Kingdom of Ash

Lysandra shifts into Aelin on the battlefield, raising morale again. Aedion runs to Lysandra, certain she will not survive fighting against trained soldiers. Lysandra suffers significant blood loss from battle injuries but manages to hold her own long enough to persuade fleeing soldiers to return.

Witches arrive with witch towers—weapons capable of amplifying The Yielding, a magical explosion in which a witch sacrifices her life to emit a devastating blast of power. One witch commits The Yielding, destroying 4,000 soldiers in Aedion’s army in one fell swoop.

Chaol and Yrene meet with Nesryn, Sartaq, and Sartaq’s sister Hasar to discuss battle strategies. Meanwhile, Aelin and her comrades, who got word of the battle in Anielle days ago, make haste toward the city. They walk in on the meeting, where Aelin joyfully reunites with Chaol and recognizes Yrene from a brief encounter years ago.

Aelin meets Lysandra’s uncle, Falkan, whom she recognizes as a merchant she crossed paths with years ago in the Red Desert. His former shifter abilities have come back after Dorian killed the stygian spider who stole them. The group from the Southern Continent shares their recent findings with Aelin, such as the fact that the stygian spiders are Valg, and so is Maeve.

Nesryn explains the history of the Valg, which matches the story Maeve told Aelin in her illusions. Nesryn also reveals that Yrene has found a way to rid Valg parasites without killing their human hosts. In turn, Aelin shares the details of her two months of captivity with Maeve.

Elide is disgusted that Lorcan ever admired Maeve, the Valg queen. She tells him that she doesn’t care whether he makes it off tomorrow’s battlefield.

Manon, the Thirteen, and Dorian return to the Crochans to await the Ironteeth’s answer. Dorian practices flying in raven form, so that he may infiltrate Morath.

Two days later, Lysandra wakes in a tent with Aedion, who informs her that they yielded Perranth to Morath’s armies and are retreating to Orynth. The soldiers witnessed “Aelin” shift back into Lysandra while injured, so they now know Aelin isn’t among them. Aedion apologizes for his hostility toward Lysandra, but she is not yet ready to forgive him for the humiliation his public resentment caused her.

Darrow reaches the army and strips Aedion of his rank as General of the Bane for disobeying his original orders to retreat to Orynth. Aedion is now only a soldier. Darrow threatens to execute Lysandra if she shifts into Aelin again and confiscates the Sword of Orynth from Aedion’s possession. The army is trapped by Morath’s forces on its retreat to Orynth.

Aelin meets Chaol’s father; the encounter does not go well, as the two despise one another.

When Aelin and her comrades have privacy, Elide asks who will rule Doranelle once Maeve is gone. They realize that Aelin, as a direct descendant of the former Faerie Queen Mab, is the only one with an undisputed claim to the throne. Aelin, who doesn’t want that throne, would rather it go to one of the descendants of Mora, another Fae queen.

Dorian shifts into one of the witches for practice. Manon won’t ask him not to go to Morath, but he knows she fears for him regardless. The Crochans pack up camp to return to their home-hearth but are interrupted by the arrival of the three Ironteeth Matrons.

The Yellowlegs Matron wears the Crochan crown of stars in mockery. Manon fights to defend the Crochans, killing the Yellowlegs Matron to steal back the crown. Manon allows the Blueblood Matron to live as a gesture of goodwill to her daughter, Petrah. The final Matron, Manon’s grandmother, flees. Glennis crowns Manon as Queen of Witches, and the Crochans and the Thirteen kneel before her.

Rowan begins to worry about Aelin, who has not showcased her fire powers since the night they rescued her. Aelin and her comrades raid the Keep’s treasury for armor and weapons. Rowan and the others leave Aelin behind to join the battle against Morath; she arrives in brilliant gold armor but wields only a sword, not her power.

Nesryn and Sartaq spot Morath soldiers attempting to break Anielle’s dam, which will flood the entire plain, killing everyone in its path. They fly ruks to destroy the battering ram, which has already cracked the dam’s foundations. Lorcan plunges into the battlefield on foot to protect the keep’s front gates. He’s charged by 10 Valg soldiers and is stabbed in the gut with a sword.

Sartaq and Nesryn urge soldiers to evacuate the plains before the cracked dam breaks. If they do not escape, most of the army will be lost. When Lorcan does not return to the keep, Elide steals Chaol’s horse and rides onto the plain to search for him.

Elide locates Lorcan on the battlefield, still alive despite his extensive wounds. They race to reach the keep’s gate before the dam breaks.

Lorcan tells Elide that he loves her. He wants to get off the horse, so she may ride faster and make it to the keep before the dam breaks, but Elide refuses to do so. They’re a mile from the keep when the dam bursts. A ruk deposits Aelin on the plain. She unleashes the pent-up power inside her, her fire turning the massive wave to steam and saving their forces.

Dorian plans to leave for Morath the following day. Manon asks him to stay and proposes they marry to form an alliance between Adarlan and the witches. Dorian doesn’t believe Manon wishes to be confined by marriage. They have sex. The next morning, when Manon wakes, Dorian and the two Wyrdkeys are gone.

Aedion sends out messages on behalf of Terrasen, calling for aid. As Morath’s army starts winning, Morath catapults the heads of Ansel of Briarcliff’s soldiers—the remainder of her army that she promised was coming to lend aid. Just then, Captain Rolfe arrives with the legendary fleet of the Mycenians, sailing up the river bordering the battlefield. They wield firelances that cause the Valg army to flee, buying Aedion’s armies time to flee north to Orynth.

Yrene and the healers tend to the wounded in the aftermath of the battle. The rest of the khagan’s army arrives on foot from the south. Lorcan is healed and when he wakes, Elide is at his bedside. Elide says she loves Lorcan too, and they kiss.

A scout returns to the Crochan camp with news that Terrasen has called for aid. Manon, the Thirteen, and the leaders of the Seven Great Hearths of the Crochans agree to answer the call. As Queen, Manon lights the Flame of War, and the scout flies across the continent spreading the eternally burning flame, summoning all the hidden Crochans to war.

Aelin tells Rowan that before they left Wendlyn, she sent letters to Rowan’s uncle, detailing Maeve’s nefarious plans and hinting that the queen might be Valg. She hopes to incite a rebellion in Doranelle large enough to dismantle Maeve’s army. Hasar, Kashin, Sartaq, and their armies decide to go with Aelin to Terrasen. Yrene begins healing people infected by Valg.

Aelin wonders if Yrene’s power can destroy Erawan and Maeve. If so, Aelin won’t have to sacrifice her life to forge the Lock. Aelin and Rowan search the Wyrdmark books from the Southern Continent for helpful enchantments but find nothing.

In exchange for part of Anielle’s territory, the Wild Men of the White Fang Mountains agree to lead Aelin’s forces through secret paths to Terrasen. Meanwhile, half of the rukhin, or ruk riders, of the Southern Continent will march along the eastern edge of the mountains to draw Erawan’s forces from the Ferian Gap.