A Court of Splintered Harmony Character List (Spoilers)

Books

Spoiler warning: This post contains spoilers for A Court of Splintered Harmony and for the earlier ACOTAR books. If you have not finished the series yet, you may want to bookmark this and come back later.

*Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.

A Court of Splintered Harmony is finally here, and if your reading brain is anything like mine, it has been busy trying to remember who is mated to who, which court owes which favour, and why half the inner circle is not speaking to each other.

A Court of Splintered Harmony Character List (Spoilers)

This is the sixth ACOTAR book by Sarah J. Maas and the first part of what she is calling the Valkyrie Cycle. It came out on 27th October 2026, and the follow up, A Court of Forgotten Melody, is due on 12th January 2027. There are a lot of faces to keep track of, and a few brand new ones too, so I have put together a character list to keep beside you while you read.

If you have already seen my A Court of Thorns and Roses character list, this works in the same way. I start with the main characters, then move on to the wider cast, the High Lords and the people you might need a reminder about. Think of it as a cheat sheet for the Night Court and everyone orbiting it.

A quick note on spoilers. As the warning above says, this post contains spoilers. I have tried not to give away more than I need to, but a character list for a series this tangled will always reveal things about the earlier books and about where the inner circle is in book six. If you want zero spoilers, my spoiler free overview of A Court of Splintered Harmony is the better place to begin.

The ACOTAR Books in Order

If you are new here, or just want to check where this one sits, here is the full reading order. I also wrote a guide to reading the ACOTAR books in order if you would like more detail.

A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Mist and Fury
A Court of Wings and Ruin
A Court of Frost and Starlight
A Court of Silver Flames
A Court of Splintered Harmony
A Court of Forgotten Melody (due 12th January 2027)

One thing worth knowing before you start: this book does not stop to recap. It expects you to remember the Trove, the Prison, the Blood Rite and the Valkyries. It also leans on events from Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series, House of Flame and Shadow in particular. You can follow the story without having read Crescent City, but a few of the grudges in the opening chapters make a lot more sense if you have.

Where Things Stand at the Start of Book Six

The war with Hybern is over and the Night Court is thriving, but peace has not made life simpler. Feyre and Rhysand are now parents to a baby boy, Nyx, and they are trying to protect the human lands while juggling very little sleep. Other territories, including Vallahan and Montesere, have their eyes on those same lands. Behind it all, the ancient threat of Koschei is stirring.

So the inner circle goes out looking for allies, and finds that nobody is in a hurry to say yes. Meanwhile, trust at home is wearing thin. The book is called Splintered Harmony for a reason.

For the first time, we also get several points of view. Feyre still narrates, but she shares the story with Cassian, Nesta, Lucien, Gwyn, Mor and Azriel. Azriel’s point of view is the one that stands out most, and I will come back to him below.

A Court of Splintered Harmony Main Characters

Feyre Archeron

High Lady of the Night Court and the heart of the series. Feyre started out as a mortal huntress trying to keep her family fed, and she is now a powerful High Fae, a painter, a diplomat and a mum.

In this book she is doing all three jobs at once. She travels from court to court trying to persuade other rulers to stand with the Night Court, all while looking after a six month old. Her love for Nyx shapes how she approaches the politics, and it makes her fiercer than ever. If you enjoy the cute Feyre and Nyx moments, you are going to like these chapters. Expect breastfeeding moments!

Rhysand (Rhys)

High Lord of the Night Court, Feyre’s mate and the person most responsible for keeping Velaris safe. Rhys has always been charming on the surface and ruthless underneath, and in book six he is a father trying to protect his family from the next war before it properly begins.

Being a High Lord means making decisions that other people will not like, and that is true here too. Some of those decisions land badly with the people closest to him, which is part of how the court begins to splinter.

Nyx

Feyre and Rhys’s son and the newest member of the family. He is only a baby, but he has a big effect on the story. He changes how his parents think about risk, and he is part of the reason the question at the heart of the book feels so heavy: how much should one family sacrifice for someone else’s war?

Azriel

The Shadowsinger and spymaster of the Night Court, and the character the book spends the most time with. If you have always thought of Azriel as the quiet, brooding one who watches from the edge of the room, this book is likely to change your mind.

We get a look at his boyhood and the kind of work he was trained for, and it adds a lot to the way we see him. His shadows are as useful as ever, but his temper is not as steady as it used to be. Some of this comes from his long, unspoken love for Mor, which he has carried for hundreds of years, and some of it comes from his feelings about Elain. I think this Azriel is a very different version from the one in earlier books, so go in knowing he is not at his best here. He seems more emotional, softer perhaps. It is a fascinating read for Azriel fans, and I think his journey is the heart of the book.

Cassian

General of the Night Court’s armies, Illyrian warrior and one of the most loyal people in the inner circle. Cassian is usually the warm, steady one, but in this book he carries a lot of frustration. He and Nesta are mates, and that bond is being tested by a choice she made involving the Trove.

