Book at a Glance
Author: Sarah J. MaasPublished: May 5, 2015 (Bloomsbury)Genre: Fantasy RomanceChapters: 46Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Book 1Under the Mountain Arc: Chapters 33–46
Feyre goes Under the Mountain in Chapter 33 of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
Alis leads her through the forest to a cave shortcut into Amarantha’s court, and in Chapter 34 Feyre stands before Amarantha herself. The arc runs until Chapter 46, the final chapter, when Feyre leaves the mountain as High Fae.
The answer to what chapter does Feyre go Under the Mountain is a single number, but the ordeal itself fills the last third of the book.
To me, these fourteen chapters are where a hunter from a poor village turns into the woman the rest of the series follows.
Below, you’ll find a chapter-by-chapter breakdown, her three trials, the riddle, and the ending. If you want to see what she carries into the sequel, our A Court of Mist and Fury summary picks up from there.
Why Feyre Goes Under the Mountain (Chapters 30–32)
Feyre doesn’t choose the mountain right away. In Chapters 30 and 31, Tamlin has sent her back to the human lands.
She shares her money with the village’s poorest families and reconnects with her sisters, Nesta and Elain. At the end of Chapter 31, she rides back to the Spring Court and finds the manor silent and empty.
In Chapter 32, Alis, a servant who stayed behind, finally tells her the truth. Amarantha cursed Tamlin 49 years earlier.
The curse could break only if a human who had killed a faerie loved him and said so before the deadline.
Tamlin sent Feyre home just days before time ran out to keep her safe, and Amarantha then took him and Lucien to her court. Feyre asks Alis to show her the way in, knowing she might not return.
What Chapter Does Feyre Go Under the Mountain? A Chapter-by-Chapter Breakdown
Feyre enters Under the Mountain in Chapter 33, armed with a bow and arrows and two daggers.
Before she goes in, Alis warns her to drink no wine, make no careless deals, and trust nothing, not even her own senses.
The table below maps every chapter of the arc so you can jump to the scene you need.
| Chapter | What Happens |
| 33 | Alis guides Feyre to a cave shortcut, and Feyre meets the Attor inside the mountain |
| 34 | Amarantha offers three trials, one each full moon, or a riddle that frees Tamlin instantly |
| 35 | Lucien heals Feyre’s broken nose, and she receives the riddle |
| 36 | First trial: the worm in the mud maze |
| 37 | Rhysand heals Feyre’s broken arm in exchange for a bargain |
| 38 | Feyre is ordered to pick lentils out of a fireplace |
| 39 | Rhysand takes Feyre to a Midsummer celebration as his escort |
| 40 | Second trial: the lever riddle |
| 41 | Music in her cell gives Feyre hope two days before the last trial |
| 42 | A stolen moment with Tamlin, then Rhysand reveals his plan |
| 43 | Third trial: the three hooded faeries |
| 44 | Feyre answers the riddle as Amarantha breaks her body |
| 45 | Tamlin kills Amarantha, and the High Lords give Feyre their light |
| 46 | Feyre wakes as High Fae and leaves the mountain |
Feyre’s Three Trials Under the Mountain
Amarantha presents the trials as a test of whether a mortal is worthy of a High Lord’s love. Their real purpose is to break Feyre before she can free him.
Failure means death, and each trial falls on a full moon, which gives the arc its slow, dreadful rhythm.
The First Trial: The Worm (Chapter 36)
Amarantha’s guards push Feyre into a maze of muddy trenches, home to a giant, blind worm that hunts by smell. Feyre falls into a pit of old bones and turns it into a trap.
She sharpens the bones into spikes and covers herself in filth to hide her scent. Then she cuts her hand to draw the worm in, and Lucien shouts a warning that it is coming from her left.
The worm bites her before it falls onto the spikes, so she wins, but with a badly broken arm.
The Second Trial: The Lever Riddle (Chapter 40)
In the second trial, Feyre faces a riddle written above a set of levers while spiked grates close in on her and Lucien.
