ACOTAR 1
Sarah J. Maas
NOTE: Most of this summary is taken from Sparknotes.
1. Feyre is in the woods with her bow hunting to ensure her family (father and two older sisters) don’t starve. She is just about to give up when she spots a doe. She gets ready to fire, but sees a pair of yellow eyes behind it. There is an abnormally large wolf stalking the deer. Feyre wonders if it is an actual wolf or fae. She decides to take the risk and pulls out the one ash and iron bow she had in her quill for three years. She hits the wolf in the side with it. When it looks at her, she shoots another arrow through its eye. It takes the wolf a while to stop breathing, but when Feyre approaches it, she sees it is just a wolf. She skins it and throws the fur over the deers wound to lessen the trail of blood. She puts the deer over her shoulders and starts heading home.
2. By the time she makes it home, she is exhausted. She goes inside to find her sisters, Nesta and Elaine, had not cut the wood they were supposed to while she was gone. Instead of helping, they insist Feyre prepare the deer. Nesta makes a comment about Feyre being illiterate. Feyre does her best to ignore her and tells her father to prepare the knives. She goes to the bedroom and sees the things she has painted over the years to try to cheer up their sad house. They had once lived in a manor, but when the creditors came and beat her father, they fled. Her mother only ever loved her father and had enough disdain for Feyre to not teach her anything. Just before she died, she made Feyre promise to take care of them. When she comes out of her room, Nesta is talking about how the wood cutters second son, Thomas, is going to propose. Feyre points out they don’t have a dowry for her and she would just be another mouth to feed. She had seen Thomas out hunting once and he looked dangerous with hunger. She kept her knife close and got avoided him ever since. While Feyre does hope to marry her sisters off to get them out of the house, she doesnmt think sending Mesta to a house that is almost as bad off as theirs will do her much good. He father tells her to let Nesta have hope, but Feyre says there is no such thing.
3. The next morning, Feyre goes to the market with her pelts and her sisters follow. Nesta got up early to chop wood hoping her Feyre would give her some money. They run into a group of girls that call themselves Acolites and worship the Fae wearing silver bells. Nesta shows them their iron bracelets and tries to tell them they are fools. They continue to the square. Feyre decides to approach the mercenary woman on the edge. At first, she says she only accepts coin for her services. When Feyre says she is selling pelts, Feyre shows them to her and tells her how she got them. The woman says she has been where Feyre is now and offers much more for them. Feyre accepts the offer. Mercenaries make about from richer families that can afford to hire them to protect them from the Fae. The woman warns her not to go as far into the woods again. The Fae have been wandering down into them. Martax (big as a bear, head of a lion, three rows of teeth) have been spotted. She was attacked by a smaller fae creature and still has the poison in her legs. When Feyre walks away, Nesta comes to join her and tells her to be careful around mercenaries because she and Elaine were robbed by one. They didn’t bother to report it because they knew no one could do anything. Nesta points out Feyre’s past lover, …, and Feyre remembers meeting the farmer’s son while walking to town. He took the contraceptive brew and they had sex in the barn a few times, but didn’t love each other. She was a bit sad when he got engaged though. Feyre gives Nesta some money and goes home. Later that night, they are all home and the girls’ father is dozing in front of the fire with his cane on his knees. Something burst through their door with a roar.
4. The giant beast comes in the door and demands to know who killed his friend the wolf. Feyre grabs her dagger and another kitchen knife. When the beast roars again, she takes the opportunity to throw her dagger at its throat. It easily flings it away. She knows there isn’t anything she can do to fight off the beast. She admits she is the one that killed the wolf. She says she didn’t know it was a fairy. She then lies and says she wouldn’t have killed it if she had known. The beast knows she is lying. She points out that the fae have been awful to them and how could he blame her. She asks him to take her outside to kill her. He informs her the treaty between their lands says she has a choice and offers her to come to … and live on his lands, banished from the human world. She realizes if she goes, she might eventually have a chance to escape. She asks when they leave and he tells her immediately. She tells Nesta not to marry Thomas because his father beats his wife and none of the sons do anything to stop it. Her father tells her she is too good for that place and if she ever gets away, she should go somewhere else and make a name for herself.
5. Feyre is put on a horse and they start through the snow to Prythian. She thinks about what hill happen to her once they get there. The treaty says Fae can’t take humans as slaves, but she doesn’t know if that applies to her since she killed one of them. She tries to keep aware of anything that might give her a chance to escape. She contemplates running away and taking her family to stow away on a ship somewhere. She asks him what kind of fae he is, but he doesn’t answer. She tries asking him his name a couple of times. She doesn’t get an answer, but feels a tingling and falls asleep on her horse.
6. When she wakes up, Feyre is surprised to find herself surrounded by green in what appears to be the middle of spring. She was kept asleep to keep her from knowing where they are. The horse walks up to the door and stops. She realizes her wrists are no longer bound, but her knife is gone. She decides this is her best chance to escape. She tries to spur the horse on, but it won’t move. She hops off the horse and realizes she isn’t going to make it very far without food. When she goes inside, she sees the fairy is no longer in its beast form and wears a mask. She can tell he is one of the high ranking fae. He offers her food. When she claims it is not safe for humans (what she was always taught), he tells her it is. Another fae, Lucien (redheaded in a fox mask), comes in the room. The first one tells her he used the treaty’s magic to find her. It took him right to her door and she admitted it. He isn’t happy to have her there. A woman named Alis in a bird mask takes her to get a bath and new clothes. She hears Lucain telling her captor it was pointless for him to bring her there. He is shocked she was the one that killed Anders. The fae servants scrub her and give her a nice dress. She wants to wear her own clothes, but they fall apart as they tried to wash them. Alis warns her to keep her mouth shut and her ears open. There are many that will be upset about Anders being killed, but they all respect the rules of the treaty.
