A Court of Silver Flames, Sarah J. Maas, 2021
(Spoilers)
Maas’s last (as of now) installment in the ACOTAR series is the Cassian and Nesta saga, A Court of Silver Flames.
As we left off in book 4, Nesta is angry and vindictive, and she blames the Inner Circle for how she and Elain were turned Fae. So Nesta continues to party all day and night, drink, sleep around, and, essentially, the Inner Circle decides they’re done with it, (Weird—very weird to me that they can tell this grown woman how to live her life, but anyway) so Feyre and Rhysand arrange for her to move into the House of Wind, where she will train with Cassian as an Illyrian Warrior, and where the only way she’ll be able to go out to town is if she can walk down the House of Wind’s 10,000 steps to the main novel. Throughout the novel, she continually tries and fails.
Early on, it’s established the Human Queens are still the enemy, seething at how they were made crones by the Cauldron before being made immortal. Eris tells the IC his father Beron, High Lord of Autumn, has allied with the Human Queens, leaving only one who went rogue as the Night Court’s only option for allyship.
Training with Nesta is impossible—Nesta at first refuses to eat and refuses to train, much to Cassian’s dismay, who’s goal is to seem like Daddy Illyrian Warrior in front of the already brutish Illyrians and—on embarrassing display—is refused respect from Nesta, this new, frail, feeble woman Fae.
Girlies, in Cassian and Nesta’s struggle, there’s an incredibly satisfying amount of sexual tension.
After training, as per the “rules” given to Nesta by the IC, Nesta volunteers at the Library in the House of Wind. Here, she meets Gwyn, a Priestess in the library who becomes one of Nesta’s best friends. Her other friend is Emerie, who Nesta meets in a gear shop in the village near the Illyrian War Camp. In the Library Nesta also realizes that the house seems to respond to her—sending her food, flickering lights, preparing fires and baths, etc. We later learn from Amren that the house has been “made” by Nesta’s powers, because she was so lonely and subconsciously desired a friend (come on, that’s adorable).
Cassian’s last attempt at getting Nesta to train is to change the setting to private lessons at the House of Wind rather than at Windhaven (the Illyrian War Camp). This works. During these early lessons, Nesta and Cassian get to know each other’s pasts, talking a little bit about Nesta’s relationship with her mother and Cassian’s upbringing as an Illyrian orphan. Cassian tells Nesta about the Blood Rite, which is a survival test on Ramiel, the Night Court’s mountain, that each Illyrian Warrior has to do before graduating. The Blood Rite decides the Illyrian Rank (those who don’t make it to Ramiel, but survive the Rite; those who make it to Ramiel, but not the top; those who make it to the Summit). Not many warriors have ever made it to the summit of the mountain, but Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel have.
Nesta, getting to know Gwyn and seeing how frightened some of the other Priestesses in the library look, asks Cassian if they can begin to train the traumatized Priestesses in the safe setting of the House of Wind. It takes a while for people to sign up, but eventually, Emerie and Gwyn begin training with Nesta, and slowly but surely a larger group of the Priestesses join.
After one of Nesta’s retreats down the House of Wind steps to let off the steam of a heated argument had with Elain, Cassian waits for her at the top to tease her failure, and they have their steamy first kiss.
The political drama begins. It is true the Human Queens are looking for the Cauldron again, specifically the “troves,” which are Cauldron-made items; one of which raises the dead (mask), one opens doors (harp), and one has the power to influence anyone (crown). Elain agrees to help find the troves because, being Cauldron-made items, the only ones who can find them are Cauldron-made Fae. Nesta also agrees—to protect Elain—and confronts Feyre for not offering her help. Feyre admits she’s pregnant (Ahhh!!).
More time goes by in which Nesta and Cassian become more sexual (this is the spiciest novel of the bunch), Nesta scries for the trove items, and Nesta’s powers of Silver Flames reveal themselves. Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn continue to train, and Gwyn teaches Nesta about the Valkyries—women warriors who used mind-stilling practices to relieve emotions and fight.
In the most fucked up part of the book, Rhys reveals to Cassian and Azriel that Feyre’s baby has wings, and as Feyre is Fae, not Illyrian, her body is not built to rear wings. She will not survive childbirth. Rhys tells Cassian and Azriel not to tell anyone, including Feyre (what???)
Nesta’s scrying for the troves works, and points them toward the “Bog,” which is basically a lake of black death. She, Cassian, and Azriel go to retrieve the mask, and Azriel disappears. He was taken by some Autumn court “lost” soldiers (who had really just become robotic pawns of the Crown, which is in the possession of the Queens). While Cassian saves Azriel, Nesta is pulled into the Bog and attacked by a Kelpie (a deathly creature), but she finds the mask and is saved by Cassian.
During training, Nesta finds the Valkyrie way is working very well for her. Cassian brings her to a blacksmith to get weapons made, and, afterward, learns from Rhysand that the weapons she made were cursed. The implications of this are that the weapons which Nesta made, being Cauldron-made herself, have powers in the same way the mask, harp, and crown do. The inner circle is torn between letting Nesta know how strong her powers are, but Feyre, being the deciding vote, decides to let Nesta know.
When Cassian tells Nesta that her weapons are magical, his language reveals that the entire Inner Circle knew before she did, and so she is enraged, and attempts (for like the 10th time) to climb down the stairs again. This time, in her rage, she succeeds. She goes straight to Amren’s place for a heated fight (Amren was her closest friend in the Inner Circle up until recently), and when Feyre arrives, she tells Feyre about the high risk pregnancy. Rhysand threatens to kill her (??? this is stupid) and tells Cassian to take her and go.
