The Prisoner's Throne

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of violence, child abuse, and death.

The Prisoner’s Throne is the sequel to The Stolen Heir, and the duology itself is a follow-up to the Folk of the Air trilogy and the novella How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (2020). The books all share a narrative continuity and a cast of characters. The original trilogy focused on the relationship between Jude and Cardan and their ascension to the roles of High Queen and King. Oak and Wren both originally appeared as minor characters in these novels, as they were children at the time.

The Cruel Prince begins with Jude, her twin sister Taryn, and their older half-sister Vivi, forced to go to Faerie after their parents are murdered by Madoc, a general of the Folk, who raises them as his own. As teenagers, they endure bullying from the faerie nobility, including Prince Cardan. Prince Dain, the High King’s heir, recruits Jude as a spy. When Dain’s coronation arrives, another brother, Balekin, reveals himself as a traitor. With Madoc’s help, he murders the entire royal family except for Cardan, whom Jude rescues. In doing so, she discovers that her younger brother, Oak, is the true heir, as he is really Dain’s son. Jude makes a deal with Cardan to stop their plots and gains temporary command over him. Madoc betrays Balekin and reveals his plans to put his foster son on the throne. Jude betrays Cardan by directing Oak to crown him High King, which ensures the young boy can grow up safely in the mortal world.

In The Wicked King, Jude remains in Faerie as Cardan’s advisor. Tensions grow between Jude and Locke, her former romantic interest and Taryn’s fiancé. Her relationship with Cardan also becomes more complicated as her political manipulations mix with her growing attraction to him. Jude uncovers a plot by Queen Orlagh of the Undersea to force a marriage alliance between Cardan and Nicasia, his ex-partner. Despite Jude’s warnings, the Faerie council dismisses her concerns about an impending attack during Taryn and Locke’s wedding. 

During her attempts to gather information and protect her family, Jude is ambushed by masked soldiers and discovers Locke is involved in the plot. The Undersea briefly takes her prisoner, and she is released to Elfhame with the mission to assassinate Cardan, whom she warns about the plot instead. At a ball, Jude confronts Locke and tries to protect Cardan, who Balekin has poisoned. Jude gets the antidote by dueling and killing Balekin. Cardan persuades Jude to finally release him from her control by proposing marriage. Jude agrees, but shortly after, Cardan exiles her to the mortal world for Balekin’s murder.

Jude goes to live with Vivi and Oak in the mortal world in The Queen of Nothing. Eventually, Taryn arrives to seek her help: She killed Locke and wants Jude to impersonate her during the murder inquest in Faerie, and Jude agrees. While Cardan sees through her disguise, he reveals that her prolonged exile was due to a misunderstanding. Before they can resolve things, Madoc attacks the palace and mistakenly abducts Jude, believing her to be Taryn. While in captivity, Jude learns her foster father has allied with the Court of Teeth, and they plan to seize power. Madoc discovers her true identity, but she is rescued by Taryn, Vivi, Cardan, and Grima Mog, a commander. Cardan attempts to end the power struggle by breaking his crown. However, it is cursed, and he is transformed into a giant snake as a result. 

Jude gathers her allies, including the spies known as the Ghost and the Bomb, along with the hag Mother Marrow, to find a solution. The leaders of the Court of Teeth, Lady Nore and Lord Jarel, offer her a cursed golden bridle in exchange for marrying their daughter, Suren, to Oak. Instead of following their plan, she kills the snake, freeing Cardan from his curse. The Bomb kills Jarel, and Jude forces Lady Nore to swear fealty to Suren as the new queen of the Court of Teeth. Jude also exiles Madoc to the mortal world.

The Stolen Heir begins eight years later. Lady Nore fled before Suren could command her, and Suren, also called Wren, escaped to the mortal realm, where she spies on the family she once lived with. Lady Nore sends the storm hag, Bogdana, to hunt Wren down, but she is rescued by Oak and his knight Tieran. Oak says Lady Nore stole the bones of Queen Mab to gain power and form an army. Since she must obey Wren, only she can command her to stop. Wren reluctantly agrees to join Oak, Tiernan, and Hyacinthe, a cursed soldier who once served Madoc. Along the way, they pick up a kelpie named Jack of the Lakes. 

The group arrives at the Court of Moths, where Wren learns that Oak is trying to free Madoc from Lady Nore, who wants Mellith’s heart—capable of undoing Mab’s magic—in exchange. Wren is angry that Oak kept this from her, and to prove his flirtations insincere, she kisses him, but he kisses her back. Later, she frees Hyacinthe from the Court of Moth’s dungeon and breaks his curse, leading him to swear his loyalty. She is then betrayed by Jack, leading to her capture. Oak defends her in a duel and helps her escape punishment by solving a riddle posed by the queen. Together, they continue their quest and reach the hag called the Thistlewitch, who reveals that Wren herself carries Mellith’s heart inside her.

Upon reaching the Ice Needle Citadel, Oak and Wren are captured by Lady Nore. She cuts out Wren’s tongue to prevent her from commanding her, and Oak is taken captive after falsely claiming he brought the heart. Wren escapes the dungeon and heals her tongue using a bone fragment. During the ensuing battle with the trolls Lady Nore has allied with, Wren realizes that she is, in fact, Mellith reborn, created by Bogdana. With her newfound power, she unmakes Lady Nore, and the soldiers at the citadel declare her their queen. Wren also takes Oak prisoner for deceiving her.