A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR) Review and Recap

Time for A Court of Wings and Ruin, baby! I think ACOWAR is extremely well titled since the abbreviation contains ‘war,’ and that is essentially what this book is. An epic fantasy war with magic, armies, and a dash of well-placed romance. Sarah J Maas absolutely dives into the court politics and hits the ground running hard after the cliffhanger in ACOMAF. Rereading this book brought me so much joy, so many theories, and made me cry at work while listening to the audiobook (true story). I have absolutely been going over everything with a fine-tooth comb so I can give you all the relevant info. Let me know if you want to hear my Maasverse theories or connections as I continue to go through. So without further ado, let’s jump into another Maasverse Monday!

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Non-Spoiler REview

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book made me scream, cry, and jump in all the best ways. As someone who read the Throne of Glass series first, who knew ACOTAR was a five-book series (at the time), I was expecting this book to be similar to Heir of Fire. It is not. It’s important to note/recognize that this is the end of the original trilogy in Feyre’s first-person POV. This book is a culmination of epic plots. After watching Feyre grow and discover who she is, this is the book where she steps into that role, and it’s epic because of all the groundwork that has been laid. 

ACOWAR is packed with action and magic galore and gives you a fuller view of the characters and world of Prythian. It’s a strong conclusion to Feyre’s character arc and if you like anyone in the Inner Circle, READ IT. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be gasping and bouncing around with glee. Brava once more, SJM, for making me want to fight in a war that’s A) not real, B) has nothing to do with me, and C) that I am nowhere near trained for. But the best thing about this book and series is the found family and how natural it feels for you, the reader, to be a part of it.

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Spoiler Zone

We are now heading into SPOILER TERRITORY, where we’ll go through the events of the entire book. There will be no spoilers beyond this book, but if you haven’t finished reading it, I highly recommend you finish it before continuing. If you need a refresher on the previous events of the series, check out my ACOTAR Review and Recap and/or ACOMAF Review and Recap posts. You have been warned…

Part one: Princess Of Carrion

Feyre Archeron is back in the Spring Court, painting away, putting up a facade, leading Tamlin and Lucien to believe she was under Rhys’s spell. She is a completely different person from the scared girl that used to live in this manor. Now, Feyre is stronger. More confident. Powerful. And now High Lady of the Night Court, serving as a cunning and calculated spy to receive intel on Hybern through their alliance with the Spring Court.

Feyre’s disdain for Tamlin and his actions is clear as day in her head, but for now plays the role he expects of her. The nervous damsel in distress. To keep the people she truly loves safe. Feyre, Tamlin, and Lucien have a meeting with the priestess Ianthe to hear her side of things. Feyre is extremely pissed because Ianthe was the one who sold out Nesta and Elain to Hybern. Lucien, too, is wary of Ianthe since finding out that Elain is his mate.

It’s clear Tamlin still trusts Ianthe, and that she’ll stick around. So, Feyre keeps her mouth shut and starts to prepare for the representatives of Hybern arriving the next day. She’s been half-communicating her intel with Rhys through the mating bond, but has limited contact, not wanting to give herself away. The next day, Jurian arrives with the niece and nephew of the king of Hybern, Prince Dagdan and Princess Brannagh. They are twin daemati who instantly try to attack the minds of everyone in the Spring Court, but Feyre protects the people as best she can with her own powers.

Jurian and the twins want to visit the holes in the wall that separate the human and fae lands. Without too much say in the matter, Feyre and Lucien get to escort them. Hybern wants to visit the holes in the wall to determine the perfect place for the Cauldron to break and tear it down. Apparently, the Cauldron is not at full strength and is ‘recovering’ after turning Elain and Nesta fae.  

The next time out visiting the wall, the squad runs into Children of the Blessed. These are the mortals that are obsessed with the idea of fae and are a bit eccentric. Feyre convinces the Children of the Blessed to run away, but Dagdan and Brannagh kill them for sport anyway. In her anger over the innocent slaughter of human life, Feyre convinces Lucien to help send the monstrous Bogge after Dagdan and Brannagh to send a message that they are not Hybern’s lap dogs. When Tamlin finds out about the whole situation, he’s not happy.

