In this 4th book in the 'Throne of Glass' series, Celaena Sardothien
avenges some wrongs and prepares for the upcoming war against the forces
of evil.
*****
Celaena Sardothien - the former assassin for King Havilliard of Adarlan - returns from Wendlyn a new woman.
She's
accepted her identity as Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen;
she's embraced her fae heritage and learned to use her fire power; and
fae warrior Prince Rowan is bonded to her by a blood oath.
Aelin
finds things much changed in Adarlan's capital city of Rifthold, where
King Havilliard has his court. The former Captain of the Guard Chaol
Westfall is a fugitive and fomenting a rebellion against the king;
Aelin's cousin, former General Aedion Ashryver, is in the dungeons, scheduled to be executed for collaborating with Chaol; 
and
Prince Dorian is being forced to share his body with a Varg demon that
controls Dorian's thoughts and actions. Humans harboring Varg demons
have a black collar around their neck or a black ring on their finger,
neither of which they can remove.
Some
things in the kingdom are still the same. Magic is banned, and the
king's troops - many of whom harbor Varg demons - are kidnapping and
killing people.
Aelin has an ambitious agenda:
To rescue Aedion before he's executed;
To retrieve her Amulet of Orynth, which was stolen by her former assassin master, Arobynn Hamel;
To get revenge against Arobynn for torturing and killing her boyfriend Sam;
To restore magic to Adarlan;
And to gather allies for Terrasen.
To
accomplish all this, Aelin must form alliances with former friends and
enemies. These include Chaol - her former lover, whose troubles have
made him angry and combative; and Lysandra - a courtesan who was Aelin's
hated rival in Aerobyn's menagerie.
The
immortal warrior Prince Rowan is Aelin's most valuable asset, and Aelin
and her allies spend their time planning, scheming, fighting, killing,
rescuing, and so on. Aelin's ultimate goal is to collect all three
Wyrdkeys, so she can save Erilea from the evil forces that threaten it.
One Wyrdkey is hidden in the Amulet of Orynth, and the other two are in
the possession of King Havilliard and Duke Perrington, who are using the
Wyrdkeys for nefarious purposes.
To fulfill her ultimate agenda, Aelin must depose King Havilliard in Rifthold.....
.....and destroy Duke Perrington and his associate Vernon Lochan in Morath. 
Duke
Perrington is a formidable enemy. He's arranged for the ferocious,
bloodthirsty Ironteeth witches to be his aerial warriors, and provided
them with wyverns (flying dragon-like creatures) and training grounds at
Morath. Perrington and Vernon are also using Ironteeth witches to breed
special babies. 
The Ironteeth witch Manon, leader of he Blackbeak Clan, is training the witches at Morath. 
All
the Ironteeth are bred to fight and kill, and they're happily
anticipating the battles ahead. Manon starts to have doubts, though,
when she meets Vernon's niece Elide - a servant who's forced to wear
chains on her legs; 
and when the truth emerges about the Perrington/Vernon breeding program.
Things get interesting when Aelin and Manon - who are on opposing sides - meet, have a vicious battle, and go on from there.
As
the story moves forward, the women in the novel (Aelin, Lysandra,
Manon, and Elide) bravely show their mettle; and the men (Chaol, Aedion,
Prince Rowan) do their part as well.
For romance fans, love
blooms between Aelin and Prince Rowan; and Chaol and city guard Nesryn. I
could have done without these scenes, but some readers probably like
them.
By
the end of the novel, there's been death and destruction; advances in
Aelin's agenda; and important revelations. I look forward to seeing what
happens next.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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