Empire of Storms

During the journey to Skull’s Bay, Rowan tells Dorian that he must eat to replenish his magic because his magic is working overtime to keep him alive after his poisoning with wyvern venom. Dorian confesses his lack of understanding about his magic and despairs that his power wasn’t enough to save Sorscha. Rowan tells him that his own mate, Lyria, was also murdered, and the two bond over their shared trauma. Rowan agrees to help Dorian master his magic. He also tells Dorian that he should offer privateer status to Captain Rolfe and his pirates in order to sway them to join the battle against Erawan.

Aedion, Aelin, and Lysandra sneak into the temple. Aedion flirts with Lysandra, but never takes it further than casual flirtation because of their past experience with nonconsensual sexual encounters. When they arrive at the temple in Ilium, Aelin confronts one of Lord Meah’s soldiers and uses her magic to crown herself with fire. When he refuses to yield, she burns him from the inside out. Aedion takes out the sword of Orynth, and Lysandra shifts into her snow leopard form. They then attack the remaining soldiers. Within 20 minutes, they have control of the temple, and Aelin uses her fire to cleanse it. Aelin then steps onto the Rock, the sacred stone at the heart of the temple.

On the Rock, Aelin takes out the Wyrdkey amulet and puts it around her neck. After a few moments, the spirit of her ancestor, Brannon, appears and answers her questions about Maeve. He admits that he does not know how Maeve can be killed because although she is not Valg, she is unusual. He gives Aelin advice on how to handle her flames: the same flames that he once wielded. He tells Aelin that she needs to find the Lock in the Stone Marshes in the south. This Lock, when bound with the Wyrdkeys, can permanently close the Wyrdgate, which Elena needs Aelin to do. When Brannon disappears, Aelin tells Aedion and Lysandra about the Lock, though she wants to prioritize finding allies. They are interrupted by the arrival of the Head Overseer of Endovier, the salt mine where Aelin was enslaved and brutalized. He taunts Aelin about her traumatic past, and when she tries to use her power on him to free him from Valg control, he reveals that he does not have a Valg collar. Instead, he has an iron Valg heart. Erawan then tears the Head Overseer’s body apart until all that is left in the man’s cracked chest are black shadows and the gold of Erawan’s eyes. Aelin greets Erawan.

Erawan tells Aelin that resisting him and his plans is futile. She tries to battle him with her flames, but it is difficult. Erawan is surprised that Aelin tried to free the overseer instead of killing him immediately. He tells Aelin that he knows where Rowan and Dorian are; he plans to capture them and turn them into Valg generals in his army. When Aelin tries to attack Erawan, he blasts her with his power. Erawan leaves, and Aelin incinerates the overseer’s body. She and Aedion and Lysandra agree to rush to Skull’s Bay.

Manon spends the night before Asterin’s execution brooding. Sorrel (her Third and soon to become her Second) almost challenges her about letting Asterin die for Manon’s secrets. Manon plans to invoke the Words of Request, her right to kill Asterin instead of letting the other witches torture and behead her. In the morning, before the Yellowlegs can begin torturing Asterin, Manon invokes the Words of Request, which are honored. She goes over to Asterin and sees the love and devotion in her eyes, even though Asterin could save her own life by giving Manon up. Manon realizes that she has both a heart and a soul, and both require her to do the right thing. She tells the Thirteen to run before taking her sword and attacking her grandmother, the Blackbeak Matron.

As Manon and her grandmother fight, the Thirteen escape. In the battle, the Blackbeak Matron reveals the truth of Manon’s heritage. Manon’s father was a secret Crochan prince, and he and Manon’s mother believed that she could be a child of peace to unite the Ironteeth Witches and the Crochan Witches. The Matron murdered Manon’s father and turned Manon into a bloodthirsty, war-motivated Ironteeth heir. The Crochan spy who infiltrated the witches in Morath in Queen of Shadows was Manon’s half-sister, so Manon is a kin-killer. Horrified by this news and wounded, Manon throws herself over the side of the cliff, landing on Abraxos. She and the Thirteen engage in a flying battle with the Yellowlegs before Manon falls unconscious near Oakwald forest.

Elide and Lorcan trek through Oakwald for days. They arrive at a village, and Elide styles herself and Lorcan as regular travelers and tells people that they have been married for three months. In town, they encounter a performance troupe and offer to join them. Elide falsely claims to be a fortune teller and says that Lorcan is a sword-thrower and strongman. The troupe accepts them. Lorcan wonders about Elide, whom he still thinks is named Marion. He realizes that Elide was enslaved in Morath and feels bad about the evidence of her mistreatment. He does not like the casual touch that Elide gives him, as he does not like affection in general, even from his lovers. From the troupe, they hear about the carnage in Rifthold, and everyone worries about the possibility of conscription. Lorcan worries that there will be no happy ending for Elide.