7. At dinner, Feyre learns that her captor’s name is Tamlin and that he’s High Lord of the Spring Court. Feyre is still hesitant to eat faerie food, but Tamlin explains he does not keep slaves. Feyre asks what she is meant to do with her life in Prythian and expresses worry about her family. Tamlin tells her he doesn’t care how she spends her time as long as she stays out of trouble. He assures her that her family is well cared for, though he warns her that will not be the case if she leaves Prythian. Though legend says that fairies can’t lie, Feyre believes Tamlin is twisting the truth. Lucien questions Feyre about Andras’s death and her lack of remorse. Feyre apologizes unconvincingly. Eventually, Feyre realizes she’ll be magically held at the table until she eats, so she relents. The feast is of higher quality than any food she’s ever had. Tamlin and Lucien question Feyre about her life. She is puzzled by their questions about her relationship with Isaac Hale but admits she does not love him. That night, Feyre locks her door and rigs a trap from her curtains. In the morning, the trap knocks Alis to the ground. Though Alis is annoyed that Feyre wrecked the curtains, she’s impressed at Feyre’s willingness to fight back. Alis tells Feyre the trap is useless against the powerful fae. She warns her to be careful of dangerous fae while exploring the grounds. Feyre marvels at the paintings in the hallway as she ventures around the manor for the first time. Tamlin interrupts her on the way to the garden and she rebuffs his offer of a tour. He tells her that there has been a blight weakening magic in Prythian for fifty years. He admits the blight has the potential to impact the human realm as well.
8. Feyre searches the garden for potential hiding spots and means of escape. She hopes to convince Lucien to plead her case to Tamlin and find a way around the Treaty. Feyre hears noises and sees a shimmer out of the corner of her eye. Feyre realizes she’s not alone in the garden. Whatever the creatures are, they vanish a moment later. At dinner later that day, Feyre sneaks a knife into the sleeve of her tunic. She thinks angrily about how she is being kept from providing for her family and keeping her word to her mother. When Lucien mocks her lack of knowledge of the fae world by asking what her mother taught her about faeries, she reveals her mother died when she was young. Tamlin offers sincere condolences. Back in her room, Feyre packs a small bag with extra clothes and the stolen knife in case she has an opportunity to escape.
9. Feyre plans to find Lucien, who is on border patrol, to win him over and help secure her release. Tamlin interrupts and offers to take her riding. Feyre refuses which annoys Tamlin. Feyre finds Lucien and joins him on a hunt instead. Lucien informs Feyre that Andras used to hunt with him. She recognizes his grief and apologizes. Lucien shocks Feyre when he reveals he knows she wants his help. Lucien is flattered that Feyre thinks he could influence Tamlin, but he says there’s no way around the Treaty. Feyre questions Lucien about the blight. He tells her the masks are permanent, put in place by a hellish force. He quickly regrets the statement and reveals he fears an unnamed woman finding out what he’s said. Lucien claims it is best if Feyre knows as little as possible about the blight. Feyre wonders who the woman is and what power she holds. Lucien continues to answer Feyre’s questions about the High Fae and faerie powers. He tells her about the Suriel, a dangerous faerie who will answer questions when trapped. Suddenly, Lucien orders Feyre to put her bow down, freeze, and look straight ahead. Feyre is filled with fear as she feels an invisible force approaching.
10. The invisible force hunting Lucien and Feyre is a faerie creature called the Bogge. Lucien tells Feyre the Bogge only becomes real when it is acknowledged by others. The Bogge does not belong in their lands. Feyre hears the Bogge in her head pleading for her to look at it. Feyre is filled with terror but is able to resist until they reach safety. Though he’s a warrior, Lucien admits he’s not as capable as Tamlin. The two verbally spar over their human and fae misconceptions as they finish their ride in the woods. Tensions rise at dinner when Lucien tells Tamlin about the encounter with the Bogge. Tamlin storms off to hunt the creature. Alone in her room after dinner, Feyre watches the garden for Tamlin’s return. Instead, she sees a figure lurking by the hedges. Though she assumes the figure is a faerie, she sees her father.
11. Feyre layers several tunics, puts on her cloak, and hides a knife in her boot. Feyre climbs down the trellis to meet her father. Tamlin catches her before she gets to the gate. Feyre fears Tamlin will kill her for trying to escape. Tamlin encourages her to look at her father again. This time her father is gone and she sees a bow and arrows. The image shifts to a pack of supplies, her weeping sisters, then back to her father again. Tamlin warns Feyre not to trust her human senses. What she is seeing is a trick created by a creature called a puca. Tamlin confronts her about trying to escape. Feyre says she wants to go home to keep her vow to her mother. Tamlin assures Feyre that her family is cared for and her promise is better fulfilled by staying in Prythian. Tamlin opens up to Feyre to reveal he is a warrior who was thrust unwillingly into the role of High Lord. Feyre begins to make peace with her new home even as she recognizes its dangers. Feyre begins to spend her days patrolling with Lucien. Tamlin hunts the Bogge alone at night. One night, Feyre awakes in a sweat from a vivid nightmare about killing Andras.
12. Disturbed by her nightmare, Feyre walks the halls of the house. She makes a map using rough sketches and Xs since she can’t read or write. Tamlin returns in beast form before changing to his human appearance. Though Tamlin killed the Bogge, he’s been injured. He leads her to the house’s small infirmary where she cleans and bandages his hand. He questions her hunting ability and her inability to write, telling her she’s not what he expected of a human. The next morning, Feyre longs to examine paintings in the hall, but she’s distracted when she overhears Lucien and Tamlin arguing about the worsening blight. Lucien accuses Tamlin of growing soft in spite of his heart of stone. Caught eavesdropping, Feyre asks Lucien if he’s patrolling today, and he tells her to go with Tamlin instead. She doesn’t want to hunt, so they walk the house. Tamlin reveals that he knows that Feyre took a knife from the dinner table. Feyre asks if they should expect more creatures like the Bogge. Though Tamlin believes the blight will pass, he expects other dangers to enter the lands.
