A Court of Frost and Starlight

Feyre’s painting spills out of her as she allows herself to return to her passion. She spends hours in the studio working on this first painting since the war ended, and when she is done, she observes the final product. She draws her own monstrous “true self,” which she observed in the Ouroboros mirror that she stole in the previous novel to get the Bone Carver to fight for them in the war. She decides to let the image dry in the space overnight; she will return to claim it and then hide it away the next day.

Rhys arrives in the Spring Court, the territory of Feyre’s previous lover and now personal enemy, Tamlin. Rhys tells himself not to bait or break the other High Fae man, even though he sees that he could. The court is abandoned by all except Tamlin (and occasionally Lucien), and the house is falling into disrepair from neglect and Tamlin’s anger. Rhys speaks of the border and his disappointment that Tamlin isn’t monitoring it to prevent fae from attacking humans, but Tamlin says that he has no soldiers or sentries. He refuses to house any of Rhys’s soldiers when Rhys offers them. They exchange insults, and Rhys’s anger gets the better of him. He baits Tamlin and says that he brought everything he is now experiencing onto himself. When a furious Tamlin tells Rhys to leave instead of attacking, Rhys knows that Tamlin is broken and perhaps even waiting for someone to kill him. Rhys leaves.

He finds Feyre out in Velaris; she sees how disturbed he is. He feels hollow and disappointed in himself after reacting to Tamlin as he did. Feyre comforts him, but Rhys admits that part of him wanted to kill Tamlin. He realizes that he will stay angry with Tamlin if he doesn’t cool down away from Feyre, whose presence reminds him of his hatred of Tamlin. He decides to shop for her Winter Solstice and birthday presents. None of the jewelry seems right for this holiday, but the jeweler brings out several pieces that Rhys knows would be perfect for Amren, his second-in-command. He buys them all, reminded of how much Amren sacrificed for them in the final battle against Hybern.

Feyre and Cassian start the festivities before the official Winter Solstice, drinking Rhys’s best wine and decorating the house. As more of Rhys and Feyre’s chosen family arrive, Feyre enters the kitchen to check on her sister Elain, who is helping cook the evening meal. She broaches the topic of their other sister, Nesta, but Elain unhappily tells Feyre that Nesta said that she should live her life separately and that she will not join them for the Winter Solstice. Feyre sees the pain this causes Elain.

The sisters carry their food to the dining room, where everyone gathers. When Cassian starts eating before Elain joins the table, Azriel’s emotional distress related to his mother rears up, and he forces Cassian to wait for Elain to be seated.

Amren’s discussion of her adjustments to becoming High Fae, including needing food rather than blood for sustenance, and her joke about how she should have chosen to be a man instead of a woman, lead Elain to ask if it would be possible for Amren to go back to what she was before, an unknown but powerful creature. Amren is direct and wonders aloud if Elain asks out of curiosity or interest in her own future. She states outright that Elain can never be human again. The others use jokes to diffuse the tension and comfort Elain, and Feyre decides that she will do anything to keep Elain happy. She seeks out Nesta after dinner. She and Rhys find her in a seedy bar, but Rhys waits outside to avoid making her feel cornered.

Feyre finds Nesta playing cards with several wealthy High Fae men and reflects on how, since the war, Nesta has taken to finding men to take home after spending her evenings drinking. The men give the two sisters privacy, and Feyre asks why Nesta did not come to dinner. She asks what it would take to get Nesta to come celebrate the Winter Solstice with them; she brings up their father, but Nesta’s temper flares, and she tells Feyre to leave. Before Feyre takes two steps, Nesta reminds Feyre that her rent is due soon. Feyre claims that she’ll only give her the money for rent if she comes for the Winter Solstice. She feels Nesta’s glare as she leaves.

Rhys asks his cousin Mor to take a walk with him, deciding to address his agreeing to let her father visit Velaris in exchange for support during the war. As they observe the grand houses destroyed by Hybern’s attack, Rhys apologizes for his actions, but Mor agrees that he had to do it so that they could defeat Hybern. She claims that she will not leave the city to avoid his visit, knowing her father would see it as a sign of weakness. Rhys, however, explains that he needs her help visiting other courts to convince them that they should become full allies and warn them off attacking humans. It would require her to be away while her father is in Velaris. She wonders if this would mean that her father wins, but Rhys asks her to at least consider it.