Throne of Glass, #5
Empire of Storms
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
CHAPTER 36
Overview
After Deanna’s moonfire devastation, Fenrys rescues Aelin from drowning and brings Aelin back to Rowan and Gavriel on the reef, but Aelin is shaken, powerless, and surrounded by the consequences of the goddess’s destruction. Lysandra becomes the chapter’s main defender, saving Rolfe and fighting Morath’s sea-wyverns while trying to sink the remaining enemy ships.
Lysandra’s victories keep Aelin’s group alive and destroy more of Morath’s naval threat, but each success costs Lysandra strength. The chapter ends with the danger escalating again as three more massive creatures rush toward the exhausted Lysandra.
Summary
Aelin sinks beneath the waves after Deanna’s possession and the eruption of moonfire, stunned by what the goddess used Aelin to do. Fenrys finds Aelin, hauls Aelin above water, and repeatedly uses his short-distance traveling magic to move Aelin closer to the reef, exhausting himself in the process.
Aelin regains enough awareness to worry for Rowan and the others. Fenrys tells Aelin that Rowan is safe, and Aelin sees Rowan and Gavriel standing on the reef. Around Aelin, the water is full of wreckage, blood, and bodies, while most of Morath’s fleet has been destroyed; only three enemy ships remain, closing on the ruined Sea Dragon.
Fenrys urges Aelin to swim before anything in the water reaches them. Rowan swims out to guard Aelin, and Gavriel pulls Aelin onto the reef. Aelin tells Rowan that Aelin is herself again, but Aelin’s power is barren, Fenrys’s magic is spent, and the group is surrounded by water while Lysandra is nowhere in sight.
The chapter shifts to Lysandra underwater in sea-dragon form. After the explosion, Lysandra rescues Rolfe and his first mate from drowning debris, deposits them on a rocky shelf, and turns back toward the battle. Seeing blood clouds and realizing sea-wyverns are feeding, Lysandra decides to sink the remaining ships before Morath’s survivors can press the attack.
Lysandra damages one ship’s hull, then races toward the next, but two sea-wyverns intercept her. Because the beasts are larger and built for killing, Lysandra uses speed and strategy, luring them toward a sandbar. Lysandra kills one by exposing and crushing its neck and spine, but the second breaks away and heads for Aelin, Rowan, Gavriel, and Fenrys on the reef.
Lysandra intercepts the second wyvern before it can reach Aelin, drags it into battle, and slams it into a warship’s hull until both the ship and the wyvern break. Exhausted but determined to destroy the final ship, Lysandra surfaces, only to hear Aelin screaming a warning. Aelin points to the open water, where three more massive forms are charging straight at Lysandra.
Who Appears
- LysandraFights in sea-dragon form, rescues Rolfe, sinks ships, and kills two sea-wyverns.
- Aelin GalathyniusSurvives Deanna’s possession, reaches the reef shaken and powerless, and warns Lysandra.
- FenrysRescues Aelin from the water using exhausting short-distance traveling magic.
- Rowan WhitethornSurvives the destruction, swims to guard Aelin, and stands with her on the reef.
- GavrielHelps Aelin out of the water and remains with the group on the reef.
- RolfeSurvives the ship’s destruction and is rescued from drowning by Lysandra.
- Rolfe’s first mateClings to Lysandra and survives after being trapped in wreckage.