Among the Fire Night revelers, Feyre is confronted by an unmasked High Fae whose beauty and menace unsettle her. He questions why a mortal is there, reveals he is not of the Spring Court, and claims that on this night all monsters roam. He offers an escort, which Feyre refuses, then she retreats toward the crowded hollow.

Lucien spots her, yanks her from the crowd, and races her back to the manor, furious she disobeyed orders. He explains Calanmai’s Great Rite: Tamlin lets primal magic consume him, becomes the Hunter, slays a white stag, then instinctively chooses a Maiden for coupling to renew the land’s magic. Lucien warns that Tamlin would have scented and claimed Feyre and orders her to lock herself in her room.

After the drums cease in the early hours, Feyre, restless and conflicted, wanders for food and toward her painting room, imagining the chosen female. She dismantles her door snare, deeming it useless against faerie power.

Tamlin appears, crowned with laurel and painted in woad, still thrumming with magic. He pins Feyre, declares he searched for her and chose another when she was absent, then bites her neck, stoking intense mutual desire. Pulling back, he warns her never to disobey again. Feyre slaps him and rebukes the biting; Tamlin scents her arousal, growls in frustration, and prowls away, leaving their attraction heightened and boundaries sharply drawn.