Previously: After a trip into town, a snarling beast arrives at Feyre's door.

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Feyre pulls her knife and quickly identifies that whatever is in their doorway, it's not a martax, based on her super good knowledge of that one time, one chapter ago, that someone ~conveniently~ described a martax to her for one second. 

The beast had to be as large as a horse, and while his body was somewhat feline, his head was distinctly wolfish. I didn’t know what to make of the curled, elk-like horns that protruded from his head. But lion or hound or elk, there was no doubting the damage his black, daggerlike claws and yellow fangs could inflict.

It's a faerie, obviously, which we, the reader, knew for sure because Feyre and But... Many Mercenary both assured us that the dead wolf was definitely not a faerie.

Feyre says that had she been alone in the woods, she would've just collapsed and prayed for a quick death, which to me is a very confusing characterization for Feyre. Does this woman have a will to live or nah? Even if her will to live is mostly fed by wanting to protect and provide for her family, wouldn't she fight for her life so as not to leave said family without a means to provide for themselves? It's clear to me that I have now given this 100% more thought than Sarah Janet Maas ever did. 

The creature that is definitely not a martax calls them murderers. This doesn't bother Feyre at all as she stands there and plots another murder, thinking about digging her knife into Not a Martax's neck.

Feyre takes precious seconds to look at her family, who are all cowering, and of course thinks about how useless they are. Their father is shielding Elain and Nesta, and Feyre is like, "Another body for me to defend." A precious angel, our Feyre. A true hero. 

“P-please,” my father babbled from behind me, failing to find it in himself to come to my side. “Whatever we have done, we did so unknowingly, and—”
“W-w-we didn’t kill anyone,” Nesta added, choking on her sobs, arm lifted over her head, as if that tiny iron bracelet would do anything against the creature.
I snatched another dinner knife off the table, the best I could do unless I found a way to get to the quiver. “Get out,” I snapped at the creature, brandishing the knives before me. No iron in sight that I could use as a weapon—unless I chucked my sisters’ bracelets at him. “Get out, and begone.”
With my trembling hands, I could barely keep my grip on the hilts. A nail—I’d take a damned iron nail, if it were available.

Why is she getting pissy about Nesta holding up her iron bracelet, "as if that would do anything," but then she herself grabs a shabby dinner knife? Like you, too, are just using what is available. And then a few lines later, she's like she'd take an iron nail? So, um, holding up the iron bracelet makes sense then, right?

And here's the thing. I can't quite decide if Feyre is stupid, judgmental, so hateful that it makes her stupid and judgmental, or if this is just bad writing. I often wonder if SJM just immediately forgets whatever she writes.

Feyre throws her hunting knife at Not a Martax, but he just whacks it away. The faerie asks who killed "him," which feels like a question with a pretty obvious answer to me, considering one of these humans is not like the other. One of these humans just threw a knife at you. 

Not a Martax continues accusing them of killing the wolf that Feyre definitely killed. You know, the one that she definitely spent multiple pages wondering if it was a fae? That one.

She asks what payment can be made in retribution. Not a Martax says that the payment is specified in the treaty. But he doesn't say what that payment is because, um, drama. Suspense. 

Feyre admits to killing the wolf, but apparently, the fae doesn't believe her because... she's too skinny? Apparently, it's easier to believe all the people crying and cowering are more murder-y than this girl who threw a knife at him, no questions asked, because she's skinny.

This is all Feyre projecting, though. She thinks that must be what Not a Martax is thinking, but who knows. I don't trust Feyre's read on any situation.

Feyre says that she wouldn't have killed the wolf had she known it was a faerie, but Not a Martax calls her a liar and asks if the wolf attacked her. Feyre admits that she wasn't attacked and decides to antagonize the beastie by saying that the kill was deserved anyway because of the long history between fae and humans. Does this girl have a will to live or not?! 

As Not a Martax growls and snarls, Feyre looks at his teeth and imagines what it will feel like when he chomps on her before also killing her family. And then, weirdly, she starts thinking about how Nesta would probably buy Elain time to run, but she wouldn't protect her father (because she's an ableist bitch) or Feyre (because idk SJM said so). For SOME REASON, this ~realization~ that Nesta likes Elain best (which is not in fact a realization because in what world was this not understood previously) pushes Feyre to ask what payment the treaty requires. 

Shock, surprise, say what: it's a life for a life for any taking of a life unprovoked. Feyre says she didn't know about that part of the treaty, but believes Not a Martax, because faeries can't lie.

Not a Martax says that humans forget about that part, but that doesn't actually make sense. It seems like a very key part of the whole treaty thing. Feyre also said that she had read the treaty as a child, so as recently as 10-ish years ago, people were still educating their children on the treaty. You are telling me that in the last decade, the part of the treaty where you will get murdered if you murder was lost to memory? And if that is true, why else was Feyre worried about killing a fae in the forest? 

NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE.

Feyre asks Not a Martax to kill her outside so her family won't have to watch. Because she dared to ask that, Not a Martax informs her that he can either kill her or claim her life in a "you have to come and live with me now" kind of way. Feyre asks how that's even possible because, apparently, all of Prythian is lethal to humans. Well, as contrivance would have it, this fae has some lands that are human-friendly. Feyre asks why he's even bothering to offer. 

"“You murdered my friend,” the beast snarled. “Murdered him, skinned his corpse, sold it at the market, and then said he deserved it, and yet you have the nerve to question my generosity?” How typically human, he seemed to silently add."

I hate this sort of addition in first-person narration. I mean, we all interpret and suppose what other people are thinking, but there is a way to write that without making it seem like cheating at narration. Like, if you told me he rolled his eyes or something, yes, I can understand the condescension. But just to have Feyre inject this meaning with no description? Bad writing, especially in a scene that is already full of very convenient circumstances.

Feyre keeps asking why he's letting her live, which is exactly what someone who really wants to die would do. Her father begs for her life, but I'm not sure why he's even doing this, considering that Not a Martax already said he'd spare her life? Is he just tuning into this conversation? Truly, Feyre has asked "why" so many times that Not a Martax has explained the "life for a life" trade like five times now. And then Papa Archeron is just like, "Please, good sir, spare her life."

I'm telling you, SJM forgets what she writes immediately, and I refuse to believe she ever reads back any of her work.

Feyre starts plotting to murder Not a Martax again. Because she's in this mess for taking a life, so clearly she's like "I know. I'll take another one." But then she decides she probably can't kill this one and will have to pretend to go along with him and then sneak-attack murder him later. Not a Martax says that they have to go right, right now, so Feyre starts leaving instructions with her father on what to do with the remaining meat and money and how to hunt for rabbits come spring. 

Her sisters say absolutely nothing to her, but she does tell Nesta not to marry the woodcutter's son because she knows that his father beats his wife, and the sons do nothing about it. She leaves Nesta with the wisdom that "bruises are harder to conceal than poverty," and it's kind of a weird thing to say. I hope Feyre doesn't make a habit of trying to leave us with wisdom. 

Before Feyre can leave, her father tells her how awesome and good and the best she is and how she's too good for them, and so if she ever escapes, she shouldn't even come back. This is also a weird thing to say. Feyre just shrugs away from her father and says nothing as she leaves her family behind. 

That wasn't a terribly long chapter, but it felt like I was reading it forever. I am not sad, however, to leave behind these sad and flat excuses for characters known as the Archeron family. Remind me I said that when Rhysand shows up, okay?

That was 7 Kindle pages and 37 em dashes.

Next time: Magic roofies in Chapter 05.

♥️

Mari