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Empire of Storms Chapters 13–26 Summary
This Sarah J. Maas Empire of Storms chapter summary contains full spoilers.
Empire of Storms Chapter 13
Dorian and Rowan are on a stolen boat heading south toward the Dead Islands. Rowan pushes Dorian to eat, explaining that magic draws on the body’s energy and that a wielder who neglects himself loses both power and control. Dorian admits his magic never felt like something he could direct, only something that destroys, and that it wasn’t enough to save Sorscha.
Rowan reveals that he too lost his mate to violence. He tells Dorian that the grief and self-hatred that follow are real but can’t be indulged for long, not when a kingdom is depending on him.
Then Dorian asks Rowan what he’s supposed to do now that he’s fled. Rowan outlines a plan centered on the Pirate Lord Rolfe at Skull’s Bay. Rolfe was once driven out of his own territory by Erawan’s forces, and Rowan believes that wound is still fresh enough to be useful. If Dorian can position himself as someone worth backing and offer Rolfe money and the freedom to raid Erawan’s ships, he might secure a southern fleet.
Dorian asks Rowan to teach him magic in the meantime, and Rowan agrees, though he warns that real training may have to wait until they reach Skull’s Bay.
Empire of Storms Chapter 14
Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra are in Ilium, where they’ve arranged two ships. One will leave in the morning as a decoy heading north, while the real plan is to slip onto a second ship before sunrise and sail south. They also receive unexpected news from a ship captain whose brother spotted fifty Fae warships along Maeve’s western shore, with a full army camped and waiting behind them. No one knows yet what Maeve intends.
That night, Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra move on the town’s temple, held by Adarlan soldiers. Aelin climbs to a nearby rooftop while Aedion and Lysandra hold back. At her signal, Lysandra shifts into a ghost leopard and roars, drawing half the town outside.
The soldiers rush into the street to see what’s happening, and Aelin drops down to meet them. She pulls back her hood, Goldryn’s ruby glows red as the cloth around it burns away, and she tells the soldiers to get out. Most run. Their commander holds the rest in place, refusing to leave, and says something ugly. Aelin exhales, and the commander crumbles to ash where he stands. The remaining soldiers either surrender or fight, and it’s over in twenty minutes.
Aelin then sends fire through the whole temple, clearing away the grime and uncovering the ancient carvings beneath. She leaves Aedion and Lysandra to settle into the archives for the night and walks alone to the innermost part of the temple, where a massive black rock juts out over the sea. She steps up onto it.
Empire of Storms Chapter 15
Aelin meets the ghost of her ancestor Brannon at a seaside temple. Brannon tells her about something called the Lock, hidden in the Stone Marshes, which is the only way to seal the Wyrdkeys back into the broken Wyrdgate for good. He disappears before Aelin can get any real answers out of him.
It turns out Aedion and Lysandra were watching the whole time. Aedion calls Aelin out on keeping secrets. But the conversation is cut short when Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra catch the scent of a Valg demon nearby.
The demon is inhabiting the body of the Chief Overseer of Endovier, the prison where Aelin was once enslaved. Seeing the Chief Overseer unsettles her more than she wants to admit. But she pulls herself together and hits him with her fire magic. It does nothing. Aelin realizes the demon’s heart has been replaced with iron and Wyrdstone, which makes him immune to what she can do.
Then the demon tells Aelin he was there to deliver a warning about what awaits her and her court at Morath. His chest suddenly tears open from the inside, revealing only darkness and two glowing eyes. Erawan himself is staring back at them, making his presence known.
Empire of Storms Chapter 16
Erawan taunts Aelin about the futility of resisting him, and Aedion fires back by bringing up Dorian Havilliard’s recent escape. Shrugging off Dorian’s escape, Erawan reveals that he knows Rowan was the one who pulled Dorian out of Rifthold. Erawan’s forces are already closing in on both of them.
Aelin loses focus just long enough for Erawan to land a blast of dark magic that sends her into the wall. She pulls herself together and hides how badly she’s hurt, then channels her fire into the overseer’s body and burns it to ash. Erawan withdraws on his own terms, not because Aelin drove him out.
In the aftermath, Aelin and Aedion agree they need to reach Skull’s Bay before Erawan’s hunters get to Rowan and Dorian first. Aelin also notices that the blow landed just shy of the amulet hidden beneath her clothing, the one secretly housing the third Wyrdkey. Erawan nearly sensed it.
Empire of Storms Chapter 17
Manon spends the night in the wyvern aerie sharpening her sword, steeling herself for her cousin Asterin’s execution at dawn. The Blackbeak Matron has sentenced Asterin to death, and Manon plans to invoke an ancient right allowing her to carry out the execution herself, sparing Asterin a slow, brutal death at the hands of the gathered witches.
When the execution begins on the veranda, Manon finds that Iskra Yellowlegs has already beaten and whipped Asterin in the dungeon overnight. Manon invokes her right to deliver the killing blow, and a Blueblood Matron steps forward to support the claim before anyone can challenge it.