13. Tamlin opens the doors and lights the candles in the study with a wave of his hand. Feyre’s impressed by the room full of books. She wants to write a letter to her family to let them know she’s safe and warn them about the blight that may spread to their lands. She attempts to teach herself to write. Ashamed to ask Tamlin or Lucien for help, she tosses her list of words in the garbage. As Feyre wanders the room, she discovers a mural illustrating the story of Prythian, including the battle between humans and fae and the redistribution of lands. It also details the seven courts of Prythian: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day, and Night. Tamlin enters and offers to help Feyre learn to write, but she refuses. She goes to Lucien’s room to ask him how to trap a Suriel, hoping to get information to break the Treaty. He tells her that if he were a Suriel, she could find him in the western woods near young birch trees. He recommends using slaughtered chickens and a snare with a double loop. He suggests making sure that there’s running water nearby since the Suriel do not like to cross it. He makes it clear Tamlin would not approve of her plan or the information he shares. Lucien also tells Feyre he’s beginning to like her, even if she’s a human.
14. Armed with a bow and arrows, Feyre goes to the western woods, sets a trap for the Suriel, and climbs a tree to wait. A shriek confirms that her trap worked and she climbs down the tree to confront the Suriel, a thin creature with a bony face, white eyes, and yellow fingernails, dressed in tattered robes. The Suriel tells Feyre she cannot go home without risking death for her and her family. He reveals that Tamlin is the High Lord of the Spring Court and tells her that staying with Tamlin will keep her safe from the blight. As she seeks more detail, the Suriel tells Feyre about the King of Hybern, the land across the sea. Angered by the terms of the Treaty, the king sent creatures to infiltrate the courts. One of these, the Deceiver, betrayed the King. The Suriel suddenly stops the story and tells Feyre they are not alone. He begs Feyre to free him and run, telling her that the naga, shadowy, hateful faeries, were drawn by his scream and her scent. Before Feyre can act, four naga approach.
15. Feyre sees the naga for the first time: they are semi-human, semi-serpent scaly creatures with sharp claws. She thinks about screaming for Lucien, but she doubts he will be able to come to her rescue. She gathers a scream to distract the creatures, draws her bow, and shoots an arrow to break the snare and free the Suriel. She shoots one of the naga with an arrow and speeds toward the stream, though water doesn’t deter these creatures. Too far away to hope Lucien will hear her, Feyre runs as fast as she can. It’s not fast enough. The creatures surround her. Fueled by anger, fear, or instinct, she stabs one of the creatures with a knife hidden in her boot. Slammed to the ground by the naga, Feyre hears a roar. Tamlin arrives and tears the throat of one of the naga while the other one flees. Tamlin uses magic to help soothe Feyre’s injuries. Tamlin asks Feyre what she was doing in the woods, but she does not tell him of her plan to trap the Suriel. He warns her to stay close to the house. She thanks him for saving her life. Feyre remembers the Suriel’s advice not to search for more answers, deciding that what little information she can share with her family will have to be enough. Feyre notices Tamlin seems more defeated than victorious.
16. With more faeries entering the land, Feyre asks Alis about the potential for war. Alis warns her not to ask such questions but to let Tamlin deal with it. Feyre tells Alis she wants to protect her family. Alis reveals she, too, has a family: her sister’s two boys, but they live far away. Alis tells Feyre to come to her for advice since she would’ve recommended luring the Suriel again. Feyre joins Lucien and Tamlin at dinner. When Lucien tells her she looks lovely, Feyre responds that she thought faeries couldn’t lie. Lucien tells her that’s a misconception, as is the notion that iron repels them, though ash wood will do them harm. Lucien excuses himself before dessert, leaving Feyre alone with Tamlin. Tamlin asks her again why she was in the woods and Feyre admits she was searching for answers from the Suriel. He then confronts her with the crumpled list of words she threw away. Feyre gets up to leave and Tamlin says that he was not insulting her. Feyre insists she doesn’t need his help or pity. Tamlin asks if they can be friends as faeries and humans were 500 years ago. He tells her he stands against slavery and tyranny. He also reveals he glamoured her family. They know she’s safe but believe she’s helping a sickly aunt. He even warned them to run at the sign of anything strange. With her promise to care for her family satisfied, Feyre asks Tamlin for painting supplies. He agrees to obtain them and offers to show her the gallery. Tamlin smiles at her, and she compares her feelings for him to her feelings for Isaac.
17. Feyre wakes from a nightmare of the Suriel, the naga, and a faceless woman shredding her throat. She hears shouting and runs to the stairs to see Tamlin carrying a blue faerie that is bleeding and severely injured. Lucien joins them, and Tamlin explains that the Summer Court faerie was found dumped just over the border. The faerie cries out that “she” took his wings, though he does not identify the mysterious woman. Feyre holds the faerie down as Tamlin tends to the wounds on his back. Lucien vomits and runs from the room. Tamlin can’t stop the bleeding as his magic is no longer strong enough. Feyre realizes that the faerie is going to die. She does all she can to comfort him, even promising he’ll get his wings back. As Tamlin says an ancient prayer, Feyre holds the faerie’s hand, refusing to let go until he takes his last breath. She explains to Tamlin that she would want someone to do the same for her. She apologizes to Tamlin for killing Andras. In spite of Feyre’s offer to help, Tamlin insists he needs to bury the faerie alone and leaves, carrying the creature.