Tamlin is arguing with Feyre in his office, where all the guards outside the door can hear. He says she can’t treat them that way since Hybern are their allies. Feyre is not happy that they are working, and Hybern says she couldn’t just stand by as the humans were killed. This causes Tamlin to get really worked up and literally explode. Feyre doesn’t shield herself this time and gets knocked off her feet, bleeding and bruised. Tamlin is instantly regretful, and Lucien runs in to help her, allowing the guards outside the door to see and hear everything. 

Not long after, Ianthe makes a dramatic entrance and conveniently warns of a naga attack that happens that night. A centurion lost his keys, which allowed the naga to enter. He is about to be whipped and punished for not being on his guard when he reveals that Ianthe stole the keys. Feyre knows the whole story: that Ianthe gave the keys to the naga and then warned the court of their attack so she could be the hero and win back respect and power.

Even after the centurion reveals the truth, Tamlin chooses to side with Ianthe and punishes him anyway. All his guards and soldiers are present to witness the cruelty, knowing Ianthe was the one truly at fault. Mind you, Feyre is pulling these strings from behind the scenes, ripping apart the trust and loyalty at the foundations of the Spring Court. She helps show the soldiers that their leader cares more about a lying, scheming priestess than them and is willing to ally with Hybern for no good reason.

The following day, Ianthe and Tamlin join the crew to inspect an additional hole in the wall. While out observing, Feyre is alone with Dagdan and Brannagh and goads them into revealing part of their plan. She finally gets numbers, locations, and the names of Hybern’s allied foreign territories. With this information, Feyre can make her great escape. So when she is alone and she gets the chance, she bolts. 

Part two: Cursebreaker

Both Feyre’s and Lucien’s magic is drained, so they trek on foot as best they can. They take a shortcut to get to the Autumn Court. Lucien is nervous about running into his family in Autumn Court territory, but they don’t have much choice since they need to keep moving. Feyre is waiting for her magic to return so she can contact Rhys and have the Inner Circle come pick them up. 

Lucien is completely confused by everything going on with Feyre, but he knows he has to cooperate or he’ll never see Elain. However, that doesn’t mean he trusts Feyre’s new court. Eventually, they are caught by Lucien’s older brothers, who aim to take them both back to Lucien’s father, Beron. The two make a run for it and manage to get away for a little while until they cross the border to the Winter Court. They are crossing a frozen lake when the brothers pull up, and Eris starts to melt the lake. But just as things are taking a turn for the worse, CASSIAN AND AZRIEL PULL UPPPP.

Cassian and Azriel kick the Autumn Court boys to the curb and are about to strike them down when Feyre calls them off. She knows that Autumn Court deaths at this moment will only cause more trouble down the line. Feyre announces herself as High Lady of the Night Court, says tata, and lets Cassian and Azriel whisk her and Lucien away. Back home to Velaris. To Rhys. 

Arriving at the townhouse, Lucien is walking on thin ice. One wrong move and he’s a dead man, and he knows it. But he still has no clue what is going on with the Inner Circle. He asks if Feyre is truly High Lady, and Rhys makes his dramatic entrance and confirms that she is. Feyre and Rhys reunite, and it’s heartbreakingly beautiful because they love each other so much it makes my heart hurt. UGH I LOVE THEM.

Feyre catches Rhys up to speed on all her intel and is just glad to be back to her true home and family after pretending for so long. Nesta and Elain have been staying at the House of Wind, and after Feyre has a little time to recompose herself, she goes up to visit them. Lucien comes with, and Feyre, with Rhys’s support, attempts to explain the bare basics of what happened between them. Rhys then politely requests that Lucien behave, or he’ll have some not-so-pleasant company.

