Chapter 17

Feyre explores the hidden city of Velaris for the first time and grapples with complex emotions about its protection while the rest of Prythian suffered under Amarantha's reign. She meets Rhysand's Inner Circle at the House of Wind, flying there with him despite her reservations, and begins to question her past relationship with Tamlin.

Feyre awakens in Rhysand's town house in Velaris, a hidden city that has remained secret and untouched for five thousand years. After dressing in warm, practical clothes, she ventures out with Rhys to explore the city's markets and artistic quarters. The beauty and safety of Velaris triggers conflicting emotions in Feyre—she is awed by its elegance but furious that such protection was withheld from the rest of Prythian during Amarantha's reign. Rhys explains the city was preserved through ancient magic and secrecy, and that opening it as a refuge was impossible during the occupation. While wandering, Feyre becomes overwhelmed upon seeing the artists' quarter, realizing how much of herself was lost during her captivity. A moment of rage nearly overwhelms her before Rhys reminds her his people are blameless. Later, Rhys warns her about daemati—mind-walkers who can enter others' thoughts—and the danger of leaving her mental shields unguarded, especially now that she possesses his power. He reveals she somehow slipped into his mind earlier and glimpsed herself through his eyes, seeing her own gaunt, hollow appearance. That evening, Feyre reluctantly agrees to fly with Rhys to the House of Wind for dinner with his Inner Circle. During the flight, he shares memories of flying as a boy with his Illyrian mother. On the balcony overlooking Velaris, they exchange thoughts: Rhys speaks of his fifty years Under the Mountain and his wish that he had killed Amarantha; Feyre confesses that she may have fallen in love with Tamlin out of loneliness and that her feelings have changed now that she is no longer the person she was before.