Chapter 43

Feyre faces her final task: stabbing three kneeling faeries in the heart with ash daggers to win her freedom. After killing two innocent faeries, she discovers the third is Tamlin—but realizes through overheard conversations that his heart has been turned to stone by Amarantha's curse, making him unkillable by the blade.

Feyre is brought before Amarantha's throne for her final task. The queen presents three hooded faeries and demands Feyre kill each one with an ash dagger or forfeit her own life. Unlike the previous trials, the crowd of faeries remains respectfully silent, offering gestures of honor rather than jeers. Feyre declares her love for Tamlin before beginning, though he remains emotionless. She reluctantly kills the first faerie—a young male with pleading blue eyes—and the second, a female faerie who recites a prayer for safe passage to the afterlife, both deaths devastating her spiritually. When the third hood is removed, Feyre discovers the kneeling figure is Tamlin himself, though the Tamlin beside Amarantha's throne transforms into the Attor, revealing the deception. Amarantha offers a cruel choice: kill Tamlin to save his court and live, or kill herself and leave them enslaved. Desperate, Feyre recalls Alis's cryptic advice to listen and pieces together overheard conversations between Tamlin and Lucien about having a "heart of stone." She realizes Tamlin's heart was magically transformed by Amarantha's curse, making it impenetrable to the ash blade. Understanding this is Tamlin's way of ensuring she can complete the task without truly killing him, Feyre stabs him with the dagger, knowing it cannot harm him.