Throne of Glass, #7
Kingdom of Ash
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
Chapter 59
Overview
The victory at Anielle turns catastrophic when Sartaq and Nesryn reveal that Morath has fatally damaged the dam, threatening to drown the khagan’s army on the plain. The allies scramble to evacuate soldiers and healers, but their triumph becomes a race against inevitable destruction.
Elide discovers that Lorcan is missing somewhere among the fallen and, when no one can retrieve him, chooses to search for him herself. Her vow to always find him drives her into direct danger, shifting the chapter from battlefield aftermath to desperate rescue.
Summary
After Morath is defeated at Anielle, Rowan stands with Aelin and their allies on the keep battlements as the khagan’s army kills the remaining enemy soldiers. The battlefield is filled with dead and wounded, and healers begin moving among them while ruks carry the badly injured into the Great Hall.
Princess Hasar reports that the khagan’s forces suffered minimal losses, though Chaol’s father admits Anielle’s soldiers paid heavily. Aelin remains quiet and distant after the battle, still bloodied and armored, while Rowan senses that the fight gave her an unleashing of power but has left her unsettled. Their attention turns to whether this victory will persuade the southern armies to continue north to Terrasen.
Sartaq and Nesryn arrive on their ruks with devastating news: Morath soldiers damaged the dam above the city before being stopped. The dam is likely to break at any moment, sending the upper waters across the plain and destroying the khagan’s army. Chaol orders ruks to evacuate as many soldiers as possible to the mountain and the keep, while those farther away are told to run for Oakwald or any possible high ground.
Elide reaches the battlements after helping the healers and learns that the dam may wipe out everyone below. She realizes the healers on the field, including Hafiza, may not have been warned, prompting Sartaq to fly out and rescue as many as he can. As panic spreads, Elide asks where Lorcan is, and the others realize they have not accounted for him since Gavriel saw him fighting far across the battlefield.
Rowan orders Fenrys to use his jumping magic to find Lorcan, but Fenrys says he cannot, and Aelin tells Rowan to leave him alone. With no one able to help, Elide refuses to believe Lorcan is dead and races down through the fleeing crowds, using the command to clear a path for the queen to reach the lower levels. At the gates, Elide sees that crossing the field on foot is impossible, so Elide takes Chaol’s fierce black mare, Farasha, calms her, mounts despite the pain in her injured ankle, and rides out onto the plain to find Lorcan before the dam bursts.
Who Appears
- Elide LochanRealizes Lorcan is missing and rides into the threatened battlefield to find him.
- Rowan WhitethornObserves the battle’s aftermath, assesses the dam threat, and urges Fenrys to rescue Lorcan.
- Aelin GalathyniusBloodied and distant after battle, helps face the crisis and restrains Rowan’s anger.
- SartaqReports the damaged dam and flies to rescue healers from the endangered plain.
- Nesryn FaliqArrives with Sartaq to warn that Morath’s attack on the dam may succeed.
- Chaol WestfallDirects emergency evacuation plans and orders the keep opened to fleeing survivors.
- FenrysRefuses or cannot use his magic to retrieve Lorcan, causing tension with Rowan.
- Lorcan SalvaterreMissing somewhere on the battlefield, driving Elide’s desperate search.
- GavrielReveals he last saw Lorcan fighting near the far side of the field.
- Princess HasarAssesses army losses and presses for evacuation answers as panic rises.
- Chaol’s fatherReports heavy Anielle losses and warns the keep cannot hold the whole army.
- FarashaChaol’s black mare, calmed and ridden by Elide into the battlefield.