no language of their world, says it is known as the Leshon Hakodesh - The Holy Tongue. Amren is the only one who can decode it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys had suspected this about the book but didn't tell Amren as he didn't want to get her hopes up. He thinks the book might also have the spell that can break the one that was put on Amren and might also be able to send her home. </div><div><br /></div><div>They question why the King needs Jurian and how the king knows Jurian will be loyal to him. Rhys says Jurian may want the King to resurrect Miryam, Jurian's former lover. Says Jurian would do it to get revenge on Drakon for winning her heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38: </span></b>The next day a wooden box arrives from the Summer Court - inside is three large rubies. Rhys says they are blood rubies and the Summer Court send them to the offender when a grave insult has been committed. He tells her it is an official declaration that their is a price on their heads.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys is drinking and seems sad, it is clear he was hoping for an alliance with Tarquin and that he feels bad for what he has done. Feyre tries to cheer him up by flirting with him but he resists at first. They spar verbally back and forth. They joke about sending lacy underwear to Tarquin, she invites Rhys to come help her pick some out. Azriel arrives though so she leaves.</div><div><br /></div><div>She has a vision of what would have happened if they'd gone to the shop together and she'd tried on the underwear for Rhys. She gets so caught up in it that she walks into a post. Realises Rhys sent the vision to her down the bond.</div><div><br /></div><div>That night she wakes up to the house rumbling and Rhys' darkness is causing it. She finds him in bed having a nightmare. She tries to wake him but can't at first, he grabs her by the throat and flips her over. He finally wakes up and lets her go. She notes that he is naked and she can see tattoos on his knees of a mountain crowned by 3 stars. He has these nightmares a lot and it is why he doesn't stay with the others in his other house. Feyre kisses him on the cheek and leaves, but before she does she has a vision of how she would paint Rhys.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Feyre sends a note to Rhys asking what his knee tattoos mean. His response: <i style="font-weight: bold;">"That I will bow before no one and nothing but my crown"</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre goes to visit Amren and see how she is getting on with the book - she brings her blood. Varian sent Amren the necklace of rubies and diamons to soften the blow of Tarquin's declaration of the blood feud. Amren notes Varian can't decide whether he wants her or hates her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is still training with Cassian, she is learning to wield an Illyrian blade. She is also training with Rhys to use her powers, but hasn't been able to winnow since that day with the Attor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her about some more of the High Lords:</div><div><ul><li>Beron, High Lord of Autumn Court: cruel and vain</li><li>Kallias, High Lord of Winter Court : quiet and cunning</li><li>Helion, High Lord of Day Court, also known as Spell-Cleaver - Rhys notes the people of the Day Court excel at spell work and archive the knowledge of Prythian in their 1,000 libraries.</li></ul></div><div>Rhys and Feyre continue sending notes to each other. He asks her about painting and she says there was a time when it was all she wanted to do but that she can't paint anymore, it is like that part of her is empty. Feyre asks Rhys if he always wanted to be High Lord. He says yes and no. He saw how his father ruled and he knew he didn't want to be like him. </div><div><br /></div><div>They hear back from the mortal queens, they will be going to her family estate the next day. The Queens demand they bring no weapons and asked for the exact location and layout of the house. She realises why when the queens winnow directly inside her family home.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> Five of the queens have come and Feyre notes they are <i>'a mixture of age, colouring, height and temperament'</i>. Rhys asks where the 6th queen is and they say she is sick. The queens have heard of Morrigan because of what she did during the war. She asks how they can winnow, they say it is their secret and gift from the fae.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The queens say they already know war is coming but the human land here is tiny in comparison to the rest of the continents and that it is not in their interests to defend it. The queens say the fae should defend the human lands from the threat as it is of their own making. The queens also say the book will never leave their sacred palace. Feyre begs them for help and they tell her she is very young and have a lot to learn about the world. Rhys tells them not to condescend to her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mor interrupts and says they know who she is and that her gift is truth. She says it is no coincidence that another has been killed and remade at the same time their old enemy resurfaces. She says she fought side by side with Miryam, whilst Jurian's ambition drove him mad and drove them apart. Says she marched into the Black Lands with Miryam and freed the slaves. She says she marched with Miryam and Prince Drakon's legion, she knew the queens ancestors and that they'd be ashamed of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor says the queen's laugh at the idea of peace between their people but she says there is an island in a forgotten part of the sea where Miryam and Drakon still live with their children and both their people. She says they have prospered there for 500 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Queens ask for proof that Rhys is really a High Lord of peace like he claims and not the monster they've heard so many stories about. He realises the only way to prove it would be to show them Velaris. He says he will get them their proof and will summon them soon, the queens then leave. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41:</span></b> Feyre asks who Miryam and Drakon are and if they could be used as proof rather than Velaris. Rhys says that 500 years ago there was a Fae kingdom in the southern part of the continent - The Black Land. He says there was no crueler place to be born human - all humans were born into slavery and forced to build temples and palaces for High Fae. He says the Queen of the Black Lands made Amarantha seem sweet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miryam was half-fae with a human mother, she was a child of r*pe. She was deemed human and denied any right to her Fae heritage. Miryam was given as a wedding gift by the queen to her betrothed, a foreign Fae prince named Drakon. He was horrified by it and let Miryam escape.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miryam fled across the sea and was found by Jurian. She became his lover and was a healer in his army. In one battle she attended to his allies, which included Prince Drakon. He'd broken off his engagement to the queen and had been looking for Miryam for three years. Miryam and Drakon fell in love and she ended things with Jurian.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Jurian was slaughtered by Amarantha she told him what happened to Miryam - that she'd betrayed him for a Fae. Everyone believes that Miryam and Drakon died freeing her people from the Black Land at the end of the war. But they escaped with their people. Rhys says they have already fought and suffered enough and he will not bring them into the conflict.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells them he will show the queens Velaris, but knows he can't bring them there. Tells Mor to send word to her father that he will be visiting the Court of Nightmares. There is an orb that belongs to Mor's family - known as the Veritas and is rife with truth-magic and can be used to show the queens Velaris.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys, Mor, Cassian and Feyre will go and create a distraction in the Court of Nightmares while Azriel steals it from Mor's fathers chambers. The queens will have heard of the orb, as it was used during the war and so will know it shows the truth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells Feyre he doesn't know if he wants her to go with them to the Court of Nightmares. Says he doesn't want her to see who he has to become and how he has to act while he is there. He says she has only just started to see him as not a monster and he worries seeing him like that and being under another mountain will just take her back to where she was UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks about Mor's family. Rhys says he was in the Hewn City the day her father announced she was to be sold in marriage to Eris, the eldest son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court. Eris had a reputation for cruelty and Mor begged them not to do it. Rhys took Mor with him to the Illyrian camp and when she saw Cassan she decided to do the one thing that would ruin her value to Eris - she slept with Cassian. </div><div><br /></div><div>Eris then refused to marry her, said she had been sullied. Her family punished her for this and when they were done with her they dumped her on the Autumn Court border with a note nailed to her body saying that she was Eris' problem. Eris left her for dead and Azriel found her days later.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42: </span></b>Feyre will also need to play a role in the Court of Nightmares. Rhys seems very worried for her and distracted. To take his mind off of it she tells him Amren and Mor told her wing span says a lot about the size of a fae's penis and that Azriel's wings are the biggest. She touches his wings while they're flying and he tells her they are sensitive. Suddenly ash arrows come flying at them, they need to try and hunt down the source. Feyre asks to help track with Azriel. They find no one but it is the second time someone has known where Feyre and Rhys would be. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre puts on a different outfit for the Court of Nightmares - a dress similar to the ones she wore UTM at the parties, she also wears a crown on her head. Cassian and Azriel have dressed in battle-black armour covered in 7 siphons each. Rhys has released the damper on his powers and goes to sit on his throne.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is to act as a novelty, a distraction, she sits on Rhys' lap and plays the role of his whore. Rhys summons Mor's father and Keir and asks him for a report while Rhys sits and touches Feyre. Keir says he didn't believe the rumours but it is true that Tamlin's pet now has a new master. Keir is distracted watching Feyre & Rhys. When Azriel gives the signal he has the orb, Feyre makes her way to Cassian. As she walks past Keir he says: <i style="font-weight: bold;">"You'll get what is coming to you, whore"</i> - this angers Rhys and he uses his powers to force Keir to his knees and tells him to apologise. When he doesn't Rhys breaks his arms until he says sorry. Then tells him he is not allowed to see a healer and if he does than he will be carved to pieces. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43:</span> </b>Rhys winnows him and Feyre to a mountain lake and apologises, says he shouldn't have let her go with him. He tells her he will never lock her up but he lost control when Keir called her a whore - the same thing he has been called for 50 years. She tells him he needs to be better prepared then but he says he will kill anyone who harms her. She cries and tells him that he is her friend and she doesn't want him to stop telling her things or stop inviting her to things because of the threats against her. Rhys tells her to stop comparing him to Tamlin, says he will never act like him, says Tamlin locked her up to wither and die. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys then asks Feyre what she wants, she doesn't respond and he tells her she needs to figure that out. She says that she might not know what she wants but at least she doesn't hide behind a mask like he does. She says he hides even from his friends because if they saw everything they might walk away and she says who could blame them as <b>"</b><i style="font-weight: bold;">who would want to bother with that sort of mess"</i> - realises that comment really hurt. He takes her back to the house. </div><div><br /></div><div>She waits for him that night to come see her but he doesn't. She wanted to tell him that she wants him and doesn't want to write it off as a joke anymore. Plans to tell him she wants to try with him and try to be something together. Rhys doesn't come to breakfast or lunch that day and she tries to send him a note but it doesn't go to him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys is off hunting whoever fired the arrows at them, it seems someone put a track on his magic so they can find him whenever he winnows or uses his power. They will be leaving to go to an Illyrian war camp in two days time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Starfall is the next night - every other court celebrates it as Nynsar, Day of Seeds and Flowers but it is special in the Night Court. Amren tells Feyre that Rhys was a ghost when he returned from UTM but Feyre made him come alive again. Amren says she has known many High Lords but none like him, someone who dreams of peace and freedom. Feyre notes Rhys believes he will be remembered as the villain but the villain is usually the one who locks up the maiden.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre keeps trying to send him notes but none go to him. She eventually gets really angry and writes one calling him a coward that vanishes and goes to him, he doesn't send a response.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44: </span></b>Feyre is in a beautiful dress and ready to celebrate Starfall. Cassian flies her to the House of Wind. She hasn't seen Rhys in two days. No one has told her what to expect on Starfall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Mor about Cassian, says she only slept with him once when she was 17 and he was a year older. When Rhys found out he and Cassian fought. He was angry about the danger Cassian had put Mor in, she says Azriel was even angrier. She says they have never slept together since.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys finally shows up and says he wasn't ignoring her but he needed time. He tells her to look up and she sees star after star flying across the star, she notes they look almost like fireworks. Rhys takes her to a small private balcony to watch it. Feyre apologises for the things she said, says she doesn't mean it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains they aren't stars in the sky but spirits on a yearly migration. Rhys tells her Amarantha would make him service her on every Starfall, as she knew how important the day was to him. She goes to grab his hand when one of the spirits hits her in the face - covers her in a glowing, green light. Rhys is hit by one too, which makes them both smile. She realises she has never smiled or laughed at him before, despite all he has done for her. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks him for two thoughts he owes her from when she first came to the Night Court. He says he avoided her because he was worried she would throw him out. And his second thought is that he wishes he could take back their kiss from UTM. Feyre asks if he wants to go dance down with the others and he says yes and kisses her on the cheek. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> They danced that night at Starfall and then he took her home, kissed her brow and left her to go to bed. Feyre says she feels like a traitor for wanting Rhys when she has only been gone from Tamlin for two months.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor, Rhys, Cassian and Feyre head to the Illyrian war camp where she meets Lord Devlon, the leader of the camp. Rhys tells him the girls in the camp are supposed to be training but are off doing chores, says they should train first. He tells Devlon to clean out his mothers home there for them to stay in. Lord Devlon asks about Feyre, asks if she is like Amren. Rhys says no one is to lay a hand on her or Feyre will kill them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Feyre then go off to train. She asks him about training the females - he says he banned wing clipping a long time ago but some camps still do it regardless. And he says most started again when Amarantha took over. Cassian is trying to build an aerial fighting unit amongst the females. He has trained a few but males make life so miserable for them that many leave. And some camps have issued decrees that if a female trains then she is deemed unfit for marriage and Rhys is unable to fight against that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Devlon allowed Rhys, Azriel and Cassion to take part in the Blood Rite when many others wouldn't have. This is when Illyrians are sent into the mountains unarmed, magic is banned, they have no siphons, can't use wings and get no supplies than what they have on them. A few hundred go into the mountains and not all of them come out. Cas, Az and Rhys were dropped in different places, so that they were purposefully separated. They killed their way across the mountains to find each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks when he met Tamlin and he says he will tell her if she shows something impressive with her powers. She shows him a butterfly made of water. So he tells her that Tamlin is younger than him, that he was born when the war started. They got to know each other at court functions and Rhys says he seemed decent. He says Tamlin's brothers weren't decent but Tamlin would take the title. Rhys saw what Tamlin had to go through with his family and felt for him, decided to befriend him. He even taught him Illyrian fighting techniques. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cas, Az and Rhys' family all knew about their friendship and disapproved. Tamlin's father also didn't like it, he felt threatened by the fact Tamlin and Rhys were both stronger than him and so he wanted to try and prove to the other Courts that he was stronger.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys' mother and sister were travelling to the camp he was staying at so they could visit him. He was supposed to meet them half way but he was busy training a new unit so he didn't. Tamlin knew where Rhys was supposed to be meeting them and told his father and brothers. They went there and killed his sister and mother, Rhys said it should have been him. They decapitated them and put their heads in boxes and sent them down the river to the nearest camp. He says they kept their wings as trophies and that Feyre probably saw them pinned in Tamlin's study.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks to know more but he tells her she needs to show him something else. Uses her powers to freeze the water animals she made to ice. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Rhys and his father found out they both went to the Spring Court to kill Tamlin's father and brothers. Rhys killed the brothers, cut them to pieces and melted their brains. When he reached the manor he found that his father had killed Talin's father and alos his mother - even though he had promised she would not be harmed. Rhys' father then went to kill Tamlin but Rhys went to stop him. Tamlin opened his door, saw them there and killed Rhys' father in one blow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both suddenly felt the powers shift to them as they both became High Lord. Rhys then ran. Rhys realises that Tamlin never told Feyre any of this. Feyre realises Tamlin had killed his friends family and all this time Rhys had felt she was comparing him to Tamlin. Fire suddenly explodes out her. She realises why Rhys is so harsh to Tamlin. She can now use fire, ice, water and darkness.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks why he didn't tell her sooner and he says he didn't want her to think he was trying to turn her against Tamlin. Realises that she wants to paint again, she tells Rhys she wants to paint him and he jokes that nude would be best.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46:</span></b> Feyre and Rhys are heading deeper into the forest where they can train and not be seen, they will spend the night out there. Feyre thinks that maybe she can just keep her relationship with Rhys physical, thinks that will feel like less of a betrayal. Feyre goes a bit away from Rhys to train and suddenly finds herself surrounded by four Spring Court sentinels and Lucien.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47:</span></b> Lucien says they have been hunting for her for two months. She realises that Rhys is too far away to hear them. Lucien says someone tipped them off about where she was. Lucien says he will take her straight to Tamlin, says he hasn't been himself. Feyre says no but Lucien says he is taking her home, she tells him it stopped being her home when he locked her inside it. Lucien says it was a mistake and Tamlin is sorry and so is he. Lucien says she need to go with him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien tries to grab her and she is finally able to winnow again, she winnows away and Rhys is now beside her. Feyre tells him not to come looking for her again but he says Tamlin will never stop looking for her. Lucien tells her things got bad for he in the Spring Court but she shouldn't give up - she says he gave up on her, picked obeying Tamlin even though he saw what it was doing to her. Lucien says they needed to present a unified and obedient front. Feyre says she begged him time and time again to help her and get her out of the house and he never did.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre uses her shifting ability to give herself Illyrian wings and then tells Lucien the human girl he knew died UTM. She says she has no interest in spending immortality as a High Lord's pet. She tells him to tell Tamlin that if he sends anyone else into the Night Court lands, she will hunt each and every one of them down. Lucien tells Rhys that he and his cursed court are dead, then he and the sentinels leave.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48:</span></b> They will spend the night at a local inn, but only has one room left so we get the one bed trope. They are both wet and have to change - Feyre asks how he gets clothes on with his wings. He explains he usually uses magic to do it. He explains he uses magic a lot to work off the strain and it needs a release. He says if magic is allowed to build up too long it can turn you insane. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Rhys what he'd have done if Lucien had taken her against her will - he says he'd have torn apart the world to get her back. Both admit that they want each other. He asks Feyre what she wants and she says she just wants to have fun - which in this context means Feyre getting fingered and them kissing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49:</span></b> She asks why he made the deal with her UTM - he says it was to make a statement to Amarantha, to piss off Tamlin and to keep her alive in a way that didn't seem merciful. </div><div><br /></div><div>They are flying the next day when Rhys is hit with poisoned, ash arrows and falls from the sky - throwing Feyre away from the danger. She can't feel him down the bond anymore. Feyre begins tracking him, using her powers. She finds that Rhys has been chained up inside a cave and has seven ash arrows through his wings, two High Fae are whipping him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre loses it and begins killing all the High Fae there. He can't winnow them so she has to try, she winnows him to another cave where she starts taking the arrows out. She tries to distract him from the pain, tells him about the time Elain bought her paints and she painted drawers for them all. She says she did one for each of them: she painted flowers for Elain, flames for Nesta and a night sky for herself. Rhys says the men were Hybern soldiers and the ancient chains they used nullify his powers.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50:</span></b> Rhys doesn't seem to be healing properly because of the poison. She goes and catches the Suriel again so she can find out how to save him. Tells her the poison is Bloodbane and that her blood can cure him as it is full of the healing power she would have got from the High Lord of Dawn. She just needs to give him a few drops of her blood.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Suriel also says that if she wants to speed up her mates healing then she can find a pink-flowered weed by the river for him to chew. Feyre realises that Rhys is her mate and that Rhys already knew and hasn't told her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre returns to Rhys and is very angry. Gets him to eat the plan and gives him some of her blood. Then tells him he will answer her questions and not ask her any. She asks him how long he has known they were mates. He says he had suspected for a while but knew when Amarantha was killing her UTM. Says he felt the bond snap into place when he said goodbye that day UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks if the others know - he says Amren and Mor know and that Cassian and Azriel suspect. Says he wanted to tell her but thought she would figure it out on her own. He also says she was in love with Tamlin and planning to marry him. Then once she left Tamlin she was dealing with everything so it didn't feel right to tell her. He also points out that the other night she told him she just wanted fun, not a mating bond or a mess like him. Feyre reminds him he promised her no secrets or games. She tells him she doesn't care for his excuses and she is angry he got to assume what was best and what she could handle. She makes him take her back to camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51: </span></b>She immediately finds Mor and tells her to winnow her somewhere else. Mor takes her to a mountain cabin belonging to their family. Feyre reveals she knows they're mates, that the Suriel told her. She asks Mor not to tell Rhys where she is, she just wants to be alone. Mor says she will come back in 3 days to check on her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Three: The House of Mist</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52:</span></b> Realises she ran away from him, she didn't let him explain or hear him out - she ran like she told him she wouldn't. She finds paint inside the cabin and then spends the whole day painting. Mor returns to find that Feyre has painted almost every surface inside the cabin. She has painted designs and decorations and little pieces of Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Rhy and Amren over the cabin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks her about the Court of Nightmares and that Rhys makes her visit there still despite what they did to her. She says Rhys gave her permission to kill them all and enjoys visiting them to remind them of that fact. Feyre asks Mor about Azriel, she says he won't make a move on her as he still sees himself as a bastard-born who is unworthy of anyone.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53: </span></b>She realises she likes the idea of a future with Rhys. She spends 5 more days at the cabin painting every single room inside of it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54:</span></b> Rhys shows up at the cabin. She offers to heat him up some soup. He tells her it is important when a female offers her mate food for the first time. Says that some even have a party for it, as it means the female accepts the bond.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks Rhys to tell her everything. He says he was captured during the war 500 years ago by Amarantha's army. Cas and Az were in different legions and had no idea. Amarantha's captains held him and his legion for weeks, torturing and slaughtering them. They put ash bolts through his wings and used chains to keep him down - the chains are one of Hyberns' greatest assets as it is capable of nullifying High Fae powers. He wouldn't break or tell them what they wanted to know. He began planning to kill Amarantha but the day before he planned to do it Amarantha faced Jurian.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys was forced to watch them fight. He watched Jurian and lose and then Amarantha spent days torturing him. His father came and rescued him but left the ash spikes in his wings as punishment for being caught. Amarantha went unpunished for her crimes during the war. When she returned centuries later he still wanted to kill her and she didn't even remember him.</div><div><br /></div><div>He went to the party UTM where he planned to finally kill her. He couldn't get through her mentail shields, he drank the wine and then lost most of his power but managed to protect Velaris. </div><div><br /></div><div>He says that three years ago he began to have dreams, as if he were seeing through someone else's eyes. One dream was of human hands painting flowers on a table, he sent a thought back of a beautiful night sky. Says he had a dream about a year ago of her having a nightmare of a woman slitting her throat while she was chased by the Bogge - and he then realised whoever it was was in Prythian.</div><div><br /></div><div>He would follow her through her dreams trying to find out where she was. One time he saw the unlit bonfires for Calanmai and realised she was in the Spring Court and so he convinced Amarantha to let him go. He says he smelt her there and managed to find her and save her from the other Fae. He says that he quickly realised she had no idea who he was. He admits he gave the three Fae who tried to attack her that night to Amarantha and she killed them.</div><div><br /></div><div>He says he didn't realise at the time that she was with Tamlin, not until that day near Summer Solstice where she found her hidden behind Lucien. That day was when he realised she loved Tamlin. He tried to scare Tamlin enough so that he would send her away. Says he just had to know her name, which is why he asked but he knew she'd lied about what it was.</div><div><br /></div><div>He told Amarantha her name as he assumed she had made it up. Didn't realise she had used a real name until they brought back Clare to Amarantha. He altered her mind so she wouldn't be able to feel the pain as she was tortured, but had her scream at the appropriate times. When Rhys couldn't take it anymore he went into her mind and killed her. Rhys then thought it was over, Feyre was safe and Amarantha thought she was dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>But then Feyre showed up that day UTM. Rhys decided he was going to fight, to help her win as she was the chance to free them all. When she was hurt he saw the chance to make the bargain. He knew it would send a message of hope to others who knew how to read the message, it would keep her alive without being too suspicious and was also a way to get to Tamlin and get back at him for what happened to his sister and mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her that when Amarantha began torturing her after the final task something snapped in him and he knew when he picked up the dagger to kill Amarantha that she was his mate and he would die trying to save her. Then he says Amarantha killed her. When he felt her dying he grabbed a hold of their bond and tugged, willed her to hold on. He knew all the High Lords were there which meant they could save her. He says he went in to ll their minds to convince them to do it and they all came forward to offer a spark of power.</div><div><br /></div><div>He almost told her when he summoned her Under the Mountain. He promised himself that he would end their bargain the next time they saw each other. He then winnowed to the Night Court and told Mor everything. For three months he convinced himself she was better off without him but he could feel her pain and sadness. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the day of the wedding he heard her begging for someone to save her. So he went to get her out using the bargain. Decided he wouldn't tell her. The day Tamlin locked her up he says he would have killed him if he had been there. He admits he broke a lot of rules to get her out but if he had got her to admit they were mates it would have saved them from trouble. He says he couldn't do it, couldn't put that pressure on her. Tells her he loves her. She gives him the food to eat, accepting the bond.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55:</span></b> She tells him that she loves him, that she is broken and healing but every piece of her heart belongs to him and she is honoured to be his mate. They kiss. Chapter 55 is the scene everyone goes on about - where he shoves her on the table filled with paint and eats her out and then they have sex, where Rhys roars so loud when he comes that an actual mountain trembles (<b><i>I think this is supposed to be hot?!?)</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>Feyre finally feels their mating bond. She asks what happens now and he says they can go to Velaris and have the bond verified by a priestess and be officially mated. He says they can even get married and be husband and wife if she wants a human word for it. Or he says they can do none of those things, there is no rush to decide.</div><div><br /></div><div>He tells her they leave for her sisters place the next day as the queens have finally responded. Feyre is glowing, seems to be a power she got from the Day Court. They sleep together a lot, he says it is normal and happens when they accept a mating bond. Says it is probably to try and ensure the female gets pregnant. But also says the males get super aggressive and men can shatter a room just because another man looked at their mate. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks him about pregnancy, says she is expected to bear his offspring. He says she will not be expected to bear anything. They both agree they don't want kids now, she says she wants to live with just him first. She wants them to have adventures and she just wants him to herself for a while, they have forever to have kids. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56:</span></b> They winnow back to the Illyrian camp. Cassian immediately gets him worked up and they have a fight, literally punching each other in the face. When they go back to Velaris Mor, Cas, Az and Amren all bow to her and say <b><i>"We will serve to protect."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57: </span></b>The human queens arrive but this time only 3 of them come. They say the other three felt offended by how Nesta spoke to them last time. Mor brings the orb out to show them Velaris. Rhys tells them there is a place on his lands of peace, art and prosperity. He shows them Velaris and says they have kept it a secret for 5,000 years. The queens says they will think about it, discuss it and let them know.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains that it is urgent and the queen reveals Rhys sent them a letter asking them to help him save Feyre's people so they can one day live in a world where there is peace between their people. One of the queens questions if it is all just a manipulation tactic. Nesta gets angry and demands they give them the book, begs for them to help and not leave them to die. Cassian comes up to Nesta and says he will fight for her and her people, wipes a tear from her eye.</div><div><br /></div><div>The queens leave but they already know they will say no. The young golden haired queen has left a box with the book in it on her chair. She had snuck it in there to give to them. A letter from her says she believes him, believes in peace and if anyone asks he stole the book during the meeting. She tells him not to trust the other witches and that the 6th queen was not ill that first meeting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells Nesta and Elain that they can come and stay in Velaris or he will send guards to guard them here if they don't want to go. Nesta lets Elain choose and she says she can't go. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58:</span></b> They go back to Velaris and give Amren the second half of the book. Feyre thanks Cassian for what he said to Nesta, she says that Nesta is not like other people - she keeps her walls up to keep from feeling too much. She says Nesta will never forget that he offered to fight for Elain. </div><div><br /></div><div>She suddenly spots black things flying in the sky, heading towards Velaris. The creatures all look like the Attor, she realises the queens sold them out and these have been sent by the King of Hybern. One of them drops the body of the young, golden-haired witch, she is impaled on a lamppost and dies. The creature says she has been sent from the mortal queen and Jurian.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre runs to protect the artists quarter, she uses her powers to make wolves from water and other animals to chase down and kill the creatures. She sees the Attor trying to fly back to the King of Hybern and she goes after it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 59: </b></span>Rhys is trying to contact her, she bocks him out so she can concentrate. She winnows above the Attor and slams ash arrows into its wings. She wraps her arms around it and turns herself into a living flame. She stabs the Attor, saying it is for Rhy, Clare and for her. She winnows away just as the Attor plummets to the ground and dies. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60: </span></b>Velaris has been secured once again. Amren has cracked the code of the book and says that to nullify the cauldrons power Feyre needs to touch it and speak the words she found in the book. Feyre asks what happens if they put the two book pieces together. Amren says the blast of power it would cause would be felt in every corner on earth and would draw all types of enemies to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>They want to winnow Feyre in to destroy the Cauldron. They have narrowed its location down to one floor in the King's castle. But they would need Rhys to stay outside while Feyre goes into the stronghold. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Feyre decide to share a bedroom and he gifts her his mothers ring - the one she got from the Weaver. Says his mother gave it to him to remind him she was always with him. She gave it to the Weaver and told him that if he were to marry or mate then she would be smart enough or strong enough to get it back. She said if she were neither then she would not survive the marriage. He promised her that any potential bride would be given the test.</div><div><br /></div><div>She tells him that after they nullify the cauldron she wants to do it all - marry, have the bond declared and have a big party. Rhys responds with: <b><i>"And if I wanted to go one step beyond that?"</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61:</span></b> They head to Hybern, infiltrate the castle and locate the cauldron. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62:</span></b> Feyre hears the cauldron speaking to her, telling her to put the pieces of the book together. She connects them and goes to say the words to nullify it but doesn't get to before Jurian appears.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63:</span></b> Rhys appears, takes the book from Feyre and hides it in his clothes. Jurian asks where Miryam is, when they tell him she is dead he says he knows they're lying. Mor says she is with Drakon and that they are mate and married. They can't seem to winnow out with the cauldron or by themselves, there is a spell on the castle and they are now trapped. </div><div><br /></div><div>The King has his spell book back and he used to to get rid of their powers. The King comes in and Jurian fires and ash bolt through Azriel's chest, it is covered in Bloodbane. The King says they need to do as he says or he will kill Azriel. He takes them to his throne room where Tamlin and Lucien are waiting and he says: <b><i>"Now that I've upheld by end of the bargain, I expect you to uphold yours."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64: </span></b>Tamlin made a bargain with the King of Hybern - if the King gave Tamlin Feyre then he would allow Hybern forces to enter through the Spring Court and use it as a base while he removes the wall. He also agreed that Feyre would work for the King. Tamlin holds out his hand and tries to summon Feyre to him, like she is a dog. She tells him she is going nowhere with him, the king says she will agree when she sees the final part of the bargain. The King then orders her to break the bond between Feyre and Tamlin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre begs Tamlin and he says that she's not well and that Feyre has used the bond to manipulate her. She says she will go with Tamlin if he lets the others go. She manages to get rid of the hold on her power and Tamlin finally realises that Rhys and Feyre are mates. </div><div><br /></div><div>The King gets control of her powers again. Feyre tells Tamlin if he takes her away she will destroy him and everything he holds dear. But he says she doesn't know what she's talking about. The King says it is in her best interests to do as she's told - the four mortal queens enter and bring her sisters in with them, both are bound and gagged.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65: </span></b>The queens agreed to work with the King of Hybern. He promised to gift the queens eternal youth by turning them Fae using the cauldron. Ianthe told the King about Feyre's sisters and he wants to test the process on them first to make sure it works. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian's wings get shredded by a blast of power from the King. The King shoves Elain into the cauldron first. When the cauldron tips over and throws her out she is now a High Fae. Nesta goes next but when she comes out Feyre can tell she is different in some way to Elain. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien suddenly realises that Elain is his mate. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66: </span></b>Feyre manages to break free and use her powers. She pretends that Rhys did something to her but she silently begs down the bond for him to play along and get her sisters out. Rhys acts as if she has somehow managed to break free from some spell he put on her. Feyre tells the King to break the bond between Rhys and her, both the mating bond and the bargain. </div><div><br /></div><div>She then begs Tamlin to let the others go and just take her home. Tamlin tells Rhys he doesn't care if they're mates, Feyre is his. The King breaks their bond.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67:</span></b> She faints and wakes to find the tattoo is gone from her arms. Mor winnows and takes her sisters away before Tamlin can, then Rhy, Cas and Az all winnow out. Tamlin takes Feyre home to the Spring Court.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68:</span></b> <u style="font-weight: bold;">Rhysand's POV:</u> When they return Amren demands to know where Feyre is. Mor tells her what happened, that Feyre pretended to free herself of the bond and from out of Rhys' control. Feyre pretended she hated them all and then the King broke the bond between Rhys and Feyre. Amren says it is impossible to break that type of bond and Rhys reveals she is right.</div><div><br /></div><div>He reveals the King only broke the bargain between them. Amren demands he go and get Feyre back, he says no. Rhys reveals she's gone into the house to destroy him from within. She will know everything that King of Hybern does. Amren says she's his mate not his spy and he needs to go get her. Rhys says she is his mate, his spy and the High Lady of the Night Court. He says if they had removed her gloves they would have seen a matching tattoo on her right hand. </div><div><br /></div><div>He tells them the night before they went to a priestess who swore her in as his High Lady. Feyre is now High Lady and his equal in every single way. Rhys says their High Lady has made a sacrifice for her court and they will move when the time is right. He says until then they go to war.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69: <u>Feyre's POV:</u></span></b> Feyre plays along and tells Tamlin she can help him find them all and get her sisters back. She thinks Lucien might be suspicious of her. She plans to take them down from within. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOpiKURuU-jwL-33SNCiC-uECh8Mwif7TjEyLIxQlqQ5iiOGl5B9jiMQ_JgFy2T1vAZzCCV5Ncw_3NLMnDQYi0tzF7Fu6u9A4T-WasgXQoh-mpSBKodnoI7AaMGQHGGSjy_c4nTez9Ku9/s1500/acowar1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOpiKURuU-jwL-33SNCiC-uECh8Mwif7TjEyLIxQlqQ5iiOGl5B9jiMQ_JgFy2T1vAZzCCV5Ncw_3NLMnDQYi0tzF7Fu6u9A4T-WasgXQoh-mpSBKodnoI7AaMGQHGGSjy_c4nTez9Ku9/w640-h213/acowar1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Court of Wings and Ruin</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Rhysand: Two Years Before the Wall</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys is making his way across the killing field, during the war between human and Fae. The field is field with the corpses of fallen Fae and humans. They had managed to hold the lines against Ravennia's legions for three days. His is making his way across the field and checking any Illyrian he sees to make sure it is not Cassian.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part One: </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Princess of Carrion</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1:</span></b> She is in the Spring Court, painting a picture of flowers and trying to pretend she is okay. She still has both of her tattoos but she is using a glamour to hide them. Ianthe is coming to explain to Feyre why she gave up her sisters to the King of Hybern. Feyre has a new bedroom at the manor, her old one was completely trashed by Tamlin. She now stays in a room just across from Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien keeps asking Feyre where Rhys would take Elain, says he needs to find her- he is worried what is happening to her there. He doesn't believe Feyre when she says that Elain will be fine there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ianthe says she is sorry and that she acted on a desire to give Feyre what she thought she wanted but did not dare voice - to have her sisters with her forever. She says Hybern's forces are too great to stop anyway. Tamlin says part of his bargain with the King was that he guarantee the people of the Spring Court will not be harmed. But he has told a lot of his court to relocate to the East for the time being just in case. Jurian and the first delegation will arrive the next day.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2:</span></b> Jurian and two commanders are coming to survey the wall and test for the perfect spot to rend it once the Cauldron has restored its strength - turning her sisters in to Fae has drained it. Feyre needs to find out where they plan to strike and how long the Cauldron will take to get back to full capacity. Feyre has only spoke to Rhys once down the bond since she got there - can't risk using it too often. She told him she was okay and asked about her sisters. He told her he loves her and that they are safe and healing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jurian arrives with two commanders, male and female twins both with the same ruddy hue and inky black hair - Prince Dagdan and Princess Brannagh who are the nephew and niece of the King of Hybern. The twins say they will share a room.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre and Jurian have a little back and forth, she warms him not to threaten him in her own home. She is putting on a performance, working to convince Tamlin that she loves him and loves the Spring Court. Feyre notes Dagdan seems to yield to his sisters every wish and order, she notes they seem to be able to communicate silently and believes they are daemati, like her and Rhysand. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day Lucien and Feyre will escort the twins and Jurian to the wall to show them where the holes are located. Lucien is asked where he got his mechanical eye from, says a fiend at the Dawn Court crafted it for him. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre has been trying to locate the wings that belong to Rhys' mother and sister but hasn't found them so far. Jurian tells Feyre he fought with Rhys in the war and asks her where Miryam is, she says she is dead. He says he knows she isn't because he had tried to use the Cauldron already to resurrect her and it didn't work as she is still alive. Feyre says she doesn't know and she was told she was dead. Feyre realises Jurian is trying to distract them at dinner while the twins infiltrate their minds, she uses her powers to shield her mind and others from them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3:</span></b> Feyre has inherited a curse-breaking ability from Helion, High Lord of the Day Court. They go to the wall and find the first hole. Lucien says he doesn't know how they were made, some just appeared over the centuries. He says there are three holes in total and then one off the coast. Can't travel easily to them all, as they can't winnow directly to them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks what side of the first war Lucien would have fought on if he was alive back then, he says he would have fought on the human-Fae alliance. Lucien tells her that he beat Tamlin back to the manor the day she left. He found no trace of her except for the melted ring, he got rid of it before Tamlin could see it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre makes a note of the fact the twins showed no interest in Ianthe at breakfast that morning. She seems to think they may have an incestuous relationship (<i style="font-weight: bold;">I feel bad for male/female twins in real life, they're forever having to deal with twincest plots in fiction</i>) The twins question Feyre about the Night Court and she gives them a lot of false information about it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Lucien about Ianthe and if her and Tamlin slept together while she was gone. He says no, says Tamlin also refused to take part in the Rite and had Lucien do it in his place (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Why didn't he do this in book one?</i>) Ianthe insisted that Lucien take her to the cave on Calanmai - he said he did his duty.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis tells Feyre she was there the day Morrigan came for Feyre, she begged for Mor to take Feyre out - lied to Tamlin about it and said Mor abducted her. Alis says people say Feyre came back different/wrong but she thinks she came back right. She tells Feyre she has a cousin who works at the palace at Adriata and that she told Alis Feyre visited and was healthy and happy. Alsi says that whatever Feyre has planned to leave her boys out of it. She tells her to take whatever retribution she desires but to spare them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> Summer Solstice arrives and Ianthe makes them go to an alter that morning for a ceremony. Feyre had worked with Ianthe on what prayers they should perform, so that it would mean the twins, Jurian and Tamlin would help and then her and Lucien would be left on the other side watching them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As the sun rises, Ianthe raises her hands expecting the light to hit her but Feyre has moved the stone Ianthe uses to mark where she stands. And instead Feyre uses her light power to make herself glow to make it seem like she is the one being blessed. She grabs Lucien's hand and then he kneels before her, the others follow in his lead. She allows a little of her glow to spread to Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She speaks to Rhys down the bond to check everyone is okay, they are and he asks when she is coming home and she says soon. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 5:</b></span> She wakes from a nightmare that night and goes across to Lucien's room, is in a lacy nightdress. She tells him about her nightmare, throws her arms around him and begins crying. He is comforting her when Tamlin finds them like that. Feyre had set it all up, faked the nightmare and went to Lucien's when she knew Tamlin would find them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6: </span></b>A set of keys to the estate grounds have gone missing. Ianthe says the land around her temple is dying and that it reeks of the naga, says she believes they are planning to attack. Ianthe makes a comment about Tamlin returning Rhys' mother and sisters wings so that he might leave them alone. Tamlin says he burned them long ago. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien, Feyre, Jurian and the twins head to a different hole in the wall. Feyre asks Lucien if there is any way for Tamlin to get out of the deal he made with Hybern. He says no, the King crafted the bargain too clearly and magic would strike Tamlin down if he doesn't allow them on his lands. He says it will claim Tamlin's power or his life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks how bad it was when she left, he says Tamlin trashed the manor and killed the sentries who were on guard that day. They find the next hole in the wall and three Children of the Blessed are on the other side.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7:</span></b> Feyre is trying to scare them off because the twins are trying to get them to come across the wall. Feyre gets in to their minds to scare them so they will leave. Jurian thanks her when the others can't hear and asks her what happens to humans who come across the wall - Feyre says she doesn't know, only knows that they never return.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jurian says he has unfinished business because everything he did during the war was for Miryam and then she betrayed him. He wants to draw her out of hiding and regret what she did. Jurian says he knows Rhys, he fought with him. Rhys risked his legion to save Miryam and that was how Miryam captured him. Rhys knew it was a trap for Prince Drakon so Rhys defied orders and marched his whole legion to get Miryam out. Jurian says everyone insists Rhys is a soulless monster but the Fae he knew back then was the most decent of them all.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien and Feyre have to share a tent and they wake the next day and can smell blood. The twins went through the wall and hunted down the three Children of the Blessed and tortured and killed them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8: </span></b>Tamlin is having a go at Feyre, saying the twins are their allies. She argues that the twins butchered three innocent people. He says she should have left it for him to deal with rather than retaliating. Lucien and Feyre had sent the Bogge after the twins. Her and Tamlin fight and she angers him until he explodes again. This time she doesn't shield herself, allows herself to get flung across the room and hurt. Allows his guards to see her hurt by him. Lucien comes and take her away.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys sends word down the bond, asking if she is hurt. She says she is okay and they talk for a while.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day she goes out for a ride with Tamlin's guards Bron & Hart, the two who heard her fight with Tamlin and saw her hurt. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That night 7 naga break into the estate and they're found with the estate keys that went missing. Their attack was halted thanks to a vision Ianthe supposedly had. Tamlin plans to whip the guard who fell asleep while on duty, the same guard who lost his keys. The guard insists that Ianthe stole his keys. It is all true, Ianthe set up the naga attack so she could be the one to save them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ianthe says the guard is lying but Feyre says she will hear him out. Ianthe insists they don't - the other guards note how dismissive she is being and know she set the guard and the attack up. She is playing in to Feyre's hands. She knows Tamlin's need for control and not to look weak will make him ignore that and punish the guard anyway - which he does. This angers his sentries, who believe he is picking Ianthe over them despite all they have risked for him over the years - like being sent across the wall to be killed to break the curse.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Feyre stays after to help the healer patch him up. Bron and Hart personally escort her back to the manor afterwards. They apologise to Feyre for not stopping any of it - everything that has been done to her in the Spring Court. Feyre's plan is working.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis tells Feyre that when her and the others head to find the third hole in the wall the next day, she is leaving with her nephews and heading to the Summer Court. Feyre wishes her well and Alis says she will always have one friend in the Summer Court.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The next day they go to the third hole and Feyre suggests this is the best one and the hole they should use. She gets them to reveal that Hybern has an army of 200,000 including help from Vallahan, Montesere and Rask. She asks why they need the Cauldron and they say it will wipe the world clean again. They will need to use this exact spot in the wall as a person/object of mighty power passed through it and the Cauldron will study the work they've already done and magnify it until the warn collapses. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre notes they have given her everything she needs to know - numbers, specific locations, names of foreign territories. She has a pack on her with the supplies she needs to escape and get back to the Night Court. She has set the Spring Court up to fall from its own internal warring. Her plan is to go before the other comes back, she has planted it in the sentries head to say they saw her being nearly killed by the twins and how she ran for her life when when Tamlin & Ianthe refused to intervene.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As she leaves she overhears Lucien telling Ianthe to back off, hears him telling her not to touch it - she remembers what Rhys showed her about Ianthe. She sees that Ianthe has him shackled around the wrists with the same blue stone chains she once saw used on Rhys that immobilised his power. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre uses her power to get into Ianthe's head. Makes her unshackle Lucien and then makes her pick up a rock, put her hand on a boulder and then smash the rock into it over and over again. Feyre tells her she will never touch another person against their will. Tells her she won't remember what happened here, she will tell others that she fell. Tells her she can see a healer to set the bones but not erase the scarring. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien is in shock at what she has done. They're caught by the twins before they can leave, they tell Lucien that Feyre is daemati. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10: </span></b>The twins reveal they have been plotting too. Ask if Feyre has noticed her headaches - which she has. And how things seem muffled in certain mental bonds - something else she had noticed when trying to speak to Rhys down the bond. Her powers have also been tiring easy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They tell her they gave Ianthe crushed faebane stone ground so fine that Feyre wouldn't notice it or taste it in her food. She ate an apple an hour ago that was grown in the King's personal garden, which was fed water laced with faebane. They say it has enough to knock her powers out for a few days.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre attacks - winnowing to Dagdan and distracting him by using her fire powers on his sister, giving her time to stab him. Lucien beheads Brannagh and then when Dagdan goes to attack Lucien, Feyre stabs him in the eye and through his skull, killing him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The apple is starting to take effect, taking away her powers. Lucien knows she is planning to go back to the Night Court. He says he is going with her as she won't make it on her own. Says he is going with her so he can get his mate back. Lucien realises his magic is gone too, they must have used the faebane on them all. They leave through one of the caves that leads to the Autumn Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Two: Cursebreaker</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 11:</b></span> Feyre and Lucien arrive in the Autumn Court - still don't have their magic. Lucien takes her to a cave her used to stay in before he left the Autumn Court. Lucien says he knew she was lying when she unleashed that light in Hybern - his friend in the Dawn Court has the same powers. She asks why he didn't tell Tamlin and he responds that it felt like kicking him while he was down. He also knew if he did then she would find a way to make sure Lucien never saw Elain again. Feyre gets angry, says he is only helping her to get what he thinks he is owed and not because it is the right thing to do.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien asks what she had planned to do with Tamlin - she says disembowel him. She says she debated it but letting his court collapse around him seemed a better punishment. Lucien says his father will hunt her for taking his power and kill her for using it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They hike through the Autumn Court for 5 days. Lucien reveals he wasn't liked in his court. He was the youngest of 7 so he got to study for longer. Says the bloodshed that would be required to get his fathers crown was never worth it to him. He warns her that his people would sell them out if anyone spots them because of what happened to Jesminda. Jesminda, the girl he fell in love with, was one of them and when he didn't protect her it was a betrayal of their trust. When he was fleeing his brothers none of them would help him. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They finally make it to the mountains that lead to the Winter Court. She falls asleep and wakes up to hand gripping her face - Lucien's brothers have found them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> They say the rumour is that Lucien & Feyre ran off together, that they were cuckolding Tamlin. Eris is there, the man who abandoned Mor in the woods to die all those centuries ago. Feyre can feel that her powers are slowly returning. Feyre uses her fire powers to attack them, separate them from her and Lucien and then brings the cave down on his brothers so they can run.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her powers haven't fully returned so they find another cave to rest in. Lucien asks her about Elain - tells him she loves gardening and that she is engaged to a human Lord's son.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They pass the border into the Winter Court. They are making their way across the thick ice of a lake when Eris and two other brothers catch up to them. Eris is using his fire powers to melt the ice they are on.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> Lucien & Feyre begin running across the the ice. As she runs she can feel Kallias's power in her, the Winter Court High Lords power, she uses it to turn the melting ice back to solid ice. Eris and the other brothers appear in front of them. An arrow is fired at Feyre, it cuts her face and slices her ear. Eris winnows in front of her and hits her across the face. Lucien is fighting with his other brothers. Eris wraps his flames around her wrists and ankles.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cassian and Azriel show up, they're both completely healed from what happened in Hybern. Cassian tells Eris to drop his lady. Feyre breaks free from Eris so Cassian can fight him. Feyre tells Eris that he and his brothers deserve to die but she will spare their lives. She takes the glamours off to show her tattoos and reveals she is High Lady of the Night Court. Then she tells Cassian to take them home. He flies with her and Azriel takes Lucien. She finally learns Lucien's last name is Vanserra.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They get back to the Night Court and Mor is there waiting for them. Rhys is far away but racing home. Rhys picked up on the bond minutes ago and sent them because they were closer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14: </span></b>They all return to the town house. Amren is there, Lucien seems to know who she is and bows to her. Lucien asks where they are and she tells him it is Velaris, the City of Starlight. Rhys arrives and he and Feyre are finally reunited. Rhys tells everyone else to go somewhere else for a while. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys reveals that when the bond went dark he thought she might have died. By the time he got to the Spring Court she was gone and he couldn't find her. She tells him about the faebane and why she couldn't contact him. Rhys reveals whatever she did in the Spring Court worked as Tamlin's sentries have abandoned him. Over half of his people refused to appear for the Tithe. She asks about Ianthe and Jurian - Jurian has returned to the King of Hybern.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She asks after her sisters and he tells her they are at the House of Wind. She asks where Rhys was and he says he was doing some of Az's work. He was in the human world, flying above the human queens palace. Feyre has a bath to clean all the dirt and blood off. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then we get another Feyre and Rhys sex scene filled with them saying you're mine to each other over and over again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15: </span></b>Her sisters haven't left the House of Wind since they arrived in Velaris. Lucien is being a pissy little bitch with Rhys about Feyre. Lucien and Rhys have it out and Rhys warns him to stop looking at Feyre with disgust and disdain - threatens to rip out his throat.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre, Rhys, Cassian and Lucien head to the House of Wind. Feyre tells Lucien about how Rhys saved her life on Calanmai and explains everything that's happened since. Lucien is in shock, says he hasn't realised he'd been the villain in her narrative, she says he wasn't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They find Nesta in the library reading. Cassian teases her and Nesta is being particularly unpleasant, she is very short with Feyre. Nesta says Feyre shouldn't be worried about her but should be worried about Elain. Elain won't eat, sleep or drink and she doesn't stop crying. Cassian has offered to train Nesta but she keeps refusing. Feyre notes Cassian looks at her sister with sorrow and longing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She goes to see Elain and find her pale, thin and lifeless. She was supposed to be getting married in a week, all she keeps saying is she wants to go home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> She tells Lucien to give Elain time. Tells him he can go visit the city if he wants but can't take her sisters or enter their floor. Then Rhys, Cassian, Mor, Azriel and Feyre head to see Amren. Amren tells Rhys that he should kill Beron and his sons so that Lucien can be High Lord of the Autumn Court. Cassian goes to the House of Wind every single day to see her sisters.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Book of Breathings has been known to speak every now and again since being put back together. They say if Hybern is really working with Vallahan, Montesereand & Rask then they have little chance against him. They tried to get help from Drakon and Miryam but went to their island of Cretea and found it completely abandoned and in ruins. Rhys says Miryam died in the last battle but Drakon knew of a sacred, hidden island where an object of great power made by the Cauldron that could resurrect her and make her immortal. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Their plan is to convince the other territories to not join Hybern. Rhys went to Hybern and says the people are hungry for change. The King has let them fester and their resentment has grown. Mor says many High Fae believe humans are property and that many in Hybern long to have their slaves back. Hybern's people are for the war and the wall coming down. They also want Prythian to be made an example of for defending the Treaty. They've been working to plan information in the other territories, playing them against each other. They hope this keeps them too preoccupied protecting their own lands to be able to come and fight with Hybern. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mor says something might be wrong with the Cauldron if they need to use an existing hole in the wall to bring it down, as the Cauldron should be able to do it on its own. They are currently looking to find a way repair the holes in the wall. Feyre might have the power to repair the holes as she has the power of the High Lords. Amren notes her sisters might have a better chance of doing it but Feyre doesn't want to involve them. Amren says she sounds like Tamlin and so Feyre finally agrees to ask them to help but she won't force them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys says he will send a message out to every High Lord to attend a meeting in two weeks as they need to get allies on their side.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Feyre speaks to Cassian about Nesta and how she felt a difference in her when Nesta came out of the Cauldron. Asks if he has seen any hint of power from Nesta and he says no. Feyre asks what is going on with him and Nesta and he says he doesn't think Nesta will ever forgive him for what happened to Elain. He had made a promise to protect her and did not keep it. She asks him why he bothers with Nesta and he says he can't stay away.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They all have dinner together, except for Elain who won't leave her room. Mor tries to make an effort with Nesta and compliment her dress and Nesta just insults her in return. Nesta asks Amren why her eyes glow and Amren says it is the one part of her the containment spell could not get right. Says it is a glimpse of what lurks beneath. Amren asks what is beneath and Amren says that her and Nesta are the same. She says Nesta did not fit the mold they shoved her into. Amren tells Nesta that when she erupts to make sure it is felt across the world. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien asks if Feyre will go to the meeting with the High Lords and she says yes. Ask if she will hide her powers while she is there, says his father would join Hybern if she thought he stood a chance at getting his power back from Feyre by killing her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18:</span></b> Rhys needs to have a meeting in the Court of Nightmares to ask Mor's father Keir to fight in the war, as he has his own aerial legion. But he can't force him to join and he can say no if he wants to. Feyre reveals she wants to learn to fly, as she can use her shapeshifting power to give herself wings. Azriel offers to teach her, as he also had to learn later than most Illyrian's. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre goes to see Nesta and tells her about the wall, the holes and the fact Nesta may be able to close it. Amren offers to show her how to do it. Nesta says she wants the King and the human queens dead by the end of the war and if they promise her they'll kill them all then she will help to fix the wall. Feyre asks Nesta to go to the High Lord meeting and tell them what was done to her but she refuses. She refuses to grovel to High Fae and tell them her story. Says if they even ask Elain she will rip their throats out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her and Rhys go for a walk and then agree that they will put on a united front together and not undermine each other in public as High Lord and High Lady. She tells him to be careful working with Keir because if he doesn't play it right he could really hurt Mor. Rhys tells her the meeting between all the High Lords will occur with a binding spell that forces them all into a cease-fire. If someone breaks it the magic would demand a steep cost.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19: </span></b>Cassian is angry with Feyre when they train, says her and Rhys lied to them and let them go into Hybern blind. They didn't tell them that she was High Lady and if he had known it would have changed everything. He says Hybern was a disaster and as High Lady she belongs to all of them and they would never have put her in so much danger if they had known. Cassian is angry that she gave herself up for them and didn't see herself as essential. She argues she isn't essential, that the rest of the Inner Circle have a duty and are vital but she isn't. He says they were all terrified for her the whole time she was in the Night Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta appears so Feyre leaves to train with Azriel. She gives herself Illyrian wings and Azriel instructs her on how to make them more accurate. Trying to fly proves very painful and she realises she needs to strengthen her muscles. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20:</span></b> Feyre talks to Rhys about libraries, tells her the Fae burnt some rather than let humans gain access to them. They were scared humans would find spells to use against the Fae. Feyre says that humans don't have magic but Rhys says that some do, probably because they have distant Fae ancestors. Some half-fae and half-human children existed when the wall went up and they weren't treated well on either side of the wall, some were even killed. Some stayed in Prythian, deemed lower than lesser faeries and many had to find work selling themselves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys takes her to the library in the Night Court. She meets Clotho, a priestess, who she realises can't or won't speak. The library has a gaping hole that goes down and down, has level after level of books. Feyre asks what is at the botton and Rhy says he once dared Cassian to fly down there to see and he came back up terrified and has still never told Rhys what he saw. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Clotho takes them to a table where she has laid out books they might find useful. Feyre notices her hands are bent and twisted. Rhys explains that Clotho was attacked long ago by a group of males who cut out her tongue and smashed her hands. Rhys looked into her mind to see who did it and then allowed Mor to hunt them down. He says all the priestesses in the library have stories like Clotho and that the library is a refuge for them. Then Rhys tries to come on to Feyre and sleep with her in the library. But they agree to do what they came here to do, try to find more information on the wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One piece of information they find is that the wall was never made to last. Feyre asks Rhys if he could win a fight against the King, says he doesn't know the extent of the King's powers. Feyre says Hybern might have the numbers but they could get monsters. She wants to get the Bone Carver on their side, says they can find out what he'd be willing to give to go back home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21:</span></b> Goes to see Amren and Nesta during their first lesson. Amren is showing Nesta how to shield her mind as they will be going to the Night Court with Rhys when he goes. That night Feyre has a nightmare of being UTM and her sisters being tortured while Amren takes Rhys to bed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22:</span></b> Rhys, Feyre and Cassian head to the prison. Rhys has to leave her and Cassian there. Mentions that Cassian once put someone in the prison. Feyre asks Cassian about the Carver and he tells her there was life before High Fae and they would call them the old gods. The legend is that the Carver is one of them. He tells her the Carver is dangerous and they'd have to find a way to bind him to obey them before they let him out. No one knows how he ended up in the Prison.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre goes in and still sees the Carver as the little boy and she realises he is showing her the son her and Rhys could one day have. She gives the Carver one of the Attor's bones. The Carver says he can smell his sister on Feyre, the Weaver is his sister. The Carver says the rock, darkness and sea all shuddered in fear at what happened on in the island across the sea when 'she' emerged from the Cauldron, they assume he means Nesta. He says the wind moans Nesta's name. She tells him they got the Book of Breathing and that they may find a spell to send him home.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23:</span></b> The Carver says he doesn't want to go home, his cell is where he wants to be. The Carver says he allowed them to trap him there. He says the Weaver is Stryga and his brother was Kosche. A long ago Fae warrior tricked Stryga into diminishing her power and becoming confined to the Middle. Kosche was confined and bound on the continent. He says that Fae was clever but her bloodline is long gone now but a trace still runs through some human line. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The warrior couldn't kill his siblings, they were too strong. He has already made his way to the Prison to hide from his siblings. He says they are all death-gods. Both of his siblings are stronger than him, says his sister found a way to eat life itself to stay young. The Bone Carver doesn't want to leave the Prison and remind his siblings that he is alive. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Carver knows they are going to the Hewn City to ask Keir to fight with them. He tells her his sister had a collection of mirrors in her black castle. There was one mirror, the Ouroboros, a window to the world where all could be seen and told through its surface. He says Keir possesses it, it is now an heirloom of his household. He says if she brings him the mirror than he will be hers to wield if she finds a way to free them. Nesta could be like the Carver, either she is Death or her power comes from it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24: </span></b>Elain is struggling to deal her her new fae senses, she finds it overwhelming. She is talking in half riddles. Lucien comes in to where they are and Feyre gets into his mind so she can hear his thoughts, as she is worried for Elain. Elain asks who he is and he tells her his name. Elain says he betrayed them in Hybern, he says it was a mistake. She tells him she is supposed to be getting married in a few days. She tells him that she can hear his heart beating through the walls when he is sleeping.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien tells Feyre they need to get her sister out of the house. Feyre says she will send her to the town house. Lucien asks what Nesta is, what her power is. Nesta says she made the Cauldron give something back to her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre notices how Azriel and Elain get on. She asks Feyre why Elain and Azriel aren't mates when they are better suited, what determines it. Rhys says the mating bond can be rejected. Says it is easier for the females but the males it can drive mad and some believe they are entitled to the female. Will see her as belonging to them and challenge the male she chooses, which can end in death. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> Amren, Nesta, Rhys, Feyre, More and Azriel go to the Court of Nightmares. Rhys puts Feyre on the throne and tells everyone to bow to her. Nesta and Amren go off to find ancient objects for Nesta to practice on. Keir says he knows they are there to ask for his Darkbringer forces to join their army. Keir says he can sympathise with Hybern's cause. Keir says he has a price for joining them, he wants Feyre. Rhys reminds him that he can kill him. Rhys says he knew he'd be hesitant to join them so asks for someone to bring 'him' in - Eris walks in.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26:</span></b> Mor looks hurt and betrayed. Eris is willing to offer Keir an alliance in exchange for his help in the war. Keir says it is not enough, wants out of the mountain. He knows about Velaris after Hybern's attack on it and now he wants access for him and his court. Rhys says there would be conditions and restrictions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre tells Keir she needs the Ouroboros mirror. He laughs and says it can be their mating present if she can take it. He says to claim the mirror you have to look into it, any who have tried have gone mad or been broken beyond repair. Feyre asks how Eris came to be a part of this, he knew Rhys would come to see if he had told his father about Feyre and her powers. Rhys couldn't get into his mind to make him forget so agreed to work with him to protect Feyre. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mor asks what he wants, another bride to torture. He says he doesn't know who fed her those lies and she says he never showed any evidence to the contrary and left her in the woods to die. He says there were forces at work she never considered. Feyre asks about Lucien and how Eris and his brothers hunted him down and helped kill his lover. Eris says she has no idea what happened. Eris says he wasn't there when they killed Lucien's lover, he refused. He reveals he was punished by his father for that and he was the one who stopped them killing Lucien and got word to Tamlin to get to the border to get Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Eris says his price for helping them is for them to support his bid to be High Lord of the Autumn Court. He also says Rhys can kill his father now and he will join them. Eris tells Mor he wouldn't have touched her if they'd got married. But after she slept with Cassian he knew why she did and so gave her the freedom she wanted by ending their betrothal. He says he regrets it. and says one day he might tell them why and what it cost him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27:</span></b> Mor confronts Rhys about Eris and not warning her about the fact he was working with him. She is also angry that he has agreed to allow Keir in to her home as she believes he will destroy Velaris. Rhys assures her he has taken precautions - no business will serve Keir or anyone from the Night Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amren finds out they went to see the Bone Carver again. They ask Amren how she got out and she says she had to give herself up to get out. Had to become something else entirely that the Prison would not recognise - so she bound herself in her Fae body. Amren says one day a rip appeared in the sky in her world. Her brother and sisters fled but she was curious and wanted to look. That was how she got trapped here.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She says they will need to do the same for the Carver to get him out - would need to make him Fae and she does't think he will agree to it. They ask if she can be unbound and she says not by her. Amren says if she ever is unbound she won't remember any of them. Says she was originally a messenger and soldier for a wrathful god in a young world. Amren isn't even her real name, she doesn't remember it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Elain appears, said she could hear something, says she can hear <i style="font-weight: bold;">"her"</i> crying, that everyone thinks she is dead but she's not, she is changed like Elain. She says she saw old hands withered with age, a box of black stone and a feather of fire land on snow and melt it. She says it was angry that something was taken so took something from them as punishment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Nesta what happened in the Hewn City with her and Amren. Says she took her to a room full of treasure and had Nesta look for weaknesses in their defenses but she failed at every time. Lucien tells her to get a healer to see Elain, she agrees. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys come to see Feyre, he regrets his choice to work with Keir and Eris, regrets hurting Mor and that he made a bad call. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28:</span></b> Start getting responses from the High Lords. Helion agrees to come. Thesan says yes but only if it is a neutral and safe location. Kallias wants to bring armed guards. Spring, Autumn and Summer haven't replied. Mor says she has spoken to Rhys about Eris and Keir. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A healer comes to see Elain but finds nothing wrong with her. She says she can't enter Elain's mind as she is Cauldron-made. The healer suggests getting Lucien to help because if anyone can sense something amiss than it is a mate. Tells him to sit with her and see what he senses and picks up.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29:</span></b> Lucien tries to do what the healer suggested. Elain tells them <i style="font-weight: bold;">"Twin ravens are coming, one white and one black."</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">All the High Lords have agreed to the meeting except Tamlin, they just need to pick a location. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre is training with Az, still learning to fly. Azriel tells her that Cas and Rhys taught him to fly, he learned late as he was locked away for most of his childhood. He tells her that Rhys once brought a story back from a visit with Miryam and Drakon that he told to Azriel as a gift.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When Miryam freed her people from the Black Land, she led all 50,000 of them across the desert to the shore of the Erythian Sea with Drakon's aerial legion providing cover. The ships they'd arranged for transport had been destroyed. Drakon's people, the Seraphim, are winged like Illyrian's but theirs are feathered. Their women lead, fight and also rule. The Seraphim are all gifted with magic of wind and air. They cleaved the sea in two and made a path through the water.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They ordered the humans to run and Miryam insisted on remaining behind until all the humans had crossed. Halfway through crossing was when the enemy army reached them. The Seraphim fought the vanguard and during the bloody melee they did not see Miryam skewered by the queen. Drakon thought she had made it out so he ordered the parted sea to come down on the enemy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A young Seraphim cartographer named Nephelle saw Miryam go down. Nephelle's lover noticed her and Miryam were missing. Nephelle reached her in time, just before the sea came crashing down. Nephelle was a cartographer because she'd been rejected from the legions fighting ranks because her wings were too small and the right one was malformed. Drakon let her try out anyway but she failed as she could barely carry her shield. So she became a valuable cartographer instead and Miryam's dearest friend.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nephelle found Miryam bleeding out. Miryam told her to saver herself but she would not leave her. She picked her up and flew. It defied all logic and training but Nephelle managed to fly her across the sea floor, her small wings made her able to make it through the labyrinth of jagged rocks. Nephelle's lover made Nephelle her wife that night. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys, Cassian and Azriel adopted the Nephelle Philosophy - that your greatest weakness can sometimes be your biggest strength. And that the most unlikely person can alter the course of history. Every year in Cretea they would host the Nephelle run to honour her and Nephelle crowns a new victor every year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Elain says to Cassian <i style="font-weight: bold;">"he snapped your wing, broke your bones"</i> and he says it will take more than that to kill him and Elain responds <b style="font-style: italic;">"No, it will not." </b>(Cassian dying confirmed?)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre takes Nesta to the library. Nesta tells Feyre she didn't realise Feyre never learnt to read. Feyre asks why Nesta pushes everyone but Elain away but before she can answer they feel a ripply and tremor. She grabs Nesta to winnow when two High Fae appear in gray jackets, they are Hybern's men. They blow faebane dust on Feyre, stopping her magic. Feyre notices one of the fae is dark haired and the other has light hair and they say they are the King's Ravens, his far-flying eyes and talons. They say they have come to take Nesta back. They say she took something from the Cauldron and the King wants it back, it is why he can't shatter the wall.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31:</span></b> Feyre tells them they made a mistake coming there. She grabs Nesta and runs for it, heading down instead of up to whatever creature lies below. The Ravens talk to them as they hunt for them, tell them about the mortal queens. They say the youngest queen was the first to go into the Cauldron but the Cauldron knew something had been taken from it and it was angry. The Cauldron gave the queen the immortality she wanted but it took her youth. She came out of the cauldron a withered crone. Now the other queens won't go into the Cauldron. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre realises that Elain has been trying to warn them, had seem this or sensed it -they were the ravens she spoke of. She gets Nesta to run for it and blocks the path she took so they can't follow Nesta out. Feyre is in the dark and begs for something to help her. She hears a voice asks if she is High Lady and when she says yes it asks what she will give it. She asks what it wants, it says the stone and wall hear all and speak all. It heard of her desire to wield the Carver, to trade with him. It says that it knew the Carver long ago. She asks again what it wants and it says for her to send it company to tell it about life, she agrees. It then asks her if it should kill the two fae and she says yes, it tells her to close her eyes. Cassian comes for her, tells her not to look as she takes her and Nesta out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> Rhys turns up and is covered in blood. Feyre notices she has a new tattoo to show her bargain with the creature. Rhys asks Nesta what she took from the Cauldron, she says she doesn't know. The wards on the library prevented Feyre from contacting Rhys. They only knew she was in trouble as Clotho rang the spelled bell in the library that went out to all of them, Cassian got there first.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys shows her what happened, Cassian found Nesta first who told him where Feyre was and told him Hybern soldiers were there. Amren is preparing to hunt that night, check the city for others. Elain says the queen might come, the one who was cursed. the one with the feathers of flame. Azriel realises that the Cauldron made Elain a seer.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33:</span></b> Elain says the sixth queen is alive, the one they lied and said was ill. She says they sold her to some darkness, some sorcerer lord - she says she can't see what he is. Says he possesses an onyx box. He keeps other girls like the queen, by day she is one form and at night she is human again - a firebird by day and a human by night. Elain says the queen is near a lake, deep in the continent, hidden among the mountains and forests. He keeps all the girls at the lake. But the other women are different, they have white feathers. The sixth queen is young, mid twenties and is known as Vassa. She must pose a threat to the other queens if they turned on her. If they can find her she may be vital in convincing the human forces to fight. Lucien offers to go and find the sixth queen, says his eye can see things that others can't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34:</span></b> Amren spent the night hunting in Velaris but didn't find any other Hybern assassin's or spies. Lucien leaves that day to try and find the sixth queen. Amren rushes in and says Hybern has attacked the Summer Court and is laying siege to is as she speaks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> Prince Varian sent Amren a warning to prepare their defenses. Rhys says they can't leave Tarquin to face them alone. They are going to take their Illyrian legions to the Summer Court.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They arrive and realise no other courts have come to help. Mor and Feyre head to the palace to fight.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36: </span></b>They begin killing Hybern soldiers, saving lesser fae in the castle. They completely clear out the castle of Hyberns soldiers. She tries to get into Rhys's mind and see what he is doing, he is hunting whatever is causing a dampener on his powers. He locates the ship it is coming from, the King of Hybern is there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37: </span></b>Rhys knew it was a trap to see which High Lord would come first. Feyre is in Rhys's mind, telling him to kill the King and be done with it. Rhys says it isn't that simple. The King is angry about what Feyre did to Brannagh and Dagdan. The King says it will take everything Rhys has to try and stop him and it won't be enough. He says he will take Feyre as she mourns over Rhys's corpse. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The King tells Rhys that there was room for everyone at the table - humans, High Fae, lesser fae, half-breeds in Rhys's world but only if they thought like him. But the King says Rhys looked down his nose at the loyalists. Says he has no interest spending another 500 years bowing before humans. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys tries to attack the King but he is just an illusion, didn't actually come. The King says this is just a taste of what is to come. The King disappears and as he does so does the dampener on his magic. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38:</span></b> Feyre is out of Rhys' mind and is now vomiting. They head to the palace. She goes to see Tarquin, he thought they had come to help Hybern finish them off. He says he has heard what she did to Tamlin and the Spring Court, destroyed his territory and left the door wide open for Hybern, who docke in his harbour. He orders them to leave. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 39:</b></span> Feyre falls asleep, wakes in a tent in their camp in Adriata where their wounded soldiers are being healed. Rhys says the King knows about them and their histories, that he picked the library because of what it meant to Rhys. Feyre tells Rhys he needs to stop playing his role with the High Lords and tell them the truth, especially as Velaris won't stay a secret for long now the King knows about it. They decide to keep Feyre's powers a secret, except for the ones she got from Rhys. Then in a war tent, while Feyre talks about the cries of soldiers outside laying dying or injured, she decides that's a great time to give Rhys head. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They head back to Velaris, Nesta asks about Cassian and seems worried about him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> Feyre has Rhys take her back to the prison, tells the Carver to pick a different object. He says he wants nothing else. Rhys finally learns that the boy she sees is their future child, she shows him what he looks like. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41:</span></b> Meeting to take place in the Dawn Court, every High Lord has responded except for Tamlin. Amren says Nesta is close to figuring out how to seal the holes in the wall. Feyre is dressed for the meeting, has a crown she got the night before when Rhys took her to a room filled with the Night Court's treasures inside. Nesta tells them she has changed her mind and wants to come to the meeting. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42: </span></b>Nesta says she will come and giver her story to the Lords, doesn't want to be a coward. Rhys offers Nesta a job as his emissary to the human world, she says she will consider it. Nesta and Cassian have a moment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They arrived at the Dawn Court for the meeting with the High Lords: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Helion - High Lord of Day Court </li><li>Kallias - High Lord of Winter Court</li><li>Thesan - High Lord of Dawn</li><li>Beron - High Lord of Autumn</li><li>Tarquin - High Lord of Summer</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Still not sure if Tamlin will come or not. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43: </span></b>Thesan has an aerial legion of Peregryns, they also have wings but they are feathered. They are distantly related to Drakon's Seraphim. One of the male Peregryn's is Thesan's lover. Feyre meets Kallias's wife Viviane, who Mor is good friends with. Viviane was childhood friends with Kallias, he had loved her his whole life. He managed to save her from being Under the Mountain. He got her to protect his people while he was gone. The day he returned from Under the Mountain he proposed, they were married and the mating bond snapped into place. Tarquin, Cressedia and Varian also come. Beron arrives and brings four of his sons and his wife. Tamlin winnows directly into the meeting room.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44: </span></b>Tamlin tries to blame Rhys for him making a deal with Hybern. He says if he hasn't stolen Feyre he wouldn't have had to go to desperate measures to get her back. He says he planned to find a way out of the deal once he had Feyre back. He then tries to humiliate Feyre by asking Rhys if he has noticed the noise she makes before she climaxes. Tamlin finally realises that Feyre is High Lady.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin asks the High Lords how they can think of working with Rhys after he stood by Amarantha's side for all those years. Tamlin says he is there to help against Hybern, has info on his movements and plans. Says that is why he let him into his lands. Gives them info on Hybern's armies, ammunition, stores of faebane and more. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin once again tries to insult Feyre and calls her spoiled goods and a whore. Rhys uses his powers to take away Tamlin's ability to speak. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> Tarquin rescinds his blood rubies, says there is no debts between them. Eris says Mor dresses like a slut - Azriel blasts through his shields and tackles him to the ground, strangling him. Feyre manages to get him to stop. Azriel whispers something in Eris's ear and then goes to sit next to Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Helion looks at the info Tamlin has brought and says they should destroy the King's supply of faebane first. Thesan brings in Nuan, his most skilled craftspeople - she was the one who made Lucien's mechanical eye. Nuan has found a solution to the faebane, has created an antidote, a powder that grants immunity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin blames Feyre for turning his armies against him and leaving his land defenseless. He says the village she wanted to help rebuild is now just cinders. Tarquin offers to take Tamlin's people into his court so they can evacuate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre gets into a fight with Beron, who talks about Rhys being with Amarantha while him and the other High Lords were fighting to protect their families. Feyre loses her temper and fire shoots out of her and straight at Beron. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46:</span></b> Feyre sends more fire at Beron, and then water to. She is trying to kill him but Rhys finally gets her to stop. Beron tries to leave the meeting but Nesta speaks up and asks why he refuses to help against Hybern. Nesta says she went into the Cauldron and she saw the King's heart. She says he will bring down the wall and butcher those on either side of the wall. Beron says he will consider helping them and then he leaves. Viviane and Cresseida say they will fight with them - Tarquin, Kallias, Helion, Thesan and Tamlin all agree to join them too. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47:</span></b> Helion comes to visit them that night - is playful and flirty. Had put on an act at the meeting. Rhys explains that Helion likes males and females, he keeps trying to convince Mor, Cassian and Azriel to go to bed with him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Helion believes Beron will choose to join them, says his people and wife remember the games he played in the first war that cost him dearly. His wife's sisters were butchered during the first war. When Hybern forces attacked their estate her sisters bought her time to run. She ran and was caught and trapped at a ravine. Helion saved her from them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why Helion saved her. He says she was too young when she married, that it was an arranged marriage. Mor says she heard rumours that she delayed her wedding to Beron as she was waiting for a Fae she met at an equinox ball. But her family wanted internal ties to power and sold her to Beron. Feyre realises that Helion had an affair with Beron's wife, on and off for decades. She realises that Helion is Lucien's father and not Beron - she realises Helion doesn't know. Feyre thinks Beron and his sons may know, which would explain why they detest Lucien so much. Also explains why Eris doesn't want him dead, as he isn't actually a threat to his claim to the throne.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta comes to get Feyre, she says they need to leave, that something feels wrong. Rhys and Az winnow away to check and find no sign of trouble and so they stay. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mor seems to be flirting with Helion and takes him to her room that night. Feyre asks Rhys why she does it and he says: <i style="font-weight: bold;">"They have had plenty of opportunities to confess what they feel."</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre remembers to tell Rhys that Tamlin burned his sister and mother's wings years ago.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48:</span></b> Feyre heard Mor and Helion having sex all night. The next day they go to another meeting, Nesta suddenly starts vomiting. Nesta says something is wrong, not with her but with the Cauldron. They feel a sudden shudder through the land. Rhys reveals the King had used the Cauldron to shatter the wall. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49:</span></b> Elain says they could evacuate their estate in the human lands and take them to Graysen's estate. His father has been planning for something like this for years. It has high walls, supplies and ash weapons. She asks Rhys to glamour her to appear human so she can go to Graysen and ask.