Throne of Glass Chapters 41–44 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapters 41–44

Chapter 41

Celaena sits at the desk in her room, poring over books on Wyrdmarks. She turns a page and finds the same symbols that had surrounded the bodies of the murdered Champions, along with annotated directions on how to use them to summon a creature called a ridderak. The annotation explains that the ridderak will eat the summoner’s victims, and in exchange grant the summoner their victim’s strength. Celaena infers that someone is using Wyrdgates to open a portal for the ridderak; she begins to think again that Nehemia could be the killer. Celaena remembers that all the murders occurred a few days before a test, and decides to go into the hidden passageway, intending to catch Nehemia in the act and kill her.

Celaena descends the staircase towards Elena’s tomb, armed only with a makeshift knife and a candlestick. When she is only a few levels above the tomb, she hears someone chanting in another room. She realizes, upon entering the chamber, that it is Cain.

Chapter 42

Celaena understands that Cain, not Nehemia, has been using Wyrdgates to summon the ridderak and use it to grow stronger than his opponents by killing Champions one by one. She watches him kneel on the ground, chanting and dragging his bleeding hands over the floor, out of which green lights spring up at his touch. The ridderak, a humanoid monster, appears, and Celaena is filled with fear. She steps back, intending to flee, when Cain and the ridderak notice her. Cain disarms her and locks her in the room with the monster.

The monster faces her, preparing to strike, and Celaena remembers that Elena had told her to look to her right—sure enough, the passageway on her right leads to the tomb. The ridderak charges her, and she maneuvers so that it crashes into the wall behind her, giving her enough time to flee down to the tomb with the monster in pursuit. She grabs Damaris, King Gavin’s sword, and plunges it into the ridderak’s face. Before it dies, the monster bites her hand. Dazed, Celaena returns to her room and is met by Nehemia, who rushes to Celaena upon seeing her wounded. Celaena vaguely registers that Nehemia is chanting, and glowing Wyrdmarks appear on Celaena’s arms before she loses consciousness.

Chapter 43

When Celaena awakes, she finds her wounds have been healed by magic. Nehemia is sitting nearby, and asks gravely where Celaena received the bite. Celaena tells Nehemia who she really is and why she is at the castle. Nehemia accepts her, and draws an invisible mark on Celaena’s forehead, giving her a new name: Elentiya, which means “Spirit That Could Not Be Broken” in Eyllwe. Their friendship healed, Celaena goes on to tell Nehemia more about her past.

The next morning, Celaena is quiet during her walk with Chaol. She decides not to tell Chaol about Cain and the ridderak, afraid that if she leads him to the body he will see the escape route she has found out of the castle via the passageway. Though Chaol is in good spirits, he warns her against getting into a romantic relationship with Dorian. They go to practice swordplay, and on their way back they run into the King of Adarlan.

Chapter 44

Celaena shrinks in fear upon seeing the king, but bows before him. As he passes, she wonders if he knows about the Wyrdgates even though he was the one to outlaw all magic.

Alone before his next training session with Celaena, Chaol reflects on the report of the king’s journey: that the king had been to the White Fang Mountains and all of his traveling party had died before returning to the castle. Chaol is bothered by the news, and wonders if the king is withholding information from him and others. Chaol notes how frightened Celaena had looked upon seeing the king, and thinks about how she has grown exceptionally strong and fast over the course of training. He is fond of her, and wonders what the coming years will be like at the castle should she become the King’s Champion.

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