The 8 biggest questions we have about the future of 'ACOTAR' after reading 'A Court of Splintered Harmony'

"A Court of Splintered Harmony" is the sixth "ACOTAR" novel. Bloomsbury "ACOTAR" fans, assemble.On Tuesday, Bloomsbury published "A Court of Splintered Harmony," the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas' "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series. The book is part one of "The Valkyrie Cycle," which will continue with parts two and three in "A Court of Forgotten Melody," coming out on January 12, 2027. Maas has yet to announce a title or release date for part four.Since "ACOSH" was just the beginning of a larger story, almost no conflicts were resolved by the end, leaving beloved characters like Feyre, Rhysand, Nesta, and Azriel in turmoil.Maas will likely tie up some of those plots in book seven or eight, but fans will have to ponder their favorite characters' fates while they wait for the next book.In the meantime, check out some of the biggest questions "ACOTAR" fans may have after finishing "A Court of Splintered Harmony" — and possible answers from Maas' other series, "Crescent City" and "Throne of Glass." Spoilers for all three of Maas' series ahead.Why is Bryaxis different?In one of the most dramatic scenes in "ACOSH," the big bad monster Bryaxis returns to Velaris. She crashes Feyre and Rhysand's son Nyx's naming day ceremony, tormenting the attendees with visions of their worst fears. "A Court of Splintered Harmony" by Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury Bryaxis has always been terrifying to the fae, as she feeds on people's fears, but after the attack, Rhys remarks that she seems "different than when she escaped after the war. Darker."It's hard not to see what he's saying. In "A Court of Wings and Ruin," Bryaxis helped Feyre when she realized she was High Lady of the Night Court, seeming to feel some affinity to the court, but in "ACOSH," she preyed on Feyre and her friends gleefully. Rhysand adds that he thinks Koschei's emergence may be related to Bryaxis' change, though he offers no proof. Is Koschei or some other being influencing her? Or is Bryaxis different simply because she's seen the world outside the library?What did everyone see when Bryaxis attacked?Maas only shows Bryaxis' attack from Feyre, Azriel, and Nesta's perspectives, and their fears are pretty ghastly.Feyre is scared of Nyx being tortured or taken from her, while Azriel sees himself hurting everyone he loves. Nesta's tormented with everything from the Cauldron to Cassian rejecting her before she can pull herself out of Bryaxis' hold.Those fears offer insight into what each character is going through, so it's intriguing that Maas keeps the visions Bryaxis shows Rhysand, Cassian, Amren, Mor, Elain, Lucien, and Emerie a mystery.Of course, fans can hazard a guess at what some of those characters may have seen. Emerie could be having visions of her father clipping her wings, while Rhysand has made clear Feyre and Nyx are his priority throughout the novel. Amren is heard whispering to herself, "You survived it; you got through it," suggesting she saw visions of the prison or the Cauldron. The Cauldron could have been a fear for Elain too.The mystery leaves us with an even bigger question: What will these characters do to keep those fears from coming true?What is Feyre's plan?Bryaxis' attack has already pushed one character into action: Feyre, who says the incident was "a gift," as she "knew now what I had to do. And I did not fear it at all."Bryaxis' return helped the High Lady hatch a plan for how to handle the death god Koschei and protect the humans in the fae realms, two problems she and Rhysand were at a loss for how to solve after their allies declined to help them. Feyre even asks her mate to make himself High King as a solution, a proposition he soundly rejects.Feyre doesn't reveal any details about her new plan before the book ends, though it may have something to do with the sword Gwydion.After Nesta tries to gift it to her, Feyre tells her sister to keep it "until the blood truly needs to begin spilling," thinking to herself, "Until I did precisely what I needed to do."Maybe she thinks her plan will lead to violence. Considering she tried to storm the library to kill Bryaxis, it seems she'll do just about anything to protect Nyx.Who is the fae warrior who trapped Koschei?The death god Koschei doesn't appear on page in the novel, and it's unclear what creatures or characters he may be controlling, from Bryaxis to the royals from other fae realms.Most intriguing of the mysteries surrounding him, though, may be the identity of the fae warrior who trapped him. The Bone Carver first revealed that his brother was contained in the lake by an ancient fae warrior in "A Court of Wings and Ruin," saying the warrior's identity had been forgotten by history but that her bloodline is still present in some human families. "A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury And in "ACOSH," Vassa revealed that she and the other women Koschei has trapped with him are all descendants of that warrior."Throne of Glass" may offer clues about who that fae warrior is. The Bone Carver told Feyre that he and his siblings are from another world, and there just so happens to be a world-walking creature trapped in a lake in "Heir of Fire." Is Maas setting up new connections in the Maasiverse?What is the extent of Elain's powers?If you spent the five years between "ACOTAR" releases dreaming of learning more about Elain, you're going to have to dream a little longer.Maas kept Elain's inner thoughts a mystery in "ACOSH," so the reader doesn't know how she feels about Azriel, Lucien, or her place in the Night Court.They also know very little about Elain's Seer powers, which she gained in "A Court of Mist and Fury" and confirmed she still has in "ACOSH." We never actually see her use them, though, making the powers all the more obscure. "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury But Elain may have hinted she had a vision in the book. After her disastrous tryst with Azriel, she tells her sisters, "I thought I'd found my place, thought I had a future with Azriel, but…" She might be unsure how she feels about Azriel, but the comment may also mean she had a vision showing her that she and the shadowsinger would not be together.And with Elain repeatedly saying phrases like "I'm not supposed to be here" and "I can't be here" about the Night Court, it's hard not to think she knows more about the future than she's letting on.What's the deal with Azriel's shadows?Readers learn a lot about Azriel's