To save Nesta from Rhys, Cassian flies Nesta into the deserted mountains, where they don’t speak for 3 days. Nesta nearly kills herself from the exhaustion of not eating or drinking. The 3 day mountain hike ends with her breaking down in tears, held up by Cassian (this scene was SO sad).
Back at home, Nesta goes with Gwyn to a Priestess service and finds that the music works wonders on her nerves, even putting her in a trance. In that trance, she finds her Cauldron connection to the Harp, which is beneath the Prison. She and Cassian go to the Prison, where they are confronted by Lanthys, a sadistic immortal who Cassian had in the past fooled into capture. The Harp, which opens doors, is first used to bring Nesta to the Mortal Queens, who threaten her, and then it saves her, by bringing her back to Cassian and Lanthys’s death scene after Cassian tells her to run, and scaring Lanthys with her Cauldron-made power.
During the fight, Lanthys gives Nesta an image of what life would look like for her if she was his Queen. She is almost tempted.
In debrief with Rhysand and Feyre, they discover that the Mortal Queens have the Crown, which is why Eris’s soldiers were in a trance. Rhys decides it’s time to reinforce his allyship with Eris, so he requests they use Nesta as a sexual weapon of temptation, since she’s apparently such a fine and flawless dancer.
On Winter Solstice, the crew visits the Court of Nightmares, where Nesta and Eris dance. Rhys also gives Eris one of Nesta’s hand-made weapons as a Solstice present in order to solidify their alliance. Cassian is jealous of Eris and Nesta’s dance. Eris requests Rhys for Nesta’s hand in marriage—Rhys says he’ll talk to Nesta.
At the Inner Circle’s Solstice Celebration, Cassian gives Nesta the most thoughtful, beautiful gift. He gets her a magical music player—a Symphonia—which records music and allows for it to be replayed. Nesta, of course, takes to this unkindly, saying that she doesn’t deserve it. She and Cassian confess their love for each other.
The training sessions for Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn become a lot more serious, as they are now reaching master levels.Cassian and Azriel set up an obstacle course, and once they complete it successfully (after a few months), they are officially Valkyrie and have completed the “Blood Rite Qualifier.”
On a nice romantic walk through Velaris, Cassian and Nesta discuss the possibility of being mates, which creates an argument (of course). Cassian goes away to the House of Wind, and Nesta has a sleepover with Gwyn and Emerie at Emerie’s house. While sleeping, they are taken to participate in the Blood Rite—where Cassian, Rhys, and Azriel are certain they will be killed.
At the Blood Rite, there is no magic and no weapons. Participants only have their body and war skills to survive against the weather, the creatures of the mountains, and each other. Nesta wakes, bound and separated from her friends. She makes it her mission to find both Emerie and Gwyn.
In the meantime, Eris has been captured by the Mortal Queens, so Cassian and Azriel go to rescue. Note, Rhys is not able to go, because he and Feyre made a fool’s bargain to connect their life lines with one another, so if Rhys is in danger, now Feyre is too!! Like…what????
When they get there, Eris is under the Mortal Queen’s command using the Cauldron-made Crown.
Feyre finds Emerie and Gwyn, both near to death, and they fight off some bad guys (specifically, Emerie’s disgusting cousin), which leaves Gwyn gravely injured. They reach the mountain. Though they are content enough with ranking here as second best, they decide to keep on going to try and reach Ramiel’s summit. Emerie’s cousin catches up, and Nesta convinces her friends to go on ahead to the top of Ramiel—which they do, making whether Nesta herself lives or dies nonessential. Nesta and Emerie’s cousin go face to face.
Cassian appears, saving Nesta from Emerie’s cousin, and he begs Nesta to kill him, as he is too under the influence of the Cauldron’s Crown, and is being told to kill Nesta. In Cassian’s struggle, they figure out it was the Mortal Queen—her name is Briallyn, btw, the big one this centers around—who has brought Nesta to the Blood Rite. She gives Nesta an ultimatum, and then tells Cassian to “kill,” but, as her language doesn’t specify, he goes to kill himself. (come ON! Killed me as well). When this happens, Nesta releases her full power, which dissolves Briallyn and the Crown.
Back at home, Feyre is in labor. She, Rhysand, and the baby are all going to die. Nesta uses the three trove items to stop time in the midst of it all, and she makes a deal with the Cauldron that if it lets her sister and family live, she will “give it all back.” (I was bawling my eyes out here). When time goes back, everything is alright. Nesta has forfeited her powers of death, and Feyre and Rhys have a baby boy, Nyx.
Happily ever after 🙂
Although parts of this were absolutely absurd (I’m talking Rhys’s failure to tell Feyre she’s going to die and then their ridiculous joint death bargain), I think this is my favorite novel of the 5. I really do. It has the same enemies to lovers trope as ACOMAF, but also so many more important themes like Nesta’s own healing of the issues she has with herself and with her sisters.
5/5. I will spend the rest of my time sitting in my backyard chair and waiting until we get an official announcement for book 6. Fingers crossed Elain and Azriel!!
Quotes:
Pulling back from the window, Nesta studied those distant stars again. Half-wondered if they might speak.
Go! He had begged her as he lay dying. I can’t, she’d wept, I can’t.
She couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop it. Not the flash of desire, but the smile that overtook her face. She huffed a laugh. Cassian stared like he hadn’t seen her before.
He said, voice shaking, “I’ve made a mess of you.” She buried her face in the blanket. “I like it.”
She closed her eyes and willed herself to ignore the snapping and cracking of the wood as the fire consumed it, will herself to melt into the earth, into the mountain, and disappear forever.
It was a blessed relief, to be nothing and no one.
So Nesta held her sister tightly, with Time halted around them, and she whispered, “If you show me how to save her, you can have it back.”