When Feyre arrives, she finds her eldest sister Nesta quietly reading in the library. Nesta is still herself, testy and a slight pain in the butt, but she acknowledges that Feyre’s back. However, it becomes clear she is livid because of how all this has affected Elain. Feyre finds Elain sitting in her room, still wearing the iron engagement ring from a fae-hating human, a complete hollow shell. The only thing Elain says is that she wants to go home and that she was supposed to be married. When Feyre returns to the hallway, she finds Lucien’s face filled with devastation as he’s heard every word.

The loose string is the human queens. The Inner Circle has been attempting to monitor the palace, but there has been no sign of what they are up to. Especially after the queen’s latest alliance with Hybern, who promised to make them immortal. The Inner Circle contemplates trying to nullify the Cauldron again with the Book of Breathings, but their window has closed. So Feyre brings up the idea of trying to fix the wall with her power, being Made and all, and that without the cracks the Cauldron might not stand a chance of tearing it apart. Amren says they should try to get Nesta and Elain’s help since they are also Made. In the meantime, they want to unite as many of the Prythian Courts as they can to stand against Hybern to create a stronger front. So the Inner Circle sends out invitations to every High Lord for a formal meeting.

When they head back to the House of Wind for dinner, Feyre is preparing to approach Nesta and ask for her help with the wall. Cassian mentions that he saw a great power within Nesta when she came out of the Cauldron, and he feels guilty he couldn’t save Nesta and Elain. The ‘family dinner’ is chaotic and informal, and Lucien is bewildered. But Lucien finally sees the family that makes Feyre feel at home. Nesta and Amren go toe to toe in scary eye contact, and Amren is ultimately the one who convinces Nesta to train with her and learn magic to help repair the wall.

However, Nesta refuses to go into the training ring with Cassian. But Feyre is ready to get back at it, and she even wants to learn how to fly with the Illyrian wings she can form. Azriel steps up and volunteers to teach her. Nesta also refuses to go and speak to the High Lords about what happened to her in the Cauldron. She doesn’t want to be paraded around. Her only requirement to help with the wall is that Elain (the only one who didn’t pull up to dinner) will be nowhere near any of it.

Lucien comments that the Inner Circle needs to be careful of how they approach the High Lords’ meeting. He knows his father will be PISSED once he finds out that Feyre has a sliver of his power and will stop at nothing to get it back. And since war requires armed forces, they have to make a pit stop at the Court of Nightmares and convince Mor’s nasty father Keir to lend his forces. Later, Rhys and Feyre take a walk about Velaris to decompress, hype each other up, say beautiful words, and talk about how they will survive and will be together protecting their family. HAVE I MENTIONED THAT I LOVE THEM. SUCH FOUND FAMILY VIBES AHHBAJFBAJFK.

The Carver, as you’d expect, is cryptic. He says the Weaver, whom he calls Stryga, is his sister, and his older brother Koschei is trapped somewhere in a lake. The Carver also mentions Nesta, saying she took something, and Cassian is instantly tense. Eventually, Feyre strikes a deal with the Bone Carver. If she can retrieve the Ouroboros mirror from Keir in the Court of Nightmares, he will fight for them.

Upon their return, Feyre finds Elain in the library with Nesta. Feyre and Nesta are off to the side, having a whisper-yell battle when Lucien enters the same room as Elain and Feyre goes into his mind to keep an eye on his intentions. She sees Elain through his eyes, and Nesta realizes this and is horrified that Feyre can invade someone’s mind like that.

When they go to the Hewn City (home of the Court of Nightmares), Feyre is dressed like a dark goddess queen, complete with a crown that matches Rhys’s. Amren and Nesta come too so Nesta can train her powers to help repair the wall. Feyre slips on her own mask and they greet the court and pull Keir off to the side for negotiations. Keir calls out that they want his army, but admits he is more likely to side with Hybern. Rhys mentions Keir’s desire to form ties with the Autumn Court and then brings in Eris, the heir. Mor, and everyone else, is shocked at Eris’s presence. Eris is willing to offer a formal alliance in exchange for Keir’s service in the war. Eris agreed to this as long as the Night Court and the Inner Circle back up his claim to the throne when the time comes.

