Crown of Midnight

Celaena walks down the hallway of Rifthold’s glass castle and enters the king’s council chamber with a bag in hand. She bows to the king, and when he tells her to stand, she pulls a severed head from the bag and throws it at his feet. The king says he doesn’t recognize the face, so Celaena pulls a severed hand with a seal ring from the bag. Chaol Westfall, the Captain of the Guard, takes the hand and gives it to the king, who inspects and recognizes Nirall’s ring. He asks Celaena about Nirall’s wife, and Celaena replies that she is chained to her husband's remains at the bottom of the ocean. She then pulls a woman’s hand with a gold wedding band from her bag.

Satisfied with Celaena’s report, the king tells her that there are rebels in Rifthold that seek to overthrow him and ruin his plans. Her next mission is to find and kill these rebels before they become a genuine threat. He will only give her one name at a time, and the first is Archer Finn. Celaena hides her surprise; Archer is a handsome and kind courtesan whom Celaena had once trained at the Assassins’ Keep years ago. The king gives her one month to complete this assignment. He keeps Nirall’s ring and dismisses Celaena, who takes the severed head and leaves the chamber.

After Celaena leaves, Prince Dorian waits for servants to rearrange the room for the coming council meeting. He is bothered not only by his father’s order for Lord and Lady Nirall’s death but also by Celaena’s carrying it out. He sits next to his father at the council table and thinks about how much Celaena has changed since becoming the King’s Champion.

Celaena walks to her secret tunnel within the castle sewer to dispose of the bag and severed body parts. She stops and addresses Chaol, who has followed her. They discuss her mission to kill Lord Nirall as she drops the bag into the sewer. She explains that she’ll start her next mission in a day or two, but Chaol presses her for details about Nirall. Chaol is worried that there were witnesses, which angers Celaena. Chaol tells her he worries about her when she is gone, especially since he’d heard that authorities had found Nirall’s killer. Chaol embraces her, and they walk back to her suite together.

They talk more about her mission before Chaol leaves Celaena to bathe and rest. She then lies on her bed with her dog, Fleetfoot, and thinks about how messy the incident with Lord Nirall was, and how she was able to mix truth and lies in her report to the king. She holds her amulet, the Eye of Elena, and thinks about Queen Elena, who gave her the Eye in Throne of Glass.

Over the past two months, Celaena has observed the four targets the king assigned her, including Lord Nirall. She had eventually decided that they were good men whom she couldn’t kill. Instead, she offered each a choice: die, or feign death and run. All chose to run, so she took a token from each of them and staged a crime scene using bodies from a sick house. She wonders how she will stage Archer Finn’s death because Archer is popular and easily recognizable. She also knows the king will destroy her if he discovers her deception.

Celaena wakes from a nightmare. Cain, her final opponent in the king’s tournament, and a monster called the ridderak are chasing her, but she quickly remembers that her fight with them is over. Later that morning, while playing fetch with Fleetfoot, she discusses her mission and subsequent meeting with the king with Nehemia, Princess of Eyllwe. They also discuss the king’s suspicion of rebellion and the plans he is so eager to protect. This reminds Celaena of the king’s threat that he will kill Chaol, Nehemia, and Nehemia’s family if she betrays him. She must protect her friends, so she lies about her assassinations. Nehemia then describes the horrible conditions of the Calaculla labor camp, where the king sends her people if they stand in his way. The king refuses to speak with her about her desire to save them.

Later that morning, Chaol and Celaena go running together through the game park outside the castle. They talk about Cain, and Chaol asks her how often she thinks about the people she has killed. She tells him that she never forgets them and often sees their faces. She then thanks Chaol for killing Cain to save her. They finish their run, and on their way to breakfast, they encounter Dorian and his cousin Lord Roland in the gardens. Celaena immediately feels the tension between Chaol and Roland, who tells them the king has appointed him to his council. Roland’s demeanor unsettles Celaena, so she and Chaol walk away. As they do, Roland asks Dorian about Celaena, but Dorian refuses to tell him anything.

Celaena goes shopping in Rifthold and spends her entire salary on books, clothes, and other personal items. She returns to her suite to find Dorian waiting for her. When Celaena asks him what he wants, he tells her that he wants to be friends and spend time together the way they used to. She replies that she must return to Rifthold and wants Dorian to leave her alone.

At sunset, Celaena crouches on a rooftop in Rifthold, waiting for Archer to emerge from a house. She thinks about her past, including Sam, her dead former lover. When Archer finally enters his carriage and leaves, Celaena climbs off the roof and follows him.

Later, in Chaol’s room, Celaena lies on a couch in front of a fire and tries to evade her memories. She and Chaol talk about Archer before she asks Chaol why he hates Roland. When he refuses to tell her, she asks him about Rourke Farran, the crime lord who captured her and sent her to the Endovier Salt Mines. He tells her that a man named Wesley killed him nine months ago and that someone killed Wesley the next day to avoid a blood feud between families.

When he grows tired, Chaol walks Celaena back to her rooms. At midnight, she leaves again, heading to the library to escape the memories roused by her conversation with Chaol. As she approaches the library doors, she sees a black-clad figure standing in the doorway. It turns its head and begins sniffing her. It moves toward her, but the tiny blue gem in the Eye of Elena starts to glow so brightly that she closes her eyes. When she opens them, the figure is gone, and the amulet is dark. She returns to her room, thinking again about the king’s plans.