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Read a full summary of Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. This page is full of spoilers, so beware! If you are wondering what happened in Lord of Shadows, the second book in this series, then you are in the right place!

Author
Cassandra Clare

Ratings
4.6 stars on Amazon
4.55 stars on Goodreads
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The Dark Artifices Series
#1 Lady Midnight
#2 Lord of Shadows
#3 The Queen of Air and Darkness

***** Everything below is a SPOILER *****

What happened in Lord of Shadows?

Jace tells Kit about the benefits of being a Shadowhunter and a Herondale. Kit isn’t impressed.

Julian, Emma, Mark, and Cristina are at the Santa Monica Pier. There’s an awkwardness between Julian and Emma. A squid-like demon attacks. Julian and Emma kill it.

Everyone is assembled in the library when they get home because Jace and Clary have arrived. They were at the meeting in Idris where Malcom was discussed. The Clave is on a mission to find the black book. Jace and Clary think they think they need his body to turn off the spells he left behind.

STACY’S RATING

I give it 4 stars overall.
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Jace and Clary question Mark about the physical layout of Faerie and the Courts to help them with their secret mission. They believe Sebastian Morgenstern left a weapon with the King and Queen of Faerie that could destroy all Nephilim.

Uncle Arthur is out of medicine and not in his right mind. They’re worried the Centurions will discover this and appoint someone new to run the LA Institute.

Julian and Kit head to the Shadow Market to hunt for medicine for Arthur. Everyone knows Kit’s secret. He’s now an outsider. Barnarbas Hale, the Shadow Market owner, predicts dark times are coming for Shadowhunters. He orders them to leave his market immediately.

Mark’s in Emma’s room, as is their new tradition. They kissed once after the ‘Why lie?’ episode, but their relationship is platonic. They both have feelings for other people, but they have grown close as friends.

Clary and Emma sneak up to the roof to talk. She tells Emma her dreams/premonitions have begun again. She sees her death and believes it’s coming soon. This is why she told Jace she won’t marry him. She makes Emma promise to tell Jace she knew she was going to die, she wasn’t scared, and that’s why she told him ‘no.’

Kit declines an an iratze to heal his knuckles (from where he punched something at the Shadow Market). Kit tells Julian Ty’s autistic, a term Julian isn’t familiar with.

The Shadowhunters search for clues in the ruins of Malcolm’s house. Cristina finds an old glove with an emblem from the Faerie courts printed on it. Emma finds a tentacle.

Jace tries to train Kit. He’s having none of it.

They research the tentacle. It’s from a Makara. It should dissolve quickly once separated from its body, so the demon must’ve been at the ruins of Malcolm’s house recently.

Ty follows Kit to the kitchen and offers to heal his hand. Kit allows it this time. The Centurions arrive. Livvy invites Kit to come spy on them with her and Ty. The most surprising Centurion is Zara, Diego’s fiancé. Cristina rushes out of the room.

Jace gives Kit the Herondale ring and makes him promise not to sell it. Jace and Clary sneak out, only telling Julian and Emma they’re leaving. They don’t want the Centurions questioning them about their mission. Livvy notices Kit’s ring. They see Zara slap Diego.

Cristina’s upset Diego didn’t come after her. She thinks he cares more about Zara. She’s sorry she trusted him again after he lied to her in Brazil. Julian and Mark are waiting in Emma’s room to see how Cristina is doing.

Emma asks Julian what he meant about ways to hurt Diego. He saw Diego’s feelings written on his face when Cristina fled. He says not even Emma can read people’s minds. Mark admits he likes Cristina to Emma.

Diego looks awful the next morning at breakfast. Cristina won’t speak to him. He can’t really explain his position because the reason he’s engaged to Zara is a secret.

The Centurions search for Malcolm’s body in the ocean. They won’t reveal how they searched or what they found. They argue about Downworlders.

Cristina can’t sleep, goes for a walk, and bumps into Mark. He tells her he’s sorry about Diego. They’re drawn to each other. Cristina says they can’t act on it because of his fake relationship with Emma. She says Julian has to believe it. Mark’s confused.

Ty catches Kit, who’s running away. He tells him how he wants them to solve mysteries together. The first mystery is already before them: He doesn’t think the Centurions are in LA for the reason they’ve given.

