Chapter 62

Feyre and Nesta use the Suriel's bones and stones to locate the Cauldron, but the search reveals a devastating truth: the human king has amassed a massive army on Prythian's western border, positioned to trap their forces. Meanwhile, Varian arrives and publicly declares his feelings for Amren with a bold kiss.

After a confrontation with Mor, Feyre returns to the war tent where Rhys, Azriel, and Cassian are gathered. Amren has brought the bones and stones needed to locate the Cauldron. When Nesta arrives, mud-covered from watching the battle, she uses the magical artifacts to search for the Cauldron's location. As she concentrates, Feyre enters her sister's mind and witnesses horrifying visions: an enormous army stretching to the horizon, the human king in his war tent with the Cauldron behind him, and Nesta frozen in terror. The Cauldron itself seems to sense their presence and responds like a waking beast. Feyre pulls them both back, and Nesta's scattered stones and bones miraculously form a perfect circle on the map, pinpointing the Cauldron's location—within the human king's territory along Prythian's western edge, roughly a hundred miles from their family's estate. This discovery reveals a dire strategic reality: Hybern has been deliberately herding their forces northward while the human king has assembled a massive host to the south, trapping them between two armies. The allied commanders gather to assess their situation and realize they lack sufficient soldiers to face this threat, deciding to reconvene at dawn. As the meeting concludes, Varian enters and, to everyone's shock, drops to his knees before Amren and kisses her passionately in front of everyone.