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian gives Nesta a dagger and advice on what to do if anyone tries to attack her. Feyre goes to see Amren to ask about the creature under the library. Amren tells her it is Bryaxis. She tells Amren she wants to make another bargain with it, needs her to examine the wards holding it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50:</span></b> She takes Amren with her to talk to Bryaxis. Amren confirms she can beak the wards trapping him here. She asks if he will fight in the war for her if she frees him. He says the library is his home, he doesn't want to be free but just wants a window so her can see the sky. They agree to the deal. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Three: High Lady</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51:</span></b> They all head to the Illyrian mountain camp site where Lord Devlon is. Devlon thinks Nesta is a witch, witches amass power beyond their natural reserve and use spells and archaic tools to harness more power to them and use it as they desire. Mor glamours Elain and they then head to the human lands. She tells the guards at Graysen's estate to tell him that Elain Archeron begs for sanctuary.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52:</span></b> They are taken to the guardhouse to wait for Graysen. It is a small space, which gets to Feyre and Nesta notices - she explains she has problems with small spaces now. Nesta reveals she hasn't been able to get in a bathtub since the Cauldron, she uses buckets instead.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lord Graysen arrives with guards and his father Lord Nolan. Lord Nolan notices Nesta is Fae, tells him how she was kidnapped and turned against her will. They tell them about the Cauldron and the wall coming down. Elain begs them to open their homes to humans. Graysen said he'd believe her if she wasn't lying to him, he has already heard she is Fae too and that a High Lord's son is her mate. Jurian comes in, he is the one who told Graysen about Elain.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53:</span></b> Jurian has been pretending to be mad, pretending to be working with Hybern. Tells Rhys to look into his mind and see he is telling the trut - Rhys has conveniently not thought of doing that once this whole time. He says he wants to find Miryam and Drakon so he can apologise, also so they can ask them for help. Jurian reveals Tamlin rank back to Hybern after their meeting and Hybern now plans to attack the Summer Court the next day. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54:</span></b> Jurian reveals they didn't kill Vassa, they found a death lord with a penchant for enslaving young women who cursed her and stole her away. Elain tells Graysen her heart belongs to him but he says he doesn't want it, he demands his engagement ring back and says he will never marry her. Nesta slaps him round the face and says he never deserved Elain.</div><div><br /></div><div>They do agree to allow humans to shelter on their estate. Jurian says he plans to go to the continent to sow seeds of discord amongst the queen's courts. He also tells them to hammer the left flank the next day as Hybern has put his untrained nobles there. Jurian congratulates Feyre on killing Brannagh and Dagdan. She says she did it for the Children of the Blessed that she killed and he says he knows, that's why he chose to trust her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55:</span></b> They head back to the war camp to prepare for the attack the next day.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56: </span></b>They fly the Illyrian army to meet Hybern's forces on the border between Spring and Summer. Rhys cloaked all their and Keir's forces so they could surprise Hybern. They end up making Hybern's forces retreat, right to where Tarquin's forces are waiting. They surrender and Tarquin uses his powers to drown them all</div><div><br /></div><div>They move the Illyrian camp to the border of the Winter Court. Cassian comes back with an injured wrist, which Nesta wraps for him. </div><div><br /></div><div>They are digging a trench around the camp, have been there for 5 days. Hybern's forces have skirted them completely, heading for the Winter Court border. Varian wants them to march north but have Rhys glamour the camp to make it seem like they are still there. Feyre helps him with it. </div><div><br /></div><div>They go to meet Hybern's forces but they're better prepared this time and they start to lose. Feyre realises she needs to find the Suriel to find the location of Hybern's true army. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57:</span></b> Feyre goes to Elain to ask her to find the Suriel for her, she says the Suriel is in the Middle, near the Weaver's cottage. She winnows there and finds the Suriel. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58:</span></b> She asks the Suriel where Hybern's army is, says it doesn't know and that the King is using the magic pf the Cauldron to cloak it. Suriel says she can use Nesta to track the Cauldron down as 'like calls to like'. Tells her that she can scry with bones to find it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why the Cauldron did not react when she joined the Book and then spoke the spell. It says Feyre did not hold on long enough. Feyre says it was killing her and the Suriel says there is a cost to use it, so it would have drained the life from Feyre. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks if there is another way, is told she would still need to get to the Cauldron to do it. She asks if nullifying the Cauldron would be enough to win, Suriel says it will be if they survive long enough to </div><div>battle afterward. Feyre asks if the Bone Carver will make a difference but the Suriel says she can't see him because he is not of this earth. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells the Suriel that the Carver wants the Ouroboros and she asks if looking into it will drive her mad and break her, the Suriel says only she can decide what breaks her. Suriel tells her to tell Amren the answer lies on the second and penultimate pages of the Book and that together they hold the key. </div><div><br /></div><div>Suriel is about to tell her what she needs to do to stop Hybern when an ash arrow suddenly bursts through her throat. Ianthe is there with two Hybern soldiers.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 59:</span></b> Ianthe says she can't use most of her hand thanks to Feyre. Ianthe heard from Tamlin how Feyre caught the Suriel so she tried her methods but the Suriel would not tell her anything. So she gifted it a robe with a tracking spell on it that would be triggered if Feyre came to see it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Suriel lays dying and tells Feyre to run. Feyre runs, getting them to chase her and she leads them </div><div>to the Weaver's cottage. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60: </span></b>The Weaver knows she has seen her brother, can smell him on her. She asks Feyre who Feyre has brought to her, she says dinner. Feyre leaves, trapping Ianthe and the guards in with the Weaver. She runs back to the Suriel and it asks Feyre to stay with it while it dies. The Suriel came even though it knew about the tracking because it says Feyre is kind and fought her fear. Suriel says she told her to stay with the High Lord, she meant Rhys. She tells her to stay with him and she will see everything righted. The Suriel tells her to leave the world a better place than she found it. The Suriel dies and Helion finds Feyre there. She uses his cloak to cover the Suriel's body and then Helion takes her back to the camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61:</span></b> Cassian has been hurt, has a wound from his navel to his sternum and it will take him a while to fully heal. Rhys is angry as he gave Cassian an order to wait and he ignored it. Mor is angry at Feyre for leaving to go see the Suriel and not telling anyone. They start fighting about it and Mor has a go at her for lying and Feyre hits back, saying that Mor lies every day. She asks why Mor has never made a move on Az or why she took Helion to bed even though she didn't enjoy it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62:</span></b> Amren arrives with the book and also bones and stones for Nesta to scry. Amren tells Nesta to pick them up and then think about the Cauldron. Nesta grips tighter on to the bones and they can't seem to get through to her. Feyre looks into her mind and sees Hybern's forces, huge and endless. She sees the King standing over a war map. The King has amassed his army at the edge of the human territory, close to their family estate. Varian shows up in the tent and kisses Amren.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63: </span></b>Feyre dreams of the Cauldron. She wakes and feels like something is wrong. She thinks her and Nesta opened a door and that the cauldron is watching them through it. The Cauldron knows where they are, they an hear it. Amren, Nesta and Feyre can all hear it as they were Made. They realise the Cauldron lured Elain away from the camp by showing her Graysen calling to her, promising he loves her. The Cauldron has taken Elain to the Hybern war camp. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64: </span></b>Azriel says he will get her back. Feyre says she will go with him. Feyre shifts to look like Ianthe and says she will walk right into the camp. Rhys can't go with her. Az and Feyre winnow near the camp, Az hides himself using his shadows and Feyre walks right in. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65:</span></b> In the camp they find a Children of the Blessed girl hung up on a rack, they've been torturing her. Jurian finds her and realises she isn't Ianthe but is Feyre. He tells her that Elain is safe and untouched for now. He says she is chained in the King's tent with steel and a spell from the book. Jurian says he will make a distraction so they can get her out. Feyre asks him to also get the Children of the Blessed girl for her. They grab Elain and run. </div><div><br /></div><div>They run for the cliff Jurian told them to escape to and they find the Children of the Blessed girl there. They are close to the edge when Feyre is hit by an ash arrow. Two of the King's hounds are about to attack her when Tamlin comes to help her escape. Azriel tells her she will need to fly. He takes off with Elain and the other girl but one of the beasts jumps and injures his wings. Feyre manages to fly with a help from a breeze Tamlin creates for her. She looks back and sees Tamlin leap off the cliff and winnow away.</div><div><br /></div><div>They all make it back to the Illyrian camp, both her and Az are injured. The girl they rescued is called Briar. Nesta appears, throws her arms around Feyre sobbing and thanks her. She is healed and then her, Elain and Nesta lay together like they did back in the cottage.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66:</span></b> Kallias's army has joined them at the camp. Azriel has been healed but he won't be able to fly for a while. Mor and Feyre talks, she tells Feyre that she was right, she doesn't love Azriel. She says she loves him like family but does not love him the way he loves her. She says she can't love him as she prefers females. Says she finds pleasure in both but prefers females and connects with them on a soul-deep level. </div><div><br /></div><div>She never told her family as LGBTQ+ people are reviled by people in the Hewn City who only care about breeding. Says she slept with Cassian as she knew it would mean little to him, didn't pick Az as she knew how he felt about her. She says when Az found her that day with the note nailed to her womb he tried to confess how he felt and she panicked and just walked out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor says she sleeps with men as she enjoys it but also as it stops people looking too closely. She says the bar Rita's is owned by someone like her. Mor says she has continued to hide that part of her because she is terrified her family will find out and shame/hurt her about the one thing that has remained wholly hers. </div><div><br /></div><div>She says she took her first female lover during the first war, a female queen named Andromache. She was beautiful and she loved her. The queen had to continue the royal line so Mor left. When she realised her mistake and went to go back the wall had already been built. She tried to cross it for three years, by the time she did the queen had married a man and had a daughter. She ended up having five children and died an old woman. Says she has taken male and female lovers since but none has felt the same as Andromache. </div><div><br /></div><div>She says Azriel is marvelous but if she ever slept with him he would think it was the start of their happy ending. She says she loves him enough to want him to find someone who can truly love him. Feyre promises to keep her secret until she is ready to tell. She asks why she slept with Helion, she says she did it to remind Az that she's not interested. Says she knows she should tell him (<b>Yes, it has only been <u>500</u> fucking years! She could literally just tell him she loves him as a friend but nothing more</b>) </div><div><br /></div><div>Hybern's army is on the move, marching east. The King is planning to march on the human lands to spite Feyre and her sisters for what they've done. They plan to winnow to the human lands and winnow out as many humans as they can to Adriata. Amren comes in and says they need to face Hybern in battle and distract him so that Amren, Feyre, Nesta and Elain can get to the Cauldron. Elain has found a way to stop his whole army. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 67: </span>They need to get to the Cauldron and touch it together. They can then use it to bind the King and his army and wipe them off the earth. They go to winnow the humans out and Feyre and Rhys go to her old village. Feyre knows she needs to get the Carver, so she winnows to the Court of Nightmares to face the mirror. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68:</span></b> She climbs a winding staircase of a thousand stairs that leads to the mirror. She looks into it and sees just herself until she notices a massive beast behind her, slowly inching towards her. Describes it as a beast of claws, scales and fur. It jumps at her and then disappears. When she looks back in the mirror she sees it and realises it is her, a reflection of what lies beneath her skin. She faces it in the mirror. </div><div><br /></div><div>She brings the mirror to the Carver. He says he will uphold their deal and fight for them. He says he didn't need the mirror but she did. He wanted to see if she was worth helping and says it is rare to find a person who can face who they truly are and not be broken by it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69: </span></b>Hybern has marched through the human lands, destroying as they go. They find Feyre's family estate destroyed. Azriel gives Elain his blade, Truth Teller. Az's wings are injured and Rhys has ordered him not to fight. Rhys says it is the first time he has seen Az let someone touch his knife. Rhys then gives a moving speech to everyone (<b>but I'm dead inside and feel nothing!</b>)</div><div><br /></div><div>They go to face Hybern but are very outnumbered. Feyre reveals she got a tattoo as a mating gift to Rhys, it is down her spine and shows 4 phases of the moon.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Hybern's shield around his forces comes down, Feyre lets her glamour go - it was hiding the Bone Carver and Bryaxis. The ink on her spine is the bargain. Suddenly the Weaver shows up, Rhys sent Helion to bargain with her. They will break her containment spell if she fights with them. All three creatures begin attacking Hybern's forces.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 70:</span></b> The fighting starts and it is bloody. A horn sounds and three armies appear - Beron's, Tamlin's and Graysen's human army led by Jurian. Tamlin made Beron came, dragged him out by his neck. Eris's brothers work to destroy Hybern's stores of faebane.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amren, Feyre, Nesta and Elain need to make their way through the battlefield to find the Cauldron. Nesta realises Hybern is rousing the Cauldron, Nesta begins screaming for Cassian. The King uses the Cauldron to completely destroy the Illyrian armies in the sky, turns them to ash. Nesta called for Cassian knowing he would come, saving his life. The King uses the Cauldron again, this time hitting and destroying the Carver.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71:</span></b> Feyre realises she and Amren will have to go to the Cauldron alone, without her sisters. Another horn blasts and an armada of ships appear on the horizon, more of Hybern's army. But then <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">another</u> horn blasts and they see thousands of winged soldiers heading towards them. And another armada is coming, with way more ships than Hybern's. They realise it is Drakon's legion and the ships are filled with Miryam's people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Drakon appears and says they heard rumours of the war and jokes that Rhys could have asked for their help. When Rhys says he couldn't find them, Drakon explains they put a glamour on the island 300 years ago, anyone approaching would just see a ruin and be inclined to turn around. They had been on Cretea the entire time. Drakon reveals most of the armada isn't his, they met up with it on the way. He says it is led by a queen named Vassa, that Lucien is with her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises it was their father that found Vassa. Apparently he discovered the queens were traitors months ago and has been fathering an independent human army to face Hybern. He found Vassa and rallied an army. He told Drakon he had three daughter that he had failed for years and he would not fail them again. He named his three ships after Nesta, Elain and Feyre (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks SJM for the character redemption no one asked for/cares about!</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72:</span></b> Vassa is flying as a firebird. Nesta tells Feyre she can use her as bait to draw the King out. She says that it works both ways and the King doesn't know how much she took from the Cauldron and if she makes it look like she is about to use its power the he will come running to kill her. Cassian says he will guard her, Rhys is convinced they will both die. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 73:</span></b> The Weaver is still alive, hidden near Hybern's forces and was waiting for Amren and Feyre to arrive. She creates a diversion for them by killing the King's guards. The King walks up to the Weaver and snaps her neck and throws her to two naga hounds. The King can sense Nesta's power and heads towards her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre and Amren reach the Cauldron and Feyre puts her hand on it. She realises that Amren has lied to her about whatever is about to happen. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74:</span></b> Amren says she is sorry for lying. Feyre can't let go, can see the Cauldron as it searches for Nesta. She sees Rhys fully shift into the beast he can become, says it is a thing of nightmares. Helion runs towards Rhys and shifts too. She sees through the Cauldron as it locates Nesta. The King winnows to them but Nesta doesn't unleash her power because the King is holding their father and has a knife to his throat. Her father tells her he loved her from the minute he held her as a baby and he is sorry for everything. She begs the King not to kill him, he asks what she will give and she says she will give back what she took. The King kills their father, snaps his neck.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian begins fighting with the King but he is losing. Nesta tells the King she is going to kill him. The King brings his foot down on Cassian's wing, snapping bone. Nesta's power explodes out of her and at the King but he winnows away. Nesta grabs Cassian's sword and turns to the King but he quickly disarms her and strikes her across the face. She sends another bolt of power at the King, sending him flying back (<b>I wish this man had a name!</b>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta tries to get Cassian up, is sobbing at him to get up before the King comes back but he can't. Cassian tells her to go but she says she can't. Cassian says he has no regrets other than that they did not have more time together. He kisses her and tells her he will find her in the next life. Nesta covers Cassian's body with her own as the King returns. As the King goes to kill them he suddenly stops, Nesta looks up to see a blade is through his throat. Elain has stabbed him with Truth Teller. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75:</span></b> Nesta gets up and goes to the King, grabs the blade and twists it into his beck - eventually she beheads him. Nesta then lifts his head up and stares at it. Feyre realises that even with the King dead, his armies will still overwhelm them. Amren is telling Feyre to fight against the Cauldron.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amren reveals the Suriel gave her the message for Amren but it was for the spell that would unbind them. Once she is in her real form she can wipe out Hybern's armies. Varian appears and tells Amren not to do it. Feyre reminds her that she will be gone if she does it, she won't remember them once she is freed. Amren says there were humans in her world to and she used to watch them. She things being sent here was a gift, her time with them was a gift. She tells Varian she thinks she learned to love with him. Amren gets into the Cauldron and tells Feyre the spell she needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Cauldron shatters into three pieces and then they see Amren, describes her with great, burning wings and a crown of light floating above her flaming hair. She begins destroying Hybern's forces. She wipes them all out but she fades away, her power spent. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Chapter 76: Feyre feels the Cauldron, looks inside the ruins of it and can see a void, a growth. The fissure inside the Cauldron is growing and will destroy everything. Rhys tells her she needs to remake the Cauldron, to forge it anew. But Feyre says her power is spent. Rhys says she can use his power. She takes his hand and grabs the Cauldron. She uses the spell Amren gave her and with Rhys's power she begins to forge, weld and bind the Cauldron. She keeps needing more of Rhys's power and he gives it to her and tells her he loves her. She heals the Cauldron, but can feel his power start to sputter. She manages to finish it but when she turns around she finds Rhys sprawled dead on the ground (<i style="font-weight: bold;">We all try to act shocked/devastated and like we don't already know she will bring him back</i>)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 77:</span></b> She realises he knew he was dying and it was why he told her he loved her, he was saying goodbye. Feyre shouts at the High Lord's to bring him back like they did her but they say it is not the same thing as she was human. She says she doesn't care, tells them to do it. Tarquin goes first and then the others. Thesan explains to Feyre how to do it herself, so she does. Then Tamlin comes and she begs him, she says she will give him anything. He tells her to be happy and then drops the last kernel of power into him.</div><div><br /></div><div>She holds Rhys and tells him about how she fell in love with him. Rhys finally comes back to live, makes a joke and tells the High Lord's they'll be happy to know his power remains his own and didn't gain any of theirs. Rhys tells her there is another surprise and tells them to get Amren out of the Cauldren. She was there while the Cauldron was sealing and going wherever the dead go, so Rhys reached out a hand to her to see if she'd come back. Feyre realises what Amren has given up to come back to them, she is now just a normal High Fae.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 78:</span></b> Elain. Nesta and Feyre go to their father and say a prayer then burn his body. Lucien comes, says he has a lot to tell her. Reveals her father struck a deal with Vassa's keeper so she could come temporarily. She is still cursed though so is only human at night. Feyre notes the queens are still out there, Lucien says not for long if Vassa has anything to do with it. Elain invites Lucien to come to Velaris with them. Feyre goes to her tent and finds Rhys inside with Drakon and Miryam. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 79:</span></b> Drakon and Miryam fought with Jurian but Mor convinced them not to kill him. Feyre asks them if they can hide the Cauldron in Cretea and they agree. They then have a giant meeting between all the High Lord's, princes, humans and fae. Feyre finally gets to see Nephelle, the legendary warrior Azriel told her about. She meets Vassa, who tells her their father was a great man and she will owe him as long as she is alive. She asks if Feyre can break the curse on her and she says she will try. Feyre has called them all together to renegotiate the Treaty.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80:</span></b> She tells them all her story, then Miryam and Drakon and then several others. They don't agree anything yet. Jurian comes to speak to Feyre, says Vassa offered him a place in her court. They finally head back to Velaris. Nesta is now back to being quiet and not talking to any of them. Feyre gave Lucien a note for Tamlin to say thank you and to wish him happiness to, asks him to give it to him if he ever sees them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 81: Rhysand's POV:</span></b> Just him listening to all his friends talk and laugh. (<b>Thanks Sarah, just what this 700+ page book needed was more pages of </b><u style="font-weight: bold;">nothing</u>) </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 82:</span></b> Feyre goes to find Rhys on the roof, in the red lacy underwear they once joked about her buying. He tells her he heard her in death and it made him hold on. They make a bargain that when it is time to go they go together. He tells her Bryaxis has vanished, they will have to hunt him down at some point and return him to the library. Then her and Rhys go flying over Velaris together. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The End</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgM56yQE4NTuIIbu7KHGd6FKFIneyR10DpohmesukQkDVoe1iS76DmV_-om_eBwj_Xyg-S5gMYRy_h81LdgIjVWw_NGtmx3HFLuiuyxwVcXq9_k-Z6UO5ibXyHLBIDAbPqHomgnwmnm4O/s1500/acofas.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgM56yQE4NTuIIbu7KHGd6FKFIneyR10DpohmesukQkDVoe1iS76DmV_-om_eBwj_Xyg-S5gMYRy_h81LdgIjVWw_NGtmx3HFLuiuyxwVcXq9_k-Z6UO5ibXyHLBIDAbPqHomgnwmnm4O/w640-h214/acofas.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Court of Frost and Starlight</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1 Feyre: </span></b>They are a week away from Winter Solstice and Feyre's birthday, she spent the last one in the Spring Court. They will all be exchanging gifts. Rhys is currently at Devlon's camp with Cassian.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2 Rhys:</span></b> Still fighting with Devlon about the women training. Rhys is mainly thinking about fucking Feyre. Dissension is brewing in the Illyrian camps, unhappy at how many of their warriors died in battle. Cassian and Nesta now don't speak t all. Nesta moved into an apartment in a slum part of Prythian and refuses to see anyone but Feyre.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3 Cassian:</span></b> Cassian goes flying and goes past Ramiel, the sacred mountain that the Blood Rite takes place on, has a shiny black stone at the peak. Cassian flies to the place where his old village had been, it was completely destroyed years ago. When he'd come back to find his mother they refused to tell him where they had buried her body. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4 Feyre: </span></b>Her and Rhys host weekly open audiences at the House of Wind where people can come and ask for things they need. She goes for a walk through Velaris and sees a fae woman she remembers seeing the day Hybern attacked Velaris, Ressina. Ressina shows Feyre the studio place she works in and invites Feyre to come and use it whenever she was. She tells Feyre everyone remembers how she came and fought for them the day Hybern attacked. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mor comes to join her, Feyre is trying to find a present for Amren. Mor says her, Rhys and Feyre are going to heading to the Hewn City that night, a tradition to visit for Solstice. Mor has heard that Eris will be there and she wants to see how close he and her father are. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5 Feyre:</span></b> Rhys comes home exhausted and Feyre brings him food. Then we get a pointless lesson on fae periods - they get one every 6 months. Feyre once again thinks about children, says she meant what she said when she told Rhys she didn't want kids anytime soon. Rhys is mad at Nesta for not helping Feyre when they were human. Feyre points out he has forgiven Elain and he says that Elain is Elain but Nesta is different (<i style="font-weight: bold;">Nope, I wish people would stop making excuses for Elain like she is a child! If you hate on one sister for not helping, hate on Elain too!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6 Mor: </span></b>She goes to the Hewn City to see Keir and Eris. She remembers the day Eris found her and left her for dead in the Autumn Court. He told all the guards with him that day to not touch her, said if they did then she became their responsibility. Then he leaned over her and asked her if she was correct, that she did not want to live in the Autumn Court and he could read in her eyes that she didn't. Eris then told the guards to leave her, that she had sullied herself and her family chose to deal with her like garbage. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seems Eris's father wants to expand his territory into the human lands. Eris tells them to speak to Tamlin as he'd be the one giving him permission to do it as the Spring Court borders the human land. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7 Rhys:</span></b> Azriel has brought a list of clans where dissent is spreading. Jurian and Vassa both still in the human lands. Lucien is spending solstice with Tamlin in the Spring Court. Rhys needs to go visit Tamlin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8 Cassian: </span></b>Goes to see the clothier Proteus, finds his daughter instead, Emerie. He buys all her winter clothes and tells her to give them to those in the village who need them most.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9 Feyre: </span></b>Goes to Ressina's stuidio space to paint. She is too scared to go in so instead winnow into an abandoned gallery and paints in there instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 10 Feyre:</b></span> Painted how she looked in the mirror, the beast that she saw.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11 Rhys:</span></b> Goes to the Spring Court, the estate is completely run down and empty. Tamlin has destroyed almost every room in the estate. Rhys and Tamlin fight, Tamlin is feeling sorry for himself and Rhys tells him he deserves everything that has befallen him. Rhys tells Tamlin he hopes he spends the rest of his life alone. Then Tamlin leaves and goes to buy Amren a Solstice gift. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 12 Feyre:</b></span> Feyre and Cassian get drunk together while decorating for Solstice. Nesta told Elain she won't come to Solstice, doesn't want to see them at all. Feyre goes to see Nesta that night but she doesn't open the door. Feyre finds her in a seedy bar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13 Feyre: </span></b>Nesta goes out drinking most nights and brings home men to sleep with. Feyre tries to get her to agree to come to Solstice but she keeps refusing. Feyre goes to say it is what their father would want but Nesta gets very angry at her for bringing him up. Feyre says she will only pay for Nesta's rent if she comes to Solstice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14 Rhys:</span></b> Tells Mor he needs her help with treaty renegotiations with the other courts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15 Feyre: </span></b>Feyre buys a tapestry and thinks about how she'd like to teach others to paint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16 Rhys: </span></b>They all have a drink together on Solstice Eve, Nesta doesn't come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17 Feyre:</span></b> She wakes up and Rhys gives her some birthday presents including a sketchbook, scarf and satchel for her paint supplies. Feyre wants to draw him nude. He leaves her to go off with Cassian and Azriel for a Solstice day tradition, doesn't tell her what. Lucien shows up for Solstice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18 Feyre:</span></b> Lucien has been spending time with Jurian and Vassa. Mor takes Feyre to see Rhys, Cassian and Azriel - the tradition is a snowball fight. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19 Feyre:</span></b> At the Solstice celebration they give Feyre a birthday cake to celebrate her 21st birthday. They then start exchanging gifts when Nesta finally shows up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20 Feyre:</span></b> Nesta is silent the whole night, takes her rent money from Feyre at the end of the night and leaves. Cassian goes after her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21 Cassian: </span></b>He has a gift for Nessa that it took him months to find. She says she wants nothing from him. But he remembers how she was willing to die for him in the battle. They have a fight and he ends up throwing her present into the river.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22 Feyre:</span></b> Rhys reveals the dresses that he gifted Feyre to wear were all made by his mother, she was a seamstress. Feyre tells Rhys she wants him to change the eye tattoos on her hands, wants him to make it the same as the tattoos on his knees - a mountain crowned by three stars. Then Feyre gives Rhys her gift, that she wants to get pregnant and have a baby. Then Rhys gives her another present, has bought an estate for them where she can build a house.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23 Rhys:</span></b> Goes to visit Tamlin, has asked the Summer Court to provide him with soldiers to protect his borders.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24 Mor:</span></b> Mor goes to her estate, she has owned it for 300 years and kept it a secret.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25 Feyre: </span></b>The closed gallery she has been doing her painting in belonged to a woman called Polina. They have gifted Feyre the studio.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26 Rhys:</span></b> Rhys is watching the females train at a camp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27 Feyre:</span></b> She is now working with Ressina and have opened her studio up to teach children how to paint, it will be free.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28 Feyre: </span></b>The first class ends and then she goes flying with Rhys.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Court of Silver Flames</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">We get Nesta's point of view of her going into the Cauldron.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part One: Novice</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 1: </span><span>Feyre and Rhys have constructed their river house on the estate Rhys bought Feyre for Solstice and have now moved in. Nesta was offered a room at their old town house but she refused, stayed in her apartment in the slums. Cassian has been sent to get Nesta and take her to see Feyre. She opens the door wearing nothing but another males shirt. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cassian says Nesta looks terrible, last time he saw her was a month ago on an end-of-summer party on a barge. She had appeared to have a fight with Amren that night and no one had seen or spoke to Nesta since then. Nesta and Elain haven't shown any signs of their powers since the battle with Hybern.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta uses sex, drinking and music to help keep her powers at bay. Nesta thinks about her father and how she hated and resented him even as he died for her. She thinks she could have saved him and that it is her fault her is dead. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhys has offered her numerous jobs, she has refused them all as she knows he does it out of pity and for Feyre. She gets to their new estate, notices that the walls are covered in Feyre's paintings, has ones up of all her friends and family but absolutely none of Nesta. Nesta notes she was the one doted on by their mother but her sisters were always closer to their father.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta has been using Feyre and Rhys's money to pay for her drinking, had run up a very large tab the night before. Feyre says she tried to give her time but has decided she was wrong and she won't pay for the apartment and drinking anymore. She says Nesta will go to train with Cassian instead.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Chapter 2:</b> Feyre says Nesta is to move to the House of Wind and she will train everyday with Cassian in Windhaven, the Illyrian camp. She says her afternoons will then be spent working in the library. If she refuses then her other option is to be sent back to the human lands. Feyre is having Nesta's entire apartment building condemned, knocked down and rebuilt into a shelter.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cassian notes that Nesta has a full body shield covering her, he can't even smell her scent. She says Rhys is practicing impenetrable shields on her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amren had suggested having Nesta sent to the dungeon in the Hewn City for a few days if she refused. It was Feyre's idea that the punishment be to be sent to the human world as it would be a prison for someone like Nesta. Nesta gets angry, says she can't do this to her and that it is her fault Nesta is how she is (<i>I mean, she's not wrong</i>).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It has been nine months since the Winter Solstice, Feyre says she has given her enough time. Nesta says she won't go, Feyre says she will even if they have to tie her up and drag her there. Nesta says she won't be their prisoner, Feyre says she isn't - she can go where she likes if she can make it down the 10,000 steps to the ground (<i>essentially confirming she is in fact a prisoner</i>).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3:</span></b> Cassian had spent four months with the Illyrian's and smoothing things over with them, making it clear that there would be hell to pay if they rose up. Rhys says he wants to give Cassian more responsibility. He believes the human queens are scheming and he wants him to look into it. Then Nesta and Cassian go to the House of Wind. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta refuses to eat and says she won't train at Windhaven, calls it a terrible place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> Cassian goes to speak with Mor, she thinks they should just send Nesta to the Court of Nightmares as she'd thrive there (<i>In the Court of Nightmares where women are treated terribly, with the kinds of people who would brutalise, s/a and beat their own daughter and leave her for dead - yes, getting drunk and sleeping with people is clearly on that level. What is SJM doing to these characters?</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mor reveals the King and Queen of Vallahan don't want to sign the new treaty. They believe the mortal queens are stirring and there will be a new war, so don't see a point signing when they will need to do another one after an inevitable war. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian wants to go and speak to Vassa about the queens, as she knows them. Lucien has become very close to Vassa and Jurian, they all live together now. Eris has somehow convinced Keir to not visit Velaris yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta wakes in the House of Wind, thinks of her mother. She saw Nesta as cunning and felt she would be able to get a advantageous betrothal from the continent when she was older. Says her mother would hate to know she almost married Tomas, a wood-cutters son. When she broke off their engagement he got angry and laid hands on her, he tried to sexually assault her but she managed to break away from him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5:</span></b> Nesta is refusing to eat breakfast, her and Cassian fight about it. He says she's not the only person who has gone through this and lost people. Nesta thinks about when she once let Cassian lick and nuzzle her throat (<i>I have no memory of this</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta and Cassian head to Windhaven for their first training session, Mor winnows them there and then leaves. Devlon says any weapons she touches will have to be buried - an old superstition. Nesta refuses to participate in the training, even though it humiliates Cassian in front of Devlon and the other Illyrians. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6:</span></b> Mor comes back to get them, speaks to Nesta and tells her she just wanted to dump her in the human lands. Says she knows people like Nesta and that she doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt good people like Cassian give her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta has her first shift in the library, Clotho just has her shelve books for five hours. Asks the enchanted House of Wind to give her wine but it refuses to. She decides to try and make her way down the 10,000 steps. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7: </span></b>Mor winnows Cassian to the human lands so he can go visit Vassa, Jurian and Lucien, they call themselves the Band of Exiles. Eris is also there as several of his soldiers were out on patrol nearby and went missing a few days ago. His hounds found no trace of them but detected a strange scent at the site of their abduction, seemed human but odd. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian asks Vassa what human queen she thinks would be bold enough to do it and she says Briallyn, the one who was turned immortal by the Cauldron and came out old. Briallyn is currently alone in the queen's palace, the others have left. Vassa believes Briallyn is working with Koschei, the sorcerer who imprisoned her and who is also the Bone Carver and Weavers brother. Koschei is known as Deathless as he is truly immortal and can't be killed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eris tells Cassian that Beron has already pledged his forces to Briallyn and her war. Beron went to meet her a month ago and Eris sent some of his soldiers with him, the same ones who have now gone missing. He says that when they came back they were different, seemed strange and aloof. Cassian is annoyed because he realises he will have to ally with Eris.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8:</span></b> Nesta wants to go drinking so she makes her way down the steps but she only manages to get down 111 of them before turning around and going back up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian went to see Rhys and tell him all he had learnt from Eris, Rhys tells him to keep an eye on him. Then he goes back to the House of Wind and sees the door to the steps open and knows Nesta has attempted to leave, waits for her to come back up as he knows she won't get down all 10,000 steps. He makes fun of her when she comes back and reveals she only made it down 111 of the steps. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta tells Azriel she would rather train with him than Cassian but Azriel is being sent to spy on Briallyn. Then Cassian and Nesta head back to Windhaven to train, she still refuses to take part. Instead she decides to head into the village there to visit some shops.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Nesta goes to a shop to try and get fighting leathers, the same shop that Cassian went to in ACOFAS. Nesta tells Emerie, the owner, that she needs warmer fighting leathers. Nesta makes note of her damaged wings. Emeries tells her they were clipped, her father was very traditional and forced her to have it done against her will. Emerie says she can try to find out if she can make the leathers warmer, Nesta then realises she can't pay for it because she is cut off. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta returns back to the Night Court and goes back to the library, continues to put books away. The house keeps bringing food to her and trying to get her to eat. An acolyte overhears her talking to the house and comes to see what she's doing. She brings Nesta some books to put away but she gets mad and says she doesn't take orders from acolytes. Acolyte introduces herself as Gwyneth Berdara, most people call her Gwyn. Nesta finally agrees to shelve the books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10:</span></b> Cassian finds Nesta eating cake, she says the House brought it for her. He asks if she did anything to get the house to start bringing her food, she says no. Nesta has a nightmare that night and decides to once again try to go down the steps so she can go out drinking. She misses a step and goes crashing down the stairs, manages to grab hold of a step and stop herself but has already got quite hurt. Her fingers end up embedded in the stone, she had used her powers and when she takes her hand away she has left behind her hand print in the stone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next day at training Cassian begs her to train with him, says please but she still can't bring herself to join him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11:</span></b> Nesta continues to talk a lot to the house, doesn't always do what she wants and she sometimes even argues with it. Nesta thinks about her father and Vassa, she feels angry that he was willing to do so much to fight and save a stranger but wasn't willing to do the same for them when they were younger. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta and Cassian fight again that day in front of Azriel over the fact she isn't training. She says she will not train in that miserable village. Cassian says she has been given an order by Rhys and she says Rhys is an arrogant, preening asshole and she hates him. Cassian shoots back that Rhys hates her too, that everyone hates her and that he is done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre comes to see Cassian as Rhys had said Cassian was thinking very 'loudly'. She asks if Nesta has said why she won't train, he says it's because she hates him but Feyre disagrees. Cassian asks why her and Nesta don't get along, she says it's always been that way- their mother only ever cared for Nesta, so there was always that divide between them. Cassian seems to get an idea of a way he can help Nesta.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> Cassian brings Nesta to the training area located on the flat top of the mountain at the House of Wind, he realised she didn't want to train at Windhaven with all the male Illyrians watching and judging her. To try and get her to finally train Cassian says he will make a bargain with her. She agrees to a bargain, if she trains with him for an hour then he will owe her a favour of her choosing. The bargain is tattooed on their backs as an eight-pointed star.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They spend 2 hours training - spent only on her footing, teaching her how to stand and balance. Then he helps her with her breathing and a cool down. She asks him about Emerie and why they make females clip their wings in the Illyrian camps. He explains it's a way for them to control the women - technically illegal but has proved hard to enforce that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian tells her he didn't mean what he said when he told her everyone hates her. She tells him that she has never hated him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> Nessian is working in the library when Gwyn finds her again, asks her if she has seen Vol. 7 of <i>The Great War</i>. She works for someone named Merrill who she says is very demanding. She accidentally put Vol 8 in her office and wants to try and find the right one and replace it before she notices. Gwyn reveals she hasn't left the library or her dormitory since she got here, will stay until she is ready to leave - if she ever is. Gwyn leaves and Nesta asks the house to find the book for her and it does.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She finds Merrill's office and finds her in there, tries to distract her so she can switch the volumes without her noticing. Finds Gwyn singing - notes that her hair seems to glow brighter when she sings and her skin radiates light (<i>a hint at powers?</i>) She asks Gwyn what Merrill is researching, she says a lot of things. Merrill is obsessed with theories about different realms/worlds. She says some believe there are 26 realms/worlds with the last one being Time itself (<i>Important later - 26th string of the Harp is Time itself</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She says Merrill is currently writing a comprehensive history of the Valkyrie's, the war 500 years ago wiped most of them out and the rest got old and allowed themselves to die out of shame. They were a clan of female warriors, not a race of fighters like the Illyrians but Valkyrie was just the name they gave themselves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14: </span></b>Nesta trains with Cassian again. Talks a little about herself - that she used to take dancing lessons as a child. That her sisters were her fathers princesses but she was her mother's creature, tells him her mother was a worse version of her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asks him what happened to the priestesses at Sangravah where Gwyn was. Tells her Hybern was looking for the Cauldron and one of the pieces was hidden in a temple there. Sent a unit of their cruelest warriors who killed most of the priestesses for sport and then raped the rest. Tells her Azriel was the one who made it out there and slaughtered the warriors, Mor brought Gwyn to the library. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian and Rhys go to the Spring Court to meet Eris, he chose to meet there as it is neutral ground. Eris thinks they should go and kill the mortal queens now. Cassian says it will just cause more trouble and wars have been started for less. Eris thinks his father would like war because it could take out some Fae and leave territory open to be claimed. He thinks his father wants the Spring Court. The rumour is that Tamlin spends all of his time in his beast form now and his manor now lies in ruins. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They ask Eris why he wants to be High Lord so badly, he says for the same reason he left Morrigan untouched at the border. They say he left her there to die, he tells them to ask her if that is true, says he thinks she finally knows the answer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15: </span></b>Nesta is on the seventh level of the library, feels like the darkness is watching her and calling her name. Gwyn finds her there, says some of the other priestesses have felt like the dark follows and watches them, that it has trailed them to their doors. Gwyn tells her they should move up higher to her cart on the fourth floor. She is holding a glowing stone, tells Nesta it is an Invoking Stone - similar to the Siphons that Illyrian's wear except the power of the Mother flows through it and they can only use it for healing and protection, can shield them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn knows who Nesta is, that she is Feyre's sister and that she killed the King of Hybern (<i>Not sure why Nesta is getting all the credit, as if she wasn't laying on Cassian's body about to die when ELAIN stabbed him through the throat</i>) She tells Gwyn her and her sister Elain were both forced into the Cauldron and made Fae. Nesta asks why Gwyn doesn't wear her Invoking Stone on her head like the other priestesses do, Gwyn says she doesn't deserve to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She continues training with Cassian. Cassian tells her more about him, how he was born to an unwed fae who was shunned for having a child out of wedlock and forced to give birth to Cassian in a tent alone. He was taken away from her when he was three and she was then worked to death. Wasn't strong enough to go back for her before she died.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The House keeps bringing Nesta more and more smutty romance books for her to read. Cassian asks her how the work in the library is going and she mentions the thing she felt in the dark on the seventh level. He then tells her about the creatures he put into the Prison. There were ancient beings from before the High Fae split into Courts. Says they referred to them as First Gods. Most were hunted down and driven into hiding or imprisonment. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian says when he was 300 one of the First Gods appeared, crawling out of the roots of a mountain. His name was Lanthys and he could turn into wind and rip the air from your lungs or turn into rain and drown you on dry land. He fathered a race of faeries still around today - the Bogge. Says he had to trick him to catch him, managed to trick him in to trapping himself in a mirror made of ash wood and then put the mirror in the Prison. He says Lanthys got out of the mirror in the Prison but is still trapped in there. Also put other creatures in there - Seven-headed Lubia and Blue Annis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He tries asking about her powers and she denies she has any, he knows she's lying. She asks why he cares and bothers with her. He asks why she stayed by his side when they went up against the King of Hybern, she says she was a stupid fool. He asks what she is afraid of and she says nothing, he calls her a liar. Says he can see when her power rises, her eyes glow like molten silver. Realises he riled her up on purpose. She then goes to him and pushes him up against the wall, he tells her he saw that look in her eyes the first time he met her while she was still human. Tells her that her power is a song he has waited a long time to hear. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta can't sleep that night, so instead fingers herself while thinking about Cassian. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> Cassian spent the night wanking while thinking of Nesta, 3 times - <i>do we care?</i> Cassian and Nesta continue her training. They are doing core exercises and he complains she can't do it for long enough. Tells him to show her what he can do then - watches him do the exercises. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asks if it is true there are no female units in the Illyrian armies. He says they tried once but failed. He says it's hard as they would have to complete the Blood Rite. When an Illyrian warrior comes into their full power, usually in their twenties, they have to go through the Blood Rite to qualify as a full warrior and adult. It is usually three or four warriors from each clan every year that take part. Taken to the Illyrian mountains and left there for a weak - the goal is to survive and try to reach Ramiel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ramiel is the sacred mountain and symbol of the Night Court. Takes place when three stars shine above it for one week out of the year. The stars are Arktos, Carynth and Oristes. They are dumped in the wilds without their powers and just their clothes. You have to take part, you aren't allowed to leave. If anyone breaks into the Rite to save you then law declares you are both hunted down and killed, even Rhys is exempt from that law. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian says magic is rare among the Illyrians but some have it, so that is why a spell is in place that renders their wings useless and no magic can be used. Illyrians possess magic on one night of the year, the nigh before the Blood Rite - when the war-band leaders can winnow the drugged novices into the mountains to take part. Says no one knows why (<i>I know... because it's convenient to the plot!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He says barely any warriors even make it to the bottom of Ramiel and almost no one scales it and reaches the top. If someone touches the stone at the top of the mountain then they win and it transports you out immediately. Everyone else left standing is considered a warrior and where you are when it ends sorts you into the three echelons of warrior. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Arktosian - ones who don't make it to the mountain but survive.</li><li>Oristian - ones who made it to Ramiel but not the top</li><li>Carynthian - ones who managed to scale the summit and reach the top.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He says only a dozen warriors in the past 5 centuries have reached the mountain. He, Rhys and Cassian managed to reach the summit and touch the stone together. Only 12 have reached the mountain in 500 years and out of those only 6 made it to the peak. Cassian doesn't want the females taking part in the Blood Rite because of what could be done to them in it. But no female will be considered a warrior if they don't take part in it. Says progress is slow, they used to kill females who touched weapons and now they just 'decontaminate' them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks if Cassian would train the priestesses if she can get them to come to training, he says yes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Nesta asks Clotho for permission to have the priestesses come train, she agrees. Nesta laves a sign up sheet but no one signs up that day. That day at training Cassian teaches her how to punch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elain is in the private library, came to see how Nesta is doing. Nesta recalls how her mother only ever viewed Elain as someone who was pleasant to look at but unambitious. She would be useful to wed off but not much else. Her mother felt Nesta would be worthy of marrying royalty from the continent. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta and Elain get in a fight. Nesta says she sat by Elain's side for a long time while she refused to eat or drink and wasted away. And that no one ever suggested for Elain to be shipped off and sent to the human lands. Elain says she wasn't drinking or sleeping around. Nesta points out that she knows Elain slept with Graysen a month before she was turned Fae. Elain says they did this to Nesta because they love her and tries to mention their father but Nesta gets angry. She suggests Elain is to blame for his death as she took too long to come and kill the King - is trying to hurt her on purpose. Nesta feels Elain has chosen Feyre over her and she can't blame her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Elain goes to find Rhysand in the House of Wind so they can leave, she is crying. Cassian then goes to see Nesta to demand to know what happened, they have <i style="font-weight: bold;">another</i> fight. He asks the house to start a fire, which it does but Nesta keeps trying to get the house to get rid of it. He notices how she flinches when a log cracks on the fire. She leaves angrily and tries to make her way down the steps of the house again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18:</span></b> Manages to get down 1,000 steps before turning back and going back up. Cassian is at the top waiting for her. Tries to ask her about Elain but she dodges it, asks what set her off and she says everything. She asks why the priestesses won't sign up, realises it bothers her. She says some of them have been here for hundreds of years and have not been able to come back from what they've endured so what hope does she have. Tries to tell her it took Feyre months but she snaps that she doesn't want to hear about Feyre's special journey or the others. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian says he will tell her about his journey then, that he slaughtered every person who hurt his mother. When he was strong enough and old enough he finally went back to where his mother was and found out she was dead. Refused to tell him where they buried her, a female hinted to him that they'd dumped her off the cliff. So he destroyed all of those responsible, and with Rhys and Azriel's help he found his father and they killed him together. Took him ten years to face what he did to all those people. She asks if he regrets it and he says no. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He tells her he can take whatever she has to throw at him but she says she isn't like them. He says it doesn't bother him and never has, she says it should. They fight and she feels like Cassian feels like he has won the fight so she kisses him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19:</span></b> Cassian kisses her back and she palms him through his trousers and he comes in an embarrassingly short amount of time. Nesta, thinking he regrets it, decides to try to hurt him by commenting that he's "quick off the mark".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Azriel comes to get them the next day, both are needed at Feyre and Rhys's river house. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20: </span></b>Azriel has been watching Briallyn for a few weeks and knows what her next steps are. The other queens have fled from her. Beron did visit her and pledge his forces to her. Briallyn wishes to find the Cauldron so she can get her youth back. The death-lord Koschei is working with her even if he remains trapped at the lake. He has pointed Briallyn to the Dread Trove so that he can use it to free himself from the lake.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Cauldron made many objects of power and they know of three of them - the Mask, the Crown and the Harp. Some claimed there was a fourth but today's legends only tell of three. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The Mask - can raise the dead and is a death mask molded from the face of a long forgotten King. If you wear it then you can summon the dead and command them. </li><li>The Harp - can open any door physical or otherwise, even those between worlds.</li><li>The Crown - can influence anyone, even pierce through the mightiest of mental shields but you do have to be in close proximity to it for it to initially gain control of you. Could make that person do whatever you wanted, even kill those they love.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were somehow lost years ago. The Trove was made by the Cauldron and '<i style="font-weight: bold;">like calls to like</i>' (<i>This will be said 7 million times by the end of this book!</i>) so she could use it to find the Cauldron. Nesta asks why Briallyn can't just track it herself, as she was also Made by the Cauldron. Thinks Nesta is different as she took something from it, asks what she took. Nesta says she doesn't know, that she just knew she was taking things the Cauldron didn't want her to take. So Amren thinks that it could only give Briallyn the power to track items it Made and not the Cauldron itself. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre asks what a death-lord is. Cassian says he is like Lanthys, they are literally deathless and can't be killed. Says Koschei is the master of his own death. Dread Trove was last rumoured to be in Prythian. Azriel still isn't sure why she would have taken Eris's soldiers, asks Cassian to go and meet with him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre asks why they didn't look for the Trove when they were trying to find the Cauldron in the war against Hybern (<i>I can tell you why... 'cause she's just made it up now, Feyre!</i>) Amren says because the book was easier to find and she assumed the Dread Trove was at the bottom of the ocean. Also apparently the Made objects may have conveniently made everyone forget about them but that Briallyn was Made so the Cauldron probably removed the glamour hiding the Trove from her and that Elain and Nesta are the same. Ask how Azriel was able to remember the Dread Trove and tell them, Amren says maybe it wants them to know about it (<i>convenient!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21:</span></b> Elain says they can use her to find the Dread Trove but Nesta says no, that the last time they tried to do something like that the Cauldron abducted Elain. Amren tells Nesta to look for it instead then. Nesta says she can't, that when she tried to find the Cauldron it trapped her. Her and Elain fight about it and Elain says that she went into the Cauldron to but all Nesta thinks about is what Elain's trauma did to her. Elain leaves, telling them to come find her when they want to begin searching for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks Feyre to look for the Trove instead but she says she can't risk it because she's pregnant (<i>*surprised Pikachu face*</i>) Feyre is two months along, Fae pregnancy is 10 months. Rhys has been keeping the shield around her so they couldn't scent the pregnancy and also to keep her safe - has become overbearingly protective. Nesta agrees to search for the Trove so Elain doesn't have to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre goes to speak to Nesta, wants to tell her before anyone else that she is having a boy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22:</span></b> Cassian and Azriel are back at the House of Wind talking. Azriel asks if he thinks Nesta can find the Trove, Cassian says he hopes so. Azriel says she should try scrying but Cassian doesn't think she will be up for that. They talk about the baby, Cassian asks if Azriel wants kids and he says it doesn't matter what he wants. He asks Cassian the same and he says he definitely wants children. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian goes to Nesta's room to pay her back and make them even for the other night when he came and she didn't. She asks why he came, that he had made it clear the other night was a mistake, that she saw it in his eyes. Says only regrets he didn't get to return the favour. They agree that whatever this is stays out of training and everything else, it is just sex (<i>They've clearly never seen No Strings Attached or Friends with Benefits</i>) So he gives her oral sex before leaving, saying they are now even. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23:</span></b> The next day Azriel can tell what they did. Azriel comes to their training that day, wants to train himself. Cassian and Azriel spar while Nesta watches and thinks about having a threesome with them both (<i>probably the threesome the publishers made SJM cut</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks Gwyn about the Dread Trove, she doesn't know what it is so Nesta tells her all about it and that they must find it. Gwyn agrees to try and find more information on it for Nesta. Asks Gwyn to come to training but she says it is not for her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She goes down the steps as far as she can and back up and while doing it suddenly knows what she must do to convince the priestesses to train.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24: </span></b>Clotho calls Cassian down to the library, says Nesta keeps practicing her training in the library despite being told not to. He goes to find her and sees her messing up what he has taught her so shows her how to punch properly while down there. When they are finished he notices a bunch of the priestesses have stopped to watch. He realises Nesta did it on purpose to have him called down here so she could get them to see what it is he is teaching her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian leaves a book for her to read, <i>The Dance of Battle</i>. Gwyn then becomes the first person to sign up for training. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Two: Blade</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> Gwyn comes to training, that day is the first time she has been outside since coming to the library. Gwyn says she signed up so she never feels powerless again. Then Nesta goes to Windhaven with Cassian and goes to visit Emerie in her shop. A fae male is in the shop when she gets there, he appears drunk and says his father sent him to convey a message. Emerie says message received but the store is hers. His name is Bellius and he is her cousin, his father was Emerie's uncle, her fathers brother. Bellius is due to compete in the Rite this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Emeries says warmer leathers can be made but it won't be cheap, Nesta says she can't afford them. Emerie invites her to have lunch with her. Emerie says it'ss just her, no mate or husband, Nesta says the same for her. Emerie says it is nice to meet another female not obsessed with getting married and having babies. The food is nice, Emerie says it is the spices she uses which are hard to come by in Windhaven. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They talk of family, she tells Emerie that both her parents are dead and other than her sisters has no family except for a cousin of her mothers who lives on the continent. Emerie says her mother died giving birth to her and her older brother died before she was born, her father died during the war with Hybern. Her family keep trying to take the store from her because she's female. Nesta offers for Emerie to come train with them, says someone could come get her and winnow her to the House of Wind, but she says no.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian goes to meet Eris in the Illyrian Steppes, asks him about the Dread Trove and whether Beron knows about them. Eris says his father doesn't know about them yet. He and Cassian exchange a few words, he calls Cassian a bastard and it gets to Cassian. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26:</span></b> Finds Cassian in a chair, drinking a glass of wine and looking miserable; he's in a mood after his meeting with Eris. She asks what happened with Eris, he tells her he intends to help them find the Trove and won't tell his father. That's what they want so she doesn't understand what his problem is and Cassian says he hates Eris and doesn't know how to deal with him as it feels like Eris has the upper hand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta wants to cheer him up so decides to go down on him because there is no easier way to cheer a man up than with a BJ. He plans to sleep with her until Azriel the cock block enters and so Nesta leaves. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Chapter 27:</b> Gwyn hasn't found anything on the Trove yet. Cassian is going up to Windhaven so Nesta gives him a package to give to Emerie filled with spices and tea. Cassian says she can thank Nesta by coming to training the next day but Emerie says it's not the right time. But the next day Emerie is there when Nesta goes to training. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28: </span></b>Emerie struggles at training, her clipped wings cause her issues. Her father didn't have a healer do it, he did it himself and she fought back so he did a sloppy job. Emerie and Nesta bond over the fact they both enjoy reading smutty romances and they also offer to lend Gwyn some. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys comes to collect Emerie and take her back to Windhaven. He sees Gwyn there and goes into Nesta's head and tells her that she is to treat Gwyn with kindness. She tells him to mind his own business. Emerie agrees to come to training the next day as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys watches Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie talking. Cassian has a go at him for giving Nesta a mental warning, that she has only ever treated Gwyn with kindness. Cassian says he is pissed off that Rhys only ever thinks the worst of Nesta</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29: </span></b>Nesta is still attempting to get down the stairs, makes it to step 3,000 this time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian goes to meet with the others without her, Amren says Nesta needs to start looking for the Trove. Amren thinks they should ask Elain, Azriel says there is an innate darkness to the Trove that he doesn't think Elain should be exposed to - Cassian gets mad that they think Nesta should be exposed to it though. They agree to give Nesta one more week before they ask Elain to search for it instead. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn finds Nesta in the library, says Merrill somehow found out she swapped the book out and is coming to find her (Scene is just here so Nesta can stand up to Merrill). Merrill says she is descended from Rabath, Lord of the Western Wind. Nesta isn't scared of her, argues right back and Merrill eventually leaves, calls Gwyn nymph. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn reveals that her grand-mother was a river-nymph who seduced a High Fae male from the Autumn Court, so she is quarter nymph. Her mother was unwanted by the nymphs or the High Fae, so she was sent to Sangravah and raised there. She partook in the Great Rite when she was of age and had Gwyn and her twin sister, mother never found out who the fae was that she slept with (<i>Tamlin?</i>) Three priestesses show up to training the next day - Roslin, Deirdre and Ananke.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta decides to try scrying, tells Cassian she can't ask the priestesses to face their fears when she isn't doing the same. She tries but nothing happens, tells Cassian she thinks the power is gone. But he says he can feel it in her bones, has seen it in her eyes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She has a nightmare that night that the Cauldron comes to find her. Cassian wakes up, heard Nesta scream. Cassian and Azriel run to her room and find her in bed, bathed in the silver fire and screaming. Rhys appears and tries to wake her but can't get into her mind to help calm her. Cassian goes closer to her and calls her name, seems to get through to her enough for Rhys to get into her mind, help her calm down and go back to sleep. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Cassian her scrying brought up memories, her nightmare was of when she was in the Cauldron. He saw and felt it, saw what it took from her and what she took from it. Says he didn't understand her trauma till he felt it himself. Cassian asks what her power is and Rhys says it is pure death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Nesta wakes after the nightmare and finds Cassian asleep in a chair beside her bed. At training she tells Gwyn and Emerie about her nightmare. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Cassian that the baby has wings, Madja the healer told him the day before. Cassian says the baby is only quarter Illyrian so rare for him to have wings but Rhys says Feyre was in Illyrian form when he was conceived. But Feyre can't shapeshift back into the form while pregnant because of what it could do to the baby. Rhys tells them they are forbidden from telling Feyre about it, as Madja only told her there is an elevated risk in labour. The truth is it's very likely Feyre and the baby will die during the labour. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Azriel warns they must prepare for when Tamlin finds out about the pregnancy, not sure how he will react. Azriel says they need to summon Lucien and have him stationed in the Spring Court to contain any damage and to be their eyes and ears. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31:</span></b> Cassian comes back from seeing Rhys with a black eye and bruised jaw from sparring with Rhys. Cassian tells Nesta about the baby having wings and explains that Illyrian women have a pelvis specifically designed for children with wings to pass through. High Fae don't have that so when they try to give birth to a baby with wings it will usually get stuck, killing both mum and baby. Any attempts to cut a child out of the mother has never worked and has always killed the mother. Tells her Feyre doesn't know the full risk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian asks Nesta why she hasn't sought him out after that day when she went down on him but she points out he hasn't seeked her out either. Tells him that when his face is healed, they will fuck.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta wants to attempt scrying again so they head to the river house. She holds Cassian's hand while she tries to scry as a way to ground her. As she is scrying she begins to go ice cold and so does the room. Rhys tries to reach her but he can't get through her shields. Cassian tries to get her out of it, calls her name. She opens her eyes and they are burning molten silver but he still can't get her to drop the bones. So he kisses her and and she eventually drops them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The scrying shows the Mask is in the Bog of Oorid. It was once a sacred place where warriors were laid to rest. But it changed into a place of darkness and filled with such evil that no one goes there. The bog is in the Middle. They have no detailed map of the Middle as it was declared forbidden to map it in detail by an ancient council of High Lords. Nesta, Cassian and Azriel will head to the Bog to try to find the Mask.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> Cassian, Nesta and Azriel arrive at the Bog. She asks what creatures dwell here, Azriel says kelpies but Cassian says they haven't been seen in a long time. Kelpies are an ancient creature, one of the first true monsters of the faeries - shape-shifters who lured people into their arms and drowned them. They haven't been seen in a long time, hundreds of years before Cassian was born. They continue walking and go through a mist, Nesta senses something is there and when they look back Azriel is gone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33: </span></b>Cassian grabs Nesta and flies to find Azriel - sees his blue Siphons glowing and goes down through the mist but finds him surrounded by a dozen Autumn Court soldiers. He flies back up and finds a faraway tree to put Nesta in, tells her to wait there and he will come back for her, then he goes to help Azriel. Goes back to Azriel, the sight of an ash bolt through Azriel's wings angers him and he begins killing the soldiers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta tries to wait in the tree but she gets worried that Cassian could be being killed. She jumps out of the tree and plans to swim across the bog when she sees a creature in it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34:</span></b> A male creature comes out of the water, it is whiter than bone with obsidian hair and black eyes and fingers as long as Nesta's forearm. She realises it is a kelpie, it is so terrifying that she pisses herself. It tries speaking to her but she doesn't understand it. She can hear a female voice in her head telling her to run but the kelpie grabs her before she can and drags her under the water. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian and Azriel have killed all of the Autumn Court soldiers except for two of them, have kept them alive so they can take them back and question them. Cassian notes that they are both vacant and unfocused and that there is something wrong with them. They head back for Nesta and Cassian realises she is no longer in the tree.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> The creature is dragging her through the water, she grabs one of the daggers she has on her and uses it to slice the creature. It grabs her chest and begins pushing her right to the bottom of the water. The creature then kisses her, shoving its tongue in her mouth. It takes all her weapons from her, kisses her and cuts up her mouth with its rows of sharp teeth. She sees a golden object shining underwater and it comes closer and closer to her. She gabs it and realises it is the Mask, she shoves it on her face. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36:</span></b> Cassian is screaming for Nesta. They then notice golden light shining beneath the surface of the water. Spears break the surface and then a legion of dead rise from the water, followed by Nesta wearing the Mask and holding the head of the kelpie. Nesta takes the Mask off, the dead soldiers all collapse to the ground and Nesta goes unconscious. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37:</span></b> Cassian and Azriel have brought the two Autumn soldiers to a place in the Court of Nightmares where even Keir won't go in. It has a hatch in the center of the circular room where the bodies of their enemies are given to the beasts below. Azriel is trying to get answers from them while Cas, Rhys, Feyre and Amren watch. Nesta is upstairs sleeping in Rhys's palace above the Hewn City.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren says they appear to be under an enchantment, their only drive is to harm without reason. These soldiers are likely Eris's soldiers that went missing. They will ask Helion to come to see if he can break the spell on them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They go upstairs and Nesta is awake, sitting in the room with the Mask. Rhys asks how she got into the room with the mask and she says the door was open and she found herself beckoned there. Amren says she is lucky she was able to take the mask off, most who have worn it could not remove it and had to be beheaded to stop them. But Rhys says others couldn't remove it because the Mask did not recognise their power but Nesta is different as she is Made and '<i style="font-weight: bold;">like calls to like.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They believe Nesta can ward a room to keep the Mask in so that others won't be able to get to it, as when Rhys tried the Mask unlocked the door for Nesta. Nesta says she will try if they show her how to do it. Rhys says he will have Helion show her how to do it when he comes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They ask how the kelpie got her, she explains she was worried and went to try and find them and the kelpie came out of the water, begun speaking to her and then dragged her under the water. Rhys asks her to show him, so he can see what the kelpie was saying, then he shows Amren. Amren says it is a dialect that hasn't been spoken in 15,000 years. The kelpie had asked Nesta if she was his sacrifice and that he would take her as his bride before he had her for supper. Kelpies were made and can't reproduce so the kelpie must have been ancient. The Mask flew to Nesta, she tried to call her power but the Mask came instead. Feyre says it is because, you've guessed it, <i style="font-weight: bold;">'like calls to like</i>' and her powers are similar to the Mask. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta plans to spend the night in the palace, she is having a bath in the sunken pool in her room. Cassian comes in to bring her food. She invites him to get in the pool with her but he says she is hurt. So she gets out and goes to him. They agree to have sex but that it is just sex and nothing else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38: </span></b>At training Emerie can tell that Nesta and Cassian slept together. Gwyn tells Nesta of a Valkyrie technique she found called Mind-Stilling, used to train their minds and essentially it is meditation. Gwyn says she will make copies of the chapters on it for Emerie and Nesta. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta moans at Cassian about finally starting to train with weapons. Tells her if she thinks she is ready to train with swords then he should show her. She practices with wooden ones and enjoys it, it makes her feel like she won't be weak again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Nesta makes it down 6,000 steps this time before having to go back up. More priestesses show up for training so Cassian has to bring Azriel in to help. Gwyn keeps looking over at Az, he was the one who found her that day in Sangravah. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn and Nesta decide to practice the Valkyrie Mind-Stilling techniques in the library that day. She finds she likes it, makes her feel utterly settled in her own skin for the first time ever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> Cassian takes Nesta to a blacksmith in Velaris so that she can see a sword being made, as she is learning to use one. Nesta watches him hammering the blades and asks to try it herself. He lets her do it on a dagger, a sword and a great sword. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That day at training she wants to spar with the punching bag they have - a tree trunk wrapped in blankets. Lucien shows up and watches her doing it. She has punched through the blankets and wood, her power seems to have burned the tree from the inside out and when Cassian touches it, it dissolves into a pile of cinders. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41: </span></b>Helion, High Lord of the Day Court, shows up on a Pegasus. He has seven breeding pairs that he managed to keep hidden from Amarantha. Rhys and Feyre reveal her pregnancy to him, to show they trust him. He goes to see the soldiers and says they aren't enchanted but their bodies and actions aren't their own. He can't seem to find any spells on them. They tell him about the Trove and the fact Briallyn must have used the Crown on them. So the only Trove item they need to find is the Harp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They ask him to help show Nesta how to ward the Mask. Helion creates the wards and keys them to Nesta's blood, no one can enter it unless Nesta unlocks the ward. She tells Helion not to tell her the spell to unlock it, says she doesn't' want the knowledge of how to get the Mask in case Briallyn gets her. Helion will show Rhys instead so he can show Nesta if they ever need it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta is reading more books to help her learn about battles, battle strategy and leadership. Says she'd like to lead a small unit of females, like the priestesses. That night Cassian brings her more texts she might enjoy reading. When he goes to leave she asks if the sex wasn't good for him as he left quickly afterwards and didn't seek her out again. Then we get another classic SJM sex scene including classics like: <i>"her pebbled breasts" "silken flesh" "her pink sex" </i>and <i>"her drenched entrance"</i> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42:</span></b> Cassian is called to see Rhys, along with Amren and Azriel. He says the blacksmith Nesta and Cassian visited stopped by and dropped off the three weapons she helped make, he said they were cursed. Rhys says the High Fae were once more elemental and they could imbue weapons with their power. They think Nesta has done that with these even though no one has been able to great a magic sword in more than 10,000 years. The last one created was the the great blade Gwydion, got its powers when the High Priestess Oleanna dipped it into the Cauldron during crafting. Gwydion had belonged to a true Fae High King who united the lands before being betrayed by his queen and his fiercest general - has only been High Lords since. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren says the sword is to be treated as new Trove. The Dread Trove was created by the Cauldron and she has the powers of the Cauldron. Cassian says Nesta could create more, could give them an arsenal of weapons to win any war. But Amren says Nesta is not to know, but Azriel and Cassian are against it. Rhys says Feyre can be the deciding vote. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Azriel and Cassian he can find no answers to help Feyre and the baby. Drakon and Miryam couldn't help as Seraphim wings are more flexible and rounded. Feyre still doesn't know, only knows the birth could be difficult but has no clue it will likely kill her (<i>Rhys seems to have forgot all that spiel in ACOMAF about never hiding things from Feyre just because he thinks he knows what's best for her.</i>) Says he doesn't tell her because he doesn't want to take her joy away. Rhys has asked Helion to check his libraries for any information. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren tells them Amarantha once found a great sword but it would not come to her hand so she threw it in the sea. It was called Narben and Amren heard about her disposing of it from a water-nymph</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amren tells Rhysand that with these three magic blades he could make himself High King (God, please no!) He doesn't want it but she says seven courts united under one ruler would be better for any upcoming conflict. Azriel thinks Helion, Tarquin, Kallias and Thesan would all kneel to him. He insists he doesn't want it. Azriel says the seven courts are all weakened but if they were united under one King and Queen, with three magical weapons then their enemies will think before attacking. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys says he will not be High King, will not consider it (<i><b>Okay, sure, we'll see - Sarah Janet doesn't mention anything unless it is gonna come up again</b></i>) Amren says that it can't be coincidence that magic objects that once made a High King have now appeared thousands of years later. She says the Cauldron wanted those weapons made and brought to Rhys. He says he will not entertain the idea. She says it won't be long before the Cauldron offers the chance to someone else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43:</span> </b>Nesta & Cassian go to meet Eris in the Spring Court - tell him most of his missing soldiers are now dead and what happened to them. Tamlin finds them on his land whilst he is in his beast form.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta stands up to Tamlin and says her and Elain were put in the Cauldron because of him. Threatens to kill him if he tells anyone they were there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chapter 44: Cassian mentions at training that he fought with Valkyries in the War. He fought beside them for five battles until the Battle of Meinir Pass where most died to save it, knowing it was a suicide mission. Cassian had a Valkyrie lover called Tanwyn who died in that battle.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian asks Gwyn to bring him all the information she has on the Valkyrie's fighting style/techniques so he can teach them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later Cassian goes to see Feyre, Rhys and the others. Elain comments on how Nesta was trained in dance from an early age. The last ball they went to before they became poor was when Nesta was 14. Another heiress there seemed to hate Elain for no reason. So when a wealthy duke came to the ball that the heiress had her sights on, Nesta made sure that the duke asked her to dance instead. The duke proposed the next morning but her father said Nesta was too young.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> Cassian begins teaching Valkyrie methods. He asks Nesta what she'd name a sword but she won't answer, even when pushed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She pushes him to find out why he wanted to know so bad and he ends up telling her about the blacksmith and the three blades she created - the new Dread Trove. Finds out they took a vote on whether to even tell her about it, which makes her angry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She is so angry she makes it down all 10,000 steps and heads to Velaris. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta gets annoyed when Feyre orders her to leave but is too scared to give Amren any orders. But Feyre says Amren is her friend so she respects her. Nesta asks if Amren or the others really respects her when no one has told her that the baby she is carrying will kill her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(<i>One thing to note is that Rhys will have known their baby having wings, while rare, was still a possibility before they ever got pregnant. But never once thought that was a conversation they should have before trying for a baby? Seems important when it could kill her.</i><i>)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre says the boy the Carver showed her did not have wings. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rhys tells Cassian what Nesta has done and orders him to "<b>Get Nesta out of this city... Before I fucking kill her." </b>(<i>Unpopular opinion time: Nesta did nothing wrong, even if she told Feyre out of anger. Someone needed to tell her and not one of them had any right to keep it from her under the 'guise' of protecting her.)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Chapter 47:</b> Cassian takes Nesta out of the city and takes her somewhere they can camp for the night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre uses her powers to mind speak with him and ask how he is. She tells him Rhys overreacted and she is angry with them all for hiding it from her. And she isn't angry at Nesta, as she was the only one who told her, even if she did it to hurt her at the time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feyre asks Cassian to come home but he says they will stay for a few days and he will make Nesta hike. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48:</span></b> Start hiking. At one point Cassian makes some off-handed comment that if she doesn't stay hydrated she could faint and fall off the mountain and break every bone in her body, it is in that moment he sees in her eyes that she hates herself enough to not care if that happened, maybe even wants it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49:</span></b> They trek for two more days, barely talk at all. Nesta faints so they rest for the night before hiking again the next day. Finally make it to the lake and Nesta finally breaks down crying. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50:</span></b> Nesta tells Cassian that she let her father die and let him die with hate for him in her heart. She says she was horrible to him and he still loved her even though she didn't deserve it (<i>Nesta, honey, are you forgetting how utterly useless your father was?</i>) Nesta believes she can't fix the horrible things she's done and can't fix herself. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cassian tells her it wasn't her fault and she couldn't have stopped it. Nesta reveals she can't stand fires now because the cracking sounds they make reminds her of the sound of her father's neck breaking. Cassian tells her she will get through this if she is willing to fight, face it and embrace it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Three: Valkyrie</span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51: </span></b>They spent two more days at the lake, either training or fucking. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn ties a ribbon from a beam under Cassian's instructions - tells them it is a Valkyrie test to show whether your training is complete or not. It is only complete when you can cut the ribbon in half. Emerie tries and fails. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They keep trying to cut the ribbon over multiple training sessions but haven't yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nesta asks to go to the evening service the priestesses have, as they have music there and she misses it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gwyn reveals she dreads Nesta and Emerie finding out her history as she thinks they won't look at her the same afterwards. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52:</span> </b>Nesta attends the service and listens to them sing while she visualises. She sees herself flying to a mist-veiled mountain and then inside it. There she finds a towering carved gate that she goes through, following a dark path. </div><div><br /></div><div>She drifts down until she is in a cavern, where there is carved black rock with symbols etched into it and on the floor is the golden harp. Nesta realises she has used her own bones and the stone of the mountain as her scrying tools and she has found the location of the harp. </div><div><br /></div><div>The harp speaks to her, telling her to play it and join her voice with it. If she does, it will open doors and pathways so they can move through space and eons together. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian goes to see Rhys with the news that Nesta believes the Harp is beneath the prison. Rhys gives him the great sword Nesta made, tells him to take it with him as Rhys wants to know what happens when Nesta uses it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53: </span></b>Cassian & Nesta head to the prison with the sword. Nesta leads the way and takes him down to where she saw the hidden chamber. There are wards on the chamber but they can't seem to keep her out, only Cassian. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Nesta touches the Harp, she has visions. She sees Briallyn on her throne, wearing the Crown and the queen begins talking to her. Reveals she knows she has the Harp and also that she is friends with Emerie and Gwyn. Tells Nesta she is a fool for keeping a hold of the Harp, as it is answering all her questions and she now knows exactly where Nesta is. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta had opened a doorway between her and Briallyn's mind by touching the Harp while Briallyn wore the Crown. Nesta can't seem to let go of the Harp, it talks to her and asks her if it should open a door for her and she says yes. Asks it to open the wards and it says it will if she plucks the first string, which she does. </div><div><br /></div><div>She tells Cassian what she saw. Tells him she will name the sword Ataraxia, a word she found in a book in the library. She then kisses Cassian's cheek and tells him she thinks he's her friend, he tells her he has always been her friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>As they're leaving he screams at her to run, the door to Lanthys's cell is open - one of the old gods he warned her about. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54:</span></b> Lanthys talks to Cassian and calls him the Lord of Bastards. Nesta realises the Harp is what opened his cell door. Lanthys talks for a while, comments on their scents and says "Based upon scent alone, I would say that you two are-" But Cassian attacks him before he can finish what he was going to say. (<i>He was clearly going to reveal they are mates. I get such ACOMAF vibes in this book - human-turned-fae is dealing with her trauma, believes herself unworthy and pushes away the guy she's clearly in love with and the whole time he knows they're mates but doesn't tell her.</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Cassian throws on of his siphons to Nesta and tells her to run. She starts to but changes her mind just as she sees Autumn soldiers charging towards her, sent by Briallyn. Plucks the harp and tells it to take her to Cassian, and it does. She sees he is losing to Lanthys. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta draws her sword and slashes at him - the sword begins to glow and Lanthys goes from being like mist to being a naked, golden-haired male. She realises he is afraid of her blade. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lanthys asks her what death god she is and she says she is nobody. Lanthys says he has heard of her - that she took from the Cauldron and doesn't even realise what she can do.</div><div><br /></div><div>He says he will show her and they can rebuild what they were before the golden legions of Fae cast off their chains and overthrew them. Shows her a vision of what they could be together - she sees a fourth object on the alter but it is veiled in shadow and she can't make out what it is - only makes out a gleam of age-worn bone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lanthys then shows her a vision of them sleeping together and that he would impregnate her with a child that could rule entire universes and restart the Wild Hunt. </div><div><br /></div><div>She snaps herself out of his visions and orders him to go back to his cell. He says he will escape again and find her to make her his queen. While she's distracting him, Cassian throws a dagger into his chest and then Nesta attacks Lanthys too and she manages to kill him before using the harp to transport her and Cassian to Rhys and Feyre's house.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 55:</b></span> They tell Feyre and Rhys what happened. Explains when she first touched the harp she had a vision of what it was last used for - to trap the people who once lived on the island into the walls of the prison somehow. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta asks what the Wild Hunt is - according to legend the Fae were created by beings who were near-gods (The Daglan). The Daglan ruled for millenia and enslaved both the fae and humans. A Fae named Fionn rose up to overthrow them and was given the great sword Gwydion by High Priestess Oleanna. Then Fionn set himself up as High King.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fionn was eventually betrayed by his queen, a leader of her own territory, and also by his dearest friend, who was his general. They killed him and took some of his bloodline's most powerful weapons. After that seven High Lords rose and the courts have been in place ever since. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta asks what Narben is, as Lanthys commented that her sword wasn't Narben. Rhys says it is a death-sword that has since been lost. The sword could kill anything, including Lanthys. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Daglan took pleasure in tormenting both fae and humans and used the Wild Hunt to keep them in line. They'd gather a bunch of their strongest warriors and grant them free reign to kill as they pleased. The Daglan had beasts that they'd use to chase them before they tortured and killed them. Nesta says the beasts they had looked like the beasts in the Hewn City as Lanthys showed her a vision of what they could be together and those beasts were there, looked like the scaled beasts carved into pillars in the Hewn City. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta tells them about the fourth object she couldn't quite see. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys wants to go after the Crown but Feyre doesn't. Rhys says they need to secure alliances for war then. Reveals Eris is coming to Winter Solstice and they need to remind him that he is important to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys wants to use Nesta - says Elain says she once won the hand of a duke from a dance alone. He wants her to seduce Eris - not to take him to bed, but to show him what he might attain from their alliance. Nesta agrees to do it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta goes with Cassian to the cottage she used to live in and talks to him about her father - how she hated him and how poorly she treated him.