Previously, a healer suggested that maybe Elain’s maaaaaaate could HEAL HER TRAUMA. I think everyone else is still angsty about the war, and they’re trying to find a good place to meet with the other High Lords. Just rent out a private room in whatever the Fae equivalent of a TGI Fridays is.
A Court of Wings and Ruin Chapter 29:
Lucien and Elain awkwardly sit by a fire while everyone pretends to be doing things in nearby rooms while keeping a close eye on them.
Amren and Nesta are busy…building walls in their minds.
Walls that Amren was teaching her to sense— to find the holes she’d laid throughout. And repair them.
Go team?
Feyre spots Rhys and Cassian approaching the house, and she shoos them away. I think the scene is meant to be played for comedy, but I’m not sure why they couldn’t have entered the house and just gone upstairs or just sat in the adjacent rooms with everyone else.
Feyre telepathically gives Rhys the scoop:
Rhys said wryly, Does Elain know this?
She was invited down for tea. So we’re having it.
Rhys muttered again to Cassian, who choked on a laugh and turned right around, heading into the street. Rhys lingered, sliding his hands into his pockets. He’s getting a drink. I’m inclined to join him. When can I return without fearing for my life?
Why is this funny? Why does he fear for his life?
Elain suddenly leaps to her feet, startled. Turns out that Lucien tried to tug on the bond, whatever that means. Nesta of course storms over and is overbearing and obnoxious as usual. Elain says it felt weird, but seems momentarily lucid, until she goes back to saying things like this:
“Twin ravens are coming, one white and one black.”
Which I’m sure is a major clue to the story. We’re going to find out she can see the future, right?
Lucien tells Feyre he didn’t have time to find anything, and they agree to try again in the future. Then he offers to help them find a meeting place for the High Lords. This sounds like we need a friggen montage for both situations so we can move the fuck on.
Speaking of montages, we also need one for Feyre’s flying training. The next scene is Azriel saying that even though she’s not going to master flying any time soon, every bit of training counts. He then tells an entire story about a bunch of side characters we haven’t even met yet to inspire Feyre. Basically, someone who was thought to be weak turned out to be strong when it came to saving her friend’s life in battle.
The one noteworthy thing about this story, is that I believe we have our first queer fae couple. Correct me if there was another one featured before. The woman, Nephelle, who saved Miryam (minor side character who we still have not met but seem to know her whole life story. She’s the Carman Sandiego of this world) has a wife. Neither character makes a big deal of it (cool!) but watch this space.
Later that night, Feyre gets a sexy massage from Rhys, and what I like here is that he pleasures her without asking for anything in return and doesn’t make a big deal of it. The best part is neither does Feyre–we don’t have to spend 20 paragraphs with her going on and on about how great this is.
A Court of Wings and Ruin Chapter 30:
Feyre cancels training because she’s sore, and Cassian and Azriel show up to berate(?) her while she’s having breakfast with her sisters.
Nesta’s nostrils flared, but Elain peered up at Cassian, blinking twice. “He snapped your wings, broke your bones.”
Just another typical breakfast with the crew!
Azriel takes Elain to the garden. Cassian and Nesta have more of their awkward flirtation or whatever is going on before Cassian flies Nesta up to the House of Wind so she and Feyre can go to the library together.
As they look for books, Nesta notices that Feyre struggles more to read. Apparently, she never knew Feyre couldn’t read.
“Why didn’t you ask us to teach you?” I trailed a finger over the neat row of spines.
“Because I doubted you would agree to help.”
Nesta looks hurt by this, but how could she possibly blame Feyre? Unless Feyre is the most unreliable narrator we’ve ever met and Nesta actually is a bundle of kind joy.
Feyre asks why Nesta pushes everyone away except Elain. Nesta is about to explain when suddenly the lights start going out. They start to run away.
Darkness slithered down from above. But the inky gloom leading deeper … fresh and open.
I went right. “Faster,” I said to her. If we could lead whoever it was deep, perhaps we could cut back, right to the pit.
Feyre suddenly remembers she has the power to winnow, but before she can, two male fae step out of the shadows. It’s men from Hybern’s army, and they blow some magic dust on Feyre that strips her of her powers.
It turns out these two are the kings Ravens. GASP! That’s what Elain predicted! It appears these Ravens are after Nesta.
The king wants/needs whatever Nesta took from the Cauldron.
The various ways people get stripped of their powers in order to advance that plot is becoming tiresome. Kind of like when Heroes realized that Peter had a game-breaking power and had to come up with various reasons that he couldn’t/wouldn’t use them to end his current storyline before the plot even got started.
I think Feyre being an unreliable narrator is possible so #TeamNesta