Rowan and Dorian arrive in Skull’s Bay. Rowan is exhausted, as he barely slept on their travels, often flying ahead to survey for danger. He also helped Dorian with his magic. Now, Rowan looks at the Ship Breaker, a chain that surrounds the mouth of the bay to keep unwanted sea traffic away. Rowan is impressed by the scale of Skull’s Bay and the havoc that Aelin was able to wreak, but he knows that he and Dorian must remain diplomatic to convince Captain Rolfe to join their side. He and Dorian find an inn, but before they can rest, they both sense unfamiliar magic that is not of the Valg. They go to the Sea Dragon, Rolfe’s tavern, where a tattooed bartender tells them that Rolfe has been awaiting them. They go to the back of the tavern and find Rolfe.

Rolfe already knew that Rowan and Dorian arrived thanks to his magic tattoos that show enemies and ships in the archipelago. Rolfe tells them that he lost many of his men fighting Erawan’s forces, which sought to take over the archipelago. Erawan even turned some of Rolfe’s men into Valg using his dark rings. Rolfe also reveals that Erawan has sea wyverns. Rolfe cannot use his magic tattoos to sense the comings and goings of the Valg, which makes attack risky as he does not know what they’re up against. Rolfe also tells Dorian that Duke Perrington, now Erawan, has deemed Dorian a traitor, claiming to have liberated Rifthold from Dorian’s clutches. In the guise of Perrington, Erawan has named Holland Havilliard his heir, and Rifthold is now controlled by the witches. Dorian can no longer offer money or privateer status to Rolfe in exchange for his alliance, which complicates matters. Before the discussion can continue, two Fae males who recognize Rowan enter the room, and Rowan throws a dagger near them.

Fenrys and Gavriel (two other members of Rowan’s cadre who are bloodsworn to Maeve) are the Fae males in Rolfe’s office. They do not immediately tell Rowan why they have left Wendlyn to come east to Erilea. The Fae sit down for lunch with Dorian and Rowan and eventually tell Rowan that Maeve is sailing her armada to Eyllwe, though they are unsure why. Since Rowan left and Lorcan went rogue, Maeve now withholds information from the remaining cadre. Maeve mistrusts Fenrys in particular and has kept his twin, Connall, with her in Wendlyn. In exchange for Connall’s fair treatment, Fenrys serves as Maeve’s unwilling sexual partner. Fenrys asks Rowan about Aelin and her plans to bring Rolfe to their side, but Rowan does not reveal much information. When they arrive at the inn to rest, Gavriel and Fenrys reveal that Maeve sent them to find and kill Lorcan.

Rowan is shocked that Maeve would kill Lorcan. Gavriel and Fenrys ask Rowan if he knows anything about Lorcan’s whereabouts. Rowan bargains with them, asking them to join Aelin’s cause and fight against Erawan, reasoning that they can skirt Maeve’s orders on technicalities. He says that because Lorcan will inevitably return to Aelin, Gavriel and Fenrys could kill Lorcan after they help Aelin defeat Erawan. Rowan also tells Gavriel that he has a son on Aelin’s side (Aedion).

Aelin and Aedion slip onto a ship leaving Ilium. Lysandra accompanies them, disguised as their pet bird. While onboard, Aelin and Aedion discuss the battle of Theralis, which Aedion fought in when he was just 14. They also contemplate the trauma that Aelin endured at Endovier, and they both bond over their shared painful pasts. Aelin hopes that they will arrive at Skull’s Bay before Erawan does. She plans to move on from there to the Stone Marshes in Eyllwe.

Manon wakes atop Abraxos in the Oakwald Forest. Her wounds from her grandmother’s iron nails are jagged and painful, and she manages to sit up long enough to bind them before she falls unconscious again. When she wakes the next time, Abraxos has brought her close to a stream. She is interrupted by the arrival of a woman with bright blue eyes, who introduces herself as the Bloodhound, a servant of Erawan. The woman’s form is an illusion; the Bloodhound is actually a winged monster. It pursues Manon and Abraxos; Manon runs on foot until Abraxos grabs her with his clawed hands and carries her away, flying evasively from the Bloodhound before whacking it out of the sky with his tail. Manon climbs back into the saddle and tells Abraxos to fly to the coast and find somewhere safe. She then loses consciousness again.