Manon tells Sorrel to turn Asterin to face the sunrise and raises her sword. The Thirteen then salute Manon not as a Wing Leader but as a Witch-Queen, a title that had gone unclaimed for centuries. Asterin asks Manon to bring Asterin’s remains to the cabin and lead their people back to where they belong.
Instead of swinging the blade, Manon orders the Thirteen to run, then turns her sword on her grandmother instead.
Empire of Storms Chapter 18
Manon fights her grandmother in single combat while the rest of the Thirteen slip away. The fight is brutal and one-sided toward the end, leaving Manon with a serious gash across her midsection.
During the fight, Manon’s grandmother reveals a series of devastating truths. Before Manon’s mother died giving birth to her, she revealed that Manon’s father was a Crochan Prince. The Crochan witch Manon executed earlier was her half-sister, sent after years of searching for Manon. That makes Manon the last of the Crochan royal bloodline and its rightful queen.
When her grandmother moves in to finish her off, Manon throws herself off the balcony and lands on Abraxos, who is waiting below. Two members of the Thirteen, Edda and Briar, meet her and escort her away from Morath. But six Yellowlegs riders from Iskra’s personal coven close in on them fast.
Manon orders Edda and Briar to peel off and deal with four of the riders, then draws the remaining two into a mountain ravine she knows far better than they do. She maneuvers one rider into a stone column and leads the other straight into a dead-end wall. Both riders go down.
Badly wounded and losing blood steadily, Manon tries to steer Abraxos toward the Oakwald Forest but passes out before she can finish the command.
Empire of Storms Chapter 19
Elide and Lorcan leave Oakwald and reach the Acanthus River, where Adarlanian soldiers heavily guard a stone bridge crossing, checking wagons and questioning travelers. Lorcan spots a nearby tavern and suggests that they eat before joining the line.
Inside, Elide overhears a small traveling carnival troupe arguing about the cost of the toll. She sees an opportunity and introduces herself and Lorcan to the troupe’s leader, Molly, claiming that they once performed with the Carnival of Mirrors under Baba Yellowlegs before the witch’s death. Molly is skeptical. But the troupe needs an act, and the extra money helps, so she agrees to take them on temporarily.
At the checkpoint, soldiers search the wagons and make the women uncomfortable. But no one questions Elide’s limp or asks who she and Lorcan are. The troupe pays the toll and crosses safely onto the plains.
Empire of Storms Chapter 20
Rowan and Dorian arrive at Skull’s Bay by boat in the middle of a storm. Rowan has barely slept in days and is running on fumes. But the two males manage to pay off the dockmaster and move through the city without drawing attention. Their plan is simple. Find a decent inn, then formally request an audience with Rolfe rather than force a confrontation. The approach has to be measured, given that the last time anyone from their group came to Skull’s Bay, Aelin left the city in ruins.
But Rowan and Dorian never make it to the inn. Both men sense something strange in the air, a presence that feels ancient and untamed but nothing like the Valg. They track the presence through the deserted, storm-battered streets to the Sea Dragon, Rolfe’s personal tavern. Inside, the place is empty except for a perceptive young barmaid who barely glances at them before telling them that Rolfe has already been expecting them and pointing them upstairs to his office.
On the way up, Rowan and Dorian quietly weigh whether they’re walking into a trap. Rowan thinks not, since anyone planning an ambush wouldn’t have let them stroll in on their own. They move through a hallway lined with four armed guards and knock on Rolfe’s door. The moment Rowan and Dorian step inside, they see the Pirate Lord.
Empire of Storms Chapter 21
Dorian and Rowan are hoping to win Rolfe as an ally. But Rolfe wastes no time delivering bad news. Duke Perrington has declared Dorian a traitor, seized the throne, and named Dorian’s brother Hollin as heir.
When Rowan asks Rolfe about losing control of the eastern islands, Rolfe pulls off his gloves to reveal hands tattooed with a living map of the archipelago. The map shows the Dead Islands frozen in place, with nothing moving across them, and scouts sent there never return. Rolfe describes the sea-wyverns guarding those waters and makes clear he has no interest in picking a fight with whatever is living there.
Rowan and Dorian then cut through Rolfe’s deflections with a guess. Some of Rolfe’s crew were possessed by Valg demons, returned appearing normal, and Rolfe had to kill them himself. Rolfe confirms it. Rowan then explains the Valg, their princes, and Erawan, the true power behind Perrington.
Rolfe remains unconvinced. Rowan argues that the archipelago gives allied fleets a base to strike from the sea while land forces push from the opposite side. Dorian adds that Chaol, Dorian’s Hand, is in Antica to secure a southern fleet. Rolfe dismisses the idea and hints that a recent development will make foreign help even less likely.
Before Rolfe can elaborate, two Fae males walk in. Rowan recognizes them immediately and throws a dagger into the wall beside the head of one male.