18. Tamlin and Lucien have a conversation, but stop when Feyre comes downstairs. The three of them go for a ride so Tamlin can show Feyre the beauty of his lands. Tamlin asks Feyre twice if she likes the glen, surprised when she says nothing more than yes. She teases him, saying the Suriel mentioned he likes to be brushed and can be managed with treats. Tamlin laughs and Lucien expresses his surprise that Feyre made a joke. Tamlin shows her a sparkling pool made of starlight, his favorite spot as a child. Tamlin explains to Feyre that Lucien is the youngest son of the Autumn Court. Lucien’s father killed the woman he loved, believing she was inappropriate for someone of his son’s status. Lucien left the court and Tamlin took him in as an emissary. Feyre gives in and takes a swim in the pool with Tamlin. She tells him that her father lost the family’s fortune on a risky shipping venture and that she taught herself to hunt at fourteen. Feyre and Lucien talk about her adventure with the Suriel. Lucien says he wasn’t trying to put her at risk but admits he hesitated before coming to her rescue. He expresses surprise that she freed the Suriel.
19. Before Tamlin gives Feyre her painting supplies, he takes her to the freshly cleaned gallery. Feyre feels humbled by the space and the artwork. She stays for hours, then Alis leads her to a room filled with canvases, paints, and brushes, where she begins to paint. Feyre doesn’t show anyone her paintings, feeling the works don’t match her imagination. When Tamlin is away, worry keeps her from focusing on her painting. Though she continues to have nightmares, she starts to feel less afraid, remembering the Suriel’s advice that Tamlin will keep her safe. One night after dinner, upset that she allowed herself to get distracted from finding answers to her questions, Feyre storms off into the garden. Tamlin follows her and tells her that the garden was a mating present from his father to his mother. Feyre tells Tamlin she’s upset that her family didn’t fight for her or try to find her. Feyre grabs a rose, stabbing her hand with a thorn. Tamlin kisses her palm to heal the wound. He promises answers to her questions when it’s safe.
20. The next day, Feyre paints a batlike creature with rows of fangs. She swears she can smell its foul breath. With Fire Night set to begin, Feyre sees the glow of fire, hears drumbeats, and smells the strong scent of magic. She feels compelled to go, but Tamlin tells her to go to her room, lock the door, and stay until morning. Feyre complies but is soon drawn toward the fires. She sees more faeries than ever before but can’t make out their faces. She stops near the mouth of a cave that is decorated with leaves and flowers. Three faeries surround Feyre, telling her they want some Fire Night fun with menace in their voices. They ignore her protests to take their hands off her. As one shoves her, someone else steadies her and puts his arm around her. The three threatening faeries scurry off as she turns around to thank the attractive stranger.
21. The stranger who saves Feyre from the menacing faeries is pale with dark hair, violet eyes, and no mask. He’s High Fae, but not part of the Spring Court. When Feyre rebuffs his advances, he tells her to enjoy the rite and leaves her alone. Lucien is shocked and angry to see Feyre at Calanmai. He picks Feyre up and rushes her back to the house. Lucien tells Feyre that Tamlin will be overcome by his instincts, compelled to seek out a maiden, and their coupling will generate magic to renew life in the land for the next year. Lucien warns Feyre that Tamlin will not be himself. He tells Feyre to go to her room and not come out for anyone. Hungry, Feyre goes to the kitchen to eat, but runs into Tamlin. He grabs her, forces her against the wall, and bites her neck. Tamlin tells Feyre not to disobey him again. She slaps him and he stalks off. The next day, Feyre dresses herself to expose the bruise rather than hide it, in order to punish Tamlin for biting her. When Lucien asks, Tamlin admits to biting her but won’t accept responsibility since Feyre didn’t follow their instructions to stay in her room. They laugh when Feyre calls them faerie pigs and storms out. Feyre goes to her painting room, happy that the old Tamlin has returned. They apologize to each other at dinner, and Tamlin gives her a bouquet of white roses from the garden.
22. The next night, Feyre decides to wear a dress for dinner instead of a tunic and pants. As she walks in, Lucien excuses himself, leaving Feyre and Tamlin alone. When Feyre tells Tamlin he’s too far away, he magically changes the table size, bringing them closer together. He explains that magic was once easy but now takes more of a toll on him. Still, he enjoys showing off for a beautiful woman. Feyre takes his hand and leads him to her painting room, showing Tamlin her work for the first time. Feyre gives him a painting of the glen as a gift of thanks, but he chooses one of the forest where she used to hunt instead. When Feyre asks if she can help battle the blight, he expresses surprise that a human wants to help a faerie and says he has to do it alone. Feyree offers to live somewhere else in Prythian so she doesn’t distract him. Tamlin tells her he wants her there where he knows she’s safe. He says the painting of the woods reminds him that she understands him and that he’s not alone. Feyre sleeps with the door unlocked that night.
23. The next day, Tamlin and Feyre visit another beautiful spot in his land. Tamlin tells her he can enhance her senses for the price of a kiss. He kisses her eyelids. Feyre sees and hears things she never has before. Magic no longer smells like metal, but like flowers. Tamlin has removed the glamour she’s been under. She even sees Tamlin just as she’d imagined him. When Tamlin asks for a kiss in return, she roughly kisses the back of his hand. Suddenly exhausted, Feyre takes a nap as Tamlin tells her she’s everything he dreamed of.
24. Feyre wakes at the manor house, realizing Tamlin must have carried her home. Now that Tamlin removed her glamour, she can see things she did not see before. Feyre doesn’t recognize Alis in her true form with tree bark-like skin. Feyre can now see masked faeries she’s never seen before all over the house. Tamlin explains that she was able to see the Suriel, naga, and puca because his magic doesn’t cover those not of his court. He tells her his magic kept her invisible from the Attor in the garden, but she would see it if she encountered it again. Feyre realizes Tamlin glamours her to protect her. The next morning, when Feyre goes to the garden to paint, she finds a High Fae’s head in the fountain. Neither Tamlin nor Lucien recognize him, but he’s been branded with the mark of the Night Court, a mountain and three stars. Lucien says the Night Court plays by its own rules. Tamlin feels the head is a message from the Night Court’s High Lord, letting Tamlin know that they breached his defenses. Tamlin reassures Feyre of her safety as long as she’s with him. He tells her he’s glad he was just a child when his father sent the slaves south of the wall. Feyre tells Tamlin that he’s not like his father or brothers and he's never made her feel like property or a prisoner. She’s too distracted to paint for the rest of the day.
