Elena and her husband Gavin devise a desperate plan to imprison the Valg King Erawan, knowing the sacrifice will burden future generations.

The lords of Terrasen, led by Darrow, refuse to recognize Aelin as queen and strip control of the Bane army from her.

Aelin sends Rowan to rescue Dorian in Rifthold while she plans to sail south and recruit Captain Rolfe at Skull's Bay.

Manon Blackbeak beheads a fellow Ironteeth witch to save King Dorian from being killed during the Rifthold attack.

Rowan kills remaining attacking witches in Rifthold and escapes with a wounded Dorian by boat toward Skull's Bay.

Brannon's thousand-year-old ghost appears to Aelin inside the Ilium temple and instructs her to find the Lock in the Stone Marshes.

Erawan possesses the Endovier Overseer's body, tears it apart, and blasts Aelin with his power inside the Ilium temple.

Manon attacks the Blackbeak Matron to save Asterin, and during the fight the Matron reveals Manon's secret Crochan heritage.

Aelin arrives at Skull's Bay posing as assassin Celaena Sardothien, but Captain Rolfe refuses to ally with her cause.

Aelin deliberately summons Erawan's Valg warships to Skull's Bay, forcing Rolfe to join the fight against Erawan to defend his port.

The goddess Deanna possesses Aelin's body during the sea battle, destroying ships on both sides before Aelin can wrestle back control.

Aelin and Rowan consummate their romantic relationship on the beach following the battle at Skull's Bay.

Aelin and Manon step into the witch mirror, witness Elena's memories, and learn that Aelin must sacrifice her life to forge a new Lock.

Maeve captures Aelin on the beach, has her publicly whipped by Cairn, and seals her inside an iron box and mask.

Rowan arrives at the beach to find Aelin gone, reveals they were secretly married, and the group splinters to continue the war.

Aelin Galathynius leads her allies north to Terrasen, only to be rejected by the lords who refuse to crown her queen. She pivots south to recruit the pirate Captain Rolfe, stopping first in Ilium where she receives a vision from her ancestor Brannon and a terrifying confrontation with the Valg King Erawan himself. At Skull's Bay, Aelin forces Rolfe's hand by drawing Erawan's forces to the port, unleashing a sea battle that nearly costs her own mind when the goddess Deanna possesses her body. In the aftermath, Manon Blackbeak is revealed to be the secret heir to the Crochan witch throne after a brutal fight with her grandmother. The climax arrives when Aelin and Manon enter a witch mirror and discover that Aelin is fated to die in order to forge a new Lock and banish Erawan forever. Maeve seizes on this moment to capture Aelin, and as the group splinters to fight on multiple fronts, Rowan reveals that he and Aelin were secretly married.

The major battles and sacrifices that shape the war against Erawan.

Lorcan Salvaterre senses Elide Lochan's Ironteeth heritage in the Oakwald Forest and decides to follow and interrogate her.

Manon and the Thirteen arrive at the ruins of Morath and meet Erawan, who orders them to attack and occupy Rifthold.

Aelin cuts her hand and swears a blood oath to aid Terrasen in battle despite the lords' refusal to crown her.

Elide and Lorcan fight off a wave of ilken together in the Oakwald Forest, establishing a fragile partnership between them.

Iskra Yellowlegs accuses Manon of deliberately killing a fellow witch after the Rifthold battle, triggering a formal trial at Morath.

The Ironteeth Matrons find Manon not guilty but decree that Asterin must die the next morning as blood payment.

Elide and Lorcan infiltrate a traveling performance troupe, with Elide posing as a fortune teller and Lorcan as a strongman.

Aedion and Lysandra set a trap using the Wyrdkey amulet to confirm that Rolfe's magical tattoos can sense its power.

Lysandra shifts into a sea dragon and battles the attacking Valg sea wyverns during the fight at Skull's Bay.

Rolfe reveals the tragic origin of his magical map tattoos and the loved ones he unknowingly sacrificed to gain his power.

Abraxos delivers the severely injured Manon to Aelin's ship, and the group heals her wounds while keeping her as a prisoner.

Lorcan saves Elide from her uncle Vernon and a group of ilken who try to abduct her from a roadside inn.

Aelin and Rowan use their combined fire and wind magic to extinguish the wildfires burning across Eyllwe.

