Queen of Shadows

When Manon catches Elide trying to sneak out of the aerie, Manon orders Elide to sneak into the chambers where the Yellowlegs coven is being kept and find out what’s being done to them. In return, Elide is allowed to sleep in Manon’s quarters for her protection. Elide finds her uncle sexually assaulting Kaltain in private. Elide rescues the woman, earning Vernon’s ire, and returns to Manon’s rooms to request poison.

Aedion begins training with Rowan, intent on learning the warrior’s fighting style. As Lysandra brings clothes for Rowan to the apartment, she mentions that the missing magic-wielders from the city have been spotted in prison wagons headed for Morath. Aelin asks how long Lysandra must work as a courtesan to pay off Evangeline’s debts. When Lysandra admits that Madame Clarisse has tripled the amount, Aelin offers to kill Clarisse for Lysandra’s freedom, which Lysandra declines.

Aelin shows Rowan around the city and plays piano for him in the Royal Theatre.

Chaol and Nesryn work with rebels to free the prisoners being transported to Morath.

Aelin senses Lorcan monitoring her apartment in the middle of the night. She sneaks out without telling Rowan and leads Lorcan into a den of Valg meeting with a Wyrdhound. Lorcan efficiently kills them all, revealing to Aelin how the Wyrdhounds can be killed. When he finds her again and threatens her life, Aelin threatens him right back; she’ll kill Lorcan someday for whipping Rowan in Doranelle at Maeve’s orders.

The Valg prince possessing Dorian makes him watch men suffer in the dungeons daily.

Lysandra delivers a gift from Arobynn to Aelin’s apartment, where Rowan scents that she is a shapeshifter. Lysandra is forced to explain; she believes she got the gift from her unknown father and was kicked out of her home by her mother at a young age when she accidentally shifted. She took many forms to survive being unhoused but was trapped in her current form when magic ended in Erilea. She does not remember her true face and has been a courtesan for Clarisse and Arobynn ever since.

Lysandra also reveals that Arobynn expects Aelin to deliver the promised Valg by dinner tomorrow. Arobynn’s gift is a skin oil that smells like him, which he expects Aelin to wear to dinner.

Aelin and Rowan capture a Valg; Aelin offers its human host an undisclosed deal in exchange. Aelin later sneaks out in the night and returns to bed with Rowan smelling like ash. The next day, she asks Rowan to come with her to visit Sam’s grave, where she tells Sam everything about her past. Afterward, she begins planning Arobynn’s murder.

Elide poisons the laundress’s food and volunteers to take sheets down to the Yellowlegs coven instead. Elide is sickened by what she discovers: Imprisoned Yellowlegs are birthing a second set of demonic Valg babies and begging to be released.

Asterin is demoted again when she challenges Manon to defend the Yellowlegs in defiance of Manon’s grandmother. Elide reveals her past to Manon; her father was killed and her mother died defending young Aelin. Though many believe Aelin drowned in the river, Elide still holds onto hope that, with her fire magic, Aelin survived and will someday come for Elide.

Rowan tells Aedion of Aelin’s plan to kill Arobynn; they decide to kill Arobynn if Aelin doesn’t.

Aelin wears Arobynn’s oil and the dragon dress to the Assassin’s Keep.

Before entering the Assassin’s Keep, Aelin warns Rowan and Aedion to “keep [their] fat mouths shut […] no matter what [they] hear or see” (342). Aedion and Rowan are sent to the dining room with Lysandra while Arobynn forces Aelin to watch as he interrogates Stevan, the Valg commander she’s brought to satisfy their deal. Stevan pretends to reveal the secrets of Valg possession: The king places Wyrdstone rings on soldiers’ fingers and ingests their blood to gain control over them. Arobynn kills Stevan and takes his ring for further inspection before he and Aelin join the others for dinner. When greeting Lysandra, Aelin subtly passes her a note.

Arobynn accuses Aelin of ruining his business and his properties: She is responsible for destroying the Vaults, and she disguised herself as his most loyal client and investor, Hinsol Cormac, to use two carriages to rescue Aedion. This ruined Arobynn’s business relationship with Hinsol.

Arobynn brings Aelin to the sitting room to speak in private. He returns the Amulet of Orynth to her in exchange for her promise to no longer mess with his business. As she goes to leave, Arobynn slips the Wyrdstone ring on her finger and slices her hand, licking up her blood.

Believing that she is now under his control, Arobynn commands Aelin to do as he says. He orders her to return after breakfast tomorrow so they may discuss how to rule Terrasen and regain control of Adarlan together. When Aelin returns to her apartment, only Rowan is aware that she’s faking her obedience. Aelin reveals to Aedion that she’d replaced the real ring on Stevan’s hand with a decoy ring earlier. With Arobynn’s nefarious plans to rule Terrasen revealed, Aelin has no qualms about ending Arobynn’s life. Aelin tells Rowan that she gave Lysandra the chance to kill Arobynn herself.

When Aelin attempts to kiss Rowan, he pushes her away and tells her not to touch him that way. Across the city, while in bed with Arobynn, Lysandra slits his throat with the knife he keeps under his pillow.

Dorian remains helpless while the Valg prince possessing him tortures a man.

Things are tense between Aelin and Rowan the next morning as they head to the Assassin’s Keep. They’ve been summoned by Arobynn’s top assassins—Tern, Mullin, and Harding—who claimed control over the Guild after discovering Arobynn dead.

Aelin pretends to know nothing about the assassination. The Master of the Bank reads Arobynn’s will, which reveals that he has left everything to Aelin. Tern, Mullin, and Harding buy the Guild and Arobynn’s house from Aelin at an exorbitant price—enough to fund Terrasen’s future army. Aelin reveals to Rowan and Aedion privately that she repeatedly snuck into the bank to rearrange the will underneath the Master of the Bank’s nose. In the original, Madame Clarisse would have received much of Arobynn’s wealth, Tern would have received Arobynn’s title and assassins, and all Aelin would have gotten was the Amulet of Orynth. Aelin visits Arobynn’s body in the basement and beheads him for good measure.