shadows in "ACOSH," from how they found him as a child to their weather-detecting abilities (sounds helpful in a world without weather apps). Still, some of their behaviors remain a mystery, like why they repeatedly avoid Elain.In the book, Azriel's shadows refuse to be in the same room as Elain. Azriel sees their absence as "a gift," though he winds up in trouble because of their absence twice in the novel: during Bryaxis' attack on the naming day ceremony and when Lucien catches him and Elain together.His shadows also avoid Erebos, a shadowy humanoid who pledged his service to Azriel because of his shadowsinger abilities. Many fans are suspicious of Erebos, who is described as having "golden eyes that simmered like hot coals." You might be extra suspicious if you've read "Empire of Storms" in the "TOG" series, in which another character's "golden eyes simmered like hot coals" (yep, simmering coals again): the Valg King Erawan. Of course, the phrase could be a coincidence, or it could be another sign of the Maasiverse expanding.Erebos may be connected to "Crescent City," too. He tells Azriel that he could hear his blade, Truth-Teller, sing, as Bryce Quinlan could in "House of Flame and Shadow." "House of Flame and Shadow" by Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury Back to the shadows, though. Azriel seems to see it as a sign of Erebos' darkness that his shadows cringe from the creature, even as he views their avoidance of Elain as a positive.Meanwhile, Azriel's shadows are drawn to the priestess and Valkyrie warrior Gwyn in the text. They race toward her when they hear her singing in the House of Wind and "lingered at her feet, peering up at her" until Azriel summons them back to himself. What do Azriel's shadows really know about the people around him?We also learn in the book that Azriel has never let his shadows use his full power out of fear of what they may do, so even he doesn't know what they're truly capable of.What is Nesta's connection to the lost Dusk Court?At the end of "ACOSH," Nesta winnows to the prison with the sword Gwydion at Amren's behest, but the scene leaves the reader with more questions than answers about Nesta's future.First, when she arrives at the prison, Nesta asks herself, "Had the bone gates always towered so high? Had the darkness within always been so thick?" It's likely the space looks slightly different to her because she's afraid, but some fans think it's possible Nesta world-walked unintentionally.Likewise, after Nesta enters the gate, Gwydion lights up — and then disappears. Nesta doesn't know where it went or why before the book ends, but again, "Crescent City" may offer clues.Gwydion was on Midgard, where it was known as the Starsword, for 15,000 years before Bryce gave it to Nesta at the end of "HOFAS." To bear the Starsword, Starborn Fae on Midgard traditionally enter the Cave of Princes on a misty island called Avallen and attempt to retrieve it (Bryce says the tunnels in the cave are nearly identical to those in Prythian). It's possible Gwydion is putting Nesta through the same trial, disappearing until she proves herself worthy of wielding it.All those questions also relate to the revelation that the prison was once the Dusk Court, an eighth court in Prythian. Bryce began to awaken its former life before she returned to Midgard in "HOFAS," though it still looks like the prison at the start of "ACOSH." Will Nesta finish reviving the court? And did Amren sense that it was Nesta's path when she encouraged her to go inside it with Gwydion?"ACOSH" also didn't provide any closure on the Made item in the sea in front of the prison that called "find me" to Nesta (and seemingly Rhysand).Is there spidersilk in Prythian?In the novel, the High Priestess Clotho makes and gifts Rhysand and Feyre "a braided, silvery piece of fabric" to bind them to Nyx during his naming day ceremony. Nesta describes the fabric as glistening and delicate, and Clotho says it's one of a kind. It also keeps Rhys and Feyre tethered to their son throughout the attack, indicating its strength.Later, Lucien notices the "extraordinary silver thread" in a tapestry that hangs in Feyre's home, adding that "it became a river of light" when he looked at it through his magical eye.Both descriptions of the silver fabric are similar to those of the spidersilk that appears in the "Throne of Glass" series. Made by the massive Stygian spiders — who are Valg handmaidens and foot soldiers — the silk is described "as delicate as gossamer, lovelier than silk, and stronger than steel" in "The Assassin's Blade."Plus, the cover of "A Court of Forgotten Melody" features a spider with a spool of fabric below it. That imagery could represent a Stygian spider, and fae and other magical creatures from "Throne of Glass" may be influencing the events of "ACOTAR." "A Court of Forgotten Melody" by Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury It wouldn't be a total surprise if Maas further incorporated "TOG" into the world of "ACOTAR." Characters related to both series appear in "Crescent City," and a character from "TOG" briefly falls through the sky in Prythian during the events of "A Court of Silver Flames."We'll have to wait until January 2027 to see what Maas has planned. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Samantha Grindell Pettyjohn is a Senior Lifestyle Reporter at Business Insider with more than eight years of experience in the lifestyle space.At Business Insider, Samantha's coverage focuses on unique living situations, interior design, celebrity style, and books. Her work includes features on multigenerational living and one-of-a-kind houses, timely articles on celebrity fashion, live coverage of award shows and pageants, and fun pieces about popular book series. Samantha also loves reporting on celebrities on her beats, from HGTV stars Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa to authors such as Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.Samantha appeared on Scripps News and CBS in 2022 to discuss the royal family, and in 2023, she won an Anthem Award for her work on Business Insider's package "Better Me."Samantha received her B.A. in English from Birmingham-Southern College in 2017, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She later earned her M.S. in Publishing from New York University in 2019. Samantha was previously a staff writer at Romper, and her writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Mic, and Oprah.com. Today, Samantha lives in Atlanta with her husband and dog.Email her at sgrindell@businessinsider.com and follow her on X. Books Lifestyle