The Prisoner's Throne

After dressing, Oak takes some food and heads out to meet with Wren. Before he can reach the cottage, he bumps into Wren in the woods, who has also come to find him. He asks her to have a picnic with him. He tells her he loves her, but she responds with distress. She urges him to call off their marriage, citing his supposed ease in falling in and out of love. Hurt by her rejection and puzzled by her motivations, Oak refuses to break the arrangement. The argument ends without resolution; Oak leaves disappointed and confused.

Seeking answers, Oak heads to Mandrake Market and visits Mother Marrow, hoping to uncover the hags’ involvement in Bogdana’s plans. Mother Marrow tells him that Wren’s magic, while powerful, is warped and self-destructive, making her far from the formidable queen she could have been. When he asks if the curse on her can be broken, she tells him that it is tied to Mellith’s heart and asks, “How can you fill something that devours everything you put into it?” (214).

By the time he arrives at the feast, Oak is late. Tiernan questions his absence, and Lady Elaine approaches him in an attempt to lure him back into her conspiracies, asking him to meet her later. Just as Oak tries to fend her off, Wren makes her grand entrance, dressed in white and wearing a crown of icicles. Lady Elaine’s possessive grip on his arm draws Wren’s gaze. Oak feels the strain of maintaining the persona of a charming, reckless prince, which distances him from the people he cares about.

At the feast, the hall is filled with courtiers and nobles, many of whom whisper about Wren and speculate on the marriage’s political implications. By the time Oak reaches the High Table, he finds Wren already in a tense conversation with Jude and Cardan regarding the return of the golden bridle, which Oak had taken. Since she is unwilling to keep or give it back, she unmakes the bridle with her magic, destroying it. She also offers to remove the hidden curse the deceased Valerian placed on Jude years ago. Though Wren succeeds in removing the curse, she puts the High King and Queen in her debt, making them appear vulnerable before the Court. Cardan diffuses the awkward moment by raising a toast “to love” (226), though his words carry a challenge, particularly toward Oak.

Realizing that Wren is weakened by her repeated use of magic, Oak leads her to the dance floor to prevent her from collapsing in public. He offers her a chance to rest, but she refuses, saying she doesn’t want to appear weak in front of his family, who already hate her. Oak says they want to protect him, and Wren asks if they understand who he is and what he’s done. Oak goes to get her water, and the Ghost comes to warn him that something is coming, to keep Tiernan close, and not go out alone. He is interrupted by the kelpie Jack of the Lakes. He tells Oak he saw Bogdana speaking with the golden man, who had a strange trunk with him but was unsure of its contents.

Oak returns to Wren, and they head back to the High Table. As the feast progresses, Bogdana demands that the wedding occur the next day. Jude negotiates a compromise. During the hunt the following day, Wren must answer a question about Oak correctly in order to proceed with an immediate wedding. If she fails, the marriage will be delayed by seven days. Wren accepts the terms before Bogdana can object, and Oak adds his own twist by insisting he will be the one to choose the question.

During the feast, Wren quietly asks Oak to meet her in the gardens at midnight. She departs, and Bogdana follows her. Once they are gone, Oak ponders how he might postpone the betrothal by posing a question to Wren that she could deliberately answer wrong. He overhears Tiernan confessing his feelings to Hyacinthe. 

The Ghost speaks with Oak but leaves when Madoc arrives. Madoc warns him about Bogdana’s motives for supporting the marriage. Once he leaves, Oak also talks to Leander, Taryn’s son, and learns that Madoc knows the Ghost’s secret name. As he ruminates on how Madoc could have learned that, he realizes that not only was the Ghost the one who poisoned Liriope, but Oak’s family knew and never told him.

Later, Oak meets Wren in the gardens, where she apologizes for imprisoning him in the Citadel. She admits that the distance she’s kept between them has been for his safety. Oak counters that he needs her more, and the two of them have sex. 

Afterward, Lady Elaine arrives and catches them together. Oak realizes he forgot about their requested meeting and attempts to fix the situation by putting his persona back on. Wren leaves, and Lady Elaine confronts him about Wren. She also expresses concerns about continuing with the conspiracy. As a result, Oak faces a choice: Either charm Lady Elaine into continuing so he can expose the plot, or let her walk away, knowing that would end the immediate threat but leave him without crucial information. In a rare moment of compassion, he chooses the latter.

Oak wakes, struggling to process everything that happened the night prior: His passionate moment with Wren, the disruption of his plans by Lady Elaine, and the revelation that the Ghost, who trained him and became part of his family’s trusted circle, was the one who poisoned his mother to kill Oak. 

He is angry at his family’s ability to cover up bloodshed and betrayal, masking the wrongdoing with forced civility, and kicks over his breakfast table in frustration. Tatterfell, a servant who used to work for Oak’s father, arrives to help him prepare for the hunt. She suggests the wedding shouldn’t go through: Jude might have designs on marrying Oak to Nicasia, the new queen of the Undersea, for a stronger alliance. The suggestion unnerves Oak, and he’s forced to consider that she might be right.

At the stables, Oak meets Jack of the Lakes. The kelpie offers to serve as his steed for the hunt, and Oak agrees. They ride to the Milkwood, where his family and the Court are assembled. Wren arrives for the hunt not long after with Bogdana, both riding eerie bramble creatures conjured from magic. He tries to talk to her during the hunt, but she acts distant toward him.

When the group stops for the picnic, Hyacinthe comes to him and says he overheard Oak speaking with his nephew. Then, Hyacinthe reminds him of his vow to deliver him the hand of Liriope’s murderer. The Ghost arrives, offering Oak wine, and asks to speak with him privately. Despite his unease, Oak drinks the wine and agrees to go with him. However, as Oak rides after him, he begins to feel strange and realizes he has been poisoned with blusher mushrooms. Unlike most of the Folk, Oak is immune to its lethal effects. 

He draws his sword, ready to confront the Ghost, only to find the spy already dead in a clearing. The Ghost hadn’t poisoned him, but rather unknowingly shared the poisoned wine. Whatever information the Ghost had planned to share with him is now lost.

Guards and courtiers swarm the scene. Jack insists they found the Ghost already poisoned, while Taryn collapses in grief beside the spy’s lifeless body. Cardan uses his magic to encase the man’s body in a tree, hoping to preserve him. Despite Cardan’s efforts, whether the Ghost is saved or trapped in eternal limbo is uncertain. 

Meanwhile, accusations against Wren begin to mount. Taryn, in her grief, openly accuses Wren of the poisoning. Although Oak defends her, Wren’s silence casts doubt on her innocence. Cardan orders Wren to be taken into custody and Tiernan is tasked with guarding her. News then arrives of another death: Lady Elaine, found poisoned and lying in the dirt. Oak begins to understand that the conspiracy may run deeper than he anticipated.

At the camp on the island of Insear, Jude and Cardan summon Oak. When he reaches their tent, he asks what’s happening, only for Jude to demand answers on where Wren went. Oak learns that she escaped, along with Tiernan, and Jude suspects him of being involved. Just as he begins to explain, one of Bogdana’s storms begins to rage outside. The guards turn on them, and Randalin stabs Cardan, revealing himself as a traitor. In the ensuing chaos, Oak falls into a battle trance, killing several guards and Randalin. Though the ambush is ultimately foiled, Cardan is gravely injured, and the royal family is left shaken by Oak’s ferocity.

As the storm rages outside, Cardan declares Oak must be locked up until the truth is uncovered, but Oak refuses to be detained. He vows to confront Wren and end the conspiracy himself. Hyacinthe, motivated by his loyalty to Tiernan, joins him, and they leave the tent.