Prythian is a land of immortal faeries, separated from the mortal world by an ancient wall. Its seven courts are each ruled by a High Lord, divided between the Solar Courts (Day, Dawn, and Night) and the Seasonal Courts (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter). The Night Court contains Velaris, a hidden city kept secret for five thousand years, as well as the Hewn City, a subterranean court of exiled nobles, and the Illyrian war-camps in the northern mountains. An ancient wall still separates Prythian from the mortal lands, where six human queens rule from a shared palace across the sea.
A Court of Wings and Ruin opens with Feyre back at the Spring Court. The King of Hybern possesses the Cauldron and intends to use it to destroy the wall. Feyre carries powers from all seven High Lords and is Rhysand’s mate, operating as a spy inside the Spring Court. Tamlin has allied with Hybern, granting the king’s forces passage through his lands. Feyre’s sisters, Nesta and Elain, were forced into the Cauldron and Made into High Fae against their will and are now at the Night Court. The mortal queens have fractured: one aided the Night Court, another allied with Hybern, and a sixth has gone missing. The Inner Circle holds both halves of the Book of Breathings. War is imminent.
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series
Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Book 2: A Court of Mist and Fury
Book 3: A Court of Wings and Ruin
Book 4: A Court of Frost and Starlight
Book 5: A Court of Silver Flames
Book 6: COMING SOON… (27 October 2026)
Book 7: COMING SOON… (12 January 2027)
Main Characters
Feyre Archeron: High Lady of the Night Court.
Rhysand: High Lord of the Night Court and Feyre’s mate.
Tamlin: High Lord of the Spring Court. Allied with the King of Hybern.
Nesta Archeron: Feyre’s eldest sister. Newly Made High Fae.
Elain Archeron: Feyre’s middle sister. Newly Made High Fae and Lucien’s mate.
Cassian: Illyrian commander and member of the Inner Circle.
Azriel: Rhysand’s spymaster and shadowsinger.
Morrigan (Mor): Rhysand’s cousin and Third-in-Command of the Night Court.
Amren: Rhysand’s Second-in-Command. An ancient entity bound in a High Fae body.
Lucien Vanserra: Spring Court emissary and Elain’s mate.
Supporting Characters
Ianthe: High Priestess in the Spring Court.
The King of Hybern: Ruler of Hybern, in possession of the Cauldron.
Jurian: A legendary human commander from the War.
Eris Vanserra: Eldest son of Beron, High Lord of the Autumn Court.
Tarquin: High Lord of the Summer Court.
Helion: High Lord of the Day Court.
Thesan: High Lord of the Dawn Court.
Kallias: High Lord of the Winter Court.
Beron: High Lord of the Autumn Court.
Keir: Steward of the Hewn City and Mor’s father.
The Bone Carver: An imprisoned entity beneath the Prison.
The Weaver: An ancient, powerful creature living in the heart of Prythian.
Vassa: A cursed human queen, bound to a death-lord as a firebird by day.
Drakon and Miryam: A Fae prince and human woman from the War.
Brannagh and Dagdan: The King of Hybern’s niece and nephew, stationed at the Spring Court.
Recap Summary
Feyre operates as a spy within the Spring Court, feeding information to Rhysand through their bond while systematically weakening the court’s defences. The King of Hybern sends a delegation — his twin niece and nephew, Brannagh and Dagdan, along with Jurian — to inspect the wall for weaknesses.
On trips to inspect the wall, Brannagh and Dagdan murder a group of Children of the Blessed. Feyre and Lucien retaliate by sending the Bogge after the twins, and Tamlin scolds them both. Feyre deliberately provokes Tamlin’s temper and does not shield herself when his magic destroys the room, letting the his sentries see the damage. She undermines Ianthe at the Summer Solstice by using Dawn Court power to outshine her, and manipulates Tamlin’s jealousy to fracture the court’s loyalty to its High Lord.
On the final trip to the wall, Ianthe shackles Lucien and forces herself on him. Feyre uses her daemati abilities to make Ianthe crush her own hand with a stone. Brannagh and Dagdan confront them, revealing they have been poisoning the Spring Court with faebane for weeks. Feyre and Lucien kill the twins and escape the Spring Court through a portal into the Autumn Court, where they are pursued by Beron’s sons. They evade capture and make their way into the Winter court only to be ambushed. As the faebane wears way, Rhysand detects the bond and send Azriel and Cassion to their rescue.
Feyre reunites with Rhysand and the Inner Circle in Velaris. Elain is withdrawn and unresponsive. Nesta is volatile but cooperating with Amren, who is training her to harness the power she took from the Cauldron. Amren is also working to decode the Book of Breathings for a spell to repair the wall. The Cauldron has a connection to both sisters. Elain begins having flashes of the future and present that she cannot control — a seer, Made by the Cauldron. Nesta, along with some unknown pwoer likened to Death, can also can sense when the Cauldron’s power is being used.
Rhysand and Feyre visit the Hewn City to demand Keir’s Darkbringer legion for the coming war. Feyre is presented on the throne as High Lady. They also seek alliances beyond the Night Court, and Lucien is sent to find Vassa, the cursed human queen, and rally a mortal army.
The six remaining High Lords are summoned to a meeting at the Dawn Court to discuss the threat from Hybern. Tamlin arrives late, and Feyre is publicly revealed as High Lady. Beron is hostile, Tarquin still bears a grudge over the stolen Book, and Tamlin accuses the Night Court of orchestrating the conflict. During the summit, Nesta senses the Cauldron being activated as the King of Hybern uses it to shatter the wall across Prythian and the continent. The High Lords scatter to prepare for war.
The courts of Prythian rally their armies. Before allying with them, the Bone Carver challenges Feyre to face the Ouroboros, an ancient mirror that shows the viewer their true self, and survive. The Weaver — revealed to be the Bone Carver’s sister — and Bryaxis are also recruited for the cause.
Hybern’s forces invade from the south. At the decisive battle, three armies arrive from the north: Tamlin’s Spring Court forces, Beron’s Autumn Court army, and a human army under Graysen’s banner led by Jurian, who reveals he was working against Hybern from within. From the sea, Drakon and Miryam arrive with a Seraphim legion and an armada, alongside Lucien, Vassa, and Feyre’s father, who Lucien found already heading to Prythian with a mortal army.
The King of Hybern captures Feyre’s father and uses him as a shield. He snaps their father’s neck in front of the Archeron sisters. Elain stabs the king through the throat with Azriel’s blade, Truth-Teller, and Nesta severs his head.
Amren enters the Cauldron to unleash her true form and turn the tide of battle. The Cauldron shatters, and Feyre and Rhysand use their combined power to reforge it. Rhysand gives everything he has and dies. The High Lords, including Tamlin, each give a spark of their power to resurrect him.
Amren is pulled from the remade Cauldron, alive but now truly High Fae with her ancient power gone. Drakon and Miryam spirit away the Cauldron. Peace talks begin between Fae and humans. Jurian, Lucien, and Vassa ally as the courts return to their territories.
Next in Series
The next instalment in the series is A Court of Frost and Starlight. The Inner Circle recovers in the aftermath of war as they approach the Winter Solstice.
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