Diego tells Emma he can’t share his reasons for doing what he’s doing. She stands him on top of a fire ant hill. He’s bit many times.

Julian slips away to check on Arthur one stormy night because he hates storms. Emma feels a pull and follows him up there. Julian takes her wrist and leads her out of the attic. He says he wishes he had never touched her the first time because it’s wrong. He can’t be mad about their current situation because it’s for the best. They kiss. He says she came to him in the attic when he wished she was there. Emma realizes their bond isn’t weakening as she’d hoped.

Gwyn arrives. He says Kieran was found guilty for the murder of Iarlath. He will die tomorrow night. Gwyn asks Mark to intervene. Mark refuses. Gwyn rides away.

They discuss the situation with Diana. Mark hugs Emma. Julian’s jealousy flares. They see the golden acorn Gwyn left with Diana. He admires her.

The Centurions think they found the point where Malcolm’s body sank. Kit, Ty, and Livvy spy on the Centurions and make observations. Ty says they’ll follow them tomorrow. The Blackthorns argue with the Centurions about the treatment of Downworlders once again.

Mark leaves a fire message for Cristina saying he’s going to Faerie to save Kieran. Julian tells Arthur they’re leaving. He makes Julian swear he won’t listen to any Faerie promises.

They find Mark. A phouka guarding the Gate of Lir says they must pay a toll. He tells Emma if she enters Faerie she will see the face of someone she loves who’s dead. They discover no Shadowhunter magic is working in Faerie.

Ty, Livvy, and Kit are out near the ocean. While Ty’s climbing rocks, Livvy asks Kit to kiss her. She’s never been kissed before, and there are never any options. Kit realizes he wants to, so he does.

Livvy wakes Kit up in the middle of the night because Ty saw Zara sneaking out of the Institute. They follow her to a meeting with Manuel, another Centurion. Zara reveals Arthur is crazy. She wants to get him ousted so her father replace him as LA Institute head.

Cristina follows the sound of distant music. Mark follows her. It’s a Faerie revel. They dance there together. Two girls wrap a ribbon around their wrists. Cristina drinks a sip of something offered to her by a Faerie. They kiss. She thinks it’s because of the drink. Mark reveals it was untainted. He’s frustrated she only kissed him because she thought she was under the influence. They argue. Cristina accidentally admits that Jules is in love with Emma.

Julian’s control slips for a second, and he kisses Emma. He realizes it’s a Faerie trick. Emma witnesses this from afar and thinks her relationship with Mark has finally done the trick. Julian has lost hope and gone after someone else.

Ty, Livvy, and Kit go to tell Arthur about Zara’s plan. He’s a crazy mess. Arthur admits Julian has been running things for him for years. Diana walks in and takes the kids to her office to explain everything.

Cristina admits to Emma she and Mark kissed. Mark separately tells Emma they have to stop the charade because of what Cristina told him.

They finally reach the Unseelie Court. Two Unseelie Princes carry Kieran in for execution. He’s in bad shape. The Unseelie King makes a short speech. Julian interrupts to say they’re Clave messengers asking for Kieran’s life. Julian demands a trial by combat. The king issues a riddle and chooses Emma to fight his champion. Emma wins the fight. When her foe’s helmet comes off, he looks like her father. She concedes.

The wards the Centurions put up around the Institute begin breaking. Sea demons converge. They head outside to fight them, even Arthur. The demons’ leader arrives: a very haggard looking Malcolm.

Julian sends Cristina to Emma and Mark to Kieran and heads to the king’s favorite son Erec. He puts a dagger to his throat.

Malcolm dumps Jon Cartwright’s head before them. He’ll keep killing Shadowhunters and sending sea demons until he gets Blackthorn blood. He gives them one day. Diana makes a portal to the London Institute so the Blackthorns can escape. Arthur doesn’t go as the porthole closes.

Mark frees Kieran. Kieran’s memories have been wiped by torture. He doesn’t remember his betrayal of the Shadowhunters or Mark breaking up with him. Kieran gets hit with a Faerie bolt as they’re escaping.

