A Court of Silver Flames

Nesta awakens among a group of drugged male Illyrians, their wings bound. She is wearing only a nightgown in the frigid cold. She recalls Cassian’s description that there are three dropping-off points for warriors participating in the Blood Rite. Since she doesn’t see Gwyn or Emerie, she assumes the three females were each dropped into separate groups. Nesta knows she doesn’t have much time before the males wake up, and one is already stirring.

She is stunned to see a dagger sticking out of a tree trunk a short distance away, even though all weapons are banned during the Rite. She sprints for the dagger as the male follows and tackles her. To her surprise, Nesta manages to embed the weapon in the male’s neck, and he dies instantly. She immediately strips off his clothing and boots, leaving her nightgown as his death shroud, before searching for her friends.

Meanwhile, Cassian is beside himself, knowing the females have been abducted. The competition rules forbid him to intervene, or he and Nesta will both be killed. Rhys tells Cassian and Azriel that they must rescue Eris, who has been kidnapped by Briallyn. Rhys also discloses that he and Feyre have sworn to die together, so he can’t participate in the rescue without endangering his wife and child.

Back at the site of the Blood Rite, Nesta climbs a hill, hoping to spy her friends, but there is no sign of them. Strangely enough, the charms on her bracelet begin to glow, and she realizes that she accidentally enchanted them to act as homing devices. She knows that one of the Valkyries is in trouble and heads north as the bracelet indicates. As she travels, Nesta is accosted by a male with a bow and arrow. Someone has been secretly dropping weapons into the competition. She dispatches her adversary quickly with her dagger and takes his weapons before continuing on her way.

When she reaches a river, she overhears a conversation among the warriors camped there. They awoke with Emerie in their midst, but she escaped by throwing herself into the river. Nesta heads downstream and finds her friend barely alive in the water. Emerie has hit her head on a rock and remains unconscious. Nesta laboriously hauls her to the opposite shore and lights a fire to warm her. Emerie is still dressed in her nightgown, and Nesta sheds some of her thin clothing to keep her friend warm. As dusk approaches, she considers how to shelter the two of them. She searches for an entrance to the caves that are said to exist at the mountain's base when a male named Balthazar points her to the entrance.

He protests that he has no quarrel with her, already knowing her fearsome reputation. They agree to share the cave for the night, but Nesta refuses to shut her eyes just in case. All night long, they hear screams in the distance as predators feast on the warriors who failed to climb out of their reach. After daybreak, Nesta finds plenty of spare clothing among the dead. Balthazar then departs, wishing her well. Once Emerie is dressed, she and Nesta continue their search for Gwyn.

When they find the third camp, they see a nightgown hanging on a branch. The two females sneak closer, hoping for a sight of Gwyn, but they are ambushed by Emerie’s cousin, Bellius. He used the nightgown as bait, claiming that Gwyn escaped. He threatens to kill Emerie for having disgraced his family. Other males join him in the attack when a monstrous beast appears and rips through the warriors, giving Emerie and Nesta time to escape.

After fleeing a short distance, they meet up with Gwyn, who lured the beast toward the warriors once she saw her friends in danger. She explains that she awoke first and immediately stole some clothing and a cache of weapons. Now reunited, the three friends must endure four more days before the ordeal ends.

Meanwhile, Azriel and Cassian have been flying above Briallyn’s castle in hopes of spying Eris. After a few days, they see a group of 20 riders on horseback leaving the palace. Eris is riding beside a hooded figure that the spies assume is Briallyn. Eris still has the magic dagger at his side. Cassian and Azriel remain high in the clouds but continue to track the party below to its destination, wherever that may be.

Back at the Blood Rite, the Valkyries have fought their way through another party of warriors and killed them all, though Gwyn has taken an arrow in the leg. They have already advanced to the mountain, which is farther than any of their competitors have gone. Nesta suggests that they not try to scale the peak. She is especially hesitant to tackle the most direct but most difficult route, called the Breaking. Despite her injury, Gwyn is determined to continue, and the others agree to finish the course to prove they can.

With only one day left to the Blood Rite, Cassian agonizes over Nesta’s well-being. Azriel points out that the females are well-trained and can hold their own. Cassian also realizes that if anything were to happen to Nesta, he would feel it in his heart. The two continue to trail the group on horseback until they stop at the shores of a small lake. Finally landing, Azriel and Cassian decide to approach the camp on foot. Eris materializes out of nowhere and sticks the magical dagger against Cassian’s ribs. He leads Azriel and Cassian back to the shores of the lake, where the hooded figure awaits. The rest of the party of 20 riders has disappeared. The cloaked figure also evaporates, and Eris’s face takes on a vacant expression. The spies realize that they have been tricked by an illusion. It was created not by Briallyn but by Koschei, whose lake this is.

Meanwhile, the three Valkyries have only one day to go. They approach a ravine spanned by a makeshift bridge. If they can cross it and destroy the bridge, they can slow down their competitors. They spy a party of males, led by Balthazar, heading for the same destination. The Valkyries race to cross the bridge first, but Gwyn’s lameness makes her lag behind. Nesta sends a coil of rope in Gwyn’s direction that she loops around her waist as the males begin to close the gap. Gwyn is still on the bridge when Nesta cuts the ties, and a few pursuing males fall to the chasm below while Emerie and Nesta draw Gwyn to safety. The males on the other side of the ravine scream curses at the females because they now must try to find another route to the top of the mountain.

Nesta and Emerie struggle to remove the arrow and help Gwyn along. That night, they climb high into a tree together, knowing they will reach the summit the following day. That evening, each one tells her own story of abuse and survival. Even Nesta opens up about all the terrible things she did, but nobody blames her. The three females offer mutual support for their individual experiences of trauma and guilt.

The following day, Gwyn can barely walk. The Valkyries have finally reached the narrow Pass of Enalius, where a legendary Fae hero made a stand against a much larger enemy force. Beyond the pass, it’s a short distance to the top of the mountain. Just as they reach the gap, the Valkyries spy Bellius and his group approaching. The females can’t outrun them with Gwyn’s injuries. Nesta gives Gwyn a nerve pinch to incapacitate her and makes Emerie promise to carry her to the top of the mountain. Nesta will stay behind and fight off as many Illyrians as possible to buy them time.