She can’t read well enough to solve it, so she has to guess, and she pulls the correct lever just in time.
This scene matters later: Rhysand teases her about not being able to read here, and in the sequel he teaches her.
The Third Trial: Three Hooded Faeries (Chapter 43)
For her final trial, Feyre is ordered to stab three hooded faeries who are supposedly innocent. After she kills the first two, the third hood comes off and reveals Tamlin.
Feyre remembers that she felt no heartbeat when she held him. She gambles that the curse has turned his heart to stone and stabs him anyway.
Amarantha’s Riddle and Its Answer
Amarantha offers the riddle in Chapter 34 as a shortcut. If Feyre solves it at any point, the curse breaks at once and she doesn’t have to finish the trials.
Feyre receives the riddle in Chapter 35 and can’t solve it, so she carries it through every trial that follows.
She finally answers it in Chapter 44. Her dagger bends against Tamlin’s stone heart instead of piercing it, and Amarantha attacks her with magic.
As her spine cracks, Feyre thinks of Tamlin and her sisters and calls out that the answer is love.
Who Helps Feyre Under the Mountain
Feyre survives because a few people bend Amarantha’s rules for her, often at a cost to themselves.
- Lucien heals her broken nose in Chapter 35 and warns her about the worm in Chapter 36. Amarantha punishes him for helping.
- Rhysand heals her arm in Chapter 37. He first asks for two weeks of every month at the Night Court for the rest of her life, and she bargains him down to one week, sealed with a tattoo on her left hand and arm. In Chapter 38, he uses magic to finish the fireplace task she has been given and orders the guards to stop assigning her tasks.
- The music Feyre hears in her cell in Chapter 41 reminds her what she is fighting for. A Court of Mist and Fury later reveals that it came from Rhysand, not Tamlin.
Rhysand’s help comes with open cruelty, since he parades Feyre as his escort at Amarantha’s parties.
In Chapter 42, he explains why: he has been stirring up Tamlin’s anger so that Tamlin will turn on Amarantha if Feyre wins.
How the Under the Mountain Arc Ends (Chapters 44–46)
The arc ends with Feyre dying and then being remade. After she answers the riddle and her spine breaks, Lucien tosses Tamlin a sword in Chapter 45. Tamlin runs it through Amarantha’s head and then tears out her throat.
The High Lords of Autumn, Summer, Winter, Dawn, and Day each give Feyre a spark of their light, and Rhysand gives his after them.
In Chapter 46, Tamlin gives the final spark, and Feyre wakes as High Fae with glowing skin. Amarantha’s court is destroyed and Rhysand says goodbye.
Feyre and Tamlin then leave the mountain for the Spring Court, where Alis and Lucien are waiting.
Why Chapter 33 Matters for the Rest of the Series
So, what chapter does Feyre go Under the Mountain? Chapter 33, and nearly everything the series builds on starts there. Across these chapters, Feyre dies as a human and comes back as High Fae with the power of all seven High Lords.
She also makes a bargain with Rhysand that ties her to the Night Court, and she leaves with trauma that Tamlin never learns to see.
To find out how those threads play out, go on to the sequel next. Our Book Summaries section covers it stage by stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Did Feyre Go Under the Mountain?
In story time, Feyre goes in shortly after returning to the empty Spring Court and stays about two months. Amarantha holds one trial each full moon, and the first comes only days after Feyre arrives.
In Which Book Does Feyre Go Under the Mountain?
The arc happens entirely in the first novel, A Court of Thorns and Roses. Its consequences drive the plot of A Court of Mist and Fury: her High Fae body, her nightmares, and her bargain with Rhysand.
What Happens in Chapter 42 of A Court of Thorns and Roses?
On the night before her third trial, Feyre shares a stolen moment with Tamlin until Rhysand interrupts. Later, Rhysand visits her cell and explains that he has been provoking Tamlin so that Tamlin will destroy Amarantha.
