During one of the High Court meetings with the public a faerie named Grimsen comes to Cardan and asks to be a subject of the court as he was exiled from his homeland of Fairfold when his king, called the Alderking, was thrown into exile as well. He claims he only made trinkets for the king but since he was the kings subject he was placed into exile too. Knowing that he is a great smith who is said to be able to make any sort of weapon imaginable (he even made the blood crown which Cardan now wears when his loyalty was to Elfhame) Cardan agrees to allow him to become a part of the court if he swears his oath to them. Grimsen asks to be allowed to show his loyalty by his works rather than taking the oath since he is leery of doing so after his previous exile and Cardan agrees. Jude is uneasy but doesn't tell Cardan not to allow this since she knows they could use the skills of the smith in their kingdom.
Next up, a witch hag called Mother Marrow shows up and says she has a gift for Cardan, a piece of cloth that is so black it seems to absorb the light that she claims can resist weapons but still feel velvet soft on the skin. He is intrigued and starts to take the garment but Jude feels it is a trap since no gifts are given in the fae realm without something being expected in return so she cautions Cardan against taking it. He presses Mother Marrow for what she would have had him do and she admits that if he had placed a garment made of the fabric on himself that he would have been under a spell to only marry her or her daughter. It's then revealed that many women will be vying for the title of becoming his queen since they would be so powerful and that killing a spouse in the fae realm isn't really looked down upon, so there have been many instances of wives killing husbands or vice versa to take full power of thrones.
Locke comes up to Cardan at this point and asks to be made Master of Revels (which Jude didn't even know was a title and thinks it is probably something he's just now made up) and Cardan agrees since he is the reveling (partying) type anyways and his whole rule has just been one long revelry.
A letter is intercepted by the Court of Shadows that is from Prince Balekin to Cardan asking Cardan to meet with him at the Tower of Forgetting (a prison which got its name because people sent there are forgotten and have committed the highest treasons). Jude goes to the Tower to see why Balekin is trying to get Cardan to meet with him but he won't reveal his reasons to her and instead has one of the prison guards who is loyal to him named Vulciber hit her. As she leaves a prisoner grabs her through the bars and says that she knew Jude's mother Eva and knew of all Eva's secrets. Jude yanks herself away thinking the woman crazy and then disables Vulciber and takes him back to the Court of Shadows with her.
When they arrive there she tells him that she can either kill him or he can give up Balekin's secret as to why he wants to meet with Cardan and he tells her that although he doesn't know that, he still has info he can give her and tells her that Orlagh, queen of the Undersea, has been sending her messengers to Balekin in the tower and that although the guards can't decipher the messages it is a rumor that she is planning to use the information Balekin is giving her to ruin Cardan. Vulciber pledges to bring word to Jude the next time one of these meetings happen in exchange for his freedom.
Upon arriving back to the castle Jude is greeted at her room by Taryn and they make up, with Taryn saying she wants Jude to be at her wedding and that Madoc, Vivi, and Oak are all coming too. Jude grudgingly agrees even though she is still hurt by the deception of Taryn and Locke.
Later that evening Jude is woken by Roach and Ghost and they tell her she needs to come to Cardan's room. When she gets there he is drunk with other faeries and she kicks them out to figure out why he is so upset to have completely trashed his room. He reveals two bolts in his headboard on his bed and says that someone just tried to kill him. Since guards were standing watch outside the door Jude knows there must be a secret passage somewhere and they find it in the wardrobe in his room across from the bed. When she questions why he didn't tell his guards there was an assassination attempt on his life he tells her that he knows revealing the secret passages throughout the castle would be unwise for her and the Court of Shadows since those are the routes they always take to stay hidden.
Jude goes down the passage and sees a crossbow just a few feet inside the door and realizes the assassin must have shot from inside the passage into Cardan's room. When she follows the passage it dead ends into the former High King Eldred's room (which Cardan didn't take as his own when he came into power, choosing to stay in the smaller room usually reserved for lesser fae instead) and Nicasia is there on the bed crying.
When Jude accuses Nicasia of the assassination attempt she admits it but says it was not because she was put up to it by her mother but rather because she was going to Cardan's room to seduce him and was enraged when she found another woman in his bed so she was trying to kill the woman. Jude says that she won't tell Cardan what really happened if Nicasia tells her what her mother is up to and Nicasia says that Orlagh isn't planning to overthrow Cardan but wants him to marry Nicasia so that land and sea will be joined in one kingdom.
She says that if he won't do it Orlagh plans to break the peace treaty between the sea and land and will flood the kingdom and Balekin is the backup plan for Nicasia to marry to become ruler of the land if Cardan won't accept the offer of marriage. Jude knows she has to stop either option from happening since if Nicasia marries Cardan she will never be able to remove both of them as rulers to allow Oak to take his throne and become a good king and having Balekin as a ruler is unfathomable due to his previous treachery. Not only that, but if Nicasia became queen Jude has no doubt Orlagh would do as she did with the other rulers of the Undersea when she came to power and kill everyone who stood in her way (even Cardan) so that she would be ruler of both land and sea.
