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Summary
Chapters 61-70
Chapter 61
Helion winnows Feyre to Rhys’s war-tent. She falls into his blood-splattered arms and weeps. She informs him of her recent actions, and he explains that they narrowly won the battle but Cassian has been gravely injured. They watch as a medic tends to his serious wounds. When he awakens, he and Rhysand share tense words, both angry at the willingness of the other to sacrifice themselves. Later, outside of the medical tent, Feyre encounters Nesta, who does not conceal her concern for Cassian, and a furious Mor. Mor accuses Feyre of lying to her and going off to find the Suriel without informing the others of her plans. Feyre angrily retorts that Mor has also been lying to everyone by having casual sex with men such as Helion without acting on her love for Azriel.
Chapter 62
Feyre speaks with Amren, who advises her to speak with Mor again the following day when their tempers have cooled. Amren, having heard about Feyre’s conversation with the Suriel, has brought the Book of Breathings as well as the bones necessary for scrying. Nesta holds the bones and casts her mind toward the Cauldron, but suddenly freezes, as if she has gone too far mentally. Feyre enters Nesta’s mind and sees Hybern’s seemingly endless army as well as the Cauldron, which seems to sense their presence. Hurriedly, they mentally flee before its immense power can reach them. When they mentally return to the tent, Nesta has thrown the stones, which make a perfect circle at a point on the western side of the human lands, near their family’s estate. Feyre and the others now understand that Hybern intends to push them northward with his immense army into the dangerous Middle. Their best bet, Rhysand reasons, is to wait for the reinforcements that may still prove insufficient. Varian enters the tent where the High Lords and their attendants plan their next move and kisses Amren.
Chapter 63
That night, Feyre has nightmares, including one in which the Cauldron watches her. She awakes and senses that something is wrong. Nesta and Amren, who also have some connection to the Cauldron, are also on alert. They hear the Cauldron in the camp as if it is physically there, singing to them. When the sound disappears, they realize that Elain is gone, having been lured to the Hybern camp by the Cauldron with a vision of Graysen offering to transform her back into a human.
Chapter 64
Azriel offers to use his power to control shadows to retrieve Elain from the Hybern camp, but the others note that he is unlikely to succeed given the defensive wards on the camp and the power of the Cauldron. Feyre announces that she will accompany Azriel, shapeshifting into the form of Ianthe in order to enter the camp without challenge. They forge a diadem that resembles that of Ianthe and, after some preparation, Feyre and Azriel winnow to the Hybern camp.
Chapter 65
The guards do not stop Feyre as she enters the camp disguised as Ianthe. She watches as the Hybern soldiers revel in the torture of captive Children of the Blessed. As Feyre considers putting a young girl out of her misery, Jurian finds her and immediately senses her true identity. Maintaining the ruse that she is Ianthe, they communicate in whispers while appearing to flirt. Elain, Jurian tells her, is being kept in the King’s tent but has not yet been touched. Following Jurian’s advice, she pretends that she wants to pray before the Cauldron as thanks for their successes. They find Elain while Feyre loudly recites one of Ianthe’s prayers, commanding her to run towards the cliff at the edge of the camp. They run under the fading cloak of Azriel’s shadow, but the King soon figures out what is happening and his hounds chase Feyre, Elain, and Azriel as they run towards the cliff.
They find the Children of the Blessed girl by the cliff, left there by Jurian so that Feyre’s group can carry her to safety. As Feyre readies to jump, a serious test of her rudimentary ability to fly, she is shot in the shoulder by the King of Hybern with an ash arrow. As his hounds descend on Feyre, she is suddenly saved by Tamlin, who appears in the form of a golden beast. He holds the line against the hounds, but one jumps out and leaps for Azriel, who is carrying both the girl and Elain. It violently shreds Azriel’s wings, but he continues to fly as Elain kicks the beast, which falls into the ravine. Feyre leaps and succeeds in flying. Using some of Helion’s curse-breaking power, she rips a hole in Hybern’s magical ward defenses, and she and Azriel escape through it with Elain and the girl as Tamlin sends a helpful wind after them. Tamlin then makes a tremendous leap through the hole and then winnows away without looking at Feyre.
They make it back to the camp, their powers depleted. The girl informs Feyre that her name is Briar, and Rhysand, sensing their presence, winnows to them and calls for medics to attend to Azriel and Feyre. Nesta approaches them and envelopes Feyre in a hug, thanking her. The three sisters sleep next to each other on a fur rug, as they did when they were children.
Chapter 66
Feyre rests and sees to her injuries. Azriel, however, will not be in a fit state to fight any time soon due to his damaged wings. Feyre encounters Mor, who requests to speak privately. The two friends apologize to each other, and Mor confesses to Feyre that she is attracted to both males and females but only feels full romantic love for females. During the war, she took a female lover, the human queen Andromache, but they were separated after the construction of the wall. She hid her preference for women from her family, who would never accept the truth. When her family arranged her engagement to Eris, she slept with Cassian as a way of sabotaging the marriage. Later, she continued to sleep with men because she knew that Azriel loved her, and she wanted to discourage him without divulging her preference for women. Ultimately, she loves Azriel only as a friend but has not been able to admit this to him openly. Feyre promises to keep Mor’s secret so that Mor can tell Azriel the truth when she is ready.
At a meeting in the army camp, the High Lords debate their next move, noting that Hybern is moving his troops east rather than north, as he was originally. His play, they believe, is to attack the human lands directly as a form of revenge against Feyre and her sisters, who have slighted him. Feyre’s plan to winnow humans in the path of the Hybern army to a safe space in Adriata is agreed upon, despite the high magic and energy costs involved. Amren enters and declares that she has figured out a way to stop the Cauldron and Hybern’s army, but it will require those who have a connection to the Cauldron: Amren, Feyre, Nesta, and Elain.
