The Wicked King

“I, who have had little power in my life, must be on guard against that feeling. Power goes to my head too quickly, like faerie wine.”

Jude’s biggest weakness is her ambition and her craving for power. Her current position represents a complete reversal from her childhood growing up as a mortal in faerie, and the addiction is every bit as powerful as the enchantments she is immune against. While Jude is on some level aware of her weakness, she is not yet able to rise above it.

“The last time I saw my little brother, he was sitting at the table in Vivi’s apartment, learning multiplication as though it were a riddle game. He was eating string cheese. He was laughing.”

Oak is experiencing a reversal of Jude and Taryn’s childhood. Instead of being taken from the mortal world to Faerie and living a precarious life of danger and court politics, he’s been taken out of Faerie and is growing up in the mortal world. He is beginning to carve out a place for himself in this life, and how, though he may not be aware of it, he is discovering another kind of beauty in simple pleasures.

“Locke takes longer to get up. He smiles at me as he goes, an insinuating smile that I can’t believe I ever found charming. He looks at me as though we share secrets, although we don’t. We don’t share anything.”

Jude’s relationship with Locke is tangled and complex, passing through friendship, romance, enmity, jealousy, and acceptance. This passage highlights Jude’s anger for Locke and the irony that they share large roles in Taryn’s life, with Locke as Taryn’s future husband and Jude as Taryn’s twin.

“I take a step closer and notice a few drops of blood on one of the disarranged pillows. There are a few scattered white flowers, too, seeming to grow out of the fabric.”

Cardan’s true power begins to become evident in Jude’s observations. This moment is remembered and referenced later as his powers grow. At this moment, Cardan is still under Jude’s control and his effects are limited. Jude’s descriptions add suspense to the narrative as it becomes clear that Cardan’s power is strong, despite Jude’s hold over him.

“Valerian’s body is buried on Madoc’s estate, beside the stables, and if it was unearthed, I would have heard about it before now. She’s guessing. And so what if I did, anyway? I am at the right hand of the High King of Faerie. He can pardon my every crime.”

Jude’s hypocrisy is demonstrated as she disdains Nicasia’s actions but excuses her own. Jude’s power is beginning to go to her head and make her feel as though her actions are more justified than others, showing that she is becoming more a part of Faerie than she would like to admit. This line also foreshadows her defeat at the end of the novel.

“Standing in front of them is always intimidating, and Madoc’s presence makes it worse. He makes me feel like a child, overeager to say or do something clever. A part of me wants nothing more than to prove I am more than what they suppose me to be—the weak and silly appointee of a weak and silly king.”

Like many relationships in the novel, the one between Jude and Madoc is complicated. Although Jude wants independence from Madoc, she also craves his approval as the only father she has ever known. Her disgust at the feelings sparked by her inner child illustrate the inner conflict Madoc inspires and provides context to Jude’s motivations.

“When he becomes drunk, his subjects become tipsy without knowing why. When his blood falls, things grow. Why, High Queen Mab called Insmire, Insmoor, and Insweal from the sea. All the isles of Elfhame, formed in a single hour.”

This quotation foreshadows the ending to the novel. While the passage takes on a mythical quality, it is assumed that the story has been passed down through generations, the truth twisted by time. However, by the end of the story, it becomes understood that this piece of Faerie history is very real, and it lays the foundation for the fourth island that arises later.

“The Roach’s black tongue and his twisted nose and the tuft of fur-like hair at the top of his scalp add up to his being impressive and terrifying, but even according to the aesthetics of Faerieland, even in a place where inhuman beauty is celebrated along with almost opulent ugliness, I am not sure even he would guess that the Bomb longs for him.”

Jude’s reflection of the Roach’s appearance highlights the cultural differences between humans and faeries in that the fae perception of beauty is not the same as humans. The Bomb is shown to be conventionally beautiful, although with inhuman traits and coloring, but this confession and Jude’s thoughts serve as a reminder that the world in which the characters operate is not a mortal realm with the expected societal norms.

“Her gaze goes to Cardan, his mouth stained red with heart’s blood, crown at his brow. They appear two of a kind, a matched set of monsters.”

This passage foreshadows what is to come as Jude faces her defeat at the end of the novel. Although Jude and Cardan are bound together by magic, she is not fae, emphasizing the ostracism she feels and projects upon herself.

“I want to kick a wall. Surely everyone knows I have a twin sister. Surely everyone knows mortals can lie. Ought someone not to have at least asked a question she might find tricky to answer before handing over access to palace rooms?”

The foundation is laid for Taryn’s betrayal when she later takes Jude’s place. Jude’s frustration at Taryn’s breach into the palace without her knowledge makes it easy to believe that Taryn was able to use the same trick again against someone unused to searching for lies.

“Her manner of dealing with all the terror and confusion in our lives has been to become immensely adaptable, like one of those lizards that change color to match their surroundings. She’s the person who knows what to wear and how to behave, because she studies people carefully and mimics them.”

This quote explores Taryn’s character and the way she has built a life for herself in Faerie. Jude has always felt as though Taryn is the sister who needs to be protected, when in reality, Taryn is the one who knows how to align herself with the winning side. This makes her final betrayal with Madoc feel like a natural extension of her relationship with the world.

“After all, if the insult to me is pointing out that I am mortal, then this is my riposte: I live here, too, and I know the rules. Perhaps I even know them better than you since you were born into them, but I had to learn.”

