A Court of Splintered Harmony Recap: What to Remember Before A Court of Forgotten Melody

Spoiler warning: This recap reveals the ending of A Court of Splintered Harmony and includes spoilers for A Court of Silver Flames and House of Flame and Shadow.

A Court of Splintered Harmony ends with Nesta Archeron entering the Prison and losing her grip on Gwydion, Elain leaving for Vallahan with Mor, and Lucien withdrawing his help from the Night Court after catching Elain and Azriel together. That last development matters to the war effort as much as it does to the love triangle. The Night Court was counting on Lucien to spy on Beron while it looked for evidence of a link between Koschei and the powers threatening the human lands.

Sarah J. Maas’s seventh ACOTAR book, A Court of Forgotten Melody, is scheduled for January 12, 2027. Bloomsbury lists it as Movements II and III of the Valkyrie Cycle. Here’s where the sixth book leaves the characters and the alliances they’ll be relying on when the story resumes.

Koschei is still confined, but the threat has spread

The Night Court has reason to believe that Vallahan, Montesere and Rask are preparing to reclaim territory now held by humans. Feyre and Rhysand’s meeting with Vallahan and Montesere fails to secure a treaty or a promise to leave the human lands alone. Azriel’s spying also reveals that Vallahan is looking for a Made weapon. The threat is already credible even without proof that Koschei is directing it.

Beron matters because he gives the Night Court a lead closer to home. Lucien was willing to spy on the Autumn Court’s High Lord. When Lucien walks away, the Night Court loses his help on that assignment just when it needs evidence that could persuade other territories to act.

Bryaxis attacks Nyx’s Naming Day and changes Rhys’s mind about Nesta

The last time Nesta took a major decision about a Made object into her own hands, she lent Bryce Quinlan the Mask in House of Flame and Shadow. Bryce returned it, but Nesta’s decision damaged trust within the Night Court. Rhys keeps the Dread Trove and other Made objects from her at the start of Splintered Harmony. The Mask is one of the three objects that make up the Trove, alongside the Harp and the Crown.

Then Bryaxis interrupts Nyx’s Naming Day and forces members of the Inner Circle to confront their worst fears. Nesta fights the creature with Ataraxia, her own Made sword, and Bryaxis retreats to the library, where Clotho gives her refuge. Rhys recognizes that withholding the weapons cost Nesta time during the attack. He restores her access to the Trove and the blades, including Gwydion. Cassian and Nesta also reconcile after talking about how the decision to help Bryce drove them apart.

The Naming Day attack makes the cost of the Night Court’s mistrust visible. Rhys has to decide whether keeping powerful objects under his control is worth leaving the person who can use them scrambling in a crisis. Who set the attack in motion remains open.

Lucien catches Elain and Azriel together

After the ceremony, Lucien goes to Elain’s room to talk and finds her in bed with Azriel. When Feyre and Rhys acknowledge they knew about Elain and Azriel, Lucien tells them he’s done working for them. He lashes out at Azriel before leaving. Mor raises the possibility of a Blood Duel, an Autumn Court tradition, but Lucien hasn’t invoked one when the book ends.

Elain and Lucien’s mating bond remains unresolved. Elain also has no settled relationship with Azriel. She tells her sisters how little purpose she feels she has in Velaris, then persuades Mor to take her to Vallahan. She sees a chance to help the negotiations as someone who is both Made and a Seer. Azriel, meanwhile, sends the shadow spy Erebos to watch Lucien in the human lands and intends to speak with Elain. He has yet to learn she’s gone.

The ending sends Nesta into the Prison with Gwydion

Nesta’s eight-pointed star tattoo dates back to her bargain with Cassian in A Court of Silver Flames. Bryce draws attention to it in House of Flame and Shadow, where the same symbol connects to the Starborn Fae and the history of the lost Dusk Court. The Prison sits on the island once occupied by that court, and Nesta feels drawn back there.

At Amren’s urging, Nesta takes Gwydion, the Starsword Bryce left with her, and winnows to the Prison. As soon as she arrives, the sword is pulled from her hand. The scene leaves the source of the pull and the reason for Nesta’s connection to the island unresolved. A Dusk Court revival is one possible reading of the clues. Nesta becoming its High Lady remains speculation.

There’s one related blade worth remembering. Gwydion and Azriel’s dagger, Truth-Teller, are a pair. Truth-Teller is back in Prythian after the crossover, but Azriel throws it aside after the confrontation with Lucien. Erebos later describes the dagger as singing. That detail gives readers a concrete thread to follow in the sequel, even though the meaning of the sound is still unclear.

What to remember before A Court of Forgotten Melody

The two departures at the end are worth reading together. Nesta goes looking for a power that might help Prythian, while Elain goes looking for a way to avert a war. Both sisters have spent much of the book being told, directly or indirectly, how much responsibility others are willing to give them. By the end, each has picked a place where she can act on her own judgment. Both choices leave the Night Court waiting on someone it has underestimated.

For the books leading up to this point, see our ACOTAR reading order and our spoiler-free guide to A Court of Splintered Harmony.

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• Want to revisit the Naming Day scene? Find A Court of Splintered Harmony on Amazon.
• Ready for the next part of the Valkyrie Cycle? Preorder A Court of Forgotten Melody on Amazon.
• Want to revisit Nesta’s bargain and the Valkyries’ training? Find A Court of Silver Flames on Amazon.
• Want the full story of Bryce’s visit and how Gwydion reached Nesta? Find House of Flame and Shadow on Amazon.

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