Catch up on all the snippets from ‘The Last King of Faerie’

Hello, hello! It’s the last day of 2025 and tomorrow we are finally ringing in the year of the King! After years of waiting for the final The Shadowhunters Chronicles trilogy, The Last King of Faerie is getting published in autumn 2026 (release date to be announced).
There is much to look forward to in 2026, but first let’s take a look back at the snippets Cassandra Clare shared this year.

#1 (from the prologue)

“Are we lost?” Drusila Blackthorn said, peering across the darkened field toward the horizon. “Tell me we’re not lost.”
Her roommate Thais frowned at the hand-scrawled map she held in…

#2

“I do have one question,” said Ash. “What’s a rodeo?”

#3

Ty said nothing. In fact, since his outburst on the steps, when Kit had opened the door, he hadn’t spoken a single word. He was sitting hunched on one side of a blue sofa, his wet clothes clinging to him, his backpack clutched tightly to his chest like a shield. His hair was longer when it was wet, brushing the sharp lines of his cheekbones. His face looked thinner than Kit remembered, but he didn’t think it meant Ty had lost weight. His face had changed, grown less soft and more defined. You’ve changed, too, said the small voice in the back of Kit’s head. He’s probably thinking right now how different you look. He’s probably disappointed.
Kit, sunk into a squishy armchair, rubbed his hands together as if trying to warm them. Really, he just wanted to be doing something. The silence was starting to unnerve him; he could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock out in the hallway. Part of him wanted to stand up and shout at Ty, you came all the way here, you knew I didn’t want to see you, you said you needed help, and now you won’t talk.
But that was only part of him.

#4

“Does that mean you’re going to pretend you haven’t been mad at me for the past three years?
Kit set down his can of soda so hard that he could hear it fizz. “Yes,” he said. “I’m going to pretend like I haven’t been mad at you for the past three years.”
“Then I guess,” said Ty softly, “that I haven’t been mad at you either.”

#5

“Kit.” The voice sounded as if it was coming from very far away. Not Ty’s voice, either. Kit felt as if ice had been injected into his veins, but he forced himself to roll over onto his back.
Ty was there, a silver knife in his hand. He ducked his head and started cutting away the rope around Kit’s waist. Hovering just behind him was Livvy, half-translucent, her hair floating around her as if she were underwater just as Kit had been.
“Kit, you have to get up,” she was saying. Kit had seen a lot of ghosts in his life, but never one as clearly panicked as Livvy was now. “They’re here, they followed you —“
The words echoed inside Kit’s head, all sound and no sense. Follow, follow, follow. He caught at Ty’s wrist just as the rope fell away.

#6

“Ty smiled, that rare bright smile that made Kit feel as if he’d been in a dark room and suddenly all the lights had been turned on.”

#7

He still resembled Jace. The same golden hair, tousled into curls, the same sarcastically curled mouth. But he wore a golden mask now that covered his eyes and nose, a half-mask, carved to look like the proud and deadly face of a hawk.
Dru heard Clary make a noise, a sort of strangled gasp. Maybe because this man, this stranger, looked so much like Jace. Maybe because a heavy crossbow, of clear faerie workmanship, was braced against his shoulder, its bolt trained squarely on Dru’s chest.
It was probably the crossbow.

#8

Kit slid over to the window and watched the drizzle streak across the glass. It made the view of London seem grim and drab, almost Dickensian. Buildings slipped by in smudges of gray, bisected by wet black roads. Kit felt a pang—Tessa loved Dickens, and had bought him a copy of Great Expectations at Hatchards.
Across from him, Ty had huddled into his jacket, his sleeves pulled down over his hands.
Kit cleared his throat. “Didn’t you bring anything warmer than that?”
Ty shook his head. The damp curled the ends of his hair. “I packed in a hurry. And Irene kept trying to climb into my pack to keep me from leaving.”
“Who’s Irene?” Kit was unable to prevent himself from asking.

#9

“And Prince Ash isn’t worried I’ll try to stab him once I’m in a room full of weapons?” Dru inquired. Now Elara glanced over her shoulder, black eyes worried.
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” she said. “And besides, surely you know his story? The Unseelie King worked dark magic on him when he was young. It gave him the power of commanding loyalty. You will find that you wish to please him, not to hurt him. That you wish to do what he says.”

Snippet #6 is probably my favourite right now, but I’m sure Cassie is going to share many more and this will change. 🙂
Please bear in mind that The Last King of Faerie ist still a work in progress so some snippets might not end up in the final book!

What are you most looking forward to when the book finally hits shelves next year? Sound off in the comments!
I wish you a wonderful New Year’s Eve, be safe, and all the best for 2026! ♥