A Court of Silver Flames

Cassian leads the military forces of the Court of Night for his closest friend, King Rhysand. He is Illyrian, which means he possesses wings and can fly. He is described as tall, muscular, and attractive, with the confident attitude of an alpha male. He is also a battle-hardened veteran of many wars and is loyal to his friends.

In earlier books in the series, Cassian demonstrated his attraction toward Nesta, but she repeatedly shoved him away, denying her own feelings for him. At the novel's opening, he is ordered to keep Nesta out of trouble and train her to fight. Since the House of Wind has 10,000 stairs leading to the city, he has little difficulty keeping his charge at home. Training her proves more of a challenge. Cassian is patient with Nesta’s prickly temperament and eventually finds a way to engage her interest in becoming a warrior.

Unlike his Illyrian countrymen, Cassian isn’t a misogynist and fully believes in Nesta’s ability to fight as well as any male. He especially encourages her desire to become a Valkyrie and helps to train the priestesses who work in the house’s library as well.

Although he is generally confident, Cassian has his own sense of inferiority in battle, just as Nesta does. He was born an illegitimate commoner, and some court members enjoy putting him in his place. At times, he secretly believes that Nesta should marry a prince rather than become involved with him. Ultimately, Cassian’s love for Nesta helps her to defeat her inner demons. The story ends with Cassian and Nesta mated for life, with the possibility of living happily ever after.

Rhys is the powerful High Lord of the Court of Night. In earlier books, he captured the heart of Nesta’s youngest sister, Feyre, who is a formidable power in her own right. Like all the Fae, Rhys is strikingly handsome and possesses an arsenal of magical abilities to keep his enemies at bay. His closest friends are Cassian and Azriel, the three having grown up together and won the Blood Rite that Illyrian males perform to prove their worth as warriors. In the current book in the series, Rhys has his hands full, trying to maintain peace between the Fae and humans, even though a new war threatens to break out at any time.

He tries to stabilize the kingdom by securing political allies while simultaneously dealing with Feyre’s potentially fatal pregnancy and the threat that Nesta’s Cauldron powers might present. Even though Rhys is given a chance to seize ultimate power over all the other Fae kings, he proves his integrity by declining. When his wife is on the verge of death in childbirth, Rhys takes a vow to die with her. Fortunately, Nesta’s new powers allow her to intervene before that tragedy occurs. The story ends with Rhys grateful to Nesta and enjoying a new lease on life with his wife and son.

Feyre is the youngest of the three Archeron sisters and the one most burdened with family responsibilities. Earlier novels in the series feature her as the protagonist. In this installment, she plays a supporting role in Nesta’s life and recovery. At age 21, Feyre is just as attractive as her sisters and demonstrates a talent for painting. Despite Nesta’s abusive behavior toward her, Feyre is patient and forgiving. She allows her elder sister the time and space to fight her demons in her own way.

Although the current novel doesn’t indicate just how formidable Feyre’s powers are, she has already become a heroine in her own right and has been elevated to High Lady of the Court of Night. This title means that she rules jointly with her husband and clearly takes the welfare of her subjects seriously. Giving birth to a winged son puts her own life in danger, but she willingly sacrifices herself to save him. Fortunately, Nesta is able to bring Feyre back from the grave and allow her to enjoy the experience of motherhood for the first time.

Elain is the 23-year-old middle sister of Nesta and Feyre. She has often functioned as the buffer between the other two during their many verbal battles. She has always been Nesta’s favorite and is usually protected by her elder sibling. Unlike Nesta, Elain is soft-spoken and doesn’t indulge in emotional drama. She has a special affinity for nature and cultivates the palace’s gardens as an avocation. Nesta has always perceived Elain as a loyal dimwit, but the latter observes far more than she tells. She has always understood Nesta’s self-loathing as the reason for her abrasiveness. Even after Nesta insults her and treats her badly, Elain is able to forgive.

Gwyn is an acolyte who works in the court library inside the House of Wind. Like all the other priestesses who work in the library and live in the house, she is hiding from past trauma. For two years after her arrival, Gwyn didn’t emerge at all from the building because the outside world holds too many horrors. After seeing her sister murdered and being repeatedly raped herself, Gwyn only wishes to spend the rest of her days in the peace of the library.

This plan changes once Nesta enters her life and encourages the priestesses to join the rooftop training sessions with Cassian. Though it takes her a few weeks, Gwyn is the first to sign up. Learning how to defend herself changes her perspective. Like Nesta, she becomes a Valkyrie and, by the end of the novel, demonstrates that her fighting skills are better than any of the Illyrian males who try to defeat her in the Blood Rite.

Emerie is a single woman who keeps a shop in the Illyrian mountain town of Windhaven. Because she is Illyrian herself, she has experienced the full force of the culture’s atrocities toward women. Her father beat her mother to death and clipped Emerie’s wings when she got older so that she wouldn’t be able to fly. She is just as hesitant as Gwyn when it comes to asserting herself. However, Nesta’s invitation to train is an offer that she can’t resist. Despite the mutilation of her wings, Emerie becomes a Valkyrie and proves her fighting abilities in the Blood Rite to the consternation of her entire family.

Like Cassian, Azriel is an Illyrian with the ability to fly. He is also a fearsome warrior but functions primarily as the spymaster for Rhys’s court. He has a reputation for being adept at interrogation, which frightens his enemies. Despite his lethal characteristics, he is physically attractive and can also be gentle when the occasion demands it. Like Cassian, he rejects the misogyny of the Illyrians and volunteers to help train the priestesses at the House of Wind.

Although the Cauldron isn’t a living being, it is a sentient presence in the novel. According to lore in the previous books in the series, it has existed since the beginning of creation. If the Cauldron were to be destroyed, all life would end. It has the power to create magical objects, such as the Dread Trove but can also turn humans into Fae, as it did with Elain, Nesta, and Briallyn. Though not living, the Cauldron feels emotion because it is angry at Nesta for stealing some of its power. Therefore, it turns Briallyn into an immortal crone rather than a young Fae. By the end of the novel, it accepts Nesta’s bargain to save the lives of her family in exchange for the power she took from it.

Briallyn is one of the five human queens who rule the mortal realm that is separated from the Fae domain. In a previous novel in the series, Briallyn became immortal by entering the Cauldron. As an act of spite because of the power that Nesta took from it, the Cauldron renders Briallyn immortal but turns her into an aged crone. For this reason, she seeks revenge against Nesta. Her only objective in the current novel is to collect all the items from the Dread Trove to achieve ultimate power. She is destroyed by Nesta in the final chapters of the book.