Throne of Glass, #5
Empire of Storms
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
CHAPTER 52
Overview
Lorcan and Elide follow Hellas’s guidance into the Stone Marshes, a haunted, ruined place where the dead still seem to linger and monstrous creatures hunt the waters. Their dangerous journey deepens their bond as Elide confronts Lorcan about Maeve and offers him a future refuge in Perranth, leading to a tender romantic breakthrough.
The chapter ends with the arrival of a vast ilken army, cutting off Lorcan and Elide’s intimacy and signaling that a major Morath force is converging on the marshes, likely because of Aelin’s presence or the power hidden there.
Summary
Lorcan and Elide do not reach Leriba or Banjali. Lorcan follows the insistent guidance of Hellas, believing the dark god is pushing him toward Aelin, the queen he seeks. Lorcan also calculates that because Elide carries a Wyrdkey, finding Aelin could give Lorcan two keys before Lorcan attempts to seize the third in Morath, though Lorcan knows that path would likely separate him from Elide forever.
After abandoning their barge and traveling through Eyllwe’s grasslands, Lorcan and Elide reach the Stone Marshes: a sunken, ruined landscape of brackish water, scattered islands, and ancient buildings. Elide immediately senses that the place is hostile to the living, full of trapped dead and dangerous creatures. Even Anneith is silent, and Lorcan admits he does not know why Aelin would be drawn there.
Over the next days, Lorcan and Elide cross the marshes slowly. Elide sees and hears impressions of the long-dead people drowned in the catastrophe that destroyed the land, while Lorcan also seems aware of the dead. Their progress is threatened by monstrous beasts, snakes, biting insects, and a sense that the marsh itself awakens whenever Lorcan uses his killing power.
On the fourth night, Lorcan and Elide shelter in a ruined hall above the water. After a distant beast’s roar unsettles the marsh, Elide asks Lorcan about Maeve. Lorcan admits he has loved Maeve since first seeing her but has never been Maeve’s lover, and Elide challenges whether Maeve exploits that love and whether Lorcan understands happiness at all.
The conversation turns intimate when Elide offers Lorcan refuge in Perranth if Lorcan ever needs a place to go. Elide kisses Lorcan, and Lorcan responds with unexpected tenderness. Their desire builds, but Lorcan abruptly stops when darkness spreads across the northeastern stars.
Lorcan identifies the darkness as an army of ilken. The threat forces the moment between Lorcan and Elide to end, and Elide understands that the ilken are not coming for Elide, implying their true target lies elsewhere in the marshes.
Who Appears
- Elide LochanTravels through the haunted marshes, senses the dead, and offers Lorcan refuge in Perranth.
- Lorcan SalvaterreFollows Hellas toward the marshes, plans around the Wyrdkeys, and grows intimate with Elide.
- MaeveAbsent queen whose hold on Lorcan is explored through his confession of long, hopeless love.
- HellasDark god whose guiding presence pushes Lorcan and Elide toward the Stone Marshes.
- IlkenMorath creatures appearing as a vast army that darkens the stars and threatens the marshes.