Chapter 68

Feyre unleashes her newfound power to sever the castle's wards, then orchestrates an elaborate deception by pretending to have been turned against Rhysand and seeking refuge with Tamlin. She convinces the King of Hybern to break her mating bond to Rhysand in exchange for her surrender, enduring the excruciating severing of the bond to ensure her sisters escape.

As the King of Hybern prepares to force the queens into the Cauldron, Rhysand attempts to negotiate a bargain. Feyre, overwhelmed by rage and desperation to protect her found family, unleashes a blinding white light—a manifestation of her newfound power as a Cursebreaker. Under the guise of this display, she surreptitiously severs the ancient wards binding the castle, creating an escape route. She then executes a dangerous gambit: pretending to have been enslaved or corrupted by Rhysand, she turns to Tamlin for protection, begging him not to let Rhysand take her. Though Rhysand appears confused and resistant, Feyre appeals to the King of Hybern, demanding he break her mating bond to Rhysand as the price for her cooperation. Tamlin, seeing an opportunity to reclaim her, demands the king release Feyre and her sisters in exchange for ending the conflict. The king agrees. When the bond-breaking is enacted, Feyre experiences shattering pain as the mating bond snaps, but she survives the ordeal. Her sisters are freed, and she departs with Tamlin, having sacrificed her bond to Rhysand to secure their escape.