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56:</span></b> A month has passed - more training and also Nesta practicing dances with Mor ready for Winter Solstice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mor goes to the library with Nesta and Emerie sees her there - later comments on how beautiful she is. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Emerie says she can hear her father shouting at her, Nesta explains the library is ancient and strange.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn gives them a Winter Solstice gift - she had Merrill write about them in the final chapter of her work about the Valkyrie.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta has a fire lit in the house so she can sit beside it and use her mind-stilling techniques to help her through it. She then finds a trail of evergreen twigs leader her to her open door. She follows it and it leads her down to the seventh level of the library. </div><div><br /></div><div>She is lead to the lowest levels of the library, to the pit itself. Realises the darkness there is the heart of the House and it has been trying to lead the priestesses here as they are just like it - whatever that means. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57: </span></b>Winter Solstice is used as the big reveal that Feyre is pregnant. Rhys gifts Eris the dagger that Nesta made but pretends it is an old family heirloom. </div><div><br /></div><div>Eris & Nesta dance and he urges her not to believe all the lies they tell about him. He tells her Mor knows the truth but has never revealed it because she is afraid of it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian eventually interrupts them and says he wishes to dance with Nesta. Cassian has been taking dance lessons with Mor for weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris goes to see Rhys and asks him what he would want in exchange for Eris to marry Nesta. He tells Rhys he will give him whatever he wishes if he can marry her. Rhys says he will speak to Nesta. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58:</span></b> Nesta & Cassian go to Feyre's to celebrate Winter Solstice. Mor asks to join them at training when she is done at Vallahan.</div><div><br /></div><div>The present Cassian threw in the river the year before was a tiny book - a miniature illuminated manuscript - one of the first printed books in existence. </div><div><br /></div><div>Azriel gifts Nesta a reading light.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian goes to her room that night to give her a present and she apologises for how she acted the year before. </div><div><br /></div><div>He gives her a silver ball that plays music when she taps it. It is a Symphonia - a rare device from Helion's court that can trap music and play it back. Cassian had the musicians from the ball record the songs they played that night. Had musicians from her favourite taverns record music too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta says she can't accept it and that he should return it. Annoyed, he tells it's a gift, not a wedding ring and she responds that she will look to Eris for that. </div><div><br /></div><div>He says he has got a little too close and now she is shoving him away - that she'd rather be with Eris than be with him. She says Eris is a brute and a piece of shit and she would marry him because she is just like him, that she deserves Eris. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta tells Cassian he is too good for her and she doesn't deserve him and everyone knows it. Has wanted him from the moment they met and it terrifies her. Thinks if she let herself have him then he will be taken from her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian tells her that she isn't going to marry Eris and that there will be no one else for either of them and she agrees. Then he kisses her. They have sex and she asks him to stay with her for the whole night and he does.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 59:</b></span> Cassian leaves the next day for the annual snowball fight and then has to go inspect the legions in Illyria for a few days - will be gone for 3 days.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta isn't enjoying her time away from him so invites Emerie and Gwyn over for a magical house slumber party where they make friendship bracelets together. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60:</span></b> Cassian returns after five days. Gwyn finally cuts the ribbon, then Emerie and then Nesta.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The next day Cassian turns the training ring into an obstacle course and that they will work in groups of 3 to complete it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first day they make it halfway through and the next day it has been changed. It changes every night and after two weeks they haven't completed it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn and Azriel have a few moments throughout the book - potentially the start of something.</div><div><br /></div><div>Takes them two months to finally complete the obstacle course. They have technically completed the Blood Rite qualifier and even had Lord Devlon there to witness it - they can take part in the Blood Rite if they want to.</div><div> </div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61: </span></b>Nesta finally goes down the stairs again - last test for herself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta goes with Cassian to the starfall party where she apologises to Amren. Amren says she has seen what Nesta did to the house - that she Made it because when she came there she had wished for a friend.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 62: </b></span>A rare red star is seen blasting across the sky - seen as an ill omen. The Blood Rite is a few days away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta and Cassian receive a letter from Eris - demanding to see them and to meet in the Middle, near the sacred mountain that Rhys was once trapped under. She asks about the mountain and why it is sacred.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are three sister peaks - this one, the Prison and Ramiel. All three are bald and barren. Two of the three have underground palaces carved into them. Illyrians never checked if anything lays beneath Ramiel - meaning something likely does.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris reveals his father visited the continent again and so he believes the fallout is fast approaching. All they are waiting for is Nesta to find the Harp. Eris realises they already have it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris warns them to not go after the Crown - as Briallyn could use it on them, turn them against each other and have them reveal where the other two items are. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta and Cassian go for a walk through Velaris where she asks if it undermines her image as a warrior to be with him. He tells her it doesn't undermine Feyre's to be with Rhys, but Nesta insists that is different because they're mates. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian confronts her on why she is scared to admit that they are mates. They fight about it and she says she can't say that word as she will lose her last bit of humanity and officially be one of them - something she never asked for. He tells her that he didn't get a choice on being shackled to her either, which hurts her.</div><div><br /></div><div>She calls in her favor finally - demands that he leave for the House of Wind and not to speak to her until she comes to talk to him or until a week has passed. He wants to fight the bargain but he can't, has to leave. (<i>Another copy & paste from ACOMAF - a mate reveal and then running away for a week</i>.)</div><div><br /></div><div>She has Mor winnow her to Emerie's and then Mor brings Gwyn too. Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie spend the night there. Nesta wakes up to someone in her room, something wet is placed over her mouth rendering her unconscious. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63:</span></b> Rhys & Cassian head to Emerie's and find them all missing. Devlon started the Blood Rite and had the three snatched from the beds so they can take part. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Four: Ataraxia</span></b></div></b><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64:</span></b> Nesta wakes up surrounded by unconscious Illyrians. </div><div><br /></div><div>The law is that anyone who pulls a warrior from the Blood Rite will be hunted down and executed along with the warrior who they removed, even Rhys can't break the rule. (<i>Awfully convenient for the plot. Also, this book just continues to undermine the idea of Rhys being the most powerful High Fae. WTF can the man even do? He can't enforce any rules on the Illyrians. Can't enforce them on the Court of Nightmares - they could have refused to go to war and he couldn't do anything about it. Rhys rules one tiny city in his own Court and that's about it. What's the point of being High Lord if he has exactly zero power? I know it's for plot convenience, but it makes no sense to me</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris has been captured and taken to Briallyn - Az and Cassian must go to get him back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys reveals he can't go because of the bargain he and Feyre made to die together. They realise that if Feyre dies in childbirth, Rhys will die too. This is the first time the others are learning of the world's dumbest bargain and Amren calls them out on how stupid it is.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian doesn't want to go - thinks they should let Eris die. Feyre argues he poses great danger to them in Briallyn's hands if he is under the Crown's control, as he could tell her everything he knows. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian tells them Eris was worried they'd use the Dread Trove to make a grab at power. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre hopes the Made dagger they gave him may grant Eris immunity from the Crown.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta comes across an awake male fae - they both see a dagger in a tree and make a move for it at the same time. She grabs it as he runs into her and they go down, the dagger buried in his throat. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta takes his clothes as she's still in her nightgown and then she goes looking for Gwyn and Emerie.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65:</span></b> Nesta is far from Ramiel. Hears screaming and begins to run. The charm bracelet she made with the girls begins to glow and she somehow knows it is leading her to Gwyn and Emerie (another convenience right there).</div><div><br /></div><div>Someone fires an arrow at her - realises someone has dumped weapons into the Rite even though they are banned. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta gets caught by another Illyrian.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian is flying around the queens castle.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 66:</b></span> The Illyrian orders Nesta to hand over her weapons. She asks if he saw another female and he says he did, and left her to the others. She realises he saw Emerie.</div><div><br /></div><div>She throws her knife into his groin and steals his bow and arrows before going to find Emerie.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta overhears more warriors talking - Emerie escaped them by jumping in the river. She goes to follow the river and finds Emerie caught on a fallen tree, unconcious.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta rescues her and builds a fire to warm them before setting off to find a cave - she finds another Illyrian. He shows her to the entrance to a cave and asks if she knows who dumped the weapons. He knows she has someone with her who is hurt and tells her to bring them to the cave as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>He knows Nesta is Feyre's sister and he swears an oath that he will not kill her or whoever is with her - his name is Balthazar. They hear creatures throughout the night and find many dead Illyrians the next day. Balthazar goes off by himself after that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian learns that Eris was dragged into the queen's castle two nights ago and will be taken somewhere else very soon. Cassian and Azriel will wait for that to happen and then follow them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie and Nesta collect more clothes and weapons from dead warriors and then head to find Gwyn.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67:</span></b> Nesta and Emerie find a camp full of males and see Gwyn's nightgown. The charm indicates that she is there. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie is grabbed by two warriors and then her and Nesta are taken into the camp. The leader is Bellius, Emerie's cousin. They used the night gown as a trap - they found it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bellius's eyes are glassy, like the Autumn soldiers were. He put the weapons in the Blood Rite and refers to a she - likely Briallyn. Nesta believes he is under the control of the Crown.</div><div><br /></div><div>A creature (part cat, part serpent) finds the camp and attacks the warriors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn appears and the girls run to her while the men fight the creature. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn woke before everyone else and started running. She found a cache of weapons and changed into someone else's clothes. Her charm started glowing - when Nesta made them she had made the wish that they'd always be able to find their way back to each other (<i>At this point I need to ignore how ridiculous the plot of this book is and how deux ex machina coded the whole thing is</i>)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Gwyn had led the beast to the camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68:</span></b> The three spend the night taking shelter in a tree.</div><div><br /></div><div>They ask Emerie about the rite - her family always hated how Rhys, Cassian and Az all reached the peak of Ramiel as that is super hard to do <i>apparently</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie says they will be lucky to make it to the Pass of Enalius in one piece - long ago a war was fought between Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. One of the key battles took place in the mountains here. The enemy was desperate to reach the top of Ramiel for some reason. A young warrior named Enalius found a natural archway of stone and made it his bottlenek. He died in the end but held the enemy back long enough for allies to arrive. The Rite is to honor him. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are a few different paths to the top of Ramiel but the hardest one is through the Pass of Enalius, they call that path the Breaking - the path Rhys, Cass and Az took.</div><div><br /></div><div>They continue moving, but it is slow progress and once they reach Ramiel they will only have one day to reach the top. As the rules of the Rite are that they just have to survive, they could have been smart and stayed hidden until the end and still technically pass it.</div><div><br /></div><div>They find a ravine with a bridge they can cross. They run for it but see 6 males running for it too. They end up fighting and killing all 6 of the warriors - <i>you know, the warriors who are trained since birth for this. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div>After four days waiting by the palace, Cass & Az finally see a small caravan leaving the castle. They see Eris riding on a horse with the queen and he has Nesta's dagger still so they assume he isn't under the Crown's control - they believe he has betrayed them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Another group of warriors find the girls and they run for the bridge. Gwyn is shot in the thigh with an arrow so tells them to run across the bridge and cut it to save themselves as she won't make it across. </div><div><br /></div><div>Emerie and Nesta make it across and then tie rope around a tree and then fire it at Gwyn with an arrow so she can tie it around herself before they cut the bridge. The other warriors fall and die and they pull Gwyn up.</div><div><br /></div><div>They find another tree to rest in and will make it to Ramiel the next day. Nesta reveals only 12 others have ever made it that far. Emerie says they could stay in the tree and wait it out (Because she's smart) because otherwise they'd be going through the Breaking having not eaten in days and with Gwyn injured - which undermines how hard this is supposed to be if they've managed it so easily. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn finally shares her story - a commander from Hybern raped her two years ago as he held her down on a table and laughed the whole time. Hybern attacked during the night and she shared a room with her sister Catrin who ordered her to go and protect the children.</div><div><br /></div><div>She grabbed the children and ran to the catacomb tunnels. She had got the last child through the trapdoor to the catacombs when she heard the soldiers coming. She closed the door and then hid it under the rug before moving the kitchen table over it. The soldiers found her there and then brought in the other priestesses, including her sister. </div><div><br /></div><div>When they asked her where the children were, she lied. The commander grabbed her sister and threatened to kill her if she didn't tell him. She still refused so he beheaded her sister before raping her and allowing his soldiers to do the same to the others. </div><div><br /></div><div>The commander then ordered three of his soldiers to do the same to Gwyn until she told the truth about where the children were. Azriel arrived before they could follow out his orders and he killed them all. Mor healed her and brought her to the library.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gwyn admits she doesn't wear the Invoking Stone like the other priestesses as it is a sign of holiness and she doesn't think someone like her can wear it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Emerie shares her own tragic back story because all SJM women must have one. Emerie was beaten by her father. He beat her mother to death and then made Emerie dig her grave and then told everyone she died of blood loss from a miscarriage. Emerie says she will climb the mountain for her mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Nesta tells her story - sent to the House of Wind because she was going out drinking and sleeping with people. That she saw he father killed and did nothing to stop it. Tells them everything. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta says they will win the whole thing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 69:</b></span> Cas & Az follow Eris and Briallyn - don't know where they are but it reminds them of the Middle. They go to a small lake. Eris sneaks up on Cassian.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie are 2/3 of the way up the mountain now. They see others below them, gaining on them - 7 others in total, including Bellius.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eris tells Cassian he is disappointed Rhys never tried to look in his mind but when Eris refers to Mor as the Morrigan that is when he is sure he is under Briallyn's control.</div><div><br /></div><div>The girls make it to the Pass of Enalius but they are too slow and the males will catch up to them soon. Nesta says she can hold them off while Emerie and Gwyn make the climb. Gwyn tries to insist they fight together but Nesta knocks her out so Emerie can carry her up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian and Azriel have to follow Briallyn and Eris to the lake. When the cloaked figure of Briallyn removes the hood it falls to the ground, there is no one inside - it was just an animated kernel of magic. A voice speaks from the lake - an animated shadow floating on the surface in the vague shape of a tall male, he reveals he is Koschei.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta waits at the pass with her sword and shield. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 70:</b></span> Bellius sends his warriors through the pass first and Nesta begins killing them one by one.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 71:</span></b> Azriel asks Koschei where Briallyn is but he doesn't say, but says he has spent months preparing for them. Azriel tells Cassian to run as he grabs Eris and takes off but Cassian can't move. Briallyn comes out from behind a tree wearing the crown, telling Cassian she has need of him. Then she tells Koschei to winnow them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta kills ever male until Bellius is the only one left. Emerie and Gwyn make it to the very top of the mountain, touch the stone at the top and it winnows them out. </div><div><br /></div><div>Bellius finally attacks her.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 72:</span></b> Nesta decides to fight him in hand-to-hand combat, believing she can beat him because 'her mate taught her well'.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 73:</span></b> Bellius is about to kill Nesta when Cassian appears and kills him. Cassian then hugs Nesta and tells her he is going to slit her throat. Cassian is under the control of the Crown and can't fight against it. Briallyn is there with him. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 74:</span></b> Nesta realises that Briallyn is the one who made it so Nesta would be here in the Rite. When Nesta asks why she tells her that Nesta's powers are too strong and being in the Rite has wore her down. She did it to wear Nesta down and have her without magic.</div><div><br /></div><div>Briallyn was waiting for Cassian so she could use the Crown on him. Bellius was also under her control this whole time after wandering into her lands. She had ordered him to hunt Nesta but not kill her. Briallyn says she wants retribution and powers - she wants the Trove.</div><div><br /></div><div>Briallyn says she made sure Nesta knew about the Trove so she could help her find them - knowing the only way she could get Nesta to hand them over is if she had Cassian. Briallyn says Nesta can summon the items to her. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Nesta refuses, Briallyn has Cassian attack her and then orders him to kill her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian gets back some control and rather than kill Nesta, he turns the dagger on himself. Seeing that makes Nesta erupt with the force of the Cauldron, which reduces Briallyn to nothing but ash.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 75: </span></b>Cassian is unharmed. Nesta had Unmade Briallyn. Nesta finally accepts and says aloud that Cassian is her mate and they kiss.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor and Azriel appear to come get them. Eris is safe but something is wrong with Feyre. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 76:</b></span> Feyre started bleeding a few hours ago, even though she is months away from giving birth. The baby is wedged in the birth canal. Feyre tells them to cut the baby out of her, even though it will kill her, which will also kill Rhys. Madja agrees to cut the baby out. </div><div><br /></div><div>They get the baby out but it is too small and clearly not alive and Feyre is starting to die.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta knows Feyre is dying - she puts on the Crown and mask while holding the Harp. No one has ever wielded all 3 and lived. Nesta plucks the final string of the Harp - the 26th string.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 77: </span></b>The 26th string is Time itself and Nesta stops it as Feyre takes her last breath. She can feel death around Feyre, Rhys and the baby and she holds it at bay.</div><div><br /></div><div>She can hear a female voice speaking to her - the Mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>She goes to Feyre, covering her body with her own and telling her she loves her. Nesta speaks out loud, saying if it shows her how to save Feyre then the Cauldron can have back what she took from it. Feels a soft, invisible hand brush her cheek in answer to her request.</div><div><br /></div><div>Time resumes and the others hear Nesta whispering "I give it all back" as light begins flowing from Nesta's body into Feyre. Light drifts between the sisters and then one light also goes to the baby in Mors arms. </div><div><br /></div><div>The light then explodes and when it fades there is dark ink across Nesta's back - she has made a bargain with the Cauldron. Cassian swears a luminescent hand prevents all the light from leaving Nesta's body (potentially has some power remaining).</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wakes up, alive and no longer bleeding, she tells Nesta that she loves her too. </div><div><br /></div><div>The sound of a baby's wail fills the room and the baby is now alive and full-term. Nesta also made sure to give Feyre Illyrian anatomy so that this can never happen again. Rhys falls to his knees in front of Nesta and thanks her for saving Feyre. Nesta drops down in front of him and hugs him. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 78: </b></span>Emerie and Gwyn are waiting for her at the house. Emerie and Gwyn were healed by the stone, it healed every wound they hand the moment it took them out the Rite.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Feyre name their son Nyx. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian goes to speak with Nesta, asks if her power is really gone - she says she gave it back to save them but a little remains. She says something else stopped the Cauldron from taking it all. And that she made some changes of her own - changed her own anatomy to so that if and when she wants to have a baby, the same thing won't happen to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>He asks her what she wants and she says all she wants is him and he tells her that she had him from the moment they met. She asks for a very fancy mating ceremony but he says he'll never hear the end of it from Mor and Az. Nesta pulls a biscuit from her pocket and offers it to him instead as her giving him food is the official ritual. He says if it is between that or the ceremony then they'll have a ceremony instead. She tells Cassian she loves him. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 79: </b></span>Cassian goes to visit Eris in the Hewn City to ask him what he told Beron. Beron tortured him to find out about his rescue but he says he didn't tell him anything. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian asks why he really left Mor in the woods that day as he says it doesn't add up. Eris insists that Cassian isn't the one he needs to explain himself to, Mor is. </div><div><br /></div><div>Koschei is still a threat and Beron might try to establish an alliance with him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian tells Eris he thinks he might be a decent male deep down but is too cowardly to act like it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 80:</span></b> Nesta, Feyre, Nyx and Elain go for a walk through the city. Nesta and Cassian's mating ceremony is in three days. Rhys is paying for everything - agreed to let him do it after he wouldn't stop buying her presents to thank her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys gifted her and Cassian the House of Wind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre gives her a mating present - a portrait of Nesta at the Pass of Enalius. </div><div><br /></div><div>They have come to visit their father's grave - this is the first time Nesta has come. She places a small carved rose on the grave and then thanks her father before they go. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-81937945238211774582021-02-01T23:08:00.005+00:002024-01-28T13:41:26.892+00:00A Court of Mist and Fury: Summary / Recap (ACOMAF)<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQp0VgUurW3vR0E1O_IQIgmPg8lKK7okf21zWJQmPS4018wUe5s0R0pelZAxBSI97wpULrnLnvZqeYXujZHND1E6pwXXKysKE1qSP9qBdABBVRfPxWDFez4vSFUxdwzJVJ8yWnzJvNyWI/s1500/Acomaf1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQp0VgUurW3vR0E1O_IQIgmPg8lKK7okf21zWJQmPS4018wUe5s0R0pelZAxBSI97wpULrnLnvZqeYXujZHND1E6pwXXKysKE1qSP9qBdABBVRfPxWDFez4vSFUxdwzJVJ8yWnzJvNyWI/w640-h213/Acomaf1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><div>I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: <b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reviews_from_a_bookworm/">check those out here</a></b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out <b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/throne-of-glass-full-series-recap-summary.html">here</a></b>. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A Court of Mist and Fury</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Prologue</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre is having repeated nightmares about the fae she killed Under the Mountain. In one nightmare she stabs one fae who turns out to be Feyre herself.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part One: The House of Beasts</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1:</span></b> Feyre wakes up from a nightmare and runs to the bathroom to vomit. It has been three months since they left Under the Mountain (UTM). Feyre it still trying to adjust to her new immortal body. She is struggling to believe it is real that she has escaped, part of her worries she will wake up to find herself back in her cell UTM. Feyre hasn't heard from Rhys once in that time, hasn't tried to come get her as part of their bargain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin never wakes up or comes to check on her when she wakes up from her nightmares and is vomiting. She thinks sometimes that he does wake up but pretends to sleep. She notes Tamlin also has nightmares too but he also doesn't talk to her about them. Sometimes he awakes from a nightmare, shapeshifts into his beast form and will guard the room.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2:</span> </b>Lucien and Tamlin go out a lot to hunt down Amarantha's creatures that are still around and on their land. Feyre wants to get out of the manor and go to visit the local fae village that is trying to rebuild. Tamlin tells her no and won't allow her to go.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre and Tamlin are now engaged, he proposed two months ago and now they're currently planning their wedding. They recently celebrated Winter Solstice, although Feyre didn't enjoy it. It took place on her birthday but she didn't tell anyone. They will be getting married in two weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien hunted down 5 naga the day before and was injured, lied to Feyre and said he fell from his horse. Tamlin tries to justify controlling where Feyre can and can't go by saying he can't concentrate on what he needs to do if he is worrying about her. Tells her to just stay in and paint, Feyre notes that she hasn't been able to paint since she came back from UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is being made to dress in bright dresses rather than the tunic and pants she prefers - he says her wearing that attire sends a message across the lands. She keeps her dagger on her at all times, Lucien gifted her a belt she can keep it in.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ianthe is the High Priestess and a childhood friend of Tamlin. She is there to help Feyre plan the wedding and Feyre finds her a good distraction and has been helping Feyre adjust to life in the Court. Feyre notes: <i>"I was too watched - too monitored and judged". </i>Ianthe and her family managed to escape the horrors UTM by fleeing to Vallahan 50 years ago. Ianthe is obsessed with the message the wedding sends and says every detail is important even though Feyre doesn't care about any of it. She has to wear a hideous dress that neither Feyre or Tamlin like because Ianthe thinks it sends the best message. Ianthe has set her sights on Lucien but he is not interested in her, seems angry at her that she fled all those years ago. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre and Tamlin have sex, afterwards he apologises for not letting her go to the village, says he needs her to be all right. Feyre asks what she will be called when they're married, as she assumes she will be a High Lady. Tamlin says there is no such thing as a High Lady, she will just be known as Lady of the Spring Court. Tamlin says High Lords only take wives/consorts and there has never been a High Lady.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 3:</b></span> The next day Lucien takes Feyre to the nearby village. She asks why he lied about his injury from the naga and he says Tamlin ordered him not to tell her how he got hurt. Lucien says Tamlin is <i>"giving you as much free reign as he can"</i> and that she has no idea how hard it for Tamlin to even <b>let</b> her off the grounds. Feyre responds that she didn't realise she had become a prisoner (agreed!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien says Tamlin is worried people will try to use Feyre to hurt him but she says he can't expect he to stay locked in the manor forever. Lucien responds: <i>"Isn't that what all human women wish for? A handsome faerie lord to wed and shower them with riches"</i> And he tells her that as Tamlin's wife there are traditions and expectations she must uphold.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien tells her that Tamlin is calling for the Tithe for the first time since the curse was broken. The Tithe is collected twice a year, usually near Winter and Summer Solstice and every single member of the Spring Court must pay a Tithe to Tamlin. This is used to keep his estate running and pay for sentries and servants. In exchange Tamlin protects and rules them. She will be expected to sit beside him while he collects the Tithe and punishes anyone who doesn't pay.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien excuses Tamlin's controlling behaviour by saying he had to watch Feyre die and so of course he wants to protect her now. They arrive at the village and offer help but no one will accept their help. Lucien explains that Amarantha kept the fae of the Spring Court in camps underground with no light for 50 years, they have suffered a lot.</div><div><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> Guests have started to arrive for the wedding that is going to take place in the next few days.The night before the wedding she has another nightmare, Feyre has been struggling with being inside the manor and can't enter certain rooms as they are too enclosed and it gives her panic attacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is getting ready for the wedding and notes how much she hates her dress. She makes her way down the aisle to Tamlin but catches sight of red petals scattered around and they make her think of blood and what she did UTM. She begins starting to panic and feels sick. She begins begging in her head over and over again for someone to help her, to save her and to get her out of there, to end this. Ianthe tells her to come and be joined to her true love and Feyre is about to refuse to marry Tamlin when Rhysand suddenly appears.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5:</span></b> Rhysand says he needs to call in his bargain with Feyre after giving her three months of freedom. Feyre begs Tamlin to not let him take her but he just lets him take her. Rhysand takes her to the Night Court, she was terrified to go there as she had been told that UTM had been inspired by the Night Court. When she gets there she notes it is the most beautiful place she has ever seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is angry but Rhys says she is welcome for him coming to save her when she asked. She says she didn't but he says he could hear her begging for someone to save her and her getting ready to say no to the wedding - could hear her thanks to their bond.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells Rhys he knows nothing about her and he asks if Tamlin does. He asks if Tamlin has asked why she vomits every night, why she can't go in certain rooms or see certain colours. He says she sends all of this down the bond to him. Rhysand says they are in his private residence, his court is beneath the mountain but it mainly rules itself. Feyre gets mad at him and throws a shoe at his head.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her room is big and open, windows have no glass or shatters. The next day the two handmaidens who helped her UTM appear - Nuala and Cerridwen. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains the Night Court is one of the three Solar Courts that have night, day and normal seasons. The Seasonal Courts are linked to their High Lords magic and that keeps them in their eternal winter/summer/spring/autumn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys notes that Feyre has lost weight. She asks him how their bond words and he says to think of the bargain as a bridge between them and either end has a door to their minds. Rhys talents allow him to slip into anyone's mind anyway. He tells her that sometimes she has a shield up in her mind and when she's worked up it vanishes and it can feel like she's shouting her thoughts at him.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks how often he rifles through her mind when her shields are down and he says only when he can't tell if her nightmares are real threats or not. Tells her he could get through when her shields are up if he wanted to but he can train her how to shield against someone like him. She asks what he wants with her now she is here and he says he is going to teach her how to read.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6:</span></b> She doesn't want him to teach her but he insists he will teach her to read and also shield her mind while she is there. Feyre accidentally folds her folk at dinner and Rhys asks if anyone has told her that she is rather strong for a High Fae, she says they haven't. He asks if she is curious if any of the High Lords powers transferred to her when she was resurrected, she says she isn't. She tells him she refuses to learn with him and he asks if it is out of spite and that he thought they moved past that UTM. Feyre gets angry and tells him not to get her started on what he did to her UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>A blonde female fae appears and Rhys introduces her as Morrigan/Mor, his cousin. Feyre notes they don't look much alike and he says they are cousins in the loosest sense of the term but that they were raised together and she is his only remaining family. Mor wants to be Feyre's friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys begins teaching her to read, first thing he gives her to read is a note that says '<i>you look absolutely delicious today, Feyre'. </i>Then he begins talking to her inside her mind and showing her what can happen when she leaves her mind open, he tells her to shove him out. She eventually does by visualising a big wave coming to sweep him out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks if she will be bound by their bargain for much longer. She says that after what happened UTM she doesn't feel like they owe each other anything. She says she thought he was different but now he is keeping her here. Rhys says they had Feyre wrapped up like a present for Tamlin on their wedding day, as if she was his reward. Her only response is<i>"so?"</i> which angers him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand takes her up to the top of the tower they are in and shows her a large map of Prythian and Hybern and tells her that war is coming.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7: </span></b>Feyre begins begging him not to invade, as she thinks he is the one who wants to invade the Mortal Lands. He tells her the King of Hybern has been planning his campaign to reclaim the Mortal Lands for over 100 years. He says Amarantha was just an experiment. Rhys says he will aim to take out Prythian first and then invade and conquer the Mortal Lands.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks if Rhys fought in the first war and he says he did, on the side of the humans just like his father did. Rhys is warning her because Tamlin has ties to the King of Hybern and he needs to know if he will fight with Rhys and the others against the King. Rhys also says Feyre has skills that he needs, mentions that she caught the Suriel. She says it wasn't hard to do but he notes that he has tried twice and failed. He says he requires her tracking skills to help him find what he needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys believes she has more power than a normal High Fae and that she is showing signs of being as powerful as a High Lord. He says she could hold her own as a High Lady and she tells him there aren't any. Rhys tells her there can be High Ladies. He says she might be able to wield the powers of the seven High Lords at once and that could make a big difference in the upcoming war. She says that Tamlin won't allow her to train and help Rhys. Rhys notes that Tamlin isn't her keeper and Feyre says she is his subject, Rhys responds that she is no one's subject.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys says Feyre has a choice - she can be a pawn, someone's reward and spend the rest of her immortal life pretending she is less than Tamlin. Rhys says he doesn't believe she is fine being a pretty trophy for <i>"someone who sat on his ass for nearly 50 years, then sat on his ass while you were shredded apart"</i> He says she can do that or she can master whatever powers she was given and make it count.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys leaves her alone for the rest of the week - just sends her more phrases to read and instructions to continue to practice shielding her mind. She overhears Rhys and Mor talking, she tells him about an attack that took place at a temple in Cesere, She says almost all the priestesses were slaughtered and the trove looted. They don't know who did it. Rhys asks what Azriel thinks and she says he and Cassian are angry and believe it could be a rogue Illyrian war band trying to win territory. She tells him Cassian and Azriel are waiting for him and then Mor disappears.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Rhys how the disappearing works - he says it is called Winnowing and allows you to go from one place to another instantly. She asks what Illyrian war bands are and he says they are a warrior race within his lands and that some supported Amarantha but he has been hunting those ones down.</div><div><br /></div><div>She wakes up at the end of her week there and immediately asks to be taken back. Tamlin checks her over to make sure she isn't hurt. She notices that Tamlin has trashed his study and he tells her he has trashed half the house.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tries to immediately have sex with him but instead Tamlin wants to press her for information about the Night Court. He wants to know the layout, who she saw, what she heard, if they had weapons and what powers she saw. She feels like she is being interrogated but she tells them everything, including the fact Rhys thinks she might have the powers of the High Lords. Lucien says that if that is true then some High Lords may wish to kill her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin doesn't want her to train and learn how to use her powers. He says he can protect her from anything (<b><i>O</i></b><b style="font-style: italic;">f course, you did such a stellar job of it UTM!) </b>Tamlin says there will be no training (<b><i>Feyre doesn't tell him to f off, a real shame!</i>)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8:</span></b> The Tithe is taking place, Feyre sits and watches as emissaries come to give their Tithe. A grey skinned fae woman approaches wearing no clothes, she says she comes on behalf of the water-wraiths. She says there are no fish left in the lake and she has nothing to give. Tamlin says she is still expected to pay and has three days to do so or they must pay double on the next tithe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why he even needs the tithe, as he has more than enough money and most of it is things like baskets of fish and bread. He says he can't make exceptions or everyone will expect the same treatment. She insists they don't need any of the stuff but he says it is the way it is, how his father did it, how he will do it and how his son will do it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre goes after the wraith and gives her jewelry to sell in order to pay the Tithe and also buy food. The wraith thanks her and says she will not forget it and neither will her people.</div><div><br /></div><div>At dinner that night Tamlin is angry she gave her jewelry to the wraith and says she makes him look weak, calls the wraith a <i>gluttonous faerie</i>. Lucien tries to side with Feyre but Tamlin gets angry at him, Feyre is annoyed as she knows that her and Lucien are in the right. Feyre accidentally enters Lucien's mind and sees through his eyes for a second, she also notices she has left burn marks on the wooden table.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Tamlin gives Feyre a present to apologise, it is a travelling painting kit - despite the fact she hasn't been able to paint for months. Feyre tells him she can't live with these restrictions forever, especially now she is a fae and is faster and stronger. He says his family was too but they were still killed. She tells him he should find someone to marry who will put up with it. He asks if she wants to marry him and she says she does but she is drowning and the more he does this to her it feels as if he may as well be pushing her head under the water. Tamlin gets angry and his power blasts through the room, breaking windows, furniture and the gift he gave her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10:</span></b> Feyre managed to put a shield around herself so that she wasn't hurt. Tamlin says he is sorry (<b><i>I'm bored of this man and his apologies!)</i> </b>and will try to be better but he can't control her rage. They continue their trend of just having sex rather than dealing with their problems.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wakes up and hears Tamlin arguing with Rhys. Rhys spots Feyre and she notices he gets angry, he asks if she is running low on food there. Feyre notes that going back to the serene place within the mountain in the Night Court is better than being trapped in the Spring Court. Tamlin tells Rhys that he will give him anything he wants if he ends their bargain now, Rhys tells him he already has everything he wants and takes Feyre with him. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11:</span></b> Feyre puts on her Night Court clothes and realises they are now really loose on her, she must have lost quite a lot of weight. Rhys asks her to sit and eat with him and she says he must have more important things to do, he says he does but will always make time for her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys says he felt a spike of fear through the bond while she was in the Spring Court, she realises it was from when Tamlin lost control of his powers. She refuses to talk to him about what happened but he already knows and seems angry about it. Rhys says she has got better at shielding and sometimes he hears nothing from their bond and can't even feel her sometimes but he did during that moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys asks if she considered his offer and she says she will not work with him because she thinks he only wants her to help him to piss off Tamlin. Rhys says he needs her help and says <b><i>"I was a prisoner in her Court for nearly fifty years. I was tortured and beaten and fucked until only telling myself who I was, what I had to protect, kept me from trying to end it. Please - help me keep that from happening again."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>Feyre still refuses, says she won't jeopardise what her and Tamlin have and says Tamlin is trying. Rhys asks her to tell him what he can do to help her. He asks if anyone else asks what is happening to her, if Tamlin even cares. She says he does but he is just giving her space to sort it out, she notes she can feel Rhys' rage. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys takes her back to the Spring Court, Tamlin once again tells her he will find a way to end the bargain and continues to be ridiculously protective despite Feyre telling him it is making her worse. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> Feyre notices claws appearing on her hand, realises that is Tamlin's power. Lucien notices and talks to Feyre about it. Lucien tells her these powers will manifest whether she trains or not but that he will try to talk to Tamlin about it. She overhears them talking with Ianthe later, she notes some High Lords will want to kill her because she has their powers and others will want to take her to have children with, as the children will also get those powers. They are discussing assassinating Rhysand to get her out of the bargain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien begs Tamlin to let her train so that she will stand a chance if the High Lords do come after her. He says no because her training would make the other Lords aware of her powers (<i style="font-weight: bold;">not if you do it away from other people!)</i> Tamlin has yet another angry outburst and that night Feyre locks her door and doesn't eat at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin and Lucien are heading out the next day and Feyre asks to go with them. Tamlin says no, she begs him. She reminds him that he promised to be better, tells him she needs to get out of the manor. Tamlin says he can't risk it as her <i style="font-weight: bold;">"untrained abilities render your presence more of a liability than anything"</i>- (then maybe you should have let her train!<b>) </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells him she is going whether he likes it or not and he says she isn't. She tries to go after him but he has put a magic shield around the manor so she can't leave. Lucien tells her he has shielded the entire house so that Feyre can't leave. Feyre begins to panic, Tamlin has locked her up and trapped her in the house. She tries to winnow, to do anything to escape. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wraps herself in a cocoon of darkness, fire and ice - it melts her engagement ring right off her finger. She feels someone picks her up, thinks it might be Amarantha for a moment but then realises it is Mor. Mor tells her Rhys was able to shatter the shield around the house with half a thought, tells Feyre she is free now. She takes her to Rhys and Mor tells him she did everything by the book.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> Feyre wakes up in the Night Court, Rhysand is in a chair next to her bed. She asks him what happened, says he could hear her screaming. She terrified Tamlin's sentries when she suddenly wrapped herself in darkness. Rhysand couldn't come and get her due to law and protocol, which is why Mor had to be the one to go get her and then carry her across the border where Rhys was waiting for them. If he had been the one to get her then Tamlin would be allowed to march his forces into the Night Court to reclaim her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her that because her presence there is not a part of their monthly bargain, he is not required to take her back. Feyre says she has nowhere else to go and he says she can stay with him for as long as she wants. Rhys asks her again to work with him and help him. He says he has work to do and tells her to rest but she asks to go with him. He says if she goes with him there is no turning back and she won't be allowed to speak to anyone outside his court about what she sees because if she does people will die. If she goes with him she will have to lie about it forever. She asks to go and promises to keep it a secret. He tells her they will be going to Velaris, the City of Starlight. He winnows with her and she finds herself in the foyer of a town house in the middle of a city.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Two: The House of Wind</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14:</span></b> She is in Rhys' home, says this is his home that is just for him and his family. Tells her that only he and Mor can winnow directly into the house. The houses is warded and shielded and only those he and Feyre wish to enter can. He tells her she will be safe there and anywhere in the city, tells her the walls of Velaris haven't been breached in 5,000 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre hears people at the door, two male fae, Mor and another female fae. She goes upstairs to bed rather than meet them. She asks Nuala and Cerridwen who the guests are and they tell her they are Rhysand's Inner Circle. She asks them how the city didn't fall to Amarantha but they say that what Rhys did to keep the city hidden is his story to tell. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wonders if never returning to the Spring Court would be a fitting punishment for what Tamlin did to her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15:</span></b> Feyre and Rhysand go for a walk through the city, she says it is beautiful and not the dark place she imagines. Rhys points to a mountain range and the middle peak. Feyre notices it has windows and he tells her that is his second home in the city, known as the House of Wind and that they will be having dinner that night.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is angry that he kept Velaris safe and nowhere else and he tells her that every other city is known to the world but Velaris has been a secret beyond their borders for millenia. Amarantha didn't know it existed and neither did the other courts. He says it is kept secret thanks to wards and spells. She asks why he didn't open it up as a refuge when Amarantha came and he says he had to make tough decisions. </div><div><br /></div><div>He takes her around the city and some of the market palaces: Palace of Bone & Salt, Palace of Thread & Jewels, Palace of Hoof & Leaf. Velaris is known for its artists quarter, known as the Rainbow of Velaris - there are theaters, galleries, supply stores and much more.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks Tamlin who will be at dinner - he says Mor, Cassien, Azriel and Amren. Tells her Amren is his Second in command and Mor is his Third. He tells her Amren looks High Fae but is something else, she is older than the city itself, is vain and likes to hoard jewelry. He warns her Amren has a temper and even though he is the most powerful High Lord in Prythian history even he doesn't mess with her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre thinks about how it might be nice to be killed and Rhys tells her not to think like that. When he touches her she suddenly enters his mind and sees herself through his eyes - realises how gaunt, starved and sad she looks. Rhys doesn't know how she got through his shield. Tells her people who can slip into others minds are called daemati and she must have got that power from Rhys.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre once again gets angry that if the King of Hybern does come he will not know to attack here and these people will be safe while others die (<i style="font-weight: bold;">like that is a bad thing?)</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells Feyre he can't winnow in to the House of Wind so he will have to fly her in, she argues but eventually agrees. He tells her he used to sneak out of the House of Wind as a child to go flying and his mum would come with him sometimes. Rhysand notes that he spent 50 years UTM and felt he would never see this place again and that he wishes he had been the one to kill Amarantha. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre says she feels like a fool to have allowed herself to not be shown more of the Spring Court and that she might have spent the rest of her immortal life as an ignorant pet. She thinks she was just a lonely, hopeless person who fell in love with the first person who showed her a hint of kindness and safety. She says it worked for who she was before but it doesn't work for who she is now.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> Cassian and Azriel arrive, she describes them as dark-haired and tan-skinned males. She notes Cassian has shoulder length black hair and that Azriel is the most classically beautiful of the two of them but notes he has burn scars on his hands. Both wear gauntlets on their hands with stones in them - Azriel's are cobalt and Cassian's are red. Azriel is Rhysands spy master and Cassian commands his armies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amren arrives - short with chin length black hair, tan skin and silver eyes. Amren tells Feyre that they are like, two people born something else and now trapped in new, strange bodies. She says there is a third like them, named Miryam but that she was granted a long life but not a new body. It is noted that Amren doesn't eat normal food.</div><div><br /></div><div>Azriel explains the stones they were are called siphons and they concentrate and focus their power for battle. Rhys says the power of stronger Illyrian is more of a killing power so siphons filter that raw power into something more varied - like shields and weapons.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains that Cassian and Azriel aren't lords, Mor is the only person in his Inner Circle who has a title. Tells her that even he isn't considered High Fae because he is half Illyrian - his mother was Illyrian. None of his Inner Circle were UTM as Amarantha didn't know they existed. She realises they all feel very guilty for whatever Rhys had to do to keep them safe.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks how they met. Cassian and Azriel are both bastards - Azriel was the bastard of a local lord and Cassian was the bastard of a war-camp laundress and a random warrior. They say that Illyrians hate bastards. Az was sent to Cassian's camp when his father realised he was a shadowsinger - they're rare and coveted by courts for their stealth and predisposition to hear and feel things that others can't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian was sent to the camp as soon as he could walk and his mother was worked to death. Rhys tells her Illyrians are backwards and brutal - especially when it comes to how they treat females. They cripple them so they keep them for breeding. They perform an incision when females come of age so they can't fly but his mother loved flying so managed to get to 18 before she was taken to be clipped. She tried to flee and was caught but just before she could be clipped, Rhys' father arrived at the camp and the mating bond clicked in place. He killed the guards holding her and took her to the Night Court where they married.</div><div><br /></div><div>His mother tried for years to convince his father to stop the practice of clipping the wings of females but he refused. Rhys says his parents were wrong for each other, even though they were mates. His father was cold and vicious, his mother was soft and beloved and she eventually came to hate him.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Rhys turned 8 his mother took him to an Illyrian camp to train. He was banned from using his magic at camp because he was too powerful. He was put in the sparring ring on his first day and Cassian beat him up. Cassian had nothing, bastards are made to find their own shelter and good. Even if they are picked for a war band they still remain bottom ranking forever.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Rhys found out about Cassian and the fact he had nothing, he went to get him and brought him to his home at the camp. His mother allowed him to stay and tutored him. Rhys notes that he and Cassian hated each other until Azriel came to the camp a year later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian notes that he does't have any powers like Rhys and Azriel but all three of them are incredibly powerful. When Rhysand's father visited the camp after 20 years he found Rhys' power was starting to rival his own and that he had allied himself with the two deadliest Illyrians in history. He was worried they could one day turn against him so he separated them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys was given a legion of Illyian to command, Cassian was put in a different legion as a foot soldier and Az was kept as his personal shadowsinger. They barely saw each other over the seven year war and then Rhys was captured. Rhys then cuts the story off.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once Rhys became High Lord he appointed Cassian, Azriel, Amren and Mor to his Inner Circle and told his fathers old court that if they had a problem they could leave and they all did. The nobility of the Night Court then fell into 3 categories - those who hated him but tolerated him and those are the ones who currently reside beneath the mountain in the Hewn City. They stay there and rule themselves in what is known as the Court of Nightmares. Velaris is known as the Court of Dreams. Mor says she was a dreamer born in the Court of Nightmares who managed to get out. </div><div><br /></div><div>They ask for Feyre's story and she tells them. Cassian says he can teach Feyre to fight and Feyre finally realises how ridiculous Tamlin and Ianthe's arguments were about why she shouldn't learn to fight. </div><div><br /></div><div>She tells Rhys that she will work with him and he says they will start the next day. He says the King of Hybern is about to launch a war and that he wants to resurrect Jurian to do it. Rhys says he doesn't know why yet. He says the killings at temples are connected somehow. The Kind raided a temple in Sangravah three days ago and is clearly looking for something.</div><div><br /></div><div>He believes the Attor escaped with Jurian's eye and finger and took them to the King of Hybern. He isn't sure how they can resurrect him with just an eye and finger. Amren says he needs to go and talk to the Bone Carver. Amren says the only person he might talk to is Feyre as she is an immortal with a human soul. Rhys says the choice is hers and she agrees. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Feyre tells Rhys she felt him again at dinner - asks if she got through his shield and he says no. He says the bond is a living thing, an open channel between them shaped by what she needed when the deal was made - he says she needed to not be alone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre notes he let Amarantha think he was delighting in ruling a Court of Nightmares but it is all a front. He tells her he loves his family and people and to not think he wouldn't become a monster to keep them safe. She asks what the cost was to keep them safe UTM and he says she already knows - being Amarantha's whore. When she tricked the High Lords out of their powers he was still left with more scraps than the others. He managed to alter the minds of every Night Court citizen she captured - made a web between them all and actively controlled their minds every single day - so they'd forget Velaris and his Inner Circle. If Amarantha knew who he cared for she would have tortured and killed them.</div><div><br /></div><div>He only had enough power left to shield and hide one place, one city and he chose Velaris. Anyone who came near the city would see barren rock and find themselves suddenly changing their mind if they thought about trying to explore it. She thinks it is a shame others in Prythian don't know what he did to protect his people and why he was with Amarantha, he says it doesn't matter as long as those he cares for are safe.</div><div><br /></div><div>Has another nightmare of Amarantha torturing her UTM - Rhysand wakes her from it. She has claws of flames coming from her fingers, has destroyed her bedding. She runs to the bathroom to be sick, Rhys helps to hold her hair back and talks to her, tells her stories while she is being sick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tells her he has nightmares where it is Cassian or Azriel beneath Amaranth, she's pinned their wings to the bed with spikes and makes him watch, makes him see how he failed them. Feyre says he didn't fail them but he says he did terrible things in order not to, she says she did terrible things to. She asks where the flame powers come from - he says it is the Autumn Court.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys winnows them to an island in the Western Isles, they are going to the Prison to see the Bone Carver, the prison is inside a mountain. The Prison was made before even High Lords existed - home to the foulest and most dangerous criminals and creatures. Amren used to be a prisoner there. Will have to walk into the prisoner, into another mountain. Feyre can't make herself do it, Rhysand doesn't ask any questions and takes her back to Velaris.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18: </span></b>Amren comes to visit Feyre, gives her an amulet that she says got her out of the prison, she tells Feyre if she wears it in then they can never keep her.Says she doesn't give the amulet lightly and she can borrow it for the Prison and then return it, or Amren will hunt her down.</div><div><br /></div><div>They go back to the prison, Rhys has a sword with him. Feyre asks if Cassian could beat him in hand-to-hand combat and he says yes. Cassian is the best warrior he has seen. She asks about the scars on Azriel's hands - Rhys explains his father had two legitimate sons, both as cruel as their mother. Azriel lived with them for first 11 years of his life, kept in a cell with no windows or light. He was let out for an hour each day. When he was 8 his brothers decided to see what happened when you mixed an Illyrians quick healing ability with fire and oil. Asks if the brothers were punished - he says eventually.</div><div><br /></div><div>Asks what Mor does - says she is the person he will call in when his armies fail and Cassian & Azriel are dead.As is Third she is the court overseer, looks after the dynamics between the Court of Nightmares and the Court of Dreams, runs both Velaris and the Hewn City - says she would be considered a Queen in the human realm. </div><div><br /></div><div>Amren as his Second is his political adviser, walking library and doer of dirty work. Asks what Amren will do in the event his armies fail and all the others are dead. Says he would find a way to end the spell on her and unleash her on the world, will ask her to end him first.</div><div><br /></div><div>They enter the prison. He says the Prison is a law unto itself but it falls under his jurisdiction and so his blood is keyed to the gates. He can't free the prisoners, once they pass the gates they belong to the Prison and can never leave. She asks how long Amren was in here, he doesn't know - records show she was in there before the Courts were even formed. Was imprisoned for at least a few millennia. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>She asks where Amren came from. He says there are stories that when the world was born there was rips in the fabric of the realms. Creatures were able to come through to their world and were trapped there when the rips closed. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks what the Bone Carver is, he says he doesn't know as he appears different to every person. Feyre will see him as one thing and Rhys will see him as another. Rhys opens his prison door and they go in. He appears to Feyre as a little boy with dark hair and blue eyes. Rhys gives him a bone, the calf-bone that made the final kill when Feyre killed the Middengard Wyrm in the task UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys told her not to lie to the Bone Carver, also instructed her that for every question the Bone Carver asks she should ask one - a question for a question. Says he will answer her question if she tells him where she went when she died. Says she heard the crack of her spine but was gone before she could feel more than the first lash of pain. Says it was dark but she saw a tether, a thread that she yanked on and then suddenly she could see. Explains she could then see through Rhys' eyes. Knew she was dead but a scrap of her spirit was left thanks to their bargain. When she was Made anew, she followed the thread back to her body.</div><div><br /></div><div>Asks if she saw anything else, anyone else or a portal to somewhere else - she says no. She asks him if there was nothing but a bit of a bone, could that person be resurrected and given a new body. He asks if their soul was preserved and she says yes. Says there is only one way. Says long before the High Fae there was the Cauldron - all magic was contained in it and world was born in it. It fell in to the wrong hands and was used to do terrible things but was stolen back. The Cauldron could not be destroyed so it was hidden. Only the Cauldron could reforge something dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys asks where they hid it - says it was hidden beneath a frozen lake in Lapplund but vanished a long, long time ago. Doesn't know where it was but notes the three feet of the Cauldron were cut off to try and fracture some of its power. The feet were hidden in three different temples - Cesere, Sangravah and Itica. If the feet have been taken then he says it is likely someone has the Cauldron and wants to be able to use its full power. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys asks who has it - Bone Carver asks him to promise to give Rhys Feyre's bones when she dies but says he knows he wouldn't do that. Feyre suddenly tells the Bone Carver there was a choice in death. She chose to cling on a little longer but knows if she wanted to she could have faded away and maybe there was a new world waiting for her but she wasn't ready. Bone Carver confirms the King of Hybern has the Cauldron.</div><div><br /></div><div>She realises he is waiting for another truth - Feyre says if the third faerie UTM hadn't been Tamlin she was planning to put the dagger in her own heart after she killed them all. Says she couldn't come back from what she did and only wanted to break their curse before turning the dagger on herself. Says she only chose to live after Amarantha killed her and she realised she hadn't finished whatever she was born to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Carver tells them the King could do other things with the Cauldron - including shattering the wall. Also tells her the Cauldrons power can be depleted. She asks if there is a way to stop it. When it was made the last of the molten ore was used to forge a book - The Book of Breathings. In it is the spell needed to negate the Cauldron's power or control it completely. Book was split in two pieces after the war -one piece to the fae and one piece to the 6 mortal Queens. Book was seen as useless as only someone Made can speak the spells and summon its power - so Feyre could use it, but so could Jurian if he is Made.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Lord of Summer has one piece of the book - it is guarded and protected with spells using blood-spells keyed to the High Lord of Summer. The mortal queens half the other half and used faeries to bind the book so that if it is ever stolen it will melt into ore and be lost. Tells her if she reunites both parts of the book she can nullify the powers of the Cauldron. They go to leave - Bone Carver says he will carve Feyre's death into the bone he was given.</div><div><br /></div><div>They leave and she asks what Rhys saw - the Bone Carver appeared to him like Jurian the last time Rhys saw him alive.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19:</span></b> Return to Velaris and Rhys tells the Inner Circle what the Bone Carver revealed. Azriel offers to ask his contacts at the Summer Court for the location of their half of the book - Rhys declines, doesn't trust anyone else with the information. Rhys thinks they will need to infiltrate Hybern to get the Cauldron or nullify it. Rhys thinks Feyre might be able to detect the book and help them find the half in the Summer Court. The boo is spelled to the individual High Lords power - but Feyre got a piece of power from all 7 of them. Rhys believes she can use that piece from the Summer Court High Lord to track the book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys says there is a way to test this theory - wants her to try and find a valuable item of his that has been missing for a very long time. Wants to take her to the Weaver - see if she can identify the object of his in the Weaver's trove. The others think he is out of his mind, say the Weaver is an ancient, wicked creature and he should find another way to test her. But Rhys lets Feyre decide if she wants to go or not and she says yes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys also asks if Feyre wants to be emissary for the Night Court to the human world, they haven't had one in 500 years. Rhys says the humans need to be prepared for war. He warns her that as she is an immortal fae now humans will want to hunt her. She will need to set up base in neutral territory - decides on her sisters manor house. They need Feyre to convince the human queens to give them the book. Feyre realises part of the reason he wanted her to learn to read was so she would be able to read the book as he had already suspected they would need it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys gives her a belt of knives, says she can't take a bow, arrows or sword but the Weaver won't notice if she brings knives. He tells her not to make a sound while in the Weaver's home. Tells her to only touch the object that belongs to Rhys. The Weaver is blind but her other senses are lethal. Rhys can't grab the item himself because the Weaver knows him but also the High Lords are not allowed to interfere with her. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20:</span></b> Winnow to a wood in neutral territory that divides the north and south. Cassian tried to convince Rhys not to take Feyre. She asks why, says he isn't sure but that Cassian is probably more interested in sleeping with her than saving her. Rhys says that if she was looking for someone to sleep with to help her move on then Cassian would be willing. It annoys her and so she tells Rhys he should tell Cassian to come to her room that night. She once again realises Rhys is attempting to wind her and make her angry to distract her from what she has to do. </div><div><br /></div><div>They reach the Weaver's cottage and she can hear her singing inside. She goes inside and sees it is filled with items. The Weaver is sitting at a spinning wheel but isn't spinning wool, she is instead spinning a part of some creature into thread. She has a ton of woven thread in there, and also a loom. Feyre starts searching and finally feels the object. She finds a ring of twisted strands of gold and silver, flecked with pearl and set with a stone of deep blue. She grabs the ring and as she does the Weaver suddenly stops singing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 21:</b></span> She tries to leave through the door but it slams shut and there is no handle to open it. The Weaver asks who is in her house. The Weaver turns towards her and she sees her skin is gray, wrinkled and sagging. Feyre grabs a candle and throws it at the thread, which immediately begins to burn. Feyre runs for the fireplace and begins to climb up it, is struggling and realises just how weak she is now, how weak she allowed Tamlin to make her. Feyre gets stuck and begins to panic, hears a voice telling her to stop and think.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre remembers she has gifts now and she uses her strength to begin breaking bricks loose - she hurls one at the Weaver's face. The fireplace is sticky with fat and it sticks to her. She escapes on to the roof, which is a hatched roof made from hair. The hair sticks to the fat on her. Feyre runs until she finds Rhys. He grabs her and winnows her back to the House of Wind. Feyre vomits when she thinks of the fact she is covered in the fat and hair of people. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tells Rhys she could have used her help but he tells her she survived and found a way to help herself. She realises he knew she panicked and almost allowed it to get her killed. She'd be no use to him while looking for the book unless she can get that under control. Realises he was testing her in more ways than one. Feyre asks Cassian to teach her to fight, he agrees. </div><div><br /></div><div>The ring belonged to Rhys' mother and she gave it to the Weaver for safekeeping so he wouldn't waste it. Rhys tells Feyre she will train with him to learn to use her other powers. Rhys tells Feyre he hates Ianthe, says she is a perversion of what the High Priestesses once were. Feyre asks why and he says if she can use her gift to get past his mental shields then he will show her.</div><div><br /></div><div>She attempts to get through but can't, he shows her anyway. Sees Ianthe naked on his bed in the Court of Nightmares. He tells her to get out but she wants to be with him because he is powerful. She tries to touch him anyway and he grabs her hand and tells her to never touch him or any of the men in his Court. Ianthe tells him he will regret it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then he lets Feyre out of his mind. Tells her to never go into someone's mind without holding a way open to get out, as a daemati could trap you inside and make you their slave.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 22:</b></span> Mor tells Feyre that female are prized in the Court of Nightmares and their virginity is guarded and then they are sold off to the highest bidder. Mor was born stronger than anyone in her family. Her first bleed was at 17 and her power awoke in full force. Every ruling family saw her as a prize mare and her family were happy they could have their pick of an alliance. Says the rest of her story is long and awful and she will tell her some other time. Cassian and Rhys get her out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre, Rhys, Cassian and Azriel are heading to the mortal world - to her family's estate.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23: </span></b>She rings the doorbell while Rhys uses a glamour to hide him, Cassian and Az. Feyre takes her hood off and shows her sisters her ears and the fact she is Fae. Tells them she died but was remade. She tells them everything that happened Under the Mountain, about Amarantha, the King of Hybern, the book and the mortal queens.</div><div><br /></div><div>She explains she needs more High Fae to come to the estate as well as the queens of the realm. Nesta tells her to find somewhere else. Says they will lose their standing in society if people find out and that it will threaten Elain's upcoming wedding. Elain is due to marry in 5 months to a Lord's son, the Lord has spent his life hunting Fae. Nesta says there will be no fae in her house, including Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Elain comes in and talks sense - says their will be no wedding if they don't help Feyre. She says they can keep it a secret, send all their servants away whenever the fae need to use the house. She says Feyre gave for years and now it is their turn to help.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Nesta if the Lord's son is good. She says that Elain thinks he is but the father has built a wall of stone around his estate so high that the trees don't reach it - she says it look like a prison. Says the son Graysen is kin enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nesta notes that Feyre went through all that she did to save Tamlin but now they aren't together. Feyre says the Lord build a wall to keep fae out and her lord wanted to keep her caged in.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24:</span></b> Feyre thinks of Tamlin, says he had been good and given her everything she needed at first but once he got what he wanted he had stopped.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian, Azriel and Rhysand come in to meet her sisters. They all sit down to eat and Nesta is as hostile as ever. Cassian tells Nesta she allowed her sister to risk her life every day hunting while she did nothing. Tells her Feyre died to save his people and is willing to do so again to protect Nesta from war. Tells her not to expect him to sit and watch her sneer at Feyre for a choice she didn't get to make - of being fae. Elain tries to excuse it, says they grew up hearing stories about the fae and also that Clare was recently taken by the fae and her whole family murdered. </div><div><br /></div><div>They plan to send a letter to the queens the next day, so will spend the evening there. They will share rooms, Cassian & Azriel in one and Rhys & Feyre in another.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys makes comments about her sister and she responds by saying his friends have just as much melodrama. Says he must have noticed how Az looks at Mor, or noticed how Mor also looks at him and defends him. Rhys says it was hard to sit at dinner with her sisters - it made him realise just how young Feyre was and how they did nothing to protect her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys reveals she gets a salary for working for him - is being put in a bank for her back in Velaris. Asks when her birthday is, she tells him it is on Winter Solstice.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> Rhys takes Feyre out to train the next day, he has a candle he wants her to light, douse with water and then dry the wick using powers of fire, water and air. She can't concentrate with him there, tells him to leave. She gets distracted writing magical notes back and forth to Rhys when a hand suddenly grabs her and covers her mouth - the Attor.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 26:</b></span> Rhysand appears and binds the Attor to a tree with his powers. The Attor was sent to get Feyre by the King of Hybern. Tells them the King is in Hybern and his army will be coming soon. Says his army is endless as he has allies in every territory. </div><div><br /></div><div>Azriel comes and takes the Attor away. They want to kill him, will use him to send a message to the King of Hybern. Feyre realises Rhysand used her as bait, he knew someone wanted her. They start fighting, he tells her she forgot again about the fact she has strength and power, she stopped fighting again. She keeps trying to hit him but he keeps winnowing away from her, she finally manages to winnow to him and tackle him into the snow.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27:</span></b> She tells him to never use her as bait again. He apologises and says they should go home, she tells him Velaris is not her home. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 28:</b></span> They tortured the Attor for information, Rhys asks Feyre how much she wants to know and she says she wants to know everything. Shows her what they did. They asked how he found Feyre, says the King sent word of where she was, doesn't know how he knew.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Attor tells Rhys <i>'Good luck trying to keep her' </i>as it is common knowledge that he took her from Tamlin, says tamlin has shut his borders. Rhys tells Az to break the Attors legs, shred its wings and then dump it off the coast of Hybern.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Rhys about the Spring Court - Rhys tells her nothing is happening right now but that she should know just how far Tamlin would be willing to go in order to try and protect what he thinks is his. Feyre writes a letter to Tamlin to say she left of her own free will, she's safe and grateful for all her did for her but she is not coming back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Amren at dinner about when the Tithe will take place in the Night Court. She says that the city dwellers pay taxes but they have no Tithe there. She gives Amren the amulet back that she gave her to wear to the Prison. Tells Feyre to keep it, there is no magic to it, she just knew Feyre needed something in order to believe she would make it out of the Prison.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29: </span></b>They all go for dinner that night in Velaris. The cook brings Amren blood and Feyre realises that is what she eats. Rhys and Feyre walk home together. She asks Rhys if he buys Amren jewelry because they're together. He says he did once invite her to bed but she laughed at him. Asks why he isn't married - he says he has had lovers but no one he wanted to spend his life with. Also says anyone who married him would have a target on their back and so would their children.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her the Night Court was once ruled from the Hewn City and it really was a Court of Nightmares. An Ancient High Lord had a different vision, staged a coup and eliminated the worst of the courtiers and predators. He then built Velaris. He says darkness eventually grew again and now there is a divide in the court. He allows the Court of Nightmares to continue as it helps to hide Velaris.</div><div><br /></div><div>She hears music as they walk through Velaris and realises it sounds familiar. She recognises it as the music she heard in her cell UTM that made her cry. She realises that Rhys sent the music to her, says he did it to stop her breaking. She says when she heard the music she saw the Night Court, he tells her he didn't send those images to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>They spend the next day sending flirty notes back and forth.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Cassian and Feyre are training together while Az and Rhys spar next to them. She makes a note of the fact they all have the same kind of tattoos. They tell her Illyrians get them when they're initiated. Cassian asks when she is going to talk about the note she sent Tamlin telling him she is not going back. She says she will talk about it when he talks about how he teases and taunts Mor to hide what he feels for her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises she hasn't really thought of Tamlin at all and she notes <i>"he's probably trashed the manor in his rage"</i>. She then begins to get angry thinking about Tamlin and all she did for him in the name of love. She thinks of how he just sat next to Amarantha UTM while she suffered, how he made no move to to help her, hadn't risked being caught until that last night when he'd tried to fuck her rather than help her. She is punching sparring pads that Cassian holds as she thinks about it all. Thinks of how Amarantha killed her while he sat and begged but nothing more. She gets really angry and she ends up burning through the sparring pads.</div><div><br /></div><div>She begins to cry thinking of what she did, thinking of the fae she killed and says it should have been her. Rhys tells her she will always feel like that, he knows he does but she can learn to live with it like he has. He tells her he only has two types of nightmares - the ones where he or his friends are made to be Amarantha's whore or he dreams of Feyre dying over and over again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tells her the fire power is from the High Lord of the Autumn Court, Beron. She tries to summon darkness like Rhys but can't do it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31: </span></b>Has spent four days training with Rhys and Cassian. The Summer Court has finally responded to Rhys' request to come visit, they said yes. Feyre, Rhys and Amren will go. Feyre notes that she finds her and Rhys' flirting a fun distraction.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> They head to Adriata, the castle city of the Summer Court. The High Lord of the Summer Court is Tarquin described as having <i>"rich brown skin, white hair and eyes of crushing, turquoise blue"</i>. They meet Cresseida, Princess of Adriata and Varian, her younger brother and the Prince of Adriata.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells them of the imminent war with the King of Hybern.Tarquin notes he is worried Tamlin might go to war himself to try and get Feyre back. Cresseida notes the law states that as Tamlin's bride if he wanted to ask Tarquin to return her to him then he would have to do so. Rhys says if anyone sends word to Tamlin their life will be forfeit.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33:</span></b> Rhys asks her to try and steal the book without being caught as he likes Tarquin and the Summer Court. Rhys tells her to do anything to get the book - she asks what he would do if she slept with Tarquin to get it, he says she can do what she likes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre tries to use her fire powers to light a candle but douses it with water instead, being near Tarquin seems to make her water powers easier to access. She asks Rhys if Tamlin would really go to war for her - he says he doesn't know. Feyre says she would go back to him if it came to that but she doesn't want to. Rhys tells her Tamlin knew how valuable Feyre was and wanted to keep her for himself. She says Tamlin did love her but sometimes love can be a poison.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin's cousin Nostrus was High Lord before him but he rebelled so he and his family were killed by Amarantha, making Tarquin the High Lord. The Summer Court managed to hide their treasures from Amarantha, she asks to see his collections and he agrees.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin asks Feyre about the mortal world and she says class lines aren't as blurred there as they are in the fae world - you are either rich or you're poor. He says some feel the lines aren't blurred in the fae world and that some believe they should get rid of the High Fae, Explains that the lowers High Fae servants have more rights than the wealthiest lesser faeries. Tarquin agrees and would like to see more equality among the fae. She tells Tarquin he would be easy to fall in love with and easier to call a friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre spots Rhys flirting with Cresseida and she realises she is jealous. Suddenly realises she feels unhappy but at least it is an emotion, as she hadn't felt anything in so long. Rhys and Cresseida disappear off together that night.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34: </span></b>Tarquin takes Feyre to a hall of jewels where some of their treasures are kept. Makes note of a beautiful necklace of rubies and one made from black diamonds. Tarquin gifts her the one made from black diamonds as a gift for what she did UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin tells her he could be an ally to the North, says she has sway over Rhys and she could also be his emissary to the Night Court. He tells her his cousin Brutius was gathering forces in their cities to storm UTM but he was caught trying to escape - he was the Summer Court fae caught by Amarantha UTM and killed by Rhys. Tarquin says he knows Rhys saw what he was really doing but lied to Amarantha about it. Says he believes Rhys was Amarantha's whore to save the rest of them from her attention.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tarquin notes he is new and inexperienced and he is not sure how to act as a High Lord. He is only 80 and one of the youngest High Lords. Tarquin asks if it is true she left Tamlin because he locked her in his house, she says yes. He asks if it is true the Night Court saved her from her confinement and she says yes. He then says he will not tell the Spring Court she was there. She is given tours of all the Summer Court troves but doesn't find the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>She comes back to find Rhys lounging on her bed. She tells him Tarquin is a good man and he should just ask for the book. Feyre gets mad at her for sleeping with Cresseida but he says he didn't even kiss her. She says it gets under his skin that she shut him out but lets Tarquin in. He says it gets under his skin that she smiled at Tarquin, Feyre realises he is jealous. He says he heard her tell Tarquin that he'd be easy to love and he knows she meant it. He says he is jealous of that because he is not that sort of person for anyone.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> Two days have passed, still no sign of the book. Feyre spots a building that is only revealed when the tide is out - believes the book could be kept there. She mentions the building at dinner and can tell by the way Cresseida and Tarquin react that she is right and the book is there but they say it is just a temple ruin. She uses her powers to get into Tarquin's mind and cool his worries about why she is asking. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Amren come to her room that night. Rhys knows what she did with Tarquin's mind, tells her it is impressive as it takes some daemati years to master that. They plan to try and get into the temple that night. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36: </span></b>Amren and Feyre go to the temple while Rhys keeps watch. They begin digging down into the mud until they find a lead door. Feyre manages to shift into Tarquin to trick the door into believing she is him and the door unlocks to reveal a spiral staircase. They go down and find another door to unlock. They find a dais inside and a lead box atop it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre feels like she can hear the box asking her who she is, she lies like she did with the door and says she is Tarquin. But when she grabs the book it calls her a liar and the door slams shut, locking her and Amren inside. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37: </span></b>Amren uses her power to blast through the door but water comes flooding in. They try to escape but the door at the top of the staircase seals shut. They are unable to get it open and are close to drowning when the door is ripped away, she sees water wraiths. The wraiths rescue them both and say that their sisters debt is now paid - the wraith Feyre helped back in the Spring Court.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys couldn't get to every guard so the alarm has now been raised, he winnows them all back to Velaris. The box talks to her as she tries to unlock it, calls her a liar and asks if she will read it, she says no. The book tells her <i>'like calls to like'</i>. The book is on metal plates bound by three rings of silver, gold and bronze. Written in an alphabet she doesn't know. Amren says it is no language of their world, says it is known as the Leshon Hakodesh - The Holy Tongue. Amren is the only one who can decode it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys had suspected this about the book but didn't tell Amren as he didn't want to get her hopes up. He thinks the book might also have the spell that can break the one that was put on Amren and might also be able to send her home. </div><div><br /></div><div>They question why the King needs Jurian and how the king knows Jurian will be loyal to him. Rhys says Jurian may want the King to resurrect Miryam, Jurian's former lover. Says Jurian would do it to get revenge on Drakon for winning her heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38: </span></b>The next day a wooden box arrives from the Summer Court - inside is three large rubies. Rhys says they are blood rubies and the Summer Court send them to the offender when a grave insult has been committed. He tells her it is an official declaration that their is a price on their heads.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys is drinking and seems sad, it is clear he was hoping for an alliance with Tarquin and that he feels bad for what he has done. Feyre tries to cheer him up by flirting with him but he resists at first. They spar verbally back and forth. They joke about sending lacy underwear to Tarquin, she invites Rhys to come help her pick some out. Azriel arrives though so she leaves.</div><div><br /></div><div>She has a vision of what would have happened if they'd gone to the shop together and she'd tried on the underwear for Rhys. She gets so caught up in it that she walks into a post. Realises Rhys sent the vision to her down the bond.</div><div><br /></div><div>That night she wakes up to the house rumbling and Rhys' darkness is causing it. She finds him in bed having a nightmare. She tries to wake him but can't at first, he grabs her by the throat and flips her over. He finally wakes up and lets her go. She notes that he is naked and she can see tattoos on his knees of a mountain crowned by 3 stars. He has these nightmares a lot and it is why he doesn't stay with the others in his other house. Feyre kisses him on the cheek and leaves, but before she does she has a vision of how she would paint Rhys.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Feyre sends a note to Rhys asking what his knee tattoos mean. His response: <i style="font-weight: bold;">"That I will bow before no one and nothing but my crown"</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre goes to visit Amren and see how she is getting on with the book - she brings her blood. Varian sent Amren the necklace of rubies and diamons to soften the blow of Tarquin's declaration of the blood feud. Amren notes Varian can't decide whether he wants her or hates her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is still training with Cassian, she is learning to wield an Illyrian blade. She is also training with Rhys to use her powers, but hasn't been able to winnow since that day with the Attor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her about some more of the High Lords:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Beron, High Lord of Autumn Court: cruel and vain</li><li>Kallias, High Lord of Winter Court : quiet and cunning</li><li>Helion, High Lord of Day Court, also known as Spell-Cleaver - Rhys notes the people of the Day Court excel at spell work and archive the knowledge of Prythian in their 1,000 libraries.</li></ul></div><div>Rhys and Feyre continue sending notes to each other. He asks her about painting and she says there was a time when it was all she wanted to do but that she can't paint anymore, it is like that part of her is empty. Feyre asks Rhys if he always wanted to be High Lord. He says yes and no. He saw how his father ruled and he knew he didn't want to be like him. </div><div><br /></div><div>They hear back from the mortal queens, they will be going to her family estate the next day. The Queens demand they bring no weapons and asked for the exact location and layout of the house. She realises why when the queens winnow directly inside her family home.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> Five of the queens have come and Feyre notes they are <i>'a mixture of age, colouring, height and temperament'</i>. Rhys asks where the 6th queen is and they say she is sick. The queens have heard of Morrigan because of what she did during the war. She asks how they can winnow, they say it is their secret and gift from the fae.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The queens say they already know war is coming but the human land here is tiny in comparison to the rest of the continents and that it is not in their interests to defend it. The queens say the fae should defend the human lands from the threat as it is of their own making. The queens also say the book will never leave their sacred palace. Feyre begs them for help and they tell her she is very young and have a lot to learn about the world. Rhys tells them not to condescend to her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mor interrupts and says they know who she is and that her gift is truth. She says it is no coincidence that another has been killed and remade at the same time their old enemy resurfaces. She says she fought side by side with Miryam, whilst Jurian's ambition drove him mad and drove them apart. Says she marched into the Black Lands with Miryam and freed the slaves. She says she marched with Miryam and Prince Drakon's legion, she knew the queens ancestors and that they'd be ashamed of them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor says the queen's laugh at the idea of peace between their people but she says there is an island in a forgotten part of the sea where Miryam and Drakon still live with their children and both their people. She says they have prospered there for 500 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Queens ask for proof that Rhys is really a High Lord of peace like he claims and not the monster they've heard so many stories about. He realises the only way to prove it would be to show them Velaris. He says he will get them their proof and will summon them soon, the queens then leave. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 41:</span></b> Feyre asks who Miryam and Drakon are and if they could be used as proof rather than Velaris. Rhys says that 500 years ago there was a Fae kingdom in the southern part of the continent - The Black Land. He says there was no crueler place to be born human - all humans were born into slavery and forced to build temples and palaces for High Fae. He says the Queen of the Black Lands made Amarantha seem sweet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miryam was half-fae with a human mother, she was a child of r*pe. She was deemed human and denied any right to her Fae heritage. Miryam was given as a wedding gift by the queen to her betrothed, a foreign Fae prince named Drakon. He was horrified by it and let Miryam escape.</div><div><br /></div><div>Miryam fled across the sea and was found by Jurian. She became his lover and was a healer in his army. In one battle she attended to his allies, which included Prince Drakon. He'd broken off his engagement to the queen and had been looking for Miryam for three years. Miryam and Drakon fell in love and she ended things with Jurian.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Jurian was slaughtered by Amarantha she told him what happened to Miryam - that she'd betrayed him for a Fae. Everyone believes that Miryam and Drakon died freeing her people from the Black Land at the end of the war. But they escaped with their people. Rhys says they have already fought and suffered enough and he will not bring them into the conflict.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells them he will show the queens Velaris, but knows he can't bring them there. Tells Mor to send word to her father that he will be visiting the Court of Nightmares. There is an orb that belongs to Mor's family - known as the Veritas and is rife with truth-magic and can be used to show the queens Velaris.