The next day Jude is summoned for a meeting with the Living Council which are a group that was formed by the former High King as advisors to the crown, and although they don't have full authority in all decisions they are a hard group to oppose (kind of like the Senate to our White House in the US).
There are six members of the Council: the Unseelie Minister (Mikkel), the Seelie Minister (Nihuar), Madoc the Grand General (yes, THAT Madoc), the Royal Astrologer (Baphen), the Minister of Keys (Randalin), and the Grand Fool (Fala). They have told her to meet with them to ask about the rumor that Cardan shot his consort the day before. Jude averts the question and the Council tells her that even though Cardan won't come to these meetings (the high king is supposed to be present but Cardan never shows up) she should tell him that his council is there to advise him on sensitive subjects such as this so that his rule isn't plagued by rumors. When they can see in her eyes that Jude has no intention of passing this along (since she knows she's the one in control anyways) they tell her that the high king is tied to the land and subjects, and that how his rule is made decides how the future is written.
They ask her if she has noticed the fact that now the colors are more vivid, smells sharper, and storms come in faster since Cardan's rule began, along with his subjects becoming tipsy when he drinks without them knowing why and that whenever his blood falls things grow. Uneasily, she realizes that this is true because she remembers seeing two white flowers on the bed where his blood was spilled the day before when he was shot at and the arrow grazed him.
The council tells her that since his every decision changes Elfhame they cannot afford carelessness on the part of the king. Jude then tries to tell them about Orlagh's plans and meetings with Balekin but they dismiss her.
A short time after, Jude arrives at her room to see Taryn already inside and she asks Taryn how she got a key. Taryn tells her she posed as her to ask for a new one because she wanted to bring Tatterfell (Madoc's former servant, now brought to clean up after Jude) and bring over Jude's old dresses and jewelry from Madoc's house. Jude is uneasy with Taryn being in her room when she's not there because Nicasia told her the day before that someone she loved has already betrayed her but wouldn't reveal more than that, so now Jude is paranoid about everyone since she knows Fae can't lie and doesn't know if Nicasia meant someone has betrayed her recently or if she's referring to something that happened ages ago to try to get under Jude's skin.
Taryn reveals that she is here for another reason and asks Jude to speak with Cardan about Locke becoming Master of Revels. She says that she doesn't mind Locke taking lovers but that him becoming Master of Revels means that not only will he be gone all the time and she will miss him but that his idea of revelry is different than other people and he wants to try to create conflict for the fae's amusement and she knows he'll get into trouble eventually for it. Jude knows this is true since the fae love a good row between groups and says that she'll talk to Cardan about it, but she is lying because she knows if she has Locke stripped of his title that Locke will know she has more power over Cardan that what she should and he will start trying to figure out what is going on and discover Cardan's one year service vow to Jude.
The Hunter's Moon celebration happens and members from different courts show up to mingle that evening. Jude sees that Dulcamara from the Court of Termites is there and goes up to her to see if she is present to finally call in the favor Jude bargained in book 1 (the court of Termites backed her during Cardan's coronation ceremony if she would vow to perform a favor they asked later on). Dulcamara tells her Lord Roiben can call for his favor anytime he wants, maybe he'll even ask for Dulcamara to become Jude's personal guard due to the rumors flying around the castle that the high king is unstable. Jude tries to deny such but Dulcamara cuts her off and leaves.
Jude sees just what Taryn was talking about with Locke when Locke puts her on the spot by saying that she (Jude) is now the Queen of Mirth for their revelry on this Hunter's Moon and that she should come up to accept her gown and crown. This is meant as an insult as the queen of mirth is usually a mortal girl who has been stolen from the human world for the day and glamoured to make her think she is getting a beautiful dress and a real crown when in reality it's made out of sticks, twigs, and smelly mushrooms. He and everyone else knows that the glamour doesn't work on Jude since she's the seneschal (and due to Dain's geas which she still has that no one knows about) and so it's a double insult since she is expected to perform for them knowing she is dressed in trash. She goes along with it since she knows she has no other choice.
Shortly after, Orlagh sends some of her representatives from the Undersea to the party to give Cardan the message about marrying Nicasia. They give it as a riddle/poem that says:
The Sea needs a bridegroom, the Land needs a bride.
Cleave together lest you face the rising tide.
Spurn the Sea once, we will have your blood.
Spurn the Sea twice, we will have your clay.
Spurn the sea thrice, your crown will away.
Cardan treats the announcement nonchalantly and tells the representatives to join in on the party, but afterwards he tells Jude to have the Council meet him so they can discuss. She knows he must be frightened to be requesting the Council's advice. Jude also sends members of the court of shadows to hunt for Nicasia to see where she has gone since she wasn't at the party when the announcement was made and she wants to know what she's up to.
