The Wicked King

Jude goes to a meeting with the Living Council, a group of representatives from different courts. The council includes her foster father, Madoc. The group asks Jude about the rumors of Cardan shooting one of his lovers, but she deflects. They also tell her that the High King is bound to the land and what happens to him affects it.

She tries to warn them about Queen Orlagh’s plans, but they ignore her and move on to discussing the upcoming Hunter’s Moon revel. They say the Court of Termites will attend, to whom Jude owes a favor. As Jude leaves, Madoc catches up with her and they discuss her ambition. Madoc encourages her to reconsider her options.

Jude and the Bomb go through Cardan’s room searching for more traps and hiding places. Jude finds an assortment of crystals in a drawer; each one holds a memory. One shows her Cardan as a child, cruelly beating another child to impress his mother. The two of them talk about the Bomb’s feelings for the Roach, whose real name is Van. She tells Jude about how they met and how they came to work for the High King.

At a banquet, Nicasia approaches Jude demanding to know her secret power over Cardan. Jude asks about Cardan’s mother, and Nicasia tells her that his mother was only one of the King’s lovers from the lower courts.

Jude meets Tatterfell, an imp who has worked for Madoc since her childhood. Taryn is there with her in Jude’s room; she’s brought Jude her clothes and things from home. She and Tatterfell explain that Tatterfell’s debt to Madoc has been transferred to Jude’s service.

Jude becomes suspicious that Taryn wants something. Taryn confesses that she wants Jude to have Locke removed as Master of Revels so they can spend more time together. Jude considers and decides that doing so would jeopardize her secret, but she lies to her sister and tells her she will try.

Stories of Cardan’s cruelty and bacchanalia spread and infect the court. Jude meets Cardan and asks him to extend his vow to her, but he refuses. She then asks him to help protect Taryn from Locke.

Jude meets Val Moren, the mortal man who had her role of advisor to the previous king. He is much older than Jude and Taryn and speaks in riddles. Val performs a juggling display and tells Jude to “learn to juggle better than I did” (95).

At the Hunter’s Moon revel, Cardan takes Jude aside and tells her she should return to the palace. Instead, Jude seeks out the Court of Termites to try and repay her debt to them, but they refuse.

Locke then brings the party to attention by proclaiming they will crown a “Queen of Mirth,” a traditional game in which a mortal girl is enchanted and humiliated for the faeries’ entertainment. Jude is crowned with the ugly and smelly raiment; unlike previous Queens of Mirth, she is not enchanted and can see the truth.

Cardan and Jude dance together, and Jude feels her attraction growing. It occurs to her that perhaps Cardan, and not she, was the intended victim of Locke’s joke. As Jude leaves the party, she sees a group of selkies rising out of the water.