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys, Mor, Cassian and Feyre will go and create a distraction in the Court of Nightmares while Azriel steals it from Mor's fathers chambers. The queens will have heard of the orb, as it was used during the war and so will know it shows the truth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells Feyre he doesn't know if he wants her to go with them to the Court of Nightmares. Says he doesn't want her to see who he has to become and how he has to act while he is there. He says she has only just started to see him as not a monster and he worries seeing him like that and being under another mountain will just take her back to where she was UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks about Mor's family. Rhys says he was in the Hewn City the day her father announced she was to be sold in marriage to Eris, the eldest son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court. Eris had a reputation for cruelty and Mor begged them not to do it. Rhys took Mor with him to the Illyrian camp and when she saw Cassan she decided to do the one thing that would ruin her value to Eris - she slept with Cassian. </div><div><br /></div><div>Eris then refused to marry her, said she had been sullied. Her family punished her for this and when they were done with her they dumped her on the Autumn Court border with a note nailed to her body saying that she was Eris' problem. Eris left her for dead and Azriel found her days later.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 42: </span></b>Feyre will also need to play a role in the Court of Nightmares. Rhys seems very worried for her and distracted. To take his mind off of it she tells him Amren and Mor told her wing span says a lot about the size of a fae's penis and that Azriel's wings are the biggest. She touches his wings while they're flying and he tells her they are sensitive. Suddenly ash arrows come flying at them, they need to try and hunt down the source. Feyre asks to help track with Azriel. They find no one but it is the second time someone has known where Feyre and Rhys would be. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre puts on a different outfit for the Court of Nightmares - a dress similar to the ones she wore UTM at the parties, she also wears a crown on her head. Cassian and Azriel have dressed in battle-black armour covered in 7 siphons each. Rhys has released the damper on his powers and goes to sit on his throne.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre is to act as a novelty, a distraction, she sits on Rhys' lap and plays the role of his whore. Rhys summons Mor's father and Keir and asks him for a report while Rhys sits and touches Feyre. Keir says he didn't believe the rumours but it is true that Tamlin's pet now has a new master. Keir is distracted watching Feyre & Rhys. When Azriel gives the signal he has the orb, Feyre makes her way to Cassian. As she walks past Keir he says: <i style="font-weight: bold;">"You'll get what is coming to you, whore"</i> - this angers Rhys and he uses his powers to force Keir to his knees and tells him to apologise. When he doesn't Rhys breaks his arms until he says sorry. Then tells him he is not allowed to see a healer and if he does than he will be carved to pieces. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43:</span> </b>Rhys winnows him and Feyre to a mountain lake and apologises, says he shouldn't have let her go with him. He tells her he will never lock her up but he lost control when Keir called her a whore - the same thing he has been called for 50 years. She tells him he needs to be better prepared then but he says he will kill anyone who harms her. She cries and tells him that he is her friend and she doesn't want him to stop telling her things or stop inviting her to things because of the threats against her. Rhys tells her to stop comparing him to Tamlin, says he will never act like him, says Tamlin locked her up to wither and die. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys then asks Feyre what she wants, she doesn't respond and he tells her she needs to figure that out. She says that she might not know what she wants but at least she doesn't hide behind a mask like he does. She says he hides even from his friends because if they saw everything they might walk away and she says who could blame them as <b>"</b><i style="font-weight: bold;">who would want to bother with that sort of mess"</i> - realises that comment really hurt. He takes her back to the house. </div><div><br /></div><div>She waits for him that night to come see her but he doesn't. She wanted to tell him that she wants him and doesn't want to write it off as a joke anymore. Plans to tell him she wants to try with him and try to be something together. Rhys doesn't come to breakfast or lunch that day and she tries to send him a note but it doesn't go to him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys is off hunting whoever fired the arrows at them, it seems someone put a track on his magic so they can find him whenever he winnows or uses his power. They will be leaving to go to an Illyrian war camp in two days time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Starfall is the next night - every other court celebrates it as Nynsar, Day of Seeds and Flowers but it is special in the Night Court. Amren tells Feyre that Rhys was a ghost when he returned from UTM but Feyre made him come alive again. Amren says she has known many High Lords but none like him, someone who dreams of peace and freedom. Feyre notes Rhys believes he will be remembered as the villain but the villain is usually the one who locks up the maiden.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre keeps trying to send him notes but none go to him. She eventually gets really angry and writes one calling him a coward that vanishes and goes to him, he doesn't send a response.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44: </span></b>Feyre is in a beautiful dress and ready to celebrate Starfall. Cassian flies her to the House of Wind. She hasn't seen Rhys in two days. No one has told her what to expect on Starfall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Mor about Cassian, says she only slept with him once when she was 17 and he was a year older. When Rhys found out he and Cassian fought. He was angry about the danger Cassian had put Mor in, she says Azriel was even angrier. She says they have never slept together since.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys finally shows up and says he wasn't ignoring her but he needed time. He tells her to look up and she sees star after star flying across the star, she notes they look almost like fireworks. Rhys takes her to a small private balcony to watch it. Feyre apologises for the things she said, says she doesn't mean it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains they aren't stars in the sky but spirits on a yearly migration. Rhys tells her Amarantha would make him service her on every Starfall, as she knew how important the day was to him. She goes to grab his hand when one of the spirits hits her in the face - covers her in a glowing, green light. Rhys is hit by one too, which makes them both smile. She realises she has never smiled or laughed at him before, despite all he has done for her. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks him for two thoughts he owes her from when she first came to the Night Court. He says he avoided her because he was worried she would throw him out. And his second thought is that he wishes he could take back their kiss from UTM. Feyre asks if he wants to go dance down with the others and he says yes and kisses her on the cheek. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> They danced that night at Starfall and then he took her home, kissed her brow and left her to go to bed. Feyre says she feels like a traitor for wanting Rhys when she has only been gone from Tamlin for two months.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mor, Rhys, Cassian and Feyre head to the Illyrian war camp where she meets Lord Devlon, the leader of the camp. Rhys tells him the girls in the camp are supposed to be training but are off doing chores, says they should train first. He tells Devlon to clean out his mothers home there for them to stay in. Lord Devlon asks about Feyre, asks if she is like Amren. Rhys says no one is to lay a hand on her or Feyre will kill them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Feyre then go off to train. She asks him about training the females - he says he banned wing clipping a long time ago but some camps still do it regardless. And he says most started again when Amarantha took over. Cassian is trying to build an aerial fighting unit amongst the females. He has trained a few but males make life so miserable for them that many leave. And some camps have issued decrees that if a female trains then she is deemed unfit for marriage and Rhys is unable to fight against that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Devlon allowed Rhys, Azriel and Cassion to take part in the Blood Rite when many others wouldn't have. This is when Illyrians are sent into the mountains unarmed, magic is banned, they have no siphons, can't use wings and get no supplies than what they have on them. A few hundred go into the mountains and not all of them come out. Cas, Az and Rhys were dropped in different places, so that they were purposefully separated. They killed their way across the mountains to find each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks when he met Tamlin and he says he will tell her if she shows something impressive with her powers. She shows him a butterfly made of water. So he tells her that Tamlin is younger than him, that he was born when the war started. They got to know each other at court functions and Rhys says he seemed decent. He says Tamlin's brothers weren't decent but Tamlin would take the title. Rhys saw what Tamlin had to go through with his family and felt for him, decided to befriend him. He even taught him Illyrian fighting techniques. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cas, Az and Rhys' family all knew about their friendship and disapproved. Tamlin's father also didn't like it, he felt threatened by the fact Tamlin and Rhys were both stronger than him and so he wanted to try and prove to the other Courts that he was stronger.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys' mother and sister were travelling to the camp he was staying at so they could visit him. He was supposed to meet them half way but he was busy training a new unit so he didn't. Tamlin knew where Rhys was supposed to be meeting them and told his father and brothers. They went there and killed his sister and mother, Rhys said it should have been him. They decapitated them and put their heads in boxes and sent them down the river to the nearest camp. He says they kept their wings as trophies and that Feyre probably saw them pinned in Tamlin's study.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks to know more but he tells her she needs to show him something else. Uses her powers to freeze the water animals she made to ice. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Rhys and his father found out they both went to the Spring Court to kill Tamlin's father and brothers. Rhys killed the brothers, cut them to pieces and melted their brains. When he reached the manor he found that his father had killed Talin's father and alos his mother - even though he had promised she would not be harmed. Rhys' father then went to kill Tamlin but Rhys went to stop him. Tamlin opened his door, saw them there and killed Rhys' father in one blow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both suddenly felt the powers shift to them as they both became High Lord. Rhys then ran. Rhys realises that Tamlin never told Feyre any of this. Feyre realises Tamlin had killed his friends family and all this time Rhys had felt she was comparing him to Tamlin. Fire suddenly explodes out her. She realises why Rhys is so harsh to Tamlin. She can now use fire, ice, water and darkness.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks why he didn't tell her sooner and he says he didn't want her to think he was trying to turn her against Tamlin. Realises that she wants to paint again, she tells Rhys she wants to paint him and he jokes that nude would be best.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46:</span></b> Feyre and Rhys are heading deeper into the forest where they can train and not be seen, they will spend the night out there. Feyre thinks that maybe she can just keep her relationship with Rhys physical, thinks that will feel like less of a betrayal. Feyre goes a bit away from Rhys to train and suddenly finds herself surrounded by four Spring Court sentinels and Lucien.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 47:</span></b> Lucien says they have been hunting for her for two months. She realises that Rhys is too far away to hear them. Lucien says someone tipped them off about where she was. Lucien says he will take her straight to Tamlin, says he hasn't been himself. Feyre says no but Lucien says he is taking her home, she tells him it stopped being her home when he locked her inside it. Lucien says it was a mistake and Tamlin is sorry and so is he. Lucien says she need to go with him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien tries to grab her and she is finally able to winnow again, she winnows away and Rhys is now beside her. Feyre tells him not to come looking for her again but he says Tamlin will never stop looking for her. Lucien tells her things got bad for he in the Spring Court but she shouldn't give up - she says he gave up on her, picked obeying Tamlin even though he saw what it was doing to her. Lucien says they needed to present a unified and obedient front. Feyre says she begged him time and time again to help her and get her out of the house and he never did.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre uses her shifting ability to give herself Illyrian wings and then tells Lucien the human girl he knew died UTM. She says she has no interest in spending immortality as a High Lord's pet. She tells him to tell Tamlin that if he sends anyone else into the Night Court lands, she will hunt each and every one of them down. Lucien tells Rhys that he and his cursed court are dead, then he and the sentinels leave.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 48:</span></b> They will spend the night at a local inn, but only has one room left so we get the one bed trope. They are both wet and have to change - Feyre asks how he gets clothes on with his wings. He explains he usually uses magic to do it. He explains he uses magic a lot to work off the strain and it needs a release. He says if magic is allowed to build up too long it can turn you insane. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks Rhys what he'd have done if Lucien had taken her against her will - he says he'd have torn apart the world to get her back. Both admit that they want each other. He asks Feyre what she wants and she says she just wants to have fun - which in this context means Feyre getting fingered and them kissing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 49:</span></b> She asks why he made the deal with her UTM - he says it was to make a statement to Amarantha, to piss off Tamlin and to keep her alive in a way that didn't seem merciful. </div><div><br /></div><div>They are flying the next day when Rhys is hit with poisoned, ash arrows and falls from the sky - throwing Feyre away from the danger. She can't feel him down the bond anymore. Feyre begins tracking him, using her powers. She finds that Rhys has been chained up inside a cave and has seven ash arrows through his wings, two High Fae are whipping him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre loses it and begins killing all the High Fae there. He can't winnow them so she has to try, she winnows him to another cave where she starts taking the arrows out. She tries to distract him from the pain, tells him about the time Elain bought her paints and she painted drawers for them all. She says she did one for each of them: she painted flowers for Elain, flames for Nesta and a night sky for herself. Rhys says the men were Hybern soldiers and the ancient chains they used nullify his powers.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 50:</span></b> Rhys doesn't seem to be healing properly because of the poison. She goes and catches the Suriel again so she can find out how to save him. Tells her the poison is Bloodbane and that her blood can cure him as it is full of the healing power she would have got from the High Lord of Dawn. She just needs to give him a few drops of her blood.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Suriel also says that if she wants to speed up her mates healing then she can find a pink-flowered weed by the river for him to chew. Feyre realises that Rhys is her mate and that Rhys already knew and hasn't told her. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre returns to Rhys and is very angry. Gets him to eat the plan and gives him some of her blood. Then tells him he will answer her questions and not ask her any. She asks him how long he has known they were mates. He says he had suspected for a while but knew when Amarantha was killing her UTM. Says he felt the bond snap into place when he said goodbye that day UTM.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks if the others know - he says Amren and Mor know and that Cassian and Azriel suspect. Says he wanted to tell her but thought she would figure it out on her own. He also says she was in love with Tamlin and planning to marry him. Then once she left Tamlin she was dealing with everything so it didn't feel right to tell her. He also points out that the other night she told him she just wanted fun, not a mating bond or a mess like him. Feyre reminds him he promised her no secrets or games. She tells him she doesn't care for his excuses and she is angry he got to assume what was best and what she could handle. She makes him take her back to camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 51: </span></b>She immediately finds Mor and tells her to winnow her somewhere else. Mor takes her to a mountain cabin belonging to their family. Feyre reveals she knows they're mates, that the Suriel told her. She asks Mor not to tell Rhys where she is, she just wants to be alone. Mor says she will come back in 3 days to check on her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Three: The House of Mist</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 52:</span></b> Realises she ran away from him, she didn't let him explain or hear him out - she ran like she told him she wouldn't. She finds paint inside the cabin and then spends the whole day painting. Mor returns to find that Feyre has painted almost every surface inside the cabin. She has painted designs and decorations and little pieces of Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Rhy and Amren over the cabin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks her about the Court of Nightmares and that Rhys makes her visit there still despite what they did to her. She says Rhys gave her permission to kill them all and enjoys visiting them to remind them of that fact. Feyre asks Mor about Azriel, she says he won't make a move on her as he still sees himself as a bastard-born who is unworthy of anyone.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 53: </span></b>She realises she likes the idea of a future with Rhys. She spends 5 more days at the cabin painting every single room inside of it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 54:</span></b> Rhys shows up at the cabin. She offers to heat him up some soup. He tells her it is important when a female offers her mate food for the first time. Says that some even have a party for it, as it means the female accepts the bond.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks Rhys to tell her everything. He says he was captured during the war 500 years ago by Amarantha's army. Cas and Az were in different legions and had no idea. Amarantha's captains held him and his legion for weeks, torturing and slaughtering them. They put ash bolts through his wings and used chains to keep him down - the chains are one of Hyberns' greatest assets as it is capable of nullifying High Fae powers. He wouldn't break or tell them what they wanted to know. He began planning to kill Amarantha but the day before he planned to do it Amarantha faced Jurian.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys was forced to watch them fight. He watched Jurian and lose and then Amarantha spent days torturing him. His father came and rescued him but left the ash spikes in his wings as punishment for being caught. Amarantha went unpunished for her crimes during the war. When she returned centuries later he still wanted to kill her and she didn't even remember him.</div><div><br /></div><div>He went to the party UTM where he planned to finally kill her. He couldn't get through her mentail shields, he drank the wine and then lost most of his power but managed to protect Velaris. </div><div><br /></div><div>He says that three years ago he began to have dreams, as if he were seeing through someone else's eyes. One dream was of human hands painting flowers on a table, he sent a thought back of a beautiful night sky. Says he had a dream about a year ago of her having a nightmare of a woman slitting her throat while she was chased by the Bogge - and he then realised whoever it was was in Prythian.</div><div><br /></div><div>He would follow her through her dreams trying to find out where she was. One time he saw the unlit bonfires for Calanmai and realised she was in the Spring Court and so he convinced Amarantha to let him go. He says he smelt her there and managed to find her and save her from the other Fae. He says that he quickly realised she had no idea who he was. He admits he gave the three Fae who tried to attack her that night to Amarantha and she killed them.</div><div><br /></div><div>He says he didn't realise at the time that she was with Tamlin, not until that day near Summer Solstice where she found her hidden behind Lucien. That day was when he realised she loved Tamlin. He tried to scare Tamlin enough so that he would send her away. Says he just had to know her name, which is why he asked but he knew she'd lied about what it was.</div><div><br /></div><div>He told Amarantha her name as he assumed she had made it up. Didn't realise she had used a real name until they brought back Clare to Amarantha. He altered her mind so she wouldn't be able to feel the pain as she was tortured, but had her scream at the appropriate times. When Rhys couldn't take it anymore he went into her mind and killed her. Rhys then thought it was over, Feyre was safe and Amarantha thought she was dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>But then Feyre showed up that day UTM. Rhys decided he was going to fight, to help her win as she was the chance to free them all. When she was hurt he saw the chance to make the bargain. He knew it would send a message of hope to others who knew how to read the message, it would keep her alive without being too suspicious and was also a way to get to Tamlin and get back at him for what happened to his sister and mother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells her that when Amarantha began torturing her after the final task something snapped in him and he knew when he picked up the dagger to kill Amarantha that she was his mate and he would die trying to save her. Then he says Amarantha killed her. When he felt her dying he grabbed a hold of their bond and tugged, willed her to hold on. He knew all the High Lords were there which meant they could save her. He says he went in to ll their minds to convince them to do it and they all came forward to offer a spark of power.</div><div><br /></div><div>He almost told her when he summoned her Under the Mountain. He promised himself that he would end their bargain the next time they saw each other. He then winnowed to the Night Court and told Mor everything. For three months he convinced himself she was better off without him but he could feel her pain and sadness. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the day of the wedding he heard her begging for someone to save her. So he went to get her out using the bargain. Decided he wouldn't tell her. The day Tamlin locked her up he says he would have killed him if he had been there. He admits he broke a lot of rules to get her out but if he had got her to admit they were mates it would have saved them from trouble. He says he couldn't do it, couldn't put that pressure on her. Tells her he loves her. She gives him the food to eat, accepting the bond.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 55:</span></b> She tells him that she loves him, that she is broken and healing but every piece of her heart belongs to him and she is honoured to be his mate. They kiss. Chapter 55 is the scene everyone goes on about - where he shoves her on the table filled with paint and eats her out and then they have sex, where Rhys roars so loud when he comes that an actual mountain trembles (<b><i>I think this is supposed to be hot?!?)</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>Feyre finally feels their mating bond. She asks what happens now and he says they can go to Velaris and have the bond verified by a priestess and be officially mated. He says they can even get married and be husband and wife if she wants a human word for it. Or he says they can do none of those things, there is no rush to decide.</div><div><br /></div><div>He tells her they leave for her sisters place the next day as the queens have finally responded. Feyre is glowing, seems to be a power she got from the Day Court. They sleep together a lot, he says it is normal and happens when they accept a mating bond. Says it is probably to try and ensure the female gets pregnant. But also says the males get super aggressive and men can shatter a room just because another man looked at their mate. </div><div><br /></div><div>She asks him about pregnancy, says she is expected to bear his offspring. He says she will not be expected to bear anything. They both agree they don't want kids now, she says she wants to live with just him first. She wants them to have adventures and she just wants him to herself for a while, they have forever to have kids. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 56:</span></b> They winnow back to the Illyrian camp. Cassian immediately gets him worked up and they have a fight, literally punching each other in the face. When they go back to Velaris Mor, Cas, Az and Amren all bow to her and say <b><i>"We will serve to protect."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 57: </span></b>The human queens arrive but this time only 3 of them come. They say the other three felt offended by how Nesta spoke to them last time. Mor brings the orb out to show them Velaris. Rhys tells them there is a place on his lands of peace, art and prosperity. He shows them Velaris and says they have kept it a secret for 5,000 years. The queens says they will think about it, discuss it and let them know.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys explains that it is urgent and the queen reveals Rhys sent them a letter asking them to help him save Feyre's people so they can one day live in a world where there is peace between their people. One of the queens questions if it is all just a manipulation tactic. Nesta gets angry and demands they give them the book, begs for them to help and not leave them to die. Cassian comes up to Nesta and says he will fight for her and her people, wipes a tear from her eye.</div><div><br /></div><div>The queens leave but they already know they will say no. The young golden haired queen has left a box with the book in it on her chair. She had snuck it in there to give to them. A letter from her says she believes him, believes in peace and if anyone asks he stole the book during the meeting. She tells him not to trust the other witches and that the 6th queen was not ill that first meeting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys tells Nesta and Elain that they can come and stay in Velaris or he will send guards to guard them here if they don't want to go. Nesta lets Elain choose and she says she can't go. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 58:</span></b> They go back to Velaris and give Amren the second half of the book. Feyre thanks Cassian for what he said to Nesta, she says that Nesta is not like other people - she keeps her walls up to keep from feeling too much. She says Nesta will never forget that he offered to fight for Elain. </div><div><br /></div><div>She suddenly spots black things flying in the sky, heading towards Velaris. The creatures all look like the Attor, she realises the queens sold them out and these have been sent by the King of Hybern. One of them drops the body of the young, golden-haired witch, she is impaled on a lamppost and dies. The creature says she has been sent from the mortal queen and Jurian.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre runs to protect the artists quarter, she uses her powers to make wolves from water and other animals to chase down and kill the creatures. She sees the Attor trying to fly back to the King of Hybern and she goes after it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Chapter 59: </b></span>Rhys is trying to contact her, she bocks him out so she can concentrate. She winnows above the Attor and slams ash arrows into its wings. She wraps her arms around it and turns herself into a living flame. She stabs the Attor, saying it is for Rhy, Clare and for her. She winnows away just as the Attor plummets to the ground and dies. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 60: </span></b>Velaris has been secured once again. Amren has cracked the code of the book and says that to nullify the cauldrons power Feyre needs to touch it and speak the words she found in the book. Feyre asks what happens if they put the two book pieces together. Amren says the blast of power it would cause would be felt in every corner on earth and would draw all types of enemies to them. </div><div><br /></div><div>They want to winnow Feyre in to destroy the Cauldron. They have narrowed its location down to one floor in the King's castle. But they would need Rhys to stay outside while Feyre goes into the stronghold. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhys and Feyre decide to share a bedroom and he gifts her his mothers ring - the one she got from the Weaver. Says his mother gave it to him to remind him she was always with him. She gave it to the Weaver and told him that if he were to marry or mate then she would be smart enough or strong enough to get it back. She said if she were neither then she would not survive the marriage. He promised her that any potential bride would be given the test.</div><div><br /></div><div>She tells him that after they nullify the cauldron she wants to do it all - marry, have the bond declared and have a big party. Rhys responds with: <b><i>"And if I wanted to go one step beyond that?"</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 61:</span></b> They head to Hybern, infiltrate the castle and locate the cauldron. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 62:</span></b> Feyre hears the cauldron speaking to her, telling her to put the pieces of the book together. She connects them and goes to say the words to nullify it but doesn't get to before Jurian appears.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 63:</span></b> Rhys appears, takes the book from Feyre and hides it in his clothes. Jurian asks where Miryam is, when they tell him she is dead he says he knows they're lying. Mor says she is with Drakon and that they are mate and married. They can't seem to winnow out with the cauldron or by themselves, there is a spell on the castle and they are now trapped. </div><div><br /></div><div>The King has his spell book back and he used to to get rid of their powers. The King comes in and Jurian fires and ash bolt through Azriel's chest, it is covered in Bloodbane. The King says they need to do as he says or he will kill Azriel. He takes them to his throne room where Tamlin and Lucien are waiting and he says: <b><i>"Now that I've upheld by end of the bargain, I expect you to uphold yours."</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 64: </span></b>Tamlin made a bargain with the King of Hybern - if the King gave Tamlin Feyre then he would allow Hybern forces to enter through the Spring Court and use it as a base while he removes the wall. He also agreed that Feyre would work for the King. Tamlin holds out his hand and tries to summon Feyre to him, like she is a dog. She tells him she is going nowhere with him, the king says she will agree when she sees the final part of the bargain. The King then orders her to break the bond between Feyre and Tamlin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre begs Tamlin and he says that she's not well and that Feyre has used the bond to manipulate her. She says she will go with Tamlin if he lets the others go. She manages to get rid of the hold on her power and Tamlin finally realises that Rhys and Feyre are mates. </div><div><br /></div><div>The King gets control of her powers again. Feyre tells Tamlin if he takes her away she will destroy him and everything he holds dear. But he says she doesn't know what she's talking about. The King says it is in her best interests to do as she's told - the four mortal queens enter and bring her sisters in with them, both are bound and gagged.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 65: </span></b>The queens agreed to work with the King of Hybern. He promised to gift the queens eternal youth by turning them Fae using the cauldron. Ianthe told the King about Feyre's sisters and he wants to test the process on them first to make sure it works. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cassian's wings get shredded by a blast of power from the King. The King shoves Elain into the cauldron first. When the cauldron tips over and throws her out she is now a High Fae. Nesta goes next but when she comes out Feyre can tell she is different in some way to Elain. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lucien suddenly realises that Elain is his mate. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 66: </span></b>Feyre manages to break free and use her powers. She pretends that Rhys did something to her but she silently begs down the bond for him to play along and get her sisters out. Rhys acts as if she has somehow managed to break free from some spell he put on her. Feyre tells the King to break the bond between Rhys and her, both the mating bond and the bargain. </div><div><br /></div><div>She then begs Tamlin to let the others go and just take her home. Tamlin tells Rhys he doesn't care if they're mates, Feyre is his. The King breaks their bond.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 67:</span></b> She faints and wakes to find the tattoo is gone from her arms. Mor winnows and takes her sisters away before Tamlin can, then Rhy, Cas and Az all winnow out. Tamlin takes Feyre home to the Spring Court.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 68:</span></b> <u style="font-weight: bold;">Rhysand's POV:</u> When they return Amren demands to know where Feyre is. Mor tells her what happened, that Feyre pretended to free herself of the bond and from out of Rhys' control. Feyre pretended she hated them all and then the King broke the bond between Rhys and Feyre. Amren says it is impossible to break that type of bond and Rhys reveals she is right.</div><div><br /></div><div>He reveals the King only broke the bargain between them. Amren demands he go and get Feyre back, he says no. Rhys reveals she's gone into the house to destroy him from within. She will know everything that King of Hybern does. Amren says she's his mate not his spy and he needs to go get her. Rhys says she is his mate, his spy and the High Lady of the Night Court. He says if they had removed her gloves they would have seen a matching tattoo on her right hand. </div><div><br /></div><div>He tells them the night before they went to a priestess who swore her in as his High Lady. Feyre is now High Lady and his equal in every single way. Rhys says their High Lady has made a sacrifice for her court and they will move when the time is right. He says until then they go to war.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 69: <u>Feyre's POV:</u></span></b> Feyre plays along and tells Tamlin she can help him find them all and get her sisters back. She thinks Lucien might be suspicious of her. She plans to take them down from within. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I hope you have found this useful! Again, I am sorry if there were any spelling mistakes. I will be doing recaps for ACOWAR and ACOFAS and will also upload them for ACOSF at some point in the future too. </div></div><p></p>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-1601990331901985912021-01-21T19:15:00.006+00:002024-01-28T13:41:48.598+00:00A Court of Thorns and Roses: Summary / Recap (ACOTAR)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibibhB9bdINFcu7EXxskK1Psd4JorOMQGjZEWtY0XNtweXwFNrah3v7K31-IS6O9jEBi8zwtafQDq_y6Qdc_dr-OkzDeqykelkS0A1RvEKyhtGv-U1crTkG98N_2its8bMkf0nLo8c_sa/s672/acotar01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2Pelhm1iccwtLsmFCVz_QvihYJ2ysISrscI_aWWOfSv0EnUsYf2ODF5sPAymutvQTd3J9xySpYOFj3vYs95qK8B0a-XY0I0ckhz-X39CkNF8hVw7pBXZWnOLSUwMY8AnNicymvyYjZna/s672/acotar01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="672" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2Pelhm1iccwtLsmFCVz_QvihYJ2ysISrscI_aWWOfSv0EnUsYf2ODF5sPAymutvQTd3J9xySpYOFj3vYs95qK8B0a-XY0I0ckhz-X39CkNF8hVw7pBXZWnOLSUwMY8AnNicymvyYjZna/s16000/acotar01.jpg" /></a></p><br /><div>I have made no secret of the fact that I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I can remember how a book made me feel, how I felt about it and what I rated it. I fail miserably at remembering anything more then the most basic details about a book unless I've read it more than once. I have started doing updates as I read over on Instagram and this really helps me: <b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reviews_from_a_bookworm/">check those out here</a></b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I did a complete chapter by chapter series recap for the Throne of Glass books so that with each new release I could just go read through it without having to reread all the other books again. It was super useful and you can check it out <b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/throne-of-glass-full-series-recap-summary.html">here</a></b>. Be warned: I wrote these with myself in mind so do throw in comments here and there and some thoughts I have. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am now going to do the same for the ACOTAR series as I wait for the next book, and will continue to do it with each new book released. I hope you find this useful, I will be summing up every single chapter and including all details that are mentioned. FYI: I also have a habit of saying man/woman rather than male/female for the fae sometimes and this also may have some spelling mistakes as I typed it up quite quickly.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A Court of Thorns and Roses</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 1:</span></b> Feyre is out hunting in the woods, has gone further in than she would usually go as she is quite desperate. Feyre mentions she has been sleeping with a guy named Isaac Hale. Sees a deer enter the clearing, this could feed her family for at least a week. Then she sees a wolf approaching, she notes it is enormous, around the size of a pony and unnaturally stealthy - she thinks it could possibly be a faerie. She says that fae hate iron but it is ash wood that slows down their immortal healing powers and makes them easier to kill - she has one ash wood arrow on her. She waits for the wolf to take down the deer and then she shoots and kills the wolf. She skins the wolf and then carries the pelt and the deer home.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 2:</span></b> Elain and Nesta are her older sisters - Feyre is 19, Elain is 20-21 and Nesta is 22. All three are described as having gold-brown hair. Nesta is described as cruel, whilst Elain is described as sweet. Neither seems to really help Feyre, she is the one who keeps the family fed. Her fathers leg is injured, creditors once broke his knee when he lost his wealth and couldn't pay them. Nesta resents their dad, believes he could work and help them more if he wasn't so ashamed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta is described as quite mean, judgmental and unappreciative of all Feyre does for them, without Feyre they would all starve. Their mother died years before, Feyre describes her as a cold woman who did not love her children and only loved their father. On her deathbed she made Feyre promise to look after her family, Feyre was the youngest child and only about 8 at the time. She still doesn't understand why her mother made her promise and not her father.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tomas Mandry, a woodcutter's son, wants to marry Nesta but Feyre does not approve of it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 3</span></b>: Elain, Nesta & Feyre head into the village so that Feyre can sell the wolf and deer hides. They are stopped by a member of the Children of the Blessed - those who still worship the fae. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre approaches a woman mercenary who agrees to buy the pelts and overpays for them. She tells Feyre that someone once did the same for her and she believes now is the time to repay that. The mercenary warns her that she should not hunt close to the wall that separates the humans from the fae world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The High Fae had once been the humans overlords and had kept them as slaves. But the humans had rebelled and a war had ensued. It took 6 mortal queens crafting a treaty for the slaughter to stop and the wall to be constructed - the North for the fae and the South for humans. More and more creatures seem to be coming past the wall and into the humans land. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We learn Feyre has been sleeping with Isaac on and off for two years - uses it as an escape but doesn't have feelings for him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 4:</span></b> A monster has broken into their home, the creature is as big as a horse with golden fur and a wolfish head. He demands to know who killed the wolf. Feyre thinks about lying but she has heard that fae can't tell lies and she is also worried they might be able to detect them too. Feyre notes that Elain might be able to escape because Nesta would give her time to run, Nesta would go down swinging to protect Elain. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre admits that she was the one who killed the wolf, which was actually a faerie. The monster informs her the treaty demands a life for a life. He tells her it demands he claim her life but that doesn't mean he has to kill her. He tells her she can either be killed by him or she can go with him and spend the rest of her life in Prythian, the fae world. Feyre agrees to go with him and live in the fae world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre gives her father advice on how to survive now that she won't be there to hunt for them. She tells Nesta not to marry Tomas - says that his father beats his wife and none of the children do anything about it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before she leaves her father tells her she was far too good for them and if she ever manages to escape she should not come back to them, instead she should go off and make a name for herself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 5:</span></b> Feyre goes with him, is scared about how she will be treated. He tells her the treaty forbids the fae from keeping human slaves. High Fae rule Prythian, it is divided into 7 courts and each is ruled by a High Lord of unyielding power. The beast uses his magic to knock Feyre out and keeps her unconscious for days until they arrive at his estate.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 6:</span></b> Feyre notices it is Spring where they are and not winter like it should be. The beast takes her to a dining room, with a table filled with food and drink. The beast sits down and as he does he transforms into a golden-haired, green-eyed fae male - she realises he is a High Fae. His nose, cheeks and brow are covered by an exquisite golden mask - this is Tamlin.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A red-haired male fae enters - also wearing a mask. She learns the fae she killed was called Andras. She notes the red-haired fae is missing an eye and has a carved, golden orb in its place. Also has a scar running from his brow to his jaw. His name is Lucien. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin asks his maid Alis to take Feyre to her room, where Alis tries to get her to change into a dress but she refuses. She is instead given trousers and a tunic - thinks it will be easier to fight/escape if she is wearing this and not a dress.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 7:</span></b> Tamlin looks close to Feyre in age but fae are immortal and so she doesn't know how old he actually is. She asks Tamlin what he wants with her and he says nothing, tells her she can do what she wants with her life in Prythian. She begs to go back to her family, says they will die without out. He assures her that her family have been well taken care of.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks why Andras was in the human realm, he tells her there is a sickness in Prythian that has been there for almost 50 years now. He says the blight is slowly spreading through Prythian and it makes magic act strangely. He tells her the masks they wear are a part of it - the result of a surge of magic that happened during a masquerade 49 years ago and they are now unable to remove them. The magical blight could eventually spread to the human world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 8:</span></b> Feyre is still desperate to get back to her family despite Tamlin assuring her that he taking care of them. Feyre reveals her mother died of typhus when she was 8. She steals a knife from dinner that night. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 9:</span></b> Feyre wants to speak to Lucien, believes he might help her get back to the human world as he hates her being there as she killed his friend. Lucien asks Feyre to go with him on patrol. He tells her he knows why she asked to speak to him and that if it was up to him she'd already be gone but there's no way out of the treaty. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre tries asking Lucien about the blight, doesn't say much but does mention an elusive 'she' that they all seem frightened of. He explains that Tamlin can shapeshift but not the other people in his court, he can however turn them in to other creatures which is why Andras was a wolf when Feyre saw him. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien also mentions a creature called the Suriel which will answer any question you ask of them if you trap one. He tells her the Suriel are old and wicked. Lucien then suddenly tells her to stay still, look straight ahead and no to react at all.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 10:</span></b> Feyre can feel that a creature is near her, it tells her how it will kill her and is shouting at her to look at it. She can sense that she shouldn't do as it asked so she ignores it. The creature is the Bogge, once you look at it it becomes real and can kill you. Tamlin goes to hunt it down. Whilst waiting for him to return, Feyre looks out her window and sees her father in the garden.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 11:</span></b> Feyre thinks her father has come to rescue her. Tamlin catches her before she can go to him, he tells her it isn't her father but a creature that can turn into anything she desires in order to lure her in and kill her. She tells Tamlin again that she wants to go home, she tells him about the vow she made to her mother. He explains she hasn't broken her vow as her family are now very well cared for. Tells her the creature that tried to lure her outside was a puca. That night Feyre dreams of killing the wolf, it transforms back into a fae as she kills it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 12:</span></b> Feyre begins to make a map of Tamlin's estate, she can't read or write but can draw the map. Tamlin comes back, he has killed the Bogge but he is hurt. Feyre helps patch him up in the infirmary.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She then overhears Tamlin and Lucien fighting. She isn't sure what they are arguing about but Lucien accuses Tamlin of not even trying. He also says to Tamlin that <i>"For someone with a heart of stone, yours is certainly soft these days."</i> Tamlin says he can't stomach 'it' after what his father and brother used to do to humans.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then Tamlin comes to talk to Feyre, he asks her if anyone has ever taken care of her and she says no. Tamlin reveals that he knows she took a knife at dinner. He then takes Feyre to his study. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 13:</span></b> She tells Tamlin she can't read because her mother neglected her children's education. She is currently trying to teach herself to read, has been keeping a list of all the words she doesn't know. Tamlin offers to help her write a letter to her family if she wants. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She finds a mural in his study that shows a cauldron held by female hands that is tipped over and has words spilling out of it, forming their world. The mural depicts the war between fae and humans. It was shows the seven Courts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day and Night.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre goes to see Lucien to try and find out how she can trap the Suriel. He says they have a weakness for groves of young birch trees in the western woods and also a weakness for freshly slaughtered chickens. He says they wouldn't notice a double-loop snare rigged from the grove that would pin its legs. Says she would also need a bow, quiver and knife and to run like hell once she frees it. Tells her to run across a river once she has freed it. Tells her he might even be close enough to hear her scream if she needed help.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 14:</span></b> She sets up the trap and captures a Suriel - describes it as a tall, thin, veiled figure in dark robes. She asks it if there is any way for her to go home, it says not unless she wants her and her family to be killed. Asks what the Suriel knows about Tamlin and it asks her to be more specific as it knows a lot about the High Lord of the Spring Court - Feyre finally realises that Tamlin is High Lord.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks what can be done about the blight and the Suriel tells her to just stay with the High Lord. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Suriel tells her that across the sea is the faerie world of Hybern that is ruled by a powerful King. No humans exist there anymore as they were all killed. The King has a throne made out of human bones. The King of Hybern is unhappy with the Treaty. 100 years ago he sent his most loyal commanders to Prythian to wage war against the humans. They infiltrated the High Fae courts for 50 years but then one of his commanders betrayed him - they are now known as the Deceiver.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Suriel says they aren't alone, it tells Feyre to free it and run back to the manor and stay there. Tells Feyre the naga are coming, faeries made of shadows, hate and rot. Feyre goes to free the naga when four naga appear.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 15:</span></b> Feyre screams to alert Lucien that she needs his help. She frees the Suriel and then fires an arrow at one of the naga and then runs. She is eventually surrounded by the other three naga and is attacked by one that she then stabs in the neck with a knife. Tamlin arrives in time to save her and kill the naga.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 16:</span></b> Alis tells Feyre about her family: her sister and her ssister's mate were murdered almost 50 years ago and left two children behind and she raised them. Lucien reveals to Feyre that faeries can in fact lie, iron does nothing to them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin once again offers to help Feyre write to her family and tells her they are fools for not seeing how much she did for them. Tamlin reveals that some faeries used to be close to humans and actually fought on their side during the war, which was how the humans survived so long and were able to get the Treaty. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin reveals that Feyre's family have absolutely no memory of the day he came for her. He glamoured their memories and so they believe a long lost aunt called Feyre away to care for her as she was sick. Also made sure they believe they heard a rumour of a threat from Prythian so that they know to run if they need to. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Tamlin for some paints and tells him she enjoys paining. He tells her he has a gallery in the manor that is closed up but he will show it to her once it is cleaned.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 17:</span></b> Feyre is woken up by screaming. Tamlin comes in carrying an injured faeries that has had its wings cut off. The faerie is from the Summer Court and was dumped on their border. The faerie says <i>'she took my wings'</i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre helps hold the faerie down while Tamlin tries to heal him but it is no use. The faerie bleeds out and dies. Feyre then apologises for killing Andras, tells Tamlin she regrets that there was so much hate in her heart at that time. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 18:</span></b> Tamlin and Lucien take Feyre to a beautiful glen in the Spring Court. Tamlin shows her a nearby pool where the water is starlight. He tells Feyre a little more about Lucien.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien is the youngest son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court and he is one of seven brothers. He says the Autumn Court is cut throat, like in every other Court the person who inherits the Court is the strongest and not the oldest. Lucien never cared to rule or fight for the title.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien fell in love with a faerie woman that his father did not approve of so he had her executed and made Lucien watch. Lucien left, abandoning his title and Court and went to the Spring Court. Three of his brothers went after him to kill him but only one came back alive, Lucien killed one and Tamlin killed the other. Tamlin claimed Lucien as his own and named him emissary for the Spring Court. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre decides to go swimming in the pool, a response to Tamlin teasing her. Tamlin asks Feyre about her family and how they lost their fortune. She tells him her father was known as the Prince of Merchants, a name he inherited from his father. Says it was all a lie, a good name that masked three generations of bad debts. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Her father found an opportunity to pay off his debts. 8 years ago he sank his whole wealth into 3 ships that were to sale to Bharat for invaluable spices and cloth. But all the ships sank and they were left for nothing. Creditors came and when he couldn't pay them they broke his knee while Feyre watched and screamed at them to stop.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien admits to Feyre that he heard her screaming and hesitated for a few seconds before trying to come save her. He gives her a jeweled hunting knife. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 19:</span></b> Tamlin takes Feyre to see the gallery, she cries. Feyre then spends weeks painting but feels guilty about it, Tamlin tells her not to. She cuts her hands on the thorn of a rose and Tamlin kisses the wound so it heals. Tamlin tells Feyre that he finds her human joy fascinating. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre goes for a walk in the woods and feels like someone is following her, so she sets up a snare and captures Tamlin. Tamlin gives her some poems he has written, reads them out to her - they use all the words she wrote down that she didn't know how to read. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Tamlin about his parents, as he tells her they were mated rather than married. He tells her that faeries do get married but if they are lucky they meet their mate, who is their equal in every way and the bond is so deep that marriage feels insignificant. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin tells her that his father and two brothers were even worse than Lucien's. They all kept humans as slaves and they treated them terribly. But his mother loved his father and wouldn't have said a bad word against him, despite everything he did. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin joined his fathers war band when he was old enough to, his power kept growing and growing over time. He says his whole family was killed by a different High Lord and this left Tamlin to become High Lord of the Spring Court. Many courtiers weren't happy about it as he hadn't been trained to be High Lord and so they defected. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They come across bonfires that are being built. Tamlin tells her this is for Calanmai (Fire Night) which is a Spring ceremony where they create magic to help regenerate the land for the year ahead. Tells her they create the magic with a ritual.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin tells Feyre to stay hidden no matter what she hears. She watches as Tamlin and Lucien talk to someone who is invisible to her. Hears the thing say <i>"Though you have a heart of stone, Tamlin... you certainly keep a host of fear inside it." </i>The creature is the Attor.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 20:</span></b> It is now Calanmai and Tamlin says he must partake in the Great Rite. He tells Feyre to go to her room, lock the door, set a snare and not to come out until morning. But she gets curious and heads down to the bonfires.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She is grabbed by three faeries who say they will have their fun with her. Someone grabs her shoulders and says they've been looking for her. The fae who pretends to know her seems to scare the other three away very easily. She turns to him and says he is '<i>the most beautiful man I'd ever seen'</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 21:</span></b> The High Fae who saved her has black hair and deep blue/violet eyes. He saves her and then leaves. Lucien finds her and tells her she has to go. He quickly runs her back to the manor and explains that the crops in the Spring Court rely on the magic regenerated on Calanmai. He tells her that all seven High Lords perform the Great Rite every year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He tells her Tamlin will allow a great and terrible magic to enter his body and soul. It will turn him into the Hunter and fill him with the sole purpose of finding the Maiden and their coupling will release the magic. While he is under the spell of the magic he will only think of finding the Maiden.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin first needs to hunt down and kill the white stag and then he will go to the sacred cave where all the females will be lined up and waiting for him to choose one of them as his Maiden. Feyre mentions that there were loads of male fae there too - Lucien says that Tamlin isn't the only one who gets to perform the rite. Lucien says she is lucky he found her because if he hadn't then Tamlin would have claimed her. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Later that night Feyre leaves her room to go and get her snack. Tamlin finds her and pins her up against the wall. He says he smelled her at Calanmai and tried to find her. Says that when he wasn't able to find her the magic made him pick another fae to sleep with. Tells her he would have been gentle with her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin bites her neck to keep her pinned to the wall and tells her to not '<i>disobey</i>' him again. Feyre has the realisation that she wants Tamlin.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 22:</span></b> Feyre wakes up and has a bruise on her neck from where Tamlin bit her the night before. They fight at breakfast that day. Tamlin then brings her roses and apologises. Feyre finally puts on a dress for dinner that night because she wants to impress Tamlin. Tamlin tells her she looks beautiful.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre takes Tamlin to see all the paintings she has gone. She did a painting of the glen and the pool he took her to. Also has paintings of parts of her life - the cottage she grew up in, of her and Isaac, of her dad having his knee broken. He asks for the painting she did of the woods she used to hunt in.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Tamlin if there is anything she can do to help with the masks and whatever is happening to their magic. He says there is nothing she can do, nothing he wants her to do. He says: <i>"I want you here, where I can look after you - where I can come home and know you're here, painting and safe."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">She goes to bed that night and doesn't lock her door for the first time.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 23:</span></b> Feyre and Tamlin are laying in the grass together. Tamlin tells Feyre he has a way to allow her to see the world as the fae do, says he will do it for a kiss. She agrees and he then kisses her eyelids. Sees the world as they do, it becomes richer and clearer. She tries to take off Tamlin's mask but of course she can't. Then Feyre falls asleep in the grass.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 24:</span></b> Feyre wakes up and can now see way more fae in the Spring Court, ones that look less human than the fae she is used to seeing. Tamlin had glamoured them before so she couldn't see them as he thought they'd frighten her. Alis looks different to her now, has skin like tree bark.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre finds the head of a High Fae on a pike on a fountain statue in the gardens. The head has been branded with the Night Court sigil. They tell Feyre the Night Court is filled with sadistic killers. Tamlin tells her this is probably the High Lord of the Night Courts idea of a joke and a way to tell them he is waiting for their wards to break more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 25:</span></b> It is now Summer Solstice, another celebration and Feyre puts on another dress for the occasion. It is a day filled with celebrating, singing, dancing and drinking. Feyre drinks faerie wine, despite Tamlin warning her not to. Tamlin finds her and takes her to see the Will-o-the-wisps. They then dance together and then kiss. They then sit and watch the sunrise together and then kiss again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 26:</span></b> Lucien receives a letter from someone in the Winter Court - it says the blight took out two dozen of their younglings, it burned through their magic and broke apart their minds. Every Court is affected by it except the Night Court.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Suddenly Tamlin has Lucien hide Feyre in the corner of the room, Lucien stands in front of her. The fae she met on Calanmai appears - Tamlin calls him Rhysand and also calls him Amarantha's whore.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre realises that Rhysand is the High Lord of the Night Court and he refers to the severed head as a gift. Rhys notices Feyre's plate on the table and realises they have glamoured him. He gets rid of it and can now see Feyre, asks who she is. Lucien lies and says that Feyre is his betrothed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rhysand calls Feyre mortal trash and uses his powers on her to look into her mind. He tells Tamlin that Feyre thinks about him in a sexual way. He also tells Tamlin that she would have been the one for him but it is too late. He says that Amarantha will enjoy breaking her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin begs him to not tell Amarantha about Feyre, Rhysand makes Tamlin beg on his knees. Rhysand asks Feyre for her name, she lies and tells him it is Clare Beddor - the name of a girl from her village. Rhysand then leaves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 27:</span></b> Tamlin tells Feyre that he is sending her home, tells her there are people who will want to hurt her because of what she means to him. He tells her she won't have to leave forever but she doesn't believe him. She says life will be easier with her gone because she is <i>'covered in thorns'</i>. Feyre then kisses him and takes him to bed where they have sex. Tamlin tells Feyre he loves her '<i>thorns and all</i>'.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 28:</span></b> She gets ready the next day and she notes that Lucien seems very angry with her about it and tells her he thought she was smarter than this. Before she leaves Tamlin once again tells her he loves her but she doesn't say it back.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The carriage she is in takes her to a fancy chateau that she notes has servants. She finds Nesta and Elain there. Elain asks her about aunt Ripleigh, the long lost aunt they believe she was helping. Feyre pretends that she died and left Feyre her fortune.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Elain reveals to Feyre that a week after she left a stranger appeared and asked their father to invest him money for him. He gave them a trunk of gold just for agreeing. Her father doubled the mans investment in a month. Their fathers ships were also suddenly found too - Feyre realises that Tamlin did all of this. Now her family have their wealth back. Feyre notices that Feyre is watching her a lot and is very quiet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre feels like she made a mistake by agreeing to leave Tamlin. She remembers that the Suriel told her to stay with the High Lord.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 29:</span></b> Tamlin had sent Feyre back with a trunk filled with jewels. She also finds out that Tamlin found a way to get a magic salve to her father that has helped make his injured leg better and improved his limp.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Elain says that when they got their fortune back and begun attending balls and parties again, people acted as if they'd never been gone. She tells Feyre that Nesta didn't finish the seaason, stopped attending all the balls and wouldn't talk to anyone. She also tells Feyre that Nesta went to visit Feyre and was gone for a whole week.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre has a lot of money now so she takes some of it with her and sets off for the village they used to live in.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 30:</span></b> Feyre goes and hands out bags of gold to the poorest families in the village. She overhears Tomas Mandray talk about a house that burned down a week before with the family trapped inside. She sees Isaac with his new wife, they smile at each other and Feyre notes that she feels nothing for him and just wishes him well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre's father plans to host a ball in her honour. Nesta comes to talk to Feyre and asks why she is bothering to stay with them. Nesta reveals that the glamour didn't work on her, it only worked on Elain and their father.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta says she went after Feyre, she trekked for two days to the wall but could not find a way to get through it. Nesta had paid the mercenary from the village to take her to the wall so she could go after Feyre. She reveals she gave up on Tomas Mandray when she realised he wouldn't go with her after Feyre.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre notes that Nesta shrouded the grief of losing her mother and everything else that happened in icy rage and bitterness but she had still loved and cared for Feyre. Feyre tells Nesta everything that happened while she was gone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nesta says that she hates their father for never doing anything to help them, for doing nothing as they almost starved to death. She also hates him for allowing their mother to die - says he could have gone to the fae for a cure but he didn't. Nesta says Feyre would have gone to the ends of the earth to save her High Lord and Feyre agrees.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 31:</span></b> Feyre's father mentions that he hopes to buy the Beddor land when it goes up for sale. Feyre asks what happened and finds out that their house burned down with the family inside and they all died. Apparently every body was found except for Clares. Clare Beddor was the name that Feyre gave to Rhysand when he asked who she was. She doesn't think it is a coincidence, thinks the fae came for the family.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre tells Nesta that she thinks something might be happening in Prythian, warns her to hire guards for their home and to run if they need to. Nesta tells Feyre to not come back from Prythian, tells her the family can take care of themselves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre makes it make to Tamlin's manor and sees the gate has been ripped open and the manor has been trashed and Tamlin and everyone else is gone.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 32:</span></b> It seems as if a fight took place in the house. Feyre finds Alis still in the house, she tells Feyre that Tamlin and Lucien are still alive. She tells Feyre that they have been taken to Amarantha Under the Mountain.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis explains that Amarantha is the High Queen of Prythian. Prythian used to only be ruled by the 7 High Lords until Amarantha arrived 100 years ago as an emissary of the King of Hybern. She was the King's most lethal general and she fought on the front lines in the war against humans.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha had a younger sister called Clythia who fell in love with a mortal warrior called Jurian. Clythia didn't realise she was being used for information and that Jurian didn't actually love her. Jurian betrayed Clythia and he tortured, butchered her and crucified her with ash wood. Jurian and Clythia had a final confrontation where she killed Jurian and she has despised humans ever since.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once the Treaty was made, Amarantha killed all her human slaves rather than free them. She slowly began to bring her forces to Prythian and planned to take it for herself, build her power and then destroy the human world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The High Lords all hosted a ball in her honour and she slipped a potion she made using the King of Hybern's spell book into their wine. When the High Lords drank the wine it made it so Amarantha could steal their powers. It left them all with only the basest elements of their magic. She took control of Prythian and has now ruled it for 49 years.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis says there isn't actually a sickness or blight on the land, the blight <i style="font-weight: bold;">is</i> Amarantha. She tells Feyre she could have been the one to save them all if she hadn't been so blind to her own heart. Reveals that Tamlin was cursed by Amarantha. She reveals that Amarantha and Tamlin had known each other for a long time because his family had ties to Hybern. The Spring Court also aligned with Hybern in the war against humans and Tamlin's father was close to the Hybern King.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha wanted to be with Tamlin but he refused. Lucien was sent to her as Tamlin's emissary to try and keep the peace between them but she refused. Lucien insulted her and she took his eye as a punishment, she carved it out with her own nail.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She then hosted a masquerade ball Under the Mountain with all the Courts present. She had all of Spring Court wear animal masks to honour Tamlin and his shapeshifting ability. She then told everyone that peace could be had if Tamlin agreed to be her lover and consort. Tamlin told her he would rather be with a human than be with her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha then said she would give Tamlin one chance to break the spell she put upon him to steal his power. Told Tamlin he had seven times seven years (why she couldn't just say 49, I'll never know!) before she claimed him and he would have to join her. If he wanted to break the curse than he had to find a human girl who hated faeries who would marry him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The human also had to have killed one of his men who he would have to send across the wall like a lamb to slaughter. And the girl could only be brought to Prythian to be courted if she killed one of his men in an unprovoked attack.Tamlin lied to Feyre about the treaty, she could kill as many faeries as she wanted and the treaty wouldn't mean she would be punished. The spell could have been broken if Feyre had told Tamlin she loved him and meant it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">About the masquerade masks being a part of the curse she says: '<i>Amarantha knows humans are preoccupied with beauty and thus bound the masks to all our faces, to his face, so it would be more difficult to find a girl willing to look past it.'</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha made it so they could not tell anyone about the curse and so the fact Alis can tell Feyre now must mean it is over for Amarantha. Tamlin used to send one of his men to the human world every single day but they would end up being killed by someone who wasn't a young girl and so he stopped.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis says some High Lords fought back 40 years ago, three High Lords were executed along with mostof their families. Day, Summer and Winter were the three Courts that fought back and as punishment Amarantha now keeps their entire courts Under the Mountain.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Alis used to serve the Summer Court and her sister was killed when Amarantha invaded. She took her nephews and fled. Tamlin hid her nephews and allowed her to stay and work for him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tamlin spent decades refusing to send anyone across the wall but finally decided to have one last attempt. He started to send his remaining men over the wall, it was three days after that when Feyre killed Andras. Alis reveals that Tamlin only had three days left to break the curse when he sent Feyre away.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Feyre asks Alis if Tamlin could kill Amarantha if he got his powers back, Alis says that she isn't sure. Feyre then demands that Alis take her Under the Mountain.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 33:</span></b> Feyre arms herself with a bow, arrows and two daggers. Alis warns her not to drink wine while she is there and to not make deals unless her life depends on it. Tells her to not trust anyone in there - not even Tamlin. She says her senses will be waiting to betray her. Alis says there is still one part of the curse that she can't tell her about. Feyre tells Alis that if she needs to escape Prythian then she should go and find her sister Nesta. Alis takes her to an entrance to a tunnel in the Spring Court that will lead her Under the Mountain.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 34:</span></b> The Attor finds her in the tunnels and takes her to the throne room. Tamlin is seated next to Amarantha and acts unmoved by Feyre being there. She tells Amarantha that she has come to claim the one she loves, Tamlin. She notices a ring on Amarantha's finger, it appears to be a real human eye encased in crystal.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha shows Feyre the tortured body of Clare Beddor - the girl they all believed to be her. Tamlin tries to lie and say that he has never seen Feyre before. Amarantha talks to her ring, calls it Jurian - Feyre realises it is his eye that is trapped inside it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha tells her that she can have Tamlin back if she completes 3 tasks of her choosing. Feyre says she will complete all three tasks if it means that Tamlin's curse will be broken and all of his Court can leave there and remain free forever. Amarantha agrees and says she doesn't even have to complete the three trials if she can successfully answer a riddle. If she gets the answer to the riddle correct then his curse will be instantly broken. Says she can answer the riddle at any time but if she gets it wrong then she will end up like Clare.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha says Feyre will complete one tasks every month at the full moon. Feyre agrees to it and then Amarantha has her beaten.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 35:</span></b> Feyre awakes, badly beaten and in a prison cell. Lucien comes to see her and tells her she shouldn't be there. Lucien helps to fix her broken nose and heal her but doesn't heal the bruises, this way others can't tell he has healed her. Lucien tells her all the other High Lords have been summoned Under the Mountain and aren't allowed to leave until Feyre has completed her trials.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lucien tells her about Amarantha and Jurian's final fight. He says she beat him and then spend weeks torturing him. He says Jurian is now kept alive forever through the ring.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha has Feyre brought to her and she asks for Feyre's name, she refuses to give it. Amarantha then calls for Rhysand and asks him if this is the girl he saw at Tamlin's manor and he says that he thinks it is. Amarantha asks him why he said that Clare was the person he saw and he just says that all humans look alike to him. Feyre doesn't believe his excuse, thinks he knew Clare wasn't the right girl.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha drags Lucien out and tells Rhysand to torture him for Feyre's name. Feyre caves and tells them her name. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Amarantha then gives Feyre the riddle:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>There are those who seek me a lifetime but never we meet,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>And those I kiss but who trample me beneath ungrateful feet.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>At times I seem to favor the clever and the fair,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>But I bless all those brave enough to dare.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>By large, my ministrations are soft-handed and sweet,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>But scorned, I become a difficult beast to defeat.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>For though each of my strikes lands a powerful blow,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>When I kill, I kill slow...</i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Can we all agree that the answer to this riddle was ridiculously obvious? I will forever judge Feyre for not immediately knowing the answer!)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 36:</span></b> The full moon arrives and Feyre is taken to Amarantha and a labyrinth of tunnels and trenches. The other High Lords and fae are there to watch the task. The Attor drops Feyre into it. Amarantha frees a giant worm to kill her, it has rows and rows of sharp teeth. Feyre realises the worm is blind and relies on its smell.<div><br /></div><div>Feyre finds the worms den that is filled with the bones of its kills. She begins breaking the bones in half to get sharp bone shards and begins sticking them into the mud with the sharp end pointing up.</div><div><br /></div><div>She overhears Rhys telling the other High Lords that she is building a trap. Feyre then covers herself in mud so that the worm can no longer smell her. She then tracks down the worm and cuts her hand open so it can smell her blood. The worm begins chasing her and she leads it back to its den where it falls for her trap. It ends up impaled on the bone shads and is killed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre then throws one of the bones at Amarantha. Amarantha notes that everyone else in her court bet that Feyre would lose except for one person. Feyre realises she has hurt her arm, a piece of bone is now embedded in it.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 37:</span></b> Feyre is in her cell and no one has come to see her or heal her. The wound is still bleeding and she is getting worse every day and knows she is dying. Rhysand comes to see her and says she made him a lot of money, she realises that Rhysand was the only one who bet on her winning.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand says he can heal her arm in exchange for her. He asks for two weeks every month that Feyre will have to come and live with him in the Night Court. She says no but he points out that she is dying and he is her only chance. She still says no and so he grabs the none and twists it causing her immense pain. She bargains with him for one week out of the month and she agrees. She shakes his hand and falls unconscious.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre wakes up and finds that she is completely healed. Her left arm is covered in a tattoo of swirls of blank ink and a large eye tattooed in the middle of her palm. He tells her it is customary for deals to be permanently inked on the body.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 38:</span></b> Feyre is told to clean a floor but is given dirty water and is unable to do it. The Lady of the Autumn Court comes in and thanks Feyre for giving her name to save Lucien and then she uses her magic to help Feyre clean the floor.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next day she is taken to a room and told to get spilled lentils out of the ash in the fireplace. Rhysand comes in to the room and asks why she is in his room - she explains what she has been told to do. Rhysand talks to Feyre more, reveals that all High Lords can shapeshift, he says he prefers wings and talons. Shows her how he can partly shift to give himself wings.</div><div><br /></div><div>She asks Rhys if he knows the answer to the riddle (Feyre, I think anyone with a brain knows the answer <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">except</u> you!) and he tells her they have all been forbidden from telling her the answer. Rhysand orders the guards to stop giving Feyre these random tasks and to stay out of her cell or they are to take their own daggers and gut themselves. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="The Mummy Returns Anck Su Namun GIFs | Tenor" height="131" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/919bb3f36a819532d1527ea701fdf896/tenor.gif" width="200" /></div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 39:</span></b> Two female fae show up in her cell and take her to a room where they bathe her and then begin painting her entire body. They then put her in a dress that barely covers her. Rhysand comes to her and tells her he needs her to attend a party with him. He had her painted so that he will know if anyone else touches her (I think Rhys has mistaken Feyre for Anck-su-Namun - and if you don't get that reference you are missing out!) And he tells her he doesn't like his belongings being tampered with.</div><div><br /></div><div>He takes her to the party - Amarantha sees her tattooed arm and asks he what he has one. He reveals their bargain and the fact Feyre now must spend a week with every month for the rest of her life. He then gives Feyre faerie wine to drink.</div><div><br /></div><div>She wakes in her cell and vomits, doesn't remember much of the night. Lucien comes to see her and says that Rhysand spent the night touching her just to get a rise out of Tamlin. He says Rhysand had Feyre dance for him all night and then had her sit in his lap. Every night following Rhysand has her doled up and taken to the throne room where she is made to dance half naked for entertainment while she is drunk on faerie wine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand visits her in her cell and tells her that the second trial is the next day. Rhysand tells her that <i>"Taunting him is my greatest pleasure"</i> in reference to having Feyre dance and sit in his lap in front of Tamlin. Rhysand says that through saving Feyre's life he has saved Tamlin's but won't tell her what he means.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha has a High Fae from the Summer Court that was caught trying to escape from Under the Mountain through the tunnel that leads to the Spring Court. Amarantha tells Rhysand to look into his mind and find out what he was attempting to do. Rhysand says he wanted to escape through the Spring Court and in to the human world and he says that he had no other accomplices.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha then tells Rhys to shatter the fae and he kills him, Amarantha is angry because she wanted him to shatter his mind and not kill him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre notes that the other fae refer to Rhys as Amarantha's whore. Feyre also believes that Rhys lied about what the fae was doing when he escaped but she doesn't know why.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 40:</span></b> It is time for the second task and Feyre is lowed into a pit. She sees Lucien chained to the floor in the pit, separated from her. She has to answer a question by pulling the correct lever - there are three of them and each one is linked to an answer. She has a time limit, giant spike encrusted gates will slowly lower onto her and Lucien as she tries to solve it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The question and three potential answers are writing on the wall but Feyre can't read it. She thinks she will just have to guess and goes to grab the 2nd lever but her hand suddenly hurts her. She tries to pull it again and the pain returns. She realises Rhysand is doing it, he is trying to show her which one to pull. She pulls the third one and wins the trials.</div><div><br /></div><div>She hears Rhys talking to her in her head, telling her not to cry and to stand and stare Amarantha down. She goes back to her cell and immediately breaks down. Rhysand comes to see her and begins licking the tears from her face. Rhys gets her worked up and mad before he leaves. Once he is gone she notes: <i>"It took me a long time to realise that Rhysand, whether he knew it or not, had effectively kept me from shattering completely."</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 41: </span><span>Feyre is being escorted by Rhysands two servants when they suddenly hide her behind a tapestry so they can spy on the Attor and overhear what is being said. She hears a voice ask the Attor if the High Lords will contribute their forces, the Attor says they will do what they are told. They say the King of Hybern is unhappy with Amarantha about the situation with Feyre and the deal she agreed to. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Back in her cell Feyre can hear music being played, she finds it incredibly moving and beautiful and it makes her cry.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Chapter 42: </span><span>Feyre is at another party, covered in the body paint and a dress when she is left to her own devices in a corner. Tamlin finds her and signals for her to follow him. They go in to a room and immediately start kissing and try to undress each other and have sex (rather than talk and try to formulate any kind of plan).</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Rhys catches them and tells Tamlin to fix his clothes and leave, which he does. Rhys calls her a fool and asks if she realises what Amarantha would have done if she had found them. Rhys suddenly looks at the door and then turns back and kisses Feyre - could hear Amarantha approaching. Amarantha opens the door to find them kissing, she has Tamlin with her. Rhys then sends Feyre back to her cell.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>That night Rhys comes to visit Feyre in her cell, tells her that he needs peace and quiet away from Amarantha. Says he is made to serve her in her bedroom like a harlot. Rhys says that if Feyre wins and Tamlin gets his powers back he will be so filled with wrath that he will be able to destroy Amarantha. He says this is why he is doing all this with Feyre, so he can work Tamlin into a senseless fury (not sure why Amarantha repeatedly trying to kill Feyre wouldn't be enough for that but given how useless Tamlin has been UTM I can see why Rhys thinks he needs some motivation.)</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Rhys says there is a reason that he has only ever touched Feyre on the arms and waist - so that Tamlin has reason to not fight him. Rhys worries for his territory and people, Amarantha has them all enslaved and could kill them all if she wanted.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre asks why Amarantha targeted him to be her whore and he says it is because his father killed Tamlin's father and brothers and she was close to them. Amarantha was punishing Rhys for that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre realises that Rhys has been keeping her alive while Under the Mountain (duh!). Feyre says Rhys didn't have to bargain with her to heal her arm, that he could have demanded she spend every week of her life with him and she would have said yes. He smiles and says he knows that.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 43:</span></b> Feyre is called to the third trial, Amarantha is sitting on her throne and once again has Tamlin beside her. Amarantha asks her if she has any final words and she tells Tamlin that she loves him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three figures are brought in, two male and one female who all have sacks over their heads. They are brought in and then forced to their knees. Three servants then come in and each of them holds a pillow that has an ash wood dagger resting on it.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is told that she must stab each of the fae in the heart and if she does that she will win. Amarantha has the hood removed from the first one, a pretty fae male who begs her not to kill him, she can even hear someone sobbing for him in the crowd. Feyre stabs and kills him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then the hood is taken off the fae woman, who says a prayer. Feyre stabs and kills her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then she moves on to the last one, the hood is taken off to reveal the third fae is actually Tamlin. Feyre looks up at the one next to Amarantha and it transforms back into the Attor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Feyre remembers Alis telling her there was another part of the curse that would help her, she just needed to remember what she had heard. And she suddenly remembers Lucien and the Attor saying that Tamlin had a heart of stone and so she realises she can't actually kill Tamlin if his heart is made of stone. She tells Tamlin she loves him before stabbing him in the heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 44:</span></b> Amarantha doesn't free them all, she says that Feyre wasn't specific about when she had to free them if she completed the tasks, says she only said she'd free them all immediately if she got the answer to the riddle.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha then says she is going to kill Feyre, begins to attack her. Tells Feyre to admit she doesn't actually love Tamlin and she will let her live, she doesn't. Feyre can hear Rhysand yelling her name from the crowd. Rhysand comes and even tries to stab Amarantha but she stops him. She begins hurting Rhys and Feyre begs her to stop. The bond between her and Rhys, caused by the tattoo, means that she suddenly can see through his eyes and then snaps back into her own.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin is begging Amarantha not to kill Feyre. As Feyre is being tortured to death she finally realises the answer to the riddle is love (DUH!). Says the answer just before Amarantha breaks her spine and kills Feyre.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 45:</span></b> Feyre is dead but can somehow still see through Rhysand eyes because of their bond. Tamlin and the others now have their powers back. Tamlin very quickly kills Amarantha by stabbing her through her head with a sword and ripping her throat out. Then he comes over to Feyre and sobs over her dead body.</div><div><br /></div><div>The High Lord of the Autumn Court approaches Feyre's dead body and open his hand, a glittery spark falls from it and enters her chest. He is followed by the High Lords of the Summer, Winter, Dawn and Day Courts who all do the same thing. Then Rhysand comes over and does the same thing, he says: <i>"For what she gave... we'll bestow what our predecessors have granted to few before." </i>And he says that this makes him and Tamlin even.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tamlin then says he loves her and places his hand over her heart.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Chapter 46:</span></b> Feyre wakes up, her body no longer broken. She realises she has become High Fae and is now immortal. Her and Tamlin immediately have sex.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is woken up by Rhys summoning her through their bond. She asks him why he fought so hard to save her from Amarantha. He said he didn't want her to fight alone or die alone. He asks her what it feels like to be fae now and she says that while her body is fae, it feels like her heart is still human. She says she wishes it wasn't, still feels terrible for killing the two fae even if it meant she saved everyone else. He tells her: <i>"Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all."</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Rhysand says goodbye to her but just before he leaves she notices he suddenly goes rigid, looks at her in shock and then disappears.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amarantha's body has been burned but Jurians eye and his finger bone that Amarantha kept has somehow gone missing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Her and Tamlin then return back to the Spring Court. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I hope you have found this useful! I will also be uploading chapter by chapter recaps for ACOMAF, ACOWAR and ACOFAS and will also upload them for ACOSF at some point in the future too. </div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com5London, UK51.5073509 -0.127758323.197117063821153 -35.284008299999996 79.817584736178844 35.028491700000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-39791105926405558522020-05-23T20:33:00.003+01:002020-05-27T16:51:01.088+01:00Crescent City: House of Earth & Blood - Sarah J Maas<br />
<a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559142847l/44778083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559142847l/44778083.jpg" width="210" /></a><b>Title: House of Earth & Blood</b><br />
<br />
<b>Author: Sarah J Maas</b><br />
<b>Source: Publisher</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Bound by blood.</b><b style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Tempted by desire.</b><b style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Unleashed by destiny.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 </span><i style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">New York Times</i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm planning to just refer to this book as Crescent City throughout this review because I have <span style="text-align: justify;">had enough of these ‘_____
of _____ and ______’ titles. They are too long and all start to sound the same
and I’m not wasting my time typing it out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/W2VoQpwNnusYtOkCmC/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Aint Nobody Got Time For That GIF by Jasmine Masters - Find ..." border="0" height="177" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/W2VoQpwNnusYtOkCmC/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Crescent City is a hot mess of a book, that is the only way I can think to describe it. I have no idea how to actually review this one, so this review is about to be as much of a hot mess as the book is. Was this book terrible? No. Was it amazing? Definitely not. Do I recommend it? I don't know, it depends if you want another cookie cutter SJM book or not. This book basically goes the way all of her books do, even to the point where she seems to have copied and pasted characters and plot points from one series to the next. If you aren't a big SJM fan or are just done with her books in general, you are probably going to want to avoid it. Her other series were hard for me because I enjoyed them both in the beginning but both had big issues and I was disappointed with the finales for both books. I still seem to come back to her books though because they are addictive and easy to read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When I first heard that Maas was writing her first adult fiction book, I was a little worried that it would just be like her YA novels, except now she could fill them with even more unnecessary and poorly written sex scenes. I was right, this is definitely just another one of her YA books being packaged as an adult fiction because the characters say fuck a lot and think about fucking each other just as much. Some authors effortlessly write great sex scenes that don't make you cringe, Maas is not that author. This is the woman who thought referring to a penis as 'velvet-wrapped steel' was a good idea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Nick Offerman Cringe GIF by Team Coco - Find & Share on GIPHY" height="156" src="https://media1.giphy.com/media/87h6uklxJC89p6K0iX/source.gif" width="320" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">WHY?!?!</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I somehow also avoided the fact that this was an urban fantasy, I didn't realise until I started reading. I'll be honest, I am not a fan of urban fantasy and it just doesn't work for me and I feel it didn't really add much to this story either. Other than this being an urban fantasy and trying to masquerade as 'adult fiction', this book is literally just what you'd expect from Sarah J Maas, basically a copy of her other books. It has fae, magic, characters hiding who they really are, winged men, doors between worlds and a romance between a centuries old guy and a super young woman. At this point I'm not sure SJM knows how to write anything else, I think her and Cassandra Clare are the same person at this point. They both write the same thing over and over, they also both seem to have editors too scared to tell them that less is more and that their 800 page books only have about 350 pages worth of plot and actual substance.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Same James Franco GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY" src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/C6JQPEUsZUyVq/source.gif" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Me when I read a new SJMaas book</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I can't be the only one who finds it hard to look passed the fact that Maas copies and pastes versions of the same characters over and over again, the same with her plots. There are big similarities between ToG and ACOWAR and it is the same with Crescent City. I'll admit that the plot she loves to use that I <b style="font-style: italic;">HATE</b> the most is her trying to get the audience to believe that a human losing their mortal life and becoming immortal and getting to spend eternity with someone they love is a <i style="font-weight: bold;">sacrifice</i>. NO! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Crescent City has so many similarities to her other books. We get a very similar scene to a characters death in Crown of Midnight, even to the location their body is found and the relationship to the main character. We get a centuries old winged love interest who is of course the most powerful of anyone ever, and then the female lead who is essentially a baby in comparison. Then we have the Rowan/Celaena working relationship of being forced to work together whilst the guy completely misjudges her, makes assumptions and looks down on her. We even get the scene where he then sees her scars and starts to think he might be wrong about her. Hunt, the male lead, has Rowan's personality and Rhysand's wings. It just feels like I've literally seen it all before and read it all before.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Johnny depp GIF on GIFER - by Jolen" src="https://i.gifer.com/4Hbt.gif" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another thing that really lets this book down is the world building, which is not great. Maas relies far too heavily on just having massive sections of info dumping. There is <i style="font-weight: bold;">soooooo</i> much info dumping in this book and it was a headache to get through. The urban fantasy world is also a mess, it is really American but then seems to just throw in aspects from other cultures and doesn't quite know what it is. I really just don't get along well with urban fantasy, I still think this would have worked better as a standard fantasy - but I guess then it would have just been an exact copy of her other books and she needed some way to set it apart.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My other issue that I will never shut up about, because she does it with every single book now - the length. This book is 800 pages and has about 400 pages worth of shit that you need to actually read. She needs an editor that actually edits her and is willing to tell her that less is more and certain things need to be cut. I've watched her live shows recently and it is very clear she is basically on non-stop deadlines and I feel her work suffers for it. Publishers seem to want quantity over quality and it really shows when I'm reading. This book was so fun in the beginning but the longer it dragged on, the worse it got.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm also not over the fact it was an 800 page book where Bryce and Hunt are trying to track down a murderer. It is supposed to be the main focus of the book, but they are literally the worst detectives in the world. The obvious number one suspect isn't brought up for hundreds of pages. They also figure basically nothing out. Instead we get the worst thing in the world that everyone hates in books, TV shows and movies, the cop out where the baddie just gives a long drawn out explanation of everything they did. You waste 712 pages of a book with two characters being useless, lusting after each other and being shitty detectives trying to solve a crime and we get the cop out of the villain speech at the end.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Frustrated Kristen Wiig GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY" height="186" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Xj8orUvjQ2SLS/giphy.gif" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This was still an easy read and was fun in the beginning but the length and slow pacing really lets this book down. A lot of the other stuff I didn't like I was expecting because I've read enough Maas now to know what she is going to do. I'd really like to see her do something different. I'd love to read one of her books and not feel like I've read it all before. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjexqpfM7tjoGWHxjtplr14npTsAuxucJCd7IX0oitvDok5irHSniuhP8U2D_Zzb56wAc26ZXAEKa8WCvrKaAiXKyyPrXPFtZa2QoMLguGHqNxGNAX19rVTpsgtsF3NKNe7o-bUcPUeNaq/s1600/3-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjexqpfM7tjoGWHxjtplr14npTsAuxucJCd7IX0oitvDok5irHSniuhP8U2D_Zzb56wAc26ZXAEKa8WCvrKaAiXKyyPrXPFtZa2QoMLguGHqNxGNAX19rVTpsgtsF3NKNe7o-bUcPUeNaq/s400/3-butterflies.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3/5</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-59020157207634481482020-05-08T10:57:00.000+01:002020-05-08T14:18:15.788+01:00Dear Evan Hansen<a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562682799l/51265817._SX318_SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dear Evan Hansen" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562682799l/51265817._SX318_SY475_.jpg" width="208" /></a>Title: Dear Evan Hansen<br />
