Previously, Hybern suddenly destroyed the wall between the mortal and immortal lands, sending the High Lords into a panic that the war is really about to begin now. So, naturally, heads of state Feyre and Rhysand are not in their kingdom, and are going on a secret mission with Elain at her ex’s father’s castle to try to get him to offer shelter to… every human in the country? I don’t even try to make sense of this book anymore, I’m just reporting what’s up.
Wait, There’s A Quick Thing I Want To Revisit From Chapter 51 First
Ok, Ariel didn’t cover this because it’s definitely not actually important, but I thought it was pretty funny…
“What is that,” Devlon asked.
Nesta merely stared at him, one hand clamping the edges of her gray cloak together at her chest. One of the other camp-lords made some sign against evil.
“That,” Cassian said too quietly, “is none of your concern.”
“Is she a witch.”
I opened my mouth, but Nesta said flatly, “Yes.”
…until ACOWAR immediately went “STOP LAUGHING, IT’S TIME FOR SOME ACO-LORE”
“What is the difference,” [Nesta] asked none of us in particular, “between a faerie and a witch?”
“Witches amass power beyond their natural reserve,” Mor answered with sudden seriousness. “They use spells and archaic tools to harness more power to them than the Cauldron allotted—and use it for whatever they desire, good or ill.”
What does this actually mean though? How is every single OP main character not a witch? And fuck this fucking book for creating a world where witches are real and then creating rules that mean Stevie Nicks isn’t a witch but Jeff Bezos is.
Ok, We Can Talk About Chapter 52 Now
The guards let the disguised superfriends into the heavily fortified castle. Their disguises seem to have the humans distracted for now, but their guard dogs are already snarling at them. It sounds tense, but it doesn’t matter because – spoilers – they’re gonna reveal they’re faeries like forty seconds into their conversation. Nesta quips that she’s “been to funerals that were merrier” than her almost brother-in-law’s father’s castle, because Nesta continues to be the only perspective that I find useful anymore.
Elain’s sorta ex barges into the room, and he and Elain gasp at each other and are still horny af. Feyre doesn’t really see it.
Handsome, brown-haired, blue-eyed, but … human. Solidly built beneath his light armor, tall—perhaps a mortal ideal of a knight who would swoop a beautiful maiden onto his horse and ride off into the sunset.
“He’s handsome, if you’re into mortal social constructs about beauty, I guess.” Feyre, YOU were mortal until, like, last Tuesday. You sound like a kid taking her first sociology class in college.
Elain’s horny beau Graysen literally runs for her until a way more hilarious mental image somehow happens when his father strides into the room and grabs him by the back of his collar. Lord Nolan has a few questions about this situation. Nesta (not Elain, because Nesta is the true hero of this story) cuts to the chase and says the wall has come down, the army invading these lands kidnapped her and turned her against her will to test a reality-shifting weapon called the Cauldron.
“There is a Cauldron—a weapon. It grants its owner power to … do such things. I was a test.” Nesta then launched into a sharp, short explanation of the queens, of Hybern, of why the wall had fallen.
I love when books are like “and then she explained the last 500 pages of this book and it was very concise, just take my word for it, I clearly don’t know how to do that”.
They take a gamble on explaining that her companions are not just Fae but the Night Court’s High Lords and fiercest warriors.
I stepped forward. “My name is Feyre Archeron. I am High Lady of the Night Court. This is Rhysand, my—husband.” I doubted mate would go over well as a term.
“Elain,” Graysen breathed. “Elain—why are you with them?”
“Because she is our sister,” Nesta answered, her fingers still curled with those invisible talons. “And there is no safer place for her during this war than with us.”
Elain whispered, “Graysen—we’ve come to beg you …” A pleading glance at his father. “Both of you … Open your gates to any humans who can get here. To families. With the wall down … We—they believe … There is not enough time for an evacuation. The queens will not send aid from the continent. But here—they might stand a chance.” […]
Graysen now looked at Elain’s engagement ring. His blue eyes rippled with pain. “I would be inclined to believe you,” he said quietly, “if you were not lying to me with your every breath.”
