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Summary
Chapter 41-50
Chapter 41
After a good deal of debate, the High Lords agree to meet in the palace of the Dawn Court, ruled over by High Lord Thesan. That night, Freyre twists and turns in her sleep and Rhysand takes her to a secret room in the House of Wind, which contains innumerable spells and magical objects as well as a collection of crowns. He implores her to pick one to wear to the meeting. The next day, she wears an elaborate gown along with her chosen crown, sparkling with silver and diamonds. Nesta appears, also dressed in a gown, and declares that she will accompany them to the meeting.
Chapter 42
Nesta announces that she will tell her story to the High Lords despite her earlier refusal, inspired by Feyre’s decision to fight for the Summer Court and a desire to help protect humanity from Hybern. Rhysand accepts her offer and they winnow to the Dawn Court, Cassian taking Nesta’s hand as they transport. Feyre marvels at the shimmering beauty of the Dawn Court as an attendant escorts them to the meeting. Helion, Kallias, and Thesan, High Lords of the Day, Winter, and Dawn Courts respectively, are already there. They greet the High Lords and their parties, including Thesan’s lover and general, a winged member of the Peregryn race, and Kallias’s wife, Viviane, who is close friends with Mor. Tarquin arrives late, accompanied by Varian and Cresseida, as do Beron and his sons, who leer at the others. Just as the meeting is about to begin, Tamlin winnows into the chamber.
Chapter 43
Tamlin glares at Rhysand and Feyre with open hatred and contempt, noting the wedding ring on her finger, the crown on her head, and the tattoos that mark her as High Lady. He then launches into a series of accusations. First, he claims that Rhysand and Feyre started the war, using deception to make the Spring Court vulnerable to Hybern’s troops, with the ultimate aim of becoming King and Queen of Prythian. Next, he reminds the other High Lords of Rhysand’s seemingly cozy relationship to Amarantha, noting that Rhysand was present when she gave the order to kill dozens of children in the Winter Court, an accusation that Rhysand denies. Rhysand claims that Amarantha did not inform him of of her plans, possibly hoping that Kallias would blame Rhysand in order to prevent alliances between the High Lords under her submission. To the surprise of the other lords, Tamlin announces that he intends to oppose the King of Hybern, despite their apparent alliance, and he brings various papers detailing the plans and movements of Hybern’s armies. Both Tamlin and Rhysand accuse each other of being double agents for Hybern, but when Tamlin begins to make sexually insulting remarks about Feyre, Rhysand magically removes his ability to speak in a show of power.
Chapter 44
Rhysand changes tactics, overtly threatening the other lords and suggesting that he has sufficient power to force them to do his bidding but has instead offered them the chance to join him voluntarily. Surprisingly, he also accepts that Tamlin truly opposes Hybern, and requests that they put personal issues aside for the time being. Eris and Mor exchange insults and, in violation of the rule against physical violence, Azriel, who wields powers related to shadows, attacks Eris until he is commanded to stop by Rhysand and Feyre. Despite the various incivilities and threats, the group seems united in opposition to Hybern. Tamlin suggests that Hybern’s supply of faebane must be targeted, but as the group discusses a plan, Thesan announces that this will not be necessary and introduces Nuan, an alchemist and “tinkerer” who crafted Lucien’s golden eye.
Nuan claims that she has developed an antidote to faebane, and Thesan notes that his workers are already mass-producing it for use against Hybern. Beron expresses doubts, given Nuan’s descent from Xian, a remote land, but she insists that she is “a child of Prythian,” and others, including Thesan, Rhsand, Feyre, and, surprisingly, Eris, defend her. Next, they discuss evacuating the Spring Court for the safety of its citizens. While Beron refuses to take in refugees, Tarquin agrees to take them in. Only Beron remains undecided, insulting Rhysand’s party and accusing Rhysand of sleeping with Amarantha for his own gain. Beron’s taunting suggestion that Rhysand might prostitute himself to Hybern infuriates Feyre, who loses control of her anger and attacks Beron with the borrowed fire magic that she was supposed to conceal.
Chapter 46
Feyre attacks Beron with fire and then with water, stopping her attack only after a psychic conversation with Rhysand. Her rash act has revealed her stolen powers to the High Lords. When Beron insults Feyre, Rhysand also attacks him. Beron turns to leave the meeting when Nesta delivers an inspirational speech that calls for the faeries to protect the defenseless humans beneath the wall. Beron states that he will consider her words and then winnows out with his family. Feyre blames herself for the chaotic finale of the meeting but, in psychic conversation, loyally Rhysand defends her. Nevertheless, the other High Lords agree to join in the war.
Chapter 47
The various lords remain in the Dawn Court to continue to hammer out the details of their plan. Rhysand praises Feyre for her explosive stunt during the meeting and similarly compliments Nesta for her rousing speech. Helion enters their room and makes various sexually suggestive statements to Mor, Cassian, and Azriel, though they decline his invitation for group sex. The group discusses the likelihood of Beron joining in the alliance and Helion implies that he had an affair with the Lady of the Autumn Court. Feyre realizes that he is likely Lucien’s biological father, not Beron, which perhaps explains Beron’s mistreatment of Lucien. Helion herself, she thinks, might not know he has a son. Nesta enters the room and, after dismissing Helion rudely, leads Feyre out. She tells Feyre that she senses that something is wrong, and they must leave immediately, but Rhysand and the others can neither find nor detect any danger. The group eats and drinks and, as they slowly begin to go to bed, Feyre notes that Helion and Mor enter Mor’s room together. Rhysand explains the complicated relationship between Azriel and Mor, who have never confessed their feelings of love for each other despite centuries of opportunity. Feyre is not comfortable with the thought of having sex with Rhysand while under the same roof as Tamlin, and so they abstain.