Author: Tarryn Fisher<br />
Source: Purchased<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore--even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy's parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he's doing can't be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be?</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dear Evan Hansen was a book I eagerly anticipated releasing but then also felt very apprehensive about reading it. It's probably why it has actually taken me a few years to actually get to it. I absolutely <i style="font-weight: bold;">love</i> the musical, it makes for a very emotional, moving watch and also the soundtrack is one I never tire of listening to. I really wanted to read the book but then I was also scare that I wouldn't love it as much as the musical or the book would end up leaving me disappointed. I can now say that I wasn't disappointed by this book and I did enjoy it, however it still felt like it was lacking something that it was hard to put my finger on. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What I Liked:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Connor Murphy:</b></span> Connor is a character that you don't actually get to hear from during the musical. Yes, he has musical numbers and moments where he is there but the character is dead and really what we are getting is what Evan imagines Connor would be saying and doing, it is like he feels haunted by Connor and judged for what he is doing. In this we actually get chapters from Connor's POV, in a very '<i>The Lovely Bones'</i> kind of way where he is watching what is going on once he is gone. <span style="font-size: large;">I really enjoyed his point of view and voice</span>, and also the fact that we get to know Connor a little better.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The writing:</b></span> I was worried this would read like a terribly written fan fiction or one of those awful novelisations of movies you sometimes get. I was very pleasantly surprised and really happy with that aspect of the book, it is very well written. I also felt like you could tell that the author really wanted to do the musical justice whilst also fleshing out the story to fit to a novel length. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Dear Evan Hansen, Evan Hansen GIF | Gfycat" height="240" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/PoorFaithfulHorseshoebat-size_restricted.gif" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>What I Didn't Like:</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Connor's backstory: </b></span>I didn't dislike the actual backstory itself and the deeper look into Connor but I felt that it took away something by giving him that. I can't quite explain why. I feel it might be because without that it makes it even more obvious how Connor's story has been taken from him, how other people are creating a narrative of who he is and why he did what he did. He isn't there to give his side of the story but in this we get it and I don't know if it was really needed or added to the story.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Evan: </span></b>I love Evan but I feel he is a character that doesn't do so well on the page and where you are actually in his head. Let's not pretend that what Evan does is in anyway okay, it is indefensible. It is easier to see how it goes that way and snowballs away from him in the musical then it is here though. The actor I saw in the role portrayed it so well and I felt Evan was easier to sympathise with. He definitely is less so in this and I can see people who aren't familiar with the story would get frustrated with him very quickly.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Zoe & Evan's relationship:</span></b> I can't explain why it works so much better on stage than it does on the page, it just does. It just feels much more manipulative and hurtful in the book and harder to empathise with Evan here. It doesn't help that his infatuation with Zoe comes across a lot more creepy when you're reading it, rather than a little teenage crush. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="dehedit | Tumblr" height="160" src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/0690b0526216c0e76228bcc6e7d41cd0/tumblr_olj6ucPp3h1uemj7go3_500.gifv" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
For the most part I enjoyed the book, so much so that I managed to read it in one sitting and stayed up far too late to finish it. However it just didn't pack the emotional punch that I was expecting. I found it a lot harder to connect with Evan, which also then made it harder to understand how he could do what he does in regards to Connor and his lies. I feel I'd have also enjoyed this even less if I wasn't already familiar with the characters and story through the musical. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-w5YWukr_0lYczwSjZ6LPd10KiUPxrkfErPsgApzxEFRlwLhYAKo2-F5HhWMdXT4XwQzvLZxIbnfzHYGZESGawwj8cNJn8SFvu8Urgo5v_E2i2O4vIth2QLskUHqCDNrZjmMlo0uGPiO/s1600/3-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-w5YWukr_0lYczwSjZ6LPd10KiUPxrkfErPsgApzxEFRlwLhYAKo2-F5HhWMdXT4XwQzvLZxIbnfzHYGZESGawwj8cNJn8SFvu8Urgo5v_E2i2O4vIth2QLskUHqCDNrZjmMlo0uGPiO/s400/3-butterflies.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3/5</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=charnellv-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=0241361885&asins=0241361885&linkId=79f2ae470bb2da17c733ffa784c29c8d&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe></div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-18845481027378198182020-04-28T15:39:00.001+01:002020-04-28T15:39:08.015+01:00Aurora Burning<a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574462811l/48840336._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle, #2)" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574462811l/48840336._SY475_.jpg" width="212" /></a>Title: <a href="https://amzn.to/2zEiPEv">Aurora Rising</a><br />
Author: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff<br />
Source: From the publisher<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Our heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.</i></span><i><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /></i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.</i></span><i><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /></i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.</i></span><i><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /></i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.</i></span><i><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /></i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.</i></span><i><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /></i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.</i></span><i><br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /></i><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.</i></span></blockquote>
<br />
I have one thing to say about this book that sums up my feelings about it:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>"I am not feeling nothing."</i></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Matthew Mcconaughey Crying GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/wViS9n0RqN2/200.gif" width="320" /></div>
<br />
And if you have read the book then you already know exactly what I mean. If not, let me just say that I absolutely loved this book so much. It ended and I just felt like I wanted to flip right back to the first page and read it again. It also left me wanting book three so badly that I know the wait is going to feel excruciatingly long. This was a superb read and a new 5/5 favourite read for me. If you haven't started book one in this series, go read it. And if you haven't ordered Aurora Burning yet, do it, you won't regret it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What I Liked:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media2.giphy.com/media/35OP7zdQG3S6IF4ycP/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Oh So Good GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY" border="0" height="179" src="https://media2.giphy.com/media/35OP7zdQG3S6IF4ycP/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basically me during every part of this book.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pacing:</b></span> There wasn't much I didn't enjoy about book one, I did however think the pacing was slightly off and that made the book harder to get through. I am happy to say that the pacing was absolutely perfect here. There was a lot of action but it wasn't all shoved near the end of the book, nor was it followed up by pages of nothing until another action-packed scene. This book had the perfect balance, there was enough action to keep you engaged but also time to be with the characters and to really get to know them better, as well as helping to build up their friendships. I honestly can't find one fault with the pacing here, I loved it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Action-packed: </span></b>I can't say it enough but I loved, loved, loved, <b style="font-style: italic;">loved </b>this book! There was so much going on in this book and I didn't want to put it down. It jumps straight into the action and the book doesn't really let up until you reach the end. I couldn't get enough of this story and I loved all the twists, turns and surprises and the wait for book three is already killing me.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Backstory: </span></b>I loved Squad 312 in book one but I felt that we definitely only scratched the surface of some of these characters, especially Zila. She was the character I most wanted to find out more about when I was reading book one, especially because she could be so quiet at times and we didn't know very much about her before she joined the Aurora Legion. I got what I wanted, more backstory for her and other characters. I loved getting to know characters more, I wasn't expecting for this to be a book that would have me sobbing though - it did!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Im Not Crying Youre Crying GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY" height="179" src="https://media2.giphy.com/media/J19qpADU5IVe8/source.gif" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Characters:</span></b> I still absolutely love the cast of characters here, even more so now that we are exploring more of their backgrounds and lives before they joined the squad. I still absolutely adore their interactions, they make me laugh and I love the back and forth between them all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Ending: </b></span><u><i><b>P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N!</b></i></u> I loved the entire book and I especially loved the ending and how it has just left me wanting to build a time machine so I can go forward in time and read book three already.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What I Disliked:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Romance: </span></b>I still do not like the romance between Kal and Auri. I loved basically everything else about this book. I even love these two characters as individuals, but I fucking hate them as a pair and any scene with just the two of them made me cringe. I'm honestly just done with 'mates' being used as an excuse for authors to not actually build a real or realistic relationship between two characters. This feels as rushed, forced and underdeveloped as mate romances usually do. I honestly think this book would have worked way better if they built up an actual relationship and there wasn't a 'mate' part to it.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmE_73pJnrgFRZYZf2jmW65PP9WWNmzbxdIDQreIcaM4-8yqM9YUFQEQBd8ejz3fLBTTdkFRCodvFKV9T5mw87kykNT8a6KR0fMgGcRImUA03xj_OTp5NmSufIE-36dOMDf3aa7xTvWSO/s1600/5-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmE_73pJnrgFRZYZf2jmW65PP9WWNmzbxdIDQreIcaM4-8yqM9YUFQEQBd8ejz3fLBTTdkFRCodvFKV9T5mw87kykNT8a6KR0fMgGcRImUA03xj_OTp5NmSufIE-36dOMDf3aa7xTvWSO/s400/5-butterflies.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">5/5</span></b></div>
<br />
*I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher.Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-76415742517698495422020-04-28T15:04:00.000+01:002020-04-28T15:04:00.234+01:00Aurora Rising<a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560056657l/30075662._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1)" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560056657l/30075662._SY475_.jpg" width="210" /></a>Title: <a href="https://amzn.to/2zEiPEv">Aurora Rising</a><br />
Author: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff<br />
Source: Purchased<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">An alien warrior with anger management issues</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" />
<b style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.</i></b><br />
<br />
<br />
Let me just get this out of the way first: The Illuminae Files is a series that I have a deep love for and consider one of my favourite series of all time. I loved the format of it, it made for such a unique reading experience and wasn't something I had seen a lot or read for myself. My expectations going in to Aurora Rising were definitely high because it was coming from the duo that brought me one of my favourite series. Once again I was getting a sci-fi trilogy with a whole host of characters and stretching across galaxies and I was excited, I was also worried that it would not measure up. Try as you might to not compare a book to an authors other work, you inevitably do. Did I enjoy Aurora Rising? Yes, very much so. Is it as good as or better than Illuminae? In my opinion, no. Should you go read it as soon as possible in preparation to book two? Most definitely yes, I've read book two and you will not be disappointed.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What I Liked:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media3.giphy.com/media/ulmAf9YezWbxJbi8NK/source.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="I'M Here For It Yes GIF by VH1 - Find & Share on GIPHY" border="0" height="170" src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/ulmAf9YezWbxJbi8NK/source.gif" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Characters:</span></b> I am always here to read about a group of people having to join up to become just the unlikely team you need to take down an evil force. I loved this group of characters a lot but I'm also excited for the next book because I can't wait to find out more about characters that kind of took a back seat. The main cast of characters gel together so well and I loved their back and forth during this book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/8/8b/Tyler.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905215253" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/8/8b/Tyler.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905215253" width="144" /></a><b><i>Tyler Jones: </i></b>Tyler is the leader of Squad 312, top of his class at the Aurora Academy and about to get first pick for his dream squad before doing his first mission for the Academy. That is until he decided to take a quick, relaxing trip into Fold entry to clear his head as he can't sleep. Instead what he gets is an SOS from the Hadfield, a ship that disappeared in the Fold over 200 years ago, losing over 10,000 people. Tyler answers the SOS and finds only one survivor who has been frozen the entire time. This kicks of our epic space adventure and also gives us a great introduction to Tyler.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/e/eb/Auri.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905213118" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/e/eb/Auri.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905213118" width="144" /></a><b><i>Aurora O'Malley:</i></b> Aurora is the seventeen year old human who was expecting to wake up from her cyrosleep to find herself on Octavia III and reunited with her father. What she gets instead is to wake up 220 years later to realise that every single person she loves and cares for is now dead, and that they died never knowing what happened to her. She begins getting strange visions and then slowly discovering that she can now do things she could never have imagined and she doesn't know why. I love Aurora and she's a character you really empathise with and feel for throughout this book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/d/d1/Cat.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905214824" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/d/d1/Cat.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905214824" width="144" /></a><b><i>Cat Brannock:</i></b> Cat is the star pilot in her year of the Aurora Legion, she's been best friends with Tyler since they were kids but she definitely wants them to be more than that. She's also cynical and not a fan of Aurora or the situation saving her has got them all in.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/2/26/Scarlett.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905215508" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/2/26/Scarlett.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905215508" width="144" /></a><b><i>Scarlett Jones:</i></b> Scarlett is the twin sister of Tyler, she's also the diplomat at the group who has an almost sixth sense about how others are feeling and thinking. She's a total heartbreaker, who has never had a long lasting relationship but does have a long list of hearts she has broken. Scarlett is incredibly sarcastic and I love that about her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/3/3e/Kaliis.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905214603" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/3/3e/Kaliis.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905214603" width="144" /></a><i><b>Kaliis Gilwraeth:</b></i> Kal is a Syldrathis, which explains his violet eyes, silver hair and pointed ear. He was a member of the Syldrathi Warbreed cabal but chose to join the Aurora Legion. Kal is the typical brooding character who also has a habit of solving his issues with violence, an urge he calls the Enemy Within. He's an interesting character but again, he isn't my favourite.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/b/b2/Finian.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905215048" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/b/b2/Finian.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905215048" width="144" /></a><b><i>Finian de Seel:</i></b> Finian is a Betrasken and also the Gearhead of Squad 312, he wears an exosuit to help with nerve damage, muscle weakness and impaired mobility caused by an illness he had at a young age. He is also hilariously funny and has a quick, witty comment ready for any occasion. I also love all of his attempts to flirt with Scarlett. I adore him and yes, he is definitely a favourite and I want much more of him in the next book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/e/e7/Zila.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905214141" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/auroracycle/images/e/e7/Zila.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/310?cb=20190905214141" width="144" /></a><i><b>Zila Madran:</b></i> Zila is the most intelligent of the group, she is also the quietest. She keeps to herself a lot but when she does speak it is with rationality, she doesn't really take into consideration what her observations and comments will mean to other people and their feelings, she is <i style="font-weight: bold;">very</i> blunt and to the point. She's the character I most want to know more about in the next book as we really don't know much about her or why she acts the way she does. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Banter:</span></b> I should have known that I'd love the interactions between the characters here. These two authors already proved with the Illuminae series that they are great at dialogue, they can make you laugh during even the most tense scenes where characters lives are literally at stake. I really couldn't get enough of the dialogue here.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Found Family:</span></b> Who doesn't love the found family trope! Honestly, this book really reminds me of Six of Crows but in space. Some also compare it to Guardians of the Galaxy, which also makes total sense but I must admit I was the only person who didn't really love the film all that much. I'll take Squad 312 over the Guardians any day. I love watching the characters get to know one another and get close over the course of this book.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/45d87d24d55fe7d07d36bd3c27fb9a62/tenor.gif?itemid=14282398" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Galaxy Knowledge GIF - Galaxy Knowledge Universe - Discover ..." border="0" height="137" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/45d87d24d55fe7d07d36bd3c27fb9a62/tenor.gif?itemid=14282398" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Space Adventure:</span></b> I think it is also easy to compare this to Illuminae because both are sci-fi trilogies with a host of different characters, that span across galaxies and involve sketchy galactic governing bodies that you can't really trust. I loved that aspect of it, the traversing across space and the different planets they need to visit. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What I Didn't Like:</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pacing: </span></b>I feel one of the only things that stopped this book becoming a new favouite for me was the pacing. This can be a problem with first books in a series, as they often have to spend time introducing the characters, the world, the different races of aliens and other information you need to know. It is laying the groundwork for what is to come and it is fascinating, but it also slows the plot down. At times the plot is slow and it feels like you are just plodding a long, then it will suddenly speed up and rush through a piece of action. It is also one of those books where most of the action and excitement happens right near the end and then leaves you craving the next book. I also think I should have loved the Six of Crows style heist that happens in this book but I didn't, it felt forced, weird and a little out of place for some reason.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Romance:</span></b> The other thing I am not a fan of in this book is the romance, I was not a fan of it at all. Quite honestly I would love to see the end of <i>mates</i> being used in YA fiction. <b>I HATE IT!</b><i> </i>It just feels like an easy way to rush your romance and try to excuse insta love. I'm completely done with mates in my books, that plot device needs to be thrown away and never used again. I feel if they had a more organic and realistic romance than I could actually have got behind it and liked it more. Instead it just feels rushed and the mates aspect is just a way to excuse the fact they don't actually build a relationship between the two.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aurora Rising is a fun and enjoyable read overall. It has a great cast of characters, an interesting story that keeps you guessing and keeps you reading. There are some great action sequences, as well as quieter moments where we just get to be with the characters. I do feel the romance here is weak and lacking and that the pacing is off at times, but the book is still a lot of fun. This book leaves you wanting more and was a great story, it just doesn't feel s original or as good as Illuminae. I highly recommend you still pick this up and read it though, especially since I have read book 2 and it is 5/5 perfection and you don't want to miss it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWR85MLrDBljIp1bsKKrUEQhbYNlI_LiWGu2R7QzxoDjzl4lgQWD4S0uvU8a_jAs3KYA6yrz21jsDV0p2jUnearKljkb8txDPpx0hcNi70aZH3T2rz65E9UqXVRcvoqU4I-AsTguIRNzb/s1600/4-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWR85MLrDBljIp1bsKKrUEQhbYNlI_LiWGu2R7QzxoDjzl4lgQWD4S0uvU8a_jAs3KYA6yrz21jsDV0p2jUnearKljkb8txDPpx0hcNi70aZH3T2rz65E9UqXVRcvoqU4I-AsTguIRNzb/s400/4-butterflies.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4/5</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=charnellv-21&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=1786075334&asins=1786075334&linkId=322e9d448bbeb3a671ac66dbeaf2cb07&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066C0&bg_color=FFFFFF" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">If you'd like to order a copy of this, feel free to use the link above. It is an affiliate link and helps to support the blog as well. </span></div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-56967517328922782832019-10-14T21:22:00.000+01:002019-10-14T21:22:09.361+01:00F*ck Love by Tarryn Fisher: Review<a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493326705l/28601248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="28601248" border="0" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493326705l/28601248.jpg" width="207" /></a>Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28601248-f-ck-love">F*ck Love</a><br />
Author: Tarryn Fisher<br />
Source: Purchased<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Helena Conway has fallen in love. Unwillingly. Unwittingly. But not unprovoked. Kit Isley is everything she’s not—unstructured, untethered, and not even a little bit careful. It could all be so beautiful … if he wasn’t dating her best friend. Helena must defy her heart, do the right thing, and think of others. Until she doesn’t.</span></blockquote>
<br />
I don't know how I feel about this book. I started it late at night and ended up reading it in one sitting, suffering for it the next day. There is no denying that I couldn't put it down but it definitely frustrated me and has left me confused about how to even rate it. I was surprised when I went to my Goodreads and found I actually read this back in 2016. I don't remember it, at all. I didn't remember whilst reading it which isn't a good thing. A book shouldn't be that forgettable.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media1.giphy.com/media/gu6HmV7xcNXIk/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for get your shit together gif" border="0" height="176" src="https://media1.giphy.com/media/gu6HmV7xcNXIk/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a>I found a mini review that I did for the book way back in 2016 where I said it was okay and kept me reading but I hate books where the main characters are completely incapable of getting their shit together. STILL TRUE! This is such a readable book, the kind of book you can read in one sitting, that doesn't stop it being utterly frustrating.<br />
<br />
F*ck Love follows Helena Conway, a woman who has a dream one night where she's married to her best friend's boyfriend, they have a child together and she suddenly knows how to draw. This dream suddenly makes her question her entire life and she finds herself suddenly falling in love with a guy she had no interest in, taking art classes and changing her whole life. Yup, it is about as dumb as it sounds.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://i.imgur.com/ICgtxQu.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for harry potter reference gif" border="0" src="https://i.imgur.com/ICgtxQu.gif" /></a>It isn't all bad though, it was a book I devoured in one sitting. The writing is solid, I definitely want to read more by Tarryn Fisher. The Harry Potter references are EVERYTHING! The main character is that girl who loves HP so much that she can throw a reference in to any situation. So... ME! I loved the Harry Potter references.<br />
<br />
The negatives are that clearly the story is forgettable, which I can say quite confidently as I completely forgot reading it. The characters are beyond frustrating, they can't seem to get their shit together at all. I can't explain why I didn't like this without spoilers so skip to the rating if you don't want to know.<br />
<br />
<br />
SPOILERS:<br />
<br />
I hate the whole pregnancy as a plot device and a way to conveniently keep two people apart. The first time that Kit and Helena almost get together, Kit reveals that Della is pregnant. She then conveniently has a miscarriage, giving them another chance. The next time they almost get together Kit receives a phone call that, guess what, Della is pregnant again. I hate the whole 'I have to stay... for the BABY!' as if a baby growing up with parents who are just together because they have a baby is a healthy home for a child. It isn't. So then we have a guy marrying someone else, whilst in love with a different person. That doesn't make you a valiant gentleman, it makes you an asshole.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibKIHQagufFUB_JIW9W0u7XKaxiDIkvGQApJKGQ8jBm74OKLy2cawRM5icLIyeHJoOgt9IjOfVQcNIe6kUoZmkUxrw_37s7u5gacxqZ_BRKti-sT3BQ8_PVzyZ0MLs0siwdAp703Hjoc-/s1600/3-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibKIHQagufFUB_JIW9W0u7XKaxiDIkvGQApJKGQ8jBm74OKLy2cawRM5icLIyeHJoOgt9IjOfVQcNIe6kUoZmkUxrw_37s7u5gacxqZ_BRKti-sT3BQ8_PVzyZ0MLs0siwdAp703Hjoc-/s320/3-butterflies.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
3/5</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-70802072395488195952018-10-27T17:16:00.002+01:002024-01-28T13:42:19.276+00:00Throne of Glass: Complete Series Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-gdQRj8ur3I4jRukGm5sMouiU0oM6rhV5ZgcXrr-tDzMN8zM-hk2aVFP4CgZqWhZLjCIAzdYjLSb4VhVdHNcwPI2xbc9xYPIENjkamJzZI3MZjk7iFpJzH4nWO0SgS1fcHSjy6BlUXdW/s1600/CelaenaFacebookCover_zpsbc9cea09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-gdQRj8ur3I4jRukGm5sMouiU0oM6rhV5ZgcXrr-tDzMN8zM-hk2aVFP4CgZqWhZLjCIAzdYjLSb4VhVdHNcwPI2xbc9xYPIENjkamJzZI3MZjk7iFpJzH4nWO0SgS1fcHSjy6BlUXdW/s640/CelaenaFacebookCover_zpsbc9cea09.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hey guys, last year, few years ago I did a complete chapter by chapter recap of the first four Throne of Glass books, in preparation for reading Empire of Storms. I decided to actually make notes of every chapter. I always need to reread a series when a new book is released and it is very time consuming, especially in a series as long as this. I posted my chapter by chapter recap here on the blog and it proved very popular, it still brings a ton of people to my blog even now. I didn't add Empire of Storms at the time, as I didn't take notes whilst reading. I have just done a reread of it, having read my original recap to avoid having to do a whole series reread, and have now added Empire of Storms. Kingdom of Ash comes out in just a few days so I probably won't have time to add that to this.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have a terrible memory and know a lot of you guys have this problem too. Sometimes it isn't possible to reread before starting the next book, and you are left a little confused and unsure about all the details. So I really hope this chapter by chapter recap is helpful to you all. This took forever to write up and I haven't gone through it all yet, so there might be spelling errors or really crap punctuation and I apologise. I broke the books down chapter by chapter as it seemed the easiest way.This may contain far too much information, but I noted down <i style="font-weight: bold;">a lot</i>! </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I feel it goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, this post is going to contain <b><i><u>spoilers</u></i></b> for all five of the first Throne of Glass books. I like to think you all already realised that!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can go to individual posts for all the recaps using these links:<br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWQ15DlDoj-n3IrPQMHLvWObe6-vHyWFTdzBqhlzxKQ-OUPX6gdOQf7oxIF-h1j6JHrgRCsarpGOAYqKPjXRs_SnSK8agOViXiRGDzubaAjhQu776Y0lz5vp5iHpIBhnjeMbpcD7GBSvb/s1600/ThroneofGlassAUSCelaenaWallpaper1366x768_zps76302ad6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWQ15DlDoj-n3IrPQMHLvWObe6-vHyWFTdzBqhlzxKQ-OUPX6gdOQf7oxIF-h1j6JHrgRCsarpGOAYqKPjXRs_SnSK8agOViXiRGDzubaAjhQu776Y0lz5vp5iHpIBhnjeMbpcD7GBSvb/s320/ThroneofGlassAUSCelaenaWallpaper1366x768_zps76302ad6.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Throne of Glass</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1:</b> We meet Celaena Sardothien in the Salt Mines of Endovier, where she has been for the past year. We learn that she is Adarlan's most notorious assassin. Being escorted through a building by Chaol Westfall, the Captain of the Royal Guard. Led to see the Crown Prince of Ardalan (Dorian - who is <u style="font-weight: bold;">not</u> end game... <i>Okay?</i>)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 2: </b>Dorian surprised to find her so well after a year, when average life expectancy in the mines is a month. She once tried to escape, four months in, where she killed her overseer and twenty-three sentries, and almost reached the wall - over 363 feet from her shaft, others have never made it passed 3 feet before being taken down. Dorian says he has a proposition for her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 3: </b>The King wants a Champion, is holding a competition to find one. Twenty-three members of his council each sponsor a would-be-Champion to train at the castle, and compete to become the King's Champion. Dorian wants Celaena, but she will compete under an alias to hide her identity. Dorian says that if Celaena wins then he will get the King to grant her freedom after four years of service. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 4: </b>Travelling through Oakwald Forest, making their way back to the King's glass castle. Learn that Chaol is twenty-two - became Captain at twenty - and Celaena is eighteen. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 5: </b>Learn Celaena had been eight when Arobynn Hamel, King of the Assassins, found her on the banks of a frozen river. He trained her as an assassin and never allowed her to return home to Terrasen. Erilea was once filled with magical creatures, the Fae fled when the King outlawed magic and removed any trace of it ten years before. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 6:</b> After two weeks they can see the glass castle of Rifthold in the distance. Celaena reveals she expects she was betrayed by another assassin, that was how she was captured. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 7: </b>Celaena gets chambers in the stone castle - complete with bedroom, bathing chsmber, dressing room, dining room, music and gaming room. Meets Philippa Spindlehead, her personal servant. Dorian goes to see his father, the King, who warns him to keep his distance from Celaena. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 8: </b>Celaena gets Chaol to give her a tour of the castle. Learn a little of Queen Georgina and Dorian's younger brother Hollin, who comes across like Joffrey from Game of Thrones (evil!). Walk past the clock tower in the gardens, made of black stone, with eight gargoyles on it, and finds a mark on the floor near it. Chaol shows her the library, with over a million books, and we learn Celaena loves to read. Sends Dorian a letter, requesting to borrow some of the books. Gets a reply, sends her books he recently read and enjoyed so she can read them and they can discus them. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 9 & 10: </b>People in the palace think Celaena is Dorian's lover. Taken with the other competitors to see the King. Will compete for thirteen weeks, will be tested every week and people eliminated during each test. Four remaining competitors at the end will compete in a duel to win the title. Celaena will be known as Lilliam Gordaina, daughter of a wealthy merchant and a jewel thief. Meet Lady Kaltain Rompier,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 11 & 12:</b> Celaena trains with Chaol. Theodus Brullo - Weapons Master and judge of the competition. Has them introduce themselves. Cain is Duke Perrington's competitor. Xavier Forul, Master Thief. Nox Owen, thief. Bill Chastain and Ned Clement - murderers. Grave, another assassin. Pellor, the youngest assassin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Celaena meets Nehemia Ytger, Princess of Eyllwe. Celaena can speak Eyllwe to her. Nehemia there by request of her father, wants her to learn their ways. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 14:</b> Bill Chastain found murdered, ripped wide open. Celaena begins helping Nox with his training. Chaol reveals more of his childhood - been friends with Dorian since they were young boys, father moved him back to Anielle at thirteen. He abdicated his title of Lord to his brother and came back to Rifthold to train with the Captain of the Guard. Celaena reveals her parents died when she was eight. Has a scar on her right hand from where Arobynn made her break it, so she could learn to use her left. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 15 & 16:</b> First test is an archery contest. Cain does well, Celaena too but she holds herself back. Has scars on her back from when she was whipped in Endovier, left three enormous scars along her back. One competitor tries to escape and is killed by the guards. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 17 & 18: </b>The Queen wishes for Dorian to marry, would be happy for him to marry Lady Kaltain if she didn't already have an arrangement with Duke Perrington. Learn Dorian had his heart broken by a woman named Rosamund. Dorian finds Celaena and Nehemia sparring together. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 19 & 20:</b> Kaltain had convinced Duke Perrington to bring her to court, she has her heart set on marrying Dorian. Wishes to get the Duke's help in getting rid of Celaena, as she still believes she is Dorian's lover. Celaena begins playing the piano, something she once loved to do. Thinks of Sam, her first love. Dorian sees her playing. She tells him a little of Sam, that he died thirteen months ago. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 21 & 22:</b> Scaling the castle to reach a flag, another one of the Tests. Grave pushes Nox off the wall, then starts cutting his rope. Celaena risks her life and place in the competition to save him. Discover more about her time with Arobynn - was trained by him, but didn't tell her till she was fourteen that she was expected to pay him back. Another Champion is found dead. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 23:</b> There is a feast for Samhuinn, but she is not allowed to attend. Nehemia wants Celaena to teach her to read and write better in her language. Nehemia reveals the marks near the clock tower are Wyrdmark, part of an ancient religion. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 24:</b> Notices a tapestry in her room is billowing, finds a secret door behind it. Follows the passage down, finds a sewer that leads to a fence and leads out of the castle. Follows another passage and finds a room that allows her to look down on the Great Hall. Dorian goes to her rooms after the feast, but is found by Chaol and told to leave. Chaol gives Celaena an amethyst ring that he got from the feast. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 25: </b>Celaena dreams she is walking down the passage again and finds a tomb, two sarcophagus of a King and Queen are found within. Finds more Wyrdmarks here and the <i>Ah! Time's Rift!</i> written at the feet of the Queen's tomb. Realises the tomb is that of first King of Adarlan, Gavin, and his wife Elena. Sees Queen of Elena in the tomb who talks to her. Says the gargoyles of the clock tower are eight guardians, guard the portal between their worlds. Tells Celaena something evil dwells within the castle and she has to destroy it, and she must also win the competition, then hands her something to protect her. She wakes in her bed, believing it is all a dream, until she finds an amulet necklace in her hand.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 26 & 27:</b> Xavier is found dead, body found half eaten. Sees Xavier's body and Wyrdmarks on the wall next to it. Realises that Cain knows who she really is. Celaena tries to do research on the Wyrdmarks and what they are. Finds out about Wyrdgates: can be accessed and summoned by using the Wyrdmarks. They open into other realms and can let other creatures and beings through. Finds a book called <i>The Walking Dead.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 28 & 29: </b>Dorian and Celaena play billiards together in her room. Next test is sparring against one another. Kaltain is more determined then ever to become Dorian's bride, especially as the Queen approves. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 30 & 31: </b>Another body is found, with Wyrdmarks near it and scratch marks on the wall. Dorian and Celaena spend more time together, tells him she used to want to be a healer. Celaena wakes to find Elena in her rooms, tells her she must win the competition and to look to her right, she will find answers there. The next test is poisons, and Celaena has to get help from Pelor in order to get it right, he was the man to her right. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 32 & 33:</b> Nehemia takes Celaena to the kennels. Dorian tells her they plan to kill one of the pups, but she begs him not to. Kaltain has been smoking an opium pipe, to help with the headaches she keeps getting. Nehemia comes to Celaena, says the King captured 500 Eyllwe rebels and killed them all. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 34 & 35:</b> Dorian opens up to Celaena, says he doesn't agree with the things his father does. Tells her there is going to be a masked ball at Yulemas, but she is not allowed to attend. Dorian notices the amulet, says it looks like the Eye of Elena. An amulet that a spirit gave her in battle against the Dark Lord. Celaena finds Wyrdmarks drawn on the floor under her bed, she washes them away. Goes to the library, finds Nehemia there reading a book, Nehemia leaves and drops a piece of paper. Celaena opens the paper, finds that Nehemia has been writing down Wyrdmarks.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 36, 37, 38 & 39:</b> Dorian gifts Celaena the puppy she made him promise not to kill. Thinks Nehemia is behind the deaths, so she decides she will have to go to the ball and keep an eye on her. Dorian and Celaena dance at the ball, he follows her back to her rooms when she leaves and kisses her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 40: </b>Celaena names the puppy Fleetfoot. Duke Perrington tells Lady Kaltain who Celaena really is. Tells her they want her to slip something into Celaena's goblet before the duel, drug her so it guarantees that she loses and Cain can kill her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 41: </b>Celaena does research, finds the Wyrdmarks that were near the body. Says they are for sacrifices to the ridderak, summons the creature who eats the sacrifice and grants the summoner the victim's strength. Goes down into the passage, sees that it is Cain. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 42 & 43: </b>Sees that Cain is summoning the ridderak, he locks her in with it and intends to kill her. She manages to escape the room and runs for Elean's tomb. She uses King Gavin's sword, Damaris, to kill the ridderak. Tells Nehemia that she is Celaena Sardothien, Nehemia names her Elentiya. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 44 & 45 & 46: </b><i>Filler chapters.</i> Celaena warns Nox that he should leave the castle, Celaena and Dorian kiss again. Last Test is cancelled and Celaena told she is to duel the next day. Her, Grave, Renault and Cain are remaining. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 47 & 48:</b> Cain and Renault duel, Cain wins. Celaena duels Grave, wins duel within two minutes. Is then offered wine, which Kaltain poisons with bloodbane. The poison makes her weak and disorientated, gives Cain an advantage. Cain is talking to her, asks her what it was like waking u between her parents, covered in their blood. Cain is winning, as she lays defeated on the floor Chaol keeps telling her to get up. Celaena is seeing creatures surrounding her, knows they aren't hallucinations. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 49 & 50:</b>The others can't see the creatures as they attack her. Elena sweeps in to save her, gets rid of the creatures and takes the poison out of Celaena's body. She wins against Cain. Everyone notices that she has a Wyrdmark on her forehead, that shows when she is dueling. Cain tries to stab Celaena in the back, so Chaol kills him (first man he has ever killed). Perrington tells the King that Kaltain drugged the assassin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 51:</b> Nehemia reveals that what Celaena saw at the duel was real, that she can see it too. Nehemia drew the marks under her bed, to protect her. Nehemia opened the portal to the realm with Elena in, that was how she came to help Celaena during the duel. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 52, 53, 54 & 55: </b>See the Duke and the King talking, talk of the Duke using 'the power' on Lady Kaltain. Realise the King knew what Cain was doing, that the King is using these powers. Celaena tells Dorian that they can't be together. Dreams of the tomb again, Elena appears and Celaena thanks her for saving her life. Elena responds: <i>Blood ties can't be broken</i>. Signs her contract with the King, will be Champion for four years and then get her freedom. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxNa-Ddb68jXStvDlxTOBcUchuWJQ5i0QvL3xfSGr_lobsZJc7AP-QEEXAINQdJWaY4jtclXe0L8jGjmgAGMJ0JDL11IHmZxz3iGDI9BSrm2wAZVpeCTwLvz69i_P5e381UBAVfrOkFSC/s1600/CrownofMidnightAUSCelaenaWallpaper1900x1200_zps67e50407.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxNa-Ddb68jXStvDlxTOBcUchuWJQ5i0QvL3xfSGr_lobsZJc7AP-QEEXAINQdJWaY4jtclXe0L8jGjmgAGMJ0JDL11IHmZxz3iGDI9BSrm2wAZVpeCTwLvz69i_P5e381UBAVfrOkFSC/s320/CrownofMidnightAUSCelaenaWallpaper1900x1200_zps67e50407.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Crown of Midnight</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1:</b> Making her way to a manor house, on a mission for the King. She is to kill Lord Nirall. Ends with her raising her sword above him as he sleeps in bed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Presents Niralls head and seal ring to the King, as well as his wife's hand. Given her next target - Archer Finn - someone she knew from her past. She is told he is part of a rebel movement. Her and Chaol are continuing their friendship and are closer. We realise that Celaena hasn't been killing her targets, has them fake their deaths and flee.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 3, 4 & 5:</b> Dreams of Cain and the ridderak. Hear that more and more Eyllwe rebels are being sent to Calacula - another mine. Meet Lord Roland, Dorian's cousin, who has been appointed to the council. Celaena is spending most nights in Chaol's rooms. She reveals to Chaol that Sam was killed by a man named Rourke Farran. A man named Wesley then killed Farran, so Arobynn had him killed. Chaol shares that he once liked a girl called Lithaen, but Roland slept with her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 6, 7 & 8:</b> Visits the tomb, where the door knocker begins talking to her and reveals his name is Mort, and that there is still evil that she needs to stop. She gets Chaol to go in to town with her so she can find Archer - hasn't seen him since she was thirteen - where she convinces him to take her to dinner.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 9, 10 & 11:</b> Celaena visits Kaltain in the dungeons, realises that the Duke visits her and rapes her. Hollin has returned to the castle, will have a court dinner in his honour. Celaena goes to dinner with Archer, tells him the King wants him dead. Archer tells her of rebels who are aiming to get Aelin Galathynius, the lost heir of Terrasen, on the throne. They say she is alive and building an army. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 12:</b> Goes to a masque ball with Archer, in a man named Davis's house. Finds a book in his study, filled with Wyrdmarks. Has a phrase written in it - <i>It is only with the eye that one can see rightly</i>. Davis catches her and attacks her, cuts her with a blade that is tipped with gloriella, poison that causes temporary paralysis. She kills him and makes her way to the castle, she goes to Chaol for help. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o532/BronzedMe/GIFs/Memes%20and%20Feels/Shipping/tumblr_m9iq13OmN91r628zw.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o532/BronzedMe/GIFs/Memes%20and%20Feels/Shipping/tumblr_m9iq13OmN91r628zw.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 13:</b> Lots of Chaol and Celaena moments that just make my shipper heart sing! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 14:</b> Celaena finds a hidden door in the library, follows the passage down and finds a giant door made entirely of iron - iron is the one element that is immune to magic. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 15: </b>Goes to great hall to see famous singer Rena Goldsmith perform. She sings a song about Fae and magic. Rena sang the song because the King had killed her daughter, her sister and many others. The King has her beheaded. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 16: </b>Tells Nehemia that she has not been killing the targets. Tells her about the tomb and Elena.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 17: </b>Celaena is put on guard duty at the royal ball, where Chaol and Celaena dance together. Dorian and Nehemia see them dancing together, Nehemia tells Dorian that he has powers within him. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Dorian is in a meeting about the Calaculla mines when he notices his father, Roland and Perrington are all wearing matching black rings. He storms out of the meeting in anger and punches a wall, that cracks the stone and explodes a window. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 19:</b> Chaol is told to watch Nehemia, a threat has been made on her life. A carnival has arrived in celebration of Hollin's return, where they find a Baba Yellowlegs, an Ironteeth clan witch. Dorian gets Chaol an Asterion stallion for his birthday, Celaena reveals she once stole and Asterion mare. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 20:</b> Takes a day off and leaves the castle on the tenth anniversary of her parents death. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 21:</b> We get a flashback to the day she tried to 'escape' the mines, was the ninth anniversary of her parents death. Chaol stays with her that night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 22: </b>Dorian is realising that he has magic that he can't control. Celaena takes Chaol out for his birthday, something she has planned for weeks. Takes him to a enclosed glass greenhouse on the roof of a building. Tells Chaol that she hasn't been killing the targets.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 23: </b>She tells Chaol that she wants to leave, go far away from Rifthold when she gets her freedom. Chaol says that when she does he will go with her. They kiss and return to the castle, where Celaena loses her virginity to Chaol. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 24: </b> Dorian goes to Baba Yellowlegs to try and get answers about the magic. Nehemia tries to get Celaena to promise to help her free Eyllwe, when she doesn't, they fight and Nehemia calls Celaena a coward and storms out.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 25: </b>We see Nehemia in the tomb, talking to Queen Elena. Tells Nehemia that either Dorian or Celaena needs to break, and that Dorian is not ready. Asks Nehemia if she knows what she has to do, Nehemia says she does. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 26:</b> On a hunting party, the King tells Dorian that they are going to have Nehemia questioned. Chaol goes for a walk and is captured. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Celaena finds a note that has been left for her, realises that Chaol has been taken by the rebel group.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 28:</b> She goes to rescue Chaol, finally get to see why she is the world's most feared assassin. Archer is there, realises he is part of the group and that he set her up. Archer says that he has been working with Nehemia for six months, leading the rebel movement together. He tells her the King doesn't want to question Nehemia, they want to kill her and pins blame on Chaol, says he knew there was a threat to her life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 29:</b> She runs all the way back to the castle and discovers Nehemia has already been killed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 30: </b>Celaena snaps and tries to kill Chaol, blames him for Nehemia's death. Dorian uses his powers to stop Celaena stabbing Chaol.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 31: </b>Chaol has Celaena placed in the dungeons. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Returned to her rooms, but won't get out of bed. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 33: </b>We see a girl in the Calaculla mines and truly see how much Nehemia means to them, what a symbol of hope she is. Word begins to spread that Nehemia has been assassinated by Adarlan. The girl kills her overseer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 34: </b>Dorian curious about his powers. Celaena suspects Grave killed Nehemia.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 35:</b> Leaves the castle to hunt down Grave. It was him. Celaena begins torturing him for answers, is very brutal. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Celaena brings Grave's head to the King and the ministers. Reveals that minister Mullison hired Grave to kill Nehemia. Archer and the others wanted Celaena to see that Chaol was the enemy, that he is loyal to the king. Chaol dines with his father, who wants him to come back to Anielle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Celaena burns clothes that remind her of Nehemia, also burns the dress she wore on Chaol's birthday. Works out the riddle she found in book at Davis study, and leads her to a lengthy poem that speaks about three powerful objects. Celanea sings song at Nehemia's grave, and Chaol overheards. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 38: </b>Chaol looks in library to try and find song and language that Celaena was singing in. Finds out it was the language of the Fae, and that she must be someone of nobility. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 39: </b>Celaena dines with Dorian.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Celaena goes to see Baba Yellowlegs for help with the poem. It talks of Wyrdkeys, which are used to open Wyrdgates. Years before, Valg (demons) came from another realm and tried to destroy Erilea. The Valg took pieces of the Wyrdgate and split it into three, and made three rings to give to three Kings. Could be used to open gates and use its power. The Fae set out to steal the keys, then Queen Maeve of the Fae had the Valg banished. Poem gives clues to where the keys were hidden. King already has at least one key, which is why he became so powerful ten years before. Celaena wants to kill Baba Yellowlegs, she reveals she knows secrets about Dorian and so she wants to kill her to protect those secrets. Ends with Yellowlegs knocking Celaena out. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 41: </b>Celaena is tied up, but frees herself and kills Baba Yellowlegs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 42: </b>Mort reveals that Crochan witches still exist, they are just in hiding, and that Baba Yellowlegs was a leader, Queen to her clan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 43: </b>Celaena returns to the door at the bottom of the secret passage in the library. Uses the book <i>The Walking Dead</i> and uses a spell in it that says it unlocks doors. Behind door is a stairway, leads to a corridor filled with 99 numbered doors. One at the end of the corridor opens to another hallway with 66 doors. Then next opens to a corridor with 33. Then 22. Then 11. Then 9. The next leads to a room with three doors, one has been busted open and something has broken out. Final corridor leads to the clock tower.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Dorian had followed Celaena into the stairway. Celaena turns back, realises she is not alone and there is a monster down there with her, something that was once mortal. She runs and tells Dorian to run. Sees Dorian use magic to try and seal the door. She beheads the creature, realises it used to be human and thinks the King created it. Dorian tells Celaena about his magic.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 45:</b> Revealed that Kaltain has been taken to Morrath with the Duke. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 46: </b>Realises first Wyrdkey was in Elena's tomb. The King found that one when he was twenty. Mort hints that the King used it to stifle magic. Celaena wants to open a portal so she can try to talk to Nehemia. Dorian dreams, Gavin comes to him to warn him about Celaena and what she is about to do. Tells her where to find her and that he must stop her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 47: </b>Sees Nehemia, who tells her to never open the portal again. Nehemia tells her that she embraced her fate, knew she was going to die. Archer is waiting for Celaena in the chamber.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 48: </b>Archer knows about the Wyrdkeys and wants to find them. Realises that Nehemia had been trying to warn her about Archer. Archer was the one who ordered for Nehemia to be assassinated. Kidnapped Chaol to get Celaena away from the castle. Planted the threat against her life, so that Celaena would come to mistrust Chaol. Dorian gets Chaol and tells him they have to find Celaena. They find Celaena, Archer and Fleetfoot by the portal, along with a monster.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 49: </b>The monster takes Fleetfoot through the portal. Chaol jumps through after Fleetfoot. Celaena goes through the portal after both of them. It is here that she transforms into a Fae form, where Chaol realises that Celaena is really a Fae.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 50:</b> Manages to kill the monster.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 51: </b>Kills Archer</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 52: </b>Explains that her great grandmother was Fae and she inherited the ability to shift between human and Fae form. Chaol goes to his father for help to convince the King to send Celaena to Wendlyn, agrees to go back to Anielle with his father if he does.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 53: </b>Celaena is told she is to go to Wendlyn, to kill the royals there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 54:</b> Makes bloodoath at Nehemia's grave that she will free Eyllwe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://jessiediggins.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/surprise-face-gif.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://jessiediggins.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/surprise-face-gif.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 55: </b>Tells Chaol everything about the Wyrdkeys and Wyrdgates. Chaol tells her that he loves her. Celaena whispers something in his ear before she leaves.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 56:</b> She whispered a date in his ear, day her parents died. Chaol realises that Celaena is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, heir to the throne and rightful Queen of Terrasen. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1SvWVjjJmT4H8wOwIps21WUzmRpOi5jsRDM5BkHvbAeUpPXisGhTqr1lFqXzWCxewK9VUIQrvG7Nhsx5qP6_-htMIbD_2hj-Y0dKekzEaHx9GBjSqNxAv-eDO4e1tMrgfHdFo7CnQDDf/s1600/HeirofFireAUSCelaenaWallpaper1366x768_zpsec228263.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1SvWVjjJmT4H8wOwIps21WUzmRpOi5jsRDM5BkHvbAeUpPXisGhTqr1lFqXzWCxewK9VUIQrvG7Nhsx5qP6_-htMIbD_2hj-Y0dKekzEaHx9GBjSqNxAv-eDO4e1tMrgfHdFo7CnQDDf/s320/HeirofFireAUSCelaenaWallpaper1366x768_zpsec228263.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Heir of Fire</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1:</b> Celaena is in Varese, the capital city of Wendlyn. She wants an audience with Maeve, so she can ask her about the Wyrdkeys. She sees Galan Ashryver and how the people of Wendlyn love him. She decides to do nothing, doesn't feel she can actually make a difference. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Fae man corners her in an alley - has silver hair, tattoos cover one side of his face, words written in Fae language. All Fae have a secondary animal form, Celaena's is human. She follows him. His name is Rowan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 3:</b> Chaol is having a recurring nightmare where he sees Celaena kill Archer, before Archer transforms into Dorian. Aedion Ashryer, Celaena's cousin, is at the castle. Aedion is one of the King's fiercest generals. The King gave Aedion the Sword of Orynth, heirloom of the Terrasen royal family. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 4:</b> We are introduced to Manon, who is hiding in the closest as three men break into her cottage. She is Manon Blackbeak, heir to the Blackbeak witch clan, who pretends to be a Crochan witch in order to draw others out of hiding, so she can kill them. She killed her first Crochan witch at sixteen, still wears the witches cape.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Makes camp with Rowan, notices faeries watching her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 6: </b>Dorian goes to healer for a cut on his hand. Her name is Sorscha, and she has healed Dorian, Chaol and Celaena before, has seen everything. Sorscha is in love with Dorian, has been for six years.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 7: </b>Rowan takes Celaena to a fortress in the mountains, where Maeve is waiting for her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 8: </b>Rowan is a Prince, from Mora's bloodline and a distant relative of Celaena. Fortress is called Mistward. Maeve wants her to learn to use her powers. Rowan will train her and then bring her to Maeve when he believes she is ready, then Maeve will give her answers. Maeve wants Celaena to become Queen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 9: </b>Manon misses flying, unable to fly for ten years since magic disappeared. The Thirteen are who Manon has fought and flown with for over a hundred years. When magic disappeared ten years ago, the witches began ageing like mortals. She is to travel to the Ferian Gap where all the Blackbeak clan is gathering. The King says he has a gift for them there, he has been breeding Wyverns and wants them to ride them. Wyverns are basically dragons. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 10:</b> Chaol goes to Aedion's party to track down his guards who abandoned their post, realises that Aedion isn't there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 11:</b> Celaena goes by the name Nehemia gave her, Elentiya. Works in the kitchens with an old man, Emrys, and a young boy named Luca. Fae have mates, which is an unbreakable bond that lasts beyond deatg,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 12: </b>Blackbeak clan arrive at the Ferian Gap. Had once been 20,000 witches in three clans, now there is only 3,000 left. Witches don't have feelings, they don't love or care. Asterin is Manon's second, has had her back for a century. Yellowlegs heir is Iskra. Blueblood heir is Petra. The Blackbeak clan have 20 covens, Manon rules them all with the 13. They get to see the Wyverns, the biggest is Titus and he is the one that Manon wants.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Rowan wants Celaena to shift, but it isn't something she knows how to control. Rowan takes her to grave barrows where Wights are found.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 14: </b>She sees a man wearing an onyx torque around his neck, suddenly surrounds her in darkness. Makes her see the room her parents died in, sees them dead in their beds. Then shows her Nehemia's dead body. Celaena begins quickly shifting back and forth between her human and Fae form. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 15: </b>Chaol is still trying to help Celaena. Dorian is trying to find rebel group to see if they can really free the magic. Sorscha is called up to his room to heal him, learns she was originally from Fenharrow and her parents were killed and her village burned.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Manon and the thirteen ride for the first time. Mother Blackbeak reveals that there will be war games to determine ranks and that she expects Manon to win.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 17:</b> We meet Malakai, Emrys mate. Emrys spends his evenings in the kitchen, telling stories to the others. Celaena realises that Rown's second form is a hawk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 18: </b>Dorian begins visiting Sorscha a lot. His magic erupts in from of her. Chaol follows Aedion when he leaves another party, goes to the slums. Chaol is caught.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 19: </b>Aedion is meeting with the rebels, the ring he wears that the King gave him is a replica. Aedion plans to kill Chaol, so he reveals that Aelin is alive. Aedion, known as Adarlan's whore, is acting and is still loyal to Celaena - working with two others, Ren and Murtagh, and the rebel group.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 20: </b>Celaena trains with Rowan, they fight and she finally shifts.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 21: </b>Celaena's power is fire, Rowan's can smother it as he has control of the air, wind and ice. She leaves in anger, packs her things and goes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 22: </b>Celaena is trapped by three skinwalkers. Rowan helps her, but she has to shift to escape. She incinerates the skinwalkers using her wildfire. Rowan tells her that her magic is like a well, that it has a bottom and it can be depleted, she could burn herself out.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 23: </b>They choose their Wyverns. Manon still wants Titus. Iskra pushes Manon into the pit with Titus. The bait beast looks at Manon, she feels some kind of connection, so she frees the bait beast. Manon helps the bait beast kill Titus. She chooses the bait beast and names him Abraxos.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 24:</b> Dorian overhears Chaol telling Aedion about Celaena and the Wrydkeys - realises who Celaena really is.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Rowan takes Celaena to see the body of a dead woman, thinks she was killed by the same creature they saw at the barrows. It's the fourth body found like this, all look as though they have been drained of life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 26: </b>Dorian and Sorscha kiss.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 27: </b>Manon feels like Abraxos is smarter than the other Wyverns, that he can understand her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 28: </b>Celaena remembers how her mother used to call her Fireheart, that Aedion was the only friend she had as a child.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 29:</b> Aedion never knew who his father was. Chaol thinks of the force that Aedion and Aelin could be if they were ever reunited. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 30: </b>Chaol talks to Murtagh and Ren. When magic disappeared, two waves were felt across the realm. The different waves make up a rough triangle. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 31: </b>Manon trying to get Abraxos airborne. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 32: </b>Abraxos falls off the cliff whilst Manon is on his back. He finally opens his wings and flys, but his wings are damaged.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 33: </b>Hear stories of Maeve from Emrys. Long ago, faeries still walked among them and were ruled by Maeve, and her two sisters. Mab and Mora. Mora took the form of a hawk, Mab a swan and Maeve had more than one form. Mora & Mab both fell in love with mortal men and gave up their immortality. Maeve once fell for a warrior, but he died without ever giving her the ring intended for her. We are introduced to Gavriel, a friend of Rowan's. Celaena sees Rowan tattooing Gavriel. Rowan tells Celaena that he does not care about her, that she whiny and self-pitying.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 34: </b>Emrys begs Rowan to help Celaena, to stop pushing her down when she needs someone to help her back up. He knew Celaena's mother and who Celaena really is. Rowan takes Celaena to a cave, in the middle of a frozen lake he has Luca chained up. Celaena frees him using her magic. Sees giant red eye through the ice on the lake.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 35:</b> They escape the lake and the monster. Celaena finds a sword in the cave with a ring on it, and she keeps it. Celaena argues with Rowan, over him using Luca. Tells him about Nehemia, and they end up fighting and hurting each other. Asks Emrys about the creature in the cave. Creature is said to be from another realm, that prays on human and Faes. A Fae warrior challenged it, carved out one of its eyes and cursed it so that it would forever stay trapped under the mountain. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Celaena also has power to heal herself and others. Rowan explains his tattoo is the story of how his mater died of 200 years ago. Mated with a female, named Lyria, who Maeve didn't approve of and it cost him her favour. When she called him to war, he went to prove himself and left Lyria alone in their mountain home. Gone for months and returned when he heard the enemy had been trying to get through the mountain. Returned home to find they had killed her, and realises that she had been pregnant at the time. Spent ten years caring for nothing before Maeve tracked him down. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 36: </b>Chaeol and Aedion are trying to question soldiers. One reveals he spent five years in Noll, where the King had a tower built. Some men had gone mad, complaining of headaches, and they bashed in their own skulls. There is another black tower in Amaroth, form a triangle with Noll and Rifthold. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Manon and the thirteen train together. Eating mountain goats themselves and for the Wyverns. Meat and the men at the mountain taste and smell funny, Manon knows something is wrong with them but doesn't know what. Manon goes to the Ruhn mountains to get spider silk from the Stygian spiders. She steals the spidersilk from them. Wants it for Abraxos's wings. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 38:</b> Abraxos still won't make the crossing between the mountains. Iskra whips him, so Manon attacks her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 39:</b> Her and Rowan begin sharing stories.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Chaol and Aedion meet up with Ren and Murtagh. Hear that General Narrok was making monsters on Dead Islands, they were like men but were wearing black collars. Narrok has taken some and plans to attack Wendlyn. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 41:</b> Rowan gets her to keep bonfires going using her magic, but she almost burns out. He sees Celaena's scars and learns of her time in Endovier.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 42 & 43: </b>Rowan tells Celaena about <i>carranam</i> - your carranam can give you power if you're compatible and share a blood connection, it is rare and many don't meet theirs. Celaena turns nineteen. Celaena learns to make shields of fire.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Manon and Abraxos make the crossing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 45:</b> Another body is found. Celaena asks Rowan if Chaol could still be her mate, even though she tried to kill him - mates are unable to harm one another. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 46:</b> Celaena and Rowan find caves where Narrok, soldiers and three creatures are, realise they plan to attack Mistward.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 47:</b> They are almost caught by one of the creatures, so they use skinwalkers to kill it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 48: </b>There was an uprising in the Calaculla mines after Nehemia's death, so King had every slave in that mine and Endovier killed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 49: </b>Chaol, Aedion and Dorian find out about the deaths in the camps.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 50:</b> Mistward start preparing for the upcoming attack.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 51: </b>Narrok and the creatures appear, they prepare for attack.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Realises that the creatures are the Valg.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 53: </b>She becomes lost in the Valg darkness.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 54: </b>Flashback to when the King of Adarland and Dorian visited Celaena and her parents when she was a child. She couldn't control her magic, used it in front of the King. Realises that the King had used his own powers on her then to make her lose control. Her mother had given her the Amulet of Orynth, that she lost when she fell into the river. Aelin wakes up in the night during a storm and climbs into her parents bed. Wakes her to her maid Marion screaming, her parents are dead in the bed and she is covered in their blood. A man arrives to tell them that King Orlon is dead. Someone shows up to kill Aelin, so Marion tells her to run for the bridge, cross it and hide. Marion sacrifices herself to save Aelin. The man had cut the bridge, that was how she ended up in the river that night.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 55:</b> Rowan claims her. They are carranam and this makes her powerful enough to destroy the Valg.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 56:</b> ***filler***</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 57:</b> Realises that the amulet her mother gave her as a child was the third and final Wyrdkey, realises that Arobynn must have it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 58: </b>News is spreading that Aelin is alive.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 59:</b> She finally goes to see Maeve to find out about the Wyrdkeys. They can't be destoyed, but can be put back in the gate. Mark on Celaena's forehead is the bastard mark, from Brannon. With all three keys, the King could raise an army of the dead. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Celaena covers Maeves entire island in wildfire, but so it doesn't burn anyone. Threatens to burn everything and everyone. Realised that Maeve killed Athril, the man she loved, in order to get the Wyrdkeys. Brannon escaped with them. Shows Maeve the vision that the Valg showed her, with Celaena in power and how the people love her. The ring Celaena found in the cave was Athril's. She uses the ring to bargain for Rowan's freedom from the blood oath that he has with Maeve. Rowan makes a blood oath to Celaena. Gets Rowan to tattoo the name of dead on her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 61: </b>War games beging. Iskra tries to kill Petrah. Manon saves Petrah, but couldn't save her wyvern. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 62: </b>Manon is crowned the Wing Leader. Grandmother brings a Crochan witch out for Manon to kill. Crochan witch says they pity the other witches. That they aren't born evil, but are made evil by their families. Manon is now a threat as she chose to save Petrah's life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 63:</b> Chaol is called in to see the King, Aedion is there surrounded by guards. Dorian and Sorscha also brought in.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 64:</b> King has spies who have told him about Aedion and Chaol going out together a lot. Also revealed that Dorian had planned to leave with Sorscha. Aedion says he is the traitor, the King plans to have him executed as a way to bring Celaena back to Rifthold. Sorscha is revealed as a real traitor, who had been sending information out of the castle. The King has her beheaded.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 65:</b> King demands that they kill Chaol. Dorian stops the arrow using his magic. Dorian helps Chaol escape, gives him time to run. The King places one of the black collars on Dorian. Chaol escapes with Fleetfoot, meets up with Ren.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 66, 67 & 68: </b>Want Manon to go to Morath. Celaena leaves Wendlyn to go back to Rifthold, and finally accepts that she is Aelin. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VVr0LNqrgszCyJDoYX8M56GeBDgdcJ_7Gj5TFHG-XkWzxAIr4K3G-axHb6Bithyphenhyphenf5CbkjOzQPl7Qs5tUruHxj5tv34gPCbWqHtzaQvt_314K33oqeqVdI_ZwHaBb7ByiIktaWo18Kigt/s1600/Queen+of+Shadows1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VVr0LNqrgszCyJDoYX8M56GeBDgdcJ_7Gj5TFHG-XkWzxAIr4K3G-axHb6Bithyphenhyphenf5CbkjOzQPl7Qs5tUruHxj5tv34gPCbWqHtzaQvt_314K33oqeqVdI_ZwHaBb7ByiIktaWo18Kigt/s320/Queen+of+Shadows1.jpg" width="210" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Queen of Shadows</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Part 1: Lady of Shadows</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Chapter 1:</b> In Dorian's head, where the Valg creature is controlling his mind. He has forgotten his name and the name of those he cares for. He can remember a woman being beheaded. He is struggling to fight the creature in his mind. No one has noticed what has happened to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Celaena is in the Vaults, trying to find out who Arobynn Hamel is meeting there. She has noticed many black-uniformed guards roaming the city, with wyverns embroidered on their uniforms. She has died her hair auburn to disguise herself. Tern, Arobynn's second in command, finds her at the bar. She misses Rowan and no longer has her magic now she is back. She realises Arobynn is meeting Chaol.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 3:</b> Arobynn and Celaena come face to face again for the first time. We now realise that Arobynn has always known who Celaena really is. Arobynn reveals word got back about her powers and the fight against the Valg in Wendlyn, known as the fire-breathing-bitch-queen.<br />
<br />
Arobynn tells her that Aedion has been arrested for treason and that the King plans to execute him in three days, on Dorian's birthday. Says that it is an obvious trap for Celaena. Celaena is determined to save him no matter what. Arobynn offers his help and resources in freeing Aedion - for one favour. Arobynn knows the King's new guard have creatures that wear the bodies of men and wants to know what they are. They have been rounding up people sympathetic to magic and executing them.<br />
<br />
Celaena tells Arobynn that the King has stifled magic and summoned ancient demons to infiltrate human bodies. The King uses rings or collars to allow the demon to invade the host, and that he has been targeting former magic wielders. Rings are used for lesser demons and the collars are for the Valg Princes. Arobynn wants her to capture one and bring it to him, he also wants her forgiveness.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 4:</b> Aedion is in a cell, awaiting execution, and has a wound that is infected and will soon kill him. He wishes to die before the King can use him against Celaena.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Celaena is currently trying to escape twenty men that are pursuing her. She has killed the owner of the Vaults and thrown it into chaos. She escapes into the sewers, where she is found by Chaol's female guard who asks her to follow her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 6:</b> Nesyrn, Chaol's guard, tells her that she is taking her to Chaol. Reveals that Chaol left his position and fled the castle and is now a part of the rebel cause. Nesryn doesn't trust Celaena as she killed so many of the rebels at the warehouse when she rescued Chaol (in Crown of Midnight). Celaena finally comes face to face with Chaol.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 7: </b>Celaena and Chaol have the e<i>x-lovers-who-were-once-madly-in-love-until-one-blamed-the-other-for-the-death-of-a-friend-even-though-it-wasn't-actually-their-fault-but-she-tried-to-kill-him-anyway-and-now-things-are-totally-awkward</i> reunion that we have all been waiting for. Celaena once again hammers home the point that she can never forgive him for the whole Nehemia thing (which I still say is totally not his fault, fyi!) and all the Chaolaena shipper hearts, including my own, broke into a million pieces.<br />
<br />
Chaol and the other rebels have been rescuing former magic-wielders before they are executed. All of them have the rings and have been inhabited by demons. They don't seem to notice the presence of ordinary humans, only those with magic in their bloodline. Chaol reveals to Celaena that Ren Allsbrook is alive, a member of her old court. Also tells her that he took Fleetfoot from the castle and that she is safe in the countryside.<br />
<br />
Chaol tells her everything that happened while she was gone - him working with Aedion, Aedion's capture, Sorscha's beheading and Dorian and the collar. Here we see Celaena once again, in her head, blaming Chaol for everything - thinks he should have got Dorian out sooner. (I know it's a recap and I should be totally unbiased but, screw it, I'm the one typing it up for hours and... Damn, Celaena is such a bitch in this book!)<br />
<br />
Chaol is in charge of the rebels in the slum and dock territories. His men, Ress and Brullo, are trying to find a way to get Aedion and Dorian out of the castle. She tells Chaol about her time away, but doesn't mention the collars or the Valg princes or that the Amulet of Orynth is the third Wyrdkey - although she does tell him that she needs it. They fight again, both blame each other. She realises that he has figured out a way to free magic but he doesn't want to tell her.<br />
<br />
Celaena then tells Chaol what the collar means for Dorian, and that he needs her to have her magic if she has any hope of freeing him or killing him. Tell Chaol to call her Aelin (I am just going to continue calling her Celaena in the recap as it is consistent!) and that Celaena Sardothien no longer exists. He tells her she is the same assassin who walked away and has only returned when it is useful to her. Chaol tells her he met with Arobynn as he wanted his help to kill the King.<br />
<br />
Chaol's point of view reveals how terrified he is of Celaena's power and how easily she can kill. He and Nesryn used to sleep together frequently about a year previous. He tells Nesryn who Celaena really is. Chaol's only concern is freeing Dorian. He pawns the ring he once gave to Celaena.<br />
<br />
Celaena returns to her old apartment and sees that Arobynn has been here, has unpacked the trunks she and Sam had once intended to use to escape the city together. Celaena has another session of Chaol bashing in her head (Can you tell that I am sick of it?). Celaena writes a letter to Arobynn, accepting his offer, she will capture a valg demon for him <i style="font-weight: bold;">after</i> he helps her rescue Aedion.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 8: </b>Finally get a Manon chapter, where she gets the greatest introduction: Manon Blackbeack, heir of the Blackbeak Witch-Clan, bearer of the blade Wind-Cleaver, rider of the wyvern Abraxos and Wing Leader of the King of Adarlan's aerial host... <b><i>Basically one deadly, awesome, mother-trucker.</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>Manon and her thirteen are stationed in Morath, the mountain stronghold of Duke Perrington, a man that she does not like. She hears screams coming from deep within the mountain but does not know what happens there. Kaltain is here with the Duke and has a collar around her neck and a scar on her arm. Manon and Asterin fight, Asterin wishes for them to take the wyvern's and leave.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Lysandra, a courtesan that Celaena once knew, arrives at her door with a child. Arobynn was the man who found her as a child and handed her over to Clariss, the brother madam, to train as a courtesan and then bought her virginity when she turned 17, with Celaena's money. She is there to tell her Arobynn's plan to rescue Aedion. The girl with her, Evangeline, has a scarred face.<br />
<br />
Lysandra brings a letter from Wesley, who Arobynn had killed, and a man that Lysandra was in love with. Says Wesley had tried to stop what happened to Sam and Celaena, and had even planned to try and rescue her from Endovier.<br />
<br />
Evangeline reveals to Celaena that Lysandra was the one who scarred her. She knew Evangeline could not escape, as she had tried herself as a child and been beaten for it. She scarred her so she wouldn't have to be a courtesan. Clarisse is making her pay back what she would have earned from Evangeline, it is why she still works for her,<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 10:</b> Dorian visits Aedion in the cells, Aedion realises Dorian has no control over himself. Dorian has the guards tend to Aedion's wounds.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 11: </b>Celaena finds Chaol, Nesyrn, Ress and Bullo in the markets and warns them to keep any of the King's Guard loyal to the rebellion away from the southern wall of the gardens on the day of Aedion's execution, and to pin red flowers to their uniforms.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 12:</b> Manon is called to a meeting with the Duke and Lord Vernon Lochan. The Duke wants a Blackbeak coven to test on and see if they are compatible to breed with the Valg. They are more likely to be as they are part Valg themselves. Asterin says that she must refuse, witchlings are sacred to them and their is no greater pride than to bear a witchling and no greater shame than to lose one. Manon demotes Asterin to third for constantly questioning her and makes Sorrel her second.<br />
<br />
Mnaon meets her servant, Elide, who has a damaged leg. Her uncle is Lord Vernon, Lord of Perranth. Manon cuts her and tastes her blood, realises that Elide has witch blood in her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Celaena has been called to the Assassin's Keep, - Arobynn merely toying with her and we learn nothing of use.<br />
<br />
Lysandra visits and they talk, learn that Lysandra was jealous of her, that she hates Arobynn and wishes to destroy him. They quickly become friends (Nothing bonds people faster than the mutual want to murder someone!)<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 14:</b> Chaol demands that Celaena doesn't kill Dorian and that she try to save him. He tells her about the wyrdstone towers and how destroying one of them will release magic. She is worried that the King can use the wyrdmarks or magic against her during the rescue. Chaol has her books from the castle and she will use them to find a way to protect herself.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 15: </b> Aedion is being prepared for execution. They plan to kill him with his own sword, but he plans to kill himself before they can.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Celaena is disguising herself amongst a group of dancers to get into the castle. The teacher, Florine, is someone Celaena used to know before. Celaena notices wyrdmarks over the doors into the castle, uses water to wash them away.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 17: </b> Florine gives each dancer a glass flower and warns them not to drop them until it is time. Aedion watches the dancers, sees them throwing black powder on the ground as they dance.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 18</b>: The dancers throw the flowers down and they are filled with reactive powder that creates a thick smoke that is hard to see through. Celaena uses this to get to Aedion and remove his chains.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 19:</b> Dorian has followed Celaena and Aedion, tries to use his magic on her but she has covered herself in wyrdmarks to protect herself. She asks Dorian to give her one sign that he is still in there, he doesn't and so she goes to kill him but is stopped by Nesryn.<br />
<br />
They escape the castle and hide Aedion in a secret compartment in a carriage to get him through the city. Celaena and Chaol argue over her trying to kill Dorian, even though she promised that she wouldn't. Lysandra finally realises that Celaena is Aelin.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 20:</b> Elide's father had been Lord of Perranth, but her uncle swore loyalty to the King, her father was executed and he stole his title. Manon realises Elide does not know she is part witch. Manon goes to one of her thirteen, Ghislaine, to ask about the Valg. Learns that the Valg came to their world and stole Fae to have offspring with, and this was how the witches came to be. King Brannon gave witches the Western Wastes.<br />
<br />
A leader of one of the Yellowlegs covens volunteers her coven for the experiment.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Dorian had tried to wrestle back control so he could give Celaena a sign but couldn't. He no longer remembers her name. Hates her for not killing him when she had the chance.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 22:</b> Chaol still refuses to believe that all hope is lost for Dorian, still believes he is in there somewhere. He is determined to save him, whatever the cost and is angry with Celaena for trying to kill him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 23 & 24</b>: Celaena and Aedion have a proper reunion. The Pits, basically the new Vaults, has sprung up. Many Valg guards are there, and Arobynn wants her to fight there as a way to convince the Pit owners to work with him. She chooses to fight a Valg commander. The commander tells her about Morath, says that they do things to her kind there. She snaps his neck and decapitates him. As a reward, Arobynn tells her where Sams' grave is.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 25</b>: Asterin goes to question Elide and reveals she has witches blood. Elide then tries to steal coins from Manon to help her escape, but is caught by Asterin and then Manon catches them both in her rooms. Manon tells Elide to choose if her blood runs red (human) or blue (witch) and she chooses blue, so she will get their protection.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 26: </b>Aedion believes he will be taking the blood oath for Celaena, as Queens have only taken one, and it has always been his right. He doesn't realise that Rowan has already taken it.<br />
<br />
Valg soldiers killed everyone in the Shadow Market. Celaena follows a Valg commander into the sewers and sees him call a creature there.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 27:</b> The creature, a Wyrdhound, looks like one of the gargoyles that guards the kings tower and she can hear the King talking through it.<br />
<br />
Aedion offers Celaena her father's sword back, but she tells him to keep it and that it belongs to him. Aedion, Celaena and Nesyrn go to a tavern, on their way home Rowan appears.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 28:</b> Rowan had stowed away on a ship to come here, against Celaena's ordered. Then we get a weird bath scene where Celaena washes his hair and he purrs like a cat (I feel this should be noted). Rowan finds a dress with an intricate dragon design in her closet, says he wishes to see her in it some day. Rowan and Aedion officially meet, Rowan realises that Aedion's father (who he never met or knew) is Gavriel, one of Rowan's cadre and he is part Fae.<br />
<br />
Aedion realises that his mother gave her life to protect him. Refused Fae healers who could have saved her life, to be sure that they wouldn't figure out who Aedion was and send word to Maeve, who might have tried to claim him. Rowan lets slip that he swore the blood oath to Celaena. Her and Aedion fight and he storms out.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 29:</b> Rowan reveals that Lorcan, the strongest male in the Fae realm, has followed Aelin here.<br />
<br />
Celaena apologises to Aedion about the blood oath, tells him that he can still swear it and that she doesn't just have to have one. He agrees to swear it, but only once she is crowned.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 30:</b> Dorian has allowed the demon complete control of him since Celaena failed to kill him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 31:</b> Manon goes into the Duke's tent and witnesses Kaltain using dark fire, which the Duke calls shadowfire, on a soldier. The power has always been in her but has now been awoken. It doesn't burn the victim, but causes them severe pain.<br />
<br />
Manon and her thirteen are being denied access to the Yellowlegs coven being experimented on. Duke reveals that her grandmother, the Blackbeak Matron, is building the King a weapon.<br />
<br />
Elide overhears Manon and Asterin talking in the wyvern aerie.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Manon orders Elide to find a way into the chambers where the Yellowlegs coven is being kept and find out what is happening to them. Elide finds her uncle touching and talking to Kaltain, she rescues Kaltain from him and takes her somewhere safe. Elide goes to Manon for poison.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 33: </b>Aedion is training with Rowan and dealing with the knowledge he is half Fae and may age differently to Celaena, he may outlive her. Rowan warns Aedion to never again speak to Celaena in the way he did the night before. Lysandra stops by the apartment, Arobynn has received word of prison wagons heading to Morath with a lot of missing people in them. Celaena offers to kill Clarisse for Lysandra and give her freedom, Lysandra tells her not yet.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 34:</b> Celaena gives Rowan a tour of the city, takes him to the Royal Theatre and plays the piano for him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 35: </b>Chaol and Nesryn go with rebels to rescue the prisoners on the way to Morath.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 36: </b>Celaena sneaks from her apartment and allows Lorcan to follow her. She leads him to a group of Valg and leaves him there to be killed. He kills them all and finds her, now she knows that the Wyrdhounds can be killed. She warns him that one day she will come or him. This is the first time where Celaena and Rowan have a silent conversation just by looking at each other (Which, personally, still makes absolutely no sense to me).<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 37:</b> Dorian is taken by the Valg demon every day to see the men suffering in the dungeons.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 38:</b> Lysandra stops by the apartment, where Rowan reveals that she is a shapeshifter. She can't shift now that magic is gone. No one knows about it. Her father must have been a shifter, although she never knew him. Lysandra was kicked out by her own mother when she shifted in front of her at age seven. She took many shapes and forms to survive on the streets. She got more when she made herself prettier, and was in her current form when she shifted. Not how she really looked, but can no longer remember how she truly looked.<br />
<br />
Lysandra warns her that Arobynn is about to call in his favour and will then expect her to deliver the Valg to her and then have dinner with him. It is most likely a trap in some way or another. Sends her a bottle of perfumed skin oil for her to wear, so she will smell like him.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 39:</b> Celaena and Rowan capture one of the Valg, and Celaena manages to speak to the man trapped inside his own body. Makes a deal with him, which isn't revealed to the reader. She sneaks out that night and comes home smelling of ash. Asks Rowan to go with her to visit Sam's grave. She talks to Sam, tells him all she has been through and reveals her thoughts that he was her mate and that she will always love him.<br />
<br />
Celaena plans to kill Arobynn that night, after the dinner.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 40:</b> Elide uses the poison from Manon on the laundress to make her and a few others sick, so she can volunteer to take the sheets down to where the Yellowlegs coven is being kept. She gets down there and sees inside. She is then found by the witches sitting in her own piss and unable to stop vomiting.<br />
<br />
Saw inside the room and believes the witches have already given birth once and are about to do so again. The offspring are not witchlings, they are black creatures with diamond skin, snouts and black stone fangs. The witches are chained to tabled, sobbing and begging to be let go. Asterin fights with Manon and draws blood, she will be punished for it.<br />
<br />
Elide tells Manon about her family. How her father was killed and that her mother died defending Aelin/Celaena. Her mother was Marion, the woman who sacrificed herself to give Celaena enough to escape the King's men the day they came to kill her. Still hopes that Aelin is alive and may one day come for her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 41:</b> Aedion and Rowan talk and agree to kill Arobynn if Celaena doesn't. Celaena wears the dragon dress.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 42:</b> They arrive at Arobynn's. Celaena and Rowan have another lengthy mind conversation. Aelin watched Arobynn interrogate the Valg commander. He reveals that the king uses the rings to control them, but has to have their blood in him for it to work. Arobynn takes the ring from the Valg.<br />
<br />
Celaena subtly gives Lysandra a note before dinner. Arobynn tells her he tried for months to free her from Endovier.<br />
<br />
Celaena and Rowan have yet another silent conversation, where she reveals she isn't wearing underwear. (Seriously, how can they have this full blown conversations in their head when SJM has confirmed they can't read each others thoughts or read each others minds. I am calling bullsh*t on it.)<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Arobynn says Celaena has been ruining his business and properties. She disguised herself as one of his most loyal clients, Cormac Hinsol, when she rescued Aedion. Even used two of his carriages when she escaped. Cormac then tried to blame it on Arobynn.<br />
<br />
Goes in to the sitting room with Arobynn, but Rowan and Aedion listen outside the door, to discuss what she wants in order to stop messing with his business. Celaena tells him that if her, Rowan and Aedion don't make it out of Arobynn's then Chaol is going to have some of his men give word to the King about Arobynn's dealings and the demon he just killed. Arobynn gives Celaena the amulet, but slips the wyrdstone ring onto her finger.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Arobynn swallows her blood so that he can control her through the ring. Orders her to blink and she does, does exactly as he says. He sends her off with Rowan Aedion. Celaena had faked her obedience, had chose the Valg with least control of its host and given the human a chance for redemption. Had him feed Arobynn false information about the ring and blood. She had taken the real ring and replaced it with a fake. It was a test for Arobynn, shows that he has no hope of redemption.<br />
<br />
Celaena tells Rowan that she has told Lysandra that she can kill Arobynn, she deserves it more. Celaena goes to kiss Rowan but he pushes her away and tells her not to touch him like that.<br />
<br />
Lysandra is in bed with Arobynn, she plans to kill him as he lays in bed. She heard him send for his men and she knows he wants Rowan killed. She slits Arobynn's throat with the knife he keeps under her pillow.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 45:</b> Dorian watches helplessly as the demon in him tortures a man.<b> </b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 46: </b>Celaena on the way to the Assassin's Keep, called there by Tern, Harding and Mullin who have taken control as Arobynn is now dead.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 47:</b> Celaena pretends to know nothing about it and interrogates Lysandra, who plays her part perfectly. Arobynn's throat was slit and he choked to death on his blood. The Master of the Bank arrives to read Arobynn's will, he left <b style="font-style: italic;">everything</b> to Celaena. Tern, Mullin and Harding offer to buy the Guild and house from her, giving her the funds she needs. Celaena had switched the will, originally all she would have received was the amulet back. Celaena goes to vie Arobynn's body and beheads him.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Part 2: Queen of Light</i></span></div>
<br />
