Throne of Glass, #2
Crown of Midnight
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
Overview
Crown of Midnight follows Celaena Sardothien after she becomes the King of Adarlan’s Champion, a title that gives her privilege in the glass castle but binds her to a brutal ruler’s orders. Publicly, she is expected to serve as the king’s assassin; privately, she struggles with conscience, secrecy, and the dangerous hope of eventual freedom.
As Celaena investigates Archer Finn, an old acquaintance accused of rebel ties, she is drawn into a web of resistance movements, court politics, forbidden magic, and ancient powers hidden beneath the castle. Her relationships with Captain Chaol Westfall, Crown Prince Dorian Havilliard, and Princess Nehemia Ytger become increasingly strained as each faces competing loyalties.
The novel blends political intrigue, romance, grief, and dark fantasy as Celaena confronts the cost of survival under tyranny. Its central conflicts revolve around freedom, responsibility, friendship, and whether one person can keep running from a fight that is growing larger than any single kingdom.
Plot Summary ⚠️ Spoilers
Celaena Sardothien serves as the King of Adarlan’s Champion, supposedly murdering the enemies he names in exchange for eventual freedom. In truth, she has been faking the deaths of her targets and smuggling them away, using corpses and staged evidence to deceive the king. Her next assignment is Archer Finn, a famous courtesan she knew from the Assassins’ Keep, whom the king suspects of involvement in a rebel movement in Rifthold. Celaena begins investigating him while hiding the full truth from Chaol Westfall, Dorian Havilliard, and Nehemia Ytger.
At the same time, old supernatural dangers resurface. Celaena is haunted by nightmares of Cain and the ridderak, sees an inhuman hooded figure in the castle, and returns to Elena’s tomb for answers. There she meets Mort, a talking bronze skull who guards the tomb, and learns that ancient Wyrdmark magic still functions despite the disappearance of ordinary magic. Elena’s message warns Celaena that Cain was only the beginning and that the king’s hidden power threatens all Erilea. Celaena resists the burden, but her investigation into Archer and the king’s plans soon overlaps with Wyrdmarks, secret passages, and a mysterious sealed iron door beneath the library.
Celaena and Chaol grow closer as he worries over her missions and she trusts him with pieces of her past, including Sam Cortland’s murder and Arobynn Hamel’s suspected betrayal. Dorian, hurt by Celaena’s distance and jealous of Chaol, begins facing a different crisis: strange, forbidden power awakens in him, cracking stone and later manifesting as raw magic. Nehemia presses Celaena to act against Adarlan’s cruelty in Eyllwe and Calaculla, but Celaena’s fear of the king’s threats keeps her from open rebellion. Their friendship frays as Nehemia demands action and Celaena refuses.
Archer claims there is a movement to restore Aelin Galathynius, the lost heir of Terrasen, and to stop whatever horror the king is planning. Celaena spares him in exchange for information. Her search leads to Davis, a wealthy conspirator whose office contains a forbidden Wyrdmark book and the phrase, It is only with the eye that one can see rightly. Davis poisons Celaena with gloriella, but she kills him and escapes to Chaol, who secretly saves her and covers up the incident. Soon after, Celaena and Nehemia discover that the riddle connects to Elena’s tomb, the Eye of Elena, Damaris, and hidden clues about three powerful Wyrd objects.
Celaena and Chaol’s relationship becomes romantic after she confesses that she has been sparing the king’s targets. Chaol is horrified by the danger but chooses Celaena over unquestioned duty, even offering to leave Adarlan with her. Their happiness is brief. The king orders Chaol to increase surveillance on Nehemia after an alleged threat but forbids him to warn anyone. Chaol obeys, hoping to avoid exposing divided loyalties. He is then abducted by masked rebels and used as bait. Celaena rescues him in a violent assault, only for Archer to reveal that he and Nehemia have been leading the rebel movement and that Nehemia may be in immediate danger at the castle.
Celaena races back but arrives too late: Nehemia has been brutally murdered. Grief and rage consume her. Believing Chaol’s silence helped cause the death, she attacks him and nearly kills him before Dorian’s unseen magic halts her hand and Ress knocks her unconscious. Chaol imprisons her briefly in the dungeon, where she speaks with Kaltain Rompier, who is being taken to Morath by Duke Perrington and suffers ominous headaches and visions of wings. After days of sedation and grief, Celaena deduces that Grave, an assassin from the Champion competition, killed Nehemia. She hunts him through Rifthold, tortures him, and learns that Minister Mullison supposedly hired him. She publicly presents Grave’s head to the council, exposing Mullison while misleading the king into thinking she has killed rebels for the crown.
Celaena then discovers Nehemia had hidden major truths from her about the Wyrdmark riddle. Baba Yellowlegs, an Ironteeth witch, reveals that the riddle concerns the three Wyrdkeys, fragments capable of controlling Wyrdgates between worlds. Celaena concludes the king possesses at least one key and may have used it to suppress magic and create monsters. She kills Yellowlegs to protect Dorian’s secret. In the catacombs beneath the library, Celaena finds an obsidian clock-tower base and a warped creature imprisoned by Wyrdmarks. Dorian follows her, exposes his raw magic while helping her survive, and she uses The Walking Dead to bind and kill the creature. Celaena later discovers Elena’s hidden crown compartment is empty, confirming that the king found Elena’s Wyrdkey years earlier.
