Chapter 33

Feyre arms herself and travels with Alis through the woods to a hidden cave entrance leading Under the Mountain. After receiving cryptic warnings about the curse and survival rules, Feyre enters the dark passage alone to rescue Tamlin. As she navigates the torchlit hallways beneath the mountain, she encounters the Attor—the creature from her nightmares—who discovers her presence.

Feyre prepares for her journey by gathering weapons from the manor: a full quiver, two daggers, and a bow. Alis guides her through silent woods and foothills toward a slender cave mouth in the hollow between two hills. Alis reveals this is an ancient sacred shortcut to Under the Mountain, the same route Lucien once forbade the Attor from using. Before Feyre enters, Alis offers critical warnings: avoid wine, make no deals unless life depends on it, and trust no one inside, not even Tamlin. Alis hints that part of the curse cannot be spoken aloud due to magical constraints, but urges Feyre to listen carefully. Feyre promises Alis that if she and her nephews need refuge after retrieving Tamlin, they should flee across the wall to Feyre's family home and seek out Nesta, who will shelter them. Feyre enters the pitch-black cave, inching along the cold wet stone walls in fear of invisible pits. After what feels like an eternity, an orange light appears through a crack in the rock, revealing a fire-lit subterranean passageway carved from pale mountain stone. Finding the fissure clear of tracks, Feyre squeezes through and enters a hallway lined with torches. She navigates carefully around a corner into a wide-open corridor with no shadowy concealment, reasoning she must act immediately or lose her nerve. As she moves to slip around another corner, long bony fingers grasp her arm. The creature's pointed gray face with silver fangs comes into view—it is the Attor, the being from her nightmares.