Chapter 25: Feyre

Morrigan rides alone at her private estate, Athelwood, to contemplate a difficult decision. She encounters a mysterious, watchful darkness in the woods near her property, which both attracts and repels her through its unsettling power.

Morrigan has deceived the Night Court about her whereabouts, telling them she would visit the Winter Court sooner than planned while actually spending time at Athelwood, her privately owned estate purchased three hundred years ago for solitude and horses. The sprawling property, located northwest of Velaris with rolling hills, forests, and streams, is where she keeps rare horse breeds, including her beloved mare Ellia. Unlike winnowing, which feels instantaneous, riding allows Mor to feel fully present and alive as she travels across the land. Though she dislikes prolonged isolation, brief periods at Athelwood revitalize her spirit. While riding, Mor reflects on Rhys's request for her to serve as a spy and ambassador to distant kingdoms—a role that calls to her adventurous nature but which she fears accepting would validate a bargain Keir made with Eris regarding her. Uncertain how to proceed and unwilling to burden her companions with the knowledge, she has kept the matter secret. As she pauses atop a hill to rest Ellia, the mare's alert reaction draws Mor's attention to a patch of darkness lingering in a nearby thicket of thorns. The darkness is familiar yet foreign, watching her in return, and her power warns her against approaching it. Recognizing it as something best left undisturbed, Mor turns Ellia toward home, but the encounter leaves her wondering what other mysteries and dangers might await in the unexplored lands beyond the Night Court.