The Prisoner's Throne

In the present, Oak is imprisoned beneath the Ice Needle Citadel, still wearing the magical golden bridle that forces his obedience. His days are cold, isolated, and monotonous, marked by sparse meals and a growing dread of what awaits him. Wren has not visited him since his capture, and Oak begins to doubt himself. He wonders if his charm, the power he wields as a gancanagh—a male fairy—has caused more harm than good. One of the guards says that Wren has gone to the Stone Forest to awaken the ancient troll kings, and Oak later feels a wave of magical power as she succeeds. He tries to escape or get Wren to speak with him but fails at both.

In the dead of night, Oak is visited by a mechanical snake sent from Elfhame, bearing one of Oak’s old rings as proof of its origin and a message that he will be rescued in three days. He begs it to wait longer, but it ignores him. Oak then realizes the snake also carries a vial of blusher mushroom poison, likely meant for Wren, and he destroys the snake before it can fulfill its purpose. 

With the countdown to rescue underway, Oak realizes he needs to escape immediately. Using his wits and charm, Oak tricks a guard named Straun and steals the key to his cell. After unlocking the door, he subdues the guard with the blusher mushroom poison and takes a cloak to conceal himself.

Oak navigates the halls of the Ice Needle Citadel, disguised in a damp but clean uniform he found in the laundry. His goal is twofold: to find a way to escape or, at the very least, to get close enough to Wren for a conversation. 

He makes his way through the Citadel, now crowded with Folk, seeking to gain favor with the new queen. He contemplates his complicated past and relationship with Wren. Although she is dangerous, Oak is drawn to her and unable to suppress his longing to see her again. He enters the Great Hall and finds Wren holding court. In contrast to the fearful girl he once knew, she appears regal and confident, dressed in black with a crown of ice. Oak is struck by her transformation but notes her thinner frame and feverish eyes.



During the audience, Wren is confronted by Bogdana, the storm hag, who demands the remains of Mab’s bones to restore her power. She insists that Wren owes her, as the hag made her from Mellith’s hearth. Oak watches as Wren deflects the hag’s demands with sharp authority, though it becomes clear she is hiding something. Mother Marrow then presents Wren with a magical white walnut that can conjure a stone cottage. The golden man with them, hidden under a cloak, steps forward and says Bogdana brought him to undo what she did, but Wren quickly cuts him off and abruptly leaves the hall. Oak follows her at a distance, waits until the guards leave her tower, then sneaks into her chambers. Inside, he finds Wren sleeping fitfully. Before he can do anything, Wren opens her eyes.

Oak is about to explain himself to Wren, but before he can, she uses the power of the bridle to command him to kneel. Despite her fury, Wren allows Oak to speak, and he apologizes, admitting he was wrong to deceive her. She remains skeptical of his intentions and taunts him with the possibility of forcing him to commit humiliating acts, evoking memories of the torment she endured under Lord Jarel and Lady Nore and their use of the bridle on her. Though fearful and humiliated, Oak endures her commands in silence as he realizes he underestimated her emotional scars.

They are interrupted when guards, including Straun, arrive. Wren chastises them for allowing Oak to escape and considers various punishments for him, including public flogging. Oak asks her if she is keeping him as a hostage, a lover to be punished, or a possession. Wren admits she hasn’t decided yet and orders him to return to his cell under closer guard. As Oak is led away, Wren uses the bridle to give him a final set of commands: He must not resist or trick the guards and remain in his cell until summoned.

The guards Valen, Straun, and Bran escort Oak through the Citadel. Valen, a former general who harbors resentment toward Madoc and Oak, manipulates Straun into joining his plan to interrogate Oak for information to save their reputations with Wren. Despite Oak’s attempts to reason with them, he is shoved into a room equipped for torture. When Bran is hesitant to act, Valen kills him with a crossbow bolt, leaving both Straun and Oak shaken.

Once restrained on a stone slab, Oak tries to regain his composure, using wit and bravado to mask his fear. Valen begins to press Oak for information about his supposed escape plan and potential collaboration with Jude. Oak leans into his practiced persona of a spoiled prince in an attempt to distract and disarm his captors. However, as Valen’s frustration with him grows, he resorts to physical torture by burning Oak’s skin with an iron blade. 

With his options limited, Oak uses his gancanagh powers of persuasion on Valen. The enchantment seems to work at first, but the general resists, and his fear turns to anger. When Oak’s magic falters, Valen brutally beats him and knocks him unconscious.

In a dream, Oak walks through a twilight forest filled with unseen creatures rustling in the shadows. Beside him is a red fox who speaks with the voice of his dead half-brother, Locke, who taunts Oak about his current predicament. Oak questions why Locke is there, to which the fox cryptically replies that it is out of amusement, and he will leave again when he is bored. As they walk, Oak is struck by the familiar scent of blood and weapon oil, reminiscent of Madoc’s house. 

Locke reminds Oak that they are both tricksters with a charm that can manipulate those around them. Oak, however, resists the comparison and insists that he is not like Locke, who treated life as a story and reveled in creating conflict for his own entertainment. Locke then brings up their mother, Liriope. He describes her as a beautiful, beloved woman whose life ended in betrayal and murder, just as his did. Locke warns Oak that he might meet a similar fate: killed by someone he loves. 

As the fox disappears into the forest again, its red coat blending with the autumn leaves, Oak is left haunted by the idea that he may share more in common with Locke and Liriope than he wants to admit.