But Keir wants more. He demands that he and his people get access to Velaris. Mor instantly shuts him down. But Rhys makes the bargain with the stipulation that there will be limited stays and limited numbers of people. And it is seeing Mor’s suffering that gets Keir to agree to let them use his armies. When Feyre asks for the Ouroboros, Keir says she can have it if she can take it. Apparently, you have to look into it to claim it, and everyone who has ever tried has gone mad.

When they make it back to Velaris, the infighting starts. Mor is furious that they are giving Keir access to Velaris because she knows he’ll somehow ruin it. Amren steps in between Rhys and Mor, saying she didn’t let the court fall apart in the 49 years during Amarantha’s reign, and she’s not about to start now. But when the Ouroboros mirror gets brought up, Amren learns about the deal with the Bone Carver and that Feyre went to the Prison and didn’t tell her. And she’s pissed, but they finally convince her to open up about her escape. Amren bound herself to a fae body and became something else entirely, allowing her to leave the Prison. If Amren is unbound, she will become what she once was. She will not feel any of the things she does now, and she would not remember or care for any of them.

This, of course, is when Elain decides to make a token appearance and pop in to speak in little riddles. Concerned, Nesta and Feyre call for a healer, who declares that nothing is technically wrong. The sisters are concerned that Elain is going insane, and the healer suggests having her mate try and see what he can do. So, they stick Lucien and Elain in a room together while Mor, Feyre, and Nesta watch like hawks with their tea. On the side of all the drama, Feyre is continuing to train her wings with Az, and he tells her a story about Drakon’s Seraphim (angel-winged) warriors and of Nephelle who had tiny wings but still managed to fly. Gotta love a good Azriel pep talk. 

Later, Feyre goes to the library with Nesta to continue to scour books on repairing the wall. Feyre and Nesta are having a sister moment until they are rudely interrupted by the King of Hybern’s Ravens. The Ravens instantly hit them with faebane so the girls can’t use their powers. The King of Hybern used a spell that could only be utilized once to kick down the wards of the Night Court to allow his Ravens to go in and capture Nesta. Feyre tries to call for help down the mating bond, but with the faebane there is no response. 

Not wanting to lead Hybern to the priestesses, Feyre makes a quick call to flee for whatever awaits her and Nesta in the darkness at the bottom of the library. Feyre tells Nesta to run while she holds them off, and begrudgingly Nesta listens. Alone in utter darkness, hiding from the Ravens, Feyre finds the creature and makes a deal with it. It offers to kill the Ravens in return for ‘company.’ With not many other options, Feyre agrees, then is told to close her eyes. She hears the screams and chaos until Cassian is suddenly there, pulling her out of it. The priestesses managed to call for help, and Rhys arrives and goes to finish the Ravens off while Cassian flies out with Nesta and Feyre.

Then Amren comes in proclaiming she received a warning from Varrian (her little lover from the Summer Court) that Hybern is attacking the Summer Court. Even with the blood rubies putting a death sentence on their heads, the Inner Circle decides to go and help fight. The bat boys zip off early to gather the Illyrian troops and to get more people and boots on the ground. Not long after, Mor and Feyre winnow directly to the battlegrounds. The Night Court is the only court there to help.

Mor and Feyre battle Hybern in the Summer Court and kick some serious butt. When they catch a break, Feyre reaches down the bond to Rhys and gets transported to his mind. She is with him as he arrives on a ship in the bay and faces the King of Hybern. Turns out the king was only an illusion, but the threat of his forces still looms. And in the aftermath of the fight, they go to see Tarquin (the High Lord). Tarquin confesses he thought the Illyrians were coming to finish them off. He’s still pissy that they stole from him, and he doesn’t feel like he can trust them. But the Night Court came anyway, and they stay while they can and help tend to the wounded.

As Rhys and Feyre talk about the High Lords’ meeting, Feyre suggests they should drop the masks and go as themselves. The Court of Dreams. She says they need to show that the Night Court is good. They need to bring honesty to the table. They go as their family. No pretending. 

