Chapter Seventy-Seven

Nesta uses the twenty-sixth string of the Harp to stop Time itself, halting Feyre's death. In a frozen moment, a familiar female voice guides her toward a crucial choice about feeling and connection. After declaring her love for Feyre aloud for the first time, Nesta makes a bargain with the Cauldron to return the power she took, using it to save Feyre, Rhysand, and their newborn son—marking herself with a bargain tattoo in the process.

As Feyre lies dying, Nesta discovers the twenty-sixth string of the Harp represents Time itself. She plucks it, freezing the world around her, and encounters a soft, wise female voice that has been waiting for her. The voice asks if Nesta sees what she might do, but Nesta realizes she no longer wants to feel nothing—she wants to embrace everything, including pain, and to experience life with the people she loves. Moving through the frozen tableau of shocked faces, Nesta reaches her dying sister and, for the first time, speaks her love aloud: "I love you, Feyre." As Time begins to resume, Nesta realizes she does not know how to wield Death's power to save her sister. She makes a desperate bargain with the Cauldron and the Mother, promising to return all the power she took in exchange for knowledge of how to save Feyre, Rhysand, and the baby. A soft invisible hand brushes her cheek in answer. When Time fully resumes, iridescent light flows from Nesta's body into Feyre, her nephew, and Rhysand. Nesta repeats "I give it back" as the Mask and Crown fall from her head and a bargain tattoo appears as dark ink on her back. Feyre awakens, alive and healed. The babe in Mor's arms transforms into a full-term winged boy, healthy and hungry. Rhysand kneels before Nesta and presses his mouth to her fingers in gratitude, and Nesta embraces him tightly.