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“Is there no free will? What if Lucien wishes the union but she doesn't?"
"A mating bond can be rejected," Rhys said mildly [...] "There is choice. And sometimes, yes the bond picks poorly. Sometimes, the bond is nothing more than some... preordained guesswork at who will provide the strongest offspring. At its basest level, it's perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls."
In Chapter 38, Feyre observes the kindness and patience that Azriel shows to Elain as he helps her to adjust to her new surroundings in the Town House in Velaris. It seems, she feels, that they would make a good pair. However, Elain is “mated” to Lucien, which means that they have a powerful, pre-ordained bond. Frustrated by the seemingly arbitrary nature of the mating bond, Feyre speaks to Rhysand, asking “Is there no free will?” Both Feyre and Rhysand value personal freedom highly, and Feyre wonders if Elain can reject the mating bond if she decides not to marry Lucien. Rhysand’s response highlights his deep respect for free will, an important value throughout the novel. Despite the predetermined nature of the mating bond, he notes that choice still exists. Though Rhysand has found great happiness with Feyre, his mate, he insists that personal choice still supersedes the mating bond. The mating bond plays a complicated role in the novel and the series, as it connects both suitable and unsuitable couples for reasons that are unclear to human understanding.
My note to Tamlin was short. It conveyed everything I needed to say.
Thank you.
I hope you find happiness, too.
And I did. Not just for what he'd done for Rhys, but ... Even for an immortal, there was not enough time in life to waste it on hatred. On feeling it and putting it into the world.
Feyre’s reflections on Tamlin in Chapter 80 reveal the extent to which her feelings and views have developed throughout the novel. In the early chapters, she regarded Tamlin as little more than a villain to be undermined and defeated. She feels outraged both by his past treatment of her and his apparent alliance with the King of Hybern, which she regards as a serious betrayal. However, Tamlin’s actions in the novel show that, while flawed, he is a complex individual capable of bravery, goodness, and redemption. After he helps to save Rhysand in spite of his deep personal animosity, Feyre feels a profound gratitude for Tamlin, despite their difficult past. She writes a letter which she hopes Lucien will someday convey to Tamlin, in which she thanks him for his help and wishes for his happiness. Feyre shows great emotional maturity in this scene, reaching out to a former enemy, and former lover. Though she was earlier motivated by her own resentment for Tamlin, she now feels that hatred has no place in her life, nor in the new world she wishes to create.
Dark spots still stained some of the glimmering expanse — piles of rubble and ruined buildings — but even some of those had been lit up with small lights. Candles. Defiant and lovely against the blackness.
We would need more of that in the days to come on the long road ahead. To a new world. One I would leave a better place than how I'd found it.
At the end of the novel, in Chapter 82, Feyre looks over the damaged city of Velaris. “Dark spots,” she observes, “still stained some of the glimmering expanse,” and the city is covered with “piles of rubble.” Nevertheless, the city symbolizes hope for Feyre. Despite the signs of destruction, those who live in the city have placed candles amongst the destruction. To Feyre, these candles mark the city’s defiance of darkness and its stubborn perseverance. Velaris holds a very special place in Feyre’s heart, as the city where she rediscovered her own hope after her difficult time in the Spring Court. For her, and for many of her close friends, Velaris has served as a place of refuge in a world marked by injustice and violence. As she looks over the city, battered but still standing, she feels a sense of optimism. While acknowledging the “long road ahead,” she nevertheless feels confident that she and her friends will create a “new world” that is “a better place” than it was previously. While others have fought to preserve the world as it currently is against the threat posed by Hybern, Feyre instead fights to improve the world. Courage and transformation, the novel suggests, is necessary to right past wrongs and move forward.
