A Court of Wings and Ruin Chapters 72-73: Every Minor Character Is Here, They’re Still Losing Anyway

Previously…

…as though it were trying to break some kind of record for the most most unearned payoffs, the climactic battle scene is suddenly full of random people showing up out of fucking nowhere. Drakon and Miryam – characters who’ve been mentioned approximately 400,000 times but have never actually been part of the story yet – have arrived to help fight Hybern. And then Feyre’s dad, who the last we heard of had left the plot to go to a business meeting two books ago, is now here with an army, three warships named after his daughters, and apparently now goes by the name “the Prince of Merchants”, which is a detail I don’t blame Ariel for excluding in her last post because all of this already sounds like we’re making everything up.

A Court of Wings and Ruin: Chapter 72

The wind whipped away the tears rolling down Nesta’s face at the sight of our father’s ships.
At the sight of the ship he’d chosen to sail into battle, for the daughter who had hated him for not fighting for us, who had hated him for our mother dying, for the poverty and the despair and years lost.

You guys, it’s all been worth it. The 700 years we’ve spent reading this book have all been worth it for how ham-handedly treacly this ending is.

Our father was down there—our father, who I had never seen wield a weapon in his life—

I KNOW! It’s almost like it’s stretching the bounds of credibility of this book about magic immortal faeires. God, if only we had one more character we don’t fucking know at all who’s also here to help… oh my god, NO, REALLY?

“Speaking of Vassa,” Rhys said to Drakon, “was her curse—ended?” […]
“See for yourself,” Drakon said. […]
A firebird. Burning as hot and furious as the heart of a forge.
Vassa—the lost queen.

OH MY GOD THIS IS MINOR CHARACTER CHRISTMAS

Rhys kissed away the tears sliding down my own face as that firebird queen slammed into Hybern’s fleet. Burning husks of ships were left in her wake.

HAPPY MINOR CHARACTER CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! God, I hope every minor character reappears with an army in these chapters. Feyre’s old handmaid from the Spring court has an army of housekeepers, AND THEY’RE READY 2 FIGHT! Clotho shows up with a secret army of librarians, armed with knowledge. Clare Beddor comes back as a ghost and leads an army of ghosts! That dude from Feyre’s backstory that she used to fuck before he got married shows up with an army, declaring his undying love for Feyre. The previously unmentioned neglected ex-wife of the giant worm that Feyre killed in the first book shows up with an army of giant lady worms, ready to fight Hybern and also the giant worm patriarchy. Travis Maddox comes in dual wielding glocks. Any of this could happen and I’d just be like sure, I’ll believe in anything.

Not even the brand new characters who just showed up for the first time ever think that this makes any sense.

“Jurian is here. […] He fights for us.”
Drakon didn’t look convinced, but he nodded.

lol same

Feyre realizes, well, this is actually pretty much the best distraction they ever could have asked for, and says that they have to go off and nullify the Cauldron now. Nesta concocts a plan on the spot for her and Cassian to go create a distraction, since they have to draw the King of Hybern away from the Cauldron anyway, which is a pretty key detail that I’m kind of amazed never came up until the last minute. Not that things suddenly mattering at the last minute isn’t kind of the theme here. Everyone argues with Nesta and Cassian that if they do this, they absolutely will get killed, but turns that lol this is fucking war is a pretty good counterpoint.

“He might survive,” I said softly.
“No,” Rhys said, flying us down to Amren and Elain. “He won’t.”

How much do you want to bet he’ll be fine?

A Court of Wings and Ruin: Chapter 73

Feyre and Amren take off towards a craggy overlook, following the path of death guards that Stryga the Weaver fought through for them. Feyre points out that “even with Drakon and the human army … I did not think it was going well.” Gosh, I’m sure glad that we spent all that time going over how every character who has at least 25 words on their page on the ACOTAR wiki showed up to fight, then.

Anyway, hope you’re not too terribly attached to any of these minor characters, because it’s time for ACOTAR to once again stretch the definition of what “immortal” is supposed to mean.

The King of Hybern walked right past us. Focused on Stryga, on Nesta’s distant rumble of power.
The Weaver paused as she beheld who approached. Smiled, blood dripping off her chin. […]
She brushed her dark hair over a slim shoulder. “You may bow, king. As it was once done.”
The King of Hybern walked right up to her. Smiled down at Stryga’s exquisite face.
Then he took that face in his broad hands, faster than she could move, and snapped her neck.

But… isn’t she… immortal…

It might not have killed her. The Weaver was a death-god—her very existence defied our own. So it might not have killed her, that cracking of her spine. Had the king not tossed her body down to the two naga-hounds snarling at the foot of the hill.
They ripped into the Weaver’s limp body without hesitation.

Immediately after killing an immortal god of death with no explanation his bare hands, somewhere far to the north Nesta triggers her diversion. Feyre and Amren sense it, and notice Hybern sense it, and he teleports away. Feyre, balking at how, whelp, her sister and friend are definitely about to get the shit murdered out of them, has to be urged on by Amren.

“You make it count,” Amren snapped, and that was true grief shining in her eyes. She knew what was about to happen. […] I swallowed my despair, my terror, and charged up the hill—to the crag.
To where the Cauldron sat. Unguarded. Waiting for us.

…and then Amren immediately betrays Feyre, I guess?

“Put your hand on the Cauldron,” she said quietly. I obeyed. […]
Amren watched me for a long moment. And did not read from the Book. Did not put it in my hands. She shut the gold pages and shoved it behind her with a kick.
Amren had lied. She did not plan to leash the king or his army with the Cauldron and the Book.
And whatever trap she had set … I had fallen right into it.

Nine chapters to go! Why would Amren betray her friends? Did Amren really betray her friends? Do any of us care or think this will ever make sense?

Remember how the useless dad showed up with an army? That was hilarious.

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