Before the meeting begins Jude finds a note in her room from Madoc asking her to meet with him first. She goes and he tries to talk her into betraying Cardan because Orlagh is so powerful that he fears she will destroy everything they know. He says that the Sea used to have several rulers but she slaughtered them so that she could become the one ruler of all and he knows that if Nicasia is put on the throne that Orlagh will do the same on Land too. Their meeting is interrupted by Randalin coming in but Madoc begs Jude not to let an alliance between land and Sea happen and she promises that she won't (since it would interfere with her plans of getting Oak on the throne anway, not because Madoc asked).
During the Council meeting Cardan says he wants them to bring Nicasia to him. Jude asks the Ghost where Nicasia is and she tells Jude that she's been put in Jude's room. Jude goes to fetch her and when she brings her back Cardan tells Nicasia that he will not marry her and that if Orlagh wishes to threaten him again she will find herself as his prisoner rather than his bride. He also reveals that the line of the poem that said "spurn the sea once we will have your blood" is probably referring to Oak since Oak would be the one to have to crown Balekin king if Cardan refuses since it has to be royal blood doing the crowning.
Jude comes up with a plan to use the old woman from the prison to leak misleading info to Balekin as to Oak's whereabouts. When she tells Bomb of the woman's description and location in the prison so that someone can go talk to her to feed her the info (Jude would be too recognizable) Bomb says that from the description it can only be Cardan's mother who has been locked away in the tower of forgetting, named Lady Asha. Jude then sends for her to be brought to the castle instead so she can speak with her now that they know exactly who she is.
When Jude meets with her she uses the pretense of wanting to know more about her mother Eva but Asha doesn't provide any useful information other than that when Eva was pregnant with Vivi a witch told Eva her child was destined to be a greater weapon than any her husband could ever forge (meaning Jude). Jude tells Asha that's not enough and that if she hears of anything else which would be of enough value to earn her freedom from the tower to send word.
Madoc tells Jude that they should use Oak as bait for Orlagh during Taryn's wedding. Jude doesn't want to but since she doesn't have a better plan she agrees and they begin developing their plan. They will set up three traps during the wedding; a decoy Oak lookalike for when their carriage first arrives, a trap near the sea that they will have Oak stand near, and a trap in the hedge maze where treefolk are disguised as the hedges to attack whoever tries to take Oak.
Jude sends word to Asha that her brother is coming to the wedding and that she (Asha) will be able to escape on the boat with Oak to go back to the mortal world in exchange for more information about Jude's parents. This is a trap as she's only giving this info so that Asha will pass it along to Balekin so that Balekin and Orlagh will know Oak is at the wedding.
Jude goes to Cardan and tells him he needs to seduce Nicasia to get info from her about when Orlagh is planning to attack. He gets angry and asks her how he's supposed to seduce her and proceeds to show Jude his seduction techniques and they end up together that night. When Cardan comes to Jude later on to tell her his seduction to Nicasia worked and he has the info that Orlagh will in fact attack during the wedding he asks her angrily if this is what she wanted and if he is now out of her system and she says yes and asks the same of him and he says yes too but they're both lying to each other and themselves.
Jude sneaks into Locke's house one night soon after and holds a knife to his throat, asking if he thought he would really get away with making her the queen of mirth and trying to make her look bad in front of the court. She tells him that if he tries to undermine her again she will kill him and that if he hurts Taryn or is unfaithful to her that Jude won't even have to be the one to kill him because Madoc will.
Jude goes to the human realm to pick up Vivi, Oak, and Vivi's girlfriend Heather for the wedding. Vivi still hasn't told Heather that she and Oak are fae so she reveals it to Heather when they start to leave by using her magic to summon horses and drop her and Oak's glamour, revealing her cat eyes and Oak's horns. Heather is stunned but willing to accept it so she agrees to still go with them to the wedding.
Jude goes to Grimsen to ask him to make a gift for Taryn for her to give as a wedding present. Grimsen makes some earrings that are a crescent moon and a star and tells her that they are enchanted to make whoever wears them more beautiful and to keep their husband faithful. He thinks Jude will be too prideful to accept them but she agrees and as payment gives him one of her tears.
She heads back to Madoc's house to meet up with Vivi, Taryn, and Heather so they can be together as a family before the wedding the next day and while on her way there she is attacked by a group of men on horseback in armor. She manages to stab one of them and hurt a few others and they retreat. When she gets to the house she goes into the bathroom to clean herself up privately without telling anyone (she took an arrow in the leg) and Vivi comes in and helps her once she sees what happened. Jude tells Vivi not to tell anyone because she doesn't want to ruin Taryn's day (and also because she thinks Madoc might have been the one to send the people after her since he knew that she would be on her way there alone). Jude also realizes she lost the earrings and everything else she was bringing with her during the battle so Oriana gives her a dress to use the next day since she saw that Jude didn't bring any luggage.
