A Court of Splintered Harmony comes out October 27, and it has been more than five years since A Court of Silver Flames. If your memory of who is mated, who is feuding, and what exactly Koschei is has gotten a little fuzzy, consider this your refresher.

Full spoilers for ACOTAR books 1 through 5 and the bonus chapters ahead. If you haven't read the series yet, start with the ACOTAR reading order instead.

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Where Everyone Is Before A Court of Splintered Harmony

The short version, character by character.

  • Feyre and Rhysand are High Lady and High Lord of the Night Court and new parents to their son, Nyx. Amren has floated the idea that Rhys should become High King of Prythian, the first since ancient times, and he has flatly refused.
  • Nesta and Cassian are mated and living in the House of Wind, with a mating ceremony in the works. Nesta gave her power back to the Cauldron to save Feyre and Nyx, but the Mother let her keep some of it. She has rebuilt the Valkyries with Gwyn and Emerie, and Cassian is still general of the Night Court's armies.
  • Elain lives at the river house with Feyre, Rhys, and Nyx, spending her days gardening and cooking, and she has grown close to the half-wraith twins Nuala and Cerridwen. She is still a Seer, though we haven't seen her use those powers since A Court of Wings and Ruin. She hasn't accepted her mating bond with Lucien but she hasn't rejected it either.
  • Lucien is the Night Court's emissary to the human lands, living with Jurian and Vassa (the self-named Band of Exiles) at a manor in the human lands that Graysen's family gave them. He was raised as the youngest son of Beron, High Lord of the Autumn Court, and he still doesn't know that his true father is Helion, High Lord of the Day Court. Feyre and Rhys have figured it out.
  • Azriel is the Night Court's spymaster, a rare shadowsinger, and the keeper of the dagger Truth-Teller. After Rhys warned him off Elain, she returned his Solstice necklace, and had it passed on to Gwyn.
  • Gwyn is a priestess in the library beneath the House of Wind and one of the Valkyries. She survived Hybern's attack on her temple at Sangravah, where she lost her twin sister. Her grandmother was a river nymph and her grandfather was from the Autumn Court, but her own father, a High Fae male her mother lay with during a Calanmai rite, has never been identified.
  • Emerie owns a shop in the Illyrian camp of Windhaven, flightless since her abusive father clipped her wings, and a full Valkyrie. She also blushes at the sight of Mor and tells Nesta how beautiful she is, which a lot of readers take as a hint.
  • Mor is Rhys's Third. She has been on the continent trying to get the rulers of Vallahan to sign the peace treaty, with no clear progress. Her gift is truth. She prefers women, which as far as we know only Feyre has been told, and she has a history with Eris that has never been fully explained.
  • Amren lost her ancient power in the war and is now simply High Fae. She is still Rhys's Second, and still with Varian, a prince of the Summer Court.
  • Eris, Beron's eldest son, is secretly allied with the Night Court against his father, who tortured him after his kidnapping by Briallyn.
  • Tamlin was last seen still in his beast form, roaming a Spring Court that is barely being ruled at all.
  • Vassa, queen of Scythia, is still under Koschei's curse, a woman by night and a firebird by day. Helion has been trying, and failing, to break it.
  • Koschei the Deathless is still bound to his lake on the continent, waiting for Vassa to come back.
ACOTAR book covers

ACOTAR Recap, Book by Book

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Feyre Archeron, a mortal huntress keeping her family alive, kills a wolf in the woods and is taken across the wall by the High Lord Tamlin as payment. At the Spring Court she falls for him, then learns that Prythian is under the control of Amarantha, who rules from Under the Mountain. Feyre follows Tamlin there and survives three deadly trials, with an unlikely ally in Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, who saves her in exchange for a bargain: one week of every month with him. She solves Amarantha's riddle (the answer is love), dies, and is resurrected as High Fae by the seven High Lords.

A Court of Mist and Fury

Feyre comes home broken, and Tamlin's protectiveness turns controlling. He locks her inside the manor. Mor gets her out, and in the Night Court Feyre meets Rhys's Inner Circle: Mor, Cassian, Azriel, and Amren. She discovers that Velaris exists, that Rhys played the villain to protect it, and that he is her mate. The book ends in Hybern, where the King throws Nesta and Elain into the Cauldron and they come out Made, as High Fae. A mating bond snaps between Elain and Lucien, who was there on Tamlin's side, and Feyre returns to the Spring Court as a spy.