Cassian is one of the points of view, which gives us a better look at his side of things. He wants to protect his mate and also hold the court together, and he is finding that those two things are pulling in different directions.

Nesta Archeron

The eldest Archeron sister. After A Court of Silver Flames, Nesta found strength, purpose and a group of close friends, but her healing journey is not a straight line. In this book, she is in a hard place. Many of the people she is closest to are upset with her because of a choice she made, and she is more isolated than she has been in a while.

That said, she is still the person you want next to you in a fight. The Naming Day attack is one of the best action scenes in the book, and Nesta has to fight in a ball gown. If you loved her in book five, you will enjoy seeing her in her element, even if the emotional side is rough going.

Morrigan (Mor)

Rhysand’s cousin and the Third in Command of the Night Court. Mor is warm, loyal and brave, and she has now been given her own point of view. That is a big deal for anyone who has wanted to know more about what she thinks and feels. As well as handling her place in the court’s politics, she is at the centre of the long standing situation with Azriel, which is one of the quieter sources of heartbreak in the book. I feel she has a big part coming up in the next book.

Gwyneth Berdara (Gwyn)

A priestess turned Valkyrie and one of Nesta’s closest friends. Gwyn survived a terrible past and has built herself a new life through training and friendship. In book six she gets her own point of view, which lets us see the inner circle from the outside. If you enjoyed the found family feeling of the Valkyries in A Court of Silver Flames, she is a big part of why it works.

Elain Archeron

The middle Archeron sister, gentle, observant and gifted with visions. Elain is Lucien’s mate, though she did not choose that and has never been comfortable with it. She is also the person Azriel finds himself drawn to. This long running triangle moves forward in book six, and it does not move in a calm way. Plenty of people behave badly, and it affects the whole family. I’m sure this triangle will continue into the next book as she decides to not hide away in the shadows anymore.

Lucien Vanserra

Once Tamlin’s emissary and now a member of the Night Court’s circle. Lucien is sharp, funny and often underestimated, and he has been rejected by more than one court and more than one family. He has a lot of history to carry, including his secret parentage, which is revealed in an earlier book, and the mating bond with Elain.

He also has a point of view in this book, and I found that Lucien’s chapters carry a lot of the emotions. But also a bit of cringe! This line: ” He’d smelled Elain the moment he’d set foot in the temple earlier” and this: “It didn’t stop his mouth from watering whenever he was near her, his every predatory instinct rising to the fore, his blood roaring to find her, woo her, claim her.”

Amren and the Rest of the Inner Circle

The inner circle is bigger than the people above. Amren, the ancient being in a High Fae body, is still part of the group, along with the Illyrian warriors and the friends who have been through everything with Rhys and Feyre. If you need a reminder of who is who, my ACOTAR character relationships chart is a good companion to keep open.

The New Threat: Koschei

Koschei, sometimes called the Deathless, is an ancient and malevolent being, one of the Old Gods, and the main danger behind everything that happens in the book. He first appears in A Court of Silver Flames. In book six he is mostly felt rather than seen. He is a looming pressure in the background, and the Night Court’s search for allies is driven by the fear of what he might do next.

The name comes from Slavic folklore, where Koschei the Deathless is a sorcerer whose death is hidden somewhere outside his body. That idea has been used in Maas’s world in her own way.

The Politics: Courts, Kingdoms and High Lords

Political intrigue is a big part of this book, and there are a lot of rulers to keep straight. Here is a quick guide to the seven High Lords of Prythian, which is handy if you are rusty on who runs what.

Court	High Lord
Night Court	Rhysand
Spring Court	Tamlin
Summer Court	Tarquin
Autumn Court	Beron
Winter Court	Kallias
Dawn Court	Thesan
Day Court	Helion

The inner circle spends a good part of the book trying to build political alliances, and nobody makes it easy. The Summer Court’s reluctance to join another war is written as a reasonable position rather than a villain’s choice, which I liked. The Duke of Bernion is also worth noting: a new face who doesn’t want an invasion but will follow his king. Definitely one of the more interesting additions to watch!

Outside Prythian, the kingdoms of Vallahan and Montesere want the old human lands back and want a weapon of ancient power to match the Trove that the Night Court holds. That is where much of the tension comes from.

Bryce Quinlan

If you have read House of Flame and Shadow, you will know Bryce, the Crescent City heroine who crossed into Prythian. She does not appear in person, but she is mentioned constantly – at least 60 times!! What she took and what Nesta gave her drives many of the grudges in the early chapters – I think this happens around a month before the start of ACOSH. It is one reason the book rewards readers familiar with the wider Sarah J. Maas universe.

A little Bryce and Rhys Theory:

Is Bryce related to Rhysand? The books do not spell it out, but there are strong hints, and many believe they are very distant cousins. In House of Sky and Breath, Bryce opens a Gate that leads her straight to Velaris, where Azriel finds her and brings her to meet the inner circle. The theory goes that the two share ancient Fae royal ancestry. Bryce is said to descend from Queen Theia’s daughter Helena, through the Starborn line, while Rhysand is said to descend from Theia’s other daughter, Silene. That would make them distant relatives through the same royal family.