When they get to the wedding the first trap for Orlagh using the Oak body double is ignored so Jude goes into the castle with the real Oak to send him to the wedding. Cardan comes in and Jude commands him not to be alone for any of the rest of the day and night. He is caught off guard since this is the first time she's commanded him to do something in a while and so furiously tells her that he will do what she tells him since he doesn't have a choice. When she leaves the room Madoc is outside and informs her that he heard everything and now knows how she became one of the most powerful people in the kingdom and that she'd better watch her back since he knows who his true competition for the throne is now (not in those exact words but that's the gist of it).
Jude goes outside to the hedge maze for the wedding and as she gets lost in the maze she hears crying. She follows the sound and it's Heather, who has been turned into a cat person with long fuzzy ears and cat fur starting to grow all over her body. Jude helps her back to the rest of the wedding goers and asks her who did this to her and Heather points at a fae with cat ears.
Jude goes over to the boy and asks why he did it and he said that he thought Heather would like it since she was telling him how she admired his ears earlier. Jude demands he reverse the curse before she kills him and he does but Heather is hysterical saying she wants to leave, so Vivi uses glamour to erase the last half hour from her memory. Jude tells Vivi she shouldn't have done that because Heather needs to remember how cruel the fae can be to prepare herself and adapt to it because otherwise she'll always be unprepared but Vivi lets this advice roll off her like it's nothing.
Ghost and Vulciber show up and tell Jude that Orlagh has made her move. Jude sees that Oak is safe at the wedding party and Ghost informs her that Orlagh broke into the Tower of Forgetting and took Balekin. Jude wants to congratulate her sister before she leaves but when she scans the crowd and finds Taryn she sees that Taryn is wearing the earrings that Jude never got to give her and Locke is limping so Jude knows now that Locke is the one who attacked her. She doesn't know if Taryn is involved but she doesn't have time to find out right now so she goes with Ghost and Vulciber.
When they get to the Tower of Forgetting Jude sees that Asha is still in her cell so she breaks the cell open and tells her to leave and that she won't hold her to any bargains but she needs to leave NOW. When Asha asks her why she's doing it Jude tells her it's for Cardan (since she doesn't know if Cardan knows where his mother is or if he wants anything to do with her after she treated him so badly as a child, but Jude doesn't think Cardan would want her to die at the tower by Orlagh's hand either).
Jude goes to Balekin's cell and sees that it's empty and when she turns around Ghost and Vulciber are standing there with a bunch of Orlagh's guards and Jude realizes the Ghost isn't tied up and knows she's been betrayed. She is hit in the head and goes unconscious.
When she wakes she is underwater (with a spell placed on her that's allowing her to breathe underwater) and Nicasia is in front of her. She tortures Jude until Jude passes back out and when she wakes again a merman takes her to Orlagh. Balekin is there also.
Jude comes up with a plan to use the old woman from the prison to leak misleading info to Balekin as to Oak's whereabouts. When she tells Bomb of the woman's description and location in the prison so that someone can go talk to her to feed her the info (Jude would be too recognizable) Bomb says that from the description it can only be Cardan's mother who has been locked away in the tower of forgetting, named Lady Asha. Jude then sends for her to be brought to the castle instead so she can speak with her now that they know exactly who she is.
When Jude meets with her she uses the pretense of wanting to know more about her mother Eva but Asha doesn't provide any useful information other than that when Eva was pregnant with Vivi a witch told Eva her child was destined to be a greater weapon than any her husband could ever forge (meaning Jude). Jude tells Asha that's not enough and that if she hears of anything else which would be of enough value to earn her freedom from the tower to send word.
Madoc tells Jude that they should use Oak as bait for Orlagh during Taryn's wedding. Jude doesn't want to but since she doesn't have a better plan she agrees and they begin developing their plan. They will set up three traps during the wedding; a decoy Oak lookalike for when their carriage first arrives, a trap near the sea that they will have Oak stand near, and a trap in the hedge maze where treefolk are disguised as the hedges to attack whoever tries to take Oak.
Jude sends word to Asha that her brother is coming to the wedding and that she (Asha) will be able to escape on the boat with Oak to go back to the mortal world in exchange for more information about Jude's parents. This is a trap as she's only giving this info so that Asha will pass it along to Balekin so that Balekin and Orlagh will know Oak is at the wedding.
Jude goes to Cardan and tells him he needs to seduce Nicasia to get info from her about when Orlagh is planning to attack. He gets angry and asks her how he's supposed to seduce her and proceeds to show Jude his seduction techniques and they end up together that night. When Cardan comes to Jude later on to tell her his seduction to Nicasia worked and he has the info that Orlagh will in fact attack during the wedding he asks her angrily if this is what she wanted and if he is now out of her system and she says yes and asks the same of him and he says yes too but they're both lying to each other and themselves.
Jude sneaks into Locke's house one night soon after and holds a knife to his throat, asking if he thought he would really get away with making her the queen of mirth and trying to make her look bad in front of the court. She tells him that if he tries to undermine her again she will kill him and that if he hurts Taryn or is unfaithful to her that Jude won't even have to be the one to kill him because Madoc will.