<b>Chapter 48:</b> Manon beats Asterin in the breakfast hall as punishment. Duke summons her and demands a Blackbeak coven for the experiments next. Duke has her and the thirteen take him and Kaltain out on the wyverns. Take them to a village where he gets Kaltain to use her shadowfire to destroy it and all the people there. She only manages to kill some, so Manon and the thirteen have to kill the rest.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Celaena tells Aedion her plan is to free magic, kill the King and kill Dorian too. Celaena and Lysandra go to the bakery, to find out where the opium dealer from the Shadow Market is hiding out - catacombs below the sewers. They go to the destroyed market and she reveals the opium dealer also sold hellfire, highly flammable, which she wants to find and use to destroy the tower.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 50:</b> The hellfire supply is hidden below in the underground temple of the God of Truth. Wyrdmarks at the back of the temple tell the story of Elena and Gavin. Describes the demon wars with the Valg left behind after the First War. Valg were led by one of the three Kings. The King could take on any form and appeared as a handsome man. They called him Erawan, Dark King, who Gavin and Elena fought and killed.<br />
<br />
Gavin's deathbed confession reveals that they did not destroy the King, they couldn't. The Eye of Elena put him to sleep. They built him a sarcophagus of iron and indestructible stone, put it in a sealed tomb beanth a mountain. A labrynth of doors led to it and they put unbreakable symbols on the doors to lock them. They buried him beneath the Black Mountains and built a keep on top of it. Realise that the Black Mountains is Morath and that the King is attempting to raise Erawan, if he hasn't already.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 51:</b> Manon asks her thirteen to pick the coven for the Duke but they refuse. A man enters and darkness engulfs them all. Man being controlled by the Valg comes though, tells them his name is Roland and begs them to kill him. Manon kills him. Manon goes after Kaltain, she says that the Duke wants Kings.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 52:</b> Nesryn brings a message from Ren, tells them the King is building an army at Morath and that he has 3,000 witches and wyvern. already.<br />
<br />
Celaena is snuck up on by Lorcan, who holds a knife to her throat. He says that he has left Maeve and that she made a mistake giving Maeve the ring. The ring protects whomever wears it against the Valgs powers. Lorcan wants to destroy all the Wyrdkeys to stop Maeve from getting them. He will give them the ring if they give him the Wyrdkey (the amulet). He then lets her go and disappears.<br />
<br />
Rowan tells Celaena he missed her while she was gone. Then he puts his teeth at her neck... which is apparently completely sexy to Fae for some reason. Go figure.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 53:</b> Dorian paragraphs of basically nothing.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 54:</b> Manon has received a summons for her and the thirteen. She is to fly to meet her grandmother and the King in Oakwald Forest, finally see the weapon her grandmother has been building.<br />
<br />
Kaltain had allowed the demon to take control of her, allowed the Duke to do whatever he wanted to her and her body. She has been lying in wait, slowly stealing back control from the Valg demon inside her. She has full control back but is pretending she doesn't. She wishes to destroy them.<br />
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 55:</b> Evangeline shows up at Celaena's apartment, the King's men came for Lysandra. It was in Arobynn's will that the Guard be told of Lysandra being a shapeshifter. Chaol and Nesryn arrive with news of the meeting in Oakwald Forest and the fact they are bringing a prisoner to transport to Moranth (Lysandra).<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 56:</b> Celaena, Rowan, Aedion, Nesryn and Chaol are going to the meeting place to rescue Lysandra. More Rowan and Celaena moments.<br />
<div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 57:</b> Celaena promises Chaol she won't try to kill Dorian during Lysandra's rescue.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 58:</b> At the meeting, Manon's grandmother reveals she received all her letters about the experiments. She already knew about it and she approves. Manon talks to Dorian and manages to actually get through to Dorian and talk to him, he remembers his name before the demon takes back control.<br />
<br />
Celaena frees Lysandra from the prison wagon and witnesses Manon's grandmother slapping her as punishment.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 59:</b> Dorian loses control again but he remembers Manon's name. Chaol has run off from the others, he plans to kill Dorian as he feels he is lost, but he runs into the witches. Celaena reveals herself to the witches and tells them she is Aelin G. Manon is going to allow her to leave unharmed with Lysandra, so Celaena thinks this is a great time to tell them that she killed Baba Yellowlegs, making Manon want to kill her. She traps Manon in place with wyrdmarks and makes for the two bridges that go across the ravine. Manon catches up to them on the first bridge, leading to a stone temple and Rowan gets an arrow through his shoulder as he protects Celaena from getting it through her heart.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 60:</b> Celaena and Manon fight on the temple. The fighting makes the temple begin to collapse and it collapses around Manon as Celaena escapes. She changes her mind and goes back, saving Manon's life, meaning Manon feels she owes Celaena a life debt.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 61:</b> Celaena uses once again about how she wishes she had let Chaol die. Rowan is heale by a midwife at a family farm of Nesryns.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 62:</b> Manon tells the King about the rebels who freed Lysandra, but she lies and says that she killed them all. Manon saw the weapon her grandmother built. They are giant towers of sacred mirror that would be used to amplify any power, the King would use Kaltains shadowfire.<br />
<br />
Back in Morath, Elide is caught by Vernon before she can escape on a supply wagon.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 63:</b> Vernon leaves Elide in a dungeon cell, wants to use her as she has witches blood in her veins. Vernon calls Manon in and gives her reports on the kingdom - information on Celaena and Chaol. She realises that Chaol's plan is to kill Dorian, and that they don't realise he is still inside.<br />
<br />
Asterin takes Manon away from Morath to talk. Tells her that at twenty eight, eighty years ago, she was off hunting Crochan witches when she was caught in a storm and fell from her broom, injuring herself. She was found by a human hunter and stayed with him for five months. When she was summoned back to Blackbeak Keep, she was already a month pregnant. She told Manon's grandmother about the pregnancy when she was four months along, who placed her on bed rest and told no one else. The baby was stillborn and the Matron wouldn't allow her to even see the baby, instead she had her burned and then beat Asterin for it and then branded the words UNCLEAN across her stomach. Sorrel and Vestra are the only two people who know. Manon reinstates her as her second.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 64:</b> Celaena gives Lysandra a letter from Clarisse, it reveals that she is giving her and Evangeline their freedom - Celaena has paid off both their debts.<br />
<b><br /></b>Asterin and Manon head to Rifthold. Elide has been in the dungeons for four days and no one has come for her.<b> </b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 65: </b>Rowan finds Lorcan on the roof, he tells Rowan that he killed all of the Wyrdhounds. Lorcan suggests that Maeve may want to use Celaena, rather than kill her. That she may collar her, like the King did to Dorian. Lorcan says he is the only one who can hunt down and destroy the keys. Lorcan swears a blood oath that the ring really does protect the wearer from the Valgs powers. Rowan gives him the amulet and takes the ring. Lorcan doesn't realise that the amulet is a fake.<br />
<br />
Dorian is still wrestling with the demon and remembers Manon.<br />
<br />
Celaena and Chaol finally talk properly. He apologises for all the things Celaena blames him for. Celaena explained that what she said, when she said she would always pick him, wasn't what she meant. Chaol says she deserves to be happy, she tells him the same. She tells him he should be with Nesryn.<br />
<br />
Chaol and Nesryn visit a temple, where she makes him promise that he will <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">walk</u> out of the castle. (Maas is kind of evil!).<br />
<br />
The plan is for Rowan and Aedio to set the hellfire beneath the tower in the sewers. Celaena and Chaol will be the ones entering the castle to take on the King and Valg Dorian.<br />
<br />
Rowan and Celaena finally kiss.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 66:</b> <b> </b>Celaena refuses Lysandra's help, orders her to get to safety outside the city with Evangeline. Manon has written throughout Rifthold in Valg blood a message for Celaena : WITCH KILLER - THE HUMAN IS STILL INSIDE HIM - letting her know that Dorian is still inside himself and that there is still hope for him.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 67: </b>Chaol and Celaena split up from Aedion and Rowan, Aedion gives her her father's sword.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 68: </b>Celaena and Chaol arrive at the castle fence, she has Chaol tied up as if he is a prisoner. His men, including Ress and Brullo, are dead and their bodies have been left hanging from the fence. Celaena is pretending to still be the King's loyal Champion and that she is bringing Chaol to him.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 69:</b> Celaena has covered herself in wyrdmarks to protect herself. She gives the King two rings, fakes, and tells him they are from the King and Crown Prince of Wendlyn, that she did what he asked of her. The King reveals that he knows who she really is.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 70:</b> The Wyrdhounds are alive, Lorcan lied about killing them and instead gave them Rowan's scent.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 71:</b> Rowan and Aedion are fighting the Wyrdhounds, meaning that they are unable to destroy the tower by noon like they had planned.<br />
<br />
Celaena reveals she has the Eye of Elena and then runs from the throne room, Dorian pursues her. Chaol stops the King from being able to follow her. She jumps from an open window to escape Dorian.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 72:</b> Celaena lands on a glass bridge below the window and Dorian follows her. Chaol is taking on the King alone to buy her time to free Dorian. Chaol reveals the Eye that Celaena has is fake, had it made and he doesn't know where she has put the real one. The King uses his powers on Chaol and the chapter ends with us not knowing if Chaol is dead or not.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 73:</b> Tiny Dorian/Demon paragraph<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 74: </b>Dorian and Celaena are fighting on the bridge, he stabs her in her side.<br />
<br />
Aedion and Rowan are still fighting the Wyrdhounds. Lorcan appears and helps them. They finally defeat them and Rowan lights the fuse and finally brings down the tower, setting magic free. The tunnels ahead are filled with hundreds of Valg commanders and soldiers.<br />
<br />
Dorian has slipped Athrils ring on Dorian's finger, the ring that protects from Valg powers. Valg uses Dorian's powers against Celaena and she fires her back at him.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 75:</b> Aedion, Rowan and Lorcan are losing to the Valg. Lysandra appears, shifted into a ghost leopard, and kills all of the remaining Valg soldiers. Once they are defeated, they all head to the castle.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 76:</b> King arrives on he bridge, says that he has killed Chaol. Dorian finally takes back control from the Valg and snaps the collar off.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 77:</b> Rowan turns into his hawk form to fly up to the castle and find Celaena. Celaena and Dorian are using their powers on the King. Celaena hears him call Dorian 'My boy' in a voice she has never heard him use before.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 78:</b> The King reveals that Erawan is already free. He and Duke Perrington went to Morath years ago and freed him. Erawan took over the Duke's body and another demon took over the King. The King has been possessed this whole time and wasn't actually evil. He wrestled control back long enough to have the towers built and banish magic. He says he has wanted Celaena to destroy him this whole time. Tells them Chaol is broken but not dead.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 79:</b> Dorian shatters the glass castle and kills the King. Celaena awakes on the ground with Dorian and Chaol. Celaena then addresses the city, tells them that the King is dead and Dorian lives. She takes control of the city until Dorian is ready to lead. She orders every single slave freed.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 80:</b> Vernon goes to visit Elide, now that magic has been freed he wants to see what powers she possesses. He wants her to breed with the Valg. Manon returns to Morath and realises that Elide is missing.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 81:</b> Manon rescues Elide before she can be taken to be breed with the Valg. News arrives of the King's death.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 82:</b> Kaltain appears, will help Elide and Manon to escape. Kaltain uses a dagger to slice open her arm and remove a dark stone from it, which she gives to Elide and tells her to give to Celaena Sardothien. She tells her to inform Celaena it is a key which will unlock any door. Kaltain uses her fire to destroy everything in Morath, including herself. Manon, Elide and the thirteen escape.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 83: </b>Another Rowan and Celaena kiss. Learn that Lorcan took the ring back from Celaena while she was unconscious.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 84:</b> Dorian visits Chaol as he wakes for the first time. The King broke Chaol's spine in multiple places and he is paralysed and unable to walk. Dorian says they were unable to heal him, he needs to go to the healers at Torre Cesme in the Southern Continent. Dorian has made Nesryn the temporary Captain of the Guard and Chaol the King's Hand.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 85:</b> Manon tells Elide that the King is dead and that Aelin is alive and she was the one who killed him. She tells Elide to make her way to Terrasen and find her.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 86:</b> Celaena gives Lysandra a property that once belonged to the Allsbrooks and appoints her Lady of it. Dorian has issued a decree that frees all the kingdoms conquered by his father.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 87:</b> Duke Perrington and Vernon both survived at Morath and still plan to fight.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 88:</b> Celaena asks Chaol to try to strike an alliance with the royal family in the Southern Continent as they need all the help they can find. Celaena, Aedion, Rowan and the others are heading back to Terrasen. Manon flies to the castle to see Dorian.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Chapter 89: </b>The book ends with Celaena and the others arriving in Terrasen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463107108l/28260587.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463107108l/28260587.jpg" width="210" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Empire of Storms</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Nightfall</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Princess Elena Galathynius is in her war tent before the battle with Erawen. His army is much larger, she knows her armies will be slaughtered. Gavin wants her to run, so that she can live. Her father's powers are failing, they can't beat Erawen. Elena tells Gavin she wants to get close to Erawen to kill him and that she needs him as a distraction. Gavin says they can't kill him, they'd only trap him and move this war/battle on to someone else in the future. Elena says that if they succeed, no one can know what they have done.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Part 1: The Fire-Bringer</i></span></div>
<br />
<b>Chapter 1:</b> Elide has been in Oakwald forest, where Manon left her, for weeks. She is trying to follow Manon's advice to find Aelin & Celaena Sardothien to repay the debt she owes Kaltain Rompier. Elide still has the stone Kaltain gave her. Elide can sense that someone is following her.<br />
<br />
Lorcan Salvaerre is being hunted by witches after sneaking into one of their camps, killing 3 Yellowlegs and kidnapping, interrogating and killing a fourth. He learnt that twin witch armies are poised to take the continent - one in Morath, the other in the Ferian Gap. Yellowlegs don't know about the Wyrdkeys. Lorcan thinks Elide is possessed because he can smell the stone, thinks she is possessed by the valg.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Aelin & the others have been left gifts by the Little Folk that follow them. Aedion has sent messages to the Lords he can trust and asked them to come for a meeting. We also get kissing and endless cringy inner monologue! Kill me now.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 3: </b>Manon's grandmother arrives at Morath with her coven. Manon remembering what her grandmother did to Asterin - branded her, threw her stillborn in a fire without allowing her to hold the baby, beat her and left her to die.<br />
<br />
The High Witch suspects that Manon and her Thirteen were behind the destruction at Morath as they were against the breeding of witches with the Valg.<br />
<br />
Erawen now in a different body. He is planning to send the witches to take Rifthold, cause destruction and bring Dorian to him if he can be captured alive. Manon advises him to act as though he is 'liberating' the city from Dorian and not destroy the city too much - more likely to make allies of Anielle, Melisande and Fenharrow that way. Erawen orders her to bring down the glass wall in Rifthold that Aelin created.<br />
<br />
Ghislaine tells Manon all she knows of Erawen - one of three Valg Kings who entered their world at the dawn of time. Two were killed or sent back. Erawen fled the continent when Maeve and Brannon defeated his forces. He spent thousands of years rebuilding his numbers. He launched his attack when King Brannon's flame was dimming. Legend was always that Gavin & Elena destroyed him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 4: </b>Aelin and the others go to meet Lords Ren, Murtaugh and Darrow. Aelin recognises Murtaugh from the warehouse back in Crown of Midnight. Introduces Lysandra to the men as the Lady of Caraveire, a name she made up.<br />
<br />
Darrow tells Aelin she is not yet Queen, rule of Terrasen must be approved by the ruling families of each territory. Darrow doesn't like her or want her as Queen, and calls Lysandra a common whore and Rowan Maeve's minion. Aelin tells him Rowan is her carranam and his loyalty can't be questioned.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Rgn6cUfaN5zW/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for applause gif" border="0" height="112" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Rgn6cUfaN5zW/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a>Darrow reveals Aelin and Aedion were going to be betrothed but Wendlyn rejected the offer to unite their kingdoms at Maeve's request. Aelin gets angry at Darrow, stabs a blade between his fingers as Lysandra shifts to ghost leopard form. Darrow calls her spoiled and arrogant - well, he's not wrong.<br />
<br />
Darrow doesn't recognise her as Queen and neither do the Lords of Slaone, Ironwood & Gunnar - the majority. He tells her that if she tries to return to Orynth and seize the throne then it would be an act of war and treason.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Aelin is told that the Ironteeth witches fly for Rifthold to sack the city. She sends Rowan to save Dorian and bring him to meet them at Skull's Bay. Aelin asks Aedion to get the Lords to write a letter of recommendation for them for Captain Rolfe.<br />
<br />
Aelin leaves Evangeline and Fleetfoot with Murtaugh to keep them safe and makes a blood promise that she will burn them all if Evangeline comes to any harm whilst in their care. Little Folk leave another message - a replica of Brannon's temple, they are telling her where to go.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 6:</b> Dorian is in Rifthold, told his mother and brother to stay in Ararat. The army of witches and wyverns arrive in Rifthold. Iskra's legion have beaten Manon's there.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 7:</b> Dorian begins using his magic to kill the witches. A witch and wyvern break into his tower and attack him. Manon and Abraxos arrive, Manon beheads the witch and Abraxos throws her wyvern from the tower. Dorian has been injured by the wyverns venom, his magic is keeping him alive.<br />
<br />
Manon tells Dorian that Perrington is a demon in a mortal body and that he has changed body and that he plans to take Erilea. She tells him to escape as four Yellowlegs witches appear. Rowan arrives and kills the Yellowlegs witches. Dorian stops Rowan from killing Manon; Dorian and Rowan escape.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 8:</b> Dorian and Rowan leaving Rifthold in a boat.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Elide hears a creature in the forest, coming towards her and it's not whoever has been following her. Lorcan reveals himself and tells her to come with him, he knows she is human. Four beasts find them, the ilken, creatures made by Erawen. Leader of the ilken reveals they have been sent to retrieve Elide.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 10:</b> Elide tries running but an ilken finds her. She holds the stone so he can sense the power and pretends she has also been sent by Erawen. Lorcan finds her, asks why she smells like the creatures. She tells him she spent months in Morath amongst them, lies and tells him her name is Marion. Elide tells Lorcan about Morath and that she is heading for Terrasen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 11: </b>Iskra smells her dead witch on Manon, so Manon lies and says the witch attacked her and that Dorian escaped whilst she was killing the witch. Tells her the four other Yellowlegs were killed by a fae warrior, Rowan.<br />
<br />
Manon heads to her grandmother, where the other Matrons wait too. Petrah is also there, the witch Manon saved during the War Games of Heir of Fire. The Blackbeak, Yellowlegs and Blueblood Matrons have gathered for Manon's trial, she is on trial for killing Zelta Yellowlegs. Manon lies again, sticks to her story that she was attacked first. Petrah defends Manon.<br />
<br />
Grandmother says that Manon will not be killed but blood must be paid. She orders that Asterin be killed at sunrise the next day.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 12: </b>Aelin, Aedion & Lysandra arrive in Ilium, where the Temple of the Stone is - it is built around the first rock Brannon placed his foot on. Lord of Meah, Roland Havilliard's father, marched his troops over the border and claimed port of Ilium as his own. They're using the temple as their barracks.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.tenor.com/images/3e85f090f1cdf47bf05113743dacdc0b/tenor.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for i see what you did there gif" border="0" height="133" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/3e85f090f1cdf47bf05113743dacdc0b/tenor.gif" width="200" /></a>Ilium was once the stronghold of the Mycenians - crime lords who helped win a war so the King ruled them legitimate. Mycenians were exiled for refusing to come to Terrasen's aid. The Mycenians disappeared long ago, along with their sea dragons.<br />
<br />
Kingsflame is mentioned - a blossom that bloomed during Orlon's reign but hasn't bloomed since - calling it now, Kingdom of Ash is probably gonna end with this fucking flower blooming!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Rowan explains to Dorian about his magic and how it feeds off of him, that he will need to master it before it devours him. Dorian tells Rowan about how he couldn't save Sorscha, and Rowan tells him he also couldn't save his mate when she was killed. Rowan tells Dorian to help get Rolfe on their side. Dorian asks Rowan to teach him about his magic, help train him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 14: </b>Aelin and Aedion have sent letters to Wendlyn asking the Ashryver's for help. A merchant tells them that 50 fae warships have been spotted on the Western Coast of Fae territory.<br />
<br />
Aelin, Lysandra and Aedion make their move on the temple. Aelin uses her fire, giving herself a crown of fire. Their are fifty soldiers, many see Aelin's power and drop their weapons and run. Thirty five soldiers remain. Aelin burns the commander from the inside out, burns him to nothing but ash. They take the temple in twenty minutes, all soldiers are dead or surrendered.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 15: </b>Aelin steps onto the rock in the temple and Brannon appears. She asks is Maeve can be killed but he doesn't know. Brannon says the Lock is hidden in a sunken city in the Stone Marshes and it is needed to bind the keys back into the broken Wyrdgate,<br />
<br />
Erawen has sen a Valg after her, in the body of the Chief Overseer of Endovier - Erawen knows who she is and her past. She tries attacking him with her power, it causes her to vomit. Realises he has a heart of Wyrdstone. Heart punches through his chest, reveals the eyes of Erawen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Erawen knows that Rowan has Dorian and that he has men tracking him and they will hurt him. Aelin destroys the overseers body and Erawen leaves.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 17:</b> Manon plans to make Words of Request, meaning she will be the one to execute Asterin, so that she doesn't suffer. Manon's grandmother allowed Asterin to be beaten, as punishment for the four sentinels Rowan killed. Asterin's execution means any witch who wishes to beat her can. Manon invokes Words of Request and Cresseida Blueblood allows it, as Manon saved her daughter.<br />
<br />
Manon knows Asterin could save herself if she would just reveal Manon's lies but she doesn't. The Thirteen raise two fingers to brow for Manon - a symbol used to honor a Witch Queen. Manon tells her Thirteen to run and then turns and attacks her grandmother rather than executing Asterin.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Manon and her grandmother fight with just their nails and teeth. Grandmother reveals that she killed Manon's mother, even though she was always told she died birthing Manon. Manon is stripped of her title of heir, Wing Leader, Grandmother tells her she will be known as Manon Witch Killer and Manon Kin Slayer.<br />
<br />
Her grandmother whispers in Manon's ear that her father was a Crochan Prince and that her mother intended Manon's mixed blood would be the key to break the curse. Manon has been a kin slayer her whole life, killing Crochan's when she is one.<br />
<br />
The witch who was spying in the Ferian Gap was actually searching for Manon, as they had learnt the child of their dead Prince was alive. The witch was called Rhiannon and she was Mannon's half sister. - she killed her and wears her cape. Manon is the last Crochan Queen.<br />
<br />
Manon's grandmother slices her across the stomach. Manon throws herself from the balcony, Abraxos catches her. Edda and Briar come back to retrieve her and lead her to the Thirteen. Six Yellowlegs are in pursuit, they take on two each. Manon manages to kill both witches chasing her and then faints whilst flying over Oakwald forest.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 19: </b>Lorcan and Elide plan to find a travelling carnival to travel with. Lorcan uses his magic to make Elide's limp less noticeable, as it makes her recognisable - helps ease some of the pain it causes her too. They go to a tavern for food, he pretends to be human and Elide tells him to pretend they are a married couple. They overhear a traveling troupe (what are the odds!), Elide asks to join and tells them Lorcan is a sword thrower. They agree to let them join temporarily. Troupe tell them of the attack on Rifthold and rumours of Aelin and her court.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 20:</b> Rowan and Dorian have arrived in Skull's Bay. Captain Rolfe, a character first introduced during Assassin's Blade, is in charge of Skull's Bay. Has hands tattooed with map of the worlds oceans. Rumour is that they would move, showing enemies, treasure and storms. The price for the tattoo was supposedly his soul, they stopped moving when magic fell. They go to his personal tavern, The Sea Dragon, and Rolfe is waiting for them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Rolfe revelas that Duke Perrington has issued a decree, signed by the majority of Adarlan's Lords and ladies naming Dorian an enemy of his Kingdom and that Perrington has liberated Rifthold from him. Hollin, Dorian's brother, has been named as Perrington's heir and the Crown Prince.<br />
<br />
Rolfe has lost part of the easternmost archipelago, his map now moves but whatever has that territory has magic that shields it, and any scouts sent don't come back but they hear beasts there - men that are no longer men.<br />
<br />
Rolfe lost most of his crew in the Spring, fighting to get the island back from Perrington's general. Perrington has Dead End, they have beasts called sea-wyverns with poisoned tails and they're hald the size of a ship. Rolfe's crew - many were captured and returned with wyrdstone rings, under valg control and he had to kill them.<br />
<br />
Rowan tells Rolfe about Erawen, the Valg and the Valg Princes. Two fae males appear, Rowan throws a dagger at one.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 22:</b> The two fae are Gavriel and Fenrys, two of Rowan's cadre who are still blood-sworn to Maeve. They reveal that Maeve's amada sails for the continent and is headed for Eyllwe. Fenrys's twin Connall is back with Maeve - a way to ensure that he comes back. Fenrys originally refused to join Maeve, so she went for Connal, who swore the blood-oath. Fenrys then agreed to join her if she left his brother alone. Fenrys and Gavriel have been sent to find and kill Lorcan.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 23:</b> Fenrys and Gavriel say Vaughan has also been sent to kill Lorcan. Rowan agrees to tell them where Lorcan is, but only if they send him an army of Doranelle warriors. Rowan is trying to convince them to help fight with Aelin, as it isn't technically against Maeve's orders. Rowan tells Gavriel that he has a son, not who he is but that he is on his way to Skull's Bay with Aelin. He threatens to kill them and break their deal if they tell Maeve about Gavriel's son.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 24:</b> Aelin, Lysandra & Aedion are on a ship sailing for Skull's Bay - mostly just more endless inner monologue of no real importance.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Manon wakes in Oakwald forest, a beautiful naked woman appears. An illusion, hiding Erawen's Bloodhound. She escapes on Abraxos and he hits the creature with his poisoned tail.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 26:</b> Dorian and Rowan have been in Skull's Bay for two weeks. Rifthold is under witch control and shops from the Ferian Gap now sail towards it. Part of Erawen's fleet is in the Gulf of Oro. Dorian writes a letter and has Rowan deliver it to him, acts like it is important news - a trick to get Rolfe to meet with them. Rolfe leads them to his office, where Aelin is seated behind his desk.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Rolfe remembers her as Celaena Sardothien, doesn't know she is Aelin.<br />
<br />
We get more talk about how she is currently Celaena and not Aelin, as they're totally two different people. Aelin should get checked for dissociative identity disorder.<br />
<br />
Aelin revels she asked around to check that Rolfe kept to his promise not to trade in slaves - events that happened back in the Assassin's Blade.<br />
<br />
Rolfe tells Gavriel, Rowan and Fenrys that they will have his help, men and ships if they kill Celaena. Celaena then introduces Aelin and another Aelin walks in, Lysandra shifted as Aelin. Lysandra shifts back and Aelin reveals who she really is to Rolfe.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 28:</b> Aelin tells Rolfe she will make him the Pirate King of Skull's Bay and the Dead Islands if he fights with them. Rolfe refuses, tells them to leave and they do. Rowan and Dorian tell them about what happened in Rifthold, she tells them about Ilium, Brannon and the Lock.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 29: </b>Rolfe's map is only one Aelin can use to the find the Lock. Lysandra and Aedion are tempting Rolfe with the Amulet of Orynth, so Aelin can see if map is working. Aedion can't hide his hatred for Dorian, Lysandra tells him to forgive him and not blame him for what his father did or what Dorian did under Valg control. Aedion asks Lysandra to go with him when he decides to meet Gavriel.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 30: </b>Elide and Lorcan barely speak but she tells him of Morath, he wants information on guards, armies and the layout. She struggles to tell him about the dungeons and the torture they did there. She refuses to tell him everything, as he will leave once she does. They are given their own tent and she hides the stone under the bed, he hears her doing it. She tells Lorcan her uncle is a commander at Morath and he locked her in the dungeons once. Tells Lorcan of her uncle's plan to breed her with the Valg. Reveals the ilken aren't the creatures bred in the dungeons, they come from the mountains around Morath and are made through darker methods.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 31:</b> Fenrys asks about Aelin's Settling - if she has shown any sign that she may be immortal or not, she hasn't. Maeve's blood oaths are made with the intention of ruling them in mind, which is why she has such control over those who swear it to her, whereas Aelin does't have that kind of control over Rowan. If any tried to break the oath with Maeve the magic that binds them would kill them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Aedion meets Gavriel, tells Gavriel that his mother died so Maeve would not get her hands on him. She could have been healed by the Fae but she would not risk that. Aedion is angry and blames Gavriel.<br />
<br />
Aelin finds Rolfe, Fenrys and Gavriel looking at a map with the locations of Morath's armies - Ferian Gap, Gulf of Oro, Melisande, Fenharrow and Eyllwe - making it impossible for them to get aid from the North. Armies are poised to take Eyllwe.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 33:</b> Aelin knows Erawen is planning to massacre the people of Eyllwe as a message to her for Ilium - he knows it matters to her because of Nehemia. Aelin tells Rolfe that he will give her his armada and arm it with firelances and ship any extras to the Mycenian Fleet. He tells her the Mycenian fleet is a myth. Aelin says she knows he is the heir of the Mycenian people and that she believes they are hiding in the Dead Ends.<br />
<br />
Aelin reveals she has liberated Ilium, the Mycenians ancient home, and he can claim it for his people.<br />
<br />
Aelin sends a blast of her power out, across the city. Aelin and the others turn to leave when the warning bells begin ringing, the Valg are attacking.<br />
<br />
Aelin sent a blast of her power out on purpose, to bring the Valg to Skull's Bay. Eight warships arrive with 100 soldiers on each and they've come with two sea-wyverns too. Aelin threatens to leave Rolfe to deal with it. Rolfe finally agrees to join them but he wants to be admiral, control of whole archipelago, he wants Ilium for the Mycenians (his people) and also wants to be made a lord.<br />
<br />
Aelin wants Rowan, Lysandra, Fenrys and Gavriel with her. Aedion to be on north watchtower to use the mounted harpoon and she sends Dorian to the south tower. Aelin asks Rolfe to get her iron chains, to keep a check against her magic if she loses control. Aelin plans to sail Rolfe's ship into the heart of the enemy fleet and blast them all.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 34:</b> Aelin sees the fight as not just a way to get Rolfe's allegiance, but also to send a message to the world that she is a force to be reckoned with, a way to show off her power and gain more allies.<br />
<br />
Lysandra jumps into the water and shifts into a sea dragon - a way to get the Mycenians out of hiding, as legend is they will not return until sea dragons do. Lysandra needs to kill the two sea-wyverns. Lysandra studied the life-size, detailed carvings at Brannon's temple in order to shift into them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 35: </b>Rolfe's ship sails out past Ship-Breaker, the chain that lies across the bay and prevents ships from getting in. His other ships stay behind the chain to guard the town. Aelin shackles herself with the chain. Aelin and Rowan cut their palms and link their hands, so she can use his power.<br />
<br />
Aelin is wielding the wyrdkey, losing herself to its powers. Her power melts the iron chains off of her. Deanna takes over Aelin, refers to her as the Queen that was Promised. Deanna tells Rowan to tell Aelin to retrieve the Lock. No number of allies will matter unless she has the Lock and puts the keys in it. She tells him 'flame and iron, together bound, merge into silver to learn what must be found. A mere strip is all it shall take.'<br />
<br />
Deanna uses her moonfire. She turns her hand towards the bay, thinking to destroy Skull's Bay and all the innocents there. Rowan jumps in front of Aelin's hand and Aelin takes back control, turning her power towards the enemy fleet.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Aelin has destroyed Rolfe's boat, and all but three of Morath's ships. Lysandra saves Rolfe and his crew from the water. Lysandra sinks one of the enemy ships. The sea-wyverns attack and she kills them easily and sinks another ship.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Three fully grown sea-wyverns are heading for Lysandra, they realise the other two were babies. She attacks a Morath ship, breaking the mast and making on the sea-wyverns impale itself on it. Dorian uses his power to freeze one of the sea-wyverns and then shatter it. Lysandra leads the final wyvern to Aedions tower and he spears it through the throat.<br />
<br />
Aedion runs for the beach, needs to get to Lysandra. He finds Lysandra and tells her he is going to marry her one day.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 38:</b> Rolfe tells Aelin the cost for his map - he was 16 and barely more than a slave on a ship. His Mycenian heritage got him beaten and all his money went back to his mother sister. Ship was caught in a storm and sank, he drifted for a day before washing up on an island with a man staring down at him. The man asked Rolfe what he wanted for himself - he said he wanted to be Pirate Lord of Skull's Bay. The man told him he could grant his wish but the price was that he would take what Rolfe valued most. Rolfe knew he has no wealth or belongings, so he agreed. Rolfe returned home to find that his mother and sister were killed at sea trying to find him. He realises that was the real price he had to pay.<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/l1J9GOHzv61L2UyYM/source.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for cringe gif" border="0" height="155" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l1J9GOHzv61L2UyYM/source.gif" width="200" /></a><br />
Rowan and Aelin proclaim they love one another. Then we are blessed with one of the cheesiest sex scenes in history. I cringe my way through it - she actually uses the phrase 'velvet-wrapped steel'.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 39:</b> Here we get all the talk of 'primal rage' and how no other male is able to look at <i style="font-weight: bold;">'<u>your</u> mate'</i> and all that other possessive shit that is totally romantic and not at all controlling.<br />
<br />
Aelin tells the others that she discovered that the Amulet was a wyrdkey back in Wendlyn. She explains to Dorian that she tricked Lorcan with a fake amulet. Aelin draws a wyrdmark to summon Elena. Elena tells her what they did to Erawen was their only option. She tells them the remnants of the Lock are in a great city in the heart of the marshes, in a temple in the very center. Elena's father obtained the Lock at the cost of her mother's mortal life.<br />
<br />
The Lock could only be used once - could seal anything you wished. Elena stole it and used it to seal Erawen in his tomb. Laid the used lock in a temple of holy city - the city sank and marsh water now covers it and the city was forgotten. Elena's mother was Mala Fire-Bringer, who bound herself in a mortal body to be with Brannon.<br />
<br />
They plan to head for the Stone Marshes to get the Lock. Rolfe sails to find the rest of the Mycenians and then head to Terrasen. They set sail, see a wyvern flying towards them. Manon falls from the saddle and into the water.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Part 2: Fire Heart</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Elide and Lorcan are in their tent and suddenly hear screaming, Lorcan tells her to hide. Four ilken have arrived, hunting for Elide. Lorcan pretends to be in charge and tells them no one matching Elide's description is among them. They reveal they are looking for Elide Lochan, niece of Lord of Perranth - Lorcan realises Elide lies to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 41:</b> Lorcan has killed the ilken. He confronts Elide, asks what she keeps hiding. She says it is a gift for Celaena Sardothien, from a woman in Morath and refuses to show him it. Tells him her mother was called Marion and that she died giving Aelin time to run from her assassin. Tells him that her uncle watched and smiled as her father was executed. He took her father's land and titles then locked Elide in the highest tower of Perranth. When she broke her foot and ankle, he did not trust healers to treat it. He shackled her ankles so she couldn't run, was kept that way for ten years.<br />
<br />
Lorcan tells her that he is over 500 years old, blood sworn to Maeve and her second-in-command. He has done great and terrible things in Maeve's name and will do many more. He was born a bastard on the streets of Doranelle but realised he could kill faster than others, he could sense when death was near. Reveals he is here on the behalf of the Queen but without her permission and she may kill him for it.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 42:</b> Manon wakes up on the boat, chained. Aelin tells her she is now their prisoner. Rowan and Aelin healed the wound on her stomach. Dorian realises that Manon's grandmother was the one who cut her - punished for saving him. Manon tells Dorian to find out if her Thirteen are alive and she will be his to command. Manon tells him the price for saving him was the life of her second and she refused, attacked her grandmother to the Thirteen time to escape. Manon tells Dorian to tell Aelin that Elide Lochan is alive and looking for her,<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Elide and Lorcan enter a tavern hoping to find news; learn that Aelin isn't in the North but that she is rumoured to be heading for Eyllwe. Elide needs to get to Banjali in Eyllwe. Lorcan says he will get her a map, but she reveals she can't read. Guards are heading for them, they run. They take a barge and Lorcan forces the man on it to get them safely out the city. Lorcan kills the man rather than set him free.<br />
<br />
Lorcan finally realises the amulet that Aelin gave him is a fake. Elide is angry that he killed the man instead of freeing him like she had promised him. Lorcan reveals that Celaena is an assassin who has killed many innocent people and that Celaena is Aelin. Tells Elide Aelin is an assassin, trained to kill since Elide's mother died to save her - tells her Aelin is no better than the man who killed Elide's mother and royal family. Elide tells him she will judge Aelin when she meets her. Lorcan tells her will take her to Aelin, as he now has business with her - he found a wyrdstone ring inside the fake amulet and a note from Aelin. Lorcan plans to find Aelin and kill her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Another cheesy sex scene. Dorian comes to see Manon - she tells him of the Yielding, where a witch can use their bit of magic that can be summoned once and unleash great power on her enemies but it is suicide and incinerates the witch - (Feel like this is foreshadowing for what Manon will have to do and if that happens in KoA I will scream - Manorian must live). Dorian kisses Manon and leaves, toying with her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 45: </b>Manon has told Aelin about Elide and what Vernon tried to do to her. Aelin slaps Manon for abandoning Elide in Oakwald Forest. Dorian convinces Aelin to give Manon time on the deck. Rowan, Aelin & Fenrys go to Manon's cabin, Manon says it isn't Fenrys. Fenrys attacks.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 46: </b>Erawen's Bloodhound was disguised as Fenrys, real one still on deck. Bloodhound now knows on what ship Aelin travels and who she is with. Bloodhound throws Asterin's leather strap to the ground, tells Manon that Erawen broke her and that she begged for her baby. Dorian kills the Bloodhound. Ilken are on the ship. Fenrys gets cut and poisoned by one of the ilken. Ilken came to give Aelin a message - Skull's Bay confirmed to Erawen that she has a wyrdkey.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 47:</b> Aelin heals Fenrys, talks to him to distract him. Fenrys can use his power to instantly travel short distances, but has no other special powers. Fenrys and Connall are sons of nobles and his parents were warriors. Gavriel came from a noble house and he believes that serving Maeve is a great honour. Gavriel had only wanted to leave once, for Aedion's mother. Aedion's mother didn't want him to stay, so he left.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 48: </b>Dorian and Manon having their usual back and forth. Dorian says he has no interest in human women, as they're too breakable. Manon tells the others that she is Crochan and that her father was a Crochan Prince killed by her grandmother for conspiring to end the feud between the witches and break the curse on their land. Manon is the last Crochan Queen and rightful heir to Blackbeak clan.<br />
<br />
Fenrys comments that Maeve's allegiance can't be boughy, says 'nameless is her price' and that reminds Aelin of something Baba Yellowlegs says. Aelin runs off and is vomiting, Rowan hears her and thinks she could be pregnant.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Elide has not spoken to Lorcan in three days, only speaks to him because she needs to stop for supplies. Elide goes to try on clothes at an inn, led to a room and locked in. Vernon is there waiting for her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 50:</b> Vernon has four ilken with him, and tells Elide Lorcan was spotted leaving on their boat. He tells her Manon is dead, gutted by her grandmother and thrown from a balcony in Morath. Vernon plans to put her in an iron box and fly her back to Morath. Elide fights back, grabs Vernon's knife and turns it on herself, plans to stab herself through the heart and kill herself rather than go back.<br />
<br />
Lorcan is watching from a rooftop, he throws his hatchet and hits Elides hand with the handle to stop her killing herself. He attacks three of the four ilken, one escapes with Vernon. Elide kills one of the ilken he injured. Lorcan heard Vernon talking Elide about Manon and Kaltain, she explains who they are. She shows Lorcan the stone that Kaltain gave her - he knows it is a wyrdstone. He explains about wyrdstones and wyrdkeys. Lorcan promises to always find Elide, she kisses him on the cheek and promises the same.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 51:</b> Erawen's forces have set Eyllwe on fire, but they can't find any trace of Erawen or Maeve's forces. There are rumours that Aelin is the one setting the fires - as a punishment for Eyllwe not helping ten years ago.<br />
<br />
Aelin and the others arrive a the Stone Marshes. Aelin isn't pregnant. Manon is to go with them but has to send Abraxos off on his own. She takes just a strip from her red cloak and ties it round her braid, drops the rest in the sea.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Elide and Lorcan arrive at the marshes, Lorcan feels led there by Hellas himself (god). They spend days inching across the marshes. Elide asks Lorcan about Maeve - reveals he has loved her since he first saw her. He once offered to be her lover and she laughed at him, so tried to prove invaluable in other ways,<br />
<br />
Elide says she will hide Lorcan in Perranth from Maeve. Kisses him and tells him that he will always have a place in Perranth. He kisses her. An army of ilken appear, flying for the marshes.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 53:</b> A beast from the swamp tries to attack Manon and Dorian stops it. Aelin realises Rowan let the beast through his shield, to serve as a lesson for Dorian but also so Manon could see him 'save' her. Manon sees the Eye of Elena and recognises it as a witch symbols called Eye of the Goddess. Talks of the battle at the Crochan city. Nothing grows on the killing field because of the curse. Rhiannon Crockan held the gates for three days and nights against the Ironteeth Matrons. She fell on the fourth day and cursed all the Ironteeth. Rhiannon swore they would win the war but no the land - the land would wilt and die, beasts would shrivel and keel over, their witchlings would be stillborn, fish would rot and rabbits and deer would flee and the Witch Kingdom would become a wasteland.<br />
<br />
The Ironteeth had laughed until their first witchling was born dead, followed by more and more. Cattle rotted in the fields, crops withered overnight. The witches eventually had to leave and have been wanderers for 500 years. Humans eventually took the Wastelands and the land responded to them.<br />
<br />
Rhiannon said there was only one way to break the curse: 'Blood to blood and soul to soul, together this was done, and only together it can be undone. Be the bridge, be the light. When iron melts, when flowers spring from fields of blood - let the land be witness, and return home' (Is the Kingsflame gonna blossom at the end of a final battle in KoA, breaking the curse?)<br />
<br />
Fenrys and Gavriel tell Rowan to take Aelin and run - they believe powers they can't understand have led Manon and Aelin here. Two Queens who can control half the continent, both half-breeds who cover the three main races, one mortal and one immortal, one worships fire and the other Darkness. Fenrys reveals Maeve has already replaced Rowan with Cairn, a sadist. Fenrys asks Rowan to kill him if Maeve orders him to kill Aelin, Rowan assures him he'd be dead before he could ever touch her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 54:</b> They finally arrive at the temple, find a chest covered in wyrdmarks. The sense magic, Lorcan has sent out a warning signal. They spot the 500 ilken flying towards them.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/39bac10b152f60e65329dfff93c7bf18/tenor.gif?itemid=4780502" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for so weird gif" border="0" height="111" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/39bac10b152f60e65329dfff93c7bf18/tenor.gif?itemid=4780502" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 55: </b>Aedion is angry, blames Aelin - says her constantly showing off her power to Erawen has worked and this is his response. Lysandra plans to anger the beasts of the marshes so they'll attack any ilken that land. It's revealed that Rowan put salt in the wounds on his back from Aelin's nails so they'd scar - you know, 'cause that's hot and romantic and not at all weird. Aelin heads out into the marshes, so she can send a full blast of her power at the ilken.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 56:</b> Aelin unleashes her magic, Dorian and Rowan too. They kill all 500 ilken in one go.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 57:</b> Elide and Lorcan head for Aelin and the others. Gavriel and Fenrys attack Lorcan in their animal forms. Elide jumps in to save him and is bitten. Lorcan will have to drop his shield to allow them to heal Elide but he will be killed, he does it anyway. Rowan uses his power to keep Lorcan & Fenrys from fighting. Rowan declares Lorcan and Elide under Aelin's protection, which is a way to delay the blood order for a while.<br />
<br />
Aelin tells Elide her mothers last words were to tell Elide that she loved her. Elide sees Manon, finally knows she is alive. Elide gives Aelin the stone from Kaltain and the message that Kaltain gave her - she can unlock any door if she has the key. Aelin claims Elide for her court.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 58:</b> Chest holds a mirror, not what they expected. It is a witch's mirror, some can see the future, past and present, some can speak between mirrors if someone possesses the sister-glass, some amplify and hold power. Manon explains Erawen was building large towers with witch mirrors, so he could send out huge blasts of power. They head back to their ship and are surrounded by Melsande's fleet. Aelin walks to meet the fleet, it is Ansel of Briarcliff, Queen of the Wastes - a woman that Aelin allowed to live years ago (an event from Assassin's Blade).<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 59:</b> Aelin introduces Manon & Ansel - Manon wants to kill her as she is proclaimed Queen of Western Wastes, which Manon feels belongs to the witches. The Wastes have now allied with Aelin. She sent a letter to Ansel revealing who she really was and giving her instructions. Ansel marched her army on Melsande, the Queen assumed they had come to offer aid and let them in. Ansel claimed Melisande's fleet for Aelin and Terrasen.<br />
<br />
Lysandra and Aedion talk and both admit they want to try to be together. Aedion reveals he is bisexual.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image result for rolls eyes gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">'Purely male'?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Aelin tells Ansel that she wants her to find the lost Crochan witches - believes they're in hiding. Aelin knows the Ironteeth worked with Erawen because he promised to give them back the Wastes and break the curse. Aelin tells Ansel to give the Crochans the South and inland of the Wastes. Ansel reveals she attempted to get Aelin out of Endovier but Dorian had already come for her. Ansel reveals Maeve was the one setting the fires in Eyllwe and blaming Aelin for it.<br />
<br />
Manon and Dorian have sex. Maas proves she is still unable to write a sex scene that doesn't make you cringe and the term 'purely male' gets used far too much.<br />
<br />
Maeve's armada appears.</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 61: </b> Maeves armada is three times the size of theirs and she has immortal warriors with magic. Maeve sends them a message, surrender or die. Gives them a day to decide. Rowan turns into a hawk and flies for her ships. Finds his cousin Enda, goes to all his cousins and asks the same thing of all of them - they all say they will consider it. (We don't know what the request is at this point)<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 62:</b> Dorian gathers Manon, Rowan and Aelin at the witch mirror. He believes it holds knowledge of how to bind the three keys. Dorian believes it is a travelling mirror. Deanna's words mean Manon and Aelin need to step into the mirror and learn how Aelin can wield the keys.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 63:</b> Fenrys reveals that Maeve whipped them for aiding Rowan at Mistward - believes she is scared of how powerful they are together. Fenrys and Gavriel agree to fight with Rowan until Maeve summons them. Lorcan agrees to fight if Rowan sends Elide to shore with a guard of men.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 64: </b>Manon and Aelin enter the mirror, into a memory from a thousand years ago of Elena Galathynius. Eye of Elena in center of sarcophagus, she turns it three times to seal it. They've had the Lock the whole time.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 65:</b> Immortal figure appear to Elena - Elena's father had promised to use the Lock to wield the three keys and send the immortal figures back where they belong along with Erawen, the Lock was forged for them. Rhiannon Crochan helped Elena's mother Mala cast her essence into the lock.<br />
<br />
Mala appears and threatens to release Erawen and Elena begs her to wait. Mala agrees but at a price and a promise. Malas bloodline will bleed again to forge the lock. Elena will lead them like a lamb to slaughter to pay the price. They agree to take Erawen back with them, then the person will have to seal the gate behind them using their entire life force - so Aelin would have to die to seal the gate.<br />
<br />
They then see Nehemia's memory - she wandered the Stone Marshes, had come to learn how to save them and seal the gate, Elena appeared to her, told her she had a different role to play. Tells Nehemia two branches of Mala's bloodline is in the North - Dorian and Aelin. Tells her to find Aelin at Dorian's Palace and that she will never see Eyllwe again. Nehemia went knowing she would die.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 66:</b> Lysandra in sea dragon form, destroying ships Rowan mapped for her. Ships in Maeve fleet now raising Whitethorn flags and begin firing on Maeve's armada.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 67:</b> Rowan went to his cousins, told them of Aelin and begged them to fire on Maeve and not them, an act of treason and all have done it. Maeve summons Gavriel and Fenrys. Gavriel looks at Lorcan and points to shore before disappearing. Lorcan realises Maeve isn't with the armada, she is on shore where he left Elide. Lorcan abandons them and sails for Elide.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 68: </b>Aelin now knows Nehemia went to Rifthold knowing she would die. Sees another memory of Rhiannon explaining how the mirror works. Then Brannon at Elena's tomb, she gave up her immortal life for Gavin. Brannon forging the amulet of Orynth, he left the messages and clues in Elena's tomb. Brannon makes Mort, the knocker at the door to the tomb. Brannon hid the wrydstone in Elena's crown and put the final key in Mala's temple.<br />
<br />
Elena shows Aelin another memory - the night she fell into the Florine river escaping the assassin. Elena was allowed to form a body to save her. She put her on the bank but the cold killed her. Elena brought her back to life and Elena tugged Arobynn from bed and her power led him to Aelin. She believed Aelin would be the one to save them, not Dorian. Elena will pay for bringing Aelin back - will go with the others when the gate is sealed and will never see Gavin or her children again. Elena shows Aelin what she must do but we don't see.<br />
<br />
Manon and Aelin are sent back - not to the ship but right in front of Maeve, who has one of her warriors holding a blade to Elide's throat. No idea why the mirror magically sends them here other than that is what the plot needs - deus ex machina!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 69: </b>Gavriel placed a shield round Aedion to protect him before Maeve summoned him away. Manon's thirteen arrive with Abraxos.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 70:</b> Rowan realises that Aelin and Manon are on the shore with Maeve and that the armada was a distraction.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 71:</b> Lorcan had summoned Maeve - when he first spotted Ansel's ships he thought they were an enemy fleet and he summoned Maeve to save Elide. Aelin's magic is depleted from killing the ilken, all a part of Maeve's plans. Gavriel asks Maeve to spare Aelin and return home. Maeve severs the blood oath with Gavriel without honor or good faith - knows how it will hurt him.<br />
<br />
Aelin asks why she is doing this to her. She saw that Aelin would be born and lead her to the keys. Maeve saw that Aelin's mate would be powerful and that their children could be powerful enough to rule an empire. Reveals that Rowan is Aelins mate. She made him believe that Lyria was his mate and then she led the enemy forces to her to kill her and break Rowan (How 'special' is the mate bond if she can just trick Rowan into thinking he found his mate?)<br />
<br />
She made sure Rowan swore an oath to her, knew she could use Rowan and Aelin's mating bond against them. Aelin has known Rowan was her mate since Manon shot him with the arrow. Maeve reveals Aelin is about five years away from Settling, she has the immortality of the Fae. Tells Aelin she will willingly go with Cairn or Maeve will also bring Elide with them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 72: </b>Aelin agrees to go - tells Elide to tell the others that she is sorry, to tell Lysandra to remember her promise, tell Aedion is is not his fault and to tell Rowan she is sorry she lied but it was all borrowed time and she knew it, she just wished they'd had more of it. Tells her to tell Rowan to fight and save Terrasen. Maeve plans to wield Aelin and the wyrdkeys.<br />
<br />
Maeve brings out an iron box with chains within and an iron mask. Maeve makes Aelin remove her shirt and Cairn whips her. Maeve tells her to count ten lashes but she refuses, so is whipped over and over again. Manon knocks out Elide and takes her away. Maeve puts the iron mask on Aelin.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 73:</b> Manon has the wyrdkeys, Aelin slipped them in her pockets so Maeve won't get them; it is why she had to get away and act uninterested. Manon watches as they place the mask on Aelin, chain her wrists, ankles and neck and lock her in the box. Maeve strips Lorcan of his oath, assets, titles and properties and exiles him from Doranelle. They load Aelin onto Maeve's ship and then it disappears.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 74: </b>Rowan arrives, holds a dagger to Lorcan's throat and demands to know where Aelin is. Rowan refers to Aelin as his wife - she marries him knowing Maeve was on the way, leaving Terrasen with a King. Elide tells them what happened and tells Rowan that Aelin is his mate. Aelin had asked Lysandra to promise her that when Aelin died to forge the lock that she would shift into her form and pretend to be her and lead Terrasen. She would have children with Aedion so they could be passed off as Aelin and Rowans.<br />
<a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/de5f94f3c48dffa4d3477066b8425f4a/tenor.gif?itemid=7842258" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for don't you dare gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/de5f94f3c48dffa4d3477066b8425f4a/tenor.gif?itemid=7842258" width="200" /></a><br />
Aedion is angry, calls Lysandra a lying bitch for agreeing, knowing and saying nothing. Elide tells Lorcan that she hopes he spends the rest of his life suffering.<br />
<br />
Asterin and the Thirteen spent months looking for Manon and then Abraxos found them and led them to her. Manon plans to find the Crochans, raise an army for Aelin and her people. The Thirteen agree to follow her. Manon gives Dorian the keys, as Mala's bloodline runs in his too - Seriously, if she kills Dorian to forge the Lock I will lose my shit.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 75:</b> Rowan and Aelin married two days before, with Aedion and Lysandra as witnesses. Aedion has the formal documents. Galan Ashryver, Crown Prince of Wendlyn arrives. Aelin sent a letter to him, not his parents. Ilias, son of the Master of Assassins is here with his army - Aelin called in her life debt with the Silent Assassins.<br />
<br />
Lysandra appears and pretends to be Aelin - will pretend to be her to their allies. Lysandra tells the armies they will go north to Terrasen. Gavriel, Lorcan and Elide want to go with Rowan to find Aelin, they believe Fenrys will try to leave tracks to follow. Dorian is heading North with the witches and will try to find the third key. Rowan is determined to find Aelin.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497973101l/31450852.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497973101l/31450852.jpg" width="209" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Tower of Dawn</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Part 1: The God-City</i></div>
</div>
<br />
<b>Chapter 1: </b>Chaol has reached the Khagan's palace in Antica. The khaganate's spent centuries at nomadic horse-people before the first khagan emerged. He was a warlord who unified the scattered tribes and took the continent piece by piece.<br />
<br />
Chaol has two tasks in Antrica - convince the khagan and his six potential heirs to send their armies to war against Erawen and to find a healer to get him walking again.<br />
<br />
Chaol notices white cloths hanging from windows, lanterns and doorways. Nesryn tells him it is a sign that a royal relative has recently died.<br />
<br />
The last khagan outlawed slavery, so all servants are paid. The inheritance of the empire is decided by the khagan - he can pick any of his children, based on who proves they are best suited for it. Khagan is required by law to keep a sealed document naming his heir in case he dies suddenly - this can be changed at any time.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Nesryn's father was from Antica so this feels like home to her.<br />
<br />
Urus is the current khagan and he has six children. Urus fought for his crown, executed two of his siblings, one is in exile and two swore fealty to him by having the healers of the Torre render them infertile.<br />
<br />
Sartaq is the khagan's second-born and is commander of the ruk riders, the rukhin. Ruks are enormous birds, eagle like in shape. Sartaqs ruk is called Kadara.<br />
<br />
Arghun is the eldest son and the politician amongst them - known as the Prince of Spies.<br />
<br />
Duva is the second youngest, and currently six month pregnant, after recently having an arranged marriage to prince from a neighbouring territory.<br />
<br />
Kashin, the fourth-born, has control of the armies on land.<br />
<br />
Hasar is the third-born and she is in control of their armadas.<br />
<br />
Chaol has brought jewels and gold as a gift from Dorian, Aelin gave him it for this purpose. Urus reveals he knows Aelin used to be Celaena Sardothien, an assassin. He is insulted that a wedding gift was not sent when Duva married, as every other kingdom sent one. Urus knows he is there to ask him to join the war and he says he will consider it whilst Chaol is there. Khagan gives Chaol permission to be healed at the Torre Cesme. He tells them to keep the jewels and gold, as he has no use for it.<br />
<br />
Urus reveals his youngest daughter, Tumelan, died suddenly three weeks ago.<br />
<br />
Urus tells Chaol that Perrington sacked Rifthold and that Dorian fled the city and that it now belongs to Perrington and the witches.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 3: </b>Kashin comes to Chaol & Nesryn's chambers, tells them the khagan wishes for them to dine with him and his family every evening. Kashin is worried that Perrington's forces could have infiltrated their court, wants Chaol to observe at dinners. Tumelan is believes to have killed herself, having jumped from her balcony - Kashin doesn't believe it, says she would never do that.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 4:</b> Yrene has been in the Torre for two years now, working under the guidance of Hafiza, the Healer on High. Yrene is the girl that Aelin saved in the Assassin's Blade. Yrene now feels ready to return to Adarlan, she wants to help in the war in any way she can.<br />
<br />
Kashin is fond of Yrene, they became friends after she healed one of his servants. Kashin wants more than that but Yrene doesn't.<br />
<br />
Hafiza assigns Yrene to Chaol - wants Yrene to heal him before she decides whether she will leave the Torre or not. She informs Yrene he is Chaol Westfall, the new Hand of the King of Adarlan and former Captain of the Guard. Yrene says she does not want to heal him, she hates Adarlan and the soldiers there - her mother was burned alive by soldiers from Adarlan.<br />
<br />
Yrene still has the brooch that Aelin gave her all those years ago, and the note that Aelin gave her too.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Yrene comes to assess Chaol and is angry at being there. She is very rude to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 6:</b> Yrene tells Hafiza that she can heal Chaol, as the injury is almost identical to an injury she healed before.<br />
<br />
Nesryn leaves the palace to go visit her aunt and uncle in the city, Sartaq sees her and asks to escort her. Sartaq tells Nesryn he was twelve when he snuck on rukhin captains ruk and rode it. His father ordered him to live amongst the rukhin as a punishment for this. Kadara hatched when he was fifteen and he took her as his ruk.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 7:</b> Chaol summons a servant, Kadja, and asks her to go into the city and try to find any information she can on Rifthold. Chaol then goes to see Arghun, wants to ask him all he knows of Rifthold. Arghun doesn't want to be seen talking to him and tells him to leave.<br />
<br />
Yrene joins the khagan and everyone for dinner - she is also good friends with Hasar and her lover, Renia.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 8:</b> Yrene tells Chaol she will heal him and attempt to get him walking again. She warns him to be wary what he says, that the servants are paid by the vizier and kahagan's children for information.<br />
<br />
Yrene lays her hands on Chaol's wound and probes it with her magic - she feels cold, dark anger and agony of the magic that was used.<br />
<br />
Chaol whispers to Yrene about what happened to him - about wyrdgates, wyrdstones, Wyrdhounds, the Valg, Erawen, Valg princes and collars and rings. He doesn't tell her about the keys or that the King was enslaved by a Valg. Also doesn't tell her Dorian was enslaved by one. He doesn't reveal who attacked him or who Duke Perrington really is.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Chaol tries to organise a private meeting with the khagan during dinner, the khagan refuses.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 10:</b> Yrene is in the Torre library, trying to find out more information about the kind of wound that Chaol has. Nousha, the Head Librarian, has found her texts and scrolls on dark magic, demons and wounds inflicted by them.<br />
<br />
Yrene finds an Eyllwe text called The Song of the Beginning with illustrations of an army kneeling before a towering gateway of blackstone - the Valg. Another shows three figures by the gate - names them as Erawen, Orcus and Mantyx, the three Valg Kings.<br />
<br />
Yrene decides to leave for the night, she feels a presence following her. She runs and finds a dead healer on the floor, looking as if something has sucked the life out of her. The healer looks very similar to Yrene.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 11:</b> Yrene arrives late to see Chaol and she sends his servant away to get ingredients so that she can talk to him. She tells him about the dead healer and that something was hunting her. Chaol believes a Valg is responsible for what happened to her. The healer looked like Yrene, so they believe it believed they were killing her. The valg also took the texts she had been reading.<br />
<br />
Yrene reveals she teaches a class on self defence - teaches what Aelin taught her years ago. She wants Chaol to go with her and teach them what he knows. Yrene is getting Chaol a special brace and straps made so that he can ride a horse.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 12: </b>Yrene starts the healing, it causes Chaol intense pain. There is an echo of the dark magic in his wound and it hates Yrene's magic. Chaol will experience excruciating pain the whole time she heals him. Yrene will need to fight off the magic and heal him at the same time. Yrene says he must talk about what happened, heal his emotional wounds as well but he refuses.<br />
<br />
Chaol wants Nesryn to try and talk to Sartaq, so she goes and finds him in the aerie. Sartaq takes her for a ride on Kadara. They talk about Adarlan and what Aelin did to the King, as they have heard she killed him. Nesryn tells him the king was a monster and that Aelin did Erilea a favour.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Yrene is healing Chaol, the dark magic shows her images of Morath.<br />
<br />
Nesryn goes into the city to try and search for signs of the Valg - Sartaq follows her. Sartaq tells her he has heard that Rifthold is filled with monsters, beasts that look like humans but aren't. Nesryn tells him about her mother, who got sick but the King had rid Erilea of magic and killed the healers, so she could not be treated. Her father wanted to bring her to the Torre but she got to sick to make the journey and died. She explains to Sartaq that if he sees anyone with black rings or collars then he should behead to kill them. Explains everything she can about the Valg. Sartaq explains his hearth mother at the rukhin had told him stories - sounds like there was a Valg presence on this continent a long time ago.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 14:</b> Yrene meets Chaol and they ride over to the self defence class. Yrene uses it as a teaching lesson for some of the girls, allows them to help him down off his horse. Chaol is furious and embarrassed.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 15:</b> Yrene and Chaol fight about her letting the acolytes help him. Chaol asks if Yrene's problem is with him or Adarlan in general - she tells him how Adarlan soldiers burned her mother alive while she watched.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Chaol is being healed, it shows him painful memories from his past, Yrene sees them as well. Chaol tells Yrene about Dorian, watching Sorscha be killed and then Chaol fleeing and leaving Dorian there. Chaol can now curl and uncurl his toes.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 17: </b>Nesryn goes to visit her uncle Brahim and aunt Zahida. She tells them about the attack at the Torre and tells them to hire more guards.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Hasar asks Yrene to meet with her, she wants Yrene to try and find out where Aelin is as she is not in Terrasen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 19 & 20:</b> Chaol goes with Yrene to see a man she is healing and then she gives him a tour of the city.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Hasar makes Nesryn move at dinner so Yrene can sit next to him. Yrene tells Chaol that Yrene is not in Terrasen and that they want to know where she is. Yrene and Chaol pretend to flirt, so the others don't know what they are discussing. Chaol tells her Skull's Bay, as he thinks it is the last place Aelin would actually go.<br />
<br />
Nesryn tells Chaol she plans to go with Sartaq, he wants to return to the rukhin in the mountains to try and find out if the Valg did make it to this continent a long time ago.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 22: </b>Yrene arrives early and finds Chaol in bed with Nesryn. Chaol sees a book Yrene has taken from the library, it is covered in wyrdmarks. He makes her hide it in his room.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 23:</b> Yrene asks what happened to the other Valg Kings, as the illustration showed three but he only talks of Erawen. He tells her that two were either defeated or sent back. Yrene points out that if they were only sent back then they could come back.<br />
<br />
She begins healing him, sees more dark memories and then she shows one of her memories with her mother. Chaol can now feel his feet as well as his toes. She tells Chaol about her mother and her life after she died. Tells him she spent time in Innish trying to make money to come to the Torre. Yrene tells Chaol she knows the King is the one who gave him the wound and that he was possessed.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 24:</b> Sartaq invites Nesryn to the mountains with him to hunt for answers, it will take three weeks. Nesyrn agrees and leaves a note for Chaol, telling him she holds him to no promises and she will hold to none of her own.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Yrene and Chaol head to the Torre library to look for more information. Chaol reveals that the part of the King that still had some control was the one stopped the magic and executed healers and those with magic. He knew that Erawen and the Valg were drawn to magic and wanted to possess people with it so they could use their powers.<br />
<br />
Sartaq and Nesryn camp for the night. He reveals he has heard of her before - his spies in Adarlan told him of the arrow she shot to save Lysandra's life (in Queen of Shadows) and that they refer to her as Neith's arrow.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 26:</b> Chaol receives Nesryn's letter and is angry, feels it is his fault because of the flirting with Yrene at dinner. He is very short with Yrene when she comes to heal him, they fight. Yrene goes to see Hasar and she tells her that Sartaq has gone off into the mountains and taken Nesryn with him - Yrene now knows why Chaol was upset.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Yrene goes out to heal people in the city as she is still mad about her fight with Chaol. Yrene heads back to the palace but feels the presence behind her again. She runs for Chaol's room and locks the door behind her. The creature begins trying to break it down while calling out for Yrene. Chaol gives her a dagger as they wait to fight whatever breaks through the door. Guards appear and whoever was there has vanished.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 28: </b>Yrene spends the night in Chaol's room, she feels safer there. Chaol wakes early and goes and finds one of the guards, Hashim, and has him train and show him how they fight. He begins training with them every morning.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 29:</b> Nesryn and Sartaq reach the rukhin in the Tavan Mountains. She meets Borte, the grandaughter and Heir of Sartaq's hearth-mother Houlun. There is a man there who is a guest of the hearth-mother, a merchant called Falkan Ennar.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 30: </b>Nesryn trains with Sartaq, Borte and others, shows them her skill with an arrow. The heart-mother, Houlun, returns and reveals that a dark force stirs in the mountains and she had gone to search for it. Ruk nests have been pillaged, with eggs and hatchlings stolen. She tells them the creatures are known as kharankui - Nesryn thinks she is talking about the Valg. Houlun reveals they refer to the creatues as stygian spiders in Erilea. The stygian spiders (Heir of Fire) are actually Valg, came from the same world as the Valg kings.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 31: </b>Falkan reveals he got a hundred yards of spidersilk from the spiders for the price of twenty years of his life. He is only 27 but looks almost fifty. Falkan wants to try and get his twenty years back - believes he must kill the spider who took them. He has come to learn from the rukhin how they kill the spiders.<br />
<br />
Houlun knows of Erawen and the Valg and agrees to tell them what she knows. Long ago, a wyrdgate appeared in the Tavan Nountains - it allowed the kharankui to enter along with other types of Valg. Most went to Erilea but the spiders remained. War raged in Erilea - a Fae Queen (Maeve) against three Valg kings. After the Valg were defeated, the fae came to these mountains to teach the ruks how to fight the kharankui. They built watchtowers across the mountains. Houlun tells them to go to the watchtower to try and find more answers.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Yrene and Chaol return to the library to try and find how the ancient texts and scrolls came to be in the library. Nousha reveals they may find the answers they need in the Aksara Oasis - it is the royals private refuge and no one can go without their permission. Chaol & Yrene go for a meal together, Yrene knows she needs to find a way to get Hasar to invite her to the Oasis.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 33: </b>Sartaq and Nesryn go to one of the watchtowers, it is filled with traps. They come across some fae weapons and both take one.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Lhk2tgcoayRUc/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for shelob gif" border="0" height="131" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Lhk2tgcoayRUc/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 34: </b> A kharankui appears above them. A large grey wolf appears and fights the spider, so they escape. Kadara attacks the spider as it follows them and she kills it. The wolf is Falkan, he is a shapeshifter and followed them there.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 35:</b> Falkan comes from a family of shifters but didn't know he could shift until he came to this continent.<br />
<br />
They return back to the rukhin and Nesryn tells Borte everything. Houlun tells Sartaq about the wrydgates and keys.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Chaol now has movement up to his knees but still can't stand. Chaol is at dinner with Yrene, Hasar and other siblings when Hasar comments that Nesryn is due back the next day. Chaol reveals Nesryn has sent a letter, saying they are staying in the mountains for another three weeks.<br />
<br />
Hasar says that Dorian and Aelin have both been spotted. Aelin was in Skull's Bay, as Chaol said, and her spies saw her unleash her power on Morath's ships. Hasar wants Chaol to swear on Yrene's life that Aelin won't one day try to conquer their continent too, Chaol can't swear it.<br />
<br />
Kashin comes to Chaol's room that night, he reveals they provided Captain Rolfe with firelances and that they have had a new order for more to be shipped North.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Nesryn, Sartaq and Falkan go to the other three watchtowers and find nothing of importance. Other ruk riders show up at the last temple. A rider called Yaren argues with them for a while and then leaves. Sartaq reveals that Yaren is Borte's fiance.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 38:</b> Chaol interrupts the khagan's meeting with his foreign trade vizier. Says he has come to speak to the vizier, not the khagan. He tells the vizier to double Rolfe's firelance order and pays using the jewels and gold Dorian gave him - showing the khagan how profitable the war could be for him. Khagan kicks Chaol out, tells him that he can't be manipulated.<br />
<br />
Chaol is angry, and he and Yrene get in to another fight. He says some hurtful things and she turns to leave.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 39:</b> He manages to walk towards her to try and apologise. Chaol kisses Yrene.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Chaol can walk a little but still needs healing. Yrene's birthday is soon, she has convinced Hasar to throw her a party in the Oasis so they can go there to look for more information.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 41:</b> Sartaq, Nesryn and Falkan are going to head to Dagul, which is kharankui territory. They find a hatchling alive there and fly for it, it is a trap and Kadara flies into the spiders webbing.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 42:</b> A spider appears and kills the hatchling. Sartaq, Falkan and Nesryn run, have lost Kadara.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Chaol can now ride without a brace. They are riding to the Oasis.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Chaol tells Yrene about his guard - how they were tortured, killed and left to hang on the castle gates. Yrene and Chaol go for a walk, trying to find a cave but come across ruins. Find columns with images on them. They have found a fae burial site, realises fae have been here. Chaol believes the healers are the ancestors of the fae and they can be used to fight the Valg.<br />
<br />
Hasar thinks Aelin should marry one of her brothers, so Chaol reveals she will marry Rowan Whitethorn as they are caranam and he has sworn a blood oath to her. Hasar tries to pressure Yrene to marry Kashin, Chaol interrupts and says that will never happen. Yrene pushes Hasar into the pool.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media3.giphy.com/media/5xaOcLDE64VMF4LqqrK/200.webp?cid=3640f6095bd0fb9d2e63504d36340da3" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="toronto raptors applause GIF" border="0" height="198" src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/5xaOcLDE64VMF4LqqrK/200.webp?cid=3640f6095bd0fb9d2e63504d36340da3" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 45:</b> Chaol gives Yrene a locket for her birthday, he has noticed her grabbing for something in her pocket a lot (note from Aelin) and she can now keep it in the locket. Chaol and Yrene have sex and let us all congratulate Maas, this scene doesn't use the phrases 'velvet-wrapped steel' or 'purely male'.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 46:</b> Yrene tells him about the girl who saved her years ago and taught her self defence.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 47:</b> Sartaq, Nesryn and Falkan escape on foot. Sartaq finds himself stuck, a spider coming for him. Sartaq tells her he loved her before he ever met her - my eyes roll so hard I almost lose them! Sartaq is taken by a spider, Nesryn plans to get caught on purpose to go after him - how very LOTR!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 48:</b> She wakes up wrapped in webs. A spider finds her trying to escape and talks to her. Says the kharankui are awaiting the Queen of the Valg to return to them, says she goes by the name Maeve. Maeve is a Valg Queen - I totally forgot this before I reread.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Spider tells her about Maeve. She came from the same world as the Valg kings. The three kings ruled before she appeared, with a new and dark power. The King desired her but she agreed to marry the eldest and strongest one, Orcus.<br />
<br />
Maeve learnt how to enter other worlds and stepped into this one, the kharankui came with her to this spot in the mountains. She told them spiders to guard the gate, she did not want to return. Orcus and his brothers discovered what she did and followed her there, but they had learnt how to control the gates.<br />
<br />
Maeve found Mab and Mora and disguised herself as fae, used her powers to make them believe they had an elder sister. She then made all the fae believe she had always existed and ruled. The Kings fought Maeve, never knowing who she really was. Maeve stole the keys and sent two Kings back. Brannon stole them before she could send Erawen back. Brannon didn't realise who she was but did know she feared fire. Kharankui reveal all valg fear fire.<br />
<br />
Falkan turns into a spider and enters, tricking the other spider into leaving.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 50:</b> They escape and spiders chase them. Falkan will buy them time, tells Nesryn he has a niece but doesn't know who she is. Tells her to find her if she can, that all he owns is hers. His niece is Lysandra because of course she is! Borte appears on her ruk.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 51: </b>Kadara flies in, as does Yaren and many other ruk riders. Borte has brought an army of ruks and they use fire arrows to set Dagul on fire.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Chaol's room has been trashed, the scrolls and books have been taken.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 53:</b> Yrene goes to see Hafiza and tells her about the scrolls, the ruins and that she believes the healers were planted in Antica to fight against the Valg. Hafiza was once told that Antica belonged to the fae long ago. They entombed their dead as they didn't want anyone taking the bodies.<br />
<br />
Yrene is bathing in the Tomb of the Torre, where the baths are. Bells hang all over, each healer places their own bell here. She finds a bell from a Yafa Towers, one of her distant relatives.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 54:</b> Chaol is in pain, wound is hurting and the darkness is creeping back. Yrene is determined to heal him fully and end it now.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 55:</b> Chaol sees memories, all that he and Aelin went through. Realises he understands her and the decisions she made. Yrene finds him in the darkness and pulls him out of it.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 56:</b> Another not terrible sex scene from Maas. Yrene and Chaol tell each other they love each other. This is one long book but it still manages to make both romances feel super rushed/forced and insta-lovey.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 57:</b> The rukhin Council of Clans meet. Nesryn explains about the Valg and demons. Sartaq asks them to fly with him if he fights against Erawen, they agree. Nesryn tells Falkan about Lysandra, that she is his niece and asks him to come North with them. Chaol has sent a message asking them to return to the palace immediately.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 58: </b> Chaol told Yrene about Celaena's past and her being Aelin. Yrene has figured out the Valg act like parasites and she now believes she can successfully treat people who have been infected by them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 59:</b> Hasar tells Chaol that Maeve's armada found Aelin and her armies, that they fought. Tells him they believe Aelin won, as she was seen moving North with her armies (They don't know it is Lysandra disguised as Aelin). They now know Aelin has a small army of Silent Assassins as well as Galan Ashryver's forces too.<br />
<br />
Hasar reveals Aelin sent her a letter weeks ago, asking for her to help and promising a better world.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Yrene and Chaol go to speak to Hafiza, but she is missing. She left her key behind. They head to the tunnels in the library.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 61:</b> They find a corridor with four doors, one is open and they go through it. Find a chamber filled with gold and sarcophogi in it. They find Hafiza there, Duva is with her. Duva is possessed by a Valg and threatens to kill Hafiza.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 62: </b>Perrington sent a wyrdstone ring as a wedding present and Duva put it on, was possessed by the Valg. Tumelan suspected her so the Valg made Duva push her from the balcony. Yrene is Silba's heir, so possesses the power to rid people of the Valg. Duva attacks them, Chaol jumps in the way to protect Duva.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 63:</b> Duva uses her valg powers to wreck Chaol's spine once again. Yrene runs and Duva chases her. Yrene can sense that Chaol is dying. Nesryn and Sartaq appear. Nesryn hears a voice, saying Chaol can be saved but she must pay a price and she agrees. Chaol is healed, even the scar on his face that Aelin gave him in Crown of Midnight is healed.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 64:</b> The cost Yrene paid is that her and Chaol now share a life-bond. Chaol can use his legs and walk when her magic is at its fullest, when she is weak he will still need his chair. The life-bond means that if one dies the other dies too, they will die together.<br />
<br />
Sartaq calls the khagan and his siblings to see Duva, says she is possessed by the Valg.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 65:</b> Yrene works to get the Valg out of Duva, she does it and saves Duva and the baby. Khagan tells her she can have anything that she wants. The demon in Duva was a valg princess, not a prince. Sartaq will send 1,000 of his rukhin to help in the war, Hasar agrees to also go and bring her armadas with her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 66:</b> Nesryn has claimed a ruk for her own, named Salkhi. Her father, sister and sister's children have made it to Antica. Sartaq reveals he told his father he will take his rukhin to fight Erawen with or without his permission and will be with Nesryn no matter what his father thinks. The khagan has named Sartaq as his heir.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 67:</b> Yrene and Chaol on a ship sailing for Erilea.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 68:</b> Chaol and Yrene are married, got married two days before. Yrene shows Chaol the note she was given years ago and he realises it is from Aelin. Three hundred healers have come with Yrene. The khagan has sent 1,000 of his ships with them. Yrene's request for the khagan was for him to send her people. He has sent 1,000 ships filled with his foot soldiers and cavalry, as well as the 1,000 rukhin.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Fireheart</i></div>
</div>
<br />
Aelin is in the iron box that Maeve placed her in, Cairn is coming to torture her.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i><b><br /></b></i><i><b><br /></b></i><a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531922609l/33590260.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531922609l/33590260.jpg" /></a><br />
<div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Kingdom of Ash</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">The Prince</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rowan still searching for Aelin, it has been months.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">The Princess</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Aelin is still being kept in the iron box, stored in a temple on a tiny island. They have been torturing her but she has refused to tell them anything.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Part One: Armies & Allies</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1: </b>Aedion is reunited with the Bane, moving the troops from the armada to the Bane's camp in the Plain of Theralis. No one has noticed in two months that Lysandra is pretending to be Aelin, even though Aelin/Lysandra isn't using her fire power.<br />
<br />
Aedion still refuses to talk to Lysandra, only does it when she is pretending to be Aelin so it helps to convince people. Six Valg appear through the mountain pass, they kill five and take one to interrogate for information.<br />
<br />