There is also a physical clue to think about: When Bryce first meets Rhysand, she is struck by how much he resembles her brother, Ruhn Danaan. Sarah J. Maas has confirmed that all of her series take place in the same universe, so a shared bloodline would not be a huge surprise. For now, it is a lore-based theory rather than something stated outright, but it is a fun one to keep in mind while we wait for book seven.

ACOTAR Relationships and Mates in Book Six

With so many couples and complicated feelings, it helps to see them in one place.

Feyre and Rhysand: Mates, High Lady and High Lord of the Night Court, and new parents to Nyx.
Cassian and Nesta: Mates, and a mated couple whose bond is tested in this book by a choice Nesta made about the Trove.
Elain and Lucien: Mates by the mating bond, although Elain never asked for it. The bond is a source of strain for both of them.
Azriel, Mor and Elain: The knot of unspoken feelings at the centre of the book. Azriel has long loved Mor, and he is also drawn to Elain. Neither situation is simple.
Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie: The Valkyrie friendship that has become a family of its own.

Some of the tension here also has a forbidden-romance feel, and the family drama gets sharper because everyone involved is immortal and has had centuries to hold a grudge.

Characters From Earlier Books Worth Refreshing

If it has been a while since your last reread, these are the names I would brush up on before or while reading book six.

Tamlin: High Lord of the Spring Court and Feyre’s first love. His controlling streak is a big part of why Feyre left.
Eris Vanserra: Beron’s eldest son and the heir to the Autumn Court. Cunning, ambiguous and always playing his own game.
Beron: High Lord of the Autumn Court, and the father who made life so difficult for Lucien.
Helion Spell-Cleaver: High Lord of the Day Court, a scholar and a collector of knowledge.
The King of Hybern: The villain of A Court of Wings and Ruin, whose war is the reason the inner circle is so battle weary.
Briallyn: The human queen turned villain who allied with Koschei.
Keir: Mor’s father and Steward of the Court of Nightmares.

If you need a longer list, you can find all of them in my A Court of Thorns and Roses character list.

Do You Need to Read the Earlier Books First?

Yes, and all five, ideally. This is not a book you can pick up cold. It uses the history of the series constantly and does not stop to explain it. The best order is the ACOTAR books first, then House of Flame and Shadow if you want the full picture of Bryce’s visit.

If you are partway through a reread, here is what I would keep in mind: the Nesta and Cassian storyline in A Court of Silver Flames, the Valkyrie training and the Blood Rite, and what Koschei is capable of. Those are the three threads that matter most in book six.

My Take on A Court of Splintered Harmony

I will be honest, I found this one pretty slow. There are a lot of dinners, debriefs and conversations where people hold back what they know, and at times I wanted the story to get moving. It is a short book by Sarah J. Maas’s standards, but it did not always feel like it.

That said, once I got to the end, it made sense to me. This is a first movement, and it feels like one. It sets a lot in motion and then ends with the cast scattered in different directions and plenty left open. I came away feeling that all the slow build was laying the groundwork for the next book, and I am curious to see how much pays off in A Court of Forgotten Melody.

The part I really did enjoy was Azriel. I loved having his point of view and seeing his journey up close, because it gave me a much better understanding of him than I had after five books. He is not always easy to like in this one, but he is never boring, and his chapters were what kept me turning the pages.

What Happens Next?

A Court of Forgotten Melody is due on 12th January 2027, and it has a lot to resolve. Almost everything in book six is left open, from the Elain, Lucien and Azriel triangle to the question of who will stand with the Night Court against Koschei.

If you are reading along, I would love to know what you think. Who is your favourite in this one? Has Azriel’s story changed how you see him? Tell me in the comments, and if I have missed a character you would like added, let me know and I will update the list.

And if you are making your way through the series for the first time, welcome. It is one of the best series I have ever read, and I am so glad you are here.

You can buy ACOSH here on Amazon

FAQ

How many books are in the ACOTAR series? Six so far. A Court of Splintered Harmony is book six, and A Court of Forgotten Melody, book seven, is due on 12th January 2027.

Who is the main character in A Court of Splintered Harmony? Feyre Archeron is still the main narrator, but the story is shared with Cassian, Nesta, Lucien, Gwyn, Mor and Azriel. Azriel gets the most attention.

What is the Valkyrie Cycle? It is the name Sarah J. Maas has given to the story that begins with A Court of Splintered Harmony. This book is labelled Movement I.

Who is the villain in A Court of Splintered Harmony? Koschei, the ancient being first introduced in A Court of Silver Flames. He is mostly in the background in this book, with other territories pushing for the human lands.

Do I need to read Crescent City first? You do not have to, and the book gives you enough context to follow along. But House of Flame and Shadow is referred to a lot, so you will get more from this one if you have read it.

Is there a lot of romance in this book? Yes. There is a long running love triangle, tension between mated couples and a few open door scenes, so it is worth checking the content notes if that matters to you.

You May Also Like: