A Court of Mist and Fury

Feyre continues her training with Cassian and Rhys. Azriel is glum because his spies have made little progress ascertaining the location of the mortal half of the Book of Breathings. Rhys receives word from the Summer Court, and he, Feyre, and Amren plan to travel there—Feyre to locate the Fae half of the book, and Amren for subtle intimidation. Cassian worries about the political implications of having Feyre as an official representative of the Night Court.

Rhys, Amren, and Feyre winnow into Adriata, the castle-city of the Summer Court. They are greeted by Tarquin, the High Lord, who seems familiar to Feyre. Tarquin gives them a tour of the palace grounds serves a fine meal. Tarquin questions Feyre about mortal versus High Fae life. She is uncertain about his motives, so she answers in generalities. They discuss the possibility of war with Hybern as well as a possible inter-Court war between Rhys and Tamlin, a notion Feyre dismisses as unlikely. Cresseida, the Summer Court Princess, notes that, according to faerie law, if Tamlin demanded her return from the Summer Court, they would have to oblige or risk war. Rhys threatens death to any member of Tarquin’s court who tries to engage with Tamlin over the matter. 

Rhys visits Feyre’s room to emphasize the importance of her mission: “[G]et that book. And do not get caught” (318). In the Summer Court, in close proximity to the sea, Feyre commands the Summer Lord’s power to summon and manipulate water. Rhys asks Feyre if she would ever go back to Tamlin. She answers yes, if only to prevent more war.

As Feyre, Rhys, and Amren dine aboard Tarquin’s luxurious barge, Feyre tries, unsuccessfully, to sense the presence of the book. She probes Tarquin about the Summer Court’s treasure, and he invites her to see it. Tarquin asks about her mortal life. Feyre says that money equals power in the mortal realm, a social structure she would like to see disrupted. Tarquin hints at a similar dissent at the privilege of High Fae over lesser faeries. Feyre is attracted to Tarquin’s compassion, a feeling he reciprocates. Feyre notices Rhys flirting with Cresseida. She rises from the table and spends the rest of the evening gazing at the water. When the ship docks, Rhys and Cresseida are nowhere in sight.

Tarquin gives Feyre a tour of the treasury. Feyre sees Rhys and Cresseida but focuses all her attention on Tarquin, hoping to make Rhys jealous. The Summer Lord leads Feyre to a vast underground chamber overflowing with treasure. She admires a necklace of black diamonds, and Tarquin gives it to her “[a]s a thank-you. For Under the Mountain” (332). Feyre accepts to avoid insulting him. Tarquin asks Feyre to be his emissary to the mortal world, but Feyre serves the Night Court and cannot make him any promises. Feyre confesses that she left Tamlin, and Tarquin vows to keep her presence in his court a secret, unless asked. He shows her the other treasure chambers but there is  no sign of the Book of Breathings. Feyre regrets having to steal from the kind Tarquin.

Back in her room, Feyre and Rhys argue. Rhys admits he envies Tarquin because he is the sort of male Feyre finds easy to love. He argues that the Summer Court is neutral, but the Night Court fights for underdogs and dreamers.

While Rhys keeps Tarquin occupied with meetings, Feyre searches the city, for the book. She sees the devastation wrought by Amarantha, but the signs of healing and repair assuage some of her guilt for killing the faerie youths. She sees an old temple partially submerged in the drifting tide and senses that the book may be inside.

Feyre and Tarquin plan an outing to the docks. Feyre mentions the small building at the sea’s edge, and the brief tension between Tarquin and Cresseida confirms her suspicions. She penetrates Tarquin’s mental barriers and senses apprehension. Why, he wonders, is she so curious about an old building? She sends her own thoughts into his, calming his fears. As she withdraws, she regrets the invasion. Later, Rhys assures her it was worth it. They plan to infiltrate the building the following evening. 

Feyre, Amren, and Rhys descend on the submerged temple at night. Rhys flies overhead, keeping watch for guards, while Amren and Feyre enter the temple. Feyre and Amren dig through the mud and debris until they find a door. Pressing her hand to the door, Feyre summons the essence of the Summer Lord—“I am your master, and you will let me pass” (350)—and the door opens, revealing a staircase to an underground chamber. They descend the stairs, wading through chest-high, freezing water to a second door. Feyre unlocks it just like the first, and inside, atop a stone pedestal, is a lead box containing the book. Feyre approaches the box, the tide nearly in, saying, “I am Tarquin; I am High Lord; I am your master” (352). She grabs the box, but a voice echoes back to her: “Liar.”  The chamber door slams shut. 

Seawater fills the corridor outside of the chamber. Amren punches the door opens, but water floods the room. Feyre clams the water and escapes the chamber while Amren holds the door open. She carves a path through the water to the stairs, but a sudden wave of water fills the corridor and the door at the top of the stairs slams shut. Feyre’s hands become talons as she tears at the door. Before she drowns, Feyre rips the door away and is rescued by three water wraiths, sisters of the wraith to whom Feyre gifted jewelry to pay her Tithe. Feyre and Amren swim to shore and collapse.

Rhys appears and winnows them all back to his townhouse in Velaris. Feyre manages to open the box, and they stare at the book. It is bound with metal, and Amren recognizes the language as “the Leshon Hakodesh. The Holy Tongue” (359), a language only Amren can decipher. Rhys hopes the book will also contain the secret to freeing Amren from her High Fae body. They discuss Jurian, the mortal warrior who fought in the ancient war between humans and faeries, whom they suspect the King of Hybern has resurrected. They believe he is allied with the king to secure the resurrection of his dead lover, Miryam.