25. Tamlin gets called to the border and spends the night away. Lucien reassures Feyre that Tamlin is alive. She’s worried about the trouble in the court and struggles to eat and sleep. The next day, she wakes to the sounds of the Summer Solstice celebration, which she’s invited to attend. Feyre worries about Tamlin, who has been gone for most of the day. She’s in her painting room when she hears him return. Alis helps her dress for the celebration. She wears a blue gown with her hair loose and woven with flowers. Lucien exclaims that she looks like a faerie. Feyre eats treats similar to those she’s had at home, but Lucien warns her not to drink the faerie wine. She ignores him and gets drunk instantly. As Feyre dances, Lucien follows closely to keep her safe. She approaches the musicians, realizing the one playing the fiddle is Tamlin. He promises to watch over Feyre. He takes her to a meadow to see the will-o’-the-wisps and asks her to dance. Tamlin kisses Feyre and they watch the sunrise together.
26. At lunch, Lucien teases Tamlin and Feyre for not coming home until dawn. He also tells Tamlin that he received a letter from the Winter Court. The blight took twenty-four of their younglings, breaking their minds. Other courts have been hit as the blight makes its way farther south. Suddenly, Tamlin jumps to his feet, snarling at the front door. He tells Lucien to hide Feyre behind him by the window. She smells magic as the glamour makes her invisible. Feyre knows something terrible is coming if Tamlin and Lucien are afraid. When he appears, it’s the handsome, dark-haired man who rescued Feyre from the menacing faeries on Fire Night. His name is Rhysand. He taunts Tamlin for not attempting to save himself or his land for forty-nine years. Lucien calls Rhysand “Amarantha’s whore.” Rhysand wants Tamlin to punish Lucien for his disrespect, but Tamlin refuses. Rhysand goes to leave when he realizes the table was set for three. When he recognizes the glamour, he sees Feyre and remembers her. Lucien claims she’s his betrothed. Rhysand taunts Lucien for keeping Feyre as his mortal pet. Tamlin tells Rhysand to leave. Rhysand uses magic to pry into Feyre’s mind, and Tamlin demands he let her go. Rhysand says Amarantha will enjoy breaking Feyre. He forces Tamlin to beg him not to tell her. Tamlin and Lucien kneel with their foreheads on the floor, groveling at Rhysand’s feet. When Rhysand asks Feyre her name, she lies and gives him the name Clare Beddor, one of her sister’s friends. Rhysand tells the trio he’ll see them Under the Mountain and he’ll give Amarantha their regards, then he disappears.
27. In bed but unable to sleep, Feyre wonders who Amarantha is. Tamlin comes to Feyre’s room to tell her he’s sending her home for her own protection. He says he has assumed her life debt for killing Andras. Tamlin assures Feyre she has done nothing wrong. She protests, wanting to help him fight, but he won’t change his mind. He tells her he can’t even protect himself from the danger in Prythian. Tamlin tells Feyre to let everyone at home believe the glamour that she was with a sick aunt to keep her safe from Amarantha’s spies. Feyre and Tamlin make love. She realizes that the manor is her home now. As she falls asleep, Feyre thinks she hears Tamlin whisper that he loves her. When she wakes up, he’s gone.
28. Alis gives Feyre a frilly, uncomfortable dress suitable for a wealthy human to wear for her trip. As Lucien sees her ready to leave, he questions Tamlin’s decision to send Feyre home and asks why he won’t give her a few more days. Tamlin refuses to debate the issue. He reassures Feyre that the mortal realm will stay safe. Feyre gives Tamlin all of her paintings. He promises he’ll see her again. Tamlin tells Feyre he loves her. She gets in the carriage for her trip, but does not say she loves him back. As soon as the carriage enters the woods, Feyre notices the scent of magic and falls asleep. She wakes in front of a large house bustling with servants. She sees her sisters, Nesta and Elain, though they don’t recognize her at first. The sisters believe their Aunt Ripleigh has died, leaving Feyre her fortune. Feyre realizes how well Tamlin has provided for her family. Elain tells her that a stranger showed up and asked their father to invest his money. Father doubled the man’s investment and became wealthy again. Soon after, their father’s lost ships were found with their cargo intact. Feyre’s father weeps when he sees her and decides to throw a ball in her honor. Feyre regrets leaving Tamlin and remembers the Suriel’s advice to stay with the High Lord.
29. The trunks Tamlin sent with Feyre are filled with clothing, as well as gold and jewels. Feyre’s father stays busy in his office, taking an inventory of the riches. Feyre notices that his state of mind and his limp have improved. Elain shows Feyre her garden and tells her Father will take her to the continent to see tulips next spring. Feyre expresses surprise that Elain would travel during the socialite season. Elain tells her this season has been strange because people ignored how poor they’d been for the last eight years. Nesta refused invitations and did not finish the season. Elain tells Feyre that Nesta went to visit her, though she turned around when the carriage broke down. Feyre takes bags of money and goes to their former village, stopping to visit the cottage where her family once lived.
30. Feyre gives the poorest people in the village small bags of gold and silver. She sees Isaac Hale, her own former lover, with his wife. Feyre smiles, wishing them well. When she returns home, she finds the whole household busy getting ready for the ball in two days. Feyre helps dig a new garden for Elain. Meanwhile, she worries about the blight and can’t bring herself to paint. Nesta reveals that the glamour didn’t work on her. Nesta tried to follow Feyre, but she could not find a way through the wall. She chose not to marry Tomas because she realized he would not help her. Feyre realizes her sister cares for her after all. Nesta demands the truth and asks Feyre to teach her to paint. In spite of their new fortune, Nesta reveals that she hates their father for nearly letting them starve and for not doing more to save their mother.
31. Feyre stays close to Nesta at the ball, putting on a smile for Elain. She can’t shake the feeling that she should have done more to get answers about the blight and help Tamlin. The next day, Feyre learns the Beddor family was killed in a fire. Feyre realizes that faeries attacked the Beddors because she gave Clare’s name to Rhysand. Feyre tells her family to hire scouts and guards for protection and to flee far away on a ship at any sign of something strange. Feyre warns Nesta about the blight. Elain’s glamour breaks and she remembers what really happened the night Feyre was taken. Feyre leaves on horseback for Prythian. When she reaches the manor house, it is silent and everyone is gone.
32. Feyre examines the damaged manor. She realizes it was the scene of a vicious fight. Alis emerges wearing a torn dress and limping. Alis reminds Feyre that Tamlin told her to stay away. Feyre begs for the truth and Alis finally gives her answers. The blight is Amarantha, the vicious high queen of Prythian. Amarantha was once an emissary from Hybern, as well as a deadly general in the war against humans. Her younger sister, Clythia, fell in love with a human warrior named Jurian. Jurian betrayed and murdered Clythia, fueling Amarantha’s hatred of humans. Amarantha wanted to rule Prythian, so she snuck in forces and poisoned the High Lords to steal most of their magic. Amarantha wanted Tamlin for her lover and was enraged when he refused. In retribution, Amarantha cursed Tamlin. To break the curse, he had forty-nine years to get a human girl—a girl who hated faeries enough to kill one unprovoked–to declare her love for him. Amarantha made the curse harder to break by putting masks on Tamlin’s court and preventing them from saying a word about the curse. Andras crossed the wall as a wolf to help Tamlin, and the Treaty was a ruse to get Feyre to go to Prythian to break the curse. Had Feyre said she loved Tamlin, she could have freed him, his power, and the land. Tamlin sent her away three days before the curse was up. Feyre decides that she will go to Amarantha’s court Under the Mountain and save Tamlin or die trying.
33. Feyre sets off armed with a bow and arrows, as well as two daggers. Alis leads her through the forest to a shortcut to the court Under the Mountain. Feyre is determined to free Tamlin, though Alis tells her she’ll be lucky for a clean death. Alis leaves her with three rules: Don’t drink the wine. Don’t make deals unless it’s a matter of life and death. Don’t trust anyone. She also hints at one part of the curse the fae still can’t reveal and urges Feyre to listen to what she hears. Before entering the cave shortcut, Feyre tells Alis to flee over the wall with her nephews and find Nesta if they need shelter. Feyre uses her hunting instincts to make her way through the mazelike cavern and comes face-to-face with the Attor.
34. The Attor drags Feyre to the throne room, where a party is taking place. The Attor shoves Feyre to the ground. Amarantha sits on her black throne with Tamlin seated next to her. She is wearing a human finger bone and a crystal ring with an eye inside it. The Attor forces Feyre to reveal the reason for her visit: to save Tamlin, the one she loves. Tamlin shows no reaction. Amarantha asks why she shouldn’t kill Feyre. She brags about torturing Clare Beddor to death and points to her brutalized body nailed to the wall. Tamlin claims he’s never seen Feyre before, but Amarantha knows he’s lying. Amarantha offers Feyre a deal: If she completes three tasks, one each month at the full moon, Tamlin will be free. In the meantime, she’ll stay in a cell and do housework at the court. If Feyre fails, she’ll be killed. As an alternative to the three challenges, Amarantha will break the curse instantly if Feyre can solve a riddle. Though Feyre remembers Alis’s advice not to make any deals, she has no choice but to accept Amarantha’s terms. After she accepts, three faeries brutally beat Feyre until she passes out.
35. Feyre wakes in a prison cell in pain from the beating in the throne room. Lucien comes to the cell and asks Feyre if she’s lost her mind. He says she’s not supposed to be there, but Feyre insists she had to see Tamlin and tell him she loves him. Lucien sets her broken nose and uses magic to take away her pain and swelling. He tells Feyre that all the High Lords will be kept Under the Mountain until the three trials are over. He confirms that the bone and eye Amarantha wears belonged to Jurian, the human lover who betrayed her sister. Lucien vanishes before the guards appear. Two faeries drag Feyre to the throne room. Feyre resists telling Amarantha her name. When Amarantha asks Rhysand if this is the girl he saw at Tamlin’s manor, he says all humans look the same. The Attor drags Lucien forward so Amarantha can torture him into telling. Feyre blurts out her name to protect Lucien. Amarantha tells Feyre the riddle, repeating that she, Tamlin, and his court can leave immediately if she solves it. Feyre blames her human shortcomings for not being able to offer an answer. Locked in her cell for two days, Feyre focuses on the riddle. When the guards appear, she knows the full moon has risen and it’s time for her first trial.
36. The guards drag Feyre to an arena filled with a rowdy crowd. They throw her in front of a platform where Amarantha and Tamlin are seated, surrounded by the six other High Lords of Prythian. A winged creature drops Feyre into a deep, muddy maze. The maze holds a giant worm with a mouth full of rows of sharp teeth. Feyre runs from the creature in the slippery mud. Eventually, Feyre realizes the worm is blind. She also realizes that the maze is littered with bones, which she uses to make a ladder up the muddy walls. Feyre lines the bottom of a pit with sharp bones, covers herself with mud so the worm can’t smell her, then climbs out of the pit. Rhysand realizes Feyre’s plan and smiles at her from the audience. Feyre runs toward the worm, cutting her hand so the creature will smell her blood. As she runs, unaware of the worm’s location, Lucien warns her that it’s on her left, just before the creature bursts through the wall of mud. She lures it to the pit. The worm follows her and gets impaled on the bone spikes. Feyre has survived Amarantha’s first challenge. Amarantha tells Feyre the whole court bet against her, except for one individual. As Feyre returns to her cell, she realizes her arm is badly broken.
