In my post about A Court of Thorns and Roses, I said that I would not give away an important side plot. That’s because I was saving it for this post. Rhysand has a lot of sins to answer for when he reenters Feyre’s life in A Court of Mist and Fury; and I think his redemption arc is darn near perfect. But first, let’s review those sins from the first book. 

Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court meets Feyre twice before she ends up Under the Mountain – where their story really begins. Rhysand snuck into Tamlin’s court during an outside celebration. Neither the reader nor Feyre know this at the time, but Rhysand has been having dreams and visions about Feyre, and he came to see her during the commotion of the celebration. Feyre is being dragged into the woods by some unsavory characters, and Rhysand saves her. He invites her to spend the night with him, and she declines. Rhysand accepts Feyre’s rejection and disappears.

The next time Rhysand visits, he is there on Amarantha’s errand. He uses his powers to read Feyre’s mind and tells Tamlin “she has such delicious thoughts about you.” This turns Feyre off to him, and she believes him to be a villain. 

The next time they meet is Under the Mountain when all seven courts of Prythian are prisoners to Amarantha. While Feyre is waiting for her first challenge, the guards force her to do impossible cleaning tasks. One such task puts her in Rhysand’s room cleaning his fireplace. Rhysand shows up and cleans his fireplace and Feyre with the wave of his hand. He then “hypnotizes” the guards into stopping such nonsense.

During Feyre’s first challenge against the giant worm, only one High Fae bets in favor of Feyre winning: Rhysand. Even though Feyre beat the worm, she did not avoid injury. Her arm was cut during the fight, and it became infected in her prison cell. The infection is killing her when Rhysand shows up and offers to heal her, for a price. The price is that when Feyre breaks Amarantha’s curse, she will spend two weeks each month in Rhysand’s home. Feyre negotiates Rhysand down to one week out of each month. He heals her and she wakes up to a healed arm and a tattoo that covers her entire arm. The tattoo is proof of the deal she made with Rhysand.

For the next two months, Rhysand’s maids collect Feyre each night, wash her, paint temporary tattoos over every inch of exposed skin, dress her in revealing clothing, and deliver her to Rhysand (major Mummy vibes here). She serves as Rhysand’s companion for the evening activities at Amarantha’s court. Rhysand serves her a very strong wine that makes her forget everything each night – though she is able to deduce that she spends her nights sitting on Rhysand’s lap or dancing for his entertainment. So, on the surface, Rhysand is not looking like a good guy, but even so, there was something about him that I trusted. I just knew there were going to be deeper layers to him. 

The permanent tattoo from their deal has an eye in Feyre’s palm, and she can feel a second presence in her mind that she believes comes from the eye. In fact, the presence helps her pick the right answer to help her beat the second challenge. 

When Feyre beats Amarantha’s final challenge, Amarantha beats up Feyre. Rhysand is the only one who tries to physically stop Amarantha. Amarantha snaps Feyre’s neck right after Feyre solves the final riddle, freeing all High Fae from Amarantha’s curse. Feyre dies, and all 7 High Lords are at full strength. Tamlin kills Amarantha, and the 7 High Lords of Prythian give Feyre’s body a piece of their magic, bringing her back to life as a High Fae.    

And that’s how the first book ends. I’m so sorry to make this so long, but I just love Rhysand. He is possibly my favorite literary character, so I need to do him justice.

At the start of A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre goes three months without Rhysand imposing the deal they made when he saved her life Under the Mountain. Feyre’s relationship with Tamlin is not going well. He wants to keep Feyre locked up in pretty dresses planning parties. She wants to be a warrior. The day of their wedding, Feyre panics and is about to call off the wedding. Before she can, Rhysand appears and announces it’s time for Feyre to keep her end of the bargain. He whisks her away to his castle at the Night Court. 

Feyre’s wedding to Tamlin is postponed indefinitely. For two months she returned to Rhysand’s for a week. During each of those weeks, Rhysand teaches Feyre how to read and write and how to close her mind from his – and anyone else who might have that power – invasions. Feyre also meets Rhysand’s female cousin Morrigan, who goes by Mor. Mor is friendly and welcoming and is determined to be Feyre’s friend. 