Julian asks the King to let them depart in peace. He will release Erec when they get a mile away. Erec leads them the direction they need to go. The foursome escapes with a Seelie Faerie, Nene, who leads them through a secret door in a hill. She’s Mark’s aunt. She suspected Mark would try to rescue Kieran based on what Jace and Clary told her. She asks Mark and Cristina to help her tend to Kieran. She leads Emma and Julian to a bedroom to get some rest. They are nervous to be alone together. Julian is about to give in to his desires when Emma mentions how she wants them to resume their parabatai relationship. He thinks he’s misread the situation. He can’t sleep that night with Emma so close.

Mark tells Cristina he doesn’t know how he feels about Kieran. Cristina’s wrist feels hot and sore.

The Queen of the Seelie Court calls for Jules while Emma is sleeping. He looks into her scrying glass. He sees Arthur sacrifice himself and his blood to Malcolm. Malcolm uses the blood to raise Annabel. Annabel kills him. The Queen wants to barter. She says she knows how to break the parabatai curse.

They all enter the throne room. The Queen wants to retrieve the Black Volume from Annabel. She thinks some spells in the Black Volume can help her get back someone the Unseelie King took from her. She’ll bring Helen home and fight to end the Cold Peace if they can get it for her. She would install Kieran’s brother Adaon as the new king if the Unseelie King is defeated.

The Queen asks Kieran to be her messenger to the Clave. He must swear fealty to a Shadowhunter to do so. Julian makes him choose someone other than Mark because love complicates things. He chooses Cristina. The Shadowhunters ride home on Wild Hunt horses.

The Blackthorn kids want to go home. Dru reports the group has arrived on horses on the roof. Gwyn asks to court Diana before he leaves. She agrees to go on a date sometime.

Julian tells what he saw in the scrying glass. The kids convey they’ve discovered Zara’s mission: for her father to run the LA Institute so they can push their anti-Downworlder agenda. Zara is taking credit for the sea demons dying. Malcolm’s second death is what killed them.

Diana needs to go to Idris to let Consul Penhallow know what’s going on. She thinks Jia will be sympathetic since her daughter is married to one of the Downworlders who the Cohort wants to force to register.

The group finds out Mark needs to keep up the ruse of his relationship with Kieran for now. Emma announces she and Mark broke up.

Ty gives Kit his first rune, Voyance to clarify his sight. As soon as he gets it, he can see Jessamine. All Herondales are able to see her ghost. Jessamine tells Kit where Malcolm lived back when she was alive. Livvy tells Julian what they’ve discovered. She, Ty, and Kit will go to Blackthorn Hall to search for information about Annabel. Livvy tells him they know he had been running the LA Institute for years. They admire him for it; they’re not angry.

Jules, Emma, and Cristina head to Polperro. He’s glad Cristina is going because tensions between him and Emma are high. Julian leaves Mark in charge.

Cristina’s wrist begins to hurt as soon as they leave the Institute. The pain intensifies the further away they get. They determine it might be a spell binding her to Mark because of the ribbon wrapped around their wrists at the Faerie party. Bridget takes Cristina back to the Institute. Mark was hurting and bleeding, too. When they’re back together, the pain begins to lessen. Kieran accuses them of being bound on purpose.

Emma and Jules are nervous to be left alone. He’s still mad at her for hurting his brother. She promises him it’s not a hurtful breakup. The tension between them lightens. They slip back into a sense of normalcy.

Kieran thinks the binding’s malicious and not just a random joke. He doesn’t know how to undo it. He thinks Adaon might.

Jules and Emma try to decide where to start their search for Malcolm’s house. It should be on top of a cave. A waitress overhears them and says they should go to Chapel Cliff. They find an abandoned house with a mailbox that says ‘Fade.’ It’s glamoured to look old. They can see through the glamours to the well-kept house.

Diana asks Jia to make sure Zara’s father isn’t appointed the new LA Institute head. She asks Helen Blackthorn be allowed to return from her exile to run it or Jia’s daughter Aline. Jia doesn’t agree with the exile but felt like she had to retain her office because she didn’t trust any replacement. Her ideas are constantly voted down. Diana tells Jia how Malcolm actually was killed. Jia’s shocked. She dismisses Diana but gives her a copy of Zara’s report on Malcolm’s death to search for discrepancies.