37. Alone in her cell, Feyre worries that her wound has become infected. Rhysand appears and Feyre rebuffs him. He tells her he bet on her to win the first challenge and she made him a lot of money. He offers to heal her arm if she’ll spend two weeks each month with him in the Night Court. He tells Feyre that Amarantha punished Lucien for helping her during the trial. Though she’s in terrible pain, Feyre tells Rhysand to go to hell. Just before Rhysand leaves, she has second thoughts. She says she’ll spend five days at the Night Court. They agree on one week. He grabs her arm, ridding her of the pain, fever, and mud. Feyre lifts her left arm to find it covered from fingertips to elbow with a black, swirly tattoo featuring an eye in the middle of her palm. Feyre accuses Rhysand of tricking her and he taunts her with the idea of telling Tamlin. Rhysand vanishes.
38. Feyre faces the task of scrubbing a white marble hallway with a bucket of dirty water. The guards threaten to roast her over the fire if she doesn’t get the floor clean by supper. The Lady of the Autumn Court visits her. She turns the bucket of water clean to thank Feyre for saving Lucien, her son, from Amarantha’s wrath. The next day, the guards give Feyre the task of cleaning lentils out of the ash in a fireplace. They tell her if she fails, the chamber’s occupant will peel off her skin. Rhysand appears and asks why she’s digging in his fireplace. He tells her that only scraps of his power remain. He also tells her that all High Lords can shapeshift and he shows her his batlike wings. Feyre asks Rhysand if he knows the answer to the riddle, but Amarantha has forbidden anyone from helping her. Impressed that she had the nerve to ask, he uses his magic to separate the lentils and cleans the ashes off of her. He orders the guards not to touch Feyre or give her any more chores. Rhysand smiles at her as she walks out.
39. Alone in her cell with no chores and no visitors, Feyre thinks about the riddle and looks at the eye on her palm. After four days, Rhysand sends two High Fae women to fetch Feyre, wash her, apply make-up and body paint, and dress her in sheer, white fabric. Suddenly, Rhysand appears to take Feyre to a Midsummer celebration. He explains that the flimsy dress and the body paint will allow him to know if anyone touches her. In the throne room, Rhysand tells Amarantha that he and Feyre made a deal for her to spend one week each month with him. Tamlin does not react, but Feyre sees his white-knuckle grip on the arms of his throne. Rhysand offers Feyre wine. Remembering Alis’s advice, she refuses, but soon gives in and drinks. The wine makes her vomit. She’s sick most of the next day in her cell. Lucien arrives at dinnertime. He tells her that Rhysand made her dance for him for most of the night. Lucien condemns her for making the deal with Rhysand instead of waiting for him to heal her arm. Feyre thanks Lucien for helping her during her first task and apologizes that he was punished for it. He tells her that’s why he didn’t visit her sooner. He also tells her that Tamlin doesn’t react so he doesn’t give Amarantha anything to use against Feyre. Each night, she’s painted and dressed to go to the throne room at Rhysand’s side. Each day, she sleeps off the effects of the wine and thinks about the answer to the riddle. Rhysand tells her he enjoys using her to taunt Tamlin. Feyre asks Rhysand why he saved her life, but he does not answer. In the throne room, Amarantha orders Rhysand to enter the mind of a High Fae who tried to escape. She tells Rhysand to shatter him, and he kills the fae simply by making a fist.
40. On the night of her second task, Feyre stands before Amarantha and Tamlin in a cavern smaller than the throne room. The floor under Feyre lowers her into a pit surrounded by three walls and an iron grate with Lucien chained on the floor on the other side. With the crowd watching, Amarantha tells Feyre she has to solve the puzzle and choose the correct lever from a set of three. Two spiked grates, one over Feyre and one over Lucien, come down slowly from the ceiling. One wall features writing above the three levers, but Feyre can only make out a few words. Lucien begs her to make a choice and she panics as the spikes get closer. When she reaches for the second lever and the first, severe pain shoots through her arm. When she reaches for the third lever, she does not experience any pain. She pulls the third lever and the spikes stop advancing. Feyre falls to her knees and cries, then hears a voice in her head telling her to stop crying and face Amarantha. Feyre does, walking out with her head high, before collapsing and sobbing in her cell. Rhysand appears and licks the tears from her face. He tells her she won’t be his escort that night, but that she should look her best the following night. He taunts her about not being able to read, but says he won’t tell anyone. Feyre curses the eye on her palm but recognizes that Rhysand saved her life.
41. Feyre gives up on the riddle and feels certain the third task will kill her. Walking with Rhysand’s servants to get dressed for the night’s festivities, they hear the Attor approach. They hide and overhear a conversation between the Attor and a representative from the High King in Hybern. He’s not happy with the deal Amarantha made with Feyre, particularly after her obsession with Jurian cost the king the war. Feyre remembers Alis’s advice not to trust her senses. Alone in her cell, Feyre hears strange, beautiful music which compels her to see beautiful flowers, trees, colors, clouds, and a palace in the sky. She weeps and remembers she’s fighting for Tamlin. Feyre stares at the eye on her palm and thinks about her final trial, just two days away.
42. Tamlin approaches Feyre at the party, standing next to her, staring straight ahead. His fingers brush hers and he walks away, gesturing for her to follow. Tamlin leads her to a dark room where they kiss and begin tearing at each other’s clothes. Rhysand appears, shaming them for their behavior and questioning how Amarantha would react. Rhysand makes the smudges of Feyre’s body paint disappear from Tamlin’s clothes. Tamlin leaves, whispering to Feyre that he loves her. Feyre questions Rhysand’s interest in the situation. Rhysand, so angry his wings come out, forces a kiss on Feyre just as Amarantha and Tamlin walk in. Rhysand, covered in Feyre’s paint, drags her back to the throne room before sending her to her cell. Hours later, Rhysand appears in the cell, telling Feyre he wants some peace and quiet. He tells Feyre she’s the only one he can talk to without risk. He reminds her that if she fails the challenge the next day, she’ll die and doom them all. Amarantha will rule forever. If Feyre succeeds, Tamlin will destroy Amarantha. Rhysand has been using Feyre to fuel Tamlin’s anger so he’s ready to attack. Rhysand tells her he only touches her arms and waist so he can claim innocence to Tamlin and protect himself. He also tells Feyre that Amarantha targeted him because his father killed Tamlin’s father and brothers, and she wanted to punish him for his father’s misdeeds. Feyre realizes how much Rhysand has helped her.
