Chapter 31

Summary

• The protagonist attends a ball filled with aristocrats and tries to appear joyful, despite concerns for Tamlin, a character in danger.
• The protagonist reflects on her failure to investigate or act upon the danger facing Tamlin, and her regret at not expressing her love.
• After the party, the protagonist avoids her overly curious suitors and slips away, still preoccupied with the thought of saving Tamlin.
• At lunch the next day, the protagonist learns of the tragic fire that killed the Beddor family, which strikes her as important since she had once provided that family name to Rhysand.
• Realizing the potential connection to faeries and the possibility that Rhysand remembers the name, the protagonist becomes nauseated and anxious.
• The protagonist instructs her family to keep everything she has told them secret, to not look for her, and to prepare for potential faerie threats by hiring guards and scouts.
• The protagonist's sister Nesta debates whether faeries will invade and encourages the protagonist to leave and not look back since they can care for themselves.
• The protagonist decides to return to Prythian to find out the truth, warn Tamlin, and express her feelings, disregarding the danger as just a human against powerful faeries.
• The protagonist departs with hunting equipment, and after imparting last-minute advice to Nesta, she sets out on a journey back to Prythian.
• Elain, another sister, provides a horse, food, and supplies for the protagonist's journey, and they share an emotional farewell.
• Traveling through silent forests, the protagonist encounters an invisible wall, which she eventually bypasses through a hidden gate after days of searching.
• Upon arrival at Tamlin's residence, the protagonist finds it destroyed and deserted, calling out for Tamlin and Lucien with no response.
• Alone in the ruins of the manor, the protagonist is overwhelmed with the realization that Tamlin is gone.