Chapter 10 Summary: The King of Elfhame's Attempt at One Good Deed

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens the night before Cardan and Jude are scheduled to meet the solitary fey in the mortal world. Vivi and Heather take the group—including Oak—out for bubble tea and dumplings. Cardan is fascinated by the unfamiliar drinks, sampling each one and taking bites from several kinds of dumplings, a habit that disgusts both Heather and Oak. Jude finishes one of his discarded dumplings with a single chopstick, and Vivi laughs and orders more.

Back at Heather's apartment, they watch a movie about a troubled family and a clever nurse who inherits everything. Cardan lies on the rug with his arm across Jude's waist, feeling out of place—he compares himself to a feral cat that might bite out of habit. Oak has given up his room so the royal couple can sleep there.

In the dark, Jude teases Cardan about missing his fancy palace. He traces her face, pausing on a freckle and a small scar. He considers telling her how much he despised the palace as a child and how he dreamed of escaping Elfhame, but instead simply says he does not miss it. This leads him to recall how desperately Jude once wanted to stay in Elfhame, and how hard she fought—and still fights—even when she no longer has to. He asks why she didn't hate everyone all the time, and she tells him she hated him, bringing her mouth to his.

Late the next afternoon, Bryern arrives in the woods between the highway and Heather's apartment complex. Jude's old employer is revealed to be a phooka in a vest and bowler hat, with black fur and golden goat eyes. He is accompanied by a scruffy clurichaun named Ladhar and a nervous ogre serving as bodyguards—a sign that Bryern was afraid to come before his sovereigns. The fey seem rattled when they realize who Cardan is, which annoys him; he is insulted that they thought he would leave this matter to Jude.

Bryern explains that Queen Gliten's Court from the Northwest is hunting a monster and forcing solitary fey into servitude, claiming they must fight at its side. The monster slaughters anyone who enters the woods where it dwells. Bryern hands Jude a folded map, and she pockets it. When Jude asks if this is why he compared her foster father to Grima Mog, Ladhar tries to smooth things over, but Jude tells him to stuff it and agrees to help, saying the High Court will not be accused of doing nothing.

That night, Cardan lies awake long after Jude falls asleep. At first he blames the unfamiliar scents of the mortal world, then the bedding, but he realizes the real reason: Jude was too agreeable to his suggestions. She agreed to send messages to Queen Gliten, agreed to call for reinforcements, and suggested he look at the map later. Cardan knows his wife—she runs toward strategy and murder—and if she isn't doing that now, there is a reason.

He pads to the kitchen, takes her leather rucksack, and finds the map. Beside it is the ancient leafy metal armor that Taryn discovered in the royal treasury. He realizes Jude plans to wake before dawn, dress in that armor, strap on her mortal father's sword, and sneak out to fight the creature herself. He briefly considers catching her at the kitchen table, but when he reads the map by the light of the streetlamp, he sees something else.

The stretch of woods where the creature dwells is marked ASLOG. Cardan remembers the last time he heard Queen Gliten mentioned: she was the one who cheated the troll woman Aslog out of what she had earned. Now Aslog is being hunted—both by Queen Gliten's Court and by Jude, if she gets the chance. Cardan realizes he may be the only one who can fix this. Oak stirs on the couch but only burrows deeper into the cushions.

Key Events

Vivi and Heather take the group for bubble tea and dumplings; Cardan samples everything and annoys the others.
At Heather's apartment, the group watches a movie; Cardan feels out of place but content with Jude.
In bed, Jude and Cardan discuss his childhood desire to leave Elfhame and her struggle to stay.
Bryern arrives with Ladhar the clurichaun and an ogre, seeking help against Queen Gliten's Court.
Bryern explains that the Court is hunting a monster and forcing solitary fey into servitude.
Jude accepts the map and agrees to help, despite Bryern's earlier manipulation.
Cardan cannot sleep, searches Jude's rucksack, and finds the map and ancient armor.
He realizes Jude plans to sneak out before dawn to fight the creature alone.
Reading the map, he sees the woods marked ASLOG and remembers Queen Gliten cheated the troll woman Aslog.
Cardan concludes he may be the only one who can fix the situation.

Character Development

Cardan undergoes a significant shift in this chapter. His earlier self-absorption gives way to genuine insight: he reads Jude's behavior accurately, recognizing that her unusual agreeableness signals a hidden plan. His decision to search her rucksack is not merely suspicion—it is the act of a partner who knows his wife well enough to see through her. The ASLOG revelation transforms his understanding of the situation: the monster is not a mindless threat but a victim of Queen Gliten's cheating. Cardan's realization that he may be the only one who can fix this marks a move from passive observer to active agent, motivated by a desire to do one good thing.

Jude is shown through Cardan's eyes as someone who still fights even when she doesn't have to. Her willingness to help Bryern despite his manipulation, and her plan to face the creature alone, reflect her self-reliance and her instinct to protect others. The bedtime conversation reveals the depth of her history with Cardan—she hated him once, and that honesty is part of what makes their partnership work.

Bryern is revealed as a phooka who is afraid enough to bring bodyguards, yet bold enough to appeal to Jude directly. His earlier comparison of Madoc to Grima Mog shows he knows how to push Jude's buttons, even as he flinches before his sovereigns.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Monster as victim: The creature in the woods is not what it appears to be. The map's ASLOG marking reveals that the