Character from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The immortal Fae Queen of Doranelle who presented herself as a god-like monarch for millennia — actually a Valg queen hiding in plain sight, playing the longest con in the history of two worlds.
Maeve speaks in the measured, regal tones of someone who considers every conversation a move in a game only she can see. She is patient the way mountains are patient — millennia of observation and manipulation compressed into every word. She controlled the Cadre through blood oaths — binding the most powerful Fae warriors to her will and using their grief, loyalty, and honor as chains. She manufactured Lyria's death to trap Rowan. She sent the Cadre on missions that served her hidden agenda. Every act of apparent benevolence was an investment. The revelation that she was a Valg queen all along recontextualizes everything — her obsession with the wyrdkeys, her interest in Aelin's fire, her willingness to torture and imprison. She wasn't a corrupt Fae ruler; she was an invader wearing a crown, and the horrifying thing is that no one suspected for thousands of years. Her imprisonment and torture of Aelin is among the most harrowing sequences in the series — an iron coffin, an iron box, darkness and isolation designed to break a fire-wielder's spirit.
Ethereally beautiful with dark hair and ancient, fathomless eyes. Carries herself with the absolute authority of someone who has been obeyed for thousands of years. Her beauty is cold and perfect — a mask over something vast and alien. In her true Valg form, she is darkness and hunger and nothing else.
Also known as: Maeve, Queen Maeve, The Dark Queen