Feyre Archeron, a human huntress, stands over the corpse of the “High Fae youth” (1) she has just killed at the behest of the faerie queen Amarantha. Another faerie kneels before her awaiting the same fate. Feyre pulls down the hood of her next victim, revealing her own “hated” face. She plunges the dagger into her own heart.

Feyre wakes from her nightmare and retches into a toilet while Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court and Feyre’s lover, sleeps in the adjacent chamber. Three months before, Feyre was killed by the evil faerie queen Amarantha in her court Under the Mountain. Feyre’s death broke Amarantha’s curse on Tamlin, allowing him to kill Amarantha and free all of Prythian, the faerie realm, from her tyrannical rule. The seven High Lords of Prythian resurrected Feyre as a High Fae in thanks. Feyre’s dream in the prologue references one of the trials she was forced to complete by Amarantha before her death. In the present, Feyre reflects on the pact she made with Rhysand (Rhys), High Lord of the Night Court. In exchange for saving her life Under the Mountain, Feyre must spend one week a month with Rhys for the rest of her life.