Crown of Midnight

Celaena cuts her arm and uses the blood to write Wyrdmarks in an arch on the wall. She recites the spell, and the stones in the arch disappear. She whispers Nehemia’s name and gets no response. Fleetwood enters the room and sits in front of the portal. Nehemia appears and says Celaena must never open this portal again. Nehemia explains that she knew her fate and accepted it because she knew it was the only way to improve the world. She says that Celaena was a light for her in the darkness and asks that she not let it go out. She disappears, and Archer walks into the chamber.

Celaena draws Damaris and asks Archer what he’s doing here. He says Nehemia showed him the tunnels; he’s been here almost every night since her death. Celaena wipes away the Wyrdmarks, but they don’t fade. Archer grabs her wrist, and she sees a tattoo Nehemia drew with the warning not to trust someone. Celaena realizes Nehemia was warning her about Archer. Archer asks Celaena if she used a Wyrdkey to open the portal, and Celaena asks how he knows about them. He says he planted the riddle in Davis’s office for her. Nehemia came to Rifthold to see if the king has any Wyrdkeys, and Archer says they can use them to overthrow the king.

Celaena says they should destroy the Wyrdkeys, not use them. However, to make Archer lower his guard and reveal information, she pretends to begin to agree with him. Archer wants to punish the king for all he has done and says Nehemia left the rebel movement a week before she died. Celaena continues to express sympathy, so he admits to hiring Grave, posing as Minister Mullison. Archer also kidnapped Chaol to get Celaena out of the way and took an arrow for her so she would trust him. He knows who Celaena really is and insists they would make a great team. As he steps toward her, Celaena stabs Archer in the shoulder with her dagger. She puts her hand on the Wyrdmarks to steady herself, reopening the portal. Celaena hears a growl and sees a tall, wiry creature step through the portal.

Chaol can’t sleep, still thinking about Celaena’s will and what it means to him. He hears rushing footsteps in the hall and gets out of bed. He opens the door as Dorian begins knocking, and Dorian says Celaena is in trouble. Chaol dresses, and they walk quickly to Celaena’s room, trying not to draw attention to themselves. They break through her bedroom door and hear a scream. As they race down the stairs, they see a blue flash and hear a roar. When they enter the chamber, they see the rocky, misty Otherworld, Archer cowering by a wall, Celaena unconscious on the floor, and Fleetfoot growling at the creature to keep it away from Celaena. Chaol launches himself at the monster.

Celaena opens her eyes after the creature slams her head into the wall. She sees Chaol circling it and watches as Dorian sends it flying into a wall with his magic. Celaena tells Archer to give her the spell book, but he runs out of the room, taking it with him. She can’t close the portal without the book, so Dorian and Celaena run out of the chamber to find another way to close it, leaving Chaol alone with the creature.

Chaol knows he can’t beat the monster but is happy his friends got out. He looks at Fleetfoot, lying in a corner with a hurt leg, and the creature follows his gaze. It grabs the dog and drags her through the portal, so Chaol goes in after it.

Celaena sees Fleetfoot and Chaol go through the portal, so she knocks Dorian’s head against the wall and goes through the portal herself. When she sees Chaol, unarmed, and Fleetfoot facing the creature, she shifts into her Fae form. Celaena blasts the demon with a ball of blue flame, baring her pointed teeth as she roars.

Because she can’t control her growing power, Celaena tells Chaol to get back through the portal. She continuously hits the creature with blue fireballs, but it dodges them all. Once Chaol and Fleetfoot are back in the chamber, she channels her power into Damaris and shoves it into the ground. The ground around her crumbles, causing the monster to run. As Celaena walks back to the portal, she returns to her human form and collapses. Chaol carries her back into the chamber.

Dorian stumbles into the chamber to see Chaol dragging Celaena through the portal. He wonders what happened and why she knocked him out. Chaol tells Celaena to shut the portal; she says she can’t, but Dorian can. A bewildered Chaol watches Celaena use Dorian’s blood to cast the same spell they’d used in the library catacombs. When she’s finished, the portal fades back to a stone wall. Celaena thinks of Archer, and her exhaustion turns to anger. She runs out of the chamber before Chaol can stop her.