A Court of Wings and Ruin

Feyre tears the Spring Court apart from the inside, and Prythian goes to war against Hybern. The High Lords reluctantly unite, Elain's Seer visions start coming through, and Azriel lends her his blade, Truth-Teller. The sisters' father arrives with a fleet and is killed by the King of Hybern in front of Nesta. Elain stabs the King with Truth-Teller, and Nesta beheads him. Rhys dies in the final battle and is brought back by the High Lords, including Tamlin. Lucien leaves with Jurian and Vassa, a human queen cursed by Koschei, and Feyre realizes something Lucien still doesn't know: Helion is his real father.

A Court of Frost and Starlight

The first Winter Solstice after the war. The Inner Circle is rebuilding, Feyre and Rhys start thinking about a family, and Nesta is spiraling. We meet Emerie, Mor slips away to Athelwood, her private estate northwest of Velaris, and Azriel's quiet moments with Elain start to get noticed.

A Court of Silver Flames

Nesta, drowning in grief and guilt, is sent to the House of Wind to train with Cassian and work in the library. There she meets Gwyn and Emerie, and the three of them revive the Valkyries and survive the Blood Rite. Gwyn and Emerie reach the top of Ramiel, and Nesta stays behind to fight so they can.

The plot centers on the Dread Trove, three Made objects that the human queen Briallyn wants with Koschei's backing. Meanwhile Feyre's pregnancy with a winged baby turns dangerous, and Rhys keeps the full risk from her. Nesta uses the Trove to stop time and save Feyre and Nyx, giving up the power she took from the Cauldron, and she and Cassian finally accept their bond. For every chapter in order, see my A Court of Silver Flames chapter summary.

The Bonus Chapters You Need to Know

Maas has published three ACOTAR bonus chapters. "Wings and Embers," a Nesta and Cassian chapter, appeared in the Target edition of A Court of Mist and Fury. A Feyre and Rhys chapter appeared in the special edition of A Court of Silver Flames sold by Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, and Indigo. Azriel's appeared in the Books-A-Million edition of A Court of Silver Flames. Several outlets report that Bloomsbury has said all three will be included in every copy of A Court of Splintered Harmony, which tells you how much they matter.

The big one is Azriel's, originally a Books-A-Million exclusive. On Solstice night, Azriel gives Elain a glass rose necklace, and the moment between them nearly becomes something more until Rhysand warns him off because of her mating bond with Lucien. Elain returns the necklace, and Azriel has the priestess Clotho pass it on to Gwyn. Here is the full Azriel bonus chapter breakdown.

Who Is Koschei?

Koschei the Deathless is the villain named in the official blurb for A Court of Splintered Harmony. He is one of the old gods, an ancient death god who came into this world long before Prythian existed, and he is the brother of the Weaver (Stryga) and the Bone Carver, both of whom died in A Court of Wings and Ruin.

The Bone Carver was so afraid of his more powerful siblings that he let himself be bound in the Prison. Long ago, an ancient Fae female tricked Stryga into being confined to the Middle and bound Koschei to a lake on the continent. He is still bound there, so he works through curses and bargains instead of armies.

Vassa is the clearest example. The other human queens sold her to Koschei, and he bound her to his lake under a curse that turns her into a firebird by day. The Archeron sisters' father struck a bargain with Koschei to free her temporarily so she could fight in the war, and she has never gone back.

In A Court of Silver Flames, Koschei backs Briallyn's hunt for the Dread Trove, and Cassian and Azriel come face to face with him at his lake, where he leaves a message: "Tell my Vassa I'm waiting."

Don't forget Elain's visions in A Court of Wings and Ruin either. She sees a queen with feathers of flame (Vassa), and she says Koschei has an onyx box that matters to him more than almost anything. In the Russian folklore Koschei comes from, he can only be killed by finding where he has hidden his death, so pay attention to that box.

The Dread Trove and the Made Weapons

Made objects are going to be central in a book about a deathless god, so here is where they all are.

  • The Mask lets its wearer command the dead. Amren warns that most who have worn it could never take it off, but Nesta did. She asked for it to be locked away, but she can still summon it.
  • The Harp has 26 strings and can open any door, including portals to other places and worlds. Its last string is time itself, which is how Nesta stopped time during Nyx's birth.
  • The Crown lets its wearer control other people's minds, even through strong shields. Briallyn used it on Eris.
  • Nesta's blades, including the sword Ataraxia, are Made weapons. Ataraxia killed Lanthys, an ancient being, and one dagger went to Eris.
  • The Cauldron is on the island of Cretea with Miryam and Drakon, who took it there after the war.

