Throne of Glass, #7
Kingdom of Ash
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
Chapter 108
Overview
Gavriel secures Orynth’s western gate by sacrificing himself outside it, giving Aedion and the defenders a brief reprieve at devastating personal cost. Aedion finally accepts Gavriel as his father only moments before losing him, turning reconciliation into grief he must postpone for the sake of command.
Rowan retrieves Gavriel’s body and learns the next wave of Morath’s army is nearly upon them, including six Valg princesses. With an iron shard trapping him in his body and preventing flight, Rowan tears open his own wound in a desperate attempt to reach Aelin before the second battle begins.
Summary
At the western gate, Morath soldiers swarm over the fallen wyvern while Gavriel’s golden shield holds them back long enough for the Bane to drink, rearm, and regroup. Gavriel asks whether Aedion is hurt, then tells him Aelin has sealed the Wyrdgate, though Erawan remains alive. Aedion rejects rest, focused on shutting the broken gate before Morath overruns Orynth.
Aedion and Gavriel agree to close the gate “together,” and Aedion understands that Gavriel came for him, not only for Aelin or Terrasen. But instead of joining the Bane’s formation, Gavriel pushes his shield outward, driving Morath back through the archway. Gavriel orders Aedion to close the gate, steps outside alone, and is sealed beyond it as the soldiers bar the doors.
Aedion races to the walls too late. Gavriel’s golden light flashes and then vanishes. From above, Aedion sees that Gavriel has slaughtered enough Valg to block access to the western gate and secure it, but Gavriel lies dead among them, his throat torn out and his sword still in hand.
As Morath pulls back toward its approaching second army, Rowan fights toward the western gate, wounded and unable to shift because of an iron shard lodged in his shoulder. The khagan’s forces hurry through the southern gate or climb the walls before the city must seal itself again. Rowan finds Gavriel’s body before the gate and honors him as a brother who died defending Orynth and Aedion.
Rowan carries Gavriel up the siege ladder and into the city, where silence follows him. Aedion can only say that Gavriel could have stayed, but then he forces himself to set grief aside and prepares for the next phase of the battle. Enda and Sellene help reinforce the western gate with magic while soldiers move Gavriel’s body to safety.
A ruk rider reports that the incoming host numbers at least twenty thousand and includes Valg and six kharankui, which Rowan recognizes as the six Valg princesses inhabiting them. Desperate to reach Aelin before that threat arrives, Rowan cuts open his sealed shoulder wound to dig out the iron shard preventing him from shifting, praying he can find Aelin in time.
Who Appears
- GavrielAedion’s father; sacrifices himself outside the western gate to save Orynth and his son.
- Aedion AshryverBane commander; accepts Gavriel as father, then loses him and forces himself back to duty.
- Rowan WhitethornAelin’s mate; retrieves Gavriel’s body and cuts open his shoulder to remove iron.
- Ruk riderBloodied scout who reports the size and monstrous makeup of Morath’s advancing army.
- EndaFae ally using magic near the western gate to help reinforce Orynth’s defenses.
- SelleneFae ally helping Enda move debris and secure the western gate after Gavriel’s death.
- Aelin GalathyniusTerrasen’s queen; seen fighting toward the southern gate and urgently sought by Rowan.