Chapter 43

Summary

• The protagonist, Feyre, enters wearing her old, ragged clothes and is taken to the throne room for her final trial.
• The faeries silently observe her with gestures of farewell, acknowledging she is likely to face death.
• Amarantha, the antagonist, taunts Feyre about the forthcoming last trial, hinting at its difficulty and the possibility of Feyre failing when so close to success.
• The crowd remains mostly silent, possibly showing a change of heart or resignation to Feyre's potential death.
• Amarantha mocks Feyre, asking if she has any last words before dying. Feyre declares her love for Tamlin.
• Feyre's declaration is met with no response from Tamlin, who remains stoic, increasing her sense of anguish.
• Amarantha presents Feyre's final task: to kill three innocent faeries with a dagger made of ash or forfeit her life in exchange.
• Feyre grapples with the morality of killing innocents to achieve the greater good of freeing Prythian and Tamlin.
• The first victim's hood is removed, revealing a pleading High Fae youth. Despite his eyes begging for mercy, Feyre stabs him to death.
• As Feyre kills the first faerie, someone in the crowd responds with grief.
• Feyre faces the second victim, a female faerie, who resignedly recites a prayer as Feyre kills her, causing more faeries to lament.
• When the final hood is removed, Feyre is horrified to see Tamlin as her last victim.
• Amarantha reveals she has tricked Feyre, using an illusion to make it seem like Tamlin was sitting beside her the whole time.
• Feyre realizes that she cannot pierce Tamlin's heart because it has been turned to stone, which is how Amarantha has been controlling the High Lords.
• Feyre trusts her understanding of the situation and stabs Tamlin, betting that her love and knowledge will break the spell because he cannot truly be killed by the blade.