Chapter 19

Feyre learns the true cost of Rhysand's protection of Velaris: he spent fifty years as Amarantha's slave while using his remaining powers to shield his people from her knowledge and sight. That night, a nightmare about Amarantha triggers Feyre's emerging fire powers, which she cannot control. The next morning, Rhysand takes her to the Prison—a dangerous mountain fortress holding ancient criminals—but Feyre's trauma from being trapped Under the Mountain prevents her from entering, and Rhysand returns her to Velaris.

After dinner, Rhysand flies Feyre over the city and explains the nature of their bond—a living channel shaped by his power and her need not to be alone. Feyre realizes his public persona as a depraved tyrant is a facade to protect Velaris. Rhysand reveals the full extent of his sacrifice: Under the Mountain, after Amarantha drained most of his power, he used what remained to mentally shield all of Velaris's inhabitants from discovery and to make the city itself invisible to outsiders. He accomplished this by actively controlling the minds of every Night Court citizen Amarantha had captured, forcing them to forget Velaris and its people. Because his power was consumed by this task, he had little defense against Amarantha and chose to become her sexual slave to prevent her from asking questions about those he cared for. That night, Feyre experiences a traumatic nightmare in which Amarantha tortures her. The nightmare triggers uncontrolled fire powers in Feyre's hands, which shred her bedding. Rhysand arrives and helps her extinguish the flames by guiding her to imagine them as candles being snuffed out. He reveals his own recurring nightmare about being unable to save Cassian and Azriel from Amarantha's torture. The next morning, dressed in Illyrian fighting leathers, Rhysand takes Feyre via winnowing to an island in the Western Isles to visit the Prison—an ancient mountain fortress built before High Lords existed, containing dangerous criminals from ages past. Amren refuses to enter because she was once imprisoned there. The wards prevent winnowing or flying to the entrance; visitors must walk in. Feyre attempts to enter but is paralyzed by claustrophobia and trauma from her time trapped Under the Mountain. Unable to overcome her fear, she asks Rhysand to take her back. He complies without question, and they return to Velaris, where Feyre remains in bed for the rest of the day.