Jude goes to the human realm to pick up Vivi, Oak, and Vivi's girlfriend Heather for the wedding. Vivi still hasn't told Heather that she and Oak are fae so she reveals it to Heather when they start to leave by using her magic to summon horses and drop her and Oak's glamour, revealing her cat eyes and Oak's horns. Heather is stunned but willing to accept it so she agrees to still go with them to the wedding.
Jude goes to Grimsen to ask him to make a gift for Taryn for her to give as a wedding present. Grimsen makes some earrings that are a crescent moon and a star and tells her that they are enchanted to make whoever wears them more beautiful and to keep their husband faithful. He thinks Jude will be too prideful to accept them but she agrees and as payment gives him one of her tears.
She heads back to Madoc's house to meet up with Vivi, Taryn, and Heather so they can be together as a family before the wedding the next day and while on her way there she is attacked by a group of men on horseback in armor. She manages to stab one of them and hurt a few others and they retreat. When she gets to the house she goes into the bathroom to clean herself up privately without telling anyone (she took an arrow in the leg) and Vivi comes in and helps her once she sees what happened. Jude tells Vivi not to tell anyone because she doesn't want to ruin Taryn's day (and also because she thinks Madoc might have been the one to send the people after her since he knew that she would be on her way there alone). Jude also realizes she lost the earrings and everything else she was bringing with her during the battle so Oriana gives her a dress to use the next day since she saw that Jude didn't bring any luggage.
When they get to the wedding the first trap for Orlagh using the Oak body double is ignored so Jude goes into the castle with the real Oak to send him to the wedding. Cardan comes in and Jude commands him not to be alone for any of the rest of the day and night. He is caught off guard since this is the first time she's commanded him to do something in a while and so furiously tells her that he will do what she tells him since he doesn't have a choice. When she leaves the room Madoc is outside and informs her that he heard everything and now knows how she became one of the most powerful people in the kingdom and that she'd better watch her back since he knows who his true competition for the throne is now (not in those exact words but that's the gist of it).
Jude goes outside to the hedge maze for the wedding and as she gets lost in the maze she hears crying. She follows the sound and it's Heather, who has been turned into a cat person with long fuzzy ears and cat fur starting to grow all over her body. Jude helps her back to the rest of the wedding goers and asks her who did this to her and Heather points at a fae with cat ears.
Jude goes over to the boy and asks why he did it and he said that he thought Heather would like it since she was telling him how she admired his ears earlier. Jude demands he reverse the curse before she kills him and he does but Heather is hysterical saying she wants to leave, so Vivi uses glamour to erase the last half hour from her memory. Jude tells Vivi she shouldn't have done that because Heather needs to remember how cruel the fae can be to prepare herself and adapt to it because otherwise she'll always be unprepared but Vivi lets this advice roll off her like it's nothing.
Ghost and Vulciber show up and tell Jude that Orlagh has made her move. Jude sees that Oak is safe at the wedding party and Ghost informs her that Orlagh broke into the Tower of Forgetting and took Balekin. Jude wants to congratulate her sister before she leaves but when she scans the crowd and finds Taryn she sees that Taryn is wearing the earrings that Jude never got to give her and Locke is limping so Jude knows now that Locke is the one who attacked her. She doesn't know if Taryn is involved but she doesn't have time to find out right now so she goes with Ghost and Vulciber.
When they get to the Tower of Forgetting Jude sees that Asha is still in her cell so she breaks the cell open and tells her to leave and that she won't hold her to any bargains but she needs to leave NOW. When Asha asks her why she's doing it Jude tells her it's for Cardan (since she doesn't know if Cardan knows where his mother is or if he wants anything to do with her after she treated him so badly as a child, but Jude doesn't think Cardan would want her to die at the tower by Orlagh's hand either).
Jude goes to Balekin's cell and sees that it's empty and when she turns around Ghost and Vulciber are standing there with a bunch of Orlagh's guards and Jude realizes the Ghost isn't tied up and knows she's been betrayed. She is hit in the head and goes unconscious.
When she wakes she is underwater (with a spell placed on her that's allowing her to breathe underwater) and Nicasia is in front of her. She tortures Jude until Jude passes back out and when she wakes again a merman takes her to Orlagh. Balekin is there also.
Orlagh glamours her and tells her that Jude will do whatever they say and will go back to the castle and kill Cardan and bring her Oak to kill. Orlagh doesn't realize that Jude can't be glamoured and Jude goes along with it to figure out the Undersea's plans. At dinner, Orlagh and Nicasia are talking and reveal that Grimsen is working for them and is planning to make a new crown that won't require Eldren's bloodline to crown another from the bloodline so that Balekin can still be crowned king even if Cardan and Oak are dead.
They put Jude in a cage and torture her for a month by starving her, giving her only enough to survive on, and having their fun by "glamouring" her to believe that she is sleeping in the finest rooms and has the best foods. She tries to go along with it but almost breaks because she is so faint from hunger but knows if they discover she isn't glamoured they will probably kill her and find another way to put their plan into motion.