After a long search at Blackthorn Hall, Ty finds a clue in a bust of Homer in the library. Ty noticed Homer’s eyes, which should’ve been shut or covered because he was blind, were open. He finds an aletheia crystal inside. It’s used to save memories and has some of Annabel’s. They don’t know how to trigger the magic. Kit suggests they take it to the London Shadow Market to investigate.

The glamour forcing them not to enter Malcolm’s property is strong. Jules and Emma use their parabatai power to penetrate it. They get begin to search. Emma finds a compartment in the floor filled with a portfolio of Annabel’s art and Malcolm’s journals.

Ty, Livvy, and Kit wander the Shadow Market and see many things that bother the twins. When the group is finally confronted, Kit says Barnabas Hale sent them to consult with a warlock about a magical object. A warlock named Shade overhears this conversation. He whisks the three away. Shade activates the crystal, which is like a movie projection. It’s Annabel being questioned and tortured years ago about Malcolm’s whereabouts after he stole the Black Volume.

Barnabas Hale arrives and pulls the kids out of the tent. He sets werewolves on them. Kit throws a blade at Hale. Magnus materializes. He threatens to take them all out unless they let him leave with the three kids. They let them portal to the Institute.

Emma and Julian read Malcolm’s diaries trying to find clues about where he might keep the Black Volume. He was taken in by the Blackthorns, and Annabel was the only one who treated him kindly.

Julian sees a flash of movement outside and hears something hit the window. It’s Annabel. She’s barred from coming in since she killed Malcolm. She reveals the Unseelie King is the one who told Malcolm how to raise her. Julian says Nephilim powers are now useless in the Unseelie kingdom. She says it’s Malcolm’s doing. Jules says he needs the Black Volume to stop the King. He promises not to use it for evil. She says that’s the only thing it can be used for. Emma emerges. Annabel runs as soon as she sees her and hurls herself off the cliff and into the water below.

Ty is panicked about Livvy’s wound, which has demon poison in it. Magnus assures him he can heal her.

Julian tells Emma he thinks they need to track down the piskies in the area because Annabel mentioned speaking to them. Emma falls asleep against him. Julian thinks about the tender side of the love he feels for her.

Ty is upset because if he’d become Livvy’s parabatai like she wanted, then he could create a rune powerful enough to heal her.

Diana reviews the paperwork from Jia and realizes Zara’s been taking credit for other people’s victories for years. Gwyn appears at her window. He convinces her to join him. They fly to a picnic he has set up for them.

Dru is upset she’s always left behind. She hears a noise in her room. It’s Diego’s brother, Jaime. He’s snuck in to speak to Cristina. He mistakes her for someone older. She doesn’t correct him. He’s in hiding, but he can’t tell her why. She agrees to help him.

Julian and Emma set piskie traps and watch them from the roof of Malcom’s cottage. They catch several right away.

Kieran puts a dream in Mark’s mind. He used to do it when they were in The Hunt together. Kieran’s frustrated he can’t tell what Mark is thinking or feeling.

Kit wonders if he can learn on the job to be a Shadowhunter. Ty and Livvy will help him. Ty’s back to normal now that Livvy’s healed. Hypatia Vex from the Shadow Market is the proprietor of the store Magnus sent them to. They give her the list of supplies they’re after. When Ty stays behind to ask Hypatia a question, Livvy tells Kit about friends who’ve hurt Ty in the past and makes sure Kit plans on staying around.

Emma and Julian won’t let the piskies go until they learn where Annabel is. They say she’s in Porthallow Church. They can’t go today because it’s Sunday and people will be there. They go back to the cottage to continue looking through Malcolm’s diaries for clues. Julian loves this domestic life and realizes how much he wants it with Emma.

One night Mark’s wrist is burning. He realizes Cristina is getting further away from him. He finds her in the ballroom. They dance. Kieran sees them dancing and dances with Cristina next.

Ty wakes Kit up. He did some research and wants to head to Cornwall. He doesn’t want to bring Livvy because it’s dangerous and he doesn’t want her hurt again. They take the permanent portal in the basement to the Cornwall Institute. Ty thought instead of using ravens to carry messages, Malcolm might have hidden them in the statue ravens in the garden at Cornwall. A latch opens a compartment in the bird’s back. It’s empty. Ty leaves a message for Annabel in the compartment.

