The Stolen Heir

The kelpie introduces himself as Jack of the Lakes, and along the journey, Hyacinthe attempts to sow seeds of distrust in Wren. The group arrives at the Court of Moths, and the troll guarding the entry passage threatens to kill them. The troll recognizes Oak as the Elfhame Prince, and Oak requests Queen Annet’s permission to seek the Thistlewitch. Oak, Tiernan, and Wren are escorted to Queen Annet, but Hyacinthe is taken to the dungeons.

Before Hyacinthe is taken away, he warns Wren that Oak’s mother, Liriope, was a gancanagh, a love-talker or honey-mouth, who can compel others with words. Oak arranges for Wren to visit the royal seamstress, Habetrot, to be outfitted for Queen Annet’s revel. Habetrot is known for creating garments from the dreams of her clients, but Wren doesn’t know what she wants. However, Habetrot senses her desire for destruction. After she’s dressed, Oak collects Wren. He untangles and braids her hair, a moment of tenderness that makes her “feel as though this is a different kind of game, one where [she does] not understand the rules” (106). She looks in a mirror and sees herself as pretty.

Oak, Tiernan, and Wren are escorted to the revel. Wren asks Tiernan questions about Hyacinthe, and he suspects she judges him for his complicity in Hyacinthe’s imprisonment. He tells Wren that Hyacinthe’s father, a knight, died by suicide after failing Lady Liriope, Oak’s birth mother, when she was poisoned. Hyacinthe wanted to avenge his father and joined forces with Madoc during his coup, believing Prince Dain responsible. His loyalty became solidified when Madoc ensured Dain’s death. Though Tiernan tells the story to assuage his guilt, it doesn’t sway Wren’s opinion on the golden bridle.

Oak appeals to Queen Annet about the Thistlewitch, and she offers his group a marking to write on their shoes that will lead them to her. This conversation reveals to Wren that Madoc is being held captive by Lady Nore; she is angry at his deception. While staying the night, Oak admits he should have told Wren the truth and pleads for her help. She hesitantly agrees and they share a dance, during which she reminds Oak that he still owes her a favor from their childhood game. She suspects he might try to charm her and kisses him, thinking “the least [she] can do is make it cost him […] to prove to [herself]—to prove to [them] both—that his flirtation isn’t sincere” (122). After a moment of shock, he kisses Wren back. Affected by his charm more than ever, Wren ends their dance and slips away to find Hyacinthe.

Jack of the Lakes follows Wren, believing she plans to free Hyacinthe from prison. She hadn’t thought about freeing Hyacinthe, but decides she must play Jack’s game lest he alert the guards. She offers him her cherished fox figurine in exchange for his help.

The dungeons contain a merrow (merman), a human girl named Gwen, and Hyacinthe with his bridle removed—because Oak doesn’t want it falling into Queen Annet’s hands. Gwen reminds Wren of her unsister Bex, prompting her to free all three prisoners by solving their cells’ riddles; she also requests Gwen’s phone. In exchange for his freedom, Hyacinthe reveals that Lady Nore requested something in return for Madoc’s freedom, but he does not know what. Wren removes Hyacinthe’s curse—a supposedly impossible feat—in exchange for him helping Gwen and the merrow escape. Hyacinthe swears fealty to a reluctant Wren because she knows “those who pledge loyalty come to resent those oaths and wish for the destruction of the one who holds them” (140). He insists she order him to return to Lady Nore, so she might have an ally when she arrives, but Wren refuses, wanting him to enjoy his freedom.

When Wren returns to the revel, a drunk Oak is drawn into a fight with an ogre; he does not lift a hand to defend himself. Queen Annet’s knights interrupt the revel with news of the prisoners’ escape, as Jack confessed Wren is to blame. Oak feels betrayed by Wren.

Wren recalls games she played with Bex in childhood, such as pretending to be princesses. The former is delegated to being a passive princess who sleeps and cries, as Bex argues “that’s what princesses do” (150). Wren recalls a 13-year-old Oak visiting her in the woods, wanting to run away together. She tells him to return to Elfhame, as he is no longer her friend.

The guards take a resistant Wren to her bedroom instead of the dungeons. Alone, she uses the phone she requested from Gwen to call her unmother. The woman recognizes Wren’s voice, causing Wren to abruptly end the call. She’s then summoned to the throne room to be questioned by Queen Annet, with Oak and Tiernan present. She admits she freed Hyacinthe because she believes it’s wrong to lock him up, surprising Oak. Queen Annet demands Wren take Gwen’s place in her prison, but Oak objects. Queen Annet suggests a duel to decide Wren and Jack’s fate. Oak is pitted against Noglan, the same ogre who punched him several times at the revel. Oak fells Noglan, astonishing the crowd that assumed he could not fight. Queen Annet decides to give Wren a riddle to decide whether she lives or dies, which Wren answers correctly. After their release, Oak forgives Jack and releases him from his service, prompting Wren to wonder why he remains angry at her.