When they head to the fancy palace in the Dawn Court for the High Lords’ meeting, Feyre is dressed in a similar outfit from Starfall. Rhys is in a snazzy black ensemble, and he even decides to show his wings, something he is usually very private about. Right as they are about to leave, Nesta decides that she is coming too. She does not want to be a coward, and watching Feyre rush into battle to help defend the Summer Court showed her what true bravery looks like. Rhys even offers Nesta the role of his new emissary to the human lands since Feyre was promoted to High Lady. So everyone goes to the meeting except Amren and Elain.

Literally so much happens at the High Lords’ meeting, so bear with me as I attempt to explain. Upon their arrival, the squad bumps into Kallias, High Lord of the Winter Court, and his wife and mate, Viviane, who is besties with Mor. Viviane and Mor start yapping right away, and we get the backstory. Kallias and Viviane were close friends in childhood, and Kallias always loved her. When Amarantha struck, he sent the last dregs of his power to her, telling her he loved her and asking Viviane to keep as many people as she could safe. During the terrible 49 years, Viviane led what remained of the Winter Court and came to realize how much she loved Kallias. He proposed the second he got back from Under the Mountain.

Kallias is wary of Rhys and the Night Court since Rhys was so close to Amarantha. Kallias blamed Rhys for the slaughter of the Winter Court children Under the Mountain. Rhys had no clue about the slaughter. He knew Amarantha wanted Kallias dead, so he persuaded her not to kill him, but then, without Rhys’s knowledge, she proceeded to kill the kids as punishment for the Winter Court’s rebellion.

Tensions rise in discussion with the Autumn Court and their High Lord Beron. Even though the Night Court has a secret alliance with Eris, everyone hates him. In fact, Eris calls Mor a slut, and Azriel heads over and beats him up until Feyre steps in and calms him down. Everyone is concerned about how they will fight if Hybern continues to use faebane to disarm them. Thankfully, the Dawn Court and their master tinkerer Nuan have this partially solved. Nuan created a powder that, if they ingest, will prevent faebane from working in their system. Faebane-dipped weapons are still a problem, but at least now they won’t be completely powerless.

Beron doesn’t trust the powder and refuses the Dawn Court’s help. But Rhys opposes Beron and gladly accepts the powder for the Night Court and their armies. So Beron gets into it, insulting Rhys and the role he played Under the Mountain. He calls Rhys and his court untrustworthy and throws all the things about being Amarantha’s whore in his face. And Feyre loses it.

Feyre unleashes her power, all of her powers really, on Beron. She breaks through his shield, hitting him with his own power, and then almost drowns him before backing down. This causes chaos because now all the High Lords know that Feyre has and can wield a sliver of their power. But Feyre’s just like, too bad, you freely gave it to me, and it’s mine now. At that, Beron gets so pissy that he storms out.

With Beron gone, Nesta and Feyre rally the rest of the High Lords with their persuasive speeches. Nesta will not abandon her people, and Feyre will fight to protect them. So, slowly, they win over the rest of the High Lords. Now the real war planning begins. Everyone is cagey about numbers and specifics because they don’t trust Tamlin, who claims that he always intended to back out of his deal with Hybern once he got Feyre back. The total forces are not as many as the Inner Circle had hoped, but they’ve managed to make amends and ally with Kallias and Tarquin, who rescinded the blood rubies and thanked them for their aid in the recent fight.

Everyone ends up staying at Thesan’s palace (Thesan being the High Lord of the Dawn Court) so they can continue conversations in the morning. When the Inner Circle is getting all comfy in their quarters, Helion, the High Lord of the Day Court, comes to visit. Turns out, Helion also always puts up a mask of cold indifference in front of the other High Lords, but he’s actually been a close friend of the Inner Circle for centuries. 