Empire of Storms Chapter 22
Dorian and Rowan are meeting with Rolfe when two Fae warriors arrive unannounced. Rowan immediately recognizes them as Fenrys and Gavriel, former members of his cadre who are both bound to serve the Fae queen Maeve. After a tense standoff, the five men sit down together.
Gavriel gets to the point. Maeve’s armada is sailing for the continent, with Eyllwe as its destination. No one knows exactly why because Maeve has stopped confiding in her lieutenants since Rowan and Lorcan left her service.
Rowan tries to use the moment to pressure Rolfe into joining the fight against Erawan, but Rolfe refuses to commit. Rolfe agrees to hear Aelin out whenever she arrives, then throws everyone out of his tavern.
The group moves to a nearby inn, and once they’re settled, Rowan questions Fenrys and Gavriel about what they’re actually doing in Skull’s Bay. Gavriel tells Rowan that the armada and their mission are two separate matters. Maeve sent them to find Lorcan. Gavriel confirms that he and Fenrys have no orders to bring Lorcan back alive.
Empire of Storms Chapter 23
Rowan learns that Fenrys and Gavriel have been working to bribe Rolfe into alerting them if Lorcan turns up looking for a ship. Tipping Rolfe off about Maeve’s armada is part of the deal they offer to make the arrangement more appealing. Rowan refuses to hand over any information about Lorcan’s whereabouts and instead tries to recruit them to fight for Aelin. He argues that Lorcan will eventually circle back to him anyway, so they’ll get their man in the end. In the meantime, Terrasen needs experienced Fae soldiers.
Fenrys and Gavriel are clearly about to turn him down, so Rowan changes tactics and tells Gavriel that his son is already on his way to Skull’s Bay. Gavriel is clearly affected by the news. Rowan tells both males to sit tight until Gavriel’s son arrives before making any decisions. He also makes it clear that if either of them tips Maeve off about Gavriel’s son, the whole arrangement falls apart, and he’ll personally help Lorcan come after them.
Empire of Storms Chapter 24
Aelin and Aedion sail out of Ilium on the Wind-Singer just after sunrise, with Lysandra keeping watch from high on the mast in her falcon form. During the voyage, Aedion brings up something that’s been sitting with him. Erawan had Aedion within reach for years, yet never fully corrupted him the way Erawan corrupted others. Aelin suspects the old king may have held back, unwilling to destroy Aedion and risk losing her cooperation entirely.
What’s really weighing on Aedion more is what he learned about Endovier. Knowing the details, and knowing that he had been camped just over the border at the time, hits him hard. Aelin cuts off that line of thinking. She recognizes Erawan’s intent. He dug up those details to rattle them and turn them inward. She refuses to give him that.
Aelin mentions Theralis, the battle Aedion fought at fourteen and the one he still sees in his dreams. Aedion tells her that Darrow had done what he could to shield him from the worst of it, though the battle was bad enough regardless. Aelin then admits that she actually understands why Darrow blocked her from Terrasen, even if she intends to challenge that decision.
Beyond that, Aelin looks ahead to Skull’s Bay, where a pirate lord carries a map tattooed on his skin that can locate things that don’t want to be found. She needs the map to find the Lock and hopes her group reaches the pirate lord before Erawan does.
Empire of Storms Chapter 25
Manon wakes up injured in Oakwald Forest, still strapped to Abraxos. She manages to free herself from the saddle and climb down to the ground. After resting, she staggers to a nearby stream for a drink.
A woman appears on the opposite bank and identifies herself as Erawan’s Bloodhound, sent to bring Manon back to him. The woman then drops her human disguise, revealing a monstrous creature built for tracking, and launches herself at Manon.
Manon ducks between two narrow trees, which catch the creature’s wings and pin the Bloodhound in place just long enough for Manon to sprint back to Abraxos. She throws herself at him, and Abraxos catches her in his talons, hauling them both up through the canopy before the Bloodhound can reach her.
Once Abraxos and Manon are airborne, Abraxos spots the creature emerging below and dives, driving his barbed tail into the Bloodhound and sending her crashing back into the forest. Manon pulls herself fully into the saddle and they fly toward the coast. She then passes out once more.
Empire of Storms Chapter 26
Dorian and Rowan have spent two weeks in Skull’s Bay waiting for Rolfe to agree to a meeting. But the Pirate Lord has been ignoring them. Fed up, Dorian devises a scheme to force Rolfe’s hand.
Rowan mails a letter after lunch, then arranges for it to be delivered to Dorian at the inn as though it contains urgent new intelligence. Dorian makes sure Rolfe’s spies see him react with alarm, and the two males let slip enough hints that the letter holds war-changing information Rolfe can’t afford to miss.
The plan works. Rolfe summons the whole group to his tavern that same afternoon. As Rolfe leads them down the hall toward his office, Dorian knows the man is moments away from discovering there was never any real news. But when Rolfe opens the door, everyone freezes. Aelin is already inside, feet propped on the desk and grinning as she greets them like she owns the place.