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Summary
Chapters 11-20
Chapter 11
After spending a sleepless night in a cave and exchanging harsh words with one another, Feyre and Lucien make their way through the Autumn Court and decide to travel directly north despite the risk of being found by Lucien’s traitorous family, who rule the realm. They make the cold and dangerous journey through beautiful, red-leaved woods without magic, waiting for the faebane to subside. For five days they hardly speak to one another, though Lucien notes that if they are spotted by any of the common farmers, they will be reported to Beron, his father and High Lord of the Autumn Court. When Feyre asks Lucien why the common people would turn him in, he notes that he is hated by many in the Autumn Court for failing to protect his former lover, Jesminda. They hike towards the mountain range that divides the Autumn and Winter Courts and spend the night in a cave. As Feyre sleeps, she accidentally wanders into Lucien’s mind and sees herself from his eyes. Suddenly, she is awakened by a harsh male voice. They are caught by Lucien’s three brothers, who share his red hair and pale skin.
Chapter 12
Lucien’s eldest brother and heir to the throne, Eris, says that Beron has requested their presence. Eris, Feyre recalls, was formerly betrothed to Feyre’s friend the Morrigan, nicknamed “Mor,” before cruelly abandoning her. Aware that Beron will either kill them, sell them off, or detain them indefinitely, Feyre is determined to escape. When Eris pushes her, she strikes him while he is off-balance and then uses her magical flames to entrap the brothers in the cave. Together, she and Lucien use magic to bring down the ceiling of the cave, and, aware that this will only temporarily slow down Lucien’s brothers, they quickly run away. As they approach the Winter Court, the temperature drops considerably, and they are forced to take shelter in a cave. Lucien asks about Elain and Feyre informs him that she loves gardening and is engaged to marry a human, the son of a human lord who bitterly hates faeries. She confirms that Elain loves her fiancé but acknowledges that it might be difficult, if not impossible, for them to be together now that she is an immortal faerie. Lucien takes in this information and asks Feyre when she knew that she loved Rhysand and not Tamlin. They have a tense conversation, each accusing the other of betrayal. Feyre wonders about granting Lucien a position once they reach the Night Court and reflects with pleasure on the prospect of taking someone important to Tamlin away from him.
The next morning, they cross the mountain range and reach the Winter Court, ruled by its High Lord, Kallias. They see a vast plain of ice before them and begin to cross it. When they are about a hundred feet across the frozen lake, they see Lucien’s brothers at the edge of the lake. Eris raises a hand of fire and Feyre realizes that his plan is to melt the ice upon which they stand.
Chapter 13
Feyre and Lucien run across the rapidly melting ice as arrows shoot past them. Feyre begins to use the ice powers she had previously stolen from Kallias to re-freeze the ice, but she is hit in the ear and forearm with arrows. Suddenly, Eris and his brothers appear ahead of them and Eris threatens to take Feyre either willingly or by force. While Lucien fights with his two younger brothers, she attempts to run, but Eris winnows in front of her and violently knocks her over. As Eris holds Feyre up painfully by the hair, Cassian and Azriel, two of Feyre’s friends and allies from the Night Court, suddenly appear. Using a defensive maneuver taught to her by Cassian, she frees herself from Eris’s grasp and Cassian fights Eris as Lucien and Azriel take on Lucien’s younger brothers. Realizing that the Night Court will likely need to forge an alliance with the Autumn Court, she commands Cassian and Azriel to stop fighting before they kill Beron’s sons, which would block a future alliance. Feyre finally reveals the various tattoos that identify her as the High Lady of the Night Court, surprising Lucien as well as his brothers. She proclaims that she will spare the brothers’ lives even though they deserve death, and then Cassian takes her into his arms and flies off while Azriel flies with Lucien.
They arrive on the border of the Night Court and Azriel sets Feyre down on a snowy field. Waiting for them there is Mor, who embraces Feyre and informs her that Rhysand, who will arrive shortly, sensed her presence via their telepathic bond once Feyre recovered enough of her magic. He sent Azriel and Cassian, but Mor, who was previously engaged to Eris, stayed behind.
Chapter 14
Mor winnows the group to the town house, home of Feyre and Rhysand. There, they meet Amren, a 15,000-year-old magical being and a member of Rhysand’s Inner Circle, like the others. The group looks at Lucien with suspicion, but he is surprised to hear the sound of laughter outside, as those outside of the city of Velaris do not know about it or the peace fostered within it. Feyre falls to her knees when Rhysand appears. He sends the others out and carries Feyre up to their bedroom. They talk about past events and Rhysand tells her that he has been on a secret mission to the palace of the human queens on the continent to the west of Prythian. Feyre scolds him for taking on such dangerous work by himself but understands that he and the others have also been busy while she has been undercover in the Spring Court. Rhys praises her for her work there, noting that many of Tamlin’s men have abandoned him. Next, he draws her a bath and after she bathes, they have sex.