Chapter 67
Amren states that those with a connection to the Cauldron can withstand its power if they touch it together, severing Hybern’s connection to it. The High Lords winnow humans to Adriata. Rhysand manipulates the minds of some but forcefully winnows others without offering them a choice. In the end, they are all exhausted and depleted of magic. Death in the upcoming battle seems imminent for all. Feyre, however, plans to call on Bryaxis to assist them in battle and decides to secure the aid of the Carver as well. She winnows to the Court of Shadows and prepares to confront the Ouroboros.
Chapter 68
In the reflection of the mirror, which is somehow both pitch black and clear, Feyre sees a monstrous figure approach her from behind. She turns around, ready to defend herself, but there is nothing behind her. She turns back to the mirror and now sees the monster staring at her. The monster, she realizes, is her. Later, Feyre enters the Carver’s cell and presents the mirror to him. He agrees to join the battle, noting that he has no interest in the mirror but wanted to test Feyre in order to determine if she was strong enough to confront her true self.
Chapter 69
Hybern’s tremendous army leaves a path of destruction in its wake as it travels to a prime location from which to confront the unified army of Prythian. As they approach the battleground, Rhysand gives a rousing speech and he and his Inner Circle link hands. The Hybern army has picked a strategic, uphill position. The Prythians are vastly outnumbered despite their alliance and Cassian predicts that they will only be able to buy a few hours of time, during which Feyre and the others must reach the Cauldron while the King of Hybern is distracted. The two armies fight with magic first, each attempting to break the shield around the other. Feyre releases the illusion-magic that she has used to conceal the Carver and Bryaxis. Rhysand, in turn, reveals that he made a bargain with the Weaver, offering to free her in exchange for her service. The three ancient and powerful siblings attack Hybern.
Chapter 70
The Weaver, Carver, and Bryaxis carve a path of death and destruction through the battlefield, and Rhysand uses his powers to kill a large number of Hybern soldiers in a flash. Suddenly, further reinforcements arrive. Tamlin leads the small army, previously weakened by Feyre, to the battlefield alongside Eris and his brothers, who lead the Autumn Court’s troops and destroy Hybern’s supply of faebane. Jurian leads an army of humans who wear Graysen’s crest, surprising Elain. With Hybern distracted, Amren, Feyre, Nesta and Elain, hidden by an invisibility spell, follow the Weaver towards the Cauldron. Suddenly, Nesta falls, sensing that the Cauldron is being activated. Hybern has placed it on a rocky outcrop and uses its immense power as a beam-like weapon, turning thousands of men, primarily Illyrian troops in the sky, into ash almost instantaneously. Cassian is saved only because Nesta calls out to him, pulling him away from the center of the blast. Another blast from the Cauldron kills the Carver, despite his power.
Analysis
This section of the novel details the final conflict of Hybern and the unified Prythian army on the battlefield. Despite the chaos and bloodshed of war, however, the novel showcases love in various forms. Feyre and Rhysand are united by their mating bond but also by choice, each serving as a source of solace to the other. Still, even soulmates must learn how to work together as a team. Rhysand is furious, for example, when Feyre goes out on her own to the Middle to find the Suriel. She has become accustomed to operating as a free agent, carrying out her own plans without asking for help or warning others. Her disappearance from the army camp, however, terrifies Rhysand, distracting him at a critical moment in the battle and unintentionally implying to her allies that she does not trust them sufficiently to speak openly with them. Feyre, in turn, notes that Rhysand must consult her before making major decisions, especially if and when he shoulders tremendous risks. Rhysand has, throughout the series, proven more than willing to sacrifice himself for his friends and allies, but Feyre reminds him that his decisions affect her, too. Though Feyre and Rhysand must learn to adapt to their partnership, their relationship nevertheless demonstrates that love can be an important source of strength. In The Court of Wings and Ruin, communication is essential, both in romantic relationships as well as between allies.
Other forms of love are also important in the novel. Feyre proves that she is willing to do anything to protect her sisters, assuming a tremendous risk in infiltrating the Hybern army camp to rescue Elain after she is abducted by the Cauldron. When she returns to the Prythian army camp with Elain, Nesta, who has never been particularly affectionate, hugs Feyre, thanking her for saving their sister. The three sisters sleep next to each other that night, as they did when they were children, demonstrating the strength of their bond despite their occasional tensions and disagreements. The familial love that these three sisters share becomes, at various points in the novel, crucial to their survival and the success of their mission.
Though Rhysand and his Inner Court are not all related by blood, they too are strengthened by a sense of familial love for one another. On the eve of the final battle with Hybern, they link hands, symbolizing the strength of their chosen family, which, for More and Azriel, was particularly crucial after they were mistreated, abandoned, or betrayed by their biological families. Family, in the novel, is not defined by blood but rather, by love. Even their constant bickering only reinforces their sense of being a family. Feyre notes, for example, that she previously had nobody who cared about her enough to argue with her.
In the Hybern army camp, Feyre is shocked when Tamlin rescues her, Elain, and Azriel, blowing his cover and subjecting himself to great danger. In their last meeting in the Dawn Court, Tamlin berated Feyre in insulting and demeaning terms, looking at her with hatred in his eyes for what he perceives as a personal betrayal. His actions, however, suggest that love can still linger after the end of a relationship, even when that relationship ends bitterly. Feyre reflects upon the irony that Tamlin, whom she believed to be a source of weakness for her, proved her salvation in this situation. Tamlin’s actions underscore the complexity of his character, but also a form of love that proves critical in the novel, even if it coexists with resentment and even hatred.
