Chapter 21

Feyre sneaks out to attend the Great Rite ceremony on Fire Night, where she encounters a mysterious masked stranger and later Lucien. She learns that the Great Rite is an annual fertility ritual in which High Lords, including Tamlin, are possessed by magic to hunt a maiden for coupling. After Lucien drags her back to the manor and orders her to stay locked in her room, Tamlin—still under the ritual's influence—finds her in the hallway and confesses he searched for her at the ceremony before selecting another female.

Feyre escapes her room and ventures to the Great Rite celebration, where she is nearly assaulted by three faeries before a mysterious stranger—a High Fae from another court with violet eyes and an unsettling demeanor—intervenes and frightens them away. When she questions him, he reveals that "all the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight" and departs with cryptic warnings. Lucien spots Feyre in the crowd and, visibly panicked, carries her back to the manor at superhuman speed. He explains the Great Rite: on Fire Night (Calanmai), each of Prythian's seven High Lords allows magic to possess them, transforming them into hunters who seek a maiden for ritual coupling to regenerate the land's fertility. Other male faeries, including Lucien, are free to pursue their own liaisons once the High Lord makes his choice. Lucien reveals that an unmasked faerie—implied to be dangerous—would have claimed Feyre if he had scented her, and warns her to remain locked in her room. Later that night, after the drums cease around two in the morning, Feyre finds herself unable to sleep and ventures to the kitchen and painting room. Tamlin, still under the ritual's influence and painted with woad, intercepts her in the hallway. He confronts her about her absence at the ceremony, claiming he searched for her before selecting another female. Despite her attempts to deflect, he pins her against the wall, bites her neck, and confesses he would have been gentle with her, contrasting his behavior with the female he chose. After she strikes him for his presumption, he prowls away, growling with frustration.