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Summary
Chapters 16-20
Chapter 16
At the town house, Feyre, Rhysand, and their loved ones assemble for the eve of Winter Solstice. While Azriel and Cassian bicker about their too-small beds, Rhysand observes that neither Lucien nor Nesta have yet appeared, despite being invited. Rhysand also chats with Varian, who notes that, in the Summer Court, they celebrate Summer Solstice instead. Through their telepathic connection, Feyre expresses her disappointment in Nesta’s absence to Rhysand, though he states that she might still appear the next day.
Chapter 17
After a night of heavy drinking and festivities, Feyre awakens and sees that Rhysand has presented her with a number of gifts, not for the Solstice but for her birthday. She receives a leather-bound sketchbook, a satchel for her art supplies, and a soft wool scarf. He lays on the bed, naked, and she fills her sketchbook with drawings of him. Later, when they go downstairs, Rhysand is dragged out of the house by Azriel and Cassian, who explain that this is part of their “tradition.” Amused, Feyre goes to the kitchen where she finds Elain, who has been busy preparing food. The door opens, and both hope that it is Nesta. However, Lucien appears instead.
Chapter 18
Lucien arrives with presents for Feyre and Elain, though Elain barely acknowledges him and soon finds an excuse to leave. When Feyre asks where he has been, Lucien notes that he has spent a good amount of time with Jurian and Vassa in the human realm. Feyre invites Lucien to spend more time in Velaris and teases him for becoming close friends with humans, and Lucien responds defensively, stating that he, Jurian, and Vassa are all exiles in their way, and have found a sense of family with each other. Further, Lucien notes that he is no longer welcome in the Spring Court as a result of Rhysand’s actions. Though Feyre defends Rhysand, Lucien reminds Feyre that she and Rhysand will need to work with Tamlin as political leaders. Meanwhile, Rhysand follows their conversation through their telepathic link, offering to return to the town house. Feyre states that this will not be necessary, and Lucien leaves with little ceremony.
Feyre finds Elain and implores her to give Lucien a chance, but Elain insists that she has no interest in a mate, nor any male. Feyre knows that her sister has not yet fully accepted her faerie life but nevertheless insists that she wants to see both Elain and Lucien happy. Feyre then shares a drink with Mor, who recommends that she give Elain more time to adjust. When she realizes that Feyre does not know about the “tradition” observed by Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel, she winnows them to a cabin on a high, snow-covered mountain, where the three males are engaged in a snowball fight, with no use of magic or flight. Mor and Feyre return to the cabin, amused.
Chapter 19
After Azriel wins the snowball fight, the three males enter the steam-room attached to the cabin. Feyre and Mor make jokes at their expense, imagining the three of them sitting together nude. Using their telepathic connection, Feyre sends Rhysand an erotic vision, and Rhysand is promptly kicked out of the steam-room by the other males.
Back in the town house in Velaris, everyone assembles to celebrate the Solstice. To her surprise, Feyre is presented with a birthday cake, which Elain helped to make. It is decorated with stars, flames, and flowers, representing the three sisters. After eating the cake, they begin to open gifts. Amren receives a pair of diamond and pearl earrings from Azriel, and Mor opens a box to reveal a set of red lingerie, courtesy of Cassian. As Feyre presents her gift to Elain, Nesta appears.
Chapter 20
Feyre leads Nesta through the foyer into the living room where everyone else is opening their gifts. Only Elain has thought to purchase a gift for Nesta, and she hands her a box full of romance novels. Feyre receives a number of painting supplies and other gifts, and she gifts her own paintings to Azriel and Cassian. Privately, she shows Rhys the present she has prepared for him: the painting she made earlier of her own reflection as seen in the Ouroboros. Elain barely responds to the enchanted gloves that Lucien has gifted her, but she does give a gift to Azriel. Having seen him rubbing his temples, she asked Madja, a healer, to prepare a powder which will eliminate headaches. Despite his generally quiet nature, Azriel laughs merrily at this gift, joking that he will need the powder to deal with the others. After a cheerful evening, slightly marred by Nesta’s silence, the others begin to leave. Feyre presents Nesta with the money necessary to pay her rent, as promised, and Nesta exits the town house without saying anything. Suddenly, Cassian pushes past Feyre and follows Nesta out of the house.
Analysis
In these chapters, the novel explores various different forms of family, both traditional and less traditional. When Lucien returns to Velaris, Feyre learns that he has become close friends with Jurian and Vassa, even though they are humans rather than fae. Though she gently mocks the close bonds he has formed with humans, Lucien notes that he and his new companions, who have named themselves The Band of Exiles, have a good deal in common, as they have all been, in some sense, exiled from their homes. Vassa cannot return to her kingdom due to the curse that binds her to a sorcerer, and Jurian’s people have long since disappeared and scattered in the centuries that have passed since he was resurrected. Lucien himself is doubly exiled, as Feyre notes. He sought shelter in the Spring Court after being banished from the Autumn Court by his father, Beron. Now, as a result of Rhysand’s outburst in the Spring Court, Lucien is no longer welcome there, as Tamlin has retreated into total isolation. Lucien, Jurian, and Vassa are not family by blood. In fact, they are not even the same species. Nevertheless, they are united precisely by the feeling that they belong nowhere else and have created an alternative family that gives them a sense of community.
Though Feyre is surprised to see that Lucien has become so close to his new human companions, spending a good amount of time with them in the human realm, she too has found a chosen family. In Velaris, the members of Rhysand’s Inner Circle join together to celebrate the Winter Solstice as a family. Azriel, Cassian, and Rhysand are not related by blood, but are nevertheless adopted brothers, after Azriel and Cassian were taken in by Rhysand’s Illyrian mother. All members of the group treat each other with the comfort and familiarity born of centuries of close companionship. Though Feyre is new to the group, the others treat her like a sibling, teasing her playfully despite her status as High Lady. This informality sets the leadership of the Night Court apart from many of the other courts of Prythian, which more often maintain strict hierarchies.
Feyre’s relationship with her own siblings, however, is more complicated. Feyre and Elain become increasingly close as Nesta isolates herself from the others. Though she has made great strides in her recovery, her complete disinterest in getting to know Lucien signals, to Feyre, that Elain has not yet fully accepted her transformation into a faerie. At the town house, Elain asks Amren about her own transformation into a faerie, and in her response, Amren suggests that Elain still holds onto hope of regaining her human life. Hoping that she will finally accept her new life, Feyre encourages her to give Lucien a chance, while nevertheless acknowledging that Elain is not bound to accept him just because of their mating bond.
Though she barely acknowledges the gift that Lucien leaves for her, Elain does reveal that she has spent some time preparing a gift for Azriel, possibly implying that she is growing feelings for him, a development that Feyre observes with interest. Ultimately, she wants what is best for Elain and respects her right to make decisions for herself, regardless of the mating bond. Nesta, in contrast, avoids her sisters and only attends the Solstice reluctantly. While the others celebrate the holiday in good spirits, she remains quiet, making no effort to conceal the fact that she is only there to collect the money she needs to pay the rent on her apartment. Though Feyre hopes that Nesta’s arrival at the town house signals a greater openness to her family, Nesta’s actions and swift exit suggest that she is not yet ready. As Amren reminds her, people often require time to heal, and the process of healing cannot be rushed.