They reach Allsbrook castle and they are reunited with Evangeline. Aedion receives a letter from Kyllian, one of his commanders, telling him Morath's troops have made landfall in Eldrys and have destroyed the city.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Elide, Gavriel, Rowan and Lorcan are in a city near Doranelle. Rowan has found one of Maeve's commanders and is torturing him for information.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 3:</b> Aelin has been left chained on a stone alter. Fenrys has been ordered to stay and watch in his wolf form, has to watch her be tortured every time. They give her food and water laced with iron so she can't use her powers. Maeve is torturing her and trying to convince her to swear the blood oath to Maeve.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 4:</b> Manon, Dorian and the Thirteen are searching for the Crochan witches. Dorian is planning to seal the Wyrdgate, needs to find the last key and will then sacrifice himself to forge the Lock. Dorian uses Wyrdmarks to summon Gavin. Gavin doesn't want to reveal where the last key is because of what will happen to Elena. He finally tells him the third key is in Morath. He tells Dorian Damaris can guide him and he will know when he is ready to go to Morath. Dorian asks Gavin if he is human, Gavin says he can't answer that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Rowan and the others are getting conflicting information. One commander told them Maeve is in Doranelle, another said Akkadia. Rowan has a dream of Aelin pregnant, with their other children beside her. Rowan is determined to not let Aelin sacrifice herself to make the Lock.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 6: </b>Chaol is still sailing for Erilea, doesn't know that Maeve has Aelin yet. Nesryn, Sartaq and Falkan are on a scouting mission - see villages burned by Morath. Yrene is pregnant.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 7:</b> A white bear tries to attack Manon - it shifts, is the stygian spider Manon tricked in Heir of Fire. This is the same spider that took twenty years from Falkan, which is how she got his shifter power. Spider tells Manon it can lead her to the Crochans. Dorian has been practising his magic, can use many other things not just his ice - he now wonders if he can shapeshift. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 8: </b>Cairn takes Aelin to see Maeve, Aelin then realises they are actually in Doranelle. Maeve puts Mab's crown on Aelin and then makes her kneel on broken glass. Connall in his black wolf form, transforms to tell Fenrys that he is a disgrace.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maeve reveals she knows that Lysandra is currently pretending to be Aelin. Maeve orders Connall to do something, he takes a knife and then she makes him plunge it into his own heart and kill himself. Aelin manages to cut Cairn and Maeve with a shard of glass - for a second Aelin sees Maeve's blood is black.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Fenrys comes to remove the shards of glass from Aelin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 10: </b>Lysandra and their forces have met the legion Erawen marched through Eldrys. Erawen sent 5,000 soldiers but they manage to defeat them. Darrow has sent a message with Nox Owen to tell them to bring the army to meet him the next day. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 11:</b> Nesryn and Sartaq return to report on a 10,000 strong army that they have spotted. The army is marching to Aneille, Chaol's family home. They plan to march on Anielle and save them and then secure the Ferian Gap and march to Terrasen after that. Chaol and Yrene plan to ride ahead on a ruk and warn Aneille.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 12:</b> Aelin feels her mother is with her, telling her to be brave and not to yield. Aelin fights back, hammering on the iron box and almost breaking it. This allows Rowan to feel a surge down the mating bond, the others feels the surge of power too. They realise Aelin is in Doranelle. Rowan says they need to lure Maeve away from Doranelle so they can sneak in and rescue Aelin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 13:</b> The spider has led Manon and the others to a camp of 75 Crochan witches. Glennis, the witch these Crochan answer to, is Manon's great-grandmother.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 14:</b> An Ironteeth patrol has found Manon and the Crochans, it is two Yellowlegs covens. Dorian is almost eaten by a Wyvern, but turns his body to solid flame and burns through the wyvern. Manon swears she did not lead the Ironteeth to them, but Dorian knows she is lying - did it so they could save them and earn their trust.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 15:</b> Glennis is Manon's father's grandmother, her father was called Tristan. Manon meets Bronwen, her cousin. Bronwen says the Crochan's will never recognise Manon as Queen. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian realises that the spiders are actually valg. Dorian tells Manon to speak with Glennis to figure out how to convince the Crochan's to join them. Glennis tells her that only a Crochan Queen can light the Flame of War, which is how they summon every witch to fight. They take the flame that has been kept burning for years to each Hearth in the various Crochan camps. Manon has to be accepted as Queen before she can do that. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Crochans are heading to Eyllwe, to help Crochan's that are there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Darrow summoned Aelin/Lysandra so that they can meet with the other Lords. They vote on where to take their forces next, decide on Orynth. A stranger enters their tent, a Valg, who attacks Lysandra/Aelin, says Erawen sent him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 17:</b> The Valg scents Lysandra's blood, now knows she is a shifter and not Aelin. Sends a message through his bond to other valg to tell them. Valg has them kill the valg before he can expose her to everyone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aedion reveals he is going to ignore the Lords vote and will move the legion to the border instead. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nox finds Lysandra as Aelin, tells her he knows she is a shifter and not Aelin. He knew Celaena Sardothien, as they fought together in the competition in Throne of Glass. Nox was working as a spy for the rebels that whole time. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lysandra tells Nox she needs his help and he agrees. Nox gives Lord Darrow, Gunnar, Sloane and Ironwood wine laced with something to make them sleep. Their men are also given the same thing. They awake the next day to find the army gone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Chaol & Yrene arrive at Anielle and meet with Chaol's father, inform him 10,000 troops march for Anielle and to ready their men.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://66.media.tumblr.com/1d4445a9ecf0595438a2f383dc69ebbc/tumblr_n25x7jpSor1t8n1oqo2_500.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for helms deep battle gif" border="0" height="108" src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/1d4445a9ecf0595438a2f383dc69ebbc/tumblr_n25x7jpSor1t8n1oqo2_500.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 19:</b> The ruks arrive, the foot army is still a week behind them, they need to hold the army back on their own. Morath's army is three days away. *** This is not the first time we get major LOTR vibes from this series, but this whole thing turns into the battle for Helm's Deep. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 20:</b> Maeve is giving Aelin false memories, what could have been if Erawen never came to Erilea. In the fake memory, Maeve tells Aelin her story. Says a young Queen was born in a world where power is not inherited but born. She had power stronger than all others. Three Kings came to find her and get her hand. She picked the eldest brother for his library (smart woman!) and what she could learn from it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She learnt that there were other worlds than her own, worlds where the sky is blue and the land green - so unlike her dark world. Creating doors between worlds had been outlawed long ago but she found the spells to be able to do it within the library. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She came to a new world and became Queen there too. The Three Kings found that world and she fought them, they did not know it was her. She sent two back and the last was left so broken that he hid. The Three Kings had found a way to permanently open a gate between worlds and made three keys to do so. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She says she wants the keys to banish the King back to his world, so she can keep this one new and lovely. Sweetly asks Aelin where she thinks the keys are. Trying to trick her with false memories so she will reveal the true location of the keys. Aelin refuses to tell her. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maeve says she does not want to destroy this world, she wants to save it. Maeve tells Aelin she has heard a Valg commander has been caught with a collar. She plans to go and retrieve the collar and then put it on Aelin. Cairn is moving her while Maeve is gone, to somewhere more secure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Rowan knew Maeve would want a collar, had Elide travel to a tavern to spread fake rumours of a captured Valg Prince. Elide plans to go into the city and ask after Cairn, so they can figure out where Aelin is being kept in Doranelle.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 22:</b> Lysandra is scouting ahead in bird form, she sees 50,000 troops being led by 5 Valg Princes marching towards them. They only have an army of 25,000. They begin fighting and they are being destroyed by the Valg. Still Lysandra/Aelin doesn't use her fire, soldiers notice this.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 23:</b> Elide finds a tavern with fae soldiers stationed there. She lies and says her name is Finnula, and that Cairn told her to meet him here. They won't tell her where Cairn is but reveal Maeve has left Doranelle. Elide leaves and one of the fae follows her, says her name is Essar and that she should stay away from Cairn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Essar reveals Cairn is at the eastern camp. She knows that Elide is with Rowan and Lorcan, recognises their clothes on Elide. Essar was Lorcan's lover for a while. Essar and her sister Dresenda tell her that the watch is weakest at dawn. Essar reveals she visited Mistward in the Spring, met Aelin when she was there and that is why she is helping them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Rowan will break into the camp at the southern entrance. Gavriel and Lorcan are waiting for his signal at the east entrance, they will create a diversion there so he can sneak in.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 24: </b>Crochans, Manon, Dorian and the Thirteen now at an ancient camp where the seven Great Hearths have a fire each. Dorian still trying to learn to shift. Glennis gives Manon three brooms to deliver to Crochans throughout the camp, Manon knows they must be important in some way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Karsyn, a Crochan watching the wyverns, reveals that Abraxos and Narene, Asterin's wyvern, are mates. Rhiannon Crochan's crown of stars was stolen from her dying body by Baba Yellowlegs and hasn't been seen since.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian and Manon get into a fight, he says that she cares and she argues, saying that she doesn't. Dorian tells her he cares about her, she calls him a fool. Dorian wakes up, has successfully shifted his eyes from blue to brown.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Aelin still in the box, has been moved to a camp. Cairn plans to burn Aelin with fire. Aelin believes she has found a way she can get Cairn to kill her and end this. Rowan hears a voice, Lady of Light, urging him to hurry up and go now, so he breaks into the camp early. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 26:</b> Aelin toys with Cairn, says the guards talk about him and call him spineless. He hits her, unlocks her from the table and is pushing her face towards the fire to burn her. She hits him and attempts to run, but he grabs her. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fenrys tries to fight against the blood oath, refusing to obey it. Severing the blood oath will kill him but he does it anyway. Fenrys attacks Cairn, severing the blood oath completely.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Cairn and Fenrys fights. Aelin uses a burning poker to break the chains on her feet and run.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 28:</b> Aelin escapes, fighting soldiers, heading in the opposite direction of Rowan. Lorcan sees Aelin. Ten soldiers surround her, she kills them all and runs for Lorcan. Rowan finds them, Aelin pleads for Rowan so Rowan and Gavriel head back into the camp for him. ***It felt like they found and got her out super quickly but it has been 250 pages.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 29:</b> Rowan & Gavriel find Cairn and Fenrys both injured in the tent, Fenrys is slowly dying. Rowan tells Gavriel to heal Cairn, then chains him to the metal table. Rowan is going to torture Cairn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 30:</b>Elide sees Lorcan arrive back with Aelin. Aelin is screaming for them to remove her shackles but they cant. Has to teach Rowan the wyrdmarks for open in order to remove them. All of Aelin's scars have gone - Maeve erased them all when she had the healers heal her after every torture session.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 31:</b> Every scar of Aelin's are gone - the ones from Endovier, from when her and Rowan became caranam, from her oath to Nehemia, from Baba Yellowlegs - they're all gone. They also removed her tattoo. They'd given her entirely new skin to replace the skin they had destroyed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aelin goes to Fenrys as he lays dying, has him swear the blood oath to her as it is the only way she can save him. Orders him to live. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Little Folk appear, asking them to follow. They lead them to a save with a fire, a stream and a great lake. Aelin lays down, having said nothing to Rowan.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Dorian still learning to shift, took three days to change his eye colour back.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 33:</b> Manon and the witches reach Eyllwe too late, many Crochan witches there are dead and only a few have gotten away. Manon begins digging, her and the Thirteen will bury all the dead Crochans. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Four Crochan covens made it to the King and Queen of Eyllwe and are now aiding them. Eyllwe are still fighting against Morath's army.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian goes to summon Gavin but Kaltain is summoned instead. Kaltain says she is forbidden from telling him what it is like after death and who is with her there. Kaltain confirms the final key is in Morath, tells him to go to the Keep there as it is the only place Erawen would keep it. Kaltain warns him to go, grab the key and leave, otherwise he will have a collar placed on him again. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian finally transforms fully, into a raven. Sees Manon, she saw the whole thing and knows he plans to go to Morath. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/cPKWZB2aaB3rO/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for why gif" border="0" height="170" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/cPKWZB2aaB3rO/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 34:</b> Aedion and their armies are still fighting Morath's forces, has been three days of fighting. Men have started to question why Aelin doesn't use her fire. Aedion says they can retreat northward to Perranth, across the river and pick of Morath's forces as they follow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lysandra finds Aedion, shifts back to human form and is naked. They fight. Aedion tells her that her & Aelin's plan was bullshit, can't pretend to be Aelin when their armies are relying on her fire power to save them. Aedion says she agreed to let Aelin go to her death and told no one. He tells her that she has ruined everything and throws her out of his tent and into the snow... naked. *** Aedion, I love you but, WHY!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 35:</b> Aelin doesn't believe that they are real and that she has been rescued, the Little Folk promise her it is. Rowan tells her that Cairn is dead, that him skinned him alive, like Aelin once told him she would do to him if he ever whipped her. He then cut off Cairns head and burnt it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aelin is told she has been gone for two months and three days. A boat appears on the lake, two forms under the water are pulling it. Little Folk have brought it for them, they can sail underground through the caves and out to the sea and not get caught. The Little Folk give Aelin the Crown of Mab, as she is both Brannon's Heair and Mab's, making her the Queen of the Little Folk too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Lorcan tells Elide he wasn't crawling towards Maeve on that beach, but crawling for Aelin. Then endless Aelin inner monologue ***Maas still can't edit herself. 300-350 pages of this book are unnecessary, probably more.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Aelin and the others entering a barrow, wight territory. They are creatures of malic and thought that covet treasure and hate light of any kind. Aelin leaves the boat and enters one of their caves,. Fenrys, Gavriel and Rowan follow, Lorcan and Elide stay on the boat.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DecentInsistentBedbug-small.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for fucking stop gif" border="0" height="111" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DecentInsistentBedbug-small.gif" width="200" /></a>Aelin has come to the cave to take gold for their journey, the others take it too. Fenrys finally turns back into his human form and hugs Aelin. He tells the others what Maeve made Connall do. Aelin finds rings for her and Rowan to wear as wedding bands. Rowan tells her he will redo her tattoo and add a new one for them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 38:</b> NOTHING, 4 PAGES OF NOTHING! Maas stop!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 39:</b> Erawen's army has taken five days to reach Anielle. Chaol's mother left Anielle with Terrin, Tarrin left a note. Chaol's father tells Chaol that Yrene is pregnant, has noticed her touching her belly often.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Manon wants to go to the Ferian Gap, to the host under Petrah's control and will ask them to join her. Manon sees Dorian talking to Kaltain, fights with him about his plan to go to Morath. Tells him to prove himself first, shift and sneak into the Ferian Gap and tell them who is there. He agrees.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Whv12v2a50P8Q/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for gag gif" border="0" height="179" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Whv12v2a50P8Q/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 41:</b> Aelin and the others have reached the sea through the caves. Aelin and Rowan talk about the fact they are mates. Then we get another sex scene. ***Maas is right back to the sex scenes that make you cringe and are so cheesy it hurts. It is all 'claiming' 'primal' and declaring people are 'yours'.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 42:</b> Aelin speaks to Lorcan, tells him she can't trust him fully. Tells him to swear the blood oath and then he will be welcome in Terrasen and can go where he wants. If he refuses he will never be allowed in Terrasen, meaning he won't see Elide again. Lorcan swears the oath and promises to protect Terrasen, he does it for Elide.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Dorian on the way to the Ferian Gap with Manon and the Thirteen. He is shifting to make himself look like a valg. He flies in on Narene. Comes back, says the Matrons aren't there - just Petrah and 300 Ironteeth.<br />
<br />
Manon and the Thirteen enter the Omega to see Petrah, ask her to gather her host. Manon reveals that her grandmother plans to rule the witches as their High Queen, only Queen. Wants to get rid of Yellowlegs and Bluebloods, make them all her subjects. Manon gives a speech to the witches and asks them to join her and then Manon and the Thirteen leave them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Aelin dreams she is still captive. She is angry that she was chosen to pay the price, she hopes Dorian finds the third key and forms the Lock so she doesn't have to. Rowan is training Aelin so she can build back her strength and muscle. Aelin has been teaching them how to draw wyrdmarks.<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/sRKWacOhwFMli/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" height="125" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/sRKWacOhwFMli/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Chapter 45:</b> Battling for 5 days in Anielle. Eretia tells Yrene she knows she is pregnant, but Yrene still hasn't told Chaol and he hasn't told her he knows. A horn sounds, Hasar has arrived with Darghan cavalry and foot soldiers. ***This is basically Helm's Deep!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 46:</b> Aedion and his armies are nearing Perranth, Morath soldiers are a day behind. Morath's soldiers finally reach them. Aedion has Rhoe's shield, which belonged to Aelin's father - he never told her he had it. Morath's army is coming towards them across a frozen river, the fae on Aedion's side use their magic to break it, drowning some of Morath's soldiers.<br />
<br />
Lysandra is fighting in a wyvern form. They are losing, Morath has too many soldiers. Many of Aedion's soldiers start fleeing. Lysandra knows she must do something.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 47: </b>Lysandra enters the battlefield as Aelin, with a sword. Is going to fight the Valg, a way to give the soldiers hope and stop them fleeing. Lysandra is fighting two ilken, Aedion is running for her as he thinks she is going to die. Aedion is regretting all the things he said to her. Lysandra is hit by the ilkens poisoned claw. Aedion reaches her, knows he needs to get the poison out before she dies.<br />
<br />
Some of Morath's witches arrive and bring a witch tower. A witch is Yielding in the tower, sacrificing herself so they can amplify the power with the witch tower and use it to destroy Aedion's army. One blast completely destroy 4,000 of Aedion soldiers.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 48:</b> Chaol, Nesryn, Sartaq and Hasar are discussing battle strategies. Aelin, Rowan and the others arrive. Aelin cries at seeing Chaol walking and hugs him. ***YAY! Finally a nice Chaol & Aelin reunion. Aelin recognises Yrene, Yrene gives her the note that she gave her years ago. Chaol reveals they are married, Aelin tells him she married Rowan. She reveals that Gavriel is Aedion's father.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Falken arrives at the tent, he suddenly turned young again. Aelin met him long ago in Xandria. Nesryn tells Aelin that Falken is Lysandra's uncle. Nesryn explains that the stygian spiders are actually valg and that they answer the only Valg Queen - Maeve.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 50: </b>Nesryn tells them everything the spider told her about Maeve. She tells them the valg are parasites and that Yrene has found a way to rid human hosts of them. Aelin tells them she was kept captive by Maeve for two months. Aelin is struggling, feels like Maeve has broken her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 51: </b>Elide and Lorcan fight, she can't understand how he loved Maeve. Lorcan tells her she is jealous. She tells him she doesn't care if he makes it off the battlefield alive or not.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Manon and the Thirteen return to the Crochans. Manon asks Glennis if Rhiannon, her half-sister, believed the Ironteeth could change. Glennis says she did, and wanted to find Manon as she believed they could rule the witches together.<br />
<br />
Dorian is practising how to fly as a raven so that he can eventually fly to Morath.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 53:</b> Lysandra wakes up in a tent, Aedion is with her. He tells her they yielded Perranth and have been on the run for two days and are three days from Orynth. Lysandra shifted back to her body whilst injured, all the soldiers now know Aelin isn't with them.<br />
<br />
Aedion apologises for everything he said. Lysandra tells Aedion that despite everything she was made to do when with Arobynn, she has never felt more degraded and humiliated than when he threw her from his tent. She is angry that it took her almost dying for him to realise he was wrong. She tells him she has wanted to be with him in the end but that is ruined now. She doesn't want to speak to him any more.<br />
<br />
Ren and Darrow have reached them. Darrow says Aedion is stripped of him rank for his rebellion. Darrow says they will execute Lysandra if she shifts to Aelin again. Darrow demands that Aedion hand back the Sword of Orynth. Aedion does that. They realise their army is now trapped.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 54:</b> Chaol tells Yrene he knows she is pregnant. Aelin meets Chaol's father, she humiliates him and tells him to rot in hell. Aelin would be Heir to Doranelle, as Maeve isn't really the Fae Queen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 55: </b>Dorian has shifted into a female witch. Dorian confronts Manon, says she is too afraid to ask him to stay and not go to Morath even though that is what she wants.<br />
<br />
The three Ironteeth Matrons have found them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 56:</b> The Yellowlegs matron is wearing Rhiannon's crown of stars. Manon fights them. She kills the Yellowlegs matron and takes the crown. Manon tells Petrah's mother to go, to tell Petrah their life debts are paid and she can decide what to do with her. Manon's grandmother flees on her wyvern. Glennis then crowns Manon, names her Queen of Witches.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 57: </b>Rowan doesn't know if Aelin can use her powers, hasn't done so since they saved her from Maeve. Fenrys tells Rowan that Cairn burned her with fire. Rowan, Aelin & the others take swords and armour from Chaol's fathers keep.<br />
<br />
Morath's forces begin attacking, Rowan notices Aelin hasn't returned from the keep and isn't fighting. Aelin finally appears on the battlefield, in golden armour and begins fighting with a sword, not with her power.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 58:</b> Morath's soldiers are planning to break Anielle's dam, which will destroy their forces but also Aelin's. Sartaq & Nesryn attack the soldiers trying to use a battering ram to break the dam. Lorcan is on the battlefield, fighting against ten Valg. One cuts open his back and then plunges a sword into his gut.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 59: </b>Sartaq & Nesryn arrive back to the keep to tell them to get their soldiers off the plains as the dam is damaged and will soon collapse. Many will not have time to escape, they will lose most of their forces when the dam breaks.<br />
<br />
Elide realises Lorcan hasn't returned with them. Rowan tells Fenrys to use his magic to jump to the field and find him. Fenrys says he can't jump to the field. Elide takes Chaol's hose and rides out onto the plain to find Lorcan herself.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Fenrys hasn't been able to jump since Connall died - it was the power they shared and he doesn't know if he still can. Elide finds Lorcan, his wounds are very bad. She gets him onto the horse and they race for the gate, need to get there before the dam breaks.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://66.media.tumblr.com/0e7d65dc2b2e1b802a93875468eb148c/tumblr_n9w9qkJBZp1ru8yv8o7_250.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for dam break lotr gif" border="0" src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/0e7d65dc2b2e1b802a93875468eb148c/tumblr_n9w9qkJBZp1ru8yv8o7_250.gif" /></a></div>
<b>Chapter 61:</b> Lorcan tells Elide to leave him, as he is weighing the horse down and slowing them down. Lorcan tells Elide that he loves her, tells her to let him go but she refuses to let him off. They're still a mile from the keep when the dam bursts.<br />
<br />
Aelin is riding Borte's ruk out into the plain. Rowan realises that Aelin has been making the descent into her power for the past three months, it is why she hasn't been using it. Building it up so she could use it against Erawen to kill him. Instead she uses it to blast the water coming from the dam, turning it to steam and saving their forces.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 62:</b> Manon goes to Dorian and apologises for how she acted when she learned that he was going to Mortath. Dorian plans to leave for Morath the next day. Manon asks him to stay, says they can form an alliance between Adarlan and the Crochans, they would marry. Dorian doesn't believe she would be happy being confined by marriage. They sleep together and fall asleep, when Manon wakes up, Dorian has left with the two Wyrdkeys.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HarmfulUniformBorderterrier-size_restricted.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for gondor calls for aid gif" border="0" height="122" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HarmfulUniformBorderterrier-size_restricted.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 63:</b> Aedion tells Ren to send out messengers saying that Terrasen calls for aid. They begin fighting Morath's army but are likely to lose. Rolfe and the Mycenians finally arrive, firing their firelances at the enemy. Aedion and his men run for the boats, will escape on them and head for Orynth.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 64:</b> Lorcan wakes up, Elide is beside him. She tells him she loves him. They kiss.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://i.gifer.com/UYi6.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" height="107" src="https://i.gifer.com/UYi6.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 65:</b> Manon and the Crochan's get the word that Terrasen is calling for aid. Manon says she will answer their call, so do the Thirteen and so do the leaders of the Seven Great Hearths of the Crochans. Manon lights the Flame of War and each of the Seven Hearths, summoning them to war. The final clan takes the flame and will take it to light them fires across all the Crochans camp, to call them all to war.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 66:</b> Aelin tells Rowan that she sent letters to Aedion, as well as Rowans uncle and Essar, saying that she was imprisoned by Maeve and heard Maeve's plans during this time. She is trying to convince them to disband Maeve's army and start a revolution in Doranelle. She told them in the letter that Maeve is Valg.<br />
<br />
Kashin and his soldiers have arrived. Hasar, Kashin, Sartaq and their armies will go with Aelin to Terrasen. Yrene is currently healing people infected by the Valg.<br />
<br />
<b>Chatper 67:</b> Aelin is wondering if Yrene can use her power on Erawen and Maeve to get rid of them, that way Aelin would not need to forge the Lock. Aelin is looking at the books written in Wyrdmarks that Chaol and Yrene brought with them, but finds nothing important.<br />
<br />
The Wild Men in the mountains of Anielle want a part of Anielle's territory and then they will guide their forces through secret paths to Terrasen, so they can avoid enemy forces. Chaol's father refuses, but Aelin points out that Chaol outranks him, as he is Hand of the King.<br />
<br />
Chaol's father shows him a trunk of letter from his mother, she had wrote to him for years while he was in Rifthold. His father never sent them, letting his mother think Chaol never wrote back and making Chaol think his mother didn't care.<br />
<br />
Chaol gives the Wild Men the territory and then they follow them into the mountains. Half of the ruks and Dhargan riders will march under Kashin's banner on the eastern side of the mountain, to draw out the forces from the Ferian Gap.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Part Two: Gods & Gates</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<b>Chapter 68:</b> Dorian arrives in Morath, sneaks in as a mouse. Dorian sees Maeve and Erawen together, Maeve has come to talk to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 69:</b> Aedion, Lysandra and their army arrive at Orynth.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 70:</b> Maeve reveals to Erawen who she really is, that she is the Valg Queen. Maeve is no longer Queen of Doranelle - Aelin's letters works, her army rose up against her and refused to march. Maeve tells him she had Aelin but she has since escaped. Maeve wants to ally with him against Aelin.<br />
<br />
Maeve creates a portal and shows him a spider on the other side - the kharankui. Erawen has struggled to find hosts for the last 6 Valg princsses but Maeve says he can put them in the kharankui. Erawen plans to bring his two brothers back to this world. Agrees to work with Maeve and put the princesses in the kharankui.<br />
<br />
Maeve leaves to go to the chambers Erawen has assigned her. Dorian follows but Maeve knows he is their and traps him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 71:</b> Maeve tells Dorian that they can work together, that she wants the keys so she can get ride of Erawen and his brothers for good. She tells him that Aelin is glad he has the keys and that he will be sacrificing himself rather than her, Dorian says he doesn't blame her.<br />
<br />
Dorian tells Maeve to work with him, bring the spiders to his side and he will marry her, give her Adarlan as a new Kingdom for her to rule.<br />
<br />
Vernon is also at Morath, which gives Dorian an idea. He shifts into Vernon in order to speak to Erawen and ask him questions. Doesn't find out anything important and doesn't find the key.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 72:</b> Nesryn & Sartaq have reached the Ferian Gap but find no sign of the enemy army. Chaol and Gavriel talk about fatherhood - more wasted pages. Nesryn and Sartaq arrive back to inform them they found no trace of the Ironteeth at the Ferian Gap.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 73:</b> Maeve brought 6 spiders to Morath and the princesses are now in them. Dorian is still hunting for the key. He finds a locked door and shifts so he can sneak in. He finds a black stone sarcophagus in it and rows of Wyrdstone collars. He has found the tomb where Elena and Gavin trapped Erawen. The collars are affecting him and Maeve saves him. Maeve tells him she doesn't want to be like Erawen and his brother. Dorian believes the final key is in Erawen's tower but he can't sneak in. He wants Maeve to try and seduce Erawen so she can gain entry.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 74:</b> Maeve tries to seduce Erawen but he rejects her and doesn't let her in. Maeve meets with Erawen the next day, Dorian hides in her pocket as a mouse. Erawen wants Maeve to summon all the kharankui for him. Maeve tells him he should hold off, save them for another battle. She says she will demonstrate her power to him, by showing his brothers to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 75:</b> Aedion and his forces are setting a trap for Morath's fleet. They set explosives underground, ignite them and it destroys two of the three witch towers they have brought, and breaks the other. Morath has sent 100,000 soldiers.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 76:</b> Maeve plans to trick Erawen, show him an illusion of his brothers whilst Dorian sneaks into his tower. Maeve opens a portal to get him into the tower.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 77:</b> Dorian finds a woman in Erawen's bed, realises the Wyrdkey is in her arm. Dorian is shifted as Erawen and pretends to be him. He cuts open her arm and takes the Wyrdkey. She begs him to kill her but he can't. Maeve appears, kills the girl and then uses her powers to enter Dorian's mind and try to control him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 78:</b> Dorian tricked Maeve into believing she could control him, the whole time he has been learning her power. *** Can we just talk about how Dorian is a total badass and about 1,000 times for powerful than Aelin, as he has mastered so many different powers when she can only really use her fire.<br />
<br />
Dorian now has control of Maeve's mind, reveals he used his magic to weaken Morath's foundations and will bring the whole place down. He leaves, gives Maeve back control of her mind but he takes away her ability to make portals - see, Dorian is a fucking badass! Dorian now has all three keys.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 79:</b> Yrene tells Elide that she could heal her foot, it will be painful and slow but she could do it. Elide says they will talk about it if and when they win the war.<br />
<br />
Borte arrives and says they found Vernon in the mountains. Vernon tells her Perranth has been sacked and now belongs to Erawen. Vernon tells Aelin that Maeve went to Morath to unite with Erawen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 80:</b> Vernon tells them 100,000 soldiers are marching on Orynth. Aelin leaves him locked and chained in the room, as he did to Elide. They will leave him there to die of starvation.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 81:</b> Darrow shows Lysandra the last of the sacred texts from the Library of Orynth. They ready for battle and see 1,000 wyvern and witches flying towards them. Aedion plans to fire Rolfe's firelances at them.<br />
<br />
Aedion tells Lysandra to take Evangeline and escape through a tunnel at the bottom of the castle. Tells her that he is in love with her.<br />
<br />
Wyverns appear from the North, it is Manon and the Thirteen and they have brought an army of Crochan witches with them, thousands of them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 82:</b> Over 5,000 Crochan witches came. ***Then we get more pages of nothing.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 83:</b> Dorian summons Gavin to tell him he has the keys and plans to take them to Aelin so they can decide what to do.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 84:</b> Lysandra goes into the tunnel under the castle and into the Florine river as a sea dragon, gets near to the enemy and waits for a signal.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 85:</b> Lysandra gets the signal, jumps from the water and attacks the enemy as a sea dragon. Then jumps back in the river and moves up to attack more enemies. They shoot flaming boulders down on Morath's forces whilst the Crochans fight the Ironteeth. A siege ladder hits the wall, a Valg prince has arrived.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 86: </b>The Valg Prince and Aedion fight, Valg stabs Aedion in the armpit. Ren saves him and kills the Valg with a firelance. Aedion is unconscious and sent to a healer.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/b63ddc861d38c7e20f0a262c6b87812b/tenor.gif?itemid=5074461" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image result for i hate so much about the things you choose to be gif" border="0" height="163" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/b63ddc861d38c7e20f0a262c6b87812b/tenor.gif?itemid=5074461" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">My Maas thoughts at this point.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Chapter 87:</b> Rowan has redone Aelin's tattoo and given her another one telling their story. Elide and Lochan get a fade to black sex scene ***So we get 500 awkward as fuck Rowan and Aelin sex scenes, but this she decides to fade to black!<br />
<br />
Dorian finds them, tells them he has the three keys.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 88:</b> Morath now trying to enter through the river that Lysandra used. Iskra Yellowlegs attacks Abraxos and Manon, her bull has Abraxos's throat in his jaws.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 89:</b> Manon wants to save Abraxos, he is trying to dive for the ground so he can kill the bull but save Manon. Manon plans to try to jump from Abraxos onto the other bull. Petrah appears and has brought her legions to fight alongside Manon. Manon and Abraxos are saved, so go to prevent Morath's soldiers getting in using the river.<br />
<br />
Petrah kills Iskra and her wyvern, revenge for Iskra killing her wyvern back in Heir of Fire. Manon takes Abraxos back to the castle, needs a healer for the wound on his neck.<br />
<br />
Morath have repaired one of their witch towers, plan to Yield more witches so they can blast apart the city. Manon is determined to break apart the tower, wants to fly to the tower to do it. Asterin and the Thirteen knock her down to keep her there, tell her to live and then all twelve fly for the tower.<br />
<br />
Eleven of them, except Asterin, are taken down but Asterin makes it. She kills the witch who is about to Yield. Asterin and the other Thirteen all make the Yielding, blasting apart the tower and destroying a lot of Morath's army. *** I am devastated, but only felt like I really knew two of these 12. Maas still can't kill big characters.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 90:</b> Manon goes down to the blast zone. Everyone comes to lay flowers in honour of the Thirteen for saving them all. Kingsflame blooms *** called it!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 91:</b> Dorian and Chaol reunite and it is everything I needed in my life. It is actually the only thing that made me cry in this book. Dorian meets Yrene. Dorian tells them about Morath and what Maeve was there for. Aelin wants to allow them to vote, on whether to create the Lock straight away or head to Terrasen fight. They vote to forge the Lock and send Erawen back the next day.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for rolls eyes gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" width="161" /></a><b>Chapter 92:</b> Rowan suggests that Aelin and Dorian can forge the lock together and each give half of their power. Aelin asks Dorian, he agrees to do that. They are going to forge the Lock now. *** It is at this point where I finally started to realise we are 760+ pages in and it is obvious Maas still can't kill her darlings. I begin to truly fear this will be the disappointing, lacklustre finale like ACOWAR was. We are promised war and death and then get nothing but people coming in to save the day at the last minute, nobody dying and everyone living happily ever after. I was right! Can you tell I'm bitter?!?<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 93:</b> Rowan, Dorian, Aelin and Chaol head to Endovier to make the Lock. Dorian & Aelin cut palms and join hands. Aelin cuts open her arms, she realised that to open the gate she has to become it. She places the wyrdstones into her arm. They dissolve into her blood.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 94:</b> The Lock is forming, draining both of their powers and killing them. Dorian's father appears from a doorway, yells stop.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 95:</b> The King says he can pay the price, as he has no name and is nameless. Aelin tells Dorian that one of them needs to rule, then rips her hand from his and sends him back. Plans to form the lock with his father.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 96:</b> The King gives her a message from her parents, that they love her, are proud of her and that the debt has been paid enough. King uses the last of his power to forge the lock. The Lock is forged and sealed, and the rest of Aelin's magic vanishes.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 97:</b> No magic left in Aelin, just a tiny droplet of her water power. Twelve figures appear from the portal behind Aelin - Deanna, Elena, Mala and the other Gods. They want her to send them back. Aelin wants to bargain for a trade, wants to trade Erawen's soul for Elenas. She says they will keep Erawen here in Erilea but they let Elena's soul remain in the afterworld. They destroy Elena completely, tell Aelin they don't make bargains.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 98:</b> Rowan feels the mating bond getting weaker. The gods leave through the archway and seal it, refuse to take Erawen with them. Mala gives Aelin a piece of her power. Mala tells Aelin to seal the gate, think of home and that the wyrdmarks will guide her. Rowan inked wyrdmarks into her tattoos, a map home to him. Aelin opens a portal in the gods world, sends them into a hell-realm. Aelin begins sealing all the gates and archways. She throws her last piece of power into the Lock and then leaps through the gate back home.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.tenor.com/images/b792f095a8ee31edc70bde17f1654aa8/tenor.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for are you fucking kidding me gif" border="0" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/b792f095a8ee31edc70bde17f1654aa8/tenor.gif" /></a><b>Chapter 99:</b> Aelin is falling through different worlds. She passes through what is obviously the Night Court and sees Feyre and Rhysand together, Feyre is heavily pregnant. Rhysand hits her with his power to help slow her down. Aelin returns to her own body, her power is gone and just a small ember remains. Aelin is now an immortal fae, gave up her mortality to forge the lock and live. ***Fucking pointless! Had such a build up for books and books about how important the keys are and the Lock. And it was all for NOTHING! Nothing was gained by doing it, they didn't even get rid of Erawen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 100</b>: A week since the Thirteen sacrificed themselves. Ansel of the Wastes tells Manon she will share the Wastes with her and the witches.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 101:</b> Elide gives Aelin Silba's ring.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 102:</b> Murtaugh was killed. Lysandra kisses Aedion. They have about four days of fighting Morath's army left before they will lose and all die.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 103:</b> The Lord of the North and the Little Folk appear and tell Aelin to follow her as Doom is upon Orynth.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 104:</b> Aedion's forces are out of arrows and firelances. Darrow gives Aedion back the Sword of Orynth and his title, then tells Lysandra he recognises Caraverre and her as its lady. Darrow names Evangeline his heir.<br />
<a href="http://33.media.tumblr.com/da956db5ee9661b1f062caa7a6a57d5f/tumblr_mhm6r4Rxn81s1ub6io1_r2_500.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for helm's deep gandalf gif" border="0" height="131" src="http://33.media.tumblr.com/da956db5ee9661b1f062caa7a6a57d5f/tumblr_mhm6r4Rxn81s1ub6io1_r2_500.gif" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Chapter 105:</b> Aedionm, Lysandra and the others are hours away from defeat. A horn blares and Aelin arrives, riding the Lord of the North and bringing her army with her. ***Say it with me, one more time: HELM'S DEEP!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 106:</b> Aelin & their forces attack.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 107:</b> A wyvern attacks Aelin, Lysandra appears in wyvern form and saves her. Aelin and Ansel use catapults to destroy two siege towers. The rest of Morath's Ironteeth host arrives. Gavriel arrives in Orynth and goes to find Aedion.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/3t7RAFhu75Wwg/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for angry gif" border="0" height="171" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/3t7RAFhu75Wwg/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 108:</b> Gavriel tells Aedion they found Aelin, sealed the Wyrdgate but haven't sent Erawen back. Gavriel needs to help seal the gate to Orynth. He fights outside it and shuts the gate behind him. Aedion tries to get down to him but Aedion dies protecting the gate. *** Don't get me wrong, I am sad. But that is all we get. Maas kills off twelve witches, only two of witch we really ever get to know and care for and then Gavriel. That is it. In this giant, awful battle. Clearly this is LOTR. I want a devastating, death-filled finale like Deathly Hallows. You know, REALISTIC when it comes to war.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 109:</b> The six kharankui valg princesses arrive with Maeve and Erawen. Aelin is at the Southern gate, sword in hand and plans to fight them both.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 110:</b> Aelin is playing Maeve and Erawen against each other - tells Erawen that Maeve planned to destroy him. Tells him they have healers here who will destroy him. Aelin begins fighting them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 111:</b> Lorcan and Fenrys head to help Aelin against Maeve and Erawen. An ilken appears to pick Erawen up.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 112:</b> Erawen spotted a healer and has gone to try and kill her. Yrene purposefully tricked him to get him to come for her.<br />
<br />
Maeve grabs Aelin, tells her to swear the blood oath. Rowan, Fenrys and Lorcan arrive and Maeve attacks them with her power.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 113:</b> Erawen tells Yrene he has been looking for her. They have her kind in their world and called them death-maidens. They used her kind to unbind the wyrdgate and make the keys. Erawen gets trapped by a wyrdmark. Yrene then uses her healing to destroy him. Dorian cuts their palms and links hands, to lend his power to her.<br />
<br />
Dorian demands that Erawen tells him his fathers name. Reveals that it was Dorian as well, his father only remembered that name briefly when he first saw Dorian as a baby and named him it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0xeOMTkcgGM40Gzu/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for this is bullshit gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0xeOMTkcgGM40Gzu/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a>They destroy Erawen. ***Yup! Seven books on this big, bad demon King and that is how easily he dies. Yrene gets rid of him in a few pages... But took her fucking months to fix Chaols injury. This whole thing is just bullshit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 114: </b>Maeve's power is showing Rowan, Lorcan and Fenrys different things. Rowan sees Aelin dead, spiked to the gates of Orynth. Fenrys sees his brother, who tells him that everything that happened to him is Fenrys's fault. Lorcan sees Elide telling him that she will never be with him. Maeve is using this to try and get Aelin to swear the blood oath.<br />
<br />
Aelin blasts the last of her power to Lorcan, Rowan and Fenrys. Aelin is creating portals, leading to different armies - a band of fae, wolf-riders who hate Maeve and the stygian spiders who also want to destroy Maeve. Aelin and Rowan distract Maeve, whilst Fenrys stabs her in the heart with Goldryn.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 115: </b>Aelin places Silb'as ring on Maeve's finger and then beaheads her. The Valg armies instantly stop and collapse because Erawen and Maeve are both dead. *** All so anti-cimactic and easy. Awful pacing once again where the book is too long and you feel yourself skimming at the end, waiting for it to end.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 116: </b>Aelin enters Orynth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/qmfpjpAT2fJRK/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for eye roll gif" border="0" height="152" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/qmfpjpAT2fJRK/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Chapter 117: </b>Falkan finds Lysandra, tells her that he is her uncle and his fortune is hers. Darrow welcomes Aelin to Orynth as Queen. Aelin offers Gavriel the bood oath in death, to honour him. Lorcan asks Elide to tell him to stay, come to Perranth and marry him; she does. Lorcan plans to bind his life to Elide, so they will die together when she dies.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 118:</b> Yrene wants to start her own Torre in the North. The Crochans find Manon, a flower has been spotted in the Wastes, the curse is broken.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 119:</b> Rowan has told Sellene, his cousin, that she is now Queen of Doranelle. Aelin has her coronation as Queen. Aelin has Aedion swear the blood oath. The Little Folk come and give her Mab's crown, she is also Faerie Queen of the West.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 120:</b> Some of the rukhin have found wyvern eggs and want to stay behind to train them. Chaol's mother sends a letter, wishes for her & Hollin to come and live with Chaol. Dorian finds Manon and says the rukhin will train wyverns to be his new aerial legion, he wants her to come back from the Wastes to help them. She says she will.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 121: </b>Everyone is departing: the Crochans, the khaganate royals, Ansel, Silent Assassins, Prince Gallan and more. Dorian, Chaol and Aelin say goodbye to one another, Aelin tells them she loves them both. ***The trio back together!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Afterworld</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elide and Lorcan are married. Aedion and Lysandra plan to marry. Book ends with the Kingsflame blooming ***Predicted that as Maas doesn't know how to subtly drop hints.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">The Very-Disappointing-But-Not-Surprising End</span></i><br />
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-72880999287145346862018-10-27T17:14:00.004+01:002024-01-28T13:42:25.762+00:00Kingdom of Ash Recap / Summary<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-gdQRj8ur3I4jRukGm5sMouiU0oM6rhV5ZgcXrr-tDzMN8zM-hk2aVFP4CgZqWhZLjCIAzdYjLSb4VhVdHNcwPI2xbc9xYPIENjkamJzZI3MZjk7iFpJzH4nWO0SgS1fcHSjy6BlUXdW/s640/CelaenaFacebookCover_zpsbc9cea09.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /><br />
<br />First and foremost, I write these recaps for myself. I did it as I was reading and added my thoughts as I went. Again, I do this mainly for me but updated them on the off chance they are useful to others. Feel free to ignore all my salty notes, especially if you loved this book.<br />
<br />
While I am on my role for recaps, I may as well just add the final book now as I took notes whilst reading. Let me just say that this book didn't need to be 1,000 pages. Sarah J Maas adds in so many unnecessary scenes and wastes countless pages on boring inner monologues that add nothing. I am really disappointed. I was promised war and death... I got a copy of so much of Lord of the Rings, barely any death just some side characters Maas didn't care too much about and then every ship sailing and ending happily ever after. NOPE! I want a soul-crushing finale like Harry Potter, that makes me cry from beginning to end and makes me kind of hate the author but respect them too. A review is coming... It will not be good!<br />
<br />
I also put my thoughts into this recap, as that is just what I have to do. I have a lot of feelings!<div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531922609l/33590260.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7)" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531922609l/33590260.jpg" /></a><br />
<div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Kingdom of Ash</i></b></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">The Prince</i></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;">
Rowan still searching for Aelin, it has been months.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">The Princess</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Aelin is still being kept in the iron box, stored in a temple on a tiny island. They have been torturing her but she has refused to tell them anything.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Part One: Armies & Allies</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1: </b>Aedion is reunited with the Bane, moving the troops from the armada to the Bane's camp in the Plain of Theralis. No one has noticed in two months that Lysandra is pretending to be Aelin, even though Aelin/Lysandra isn't using her fire power.<br />
<br />
Aedion still refuses to talk to Lysandra, only does it when she is pretending to be Aelin so it helps to convince people. Six Valg appear through the mountain pass, they kill five and take one to interrogate for information.<br />
<br />
They reach Allsbrook castle and they are reunited with Evangeline. Aedion receives a letter from Kyllian, one of his commanders, telling him Morath's troops have made landfall in Eldrys and have destroyed the city.<br />
<div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Elide, Gavriel, Rowan and Lorcan are in a city near Doranelle. Rowan has found one of Maeve's commanders and is torturing him for information.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 3:</b> Aelin has been left chained on a stone alter. Fenrys has been ordered to stay and watch in his wolf form, has to watch her be tortured every time. They give her food and water laced with iron so she can't use her powers. Maeve is torturing her and trying to convince her to swear the blood oath to Maeve.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 4:</b> Manon, Dorian and the Thirteen are searching for the Crochan witches. Dorian is planning to seal the Wyrdgate, needs to find the last key and will then sacrifice himself to forge the Lock. Dorian uses Wyrdmarks to summon Gavin. Gavin doesn't want to reveal where the last key is because of what will happen to Elena. He finally tells him the third key is in Morath. He tells Dorian Damaris can guide him and he will know when he is ready to go to Morath. Dorian asks Gavin if he is human, Gavin says he can't answer that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Rowan and the others are getting conflicting information. One commander told them Maeve is in Doranelle, another said Akkadia. Rowan has a dream of Aelin pregnant, with their other children beside her. Rowan is determined to not let Aelin sacrifice herself to make the Lock.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 6: </b>Chaol is still sailing for Erilea, doesn't know that Maeve has Aelin yet. Nesryn, Sartaq and Falkan are on a scouting mission - see villages burned by Morath. Yrene is pregnant.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 7:</b> A white bear tries to attack Manon - it shifts, is the stygian spider Manon tricked in Heir of Fire. This is the same spider that took twenty years from Falkan, which is how she got his shifter power. Spider tells Manon it can lead her to the Crochans. Dorian has been practising his magic, can use many other things not just his ice - he now wonders if he can shapeshift. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 8: </b>Cairn takes Aelin to see Maeve, Aelin then realises they are actually in Doranelle. Maeve puts Mab's crown on Aelin and then makes her kneel on broken glass. Connall in his black wolf form, transforms to tell Fenrys that he is a disgrace.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maeve reveals she knows that Lysandra is currently pretending to be Aelin. Maeve orders Connall to do something, he takes a knife and then she makes him plunge it into his own heart and kill himself. Aelin manages to cut Cairn and Maeve with a shard of glass - for a second Aelin sees Maeve's blood is black.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Fenrys comes to remove the shards of glass from Aelin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 10: </b>Lysandra and their forces have met the legion Erawen marched through Eldrys. Erawen sent 5,000 soldiers but they manage to defeat them. Darrow has sent a message with Nox Owen to tell them to bring the army to meet him the next day. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 11:</b> Nesryn and Sartaq return to report on a 10,000 strong army that they have spotted. The army is marching to Aneille, Chaol's family home. They plan to march on Anielle and save them and then secure the Ferian Gap and march to Terrasen after that. Chaol and Yrene plan to ride ahead on a ruk and warn Aneille.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 12:</b> Aelin feels her mother is with her, telling her to be brave and not to yield. Aelin fights back, hammering on the iron box and almost breaking it. This allows Rowan to feel a surge down the mating bond, the others feels the surge of power too. They realise Aelin is in Doranelle. Rowan says they need to lure Maeve away from Doranelle so they can sneak in and rescue Aelin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 13:</b> The spider has led Manon and the others to a camp of 75 Crochan witches. Glennis, the witch these Crochan answer to, is Manon's great-grandmother.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 14:</b> An Ironteeth patrol has found Manon and the Crochans, it is two Yellowlegs covens. Dorian is almost eaten by a Wyvern, but turns his body to solid flame and burns through the wyvern. Manon swears she did not lead the Ironteeth to them, but Dorian knows she is lying - did it so they could save them and earn their trust.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 15:</b> Glennis is Manon's father's grandmother, her father was called Tristan. Manon meets Bronwen, her cousin. Bronwen says the Crochan's will never recognise Manon as Queen. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian realises that the spiders are actually valg. Dorian tells Manon to speak with Glennis to figure out how to convince the Crochan's to join them. Glennis tells her that only a Crochan Queen can light the Flame of War, which is how they summon every witch to fight. They take the flame that has been kept burning for years to each Hearth in the various Crochan camps. Manon has to be accepted as Queen before she can do that. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Crochans are heading to Eyllwe, to help Crochan's that are there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Darrow summoned Aelin/Lysandra so that they can meet with the other Lords. They vote on where to take their forces next, decide on Orynth. A stranger enters their tent, a Valg, who attacks Lysandra/Aelin, says Erawen sent him.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 17:</b> The Valg scents Lysandra's blood, now knows she is a shifter and not Aelin. Sends a message through his bond to other valg to tell them. Valg has them kill the valg before he can expose her to everyone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aedion reveals he is going to ignore the Lords vote and will move the legion to the border instead. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nox finds Lysandra as Aelin, tells her he knows she is a shifter and not Aelin. He knew Celaena Sardothien, as they fought together in the competition in Throne of Glass. Nox was working as a spy for the rebels that whole time. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lysandra tells Nox she needs his help and he agrees. Nox gives Lord Darrow, Gunnar, Sloane and Ironwood wine laced with something to make them sleep. Their men are also given the same thing. They awake the next day to find the army gone.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Chaol & Yrene arrive at Anielle and meet with Chaol's father, inform him 10,000 troops march for Anielle and to ready their men.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://66.media.tumblr.com/1d4445a9ecf0595438a2f383dc69ebbc/tumblr_n25x7jpSor1t8n1oqo2_500.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for helms deep battle gif" border="0" height="108" src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/1d4445a9ecf0595438a2f383dc69ebbc/tumblr_n25x7jpSor1t8n1oqo2_500.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 19:</b> The ruks arrive, the foot army is still a week behind them, they need to hold the army back on their own. Morath's army is three days away. *** This is not the first time we get major LOTR vibes from this series, but this whole thing turns into the battle for Helm's Deep. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 20:</b> Maeve is giving Aelin false memories, what could have been if Erawen never came to Erilea. In the fake memory, Maeve tells Aelin her story. Says a young Queen was born in a world where power is not inherited but born. She had power stronger than all others. Three Kings came to find her and get her hand. She picked the eldest brother for his library (smart woman!) and what she could learn from it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She learnt that there were other worlds than her own, worlds where the sky is blue and the land green - so unlike her dark world. Creating doors between worlds had been outlawed long ago but she found the spells to be able to do it within the library. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She came to a new world and became Queen there too. The Three Kings found that world and she fought them, they did not know it was her. She sent two back and the last was left so broken that he hid. The Three Kings had found a way to permanently open a gate between worlds and made three keys to do so. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
She says she wants the keys to banish the King back to his world, so she can keep this one new and lovely. Sweetly asks Aelin where she thinks the keys are. Trying to trick her with false memories so she will reveal the true location of the keys. Aelin refuses to tell her. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maeve says she does not want to destroy this world, she wants to save it. Maeve tells Aelin she has heard a Valg commander has been caught with a collar. She plans to go and retrieve the collar and then put it on Aelin. Cairn is moving her while Maeve is gone, to somewhere more secure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Rowan knew Maeve would want a collar, had Elide travel to a tavern to spread fake rumours of a captured Valg Prince. Elide plans to go into the city and ask after Cairn, so they can figure out where Aelin is being kept in Doranelle.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 22:</b> Lysandra is scouting ahead in bird form, she sees 50,000 troops being led by 5 Valg Princes marching towards them. They only have an army of 25,000. They begin fighting and they are being destroyed by the Valg. Still Lysandra/Aelin doesn't use her fire, soldiers notice this.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 23:</b> Elide finds a tavern with fae soldiers stationed there. She lies and says her name is Finnula, and that Cairn told her to meet him here. They won't tell her where Cairn is but reveal Maeve has left Doranelle. Elide leaves and one of the fae follows her, says her name is Essar and that she should stay away from Cairn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Essar reveals Cairn is at the eastern camp. She knows that Elide is with Rowan and Lorcan, recognises their clothes on Elide. Essar was Lorcan's lover for a while. Essar and her sister Dresenda tell her that the watch is weakest at dawn. Essar reveals she visited Mistward in the Spring, met Aelin when she was there and that is why she is helping them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Rowan will break into the camp at the southern entrance. Gavriel and Lorcan are waiting for his signal at the east entrance, they will create a diversion there so he can sneak in.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 24: </b>Crochans, Manon, Dorian and the Thirteen now at an ancient camp where the seven Great Hearths have a fire each. Dorian still trying to learn to shift. Glennis gives Manon three brooms to deliver to Crochans throughout the camp, Manon knows they must be important in some way.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Karsyn, a Crochan watching the wyverns, reveals that Abraxos and Narene, Asterin's wyvern, are mates. Rhiannon Crochan's crown of stars was stolen from her dying body by Baba Yellowlegs and hasn't been seen since.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian and Manon get into a fight, he says that she cares and she argues, saying that she doesn't. Dorian tells her he cares about her, she calls him a fool. Dorian wakes up, has successfully shifted his eyes from blue to brown.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Aelin still in the box, has been moved to a camp. Cairn plans to burn Aelin with fire. Aelin believes she has found a way she can get Cairn to kill her and end this. Rowan hears a voice, Lady of Light, urging him to hurry up and go now, so he breaks into the camp early. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 26:</b> Aelin toys with Cairn, says the guards talk about him and call him spineless. He hits her, unlocks her from the table and is pushing her face towards the fire to burn her. She hits him and attempts to run, but he grabs her. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fenrys tries to fight against the blood oath, refusing to obey it. Severing the blood oath will kill him but he does it anyway. Fenrys attacks Cairn, severing the blood oath completely.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Cairn and Fenrys fights. Aelin uses a burning poker to break the chains on her feet and run.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 28:</b> Aelin escapes, fighting soldiers, heading in the opposite direction of Rowan. Lorcan sees Aelin. Ten soldiers surround her, she kills them all and runs for Lorcan. Rowan finds them, Aelin pleads for Rowan so Rowan and Gavriel head back into the camp for him. ***It felt like they found and got her out super quickly but it has been 250 pages.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 29:</b> Rowan & Gavriel find Cairn and Fenrys both injured in the tent, Fenrys is slowly dying. Rowan tells Gavriel to heal Cairn, then chains him to the metal table. Rowan is going to torture Cairn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 30:</b>Elide sees Lorcan arrive back with Aelin. Aelin is screaming for them to remove her shackles but they cant. Has to teach Rowan the wyrdmarks for open in order to remove them. All of Aelin's scars have gone - Maeve erased them all when she had the healers heal her after every torture session.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 31:</b> Every scar of Aelin's are gone - the ones from Endovier, from when her and Rowan became caranam, from her oath to Nehemia, from Baba Yellowlegs - they're all gone. They also removed her tattoo. They'd given her entirely new skin to replace the skin they had destroyed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aelin goes to Fenrys as he lays dying, has him swear the blood oath to her as it is the only way she can save him. Orders him to live. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Little Folk appear, asking them to follow. They lead them to a save with a fire, a stream and a great lake. Aelin lays down, having said nothing to Rowan.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Dorian still learning to shift, took three days to change his eye colour back.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 33:</b> Manon and the witches reach Eyllwe too late, many Crochan witches there are dead and only a few have gotten away. Manon begins digging, her and the Thirteen will bury all the dead Crochans. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Four Crochan covens made it to the King and Queen of Eyllwe and are now aiding them. Eyllwe are still fighting against Morath's army.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian goes to summon Gavin but Kaltain is summoned instead. Kaltain says she is forbidden from telling him what it is like after death and who is with her there. Kaltain confirms the final key is in Morath, tells him to go to the Keep there as it is the only place Erawen would keep it. Kaltain warns him to go, grab the key and leave, otherwise he will have a collar placed on him again. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dorian finally transforms fully, into a raven. Sees Manon, she saw the whole thing and knows he plans to go to Morath. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/cPKWZB2aaB3rO/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for why gif" border="0" height="170" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/cPKWZB2aaB3rO/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 34:</b> Aedion and their armies are still fighting Morath's forces, has been three days of fighting. Men have started to question why Aelin doesn't use her fire. Aedion says they can retreat northward to Perranth, across the river and pick of Morath's forces as they follow.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lysandra finds Aedion, shifts back to human form and is naked. They fight. Aedion tells her that her & Aelin's plan was bullshit, can't pretend to be Aelin when their armies are relying on her fire power to save them. Aedion says she agreed to let Aelin go to her death and told no one. He tells her that she has ruined everything and throws her out of his tent and into the snow... naked. *** Aedion, I love you but, WHY!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 35:</b> Aelin doesn't believe that they are real and that she has been rescued, the Little Folk promise her it is. Rowan tells her that Cairn is dead, that him skinned him alive, like Aelin once told him she would do to him if he ever whipped her. He then cut off Cairns head and burnt it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aelin is told she has been gone for two months and three days. A boat appears on the lake, two forms under the water are pulling it. Little Folk have brought it for them, they can sail underground through the caves and out to the sea and not get caught. The Little Folk give Aelin the Crown of Mab, as she is both Brannon's Heair and Mab's, making her the Queen of the Little Folk too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Lorcan tells Elide he wasn't crawling towards Maeve on that beach, but crawling for Aelin. Then endless Aelin inner monologue ***Maas still can't edit herself. 300-350 pages of this book are unnecessary, probably more.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Aelin and the others entering a barrow, wight territory. They are creatures of malic and thought that covet treasure and hate light of any kind. Aelin leaves the boat and enters one of their caves,. Fenrys, Gavriel and Rowan follow, Lorcan and Elide stay on the boat.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DecentInsistentBedbug-small.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for fucking stop gif" border="0" height="111" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DecentInsistentBedbug-small.gif" width="200" /></a>Aelin has come to the cave to take gold for their journey, the others take it too. Fenrys finally turns back into his human form and hugs Aelin. He tells the others what Maeve made Connall do. Aelin finds rings for her and Rowan to wear as wedding bands. Rowan tells her he will redo her tattoo and add a new one for them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 38:</b> NOTHING, 4 PAGES OF NOTHING! Maas stop!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 39:</b> Erawen's army has taken five days to reach Anielle. Chaol's mother left Anielle with Terrin, Tarrin left a note. Chaol's father tells Chaol that Yrene is pregnant, has noticed her touching her belly often.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Manon wants to go to the Ferian Gap, to the host under Petrah's control and will ask them to join her. Manon sees Dorian talking to Kaltain, fights with him about his plan to go to Morath. Tells him to prove himself first, shift and sneak into the Ferian Gap and tell them who is there. He agrees.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Whv12v2a50P8Q/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for gag gif" border="0" height="179" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Whv12v2a50P8Q/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 41:</b> Aelin and the others have reached the sea through the caves. Aelin and Rowan talk about the fact they are mates. Then we get another sex scene. ***Maas is right back to the sex scenes that make you cringe and are so cheesy it hurts. It is all 'claiming' 'primal' and declaring people are 'yours'.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 42:</b> Aelin speaks to Lorcan, tells him she can't trust him fully. Tells him to swear the blood oath and then he will be welcome in Terrasen and can go where he wants. If he refuses he will never be allowed in Terrasen, meaning he won't see Elide again. Lorcan swears the oath and promises to protect Terrasen, he does it for Elide.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Dorian on the way to the Ferian Gap with Manon and the Thirteen. He is shifting to make himself look like a valg. He flies in on Narene. Comes back, says the Matrons aren't there - just Petrah and 300 Ironteeth.<br />
<br />
Manon and the Thirteen enter the Omega to see Petrah, ask her to gather her host. Manon reveals that her grandmother plans to rule the witches as their High Queen, only Queen. Wants to get rid of Yellowlegs and Bluebloods, make them all her subjects. Manon gives a speech to the witches and asks them to join her and then Manon and the Thirteen leave them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Aelin dreams she is still captive. She is angry that she was chosen to pay the price, she hopes Dorian finds the third key and forms the Lock so she doesn't have to. Rowan is training Aelin so she can build back her strength and muscle. Aelin has been teaching them how to draw wyrdmarks.<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/sRKWacOhwFMli/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" height="125" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/sRKWacOhwFMli/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Chapter 45:</b> Battling for 5 days in Anielle. Eretia tells Yrene she knows she is pregnant, but Yrene still hasn't told Chaol and he hasn't told her he knows. A horn sounds, Hasar has arrived with Darghan cavalry and foot soldiers. ***This is basically Helm's Deep!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 46:</b> Aedion and his armies are nearing Perranth, Morath soldiers are a day behind. Morath's soldiers finally reach them. Aedion has Rhoe's shield, which belonged to Aelin's father - he never told her he had it. Morath's army is coming towards them across a frozen river, the fae on Aedion's side use their magic to break it, drowning some of Morath's soldiers.<br />
<br />
Lysandra is fighting in a wyvern form. They are losing, Morath has too many soldiers. Many of Aedion's soldiers start fleeing. Lysandra knows she must do something.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 47: </b>Lysandra enters the battlefield as Aelin, with a sword. Is going to fight the Valg, a way to give the soldiers hope and stop them fleeing. Lysandra is fighting two ilken, Aedion is running for her as he thinks she is going to die. Aedion is regretting all the things he said to her. Lysandra is hit by the ilkens poisoned claw. Aedion reaches her, knows he needs to get the poison out before she dies.<br />
<br />
Some of Morath's witches arrive and bring a witch tower. A witch is Yielding in the tower, sacrificing herself so they can amplify the power with the witch tower and use it to destroy Aedion's army. One blast completely destroy 4,000 of Aedion soldiers.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 48:</b> Chaol, Nesryn, Sartaq and Hasar are discussing battle strategies. Aelin, Rowan and the others arrive. Aelin cries at seeing Chaol walking and hugs him. ***YAY! Finally a nice Chaol & Aelin reunion. Aelin recognises Yrene, Yrene gives her the note that she gave her years ago. Chaol reveals they are married, Aelin tells him she married Rowan. She reveals that Gavriel is Aedion's father.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Falken arrives at the tent, he suddenly turned young again. Aelin met him long ago in Xandria. Nesryn tells Aelin that Falken is Lysandra's uncle. Nesryn explains that the stygian spiders are actually valg and that they answer the only Valg Queen - Maeve.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 50: </b>Nesryn tells them everything the spider told her about Maeve. She tells them the valg are parasites and that Yrene has found a way to rid human hosts of them. Aelin tells them she was kept captive by Maeve for two months. Aelin is struggling, feels like Maeve has broken her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 51: </b>Elide and Lorcan fight, she can't understand how he loved Maeve. Lorcan tells her she is jealous. She tells him she doesn't care if he makes it off the battlefield alive or not.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Manon and the Thirteen return to the Crochans. Manon asks Glennis if Rhiannon, her half-sister, believed the Ironteeth could change. Glennis says she did, and wanted to find Manon as she believed they could rule the witches together.<br />
<br />
Dorian is practising how to fly as a raven so that he can eventually fly to Morath.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 53:</b> Lysandra wakes up in a tent, Aedion is with her. He tells her they yielded Perranth and have been on the run for two days and are three days from Orynth. Lysandra shifted back to her body whilst injured, all the soldiers now know Aelin isn't with them.<br />
<br />
Aedion apologises for everything he said. Lysandra tells Aedion that despite everything she was made to do when with Arobynn, she has never felt more degraded and humiliated than when he threw her from his tent. She is angry that it took her almost dying for him to realise he was wrong. She tells him she has wanted to be with him in the end but that is ruined now. She doesn't want to speak to him any more.<br />
<br />
Ren and Darrow have reached them. Darrow says Aedion is stripped of him rank for his rebellion. Darrow says they will execute Lysandra if she shifts to Aelin again. Darrow demands that Aedion hand back the Sword of Orynth. Aedion does that. They realise their army is now trapped.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 54:</b> Chaol tells Yrene he knows she is pregnant. Aelin meets Chaol's father, she humiliates him and tells him to rot in hell. Aelin would be Heir to Doranelle, as Maeve isn't really the Fae Queen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 55: </b>Dorian has shifted into a female witch. Dorian confronts Manon, says she is too afraid to ask him to stay and not go to Morath even though that is what she wants.<br />
<br />
The three Ironteeth Matrons have found them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 56:</b> The Yellowlegs matron is wearing Rhiannon's crown of stars. Manon fights them. She kills the Yellowlegs matron and takes the crown. Manon tells Petrah's mother to go, to tell Petrah their life debts are paid and she can decide what to do with her. Manon's grandmother flees on her wyvern. Glennis then crowns Manon, names her Queen of Witches.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 57: </b>Rowan doesn't know if Aelin can use her powers, hasn't done so since they saved her from Maeve. Fenrys tells Rowan that Cairn burned her with fire. Rowan, Aelin & the others take swords and armour from Chaol's fathers keep.<br />
<br />
Morath's forces begin attacking, Rowan notices Aelin hasn't returned from the keep and isn't fighting. Aelin finally appears on the battlefield, in golden armour and begins fighting with a sword, not with her power.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 58:</b> Morath's soldiers are planning to break Anielle's dam, which will destroy their forces but also Aelin's. Sartaq & Nesryn attack the soldiers trying to use a battering ram to break the dam. Lorcan is on the battlefield, fighting against ten Valg. One cuts open his back and then plunges a sword into his gut.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 59: </b>Sartaq & Nesryn arrive back to the keep to tell them to get their soldiers off the plains as the dam is damaged and will soon collapse. Many will not have time to escape, they will lose most of their forces when the dam breaks.<br />
<br />
Elide realises Lorcan hasn't returned with them. Rowan tells Fenrys to use his magic to jump to the field and find him. Fenrys says he can't jump to the field. Elide takes Chaol's hose and rides out onto the plain to find Lorcan herself.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Fenrys hasn't been able to jump since Connall died - it was the power they shared and he doesn't know if he still can. Elide finds Lorcan, his wounds are very bad. She gets him onto the horse and they race for the gate, need to get there before the dam breaks.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://66.media.tumblr.com/0e7d65dc2b2e1b802a93875468eb148c/tumblr_n9w9qkJBZp1ru8yv8o7_250.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for dam break lotr gif" border="0" src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/0e7d65dc2b2e1b802a93875468eb148c/tumblr_n9w9qkJBZp1ru8yv8o7_250.gif" /></a></div>
<b>Chapter 61:</b> Lorcan tells Elide to leave him, as he is weighing the horse down and slowing them down. Lorcan tells Elide that he loves her, tells her to let him go but she refuses to let him off. They're still a mile from the keep when the dam bursts.<br />
<br />
Aelin is riding Borte's ruk out into the plain. Rowan realises that Aelin has been making the descent into her power for the past three months, it is why she hasn't been using it. Building it up so she could use it against Erawen to kill him. Instead she uses it to blast the water coming from the dam, turning it to steam and saving their forces.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 62:</b> Manon goes to Dorian and apologises for how she acted when she learned that he was going to Mortath. Dorian plans to leave for Morath the next day. Manon asks him to stay, says they can form an alliance between Adarlan and the Crochans, they would marry. Dorian doesn't believe she would be happy being confined by marriage. They sleep together and fall asleep, when Manon wakes up, Dorian has left with the two Wyrdkeys.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HarmfulUniformBorderterrier-size_restricted.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for gondor calls for aid gif" border="0" height="122" src="https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HarmfulUniformBorderterrier-size_restricted.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 63:</b> Aedion tells Ren to send out messengers saying that Terrasen calls for aid. They begin fighting Morath's army but are likely to lose. Rolfe and the Mycenians finally arrive, firing their firelances at the enemy. Aedion and his men run for the boats, will escape on them and head for Orynth.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 64:</b> Lorcan wakes up, Elide is beside him. She tells him she loves him. They kiss.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://i.gifer.com/UYi6.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Related image" border="0" height="107" src="https://i.gifer.com/UYi6.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 65:</b> Manon and the Crochan's get the word that Terrasen is calling for aid. Manon says she will answer their call, so do the Thirteen and so do the leaders of the Seven Great Hearths of the Crochans. Manon lights the Flame of War and each of the Seven Hearths, summoning them to war. The final clan takes the flame and will take it to light them fires across all the Crochans camp, to call them all to war.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 66:</b> Aelin tells Rowan that she sent letters to Aedion, as well as Rowans uncle and Essar, saying that she was imprisoned by Maeve and heard Maeve's plans during this time. She is trying to convince them to disband Maeve's army and start a revolution in Doranelle. She told them in the letter that Maeve is Valg.<br />
<br />
Kashin and his soldiers have arrived. Hasar, Kashin, Sartaq and their armies will go with Aelin to Terrasen. Yrene is currently healing people infected by the Valg.<br />
<br />
<b>Chatper 67:</b> Aelin is wondering if Yrene can use her power on Erawen and Maeve to get rid of them, that way Aelin would not need to forge the Lock. Aelin is looking at the books written in Wyrdmarks that Chaol and Yrene brought with them, but finds nothing important.<br />
<br />
The Wild Men in the mountains of Anielle want a part of Anielle's territory and then they will guide their forces through secret paths to Terrasen, so they can avoid enemy forces. Chaol's father refuses, but Aelin points out that Chaol outranks him, as he is Hand of the King.<br />
<br />
Chaol's father shows him a trunk of letter from his mother, she had wrote to him for years while he was in Rifthold. His father never sent them, letting his mother think Chaol never wrote back and making Chaol think his mother didn't care.<br />
<br />
Chaol gives the Wild Men the territory and then they follow them into the mountains. Half of the ruks and Dhargan riders will march under Kashin's banner on the eastern side of the mountain, to draw out the forces from the Ferian Gap.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Part Two: Gods & Gates</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<b>Chapter 68:</b> Dorian arrives in Morath, sneaks in as a mouse. Dorian sees Maeve and Erawen together, Maeve has come to talk to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 69:</b> Aedion, Lysandra and their army arrive at Orynth.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 70:</b> Maeve reveals to Erawen who she really is, that she is the Valg Queen. Maeve is no longer Queen of Doranelle - Aelin's letters works, her army rose up against her and refused to march. Maeve tells him she had Aelin but she has since escaped. Maeve wants to ally with him against Aelin.<br />
<br />
Maeve creates a portal and shows him a spider on the other side - the kharankui. Erawen has struggled to find hosts for the last 6 Valg princsses but Maeve says he can put them in the kharankui. Erawen plans to bring his two brothers back to this world. Agrees to work with Maeve and put the princesses in the kharankui.<br />
<br />
Maeve leaves to go to the chambers Erawen has assigned her. Dorian follows but Maeve knows he is their and traps him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 71:</b> Maeve tells Dorian that they can work together, that she wants the keys so she can get ride of Erawen and his brothers for good. She tells him that Aelin is glad he has the keys and that he will be sacrificing himself rather than her, Dorian says he doesn't blame her.<br />
<br />
Dorian tells Maeve to work with him, bring the spiders to his side and he will marry her, give her Adarlan as a new Kingdom for her to rule.<br />
<br />
Vernon is also at Morath, which gives Dorian an idea. He shifts into Vernon in order to speak to Erawen and ask him questions. Doesn't find out anything important and doesn't find the key.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 72:</b> Nesryn & Sartaq have reached the Ferian Gap but find no sign of the enemy army. Chaol and Gavriel talk about fatherhood - more wasted pages. Nesryn and Sartaq arrive back to inform them they found no trace of the Ironteeth at the Ferian Gap.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 73:</b> Maeve brought 6 spiders to Morath and the princesses are now in them. Dorian is still hunting for the key. He finds a locked door and shifts so he can sneak in. He finds a black stone sarcophagus in it and rows of Wyrdstone collars. He has found the tomb where Elena and Gavin trapped Erawen. The collars are affecting him and Maeve saves him. Maeve tells him she doesn't want to be like Erawen and his brother. Dorian believes the final key is in Erawen's tower but he can't sneak in. He wants Maeve to try and seduce Erawen so she can gain entry.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 74:</b> Maeve tries to seduce Erawen but he rejects her and doesn't let her in. Maeve meets with Erawen the next day, Dorian hides in her pocket as a mouse. Erawen wants Maeve to summon all the kharankui for him. Maeve tells him he should hold off, save them for another battle. She says she will demonstrate her power to him, by showing his brothers to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 75:</b> Aedion and his forces are setting a trap for Morath's fleet. They set explosives underground, ignite them and it destroys two of the three witch towers they have brought, and breaks the other. Morath has sent 100,000 soldiers.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 76:</b> Maeve plans to trick Erawen, show him an illusion of his brothers whilst Dorian sneaks into his tower. Maeve opens a portal to get him into the tower.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 77:</b> Dorian finds a woman in Erawen's bed, realises the Wyrdkey is in her arm. Dorian is shifted as Erawen and pretends to be him. He cuts open her arm and takes the Wyrdkey. She begs him to kill her but he can't. Maeve appears, kills the girl and then uses her powers to enter Dorian's mind and try to control him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 78:</b> Dorian tricked Maeve into believing she could control him, the whole time he has been learning her power. *** Can we just talk about how Dorian is a total badass and about 1,000 times for powerful than Aelin, as he has mastered so many different powers when she can only really use her fire.<br />
<br />
Dorian now has control of Maeve's mind, reveals he used his magic to weaken Morath's foundations and will bring the whole place down. He leaves, gives Maeve back control of her mind but he takes away her ability to make portals - see, Dorian is a fucking badass! Dorian now has all three keys.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 79:</b> Yrene tells Elide that she could heal her foot, it will be painful and slow but she could do it. Elide says they will talk about it if and when they win the war.<br />
<br />
Borte arrives and says they found Vernon in the mountains. Vernon tells her Perranth has been sacked and now belongs to Erawen. Vernon tells Aelin that Maeve went to Morath to unite with Erawen.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 80:</b> Vernon tells them 100,000 soldiers are marching on Orynth. Aelin leaves him locked and chained in the room, as he did to Elide. They will leave him there to die of starvation.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 81:</b> Darrow shows Lysandra the last of the sacred texts from the Library of Orynth. They ready for battle and see 1,000 wyvern and witches flying towards them. Aedion plans to fire Rolfe's firelances at them.<br />
<br />
Aedion tells Lysandra to take Evangeline and escape through a tunnel at the bottom of the castle. Tells her that he is in love with her.<br />
<br />
Wyverns appear from the North, it is Manon and the Thirteen and they have brought an army of Crochan witches with them, thousands of them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 82:</b> Over 5,000 Crochan witches came. ***Then we get more pages of nothing.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 83:</b> Dorian summons Gavin to tell him he has the keys and plans to take them to Aelin so they can decide what to do.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 84:</b> Lysandra goes into the tunnel under the castle and into the Florine river as a sea dragon, gets near to the enemy and waits for a signal.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 85:</b> Lysandra gets the signal, jumps from the water and attacks the enemy as a sea dragon. Then jumps back in the river and moves up to attack more enemies. They shoot flaming boulders down on Morath's forces whilst the Crochans fight the Ironteeth. A siege ladder hits the wall, a Valg prince has arrived.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 86: </b>The Valg Prince and Aedion fight, Valg stabs Aedion in the armpit. Ren saves him and kills the Valg with a firelance. Aedion is unconscious and sent to a healer.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/b63ddc861d38c7e20f0a262c6b87812b/tenor.gif?itemid=5074461" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image result for i hate so much about the things you choose to be gif" border="0" height="163" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/b63ddc861d38c7e20f0a262c6b87812b/tenor.gif?itemid=5074461" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Maas thoughts at this point.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Chapter 87:</b> Rowan has redone Aelin's tattoo and given her another one telling their story. Elide and Lochan get a fade to black sex scene ***So we get 500 awkward as fuck Rowan and Aelin sex scenes, but this she decides to fade to black!<br />
<br />
Dorian finds them, tells them he has the three keys.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 88:</b> Morath now trying to enter through the river that Lysandra used. Iskra Yellowlegs attacks Abraxos and Manon, her bull has Abraxos's throat in his jaws.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 89:</b> Manon wants to save Abraxos, he is trying to dive for the ground so he can kill the bull but save Manon. Manon plans to try to jump from Abraxos onto the other bull. Petrah appears and has brought her legions to fight alongside Manon. Manon and Abraxos are saved, so go to prevent Morath's soldiers getting in using the river.<br />
<br />
Petrah kills Iskra and her wyvern, revenge for Iskra killing her wyvern back in Heir of Fire. Manon takes Abraxos back to the castle, needs a healer for the wound on his neck.<br />
<br />
Morath have repaired one of their witch towers, plan to Yield more witches so they can blast apart the city. Manon is determined to break apart the tower, wants to fly to the tower to do it. Asterin and the Thirteen knock her down to keep her there, tell her to live and then all twelve fly for the tower.<br />
<br />
Eleven of them, except Asterin, are taken down but Asterin makes it. She kills the witch who is about to Yield. Asterin and the other Thirteen all make the Yielding, blasting apart the tower and destroying a lot of Morath's army. *** I am devastated, but only felt like I really knew two of these 12. Maas still can't kill big characters.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 90:</b> Manon goes down to the blast zone. Everyone comes to lay flowers in honour of the Thirteen for saving them all. Kingsflame blooms *** called it!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 91:</b> Dorian and Chaol reunite and it is everything I needed in my life. It is actually the only thing that made me cry in this book. Dorian meets Yrene. Dorian tells them about Morath and what Maeve was there for. Aelin wants to allow them to vote, on whether to create the Lock straight away or head to Terrasen fight. They vote to forge the Lock and send Erawen back the next day.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for rolls eyes gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" width="161" /></a><b>Chapter 92:</b> Rowan suggests that Aelin and Dorian can forge the lock together and each give half of their power. Aelin asks Dorian, he agrees to do that. They are going to forge the Lock now. *** It is at this point where I finally started to realise we are 760+ pages in and it is obvious Maas still can't kill her darlings. I begin to truly fear this will be the disappointing, lacklustre finale like ACOWAR was. We are promised war and death and then get nothing but people coming in to save the day at the last minute, nobody dying and everyone living happily ever after. I was right! Can you tell I'm bitter?!?<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 93:</b> Rowan, Dorian, Aelin and Chaol head to Endovier to make the Lock. Dorian & Aelin cut palms and join hands. Aelin cuts open her arms, she realised that to open the gate she has to become it. She places the wyrdstones into her arm. They dissolve into her blood.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 94:</b> The Lock is forming, draining both of their powers and killing them. Dorian's father appears from a doorway, yells stop.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 95:</b> The King says he can pay the price, as he has no name and is nameless. Aelin tells Dorian that one of them needs to rule, then rips her hand from his and sends him back. Plans to form the lock with his father.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 96:</b> The King gives her a message from her parents, that they love her, are proud of her and that the debt has been paid enough. King uses the last of his power to forge the lock. The Lock is forged and sealed, and the rest of Aelin's magic vanishes.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 97:</b> No magic left in Aelin, just a tiny droplet of her water power. Twelve figures appear from the portal behind Aelin - Deanna, Elena, Mala and the other Gods. They want her to send them back. Aelin wants to bargain for a trade, wants to trade Erawen's soul for Elenas. She says they will keep Erawen here in Erilea but they let Elena's soul remain in the afterworld. They destroy Elena completely, tell Aelin they don't make bargains.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 98:</b> Rowan feels the mating bond getting weaker. The gods leave through the archway and seal it, refuse to take Erawen with them. Mala gives Aelin a piece of her power. Mala tells Aelin to seal the gate, think of home and that the wyrdmarks will guide her. Rowan inked wyrdmarks into her tattoos, a map home to him. Aelin opens a portal in the gods world, sends them into a hell-realm. Aelin begins sealing all the gates and archways. She throws her last piece of power into the Lock and then leaps through the gate back home.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.tenor.com/images/b792f095a8ee31edc70bde17f1654aa8/tenor.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for are you fucking kidding me gif" border="0" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/b792f095a8ee31edc70bde17f1654aa8/tenor.gif" /></a><b>Chapter 99:</b> Aelin is falling through different worlds. She passes through what is obviously the Night Court and sees Feyre and Rhysand together, Feyre is heavily pregnant. Rhysand hits her with his power to help slow her down. Aelin returns to her own body, her power is gone and just a small ember remains. Aelin is now an immortal fae, gave up her mortality to forge the lock and live. ***Fucking pointless! Had such a build up for books and books about how important the keys are and the Lock. And it was all for NOTHING! Nothing was gained by doing it, they didn't even get rid of Erawen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 100</b>: A week since the Thirteen sacrificed themselves. Ansel of the Wastes tells Manon she will share the Wastes with her and the witches.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 101:</b> Elide gives Aelin Silba's ring.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 102:</b> Murtaugh was killed. Lysandra kisses Aedion. They have about four days of fighting Morath's army left before they will lose and all die.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 103:</b> The Lord of the North and the Little Folk appear and tell Aelin to follow her as Doom is upon Orynth.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 104:</b> Aedion's forces are out of arrows and firelances. Darrow gives Aedion back the Sword of Orynth and his title, then tells Lysandra he recognises Caraverre and her as its lady. Darrow names Evangeline his heir.<br />
<a href="http://33.media.tumblr.com/da956db5ee9661b1f062caa7a6a57d5f/tumblr_mhm6r4Rxn81s1ub6io1_r2_500.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for helm's deep gandalf gif" border="0" height="131" src="http://33.media.tumblr.com/da956db5ee9661b1f062caa7a6a57d5f/tumblr_mhm6r4Rxn81s1ub6io1_r2_500.gif" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>Chapter 105:</b> Aedionm, Lysandra and the others are hours away from defeat. A horn blares and Aelin arrives, riding the Lord of the North and bringing her army with her. ***Say it with me, one more time: HELM'S DEEP!<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 106:</b> Aelin & their forces attack.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 107:</b> A wyvern attacks Aelin, Lysandra appears in wyvern form and saves her. Aelin and Ansel use catapults to destroy two siege towers. The rest of Morath's Ironteeth host arrives. Gavriel arrives in Orynth and goes to find Aedion.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/3t7RAFhu75Wwg/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for angry gif" border="0" height="171" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/3t7RAFhu75Wwg/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 108:</b> Gavriel tells Aedion they found Aelin, sealed the Wyrdgate but haven't sent Erawen back. Gavriel needs to help seal the gate to Orynth. He fights outside it and shuts the gate behind him. Aedion tries to get down to him but Aedion dies protecting the gate. *** Don't get me wrong, I am sad. But that is all we get. Maas kills off twelve witches, only two of witch we really ever get to know and care for and then Gavriel. That is it. In this giant, awful battle. Clearly this is LOTR. I want a devastating, death-filled finale like Deathly Hallows. You know, REALISTIC when it comes to war.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 109:</b> The six kharankui valg princesses arrive with Maeve and Erawen. Aelin is at the Southern gate, sword in hand and plans to fight them both.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 110:</b> Aelin is playing Maeve and Erawen against each other - tells Erawen that Maeve planned to destroy him. Tells him they have healers here who will destroy him. Aelin begins fighting them.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 111:</b> Lorcan and Fenrys head to help Aelin against Maeve and Erawen. An ilken appears to pick Erawen up.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 112:</b> Erawen spotted a healer and has gone to try and kill her. Yrene purposefully tricked him to get him to come for her.<br />
<br />
Maeve grabs Aelin, tells her to swear the blood oath. Rowan, Fenrys and Lorcan arrive and Maeve attacks them with her power.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 113:</b> Erawen tells Yrene he has been looking for her. They have her kind in their world and called them death-maidens. They used her kind to unbind the wyrdgate and make the keys. Erawen gets trapped by a wyrdmark. Yrene then uses her healing to destroy him. Dorian cuts their palms and links hands, to lend his power to her.<br />
<br />
Dorian demands that Erawen tells him his fathers name. Reveals that it was Dorian as well, his father only remembered that name briefly when he first saw Dorian as a baby and named him it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0xeOMTkcgGM40Gzu/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for this is bullshit gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0xeOMTkcgGM40Gzu/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a>They destroy Erawen. ***Yup! Seven books on this big, bad demon King and that is how easily he dies. Yrene gets rid of him in a few pages... But took her fucking months to fix Chaols injury. This whole thing is just bullshit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 114: </b>Maeve's power is showing Rowan, Lorcan and Fenrys different things. Rowan sees Aelin dead, spiked to the gates of Orynth. Fenrys sees his brother, who tells him that everything that happened to him is Fenrys's fault. Lorcan sees Elide telling him that she will never be with him. Maeve is using this to try and get Aelin to swear the blood oath.<br />
<br />
