Chapter 40: Feyre’s Second Trial and Rhysand’s Secret Aid
[Spoiler Warning: This page reveals major plot points from Chapter 40 of A Court of Thorns and Roses.]
Summary
The second task begins in a gilded, empty cavern. Amarantha taunts Feyre about the unsolved riddle while Tamlin watches impassively. The floor suddenly sinks, lowering Feyre into a rectangular pit. One wall is an iron grate, and behind it lies Lucien, chained helplessly. Above them, two enormous, spike-encrusted grates glowing with heat begin to descend—they will crush both prisoners.
An inscription is carved into the stone wall before Feyre, with three numbered levers beneath it. She must read the inscription, deduce the correct lever, and pull it before the spikes reach her. But Feyre realizes with horror that she cannot read the inscription; she recognizes only a few basic words. She tries to decipher it, but the grate keeps lowering, the heat becoming unbearable. Lucien shouts for her to guess.
Paralyzed by panic, Feyre reaches for the second lever, but a blinding pain from her tattooed eye stops her. The same pain blocks her from the first lever. The third lever causes no pain. Through the grate, she sees Rhysand’s violet stare. Trusting him, she pulls the third lever. The spikes stop inches from her head, then retract. She has survived, but only through Rhysand’s covert aid.
Back in her cell, Feyre collapses into sobs, convinced she will never win. Rhysand appears, licks the tears from her face to shock her into composure, and mocks her illiteracy. He suggests tormenting her by making her learn to read in his court. After he vanishes, Feyre realizes his callous visit actually prevented her from shattering entirely.
Key Events
- Amarantha summons Feyre to a new cavern for the second trial.
- The floor descends into a pit; Lucien is chained behind an iron grate on the other side.
- Spiked, red-hot grates begin lowering from the ceiling to crush both Feyre and Lucien.
- Feyre discovers the task requires reading an inscription to choose the correct lever among three.
- Her illiteracy leaves her unable to read the riddle, and panic sets in as the spikes approach.
- Rhysand manipulates the tattoo bond, causing pain when she reaches for the wrong levers and no pain when she reaches for the third.
- Feyre pulls the third lever, halting the grate mere inches from her head.
- In her cell afterward, Feyre weeps uncontrollably, despairing over her shortcomings.
- Rhysand arrives, licks her tears to snap her out of hysteria, and taunts her about her inability to read.
- Feyre recognizes that Rhysand’s abrasive visit kept her from breaking apart completely.
Character Development
Feyre
Feyre’s hidden illiteracy, a vulnerability she carried from her impoverished human life, becomes a nearly fatal liability. She feels profound shame and helplessness, not because she lacks courage, but because she lacks a basic skill. Her victory is hollow—she was saved by cheating, not by her own merit. In the aftermath, she endures a complete emotional breakdown, mourning her lost self full of “color and light.” Yet her ability to follow Rhysand’s commands, stand, and walk out without crying in front of Amarantha reveals a stubborn resilience.
Rhysand
Rhysand operates entirely behind the mask of a bored, cruel spectator, yet his actions are the sole reason Feyre survives. Through the tattoo bond, he guides her silently to the correct lever, then instructs her telepathically afterward to hide her tears from Amarantha. His later mockery in the cell—licking her tears, threatening to teach her to read—reads as sadistic teasing, but the chapter’s final line confirms it was a deliberate tactic to prevent her from shattering. His character deepens as someone who aids Feyre while maintaining a villainous facade.
Amarantha
Amarantha’s smug confidence underscores her belief that Feyre’s death is inevitable. Her second trial targets Feyre perceptively—the reading-based task strikes at a vulnerability Amarantha may not even know about, making the near-fatal outcome feel like “a cruel, vicious twist of fate.” Her white, drawn face when Feyre survives reveals her shock at another failed attempt to kill her human rival.
Lucien
Chained and helpless, Lucien can only shout desperate pleas, his terror genuine. His earlier role as a shrewd emissary is reduced to that of a victim, heightening the stakes for Feyre, whose failure means his death too. His prayer and relief after the grate rises humanize him further.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The Tattoo as a Bond of Control and Salvation The eye tattooed on Feyre’s palm, established during the bargain with Rhysand, manifests here as a literal guide. Pain steers her hand away from the wrong levers, a physical sensation that directs her choice. What was a mark of ownership becomes a lifeline, blurring the line between exploitation and protection.
Illiteracy as a Hidden Weakness Feyre’s inability to read is not a moral failing but a product of her impoverished upbringing, yet it nearly kills her. The chapter frames illiteracy as a secret shame that the powerful can exploit, echoing real-world struggles around education and class.
Appearances Versus Motives Rhysand and Tamlin both present masks to Amarantha—Tamlin feigns indifference, Rhysand feigns bored sadism—yet both act to preserve Feyre’s life. The chapter reinforces the Under the Mountain setting as a theater where true intentions must remain hidden.
The Threat of Crushing Confinement The lowering grate symbolizes the oppressive, suffocating reality of Amarantha’s rule. The spikes, heat, and shrinking space mirror Feyre’s mental state, her panic attack in the cell afterward physically echoing the pit’s tight walls.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 40 escalates the stakes of the trials by targeting a deeply personal and unexpected vulnerability: Feyre’s illiteracy. It transforms the contest from a test of physical courage or cleverness into a scathing indictment of the privileges Feyre never had. The chapter also solidifies Rhysand as a pivotal, morally ambiguous figure whose secret assistance becomes essential to her survival. The emotional collapse in the cell is a pivotal moment of psychological realism—Feyre’s grief for her former self, her admission of feeling “hollow and dark and empty,” marks a character low point that will shape her arc moving forward. Additionally, Rhysand’s parting threat to teach her to read plants a seed that will pay off dramatically in later chapters and books.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Feyre struggle to complete the second trial even though the solution is directly in front of her? Feyre cannot read the inscription carved into the wall, so she cannot interpret the riddle or logic problem that tells her which lever stops the grate. Her illiteracy, a consequence of growing up in poverty where survival eclipsed education, becomes a life-threatening liability in a trial designed to test knowledge and reasoning.
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How does Rhysand communicate the correct lever to Feyre without alerting Amarantha? Rhysand uses the magical bond represented by the eye tattoo on Feyre’s palm. When she reaches for the first or second lever, the tattoo sends a blinding pain through her hand; reaching for the third lever causes no pain. This silent, invisible signal guides her to the correct choice while Amarantha remains unaware of his interference.
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After the trial, why does Rhysand visit Feyre in her cell and act cruelly toward her? Rhysand’s taunting and his shocking act of licking her tears are calculated to halt her hysterical crying. By provoking anger and disgust, he pulls her out of a spiraling mental collapse. The chapter’s final lines confirm Feyre’s realization that his abrasive behavior “had effectively kept me from shattering completely,” suggesting his cruelty served a protective purpose masked for onlookers—including any magical surveillance.