Jude Duarte, High Queen of Elfhame in exile, lives a diminished routine in the mortal world: watching daytime television in the mornings, training Oak when allowed, and running errands for local faeries at night. Although she once dreamed of returning to the mortal world, exile has made her ache for Faerieland’s magic, danger, and purpose. Jude blames Cardan for trapping her, but also blames herself for walking into the trap.

Outside the Maine apartment complex, Jude watches eight-year-old Oak play a disorderly stick-fighting game with neighborhood children. When Oak unconsciously uses glamour to move unseen, Jude realizes that even she, protected from being deceived by glamour, noticed too late. Because Oak’s carelessness could expose him and because he may one day matter politically, Jude waits until the other children leave and ambushes him to teach him that fighting is not a game.

Jude’s lesson goes too far. Oak panics when Jude holds his throat, and Jude releases him feeling guilty for frightening him instead of properly training him. Their argument reveals Oak’s deep resistance to the destiny others have imagined for him: he says he does not want to be High King and never will. Jude argues that people cannot always choose their fate, but Oak blames Jude, Madoc, and everyone else for wanting the crown and runs inside.

Jude recognizes that she has failed the conversation and fears she is repeating Madoc’s harsh methods without knowing how to give Oak what he needs. She also reflects bitterly that she was arrogant to think she could control Cardan and that she has been removed from the political game of princes and queens.

Inside, Vivienne is thrilled because Heather has texted after their breakup. Vivi believes Heather wants to come back and restore their old life, but Jude reads Heather’s message differently. Heather asks whether Vivi would make her forget Faerie and the truth about Vivi and Oak if she requested it, and Jude suspects the message is a test of whether Vivi has learned not to use magic to erase consent or pain.

Vivi insists she will do whatever Heather wants, a dangerous promise from a faerie. Jude warns that Heather may not know what she wants, caught between loyalty to Vivi and sympathy for Heather. When Vivi asks about Oak’s mood and Jude says he does not want to be High King, Vivi dismisses it as unimportant, underscoring Jude’s isolation in taking Oak’s future seriously.