Helion is a relentless flirt and sneaks away with Mor that night, but not before he reveals his past with the Lady of the Autumn Court (Beron’s wife). They had a secret affair for years after he saved her during the war, but everything ended when Beron found out. Their contact stopped, and the affair got swept under the rug. Helion was glad nothing became of it and that it didn’t cause more drama. Feyre asks why he didn’t protect the Lady of the Autumn Court/why she’s still with Beron since it’s obvious he doesn’t treat her right. Helion shrugs off the questions, but looking at him, Feyre pieces it together. Helion is Lucien’s father. Lucien’s mom stayed with Beron to protect Lucien, and Helion doesn’t know. And this is likely why Lucien’s father and brothers hate him so much, and why his mom favors him, because he’s the son of the man she truly loved. 

That night, Nesta feels something stirring, but no one can figure out what is amiss. It becomes clear the next morning when, during the continued war meetings, a report arrives that Hybern has used the Cauldron and struck down the wall. Nesta was sensing the rally of the Cauldron’s power.

In the panic, the Inner Circle heads back to Velaris and Amren. Nesta is pissed that they couldn’t find anything in the Book of Breathings or in the library to stop the Cauldron in time. She beats herself up for not being more prepared. With this war quite literally on the horizon, Feyre gets a bright idea and takes Amren with her to the bottom of the library, where she makes a deal with the monster, whose name we learn is Bryaxis. Bryaxis will fight for them in exchange for a window for it to see the stars. Yay for an ace up the sleeve.

Jurian has been playing Hybern the whole time, letting them think he’d gone mad and wants to kill Miryam and Drakon for Miryam leaving him. In reality, the king brought him back, and he had no choice but to play the role or die. He’s been trying to reach out to Miryam and Drakon for assistance. Rhys and Feyre use their daemati powers to check his mind and are surprised to find he’s telling the truth. Jurian helps negotiate the deal with Graysen, slyly mentioning that if Graysen doesn’t take in the refugees, he might let it slip to the King of Hybern that the quickest way is through Graysen’s land. On top of that, Jurian gives them good info for when, where, and how to strike Hybern. He also mentions that Tamlin went crawling back to Hybern.

Before they leave Graysen’s, he asks Elain for his ring back. Graysen is adamant that he can’t marry her now. Elain refuses to return the ring and cries her heart out. So, Nesta gives Graysen a good slap before they all head out. 

Everyone is ready for battle. They find Hybern attacking the Summer Court, so they rush to defend it, utilizing the information and strategy from Jurian. And so the true war begins. The bat boys reveal the full depth of their powers and how deadly they can be in active warfare and combat. Witnessing the organized chaos of the battlefield, Feyre realizes she isn’t ready to fight in that type of war, on the front lines without proper training.

With one battle won, they travel, and Rhys and Feyre use their magic to make it appear like their army hasn’t moved. They use the illusion to go in for a sneak attack. The battle begins anew. Sloppier. More deathly. And Feyre knows they need to learn the location of the King and the Cauldron so they can put a true stop to everything. But in order to learn that information, she needs to hunt down and ask the Suriel.

Not wanting to create a scene, Feyre tricks Mor into going to the battlefield, leaving her free to make her sidequest without anyone knowing. So Feyre gets Elain to use her seer powers to pinpoint the location of the Suriel, and she winnows away to find it. The Suriel doesn’t actually know where the King and Cauldron are, but tells Feyre that Nesta can find the Cauldron by scrying. The Suriel also mentions checking the back of the Book of Breathings for the solution and essentially gives Feyre a pep talk about looking into the Ouroboros mirror. 

But before the conversation can continue any further, Ianthe pops up with some guards out of nowhere and shoots an arrow straight through the Suriel. Ianthe gave the Suriel a tracker for a cloak, hoping Feyre would come looking. Feyre sprints through the woods and lures Ianthe and her men into the Weavers cottage to their death before sprinting back to the Suriel. The Suriel knew it was being tracked, but Feyre was kind and true in a world full of chaos, and she stays until the very end.

Arriving back at the camp, Feyre finds that they won the battle (barely), but Cassian has been badly injured. He has a horrible gash down his side because he charged when he should’ve waited for backup. ALL MY SELF-SACRIFICING BABIES, CAN’T YOU ALL STAY SAFE FOR FIVE MINUTES PLEASE!

