Chapter 5

Oak seats Wren behind him on the kelpie, Jack of the Lakes, and the party rides hard through the mortal world, camping briefly as Oak tells Court stories. Tiernan’s quiet longing for Hyacinthe surfaces, and Oak explains they seek the Thistlewitch to learn the limits of Lady Nore’s power over Mab’s bones.

They reach ruins by a brackish river where a window opens into a meadow strewn with bones, the hidden way to the Court of Moths. As they descend, Hyacinthe needles Wren, claiming Oak keeps secrets and received a message from Lady Nore, unsettling Wren’s trust. A troll guard grudgingly honors Oak’s rank and, citing Queen Annet’s hospitality, offers rooms and announces Hyacinthe will be locked away for the night.

Despite Oak’s objection, Tiernan urges restraint and volunteers to attend Hyacinthe in the cells, leaving the group divided. Wren is taken to a stark chamber, then reluctantly agrees to let Oak send her to the royal seamstress for the revel, wary of courtly debt and traps.

In Habetrot’s workshop, the powerful seamstress reads Wren’s ruin and desire, conjuring a tattered, dreamlike patchwork gown and boots as a gift at Queen Annet’s command. Wren pockets a small pair of scissors and wrestles with shame, identity, and the fear of being made a spectacle.

Back in her room, Oak praises Wren and plans an audience with Annet. He suggests Hyacinthe’s jailing is posturing, then gently combs and braids Wren’s hair, his tenderness intensifying her conflicted attraction. Hyacinthe’s warning about Oak’s love-talker heritage and a supposed message from Nore lingers, reframing Oak’s charm as potential peril as they await the revel and audience.