Aelin blasts the last of her power to Lorcan, Rowan and Fenrys. Aelin is creating portals, leading to different armies - a band of fae, wolf-riders who hate Maeve and the stygian spiders who also want to destroy Maeve. Aelin and Rowan distract Maeve, whilst Fenrys stabs her in the heart with Goldryn.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 115: </b>Aelin places Silb'as ring on Maeve's finger and then beaheads her. The Valg armies instantly stop and collapse because Erawen and Maeve are both dead. *** All so anti-cimactic and easy. Awful pacing once again where the book is too long and you feel yourself skimming at the end, waiting for it to end.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 116: </b>Aelin enters Orynth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/qmfpjpAT2fJRK/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for eye roll gif" border="0" height="152" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/qmfpjpAT2fJRK/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Chapter 117: </b>Falkan finds Lysandra, tells her that he is her uncle and his fortune is hers. Darrow welcomes Aelin to Orynth as Queen. Aelin offers Gavriel the bood oath in death, to honour him. Lorcan asks Elide to tell him to stay, come to Perranth and marry him; she does. Lorcan plans to bind his life to Elide, so they will die together when she dies.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 118:</b> Yrene wants to start her own Torre in the North. The Crochans find Manon, a flower has been spotted in the Wastes, the curse is broken.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 119:</b> Rowan has told Sellene, his cousin, that she is now Queen of Doranelle. Aelin has her coronation as Queen. Aelin has Aedion swear the blood oath. The Little Folk come and give her Mab's crown, she is also Faerie Queen of the West.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 120:</b> Some of the rukhin have found wyvern eggs and want to stay behind to train them. Chaol's mother sends a letter, wishes for her & Hollin to come and live with Chaol. Dorian finds Manon and says the rukhin will train wyverns to be his new aerial legion, he wants her to come back from the Wastes to help them. She says she will.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 121: </b>Everyone is departing: the Crochans, the khaganate royals, Ansel, Silent Assassins, Prince Gallan and more. Dorian, Chaol and Aelin say goodbye to one another, Aelin tells them she loves them both. ***The trio back together!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Afterworld</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Elide and Lorcan are married. Aedion and Lysandra plan to marry. Book ends with the Kingsflame blooming ***Predicted that as Maas doesn't know how to subtly drop hints.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">The Very-Disappointing-But-Not-Surprising End</span></i></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-90971621099674319362018-10-25T00:38:00.004+01:002024-01-28T13:42:32.654+00:00Tower of Dawn Recap<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-gdQRj8ur3I4jRukGm5sMouiU0oM6rhV5ZgcXrr-tDzMN8zM-hk2aVFP4CgZqWhZLjCIAzdYjLSb4VhVdHNcwPI2xbc9xYPIENjkamJzZI3MZjk7iFpJzH4nWO0SgS1fcHSjy6BlUXdW/s640/CelaenaFacebookCover_zpsbc9cea09.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Here is my chapter by chapter recap of Tower of Dawn. To find the others you can go here:<br /><div style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497973101l/31450852.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass, #6)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497973101l/31450852.jpg" width="209" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Tower of Dawn</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Part 1: The God-City</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1: </b>Chaol has reached the Khagan's palace in Antica. The khaganate's spent centuries at nomadic horse-people before the first khagan emerged. He was a warlord who unified the scattered tribes and took the continent piece by piece.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chaol has two tasks in Antrica - convince the khagan and his six potential heirs to send their armies to war against Erawen and to find a healer to get him walking again.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chaol notices white cloths hanging from windows, lanterns and doorways. Nesryn tells him it is a sign that a royal relative has recently died.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The last khagan outlawed slavery, so all servants are paid. The inheritance of the empire is decided by the khagan - he can pick any of his children, based on who proves they are best suited for it. Khagan is required by law to keep a sealed document naming his heir in case he dies suddenly - this can be changed at any time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Nesryn's father was from Antica so this feels like home to her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Urus is the current khagan and he has six children. Urus fought for his crown, executed two of his siblings, one is in exile and two swore fealty to him by having the healers of the Torre render them infertile.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sartaq is the khagan's second-born and is commander of the ruk riders, the rukhin. Ruks are enormous birds, eagle like in shape. Sartaqs ruk is called Kadara.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Arghun is the eldest son and the politician amongst them - known as the Prince of Spies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Duva is the second youngest, and currently six month pregnant, after recently having an arranged marriage to prince from a neighbouring territory. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Kashin, the fourth-born, has control of the armies on land.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hasar is the third-born and she is in control of their armadas.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chaol has brought jewels and gold as a gift from Dorian, Aelin gave him it for this purpose. Urus reveals he knows Aelin used to be Celaena Sardothien, an assassin. He is insulted that a wedding gift was not sent when Duva married, as every other kingdom sent one. Urus knows he is there to ask him to join the war and he says he will consider it whilst Chaol is there. Khagan gives Chaol permission to be healed at the Torre Cesme. He tells them to keep the jewels and gold, as he has no use for it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Urus reveals his youngest daughter, Tumelan, died suddenly three weeks ago.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Urus tells Chaol that Perrington sacked Rifthold and that Dorian fled the city and that it now belongs to Perrington and the witches.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 3: </b>Kashin comes to Chaol & Nesryn's chambers, tells them the khagan wishes for them to dine with him and his family every evening. Kashin is worried that Perrington's forces could have infiltrated their court, wants Chaol to observe at dinners. Tumelan is believes to have killed herself, having jumped from her balcony - Kashin doesn't believe it, says she would never do that. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 4:</b> Yrene has been in the Torre for two years now, working under the guidance of Hafiza, the Healer on High. Yrene is the girl that Aelin saved in the Assassin's Blade. Yrene now feels ready to return to Adarlan, she wants to help in the war in any way she can.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Kashin is fond of Yrene, they became friends after she healed one of his servants. Kashin wants more than that but Yrene doesn't.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hafiza assigns Yrene to Chaol - wants Yrene to heal him before she decides whether she will leave the Torre or not. She informs Yrene he is Chaol Westfall, the new Hand of the King of Adarlan and former Captain of the Guard. Yrene says she does not want to heal him, she hates Adarlan and the soldiers there - her mother was burned alive by soldiers from Adarlan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene still has the brooch that Aelin gave her all those years ago, and the note that Aelin gave her too.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Yrene comes to assess Chaol and is angry at being there. She is very rude to him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 6:</b> Yrene tells Hafiza that she can heal Chaol, as the injury is almost identical to an injury she healed before. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nesryn leaves the palace to go visit her aunt and uncle in the city, Sartaq sees her and asks to escort her. Sartaq tells Nesryn he was twelve when he snuck on rukhin captains ruk and rode it. His father ordered him to live amongst the rukhin as a punishment for this. Kadara hatched when he was fifteen and he took her as his ruk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 7:</b> Chaol summons a servant, Kadja, and asks her to go into the city and try to find any information she can on Rifthold. Chaol then goes to see Arghun, wants to ask him all he knows of Rifthold. Arghun doesn't want to be seen talking to him and tells him to leave.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene joins the khagan and everyone for dinner - she is also good friends with Hasar and her lover, Renia.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 8:</b> Yrene tells Chaol she will heal him and attempt to get him walking again. She warns him to be wary what he says, that the servants are paid by the vizier and kahagan's children for information. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene lays her hands on Chaol's wound and probes it with her magic - she feels cold, dark anger and agony of the magic that was used.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chaol whispers to Yrene about what happened to him - about wyrdgates, wyrdstones, Wyrdhounds, the Valg, Erawen, Valg princes and collars and rings. He doesn't tell her about the keys or that the King was enslaved by a Valg. Also doesn't tell her Dorian was enslaved by one. He doesn't reveal who attacked him or who Duke Perrington really is.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Chaol tries to organise a private meeting with the khagan during dinner, the khagan refuses.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 10:</b> Yrene is in the Torre library, trying to find out more information about the kind of wound that Chaol has. Nousha, the Head Librarian, has found her texts and scrolls on dark magic, demons and wounds inflicted by them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene finds an Eyllwe text called The Song of the Beginning with illustrations of an army kneeling before a towering gateway of blackstone - the Valg. Another shows three figures by the gate - names them as Erawen, Orcus and Mantyx, the three Valg Kings.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene decides to leave for the night, she feels a presence following her. She runs and finds a dead healer on the floor, looking as if something has sucked the life out of her. The healer looks very similar to Yrene.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 11:</b> Yrene arrives late to see Chaol and she sends his servant away to get ingredients so that she can talk to him. She tells him about the dead healer and that something was hunting her. Chaol believes a Valg is responsible for what happened to her. The healer looked like Yrene, so they believe it believed they were killing her. The valg also took the texts she had been reading.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene reveals she teaches a class on self defence - teaches what Aelin taught her years ago. She wants Chaol to go with her and teach them what he knows. Yrene is getting Chaol a special brace and straps made so that he can ride a horse.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 12: </b>Yrene starts the healing, it causes Chaol intense pain. There is an echo of the dark magic in his wound and it hates Yrene's magic. Chaol will experience excruciating pain the whole time she heals him. Yrene will need to fight off the magic and heal him at the same time. Yrene says he must talk about what happened, heal his emotional wounds as well but he refuses.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chaol wants Nesryn to try and talk to Sartaq, so she goes and finds him in the aerie. Sartaq takes her for a ride on Kadara. They talk about Adarlan and what Aelin did to the King, as they have heard she killed him. Nesryn tells him the king was a monster and that Aelin did Erilea a favour.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Yrene is healing Chaol, the dark magic shows her images of Morath. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nesryn goes into the city to try and search for signs of the Valg - Sartaq follows her. Sartaq tells her he has heard that Rifthold is filled with monsters, beasts that look like humans but aren't. Nesryn tells him about her mother, who got sick but the King had rid Erilea of magic and killed the healers, so she could not be treated. Her father wanted to bring her to the Torre but she got to sick to make the journey and died. She explains to Sartaq that if he sees anyone with black rings or collars then he should behead to kill them. Explains everything she can about the Valg. Sartaq explains his hearth mother at the rukhin had told him stories - sounds like there was a Valg presence on this continent a long time ago.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 14:</b> Yrene meets Chaol and they ride over to the self defence class. Yrene uses it as a teaching lesson for some of the girls, allows them to help him down off his horse. Chaol is furious and embarrassed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 15:</b> Yrene and Chaol fight about her letting the acolytes help him. Chaol asks if Yrene's problem is with him or Adarlan in general - she tells him how Adarlan soldiers burned her mother alive while she watched.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Chaol is being healed, it shows him painful memories from his past, Yrene sees them as well. Chaol tells Yrene about Dorian, watching Sorscha be killed and then Chaol fleeing and leaving Dorian there. Chaol can now curl and uncurl his toes. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 17: </b>Nesryn goes to visit her uncle Brahim and aunt Zahida. She tells them about the attack at the Torre and tells them to hire more guards. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Hasar asks Yrene to meet with her, she wants Yrene to try and find out where Aelin is as she is not in Terrasen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 19 & 20:</b> Chaol goes with Yrene to see a man she is healing and then she gives him a tour of the city.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Hasar makes Nesryn move at dinner so Yrene can sit next to him. Yrene tells Chaol that Yrene is not in Terrasen and that they want to know where she is. Yrene and Chaol pretend to flirt, so the others don't know what they are discussing. Chaol tells her Skull's Bay, as he thinks it is the last place Aelin would actually go. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nesryn tells Chaol she plans to go with Sartaq, he wants to return to the rukhin in the mountains to try and find out if the Valg did make it to this continent a long time ago.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 22: </b>Yrene arrives early and finds Chaol in bed with Nesryn. Chaol sees a book Yrene has taken from the library, it is covered in wyrdmarks. He makes her hide it in his room.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 23:</b> Yrene asks what happened to the other Valg Kings, as the illustration showed three but he only talks of Erawen. He tells her that two were either defeated or sent back. Yrene points out that if they were only sent back then they could come back. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She begins healing him, sees more dark memories and then she shows one of her memories with her mother. Chaol can now feel his feet as well as his toes. She tells Chaol about her mother and her life after she died. Tells him she spent time in Innish trying to make money to come to the Torre. Yrene tells Chaol she knows the King is the one who gave him the wound and that he was possessed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 24:</b> Sartaq invites Nesryn to the mountains with him to hunt for answers, it will take three weeks. Nesyrn agrees and leaves a note for Chaol, telling him she holds him to no promises and she will hold to none of her own.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Yrene and Chaol head to the Torre library to look for more information. Chaol reveals that the part of the King that still had some control was the one stopped the magic and executed healers and those with magic. He knew that Erawen and the Valg were drawn to magic and wanted to possess people with it so they could use their powers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sartaq and Nesryn camp for the night. He reveals he has heard of her before - his spies in Adarlan told him of the arrow she shot to save Lysandra's life (in Queen of Shadows) and that they refer to her as Neith's arrow.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 26:</b> Chaol receives Nesryn's letter and is angry, feels it is his fault because of the flirting with Yrene at dinner. He is very short with Yrene when she comes to heal him, they fight. Yrene goes to see Hasar and she tells her that Sartaq has gone off into the mountains and taken Nesryn with him - Yrene now knows why Chaol was upset.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Yrene goes out to heal people in the city as she is still mad about her fight with Chaol. Yrene heads back to the palace but feels the presence behind her again. She runs for Chaol's room and locks the door behind her. The creature begins trying to break it down while calling out for Yrene. Chaol gives her a dagger as they wait to fight whatever breaks through the door. Guards appear and whoever was there has vanished.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 28: </b>Yrene spends the night in Chaol's room, she feels safer there. Chaol wakes early and goes and finds one of the guards, Hashim, and has him train and show him how they fight. He begins training with them every morning.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 29:</b> Nesryn and Sartaq reach the rukhin in the Tavan Mountains. She meets Borte, the grandaughter and Heir of Sartaq's hearth-mother Houlun. There is a man there who is a guest of the hearth-mother, a merchant called Falkan Ennar.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 30: </b>Nesryn trains with Sartaq, Borte and others, shows them her skill with an arrow. The heart-mother, Houlun, returns and reveals that a dark force stirs in the mountains and she had gone to search for it. Ruk nests have been pillaged, with eggs and hatchlings stolen. She tells them the creatures are known as kharankui - Nesryn thinks she is talking about the Valg. Houlun reveals they refer to the creatues as stygian spiders in Erilea. The stygian spiders (Heir of Fire) are actually Valg, came from the same world as the Valg kings.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 31: </b>Falkan reveals he got a hundred yards of spidersilk from the spiders for the price of twenty years of his life. He is only 27 but looks almost fifty. Falkan wants to try and get his twenty years back - believes he must kill the spider who took them. He has come to learn from the rukhin how they kill the spiders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Houlun knows of Erawen and the Valg and agrees to tell them what she knows. Long ago, a wyrdgate appeared in the Tavan Nountains - it allowed the kharankui to enter along with other types of Valg. Most went to Erilea but the spiders remained. War raged in Erilea - a Fae Queen (Maeve) against three Valg kings. After the Valg were defeated, the fae came to these mountains to teach the ruks how to fight the kharankui. They built watchtowers across the mountains. Houlun tells them to go to the watchtower to try and find more answers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Yrene and Chaol return to the library to try and find how the ancient texts and scrolls came to be in the library. Nousha reveals they may find the answers they need in the Aksara Oasis - it is the royals private refuge and no one can go without their permission. Chaol & Yrene go for a meal together, Yrene knows she needs to find a way to get Hasar to invite her to the Oasis.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 33: </b>Sartaq and Nesryn go to one of the watchtowers, it is filled with traps. They come across some fae weapons and both take one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Lhk2tgcoayRUc/giphy.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for shelob gif" border="0" height="131" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Lhk2tgcoayRUc/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a><b>Chapter 34: </b> A kharankui appears above them. A large grey wolf appears and fights the spider, so they escape. Kadara attacks the spider as it follows them and she kills it. The wolf is Falkan, he is a shapeshifter and followed them there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 35:</b> Falkan comes from a family of shifters but didn't know he could shift until he came to this continent. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They return back to the rukhin and Nesryn tells Borte everything. Houlun tells Sartaq about the wrydgates and keys.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Chaol now has movement up to his knees but still can't stand. Chaol is at dinner with Yrene, Hasar and other siblings when Hasar comments that Nesryn is due back the next day. Chaol reveals Nesryn has sent a letter, saying they are staying in the mountains for another three weeks. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hasar says that Dorian and Aelin have both been spotted. Aelin was in Skull's Bay, as Chaol said, and her spies saw her unleash her power on Morath's ships. Hasar wants Chaol to swear on Yrene's life that Aelin won't one day try to conquer their continent too, Chaol can't swear it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Kashin comes to Chaol's room that night, he reveals they provided Captain Rolfe with firelances and that they have had a new order for more to be shipped North.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Nesryn, Sartaq and Falkan go to the other three watchtowers and find nothing of importance. Other ruk riders show up at the last temple. A rider called Yaren argues with them for a while and then leaves. Sartaq reveals that Yaren is Borte's fiance. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 38:</b> Chaol interrupts the khagan's meeting with his foreign trade vizier. Says he has come to speak to the vizier, not the khagan. He tells the vizier to double Rolfe's firelance order and pays using the jewels and gold Dorian gave him - showing the khagan how profitable the war could be for him. Khagan kicks Chaol out, tells him that he can't be manipulated. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chaol is angry, and he and Yrene get in to another fight. He says some hurtful things and she turns to leave.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 39:</b> He manages to walk towards her to try and apologise. Chaol kisses Yrene.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Chaol can walk a little but still needs healing. Yrene's birthday is soon, she has convinced Hasar to throw her a party in the Oasis so they can go there to look for more information.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 41:</b> Sartaq, Nesryn and Falkan are going to head to Dagul, which is kharankui territory. They find a hatchling alive there and fly for it, it is a trap and Kadara flies into the spiders webbing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 42:</b> A spider appears and kills the hatchling. Sartaq, Falkan and Nesryn run, have lost Kadara.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Chaol can now ride without a brace. They are riding to the Oasis.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Chaol tells Yrene about his guard - how they were tortured, killed and left to hang on the castle gates. Yrene and Chaol go for a walk, trying to find a cave but come across ruins. Find columns with images on them. They have found a fae burial site, realises fae have been here. Chaol believes the healers are the ancestors of the fae and they can be used to fight the Valg. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hasar thinks Aelin should marry one of her brothers, so Chaol reveals she will marry Rowan Whitethorn as they are caranam and he has sworn a blood oath to her. Hasar tries to pressure Yrene to marry Kashin, Chaol interrupts and says that will never happen. Yrene pushes Hasar into the pool.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media3.giphy.com/media/5xaOcLDE64VMF4LqqrK/200.webp?cid=3640f6095bd0fb9d2e63504d36340da3" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="toronto raptors applause GIF" border="0" height="198" src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/5xaOcLDE64VMF4LqqrK/200.webp?cid=3640f6095bd0fb9d2e63504d36340da3" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 45:</b> Chaol gives Yrene a locket for her birthday, he has noticed her grabbing for something in her pocket a lot (note from Aelin) and she can now keep it in the locket. Chaol and Yrene have sex and let us all congratulate Maas, this scene doesn't use the phrases 'velvet-wrapped steel' or 'purely male'. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 46:</b> Yrene tells him about the girl who saved her years ago and taught her self defence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 47:</b> Sartaq, Nesryn and Falkan escape on foot. Sartaq finds himself stuck, a spider coming for him. Sartaq tells her he loved her before he ever met her - my eyes roll so hard I almost lose them! Sartaq is taken by a spider, Nesryn plans to get caught on purpose to go after him - how very LOTR!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 48:</b> She wakes up wrapped in webs. A spider finds her trying to escape and talks to her. Says the kharankui are awaiting the Queen of the Valg to return to them, says she goes by the name Maeve. Maeve is a Valg Queen - I totally forgot this before I reread.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Spider tells her about Maeve. She came from the same world as the Valg kings. The three kings ruled before she appeared, with a new and dark power. The King desired her but she agreed to marry the eldest and strongest one, Orcus.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maeve learnt how to enter other worlds and stepped into this one, the kharankui came with her to this spot in the mountains. She told them spiders to guard the gate, she did not want to return. Orcus and his brothers discovered what she did and followed her there, but they had learnt how to control the gates.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maeve found Mab and Mora and disguised herself as fae, used her powers to make them believe they had an elder sister. She then made all the fae believe she had always existed and ruled. The Kings fought Maeve, never knowing who she really was. Maeve stole the keys and sent two Kings back. Brannon stole them before she could send Erawen back. Brannon didn't realise who she was but did know she feared fire. Kharankui reveal all valg fear fire. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Falkan turns into a spider and enters, tricking the other spider into leaving.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 50:</b> They escape and spiders chase them. Falkan will buy them time, tells Nesryn he has a niece but doesn't know who she is. Tells her to find her if she can, that all he owns is hers. His niece is Lysandra because of course she is! Borte appears on her ruk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 51: </b>Kadara flies in, as does Yaren and many other ruk riders. Borte has brought an army of ruks and they use fire arrows to set Dagul on fire.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Chaol's room has been trashed, the scrolls and books have been taken.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 53:</b> Yrene goes to see Hafiza and tells her about the scrolls, the ruins and that she believes the healers were planted in Antica to fight against the Valg. Hafiza was once told that Antica belonged to the fae long ago. They entombed their dead as they didn't want anyone taking the bodies. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yrene is bathing in the Tomb of the Torre, where the baths are. Bells hang all over, each healer places their own bell here. She finds a bell from a Yafa Towers, one of her distant relatives. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 54:</b> Chaol is in pain, wound is hurting and the darkness is creeping back. Yrene is determined to heal him fully and end it now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 55:</b> Chaol sees memories, all that he and Aelin went through. Realises he understands her and the decisions she made. Yrene finds him in the darkness and pulls him out of it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 56:</b> Another not terrible sex scene from Maas. Yrene and Chaol tell each other they love each other. This is one long book but it still manages to make both romances feel super rushed/forced and insta-lovey.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 57:</b> The rukhin Council of Clans meet. Nesryn explains about the Valg and demons. Sartaq asks them to fly with him if he fights against Erawen, they agree. Nesryn tells Falkan about Lysandra, that she is his niece and asks him to come North with them. Chaol has sent a message asking them to return to the palace immediately.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 58: </b> Chaol told Yrene about Celaena's past and her being Aelin. Yrene has figured out the Valg act like parasites and she now believes she can successfully treat people who have been infected by them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 59:</b> Hasar tells Chaol that Maeve's armada found Aelin and her armies, that they fought. Tells him they believe Aelin won, as she was seen moving North with her armies (They don't know it is Lysandra disguised as Aelin). They now know Aelin has a small army of Silent Assassins as well as Galan Ashryver's forces too. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hasar reveals Aelin sent her a letter weeks ago, asking for her to help and promising a better world.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Yrene and Chaol go to speak to Hafiza, but she is missing. She left her key behind. They head to the tunnels in the library.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 61:</b> They find a corridor with four doors, one is open and they go through it. Find a chamber filled with gold and sarcophogi in it. They find Hafiza there, Duva is with her. Duva is possessed by a Valg and threatens to kill Hafiza.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 62: </b>Perrington sent a wyrdstone ring as a wedding present and Duva put it on, was possessed by the Valg. Tumelan suspected her so the Valg made Duva push her from the balcony. Yrene is Silba's heir, so possesses the power to rid people of the Valg. Duva attacks them, Chaol jumps in the way to protect Duva.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 63:</b> Duva uses her valg powers to wreck Chaol's spine once again. Yrene runs and Duva chases her. Yrene can sense that Chaol is dying. Nesryn and Sartaq appear. Nesryn hears a voice, saying Chaol can be saved but she must pay a price and she agrees. Chaol is healed, even the scar on his face that Aelin gave him in Crown of Midnight is healed. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 64:</b> The cost Yrene paid is that her and Chaol now share a life-bond. Chaol can use his legs and walk when her magic is at its fullest, when she is weak he will still need his chair. The life-bond means that if one dies the other dies too, they will die together. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sartaq calls the khagan and his siblings to see Duva, says she is possessed by the Valg.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 65:</b> Yrene works to get the Valg out of Duva, she does it and saves Duva and the baby. Khagan tells her she can have anything that she wants. The demon in Duva was a valg princess, not a prince. Sartaq will send 1,000 of his rukhin to help in the war, Hasar agrees to also go and bring her armadas with her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 66:</b> Nesryn has claimed a ruk for her own, named Salkhi. Her father, sister and sister's children have made it to Antica. Sartaq reveals he told his father he will take his rukhin to fight Erawen with or without his permission and will be with Nesryn no matter what his father thinks. The khagan has named Sartaq as his heir. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 67:</b> Yrene and Chaol on a ship sailing for Erilea.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 68:</b> Chaol and Yrene are married, got married two days before. Yrene shows Chaol the note she was given years ago and he realises it is from Aelin. Three hundred healers have come with Yrene. The khagan has sent 1,000 of his ships with them. Yrene's request for the khagan was for him to send her people. He has sent 1,000 ships filled with his foot soldiers and cavalry, as well as the 1,000 rukhin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: x-large;">Fireheart</i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin is in the iron box that Maeve placed her in, Cairn is coming to torture her.</div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-85871651976464947452018-10-22T02:29:00.003+01:002024-01-28T13:42:48.802+00:00Empire of Storms Recap<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-gdQRj8ur3I4jRukGm5sMouiU0oM6rhV5ZgcXrr-tDzMN8zM-hk2aVFP4CgZqWhZLjCIAzdYjLSb4VhVdHNcwPI2xbc9xYPIENjkamJzZI3MZjk7iFpJzH4nWO0SgS1fcHSjy6BlUXdW/s640/CelaenaFacebookCover_zpsbc9cea09.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Here is my chapter by chapter recap of Empire of Storms. To find the others you can go here:<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Crescent City recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/crescent-city-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Earth and Blood</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2022/02/house-of-sky-and-breath-recap-summary.html" target="_blank">House of Sky and Breath</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/house-of-flame-and-shadow-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">House of Flame and Shadow</a></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ACOTAR recaps:</span></u></b></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-summary.html"><i>A Court of Thorns and Roses</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-mist-and-fury-summary-recap.html" target="_blank">A Court of Mist and Fury</a></i></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-wings-and-ruin-summary-recap.html"><i>A Court of Wings and Ruin</i></a></u></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-court-of-frost-and-starlight-recap.html"><i>A Court of Frost and Starlight</i></a></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-court-of-silver-flames-recap-summary.html">A Court of Silver Flames</a></u></i></b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Throne of Glass recaps:</span></u></b></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/throne-of-glass-recap.html"><b>Throne of Glass</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/crown-of-midnight-recap.html"><b>Crown of Midnight</b></a></span></i></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/heir-of-fire-recap.html"><b>Heir of Fire</b></a></span></i><br /><i><span><b><a href="http://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/queen-of-shadows-recap.html">Queen of Shadows</a></b></span></i><br /><span><b><i><u><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/empire-of-storms-recap.html">Empire of Storms</a></u></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/tower-of-dawn-recap.html">Tower of Dawn</a></i></b></span><br /><span><b><i><a href="https://reviewsfromabookworm.blogspot.com/2018/10/kingdom-of-ash-recap-summary.html">Kingdom of Ash</a></i></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463107108l/28260587.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463107108l/28260587.jpg" width="210" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Empire of Storms</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Nightfall</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Princess Elena Galathynius is in her war tent before the battle with Erawen. His army is much larger, she knows her armies will be slaughtered. Gavin wants her to run, so that she can live. Her father's powers are failing, they can't beat Erawen. Elena tells Gavin she wants to get close to Erawen to kill him and that she needs him as a distraction. Gavin says they can't kill him, they'd only trap him and move this war/battle on to someone else in the future. Elena says that if they succeed, no one can know what they have done.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Part 1: The Fire-Bringer</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 1:</b> Elide has been in Oakwald forest, where Manon left her, for weeks. She is trying to follow Manon's advice to find Aelin & Celaena Sardothien to repay the debt she owes Kaltain Rompier. Elide still has the stone Kaltain gave her. Elide can sense that someone is following her.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lorcan Salvaerre is being hunted by witches after sneaking into one of their camps, killing 3 Yellowlegs and kidnapping, interrogating and killing a fourth. He learnt that twin witch armies are poised to take the continent - one in Morath, the other in the Ferian Gap. Yellowlegs don't know about the Wyrdkeys. Lorcan thinks Elide is possessed because he can smell the stone, thinks she is possessed by the valg.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 2:</b> Aelin & the others have been left gifts by the Little Folk that follow them. Aedion has sent messages to the Lords he can trust and asked them to come for a meeting. We also get kissing and endless cringy inner monologue! Kill me now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 3: </b>Manon's grandmother arrives at Morath with her coven. Manon remembering what her grandmother did to Asterin - branded her, threw her stillborn in a fire without allowing her to hold the baby, beat her and left her to die. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The High Witch suspects that Manon and her Thirteen were behind the destruction at Morath as they were against the breeding of witches with the Valg. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Erawen now in a different body. He is planning to send the witches to take Rifthold, cause destruction and bring Dorian to him if he can be captured alive. Manon advises him to act as though he is 'liberating' the city from Dorian and not destroy the city too much - more likely to make allies of Anielle, Melisande and Fenharrow that way. Erawen orders her to bring down the glass wall in Rifthold that Aelin created. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Ghislaine tells Manon all she knows of Erawen - one of three Valg Kings who entered their world at the dawn of time. Two were killed or sent back. Erawen fled the continent when Maeve and Brannon defeated his forces. He spent thousands of years rebuilding his numbers. He launched his attack when King Brannon's flame was dimming. Legend was always that Gavin & Elena destroyed him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 4: </b>Aelin and the others go to meet Lords Ren, Murtaugh and Darrow. Aelin recognises Murtaugh from the warehouse back in Crown of Midnight. Introduces Lysandra to the men as the Lady of Caraveire, a name she made up.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Darrow tells Aelin she is not yet Queen, rule of Terrasen must be approved by the ruling families of each territory. Darrow doesn't like her or want her as Queen, and calls Lysandra a common whore and Rowan Maeve's minion. Aelin tells him Rowan is her carranam and his loyalty can't be questioned.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Rgn6cUfaN5zW/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for applause gif" border="0" height="112" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Rgn6cUfaN5zW/giphy.gif" width="200" /></a>Darrow reveals Aelin and Aedion were going to be betrothed but Wendlyn rejected the offer to unite their kingdoms at Maeve's request. Aelin gets angry at Darrow, stabs a blade between his fingers as Lysandra shifts to ghost leopard form. Darrow calls her spoiled and arrogant - well, he's not wrong. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Darrow doesn't recognise her as Queen and neither do the Lords of Slaone, Ironwood & Gunnar - the majority. He tells her that if she tries to return to Orynth and seize the throne then it would be an act of war and treason.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 5:</b> Aelin is told that the Ironteeth witches fly for Rifthold to sack the city. She sends Rowan to save Dorian and bring him to meet them at Skull's Bay. Aelin asks Aedion to get the Lords to write a letter of recommendation for them for Captain Rolfe. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin leaves Evangeline and Fleetfoot with Murtaugh to keep them safe and makes a blood promise that she will burn them all if Evangeline comes to any harm whilst in their care. Little Folk leave another message - a replica of Brannon's temple, they are telling her where to go.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 6:</b> Dorian is in Rifthold, told his mother and brother to stay in Ararat. The army of witches and wyverns arrive in Rifthold. Iskra's legion have beaten Manon's there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 7:</b> Dorian begins using his magic to kill the witches. A witch and wyvern break into his tower and attack him. Manon and Abraxos arrive, Manon beheads the witch and Abraxos throws her wyvern from the tower. Dorian has been injured by the wyverns venom, his magic is keeping him alive.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Manon tells Dorian that Perrington is a demon in a mortal body and that he has changed body and that he plans to take Erilea. She tells him to escape as four Yellowlegs witches appear. Rowan arrives and kills the Yellowlegs witches. Dorian stops Rowan from killing Manon; Dorian and Rowan escape.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 8:</b> Dorian and Rowan leaving Rifthold in a boat.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 9:</b> Elide hears a creature in the forest, coming towards her and it's not whoever has been following her. Lorcan reveals himself and tells her to come with him, he knows she is human. Four beasts find them, the ilken, creatures made by Erawen. Leader of the ilken reveals they have been sent to retrieve Elide.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 10:</b> Elide tries running but an ilken finds her. She holds the stone so he can sense the power and pretends she has also been sent by Erawen. Lorcan finds her, asks why she smells like the creatures. She tells him she spent months in Morath amongst them, lies and tells him her name is Marion. Elide tells Lorcan about Morath and that she is heading for Terrasen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 11: </b>Iskra smells her dead witch on Manon, so Manon lies and says the witch attacked her and that Dorian escaped whilst she was killing the witch. Tells her the four other Yellowlegs were killed by a fae warrior, Rowan. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Manon heads to her grandmother, where the other Matrons wait too. Petrah is also there, the witch Manon saved during the War Games of Heir of Fire. The Blackbeak, Yellowlegs and Blueblood Matrons have gathered for Manon's trial, she is on trial for killing Zelta Yellowlegs. Manon lies again, sticks to her story that she was attacked first. Petrah defends Manon.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Grandmother says that Manon will not be killed but blood must be paid. She orders that Asterin be killed at sunrise the next day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 12: </b>Aelin, Aedion & Lysandra arrive in Ilium, where the Temple of the Stone is - it is built around the first rock Brannon placed his foot on. Lord of Meah, Roland Havilliard's father, marched his troops over the border and claimed port of Ilium as his own. They're using the temple as their barracks. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media.tenor.com/images/3e85f090f1cdf47bf05113743dacdc0b/tenor.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for i see what you did there gif" border="0" height="133" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/3e85f090f1cdf47bf05113743dacdc0b/tenor.gif" width="200" /></a>Ilium was once the stronghold of the Mycenians - crime lords who helped win a war so the King ruled them legitimate. Mycenians were exiled for refusing to come to Terrasen's aid. The Mycenians disappeared long ago, along with their sea dragons.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Kingsflame is mentioned - a blossom that bloomed during Orlon's reign but hasn't bloomed since - calling it now, Kingdom of Ash is probably gonna end with this fucking flower blooming!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 13:</b> Rowan explains to Dorian about his magic and how it feeds off of him, that he will need to master it before it devours him. Dorian tells Rowan about how he couldn't save Sorscha, and Rowan tells him he also couldn't save his mate when she was killed. Rowan tells Dorian to help get Rolfe on their side. Dorian asks Rowan to teach him about his magic, help train him.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 14: </b>Aelin and Aedion have sent letters to Wendlyn asking the Ashryver's for help. A merchant tells them that 50 fae warships have been spotted on the Western Coast of Fae territory. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin, Lysandra and Aedion make their move on the temple. Aelin uses her fire, giving herself a crown of fire. Their are fifty soldiers, many see Aelin's power and drop their weapons and run. Thirty five soldiers remain. Aelin burns the commander from the inside out, burns him to nothing but ash. They take the temple in twenty minutes, all soldiers are dead or surrendered.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 15: </b>Aelin steps onto the rock in the temple and Brannon appears. She asks is Maeve can be killed but he doesn't know. Brannon says the Lock is hidden in a sunken city in the Stone Marshes and it is needed to bind the keys back into the broken Wyrdgate,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Erawen has sen a Valg after her, in the body of the Chief Overseer of Endovier - Erawen knows who she is and her past. She tries attacking him with her power, it causes her to vomit. Realises he has a heart of Wyrdstone. Heart punches through his chest, reveals the eyes of Erawen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 16:</b> Erawen knows that Rowan has Dorian and that he has men tracking him and they will hurt him. Aelin destroys the overseers body and Erawen leaves.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 17:</b> Manon plans to make Words of Request, meaning she will be the one to execute Asterin, so that she doesn't suffer. Manon's grandmother allowed Asterin to be beaten, as punishment for the four sentinels Rowan killed. Asterin's execution means any witch who wishes to beat her can. Manon invokes Words of Request and Cresseida Blueblood allows it, as Manon saved her daughter. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Manon knows Asterin could save herself if she would just reveal Manon's lies but she doesn't. The Thirteen raise two fingers to brow for Manon - a symbol used to honor a Witch Queen. Manon tells her Thirteen to run and then turns and attacks her grandmother rather than executing Asterin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 18:</b> Manon and her grandmother fight with just their nails and teeth. Grandmother reveals that she killed Manon's mother, even though she was always told she died birthing Manon. Manon is stripped of her title of heir, Wing Leader, Grandmother tells her she will be known as Manon Witch Killer and Manon Kin Slayer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Her grandmother whispers in Manon's ear that her father was a Crochan Prince and that her mother intended Manon's mixed blood would be the key to break the curse. Manon has been a kin slayer her whole life, killing Crochan's when she is one. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The witch who was spying in the Ferian Gap was actually searching for Manon, as they had learnt the child of their dead Prince was alive. The witch was called Rhiannon and she was Mannon's half sister. - she killed her and wears her cape. Manon is the last Crochan Queen.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Manon's grandmother slices her across the stomach. Manon throws herself from the balcony, Abraxos catches her. Edda and Briar come back to retrieve her and lead her to the Thirteen. Six Yellowlegs are in pursuit, they take on two each. Manon manages to kill both witches chasing her and then faints whilst flying over Oakwald forest.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 19: </b>Lorcan and Elide plan to find a travelling carnival to travel with. Lorcan uses his magic to make Elide's limp less noticeable, as it makes her recognisable - helps ease some of the pain it causes her too. They go to a tavern for food, he pretends to be human and Elide tells him to pretend they are a married couple. They overhear a traveling troupe (what are the odds!), Elide asks to join and tells them Lorcan is a sword thrower. They agree to let them join temporarily. Troupe tell them of the attack on Rifthold and rumours of Aelin and her court.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 20:</b> Rowan and Dorian have arrived in Skull's Bay. Captain Rolfe, a character first introduced during Assassin's Blade, is in charge of Skull's Bay. Has hands tattooed with map of the worlds oceans. Rumour is that they would move, showing enemies, treasure and storms. The price for the tattoo was supposedly his soul, they stopped moving when magic fell. They go to his personal tavern, The Sea Dragon, and Rolfe is waiting for them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 21:</b> Rolfe revelas that Duke Perrington has issued a decree, signed by the majority of Adarlan's Lords and ladies naming Dorian an enemy of his Kingdom and that Perrington has liberated Rifthold from him. Hollin, Dorian's brother, has been named as Perrington's heir and the Crown Prince. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rolfe has lost part of the easternmost archipelago, his map now moves but whatever has that territory has magic that shields it, and any scouts sent don't come back but they hear beasts there - men that are no longer men.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rolfe lost most of his crew in the Spring, fighting to get the island back from Perrington's general. Perrington has Dead End, they have beasts called sea-wyverns with poisoned tails and they're hald the size of a ship. Rolfe's crew - many were captured and returned with wyrdstone rings, under valg control and he had to kill them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rowan tells Rolfe about Erawen, the Valg and the Valg Princes. Two fae males appear, Rowan throws a dagger at one.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 22:</b> The two fae are Gavriel and Fenrys, two of Rowan's cadre who are still blood-sworn to Maeve. They reveal that Maeve's amada sails for the continent and is headed for Eyllwe. Fenrys's twin Connall is back with Maeve - a way to ensure that he comes back. Fenrys originally refused to join Maeve, so she went for Connal, who swore the blood-oath. Fenrys then agreed to join her if she left his brother alone. Fenrys and Gavriel have been sent to find and kill Lorcan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 23:</b> Fenrys and Gavriel say Vaughan has also been sent to kill Lorcan. Rowan agrees to tell them where Lorcan is, but only if they send him an army of Doranelle warriors. Rowan is trying to convince them to help fight with Aelin, as it isn't technically against Maeve's orders. Rowan tells Gavriel that he has a son, not who he is but that he is on his way to Skull's Bay with Aelin. He threatens to kill them and break their deal if they tell Maeve about Gavriel's son.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 24:</b> Aelin, Lysandra & Aedion are on a ship sailing for Skull's Bay - mostly just more endless inner monologue of no real importance. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 25:</b> Manon wakes in Oakwald forest, a beautiful naked woman appears. An illusion, hiding Erawen's Bloodhound. She escapes on Abraxos and he hits the creature with his poisoned tail.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 26:</b> Dorian and Rowan have been in Skull's Bay for two weeks. Rifthold is under witch control and shops from the Ferian Gap now sail towards it. Part of Erawen's fleet is in the Gulf of Oro. Dorian writes a letter and has Rowan deliver it to him, acts like it is important news - a trick to get Rolfe to meet with them. Rolfe leads them to his office, where Aelin is seated behind his desk.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 27:</b> Rolfe remembers her as Celaena Sardothien, doesn't know she is Aelin. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We get more talk about how she is currently Celaena and not Aelin, as they're totally two different people. Aelin should get checked for dissociative identity disorder.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin revels she asked around to check that Rolfe kept to his promise not to trade in slaves - events that happened back in the Assassin's Blade.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rolfe tells Gavriel, Rowan and Fenrys that they will have his help, men and ships if they kill Celaena. Celaena then introduces Aelin and another Aelin walks in, Lysandra shifted as Aelin. Lysandra shifts back and Aelin reveals who she really is to Rolfe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 28:</b> Aelin tells Rolfe she will make him the Pirate King of Skull's Bay and the Dead Islands if he fights with them. Rolfe refuses, tells them to leave and they do. Rowan and Dorian tell them about what happened in Rifthold, she tells them about Ilium, Brannon and the Lock.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 29: </b>Rolfe's map is only one Aelin can use to the find the Lock. Lysandra and Aedion are tempting Rolfe with the Amulet of Orynth, so Aelin can see if map is working. Aedion can't hide his hatred for Dorian, Lysandra tells him to forgive him and not blame him for what his father did or what Dorian did under Valg control. Aedion asks Lysandra to go with him when he decides to meet Gavriel. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 30: </b>Elide and Lorcan barely speak but she tells him of Morath, he wants information on guards, armies and the layout. She struggles to tell him about the dungeons and the torture they did there. She refuses to tell him everything, as he will leave once she does. They are given their own tent and she hides the stone under the bed, he hears her doing it. She tells Lorcan her uncle is a commander at Morath and he locked her in the dungeons once. Tells Lorcan of her uncle's plan to breed her with the Valg. Reveals the ilken aren't the creatures bred in the dungeons, they come from the mountains around Morath and are made through darker methods.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 31:</b> Fenrys asks about Aelin's Settling - if she has shown any sign that she may be immortal or not, she hasn't. Maeve's blood oaths are made with the intention of ruling them in mind, which is why she has such control over those who swear it to her, whereas Aelin does't have that kind of control over Rowan. If any tried to break the oath with Maeve the magic that binds them would kill them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 32:</b> Aedion meets Gavriel, tells Gavriel that his mother died so Maeve would not get her hands on him. She could have been healed by the Fae but she would not risk that. Aedion is angry and blames Gavriel.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin finds Rolfe, Fenrys and Gavriel looking at a map with the locations of Morath's armies - Ferian Gap, Gulf of Oro, Melisande, Fenharrow and Eyllwe - making it impossible for them to get aid from the North. Armies are poised to take Eyllwe.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 33:</b> Aelin knows Erawen is planning to massacre the people of Eyllwe as a message to her for Ilium - he knows it matters to her because of Nehemia. Aelin tells Rolfe that he will give her his armada and arm it with firelances and ship any extras to the Mycenian Fleet. He tells her the Mycenian fleet is a myth. Aelin says she knows he is the heir of the Mycenian people and that she believes they are hiding in the Dead Ends.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin reveals she has liberated Ilium, the Mycenians ancient home, and he can claim it for his people.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin sends a blast of her power out, across the city. Aelin and the others turn to leave when the warning bells begin ringing, the Valg are attacking.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin sent a blast of her power out on purpose, to bring the Valg to Skull's Bay. Eight warships arrive with 100 soldiers on each and they've come with two sea-wyverns too. Aelin threatens to leave Rolfe to deal with it. Rolfe finally agrees to join them but he wants to be admiral, control of whole archipelago, he wants Ilium for the Mycenians (his people) and also wants to be made a lord.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin wants Rowan, Lysandra, Fenrys and Gavriel with her. Aedion to be on north watchtower to use the mounted harpoon and she sends Dorian to the south tower. Aelin asks Rolfe to get her iron chains, to keep a check against her magic if she loses control. Aelin plans to sail Rolfe's ship into the heart of the enemy fleet and blast them all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 34:</b> Aelin sees the fight as not just a way to get Rolfe's allegiance, but also to send a message to the world that she is a force to be reckoned with, a way to show off her power and gain more allies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lysandra jumps into the water and shifts into a sea dragon - a way to get the Mycenians out of hiding, as legend is they will not return until sea dragons do. Lysandra needs to kill the two sea-wyverns. Lysandra studied the life-size, detailed carvings at Brannon's temple in order to shift into them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 35: </b>Rolfe's ship sails out past Ship-Breaker, the chain that lies across the bay and prevents ships from getting in. His other ships stay behind the chain to guard the town. Aelin shackles herself with the chain. Aelin and Rowan cut their palms and link their hands, so she can use his power. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin is wielding the wyrdkey, losing herself to its powers. Her power melts the iron chains off of her. Deanna takes over Aelin, refers to her as the Queen that was Promised. Deanna tells Rowan to tell Aelin to retrieve the Lock. No number of allies will matter unless she has the Lock and puts the keys in it. She tells him 'flame and iron, together bound, merge into silver to learn what must be found. A mere strip is all it shall take.'</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Deanna uses her moonfire. She turns her hand towards the bay, thinking to destroy Skull's Bay and all the innocents there. Rowan jumps in front of Aelin's hand and Aelin takes back control, turning her power towards the enemy fleet.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 36:</b> Aelin has destroyed Rolfe's boat, and all but three of Morath's ships. Lysandra saves Rolfe and his crew from the water. Lysandra sinks one of the enemy ships. The sea-wyverns attack and she kills them easily and sinks another ship.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 37:</b> Three fully grown sea-wyverns are heading for Lysandra, they realise the other two were babies. She attacks a Morath ship, breaking the mast and making on the sea-wyverns impale itself on it. Dorian uses his power to freeze one of the sea-wyverns and then shatter it. Lysandra leads the final wyvern to Aedions tower and he spears it through the throat.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aedion runs for the beach, needs to get to Lysandra. He finds Lysandra and tells her he is going to marry her one day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 38:</b> Rolfe tells Aelin the cost for his map - he was 16 and barely more than a slave on a ship. His Mycenian heritage got him beaten and all his money went back to his mother sister. Ship was caught in a storm and sank, he drifted for a day before washing up on an island with a man staring down at him. The man asked Rolfe what he wanted for himself - he said he wanted to be Pirate Lord of Skull's Bay. The man told him he could grant his wish but the price was that he would take what Rolfe valued most. Rolfe knew he has no wealth or belongings, so he agreed. Rolfe returned home to find that his mother and sister were killed at sea trying to find him. He realises that was the real price he had to pay.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/l1J9GOHzv61L2UyYM/source.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for cringe gif" border="0" height="155" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l1J9GOHzv61L2UyYM/source.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rowan and Aelin proclaim they love one another. Then we are blessed with one of the cheesiest sex scenes in history. I cringe my way through it - she actually uses the phrase 'velvet-wrapped steel'.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 39:</b> Here we get all the talk of 'primal rage' and how no other male is able to look at <i style="font-weight: bold;">'<u>your</u> mate'</i> and all that other possessive shit that is totally romantic and not at all controlling. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin tells the others that she discovered that the Amulet was a wyrdkey back in Wendlyn. She explains to Dorian that she tricked Lorcan with a fake amulet. Aelin draws a wyrdmark to summon Elena. Elena tells her what they did to Erawen was their only option. She tells them the remnants of the Lock are in a great city in the heart of the marshes, in a temple in the very center. Elena's father obtained the Lock at the cost of her mother's mortal life.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Lock could only be used once - could seal anything you wished. Elena stole it and used it to seal Erawen in his tomb. Laid the used lock in a temple of holy city - the city sank and marsh water now covers it and the city was forgotten. Elena's mother was Mala Fire-Bringer, who bound herself in a mortal body to be with Brannon. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They plan to head for the Stone Marshes to get the Lock. Rolfe sails to find the rest of the Mycenians and then head to Terrasen. They set sail, see a wyvern flying towards them. Manon falls from the saddle and into the water.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Part 2: Fire Heart</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Chapter 40:</b> Elide and Lorcan are in their tent and suddenly hear screaming, Lorcan tells her to hide. Four ilken have arrived, hunting for Elide. Lorcan pretends to be in charge and tells them no one matching Elide's description is among them. They reveal they are looking for Elide Lochan, niece of Lord of Perranth - Lorcan realises Elide lies to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 41:</b> Lorcan has killed the ilken. He confronts Elide, asks what she keeps hiding. She says it is a gift for Celaena Sardothien, from a woman in Morath and refuses to show him it. Tells him her mother was called Marion and that she died giving Aelin time to run from her assassin. Tells him that her uncle watched and smiled as her father was executed. He took her father's land and titles then locked Elide in the highest tower of Perranth. When she broke her foot and ankle, he did not trust healers to treat it. He shackled her ankles so she couldn't run, was kept that way for ten years.<br />
<br />
Lorcan tells her that he is over 500 years old, blood sworn to Maeve and her second-in-command. He has done great and terrible things in Maeve's name and will do many more. He was born a bastard on the streets of Doranelle but realised he could kill faster than others, he could sense when death was near. Reveals he is here on the behalf of the Queen but without her permission and she may kill him for it.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 42:</b> Manon wakes up on the boat, chained. Aelin tells her she is now their prisoner. Rowan and Aelin healed the wound on her stomach. Dorian realises that Manon's grandmother was the one who cut her - punished for saving him. Manon tells Dorian to find out if her Thirteen are alive and she will be his to command. Manon tells him the price for saving him was the life of her second and she refused, attacked her grandmother to the Thirteen time to escape. Manon tells Dorian to tell Aelin that Elide Lochan is alive and looking for her,<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 43:</b> Elide and Lorcan enter a tavern hoping to find news; learn that Aelin isn't in the North but that she is rumoured to be heading for Eyllwe. Elide needs to get to Banjali in Eyllwe. Lorcan says he will get her a map, but she reveals she can't read. Guards are heading for them, they run. They take a barge and Lorcan forces the man on it to get them safely out the city. Lorcan kills the man rather than set him free.<br />
<br />
Lorcan finally realises the amulet that Aelin gave him is a fake. Elide is angry that he killed the man instead of freeing him like she had promised him. Lorcan reveals that Celaena is an assassin who has killed many innocent people and that Celaena is Aelin. Tells Elide Aelin is an assassin, trained to kill since Elide's mother died to save her - tells her Aelin is no better than the man who killed Elide's mother and royal family. Elide tells him she will judge Aelin when she meets her. Lorcan tells her will take her to Aelin, as he now has business with her - he found a wyrdstone ring inside the fake amulet and a note from Aelin. Lorcan plans to find Aelin and kill her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 44:</b> Another cheesy sex scene. Dorian comes to see Manon - she tells him of the Yielding, where a witch can use their bit of magic that can be summoned once and unleash great power on her enemies but it is suicide and incinerates the witch - (Feel like this is foreshadowing for what Manon will have to do and if that happens in KoA I will scream - Manorian must live). Dorian kisses Manon and leaves, toying with her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 45: </b>Manon has told Aelin about Elide and what Vernon tried to do to her. Aelin slaps Manon for abandoning Elide in Oakwald Forest. Dorian convinces Aelin to give Manon time on the deck. Rowan, Aelin & Fenrys go to Manon's cabin, Manon says it isn't Fenrys. Fenrys attacks.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 46: </b>Erawen's Bloodhound was disguised as Fenrys, real one still on deck. Bloodhound now knows on what ship Aelin travels and who she is with. Bloodhound throws Asterin's leather strap to the ground, tells Manon that Erawen broke her and that she begged for her baby. Dorian kills the Bloodhound. Ilken are on the ship. Fenrys gets cut and poisoned by one of the ilken. Ilken came to give Aelin a message - Skull's Bay confirmed to Erawen that she has a wyrdkey.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 47:</b> Aelin heals Fenrys, talks to him to distract him. Fenrys can use his power to instantly travel short distances, but has no other special powers. Fenrys and Connall are sons of nobles and his parents were warriors. Gavriel came from a noble house and he believes that serving Maeve is a great honour. Gavriel had only wanted to leave once, for Aedion's mother. Aedion's mother didn't want him to stay, so he left.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 48: </b>Dorian and Manon having their usual back and forth. Dorian says he has no interest in human women, as they're too breakable. Manon tells the others that she is Crochan and that her father was a Crochan Prince killed by her grandmother for conspiring to end the feud between the witches and break the curse on their land. Manon is the last Crochan Queen and rightful heir to Blackbeak clan.<br />
<br />
Fenrys comments that Maeve's allegiance can't be boughy, says 'nameless is her price' and that reminds Aelin of something Baba Yellowlegs says. Aelin runs off and is vomiting, Rowan hears her and thinks she could be pregnant.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 49:</b> Elide has not spoken to Lorcan in three days, only speaks to him because she needs to stop for supplies. Elide goes to try on clothes at an inn, led to a room and locked in. Vernon is there waiting for her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 50:</b> Vernon has four ilken with him, and tells Elide Lorcan was spotted leaving on their boat. He tells her Manon is dead, gutted by her grandmother and thrown from a balcony in Morath. Vernon plans to put her in an iron box and fly her back to Morath. Elide fights back, grabs Vernon's knife and turns it on herself, plans to stab herself through the heart and kill herself rather than go back.<br />
<br />
Lorcan is watching from a rooftop, he throws his hatchet and hits Elides hand with the handle to stop her killing herself. He attacks three of the four ilken, one escapes with Vernon. Elide kills one of the ilken he injured. Lorcan heard Vernon talking Elide about Manon and Kaltain, she explains who they are. She shows Lorcan the stone that Kaltain gave her - he knows it is a wyrdstone. He explains about wyrdstones and wyrdkeys. Lorcan promises to always find Elide, she kisses him on the cheek and promises the same.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 51:</b> Erawen's forces have set Eyllwe on fire, but they can't find any trace of Erawen or Maeve's forces. There are rumours that Aelin is the one setting the fires - as a punishment for Eyllwe not helping ten years ago.<br />
<br />
Aelin and the others arrive a the Stone Marshes. Aelin isn't pregnant. Manon is to go with them but has to send Abraxos off on his own. She takes just a strip from her red cloak and ties it round her braid, drops the rest in the sea.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 52:</b> Elide and Lorcan arrive at the marshes, Lorcan feels led there by Hellas himself (god). They spend days inching across the marshes. Elide asks Lorcan about Maeve - reveals he has loved her since he first saw her. He once offered to be her lover and she laughed at him, so tried to prove invaluable in other ways,<br />
<br />
Elide says she will hide Lorcan in Perranth from Maeve. Kisses him and tells him that he will always have a place in Perranth. He kisses her. An army of ilken appear, flying for the marshes.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 53:</b> A beast from the swamp tries to attack Manon and Dorian stops it. Aelin realises Rowan let the beast through his shield, to serve as a lesson for Dorian but also so Manon could see him 'save' her. Manon sees the Eye of Elena and recognises it as a witch symbols called Eye of the Goddess. Talks of the battle at the Crochan city. Nothing grows on the killing field because of the curse. Rhiannon Crockan held the gates for three days and nights against the Ironteeth Matrons. She fell on the fourth day and cursed all the Ironteeth. Rhiannon swore they would win the war but no the land - the land would wilt and die, beasts would shrivel and keel over, their witchlings would be stillborn, fish would rot and rabbits and deer would flee and the Witch Kingdom would become a wasteland.<br />
<br />
The Ironteeth had laughed until their first witchling was born dead, followed by more and more. Cattle rotted in the fields, crops withered overnight. The witches eventually had to leave and have been wanderers for 500 years. Humans eventually took the Wastelands and the land responded to them.<br />
<br />
Rhiannon said there was only one way to break the curse: 'Blood to blood and soul to soul, together this was done, and only together it can be undone. Be the bridge, be the light. When iron melts, when flowers spring from fields of blood - let the land be witness, and return home' (Is the Kingsflame gonna blossom at the end of a final battle in KoA, breaking the curse?)<br />
<br />
Fenrys and Gavriel tell Rowan to take Aelin and run - they believe powers they can't understand have led Manon and Aelin here. Two Queens who can control half the continent, both half-breeds who cover the three main races, one mortal and one immortal, one worships fire and the other Darkness. Fenrys reveals Maeve has already replaced Rowan with Cairn, a sadist. Fenrys asks Rowan to kill him if Maeve orders him to kill Aelin, Rowan assures him he'd be dead before he could ever touch her.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 54:</b> They finally arrive at the temple, find a chest covered in wyrdmarks. The sense magic, Lorcan has sent out a warning signal. They spot the 500 ilken flying towards them.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/39bac10b152f60e65329dfff93c7bf18/tenor.gif?itemid=4780502" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for so weird gif" border="0" height="111" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/39bac10b152f60e65329dfff93c7bf18/tenor.gif?itemid=4780502" width="200" /></a><b>Chapter 55: </b>Aedion is angry, blames Aelin - says her constantly showing off her power to Erawen has worked and this is his response. Lysandra plans to anger the beasts of the marshes so they'll attack any ilken that land. It's revealed that Rowan put salt in the wounds on his back from Aelin's nails so they'd scar - you know, 'cause that's hot and romantic and not at all weird. Aelin heads out into the marshes, so she can send a full blast of her power at the ilken.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 56:</b> Aelin unleashes her magic, Dorian and Rowan too. They kill all 500 ilken in one go.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 57:</b> Elide and Lorcan head for Aelin and the others. Gavriel and Fenrys attack Lorcan in their animal forms. Elide jumps in to save him and is bitten. Lorcan will have to drop his shield to allow them to heal Elide but he will be killed, he does it anyway. Rowan uses his power to keep Lorcan & Fenrys from fighting. Rowan declares Lorcan and Elide under Aelin's protection, which is a way to delay the blood order for a while.<br />
<br />
Aelin tells Elide her mothers last words were to tell Elide that she loved her. Elide sees Manon, finally knows she is alive. Elide gives Aelin the stone from Kaltain and the message that Kaltain gave her - she can unlock any door if she has the key. Aelin claims Elide for her court.<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 58:</b> Chest holds a mirror, not what they expected. It is a witch's mirror, some can see the future, past and present, some can speak between mirrors if someone possesses the sister-glass, some amplify and hold power. Manon explains Erawen was building large towers with witch mirrors, so he could send out huge blasts of power. They head back to their ship and are surrounded by Melsande's fleet. Aelin walks to meet the fleet, it is Ansel of Briarcliff, Queen of the Wastes - a woman that Aelin allowed to live years ago (an event from Assassin's Blade).<br />
<br />
<b>Chapter 59:</b> Aelin introduces Manon & Ansel - Manon wants to kill her as she is proclaimed Queen of Western Wastes, which Manon feels belongs to the witches. The Wastes have now allied with Aelin. She sent a letter to Ansel revealing who she really was and giving her instructions. Ansel marched her army on Melsande, the Queen assumed they had come to offer aid and let them in. Ansel claimed Melisande's fleet for Aelin and Terrasen.<br />
<br />
Lysandra and Aedion talk and both admit they want to try to be together. Aedion reveals he is bisexual.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image result for rolls eyes gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Fjr6v88OPk7U4/giphy.gif" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">'Purely male'?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Chapter 60:</b> Aelin tells Ansel that she wants her to find the lost Crochan witches - believes they're in hiding. Aelin knows the Ironteeth worked with Erawen because he promised to give them back the Wastes and break the curse. Aelin tells Ansel to give the Crochans the South and inland of the Wastes. Ansel reveals she attempted to get Aelin out of Endovier but Dorian had already come for her. Ansel reveals Maeve was the one setting the fires in Eyllwe and blaming Aelin for it.<br />
<br />
Manon and Dorian have sex. Maas proves she is still unable to write a sex scene that doesn't make you cringe and the term 'purely male' gets used far too much.<br />
<br />
Maeve's armada appears.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 61: </b> Maeves armada is three times the size of theirs and she has immortal warriors with magic. Maeve sends them a message, surrender or die. Gives them a day to decide. Rowan turns into a hawk and flies for her ships. Finds his cousin Enda, goes to all his cousins and asks the same thing of all of them - they all say they will consider it. (We don't know what the request is at this point)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 62:</b> Dorian gathers Manon, Rowan and Aelin at the witch mirror. He believes it holds knowledge of how to bind the three keys. Dorian believes it is a travelling mirror. Deanna's words mean Manon and Aelin need to step into the mirror and learn how Aelin can wield the keys.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 63:</b> Fenrys reveals that Maeve whipped them for aiding Rowan at Mistward - believes she is scared of how powerful they are together. Fenrys and Gavriel agree to fight with Rowan until Maeve summons them. Lorcan agrees to fight if Rowan sends Elide to shore with a guard of men.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 64: </b>Manon and Aelin enter the mirror, into a memory from a thousand years ago of Elena Galathynius. Eye of Elena in center of sarcophagus, she turns it three times to seal it. They've had the Lock the whole time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 65:</b> Immortal figure appear to Elena - Elena's father had promised to use the Lock to wield the three keys and send the immortal figures back where they belong along with Erawen, the Lock was forged for them. Rhiannon Crochan helped Elena's mother Mala cast her essence into the lock. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Mala appears and threatens to release Erawen and Elena begs her to wait. Mala agrees but at a price and a promise. Malas bloodline will bleed again to forge the lock. Elena will lead them like a lamb to slaughter to pay the price. They agree to take Erawen back with them, then the person will have to seal the gate behind them using their entire life force - so Aelin would have to die to seal the gate.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
They then see Nehemia's memory - she wandered the Stone Marshes, had come to learn how to save them and seal the gate, Elena appeared to her, told her she had a different role to play. Tells Nehemia two branches of Mala's bloodline is in the North - Dorian and Aelin. Tells her to find Aelin at Dorian's Palace and that she will never see Eyllwe again. Nehemia went knowing she would die.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 66:</b> Lysandra in sea dragon form, destroying ships Rowan mapped for her. Ships in Maeve fleet now raising Whitethorn flags and begin firing on Maeve's armada.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 67:</b> Rowan went to his cousins, told them of Aelin and begged them to fire on Maeve and not them, an act of treason and all have done it. Maeve summons Gavriel and Fenrys. Gavriel looks at Lorcan and points to shore before disappearing. Lorcan realises Maeve isn't with the armada, she is on shore where he left Elide. Lorcan abandons them and sails for Elide.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 68: </b>Aelin now knows Nehemia went to Rifthold knowing she would die. Sees another memory of Rhiannon explaining how the mirror works. Then Brannon at Elena's tomb, she gave up her immortal life for Gavin. Brannon forging the amulet of Orynth, he left the messages and clues in Elena's tomb. Brannon makes Mort, the knocker at the door to the tomb. Brannon hid the wrydstone in Elena's crown and put the final key in Mala's temple.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elena shows Aelin another memory - the night she fell into the Florine river escaping the assassin. Elena was allowed to form a body to save her. She put her on the bank but the cold killed her. Elena brought her back to life and Elena tugged Arobynn from bed and her power led him to Aelin. She believed Aelin would be the one to save them, not Dorian. Elena will pay for bringing Aelin back - will go with the others when the gate is sealed and will never see Gavin or her children again. Elena shows Aelin what she must do but we don't see. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Manon and Aelin are sent back - not to the ship but right in front of Maeve, who has one of her warriors holding a blade to Elide's throat. No idea why the mirror magically sends them here other than that is what the plot needs - deus ex machina!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 69: </b>Gavriel placed a shield round Aedion to protect him before Maeve summoned him away. Manon's thirteen arrive with Abraxos.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 70:</b> Rowan realises that Aelin and Manon are on the shore with Maeve and that the armada was a distraction.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 71:</b> Lorcan had summoned Maeve - when he first spotted Ansel's ships he thought they were an enemy fleet and he summoned Maeve to save Elide. Aelin's magic is depleted from killing the ilken, all a part of Maeve's plans. Gavriel asks Maeve to spare Aelin and return home. Maeve severs the blood oath with Gavriel without honor or good faith - knows how it will hurt him. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aelin asks why she is doing this to her. She saw that Aelin would be born and lead her to the keys. Maeve saw that Aelin's mate would be powerful and that their children could be powerful enough to rule an empire. Reveals that Rowan is Aelins mate. She made him believe that Lyria was his mate and then she led the enemy forces to her to kill her and break Rowan (How 'special' is the mate bond if she can just trick Rowan into thinking he found his mate?)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She made sure Rowan swore an oath to her, knew she could use Rowan and Aelin's mating bond against them. Aelin has known Rowan was her mate since Manon shot him with the arrow. Maeve reveals Aelin is about five years away from Settling, she has the immortality of the Fae. Tells Aelin she will willingly go with Cairn or Maeve will also bring Elide with them.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 72: </b>Aelin agrees to go - tells Elide to tell the others that she is sorry, to tell Lysandra to remember her promise, tell Aedion is is not his fault and to tell Rowan she is sorry she lied but it was all borrowed time and she knew it, she just wished they'd had more of it. Tells her to tell Rowan to fight and save Terrasen. Maeve plans to wield Aelin and the wyrdkeys. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Maeve brings out an iron box with chains within and an iron mask. Maeve makes Aelin remove her shirt and Cairn whips her. Maeve tells her to count ten lashes but she refuses, so is whipped over and over again. Manon knocks out Elide and takes her away. Maeve puts the iron mask on Aelin.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 73:</b> Manon has the wyrdkeys, Aelin slipped them in her pockets so Maeve won't get them; it is why she had to get away and act uninterested. Manon watches as they place the mask on Aelin, chain her wrists, ankles and neck and lock her in the box. Maeve strips Lorcan of his oath, assets, titles and properties and exiles him from Doranelle. They load Aelin onto Maeve's ship and then it disappears. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 74: </b>Rowan arrives, holds a dagger to Lorcan's throat and demands to know where Aelin is. Rowan refers to Aelin as his wife - she marries him knowing Maeve was on the way, leaving Terrasen with a King. Elide tells them what happened and tells Rowan that Aelin is his mate. Aelin had asked Lysandra to promise her that when Aelin died to forge the lock that she would shift into her form and pretend to be her and lead Terrasen. She would have children with Aedion so they could be passed off as Aelin and Rowans. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/de5f94f3c48dffa4d3477066b8425f4a/tenor.gif?itemid=7842258" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for don't you dare gif" border="0" height="200" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/de5f94f3c48dffa4d3477066b8425f4a/tenor.gif?itemid=7842258" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Aedion is angry, calls Lysandra a lying bitch for agreeing, knowing and saying nothing. Elide tells Lorcan that she hopes he spends the rest of his life suffering.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Asterin and the Thirteen spent months looking for Manon and then Abraxos found them and led them to her. Manon plans to find the Crochans, raise an army for Aelin and her people. The Thirteen agree to follow her. Manon gives Dorian the keys, as Mala's bloodline runs in his too - Seriously, if she kills Dorian to forge the Lock I will lose my shit.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Chapter 75:</b> Rowan and Aelin married two days before, with Aedion and Lysandra as witnesses. Aedion has the formal documents. Galan Ashryver, Crown Prince of Wendlyn arrives. Aelin sent a letter to him, not his parents. Ilias, son of the Master of Assassins is here with his army - Aelin called in her life debt with the Silent Assassins.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lysandra appears and pretends to be Aelin - will pretend to be her to their allies. Lysandra tells the armies they will go north to Terrasen. Gavriel, Lorcan and Elide want to go with Rowan to find Aelin, they believe Fenrys will try to leave tracks to follow. Dorian is heading North with the witches and will try to find the third key. Rowan is determined to find Aelin.</div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-29974371014039902482018-08-15T00:00:00.000+01:002018-10-27T22:11:18.676+01:00Show Stealer by Hayley Barker: Blog Tour<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529740272l/40615662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Show Stealer (Show Stopper #2)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529740272l/40615662.jpg" width="211" /></a>Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40615662-show-stealer?ac=1&from_search=true">Show Stealer</a><br />
Author: <a href="https://twitter.com/hayleyabarker?lang=en">Hayley Barker</a><br />
Publisher: <a href="https://www.scholastic.co.uk/">Scholastic</a><br />
Source: Sent by publisher<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Hoshiko and Ben have been on the run since they burned Silvio Sabatini's </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">circus down to the ground at the explosive finale of SHOW </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">STOPPER. But Ben's mother will stop at nothing to track him down </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">and get her revenge: backing him into a corner where he is forced </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">to sacrifice himself to save Hoshiko. The deadliest show on earth </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">has been resurrected and if Ben thought he'd seen into its dark </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">corners as an outsider, the true extent of the horrors that lurk </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">beneath the Big Top are about to be revealed as he becomes the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">circus' new star attraction...</span></blockquote>
<br />
I am excited to be the next stop on the Show Stealer bog tour. Show Stealer is the second book in the Show Stealer series by Haley Barker. Show Stopper takes place in a not-so-distant future England where the poorest people, considered 'Dregs' and not 'Pure' English have no rights and a terrible way of life. Many Dregs are forced to sell their children into a travelling circus, where they are forced to perform in deadly acts where many of them die. The first book followed Ben, the teenage son of a government minister who visits the circus for the first time and falls in love with Hoshiko, one of the young circus performers. Ben quickly becomes aware of how wrong the society he lives in really is and he works to help Hoshiko escape the circus,<br />
<br />
Show Stealer takes place a year after the events of the first book. Hoshiko, Ben, Greta, Jack and Bojo the monkey are still in hiding, having escaped the Circus. Ben's mother is determined to track them down and get Ben back. And the Circus has been rebuilt bigger and more deadlier than before. Ben sacrifices himself and gives himself up, in order to allow the others to escape. Ben finds himself thrown into the Circus, as the new star attraction. Ben's position in the Circus will see him learn more about the deadliest show on earth, and will change everything he thought he knew.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
I was immediately sucked back into this story and world in just the first few pages. I enjoyed book one but I absolutely loved book two of the series. It went at such a fast pace, and I was unable to put the book down. I was reading it, not wanting to reach the end. Hayley Barker has a way of writing the circus to life, so you can picture it so vividly in your head that you feel like you are there. I don't want to dive into details of the book because I fear spoiling it for any of you. You won't be disappointed if you pick up this series.<br />
<br />
I also love the look at society we get through these books. Hayley was inspired to write this series after seeing an increase in crime and animosity against minority groups in England, especially around the time Brexit was first being discussed. It can make for uncomfortable reading at times, but I love it's overall message of acceptance. I highly recommend this series, especially if you like books set in dark futures, or those set in a circus.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwz-qc0-5iP1djmRQYtldYXwYAhdSd2ffjpw5SeyFFdP0OruM3ND09cKrHwmfbV6PtSAXBQn7oIFjzfaamO9vmt8p_UKqjaPnijna6dOSbe2HlLzXEaLGwAy6KotCbU1R2KFiprI6UhZF/s1600/5-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwz-qc0-5iP1djmRQYtldYXwYAhdSd2ffjpw5SeyFFdP0OruM3ND09cKrHwmfbV6PtSAXBQn7oIFjzfaamO9vmt8p_UKqjaPnijna6dOSbe2HlLzXEaLGwAy6KotCbU1R2KFiprI6UhZF/s400/5-butterflies.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img height="383" src="https://attachment.outlook.live.net/owa/reviewsfromabookworm@hotmail.co.uk/service.svc/s/GetAttachmentThumbnail?id=AQMkADAwATYwMAItZTVmZgAtOTg0ZC0wMAItMDAKAEYAAANl5ihlBvjQRqwaayvqvteOBwCZVab5zxkaTaUbIg3KEdh3AAACAQwAAACZVab5zxkaTaUbIg3KEdh3AAKJu9V3AAAAARIAEAA1T%2B0h9CRGRKH4cg%2B5uGle&thumbnailType=2&owa=outlook.live.com&scriptVer=20180806.03&isc=1&X-OWA-CANARY=f026i2VxqECI5QIXJvGy1YA1TuU-ANYYTT855MB8Nfij1rd7w0oTtiA-yxopUyhzExUUlT_whw8.&token=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjA2MDBGOUY2NzQ2MjA3MzdFNzM0MDRFMjg3QzQ1QTgxOENCN0NFQjgiLCJ4NXQiOiJCZ0Q1OW5SaUJ6Zm5OQVRpaDhSYWdZeTN6cmciLCJ0eXAiOiJKV1QifQ.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.MbW1YjmCkkGmSQTe3mKhDThRgphM_EHXE_kL1xvy_FMGIAyaHYBIxtOEIJkOg3pAjmpndF6CTqc8UVDdcspMZyHJPQHUTZKa9OGWPMXBA3W7tKZgnQP3ZHABh5KlXFB-RNfkHbmt1EggviUoukhd2b4pm55Mf9sx5XaFVPYeADEh2hos9PnKCTT_WiveosFhrZ_uoFW9vE1QqmFSrU_wBqE0LU0V-mq4dmSDmJ_cRZwzKAT3RBVyZ02-Calp6Xt9k9pN4Rw4in-Zhh0_5lI0l8A3nFMWq5GjgGwokMJvsK--PeiZlu15rH907yUjW66kDZEj3LKnhe7D5ieGdVRy_w&animation=true" width="640" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-3787970349029913132018-07-16T16:49:00.000+01:002018-10-27T22:11:23.955+01:00Theatrical by Maggie Harcourt: Blog Tour<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1523541139l/34615412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Theatrical" border="0" height="400" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1523541139l/34615412.jpg" width="262" /></a>Title: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34615412-theatrical">Theatrical</a><br />
Author: <a href="https://usborne.com/browse-books/author-pages/maggie-harcourt/">Maggie Harcourt</a><br />
Publisher: <a href="https://usborne.com/browse-books/author-pages/maggie-harcourt/">Usborne</a><br />
Source: Sent by publisher<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>Hope dreams of working backstage in a theatre, and she’s determined to make it without the help of her famous costume designer mum. So when she lands an internship on a major production, she tells no one. But with a stroppy Hollywood star and his hot young understudy upstaging Hope’s focus, she’s soon struggling to keep her cool… and her secret. </i></span></blockquote>
<br />
There are very few things in this world that I love as much as I love theatre and books. <i>Theatrical</i> by Maggie Harcourt manages to bring my two loves together and it is total perfection. Visiting the theatre is always a magical experience and Maggie manages to bring the magic of the theatre to life on the page. Before I gush about <i>Theatrical,</i> I first want to talk a little bit about the theatre and why I love it so much.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/nTORsqR4gia6Q/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for hamilton gif" border="0" height="142" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/nTORsqR4gia6Q/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a>I still remember the very first time I saw a show on the West End. I went to see The Lion King for my 13th birthday, in a new outfit that was bought for the occasion - a tradition that continues today. The show started and it was as if I had been transported to the savanna's of Africa. My face was one of complete awe and wonder. I had fallen in love with the theatre that day and I haven't looked back since. I have seen quite a lot of shows on stage, but there are so many more I am desperate to see. Every show I have seen was unique, mesmerising and transported me someplace new. I've seen Hamilton five times in six months and I don't think I'll ever get sick of seeing that show. The Cursed Child blew my mind with the ways it managed to bring magic to the stage, I still can't even figure out how they did some of it. The theatre is an experience you never forget and you'd struggle to find a more talented bunch than the people you see on that stage and the incredible people behind it too.<br />
<br />
<i>Theatrical</i> by Maggie Harcourt follows Hope, who dreams of working backstage in the theatre. Hope wants to earn her place though, she doesn't just want to be given a job because her mother is a famous costume designer, When Hope gets an internship at a theatre, working on a major new production, she could not be more thrilled. <i>Piecekeepers</i>, a best-selling novel, is being turned into a play with the famous Hollywood heartthrob Tommy Knight in the lead role. Hope has her work cut out for her trying to ensure the show is ready for opening night, all the while trying to keep her internship hidden from her family.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Maggie Harcourt brings the theatre to life and gives us a peek behind the curtain. This book made me fall even more in love with the theatre. It also made me truly appreciate just how many people and how much work goes into making a play a reality. Maggie's writing easily transports you into the theatre, you can vividly see everything she is describing.<br />
<br />
Maggie breathes as much life into her characters as she does the theatre, Hope is such an adorable character, and so very relatable too. She lacks confidence in the beginning and second guesses herself a lot, but it's great to watch her grow throughout the book. I also loved seeing the relationship between Hope and Luke, Tommy's understudy, develop throughout the novel. The book s also filled with a whole cast of interesting side characters. I especially loved George, with his larger than life personality, he was the perfect balance for Hope and I loved their friendship. Tommy Knight was one of those complex characters you don't warm to right away, you need to see all his sides to truly appreciate the character.<br />
<br />
<i>Theatrical</i> was the perfect cute contemporary romance that transported me straight into the theatre and made me never want to leave. If you're looking for your next adorable romance and super loveable characters then this is the book for you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzcp8kvLcAnXfsm1AAuHwQN63jdDesAgE7CMmB6QzLDmm0r8dIhU_MKASFqZ36HnW9oN8RNTB8JKaRKkBXqdHcfTmMkaZ47uzYEcF2vlLY6Jsl9aRisxbm8_7Dg68_oLfAZAH8Q4ILx9G/s1600/4-butterflies.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="131" data-original-width="657" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzcp8kvLcAnXfsm1AAuHwQN63jdDesAgE7CMmB6QzLDmm0r8dIhU_MKASFqZ36HnW9oN8RNTB8JKaRKkBXqdHcfTmMkaZ47uzYEcF2vlLY6Jsl9aRisxbm8_7Dg68_oLfAZAH8Q4ILx9G/s400/4-butterflies.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://attachment.outlook.live.net/owa/reviewsfromabookworm@hotmail.co.uk/service.svc/s/GetAttachmentThumbnail?id=AQMkADAwATYwMAItZTVmZgAtOTg0ZC0wMAItMDAKAEYAAANl5ihlBvjQRqwaayvqvteOBwCZVab5zxkaTaUbIg3KEdh3AAACAQwAAACZVab5zxkaTaUbIg3KEdh3AAJy74SaAAAAARIAEAAYqrpMvNzoR6K0ikf%2FYTwt&thumbnailType=2&X-OWA-CANARY=XbmCbF1_SEuhgj2aWrw-CsDVAiAw69UYBnliMa1IBpdUxAPouvo5VHwsFTgvTSrHXqai8yQ4cyE.&token=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjA2MDBGOUY2NzQ2MjA3MzdFNzM0MDRFMjg3QzQ1QTgxOENCN0NFQjgiLCJ4NXQiOiJCZ0Q1OW5SaUJ6Zm5OQVRpaDhSYWdZeTN6cmciLCJ0eXAiOiJKV1QifQ.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.gIeVdG3zlII2Y0UqY34qo7P-C2Zcj2slYZ4ZhbOMplgvCW1qcU8I3Fjyr64QvqDrUMpSm7ol7EeohWvnqrJVNyiZCmzRyrcY2dQz8zTwWx2hS8ZfLN0VBtK0vu9JZr34duD54Oa0Q48hMrYlqa30D-QokDYci90qLjbIVaEW1UdK3btx_FJ3_xkAi-V-Xu1vqyLeTyXEl9KBKhRo2DP-L9qSfSjoFRwYaAtyZksINckA111MMF3lRFBn6YrgZNWrZ-F5PrSCBCh6wve66i-5A65hdjLmOUnsFArRiwtMcnueHQ3ESkyVTSfZjs_QlkH5x1EY_ahN-SZR0s0z_3xleA&owa=outlook.live.com&isc=1" /></div>
Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2583004298603696672.post-14361663798068974112018-01-19T04:00:00.000+00:002018-10-27T22:11:29.175+01:00Zenith by Sasha Ahlsberg and Lindsay Cummings<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508645656l/31394234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Zenith (The Androma Saga, #1)" border="0" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508645656l/31394234.jpg" width="212" /></a><b>Title: Zenith</b><br />
<b>Author: Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, </span><em style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Marauder</em><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">, however, she's just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">But when a routine mission goes awry, the </span><em style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Marauder</em><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">'s all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi's past.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their shipor just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the </span><em style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Marauder</em><span style="font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/FY9chKp6rulXy/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for space gif" border="0" height="131" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/FY9chKp6rulXy/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a>No, your eyes aren't lying to you, I really am posting on the blog... Finally! And I'm returning as one of the last stops on the Zenith blog tour. Zenith was advertised as a pirates in space adventure, with a kick-ass, all girl crew. It sounded like my idea of a good time, so I was excited to read and review it for the tour stop. But I wanted to mention something that I noticed when I added it to my Goodreads. There was a little controversy over the fact a Booktuber got a book deal, which felt like a no brainer to me. I'd rather one go to a book lover than a beauty vlogger who would just get a ghost writer to do it and then slap their name on the front. But maybe that's just me. This book faced much harsher criticism and scrutiny than your average book because of that. So please don't let that put you off, this book is worth your time if you love science fiction, space adventures, political intrigue, and a killer, all girl squad.<br />
<br />
This is a space opera, so it means we get all of the space! I love being able to travel to the different planets and seeing the world that Sasha and Lindsay have created. Science fiction is a genre that just has such endless possibilities, and I really love what they did with theirs. I think it was obvious to see that they went for a large scope and have thought hard about their world, the people within it and everything else. It also means that their are many more places and things to explore in future books. I also loved that we get a deeper look at the past, and what led to the different planets and solar systems within the book being at war. This book has some interesting political intrigue and moving pieces all across the board. And it keeps you on your toes, as there were some twists I did not see coming at all.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/5fXccKNl3sFa0/source.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for girl squad gif" border="0" height="83" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/5fXccKNl3sFa0/source.gif" width="200" /></a>There's a large cast of characters and we actually get six different POVs. I think I could have been better with less, but they were all needed for one reason or another. I especially loved the Marauder crew, it was great to see that group of girls having such a close bond. They trusted and relied on each other and I loved their dynamic so much. I also appreciated that each of the characters were from different planets, so we got to find out about each of their worlds a little and about their races.<br />
<br />
<br />
My other favourite thing about this series was the conclusion. The ending was action-packed and had some shocking surprises that I did not see coming at all. So much happens at the end of this book and it made it fly by and suddenly it was over. And it leaves you with some big questions that you need answering in that next book.<br />
<br />
Now there were a few things that I didn't really enjoy about this book. Personally, I felt it was far too long. This story definitely could have been told over less pages and it probably would have been more enjoyable. Especially since this seemed a little repetitive at times. So much happens in this book, and maybe some of that could have been saved for the sequel. So it wasn't the most polished novel that I read but I still enjoyed it.<br />
<br />
Honestly, if you're a fan of sci-fi and want a book with strong female friendship, than this would be perfect. Plus, who doesn't like an epic space adventure. I DO!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="640" src="https://attachment.outlook.office.net/owa/reviewsfromabookworm@hotmail.co.uk/service.svc/s/GetAttachmentThumbnail?id=AQMkADAwATYwMAItZTVmZgAtOTg0ZC0wMAItMDAKAEYAAANl5ihlBvjQRqwaayvqvteOBwCZVab5zxkaTaUbIg3KEdh3AAACAQwAAACZVab5zxkaTaUbIg3KEdh3AAIBi0L8AAAAARIAEACf9R%2B89aGzSbaSx%2FRonpCi&thumbnailType=2&X-OWA-CANARY=10KRz-dO20C9W_IjlVMx3FCvfVuzXtUY5kMSC1foUS5wzkb-KMNcnU28171G-opzcD3cf8B0YX4.&token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsIng1dCI6ImVuaDlCSnJWUFU1aWpWMXFqWmpWLWZMMmJjbyJ9.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.TPYOeUNuZj3s0kjrv5a3p67AOEqDR5brAcYwVmfI7V-sZtHqzbb7d7Zd05oxbo4C4dQZ8yyBZdGNFT4i25oOi4BdD-0yQo58kxCeqePiNTCkE3GoCa1-XVz2MpAXpzKr7sGcUggmttLubj3j0F7Anqb3VnvOKNk-ax4xlbpLDJvY5zd17uINY9bElMAahgfJ6Senm7fGiHzG6eEbHCIjkvlwGqsq9-e8QSMf1jtet_YOe9i6R2OfVmu3GOHaRMTY5rYi50jFutva_ue-4BTwxO58h1W9BD9KhsB4604Ve4padSKAB2eY0sI36iTGqI8SH9ZcHaFYoYm-4aaN740_QQ&owa=outlook.live.com&isc=1" width="640" /></div>
<br />
<br />Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookwormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12694156080937232949noreply@blogger.com5