Wait, wait, wait, you mean Elain’s plan to show up at her ex’s dad’s castle after ghosting him for a few months – a period of time that includes their wedding – and then showing up in the company of their sworn enemies with no explanation and talking about war didn’t work as intended?
Nolan sneered. “No, I have it on good authority that it was Elain Archeron who was turned Fae first. And who now has a High Lord’s son as a mate.”
“And who, exactly, told you this?” Rhys said with a lift of the brow, not showing one ounce of ire, of surprise.
Steps sounded.
But we all went for our weapons as Jurian strolled into the guardhouse and said, “I did.”
Chapter 53
OH MY GOD IT’S… THAT GUY.
Jurian inclined his head to my sisters. “Ladies.”
…who is Jurian again? Like, seriously, why is he important? Every time he’s shown up, he’s felt like a character from another story.
Here’s an honest-to-god recap of everything I can remember about Jurian: Jurian was a mortal human who fought in the last war, was driven mad because some characters we’ve never met were murdered, was dismembered and imprisoned inside of his own eyeball for a few centuries (which to be fair kind of makes him a more interesting character than either Azriel or Cassian by default), and then was resurrected by the side he fought against (for some reason) to help them (somehow) in their war against humans and all faeries who support them (again, for some reason). And that’s it! Someone please explain what I’m missing because apparently he’s important.
“Why are you here,” I demanded.
Feyre has never spoken this directly to my needs as a reader before this moment.
Reader… somehow Jurian’s whole deal gets weirder. Because it turns out this whole time… he’s been a double agent?
Jurian’s eyes gleamed bright—not with madness, I realized.
But clarity. […]
“He resurrected me to turn [the mortal queens] to his cause, believing I had gone mad during the five hundred years Amarantha trapped me. So I was reborn, and found myself surrounded by my old enemies—faces I had once marked to kill. I found myself on the wrong side of a wall, with the human realm poised to shatter beneath it.”
Jurian looked right to Mor, whose mouth was a tight line. “You were my friend,” he said, voice straining. “We fought back-to-back during some battles. And yet you believed me at first sight—believed that I’d ever let them turn me.” […]
“You mean to imply,” Mor pushed, “that you’ve been working to help us during this?”
Oh my god, this is beautiful, everything in this story has completely gone off the rails. None of this makes sense! Jurian – a character of unclear importance whose only relevance in the story is his participation in events that happened before the story started – has been allied with a side that never made sense for him to ally with (or for them to want to ally with him), and now he claims it’s been a ruse this whole time. I mean… sure? Who ARE you?
“You played the villain convincingly enough, Jurian,” Rhys purred.
Is every villain in this story a secret good guy? Holy shit, has anyone gone to talk to Hybern to see if he’s secretly a good guy? We could wrap this whole thing up right now.
“Why this obsession to find Miryam and Drakon?” Mor asked.
“It’s what the world expects of me. What Hybern expects. And if he grants my asking price to find them … Drakon has a legion capable of turning the tide in battle.” […]
I said to Jurian, “You don’t want to kill Miryam and Drakon.”
There was stark honesty in Jurian’s eyes as he shook his head once. “No,” he said roughly. “I want to beg their forgiveness.”
WHO ARE MIRYAM AND DRAKON? Feyre doesn’t even know these people! Why is this major plot twist entirely hinged on a character who hasn’t done anything’s relationship with other characters we’ve only heard about?
I also feel the need to point out that the book takes the time around this point to let us know that Graysen and his dad are still here, just silently staring at each other because they have no idea what the hell is going on, which is maybe my favorite part of this book.
“Why now,” Rhys said. “Why here.”
Jurian held his stare. “Because the wall came down, and now I can move freely—”
Why? Did Hybern forget Jurian was a character in this book too?
“to warn the humans here. Because …” He loosed a long breath. “Because Tamlin ran right back to Hybern after your meeting ended this morning. Right to their camp in the Spring Court, where Hybern now plans to launch a land assault on Summer tomorrow.”
See, this actually sounds important, because I actually know who these people are. Furthermore, hahahaha, well, shit.
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