Emma and Julian head for the church. It lays at the intersection of two ley lines. Julian realizes this is where Malcolm raised Annabel. They see a piece of paper speared on the altar with the knife. It’s from Annabel to Julian. She says she lied to the piskies about where she’s living. Julian failed the test. They fight a vicious demon in the church. They kill it, but Emma was slashed by its tooth. They use parabatai magic to burn the church (which is solid rock) down. They can only do so because of their strengthened bond because of their love for each other.

Cristina sees Kieran slip out of the Institute one night. She follows him through London. He’s meeting with Adaon to ask him how to undo the binding spell. Adaon questions Kieran about his intentions in the Shadowhunter world. Kieran asks if Adaon would take the throne if it was vacant. Adaon won’t speak of such things. Somebody covers Cristina’s mouth and puts a knife to her neck. It’s their other brother Erec. He says their father has dispatched Mannan’s Seven to find the Black Volume. He’s wanted it since his First Heir was stolen. He asks Kieran to run Cristina through with a sword to prove he’s loyal to their father. He kills Erec instead.

The Seven approach Kit, Ty, and Livvy as they’re walking back to the Institute. They ask them where the Black Volume is. The riders follow them. They have to fight. They’re losing, but then Gwyn and Diana arrive.

Jaime is still hiding out in Dru’s room. They’ve gotten to know each other. They play cards. He downloaded a horror movie he thought Dru would like.

Mark contacts Gwyn through a projection to ask him to look for Ty, Livvy, and Kit. Kit contacts Diana and asks her to meet him.

Emma confronts Julian about how he must still love her because of their power to burn down the stone church. They fight because they don’t understand what the other has been going through. Emma runs out into the night. Four Mannan riders appear at the cliffs. They want the Black Volume. Julian appears. They fight the riders. Emma kills one of them.

Eterlam, who’s with Gwyn, Diana, the kids, and the other riders, can feel that Fal has died. It seems impossible because none of the Seven have ever died.

Emma admits she tried so hard to make Jules not love her. She wants him, too. They are intimate.

Dru takes Cristina to meet Jaime. He tells her he never wanted to take the Mexico City Institute away from her family. He instead wanted his family out of trouble. He says Diego’s fake engagement is because Zara’s family has an heirloom that only a Rosales can make work. She wants to marry into the family, hence the engagement to Diego. Jaime took the heirloom and ran. The engagement will drag on while they can’t find the heirloom. He’s not sure how it works, but it lets people enter Faerie undetected. He hands her a letter from Diego and then leaves.

Gwyn and Diana deliver the three back to the Institute.

Emma tells Julian everything she’s been hiding from him: the terrible fate of parabatai who fall in love and her fake relationship with Mark. They realize their feelings for each other stayed strong. There’s nothing they can do to change them. Julian tells her the Seelie Queen told him she knows how to break the parabatai curse, but there’s a cost. The Black Volume must be used. It would break every parabatai bond in the world. Magnus suddenly appears in the cottage, shocked to see the two of them intertwined. They’re shocked to see him. He tells them the riders are after all Blackthorns in their search for the Black Volume.

Dru finds a backpack Jaime left under her bed. There’s a small strange Portal in it that sucks her into Faerie. She meets a boy around her age named Ash. He’s wearing a crown. He asks if his mother sent her and whether she’s worried about him. Then Dru hears someone calling her name and slams back into her bedroom.

Diana takes Gwyn to her Idris apartment to bandage him up. He questions her about why she draws away from him, why she seems so secretive, and why she won’t take over the LA Institute when she obviously loves the Blackthorn kids so much. She tells him she used to be David. She used mundane medicine to facilitate the change. It’s something the Clave would never approve of, so she can’t be an Institute head.

Julian tells Mark he knows why he pretended to help Emma out. He thanks him for this and for taking care of the kids. Magnus says the Institute is warded from the Riders and is safe.

They have a day and a half left to find Annabel. Julian suggests threatening to burn Blackthorn Manor in Alicante because it’s special to Annabel. He thinks it might draw her out of hiding.

Alec is going to take the children to Idris to keep them safe. Dru begs Julian to stay with him. He acquiesces.