Chapter 15
When Feyre returns to the sitting room, she finds Lucien and the Inner Circle there waiting. Lucien’s eye catches the wedding ring which Feyre now openly displays. Rhys threatens Lucien and defends Feyre, stating that she never betrayed Tamlin and had already called off the wedding and marriage before seeking shelter in the Night Court. Feyre recalls that Lucien’s goal is to see Elain, who resides alongside her sister Nesta in the House of Wind, a palace cut onto the flat top of a mountain. Feyre, Lucien, Rhysand and Cassian travel to the House of Wind. Feyre and Rhysand explain the truth about their past and that of the Night Court to Lucien, who had always believed Rhysand to be a monstrous tyrant. At the House of Wind, Nesta, who is Cassian’s mate, treats the group with anger and contempt, blaming them for the transformation of her and her sister. Elain is in an even worse state, appearing pale and hollow to Feyre. Feyre understands that Elain still longs for her human fiancé and is not yet ready to meet Lucien.
Chapter 16
Rhysand and Feyre show Lucien to a room but forbid him to speak with Nesta or Elain until Feyre can figure out what is best for her sisters. Later, at the apartment of Amren, where the powerful Book of Breathings is held, Rhysand’s Inner Circle meets to discuss their plans and strategies for the upcoming war. Amren suggests that they should kill Beron and his sons and install Lucien on the throne of the Autumn Court. The group considers various possible allies using the information that Feyre gathered from Dagdan and Brannagh and she proposes that they request help from Miryam, former lover of Jurian, and Drakon, who live together with human and fae on the secret, hidden isle of Cretea. Rhysand notes that this will not be possible, as Cretea has been abandoned, with no sign of its former inhabitants. Feyre suggests that they are hiding from Jurian, who has allied with the King of Hybern in order to pursue Miryam and Drakon to get his revenge on them.
Rhysand and his Inner Circle have been busy gathering information about Hybern and the faerie kingdoms on the continent. Azriel, for example, has spies in the courts of the various kingdoms on the continent. The King of Hybern, Rhysand says, has deliberately sabotaged the economy of Hybern in order to create desperation among his people, who regard the past, in which they enslaved humans, as a golden age. They seek to restore their former glory by tearing down the wall and conquering the Prythian lands that obey the old treaty that separated humans and faeries. Amren suggests that Feyre’s sisters must tell others about what happened to them at the hands of Hybern, and further, proposes that they might have a special ability to fix the holes in the wall due to the way they were made into faeries by the Cauldron. At first, Feyre angrily rejects this proposal, refusing to get her sisters involved, but she eventually relents and states that she will present the option to them. Rhysand announces that he will invite the various High Lords of Prythian to a meeting in hopes of gaining allies in their fight against Hybern.
Chapter 17
Cassian carries Feyre and flies back to the House of Wind. They discuss Nesta, who has not warmed up to Cassian even though she is his mate. Nesta, Feyre notes, showed signs of immense power when she was first transformed into a faerie, despite not having shown any evidence of power since. At the House of Wind, Nesta joins the Inner Circle at dinner and rudely rebuffs Mor’s attempts to befriend her. Amren claims that she and Nesta are alike and suggests that Nesta holds both great power and anger. Lucien suggests that the group should focus on learning whether Beron knows that Feyre holds some portion of his power. If Beron is aware of this, Lucien suggests, he will likely ally with Hybern in the hopes of killing Feyre and taking his power back from her.
Chapter 18
Rhysand notes that they must also meet with Mor’s father, Keir, who commands the Darkbringer legions as steward of the Court of Nightmares, a sub-court of the Night Court with some degree of autonomy from Rhysand’s principal court in Velaris. Mor objects to the plan, noting the group’s history with Keir and the likelihood of him denying military aid, but nevertheless agrees to join the meeting. Feyre informs the group that she has developed the ability to shape-shift and, able to grow wings, she wishes to learn how to fly. Azriel, who learned how to fly later in life due to his cruel imprisonment by his father as a child, offers to teach her. Feyre proposes to Nesta that she might help repair the holes in the wall and Nesta agrees to train after Feyre promises to kill the King of Hybern and the mortal queens who were responsible for the transformation of her and Elain. However, Nesta angrily rejects Feyre’s proposal that she tell her story at the meeting of the High Lords, and she threatens to rip Feyre’s throat out if she makes a similar request to Elain.