Desperate to speak to Nehemia, Celaena opens a blood-drawn Wyrdmark portal. Nehemia appears beyond it and reveals that she knew her death was coming and accepted it to set events in motion, warning Celaena never to open the portal again. Archer witnesses the encounter and reveals himself as the true mastermind: he arranged Nehemia’s murder, framed Mullison, planted the threat, kidnapped Chaol, and manipulated Celaena so she would hate Chaol. Archer wants the Wyrdkeys for revolution, while Nehemia opposed using them. During the confrontation, the portal destabilizes and releases a pale demon. Chaol, Dorian, Fleetfoot, and Celaena fight it; Chaol follows the demon through the portal when it seizes Fleetfoot, and Celaena follows. In the other realm, she transforms into her Fae form and unleashes blue fire, revealing her hidden nature to Chaol. With Dorian’s blood, she seals the portal, then hunts Archer through the sewers and kills him after he tries once more to manipulate her with Nehemia’s memory.
Afterward, Celaena explains to Chaol that she has Fae heritage and once could shift forms, though magic’s disappearance trapped her in a mortal body. She reveals Archer’s betrayal but cannot fully trust Chaol again. Realizing she will be in mortal danger if her Fae blood is discovered, Chaol sacrifices his position by arranging for the king to send her to Wendlyn, where Fae still survive. The king accepts, turning the mission into an assassination and invasion scheme. Before leaving, Celaena vows at Nehemia’s grave to stop the king, free Eyllwe, and restore Nehemia’s father’s crown. She entrusts Fleetfoot to Dorian, gives Chaol the Eye of Elena, tells him about the Wyrdkeys, and sails for Wendlyn. After she departs, Chaol deciphers the date she whispered to him and realizes that Celaena Sardothien is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the lost heir and rightful Queen of Terrasen, making her the king’s most dangerous enemy.
Characters
- Celaena Sardothien / Aelin Ashryver GalathyniusThe King of Adarlan’s Champion, secretly sparing his targets while investigating rebels, Wyrdmarks, and the source of the king’s power. Her grief for Nehemia, love for Chaol, Fae heritage, and revealed identity as Terrasen’s lost queen transform her from a survivor into a direct threat to Adarlan.
- Chaol WestfallCaptain of the Guard whose loyalty to the crown collapses under his love for Celaena and guilt over Nehemia’s death. He protects Celaena by arranging her mission to Wendlyn, sacrificing his position and later uncovering her true identity.
- Dorian HavilliardCrown prince of Adarlan who struggles with jealousy, moral opposition to his father, and the awakening of forbidden raw magic. His secrecy about his power creates a new bond with Celaena and positions him against the king’s brutality.
- Nehemia YtgerPrincess of Eyllwe, Celaena’s closest friend, and a secret rebel leader working to uncover the king’s plans. Her murder devastates Celaena and becomes the catalyst for Celaena’s vow to fight the king and free Eyllwe.
- King of AdarlanThe tyrant who commands Celaena’s assassinations, suppresses magic, expands slave labor, and secretly uses Wyrdkey-linked power. His rule drives the political rebellion, the supernatural mystery, and the danger surrounding Celaena, Dorian, and Nehemia.
- Archer FinnA famous courtesan and Celaena’s assigned target, initially presented as a useful informant in the rebel movement. He is ultimately revealed as the manipulator behind Nehemia’s murder, seeking the Wyrdkeys for revolutionary power.
- FleetfootCelaena’s loyal dog, who comforts her through grief and danger. Fleetfoot’s injury and abduction through the portal help force Celaena’s Fae transformation in front of Chaol.
- MortThe enchanted bronze skull guarding Elena’s tomb. He explains ancient Wyrdmark magic, warns Celaena about dangerous choices, and helps guide her toward clues about the Wyrdkeys.
- ElenaThe ancient queen whose spirit warns Celaena that the king’s power is tied to a larger threat. Her tomb hides clues about the Wyrdkeys and repeatedly pushes Celaena toward the path she resists.
- Kaltain RompierA former court schemer imprisoned after poisoning Celaena, later abused and taken by Duke Perrington to Morath. Her headaches, magical lineage, and warnings about wings help Celaena connect Morath to the king’s experiments.
- Duke PerringtonA powerful noble aligned with the king and linked to Kaltain’s manipulation and transfer to Morath. His black ring and political role connect him to the king’s darker schemes.
- Roland HavilliardDorian’s cousin from Meah, appointed to the king’s council and viewed with suspicion by Celaena and Chaol. His influence over Dorian, support for Calaculla’s expansion, headaches, and connection to Morath make him part of the court’s growing danger.
