Chapter 12

Wren returns to camp furious, realizing Oak pickpocketed the bridle while acting guileless. By morning, Oak subtly keeps her escape secret from Tiernan. After Tiernan leaves to bargain for a boat, Oak confronts Wren about her betrayal. Wren admits fear of the bridle and that Tiernan threatened it; Oak counters that Tiernan doubts her motives. When pressed, Wren insists she isn’t working with Bogdana or Nore and planned to go north alone rather than be sent to Elfhame.

They wager answers on a childhood tossing game; Oak intentionally lets Wren win. She asks if Nore offered to trade Madoc for her. Oak clarifies the offer was for Mellith’s heart and claims he has only convinced Bogdana otherwise. He reveals a trick: present a deer heart in an enchanted reliquary to stall Nore. Relieved, Wren and Oak proceed toward Undry Market in fragile camaraderie, teasing about Oak’s past loves.

At Undry Market they buy supplies, warmer clothes, and a custom reliquary. Oak gifts Wren a bird hairpin. They join Tiernan at the pier to buy a magical cormorant-shaped boat. When a drunk giant escalates demands, Oak and Wren cut free, dive with their goods—retrieving the hairpin—and escape under the boat’s magic sail as goblins shout “Thieves.”

Ashore, Wren briefs Tiernan on Citadel entrances, especially an aerial opening, and details its black-rock base and ice walls. On deck, Oak gives Wren the bridle, asking her to trust his intent through whatever deceptions come. Their near-intimacy is interrupted by Titch’s flight and their own restraint.

Days later at sea, sharks circle; mermaid Loana surfaces. For concealment, she demands a kiss, then tries to drag Oak under. A rope saves him, but she grants concealment anyway, hinting at Undersea turmoil. Cloaked from Nore and Bogdana, the trio sail north past ice and make land on a bleak shore near the Hudson Strait, closing on Wren’s former home and Nore’s Citadel.