They finally bring her back to the surface and Jude is taken to Madoc's house by one of his guards. Dulcamera comes to Madoc's estate and tells Jude that her favor is due now. She says Orlagh's price for setting Jude free was that Balekin and Orlagh be allowed to attack the Court of Termites and that the Termites couldn't be allowed to fight back and Cardan agreed so now they want Balekin dead. Jude tries to tell Dulcamera that this would bring about all out war since Balekin is allied to Orlagh now and Dulcamera tells her to bring war then.
Jude sneaks out of Madoc's to try to go to the castle to warn Cardan of what is happening and the guards at the castle tell her that Madoc has ordered she not be allowed to enter. Jude thinks this is because he doesn't want her to be able to command Cardan anymore so he has to keep her away from him so that Madoc can be the one to take her place and whisper his advice to Cardan instead and become the king's new seneschal.
Jude tries to use the Court of Shadows entrance to get in but sees that is has been bombed (by Ghost when he betrayed the Court, he has now disappeared). Unsure of what else to try Jude goes to Balekin at his home at Hollow Hall where he's now living and tells him while pretending she's still glamoured that they won't let her into the castle. He tells her a masquerade is happening the next day and that he will be able to get her in then to kill Cardan.
Jude hides from Balekin and sleeps at Hollow Hall since she knows she can't go back to Madoc's since he has it out for her.
The next morning she remembers the old room Cardan was using that leads to his room at the castle and so she decides to break in there to go see him. She scales the mountain and manages to get inside and he is sleeping. She wakes him and tells him of everyone's plans. He reveals to her that when she was gone he imagined her beside him offering him advice all the time when he would make a decision. She is shocked to hear him reveal this to her as she still thought he hated her even after what they had done together.
The Bomb and Roach show up and tell Cardan that they tailed Jude and she's been sent there to kill him. She reveals that the glamour Balekin and Orlagh tried to use doesn't work on her and to prove it she tells Cardan to try to glamour her. When it doesn't work they believe her and they begin planning their next move.
The next day Jude goes to the local market to buy a dress to take back to Hollow Hall for her meeting with Balekin since she knows she can't go to Madoc's to get clothes nor reveal that she's been at the castle by bringing one of her dresses she keeps there. The hag witch Mother Marrow is there and offers Jude a walnut with a dress inside in exchange for the pearl earrings she's still wearing from when the Undersea brought her back to land.
Jude goes to Balekin's and they proceed to the masquerade, which Cardan has told her is being thrown in the Court of Termites honor so that Cardan can speak with Lord Roiben about what has happened to try to make peace with their court. Balekin gives Jude a vial of poison to kill Cardan with. She puts it in her pocket along with one of her knives.
When they arrive to the masquerade Jude sees Locke and confronts him about trying to kill her. He tells her he was only trying to scare her the way she scared him before and Jude promises to make him pay.
Cardan comes into the room drunk and Lord Roiben tells Cardan that he wishes vengeance for what has happened to his people and wants Prince Balekin dead. Cardan denies him and so Roiben looks to Jude since he told her that if he couldn't persuade Cardan it would be her duty to kill Roiben for him.
Jude goes to Cardan and he kisses her in front of everyone since he is drunk and doesn't care who sees, and she tastes poison on his lips (which she knows the taste of since she had been gradually poisoning herself over the last few months to try to build up a tolerance to it in case someone should try to poison her). She says she's taking him to his room and calls for the Bomb since she knows about antidotes, but not before Balekin tries to oust Jude in front of everyone saying that she has poisoned Cardan since she's the only one not bound by a pledge to the crown (even though his alliance is to the sea now so technically he isn't bound to the crown anymore either). He tells her to turn out her pockets knowing the poison he gave her is inside them. It's at this time she reveals she isn't under a glamour and she denies his request saying that Cardan is only drunk and she's taking him to lie down, which Cardan agrees to.
A message arrives for Jude from Balekin after she gets Cardan to his room saying that Balekin has the antidote and if she'll bring him Cardan's crown he will give it to her. Jude thinks that something must have gone wrong with Grimsen making a crown for Balekin if he's willing to try to trade for the blood crown. She takes the Bomb with her to meet him and tells Balekin that if he truly has an antidote he won't mind letting her take the poison he sent with her and then testing the antidote to make sure it's legitimate. He agrees. When Jude takes the poison (which she had dumped out and is really just water now) and then the antidote she spits the antidote back into the bottle that had the water in it and gives it to the Bomb who rushes to give it to Cardan. Realizing he's been duped Balekin duels Jude and Jude kills him.
When Jude returns to Cardan he mentions that she's changed back into her dress and Jude realizes Taryn has impersonated her while she's been gone. She asks Cardan what happened and he tells her Jude (Taryn) came to his room and said that she had a plan but Madoc needed to be released from his vow to Cardan along with half the king's army in order to be able to implement it and Cardan agreed. Jude asks why he would do this since Taryn couldn't actually command him to do something like that since she didn't have the power and he tells her that he wanted to prove to Jude that she could trust him and that he trusts her decisions without him having to be commanded.