Mor is livid with Feyre for tricking her and lying to her. Rhys is more understanding about the situation, although he was definitely worried about her absence. Feyre and Mor get into it, having a big fat argument about how Feyre lied, could’ve died, and doesn’t trust anyone to be in on her plans. Fed up, Feyre fires back that Mor lives a lie every day and has been stringing Azriel along for years. But hey, there’s a war meeting they have to get to.

The Suriel was right; Nesta is able to scry using sticks and stones and magic to find the location of the King of Hybern and the Cauldron. And now a brief moment of silence for Varrian barging into the tent to sweep Amren off her feet and kiss her senseless.

Azriel, Feyre, and Elain make it to the cliffside where Jurian left the human girl waiting. All they need to do is fly beyond the wards so they can winnow out. Azriel’s wings take several hits, and Feyre receives an arrow through the shoulder. But right as someone is about to make the killing blow, a beast – Tamlin – steps in and holds Hybern off. Feyre manages to get into the air with her Illyrian wings thanks to her training with Azriel, and as they escape, she sees Tamlin scamper off too. 

When they make it back, Mor pulls Feyre aside, and they have a heart-to-heart healing conversation. Mor reveals that she prefers females romantically and has been afraid to say anything because of her family and what horror they will bring down on her. She loves Az, but not like that, and she doesn’t know how to tell everyone else.

Everyone quickly realizes that they are about to make their final stand the following morning, and the King of Hybern has already begun his march to pillage the human lands. They all spend the night winnowing as many humans as they can to the Summer Court for safety from Hybern’s direct path, and when at least everyone collapses for some attempt at rest, Feyre sneaks out and winnows away to retrieve the Ouroboros mirror and rally the Bone Carver. In the mirror, she faces the worst parts of herself – the ugly, violent, blood-curdling parts of herself – and makes it through. It turns out, the Bone Carver wanted to test if she was worth helping. Yay, because she is. 

And so they all line up for battle. For war. The plan is for Feyre, Nesta, Elain, and Amren to go to the Cauldron and split the cost four ways to nullify the King’s army and strike them down, using the spell Amren found in the back of the Book of Breathings thanks to the Suriel. Cassian and Mor will be in the front lines leading the charge, while Rhys will be making targeted strikes with most of his power. Since Azriel’s wings are still badly damaged, his plan is to fight from a distance, wielding the full force of his magic.

Rhys makes a cry-worthy speech to his beloved family (like no for real, I’ll sob). Azriel lends his dagger, Truth Teller, to Elain, and the chaos starts. The Bone Carver and Bryaxis appear and start taking bites out of Hybern’s army, thanks to Feyre’s bargains. Rhys also made a sneaky sneaky bargain and convinced the Weaver to fight for them if he released the binding spell from her cottage. 

The magic battle begins as each side begins to attack the wards. As the wards/shields begin to fall, three legions come marching over the hill in aid: Eris and the rallied forces of the Autumn Court, the remains of Tamlin’s Spring Court soldiers, and Jurian leading Graysen’s human forces. Their arrival creates the perfect diversion for the Made squad to get going. And good thing too, cuz Nesta can feel the Cauldron stirring.

Nesta knows the Cauldron is about to strike, and she begins screaming Cassian’s name over and over. Cassian comes flying back, and right where he was in the middle of the legion, the Cauldron wipes out part of the army. In this sweep of the Cauldron decimating forces, it fells the Bone Carver (aka he died).

Nesta is recovering from the power of the Cauldron coursing through her, and Elain is barfing off to the side from pure terror. So, Feyre is like, it’s just gonna be me and you, Amren. The bat boys are trying to figure out their new battle strategy when they see all of Hybern’s forces on the water start to sail in. They realize how truly outnumbered they are, but then more horns sound, and Drakon and Miryam’s legion starts cutting through the waters along with their flying legion too.

So Amren and Feyre go to the Cauldron, following in the path of destruction paved by the Weaver. As they arrive at the King’s base of operations, the King of Hybern kills the Weaver right before feeling the surge of Nesta’s power, and he winnows away. Feyre touches the Cauldron, attempting to harness its power, but gets sucked into its consciousness and suddenly sees the battle from everywhere. She sees Rhys and Helion battling Hybern’s forces in their beast forms before following the Cauldron to Nesta.

