The chapter opens with the protagonist waking from a nightmare filled with haunting visions of the Suriel’s bone-fingers and a faceless woman demanding their name. Disturbed and sweating, they hear shouts and screams from the front hall, compelling them to investigate. The screams evoke memories of past trauma, driving them to confront the source rather than hide. At the top of the staircase, they witness Tamlin rushing in with a wounded faerie slung over his shoulder, blood soaking his tunic.

The faerie, a Summer Court member, is grievously injured, his wings brutally ripped off. Tamlin orders the hall table cleared to tend to him, while Lucien reacts with visible horror, eventually fleeing the scene. The faerie’s repeated cries of “She took my wings” underscore the brutality of an unnamed female antagonist, hinting at her dominance over another court. Tamlin’s attempts to stem the bleeding are futile, and his admission that his magic can’t heal major wounds adds to the tension.

As the protagonist assists by pinning the faerie down, they note his velvet-like skin and the sheer agony he endures. The faerie’s golden-veined shimmer and desperate pleas humanize him, contrasting with the grim reality of his fate. Tamlin’s quiet demeanor and the protagonist’s empathy highlight the emotional weight of the scene. The faerie’s weakening state and the pooling blood signal his impending death, a moment underscored by Tamlin’s resigned expression.

In the final moments, the protagonist comforts the faerie, holding his hand and brushing hair from his face. Their whispered reassurance—“It will be all right”—rings hollow as the faerie’s life ebbs away. The chapter closes with a sense of helplessness and dread, emphasizing the cruelty of the unseen “she” and the fragility of life in the faerie courts. The scene leaves lingering questions about the antagonist’s identity and her broader role in the story’s conflict.

In Chapter 17, the protagonist awakens abruptly from a disturbing nightmare filled with ominous visions and a sense of foreboding. The dream’s imagery, including the Suriel’s bone-fingers and a faceless woman demanding her name, sets a tone of unease and hints at deeper, unseen threats. As she regains her composure, she hears unusual sounds—shouts and screams—from the manor’s front hall, prompting her to investigate. Her instinct to understand what is happening drives her to leave her room, revealing her growing concern about the safety and mysteries surrounding her surroundings.

Upon reaching the hall, she witnesses a harrowing scene: Tamlin carrying a severely wounded faerie, whose injuries are devastating and graphic. The faerie, almost as large as Tamlin, is bleeding profusely from the stumps where his wings once were, torn off in a brutal act. The scene underscores the violence inflicted by an unknown enemy, and Tamlin’s urgent commands to tend to the injured highlight the severity of the attack. The description of the faerie’s injuries, with jagged wounds and raw tissue, emphasizes the cruelty of the assault and the high stakes involved.

The chapter reveals that the attacker, a mysterious female figure, has not merely injured but has deliberately ripped off the faerie’s wings, leaving him in a state of shock and imminent danger of death. Tamlin’s attempt to treat the wounds with magic is thwarted, as he admits that he cannot heal such major damage anymore. The scene intensifies as the faerie’s condition deteriorates rapidly, blood flowing uncontrollably and his life hanging by a thread. The protagonist’s empathetic response, holding the faerie’s hand and trying to comfort him, underscores her growing awareness of the violence and peril that permeate their world.

By the chapter’s end, the grim reality becomes clear: the faerie’s injuries are fatal without immediate intervention. The sense of impending death is palpable, with Tamlin recognizing that the wounds won’t clot and that the faerie is unlikely to survive. The protagonist’s attempt to reassure the dying faerie, despite the bleak circumstances, highlights her compassion amid a brutal and uncertain environment. The chapter leaves a lingering sense of dread, emphasizing the dangerous forces at play and the devastating consequences of the unseen enemy’s ruthless attack.