Cardan asks Jude to release him from his vow to be under her service for a year and a day and when she asks why she would do that he tells her that he will marry her and make her queen of Faerie so that she'll have her own power, and then he will be a true High King and will be able to make his own decisions too. He tells her they won't have to rule for long anyways since once Oak comes of age they will both gladly hand over their rule to him. She agrees because she wants to trust him and even if she didn't want to admit it she does love him.
The next morning a knight comes to their room and says that Orlagh is demanding an audience with them regarding the death of Balekin. They meet with her and it doesn't go well of course so she threatens war. Cardan tells her that he wouldn't advise that and proceeds to use his power which is tied to the land (and that he's actually able to use now that Jude has released him) to create a fourth island in the middle of the sea. He tells Orlagh that if she wants to fight him he will eliminate the sea completely and he then makes a tree start growing around Nicasia. He gives Orlagh the option of swearing an alliance to him such as she swore to his father or losing her daughter and going to war with the land. Cardan then says Nicasia will also stay on land and become the new ambassador for the sea now that Balekin is dead.
Orlagh agrees to the alliance but says she wants Jude since she knows Jude killed Balekin. Cardan turns to Jude and asks her if she killed him (he already knows it was her since the knight that came into their room that morning revealed that Balekin had died in a duel) and Jude doesn't deny it. Cardan turns to Orlagh and tells her that Jude is still a ward of the land and he will be the one to dole out the punishment and he bans Jude from the faerie kingdom until a time that she has been pardoned. Jude tries to say that she is now queen of Faerie and he can't do that but since their vows were sworn only hours before it hasn't been made public so no one believes her and when she tries to get Cardan to tell them she is queen since he can't lie he just smiles at her instead, not denying it but making it seem like it's a big joke so that no one will believe her either.
During the epilogue Jude is now living with Vivi and Oak in the mortal realm (Heather moved out when Vivi finally admitted to her that she had glamoured her) and Jude is plotting on how to get back into Faerie to secure the throne for Oak. She knows her best bet is to find Grimsen to have him forge a crown for Oak but doesn't know where to begin looking for him or how she'll get back into Faerie to do so. Vivi tells her she could always team up with Madoc and even though Jude hates him she also weighs this option since she now hates Cardan more.
They put Jude in a cage and torture her for a month by starving her, giving her only enough to survive on, and having their fun by "glamouring" her to believe that she is sleeping in the finest rooms and has the best foods. She tries to go along with it but almost breaks because she is so faint from hunger but knows if they discover she isn't glamoured they will probably kill her and find another way to put their plan into motion.
They finally bring her back to the surface and Jude is taken to Madoc's house by one of his guards. Dulcamera comes to Madoc's estate and tells Jude that her favor is due now. She says Orlagh's price for setting Jude free was that Balekin and Orlagh be allowed to attack the Court of Termites and that the Termites couldn't be allowed to fight back and Cardan agreed so now they want Balekin dead. Jude tries to tell Dulcamera that this would bring about all out war since Balekin is allied to Orlagh now and Dulcamera tells her to bring war then.
Jude sneaks out of Madoc's to try to go to the castle to warn Cardan of what is happening and the guards at the castle tell her that Madoc has ordered she not be allowed to enter. Jude thinks this is because he doesn't want her to be able to command Cardan anymore so he has to keep her away from him so that Madoc can be the one to take her place and whisper his advice to Cardan instead and become the king's new seneschal.
Jude tries to use the Court of Shadows entrance to get in but sees that is has been bombed (by Ghost when he betrayed the Court, he has now disappeared). Unsure of what else to try Jude goes to Balekin at his home at Hollow Hall where he's now living and tells him while pretending she's still glamoured that they won't let her into the castle. He tells her a masquerade is happening the next day and that he will be able to get her in then to kill Cardan.
Jude hides from Balekin and sleeps at Hollow Hall since she knows she can't go back to Madoc's since he has it out for her.
The next morning she remembers the old room Cardan was using that leads to his room at the castle and so she decides to break in there to go see him. She scales the mountain and manages to get inside and he is sleeping. She wakes him and tells him of everyone's plans. He reveals to her that when she was gone he imagined her beside him offering him advice all the time when he would make a decision. She is shocked to hear him reveal this to her as she still thought he hated her even after what they had done together.
The Bomb and Roach show up and tell Cardan that they tailed Jude and she's been sent there to kill him. She reveals that the glamour Balekin and Orlagh tried to use doesn't work on her and to prove it she tells Cardan to try to glamour her. When it doesn't work they believe her and they begin planning their next move.
The next day Jude goes to the local market to buy a dress to take back to Hollow Hall for her meeting with Balekin since she knows she can't go to Madoc's to get clothes nor reveal that she's been at the castle by bringing one of her dresses she keeps there. The hag witch Mother Marrow is there and offers Jude a walnut with a dress inside in exchange for the pearl earrings she's still wearing from when the Undersea brought her back to land.