Chapter 48
The following morning, Mor is silent about her encounter with Helion. The lords and their attendants gather to discuss the next step in their plan. Suddenly, Nesta rises from her seat and vomits, claiming again that something is wrong. Helion and Thesis check her and find no signs of poison or illness, but then a vibration of power surges through the palace and the surrounding lands. Rhysand uses his powers to see what has happened and, with horror, he announces that the King of Hybern has used the cauldron to destroy the wall.
Chapter 49
Feyre reasons that Nesta must have a particular connection to the Cauldron due to her transformation by it, allowing her to sense its use by Hybern. The Lords return to their various courts and, back in Velaris, Elain suggests that they can save many humans by evacuating them to the castle-fort of her betrothed, Graysen, whose father has prepared for an attack by faeries. She offers to go and speak with Graysen and his father while disguised as a human, as they despise faeries. The others agree with her plan; Feyre, Nesta, and some of the others will accompany Elain, disguising her faerie scent with their own. Cassian warns Nesta to be careful and goes to prepare his troops. Feyre speaks with Amren and asks her about the creature at the pit of the library. Her plan is to make a new deal with the creature, whose name is Bryaxis.
Chapter 50
Mor and Feyre find Bryaxis at the pit of the library and attempt to make a deal with it. Its sole request is that a window is added to the top of the library so that it can see the moon and stars. In exchange, it vows to join the fight with them against Hybern. Later, Feyre updates Rhysand as everyone prepares for war.
Analysis
This section of the novel, which depicts the climactic meeting of the High Lords and the destruction of the wall by Hybern, also further develops the contrast between Tamlin and Rhysand. Surprising the others by appearing suddenly at the meeting, Tamlin looks upon Feyre with a hatred that is so strong precisely because of how well he knows her and how close they once were. At the meeting, his cruel and taunting remarks to Feyre highlight his misogyny, as he accuses her of sexual promiscuity and suggests that she no longer holds any value to him now that she has slept with another man. His language reflects a belief that women are, essentially, property.
He is similarly dismissive of the other members of Rhysand’s party, treating them contemptuously, as if they are beneath him. Rhysand’s impassioned defense of Feyre highlights not only his love for her but also his very different attitudes regarding women. Despite knowing that Feyre was his mate, he nevertheless accepted her decision to be with Tamlin before Tamlin’s poor treatment of her drove him away. Not all men in the novel are willing to treat women as their equals, however. Beron, for example, brutally abuses his wife after he learns of her affair with Helion. For him, women are valuable as status symbols and for giving birth to heirs, and his long-term violence has left her a hollow shell. When Feyre insists, that night, that she does not feel comfortable having sex with Rhysand while staying in the same building as Tamlin, he does not pressure her and instead encourages her to speak openly and honestly about her desires and needs.
Despite Tamlin’s cruel comments, his decision to work against Hybern underscores the complexity of his character. After their separation, Feyre began to think of Tamlin as a simple and cruel tyrant who would side with Hybern just to win her back from the Night Court. For all his flaws, however, Tamlin is a fierce opponent of Hybern who would never willingly sell out his court and humanity at large. Instead, he has been working as a double agent, collecting useful information about Hybern and its troops and offering his intel to the other High Lords. Like many other characters in the novel and series, Tamlin is neither an uncomplicated hero, nor a simple villain.
Further, he accuses Feyre of inadvertently aiding Hybern by weakening the Spring Court as part of her revenge, noting that several villages have already been destroyed. Indeed, Feyre took great pleasure in undermining and deceiving Tamlin, and she acknowledges, at this point in the novel, that her actions were personally satisfying but politically irresponsible, helping Hybern to establish the foothold on Prythian from which it launched its bloody attack on the Summer Court. Throughout the novel, Feyre’s personal desires occasionally conflict with her responsibilities as a political leader, and she herself acknowledges that she was foolish to believe that Tamlin would side with Hybern just because of their difficult personal history. Due to the high stakes of the conflict and her own great responsibility as High Lady, Feyre learns that she must think carefully about the consequences of her choices, which will be felt by many, and to put aside her own personal feelings and desires to ensure the safety of the people of Prythian.
The meeting of the High Lords also highlights the prevalence of inequality and bigotry in Prythian. Some of the lords consider humans beneath them, and they balk at the prospect of wasting resources to save humans. Similarly, many in Prythian share Hybern’s belief that the most faeries are beneath the High Fae, exhibiting species-based social prejudice. When Nuan reveals the faebane-countering powder she has developed, some, such as Beron, distrust the powder due to Nuan’s gender and her ethnicity. Nuan’s parents fled their home nation of Xian, a distant realm on the continent, immigrating to Prythian for security and a better life. Nuan proudly proclaims her status as a Prythian, countering the xenophobic attitude that leads Beron to question her loyalty. Feyre learns a good deal about the internal divisions that prevent the faeries from working together or achieving equality.