Kieran thinks it was his father behind wanting the Black Volume years ago because he wants it again now. Adaon told him it’s because the First Heir (his first child) was stolen. Magnus said the story says the child was murdered. They wonder what his ultimate goal is.

Kieran asks Cristina if he can try to draw power from their bond to summon a projection of his brother. It’s the Unseelie King who emerges instead. He asks his son not to testify. Kieran asks his father not to wage war with the Nephilim. The King says the Nephilim haven’t been honest with Kieran. He gives back the memories he stole from him. Kieran is hurt they lied to him after rescuing him from execution just so they could have his testimony before the Clave for the Seelie Queen.

Magnus used to have a recurring dream about a city with towers of bone and streets of blood. It went away after the Dark War, so he thought that was what it was predicting. Now it’s occurring again.

Julian visits with Magnus about the parabatai curse. They decide exile will be the best option for the two of them. Magnus thinks it would slow the curse down because of how exile dampens Shadowhunter power and runes. Julian is afraid of exile because they won’t be able to control the terms. Magnus suggests Julian and Emma go to the Inquisitor, tell him everything, and try to set the terms of their exile.

Ty tells Kit he no longer wants to train at the Scholomance because he doesn’t like the Centurions he met. Kit says he’s glad because he doesn’t want Ty to leave.

Cristina tells Mark he has to make things right with Kieran. Magnus comes in with the binding spell antidote, which is finally ready, and tells them they need to spend a few hours apart as it works. Cristina sends a fire message with Magnus.

Julian tells Emma about Magnus’s exile proposal. Emma is skeptical but eventually agrees. She’ll go to Mexico with Cristina because Julian is indispensable to the children. They hate the idea of being apart. Julian assures Emma exile will give them time to determine how to break the bond. This will give them breathing room from the onset of the curse to figure it out.

Diana takes Jia to Brocelind Forest to show her the blight on the land, the places Helen and Aline found on the map. Diana wants them to be presented as candidates for the LA Institute leadership in front of the Council.

Cristina tries to persuade Kieran talk to and forgive Mark. Kieran mentions the things Mark did for the Clave. Cristina asserts it’s for his family instead, to bring Helen home. Kieran brings up what the phouka told each of them in Faerie. Cristina says it told her she’d be given a chance to bring the Cold Peace to an end.

Mark learns Kieran thought Mark’s life was doomed. He thought they were going to find a charge to bring him back to Faerie to execute him. Kieran tried to save his life by having him brought back on different terms. Mark forgives him. Kieran asks if Mark would’ve told him the truth after the testimony. Mark says he would. Kieran believes him. He forgives Mark, too.

The Riders are near. The group rushes to the library. They see the five Riders outside the Institute. They want to Portal out. Magnus doesn’t have the energy to make one. He needs a few hours to regain enough. A sixth Rider, Ethna, comes through the gate with a human girl. Her dagger’s against the girl’s neck. They brought the girl to lure the Shadowhunters out of the Institute’s wards and protections. Emma grabs Cortana and races outside.

Ethna drops the girl. The battle begins. All Shadowhunters run out to fight alongside Emma. One of the Riders eventually shouts to give them the Black Volume and then they will let them go. Kieran says not to listen to them because they are Faeries who can lie. Julian says they’ve never had it.

Annabel appears with the Black Volume and asserts the Blackthorns never knew where it was. The Riders order her to turn it over for the Unseelie King. She says to tell their king she knows his name. Malcolm learned it after being close to the king for a long time and shared it with Annabel. If they don’t clear out now, she’ll tell it to the Council and the Downworlders. Magnus appears and steals their swords with magic. The Riders vanish.

Annabel came because of a letter she received from Ty. She wants to talk to Julian about the Black Volume. He goes to her in the library. Annabel shows Julian Ty’s letter. He says they need the book to save their family. He tells her a little about what makes each of them special, especially Julian because he’s held everyone together, the Clave has changed and can help her, and she can find them at the London Institute.

Julian asks her to come to Idris to testify in front of the Council as recompense for what they did to her. He tells her she can trust him because he never revealed to anyone she was in Cornwall. He tells her he can tell how much she loves Blackthorn Manor from the pictures she drew of it. He can help her get it back if she’ll testify. She can be a Shadowhunter again. She needs to say she killed Malcolm to take away glory from someone trying to take credit and then take over their Institute. Annabel’s nervous. Julian tells her Magnus can be with her every step of the way. She knows and trusts him. Annabel agrees to do it.