43. For her third and final challenge, Feyre is dressed in her old pants and tunic. Unlike the earlier trials, the crowd remains mostly silent. Feyre tells Tamlin she loves him, but he does not react. Since Feyre hasn’t solved the riddle, it’s time for the task to begin. The guards bring in three faeries with sacks over their heads. They’re forced to kneel in front of Feyre. Servants carry in three pillows with ash daggers resting on them. Feyre’s final challenge is to stab each of the innocent faeries in the heart. At first, Feyre thinks she can’t do it, but then she changes her mind, knowing she will save Tamlin, Prythian, and the human world across the wall. Feyre apologizes as the first faerie begs and the second prays, but stabs them both. She thinks about jabbing the knife into her own heart after she stabs the third faerie. The guards remove the third faerie’s hood, revealing Tamlin. The Tamlin at Amarantha’s side is the Attor in disguise. Feyre faces a terrible choice: Kill Tamlin and save herself and his court, or kill herself, allowing Amarantha to keep control of them all. She flashes back to Alis’s advice to listen, trying to recall something to help her discover the part of the curse they could not reveal. She remembers the encounter with the Attor in the garden and the open door when Tamlin and Lucien discussed the curse. Tamlin wanted her to overhear. She knows Amarantha desires Tamlin and wouldn’t want him dead. Feyre cycles through conversations, then remembers Lucien in the dining room telling Tamlin he had a heart of stone, a description the Attor also used in the garden. Feyre knows that if Tamlin’s heart is truly stone, even an ash wood blade won’t go through it. Feyre remembers that when she held Tamlin, she didn’t feel his heartbeat. Feyre lifts the dagger, approaches Tamlin, and stabs him in the chest.
44. Tamlin cries out and his blood gushes, but the dagger hits something hard, bending the tip of the blade. Rhysand smiles. Amarantha’s face goes white. Though Amarantha said she’d free Tamlin and his court immediately if Feyre solved the riddle, that does not apply to the tasks. She says she’ll free them whenever she chooses. Amarantha attacks Feyre using her magic, slamming her into the floor and breaking her bones. She says she’ll stop if Feyre will deny her love for Tamlin. Rhysand lunges for Amarantha with an ash wood dagger, but she repels and batters him with her magic. Feyre begs Amarantha to stop, but refuses to say she does not love Tamlin. Tamlin begs Amarantha to stop the assault. Writhing in pain, Feyre thinks about the riddle. She thinks about Tamlin, her time Under the Mountain, and her sisters. Feyre announces that the answer to the riddle is love. She sees Tamlin’s eyes widen as her spine cracks.
45. Feyre sees through someone else’s eyes. Her broken body is stretched on the ground. Lucien removes his mask with tears in his eyes. Tamlin snarls at Amarantha, blasting her with a golden light and pouncing on her in his beast form. He grabs her by the throat and shoves her against the wall. The Attor and guards try to help their queen, but faeries and High Fae from the crowd stop them. Lucien tosses a sword to Tamlin. Tamlin runs the sword through Amarantha’s head and tears out her throat. Feyre realizes she’s watching through Rhysand’s eyes. Tamlin sheds his beast form and sobs as he holds Feyre in his arms. Lucien’s father, the High Lord of the Autumn Court, approaches. He drops a glittering spark onto Feyre’s chest. Next, the High Lords of the Summer Court and the Winter Court do the same, followed by the High Lords of the Dawn Court and Day Court. Rhysand approaches, noting that the High Lords have given a gift they’ve shared with few others before. He drops his light on Feyre. A shining light appears in Tamlin’s hand. He tells Feyre he loves her and puts his hand on her chest.
46. Feyre feels like she’s swimming for the surface. She gasps for air. Feyre realizes she’s not dead. Her skin glows. She has become High Fae. Tamlin says this was the only way to save her. Amarantha is dead and those she held under her curse are free. Tamlin’s golden mask rests on the floor. Feyre puts her hand on Tamlin’s chest and feels his heartbeat. Feyre sits on a bed as Tamlin heals her remaining injuries. Feyre recalls the chaos in the throne room. The Attor, Lucien’s brothers, the nasty faeries, and Rhysand disappeared. Some fae celebrated, others stood in shock. The High Fae and faeries of the Spring Court thanked Tamlin and Feyre. Tamlin and his allies met to plan their next steps. Tamlin runs his finger over Feyre’s tattoo, vowing to find a way out of the deal she made with Rhysand. Tamlin kisses her and they make love. A force pulls Feyre from sleep. She walks down the hall to a balcony to find Rhysand. He tells her he’s come to say goodbye. Feyre asks the simple question: Why? Rhysand says that he wants to be remembered for fighting against Amarantha. He also tells her he didn’t want her to fight or die alone. Rhysand asks Feyre how it feels to be High Fae and she responds that her body is different but her heart is still human. As Rhysand leaves, something about Feyre’s face shocks him, but before she can ask him, he disappears. Several High Fae destroyed Amarantha’s court Under the Mountain. As Tamlin and Feyre leave, he blocks the entrance. They travel toward the manor, watching from a short distance. Alis chases after her boys, now safe. Lucien calls them to dinner. Though Feyre needs to cope with what she’s done for their freedom, she and Tamlin have returned home.