I’m glad there’s a group of people who, like me, believe that Rhys’s sister is alive and that she is Lorin. I don’t agree with those who pair her with Tamlin. And here are the reasons why.
Spring Court
There are too few clues at the Spring Court that would indicate the presence of Rhys’s sister. What we do have is: the Star Lake, where Tamlin used to swim when he was young, and the mysterious painting of a vase with flowers and an unusual play of light that Feyre admired.
Tamlin befriended Rhys only after the former joined the army. From what we know, he waited the proper 75 years - the time when Fae are considered young adults. So Tamlin swimming in the lake as a youth is the Tamlin who is not yet friends with Rhys. This is still before the fallout of their friendship and before Rhys’s betrayal.
The lake, although likely important to people from the Night Court, doesn’t actually serve as solid evidence of a direct connection to Rhys’s sister. I’d rather say it’s important to Tamlin because of his mother, with whom he was close. I suspect it’s a place she often took him to.
The painting in the Spring Court manor could be connected to Rhys’s sister if we consider the fact that she loved the Rainbow of Velaris - the artists’ district. The unusual play of light would fit her nature as someone born in the Night Court, someone who sees light differently than others.
This leads to an argument that I believe is wrongly associated with Rhys’s sister: the presence of the Gallery in Tamlin’s manor. The Gallery wing had been closed for years. There’s a strong possibility it was created by Tamlin’s mother. After all, Tamlin never mentions a lost love for whom he might have created it. He doesn’t show any signs of having ever truly loved a woman. He even says himself that he flirted with many.
The only woman he genuinely mourns and truly loved was his mother. So I suspect the Gallery belonged to her. It’s also possible that she was the one who painted the vase painting.
The betrayal committed by Tamlin carries many consequences. Many people suspect that the conflict between Tamlin and Rhys stems from an argument over Rhys’s sister. So let’s break this down.
The Spring Court is conservative - in the sense that it draws a clear line between “true” Fae and beings of mixed or lesser heritage. And although Rhys’s sister was a princess of the Night Court, she was also half-Illyrian, which would make her completely undesirable among the lords of the Spring Court. She would never be acknowledged as a proper match for a Spring Court prince.
So if Tamlin wanted her, he couldn’t have her because of the “aesthetic” expectations of the elite. I’m not even sure it would have been possible for them to meet officially. The Spring Court had tense relations with the Night Court. No one approved of Tamlin and Rhys’s friendship.
So would Rhys’s father ever bring his daughter (a half-Illyrian) to a gathering with the Spring Court elite? It would have been a diplomatic disaster.
The only realistic chance for Tamlin and Rhys’s sister to meet would be if Rhys was staying at one of the camps and she appeared there. But here’s the important part: it’s doubtful that Tamlin would ever show up in an Illyrian camp, and it’s equally doubtful that Rhys’s father would take his daughter to a war camp.
But let’s assume he did — considering that Mor was trained as a warrior and took part in the war, Rhys’s father might have had a similar attitude: let the girl see the world as it is. Maybe that’s why she was pulled away from the Rainbow - not to keep her head in the clouds, but to teach her how to fight. And there she met Tamlin, and something formed between them.
Now, if we follow the “Tamlin and Rhys’s sister were partners and shared a great love” theory, we get two possible scenarios:
1)The Spring Court wanted to capture Rhys. Tamlin betrayed him, swayed by the Spring Court’s ingrained hatred of the Night Court. Rhys’s sister was supposed to be rescued, but end up wingless. The Spring Court would gain a major victory by eliminating a threat (Rhys) and would force upon Tamlin a partner they had mutilated.
2)Tamlin’s father invoked their obligations toward the Night Court and forced Tamlin to reveal the truth in exchange for sparing Rhys’s sister (unharmed). Something must have gone terribly wrong, since she ended up dead. Tamlin completely botched the situation.
The funniest part is that supporters of the Tamlin + Rhys’s sister theory fail to notice that Tamlin grieved his mother’s death far more than the death of his supposed beloved. They don’t see that after such a betrayal, there is absolutely no possibility of a happy relationship between Tamlin and Rhys’s sister. A mating bond wouldn’t magically heal the harm Tamlin helped cause.
Tamlin never reflects on his actions. He doesn’t see that he contributed to a crime between the Courts. He doesn’t see that the Night Court’s retaliation against his family was justified by the laws of their world. Tamlin only sees that his mother was killed. He didn’t care about his father. His hatred is fueled by the loss of his mother - and he doesn’t care at all that he caused the same tragedy for his friend.
With that betrayal, Tamlin completely destroyed any chance of a relationship with Rhys’s sister. Even if she survived, even if he ultimately played a role in saving her, his actions enabled a betrayal that cannot be forgiven.
