Previously, everyone had training montages while waiting for something new to happen in the story, and then Hybern sent his super duper soldiers – the Ravens – after Nesta. That’s right, Feyre and Rhysand might no longer be the most the most powerful people in town anymore! What a journey we are on.
Is it really a spoiler to say that the new villains that were introduced a single chapter ago are already dead? Villains don’t have a long shelf life in this book. What are stakes?
A Court of Wings and Ruin: Chapter 31
Trapped by some brand new tertiary antagonists in the library, Feyre weighs her options while the others try to figure out this story’s most esoteric and inscrutable magic: how witty banter works.
Nesta was saying to them, “If he wants what I took, he can come get it himself.”
“He’s too busy to bother,” the white-haired male purred, advancing another step.
“Apparently you’re not.”
Although “he’s too busy to bother” actually is a very accurate summary of Hybern as a villain. Remember that time he showed up once? Good times.
Feyre warns the Ravens that they “made a grave mistake coming here. To my house. And I hope it rips you into bloody ribbons.” and then she grabs Nesta and starts running down. Yeah, remember the first time we went to this library and Feyre was like “hi why does your library descend down into a giant, bottomless pit?” and Rhysand casually told that super random story about how one time Cassian flew down to see what was down there and flew back immediately because it scared him shitless? Do you remember what foreshadowing is?
Feyre and Nesta run deeper into the library. The Ravens chase them while… also filling them in on what happened to the human queens?
“Don’t stop,” I panted to Nesta, flinging us farther into the dark. […]
One of the Ravens crooned, “Do you know what happened to them—the queens?”
“Keep going,” I breathed, gripping a hand against the wall to remain rooted.
Because, sure, why not do this now.
The Ravens tell them that the youngest human queen insisted on going into the Cauldron first after it turned Feyre’s sisters immortal, but the Cauldron was so mad that Nesta took so much from it that it took the human queen’s youth, turning into an immortal but elderly fae. While chasing them. It’s very important you remember that this is how they’re choosing to do this, because this is a wild mental image.
Suddenly, Feyre realizes that she’s in genre fiction and, hey, what if the character who speaks entirely in crazy gibberish isn’t just saying crazy gibberish???
“the Cauldron took what she valued most. Her youth.” They sniggered again. “A young woman went in … but a withered crone came out.”
And from the catacombs of my memory, Elain’s voice sounded: I saw young hands wither with age. […]
Twin ravens are coming.
Elain had known. Sensed it. Had tried to warn us.
They keep running, Feyre knocks over some bookshelves to slow the Ravens, gets separated from Nesta, is about to get cornered by the Ravens, but then…
“Please,” I breathed into the dark, barely more than a whisper. “Please, help me.”
In the distance, a boom shuddered through the ancient floor. […]
A soft voice whispered in my ear, You are the High Lady?
The voice was both young and old, hideous and beautiful. “Y-yes,” I whispered.
I could sense no body heat, detect no physical presence, but … I felt it behind me. […]
What shall you give me?
Such a dangerous question. Never make a bargain, Alis had once warned me before Under the Mountain. Even if the bargains I’d made … they’d saved us. And brought me to Rhys.
“What do you want?”
One of the Ravens snapped, “Who is she talking to?”
The stone and wind hear all, speak all. They whispered to me of your desire to wield the Carver. To trade.
My breath came hard and fast. “What of it?”
I knew him once—long ago. Before so many things crawled the earth. […]
Company. Send me company.
I opened my mouth, but then said, “To—eat?”
A laugh that made my skin crawl. To tell me of life.
I thought that Feyre was getting off pretty light with this bargain until I remembered how frequently I bail on brunch plans if there’s one person I don’t feel like listening to for two hours, so actually these are maybe the highest the stakes in this book have ever been?
The Ravens were close—far too close when one of them hissed, “What is she mumbling?”
“Does she know a spell, as the master did?”
Hybern could really use some henchmen who aren’t constantly providing clunky exposition to his sworn enemies.
The Ravens find Feyre, notice there’s an unknowable evil standing behind her, and realize they done fucked up.
Absolute, unfiltered terror filled their faces. At what stood behind me.
Close your eyes, the thing purred in my ear.
I obeyed, trembling.
Then all I heard was screaming.
And that’s how our new villains we met last chapter died.
A Court of Wings and Ruin: Chapter 32
Cassian arrives during the slaughter to help Feyre and Nesta escape. Rhysand interrogates the Ravens, who were left on the brink of death by the mysterious monster in the basement… ugh, ok, I like how this one monster is actually scary because it’s just nameless and doesn’t have a doofy check-out-my-metal-band-on-soundcloud name like “The Bone Carver”, but that makes it hard to write a recap, so until further notice, we’re calling to call it… Donny.
They all regroup. Feyre now has a slim band of black iron tattooed on her forearm, because magical bargains are “permanently marked upon flesh”. Rhysand – at a new level of Christian Grey vibes – asks Feyre what she offered to Donny.
Until Rhys appeared between the open doors, shadows trailing in his wake.
Blood coated his hands—but nothing else.
So much blood, ruby-bright in the midmorning sun. […] His eyes were wholly frozen with rage. […]
“What did you give it.” I hadn’t heard that voice since that visit to the Court of Nightmares.
“It—it said it wanted company. Someone to tell it about life. I said yes.”
“Did you volunteer yourself.”
“No.” I drained the rest of the brandy at the tone, his frozen face. “It just said someone.”
Rhysand calms down and admits that this deal to set Donny the evil monster in his basement up on a brunch date doesn’t seem all that bad, all things considered. Rhysand then tells Nesta that Hybern is now hunting her first and foremost because she took something from the Cauldron, now it isn’t working right, and also the human queens want her dead because Taylor Swift is petty af. He notes that Hybern must be more desperate than they thought if he made such a risky move to try to take out Nesta. Feyre asks how Hybern even got into the city past its magic wards, and Rhysand explains it must be because Hybern used his one herberblurp to glubaglub into the city.
I said to Rhys, “Hybern infiltrated our city. Again.”
“The prick held on to that fleeting spell until he really needed it.”
“Fleeting spell?”
“A spell of mighty power, able to be wielded only once—to great effect. One capable of cleaving wards … He must have been biding his time.”
You know, the herberblurp that the Ravens alluded to all casual-like! But on the plus side, at least Hybern very conveniently can’t do this thing we only just learned about ever again. Save onto your herberblurps for a rainy day, friends. You never know when you’re gonna need a herberblurp.
Rhysand decides they’re all just gonna pretend like this never happened, because he doesn’t want them to seem weak when all the other kids at high school High Lords come to the meeting. Thankfully, one of the superfriends knows the future now, so that’s convenient.
Mor sagged against the couch cushions. “A war where we have no allies beyond Keir, either in Prythian or beyond it.”
Rhys gave her a sharp look. But Elain said quietly, “The queen might come. […] The queen – with the feathers of flame.”
Everyone’s like, “Oh, that queen– wait, Elain can see the future now? What the fuck?” Next chapter, everyone probably explains how Elain’s future-seeing powers are going to be limited enough to not spoil the entire story.
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