They all Portal to Idris. Julian and Emma immediately go to the Inquisitor’s office to make their confession and subsequent exile proposal. Robert finally agrees to it.

Most of the group assembles in the Council Hall. Helen and Aline appear. They have a mini-reunion with the Blackthorns present in the Hall.

Annabel’s in a separate office with Magnus, Jia, Robert, Julian, and Kieran. Magnus collapses. He’s been showing signs of sickness for a while and finally is overtaken. They send for Alec. Annabel will have to proceed to the testimony without him by her side. She doesn’t want to. She at least wants Julian there.

Diego talks to Cristina about her request. She wants him to take pity on a lost faerie.

Jia tells Annabel’s and Malcolm’s story to those assembled in The Hall. Zara keeps pestering Jia because she’s worried her lie about killing Malcolm will come out. She asks her to send the witness out.

Annabel appears. She says the Unseelie King, the Lord of Shadows, was in league with Malcolm and planned to destroy the Shadowhunters using the Black Volume. The crowd calls her a liar. Julian says the liar is Zara because she claims she killed Malcolm. Annabel says she’s the one who killed Malcolm. The room erupts.

How did Lord of Shadows end?

Someone calls out that Ananbel should testify by the Mortal Sword to make sure she’s telling the truth. The crowd shouts vile things about her. Jia agrees to let her testify holding the Sword. Julian asks them not to make her because she was tortured with it before. Emma silently wishes Magnus was there and hopes he’s doing okay.

Jia begins with simple questions. Annabel answers them but is strained. Jia asks about Malcolm. Annabel answers. Zara yells that Annabel’s a monster and all Blackthorns are liars. Annabel calls for Julian to help her. He isn’t allowed to approach. She asks for Magnus. He isn’t there. She panics and breaks and uses the sword to kill Robert Lightwood.

Kit’s in the infirmary with Kieran, Alec, and Magnus. Alec doesn’t know what’s wrong with Magnus and it’s affecting other warlocks, too. Diego tells Alec chaos reigns in the Hall and his father has been injured. Diego tells Kieran that he’s come for him. Cristina has requested Diego bring him to the Scholomance to keep him safe. Kieran doesn’t want to; he doesn’t trust Diego after what he did to Cristina. Diego says he doesn’t know the whole story. Kieran finally agrees. The two leave.

Julian approaches Annabel, but she yells for him to stay back. He tries to talk her down. Something has snapped in Annabel. Alec rushes to his dad’s side. Emma fights Annabel and the Mortal Sword with Cortana. Cortana shatters the Mortal Sword. Emma feels an electricity-like sensation in her arm as it happens. Livvy rushes up and tosses Julian her sword. He turns to fight Annabel and the Mortal Sword’s stump. Annabel jumps past him and stabs Livvy in the heart with the sword’s stump.

Ty grabs his chest and falls to his knees just like Livvy had. Julian crawls to Livvy and holds her. He tries to draw healing runes. They immediately vanish. Julian tries to talk to her. She’s already gone.

Rage fills Emma. She turns with Cortana to kill Annabel. Smoke erupts from the window behind Annabel with the force of an explosion. Emma sees a shape in the smoke with a gleam of gold in it, with a crown broken in half. Then the smoke vanishes along with Annabel.

There you go! That’s what happened in Lord of Shadows, the second book in this series.

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Oh and share this with your friends who might like to read a recap of Lord of Shadows.

4 thoughts on “What happened in Lord of Shadows? (The Dark Artifices #2)”

  1. I just wanted to say thank you for this. I started Lord of Shadows last year, then got into the biggest reading slump. When I went back to try again, I was lost. Now I can finally finish. Yay!

    1. I’m so glad this was helpful! I hope you enjoy Lord of Shadows this time around! 🙂

  2. THANK YOUUUU, I WAS SO CONFUSED WHEN I STARTED THE LAST ONE OF THE TRILOGY, DIDN’T REMEMBER EVERYTHING THAT HAD HAPPEN, BUT NOW IM READYYYYYYYY

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