Jude goes to Balekin's and they proceed to the masquerade, which Cardan has told her is being thrown in the Court of Termites honor so that Cardan can speak with Lord Roiben about what has happened to try to make peace with their court. Balekin gives Jude a vial of poison to kill Cardan with. She puts it in her pocket along with one of her knives.
When they arrive to the masquerade Jude sees Locke and confronts him about trying to kill her. He tells her he was only trying to scare her the way she scared him before and Jude promises to make him pay.
Cardan comes into the room drunk and Lord Roiben tells Cardan that he wishes vengeance for what has happened to his people and wants Prince Balekin dead. Cardan denies him and so Roiben looks to Jude since he told her that if he couldn't persuade Cardan it would be her duty to kill Roiben for him.
Jude goes to Cardan and he kisses her in front of everyone since he is drunk and doesn't care who sees, and she tastes poison on his lips (which she knows the taste of since she had been gradually poisoning herself over the last few months to try to build up a tolerance to it in case someone should try to poison her). She says she's taking him to his room and calls for the Bomb since she knows about antidotes, but not before Balekin tries to oust Jude in front of everyone saying that she has poisoned Cardan since she's the only one not bound by a pledge to the crown (even though his alliance is to the sea now so technically he isn't bound to the crown anymore either). He tells her to turn out her pockets knowing the poison he gave her is inside them. It's at this time she reveals she isn't under a glamour and she denies his request saying that Cardan is only drunk and she's taking him to lie down, which Cardan agrees to.
A message arrives for Jude from Balekin after she gets Cardan to his room saying that Balekin has the antidote and if she'll bring him Cardan's crown he will give it to her. Jude thinks that something must have gone wrong with Grimsen making a crown for Balekin if he's willing to try to trade for the blood crown. She takes the Bomb with her to meet him and tells Balekin that if he truly has an antidote he won't mind letting her take the poison he sent with her and then testing the antidote to make sure it's legitimate. He agrees. When Jude takes the poison (which she had dumped out and is really just water now) and then the antidote she spits the antidote back into the bottle that had the water in it and gives it to the Bomb who rushes to give it to Cardan. Realizing he's been duped Balekin duels Jude and Jude kills him.
When Jude returns to Cardan he mentions that she's changed back into her dress and Jude realizes Taryn has impersonated her while she's been gone. She asks Cardan what happened and he tells her Jude (Taryn) came to his room and said that she had a plan but Madoc needed to be released from his vow to Cardan along with half the king's army in order to be able to implement it and Cardan agreed. Jude asks why he would do this since Taryn couldn't actually command him to do something like that since she didn't have the power and he tells her that he wanted to prove to Jude that she could trust him and that he trusts her decisions without him having to be commanded.
Cardan asks Jude to release him from his vow to be under her service for a year and a day and when she asks why she would do that he tells her that he will marry her and make her queen of Faerie so that she'll have her own power, and then he will be a true High King and will be able to make his own decisions too. He tells her they won't have to rule for long anyways since once Oak comes of age they will both gladly hand over their rule to him. She agrees because she wants to trust him and even if she didn't want to admit it she does love him.
The next morning a knight comes to their room and says that Orlagh is demanding an audience with them regarding the death of Balekin. They meet with her and it doesn't go well of course so she threatens war. Cardan tells her that he wouldn't advise that and proceeds to use his power which is tied to the land (and that he's actually able to use now that Jude has released him) to create a fourth island in the middle of the sea. He tells Orlagh that if she wants to fight him he will eliminate the sea completely and he then makes a tree start growing around Nicasia. He gives Orlagh the option of swearing an alliance to him such as she swore to his father or losing her daughter and going to war with the land. Cardan then says Nicasia will also stay on land and become the new ambassador for the sea now that Balekin is dead.
Orlagh agrees to the alliance but says she wants Jude since she knows Jude killed Balekin. Cardan turns to Jude and asks her if she killed him (he already knows it was her since the knight that came into their room that morning revealed that Balekin had died in a duel) and Jude doesn't deny it. Cardan turns to Orlagh and tells her that Jude is still a ward of the land and he will be the one to dole out the punishment and he bans Jude from the faerie kingdom until a time that she has been pardoned. Jude tries to say that she is now queen of Faerie and he can't do that but since their vows were sworn only hours before it hasn't been made public so no one believes her and when she tries to get Cardan to tell them she is queen since he can't lie he just smiles at her instead, not denying it but making it seem like it's a big joke so that no one will believe her either.
During the epilogue Jude is now living with Vivi and Oak in the mortal realm (Heather moved out when Vivi finally admitted to her that she had glamoured her) and Jude is plotting on how to get back into Faerie to secure the throne for Oak. She knows her best bet is to find Grimsen to have him forge a crown for Oak but doesn't know where to begin looking for him or how she'll get back into Faerie to do so. Vivi tells her she could always team up with Madoc and even though Jude hates him she also weighs this option since she now hates Cardan more.
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