When Feyre is at the Spring Court, she can tell that Tamlin is keeping something from her. He keeps leaving on expeditions. On one such expedition, Feyre asks for Tamlin to take her with him. He refuses and goes so far as to place a spell around the palace, keeping Feyre inside. She can’t even stick her hand out the window. Feyre loses it and her magic explodes and implodes. Her engagement ring melts off her finger and she gets stuck in her own mind of darkness. Mor and Rhysand arrive, breaking Tamlin’s spell and taking Feyre home with them. 

When Feyre decides that she doesn’t want to return to Tamlin and the Spring Court, Rhysand takes her to his real home: Velaris. Velaris is a secret city in the Night Court. This city shows Rhysand’s true character: The Court of Dreams. To the rest of the world, Rhysand wears a mask of cool detachment and darkness. He does this because previous High Lords of the Night Court were like that, and the reputation they created for themselves prevented other courts from trying to take advantage of and harm the lands and citizens. Rhysand wears this mask to protect his people. Velaris was the only place in Prythian untouched by Amarantha. 

It is in Velaris that Feyre is healed. She gains back the weight she lost, she starts training, and she falls in love. She falls in love with the city, the citizens, and her new friends – Rhysand’s friends. Mor, Amren, Cassian, and Azriel seem like a band of misfits on the surface, but they are Rhysand’s chosen family full of acceptance. They love and support one another, and Feyre is now a part of their group. 

Rhysand does not keep any secrets from Feyre – except one, which we’ll get to eventually. He doesn’t prohibit her from doing whatever she wants to do. He trains her to strengthen her powers and his army general Cassian trains her in combat. Whenever they go on a mission, Feyre is allowed to come and participate. Often, Rhysand uses the mission to test Feyre’s abilities so that she can know for herself that she is capable.

Rhysand tells Feyre something very important that Tamlin is keeping from her: Prythian has a new enemy, a hundred times stronger than Amarantha. Her mentor, The King of Hybern. Rhysand and several other High Lords believe that he will go after Prythian now that Amarantha has failed. Rhysand believes that Feyre is their secret weapon since she has the same powers as all seven High Lords. 

As Rhysand shows that he is everything Tamlin is not, Feyre begins to fall for him; but she won’t admit it to him or herself. Honesty forces itself on the two when Rhysand is captured by a small band of Hybern’s soldiers and Feyre saves him. The creature Feyre calls on for help, the Suriel, only tells the truth. The Suriel tells Feyre that she is Rhysand’s mate. Up until this moment, fated mates haven’t been a key focus of the story. It was mentioned a few times in conversation, but it’s not something that happens to every faerie in Prythian.

Rhysand suspected that Feyre was his mate while she was human, and he knew for certain after he and the other High Lords brought her back to life. Feyre is furious that he kept that information secret, and after she heals him, she runs away – not forever, but she needs a few days in solitude. Mor takes her to a special cabin that’s a full-scale house version of the Room of Requirement, only this one can provide food. 

After a few days of painting and moping, Rhysand shows up and Feyre allows him in. She is ready to listen to his explanations. While Rhysand talks, Feyre serves him a bowl of soup – the traditional way to tell him that she accepts the mate bond and accepts Rhysand as her mate. Rhysand didn’t want to force Feyre to be with him. He wanted to respect her feelings for Tamlin, even though it killed him. Her panic on her wedding day called down the bond, and Rhysand took the opportunity to rescue her and begin a courtship. He wanted Feyre to fall in love with him without the bond telling her to. When Rhysand finishes his soup, he and Feyre finally consummate their bond. 

Rhysand’s redemption arc is my favorite to date. I think one of the main reasons his redemption works is because the purpose of his earlier sins was to protect the city and people he loved. Everything he did to Feyre Under the Mountain was to protect her, even though she couldn’t see it at the time. And I normally loathe the lie-to-protect trope, but this one is done so well. I knew right away there was more to Rhysand, I just didn’t know what. So every scene with him was so edge-of-my-seat as I tried to figure it out. I never did. Velaris was as big of a surprise to me as it was to Feyre. Rhysand’s past is heart-breakingly beautiful – I couldn’t even fit all of it into this already too long post. 

I look forward to the day that I write as wonderful of a redemption. 5 stars for A Court of Mist and Fury.