Feyre and Rhysand walk through the streets of Velaris, noting signs of damage from previous fighting. They discuss Nesta and leadership, agreeing to present a united front but also promising to be honest with each other.
Chapter 19
Feyre trains in combat with Cassian until they are interrupted by Nesta, who bickers with Cassian. Feyre is relieved when Azriel shows up to begin their flying lessons. Feyre uses her shape-shifting powers to form wings and Azriel shows her some of the basic movements involved in flying.
Chapter 20
Rhysand takes Feyre to the colossal library of Velaris, where she intends to research ways to repair the holes in the wall. They discuss history, and Rhysand notes that many people who were of mixed faerie and human descent struggled after the wall was put in place, finding oppression in both the human and faerie lands. Rhysand introduces her to Clotho, a mute priestess, one of several priestesses working in the library. Feyre asks Rhysand what is at the bottom of the seemingly endless pit at the center of the library, and he says that he once dared Cassian to go to the bottom. There, Cassian encountered something or someone so terrifying that he still refuses to speak about it. Feyre sees that Clotho’s hands are scarred, her fingers twisted, and Rhysand explains that the library is a refuge for many girls and women, such as Clotho, who were hurt by men. After flirting, Feyre and Rhysand read about the wall and then discuss the slim prospects of victory in war with Hybern. Feyre proposes that they engage the help of the Bone Carver, an ancient and powerful creature that comes, like Amren, from another world.
Analysis
In the difficult journey she undertakes with Lucien to reach the Night Court, Feyre realizes just how much she has relied upon her magic as a crutch. Suddenly stripped of her magical abilities due to the effects of faebane, she and Lucien are forced to use their own strength, skills, and knowledge to survive in extreme conditions while being pursued by Lucien’s brothers. She cannot use her magic to see beyond her physical sight, nor to request aid from Rhysand using their telepathic connection. While she was once a powerless human, she now struggles without her magic. Nevertheless, she demonstrates that she has the inner strength and resilience necessary to survive. She and Lucien start fires, build shelters, cross mountains, and hunt for fish, all without the aid of magic or other tools. Though Azriel and Cassian come to her aid, Feyre proves to herself and others that she is more than capable of taking care of herself, using a defensive maneuver from her training to free herself from the grasp of Eris. Magic is powerful in this novel, but it is not the only means of achieving goals or surviving, and other forms of personal strength prove just as critical.
At Velaris, Lucien is surprised to see how Rhysand conducts his court, not only because he had believed Rhysand to be a monstrous tyrant, but also because of the informal, friendly relations between Rhysand and his Inner Circle. Rhysand’s leadership style offers a stark contrast to that of Tamlin, who sticks to traditions and enforces a strict hierarchy. In the Spring Court, no one dares step out of line or criticize Tamlin, and tensions grow as the people feel increasingly distant from their king. Rhysand, in comparison, fosters a sense of equality between his advisors, commanders, and friends. He encourages honest feedback and allows his Inner Circle to criticize his plans. When the Inner Circle meets, they exchange jokes and barbs, and also debate freely about the best course of action. Lucien observes that Rhysand does not sit at the head of the table, paying little attention to these symbolic shows of power. Through its contrasting depiction of the Spring and Night Courts, the novel weighs the advantages and disadvantages of various modes of leadership. Ultimately, Rhysand’s close relationship with his Inner Circle proves to be a source of strength.
Rhysand distinguishes himself from Tamlin not only in his approach to running his court but also in his values and beliefs. Though Tamlin may have truly loved Feyre, he granted her little independence or autonomy, virtually confining her in the castle for her own safety (or so he claimed). Tamlin’s treatment of Feyre as a possession to be guarded and controlled pushes her away from him and into the arms of Rhysand, who firmly believes that people must be able to make decisions for themselves.
The importance of having the freedom to choose one’s own course of action is a major theme in the novel. Feyre learns, for example, that Rhysand has granted full control of the library to the various priestesses who live and work there, all of whom have been abused by men. They decide if and when others, including scholars, may be granted access to the library’s resources. For Feyre, this is one of many ways in which Rhysand proves the extent to which he values the freedom of choice. When Amren suggests that Elain and Nesta might prove useful in the meeting with the High Lords and in restoring the wall, Feyre angrily rejects this proposal at first, hoping to protect her sisters from further harm. When Amren says that Feyre sounds like Tamlin, however, Feyre realizes that she must give her sisters the ability to make this crucial decision for themselves. In A Court of Wings and Ruin, the desire to protect a loved one often comes into conflict with the values of independence and freedom.