The Cauldron is drawn towards Nesta, wanting to take back what she stole. Nesta is prepared to make the death blow the second the King of Hybern appears, but he knows that, which is why when he winnows in front of Nesta and Cassian, he has Papa Archeron in tow and is poised and ready to kill him. The king taunts Nesta right as he cracks her father’s spine and sends him slumping to the ground. Cassian tries to guard her, but he gets badly hurt. 

Nesta rallies her power and fires at the king but misses. Cassian is crawling towards Nesta, telling her to run, but she won’t. She picks up his sword and keeps going until her power is drained, until she is drained. Cassian screams as the king is closing in on her. Nesta tries to haul Cassian away so they can escape, but she can’t move him. He makes deathbed words and promises, and she covers his body with hers, prepared to die. But then someone stabs the king from behind: Elain with Truth Teller. Nesta gets up to finish the king off, stabbing him through the neck over and over, watching the light die from his eyes and cutting off his head.

At the king’s death, Feyre is hurtled back to her body. She is very confused, thinking Amren betrayed her because this is not the spell she thought they were doing. Amren explains that the spell is actually to unbind her. She will be released to her true form. And she will wipe out everything. All Feyre needs to do is say the spell. Varrian appears and tries to stop Amren from sacrificing herself, but Feyre says the magic words and Amren goes flying into the Cauldron as a tiny fae and comes out a giant beast.

As Amren emerges in her true form, the Cauldron splits into three pieces, overwhelmed, and starts to create an awful power that is putting a crack in the world. Amren sweeps through the war like a storm, using whatever piece of herself she remembers to target Hybern. And she does. Amren wipes out the remainder of Hybern’s forces on land and sea, draining the last dregs of her great power in the process, and fades, becoming a flame on the sea.

The Cauldron, still in pieces, is creating a fissure, and Feyre chucks the Book of Breathings into it, wondering if that will do anything. The Cauldron cannot be destroyed; otherwise the world will fall apart, so Feyre knows she has to fix it. But she is drained. And that’s when she feels Rhys winnow to her side, offering her his power since she is the conduit, and the only one who can repair it. So Feyre reaches in, taking every last piece of Rhys’s strength, and wields the Cauldron to stitch their world back together. When Feyre finally comes to, the Cauldron repaired, she hears one last ‘I love you’ in her mind before Rhys lies motionless beside her.

The Archeron sisters go out together to bury their father, and Nesta is solid as a stone. Lucien comes in on the horizon, and Feyre cries once more. Feyre gets to meet Miryam and Drakon, and they agree to take the Cauldron with them to their forgotten island so that it will be undisturbed and people won’t fight over it. Rhys and Feyre want to pretend that it doesn’t exist, and hiding it on a forgotten island is the best thing they can come up with on short notice.

The Inner Circle gathers a meeting of everyone in the ruined remnants of the Archeron estate, and Feyre steps into the light and shares her story with them all. How she was a human and fae, and how she fell in love (twice). The human and fae representatives begin to discuss the renegotiation of the treaty and how they are going to live in coexistence without the wall. Nothing is truly settled by the time the meeting comes to a close. There were plenty of disagreements, but the conversation was started. And everyone has a seat at the table, a say in the matter. Even Graysen, who refused to look at Elain even though she still wears the iron engagement ring.

Eventually, the war tents come down, and the squad heads home. To Velaris. To their sanctuary. To the townhouse. To peace. Everyone sits down to have a drink and celebrate at last. And in the last bit of the book, Rhys says he felt Feyre pulling him back just like she felt him when she died Under the Mountain. They make a bargain to meet death together, so they never feel that pain again. *Cue my tears*

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to bed. If there is anyone reading this before I get the chance to edit and update certain aspects of this post, please know that I appreciate you being here. I do this blog for you my guy. Thanks for the support <3 

That’s all for now. Much love.