The Prisoner's Throne

The Prisoner’s Throne (2024) is a young adult fantasy novel by Holly Black, the sequel to The Stolen Heir (2023) and a spin-off of her prior Folk of the Air trilogy: The Cruel Prince (2018), The Wicked King (2019), and The Queen of Nothing (2019). The novel picks up where the previous title in the duology left off: with Prince Oak of Elfhame held captive in the Ice Needle Citadel by Wren, the former queen of the Court of Teeth. High King Cardan and High Queen Jude are determined to rescue him, which leaves Oak with a difficult choice: Will he attempt to regain Wren’s trust, or stay loyal to his kingdom? Either way, he’s running out of time, as a storm is coming to Elfhame.

Holly Black is the author of numerous middle-grade and young-adult fantasy novels, many of which are New York Times bestsellers. She is also a Nebula and Mythopoeic Award winner and has received a Newbery Honor.

This guide uses the 2024 eBook edition published by Little, Brown and Company.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of child abuse, animal death, graphic violence, sexual content, and death.

Plot Summary

Oak, the 17-year-old prince of Elfhame and heir to the throne, is imprisoned in the cold, isolated depths of the Ice Needle Citadel, wearing a magical golden bridle that compels his obedience. Days pass without word from Wren, the 18-year-old queen of the Court of Teeth and his captor after she thought he betrayed her. 

Oak steals a key from a guard and escapes his cell. Within the Citadel, Oak comes upon Wren holding court. He watches her deflect demands from Bogdana, the storm hag, and afterward follows her to her chambers. Though he tries to explain himself to her, a furious Wren commands him using the bridle and orders the guards to take him back to his cell. However, as Oak is escorted back, one of them manipulates the others into torturing Oak for information. Oak tries to distract them with charm and bravado, but the guard beats him unconscious.

In a dream, Oak walks through a forest alongside a talking red fox with the voice of his dead half-brother, Locke, who warns him that, like their mother, Liriope, he could be betrayed by someone he loves. When Oak awakens, he’s back in the prison. Hyacinthe, a guard from Madoc’s failed rebellion who now serves Wren, informs Oak that the queen has summoned him for dinner. They leave the dungeons, and Hyacinthe warns him that Wren’s ability to magically unmake people and things is draining her, but Bogdana is pressuring her to continue using it. He urges Oak to convince Wren to free him or escape to prevent war. At dinner, Oak attempts to reason with Wren, but she maintains her distrust of him.

With war looming between Wren and Elfhame, Oak persuades Hyacinthe to remove the bridle in exchange for promising to help avenge Liriope’s death. Now free, Oak crashes the negotiations with Elfhame’s emissaries and publicly declares his engagement to Wren. She plays along with his plan, agreeing to visit Elfhame to formalize the union if the army withdraws, and both groups leave by ship. On the second day of the journey, Wren proposes ending their engagement after she secures the former Court of Teeth. The following day, the ship is attacked by merrows and a sea monster, Sablecoil, sent by a rival power in the Undersea. Oak pretends to cooperate with the attackers but launches a surprise counterattack. Wren uses her power to unmake the sea monster, though it weakens her. Bogdana conjures a storm to carry the ship the rest of the way to Elfhame, and Oak comforts a weary Wren, who admits her fear of being unloved.

Upon their arrival in Elfhame, a crowd gathers to witness the party’s return, including the High King and Queen: Cardan and Oak’s sister, Jude. When Bogdana demands the wedding take place within three days, Oak deflects by requesting more time. Wren opts to stay in a conjured cottage that was given to her rather than the palace. Oak later sneaks out of the palace to see her. When he confesses his love for her, Wren reacts with distress and urges him again to end their engagement. Hurt and confused, Oak refuses. 

Oak arrives late at the feast being held in his and Wren’s honor. At the High Table, Wren destroys the golden bridle and removes a hidden curse from Jude. Before long, Bogdana arrives and demands the wedding take place immediately, but Jude delays again. Oak is also warned by the Ghost, a spy and his friend, that something is wrong, and he will tell him the next day. However, he also learns that the Ghost was the one who helped his father poison his mother years before. After the feast, Wren meets Oak in the gardens. She apologizes for imprisoning him, and the pair have sex. The moment is interrupted by Lady Elaine, Oak’s former lover whom he was manipulating into revealing a conspiracy against the throne. She is worried about continuing with the conspiracy, and Oak decides to let her walk away.

As he prepares for the hunt, Oak meets Jack of the Lakes, the kelpie bound to serve him, who offers to be his steed. The Court rides out, and Wren remains distant, accompanied by Bogdana. The Ghost arrives, offering Oak wine and requesting a private conversation to tell him what he’s learned. Oak follows, but soon realizes they have been dosed with blusher mushroom. Though Oak is immune, the Ghost is fatally poisoned, and Cardan uses his magic to attempt to preserve him within a tree. 

Suspicions fall on Wren, which only grow when Lady Elaine is found dead, also poisoned. Though Cardan orders her to be taken away for questioning, she escapes, prompting Jude to suspect Oak’s involvement. Before Oak can explain, Bogdana summons a storm, and in the chaos, a courtier named Randalin reveals himself as a traitor. He stabs Cardan and Oak, driven into a battle trance, and kills Randalin. He vows to find out what’s happening.

Along with Hyacinthe and Jack, Oak braves the storm to find Wren. When he does, he learns she was forced into the conspiracy because Bogdana is holding her mortal sister, Bex, hostage. Oak then tracks Bex to the cottage of Mother Marrow, another hag. Though Bex distrusts Oak at first, he convinces her that he is there to help her and her sister. Just as they prepare to leave, Bogdana arrives in a rage. Oak buys Jack, Hyacinthe, and Bex time to escape by offering to surrender in exchange for being taken to Wren. Bogdana agrees and drags him back to the royal camp, where Jude and Wren are preparing to fight. 

Oak says that he’s freed Bex, and though Bogdana tries to continue manipulating her, Wren stands down. In a rage, Bogdana attacks Oak with lightning. Wren intercepts it and absorbs the entirety of the storm, but collapses from the overload of power. Oak revives her by confessing his love and pleading for her to come back. She awakens and, after a period of recuperation, emerges restored with a pair of feathered wings. After reuniting with Bex, Wren leaves Elfhame to rebuild her life in the north. Jude and Cardan grant Oak permission to abdicate as heir, but request he wait until they finish with a diplomatic mission to the Undersea. Cardan later privately advises Oak to let his family support him more.

Determined to see Wren again, Oak journeys to her new obsidian castle in the north. There, he confesses his love to her once more, as they are the only two who truly understand one another. He asks her to marry him again, and she accepts.