The group opens the locked chest found in the Stone Marshes temple and discovers a witch mirror inside instead of the Lock.

Ansel of Briarcliff, Queen of the Wastes, arrives with her commandeered fleet, revealing Aelin had secretly summoned her as a military ally.

While Aelin rallies allies across the continent, Lorcan Salvaterre tracks Elide Lochan through the Oakwald Forest, and the two form a cautious partnership after surviving ilken attacks together. At Morath, Manon receives orders from Erawan to occupy Rifthold, but the battle's aftermath triggers a witch trial in which Asterin is sentenced to death for Manon's alleged crimes. Aelin and her companions reach Skull's Bay, where a clever scheme using a Wyrdkey confirms Rolfe's magical abilities before Aelin forces him into the fight against Erawan. The sea battle at Skull's Bay sees Lysandra shift into a sea dragon to hold off enormous wyverns, while Rolfe later reveals the personal tragedy buried in the origin of his magical tattoos. The group sails to Eyllwe to find the Lock, healing the wounded Manon along the way and using their combined magic to douse the wildfires Maeve has set across the land. Their search in the Stone Marshes ends with the unexpected discovery of a witch mirror, and the arrival of Ansel of Briarcliff with her fleet reveals one of the many secret alliances Aelin had quietly put in motion.

The alliances forged, battles fought, and journeys undertaken across Erilea.

Elide lies to Lorcan about her name and strikes a deal to exchange information about Morath in return for his protection.

Manon invokes the Words of Request to claim Asterin's execution for herself, then frees Asterin instead of killing her.

Fenrys and Gavriel reveal at Skull's Bay that Maeve sent them east with orders to find and execute Lorcan.

Manon fights off Erawan's shape-shifting Bloodhound in the Oakwald Forest before mounting Abraxos and flying toward the coast.

Aelin and Rowan confess their true romantic feelings for each other in an alley in Skull's Bay.

Aelin reveals to her companions for the first time that the Amulet of Orynth contains one of the three Wyrdkeys.

Lorcan reveals to Elide that the assassin Celaena Sardothien she has been seeking and Queen Aelin Galathynius are the same person.

Manon reveals her dual Crochan-Ironteeth heritage to Dorian and then to Aelin, acknowledging herself as heir to the Crochan throne.

Lorcan and Elide share a passionate kiss while camping near the Stone Marshes before Lorcan senses an approaching army of ilken.

Elide throws herself over Lorcan to shield him from Fenrys's attack during the Stone Marshes battle and is severely wounded.

Elide gives Aelin the Wyrdkey that Kaltain entrusted to her, delivering the message that any door can open with the right key.

Rowan's Whitethorn cousins lower Maeve's flag, raise their own, and turn their ships to fight against Maeve's armada for Aelin.

Elena confesses inside the witch mirror that she sacrificed her own soul to resurrect Aelin after Aelin drowned as a child.

Maeve reveals she tricked Rowan into believing Lyria was his mate and then engineered Lyria's murder to trap him in her cadre.

Aelin secretly passes the Wyrdkeys to Manon before surrendering to Maeve, entrusting them to Dorian for safekeeping.

From the moment Elide lies to Lorcan to protect herself, the story of Empire of Storms is shaped by secrets, revelations, and the choices characters make when they learn the truth. Manon's decision to invoke the Words of Request and free Asterin marks her definitive break from the Ironteeth way of life, even as she fights off Erawan's Bloodhound and eventually confesses her Crochan heritage to Dorian and Aelin aboard the ship. In Skull's Bay, Aelin and Rowan confess their feelings, Aelin reveals that the Amulet of Orynth conceals a Wyrdkey, and Lorcan's revelation to Elide that Celaena and Aelin are one and the same reshapes her entire mission. The journey to the Stone Marshes brings further turning points: a first kiss between Lorcan and Elide, Elide's sacrifice to shield Lorcan from Fenrys's attack, and the pivotal moment when she delivers Kaltain's Wyrdkey to Aelin. Inside the witch mirror, Elena finally admits she sacrificed her own soul to resurrect Aelin after Aelin drowned as a child, and Maeve arrives with devastating truths about Rowan's past before seizing Aelin. Even in capture, Aelin acts with purpose, secretly passing the Wyrdkeys to Manon to ensure the war can continue without her.