All three Trove objects are in the Night Court's hands. Amren also argues the Cauldron let Nesta Make her blades so Rhys could one day become High King.

Prythian and the Continent Right Now

The blurb says Prythian is still "piecing itself together" after the war with Hybern, and the map is a mess.

  • The Autumn Court: Beron is furious that his ally Briallyn is dead, Eris believes his father is foolish enough to ally with Koschei, and Beron has his eye on the struggling Spring Court and the human lands beyond it.
  • The Spring Court: barely governed, with Tamlin in his beast form, and it borders the human lands now that the wall is gone. That makes it the most vulnerable court in Prythian.
  • The continent: the Fae territories of Vallahan, Montesere, and Rask have long wanted the human lands back. Vallahan's rulers are resisting Mor's peace treaty, and many readers assume Koschei's lake is in the enormous territory of Rask.
  • The human queens: Briallyn is dead and Vassa is cursed, and we know very little about who rules the rest of the human lands.
House of Blood and Earth Book Cover

What You Need From Crescent City (Spoilers)

Spoilers for House of Flame and Shadow. You can follow ACOTAR without Crescent City, but the third book changes a lot about Prythian's history.

  • The Prison is not just a prison. It was once the lost Dusk Court, hidden by Silene, a Starborn Fae who returned to Prythian with the Harp and Truth-Teller.
  • Silene later married the High Lord of the Night Court and keyed the Prison to her son's blood, which makes her Rhys's ancestor. Azriel even says she looks like Rhys's late sister.
  • Truth-Teller has a twin, the long-lost sword Gwydion. Gwydion is Bryce's Starsword. At the end of the book, Bryce gives it to Nesta and tells her the star tattooed on her is there for a reason.
  • Nesta lent Bryce the Mask, and Bryce later returned it along with Truth-Teller.

Bottom line: the Night Court now holds the Trove, Truth-Teller, and Gwydion together.

The Loose Threads Book 6 Has to Pick Up

  • Will Elain accept or reject her mating bond with Lucien, and what happens to both of them if she rejects it?
  • Where do Azriel's feelings land: Elain, Gwyn, or neither?
  • Will Lucien find out Helion is his father, and what would that mean for the Day Court?
  • What is Koschei planning, and will Beron side with him?
  • Will Rhys change his mind about becoming High King?
  • What is the truth about Mor and Eris?
  • Who is Gwyn's father, and what does her power mean for the Valkyries?
  • Why was the eight-pointed star tattooed on Nesta?
  • Where is Bryaxis now?
  • Will Tamlin get a redemption arc, and how will he react to Feyre's son?
  • What part will Elain's Seer powers play against Koschei?

For the full list of theories, see everything we know about A Court of Splintered Harmony and my Elain guide.

A Court of Splintered Harmony Book Cover

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to remember before A Court of Splintered Harmony?

Feyre and Rhys rule the Night Court with their son Nyx, Nesta and Cassian are mated, Elain is still refusing her bond with Lucien, Azriel was warned off Elain and her returned necklace went to Gwyn, and Koschei the Deathless, still bound to his lake, is the villain.

Do I need to read the ACOTAR bonus chapters before book 6?

They are strongly recommended, especially Azriel's. Several outlets report that every copy of A Court of Splintered Harmony will include all three previously published bonus chapters.

Who is Koschei in ACOTAR?

Koschei the Deathless is an ancient being bound to a lake on the continent, who cursed Vassa and backed the human queen Briallyn in A Court of Silver Flames. He is the villain of A Court of Splintered Harmony.

Who is Lucien's father?

Lucien was raised as the youngest son of Beron, High Lord of the Autumn Court, but his true father is Helion, High Lord of the Day Court. As of A Court of Silver Flames, Lucien still doesn't know.

What is the Dread Trove in ACOTAR?

The Dread Trove is a set of Made objects: the Mask, which commands the dead, the Harp, which opens doors between places and worlds, and the Crown, which controls minds. All three are in the Night Court's possession.

Who is Elain mated to?

Elain is mated to Lucien Vanserra. The bond snapped when she came out of the Cauldron at the end of A Court of Mist and Fury, but she has never accepted it.

Do I need to read Throne of Glass before A Court of Splintered Harmony?

No. Maas hasn't said you need Throne of Glass for book six. The series that crosses over with ACOTAR so far is Crescent City, and the parts that matter are in the Crescent City section above.

What are you most hoping book 6 answers? Tell me in the comments.