- Baba YellowlegsAn Ironteeth witch posing as a carnival fortune-teller. She reveals the history of the Wyrdkeys and Wyrdgates before Celaena kills her to keep Dorian’s magic and Celaena’s questions secret.
- GraveA brutal assassin from the King’s Champion competition who murders Nehemia. Celaena hunts him down, tortures him for the name of his employer, and uses his severed head to expose a supposed culprit.
- Minister MullisonA councilman publicly accused of hiring Grave to kill Nehemia. Archer frames him, and Celaena presents the evidence to the king as part of her vengeance and deception.
- DavisA wealthy host connected to the anti-king circle Archer points Celaena toward. His office contains a forbidden Wyrdmark book and a key riddle, and he poisons Celaena before she kills him.
- Rena GoldsmithA renowned singer who performs forbidden songs of magic before the king. Her execution reveals the deadly cost of defying Adarlan’s suppression of the old ways.
- RessA young guard loyal to Chaol who helps fetch healers after Celaena is poisoned and later knocks her unconscious when she nearly kills Chaol. He also monitors Celaena after Nehemia’s death.
- PhilippaCelaena’s attendant, who cares for her rooms, tends to her during grief, and provides practical comfort. Celaena’s will specifically asks Chaol to consider giving Philippa part of her belongings.
- Sam CortlandCelaena’s murdered companion and lost love, remembered throughout the story as a source of grief and trauma. His death shapes Celaena’s distrust of Arobynn and her reaction to Archer’s manipulations.
- Arobynn HamelCelaena’s former master at the Assassins’ Keep, whose past training and suspected betrayal continue to influence her. Archer later says Arobynn told him what Celaena truly is.
- Rourke FarranThe dead crime lord who tortured and murdered Sam Cortland. His role in Celaena’s past explains the grief and rage surrounding her capture and distrust.
- WesleyArobynn’s former guard, who killed Rourke Farran and his men in revenge before being executed. His fate deepens Celaena’s suspicion that Arobynn betrayed her.
- Lord of AnielleChaol’s estranged father, who pressures him to abandon the guard and return home. Chaol bargains with him to send Celaena to Wendlyn, agreeing to resign and return to Anielle.
- Queen GeorginaThe queen of Adarlan, present at court events where Celaena observes the royal family and the king’s power. Her role is secondary but anchors the palace setting around Dorian and the king.
- Hollin HavilliardDorian’s younger brother, whose return to court prompts royal celebrations and court duties for Celaena. His presence highlights Dorian’s family obligations and the palace’s political environment.
- The creature beneath the libraryA warped once-human prisoner hidden in the catacombs under the castle. Its Wyrdmark knowledge and connection to the obsidian clock tower strengthen Celaena’s suspicion that the king is creating monsters.
- The pale demonA clawed monster released when Celaena’s portal goes wrong. Its attack forces Dorian to use magic, Chaol to risk himself for Fleetfoot, and Celaena to reveal her Fae form.
Themes
In Crown of Midnight, Sarah J. Maas deepens Celaena’s story by turning an assassin’s survival tale into a reckoning with identity, loyalty, and responsibility. The novel’s central themes emerge through secrets—personal, political, and magical—that can no longer remain buried.
- Freedom versus complicity: Celaena begins the book performing obedience as the King’s Champion, staging murders while secretly sparing the king’s targets. Her deception reveals a moral refusal to become the crown’s weapon, yet Nehemia repeatedly challenges her: is private survival enough when whole peoples suffer in Endovier, Calaculla, and Eyllwe? By the end, Celaena’s blood oath at Nehemia’s grave marks a shift from evasion to active resistance.
- Grief as transformation: Loss shapes nearly every major turn. Sam’s death still haunts Celaena’s memories of Rifthold and Endovier; her parents’ murder returns through the stag dream and the anniversary of Terrasen’s fall. But Nehemia’s assassination is the book’s emotional rupture. Celaena’s collapse, vengeance against Grave and Archer, and eventual vow to free Eyllwe show grief becoming both destructive rage and revolutionary purpose.
- Loyalty, betrayal, and the cost of silence: Chaol’s decision not to warn Celaena or Nehemia about the threat against the princess destroys his romance with Celaena, even though Archer engineered the murder. The book refuses easy blame: Chaol’s loyalty to duty makes him morally responsible, while Archer’s “cause” becomes corrupt through manipulation and sacrifice. Dorian, too, begins breaking from obedience to his father when he opposes Calaculla’s expansion.
- Hidden identity and buried power: The castle’s secret tunnels, Elena’s tomb, Wyrdmarks, the iron door, and the Wyrdkeys all mirror Celaena’s own concealed self. Her Fae transformation beyond the portal and Chaol’s final realization that she is Aelin Galathynius recast the entire novel: the assassin is also the lost queen, and personal survival is inseparable from history.
- The danger of power without justice: The king’s use of Wyrdkeys, experiments on people like Kaltain and the creature beneath the library, and persecution of magic reveal tyranny as a desire to control bodies, memory, and worlds. Against that, the novel imagines a different power rooted in truth, chosen loyalty, and the courage to fight for the dead and the living.