Throne of Glass Chapters 45–48 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapters 45–48

Chapter 45

At training the day before the final test, Celaena tries to tell Nox that they are all in danger by being in the castle without telling him about Cain and the ridderak. She cares for him and doesn’t want him killed. He is filled with questions at her hints, and infers at last that she is Celaena Sardothien. He thanks her for warning him, and escapes the castle that night.

Kaltain heads to the Great Hall at a dinner invitation from Duke Perrington, dizzy after a day of headaches and smoking opium. Cain approaches her and she sees strange dark visions surrounding his figure; however, she forgets what she saw as soon as she reaches the duke’s table.

Celaena and Dorian are playing chess in her room that night. She considers trying to get Dorian to stay the night with her so as to lessen her chances of being attacked by Cain, and Dorian asks if she is alright after noticing her agitation. He starts to pry and she kisses him as a distraction. Hours later, after lots of kissing and talking, Dorian leaves and Celaena sits anxiously on her bed. She wonders if Cain learned of Wyrdmarks when he lived in the White Fang Mountains, a place widely considered to be cursed.

When she falls asleep at last, she dreams that she is young and fleeing from demons on horseback. They are almost upon her when she wakes, clutching Elena’s amulet. Later that morning she learns that Nox has left, and the test has been canceled, the duel moved up to tomorrow.

Chapter 46

Dorian goes hunting in the snow to clear his head, unsuccessfully. He cannot stop thinking about Celaena, and wants to be with her despite sensing that she might not feel the same way about him.

Celaena looks out at Rifthold from her balcony and contemplates the coming duel. She has told her guard to turn away all visitors tonight, and spends the evening considering her fate; she realizes that if she wins the duel and becomes the King’s Champion, she will have no agency in who she has to kill for him. She also realizes that after forging relationships during her time at the castle, she now has something to lose other than her freedom.

Chapter 47

The day of the final duel is cold and windy. Kaltain stands off to the side; shielded by Perrington, she poisons the wine that is set to be Celaena’s. Perrington walks off to sit with the king, and Kaltain watches Celaena and Cain enter the veranda where the duel is soon to commence.

Celaena stands with Chaol, observing the other three Champions: Cain, Grave, and Renault. Cain has become enormously big and strong. Nehemia appears in the crowd, holding her staff, and looks at Celaena with encouragement. The king addresses the Champions, stating that they must beat their opponents but not kill them. Cain goes against Renault first, and disarms him in three minutes. There is a short break, during which Chaol offers Celaena his own sword and Nehemia offers Celaena her own staff, wishing Cealena to fight with an Eyllwe weapon as a representation of the rebellion. Celaena accepts the staff and enters the ring, facing Grave.

Chapter 48

Celaena duels Grave and beats him easily within two minutes, humiliating him. As the winners of the first round, Cain and Celeana drink goblets of wine from Kaltain at the command of the king. She turns to face Cain in the ring, and Chaol tells her not to lose. The duel begins, and Celaena feels strange, nauseous and weak. After struggling to fight for a few moments, Celaena realizes that Kaltain has drugged her wine. She can barely fend off Cain; his blows begin to fall, and she cannot fight back.

Dorian realizes something is wrong, and feels sick as he watches Cain attack Celaena over and over. Chaol watches the duel, seething with anger and worry; he overhears Cain ask Celaena what it was like to wake up between her dead parents, and she gets up in a rage only for Cain to smash her against the castle wall. He does it again, and she begins seeing visions of dead people and collapses. As the hallucinations begin, Chaol comes to the edge of the ring and repeats the words “get up.” Cain hits her again and she slips in and out of hallucinations in which she is being alternatively attacked by dead people and then again by Cain. Cain rips the amulet off of her neck.

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