Chapter 22

Rhysand takes Feyre into a dangerous, lawless forest to retrieve an object as a test of her abilities. They arrive at the cottage of the Weaver of the Wood, an ancient and terrifying creature who spins thread from unknown—and horrifying—sources. Feyre must steal a ring from the Weaver's cottage without being detected.

Rhysand winnows Feyre into the heart of Prythian's neutral territory, a wild forest governed only by strength and cunning, where the Weaver of the Wood rules. As they approach her cottage, Rhysand engages Feyre in flirtation and banter, revealing his intention to distract her from her fear of the task ahead. He leaves her at the cottage's threshold with silent instructions: find the object and escape. Feyre enters the Weaver's domain, a hoarded junk shop filled with inexplicable artifacts hanging from ceilings and crowding shelves. The Weaver herself sits at an ancient spinning wheel, her back turned, singing a haunting ballad about a drowned sister while working threads of mysterious origin—threads Feyre realizes with horror are spun from living creatures or people. Feyre searches the cottage, initially finding nothing that calls to her, but eventually senses a pull toward a shelf near the hearth. There she discovers a ring of twisted gold and silver with a deep blue sapphire marked by a six-pointed star—clearly connected to Rhysand. As the Weaver sings the final verse of her song, Feyre plucks the ring from the shelf. The moment she takes it, the Weaver stops singing.