Throne of Glass, #7
Kingdom of Ash
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
Chapter 8
Overview
Maeve intensifies Aelin’s captivity by publicly humiliating Aelin with Mab’s crown and forcing Aelin to kneel in a circle of brutal glass. Maeve reveals that she knows about Lysandra impersonating Aelin in Terrasen, stripping away one of Aelin’s hopes while showing how far Maeve’s reach extends.
The chapter’s deepest blow falls on Fenrys when Maeve orders Connall into a demonstration of obedience, and Connall kills himself rather than Fenrys. Aelin still resists, wounding Cairn and grazing Maeve, and the glimpse of Maeve’s black blood suggests there may be something unnatural or hidden beneath Maeve’s surface.
Summary
Aelin wakes inside Maeve’s iron coffin without the iron gauntlets on her hands. Aelin tests the lid but cannot move it, then Cairn opens the box and removes Aelin’s chains from their anchors. Guards arrive, and Varik holds a sword to Fenrys’s throat, making clear that any escape attempt will cost Fenrys his life.
Cairn bags Aelin’s head and leads Aelin through halls, mist, stairs, gardens, and finally to a broad veranda above a roaring river and waterfalls. Maeve waits on a stone throne with an owl and a black wolf. Maeve has Mab’s crown placed on Aelin’s head, then orders Cairn to shove Aelin barefoot into a circle of sharp glass, forcing Aelin to kneel in it as a mockery of Aelin’s royal birthright.
Maeve calls Fenrys forward and reveals the black wolf as Connall, Fenrys’s twin. Connall, apparently speaking freely, lashes out at Fenrys for taking the blood oath, serving Aelin, and ruining the place Connall believed he had earned beside Maeve. Fenrys is visibly wounded and enraged, but Maeve’s command prevents Fenrys from intervening.
Maeve offers to end the torture if Aelin reveals the Wyrdkeys and swears the blood oath, but Aelin answers with defiance. Cairn presses Aelin harder into the glass. Maeve then reveals that her spies report Aelin’s supposed presence in Terrasen with Rowan and the others, proving Maeve knows about Lysandra impersonating Aelin. Maeve also explains that the glass came from ancient dragon wars, while Aelin thinks of Terrasen and remembers Rhoe teaching Aelin that her duty is to defend and protect the kingdom.
Maeve decides to demonstrate what sacrifice means and orders Connall to act. Connall seems about to kill Fenrys, but instead stabs himself through the heart. Fenrys tries helplessly to reach Connall as Connall dies, and Maeve tells Aelin that Aelin tainted something Maeve owned. Fenrys’s grief and Maeve’s cruelty nearly break Aelin, but rage rises when Cairn begins dragging Aelin away.
Aelin snatches two shards of glass and strikes back. Aelin stabs Cairn in the neck and throws the second shard at Maeve, grazing Maeve’s cheek. For an instant, Aelin sees Maeve bleed black before the blood appears red, leaving the sight uncertain. Maeve responds with a dark wind that wraps around Aelin’s throat and chokes Aelin into unconsciousness.
Who Appears
- Aelin GalathyniusCaptive queen tortured on glass; refuses Maeve’s demands and wounds Cairn and Maeve.
- MaeveCruel queen orchestrating Aelin’s humiliation, revealing knowledge of Terrasen’s ruse, and killing through command.
- FenrysBound wolf forced to watch Aelin’s torture and Connall’s death without being able to act.
- CairnAelin’s sadistic torturer who forces Aelin into glass and is stabbed in the neck.
- ConnallFenrys’s twin, loyal to Maeve, who denounces Fenrys and then kills himself by command.
- VarikGuard who threatens Fenrys with a blade to prevent Aelin’s attempted escape.
- Rhoe GalathyniusAelin’s father, remembered teaching Aelin that her duty is to defend Terrasen.