Heir of Fire

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas, 2014 Bloomsbury

     Adarlan's king has ordered Celaena to assassinate the royal family of Wendlyn based on his Captain of the Guard Chaol's suggestion. Chaol trades his future independence to his father to allow Celaena to escape the pit she's fallen into since Nehemia's death. In Wendlyn the King's Assassin has no intention of killing the royal family, instead Celaena drinks and gambles and fights the nights away until she can spend the days in an exhausted stupor.
     When her aunt, Maeve Queen of Fairies, sends Celaena's distant cousin, Rowan Whitethorn, to summon her to a demi-Fae outpost Celaena meets her aunt for the first time and realizes why her mother delayed the meeting. Maeve wants to see the Fae magic Celaena has hidden, but Celaena wants answers about the Wyrdkeys. The two come to an agreement: Celaena will come to the Fae city Doranelle when Rowan believes she has mastered her power and Maeve will share what she knows about the Wyrdkeys.
     Rowan begins to train Celaena - her magic so deeply buried she has difficulty even shifting from her human to Fae form. But mangled bodies of demi-Fae begin appearing around the fortress and the creatures in the forest become restless. As the most able investigative force Rowan and Celaena seek answers to the impending danger, driving Celaena to find and use her power.
    Back in Adarlan Chaol and Dorian are trying to understand their new dynamic. Dorian's magic has somehow persisted in a world where magic has been frozen. The pair work to discover why magic has gone, but Chaol refuses to hear about Dorian's power for fear the king might somehow use it against them. Dorian seeks companionship with a comely healer who has been attending the Crown Prince, Captain of the Guard and King's Assassin through their adventures. Sorscha promises not to tell, but may have an ulterior motive in gaining Dorian's trust.
     Far in the North, the Ironteeth Witches are made an offer too good to refuse. When magic died Manon Blackbeak and her kin in the Blackbeak, Yellowlegs and Bluebloods lost the ability to fly. Manon is the Blackbeak heir, considered one the cruelest beings in Elirea; the witches enjoy killing and maiming simply for the joy of the act. The King on the Throne of Glass offers the witches a place in his army and wyverns in exchange for their freedom after he's conquered the world. The Ironteeth wish to return to the Western Wastes where their enemies the Cochran Witches have cursed the land.
     Manon and her Blackbeak kin work to become the tip of the Ironteeth spear. They become the best fighters both on and off their wyverns. Manon develops a resounding rapport with her dragon-like beast and her wing discovers something in the mountain is rotting the humans - this drives the witches further afield for sustenance.
     While the King rallies his forces, the rebellion and discontent build within Adarlan. Aedion, cousin to the missing Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius of Terrasen, is the King's General in the North and summoned to Rifthold to attend the King. Chaol discovers Aedion has been subtly undermining the king's agenda in Terrasen; the resemblance between Aedion and Celaena suggests why. Aedion joins the rebellion, bringing hope to the movement.
     Action comes to a point when the King of Adarlan sends a force into Wendlyn lead by three Vlag princes. Celaena, Rowan, and the demi-Fae face the oncoming army and Celaena nearly gives in to the Vlag power reliving her worst memories, some so deeply repressed even she is surprised by their brutality. The Ironteeth compete and Manon with her Blackbeak clan becomes wing leader, creates a somewhat-alliance with the Bluebloods heir and confirms an enmity with the Yellowlegs heir. Chaol and Dorian's activities are discovered by the king with brutal results, but news that Aelin Ashryver Galathynius is alive and well begins to spread across Elirea as Celaena accepts her crown and demands answers from her aunt, Queen Maeve.
     Like the preceding books, Heir of Fire is a young adult read. Political intrigue, romantic entanglements, and brutal violence have shaped Celaena/Aelin's life and as she makes the decision to return to the world she was able to abandon as a child she revisits the darker side of what it means to be a political force. That said, Celaena is a multi-faceted character and Maas's story is rich in its own mythos making for a compelling read.