Much of Jude’s success in claiming the crown and her place within court politics comes down to this skill: She has learned the rules. She knows how to look for dishonesty in people who cannot lie, how to use their codes and honor for her benefit, and how to play their games. As a mortal and a young woman, Jude is at a natural disadvantage in her world. This quote shows her pride in how much she has accomplished.

“Eva found it tedious to have to do without everything from her old life. Oh, it was fun for her at first to be in Faerieland—it always is, but eventually they get homesick. We used to sneak across the sea to be among mortals and take back little things she missed. Bars of waxy chocolate. Perfume. Pantyhose.”

Although much of the novel takes place in Faerieland, the story is a duality of two worlds. It’s these benign symbols set in juxtaposition against the dark magic of Faerie that makes the contrast so powerful. Moments like this one demonstrate how Jude and Taryn will always be caught between two worlds.

“I think again of the globe I held in Eldred’s study, of Cardan dressed in rags, looking to the woman in my chamber for approval, which came only when he was awful. An abandoned prince, weaned on cat milk and cruelty, left to roam the palace like a little ghost.”

Cardan’s character is further revealed and layered as the narrative illustrates what made him into the person he would become. His relationship with his mother ironically parallels Jude’s relationship with Madoc. Although Jude handles her childhood traumas differently, both she and Cardan want to be loved by the people who raised them.

“[I]f he’s the true High King of Elfhame, whom we are to follow to the end of days, then we’ve been a mite disrespectful, running the kingdom for him. But if he is playacting, then he’s a spy for sure and better than most of us.”

It is unclear exactly how long Cardan has been “playacting” for, though he developed some of the skills by watching Jude and the others. Here the seeds of doubt are planted against Cardan’s relationship with Jude and the other spies, and about the way he sees his place in the political web of the faerie court.

“The Folk doubtlessly learned this lesson long ago. They do not need to deceive humans. Humans will deceive themselves.”

Self-deception is a running motif in the story, especially when it comes to Jude’s relationship with Cardan. She often wonders if she’s only seeing the side of him that she wants to see, though it is not until the novel’s close that she is able to come up with an answer. This quote illustrates that although Faerie is dangerous, Jude’s most difficult obstacles come from within.

“It’s no small thing to pass judgment on the person who raised you, no matter what else they have done. This confrontation is less about this moment and more about the vast sweep of their past, the warp and weft of old resentments and alliances between them.”

Another major theme in the novel is the bonds of family, and the power they have even when those relationships are toxic. Cardan comes face to face with his older brother Balekin, and Jude knows from her own experiences with Madoc that the bonds formed in childhood are not so easily broken. This serves to illustrate the intricacies of the court and the similarities between Jude and Cardan.

“It’s milky and fragrant, and only under the water can I allow myself to weep. Only under the water can I admit that I almost died and that I was terrified and that I wish there was someone to whom I could tell all that. I hold my breath until there’s no more breath to hold.”

Jude is portrayed as a tough, near-tireless heroine who is on the go so constantly that she has little time to wallow in her fear and mistakes. She takes a moment to acknowledge that fear, and she remembers that she is human and a teenager and not indestructible after all. This makes her more relatable and gives greater depth to her achievements.

“Cardan is more knowledgeable than I am at love. He could use that against me, just as I asked him to use it against Nicasia. Perhaps he found a way to turn the tables after all.”

Jude is beginning to fall in love with Cardan and is mindfully aware of this new weakness—not just of her heart, but of her youth and inexperience. Her instinctual understanding of the way the game of politics is played leads her right to the thing that defeats her, but she will not realize it until much later. By showing this moment where she could have stopped her own downfall, but didn’t, the ending of the novel becomes that much more potent.

“I like that she does that, putting her daughter above Balekin. It’s good to have something to like about her, something to concentrate on to keep the warmth in my voice real.”

Jude observes Orlagh’s genuine connection with her daughter. The power of the bonds of family are highlighted again and Jude’s respect for their relationship emphasizes her desires for her relationship with Madoc.

“I lie on the stone floor and try to marshal my thoughts. Try to remember the many times Madoc was on a campaign and tell myself that he was uncomfortable on each one. Sometimes he slept stretched out on the ground, head pillowed on a clump of weeds and his own arms. Sometimes he was wounded and fought on anyway. He didn’t die.”

In a time of crisis, Jude looks up to Madoc and respects his strength. She seeks to emulate what she has learned from him, showing that even if they are enemies, she still wants her father to be proud of her.

“‘I will mourn my youngest brother,’ Balekin says, seeming to cheer himself a bit at the thought. ‘I may not mourn the others, but I will have songs composed in his honor. He alone will be remembered.’”

Although Balekin has plotted Cardan’s death repeatedly, he still attempts to twist the public opinion in his favor. The complexities of the sibling and familial rivalries are highlighted again in this ingenuine act of love towards Cardan.

“Faerie suffered with us at each other’s throats. You attempted to make me do what you thought needed to be done, and if we disagreed, we could do nothing but manipulate each other. That wasn’t working, but simply giving in is no solution. We cannot continue like this. Tonight is proof of that. I need to make my own decisions.”

Cardan explains to Jude why he needs his own agency back. The moment provides a relief of authenticity, with Cardan showing his cards and establishing a moment of vulnerability with Jude. Although Cardan’s betrayal is painful, this moment highlights why it causes much pain for Jude—Cardan breaks down her walls in a way no one else has.